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.

20. Chapter 19

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.

Toby's Note: *barely peals his eyes away from the new DBZA premier* Well, this chapter has finally arrived. I'm sure for the last two chapters you guys have been waiting for it with baited breath. At least I hope so. I definitely took my time with this one, wrote an outline just for the chapter alone, replayed these missions several times over, then wrote and rewrote numerous scenes again and again. I hope you enjoyed it, I've been looking forward to this one for months now. Though Belle did guilt me for being stupid and downloading emulators and certain rom files during that time. *looks around for evil Uncle Ninten before whispering to the readers* They really hate it when you play their games from roms. Well I wouldn't have to if they put certain games up on big screen televisions! I'd be perfectly happy to play them if they took them off DS and put them on big screens.

Belle's Note: I warned him not to do it, but he never listens. Personally I have been waiting for this chapter for a while now. Since we started hashing out ME2, this has been one of my big aims. I hope we have brought you to this point well and that you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 19: Confronting the Truth

Earth Date: March 5th, 2186 CE

Location: Illium, Nos Astra, Dry Dock 213, Normandy SR2

John read the documents on his omni-tool in a purposely slow manner. He wanted to scrutinize everything and make damn sure everything had been addressed. He nodded to himself as he checked off the list one by one. Armor, shields, weapons, fuel and probe supplies. The list went on and on, not just ship upgrades but personnel with their own supply requisitions. He frowned as he got to the bottom of the list and saw an expense form submitted from Jack. Why the hell would she need over fifty pounds of Turian made and eezo enhanced nitrocellulose? He'd make sure that would be locked in a crate only he could open with his access code but still to bring that much explosive on the ship-oh, Jane had sent him a message about it. She'd been there when Jack had bought it, Jack wanted to talk to him about it…and Jack dropped the crate on top of the crate holding Miranda's requested supplies. John sighed as he read that last part. He'd heard rumors those two were irritating the shit out of Miranda. The only evidence he'd seen of it was during a briefing when Miranda had snapped a data pad in her hands after Jane had sent her something with a smug little grin. Shaking his head as he finished the check list, he shut down his omni-tool and made his way to cockpit.

"How are we doing Joker?" John asked as he came up behind the man. Joker's hands were flying over the controls as he worked.

"We're all good here, Shepard." Joker replied. "Just finishing the engine check with Tali and EDI."

"Hull integrity is at one hundred percent, Spectre." EDI spoke up. "Tali also reports that the engines are stable with no loss in output or efficiency. All new systems have been tested on the draw and are stable."

"Wonderful. Well done you guys." John praised them and Joker shot him a smug grin. "Get us clear of dry dock and into standard dock. Liara had the same one we used when we first landed reserved for us. I'm going to walk the ship, make sure everyone has what they need."

"You got it John!" Joker said happily. John thumped the back of Joker's seat in a friendly manner and made his way to the elevator. He set it for the cargo bay, intending on working his way up the ship floors to check in with everyone. He knew Jane and a few others weren't on ship right now but the Cerberus crew was all present for this final check. Mordin was also checking the ship stem to stern for him. John was willing to pay good money that more spy devices had made their way onboard during the refit. He passed a few of the workers taking stock and he stopped to talk to them. After a few minutes of talk he was happy that they were happy. Supplies were fully stocked, everything was up to spec (the engines were even operating above and beyond thanks to Daniels and Donnelly with Tali's guidance), Zaeed's body had been shipped in coffin to the desired destination his records had indicated. Checking on the engineering deck next was more of the same. They were all happy with all upgrades and the converters that were installed. Donnelly invited him to a poker game later to celebrate and John agreed to show up when they held the next game and was surprised when Tali mentioned most of the ground team had already attended a few together. He was shaking his head in amusement afterwards as he rode the elevator to the crew deck. He'd have to mention it to Jane that most the team was already mingling with the Cerberus crew. She'd either freak out or demand that-

"Spectre Shepard may I speak with you?" A voice called out to him. John turned around and saw Samara approaching him.

"Not at all Samara." He replied and Samara gestured for him to follow her. She led John into her quarters and sat on the couch facing the stars. John sat a bit down the way from her, curious.

"I have been speaking with your crew and I must say I am impressed. They are all well trained and disciplined. I know this is not a direct result of your influence but I must say that you have definitely had an impact on them and your teammates," Samara commented.

"They're a good crew, despite their ties to Cerberus," John noted and Samara tilted her head slightly, staring at him.

"They certainly do not live up to the reputation Cerberus has. A few have been a bit cold to my presence but I have found no true zealots among them." Samara noted and John blinked as he realized what she was doing.

"You've been vetting the crew," John stated bluntly and Samara nodded.

"It seemed prudent given my current circumstances." Samara demurred. "I'm sure Jane will feel a bit of relief when I share my observations with her. In truth, she is the topic I wished to discuss with you."

"I had a feeling you might," John said, settling back into the couch and crossing his leg. "Fire away."

"I am curious as to why you had me swear myself to her and not yourself." Samara inquired. "I have no wish to brag but to use a human idiom, I am a powerful ace in the hole."

"I wasn't thinking of it in those terms," John admitted. "When you offered I realized Jane could have someone she could rely on. She's been on edge here the entire time. Having you swear yourself to her was an ideal situation. You're not beholden to me, Cerberus or anyone but the Justicar code. Plus being a Justicar, Jane already idolizes you. When we both had leave a few years ago we caught an Asari film, 'Justicars the Truth'."

"I am familiar with the film," Samara noted, a smile tugging faintly at her lips. "I was actually interviewed for it."

"I wouldn't know," John said, a sheepish look coming over his face. "I had been up for almost seventy hours at that point when Jane met me. I'd just gotten leave and all I wanted to do was sleep. She dragged me with her to see it and I fell asleep a few minutes in when I realized it was a documentary. Jane woke me hours later. I didn't know how she deeply felt about Justicars except she was really excited after the movie. She's apparently studied you more than I realized."

"That explains why you chose with no hesitation to allow me to swear myself to Jane but not why you needed me to do so," Samara noted. John grimaced. Damn Asari Matriarchs and their vast knowledge of people from centuries of experience.

"Jane won't talk to me," John blurted out, figuring just to get right to the point. "We were getting back to trying to work out our differences and then we had to storm the Collector Ship. I made a judgment call Jane didn't agree with and she lost it. She actually told me she doesn't think I'm her brother. I actually started believe that when my girlfr-I mean Liara T'Soni helped me realize I'm still me."

"But Jane does not believe you are who you say you are." Samara stated and John nodded. As Samara was speaking he didn't hear the door open behind them. "I have spoken to her about you and the crew. She was devastated by your death and that devastation caused her to lose her way. From my experience finding your way back from such heartbreaking devastation is difficult. I became a Justicar to help deal with such an issue myself. But we will have to speak more on such matters later, I believe someone wishes to speak with you and you have satisfied my curiosity. I believe I will meditate and consider your sister." John turned from Samara to see Miranda watching them with worry on her face.

"Everything okay Miranda?" John asked as he got up from the couch. Miranda bit her lip for a moment before deciding to just ask as she led the way back to her room.

"John I'm not one to ask for a personal favor but I need your help. It's my sister Oriana, she…"

~*TF*~

"Is this far enough away?" Jane asked as she and Garrus walked Blasto. He looked around, pulling up his scan to check for listening devices. When the courtyard they were in appeared clear, he nodded.

"This will do, since the dry dock I don't trust EDI not to be listening in," Garrus stated.

"I could help you remove bugs," Jane suggested. "Been through my room twice now, got all but one. I'll let Miranda think she's got me. I'm planning on blasting elcor porn through it later." Garrus chuckled but it was weak. "What's up?"

"I need your help," he said and Jane blinked as she looked up at him. His blue eyes were locked onto hers and she felt the seriousness of the conversation set. "You remember Sidonis?"

"He's your teammate that betrayed you," Jane said and Garrus nodded.

"I found a lead on him," Garrus said, his voice going cold and hard. Jane had never heard him sound like that before. "There's a specialist on the Citadel; name's Fade. He's an expert at helping people disappear. Sidonis was seen with him."

"Did you find out more?" Jane asked and his eyes were in kill mode. Something about seeing Garrus this way was making her feel uncomfortable.

"I found out he tipped off the mercs and gave up the location of our base. He drew me out with a false job, then let the mercs hit my team. My men weren't prepared. They tried to hold them off...by the time I got back, there were only two survivors. They didn't last long. All ten of them, dead. Because of him," Garrus was sounding angry but his eyes were cold. Ready to shoot.

"What are you planning to do when you find him?" Jane asked and Garrus gave her a look.

"You humans have a saying: 'an eye for an eye.' A life for a life. He owes me ten lives, and I plan to collect," Garrus said and Jane felt sick. Garrus wasn't going for justice, he was going for revenge. So why was he talking to her...Jane's gut dropped.

"You sure that's how you want to play it?" Jane asked, feeling sick. He nodded and gave a turian grin that didn't reach his eyes.

"I'm sure, I know you know what its like. I know you will help me," Garrus said and Jane felt dirty. Worse, she felt like she had gotten dirty and let her filth corrupt Garrus. Garrus who had been the type to play it fast and loose but always with the intention of being a hero at the end. Jane and John had been his role models and he had listened to them. He had been her confident the longest since the SR-1's destruction and what had she given him as a model? A blood soaked mutilator. Jane felt awful, so she said the only thing that she could.

"Where do we find Fade?" she asked.

"I've arranged a meeting. We'll meet him in a warehouse near the Neon Markets, down on Zakera Ward, on the Citadel," Garrus said and Jane stared at him for a moment. "Thanks, Shepard. I appreciate you taking the time to help me."

"Do me a favor, Garrus?" Jane asked and he paused, his eyes slowly returning to his 'normal' which Jane was now realizing was a low level rage while plotting revenge.

"What?" he asked.

"Take Blasto back to the ship?" Jane asked and he smiled, this one reached his eyes.

"Sure thing," he said, whistling and Blasto followed him happily. Garrus patted the varren gently on the head as he walked and Jane started walking herself. She found herself in Eternity sitting in front of Matriarch Aethyta. A shot of something was in front of her, but she hadn't taken a sip.

"You're not going to find the answers staring into that," Aethyta said and Jane turned her eyes to the matriarch. "Want to talk?" Jane didn't really want to, but she knew she needed to.

"You ever look at yourself in the mirror and not like what you see?" Jane asked and Aethyta began cleaning a glass.

"I think everyone does at some point in their life," she replied. "You not liking mirrors much?"

"I've been avoiding them for about two years now," Jane said, her eyes moving back to the glass. "I'm starting to realize mirrors aren't the only thing that can reflect us."

"Seeing yourself in the people you care about?" Aethyta asked and Jane blinked. Garrus' blue eyes flashed in her mind, they made her think about her eyes when she was killing Dirake in the Spectre Strong videos. She didn't want to see Garrus' eyes like that.

"Yeah...and it's pretty ugly..." Jane said.

"It's hard to be Spectre Strong all the time," Aethyta said as she pulled the shot away from in front of Jane. She drained the glass and looked at Jane. "If you don't like what you see, change it." The matriarch walked off and Jane stared at her. Asari had so much time to figure it out...if they were smart. Jane wondered if she could change her reflection in time to save Garrus. She didn't want to see one of the few people in the galaxy she honestly loved become like her. Her thoughts got cut off as she noticed John and Miranda enter the bar and head for a back room.

~*TF*~

"Lanteia's over here, Shepard," Miranda said, leading the way inside the bar to a private meeting room. There was an Asari with light purple skin in a merc jumpsuit waiting with crossed arms. As they came in she pushed against the wall and fixed her look directly on Miranda.

"Ms. Lawson, I'm glad you made it. We've had a complication." Lanteia said, getting right to the point. Miranda seemed startled.

"What happened?" Miranda demanded and John shot her a look. He'd never heard Miranda speak with such urgency before. "Is Oriana alright?"

"She's fine, but the man you listed as a trusted source, Niket?" Lanteia explained and continued at Miranda's confirming nod. "He contacted me, warning that your father has sent Eclipse mercenaries to make a sweep. He suggested that the mercs might be watching for you personally. He's offered to escort Oriana's family to the terminal instead."

"You didn't mention anything about Niket," John said, focusing on Miranda who winced.

"He's a friend." Miranda explained. "He and I go back a long way…"

"Do you want to bring in any of your other Illium contacts, Ms. Lawson?" Lanteia asked, drawing the attention back to her.

"No." Miranda said firmly. "You and Niket are the only two I trust beside Shepard."

"It's your sister, Miranda. What do you want to do?" John inquired. Miranda thought for moment, biting her lip. After coming to a decision she nodded and focused on Lanteia.

"Lanteia, we'll follow Niket's suggestion. Shepard and I will take the car and draw their attention." Miranda said and John nodded. That make sense. If they were looking for Miranda then giving them exactly what they wanted would draw attention away from Oriana and might get her and her family out in the confusion. "Have Niket escort the family to the shuttle. Give him full access to the family's itinerary, just to be safe."

"Understood, Ms. Lawson," Lanteia said, walking out and immediately placing a call on her omni-tool. John and Miranda followed right after.

"So the plan is for us to get shot down while your sister gets to safety?" John commented as they walked.

"Go back to the part where you get shot down?" Jane's voice came from behind them. The two turned to see Jane standing there.

"What are you doing here?" John asked and Jane pointed at the bar.

"I was at the bar when you came in, what is going on?" Jane asked.

"It's none of your damn business." Miranda snarled. John glanced at her and noticed the slight panic in her eyes. Lanteia was already moving forward. They were on the clock now. "We don't have time for any delays!"

"John just said you had a plan that included you getting shot down, what the hell are you planning and do you really think you are getting rid of me without explaining?" Jane shot back.

"Oh Goddamn it, we don't have time for this," John said as Miranda stiffened. "I'll tell you on the car ride over but if you're coming with, you do what I say. This is too important."

"John, she is not coming!" Miranda snapped. "I don't trust her!"

"And I don't trust you," Jane said. "However, I don't like hearing that you have no problem doing something without a plan when you are supposed to be so smart." She looked at the two. Something big was up and if they were going to react this way it was important. Miranda was being reckless, John was unlikely to slow her down. Hate was a useful tool and if Miranda disliked Jane enough, she might be enough to ground Miranda and keep John safe. "I'll follow orders on this one."

"Good let's move then," John said, leading the way to car Miranda had rented.

"Thank you, John. I appreciate this." Miranda said as they moved to the car, his sister now trailing them. "I hadn't planned on Eclipse, but they never planned on you."

~*TF*~

As the vehicle flew in Jane looked out of the back seat at the various Eclipse gunships flying cover over the port area.

"That's a lot of firepower," Jane whistled. "Good thing we left Garrus on the Normandy."

"Damn it!" Mirada hissed. "Eclipse mercenary gunships. They'll be dropping troops in the cargo areas."

"Put us down in that cover behind them," John ordered.

"Let's hope they really do want to take us alive," Mirada said in a forced jovial tone. Weapons fire flew up at them and nicked the car.

"I honestly didn't think you planned to get us shot down," Jane muttered. The fire suddenly stopped and the vehicle hit the ground in a way that definitely was a crash and not a landing. Jane was about to comment but thought better of it. Whatever this was, Miranda was already on edge, Jane didn't need to push her...yet. The team unloaded and began walking towards an Eclipse merc.

"Since you're not firing yet, I trust you know who I am," Miranda said.

"Yeah. They said you'd be in the car. You're the bitch that kidnapped our boss' little girl," the merc said and Jane almost froze. Instead she kept on her best blank face and wondered what the fuck they had gotten into.

"Kidnapped? This doesn't involve you. I suggest you take your men and go," Miranda ordered. Jane let one hand slip to her pistol.

"Think you've got it all lined up, huh? Captain Enyala's already moving in on the kid. She knows about Niket. He won't be helping you," the merc laughed.

"What do you mean, Niket won't be helping us?" John asked and the merc waved him off.

"Nothing you need to worry about. Nobody's going to get killed unless you do something stupid," he said. "You walk away now, the girl goes back to her father, and everybody's happy." Jane stared. Miranda had kidnapped a kid, but this had sounded like a rescue mission.

"Everybody but my sister...and me," Miranda snapped and pieces fell into place. The kid was Miranda's sister, so if she had kidnapped the girl, she had done so from her own father. Shit.

"You're not getting Miranda's sister. If you push this, it'll go badly for you," John warned. Jane's eyes played over the field. It was getting tight, mercs were spread out, but not well enough.

"Captain Enyala ordered us to give you one chance to walk away. But this whole time we've been talking, my men have been lining up shots," the merc said, looking pretty cocky as he got into John's face. Jane noticed a large explosive crate being moved over the group behind them. "When I say the word, we unleash hell on your squad. So I suggest you walk away nicely, unless you want things to get ugly." Jane saw Miranda's arm begin to move. As Miranda shot the merc in the head, Jane shot the explosive container.

"Works for me," Miranda said before an explosion took out the back rows of the mercs. Jane pulled back and pulled her sniper, making head shots here and there as John rushed into the fray and Miranda chased after. That was new.

~*TF*~

"Got you, you son of a bitch!" John snarled to Eclipse engineer clutched in John's left hand, the same one who had kept draining their shields. The Salarian was kicking against John futilely before John's right fist shot out at his face. It connected with a meaty thump and the man flew back to crumple on the ground, unconscious. John huffed and made his way to the elevator, Jane bringing up the rear as Miranda joined him, an Eclipse radio in one hand.

"Hang on, I've got one of their radios, unencrypted. I'll patch us in, see if I can get an idea of what we're up against," Miranda said, working on patching the Eclipse's radio to their omni-tools as Jane activate the elevator. Miranda glanced at John and sighed. "I think I owe you an explanation. Oriana is my twin, genetically. But my father…grew her when I was a teenager. She was meant to replace me. I couldn't let my father do to her what he did to me. So I rescued her. She's almost a woman now."

"From what you've told me about him I can see why you wouldn't leave a baby in his care." John said as the elevator arrived and they all filed in.

"There are people who could use her against me," Miranda commented, giving Jane a sideways glanced. Jane gave her a look but kept her mouth shut."I'm very protective when it comes to Oriana."

"I understand that," John commented, hitting the console for the highest floor this elevator reached. "If Eclipse knows where Oriana is, they'll be moving in on her soon. We need to hurry."

"Agreed though I'm a bit worried by what the merc said." Miranda commented. "If they've gotten to Niket somehow, this is going to be harder than I'd planned. According to the specs I reviewed we'll need to cut through the cargo processing yard to get to Oriana." Jane thought about what she knew, Oriana and Miranda were likely clones, their father was a rich son of a bitch, Niket had Miranda's trust but...it nagged at Jane.

"Can we trust Niket?" Jane asked, no mockery or insult in her tone. She looked Miranda in the eye with a calm expression. Miranda seemed surprised.

"Absolutely. Niket is one of my oldest friends. I guess you could say he was my only real friend," she said. "He's the only person I didn't cut ties with when I left my father."

"Is there a chance your father could be using Niket to get to you?" John asked and Miranda shook her head.

"I'm sure he's tried, but Niket's one of the few people who understands what my father is really like. I trusted him with my life when I ran from my father, Shepard. He won't betray me now."

"Let's go find Niket and Oriana." John said.

~*TF*~

The warehouse was slow and Jane didn't like it as they were forced to avoid the materials on the conveyers. Drones were everywhere and Jane did her best to use compressed tanks to her advantage, using her sniper rifle to blast them in time for John to use his assault rifle to finish the mercs off.

Security mechs slowed them down as they went along.

"Engineer at eleven o'clock," Jane called out and Miranda shot him through the forehead. Miranda was frantic, she was taking greater risks than she normally did. "Watch her." John nodded as he pushed lead. Jane kept to the back, watching over the team through her scope.

"Divert everyone except my guard from Niket. I'll handle him and the kid personally," a voice called over the comms.

"Damn it! I'm not letting her get Oriana," Miranda cried as they moved.

"Singularity going out," Jane cried, catching several of the mercs and allowing Miranda and John to gun them down. It was clear Miranda wanted to push faster, but Jane and John slowed her down, keeping her safe. As they approached the elevator it was tense but Jane removed the heavy weapons with precision sniper work.

~*TF*~

"Niket has reached the terminal. He'll switch the family over to our transport." The captain spoke over the radio.

"Niket? But…that can't be right!" Miranda cried. John gunned down the last Eclipse merc between them and the elevator, giving Jane an opening to rush over and slam a palm on the elevator control panel. "Maybe the captain knows we're listening in and she's feeding misinformation about Niket making a switch." The elevator arrived and they moved in quickly. John keyed in the floor they wanted and the elevators doors closed. He shot Miranda a look as the elevator began to move up and got an expression from her full of denial.

"Or maybe it means something else. Niket wouldn't do that." Miranda scowled and jammed her glowing omni-tool into the control panel and jabbed at the controls. "Damnit why won't this thing go any faster?!"

"Did Niket know you took Oriana from your father?" Jane asked and Miranda shot her a scowl.

"No, he just found out about her recently. It was too personal to involve someone else," Miranda reasoned and Jane simply stared at her. "I mean I never really thought about it but maybe…no. He'd have to understand why I did it. He knows what I went through!"

"You know him Miranda. If you don't think he'd betray you I'm sure there's another explanation." John reasoned. He noticed that Jane had kept surprisingly quiet this mission.

"I don't know damn it!" Miranda snapped. "But I'll guess we'll find out soon enough. And then I'll have a word with this Captain Enyala." John turned around and saw they were almost there. It was a tense few moments as the last floors seemed to slowly slide by. As soon as they got to their floor and the doors slid open they moved out with weapons drawn. There was a human standing not too far from an Asari in Eclipse armor who was sitting on some cargo containers. An Asari dock worker with a data pad was standing beside them and they looked as if they had been talking.

"Miri," the man said, obviously Niket.

"This should be fun," the woman in Eclipse armor drawled, hopping down from the container to draw her shotgun. Her voice was identical to Captain Enyala's from the radio. John and the others raised their weapons to cover her and it made the dock worker panic. She ran to the right, booking it for the closest exit. Enyala turned to fire but Jane's palm lit with biotic blue and yanked the worker out of the way just as Enyala fired. Jane shoved the worked behind some crates.

"Nicely done," John commented and Jane nodded.

"Niket." Miranda said, her voice dead and flat. "You sold me out."

"How do you want to handle this Miranda?" John asked, glancing at his XO. Miranda didn't even notice, continuing to speak.

"Why, Niket?" She demanded holding her gun on her friend. "You were my friend. You helped me get away from my father."

"Yes! Because you wanted you leave," Niket countered, lowering his hands. "That was your choice. But if I'd know you'd stolen a baby…"

"I didn't steal her! I rescued her!" Miranda snapped.

"From a life of wealth and happiness? You weren't saving her! You were getting back at your father," Niket retorted.

"If you're working for Miranda's father, that means he knows where Oriana is and where she's going," Jane broke in, glancing at John and Miranda. "We need a new plan." John watched as Niket lowered his head and sigh.

"Miranda's father has no information about Oriana," he said before looking back up at Miranda who lowered her gun in surprise. Niket took a couple of steps forward. "I knew you had spy programs in your father's system Miri, so I kept it quiet. I'm the only one who knows."

"Which means you're the only loose end. This isn't how I wanted it to end," Miranda said and John tensed. Miranda began to raise her gun. "I'm going to miss you Niket."

"Miranda, wait." John said, lowering his own gun and placing his free hand on top of Miranda's gun, forcing her to aim at the ground. "You don't want to do this." Jane watched, it was strange to see Miranda looking so...human. For a Cerberus agent who put humanity first, Miranda always felt more like a machine or a VI, not a real person but now. She was going to have trouble not seeing Miranda as a concerned older sister. Family had a way of ripping your heart out.

"This has to end here, John. My father will keep trying to find Oriana!" Miranda snapped, trying to jerk her gun away.

"Maybe Niket can help, talk to your father. Just say you got here first. You both made bad decisions about this. You didn't tell Niket about Oriana and he didn't contact you to ask why you rescued her," John reasoned, gesturing between the two friends. "You don't want to kill someone you consider your family."

"I'll…I'll tell him you hid her. That I don't know where she is," Niket offered and John nodded. He could see it between them. Like him and the Normandy team. Friendship, trust. Neither should give that up. Miranda frowned but gestured angrily at Niket.

"I never want to see you ag-" Mirnda was cut off but the roar of Enyala's shotgun.

"Done. Now I you don't mind, I have a shipment to deliver," the Eclipse captain drawled as Niket's body crumpled to the ground. John heard Jane growl from his right but Miranda screamed, her biotics bursting to life and she gestured angrily at Enyala, a burst of energy shooting between them and sending the asari flying.

"You'll die for that bitch!" Miranda screamed. John ran for cover and slid feet first the last few feet to cover as the other Eclipse mercs shook off their surprise and opened fire at them. John peaked over the cover and raise his rifle over cover, shooting wildly at them to force them down. Jane's rifle cracked, taking out one merc who hadn't gotten her shields up in time. John looked over again, and saw Miranda storming at Enyala. The two women began exchanging gunfire and biotic attacks, throwing cargo and over things at each other. John gunned down an Eclipse who was trying to sneak up on Miranda.

"I've got a bead on Enyala," Jane called to him. He glanced at his sister and sure enough saw her taking aim at the Eclipse captain.

"Miranda's got it," John replied, taking another merc out at the knees. Jane huffed but shifted her aim. Her rifle cracked again and another merc went down. John took out the last one just as Enyala went airborne from a biotic throw from Miranda. She arched over the railing until another biotic field lit her up. Miranda gestured angrily and Enyala went back first into the railing. A loud crunch echoed over the quieting battlefield and Enyala feel to ground, very dead. John gave Jane a look as they both emerged from cover. He gestured to Jane to get the elevator down here and he approached Miranda carefully. His XO was walking to Niket and closing his eyes.

"You okay?" John asked softly and Miranda shook her head angrily as she stood up. She practically stomped to the elevator with John following. She didn't speak until they got in, John saw something sitting on a crate, some sort of trinket, and it looked pricy. He grabbed it before entering the elevator and it began to go up to the transport deck.

"I can't believe Niket sold me out, I didn't even see it coming." Miranda said and John sighed.

"Even with all your upgrades, you're still human Miranda. Just like the rest of us," John said and Jane nodded behind him, not looking at Miranda.

"But I let it get personal, and I screwed up," Miranda snapped, not even turning to look at John. "Why didn't you let me kill him? I could have handled that. But watching him get gunned down by that Asari bitch…"

"You still cared for him, even if he betrayed you." John noted. Miranda sighed and turned to face John.

"You're right, and my father knew it," Miranda bit out. "He used that against me. It's always been like this. My father gave me anything I ever wanted, but there was always a hook, an angle for his long term plan. I threw away everything he ever gave me when I ran, except for Niket. Weakness on my part." Miranda finished bitterly.

"You still have Oriana," John pointed out. Miranda frowned.

"My father didn't give her to me, I rescue her," Miranda stated. "But yes, you're right. I still have her." The elevator doors opened and Miranda moved past them. "Thank you." John followed her out as did Jane. They spent a few minutes combing the area before meeting up about a hundred yards from where Oriana was waiting with her family.

"No sign of Eclipse, looks like we're clear," Miranda noted. She focused her attention on Oriana, watching her silently. "She's safe with her family." John watched the family, noting how much younger Oriana was but she still looked just like Miranda. Oriana was a girl just entering adulthood but Miranda was a woman grown.

'If she grows up to be anything like her sister, she'll be a formidable woman someday,' John thought to himself.

"Come on. We should go," Miranda said, surprising John.

"Don't you even want to say hello?" John said, gesturing at the young woman.

"It's not about what I want, it's about what's right for her!" Miranda bit out. John shot her a look. "The less she knows about me the better. She has a life, she has a family. I would just complicate that for her."

"She doesn't need to know the gritty details," John countered. "But speaking from experience despite all the pain it can cause having someone who I know will be there for me always is the best feeling in the world. When it comes down to bare facts, she'd know that she has a sister who loves her. Someone to call and confide in if she needs them. Would that really be so bad?" Miranda glanced between the Shepards and bit her lip for a moment before coming to a decision. Jane simply looked from Miranda to Oriana.

"I guess not," Miranda said before beginning to walk to her sister. John smiled as he watched her get closer and closer.

"You didn't go after her at all," John stated to Jane. "You obeyed every order."

"While you didn't tell me a thing about this mission, I'm not an idiot," Jane said, her tone calm, she wasn't angry. "That girl needed to be protected and Miranda needed to realize she is just as fallible as the rest of us."

"I appreciate you not antagonizing her," John said.

"This isn't the place to go after her. This mission was too important for anyone to let their pride come first. Miranda was keeping calm because I wasn't being an ass," Jane said. "If I want to piss her off, I'll do it when lives are not on the line. But..." Jane watched as Miranda and Oriana spoke. "It's hard to forget she's just a protective big sister after seeing this."

"So no more fighting?" John asked, surprised.

"Oh no, I still despise her and I would gladly arrest her, but it would be wrong to harass her now," Jane said. After some time Miranda rejoined them and they entered the elevator for the Normandy level.

"I owe you both," Miranda said as they rode. Her eyes moved to Jane. Jane didn't look at Miranda.

"I know what it's like to want to protect someone and fear failing," Jane said. "I know what it is like to feel like it is you against the galaxy. You did a good thing today, Miranda."

"I don't know what to say, Jane...but, thank you," Miranda said and Jane shook her head.

"Don't thank me. That girl needed to be protected and saved. It's my job as a member of the Alliance Navy and a Spectre," Jane said. The door opened and she paused before looking at Miranda. "I still don't like you, Miranda, but...we need to work together like that so we can save more people like Oriana." Jane turned and headed out.

~*TF*~

"That should do it." Miranda said, looking up from her terminal. John checked over his records and nodded in agreement. None of the after-mission reports or location data contained any reference to Oriana. She had been completely scrubbed from the data. All after data now pointed to the Eclipse having tried to kidnap Miranda for her father.

"She's in the clear," John said, closing his omni-tool. Miranda sighed in relief and turned off her terminal, a data pad in one hand. She got up, stretching for a moment before going to the observation window.

"I've never had people I could count on like you and your sister," Miranda said after a moment of studying the view over Nos Astra. "Despite how much I dislike your sister, she still helped me save mine. It was a vastly different reaction I expected from her, given the reports we've had on her behavior."

"Jane may have changed a lot over the past two years, but she's still my sister. I knew she wouldn't let anything happen to your sister." John said. Miranda turned to face him, a thoughtful look on her face.

"You however live up to your reputation and then some. Loyal and trusting, to fault some might say," Miranda noted. John shrugged, just grinning.

"If a good man does nothing when others suffer, he becomes that which he doesn't stop," John quoted and Miranda gave him an amused look. "It's why I'm going to return that Asari's locket and why I try to make the best decisions I can. But I protect my own."

"I thought as much," Miranda mused and handed him the data pad. "I think this will help Liara. Cerberus Information Processing just sent this to me not too long ago," Miranda said. John took the data pad from her and read it for a few minutes, his eyes opening in surprise near the end.

"The location for the Feron?!" John exclaimed.

~*TF*~

"So did Liara say why she wanted you to bring me?" Jane asked as they walked through the trade floor. John had stopped along the way to give an Asari back the locket he had found. A stupid, sweet gesture that was so John.

"She just said she had some things to tell you," John said to Jane as they walked up the stairs to Liara's office. Jane raised an eyebrow as she noticed Liara's secretary was missing.

"About what?" Jane asked and John shrugged as he opened the door.

"She just mentioned it had to do with-"

"Shepards, it is good to see you both," Liara said and John stopped talking as Jane fought the urge to roll her eyes at that comment. She sat down to John's right.

"This is the data that Miranda gave me on the Shadow Broker. It's what I called you about earlier. Do you want to focus on this now?" John asked and Liara's eyes went wide.

"Absolutely! I had no idea...let me see what you've got!" she cried, getting to her feet. John stood and handed her a data pad. "It looks like a leaked transmission between Shadow Broker operatives. Some hints as to the location, and..." Jane could see the image of a drell appear and Liara looked stunned. "It's about Feron. He's still alive." John said something but Jane missed it. She was wondering based on the joy on Liara's face exactly who Feron this was.

"…he helped me recover your body from the Shadow Broker..." Liara was saying and Jane's brain froze. '...recover your body from the Shadow Broker...' Liara had said '...recover your body...' Jane's mind went back to when she was planning the memorial for John.

"I'm setting up John's memorial," Jane said. "I'd like you to be there." Liara stared at her from the communication panel.

"You retrieved his body?" she asked carefully.

"No...search teams found nothing," Jane said.

"Then, I won't go," Liara said dismissively and Jane paused.

"You won't go..." Jane was stunned. "Why?"

"Because until you bury a body, John Shepard will not be dead to me," Liara said and Jane stared.

"Liara..." Jane stared.

"I am very busy, Commander," Liara dismissed.

"I thought you loved my brother!" Jane hissed.

"As I thought you did as well," Liara retorted and Jane was aghast.

"You...fucking...knew..." Jane whispered as John and Liara spoke. Biotics shimmered over Jane's body as she saw nothing but a haze of rage and she realized a very serious fact that she had been kept unaware of. She was on her feet and she screamed. "YOU FUCKING KNEW WHERE HIS BODY WAS!" The two went silent before Jane screamed wordlessly in rage. Her biotics caught the desk, throwing it to the right and impaling it into the middle of the wall. The desk was ruined, everything on top was either shattered or damaged from the force at which Jane had flung it. John moved to touch Jane only to find himself pulled out of the way by Liara.

"I did," Liara stated, calm in the face of Jane's maddening fury.

"You gave his body to fucking Cerberus?!" Jane cried and Liara's biotics flickered.

"Unlike you, I never gave up on him, I even sacrificed a friend to save him," Liara said, her head up straight. Jane was blinded again but by biotics and suddenly she was pinning Liara to the window. Another vanguard rush, but it didn't matter as she held Liara there with one hand. The asari looked shocked but ready to defend herself as her biotics flickered over her.

"Jane stop it!" John roared and Liara threw John away from the two biotics into safety again as she glared at Jane.

"I thought you were our friend!" Jane hissed, her body shaking like she was a leaf in the wind.

"I have always been loyal to your brother," Liara said. "You can't even accept that it is him." Jane screamed and John saw the punch coming. The world moved in slow motion and just as he was about to grab Jane she stopped, her fist still by her head, frozen but aimed at Liara's face. Her head was down and the shaking was now sobbing.

"It's not hard to be loyal when you knew where he was," Jane hissed. "It's not hard to have faith when you delivered him someplace." Droplets landed on her chest. "You didn't have to live with the not knowing..." A sucking breath escaped Jane as she let go of Liara and staggered backwards like a drunk. Liara stared at Jane and John quickly moved to Liara's side as they watched Jane move. Jerking and shaking, she looked up and tears were rolling down her cheeks. She looked completely unraveled.

"I could have handled it if I knew where he was. It drove me mad not to know where he was..." Jane gasped as if she didn't have enough air. "You knew the whole time...you knew what it was doing to me..." Jane shook more and clutched at her chest. "You let me suffer the agony of not knowing where he was..."

"You believed him dead," Liara said and Jane glared at her, her biotics flickering again. "I had to save Feron. What could I tell you that would have changed your mind?"

"It ate me up from the inside not knowing where he was. I was always looking for him and you knew," Jane hissed. "I could have accepted it if I had only see an image of his body from you. I could have moved on. The not knowing..." Jane turned and staggered out of the room.

"Lia, you okay?" John asked turning to Liara. Liara sighed and nodded approaching the remains of her desk and kneeling down to retrieve something. She brushed it off and stared at it for a moment.

"I think I made an error in judgment," Liara said after a moment. She stood and sighed again. "I was so surprised by how cold Jane seemed towards losing you and then angry by her not dropping everything to attend to you. She disappeared for months and left us all. Everyone believed you dead but I refused to accept that. When I found your body I felt justified I was right, especially when Miranda said she could bring you back. I felt like I was the only one who could be trusted to make choices for you, not even Jane. Then I had to rescue Feron so I came here. Then Jane called out of the blue saying she was organizing your memorial." Liara scoffed at that. "I thought she hadn't even bothered looked for you. So I wouldn't trust her with you, for all I knew her hatred of Cerberus might have led her to storm their bases and destroy any chance you could be brought back. So I cut her out."

"I can see why you did that," John said, as he came up to Liara and hugged her. "But Lia you should have at least told her you found me. Let her believe I was dead, it sounds like Jane was caught in limbo without actually burying me."

"I love you John, then and now but it felt like I was the only one who did," Liara said bitterly. John said nothing but held her.

God what a mess.

~*TF*~

Jane rested on a small public garden bench, her tears dried up and her body in the meditation stance she learned from Samara. Two years she was trying to make up for John Shepard not being there, but who was she doing that for? She sure as hell wasn't doing it for others, she had killed her way through so many opponents, John never did that, so was she doing that for John? No...it had always been for herself, to make herself forget the pain of the not knowing. She had thrust herself into her role as a Spectre and an Alliance officer not to make up for John but to keep herself from obsessing over the fact that she didn't know where he was.

The whole time Liara had known. The whole time she could have at least told Jane she found the body. She could have lied and said she buried him and Jane could have accepted that. John being dead would have been easier, it was the not knowing. Wondering if he would appear again broke her heart and by the time he did reappear, she couldn't trust it...but it was all a lie. He had been with Cerberus.

Footsteps approached, John's gait but heavier than John's footsteps had been before the destruction of the SR-1. Another damn difference that let doubt claw at her mind while her heart sang in joy her brother was alive.

"So...Liara didn't tell you," John stated the obvious yet again and Jane stared at him. God he said stupid shit. He must be John Shepard...right? Only John Shepard would start a conversation with a woman who put a desk into a wall like that. Jane stared at him long enough that he started to look worried.

"They say the families of missing persons are living in limbo," Jane said. "Because there is no resolution or closure. You don't have a body to mourn or a cause to blame. You feel the loss of your loved one, but nothing can sooth you because you don't know."

"Jane..." John started and she shook her head.

"I'm not crazy," she said. "I have had to go to my psych evals like every special ops operative does. So I know what I'm going through. I don't believe you are my brother because I spent two years mourning my brother, blaming myself, and doing everything I could not to think about how if he was gone, there was no proof that he was dead." Tears rolled down her cheeks. "But I'm also so mad at you...but I'm mad at you because if you are my brother, why am I not happy about you being here?"

John stared at Jane. Two years he had been gone. Two years she had to live without him, but also without knowing where he was and what state he was in. She had embraced the violent and dark side of the world. Thrusting herself into Spectre work and N7 special ops, distracting herself in the most...useful...way she could.

"Jane...what can I do?" John asked and she shook her head as she got up.

"Liara could have ended it for me. It will take a whole fucking lot for me to trust her again," Jane growled. "However...I've gotten good at taking out my feelings on others. I would love to look through the Shadow Broker's information and see a little more. See what else people I trust have been keeping from me."

"So you'll help?" John asked and Jane nodded.

"Just don't expect me to be civil," Jane warned.

~*TF*~

The Shepards stepped off the elevator. John turned right and led the way to Liara's apartment. "She left the office a few hours ago and asked me to bring you here when you were up to it. She's been looking for Feron since the day she turned me over to Cerberus to be rebuilt."

"So this Feron might be with the Shadow Broker or…" Jane trailed off. At the end of the hall the doors were thrown wide open and a police barrier had been drawn. John stormed past Jane and stopped short when Asari officer stepped in front of him.

"This area is sealed off. Please stay back sir," she order John who shifted a look to her and Jane felt a chill run through her. John had a crazed, angry look about his face.

"Sealed off? Why?" John demanded.

"Someone tried to kill your friend, Commander," a voice said and Jane blinked as she looked up.

"Tela?" Jane said in surprise and Tela nodded at her with a grin.

"Sorry this reunion isn't on better terms, Jane," Tela said. "Thank you, officer. Your people are dismissed."

"You can't do that!" the officer cried.

"Already done," Tela said as the Shepards approached. Jane reached out and grabbed Tela's wrist. The two shared at look over their forearm handshake. Jane looked over her shoulder at John.

"This is Tela Vasir. She's a fellow Spectre. We've worked together on a few jobs," Jane said.

"Good to meet a fellow Specre," John said and Tela nodded.

"So I assume you had business with your friend this evening, Commander?" Tela asked as Jane looked around the apartment.

"Liara was following a lead on the Shadow Broker," John explained, Jane seemed comfortable around the asari, he would trust her.

"The Shadow Broker? Dangerous enemy to have," Tela said and Jane sighed.

"Not exactly a saint, Tela," Jane said and Tela shrugged.

"Got us Dirake's position," Tela pointed out and Jane shook her head.

"And he sold Aelaxos' position to Dirake," Jane replied as she began to look around.

"I can't argue that," Tela nodded sadly. John could see the old wound on both women's faces.

"What are the facts so far?" John asked.

"About twenty-five minutes ago, someone took a shot at T'Soni," Tela explained as Jane looked at the windows. "Note the bullet holes your sister is inspecting. She stuck around for almost four minutes before leaving the building. Whatever she was doing was important."

"There's no blood...Liara got away," Jane said. "The sniper probably didn't know how good she is with a kinetic barrier. Good job..."

"I thought you were mad at Liara?" John asked and Jane nodded.

"I am, but I don't want her dead," Jane said, her eyes serious. "I still want to punch her in her know-it-all face." John decided to walk away from that emotional issue with Jane.

"Did the police find anything when they arrived?" he asked Tela.

"Just the mess and the bullet holes. I gave them a gold star for finding the bullet holes," Tela said.

"That is why C-Sec doesn't like you," Jane chided as she looked around, Tela smirked at John and shrugged. Jane saw John's charred armor in a case. His armor...even this would have made her accept John was dead. Liara should have let Jane at least see this. Her hand was on the case for a moment before she turned to look at Liara's degrees.

"Liara was expecting us. She would have left a message here...her office wasn't safe," John said and Jane turned to look at him. Liara was smart, she would leave her message where her friends would find them but her enemies couldn't.

"I'm not surprised. Illium is just Omega with expensive shoes," Tela said.

"I prefer Omega," Jane sighed and Tela chuckled.

"I prefer you on Omega too," she said and Jane rolled her eyes. They split up and John headed upstairs. Jane stared at the picture of Illos. It reminded her of Kaidan and their first night as lovers...well that was depressing.

"I got something," John said as he approached the stairs with a picture.

"The pictured changed for him when he touched it. It must be keyed to his I.D.," Tela said and Jane nodded. "What is that?"

"A Prothean dig site," John said. "Liara did leave a message."

"If that reacted to you, the message is probably for you, not me," Jane said.

"There are a few Prothean-looking objects around the apartment," Tela said and the group split again. Jane stared at a case by the base of the stairs.

"Try this one," Jane said and John approached from a case across the room. As he approached a disk was ejected. "We got something here." Tela looked at them.

"Backup disk. Let's try it on her terminal," she said and the trio approached the terminal. As it started to play a salarian showed up on the screen. "Looks like she recorded a call."

"What have you got for me, Sekat?" Liara's voice asked.

"It was tricky, but you paid for the best. I can narrow it down to a cluster, maybe even a system," Sekat said with confidence.

"How soon can you have it?" Liara asked.

"Shouldn't take long. Come to my office. Baria Frontiers, in the Dracon Trade Center. Gotta say, thought, T'Soni...you're making me a little nervous. How big is the trouble that could come out of this?" Sekat asked.

"Relax, Sekat. I'll see you in a few hours," Liara's voice responded.

"She's on the Shadow Broker's tail," Jane muttered in awe.

"The Shadow Broker's people already tried to kill her once," John growled.

"I know where the Dracon Trade Center is. My car's outside," Tela said.

"We need to get to Liara before the Shadow Broker's people. Like old times, huh?" Jane said with a smile at Tela and the asari returned the gesture.

"Only this time it's not Blasto watching your back," Tela shot back.

"Still don't see you taking the time to train a varren," Jane said as they headed out.

~*TF*~

The three arrived at the Dracon Trade Center relatively quickly and as they headed up from the parking level Tela gave them the run down.

"The Baria Frontiers officers are located on the third floor," Tela explained. "I don't hear police chatter; we must have missed the party." There was a small explosion.

"Liara's in there!" John cried and then a massive explosion rocked the builing. The three were knocked on their backs by the blast.

"They just took out three floors to make sure she's dead!" Tela cried and Jane glared. "I'll grab the skycar and seal off the building from the top!"

"I can come with you," Jane said and Tela shook her head.

"If they know I'm coming down from the top, I can press them down towards you," Tela said.

"Pincher move, got it," Jane said as she pulled her pistol and nodded at John. They headed into the burning building.

"Just leave some for me!" Tela called at their backs.

"This is Spectre Jane Shepard. Spectre Identification Number 11-16-20-07, calling in a Code 10-80, requesting medical aid for Dracon Trade Center. Multiple floors destroyed. Numerous civilian casualties and wounded," Jane called over her comm to the nearest aid station. As they entered the building and headed to the elevator the button turned red. "Tela, the elevators are out, and building security is down."

"No alarms, no police. Very professional," Tela said over the comm.

"They didn't expect three Spectres on site when it happened. Aid is coming immediately I called it in," Jane said.

"We're all going to have to take the stairs," John said and the twins quickly rushed across the lobby.

"I wouldn't take any bets on T'Soni's informant surviving that blast," Tela warned.

"I'm not that worried about the informant," John stated. The Shepards moved up the stairs to find a dying human on the ground. He looked up at them.

"Mercs...came from the smoke...set the bombs...killing everyone..." he groaned and Jane noticed the marks on the walls. She looked at John.

"We have bullet wounds on some of these," Jane growled and John nodded. "Watch yourself, Tela. They used military-grade hardware on these civilians."

"Bullet wounds? Guess this was more than just an explosion," Tela said. John and Jane quickly headed up before they saw the device.

"Tela, we found a military-grade explosive device. It hasn't been armed," John reported.

"Sloppy work. You use that kind of hardware when you don't have time to plan," Tela replied. The two entered Baria Frontiers, the foyer had a log book.

"We're at the Baria Frontiers office. Liara signed in just a few minutes ago," Jane reported.

"Understood, watch yourself, Jane," Tela said.

As the two entered the sprinklers were dropping water from the ceiling.

"You two seem close," John said.

"We mourned Aelaxos together," Jane said.

"The turian Spectre Dirake killed?" John asked and before Jane could answer something was flying at them. Jane threw it back with her biotics and covered her eyes before moving back into cover. The flash bang went off.

"Talk later, shoot now!" Jane cried and the two got into cover.

~*TF*~

The Shepards battled their way through the Baria Frontiers offices. The Shadow Broker had apparently sent an army to find and kill Liara. Jane would use barriers and well timed warps and singularities while John took advantage of the blocks and the debris for cover. As Jane covered him from behind he would take out agents.

The narrow confines of the office made it easier and the two tore through the mercenaries in the Shadow Broker's employ like a rock through wet tissue paper. Eventually they reached a door and heard the sound of a shot. The two nodded and rushed in, weapons ready to see a Shadow Broker agent fall to the floor. Tela holstered her pistol.

"Damn it. If I'd been a few seconds faster, I could've stopped them," Tela sighed looking over at the body of Liara's contact. John knelt in front of the body.

"Is that Sekat?" he asked. Jane stared at the body, the salarian corpse was a bloody mess.

"Must have been," Tela said looking out the window. Jane looked around the room.

"No sign of that data Liara talked about. Looks like a dead end," Jane sighed.

"Speaking of which, did you find your friend's body?" Vasir asked. John felt a bolt of fear shoot through him. No he hadn-

"You mean this body?" John heard a welcomed voice drawl behind him. Relief filled John as Liara stepped into the room, aiming her pistol at Tela as she walked in.

"Liara this is a friend of mine and fellow Spectre, Tela Vasir," Jane said, waving a hand at Tela. "She helped us out at your apartment so we could find you."

"This is the woman who tried to kill me!" Liara growled. John turned to face Tela in an instant, drawing his pistol on her as Tela backed up. Jane looked at Tela and then at Liara and John.

"You've had a rough day, so I'll let that slide. Why don't you put that gun down?" Tela said and Jane looked at Tela.

"Tela?" Jane asked, Tela had been a friend. They had been through missions together. They had mourned Aelaxos. They had been at his memorial on Palaven together.

"I saw you!" Liara snapped. "I doubled back after I left. I watched you break into my apartment!"

"You didn't know where Liara went, because she hid the message. You needed me to find it for you!" John growled.

"Tela...tell me that isn't true," Jane said, her pistol still in hand but not aimed. Tela looked at Liara and John.

"Sorry, Elaina," Tela said with a shrug before looking at the other two. "Thanks for the help."

"Damn it, Tela!" Jane growled, moving to Liara's side and pulling her pistol up but not aiming it.

"You know the Shadow Broker and I work together," Tela said and Jane swore.

"He sold out Aelaxos and you still work for him?" Jane snapped.

"We got Dirake back!" Tela sneered.

"Once she had my location, she signaled the Shadow Broker's forces. They bombed the building to take me out. She found Sekat, took his data, and killed him. I'm guessing she still has the disk on her," Liara interrupted. Tela held up the disk in one hand.

"Good guess," she drawled, biotic energy flowing over her. "Not that you'll ever see what's on it, you pure blood bitch!" The window behind Tela exploded, biotic energy grabbing the window pieces and throwing the shards at them. Both Jane and Liara reacted the same, shielding the group with biotic shields. As Tela ran for the window John bolted out from the shields. He tackled her just as they reached the window. They went tumbling threw the remains and fell outside to towards the ground.

Jane rushed to the window and just as Tela kicked John away from her, Jane used a pull to keep John from hitting the ground as hard as he could. Tela started to turn towards John and Liara leapt from the window, using her biotics to slow her descent. Jane watched.

"Fuck...I'm not letting Liara show me up..." she hissed as she leapt from the window. Her biotics were slowing her, not as fast as it should. Jane threw a push, slowing her descent and allowing her to hit the ground nearly as gracefully as the two asari had. She turned and grabbed John's wrist, helping him to his feet.

"Come on, the asari are leaving and we need to be on their tails," Jane said as the welcoming sound of police sirens sounded. They quickly ran, taking out the Shadow Broker agents stupid enough to get between them and the two asari. As the two rushed out of the building Tela and Liara were having a shoot out in the parking lot. As Jane and John headed towards them, Tela summoned her vehicle and jumped into it.

"Damn it!" Liara cried. John summoned a cab and as its doors opened, he slipped in.

"We so need to talk about your reckless shit, John!" Jane snapped as she jumped into the taxi with him as he turned the engine on. As the taxi roared to life and Liara got in John shot them a look.

"I'm fine by the way, thanks for asking," He growled, slamming the door closed and taking to the air.

"There she's over there!" Liara shouted and John floored it, the car shooting through the air. John shot the taxi over and then under cars, taking a sharp turn.

"I'm on her," John grunted, shifting gears to make the car shoot ahead. They dodge in and out of traffic, in between buildings try to keep up with her.

"Oh shit...we're going into the construction site!" Jane hissed as she gripped the handle in the backseat. John ignored his sister, the taxi plowing through scaffolding and tools and equipment smashing over the hood.

"Oh Goddess, has your driving actually gotten worse?!" Liara screamed. John drove under another car just as missiles shot past them.

"She's got reinforcements on our ass!" Jane shouted, turning to look behind them.

"What kind of guns does this thing have?" John demanded, shooting the cab into the tunnel after Tela.

"It's a taxi it has a fare meter!" Liara shouted as John cut around a tanker.

"Right, stupid question," John muttered, the roof of the car scrapping the tunnel. A truck tried to stop, but began to jack knife.

"Truck," Jane said with the unnatural calm that only came from the familiar terror of a Shepard driving.

"I know," John growled, gunning the engine.

"Truck!" Liara screamed.

"I know!" John snapped, maneuvering the car through the burning cargo containers as Liara screamed. "There we go!"

"You're enjoying this!" Liara said incredulously. They burst out into open traffic, dodging a weaving around cars. Tela's car clipped another tanker, sending it careening right into their path.

"Truck."

"Again?!" John snapped, forcing the car under the tanker. He used the shortened route since Tela had to go around it to pull alongside her.

"Hang on." John growled and slammed their car into Tela's.

"God damn!" Jane screamed from the back. They trade blows several times before John clipped her right into another car. Tela hit them almost head on and her car went spinning out of control. It crashed into a large, gaudy building rooftop. John circled the car and landed them not too far from her. As the group exited the cab the reinforcements that had been shooting at them began to drop mercs off.

"Damn it, they're trying to slow us down!" Jane snapped. Jane and Liara made use of singularities and barriers to help John. Jane sniping from the back as the other two ducked and dodged. After several waves they were clear. They entered the room nearest Tela's crashed ship. Security drones were in piles on the floor.

"Please let me live. Please let me live. I'll do the mantras every week. I'll give to charity," a voice pleaded. The group moved to the next room. "I'll go back to the Citadel and get a good job, I swear." An asari and a human were crouched in a corner.

"Hey, hey, you okay?" Jane asked.

"We're unarmed! We didn't see anything!" the man cried.

"Liara," John began slowly as they turned to see a lusty movie playing on the screen. "What kind of hotel is this?"

"Azure. It's a luxury report with an…exotic edge." Liara said. John paused for a minute as he realized what kind of place they were in.

"You mean what you told me to call your…oh," John said, checking around the corner. Liara nodded quickly as Jane looked between them making a face.

"I do not need to know that," Jane stated, shaking her head as she turned to head toward the balcony with Tela's car.

"Really?" John said, shooting his sister a look.

"I was trained by asari with asari and what do teenagers always do when authority figures go off?" Jane huffed. "The young asari let us all know the terminology both official and slang of their anatomy." They opened the balcony door to see the flaming wreckage of Tela's car.

"A blood trail. Vasir got hurt in the crash," Liara said and Jane saw the blood.

"It's a bad wound," Jane said as they began to follow the trail. It didn't take long for them to follow Tela to a deck where people were dining.

"Vasir! It's over!" Liara cried as the trio approached with weapons drawn. Jane's eyes widened as Tela turned, dripping blood and clutching her abdomen.

"Hey! Hey, you. Come here. What's your name?" Tela cried as she grabbed a human waitress, using her as a human shield.

"M-Mariana," the woman stammered and Jane glared.

"Mariana, you want to live, don't you? Tell those people that you want to live," Tela purred in a way that made Jane furious.

"Please..." Mariana whispered looking at them.

"We'll get you out of here safely, Mariana," John said.

"Well, that's good to hear," Tela said, her eyes on Jane. "All you had to do was walk away, Jane. Now it gets ugly." Tela put the gun to Mariana's head.

"Please. I have a son," Mariana sobbed, tears rolling down her cheeks.

"A son? I hope he gets to see you again. I've heard losing a parent is just horrific for children. Scars them for life," Tela said, eyes on Jane's and Jane stepped forward.

"You fucking betrayed me Tela," Jane growled.

"Jane..." John warned and Jane shook her head.

"We do this the old fashioned way," Jane stated, hoping Liara and John would figure out what she meant.

"You want Mariana's little boy to grow up without a mommy, Jane? Thermal clips on the ground. Now. Power cells, too," Tela said and Jane barked a laugh, her lips pulling away from her teeth in a sneer.

"Is that it, Tela?" Jane asked and Tela stared.

"What?" she hissed and Jane aimed at her through the gap beside Mariana's neck.

"I sacrificed hundreds of human lives to save the Destiny Ascension. I unleashed the rachni on the galaxy. I'm the fucking Terror of the Hegemony, Tela. I make sure my enemies know what they get when they fuck with me," Jane stated. "So for your sake, I hope your escape plan doesn't hinge on me hesitating to shoot a damn hostage to get to you!" Tela's gun moved from Mariana's head to aim at Jane.

"You're bluffing, you loathe taking life when you don't have to," Tela smirked. "I know you better than anyone here, Jane."

"Now, Liara," John cried as Jane wrapped Mariana in a barrier and Liara slammed a table into Tela's back, sending the asari flying as Jane rushed to get Mariana to safety.

"Get out of here!" Jane said and Mariana nodded as she rushed inside and Jane moved to flank John as Tela leapt from the water. "Tela!"

"I'm going to knock some sense into you, Jane!" Tela cried and she vanguard rushed Jane, throwing Jane away from John and Liara. Jane flew backwards, slamming into a wall, gasping at the impact, luckily the wind wasn't knocked out of her nor was anything broken. As Tela approached, Jane pulled her blades from her back and began to use the techniques they had learned.

"Are you seriously trying to use Naena's techniques on me?" Tela laughed as she dodged and Jane smiled.

"Made you look," Jane threw herself to the side as John tackled Tela from behind, slamming the asari to the wall Jane had hit.

"Watch out! Rocket drones!" Liara cried and Jane was about to fire when she was hit by Tela in another vanguard rush. Again Jane was thrown across the balcony leaving John and Liara to fight the turrets. As Jane hit the ground, she tucked as she rolled to keep her limbs from breaking and from being impaled on her own blades. As she rolled to her feet, Tela stood over Jane and caught her by the armor.

"He's an imposter! There is no proof that this is John Shepard!" Tela cried as she held Jane up off the ground, before shoving her into the wall. Jane hooked the handles of her blades on the inside of Tela's arms, holding, not pulling. "He's just a Cerberus plant! He wants to collect his sample from you like that last agent and then he will probably kill you while laughing in your face about it."

"Jane!" John cried as he rushed only for a batch of Shadow Broker agents to drop in front of him between them. Jane glared at Tela. John was moving doing his best, the desperation in his face, she had seen it on Horizon, on the Collector ship, and now. Either he was the best fucking actor or Jane had an answer.

"You know who could confirm that?" Jane asked and Tela glared. "The fucking Shadow Broker." Jane brought her feet up and shoved Tela off of her with a biotic kick. She began to spin around Tela with her blades, again and again slicing at Tela.

"Damn it, Jane!" Tela cried and Jane used a push to throw herself up as John tackled Tela again. "Fuck it!" Jane sheathed the blades as she landed.

"John pull an Anderson-Udina!" Jane snapped and John grinned happily as he sucker punched Tela, moving back so Jane could hit with an upper cut and use a biotic punch to send Tela slamming into a wall. There was a wet crack and Jane watched as Tela struggled to get up.

"Damn it, Jane..." Tela hissed as she leaned against the railing. Liara approached and collected Sekat's disk. Jane stood between Tela and Liara as John approached her.

"Sekat's personal datapad. This has what we need to find the Shadow Broker," Liara said. Tela glared at Liara and John.

"You're dead! The Shadow Broker has been in power for decades. He's stronger than anything you've ever faced," Tela growled. "This forgery is going to get you killed, Jane."

"Is that why you sold out the Council to work for him?" John asked and Jane shook her head.

"You think I betrayed the Council? Like Saren? Go to hell!" Tela spat as the blood pooled around her. "The Broker's given me damn good intel over the years. Intel that saved lives and kept the Citadel safe! So if the Broker needs a few people to disappear, I'll pay that price without hesitation!"

"People like Liara...people like Aelaxos...people like John?" Jane asked with a glare.

"He's working for Cerberus, if anything that should tell you exactly what you need to know about this manipulative scumbag. He even ran off after a piece of pure blood ass the second she waved it in his direction," Tela said, glaring at Liara. "He will get you killed Jane just like the idiot he is." Jane looked at Tela as she aimed her pistol at Tela's head.

"That is John Shepard and you are not allowed to talk about my brother like that," Jane said firing. Tela's surprised expression was frozen on her face as the bullet went through her forehead. Tela's body slumped down as Jane turned and holstered her weapon. She looked at John. "You are John Shepard. You are my brother and we need to get moving before the Shadow Broker's goons come for your girlfriend."

John stared at her for a moment before smiling.

"I'm glad she came around. Now Liara what do you say on the way there you two-" John trailed off as he noticed Liara was walking away as she reviewed the information Sekat had for her and what she had taken from Vasir.

"..eliminate T'Soni and retrieve the data. Civilian casualties not a concern," a voice said as Liara played the data as John and Jane caught up to her.

"I'm putting the data through to the Normandy's computers. We can be at the Shadow Broker's base in a few hours," she said. "He'll know about Vasir before long. If he decides to kill Feron..."

"We won't give him time," Jane said and the two stared at her. "He helped you rescue John, right? I owe him too." Liara nodded as they began to head to the parking deck.

"We'll need the Normandy's stealthy systems to get us in close undetected," Liara stated. "The Shadow Broker's agents are still shooting their way through Illium. With luck, they won't notice we've left until it's too late."

"What's the plan when we get there?" John asked.

"Get in, get Feron, get out, and kill anyone who tries to stop us," Liara said and Jane agreed with that thought process.

"That's it?" John asked, not sounding pleased.

"That's it," Liara stated. "Are you okay with that?"

"You sound frantic," John stated.

"I helped get you back, and I want to do the same for Feron!" Liara exclaimed as Jane let them advance without her.

"Hey, I get it. I know what you told me but you just need to breathe and think for a second." John replied. "I know you took my body from them with Feron's help. I want to help save him too. But we need a plan."

"The plan is simple John," Liara stated. "We fly in, get Feron get out." Liara glanced at Jane behind John. "Then, hopefully, you will forgive me that I knew where John was for these past few years."

"Oh, I don't know that I can forget that you didn't tell me that you found my brother's body, gave him to Cerberus, and let me suffer for two years," Jane said. "I am livid at you, but I'm going to focus that rage on this fight, so don't talk to me until after we've gotten Feron and we've kicked the Shadow Broker in the teeth. We'll see how I feel after that." She headed to the cab leaving John and Liara behind.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: March 6th, 2186 CE

Location: Hagalaz, Sowilo System, Shuttle

"Hagalaz. The oceans boil during the day, then snap-freeze ten minutes after sundown," Liara stated.

"We really never go anyplace nice," Jane muttered as she looked out the windows at the giant ship they were approaching.

"The Shadow Broker lives in this?" John muttered.

"His ship follows the sunset. Completely undetectable in the storm, unless you know where to look," Liara said.

"How do we get inside?" John asked.

"The shuttle bay is locked down. We'll need to land on the ship and hunt for a hatch," Liara explained.

"That should be easy," Jane stated as she watched lightening hit the ship again.

"But we obviously can't stay outside for long," Liara said and Jane stared at the ship.

"There are lightening rods," Jane pointed out. "We can use those."

"The discharge could be a useful tool," John nodded seeing where Jane was going with this. The twins shared a nod before the shuttle doors opened and they dropped out.

"It's hard to pinpoint in this lightning, but I'm picking up signals from a communications array near the back of the ship," Liara said. "There's nothing below but maintenance equipment. We have to find an entrance near the back shielding." The trio moved forward when glowing red drones appeared.

"Maintenance drones," Jane said.

"They must think we are debris from the storm," Liara said as John and Jane quickly picked off the drones.

"They'll know we are here now," John said and the two women nodded. As they reached the top of the ship agents began pouring out between two lightning capacitors. "Let's try your theory, Jane."

"I got left if you get right," Jane said and the twins nodded before taking out their capacitors, causing the agents between them to shudder violently as they were electrocuted.

"Efficient," Liara stated.

"Saves clips," Jane replied as they began to advance. John and Jane disrupting the capacitors again, a few cries of pain indicated not all agents were dead.

The group continued and a few mechs got in the way. Jane lifted and smirked as the wind took the mechs away. She looked at Liara who nodded again. As they reached another capacitor, John shot at it while Liara and Jane lifted agents up and into the air to be swept off.

The team efficiently used this method to cross the back of the ship as they moved down the side to a maintenance pathway. As they descended the steps Liara looked to the side.

"Okay. Looking down was clearly a mistake," Liara said.

"Obviously," Jane stated before flinging a few more agents over the side. "But trying to fight us was a bigger one." As the group entered the ship the mechanics for managing the electrical discharged worked. The group could feel the energy in the air.

"This ship is incredible. It must have taken decades to build in secret," Liara said.

"I wonder what happened to the contractors," John muttered as both Liara and Jane gave him a look. "You're both right, stupid statement. We can probably guess."

"Navigating this storm is brutal. If the ship's engines stop for even a moment," Liara said and this time the two Shepards gave her a look. "At least the Shadow Broker would go down with us."

"That's comforting," John said and Jane shook her head.

"I rather joke about Garrus and taking rockets to the face than this," she said.

The trio made their way back up, again employing their capacitor abuse and lifting attacks. The Shadow Broker agents stood little chance. They zigzagged across the ship, putting down panels and making pathways before reaching a hatch.

"There! That hatch leads directly to the communications signals," Liara said. "It's locked. Hang on, I've got a bypass shunt program that can crack it.

"How long will it take?" John asked.

"I don't know, I've never broken into the Shadow Broker's base before," Liara stated. "Well, not this one anyway."

"Helpful," Jane muttered. "I'll take left, you take right. Liara, back up John. I can fire and lift at the same time, he can only fire." Each Shepard watched a separate part of the ship while Liara backed up John. Again the capacitors and the lifts cut the forces to nothing in no time. The rocket drones were a little harder, but John's heavy destroyed them quickly. As the program began to open the door.

"I miss being able to use medigel to do this," John said and Jane chuckled.

"Yeah, I think we are single handedly the reason they updated all the system against it," she said and Liara thought about it.

"That would fit the timeline of implementation," Liara pondered. They entered and the sound of rushing feet told them there was company coming. "More of them? How many guards does the Shadow Broker have?"

"However many, it won't be enough," Jane stated as she put up a barrier and advanced to the next cover. The trio moved, advancing carefully and taking out agents. "They were not trained for this. They were hoping numbers would overwhelm. A poor training strategy."

"It appears to be," Liara stated. The Shadow Broker agents were safe from the techniques the team used on the exterior, but they were no matched for the well tuned machine that was Liara with the Shepards. Soon they reached a door and once they were through it they could see a drell through the window. "Feron!" Jane was worried until the drell stirred and looked at them.

"Liara?" he asked. Liara ran to a panel.

"Hold on...we're getting you out of here!" as she began to touch the panel, Feron's eyes widened.

"No!" he cried. Energy flowed through him and Jane stared in horror.

"Feron!" Liara cried.

"What the hell is the Broker trying to do to you?" John asked and Jane shook her head. She knew torture too well. Drell had perfect memories once they left infancy, Feron would remember this always. Fucking Shadow Broker.

"The equipment is sensitive to tampering," Feron explained. "This chair plugs into the Broker's info network. You have to shut off the power. Pull me out now, and my brain cooks."

"Do you know where we can cut the power?" Liara asked.

"It won't be easy. You'll have to go to central operations," Feron said.

"What's the point of this cage?" John muttered and as Feron tried to answer he was shocked again.

"It's torture," Jane said. "Sharp agonizing pain that Feron will remember for the rest of his life even if he does escape."

"It's a neural grounding rod. The medical equipment is to make sure he doesn't...expire," Liara said.

"What do you know about the Broker?" John asked.

"He did this to me," Feron drawled.

"I was hoping you'd know what he is," John stated, trying not to sound annoyed.

"I never got a good look, but he's big. The guards are terrified of him," Feron said.

"A krogan?" Liara asked.

"I don't know, but not everyone who visits his office comes back out," Feron said and Jane made a face.

"Nothing like a carnivorous species to control that much information," Jane muttered.

"Easy or not, we're all getting out of here," John said.

"Good," Feron said, looking hopeful. "Central operations is down the hall. You know the Shadow Broker's waiting for you, right?" Jane smiled at that.

"Well, it would be rude to keep him waiting," Jane stated. "I get the feeling he rarely gets surprise guests."

"We'll be back for you, Feron!" Liara said.

"I'll try not to go anywhere," Feron said and Jane paused.

"You do know the sarcasm always makes it worse?" Jane said and Feron nodded.

"Worth it," he said and Jane saluted.

"Damn right," she said as they rushed out, ready to take out whatever was left of the Shadow Broker's men.

~*TF*~

John led the way, a scowl on his face as they entered the Shadow Broker's lair. The man himself was sitting behind a large half circle desk. John was brought up short as he realized how big he was. He pulled his gun and aimed it at him as Liara and Jane both spread out in the room to take different angles on him.

"Here for the drell," He asked in a deep, raspy voice. As John got a better look at him he realized he actually didn't know the man's species. "Reckless, even for you John Shepard."

"Not reckless, just determined." John said, smirking at him. "As your asari Spectre about that."

"Vasir was expendable. All her death cost me was time." the Broker drawled.

"Expendable like Feron?" Liara demanded.

"Dr. T'Soni. Your interference cause all this. Feron betrayed me when he handed you John Shepard's body. The drell is simply playing the price." The Shadow Broker snarled. "My operations are too crucial to be compromised by a traitor."

"You're quite confident for someone with nowhere left to hide." Liara smirked.

"You travel with fascinating companions, T'Soni." The broker drawled, looking at Jane. "The Hegemony have laid a bounty in the billions on bringing Jane Shepard to them, it doubles if she is brought to them alive. They seem torn between a public execution and making her into a model slave. No tongue, no frontal lobe, and a brain bomb." Jane shrugged.

"Terrifying coming from you, but you got to get me first," Jane said. The Broker's eyes moved to John.

"The Collectors offer also applies for John Shepard's body," he stated.

"Come and get it," John stated and the twins aimed in unison.

"You're not putting a hand on anyone," Liara snarled.

"It's pointless for you challenge me, any of you. I know your every secret, while you fumble in the dark," the Broker said smugly.

"Is that right?" Liara stated, her smirk widening. "You're a yahg, a pre-spaceflight species quarantined to their home world for massacring the Council's first contact teams. This base is older than your planet's discovery, which probably means you killed the original Shadow Broker sixty years ago, then took over. I'm guessing you were taken from your world by a trophy hunter who wanted a slave…or a pet. How am I doing?"

John couldn't help taking a step back as the yahg stood. He was massive, easily eleven feet tall and as big as three Krogans.

"Well...shit," Jane muttered as she slowly backed away. The Shadow Broker snarled and smashed his desk in half with on fist, picking it up and throwing the pieces at them. John tackled Liara, rolling them out of the way of one as Jane dove out of the way of the other. The Broker pulled out a revenant machine gun and opened fire at them. John pushed Liara to cover and dove behind a console. He pulled his own revenant and opened fire, whittling down the yahg's shields with Liara and Jane. Just as his shields collapsed the Shadow Broker activated something on his caunlet and a sphere in the ceiling lit up, dropping kinetic shields over him.

"The shield's kinetically sensitive!" Liara told John as Jane hit him with a biotic warp which didn't take hold. "Energy and projectiles are bouncing off!"

"Then we do this my way," John snarled, storming at the Shadow Broker. He reared back with his right fist and smashed it into the Broker's face. It connected with a meaty thump and John followed it up with a left. The Shadow Broker bellowed and took a swipe at John and he ducked.

"Let's see if you bleed, motherfucker!" Jane cried as she rushed in, blades drawn. She began to slice back and forth. The Broker had natural armor like a krogan or turian, but her blades were biting into him as she twirled, slipping back out of the way and John punched.

"High and low!" John shouted. Jane nodded, slipping her blades into their sheaths before charging at the Shadow Broker again. Just before she got there John's fist hit him again, snapping him to the side. Jane leaped at the end of her charge, her right hand glowing with biotic energy. It fist smashed into the Broker's face with a crack and burst of biotic energy. The Shadow Broker screamed trying to grab her but John's fist smashed into his body, hitting him again and again with loud clangs as their armors connected. He tried to focus on John and throw him away but as soon as he turned from Jane she would smash her biotically covered fist into his face. The Shadow Broker screamed again and grabbed John by the waist throwing him into Jane.

"Liara now!" John shouted at her. The asari thrust her hands up at the kinetic generator, cracking the shielding and sending the energy down at the Shadow Broker. He roared, trying to charge at her but the energy washed over him and disintegrated him. John let out a sigh and fell onto his back by Jane, breathing heavily. Liara approached John, offering him a hand up. As he let Liara help him to his feet Jane got to hers, dusting herself off.

"Shadow Broker, this is Operative Murat. We had a momentary connection failure. Can you confirm status?" a voice called from the panel to their side.

"Operative Shora requesting update. Are we still online?" another voice.

"Shadow Broker, I've lost our feed. We are online and awaiting instructions," a third voice called. The screen began to ring out in operatives calling for updates and Liara moved to stand in front of it. Jane watched as the asari seemed to ground herself before she opened a communication panel.

"This is the Shadow Broker. The situation is under control. We experienced a power fluctuation while upgrading hardware. It disrupted communications momentarily," Liara said and Jane watched as the door opened. She got in Feron's way with her hands up as he entered gun drawn. His eyes widened as he realized what was happening. "However, we are now back online. Resume standard procedures. I want a status report on all operations within the next solar day. Shadow Broker out." Feron approached with a limp. Jane offered a hand but he ignored her.

"Goddess of oceans...it's you. You...how?" he gasped.

"Well, everyone who's ever seen in him person is dead, so..." Liara started.

"...you're the new Shadow Broker," Feron said.

"Is taking over as the Shadow Broker really a good idea?" John asked.

"It was either that or lose everything: his contacts, his trading sources. Those will really help us. With the Shadow Broker's information network. I can give you...I can..." Liara started to get misty eyed.

"I'll, uh, check the power systems," Feron said and Jane moved up next to him.

"How about I call the shuttle and we get you checked out by a doctor before you take over ship maintenance?" Jane suggested.

"I can check the ship before we go," he said and the two left the room.

"It's over. It's finally...for two years..." Liara sobbed. John approached her. "Is it wrong that I want this John?" she asked softly. John shook his head, hugging her to him as she laid cheek on his shoulder.

"No it's not, Lia," he said to her softly. "After everything you've done, I wouldn't trust any person more with this than you." He pulled back slightly and took her chin softly in one hand and kissed her. Liara sighed and kissed him back. They stood there and he told her with his actions just how much he loved and trusted her. They only separated when Jane coughed behind them.

"Uh John, we need to check on the crew and Feron is being difficult about seeing Chakwas." Jane said and John nodded at her before turning back to Liara.

"Come up to my cabin later? We'll talk," John offered and Liara nodded.

"Will you stick around and help me vett the crew?" she asked and John smiled.

"Absolutely. I think we can get some good intel from his files." John said and Liara smiled at him.

"Good."

~*TF*~

John was just pouring a Thessia red he remembered Liara liked when the door to his cabin opened. He closed the bottle and turned, feeling his heart stop. Liara was wearing an elegant dark purple and red dress that made him grin like a fool. As she looked around he noticed that she had that frame from her office in one hand.

"Did you enjoy the tour?" he asked and Liara smiled at him.

"Yes, it's a beautiful ship. And I ran into Joker. He seemed happy to see me," Liara said before smirking at him. "Although he did ask me to record any parts of our conversation where 'my eyes do that freaky black eternity thing'."

"Note to self, kill Joker," John quipped and Liara laughed.

"I spoke with some of the others from the SR-1. I'm glad they're all doing well." Liara said, walking towards his desk and glanced at it before turning to face him. "I brought you something. It took some digging but I recovered your tags." She held out the frame to him and for the first time John saw what it was. Liara had taken his Alliance dog tags and framed them.

"I was wondering where those went." John mused as he took the frame. "It's seems like forever since I was just an Alliance soldier. First I get tapped from the Spectres and now Cerberus." He set them on his desk and stared at them with a frown.

"I heard about what some of the Admirals had done to you John. I'm sorry you lost your Alliance career." Liara said softly and John shrugged.

"Honestly it feels like that's over and done with now. Even if they asked me I wouldn't go back," John noted and turned to lean against his desk.

"You succeed against odds most people wouldn't even take on. It's no wonder most people want you on their side. But I know it wears on you," Liara said turning to walk down the steps by the couch. "How are you doing now John? Not what you tell the others, even Jane to keep the morale up."

"Between us? I have no idea how we're going to do this. I'm doing everything I can but…" John shook his head.

"You're doing more than most." Liara said as he came down to join her. "But this crew is coming together and your sister is finally accepting who you are. I know by the time you're ready to hit the Collectors they will all be there right by your side willingly." She placed a hand on her hip and shot him a grin. "So tell me what you want. If this all ends tomorrow, what happens to us?"

"Well I had bought a house on Earth before I got spaced. Maybe you can marry me, watch me hit my thumb a few hundred times as I fix it up for you, and then lots of little blue children?" John asked, grinning at her and Liara shoved him with one hand, smiling at him.

"You just say these things and it's just like before and…and…" Liara trailed off into a sob turning away from him. "Goddess you were dead and I was the only one who looked for you. If I hadn't found you the Collectors would have…would have…"

"Hey, I'm here now and I'll be coming back after this mission," he said softly, wrapping his arms around her from behind.

"You promise me?" she whispered and John grinned at her.

"I don't know, that's a pretty big promise to make." John teased and Liara smiled.

"Oh is it?" she husked, running her hands along his back.

"I'd have to have something special to come back to," John whispered in her ear, before nibbling on her neck where he knew she liked it.

"I'm…open to suggestion," Liara drawled softly, clutching at her back of his neck and sliding her other hand down.

"How about…this?" John said softly, sliding his hand down and…

Liara gasped.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: March 7th, 2186 CE

Location: Hagalaz, Sowilo System, Normandy SR-2

Jane was sitting at the table in the mess, it was empty due to the ship time, the glass in front of her had alcohol, but she was staring at it more than drinking it. John appeared.

"Need some fluids after embracing eternity with your girlfriend?" Jane said, it sounded awkward to her ears. "That came out really wrong..." John blinked, grabbing a bottle of water before moving to sit across from her. He stared at her for a minute before deciding not commenting on Jane's rather creepy question was best.

"So...do I pass?" John asked and Jane looked at him for a moment before realizing it was time to talk about them. She got up and dumped her drink in the sink. A waste, but she needed a clear head for this. She grabbed a bottle of water too before sitting across from him.

"I've been fighting with myself for a while now," Jane said. "I have wanted to believe it was you for a very long time." John stared at her with a hopeful smile. "It was really hard losing you. I have done a lot of things I regret now. I'm ashamed of the person I have become."

"Jane..." John started and Jane shook her head. She held out a data disk. John stared at it.

"I cannot tell you right now everything I want to tell you...but..." she looked at him. "This is a copy of my journal. I've kept it since you...died...nearly died...I don't know, this is weird. I always addressed it to you anyway. I think this will tell you what you need to know and I hope...I hope you forgive me, John. I am so sorry, but I think this will explain more. So...watch that and...and we can talk more. When we're not both dead on our feet." John took the disk and watched as she got up and headed to bed. "I've missed you so much...Big Brother." Even with her back to him, John knew she was already crying. She went to her room and he stared at the disk in his hand.

~*TF*~

Toby Note: Well that was fun! Did you guys have fun?

Belle Note: Woo, that has been a long time coming. I'm kind of sad to see the end of Tela, but we all knew it was coming, didn't we? I enjoyed having Jane have a history with Tela, it made this chapter even more meaningful especially since Jane knew Tela had worked with the Shadow Broker before. In truth, if you or someone you know is dealing with a missing loved one, it is important that you/they get professional help. Many people do not realize that the psychological stresses that comes from a missing family member or loved one. In the last week I have seen three reports on missing family members, one has been found but the other two are still missing. People have said it is easier to know that someone they care about is dead than to have them missing, so please, make sure you share missing persons' information, such as Amber Alerts and other things on social media. Check the dates of the original posts to see if they are old and have been found, but do share. You or someone you know could help to keep a family from suffering. Thanks for listening to my little public service announcement.

~*TF*~

OMAKE 1

This omake is proudly titled "Why Bioware Won't Let Us Play ME3 Multi with Story Characters"

"Jane are you in position for the upload?" John asked with Liara by his side, ready to cast a barrier into place around them while the upload was being completed. He saw Garrus in the distance moving into position, He blinked as he swore he saw a red laser sight following the Turian's ass. "Jane, what are you doing?"

"Hello, it's me."

"Yes Jane I know it's you." John sighed.

"I was wondering if after all these years you'd like to calibrate, to go over everything."

"Wait what?" John asked in surprise and Liara frowned.

"Is she singing?" the Asari said, surprised.

"Jane what are you doing?" Garrus asked over the comms and Liara sighed before turning hers on.

"She's singing Garrus, let her live," Liara chided and John face palmed.

"They say that time's supposed to heal you, but I require healing."

"Use fucking medi-gel then!" Jack chimed in angrily from her own position.

"Hello, can you hear me, I'm on a distant world dreaming about what we did on the Normandy."

"Wait what have you done on my ship?" John demanded angrily. "And why do I want to hurt my Turian-bro now?!"

"When we were younger and free, I've forgotten how it felt before the world fell at our feet."

"Is this a human mating ritual?" Grunt growled.

"I'm here above the target area dreaming about what we could have been."

"Oh my God I think she's using Adelle," Miranda chimed in.

"There's such a difference between us,"

"The dextro and levo interaction can be problematic," Mordin said, adding his two cents.

"And a million miles"

"Actually the distance is one hundred thirty two feet, four inches, Jane-Spectre," Legion said, trying to be helpful.

"Oh my God!" Kasumi squealed. "This is happening, this is happening right now!"

"Jane, do not do what I think you're about to do, you'll give away our position!" John ordered.

"Hello from the other siiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiide! I must have called a thousand tiiiiiiiiiiiiiimes!"

John sighed angrily as the sounds of dozens upon dozens of weapons cocking and humming to life as all of their enemies focused on Jane who was right above John and Liara's position.

Toby: Special thank you to Overwatch AWNN by Omahdon. Watch them, totally worth it.

Belle: I get random youtube videos from this guy, including the one he is referencing above. Side note, while I love Overwatch, I suuuuuuck at Widowmaker. Moira, Junkrat, and Orisa are my go to's.

Toby: I on the other hand have not played on second of Overwatch but I love the lore and stories. Still waiting on my single player Overwatch story game, damn it.

OMAKE 2

"You...fucking...knew..." Jane whispered as John and Liara spoke. Biotics shimmered over Jane's body as she saw nothing but realized a very serious fact that she had been kept unaware of. She was on her feet and she slapped Liara across the face.

"You bitch!" Liara cried before slapping Jane across the face.

"Fuck you!" Jane shouted, slapping Liara again.

"No! Fuck you!" Liara cried back, slapping Jane again.

"Now kiss!" John cried and the two women turned to stare at him. "It works on the vids."

From the street below people could watch the body of John Shepard as it was biotically thrown by two women through the window of Liara's office. Followed by...

"Where were we?" Liara asked.

"Oh right! Fuck you!" Jane cried and the sound of another slap.

"Fuck you!" Liara screamed with the sound of another slap. This went on for quite some time while the Cerberus crew rushed from the Normandy to bring John Shepard back to life...again.

OMAKE 3

Tali sighed and poured herself a drink in the bar in Samara's quarters. Miranda and Kasumi did the same from the opposite side, watching the Quarian seal the drink and attach it to an emergency induction port in her faceplate. All three women made sighs of regret as the door opened allowing Jane and Samara to enter the room. The two newcomers blinked as they saw the three by the bar.

"What are you three doing?" Jane asked in exasperation.

"Being so angry at your boshtet brother that he won't even look our way," Tali said, a slight slur in her speech already giving away that she'd already started drinking.

"Oh? And how is this an issue? Has he only stated a preference for Asari?" Samara asked, intrigued as Miranda and Kasumi knocked glasses with Tali and all three threw back their drinks.

"He's up there, right now." Kasumi growled. "Embracing eternity. He even thought to check for me cloaked in the room!"

"Were you?"

"Of course I was, that's not the point!"

"John's always been…stupidly loyal," Jane said, strolling over to lean against the bar. "Though I don't think it's a purely Asari fetish. He was so in love with Elizabeth when we were younger I thought for sure he would either marry or knock that girl up."

"With his genes I could clone such perfect children," Miranda mused. "I should have taken samples while he was unconscious. I swear that was the only part that didn't need enhancement. I loved handling it to make sure it was functional."

The other women just stared at her.

"What?"

OMAKE 4

Liara helped John up as Jane began looking up something on her omni-tool as she lay on the ground.

"Jane...you okay?" John asked.

"Just looking up the yahg homeworld," Jane stated and the two start at her.

"Why?" Liara asked and Jane blinked before grinning.

"Did you see how his little ears wiggled when you made him mad!" she cried as her eyes lit up. As she waved her finger beside her face like the Shadow Broker's ears.

"Jane no," John said.

"Jane yes!" Jane grinned. "Found it. I'm gonna go and get me a pet yahg!" She got up and began whistling as she headed out with a skip in her step.

"She's joking right?" Liara asked in abject horror. John stared at Liara for a second with a weak grin.

"She has a pet varren...I can't risk it!" he cried before breaking into a sprint after Jane.

Belle Note: That part of the cut scene when Liara is identifying the Shadow Broker as a yahg and his little fin-ears do that wiggle is too cute. The first time I saw that scene I legitimately giggled because it was just adorable to me. I mean, you have to ignore the giant ass body, the creepy spider eyes, and the horrific tri-pointed mouth with the needle teeth, but those ears!