For almost a month, Hannah worked to control her impatience and confusion. She eagerly wanted to see Jane face to face, but whatever Jane was up to kept her away. It had been three weeks since her e-mail and Jane hadn't communicated with her since. The news, however, had not been silent. It was flooded with allegations that Jane had returned and was now working for Cerberus. Speculation aplenty ran the news circuit and Jane's name endured outright derision. Hannah remembered Jane had told her she'd start hearing rumors. Could Jane truly be part of Cerberus now? It didn't make sense. Jane would never have taken up with a group so anti-alien, that is, not unless she had a very good reason. Hannah had eventually convinced herself to trust Jane, to rest in the belief that her daughter knew what she was doing.
To quench her uneasiness regarding Jane, Hannah tried to keep herself busy on the Orizaba. She began repairing relationships with the crew by personally approaching the officers on the bridge to inform them how much she appreciated their skills and service. Little by little, the crew warmed up to her. The salutes in the hall started to reflect less duty and more respect. Lucas began visiting her room more often just to talk. He, too, had been flabbergasted about Jane's return. He blew off the rumors that Jane was working with Cerberus, calling reporters "gossip greedy sharks."
Hannah kept hoping she'd get a call from Jane telling her she'd accomplished whatever task she'd undertaken and they could meet up again. She just wanted to see her, to touch her, to make sure her daughter was really real. She believed Jane had come back, but seeing her in person would make her return concrete. Unfortunately, Hannah would find that her reunion with Jane would occur under less than ideal circumstances.
In the early morning hours on board the Orizaba, Hannah sat at her desk in her cabin, reviewing reports from the previous day concerning a geth enclave they had rooted out. She was just signing off the last report when a chime rang in her room.
"Enter," she called out, rolling her eyes towards the door to ascertain who needed her and why.
Lucas stalked through the door, obviously agitated. "Have you seen the news?"
Hannah shook her head. Lucas marched over to her and shoved his data pad into her hands. Hannah read the first part of the article on its screen.
Breaking News: The entire Bahak system has been annihilated by the destruction of its mass relay. There is no word at the moment as to how this destruction was carried out. However, the batarian Hegemony is alleging the Alliance Navy was involved and claims to have irrefutable proof. The Hegemony reports that 300,000 batarians were killed in the incident.
"An entire system?" Hannah asked incredulously. How in the world…? Who would destroy a relay like that? Why? "And they're blaming us. Great."
"What I want to know is who," Lucas ground out, his teeth clenched.
Hannah got the impression Lucas felt personally affronted. Maybe it was just the thought of a whole system being blotted out of existence in mere seconds. Suddenly, an idea came to her. "Reapers?" she questioned. If the Reapers were behind the attacks on human colonies, maybe they were behind this, too. That would mean they could wipe out the galaxy simply by exploding its relays. The hair on Hannah's arms rose in fear at the thought.
"If it's them, I'll kill them all myself," Lucas growled, his hands balled into fists as he paced her room, eyes angry.
"Lucas," Hannah said worriedly, "Are you alright? You're acting like this is personal."
Lucas halted and flashed an angry glare on her. "It's personal," he confirmed.
"Why?" Hannah looked down, skimming the rest of the article. "Looks like the only populated planet was Aratoht, a batarian planet with mining and military operations."
"Keta's brother was there," Lucas revealed quietly. "She wanted to see him again."
Hannah felt a knot form in her throat. "Was she there when…"
Lucas shook his head. "I don't know. I sent her a message, but she hasn't replied."
Hannah stood up and put her hands on Lucas' shoulders. "She might not have been there."
"But she might have." Lucas pushed Hannah's hands off his shoulders and slammed his hand into the wall. He leaned into the wall, his head on his arm.
Hannah observed Lucas, gauging his reaction to the event. He was taking this hard. Either he had become really good friends with Keta or…
"Lucas," Hannah spoke softly, "Do you love her?"
Lucas snorted. He didn't look at her, but answered her question. "Crazy, isn't it? A human loving a batarian. I must be insane."
Hannah smiled gently. "You aren't insane. But, it is…unusual. You could have told me."
"I don't think I really knew it for sure until now," Lucas whispered. He pulled back from the wall, turning sad and weary eyes on Hannah. "But seriously? I'm old, Hannah. Who's going to take a chance on me now?"
"Is Keta just the first one to come along who's willing to?" Hannah asked, assessing the reason Lucas had fallen for a batarian.
"No, she's more than that. Maybe it was that in the beginning, but it's changed in the last two years. We've gotten really…close."
"You know," Hannah picked her words carefully, not wanting to hurt Lucas, "Keta's been through a lot. Her background isn't exactly…simple. She's rough, hurt, complicated…"
"I know all that," Lucas asserted. "We've shared a lot in the last two years. She's worked through some stuff and I've worked through some stuff…together."
Hannah tried to picture Lucas and Keta having a heart to heart through a vid screen. She just couldn't picture it. Apparently, she'd missed more than she thought she had in the last two years as she'd focused on Jane and Reapers to the exclusion of everything else.
"We've helped each other get past our mistakes," Lucas concluded.
"I'm not saying your relationship is wrong," Hannah clarified, "It's just, Keta's an assassin, a trained killer and…"
"Look," Lucas defended harshly, "She's changed. I know her. And all I can think now is I messed up my relationship with my son and I didn't want to mess this up. And now…she could be dead and I never said word one about how I felt about her."
Hannah bit her tongue. Lucas needed her support, not her skepticism regarding his relationship with Keta. "Just wait. Don't give up on her yet. Look at me. I gave up on Jane and it turns out she's alive."
Lucas nodded glumly. "But if she is dead, I swear I'm going to kill whoever did this to her."
An hour after Lucas left Hannah's room, she took to the bridge, directing the daily operations of her ship, pushing the terrifying thought of Reapers exploding relays out of her mind…at least until the batarians produced their alleged "proof" of Alliance involvement. She'd only been on the bridge for a few minutes when Toureau called out to her. "Captain, Admiral Hackett's on vid comm."
"Thanks," Hannah acknowledged. She looked to Jenson as she made for the conference room. "You have the bridge, Commander."
"Yes, ma'am."
Hannah walked to the vid comm and punched its panel. Steven's broad frame shimmered into existence, his hands clasped behind his back as he looked critically at her.
"Admiral," Hannah greeted formally. "Do you want our geth report?"
Steven shook his head. "My calls seem to have gotten personal of late."
Hannah tilted her head. "Is this about Jane again?"
"Yes."
Hannah's chest ached in apprehension. "Don't tell me you were wrong and Jane's really dead?"
"No. She is alive."
Hannah felt relief flood her body and she breathed a shaky sigh, releasing pent up tension.
"But she's going to need you, Hannah, now more than ever."
Hannah narrowed her eyes. "Why? What's happened?"
"Have you heard about the Bahak System?"
"I read the news a little over an hour ago. Was she involved?"
"It's her doing," Steven stated regretfully.
Hannah shook her head, disbelieving Steven's assertion. Jane wouldn't kill 300,000 batarians. She couldn't. She wasn't like that. "I don't believe it," she muttered.
"She had no choice," Steven said, then backtracked. "Well, she did have a choice, but the right one was obvious and devastating."
"Then, why…"
"It's complicated. In essence, if she hadn't destroyed the Alpha Relay, we'd have a galaxy wide war on our hands. The Reapers would be here and we wouldn't have prepared for them in the slightest."
Hannah put a hand to her chest. Jane had been forced to choose between a batarian colony or the assault on the entire galaxy by Reapers. Hannah didn't envy her the decision she'd been forced to make.
"I called you," Steven went on, "because Anderson's already on his way to place her under arrest. The batarian Hegemony's going to release its proof later in the day and I'm certain it will implicate Jane. Humanity could be kicked off the Citadel Council or sanctioned if we don't show we're doing something, like taking the perpetrator of the crime into custody."
Hannah felt her heart beat harshly through the palm pressed into her chest. "You're not going to give her into the hands of the batarians?" They'd execute her instantly, Hannah thought inside.
"She'll be taken to earth, to stand trial in a just system."
Hannah nodded slowly. "What if she…flees?" Hannah knew the stealth capabilities of the Normandy.
Steven then puffed out his chest proudly. "I've already met with her. She's ready to take the fall for her actions. She won't flee."
Hannah felt proud and disappointed at the same time: proud Jane would stand up for her actions no matter the consequences, disappointed the morals of her daughter precluded escape from those who wouldn't understand the reason for her choice.
"However, Jane's not in a good place. She may be resilient, but she's going to lose her ship and her team, her friends. She'll have nothing. And she's too valuable for us to lose, the brass at least admits that much."
"You want me to go to earth," Hannah intuited.
Steven nodded. "I'm calling the Orizaba back to Arcturus."
"Okay," Hannah said, her mind still reeling at the information she'd been given.
"You have my orders, Captain. Hackett out." Steven's form disappeared.
Hannah sat down at the conference table, her elbow on the table, her chin resting on her hand. Why did the galaxy ask so much from her daughter? Hadn't the Battle of the Citadel been enough? Now she had 300,000 deaths on her conscience, too.
Hannah heard someone enter the conference room. "Hey, Jenson told me you were in here, that Hackett called. What's going on?"
Hannah looked over at Lucas' questioning gaze. He'd cooled down from earlier, but she still read the anxiety behind his eyes. She couldn't tell him Jane might have killed Keta, not after his declaration he'd take out whoever was responsible.
"Something private," she spoke, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Ah, okay," Lucas said. "You coming back to the bridge?"
Hannah nodded and stood to follow Lucas out the door, hoping they'd be back on Arcturus before Lucas learned the truth.
When Hannah issued the order to return to Arcturus Station, the crew was surprised, but not overly so. The Orizaba had only been out for approximately a month; it was supposed to remain in space for at least three. Still, the Navy tended to change its mind often, so a short stint wasn't unheard of. Most were glad they'd get to see their families again so soon.
They were about three hours from the station when the bomb dropped. Hannah knew the news had come out that Jane was responsible for the destruction of the Bahak system when she entered the bridge again and heard hushed twittering cease. Several pairs of eyes glanced uncomfortably her way. She searched the bridge, but didn't see Lucas anywhere. She determined it would be best if she tracked him down before he found her. She turned to walk to the elevator and ran smack dab into her XO who had just exited the elevator himself.
"Did you know?" Lucas asked in a low and threatening voice.
Hannah steeled herself and motioned towards the door to the conference room. She heard Lucas' heavy footfalls follow her into the room. She turned to him when the door closed. "I knew."
"And you didn't tell me?" Lucas' jaw was clenched, his voice muted.
Hannah crossed her arms over her chest. "You said you were going to kill whoever did it. You expected me to tell you?"
Lucas stood hunched over, his data pad dangling from his hand. He glared at Hannah, saying nothing. Hannah gestured at the data pad. "What are they saying?"
"They have video of the Normandy in-system that was picked up and sent back to the Hegemony right before the system went dark. And there's a casualty list."
Hannah took a deep breath, preparing herself to hear the tragic news. "Is she on it?"
Lucas shook his head. "But her brother is. She wouldn't be on it, now would she?" he asked snidely. "She wasn't supposed to anywhere near batarian space."
"Then she could still be alive, Lucas," Hannah insisted, wanting to soothe the fury rippling under the surface of his self-control.
"She still hasn't answered my e-mail. She's gone, I know it. And your daughter killed her."
Hannah shifted uncomfortably on her feet, Lucas' sinister eyes chilling her to the bone. Lucas had always been on her side, but Hannah realized his faithfulness now had a limit: Lucas' loyalty to her ended where his loyalty to Keta began. "You need to take a deep breath, calm down and don't make assumptions."
"What else can I assume?!" Lucas suddenly yelled.
"Sit down, Commander!" Hannah demanded, afraid of what Lucas might do next if his rage wasn't contained.
"I don't want to sit down, Captain," Lucas retorted.
"If you don't, I can have you locked up in the brig until we get back to the station."
"On what charge? Confronting my captain for lying to me?"
"I didn't lie, Lucas. I just didn't clarify Hackett's call."
"Well you should have!" Lucas stepped towards her, his fist raised. Hannah backed up and held up her hands, palms faced out.
"Stop and think about this. You attack me, and you'll be brought up on charges of assaulting your commanding officer."
Lucas froze and growled, shaking his fist at her. "I'm not going to hit you…but…I don't know what to do." He suddenly threw his data pad across the room. It clattered across the table and slid onto the floor.
"I'm ordering you to stay in your cabin until we reach the station, you got me?"
Lucas stomped towards the door. "I'm going." He didn't salute or look back at her as the door shut behind him.
Hannah breathed in and out quickly, her body releasing tension after the confrontation. She walked over to the other side of the room and picked up Lucas' data pad. An unsent message taunted her from the screen.
Keta, please contact me as soon as you can. Look, I hadn't wanted to scare you off, so I never said anything, but, honestly, I love you. Don't die, okay? Lucas.
Hannah looked back at the door, contemplating the man who had been her closest friend over the last few years. He'd been given another chance to love someone. She could empathize with his pain, losing someone he cared about so deeply. Her finger hovered over the send button for a moment, then tapped quickly. She debated with herself inside. Had she done the right thing? Lucas should have been the one to decide when to tell Keta his feelings, but Hannah didn't want him to regret never sending the one message that meant the most to him. Someone dying and being taken from your life was bad enough. Never having told them how you felt would be worse.
Hannah sighed. She cared about Lucas. But she cared for Jane more. If Keta trumped Lucas' loyalty to her, she could understand that. But he'd have to understand, too, that her loyalty to Jane trumped him any day.
When the Orizaba docked at Arcturus Station, Hannah ordered Jenson to secure the ship and assign a skeleton crew to oversee it, then headed to Lucas' cabin. When she reached his door, she reviewed the words she'd mulled over in her mind. Finally, she took a breath and surged ahead, pushing the panel and sounding the chime in his room.
In a couple seconds, the door slid open. Lucas was out of uniform, wearing a pair of sweats and a white undershirt. His eyes were bleary. "What do you want?" he slurred out. Hannah smelled alcohol on his breath.
"I want to talk to you."
Lucas pulled back and gestured inside. Hannah entered and sat down in the small lounge area on his couch. Lucas leaned with his back against the wall across from her. Hannah observed an empty bottle of krogan beer on the table. She reached out and picked it up. "How did you get this?"
Lucas rubbed his temples with his fingertips. "Keta sent it. We were supposed to share it the next time we got together. She said it lays you on your ass. She was right."
Hannah set the bottle back on the table and looked up at Lucas. He was rubbing his face with his hands. He lowered them and took a deep breath. "Why you here?"
"We're back at Arcturus."
"I figured that out. Do I have permission to leave my room, mother?" Lucas glowered at her.
Hannah sighed. "Lucas, I didn't want to order you to stay here. You just needed some time to calm down."
"Well, I'm calm now."
"You're drunk. There's a difference."
"I don't think I'm drunk anymore," Lucas objected. He coughed then continued. "I can think again, anyway. I had that stuff hours ago. Goes through the system quickly. Trust me."
"You look drunk."
"Just tipsy," Lucas insisted.
"Will you listen to me?"
Lucas shrugged. "Say whatever you came to say. I just want to get it over with so I can get off this ship." He fixed her with his green eyes, slightly foggy, but concentrating on her.
Hannah sat up straight. "Lucas, you've always had my back whenever I needed you. I don't want to lose your friendship. Jane only destroyed the system because she didn't have any other choice. Think about it from her point of view, having to choose between letting the Reapers assault the entire galaxy or destroying one system and keeping them out."
"Reapers!" Lucas spat out, the term uttered as if it was a curse word. "Always the Reapers. We haven't seen one Reaper since your daughter disappeared. They don't exist, Hannah! Jane's delusional."
"You didn't think so when they derided her visions on the news after they said she was dead," Hannah challenged, annoyed. "You said reporters never knew what they were talking about."
"Two years hadn't gone by, then," Lucas countered. "We should have seen something by now if Reapers were real."
Hannah opened her mouth to protest, then shut it. She hadn't come by to argue the existence of the Reapers. "Look," she went on, expressing the words she'd practiced, "I wanted to let you know I understand. When I lost Daniel, it was awful, more than awful. I don't even have the words to tell you had badly I hurt. So I get what you're feeling."
Lucas said nothing, just stared at her unblinking.
"I don't want you to give up hope. Don't give up on Keta until you're completely sure."
Lucas still kept silent as she paused, Hannah unable to read his gaze, so she plunged ahead. "And I wanted to ask you to hear Jane out. Just give her a chance. Try to understand why she did what she did before you judge her. Okay?"
Lucas folded his hands over his chest. "I'm not making any promises."
Hannah stood. "Then we're done here. You can go. But think about what I said, Lucas. You don't want to say or do anything you'd regret." She walked to the door and left, thinking it better not to look back at the man who had been her closest friend for the last ten years.
As Hannah left the Orizaba, she saw Steven Hackett waiting for her. "My ship's ready for departure," he informed her shortly as she fell into step next to him. "Anderson's made it to the Normandy. It's headed to earth."
Hannah nodded, recognizing that Jane's path was set and she would now face what must be the trial of the century. What a field day the galaxy would have at her expense, impugning her humanity, mocking her visions and crucifying her for simply trying to protect it. She didn't have any confidence that the Alliance would hand Jane a fair trial. Their justice system was better than the Hegemony's, but she assumed humanity's leaders would make Jane a scapegoat, hiding behind her punishment to protect their own agendas. Hannah had already resolved to make her own defense of Jane if all seemed lost.
Hannah followed Steven, refusing his offer to stop briefly by her apartment. As she walked brusquely, she suddenly felt that they were being followed. More than once, she glanced over her shoulder, but she didn't perceive anyone out of the ordinary. The only person that caught her eye was someone a ways down the hall who wore a hooded jacket obscuring his or her face. The last time she looked back, when they reached the small ship that would ferry them to earth, the hooded figure had disappeared, probably going about his or her own business. Hannah followed Steven onboard the ship, the figure in a hoodie forgotten as they settled into their seats and began the journey to earth.