Hannah turned off the television. She'd just finished watching a new movie by Tukalack, the elcor who produced abstract films. When she'd first stumbled upon his films, she'd been surprised something to do with an elcor could entrance her so completely. If she had a bad day, a Tukalack film would relax her instantly. Maybe it was the lack of heavy action or the monotone of the elcor. Whatever it was, it usually lulled her into contentment, but not today.
She sighed and picked up her data pad, thumbing back to read the newest book she'd acquired: Shakespearean Themes in Alien Literature. It wasn't her typical reading. She still hadn't embraced Shakespeare lovingly, but Daniel had read all the plays and had been able to quote them in apt circumstances. So the title had caught her eye and the idea of universal themes in literature intrigued her enough to give it a chance. Still, she hadn't moved quickly through it. She was only on the second chapter: "Hamlet, the Oedipus Complex and Krogan Legends."
After only a couple minutes, Hannah set the data pad on her stomach as she lay on her small love seat, her feet dangling over one armrest. She'd thought she'd enjoy a few months off after the adventure to discover whoever'd threatened Jane, but after a week, she was going stir crazy. She wanted to be back on a ship, putting her mind to work in a familiar and comfortable environment. At heart, what she really wanted was something to distract from her anxiety over Jane. This morning she'd received a message from Jane, the first one in a while. It had caused alarm bells to ring in her mind.
Mom, I know I haven't been communicating of late. I wish I could. I really want to talk to you, to have one of our heart to heart chats. I need it. Jules sent me the message. We disposed of the program. I hate that he did this to me. I'm trying to get over it. My mission takes most of my time, though, so I don't think about it much.
Mom, I love you. I want you to know that. If anything happens, I just want to be sure you know I love you and I think you're the best mom in the galaxy. Please take care of yourself and don't lose your head over me. Love, Jane.
The message had seemed so final, like Jane thought she might not return from wherever she was now headed. Jane never ended her e-mails with "love"; it was always simply "Jane." Hannah felt she was in the wrong place. She should be by Jane's side, protecting her daughter. But she reminded herself that long ago she'd made the decision not to hold Jane back through her mother worries. Jane was living her own life now, separate from her, and that was the way it should be. But the fact that it was right didn't make it any easier on Hannah.
Hannah closed her eyes. She conjured up an image of Daniel and Jane when she was just three. How happy they had been! Life seemed so simple then. She wished times like those could be relived any time you wanted, that worries and losses could be set to the side and memory come to life again. She was startled to feel wetness under her eyelids. She wiped a hand over her eyes. She hadn't cried for Daniel in a long time. But her heart had been softened as she reminisced. She opened her eyes and fingered the tiny rocket around her neck like always.
"I miss you," she whispered to Daniel. It would have been so much easier to weather Jane's dangerous career if Daniel had been next to her, quelling her motherly tendencies by telling her that Jane would be alright.
Hannah sat up. She was too melancholy all alone. She determined she needed to be around people and not spend her leave moping in her solitary apartment. She walked into her bedroom and took stock of herself in the full length mirror. She wore relaxed duds, sweats and a t-shirt. If she was going out, she should look better. She slid back her closet door to choose a more appropriate blouse, but before she decided on one, a beep sounded in the room. She looked to her bedside stand. Someone was calling her. She walked over and picked up her comm, stuffing it in her ear.
"Yes?"
"Hannah, it's Steven."
"Hi. What do you need?"
"I want you to get your uniform on and head over to docking bay 23. Meet me on board the Fuji in ten minutes time. If you aren't there, I'll have to order her to go on without you."
"What's going on?"
"I don't have time now. I'll tell you when you get on board. You'll want to be there. Trust me. Hackett out."
Hannah stared for one more second at the mirror, then went into action, throwing on her uniform, securing her red hair in a bun and grabbing her bag that she hadn't yet unpacked from her excursion on the Agrippa. Her blood raced. She didn't know what was happening, but she heard the urgency in Steven's voice. Whatever it was, it couldn't be good.
As Hannah made her way to docking bay 23, she observed a flurry of activity. Maintenance workers and engineers rushed up and down halls and servicemen were everywhere. She got the impression that the entire Fifth Fleet had been called to mobilize. With one minute to spare, she reached the docking hatch to the Fuji. She was greeted by a young woman in a freshly pressed uniform with short blonde hair standing alert with a data pad in her hand.
"And you are…" the girl asked.
"Captain Hannah Shepard."
The girl scanned her list. "I don't see you on here."
"Admiral Hackett told me to meet him here."
"Oh. He's in the command center. Just a moment." The girl touched her right ear. "Admiral Hackett, Captain Shepard is here…Yes, sir." The girl looked to Hannah. "You're cleared. You can go straight to the command center."
Hannah strode quickly through the dreadnought to the command center. When she entered, she saw Steven standing at the head of a group of captains with a couple other admirals, Mehra and Caron. Steven was addressing them in an authoritative voice.
"We received the call one standard hour ago. The Normandy is in-bound and should arrive within twenty minutes time. When she arrives, we'll head out immediately. I want everyone in formation and ready to go in ten minutes. Dismissed."
The captains and admirals funneled out of the room in an orderly but hurried fashion. Hannah stepped to the side to let them pass, then marched up to Steven who was running his hand through his goatee.
"Is Jane coming here? What's going on?"
"Jane's not on board the Normandy."
Hannah felt her stomach churn. "Where is she?"
"Ilos."
"That's deep in the Terminus Systems and a Prothean world. I thought we couldn't reach it, that the relay to it was lost." Why in the world was Jane there?
"Jane found the information to locate it."
"Was that her mission?"
"No, but I really don't have time to explain her mission. In a nutshell, Jane was sent after Saren, the rogue Spectre, and he's the one who found the relay and went to Ilos. Jane went after him. But her ship left and came back to Alliance space to let us know that the Citadel's in danger. Saren is going to try and take control of the Citadel.
"So, we're going to the Citadel.
"As soon as the Normandy gets here, we'll head out."
Back to the Citadel. Hannah silently wondered why it was always the Citadel. That station seemed to be the center of more trouble than any place in the entire galaxy, even Omega.
"I understand. So what do you need from me? How can I assist?"
"I want you on the bridge, to lend your experience and advice when needed."
Hannah nodded curtly. "Yes, sir."
Steven then put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "You'll aid us, I'm sure. But that's not the real reason I asked you here. Your daughter's in danger. Her pilot informed us she's looking for something called the Conduit, possibly a super weapon that Saren wants, presumably to attack the Citadel. I have a feeling in my gut that Jane's going to end up at the Citadel. I knew you'd want to be there. The worst thing for a parent is sitting by and not being able to do anything for your child."
Hannah considered Steven. He was right and she was grateful he'd asked her to come along. But when he talked about the feelings a parent felt for his child, it sounded like he spoke out of personal experience, though she hadn't thought he'd ever fallen in love. He had never married. Marriage and military, he said, didn't mix for most people. He'd given himself to the Alliance and she was his only wife.
"Thank you for letting me come."
Steven inclined his head, acknowledging her thanks. "You can go to the bridge. Captain Turay is expecting your presence."
Hannah saluted to Steven who returned the gesture. As she left the center, Hannah glanced back to see Steven rubbing his goatee again. She didn't envy him the heavy task ahead. If what she had just been told was accurate, they were headed into the firefight of the century. She prayed Jane found this ultimate weapon, this Conduit, before the rogue Spectre did. She recalled Anderson's declaration that if anyone could complete the mission Jane was on, it was her. Jane would stop this Saren, Hannah told herself. She was sure of it.
Five minutes after her talk with Steven, Hannah felt the Fuji get underway, the slight sense of movement almost imperceptible except to someone who had worked in space as long as Hannah had. The Fuji took up its position, waiting for the arrival of the Normandy. In seven more minutes time, a voice crackled through the comm.
"This is the Normandy. We're here and ready to punch it to the Citadel."
Hannah focused on Steven who spoke into the comm connected to the entire fleet. "Normandy, this is Admiral Hackett. We're ready. Take up lead position and we'll follow you out. The relays to the Citadel have been cleared."
"Aye, sir."
The Fuji surged forward. Hannah felt the tremble as the relay caught the dreadnought in its grip and flung it far ahead into space. It would take four jumps to get to the Citadel. Hannah felt the second jump happen just as the first, then the third. One more and they would be at the Citadel, ready to defend her. Hannah's heart pumped harshly as her mind focused for the task at hand.
"Something's wrong," came the voice of the Normandy's pilot. "The relay isn't responding."
Steven looked to the Fuji's communications officer. "Anything?"
"No, sir," the officer said, his reply dutiful, but his eyes fearful. "There's no communication at all. It's like the Citadel's gone dark."
Hannah breathed quickly. Was the Citadel gone? Had this Conduit weapon been deployed?
"Hold position," Steven spoke to the fleet. "We'll wait. Be ready to head through the relay if it opens." He eyed Hannah and nodded to her, trying to encourage her not to give up hope yet.
Ten more minutes passed with nothing happening. Hannah paced back and forth on the bridge, her hands behind her back, maintaining her composure. She thought little, pushing any "what if" scenarios out of her mind. When the comm cackled to life again, she stopped and listened intently.
"…the Destiny Ascension. Main drives offline. Kinetic barriers down 40%. The Council is on board. I repeat, the Council is on board."
The Normandy's pilot responded immediately. "Normandy to Citadel. Normandy to Citadel. Please tell me that's you, Commander."
"I'm here, Joker." Hannah sucked in a breath at the voice. It was Jane. She was still alive and on the Citadel. Steven turned his head to her and sent her a look that proclaimed "told you so." She nodded once at him.
The pilot called Joker went on speaking with Jane. "We caught that distress call, Commander. I'm sitting here in the Andura sector with the entire Arcturus fleet. We can save the Ascension. Just unlock the relays around the Citadel and we'll send the cavalry in."
There was a pause of a few seconds, as if Jane was considering what command to issue. Joker spoke again urgently. "What's the order, Commander! Come in now to save the Ascension or hold back?"
"Opening the relays now, Joker," Jane's determined voice responded. "We need to save the Ascension—no matter what the cost!"
Hannah felt her chest swell with pride. Jane had made the right decision, even when it was hard. It would have been so easy for her to protect the Alliance fleet, have them hold back and let the Citadel's fleet try and save the Council or tell the Alliance fleet to aid her and defend the Citadel. Jane knew the importance and value of the galactic council, putting herself to the side to save them. If she makes it through this, I'm gonna throw her one heck of a party, Hannah thought to herself.
"The relays are open, sir," the communications officer called out.
"Alliance ships move in!" Steven spoke into the comm, "Save the Destiny Ascension."
The fleet jumped through the last relay and came screaming into the middle of an already intense battle. Hannah scanned the tactical map. The number of enemy ships was overwhelming. Their identities began to pop up in a list at the side of the map, most of them geth. Hannah and the XO of the Fuji, Freeman, a man about her age with dark hair beginning to gray, began to discuss and issue recommendations to Captain Turay. All thoughts of Jane and the outcome of the battle fled from Hannah's mind as she became consumed with tactics and strategy.
In only a few minutes, the Alliance fleet punched a hole to the Ascension and took up a position surrounding the asari ship, shielding her. Fighters had been scrambled and were pouring out of the fleet, taking the geth ships out in rapid succession.
Joker's voice exclaimed triumphantly, "Destiny Ascension, you are all clear. Repeat—you are all clear."
"Sir!" an officer shouted out to Steven. "The Citadel's arms are opening."
"There's a ship in there," Joker's voice came back. "Sovereign. We need to take it down."
Hannah tapped the controls at the tactical map and brought up a profile of this Sovereign received by the Normandy. It looked like a beetle with jointed legs. Hannah dispersed the image to the entire fleet so they'd know what they were aiming for. She nodded to Steven.
"The Citadel's opening!" Steven called to the fleet. "All ships move in! Concentrate on Sovereign!"
Hannah could hardly comprehend the fact that she'd been on the Citadel a little over a week ago and now it was under attack. She wondered briefly if Anderson had been on station when it came under fire. She hoped her daughter's stand-in father was alive. She didn't want Jane to lose another person so important in her life.
The fleet moved inside the Citadel arms as they opened, taking aim at the ship that had attached itself to the Citadel tower. It looked like the fleet was going to be the savior of the moment as it pummeled the ship with all its weapons—until Sovereign unleashed its own countermeasure, blasting at the fleet with some kind of energy weapon. It took out a couple frigates in only moments.
"Avoid that beam!" Steven shouted out. Hannah and Freeman kept their eyes on the tactical map, relaying positions and informing Hackett of Sovereign's status. Hannah watched as Alliance ships disappeared from the map, destroyed by the ship called Sovereign. Slowly, however, Sovereign was weakening. Then, all of a sudden, Hannah heard Joker's voice again.
"Its shields are down! Now's our chance!"
"Hit it with everything we've got!" Steven bellowed into the comm.
The fleet moved towards the enormous ship, firing every weapon it possessed.
"Hard on my flank! We're going in!" Joker returned. Hannah traced the Normandy's signal on the map as it pulled up and then plunged in towards the enemy ship. Her heart thumped wildly and she felt as if her own will was flying right along with her daughter's ship, pushing it to achieve its objective. The Normandy fired and the enemy blip that was Sovereign flickered out. Shouts of triumph raised from the bridge of the Fuji as well as from the comm as the Alliance celebrated its victory. In the midst of the cheers, an officer approached Steven.
"Sir," he said quietly. "I just watched debris plummet into the Citadel Tower. Shepard's in there."
Hannah's heart dropped into her stomach. They may have saved the Citadel, but at the cost of Jane's life. Don't take her from me, please, Hannah pleaded inside. She abruptly marched over to the communications officer.
"Raise anyone on the Citadel you can!"
The officer went to work, taking longer than Hannah thought would be needed. Was there anyone alive inside? What had this rogue Spectre done to the thriving heart of the galaxy?
"I have someone, ma'am."
"Connect me."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Citadel, this is Captain Hannah Shepard. Do you hear me?"
"Captain? You got a promotion, huh?"
Hannah smiled despite the dire circumstances. "Anderson. Thank goodness."
"The Citadel's in bad shape," he went on. "We've got wounded that need help. We had to hide civilians from geth troopers. Some of them are still on the station. We'll need help clearing them out."
Hannah turned to Steven. "We need to send in marines to the Citadel. They have geth troopers on station."
Steven put his hand to his ear, issuing orders while Hannah continued her call with Anderson.
"David, Jane's in the Citadel Tower. It's been hit by debris."
"On my way." Hannah's comm went dead. All she could do now was wait for a call back and pray Jane had made it.
Minutes slipped by. Hannah didn't know how long it would take Anderson to get to the Citadel Tower if geth troopers were still on the station. The assessment of the fleet had begun, reports being compiled that recorded which ships had been lost, which were in critical condition and which had taken insignificant damage. It was clear that although they had won, it had come at a cost. Hundreds of human lives had been sacrificed to save the Council and the Citadel.
Had one more life been sacrificed? Had Jane's destiny been achieved? Hannah couldn't help but consider that maybe Jane had been born to die saving the Citadel from a rogue Spectre. And if that was her destiny, Hannah asked herself if she could accept that. She would have to, somehow.
Thirty minutes passed, then forty, then fifty. Still no word. Hannah kept to her duties, gathering reports and monitoring communications. Then, she heard rough static in her ear and Anderson's deep voice.
"Captain Shepard?"
"I'm here."
"We've got her. She's hurt, but she's alive."
"Thank you." The words hardly expressed the flood of relief that filled Hannah on the inside. She hadn't been asked to give up her daughter to save the galaxy, not yet anyway.
It took a couple hours for the Alliance Fleet to reassemble and evaluate its status. Finally, the Fuji docked with the Citadel and Hannah asked for permission to disembark. Steven agreed readily, insisting she give her daughter his most hearty thanks and congratulations.
Hannah bolted off the ship, making for the Normandy which had docked long before the Fuji. She assumed Jane would have been taken to her ship for medical assistance as the Citadel was in a shambles. She picked her way through debris and the remains of decimated geth to where the Normandy had docked. An asari stood outside the docking hatch, talking to several human crew members. She walked up to the group and the asari looked over to her with curiosity, then recognition.
"You're Shepard's mother," she said in a soft, demure voice. Hannah nodded to the young asari—of course, she only appeared young by human standards. Hannah would bet the asari was years older than her. "Liara T'Soni," she introduced, holding out a hand to Hannah. Hannah shook it.
"Captain Hannah Shepard."
"I think she's with Dr. Chakwas. Follow me."
Hannah fell in step next to the asari as they boarded the Normandy. Jane's ship didn't appear any worse for wear. As they passed the cockpit, Hannah spied a young bearded man with braces on his legs leaning against a seat and chatting with a young woman with dark hair pulled up in a bun. They seemed to be trying to one up each other, making bold claims about the battle that had just taken place.
"I took out Sovereign single-handedly," the pilot said and Hannah recognized the voice of Joker.
"Right. You had the help of how many Alliance ships? If we hadn't taken Saren out on the ground, you wouldn't have even been able to kill Sovereign."
"You were useless without Shepard."
"What do you think I was doing in that tower, Joker? Spending time at a beauty parlor?"
Their voices faded as Hannah followed the asari through the CIC. As they walked, Hannah spoke tentatively. "How badly is she hurt?"
"Oh," Liara said, looking compassionately at Hannah. "She's fine, actually. I mean, her arm's injured, broken in three places. But it's been stabilized. She should make a full recovery by the end of the week."
"Then why is she with a doctor?"
"One of our crew, Garrus, was wounded. Ashley was, too, but she's not bad at all. She was in the cockpit with Joker, our pilot."
Hannah nodded. So Jane was watching over her crew, still more concerned with them than herself. Typical Jane.
"How did you know I was her mother?" she asked, curious.
The asari smiled gently. "You look like each other. And…I shared the experiences of her mind at one point." She paused, then added quickly. "Only to discover information about the Protheans, but…well…some feelings and impressions are tied so closely to a person, it's hard not to pick up on them. You're present in a large portion of her thoughts."
Hannah had heard of the asari ability to touch minds. She was pleased to hear that Jane thought about her after all, that no matter how far apart they were in distance or time, Jane still kept her old mother in her heart.
The asari led Hannah down a stairwell. When they reached the bottom, Hannah trailed the asari to medical. Windows into the room allowed her to peer inside. She saw Jane bent over with her hands on a table, talking to the medical officer, a gray haired woman. A turian laid on one of the beds, apparently unconscious. Hannah smiled inwardly. Jane had always found turians interesting. She must have been thrilled to have one on her team.
The door to medical opened and Liara spoke. "Shepard, your mother's here."
"What?" Jane exclaimed, turning abruptly. "Mom? What are you doing here? You're not assigned to the Fifth Fleet."
"I will be. I'm going to be captain soon of its newest flagship."
Jane grinned broadly. "You deserve it." She moved the few steps to Hannah and shook her hand heartily. Hannah could tell she was maintaining a professional air, but behind her daughter's eyes was the desire to communicate feelings she couldn't voice in front of her crew. "Doctor, let me know when Garrus wakes up."
"I will, Commander. The surgery was successful. You have nothing to worry about."
"Thanks." Jane looked at Hannah. "Let's go to my quarters."
As they exited the medical room, Hannah glimpsed at Jane's left arm, secured in a brace. "How are you?"
"Physically?"
Hannah nodded.
"I'll be fine considering part of a giant Reaper flattened me. I was lucky." Her voice had quieted at the end and Hannah perceived the change in Jane as she became introspective, drawing inward to her thoughts and feelings. Soon, Hannah knew the floodgates would open—but not until they were alone.
She followed Jane to her quarters on the other side of the ship across from medical. Her quarters were simple, much like Hannah's had been on the Kilimanjaro. Still, they were comfortable. When the door shut, Jane enveloped Hannah in a tight hug, then she pulled back and smiled grimly.
"It's good to see you. More than good. So much has happened, I can hardly get my mind around it all." She collapsed onto her small couch and Hannah sat next to her. Jane opened her mouth and her story came pouring out in the safety of her mother, the one person she could unload on without losing any respect. Hannah found out that Jane had been made a Spectre for the express purpose of tracking down the rogue Spectre, Saren. She'd followed him throughout the galaxy, going to Noveria, then Feros, then Virmire. She paused then, her voice faltering and her eyes moistening.
"I had to choose…to go back to the bomb site and Ashley or to Kaidan and the tower."
Hannah placed a hand empathetically on Jane's knee. How many times had she been in the same situation, choosing to rescue this or that group of marines or fighters and not another? Too many for her comfort. It was even worse when your friends were involved. In those moments, you had to rely on your objective judgment and not your feelings, to complete the mission regardless of how you felt.
"The bomb had to go off," Jane continued. "It was more important than the tower. So I went back and made sure…and Kaidan died."
Hannah breathed deeply. Jane leaned forward, her elbows on her knees and head in her hands. "You know the worst of it," she went on. "Ashley blamed herself. It wasn't even her decision; it was mine. I alone was responsible."
"You aren't responsible," Hannah said confidently. "Saren was responsible. You wouldn't have been there if it weren't for him. When you defend others, always remember an enemy is making you do it, making you put your people in danger to save lives."
Jane looked up at her, her chin now resting on folded hands. "This is why I needed to talk to you. You always make things sound…clear."
Hannah breathed in slowly. "It's easier to say than do. I've beaten myself up good over choices I've made that cost people's lives." She paused, thinking of herself and Jane. "We're cursed, Jane. We have hearts."
Jane straightened, nodding and contemplating her fingers, lacing them in and out of each other. "I haven't written his parents yet. I didn't have time to find the right words, not when stopping Saren was still my top priority. I've needed time to think…He didn't deserve to go down like that. Not after all he'd been through."
"Just tell them what he meant to you, how he was a part of your team and how he knew the risks and gave himself anyway. Let them know how proud you are of him and that they should be proud, too."
Jane's head bobbed. "It's even harder because I know Lourdes."
Hannah touched Jane's shoulder. "Lourdes married a ship's captain. She knows the risks that come with the job."
"Yeah."
"From Virmire, then, I assume you went to Ilos," Hannah said, prompting Jane to move on from her feeling of failure to the fact that she had been victorious this day.
"Not directly," Jane said, picking up her narrative. She'd gone back to the Citadel, called home by the Council and its inter-species fleet, but what she had thought would be a fleet assembled to assist her push to Ilos turned out to be a fleet commanded only to secure the relays to the Citadel. The Council had no intention of sending her to Ilos. Jane had objected and the Normandy had been locked down by Udina. When Jane mentioned Udina, Hannah snorted derisively and Jane eyed her quizzically.
"I kind of had a run in with him while you were on your mission."
Jane's eyebrows creased. "Mom? What have you been up to?"
"You finish first."
"Well, Captain Anderson helped me, went to Udina's office and unlocked the controls and then we made for Ilos."
Hannah smiled. Anderson had acted as the father bear he claimed he was. He'd made sure Jane got the help she needed. Jane continued on, explaining how at Ilos they'd encountered a Prothean VI who told them that a great war had taken place against the Protheans perpetrated by Reapers, vast ships like Sovereign that destroyed all organic life in the galaxy. They came every 50,000 years and the time had come for them to arrive again. Sovereign had been left as a vanguard. When the signal Sovereign sent to activate the Citadel wasn't responded to, Sovereign had to find a way to take control of the Citadel, actually a mass relay itself, and activate it. It had used Saren to this end, indoctrinating him for its nefarious purposes. The Conduit, it turned out, was only a backdoor onto the Citadel through a miniature mass relay, not a super weapon. Saren's goal had been to assault the Citadel from the inside with geth forces and then give Sovereign control over the station. And so Jane had followed Saren to the Citadel. He'd been defeated and Sovereign destroyed.
"You know how they say your life flashes before your eyes when you're going to die?" Jane suddenly said, breaking from her story at the destruction of Sovereign.
"Yes," Hannah said. What had Jane seen when debris from Sovereign rained down on her?
"Well, they're wrong. At least, in my case, they are. I didn't see my life. I saw the people that were important to me. And you and dad were the first I saw."
Hannah felt her eyes tear up and she raised a hand to wipe at them. "If you'd died Jane, I don't know if I could go on."
Jane took Hannah's right hand and squeezed it tightly. "You could, mom. You're strong. You went on without dad and I know you could without me. That's why I wrote you before I went to Ilos. If I didn't come back, I didn't want you to waste your life away mourning over me."
Hannah took a breath and coughed. "Well, you're here. So I don't have to worry about that, do I?"
Jane shook her head. "But, mom. It's not over. What I saw in those Prothean visions—it's going to get bad really fast if the galaxy doesn't prepare. Sovereign didn't open the relay, but that doesn't mean the Reapers won't be coming. They're on their way, headed straight for us."
Hannah felt a chill tingle down her spine. She knew Jane was right. The Reapers would come and Jane would be right in the thick of it trying to stop them. She would expect nothing less of her daughter.
"Well, you seem to have a loyal crew. That doctor I met, T'Soni, she said she's touched your mind."
Jane leaned back against the couch and propped her right arm up on the armrest. "She needed to see the visions, interpret them. She's a good friend, with a soft heart. Her mother, on the other hand…"
"What about her?"
"She tried to kill us on Noveria. She was indoctrinated by Sovereign, too."
"The crazed biotic," Hannah said, putting two and two together.
"Yeah. Liara was devastated seeing her mom go down like that. All I could think was how awful it would be if your mother turned on you." She sighed sadly.
"So, you picked up an asari…and a turian."
Jane smiled broadly. "Garrus. You should see him work a sniper rifle. You'd be impressed. He'd give you a run for your money."
"And you?"
"Oh, I think I could take him, but it would be a challenge. He's too good."
"How did he end up on your crew?"
"He was in C-Sec, investigating Saren until the Executor ordered him to lay off. He couldn't, so he joined up with us."
Hannah chuckled. "He sounds a lot like you, absconding with the Normandy and all."
"In some ways. He's a bit more heavy handed, more shoot first and think it over later if he's got a stick in his craw."
Hannah laughed. She wasn't surprised Jane had found aliens willing to follow her. Jane's love of alien languages had probably come in handy.
"I also had a krogan and a quarian join me."
Now Hannah raised her eyebrows in surprise. "You've been busy."
"This mission took me from one end of the galaxy to the other and they just kept coming. Good crew. I'd trust my life to any of them. They're more than crew now really, they're friends, too…So what about you? You met Udina?"
It was Hannah's turn to relate her own adventure. Jane was visibly flustered when Jules was mentioned. When Hannah recounted who Keta was, Jane had laughed aloud.
"You think I'm picking up aliens? You're friends with a batarian. Humans hate them more than anything. Even people who like aliens usually make an exception for them."
Hannah laughed, too. "Keta's unique."
"I'll say."
Hannah went on to describe how she and her own team had ended up on the Citadel, finding Giovanna, meeting Udina, then getting help from Anderson. She left out the part where she and Anderson had shared a drink. Some things weren't meant for Jane's ears.
When Hannah finished, Jane shook her head. "Terra Firma. I despise them…even more now. And Saracino? Was he really that mad I wouldn't support him for a seat in Parliament?"
"Oh, you know him."
"He asked me to support his bid when I was here once. I couldn't for obvious reasons."
"Well, you're safe from him now."
Jane guffawed loudly. "You know, mom, after everything I've fought, Saracino seems like nothing but an annoying bug I could smash with my foot."
Hannah giggled. "Now that I would like to see."
"But don't get me wrong. Thanks for having my back."
"Always," Hannah promised.
A silence fell over the room. Mother and daughter seemed to have reached the end of their conversation until Jane asked one more question.
"Captain. How did that happen?"
"Steven put in a word for me."
"The flagship of the Fifth Fleet. That's way up there. I'm proud of you."
"I'm proud of you, too, kiddo. Everything you've done, your resolve, your heart. I don't think I know a better woman in the galaxy." Hannah stared at her daughter. Yes, she was truly a woman now. She'd had experiences that Hannah thought had matured and aged her daughter far beyond her years.
"I don't know about that," Jane stated, looking down, her face reddening.
"And, Jane," Hannah said, touching her daughter's arm to get her attention. Jane looked up at her. "I'm going to be here for you. If these Reapers are coming, we'll be ready." Hannah made a vow to herself: If Jane was going to be deep in the thick of a war against these Reapers, she wouldn't leave her daughter alone. She'd make darn sure she was in the middle, too.