I don't own Mass Effect. Bioware does.
A few hours passed as they returned to the Citadel with Jane quickly washing off while Saren quickly compiled a report about their success. Sending both reports to the council and local authorities, he quickly got up and began to take apart his armor. After he set his armor aside, he changed into a casual outfit and stepped out of his office, making his way to the living room. Jane emerged from the shower in a casual outfit minutes later.
"So, are we calling it a day?" Jane asked.
Saren sighed as he sat down on the living room couch.
"Yeah, we're good for the day," Saren answered, "we might go over some combat training over the next few days. I apologize if you have to take in so much so quickly."
Jane sat down next to Saren, leaning closer to him.
"So, what does it entail?" she insisted in a calm tone.
"Combat movement," Saren answered, "maybe some finer details like basic hacking. We'll eventually get into detective work."
Jane closed her eyes.
"Now you're talking," she mused.
Saren smiled before he wrapped his arm around her and closed his eyes.
The following day, Jane changed into a sporty outfit after she had her breakfast. Saren knew by now that she was capable of handling a weapon and learning how to use it. The next step would be to work on her mobility, ensuring she could move fluidly through a combat area or pursue a target if need be. Fortunately, the Spectre Academy had plenty of simulators to provide such training scenarios. The turian Spectre escorted his human apprentice out of their apartment and meandered through the Presidium until they arrived at the academy, making their way inside. The couple wove through the various training areas until they reached a large, dark room. Compared to the other rooms, this room had pitch black walls which were partially illuminated by a blue grid on each surface.
"Here we are. I had this reserved for us the day before. It's a holo-chamber, same tech used in the Aramax Arena," Saren hummed as he tapped a few keys on a console.
The floor, walls, and ceiling slid around before coming to a defined shape before each surface took on a printed texture with lighting, simulating dark, dank streets with a subtle red glow.
"This is Omega, or our representation of it," Saren explained, "your objective will change over a the different layouts of this map, and obstacles will change according to the user's capability. It's your first time here, so don't feel bad if things don't start off well."
"I understand, Saren," Jane nodded.
Jane started off with something easy, with a generous time limit and a highlighted path for her to take to reach the end of the course. When she finished the course, Saren couldn't help but grin in pride of his apprentice's progress.
"A good start. Most cadets usually don't get through that quickly."
"Thanks," Jane nodded, taking a few moments to rest before her next round.
She did a few more runs through the shifting course as Saren gradually added new variables to take into consideration. He began to throw in moving machinery, random passers-by, and random hazards to occasionally dodge. Of course, Jane had to think fast in order to outsmart these obstacles. Given the gradual build up to that point, she had no problem working her way from point A to point B and quickly. While Saren observed these trials, he kept track of the amount of time it took for each session.
"Well well, that's your best time yet," he hummed looking at the results.
"So how much more do I have left?" Jane took her time to catch her breath.
"Catch your breath for now. We'll be doing this over the next few days, so we have time to make any adjustments," he replied as he handed her a water bottle.
Nodding, Jane plucked the water bottle from her mentor's hand and took a sip of the refreshing water.
"However, for the first time through, you did very well. It's rather rare for recruits to do this well."
Having sipped the amount of water she needed, Jane sealed the bottle and handed it back to Saren.
"Thanks," she smiled.
"You've been at this for a couple hours now, and I was thinking of getting some lunch. Have any preferences?" Saren said, gathering their belongings after shutting off the simulation.
Jane and Saren stepped out of the room and meandered through the halls of the academy while she scrolled through the list of recommended restaurants in her omni-tool. They chose a small shop nearby to get some sandwiches from. Walking back outside, the two found a park nearby to eat in. While they ate, they took in the mesmerizing scenery surrounding them.
"Almost halfway through your training. Strange that time has passed so quickly," Saren sighed.
"Again, I appreciate your sentiment," Jane replied.
"So, what'd you want to do once you've been accepted?" Saren asked.
"If anything," Jane answered after taking a bite out of her sandwich, "I could go for tracking down powerful abusers that tend to evade Alliance and Citadel justice. That and leading aid to crisis survivors."
Saren took a moment to swallow a bit of his sandwich.
"Get some closure once and for all?" Saren clarified.
Jane chuckled as she shook her head.
"I already had my closure," she corrected, "it feels right to ensure others wouldn't suffer as much as my mother did."
He nodded with approval.
"It's always nice to have something to still fight for," Saren mused.
By the time they finished their lunch, Saren and Jane relaxed on the bench and took in the wonderful scenery.
The following day, Jane and Saren returned to the Spectre Academy for another training session.
"Saren, I was thinking in having a little bit of a friendly competition. You interested?" Jane asked while smiling.
Saren couldn't help but raise a browplate in interest.
"May I ask what kind of competition?" he proclaimed.
"The simulator can project enemies as well, right? I was thinking of seeing who could get through a room with as many kills possible," she proposed.
Folding his arms, Saren thought over the suggestion for a moment before he let out an amused chuckle.
"I'll accept," Saren grinned, "I'd like to see how far you've come anyways."
With that, Saren and Jane made their way through the halls of the academy and found an available simulator.
"I'll be arranging this arena with as much as I can. Think you can handle it?" Saren asked as he set the map to form.
"I've handled anything you brought me into and endured," Jane nodded, "I'm sure I can handle this one."
"All right. Let's do this."
Both stepped into the chamber and positioned themselves accordingly for when the simulation would properly start. The signal dropped as they stepped into the arena and began firing at a squad of projected mercenaries. As the session progressed, Jane felt a burst of confidence as she was able to apply all she learned into strafing and firing a round at any holographic mercenary she could get her hands on. Saren initially planned on going easy on her, but found himself matched by Jane as he was now struggling to keep up the pace with her. Even if he stopped considering going easy on her, he still considered playing fair.
"How many are you at?" Saren yelled over the gunfire.
Jane took out another holographic projection.
"Around seventeen!" she called back.
He pretended to be focused on shooting at the projections, ignoring the fact he was still at fifteen. His competitive side convinced him to step up his game. He ducked into the next set of cover and fired at another group of approaching hostile projections. Jane climbed up an available platform with a sturdy cover that gave her an oversight on her holographic opponents. She was beginning to make a significant leap from her surprising lead. Unfortunately, Saren was increasingly unable to compete due to the increasing pressure from tougher enemies beginning to approach his position. By then, he now started considering finding a platform of his own. Allowing his barriers to fully recharge, he quickly bolted from cover to a more advantageous location. From there, he began to catch up. Managing to funnel a cluster of approaching enemies, he tossed in a grenade, catching the group off guard while he reloaded. After he reloaded, he continued to fire his rounds at the holographic opponents that remained.
"How many do you have now?" Jane asked as she reloaded her weapon.
"I'm currently at thirty-nine," Saren answered as he crouched down beside her.
"Damn, only at thirty-six," Jane feigned her disappointment.
"Well, if it's any consolation, it's a lead you're making me work for."
"Then we have several more before the game ends," Jane beckoned, "you up for it?"
"Of course," the turian Spectre nodded.
Saren jumped back out of cover, firing at one more wave of enemies. Likewise, Jane followed suit and unleashed her set of rounds. They struggled through one more wave, pulling through with only a couple thermal clips to spare. Saren finished off one more enemy with a bash from his rifle before the simulation ended. The two walked out of the room to the console to see the final tally. Seeing that Shepard beat him by only one point, he sighed as he ruffled Jane's hair.
"You fought well, Jane," Saren complimented, "you'll make a great Spectre."
Jane couldn't help but smile at her mentor. The two decided to take a quick lunch break before moving on to Jane's next lesson for that day. This time, Saren considered covering hacking for the day. Using her omni-tool against used hardware confiscated by C-Sec during various raids, Saren set her up with the most basic security settings. Looking over her shoulder, he directed her the very basics of using an omni-tool hacking program.
"The use of the omni-tool is to direct the inserted program through security firewalls," he introduced.
"Right," Jane nodded while she examined the new features installed in her omni-tool.
Continuing to watch her like a hawk, he told her the various methods of slowing down a system's defenses should she trip the alarm by erecting counter-firewalls, freeze-programs, and hydro-worms should maintaining an undetected physical presence be critical. All the while, Jane listened carefully as she took notes.
"The rest you'll learn through practice. Ready?" he asked.
"I'm up for it," Jane nodded.
"I'll give you something a little tougher than what we were practicing with earlier. See if you can crack through security," Saren quickly reset the old terminal they sat in front of with a fresh firewall.
Upon cue, Jane started working on disabling the firewall. Unlike combat, omni-tool hacking wasn't nearly as easy to pick up on as she did fail a few times before she managed to cut through security. Saren gave her a nod of approval when he saw her complete her first session. She continued practice with the current difficulty for the rest of the hour.
"Slow, but it's coming along nicely. Let's turn the difficulty up a notch. This is what you'll often encounter when you're against low-budget groups who barely scrap by with armor and weapons for their whole team."
Saren approached the console and adjusted the difficulty level. Jane started working her way through. She found that other than an increase in firewall reaction time, the same rules generally applied. Through trial and error, she improved with each attempt. On her fifth attempt, she successfully bypassed security.
"You improved," Saren praised, "I'm well impressed."
Another couple of hours passed as they continued practice. Towards the end of the day, Saren established a session on the highest settings.
"Now," Saren continued, "network security that is this tough is rare and is only provided by premium services and criminal masterminds who write their own security algorithms, but they still exist. For now, there's no need to try and succeed. Just dip your toes in the water."
"Got it," Jane nodded.
He wasn't lying when he said that it was the toughest security setting she would come across. At the start of all three attempts, she was quickly detected by the system firewalls and quickly had her connection severed.
"Don't worry. No one passes on the first try."
While Jane sighed in disappointment, Saren gave her a reassuring expression as he ruffled her hair. He stood to his feet and shut off the terminal.
"I think that's enough for today. Besides, we'll be devoting all of tomorrow towards investigation and data analysis."
Saren and Jane stepped out of the room and exited the academy, making their way through the Presidium until they arrived at the apartment.
The third day followed when they returned to the academy one more time before Saren assigned their next mission. Taking her to the forensics lab he quickly had a talk with the personnel there to set up the simulation room. While the staff began preparing the simulation room, Saren and Jane waited out in the hall on a bench. This gave Saren a chance to brief her on her lesson.
"We'll be searching through two sites today," he explained, "one will be a demonstration that I'll walk you through with to get a basic understanding of what to look for. The second is a remake of an infamous case C-Sec handled almost three centuries ago. From there, I'll be setting you loose to see how well you adapt."
Jane shifted her weight on one foot while still standing.
"I suppose I can handle it," Jane replied.
Another fifteen minutes passed before they entered. It looked like an apartment of generally middle-class standing, not too different from their own apartment.
"Now, this exercise is meant to simulate a drug bust. Naturally, we would need a warrant before breaking in like this, but we as Spectres can approach how we feel so long as we still abide by the Council and avoid committing political-level crimes," Saren started.
"I understand, Saren," Jane nodded.
He pulled out his omni-tool and pulled up a blue screen.
"As part of the omni-tool I got you," Saren continued, "it comes with an electric signal scanner. What it does is pick up active electronic circuits and their various components. It comes especially in handy when you're looking for hidden compartments."
As an example, he opened up a cabinet in the kitchen to reveal a small keypad on the underside. Saren stepped aside, allowing Jane to get a closer look at the keypad.
"The secondary function highlights organic tissue, whether it be alive or dead. For example, it can pick up specks of dead skin cells on finger prints," he added, showing which keys had been pressed before trying a few combinations.
Suddenly, a hidden door in the hallway leading to the kitchen swung open to reveal a small room.
"Another way to use this would be looking for trails of blood, stained uniforms, or hair in the case of humans," Saren added.
Jane carefully listened while she took some notes. He continued to explain how even clumps of dandruff and dust on the floor told a story of where that person went and how frequently they visited certain locations. During that time, Jane took the time to examine the simulated crime scene with Saren showing her four more hidden stashes and other clues to pick up on before letting her loose to find all the other clues and contraband scattered throughout the room. It didn't take too long for her to complete the task.
"Nice work. You managed to pull off twenty-two of the total twenty-five clues total," Saren hummed as they exited the room, "now, let's see what you can do against a bigger case."
After exiting, the room began to morph again into what looked to be what was left of a lab, now left in smoldering ruins.
"Is this that serious case C-Sec dealt with a few centuries ago?" Jane pointed out.
"Yes. Some asari psychologist who was experimenting with what would've equated to mind control," Saren answered, "someone ratted her out, she blew her lab up, and made a run for it. It took nearly half a century for the Spectres to finally catch up. By then, she'd killed hundreds in the process and most importantly sold what is the modern design for inhibition suppressors to slavers. Meanwhile, C-Sec had evidence still left in her lab, staring them in the face. What your job right now is to find what they missed."
Jane nodded before she stepped into the room to begin the session. It was admittedly tough, digging through the scraps of ruined lab. She continued digging while Saren fetched food for the two of them from the academy cafeteria. While double-checking the list in her omni-tool, Jane crossed out the obvious clues to dig deeper into the case. She began to look under fallen pieces of debris, digging up terminals that were just barely functional enough to pull data from. She dug through every nook and cranny to get whatever she could get her hands on, before recording it on her omni-tool. A short while later, she noticed a clue that the list didn't identify.
Feeling under a desk, she had noticed that a tile in the floor sank slightly lower. Lifting up the tile, she found a datapad covered with dust and enough battery power to quickly crack its security. What she did manage to get from it was a half of a security key she needed to crack the lock on a terminal she salvaged from the dust earlier. Plugging in the other code she found on a cracked datapad tossed into a dark hole, she entered the target's files, digging through messages, names, monetary exchanges, reports, and more. While reading through the details, she took some notes in her omni-tool. She sifted through everything that had been updated within the last month, primarily her messages, recent purchases, and contacts' information. From there, she finally found a lead to pick up on.
With a new clue she detected, she continued with her session. She continued to dig through for another half hour before turning for the door with all the evidence she needed. Saren unfolded his arms when he saw his apprentice emerge from the door.
"So what did you find?" he asked.
"A trail to follow. I've got details concerning her proof of purchase, who she talked to, where her initial path would've been once she bolted from the Citadel. Catching her would be a matter of doing the same wherever the trail stops until we caught her," Jane answered, pulling out her omni-tool.
After reading the details of her findings, he gazed back gleefully.
"Jane, I'm proud of you. You managed to achieve in a day what C-Sec took five years to abandon, thirty five years for the Spectres to pick back up again, and another five years to realize it was far too late. Congratulations."
Saren ran his talons through Jane's hair, allowing her to lean into the touch. The two turned to leave as the simulation chamber shut off and faded back to its default state.