I don't own Mass Effect. Bioware does.

"Yeah. I've got my eyes set on the Alliance. It's not so much out of 'duty and honor', but it'd still be pretty cool. Besides, what's a guy like me got for work?" Joker sighed.

Jeff, Jane, and a new friend she'd met a few weeks into classes named Kelly all met at a cafe in the wards, not too far from the academy.

"If you feel that they'd allow someone with your condition in, we won't hold you back," Kelly replied cheerfully.

"Thanks, Kelly," Joker chirped.

It had been three years now since she first enrolled, and Jane, now 22, was living comfortably on the Citadel with Saren.

"So what were you thinking about, Jane?" Kelly asked.

Jane rested her chin on her palm.

"I was thinking of the possibilities where I can…save lives," Jane answered.

"You thinking of the Alliance, too?" Jeff commented, "hey, it'd be great we'd enlisted together."

Jane blinked twice.

"I hear the Alliance is influential on the behalf of humans," Jane replied.

"So you had something else in mind? C-Sec maybe?" Kelly prodded.

"I'm still trying to decide," Jane answered.

Jane took a moment to sip her mocha.

"Hello, Shepard. Talking with your friends?"

Saren had walked along doing errands when he had noticed Jane, Joker, and Kelly at the cafe and decided to stop to talk. Yet, Joker and Kelly's eyes widened in surprise.

"Whoa!" Joker exclaimed.

Saren put his hands up in false surrender.

"No need to panic," Saren reassured, "I just wanted to stop by. I assume you're all doing well?"

"W-We're fine," Kelly blurted, letting out a nervous chuckle, "we're having a blast."

"I'll let you be, then. I'll see you at home, Jane," Saren acknowledged calmly, before turning and continuing down the street.

With Jane, Joker and Kelly exchanging glances, they returned to their drinks.

"So…what's life like with that ghost?" Jeff eyed the Spectre as he walked out of view.

"We get along well," Jane answered calmly.

The two remained skeptical.

"Really? I mean, I've heard plenty about Spectre Arterius," Kelly reiterated, "none of it particularly good."

"He's a good individual under that carapace," Jane argued, "it's just he doesn't show it publicly."

Joker and Kelly gave Jane a confused stare.

"If you're alright with him, that's fine," Joker resumed after a long pause, "it's just…weird, that's all."

Jane pulled out one of her textbooks and flipped to the chapter one of her classes covered for the day.

"You can't judge a book by its cover," Jane reached for her tea as she picked up where she left off.

Finals had only been a month away, and the trio were anxious for the grinding transition to the next stage for the year. With Jane determined to study, Kelly and Joker volunteered to find some snacks so the trio could enjoy while they crammed for finals.

"You think she's the type who'd like chocolate covered pretzels?" Joker asked Kelly, stumbling down the aisle, "I mean, she already likes pretzels, and adding chocolate is essentially making them twice as good."

Kelly picked up the package of chocolate-covered pretzels. The two were too busy to notice a salarian and two unpainted mercenaries enter the mostly empty shop and approach the clerk. Joker and Kelly searched the shelves and found their favorite snacks before placing them in the shopping basket. Walking to the front, they held themselves back as one of the mercenaries held the shop owner at gun point while the salarian provided the talking. Staying low and out of sight, the two watched from several aisles over, but were unfortunately out of hearing range.

"Uh, what do you think that guy wants from the clerk?" Kelly whispered, her hands fidgeting nervously.

"It's just a shake down. Let them pass, then we'll buy our stuff and go. There's nothing we can do here," Jeff explained.

Kelly nodded in agreement, so all they could do was wait until it was safe to check out their items. Dropping the clerk on his knees, the salarian and his guards left the store as silently as the entered, leaving the two in abject shock.

"Shit! Oh shit! I can't believe-!" Joker panicked.

"Hurry, let's buy our stuff and follow," Kelly ordered, rushing to the front counter.

The clerk barely staggered to his feet and followed through with scanning the items before Kelly and Joker paid for them. Rushing out of the shop, the two stuck as close as Jeff's handicap would allow them. They stalked the salarian and his two henchmen through the bustling crowds to a large medical clinic.

"Ok, this is just odd," Joker commented.

"Yeah," Kelly hummed in agreement, "whoever he was, he sure is confident to operating in the open like this."

Joker and Kelly tiptoed closer to the large clinic as they could, taking cover in alcoves to avoid being spotted by any witnesses. They entered one of far back rooms, taking a long glance at the equipment the salarian doctor had.

"Okay, this is really weird now," Joker muttered, "if he has this much funding for this much equipment, why does he need to rely on shaking down the locals for funds?"

"Why funds necessarily?" Kelly asked.

"What else could it be?" Joker shrugged.

Kelly carefully examined the equipment.

"Hey! What are you two doing back here? This area is off limits to patients."

Kelly and Joker shuddered and turned their heads towards an asari assistant entering the room, glaring at them suspiciously.

"Umm, we were looking for the restrooms and got lost," Jeff hastily lied.

"Yeah," Kelly played along, nervously fluttering her hands, "and we're sorry for disturbing you. If you want us to leave, that's perfectly fine."

"No, I can take care of this," the salarian they spotted from earlier came into view, "I'd prefer to handle troublemakers my way."

Adrenaline surging through her veins, Kelly scanned the area for something she could use to distract them long enough for her and Joker to escape. She quickly snatched a bunsen burner from the counter and aimed it at the salarian.

"Don't come any closer!" she yelled.

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to handle the two of you with care."

The doctor pulled out a small sidearm, shooting both with darts. Feeling an electric jolt ripple through their bodies, Kelly and Jeff fell to the ground, unconsciousness taking them seconds later.

Jane had been studying through her notes for a while, yet she couldn't help but wonder why Kelly and Joker haven't sent her any indication of their arrival. She began to walk to the front door of her apartment in case she'd left the door unlocked and quickly checked outside in case she hadn't heard them knock. All the while, Saren scrolled through the reports in his omni-tool.

"Something wrong, Jane?" Saren could hear her approach his office without looking.

"I haven't heard from Joker since an hour ago," Jane answered.

"Maybe they're late? Where were they going before they came here?" Saren asked, turning his chair around.

Jane checked the message app in her omni-tool.

"They said they were going to get some snacks," she explained.

Saren sighed nervously.

"This isn't entirely legal, but it's necessary. Can I have their omni-tool numbers?"

Jane hesitated for a moment. While she was concerned for their safety, but their privacy was also just as important. After a moment of silence, Jane scrolled to the contacts and tilted her omni-tool within Saren's line of vision.

"Even with their omni-tool addresses, I can still track them…or where their omni-tools are at least. Even then, it should give me a general idea of where they were taken," Saren explained.

This gave Jane the encouragement she needed to give Saren the numbers. It didn't take long for the Spectre to find their last recorded whereabouts.

"A medical clinic?" Saren paused, "I hope nothing bad happened to them."

Jane couldn't help but scratch her head.

"I can't recall a clinic being a place to buy snacks," Jane pointed out.

Saren quickly suited up before heading to the door.

"We should go," Saren advised, "at least check on them, make sure they're still alright."

Jane took several minutes to gear up before meeting up with the turian Spectre at the front door. Soon enough, they headed out of the apartment and made their way through the Presidium. The clinic they tracked Jeff and Kelly to was as clean and good looking as the likes of Huerta Hospital, but not nearly as big or heavily staffed. Walking in, Saren was greeted by the receptionist.

"Hello, and welcome to Siffen Hospital. Is there anything I can help you with?" she asked.

Saren glanced nervously at the empty waiting room.

"Yes, is it at all possible that I could see a Jeff Moreau or a Kelly Chambers?" Saren requested, "it's important."

The receptionist accessed her terminal and scrolled through the database of current patients in the clinic.

"I don't see anyone matching those names here. Perhaps you were mistaken?"

Saren was about to protest when he held himself back.

"No, I think that'll be alright. Say, do you know where the water fountain is?"

After the receptionist pointed them in the right direction, the two sauntered down a back corridor towards the bathroom areas.

"Something's amiss. This way to the back storage room," Saren advised.

While slithering down the corridor, they kept a keen eye for anyone on patrol. With no one watching, Saren quickly tried to get to work on the lock. However, the lock was tougher than anticipated, causing him to bite back a curse.

"Shit. Whoever he is, his locks have some well-written algorithms. Fortunately, there's more than one way to crack a lock," Saren replied as he put on a suppressor onto his pistol and aimed it at the lock.

Without hesitation, he squeezed the trigger, the round blasting the lock off. Breaking in, the duo found a small storage room, still empty of any staff.

"Stay close, we really can't afford to be caught back here," Saren beckoned.

Using his omni-tool, he scanned the room for security devices and set the ones he did find to loop.

"Right. Nothing much here. Look for anything that might suggest a hidden passage. There's got to be more here."

"Copy that," Jane nodded.

Jane carefully slithered along the wall, keeping an eye open for any unusual dents or placement of the furniture inside. Sliding her hand along the inner wall of a shelf by the wall, she felt the rectangular grooves of an uneven part of the shelving unit. Eyes fierce with determination, Jane pushed at the grooves, causing a hidden door to slide open and catching Saren's attention.

"Nicely done, Shepard. May I ask how you found it?" Saren hummed admiringly.

Jane turned her head towards Saren as he approached her.

"I found an unusual part of a shelf and pushed at it," Jane answered.

Saren nodded in approval before he led her through the secret door. The white, almost porcelain walls gave way to dark, stained steel walls as they cautiously stepped down the dimly lit steps. Down below, a few staff still wandered about, moving equipment and stock upstairs and back. It was surprisingly clean downstairs, with a few walking freezers and nothing obvious that would've signified any unethical behavior. There were numerous surgical tables, some with fresh blood being tended to by cleaning bots. Saren still kept track of his omni-tool while he and Jane snuck through the dark corridors of this underground section of the facility. Entering another hallway, there was a short corridor with medical chairs in prison cells.

"Oh good, you're awake."

They were startled when they began to hear talking down the hallway.

"W-where are we?" Kelly started, drowsiness and pain in her voice.

"You were out almost an hour. Enjoy your beauty sleep?"

Kelly nodded as she groaned softly and tried to stand to her feet, but she soon realized she was strapped to her chair as much as Joker was.

"Augh-! What the hell!" Joker grunted painfully.

"Relax, kid. Your condition was noted before we got to work with the two of you. It was actually smart of your employers to send the likes of you two. Security thought you were another set of patients until the doctor saw you. Funnily enough, you guys aren't as sneaky as you think," another voice added.

"Look, this is just a big mistake!" Kelly screeched desperately.

"That's cute," the first voice repeated, "but lies aren't going to get you out of this shithole. Here's the deal: you tell us who you work for, what caught their attention, and what they sent you here to do. You will answer our questions in a manner we find satisfactory, and you have three chances to get the questions right. If not…the doctor is always in need of new patients."

"Are you kidding?!" Kelly protested, "we aren't working for anyone and no one sent us here!"

"And there goes your first try. This is not a trivia game, so cut the bullshit."

Saren and Jane picked up their pace as they hustled to the cell where Jeff and Kelly were being held. The two were both strapped to the medical chairs, with Jeff keeping very still to avoid hurting himself on his restraints. Two heavily armored and armed guards faced the captive friends with their backs to the bars, oblivious to the Spectre's presence.

"Look, we don't even have an idea why the hell this needs to be so private!" Jeff barked defensively.

"Strike two," the second guard reminded.

Jane put her suppressor on her pistol as she positioned herself.

"We were just curious! We don't know who your employer was, we don't know why he was at the convenience store we saw him at, and we don't know what he was after! This is just a mistake!"

"Your persistence is admirable, but wasted. Luckily, the doctor wanted us to test a new serum on the two of you, providing accelerated results."

As the guard to the left turned to fetch the syringes from a case on a table, Saren and Jane peeked from cover to gun down both captors before opening the cell.

"S-Saren?!" Joker exclaimed.

"Speaking. Jane caught wind of your capture when you took longer than expected to show up. How'd you end up down here?" Saren asked as he kept guard, watching down the corridor from where they came while Jane took to removing their restraints.

"We were shopping for snacks when we saw this salarian threatening the clerk," Kelly began to explain.

"A salarian? What did he look like?" Saren asked.

"He had dark brown skin, was slender and tall, and had two red stripes under each eye," Kelly quickly answered as she rubbed her wrists as she got up.

The four began to move out as Saren filled in the blanks.

"Thought so. Dr. Saleon owns this facility, and he's quite a shadowy figure. For now, I want to get you two to safety before I double back and gather more evidence."

Saren scouted ahead to ensure the coast was clear before he led Jane, Joker and Kelly forth.

"Why would this Dr. Saleon want us?" Joker asked.

"C-Sec has a file on him. They managed to find him tangentially connected to the black market, but regulations prevent them from finding out just how deep those ties go. For now, we'll get you two on your way back to our apartment while we dig a bit more. Stay there and lock yourselves in, but contact us if Saleon decides to pursue," the Spectre answered.

The group quickly walked back to the main lobby, avoiding the attention among the few other patients presence. By the time they made it outside, Kelly hooked Joker's arm around her shoulder.

"You know where your apartment is, right?" Kelly pointed out.

Saren responded by sending the address to Kelly's omni-tool, giving her a chance to examine the coordinates.

"Right," Kelly told Saren, "we'll take care!"

With Kelly escorting Joker as far away from the clinic as they could, Jane and Saren snuck back inside.

"I usually don't like going into one of these places blind like we are right now," Saren told Jane, "right now, we've got to find what Dr. Saleon is really doing here, get a sample of his product or some notes to prove his work here is real, and get out to have the evidence analyzed. I'm getting the sense whatever he's doing isn't exactly following any particular medical oath. Ready?"

"Yes," Jane nodded.

The two returned to snaking their way through the hospital. They hid the bodies before they left, but it would only be a matter of time before some stumbled onto their progress, forcing them to act quickly. Incapacitating any personnel they encountered and executing any 'guards' that limited their movement, Saren and Jane made their way back to the basement and began to sweep through the work areas and storage units. Saren hacked through a terminal to pick through notes while Jane entered a freezer to retrieve a sample.

While the Spectre read through the data, he grimaced at his findings. It was a message that confirmed the 'good' doctor's ties to the black market via organ harvesting. He'd have to download the data and have the files analyzed further before he could make any tangible conclusions.

"Shepard, have you found anything?" Saren called over to the freezer as he started to copy files onto an OSD he brought.

Jane emerged from the freezer with a sample in her hand.

"Just a bunch of containers with…what I can only guess are organs," Jane started, "I mean, they do remind me of another guy on the streets in Jackson when he was blown open by a police shotgun."

"Let's obtain a few before we leave," Saren suggested, heading into the freezer and reaching for a crate.

By the time they had enough evidence in their possession, they burst out the door. Close behind, there were numerous personnel firing at them while Saren kept himself and Jane protected by a biotic barrier. Stepping forward in front of the crowd, Saleon simply pushed down the barrel of the gun as he squinted at the Spectre and his accomplice. The salarian doctor caught Saren's attention, but he immediately brushed it off as he and Jane made their way outside. Climbing into a cab, they rode off to safety. The Spectre's human accomplice rested her back against the seat as she held the sample close to her chest.

"So," she panted to get air back into her lungs, "where to now?"

"Spectre Academy on the Presidium," Saren answered, "the resources there will help us get a general idea of what Saleon is up to. And tell your friends to meet us there; chances are our apartment won't be safe for much longer."

Jane nodded and upon cue, she sent a text message to Joker and Kelly.