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.

5. Chapter 4

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?

Toby's Note: Sorry about the wait on this chapter folks. I was working on it during a thunderstorm when the power crapped out. When it came back on I checked on the original file it was corrupted. So I had to start all over…

Belle's Note: I also went on vacation so I was far from a computer for about a week. I did however put an Easter Egg into my part. See if you can find it.

Chapter 4: Family Confrontations

Earth Date: June 15th, 2183 CE

Location: SSV Normandy,

"How long till we reach Noveria?" John asked Joker as he came up behind the pilot. Joker turned his head towards one of his two Commanders, smirking.

"Seven hours, sir." Joker said and then paused for a moment, his smirk widening. "Sooooo…does your sister shoot you often?"

John muttered something as Jane's laughter preceded the woman as she came up behind her brother.

"Better a concussion round to the back of his knee rather than a round through his skull." Jane said, smirking.

"You're enjoying this too much." John muttered and then winced when Jane punched his shoulder, making him shift his weight to his left leg.

"Of course, now I've shot you twice." Jane said happily. "You still haven't hit me once."

"You've shot him before?" Ash asked as she and Kaidan also arrived in the pilot area, Kaidan taking his seat to help Joker.

"Do we really need to bring this up?" John grumbled.

"Oh it was nothing major." Jane said, ignoring her brother. "During our last war simulation in N-school we were in a tough spot. It was free for all for all the squads. We had a flawless war record the entire time and everyone decided to team up and take us out before going at each other. Our instructors later told us that had never happened before."

"Sounds like you Shepards have always worked well together." Garrus said as he came up with Tali and Wrex in tow.

"Why the hell don't we tell this story over the comms? Complete my humiliation?" John snarled trying to stop Jane. He was promptly ignored.

"Something like that, Garrus." Jane explained. "Our other squad members mostly just rode our coattails. They didn't work as well with us as you guys."

"So what happened next?" Tali piped up.

"Well John had a great idea of using a decoy to draw the squads into a kill zone. Problem was someone had to be the bait. In the spirit of fairness I suggested we draw straws."

"Oh I can see where this is headed." Kaidan laughed.

"So when John drew the short straw-"

"I swear you cheated somehow." John grumbled.

"-he opened fire on the squads as they passed by from the small clearing he had chosen. It had a couple of decent size rocks for a hiding place after he lured them. So after John drew them with some guerilla tactics, they took the bait, rushing into the clearing and we opened fire. The problem was one squad had a sniper who was almost as good a shot as me." Jane explained.

"That good?" Wrex said, surprised. Jane nodded.

"He also had a nasty habit of covering himself in vegetation and other camouflage. So eventually the opposing sniper was the only one left. Every time John would try to get out of cover, this guy was getting closer and closer to hitting him. After about two hours of this John broke for the tree line-"

"You told me over the comms I was clear!" John cut in but Jane ignored him again.

"-and I saw this tree branch shift. A round hit John, making his shields drop but it gave me a perfect direction for the sniper's location. A tree trunk was in the way, however, so as John was running towards us and the tree line I fired a concussion round in his general area to make John go for cover. I didn't scope the shot, firing from reflex mostly. So the round actually hit John square in the crotch."

All of the male squad members winced and shifted slightly, except for John who snarled. The female squad members all smiled slightly.

"So did it work?" Ashley asked.

"Sort of. John fell to the ground screaming bloody murder since his shields hadn't re-charged yet and the sniper actually broke radio silence to call for a medic. I broke position to get a better angle and took the shot. We won with the first ever perfect War Game record in N-school history."

"And I spent a week afterwards on bed rest with my boys swollen to the size of-" John began to snap.

"We don't need the details, Commander." Joker cut in, smiling but looking a bit green at the thought.

"Fine! I'm going to get some rest since I have duty in five hours." John snarled, trying to stomp off but the effect was ruined as his still aching knee caused him to limp.

~ * TF * ~

"So, he hasn't gotten revenge yet?" Ash asked and Jane smirked as she watched John hobble off.

"No, after all, I gave him the trophy after we won," she stated. "I also told him that as the older twin, he should be the one holding on to it."

"That is downright evil," Garrus chuckled.

"Don't ever tell John, but when he dropped, I wasn't paying attention to where I had hit him since I didn't scope it," Jane confessed. "I didn't realize how serious that injury was until after we were announced the winners. I owed him that trophy and, God knows, he definitely earned it with that plan and that injury."

"Remind me to watch my back so you never have to shoot me to save me," Garrus muttered.

"I swear, if ever it comes down to it, I promise, I will shoot you so that you won't die," Jane grinned and Garrus chuckled.

"Have I mentioned how I have no desire to be part of a ground team?" Joker stated.

"Just with me or overall, because you have not lived until you have been in a Mako with my brother or me driving," Jane stated.

"Yeah, I've heard the stories," he stated.

"John can get it up on two wheels," Jane chuckled.

"Yeah, Garrus told me, those were the front two," Joker remarked snidely and Jane laughed.

~ * TF * ~

"Dr. Chakwas are you here?" John asked. It was about an hour till his shift started and another three till they arrived at Noveria. He had hoped that his knee would have been better with a few hours more of rest but now the pain was beginning to spread and the knee had become stiff. He wanted to be in top shape for what they found on Noveria and he had to deal with this now. However the med bay was empty.

"Damn it, I shouldn't have brushed her off right after the mission." John muttered. The door to the back office opened and Liara emerged, surprised.

"Commander. Dr. Chakwas said she needed some sleep so she's in her assigned sleeper pod. Should I wake her?" The Asari asked. John winced but shook his head.

"No I'll just deal with it. My knee is feeling worse I wanted her take a look at it." John explained. Liara frowned and moved forward to help him. John winced as he tried to put pressure on his left leg. "Damn, it's getting a lot worse."

"Here let me help, Commander. I have basic medical training." Liara said. John shot her a grateful look and let her lead him to one of the beds.

"Thank you." John said and Liara smiled at him as she grabbed a nearby scanner.

"You're very similar to some Turian officers I've met, Commander. They didn't want their crews to know how badly they're hurt either." Liara said, running the scanner along his leg.

"It's John." He reminded her, making Liara blush. "No offense but you're not military. I'd rather you called me what my friends do."

"Are we friends?" Liara asked hesitantly, before turning her attention to the scanner when it beeped to indicate it was finished.

"I'd like to think so." John replied. "None of my crew know about the talks we have. It's nice to have someone onboard to talk to."

"I'm glad to have you as a friend then." Liara said, smiling. Her smile turned to a frown as she read the results on the scanner. "You have deep tissue bruising on your knee and a hairline fracture on the bone just below your knee. I can treat both but you'll have to keep your leg elevated for half an hour afterwards."

John sighed in relief. "That's good news, I was worried I'd have to sit this mission out. I wanted to be there when you confront your mother."

"You do?" Liara asked, shooting him a surprised look before turning her attention back to preparing the shot. John sighed again and rolled up his pant leg. He saw Liara's eyes go wide as he did so and couldn't help blushing a bit.

"I don't know what your relationship is like with your mother but if it was me I'd like someone there if I had to do something like this." John explained. He winced as Liara gently turned his leg to disinfect the back of his knee. He wasn't surprised to see the area was discolored.

"You wouldn't have your sister there?" Liara asked. John winced as Liara used the injection gun. There was a dull clunk as it fired the solution into his leg. John winced but then sighed in relief as the pain began to ebb right after the injection.

"On days like today? Not one bit." John grumbled. Liara gave a little laugh as she began to put the supplies away. John rolled his pant leg back down, before scooting up the bed to put his back against the wall. He took the pillow and put it under his leg to raise it up.

"I understand. Ashley came down earlier to share the story of when Jane shot you before." Liara said. John groaned.

"Of course she did. By this time tomorrow the Council should be reading it in a transcription." John grumbled. Liara shook her head but she was smiling.

"I don't think that will happen." Liara ventured. John snorted.

"I hope not. I love Jane, she's one of the best sisters someone could have but she loves to tell humiliating stories. A perfect example is when we went out celebrate our graduation from N-school and we achieved our N1 designations. I had a date who she relished in telling the story about when she caught me when I was thirteen skinny dipping with her friend Katie."

"Skinny dipping?" Liara asked, not familiar with the term. John sighed.

"Swimming naked, together." He explained and Liara's eyes got wide.

"Oh my." Liara said and giggled. John rolled his eyes but smiled.

"Yes, well what can I say, I was a stupid farm hick. I had to do something fun."

"Unfortunately, I have no siblings that I know about. So no one besides my mother ever caught me doing something potentially embarrassing." Liara explained as she finished cleaning the medical supplies and putting them away. John watched her as she sat down in a chair nearby and started a timer.

"Really you have no one?" John asked. Liara bit her lip for a moment.

"I never knew my other parent, what you call my father." Liara explained. "Since I am the offspring of two Asari, I'm known as a Pure Blood. We're frowned upon because of a spreading belief that for variety in our species you should only have offspring with non-Asari species."

"I'm sorry Liara. My world had similar issues not too long ago. My people used to have racial slurs used at them if they came from different regions of our planet, even if they had different color hair, eyes or skin. Some people even still use them today."

"I think every species has a bit of that ugliness. When I was growing up I thought my other parent wasn't there because of what I was. My mother never wanted to talk about her." Liara explained.

"That might not be the case Liara. She could have been killed or hurt before you were born. It might have been too painful for Benezia to think about, let alone talk about it."

Liara was silent for a few minutes before sighing softly. "I had not thought about it in those terms before." She admitted.

"Anyway, time for a topic change. How is your training with Ashley and Jane progressing? Are you and Tali picking it up quickly?" John aksed and Liara giggled.

"Ashley says I am a natural. With my biotics Jane says that I…"

~ * TF * ~

"Commander, I have collected as much information as I could about Noveria," Tali stated as she approached Jane on the bridge. The young quarian handing the Commander a datapad. Jane looked it over and sighed before giving Tali a look. "They have very good security."

"I can see, this is...not good. I don't like going in with so little information," Jane sighed.

"No offense, Commander, but isn't this whole mission running on low intelligence about the enemy?" Tali asked and Jane nodded.

"That it is, I don't like the whole thing, but liking it and completing it are two completely different matters. I may not like having to do this, but I will complete this mission to the best of my abilities. Just for safety precautions I prefer to have a little more knowledge. I suppose we have to work with what we have. Thank you, Tali, this was very helpful. Have you learned anything from working with Adams?" Jane asked, giving the datapad another glance.

"Yes, he is a very talented Engineer and being on a ship like the Normandy is amazing, the Flotilla is not nearly close to this technology," Tali said happily.

"As long as I don't hear about Flotilla ships starting to resemble the Normandy," Jane teased with a smile and Tali chuckled.

"No, we could never use our resources this way, but it is a beautiful ship. I am honored to get to help maintain her, even for a temporary basis," Tali said and Jane patted Tali's shoulder.

"It is a pleasure to have you serve under us, even if it is just for your pilgrimage," Jane said before Tali started off. Jane placed a finger to her comm.

"Postle, I need you to check our stock. Do we have any Devlon Industries armor on the ship?" Jane asked.

"Actually, we have a few Commander. We even got a Turian thermal set by accident," Postle said over the comms.

"You knew that off the top of your head?" Jane asked.

"No, I only remembered it because of the Turian armor, I was going to switch them out once we got back to the Citadel," he said.

"Don't, how many sets do we have for humans?" Jane asked.

"Two heavy, one medium, and two light, plus that one turian one," he replied. Jane made a face, she hated Medium armor, but she could use it, begrudgingly.

"Prep that, put the heavies into John Shepard and Williams' lockers, put the lights into T'Soni and Alenko's lockers, make sure that turian is in Vakarian's locker, and put that medium into mine," Jane ordered.

"Can do, ma'am," Postle said. "Begging your pardon, ma'am, but don't you prefer light?"

"We need as much of the team prepped for exterior conditions on Noveria as we can. As we stand we can't give Wrex or Tali the protection I'd like them to have," Jane sighed. "I can live with medium armor, it's not my preferred, but I have trained with it. It won't affect me as badly as it will Liara. Kaidan didn't go through weapons training, so he has no experience with medium armor, that's dangerous. I have the training, I'll go with the medium armor."

"You're the Commander on deck," Postle said and Jane nodded as she looked at Joker.

"What?" he cried.

"I'm going to tell him now," Jane replied.

"I wasn't going to say anything," Joker stated.

"Yeah and while you weren't saying anything you were going to Irish dance around the cockpit," Jane teased and Joker snorted.

"That'll be the day," he muttered. Jane headed down to the infirmary. She opened the door and John shot her a glare.

"Better than a hole in the head and you know it, John," Jane said and John sighed.

"I know, I don't have to like it," he muttered.

"We have some Devlon armor in stock," Jane stated and John gave her a look.

"That's...surprising," he muttered.

"I got us the contract while I was on the Presidium, we don't know what we are looking at and Devlon's armor has the best rating on all environmental hazards," Jane shrugged.

"What's the bad news?" John asked with a look and Jane smirked.

"How do you know there's bad news?" she asked and he looked at the time.

"I'm not on duty yet and you are letting me know about the armor situation," he said and Jane smirked more.

"We had one medium armor and an accidental Turian armor," Jane stated.

"How many lights did we get?" John asked and Jane held up two fingers. "You're doing this in medium armor."

"I have trained with it before John, I can do it," she stated.

"How many of the team do we have armor for?" he asked.

"If I go medium, the only ones in the cold are Tali and Wrex," Jane stated and John stared for a moment.

"You still snipe better than most in medium armor," John muttered and Jane smirked.

"Just wanted you to know," she stated as she turned and headed out of the infirmary. "Also, aren't you glad I aimed lower this time?" John glared at her just before the door closed behind her.

~ * TF * ~

"Approach control, this is the SSV Normandy. Requesting a vector and berth." Joker said into the comms. John stood behind the pilot, dressed in full Devlon armor with his arms crossed. The squad was waiting along behind him, while Jane was busy talking with Liara.

"Normandy, your arrival was not scheduled. Our defense grind is armed and tracking you. State your business." The Noveria flight controller responded. John raised an eyebrow as he started tapping the fingers of his right hand on his left arm.

"Citadel business. We've got two Council Spectres on board." Joker retorted.

"Transmit both our Spectre identification, Joker." John said. Joker nodded and typed away at the console sending the identification package the Council had given them shortly after their induction ceremony.

"Data received. Access granted Normandy. Be advised we will be confirming identification on arrival. If confirmation cannot be established, your vessel will be impounded." The controller said, before the comm signal shut off.

"What fun bunch." Joker snarked, as he guided the Normandy into dock. "I think I'll take my next shore leave here." John shook his head and headed for the airlock as the Normandy shuddered as the docking clamps latched on.

"Let's go people." John said. The way the Noveria controller had been talking John half expected to find a squad waiting for them at the Normandy's airlock. As they headed down the walkway, they found the afore mentioned squad waiting for them by the entrance the facility.

"That's far enough." A human woman of Asian descent said. By her side was a blonde woman and male Turian. All three were dressed in what appeared to standard issue armor. John stopped as did everyone else.

"We're here on important business." Jane said, moving to stand beside her brother.

"This is an unscheduled arrival. I need your credentials." The woman replied.

"We're willing to cooperate." John said. He transmitted his identification to the woman via his omnitool, Jane doing the same. "I'm a Spectre, my name is John Shepard. And this is Jane Shepard, she's also a Sepctre."

"What load of horse crap, ma'am." The blonde woman spoke up. John frowned.

"Well these documents appear to prove what he's saying is true." The Asian woman said. "I'm Captain Matsuo. Welcome to Noveria, Spectres. May I ask what your business is here?"

"We're here to escort Liara T'Soni to meet with her mother, Benezia T'Soni." Jane chimed in. John smirked. So that's what she was talking to Liara about earlier. "Ms. Williams and Mr. Vakarian are with me. Ms. Rayya and Mr. Alenko are with my brother. And Urdnot Wrex is Ms. T'Soni's personal body guard."

"That's a lot of firepower for escorting a VIP." Captain Matsuo said, eying them suspiciously.

"My mother always traveled with a squad of Asari Commandos. How is this any different?" Liara questioned.

"Yes, well." Matsuo said, caught off guard. "If you'll just head up these stairs Parisseani-san will meet with you to go over the rules and regulations here."

"Thank you." John said, brushing by the captain. Jane shot them a smirk as the squad moved past them.

"Nicely done." John said and Jane shrugged.

"It seemed to be the right way to play it. Otherwise not all of us would have made in through security."

~ * TF * ~

The group approached the security desk and the Shepards shared a look at the intense security.

"I am Giana Parasini, assistant to Administrator Anoleis. We apologize for the strict welcome in the docking bay," the woman behind the counter stated.

"I appreciate your help," John said with a smile and Jane fought the urge to smirk. Her brother batting those baby blues at the ladies, she never stopped being amused when he failed.

"You're welcome. You understand our security chief was only doing her job," Parasini said. "One of my duties is orientation of new arrivals. Do you have any questions?"

"Pretty heavy security for such a small port," Jane stated and Parasini gave her a look. Jane couldn't help but like Parasini, she didn't seem fazed by John's friendly personality, nor did she seem offended by Jane's frankness.

"The Executive Board does everything in its power to protect the privacy of our client corporations," Parasini stated, but something about it sounded rehearsed, like an official line to feed to curious minds.

"We don't want to step on any toes while we're here," John stated and Parasini nodded.

"Tread lightly. The Board can bury you in litigation. You'd need an Asari lawyer to see the case through," Parasini stated.

"Does she mean for complexity or duration?" Garrus muttered and Jane, coughed to cover a laugh.

"Duration," Liara stated, clearly missing the joke causing Ash to snort.

"We are trying to bring Dr. T'Soni here to meet with her mother. We were told Matriarch Benezia was here. How far behind her are we?" Jane asked.

"Lady Benezia passed through just a few days ago," Parasini stated looking curious herself.

"She is still here?" Liara quickly asked and Parasini nodded.

"We would like to rendezvous with her, would that be possible?" John asked.

"Benezia left for the Peak 15 research complex days ago. To the best of my knowledge, she's still there," Parasini said with a shrug.

"Could you tell us how to get there?" Jane asked and Parasini smirked. Something about that worried Jane.

"You'll need to ask Administrator Anoleis for clearance to leave this port," she said and Jane felt something problematic was coming their way.

"Where can we find the administrator?" Jane asked and Parasini smiled.

"His office is on the main level. Left at the top of the elevator," she said and Jane felt this would be a memorable meeting.

"Can you let us in now?" John asked and Parasini nodded.

"Of course. If you need any help, you can ask me at the administrator's office," she stated.

"John, you should take Liara and your group, I'll go see about getting our clearance," Jane stated and the two groups split.

~ * TF * ~

"Well, this is exciting." Wrex grumbled from where he was leaning against the wall. John rolled his eyes but said nothing as he continued waiting for Jane to finished her meeting with Anoleis.

"Sorry Wrex but whenever we can we have to try the diplomatic route." John said. Wrex huffed but said nothing else. John turned to check on Kaidan and Tali. Tali herself seemed to be taking her lessons to heart and was keeping a careful eye from the bench she was sitting. Kaidan himself was sitting next to her, checking something on his omni-tool. John turned to his left where Liara was standing close by. The Asari was biting her lip, clearly conflicted about something.

"Everything okay, Liara?" John asked her quietly. Liara hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath before speaking.

"Shepard, I-I can't believe she's really here. I imagine you want to talk to me, Shepard. About my mother." Liara said. John smiled and shook his head.

"No, I don't. I trust you, Liara. You may not be military, but you're part of my crew." John replied. Liara seemed surprised and then she sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Shepard. That means a great deal to me." Liara shared. John grinned at her.

"Now all you have to do is convince my sister. She may have to shoot you a few times with training rounds."

Liara stared at him in shock for a few moments before she burst out laughing.

~ * TF * ~

"I hate bureaucrats," Ash muttered as they entered.

"Join the club," Jane replied. "Now smile and act pleasant."

"Will do," Ash said.

"Do I have to smile?" Garrus asked and Jane gave him a look.

"Be pleasant," she replied.

"How may I help you," Parasini asked as they approached.

"I'd like to speak to Anoleis now," Jane stated.

"One moment, please. Mr. Anoleis?" Parasini called over her comm.

"Yes. What? What!" a voice impatiently demanded. Jane noted it was clearly Salarian and she shot a look to Garrus and Ash, both nodded.

"Commander Jane Shepard is asking to see you, sir," Parasini stated.

"Fine! Fine! Send her in," the voice did not sound happy and Parasini indicated with a hand for the group to go ahead. They entered and Jane noted the unique coloring of the salarian.

"You will excuse me if I don't stand up," Anoleis snapped and Jane got the distinct feeling that she was unwelcomed. "I have no time to entertain colonial rubes." Jane nearly laughed at that. Salarians could be rude at times, but that...that was intentional. She smiled and put on her sweetest farm girl smile.

"I'm here as a Spectre, not as a human. Keep that in mind," she said and she could practically feel the shock from Ash and Garrus. Jane wasn't going to fall into this bureaucrat's trap and she would counter him with as much raw sugar as she could, just to let him know, she was on to his lies.

"Believe me, that is foremost in my mind," Anoleis stated, his eyes narrowed on Jane. He had heard she was quick with a trigger, he had overlooked her analytical ability, clearly. "This greeting is a courtesy. I will only cooperate as required by the Executive Board. Businesses come here to avoid the second-guessing of galactic law. I will not allow you to harass our clients. This world is private property." Jane smiled wider, he was covering up something. This whole planet was probably filled with illegal activity. Wonderful.

"I am working an escort mission currently. I am trying to take Dr. Liara T'Soni to meet with her mother, Matriarch Benezia. We came here because we were informed she was here," Jane said.

"She arrived a few days ago, accompanied by a personal escort and some cargo. She is up at Peak 15," Anoleis stated.

"Do you happen to know what brought her out here?" Jane asked.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be at liberty to say. She came here as Agent Saren's executor," Anoleis stated and Jane's interest went up. "She's here on business for Binary Helix. There were issues at Peak 15 that required Saren's attention." Jane wanted to press more about Saren, but decided to go on for a moment about Benezia...particularly any weaponry she might have.

"What can you tell me about her cargo?" Jane asked.

"Large, heavy, and sealed. It passed weapons screening. Beyond that is not our concern," Anoleis said and Jane suspected that it was probably weaponry.

"What do you mean "personal escort? I only ask due to Dr. T'Soni's safety," Jane stated and Anoleis snorted.

"The phrase is self-explanatory. Bodyguards attending to the safety of her person. Mainly Asari commandos," he stated and Garrus scoffed.

"Really, did they pass weapons screening?" he asked and Jane gave him a look.

"They followed all our regulations. I had no reason to forbid Lady Benezia from taking them," Anoleis looked annoyed.

"We would like to bring Dr. T'Soni to her mother, immediately."

"I'm afraid that you cannot. Peak 15 is a private facility in the Skadi Mountains. Regardless, there is a blizzard in the area. Shuttles are grounded, and surface access has been cut off," Anoleis stated and Jane fought the urge to frown but instead made her face overly curious.

"Do you regularly do business with Saren?" she asked.

"That's right, he's one of your Spectre compatriots. He's a major investor in Binary Helix corporation, which is one of Noveria's backers," Anoleis stated and Jane mentally smirked. So Saren was very involved with Binary Helix.

"Is Binary Helix developing weapons for him?" Jane asked doing her best to make it look like professional competition.

"It's possible, given his interests. What our clients do in their labs is their business," Anoleis stated and Jane fought the urge to smile. Saren was developing weaponry, good to know, time to let John in on developments. It was going to be hard to get to Peak 15. They needed to regroup.

"I guess we will have to wait then," Jane stated before turning around, well aware that Ash and Garrus were not pleased with this. As they were preparing to go Parasini looked at Jane.

"Commander Shepard...a moment?" she called. "You've never worked in the corporate world, have you, Commander? You can't bludgeon through bureaucracy." Jane smiled and nodded.

"So it would seem," she sighed before looking at Parasini. "I need an alternative." Parasini smiled before leaning over.

"Talk to Lorik Qui'in. You should be able to find him at the hotel bar," she suggested. "Can't say more. Not within earshot of Mr. Anoleis." Jane nodded before heading out to meet with John.

~ * TF * ~

"Where's John?" Jane asked. Kaidan rolled his eyes and gestured. Jane turned and saw John talking with a Hanar in an alcove not too far away with Liara and Wrex by him.

"That Hanar waved him over earlier as we were waiting. He asked Tali and I to wait for you." Kaidan explained. Jane shot John a curious look as the little pow-wow seemed to break up and John came stomping over to them.

"A bad meeting?" Jane asked, amused. "Benezia is on Peak 15, getting there will be a challenge, but I have a lead on that. We need to meet a Lorik Qui'in in a bar on the next floor."

"It wasn't worth it." John explained as they followed Jane. "Just some stupid Hanar who thought Spectres were also smugglers. He wanted me to sneak a package past security with my security clearance."

"Huh...Hanar smugglers, will wonders never cease. I thought those guys were super religious, I guess the Enkindlers are okay with breaking the law then," Jane chuckled. Ash began to cough like she wasn't trying not to laugh.

"Yeah well I'd rather not. The last thing I need is to sneak in a package and find out, 'Oh you snuck in a terrorist bomb!' or some stupid crap like that." John snarled.

Jane just chuckled.

~ * TF * ~

"My group will talk to this guy. You guys wait here." Jane said not waiting for a response as she headed over to a Turian sitting by himself at a small table.

"Afternoon. Sit down, have a drink. What can I do for you?" Lorik purred and Jane blinked for a moment. An overly friendly turian...she thought Garrus was weird with being friendly period, maybe he wasn't in comparison.

"Are you Lorik Qui'in? I've heard you might be able to help me?" Jane said and was shocked with the turian's eyes played over her body. Was he...was he checking her out? It took all her will power not to give Garrus a look to verify that.

"You are the Spectre that just arrived...one of the set I should say. What could an old turian like me possibly help you with?" he asked. Jane wondered if it was just in her head but he was staring at her waist absently. Garrus coughed and Lorik's eyes moved up to meet Jane's. That was weird...that was really weird. She would definitely be asking Garrus about that later.

"I'm trying to find a way into the garage. I have places to go," Jane said and Lorik looked pleased.

"You need a pass. How foruitous," Lorik purred as he indicated that Jane sit. She did and he studied her face. "I'm the manager of the local Synthetic Insights office. For the moment, at least. Mr. Anoleis closed my office. He claims to be investigating reports of my corruption. The administrator is an interesting man. He has become quite wealthy since he took direct control of rents." Jane lent forward.

"I sense a connection there," she stated and Lorik smirked before leaning closer to her.

"Indeed," he purred. "I acquired evidence of Anoleis' actions. His hired goons are ransacking my office to find it. I suspect your goal lies outside this port. Mr. Anoleis would be disinclined to let you wander. If you recover the evidence from my office, I will give you my garage pass, as well as a sum of credits." Jane smirked, getting Anoleis in trouble sounded fun.

"You have a plan?" she asked and Lorik purred.

"I do. However, there is one other - what is that charming human expression? "Fly in the lotion?" Violence against Mr. Anoleis' thugs may be necessary. He has members of Hanshan's security team searching my offices," Lorik stated and Jane wanted to chuckle at the lotion and ointment mistake but a shot at Anoleis and his corrupt group was more tempting. "He is paying them under the table. Ms. Matsuo is unaware of their outside employment." Jane nodded.

"I'll focus on trying to get your evidence. If I'm lucky, I won't have to fight anyone," Jane sighed, she was rarely lucky when it came to this scenario.

"Excellent. Here is my pass into our offices. It will activate the elevator," Lorik stated offering a card to Jane between his two fingers. As Jane took the card Lorik's thumb ran over her fingers as she pulled it out of his hand. She nearly jumped as she locked eyes with him. "The evidence is on my office computer. This OSD contains an encryption key to access it. Slide it into the drive and it will auto-execute." Jane didn't want to take it so she held out her hand. He slid his talons over her palm before dropping it into her hand. Oh yeah, this was flirting. Poor Lorik had no idea he was not only flirting with a human who could barely flirt with other humans, but he was also flirting with a human who had never even considered flirting with a turian. Jane nodded at him before heading back to John.

~ * TF * ~

"Well that was interesting." Jane stated, amusement hidden in her voice. John shot Garrus a look.

"What happened?" John asked. Garrus shifted uncomfortably.

"He hit on me." Jane chuckled. John jerked as if he was struck and made choking sound.

"That'll teach you ask questions when your sister did the interrogating, Skipper." Ashley said, laughing.

"This way we have to go to his office to get some OSDs." Jane said, leading the way. It was silent for a few minutes as everyone seemed to be gathering their thoughts.

"Well, if he's not acceptable mate why didn't you shoot him or at least stab him?" Wrex asked in sincere curiosity.

Tali shot the Krogan a shocked look as Kaidan and Ashley both burst out laughing. John covered his eyes with the palm of one hand and Garrus looked at Jane in alarm.

"Wrex," Liara began gently, "...human females don't do that to males who offend them like your females do." Garrus sighed in relief.

"Ah." Wrex said. It was silent for a few moments longer as the elevator reached the bottom and they headed for Qui'in's office. "Maybe she should start and set an example for other human females?"

"I'm not that bad," Jane muttered, blushing slightly.

"You shot me recently," John pointed out.

"You are my brother, you don't count anyway," Jane huffed.

~ * TF * ~

The group exited the elevator and blinked when they saw the two security officers.

"Freeze! Hanshan security. This office is sealed," the woman stated and Jane raised an eyebrow as she approached. Sometimes honest was the best policy.

"Lorik Qui'in gave me a pass in," Jane stated and the woman blinked before sharing a look with her turian coworker.

"Qui'in? Are you working for him? He's under investigation," the woman stated and Jane smirked.

"Anoleis is paying you to shake this place down. Does Captain Matsuo know you're here?" Jane asked and the guard backtracked.

"Hey, I'm not the one who wants Qui'in. Anoleis has a varren up his ass about this guy," she stated. "How about this? You pretend you didn't see us, we'll pretend we didn't see you." She walked toward the elevator. The group watched her leave.

"I never get tired of seeing you clear away guards without firing a shot," John chuckled.

"It's a gift," Jane stated. "You stay here and intercept any backup and I'll take Garrus and Ash to get the data."

"Done," John stated and the three headed up the steps. Toward the office.

"Okay, I'm just coming out and saying it, that dude was a freaky turian," Ash stated and Jane nodded.

"I'm pretty sure he wanted to get freaky with me...but I keep hoping I just don't understand turian body language," Jane stated as she opened the door to the office. The two women looked at Garrus.

"What? Do I look like I understand the inner workings of all turian minds?" he asked and the women shared a look.

"You are a male turian," Jane pointed out as she approached the computer.

"You also did that cough people do when someone else is doing something rude," Ash pointed out.

"He was oogling...in public...my commanding officer," Garrus huffed.

"He was staring at my waist," Jane stated.

"What else would...wait...what would a human male oggle then?" Garrus asked and the two women shared a look. "You know, never mind. I don't want to talk about this anymore."

"Whatever he was staring at...is mine nice?" Jane asked and Ash snorted a laugh. "Wouldn't you want to know?"

"I guess," Ash chuckled. "I just never considered showing off my attractive to turian bits before."

"Will you two stop this horrifying line of conversation if I answer?" Garrus groaned.

"Yes," both human women chirped.

"Yes to both of you, it was rude and I don't want to think too much about it...it's just...deviant," Garrus muttered. Guns were fired below.

"Some of the dirty guards, not an issue," John's voice called over the comms and the two women shared a look.

"Would you date a turian?" Jane asked.

"I never thought about interspecies dating," Ash stated and Garrus groaned by the door. "What about you?"

"I'm a biotic, Asari are on us like flies on shit. They love biotic humans...unfortunately for them, I'm not into Asari," Jane stated.

"Liara must be so disappointed," Ash teased.

"Doubt it," Garrus muttered and the two human women shared a look before laughing. "Ugh...humans."

~ * TF * ~

"Do all missions usually turn out like this? A lot of sneaking around and waiting for things to get done?" Tali asked. John shrugged. He was leaning against the wall as they wait for Jane, Garrus and Ash to finish getting the data from Qui'in's office.

"Only the good ones." John said. "To be honest I like to avoid firefights if I can. The less I get into, the more chance my squad has of making it home alive."

"Yes but it doesn't make the job fun." Wrex grumbled as the elevator doors slid open, revealing the blonde woman from the docking bay leading a squad of heavily armed men.

"You may get your wish, Wrex." John muttered, pushing away from the wall. He tapped the inside of his left wrist with his fingers, click one way comm channel to his sister.

"I don't think you're supposed to be in here Shepard." The blonde snarled.

~ * TF * ~

Jane was pulling the OSD off the computer when her mic clicked on and the three snipers quickly went into work mode. They shared a look. Garrus quickly pushed the door to manual, Jane put her rifle up to her shoulder as Ash and Garrus opened the door. It was silent. They quickly dropped down and moved onto the walkway. Jane pointed up at the ceiling, the glass skylights showed a blurry view but it was easy enough to identify the enemy in their black armor. Jane indicated that Ash stay on the walkway while she and Garrus continued. Jane tapped Garrus on the shoulder and indicated he go to the top of the stairs before she moved to the edge of the balcony.

~ * TF * ~

"And what of it?" John asked. He raised his hands up is a friendly gestured but made sure his left hand had all of the fingers pressed together with no gaps. "You have me at a disadvantage miss..?"

"Oh now you're going to show some respect? I'm Sergeant Kaira Stirling, Elanus Risk Control Services. Anoleis would just put you off world, but not me. Do you know what we do to cop killers?" Kaira snarled.

"Your guys were here because of bribe money. You expect us to feel bad for stopping you?" Tali snapped.

"John we have them insight. Just give us a signal." Jane replied over the comms and John smirked.

"I didn't want to fight them they fired first. Besides you really should be worried about yourselves first." John retorted.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" Kaira snarled and blinked as she saw the lights from a sniper's scope settle on her and her squad.

"You have two options." John explained. "Either you surrender now and go to jail or I let my sister give you a new hole in your head. You have ten seconds to decide."

"I don't need to decide, op-" In the middle of her retorted John made a fist with his left hand. Jane, Ash, and Garrus's rifles roared and the squad dropped.

~ * TF * ~

"Can we please go now," Garrus sighed as the group from upstairs came down and John gave Jane a look.

"We are just talking about human-turian relations, which moved into human-Asari relations," Jane stated.

"Oh fascinating area of discussion. I would be more than happy to add what I know to the discourse," Liara stated and Ash and Jane began to laugh while Garrus glared at them.

"Liara...I don't think it was about what you think it was about," John stated, giving Jane a warning look.

"I don't get it," Tali stated.

"Neither does Liara," Kaidan chuckled.

"I'd love to bring in Krogan relations," Wrex purred and Jane and Ash were laughing as they entered the elevator.

"Please, I want to work with anyone but them," Garrus stated to John as he followed him into the elevator.

"I want to know what this is about," John stated and Garrus shook his head.

"Trust me...you don't," he muttered.

~ * TF * ~

As the group exited the elevator Parasini was waiting for them.

"Commanders. There've been reports of noise from the Synthetic Insights office. Would you know anything about it?" she asked.

"Probably Anoleis' thugs ripping that place apart," Jane suggested helpfully and Parasini gave her a look.

"Smartass, hm? That's fine. I can work with that," Parasini stated. "Meet me at the hotel for a drink, before you talk to Qui'in. I'll be waiting." She marched off and there was a look between John and Jane.

"We got the pass through Qui'in right?" John asked and Jane smirked.

"I want to see what Parasini is bringing to the table," she replied.

"Fine," John sighed and the two led the way to the bar. Parasini was sitting by a table. "Keep it so Qui'in doesn't see us."

"Done," Wrex stated.

"I'm worried that he volunteered," Jane stated absently.

"So am I, let's talk," John stated and the twins moved to the table. Parasini gave them a calculated look.

"Allow me to reintroduce myself. Parasini, Noveria Internal Affairs," she stated and Jane grinned.

"Oh...I like where this is going," Jane stated.

"Why is an Internal Affairs agent here?" John asked.

"The Executive Board knows about Anoleis' corruption. I've been undercover for six months," Parasini explained. "I want you to convince Qui'in to testify before the Board. With his evidence, this planet can run profitably again."

"We need Qui'in's garage pass to get Liara to her mother," Jane stated.

"You help my investigation, I'll provide whatever you need. Favor for a favor," Parasini replied.

"You know this case better than me," John stated and Jane smiled.

"I am more than willing to help bring Anoleis down," Jane stated. "Hell, I'm even willing to talk that xenophile, Qui'in, into testifying for you." Parasini looked shocked.

"Really...thank you. I wasn't sure a Spectre would be willing to help. Your peers aren't known for following rules," Parasini stated and Jane shrugged.

"We didn't seeing as we raided Qui'in's office," Jane pointed out and Parasini nodded.

"You know where I work. Come talk to me once you know if he'll play ball," Parasini stated. The twins watched Parasini leave before John gave Jane a look.

"What did you mean xenophile?" he asked and Jane blinked.

"When Qui'in was checking me out it made Garrus very uncomfortable," Jane stated and John made a face. "Nope. You will only make Qui'in clam up, I'll see if I can't get him to agree."

"No offense, but I've seen you try to flirt," John stated.

"I wasn't planning on seducing the guy. I mean really John, I've never even considered an interspecies relationship...hell, I can't even manage to get a date with my own species," Jane chuckled.

Jane was quick to cross the bar and sit down with Qui'in alone. The turian looked her over.

"Always a pleasure, Spectre. Any news on that matter I asked you to look into?" Qui'in asked.

"I finished the job. But an Internal Affairs investigator contacted me. She wants you to testify against Anoleis," Jane stated. Qui'in pulled back and his eyes narrowed at her.

"Now that you have my property, you want to dictate how I use it? I have no interest in a public spectacle," he snapped and Jane looked at him before holding up the OSD.

"I don't intend to give your information away, I just want to point out. Everyone on this station is chafing under Anoleis' extortion. You could very well end up the hero who bring him down," Jane stated. Qui'in didn't move to take the OSD.

"My employers rely on the goodwill of the Executive Board to work here," Qui'in sighed.

"I'm sure the Executive Board would regard you with extremely good will if you were to get a parasite like Anoleis off their station," Jane replied and Qui'in chuckled as he looked her over.

"All right. It is obvious that I cannot dissuade you," he purred and Jane placed the OSD into his hand.

"Thank you, Lorik," she said and he chuckled.

"I hope I don't regret this...Jane," he replied as she got up. He caught her hand and put the OSD back into it. Jane headed back to where the others were waiting and filled them in on the plan.

"This is going to be so much fun to watch." Garrus said happily as everyone headed for Aneleis's office to give Parasini the news.

"Did you do this often in C-Sec?" Tali asked curiosly. John shot Garrus a look, interested as well.

"Oh hell yes. The excuses they come up with why they did it are just so laughable. I even caught one guy who did it because he was bored. It's even more fun when you nail an Asari doing something. They're smug, they tend to think they'll get away with it because of their longer life span. More experience or some other crap." Garrus said.

~ * TF * ~

Jane and the group entered and Parasini gave her a look. Jane smiled.

"Spectres, have you given any more consideration to my offer?" Parasini asked.

"It took minor persuasion, but Qui'in has agreed to testify," Jane stated and Parasini smiled.

"That's a world of stress off my back. I'll take the evidence for safe transport," Parasini stated and Jane handed over Qui'in's OSD. "I didn't think you'd help me. Being a Spectre and all. I guess some of you can be all right."

"Well, maybe we are planning on giving Spectres a better name," Jane said. "Besides, doesn't this help you? You don't seem particularly happy."

"I'm ecstatic. But right now, I just feel like a long day of work is ending," Parasini sighed. "While you were working on Qui'in, I got you a garage pass. Be careful up there. I have an arrest to make. Wish I had time to change into something easy to move in. I hate skirts."

"We should go," Liara stated as Parasini headed to Anoleis' office.

"Wait for it," Jane purred and the group moved to the side. It didn't take long for Parasini to begin frog marching Anoleis out.

"This is an outrage! I'll see that you never work in this sector again!" Anoleis cried as he was dragged across the room.

"Yeah, yeah. Get a move one," Parasini snarled before Anoleis caught Jane's eyes.

"You! Shepard! I demand you place this bitch under arrest!" Anoleis cried and Jane smiled as she crossed her arms and shook her head.

"You have the right to remain silent. I wish to God you'd exercise it," Parasini stated. "See you around the galaxy, Commander. I owe you a beer." Jane waved.

"Awww, you made a friend," John teased and Jane chuckled.

"Two if I heard right," Wrex added and Jane laughed as she twirled their garage pass around her fingers.

~ * TF * ~

"That was kind of fun." Tali said as they entered the parking garage. Garrus chuckled.

"We helped take down a corrupt bureaucrat. Not much else beats the feeling you get watching the smug drop from off their faces as the cuffs go on." Garrus said happily.

"What about sex?" Jane asked. John glared at her but she just smiled at him. Garrus laughed.

"I did say not much else." Garrus replied.

"Listen y-"

"Quiet." Wrex rumbled. The krogran's head was cocked. "Do you hear that?" Everyone paused as mechanical whirs and clicks began to sound in the garage bay.

"What is that?" Liara mumbled. John shot Tali a look. The Quarian was listening as well.

"I think it's Geth." She replied just before a Geth sniper's laser sight began to shine.

"Down, down, down!" John ordered. The squad scattered for cover just moments before Geth began to open fire. He found himself pinned down by large Mako in one end.

"I'm guessing these are what the matriarch had in the crates she brought with her." Tali replied from her position next to John.

"There's a Destroyer at the far end!" Jane called out from somewhere behind him. John let out a curse. That could be bad.

"Take out the basic Geth units first!" John snapped over comms. "Weaken it first by taking out its support." A few moments after he barked his orders his helmet began to beep, indicating a private com signal. He grumbled about who would communicate like that during a firefight but clicked the channel open.

"John, you are talking down to the team. Save for Tali and Liara all of us have firefight experience, plus Tali has better knowledge of the Geth than you. I know you want to teach Liara, but Tali and I have already gone over Geth attack strategies with her. Command us like a combat team you trust, not like a teacher favoring the weakest student in the class," Jane stated and John nearly paused. Jane was right, he was showing Liara too much consideration and he was going to make the rest of the team think he didn't trust them in the field. He thought for a moment before switching back into the team line.

"Wrex, keep it busy until the other Geth units are down!" John ordered. Wrex answer was to roar and go barreling into the Geth Destroyer, sending it skidding along with deck.

"Not what I had in mind but that works too." John said. He yanked his assault rifle to bare and popped up behind one of the tires to gun down a Geth that was moving towards them. Just as it went down in spray of white fluid, Tali tackled him from behind just a Geth rocket shot past them.

"Thanks, Tali." John said as they scrambled for cover behind a nearby crate.

"No problem Commander." Tali said tossing a grenade over the box to explode by a cluster of Geth.

"John, we have a problem with that Destroyer!" Jane called out.

"How so?" John asked. His answer came in the form of Wrex being thrown through the air, slamming into the large mako, and bouncing off it to hit the ground. Wrex lay still for a moment before Liara took a hold of the Krogan in a biotic pull, tugging him to her behind a pile of crates. John saw Garrus with her and provided cover fire as the Asari tended to wound Krogan.

"If it's still so powerful I think the other Geth programs transferred to it before their platforms were destroyed!" Tali responded.

"They can do that?" Kaidan replied, hitting the destroyer with a biotic throw. The Destroyer skidded back a few feet.

"It's rare but it does happen!" Tali retorted ducking down as the Destroyer sent a missile their way.

"Any fusions cells or fuel tanks in the area?" John asked. He popped up to throw a few grenades but the Geth shot them out of the air.

"A few!' Ashley said. "I'm at the far end and I see three scatter about by the end near a second mako!"

"There's a few scattered about hear this end as well Commanders!" Liara revealed.

"Liara, Kaidan, Jane! Each of you pick one and throw the damn thing into the Destroyer!"

"Got it! Alenko take the one by the left hand side of the door. T'Soni take the one by John. I've got the one to the right of the door!" Jane ordered. "Count down together, Biotics!"

"Affirmative!"

"Yes sir!"

"One, two three!" the three shouted. The biotic members who were not injured, all popped up at the same time. They each grabbed a container with a biotic field and threw them into the Geth Destroyer. They impacted at roughly the same time and the explosion sent pieces of the Geth everywhere.

"Well done, everyone." John said as they regrouped around Wrex, who was sitting up and rubbing his skull.

"We should have expected something like this." Jane muttered and John sighed as Captain Matsuo came storming in with a squad.

"I wonder what other surprises are going to come up?"

"What did you do here Commanders?" Matsuo demanded angrily.

"Us? We were just cleaning up some interesting cargo that made it through your weapons screening. Geth are tricky little AI's you never know where they are going to show up," Jane stated

"Geth? You expect me to-" Matsuo trailed off as she took in the scene behind them particularly the scattered debris and Geth head not too far from them. "Where did they come from?"

"If I were to guess," Tali said. "...the Matriarch brought them in the shipping containers she arrived with."

"I don't believe that." Matsuo protested. "We did thorough scans of those. There were no power sources, no element zero masses… If Benezia-sama's containers were packed with these things, there are many more out there."

"We've fought Geth before." John said to reassure the security Chief. "Most likely they'll stay clustered on the route to Peak 15. We should wipe most of them out on the way there."

"I appreciate that, Commanders. My people are good, but few of them have combat experience." Matsuo said and sighed. "I have to report to the Executive Board. If word gets out about loose Geth, there may be an investor panic."

"This will be part of my report to the Council but I'll try to stress the urge to keep this quiet." John said and Matsuo smiled happily before heading off.

"You think she's going to update her security screenings?" Jane asked, kicking a chunk of the Destroyer away.

"I suspect the company that makes that system is going to get sued," John nodded.

~ * TF * ~

"Alright team, since our Geth welcoming party in the garage, I think we all agree that Benezia has probably stationed Geth to defend the route to Peak 15," Jane stated as they approached the mako. "John, you drive and Tali, you will sit up front with him."

"Why?" Tali asked.

"You know what the signs of Geth are. You tell John, he stops and the sniper team with get out," Jane stated.

"So we're going to play in the snow?" Garrus asked and Jane smirked.

"That's why we have matching Devlon armor," Jane stated. "Environmental Hazard guaranteed. Snipers, we will do our best. However, if we find we cannot take the enemies, we radio in for back up. Liara and Alenko will get out and back us up while John uses the Mako as the massive weapon it is."

"I want in on this," Wrex purred.

"Then you can take guns while John drives," Jane stated.

"Our armor isn't going to help us, Wrex," Tali stated and Wrex huffed.

"You can play with the guns the whole time, Wrex," Jane stated and the krogan chuckled.

"You sure you want to do that?" Garrus asked and Jane smirked.

"Wrex can prove himself by hitting something while John is driving," she replied as the team got into the Mako.

~ * TF * ~

The first sign of Geth had the three snipers in the snow crawling to a vantage point.

"Have I mentioned how much I hate the cold," Garrus stated.

"You also come from a planet with enough radiation to mutate the rest of the known intelligent species," Jane replied as the sniper team crawled on their bellies up the hill.

"They have an armature," Ash commented.

"We have explosive ammunition," Jane replied.

"When did we get that?" Garrus asked.

"When I found out we were going up against a research lab, explosions make most opponents think twice about attacking," Jane stated. "Name your targets."

~ * TF * ~

The Mako stopped out of range of the Geth turrets and John turned to look at the snipers.

"We're not getting out of the mako," Jane stated.

"You could take them," John chuckled as Wrex fired again and again.

"Once you destroy the turrets, we'll talk, otherwise I'm not moving," Garrus stated.

"Lead by example John," Jane teased as Wrex used the mako's rockets to the best of his ability.

~ * TF * ~

The group were preparing to enter the Peak 15 facility. As the garage door opened the group stared at the Geth for a second before both Shepards leapt into the garage, ducking behind crates on opposite sides of the door.

"Commanders!" Liara cried.

"I am getting tired of Geth," Jane muttered as she quickly stood up and sent a singularity to keep the Juggernaut busy.

"Alenko, T'Soni, keep the snipers safe with barriers!" Jane ordered.

"Following that train of thought," John chuckled. "Garrus, Ash. Take the little guys, Jane, Wrex, and I will take the big one."

"Right behind you, Shepards," Wrex laughed.

"Now!" John cried.

~ * TF * ~

"How did Benezia get all of these Geth through security?" Jane muttered. John shrugged as they entered the airlocks for the peak 15 facility.

"Who knows? Maybe she snuck some in with some covert air drops?" John replied.

"Why are these turrets facing the wrong way?" Garrus mused. John stopped and stared.

"Huh."

"Maybe they were positioned to keep something in, rather than to keep some one out." Wrex said.

"Oh that's a cheery thought." Ashley muttered as they loaded onto the elevator. The ride up was relatively quiet until they got out. After a short walk down a small hallway the door opened to a massive room.

"Geth!" John called as they quickly caught sight of them. The team quickly put them down but was worse was the clicking and screeching sounds coming from the ventilation system.

"I don't think I want to know what that is." Jane mumbled.

"You're about to find out." John replied as the vent moved and a large insect creature slithered out. It had tentacles waving in the air and dozens of little green ones came scurrying behind it.

"Spiders, spiders, spiders, spiders, spiders!" Tali suddenly cried out in horror. John blinked as every scream of "spiders" was accompanied by a blast from Tali's shotgun. The green swarm was quick blasted into paste and the rest of the squad had no problem quickly taking out the larger one.

"Tali? You okay?" Jane asked, concerned. Tali took a deep, shuttering breath.

"I hate spiders." She explained. John burst out laughing.

"I think we all know that now." Jane said gently, but her lips were twitching as she tried to suppress a smile.

"Those things….I think they may have been Rachni." Wrex grumbled. Most of the squad turned to stare at him in shock.

"Wrex-Wrex are you sure?" John demanded. Wrex grunted.

"As I can be Shepard. The Rachni War was before my time but I'd have to say they were. They fit the stories I was told as a child," Wrex explained.

"Shit!" John snapped, running a hand over his head in frustration. "This what they were so worried about us finding up here!"

"We need to tell the Council. They must know what is going on here." Liara exclaimed.

"To hell with that! We need to wipe them out before Binary Helix unleashes them!" Ashley exclaimed.

"Enough!" Jane cut in. "All this speculation isn't doing us much good. We need to restore the tram service and then get to the main facility. Agreed?"

Most everyone grumbled their agreement.

"Move out, a keep your eyes open." John ordered.

~ * TF * ~

"Looks like the VI is down," Tali stated as they approached the end of the hallway.

"That shuts down elevators and the tram," Jane sighed.

"I can fix it," Tali stated and the Shepards let her ride the service elevator down into the core.

"Everyone spread out and secure the area while we wait. Do weapon checks and make sure heat sinks are functioning properly." John ordered as the two Shepards took up guard posts by the core access.

"John, you need to cut it with the rookie talk," Jane whispered, giving John a look and he winced. He had done it again. "She's a strong biotic, she's almost to my level with minor training. Trust her and trust us. If you have to mentor anyone, it should be Tali, she's got the least experience. Hell John, Liara is a century older than us."

"I know. Bet you whoever locked off the VI did something else." John said in an attempt to change the topic.

"John, we are currently following an Asari Matriarch and a battalion of Asari commandos. I'm pretty sure they did more than just turn off the VI," Jane said with a shake of her head.

"How's going down there Tali?" John called down.

"So far so good Commanders! If this wire will just-" Tali was cut off by a loud snap and an electrical crackle. "AH! BOSHTET! That hurt!"

"Tali, you okay?" Jane said, concerned. Tali's reply was a long string of what Jane assumed was Quarian swearing.

"Yeah she's fine." John said, grinning. A few moments later the VI kicked on, quickly revealing that the landlines on the roof needed to be fix as well as the reactors needed to be put back together. Tali re-appeared a few moments later. Both Shepards listened to the VI for a few minutes before exchanging a look.

"I'll take the reactor," John stated.

"I better go with you," Tali added and Jane fought a smirk.

"Alenko and Garrus need to be with me on the roof then, I rather have more tech training than just mine up there," Jane stated.

"Okay team, Wrex you better stay with me seeing as the roof team will be outside," John stated and Wrex grumbled. The two teams broke.

~ * TF * ~

"I'm glad you had Tali," Jane stated as she looked at the Rachni juice staining her armor as they regrouped a few minutes later.

"I'm glad you had medium armor," John replied.

"I wish I got to fight Rachni," Wrex pouted.

"Oh Wrex, I'm sure we haven't seen the last of them," Jane stated as she comforted Wrex with a pat on the hump. "Tell you what. I'll let you fight them alone."

"Ah, you might just be my favorite human," Wrex chuckled as they headed to the tram.

~ * TF * ~

The tram stopped and the group looked around.

"Anyone else notice that those doors are locked?" Kaidan asked.

"That's promising," Jane muttered. "Looks like the elevator to the upper level is clear," she said before John hit the button.

"How much do Rachni eat?" John wondered.

"A lot," Wrex growled. They rode up in silence, listening to the rattle and scraping that had nothing to do with the elevator.

"Just throwing this out, but that is really creepy," Garrus stated and the group nodded. The doors opened the team's weapons were met by a scrappy barricade a human stood up.

"Stand down, I'm Captain Ventralis, Peak 15 security. Sorry. We couldn't be sure what was on the tram," he said.

"I'd only be upset if they had fired," John said as he stepped forward.

"Even hopped up on stims, my people know the rule. Two legs good, four legs bad," Ventralis said. "Look. You're human, and that's enough that I won't shoot. But I'd like to know who you are."

"My name's Shepard, this is my sister and our team. My sister and I are Spectres," John said and Ventralis' eyes shone with recognition. He nodded.

"Huh. I won't look a heavily-armed horse in the mouth," he said. "The aliens overran the hot labs last week. Only Han Olar got out, and he ain't all there anymore. The first we knew, the bastards were clawing into my command post. We had a lot more staff then."

"You were taken by surprise and had civilians to protect. You did a good job, Captain," Jane said. She saw the familiar light of a person who tried hard, but couldn't save everyone.

"Yeah? Sure as hell doesn't feel like it," Ventralis said, the defeat apparent in his tone.

"It never does," Jane replied and Ventralis looked at her a moment before seeing her own survivor's guilt in her eyes.

"The board sent an Asari to clean up the mess. She went to the hot labs yesterday. We haven't heard from her since," he said quickly getting to business.

"We're not going to let any of your people die," John said and Jane fought the urge to give her brother a look. Promises like that were very hard to keep.

"All I can do is hold out here and protect the civilians," Ventralis sighed. "There's an emergency elevator out by the trams. This card will let you activate it. It can take you down to the hot labs. Oh, if you need any first aid, Dr. Cohen's downstairs in the med bay."

"Well, we have work to do," John said.

"Yeah, I hear..." Ventralis was interrupted by Rachni screaming. "Hell! Man the perimeter!"

"Don't worry," Jane stated as she pulled her weapon. "We have a krogan." Wrex let out an impressive war cry as the first Rachni emerged from the grate. The rest of the team split up and began to attack. The fight was over quickly.

"Thanks for the help. Every few hours, a group comes up the tram tunnel. It's actually better since we locked down the elevator," Ventralis sighed.

"We'll do whatever we can," Jane said.

"I don't know why they keep throwing themselves against our defenses. Even animals should learn not to stick their noses where it hurts," he said. Jane patted John's shoulder.

"We need to stock up on medi-gel, just in case. I'll go talk to the doctor," Jane said.

~ * TF * ~

"Okay people spread out and find out what you can." John ordered. Liara and Wrex heading to gather intel as the others followed Jane down. John saw an Asari who was staring off into space and approached her. As he got closer she seemed to focus and gave John a bored look.

"What?" she grumbled. John sighed to himself.

"I'm just trying to find out the current situation." John explained. "Are you a member of the science teams?"

"Recently transferred." The Asari grumbled. John glanced to his right and saw Liara haggling with an Elcor over some mods and Wrex stomping away from a Salarian who was currently gibbering in terror. Deciding he'd have better luck with her, even if she seemed to be a foul mood.

"You seem less upset about this situation than the others." John observed and the Asari rolled her eyes.

"That is one of the virtues of the meditation you interrupted." She snarked. John sighed again.

"Do you know Matriarch Benezia?" John asked, hoping to find some info as to where the Matriarch was.

"Do you know President Huerta of Earth?" the Asari retorted. When John scowled she smirk. "I did not think so."

"Benezia passed through here." John explained, tightly. "You didn't see her?"

"I saw her. You asked if I knew her. I do not." The Asari replied and John clenched a fist.

"That's all for now, thank you for your time ma'am." John said, moving away. He ignored her last cutting remark and went to see what mods Liara had managed to obtain.

~ * TF * ~

Jane headed downstairs with Ash, Kaidan, Tali, and Garrus, all members who had used up their medi-gel. They entered the medical area.

"What? What do you want?" Dr. Cohen asked and Jane blinked. He looked like he was dealing with several people who were sick, not Rachni attacked.

"Were they attacked by the aliens?" Jane asked, cautious not to call the Rachni by name to the staff.

"They're suffering from a toxin. There was an accident," Dr. Cohen sighed. "I-I have a non-disclosure agreement. I shouldn't discuss it with anyone outside of the company."

"But you're going to, because I might be able to help," Jane said and Dr. Cohen looked at her for a moment.

"I'd like to think the company finds our lives more valuable than their secrets," he said but it was clear he wasn't convinced. "You know Mira? The VI for Peak 15? She handles the safety protocols for our experiments here."

"Tali here reactivated her on our way through Central Station," Jane said, giving the quarian a nod of acknowledgement.

"That was you? I'm grateful. Until she came online, the automatic equipment wouldn't work," Dr. Cohen cried. "We lost the connection to Mira in the middle of an experiment, and the quarantine failed. These three were exposed to a toxin. Something we were working on."

"I understand your caution, but I need details. What you say won't go beyond these walls," Jane said. She would help, but she needed to know what she was getting into.

"It's a bio-weapon. Based on an exotic life-form discovered on the frontier. They wanted something that could kill the creature," he explained. "But there was no profit in something that kills one species on the frontier. We kept working on it. Adapted it to affect more species. Thoros-B is highly infectious, but it can't pass from one person to another. Like a biowar attack without a pandemic spread." Jane blinked. Biowar was dangerous, to prevent the spread would make biological weapons more effective, she didn't like that.

"Things like that never get out of control," Ash huffed, the sarcasm clear in her voice. Jane agreed with the tone.

"Militaries, governments, they'll get this kind of weapon one way or another. We're trying to limit the damage. I know you can't see that," Dr. Cohen said. He clearly believed in his work, Jane just saw the danger in it.

"There's a reason the Citadel Conventions forbid bioweapons, Doctor," Jane stated and he gave her a look.

"I didn't expect you'd understand," he said. "Our notes and equipment are locked in the quarantine labs. Captain Ventralis doesn't want to risk more contamination."

"I'll talk to him. Maybe I can convince him to let me try," Jane said.

"I can't ask you to do this officially. But if you can do anything, I'd appreciate it," he said.

"Talk to you later," Jane said before heading up stairs.

"I hope you can do something," Dr. Cohen sighed. The group headed upstairs.

~ * TF * ~

"Something you need?" Ventralis asked, as they met up with the security chief.

"We heard about the problems in the quarantine lab. We'd like to try and recover the toxin cure." John explained. Jane nodded in agreement.

"God. I wish we could help those guys. I really do. But we can't risk contamination now." Ventralis explained. Jane and John nodded but neither agreed with that assessment.

We're not part of you defense plans. We're consuming extra rations, extra medi-gel..." Jane pointed out. Ventralis frowned.

"Yeah. But you also have extra guns." He sighed. "All right. You want to gamble with your life, you're not under my command. I'll have the guard let you in, but he'll lock the door behind you. He'll run a full scan before he'll let you out. If there are any anomalies, you stay in there."

"Sounds fair to me." John agreed. Jane offered her hand and Ventralis shook on it.

"I'll radio ahead to let the guard know. Good luck you two."

"We don't need luck, we're the Shepards." John called back over his shoulder as they headed back in. Jane cuffed him upside the back of his head. The trip down stairs to lab was quiet. John was grinning happily while Jane was giving him an annoyed look at his last remarks to Ventralis. When the reach the door way, they noticed a Volus milling around by the entrance. Jane headed over to speak to him.

"You came to find out about them, didn't you?" the Volus asked. Jane nodded.

"I need to know more about those things out there." Jane asked, specifically leaving out their suspicions.

"About the Rachni?" the Volus weezed.

"I knew it." Wrex growled.

"What do you know about them? Who are you?" John asked as the others gathered around them.

"My name is Han, Earth-clan." The Volus explained. "The Krogan wiped them out a thousand years ago. They found it in a derelict ship. An egg. Waiting since the last battles. They brought it here..."

"Shut up!" a human scientist shouted from a corner. "God. You want to get us killed?"

"I don't have any control over who lives of dies here. Do you?" Han retorted.

"If you're going to be crazy, be the quiet kind." A Turian scientist joined in.

"Crazy?" Han mused. "I'm sane. God, am I sane."

"You're not crazy." Jane re-assured him. "We believe it's Rachni as well."

"Anything else you can tell us about the Rachni?" Tali asked.

"I told you all I can." Han mumbled. "We brought the Rachni back from the dead. In retrospect, a bad decision."

John shook his head as the Volus wandered off, mumbling to himself.

"Poor bastard." Jane muttered. John agreed.

~ * TF * ~

The team approached the door and the Turian security guard stared at them.

"You're not part of the crew," he snapped.

"We're the Shepards, we're Spectres, sent by the Citadel," Jane stated.

"There aren't any human Spectres," the guard said in a snide tone. Jane gave John a look.

"Guess they don't get the latest news vids up here," he chuckled.

"Look the plague doesn't care who you are. This lab is under quarantine," the guard snapped and Jane rolled her eyes.

"We have Ventralis' permission to go in there," John stated and the guard blinked.

"Yeah, he radioed," the guard replied sheepishly. "He also said you have to prove you're not contaminated to get out." The last bit was sharp and Jane fought the smirk as the guard unlocked the door. "You got a death wish, you should stand watches on the barricade."

"Nice guy," Ash muttered and Jane snickered as they entered the lab.

"Alright, let's produce this cure," Jane sighed. "Find the research notes and we find the cure." The group quickly began exploring the lab.

"I found it," Liara stated. "It will be easy to make."

"Good eyes," John stated as Liara headed over to the mixing station and began producing the cure.

"I'm glad we can help those poor researches. Maybe they'll think twice about biological weapons," Jane sighed.

"You really think that?" Ash asked.

"No...but I can hope, can't I?" Jane asked and Kaidan smiled at her.

"It's a good thought, Commander," he said and Jane smiled.

"Done," Liara cried just as she held up the cure the door opened and Alestia entered followed by several Geth units and an Asari commando.

"Your mission ends here, Shepards," she said and Jane looked at John.

"Friend of yours?" she asked.

"I just met her," John stated.

"What the hell?" Ash cried.

"What happened to Ventralis' man?" John demanded.

"I didn't have permission to come in. He got in my way," Alestia stated in a jovial tone. "I was ordered to eliminate you, should the opportunity arise. And here you are, trapped in this lab." John and Jane shared a look at the 'trapped' part of her speech. "Weapons free!" Jane struck first, throwing a singularity right into the heart of the group.

"I love doing that," she stated as she pulled up her pistol and the team unloaded into their attackers. The group was dead very quickly and the team exited the room. Garrus knelt by the turian security guard and then looked at the Shepards shaking his head. Jane noticed Han waving at her.

"They came out of there," he stated pointing to a door.

"You mean the Geth the Asari had with her?" Jane asked.

"Benezia brought them with her," Han said.

"How can we get into the maintenance area?" John asked.

"A team lead would have access. Like Dr. Cohen. He's in the medical bay," Han said.

"Thank you," Jane said and the group turned for the elevator.

"Isn't it funny how many times your worthless trips work out like this?" Wrex asked and Jane gave him a look.

"You wouldn't believe it," she sighed as the group headed back to the med bay.

"We should keep track of how often this does happen," Garrus suggested.

"Okay, you can be in charge of that," John chuckled.

"Gee, thanks," Garrus drawled.

"I cannot believe what is happening here," Liara stated and John moved closer to her as they headed through the common area.

"Which part, the toxin part, the Rachni part, or the Geth part," Jane asked in a gentle tone and Liara looked at Jane. "We know, Liara. We're here to try and stop it as gently as possible." They entered the medical bay.

"Is that the cure? You did it?" Dr. Cohen cried and Jane smiled as Liara handed him the cure.

"That Asari scientist, the one in the mess hall, she just tried to kill us," Jane stated.

"Alestia? That's unbe...I...I don't know much about her. She arrived a month ago. One of the shareholders pulled strings to get her here," he stated, his voice going professional. Clearly, he was shocked but he was going to do his best to help.

"Let me guess. Saren, the Spectre?" Tali asked with a rather sharp tone.

"Yes. I think that was the name. I don't pay attention to the other research teams," Dr. Cohen confessed and Jane was inclined to believe him. "Look. The guards. They've been more on edge since you got here. I think they were expecting you. There are more labs in the back. The guards won't even let me back there. Just people with 'clearance.'"

"Sounds about right," John sighed and Jane nodded.

"What about the maintenance area? Do you have access to that?" Jane asked.

"The maintenance area? Yes, take my pass. But there's just snow back there," Dr. Cohen said. "Let me see the phial. An extension on Phelps' work? I thought he was on the right track. I can't thank you enough. God. What a cliché. You saved their lives, you know that? I need to administer this. Thanks again."

"Well, shall we check maintenance?" John asked.

"Do we have a choice?" Jane retorted as they headed back.

~ * TF * ~

"Everyone keep on your toes." John ordered just outside of the main chamber. He turned to look at Liara. "Liara you stay right next to me. Try to talk your Mother down but don't throw yourself in harm's way. Understood?"

"Yes Commander." Liara replied and took a deep breath.

"Okay then, let's go. Nice and easy everyone." Jane said. They opened the doors and slowly made their way inside, guns at the ready. John frowned as he didn't see Benezia.

"You do not know the privilege of being a mother. There is power in creation. To shape a life. Turn it toward happiness or despair." Benezia's voice called. John turned and saw her approaching from a large holding tank. He could definitely see a resemblance to Liara in her face and the way she moved. But there was a cold, hard tone to her voice that Liara did not have. "Her children were to be ours. Raised to hunt and slay Saren's enemies. I won't be moved by sympathy, No matter who you bring into this confrontation."

"Liara's here because she wants to be." John said, gesturing to the Asari on his right with his right hand. He was holding his left behind his back and motioned for the others to spread out. Jane, Garrus and Kaidan were slowly inching to the right. "Not because I asked her to."

"Indeed?" Benezia said in amusement. "What have you told him about me, Liara?"

"What could I say, mother?" Liara demanded, her voice raw with emotion. "That you're insane? Evil? Should I explain how to kill you? What could I say?!" Benezia scoffed at this before turning her attention back to John.

"Have you faced an Asari commando unit before? Few humans have." Benezia said, her face void of emotion.

"I can't believe you'd kill your own daughter." John snapped. Benezia's face displayed no emotion.

"I now realize I should have been stricter with her." Benezia snapped, throwing her arm out, alight in a biotic field. John tried to dodge but got caught in a biotic stasis.

Jane quickly threw up a few barriers, getting as many of their team to safety, her eyes on John as Asari commandos filled the room.

"John!" Liara cried as the stasis broke and he collapsed to decking.

"I'm okay." He responded moving towards Liara, Ashley and Wrex. "The others?"

"They're trying to circle around behind her." Wrex replied, popping to blast one commando in half with his shot gun. The door opened and Geth began to steam into the chamber. "Well, that makes it more fun."

Kaidan and Jane were on either side of the walkway behind the case blocking them from Benezia. They were doing their best to keep the commandos and Geth pinned. Jane threw a singularity, giving Tali and Kaidan a chance to throw various tech attacks at the Geth while Jane and Garrus focused on the commandos.

"Try and get a clear shot if you can!" John cried. Wrex nodded and ducked out of cover to open fire from another spot. Liara created a singularity and one of the Geth let out a high pitched whine before it was crushed and pulled apart.

"This is going so well." John muttered, opening fire with his assault rifle. Benezia's attention turned back to them as a few rounds hit her barrier. She narrowed her eyes at John and gestured. The crate they were taking cover behind began to rise and John swore again.

"Move, to the next section!" he barked. The others scrambled to get away but Ashley went down as a Geth tackled her about the knees.

"Commander!" Ashley cried in panic. John whirled around and cursed. He hurried over and jammed his rifle into the Geth's head. He emptied the clip into it and it went tumbling back. He saw the glow around the crate intensify and made a split decision just as enemy fire brought down his shields.

John snatched Ashley by her collar and with all his might hurled her at Wrex and Liara. Ashley landed just as the crate was thrown at John.

"Oh this is gonna hurt." John muttered just before the crate hit him, exploding in a shower of shrapnel. John was thrown back and crashed into the wall. His right side felt like it was on fire and he look down to see a gash in his armor with blood streaming out. He jabbed medi-gel into the wound to stop the blood flow. He got to his feet just in time to see Jane let out a scream of rage and send Benezia flying into the holding tank. The Asari collapsed to the ground, clutching her middle.

"John, are you okay?" Jane exclaimed, rushing over to check on her brother. John struggled to get up and Jane helped him to his feet. He little out a small hiss of pain. Liara had just arrived when Jane saw the wound in his side.

"John you're hurt." Liara exclaimed. John forced himself to stand tall and grimaced.

"I tended to it with medi-gel. It'll hold for now. The commandos and Geth?" he asked. Jane grinned.

"Nuetralized, you guys distracted Benezia long enough for us to clear them out."

"Then let's go check on her." John said, leading the way. He ground his teeth however, as with every step if felt like something was cutting him inside the wound.

'I might have shrapnel in there.' He reasoned as they approached. Wrex and Garrus were standing by the Asari matriarch, their weapons trained on her.

"This is not over." She hissed at them as they approached. "Saren is unstoppable. My mind is filled with his light. Everything is clear."

"The hell?" John muttered and Jane frowned.

"Mother what is wrong with you?!" Liara demanded.

"Has she lost it?" Ashley asked. "Most people I've taken in after being beaten are usually swearing revenge or begging to be let go."

"She kind of reminds me of some of the people in Major Kyle's cult." Tali muttered. Jane jerked and shot John a look. John shrugged, understanding what she was thinking. He was thinking about it too.

'Could an Asari matriarch be brainwashed?'

"The Rachni didn't cooperate with you. Why should we?" Jane asked.

"I will not betray him. You will…you…" Benezia shook her head, and slowly stood. Wrex and Garrus tensed but John motioned for them to stand down. Benezia shook her head again and she clutched at her temples, squeezing her eyes shut. After a moment they snapped open and she looked at Liara.

"You must listen. Saren still whispers in my mind. I can fight his compulsions. Briefly. But the indoctrination is strong." Benezia explained. John frowned. Her whole attitude had changed, the way she help herself, the way she spoke. It was like night and day.

"So you could turn on us again?" Jane questioned.

"Yes, but it would not be my will Shepard." Benezia explained. "People are not themselves around Saren. You come to idolize him. Worship him. You would do anything for him. The key is Sovereign, his flagship. It is a dreadnought of incredible size and its power is extraordinary."

"The ship that attacked Eden Prime." Ashley mumbled and Jane nodded.

"Sovereign's not like other ships. Where did he get something like that?" John asked.

"I cannot say. The Geth did not build it. Its technology is far more advanced than that of any known species." Benezia revealed. "The longer you stay aboard, the more Saren's will seems correct. You sit at his feet and smile as his words pour into you."

"It is some form of brainwashing then." Jane hissed quietly and Benezia nodded.

"It is subtle at first. I thought I was strong enough to resist. Instead, I became a willing tool, eager to serve. He sent me here to find to location of the Mu relay. Its position was lost thousands of years ago," she explained.

"It's location was recorded somewhere here on Noveria?" Jane asked and Benezia shook her head.

"Two thousand years ago, the Rachni inhabited that region of our galaxy. They discovered the relay. The Rachni can share memories across generations. Queens inherit the knowledge of their mothers. I took the location of the relay from the queen's mind." Benezia hesitated. "I was not gentle."

"You can still make it right." Jane said. "Give us the information."

"I was not myself, but...I should have been stronger. I transcribed the data to an OSD. Take it, please." She said, handing it to Garrus who in turn took it over to Jane.

"Knowing the relays coordinates is not enough. Do you know where he planned to go from there?" Liara asked.

"Saren wouldn't tell me his destination. But you must find out quickly. I transmitted the coordinates to him before you arrived." Benezia responded.

"Damn." John grumbled. Benezia winced and rubbed her temples.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Liara asked.

"You have to stop...me. I can't... His teeth are at my ear. Fingers on my spine. You should...you should…" Benezia grunted and stumbled back as if she had been struck.

"Mother!" Liara cried, trying to rush to Benezia but John held her back. "Don't leave! Fight him!"

"You've always made me proud, Liara." Benezia exclaimed. John heard the finality of that statement and exchanged a look with Jane over Liara's head. Jane nodded and extended her rifle.

"Die!" Benezia screamed just before Jane's sniper round took her in the center of the chest. Liara screamed as he mother was thrown back against the holding tank, this time blood trailing on the tank as she slid down. John let Liara go this time to have a moment. He and the others stood back as the two Asari exchange quiet words before Beneiza died. Giving Liara some time to grieve, John and Jane moved to the other side to examine the holding tank that held the Rachni queen.

"So what are we going to do with her?" Jane muttered. John shrugged as they watched the queen moving about.

"Commander, one of the wounded Commandos just got back up!" Garrus called behind them. The two Shepards spun around to find the nearly dead Asari staggering toward them. She moved past them and turned around to stand between them and the Queen.

"This one serves as our voice. We cannot sing. Not in these low spaces. Your musics are colorless." The Asari said in a dully, echoing voice.

"Well, my weird shit-oh-meter just hit the red." Jane mumbled. John glared at her.

"Your way of communicating is strange. Flat. It does not color the air. When we speak, one moves all." The queen explained through her unwilling interpreter.

"This is going to be a fun conversation." Wrex grumbled.

"We are the mother. We sing for those left behind. The children you thought silenced. We are Rachni."

"How are you speaking through her?" Jane asked as she looked at the wounded commando.

"Our kind sing through touchings of thought. We pluck the strings, and the other understands. She is weak to urging." The creepy echoing voice explained as the two Shepards looked at the insect. "She has colors we have no names for. But she is ending. Her music is bittersweet. It is beautiful. You are not in harmony with those who hoped to control us." The Shepards shared a look. The commando was dying and the Rachni could feel it. It could also feel that they were not out to control her.

"What will you sing? Will you release us? Are we to fade away once more?" she asked and Jane looked at the Rachni queen. She looked so helpless for being a massive insect.

"There are acid tanks rigged up on that thing. Set them off. Millions of my ancestors died to put these things down. Don't let them come back." Wrex snarled.

"Commanders, there are some old grudges in the galaxy. Grudges humans should stay out of. If we kill her, we kill the entire race." Kaidan countered.

"Your companions hear the truth. You have the power to free us, or return our people to the silence of memory." the queen acknowledged the danger of her own race.

"I need to understand. Why are your children killing people?" John asked.

"They stole our eggs from us. The sought to turn our children into beasts of war. Claws with no songs of their own. Our elders are comfortable with silence. Children know only fear if no one sings to them. Fear has shattered their minds." The Queen explained.

"They took the Rachni away from the queen before she could imprint them upon her. It drive them crazy." Tali reasoned.

"It makes sense. A child raised in a closet will be terrified of anything," Kaidan pointed out.

"I don't get paid enough to make these kinds of decisions about genocide." John grumbled. He was just about to responded when Jane moved forward and quickly hit the release command. As the containment cell moved into position to release the Queen John turned to her in shock. "Jane!"

"Look, I may have killed a lot of people but I don't kill innocents. And she was innocent." Jane snapped. The Asari body stared at Jane a moment.

"You will give us the chance to compose anew? We will remember. We will sing of your forgiveness to our children." The queen spoke.

"How's that feel, Shepard? You are going to have giant insects singing songs about you," Garrus stated and Jane ignored him.

"I just want to know one thing. Why did your people attack the Citadel races?" Jane asked and the queen moved out of the tank, looking down at them from the other level.

"A dark tone resonated. The dark tones took away their songs. It drove them mad. Made them search out and destroy." With her final statement made, the commando collapsed to the floor. Jane blinked at that statement, something had driven the normal Rachni into war mode...whatever it was, it was bad.

"Fine, but if they start anything my people will clean up this mess later. Just like we did for the Salarians." Wrex grumbled. John sighed as Liara came over to them. The entire ground team watched in silence as the Rachni queen slowly made her way out. She turned to them, looking at them all for a few moments. Then she scurried off.

~ * TF * ~

"We need to go to the hot labs before we finish this off," Jane stated as they head for the elevator.

"What?" John asked, wincing.

"Ventralis said that Rachni were coming from the hot labs. That metaphoric closet Kaidan mentioned...I'm pretty sure it's the hot labs," Jane said as she prepped her weapons, the others began to do the same.

"I hate it when you're right about stuff like that," John muttered.

"Well, you always forget it when you get your ass kicked by a biotic," Jane shot back.

"That happen a lot?" Ash asked and Jane smirked.

"Not as often as you would think," Jane replied as they exited in a large room where a man was sitting.

"Are you here to secure the situation? he asked in a thick Russian accent.

"How are you holding up?" John asked, a hand on his side.

"You must listen to me. If we do not contain our mistake, they will drop bombs from the battles stations. You understand?" the man cried and the Shepards shared a look.

"You let these things out?" Jane asked in horror.

"Ehh. I am only following the orders," the man confessed. "Binary Helix found an egg. It was on a derelict ship, thousands of years drifting. This was Rachni ship. Inside they find many eggs in cryogenic suspension."

"They must have been thrilled when it hatched," John sighed, shaking his head.

"Yes. Very tough, to be so long frozen. That it survived the centuries...this is miraculous," the man said in awe.

"Miraculous isn't the word I would use for it," Ash muttered.

"Binary Helix plan to clone Rachni. Mass-produce them. Create an army. But when they get here, they find this egg is not a common Rachni. It is a queen," the man explained. "After she lays eggs, they move her to Rift Station. They are thinking that without her, they can raise the babies to be obedient."

"Obviously, they were wrong," John pointed out.

"Eh. This was exactly the wrong thing to do," the man sighed. "I am thinking that without a queen, Rachni do not develop properly. Her mind is shaping theirs. These Rachni are uncontrollable."

"Would she be able to save them if we brought her here?" Jane asked.

"No. I am sorry, but this will not work. These Rachni are beyond saving. It is a sad thing, but they must be euthanized. I am thinking that the neutron purge must be set off."

"How do we set off the purge?" John asked.

"Arming controls are nearby. All you do is insert the key. Then I will give Mira destruct cod-ugh!" the group watched as a Rachni tentacle erupted through the man's chest.

"Well, that's not good," Wrex stated.

"You can kill that Rachni...you happy now?" Jane snapped as she rushed after the man as he was thrown. She got to his body as the group fought the Rachni. She found a small code in his pocket. They quickly moved in the far room. Jane activated Mira.

"Connecting. I have full access to the facility, and am at your disposal," Mira said.

"Activate the neutron purge," Jane ordered.

"I'm sorry, but I can't do that without proper code authorization," Mira stated and Jane pulled out the code.

"Code input: 875-020-079. Code Omega local execution," Jane ordered.

"Verified. Code Omega execution in 120 seconds," Mira answered and the group opened the door to a small army of Rachni.

"Well, that's not good," Garrus stated.

"Liara, singularity to the left I'll get near the door. Ash left side of door, Garrus right side of door. Wrex, John, clear us a path through the middle. Tali, take whatever gets past the rest of us," Jane called. They were following her commands as soon as she said them and they ran to the elevator. The explosion seemed to take forever as they moved up the elevator.

~ * TF * ~

A few minutes later they were riding the mako back to the docking and administrative facility when a particularly hard bump jostled John, making him let out a yelp as his wound flared up in pain.

"John are you okay?" Jane asked from where she was driving. John frowned.

"Not really." He said reaching into the medigel packing his wound. Liara's eyes got wide as he dug around in it.

"Commander what around you doing?" Liara exclaimed as the others turned to watch.

"John stop that!" Jane scolded

"I think there's some shrapnel in there from earlier." He explained.

"So you should let Doctor Cha-" Jane was cut off as John grunted and yanked out a large sliver of the container's metal casing. He grinned in triumph before a wave of pain hit him, clouding his vision over.

"I think I may need a doctor." John wheezed before passing out and slamming face first into the deck plate of the mako.

~ * TF * ~

Ash caught John and looked at Jane.

"Applying medi-gel," Liara stated quickly closing the wound John had just opened.

"Stupid man! Picking at a wound like that before we were back on the ship!" Jane snarled. "I swear, if he dies I will hunt him down in the afterlife and kill him!"

"I hope the Commander is an atheist," Garrus muttered.

"He didn't lose too much blood, Commander. He probably fainted due to pain," Liara said and Jane sighed.

"It better be a pansy faint and not blood loss," Jane muttered.

"She reminds me of a Krogan when she gets all angry," Wrex purred and Garrus inched away from the krogan.

~ * TF * ~

Jane was worried about John as they prepared to have the post mission meeting as the Normandy left Noveria space. John was unconscious in the medical bay but Dr. Chakwas had assured her that John would be fine.

"What's our next move, Commander? Head for the Mu Relay?" Ash asked as she took a seat and Jane moved to the center of the front of the room.

"The Mu Relay could link to dozens of systems. Unless we know exactly where Saren's going, we'd just be wasting our time," Jane sighed.

"The commander is right. We cannot rush off blind. We still need to learn more about Saren," Liara spoke with a serious tone.

"Who put you in charge? Did the commanders resign when I wasn't looking?" Ash said and Jane gave her a sharp look.

"We're all on the same team here, Williams. She's just trying to help," Jane warned.

"Sorry, Commander," Ash quickly stated, giving Jane a look of apology.

"This is a tough mission. We're all on edge. Everyone go get some rest. Crew dismissed!" Jane ordered.

"Noveria report is away, Commander. You want me to patch you through to the Council?" Joker's voice asked and Jane sighed. A conference with the Council without John. They were going to love her report about letting a Rachni queen go free in the galaxy. Oh well, she was more than willing to ask them if they wanted to have her go off and perform genocide.

"Patch them through Joker. I'm going to need a drink after this," Jane muttered.

"Setting up the link now, Commander...and getting the beers frosty for you," Joker replied and Jane fought a smirk. The holograms appeared in front of her and she stood at the ready.

"Are these reports accurate, Commander? You found Rachni on Noveria?" Tevos asked.

"And then released the queen! Do you have any idea what you've done? How many generations until they overrun the galaxy?" Sparatus demanded.

"I thought the Council frowned upon genocide, besides, this queen is different. She understands why her kind had to be wiped out last time around. Rather generous for the sole survivor of her family, wouldn't you say?" Jane asked and Sparatus glared at her.

"I hope you're right, Shepard. Our children's children will pay the price if you're not."

"We'll be waiting for your next report, Commander," Tevos stated before the communication cut.

"Well, that went well," Jane muttered as the door opened.

"I missed the Council?" John asked and Jane nodded.

"Well, how about the next mission, I get wounded and you do the report alone?" she suggested and John gave her a look. "Then don't do stupid shit like ripping chunks of shrapnel out of your body before we're in a medical bay."

~ * TF * ~

The door to the med officer's office was locked. John frowned but hit the buzzer again. Still no answer.

"Damn it." John snarled. He quickly typed in his command over code. The door beeped and unlocked, sliding open. John moved inside, he was not surprised by the sight he found.

Liara was sitting at her desk, working on some of the Asari writing Jane had been collecting. She ignored the door and the sound of John moving over to her. He pulled an empty chair by her and sat down. He said nothing while Liara worked, he was willing to wait for her. Liara glanced at him, her eyes were puffy, she had been crying.

"I don't want to talk about it." She said after a few minutes.

"I know," he replied, Liara glanced at him again before she went back to working. After a few more minute she stopped.

"She fought it," Liara said in a soft voice. "She gave everything she had to fight it. She saved one piece of herself to help us." Liara kept her eyes on her work.

"No," John said. "She saved a piece of herself for you, Liara."

"You can't know that!" Liara exclaimed, slamming a data tablet down on the desk. "She could have done that for anyone!" She turned to look at John.

"She had plenty of opportunities to tell anyone else, maybe even send an emergency message to Council," John said. He looked up at her but made no move. "Only when you were there did she finally break free, if only for a moment. Because she loved you."

"And I helped kill her." Liara whispered, dropping her face as she dropped into her seat. John gently turned her face him and grasped her shoulders.

"Liara look at me, please." John replied. Liara slowly raised her head. "That wasn't your mother. It was the indoctrination that was forced into her but it didn't take her soul. You helped keep that clean. No one on this ship is at fault, not me, not Jane, and especially not you. This is all Saren's fault. He started this. Your mother tried to stop him and got caught in the destructive wake that Saren and Sovereign left behind."

The dam of the emotions finally broke loose and Liara began to sob. John pulled her close, wrapping her into a hug and let her cry as she buried her face into his shoulder.

~ * TF * ~

End of Chapter 4