Trigger Warning: Implied non-con of a relative in a dream sequence

I don't own Mass Effect. Bioware does.

Having completed their mission, Saren and Jane finally returned to the Citadel. While the Spectre took his time to submit his report to the Council, Jane had a chance to rest from the mission that seemed to exhaust her. Saren looked over his report one last time before sending it. He quickly got up to get something to eat from the kitchen. Once he found something in the pantry, he ambled over to the living room and sat in a lounge chair, considering Jane was resting on the couch.

"You learned fast. Was there something you learned from the streets that you'd applied here?" he asked.

Jane shifted until she focused her eyes on the Spectre.

"The job seemed relatively straight forward. Keep silent, sneak around, kill all the bad guys, and find whatever you can to set the next stage of the puzzle you're working on. It doesn't seem to be that complicated. Just B-movie spy stuff," Jane answered.

Saren let out a soft chortle before he opened the package in his hands.

"I suppose that's a good way to summarize the matter," Saren mused, "maybe you'd like to find a job doing something similar?"

Even if Jane didn't respond, she started dozing off. Saren figured he shouldn't disturb her, so he set off to eat his snack.

By the time a week passed, Jane went through the evaluations and she barely managed to pass. This gave her and Saren a chance to gather supplies for her classes. By the time the classes did start, life did become relatively routine for Jane. Initially, Saren would accompany Jane going to the academy to show her ways of getting there on her own. With Jane capable of taking care of herself, he could resume his work, writing up reports or completing other duties. During and between classes, Jane figured she would seek out chances to open up to others in an effort to make friends. At the moment, she waited in the library not too far from her next class. She considered using this time to find a spot to study through the work from her previous classes and when she found a desk, she sat down next to a human reading through an engineering book. He was a thin scrawny kid with ginger-colored hair. He had crutches by his side of the desk. Peaking from behind his book, he slowly greeted.

"Uhh, hey," he started with a pause, "something I can help you with?"

Jane paused before she turned her head towards the scrawny human.

"Not at the moment," Jane replied softly, "but thanks for the offer."

"Sorry, I'm still new here," he nervously chuckled, "the name's Jeff, but my friends and family at home mostly call me Joker. Don't ask why."

"Jane Shepard," Jane greeted, "I'm also new here."

"So what are you here for?" Jeff asked as he put a book marker in and set his book down.

Jane pulled out one of the textbooks and flipped to a particular page.

"I'm just here to catch up with everyone else," she answered.

Joker cautiously reached for a bottle of water.

"You're here because you got held back?" Joker clarified.

Jane nodded.

"But even that was beyond my control," she added.

"Yeah. I'm looking to be a pilot after all this. Even if I don't see much action," he replied, slowly bringing the bottle to his lips as if it were somehow hazardous.

Jane nodded as she began reading through a chapter in the textbook.

"Sure, there are pirates and raiders practically camping at the next Mass Relay, waiting to tear you apart, but so long as you manage your barriers properly, know how to control even the worst-designed vehicles, you'll be safe," Jeff concluded.

While she listened, Jane also read through her notes.

"I take it you're the strong-and-silent type then?" Joker stammered.

"I'm not really sure myself," Jane replied.

"You really don't seem to be in the mood for talking. I hope I'm not making you feel uncomfortable," he reiterated.

Jane gave Joker a puzzled stare for a moment.

"Hey, you're fine," Jane reassured, "I haven't recalled the last time I made friends with another human."

"Wait, what?" Jeff stalled, nearly dropping his bottle, "no offense, but how does that work?"

"It's a long story," Jane replied, "are you sure you want to hear about it?"

Jane kept her eyes locked onto Joker while she kept studying the chapter in question.

"I suppose I have time until my next class," Jeff confirmed nervously.

While they were both focused in their studies, Jane took some time to relay what it felt like to be homeless.

"It was hard, but I managed to hold out well enough while dodging local police until Saren found me," she finished.

"So you're bunking with a Spectre for now until you get on your feet?" he asked.

Jane couldn't help but blush. Jeff stuttered, realizing his error.

"I…that came out wrong. I don't mean to imply…anyways, I should be going. Talk to you later?" Joker said.

"S-Sure," Jane nodded, "why not?"

If anything, Jane had been focused on survival that she almost had little to no clues on living a normal life. Her awkward introduction to Joker proved this.

"Great," Joker chirped, "here's my omni-tool number for later."

With that, Jeff picked up his crutches and bag, stood up, and limped away to his class. Jane went back to studying while keeping track of time before her next class.

By the time her classes for the day ended, Jane returned to Saren's apartment and she settled into the living room so she can continue studying through her subjects.

"Welcome home," Saren greeted from his office, "I brought a snack home for you. It's on the kitchen counter when you need it."

Jane took a moment to head over into the kitchen, finding a bag of pretzels on the counter. Saren continued to sit at his desk, glaring at some unfinished work C-Sec had sent him. With more insight on Jane's origins, he now had a sparked interest in her pedantry, searching for any surviving relatives he could possibly inform of Jane's existence. She was lonely, and at least giving her someone to turn to would be beneficial to her. Coincidentally, Jane took a moment to glance at the TV screen just as it was in the middle of commercials, one of them recently catching her eye:

{Up next, more is revealed on a ring of slave traffickers riddled throughout Alliance space, dug into the most developed of human colonies. More will be revealed after the break.}

As the host continued to speak, there was a brief montage of faces that continued to slide by, one which she instantly recognized among the other faceless victims.

"Mom," Jane whispered softly.

Jane checked the time, and when she noticed the documentary would start in a few minutes, she took this chance to schedule a recording of the program. Maybe at a later time, this documentary would be a useful resource should a lesson project be presented which she could put her personal experience into good use. Saren continued to work away, looking over names, identifications, locations, and addresses, looking for more answers. Finding what he needed, he stepped out.

"Jane, I found something that…" Saren began to inform, "oh."

Jane looked up from the program, still having the report recorded onto her omni-tool. Just as the program started broadcasting, Jane examined the report Saren sent her.

"So I…still have relatives?" Jane paused.

Saren nodded before he sat down next to Jane.

"I found a few matches. Relatively distant connections, but it's someone. And I've admittedly been curious as to where you come from."

Jane nodded as she continued studying from the textbook in her hands. All the while, she also watched as the documentary showed footage of Hannah performing in a school play.

{…The gang didn't have a specific strategy as to how they targeted victims, they did have a specific list of traits victims needed to meet before they could be considered a good target for abduction to be both satisfactory to their customers and minimize the chance of earning unwanted attention. As such, victims were often from the lower echelons of Alliance society, which were still plentiful in the early stages of human expansion,} the commentator continued, as the camera continued to hover over Hannah.

The camera also showed footage of human families in impoverished places as parents tried to find jobs to provide for their loved ones.

{The eventual rapid territorial expansion was prompted by a variety of environmental and economical issues that persisted over much of the previous centuries, ultimately reaching a climax at the end of the Twenty First Century. As such, the Alliance was initially unable to see to the revision of various institutions to rectify the problems. As the population began to disperse over the various colonies and they began to adopt Prothean-based technologies, these issues have began to show signs of improvement. After an anonymous tip off, Alliance authorities have began to make headway against the ring.}

Saren placed his hands on Jane's shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.

"You haven't lost everything yet."

Making a brief glance at Saren, Jane smiled in relief.

"I could make some arrangements to meet them if you want," Saren continued, handing her a datapad with everything he'd collected on her extended family.

Well, Jane did read the information of her extended family. She was still aware that she still had other things to focus on.

"I know I've still got school, but I could make arrangements to see them as soon as I'm ready," Jane sighed.

Saren nodded.

"If making contact with them is what you'd want to feel more secure," he added, "I can see to it that it's done."

And with that, Jane went back to her task as Saren returned his focus to the documentary she took interest in. By then, the camera switched to a brief interview of Hannah's parents.

{We were excited for her when she accepted the offer,} Hannah's mother explained, {we thought this gave her a brighter future apart from the rest of us. We hadn't anticipated that we had given her up to such an atrocious system, bent on abusing the bodies of these poor people.}

The camera shifted to Hannah's father.

{We noticed how all these nice kids from these smaller neighborhoods and communities just up and disappeared without a trace. We'd talked with their friends and family, and they had no idea either,} he added.

The camera then shifted to the authorities investigating the empty brothel in Jackson.

{More recently, the Alliance has been able to begin dismantling the operations scattered throughout the homeworld. However, there are still at most hundreds of undocumented stations located throughout the fringes of the Alliance territories.}

Saren sighed before he placed his arm around Jane's shoulder.

"So how did your day go?" Saren asked.

"It went well, all things considered," Jane replied, "it's like how you'd always expect a first day to go."

Jane leaned closer to Saren.

"Although," Jane added, "I tried making friends with a peer in the library. It was pretty awkward."

"Odd how?"

Saren was looking over Jane's physical profile he'd been sent from Huerta while he continued prompting Jane with questions.

"Maybe I haven't had any friends before," Jane admitted, "besides you and Nihlus."

"It was your first day. You'll eventually find where your associates lie. Excuse me for a moment."

Saren headed to his office and walked to his closet where he kept his armor. Pulling out the chestplate, he pulled open a panel around the back of his right shoulder blade to where he had a small compartment for his built-in camera. Plugging in the OSD to his desktop, he continued to review the footage he had of Jane helping him combat the smugglers. Hypothetically, her harsh upbringing did cause her to be adaptable and develop an untrained and improvised form of self-defense, granting her the minimal skills she needed. Overall, it was rather amusing to watch her take down moderately trained gang members who were twice her size and weight, had at most ten years of training and experience, and the youngest members were roughly around seven to eight years older than she was. He couldn't help but chuckle between sips of his tea. While Jane did notice Saren left the living room, she still focused on her studies and the documentary. Her studies continued into the night, as Saren continued to work with Jane's profile. It was simply an idea, but he was still curious as to how far he could take it before it was ultimately rejected. In fact, he hoped Jane would be at least accepted. He could even mentor her himself if necessary. If he could bring her along enough times, maybe he could put her name forward under the premise that he witnessed her potential and that he wished to see if he could train her. Though it would be strange to have a human as a Spectre, he saw no argument standing against his proposition.

She was at the dinner table, back at the brothel doing her homework. It was an old, wooden table that teetered because the legs were uneven, but it did its job well. She had been home for almost half an hour now, and her mother was still handling a client in the bedroom. She picked up her head when she heard an inaudible conversation pick up in terms of tone. Now, her mother advised her to not pay attention to the noises in her bedroom, but after a while, the young girl couldn't concentrate on her homework as the noises bothered her.

She had peeked in during one of her sessions and learned early on not to interrupt when she did. Soon after, her mother gave her some details about her job and that she did it to make sure she could attend school and find life away from the brothel. She tried to resist the urge to peek when she heard noises other than what she knew was her doing her job for her clients, but she was now more desperate than ever to hear what her mother was yelling about with her clients. She quietly slid off the chair and tiptoed out of the dining room. Stepping up the door, she put her ear against it, listening closely to what was happening.

She couldn't understand most of the words at the time. She could hear what she could distinctly tell were profanities coming from both individuals.

"…That's final. I'm not going anywhere until you pay in full!" she could understand her mother saying.

The client replied, but it was so slurred, unfocused, and accented that she couldn't make out what he was saying. Moments later, she could hear her mother begging the client to stay back. With an audible smack, she could hear the sudden impact of something hitting the floor. Followed by more screaming, she could hear more dragging concluding in the squeaking of her old bed. The squeaking continued, and only gained momentum as she howled louder and he growled more vigorously like a hungry, rabid dog. All she could do was sit there, covering her mouth with the palm of her hand while tears streamed down her cheeks. The thought of what could be occurring behind those doors made her feel nauseous.

The noise simply continued without pause or hesitation as the man continued to brutalize her mother in some unsightly manner. Suddenly the noise stopped, leaving little besides his heavy grunting and her heavy gasps for breath. She continued to beg as he chuckled, followed by intensified scratching sounds and hard thumps, getting closer and louder with each occurrence. Suddenly, the door opened up to reveal the still naked client, with greasy hair, uneven yellow teeth, and bloodshot eyes with her stripped down mother while he was forcefully dragging her by her ankles along the floor. He started barking at her mother, prompting the young girl to put her hands over her head in defense and forcefully shut her eyes.

Opening them back up, she found she had fallen on the bedroom floor before sharply looking to the window. She caught her breath as she tried to choke back the sobs, looking out into the midnight Citadel landscape. Still shaken from the dream, Jane staggered to her feet, reflecting on the times she yearned to save her mother from such a horrid life.

Stumbling out into the living room, she found the area to still be dark and lifeless like the rest of the nights in Jackson. Wandering upstairs, she made her way to Saren's room, looking for the only other present in the apartment. She stopped at the door and peered through its crack, noticing the turian Spectre was still asleep. Fortunately, his bed was relatively big, meaning she could move in without disturbing him. Quietly sliding in, she kept silent as she felt herself sink into the warm sheets besides Saren, before allowing herself to sink away into her drowsiness. If anything, the sense of security allowed Jane to sleep through the night.

Saren slowly stirred as the artificial morning light from the Citadel outside shone sharply on his face. Getting up he leaned up in bed, blinking his eyes to adjust them to the light when he suddenly realized something was in the bed with him. He turned his head sideways, his eyes locking onto Shepard as she still nestled under the covers. Deciding to let her sleep a bit longer, he edged to the side of the bed and stood up before walking to the door. He stepped out of his room and made his way to the kitchen before he started preparing his kava. Sitting down at the living room couch, he reached for the remote and turned on the television to watch the morning news. It was only a while later before Jane stepped into the kitchen.

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?" Saren greeted.

Jane nodded before she took a few seconds to heat a cinnamon roll. After that, she sat down on the couch next to him and started eating.

"Was something wrong last night?" Saren asked.

Jane took a moment to think over the question.

"I thought my problems would be put to rest when I helped take down the traffickers I mentioned," Jane answered softly, "but a nightmare from last night…proved to me otherwise."

Saren gave a concerned frown.

"Does something still worry you?"

Jane took a bite out of her cinnamon roll before she focused on Saren.

"I know I couldn't do much for my mom now," Jane sighed, "but I still miss her. I just find myself wishing I had a chance to save her back then."

"You feel guilty she had suffered as much as she did?" Saren clarified.

"I remember many nights where she would come out of the bedroom heavily bruised or where she was heavily abused by the more aggressive customers. When I finally came back one day, I found her beaten to death with her blood coating the walls. I was scared, afraid the same would happen to me. So I just ran. I stripped off whatever I had in that miserable hellhole and never looked back," she explained, struggling to blink back tears.

Saren caught a glance of a teardrop and his subvocals let out a soft coo. He reached over and brushed his talon against her face.

"I can understand your loss," Saren reassured, "still, it's important…it's important to know that you were lucky. You managed to escape the brothels, and while you're alone, you won't suffer the fate she did."

Jane nodded in agreement.

"We can't bring them back," Saren added, "but the least we can do is to lead better lives for their name's sake."

"Right," Jane agreed before she returned to her cinnamon roll.

The emotional tension began to ease as the conversation ended and their attention was drawn back to the news. To be frank, Saren didn't mind the thought that he'd been in bed with Jane. It was definitely strange, but not in a sense where it'd be considered taboo. Either way in his mind, it was still a good chance to let her open up a little more before she went on with her day.