Hannah rolled over onto her stomach and reached out to the clock next to her bed. She pulled it close to her face and read the time: 0416. She sighed loudly in frustration. She'd been trying for hours to force some semblance of sleep onto herself. She'd dozed on and off, but deep slumber had eluded her. She hated feeling exhausted and unable to do anything about it. The harder she tried to sleep, the less it came.

Hannah stared into the darkness. She could make out vague shapes: a chair, a table, a couch. Steven had arranged a guest room for her at Alliance headquarters until she had to go back to the Orizaba. She'd take Steven's ship as before since he'd be returning to Arcturus as well. His intent was to prepare for the Reapers as best he could. He wanted to put the fleets through battle drills, get them ready for the onslaught Jane predicted.

Hannah closed her eyes, concentrating on her breathing, feeling her chest rise and fall slowly. She knew why she couldn't sleep. Today was the last time she would see Jane for a long while and she didn't want to leave. There was something so wrong about leaving your child behind, locked up and essentially alone. Her motherly instinct consumed her thoughts, telling her to wrap Jane in her arms and never let her go. But Jane didn't want that. Jane had repeatedly insisted Hannah go back to Arcturus and given her advice about how to fight the Reapers, ways to combat their minions face to face. Hannah had taken both mental and written notes. She could at the very least prepare her own people for what was coming.

A gentle chime sounded through the room. Hannah's eyes flickered open. Light filtered across the bed through thin blue curtains. She realized with a start that she had fallen asleep. She looked to the clock again. It was 0650 now. The chime rang again and she stumbled out of bed, wobbling over to the door and pressing its control panel.

"Who is it?"

She heard a familiar voice. "Maddock."

Hannah had wondered if Maddock would seek her out. She hadn't seen him since he'd entered the defense committee chamber for Jane's hearing. "Just a second," Hannah said, then walked over to the closet, pulling out her uniform and dressing quickly. She next went into the bathroom and rushed through a teeth brushing. She may have lived with Maddock and his family for four years, but whenever she was around her old captain, she still felt like a twenty-one year old under the scrutiny of her superior.

Hannah approached the door and pressed the panel. The door slid open to reveal Maddock standing straight and tall, his hands behind his back. His hair had long ago given way to gray and the wrinkles on his face bore testimony to his life of service in the Alliance Navy—the stress of the job had taken its toll. Hannah assumed her appearance would echo his some day. At least Maddock's eyes were the same, their grey depths displaying the wisdom Hannah had come to trust during her first tour of duty in space.

"Come in, sir," she said, gesturing inside.

Maddock sauntered into the room and made his way over to the couch, situating his bulk onto the small settee. "Sir," he muttered, rubbing his chin. "You're a captain now. We're peers. You don't have to call me that."

Hannah smiled slowly. "I wouldn't feel right calling you anything else."

Maddock nodded thoughtfully. "I suppose not."

"Unless you want me to call you 'maddy'," Hannah said, her eyes twinkling.

Maddock laughed at her teasing. "At least you're willing to joke with me now. I'm afraid that nickname is reserved for my wife alone."

Hannah chuckled. "I figured." She sat down in a chair across from Maddock, placing her hands in her lap and wringing them nervously. She had joked only to ease her own anxiety.

"Please, don't be uncomfortable around me," Maddock said, sensing the tension in Hannah's demeanor. "I'm a friend, not a foe, when it comes to Jane."

Hannah let out a relieved breath. "I wondered how you felt about her now."

Maddock leaned back against the couch and brought his right leg up on top of his left knee. "You don't live with someone and watch her grow without learning something about her. The Jane that appeared before the committee is the same Jane who grew up in my home. She's older, more experienced, but the same compassion beats in her heart. She got that compassion from her mother. I'd recognize it any day."

Hannah smiled slightly. She remembered thirty-three years ago when Maddock had commanded her to shower after Daniel's injury on Demeter. He'd done so to force her to deal with her own emotional heart.

"I read Jane's eyes," Maddock continued. "She hated what she did. I could tell she was hurting. I don't care what anyone else on the committee thinks. I know she didn't act maliciously."

Hannah spoke quietly. "I'm so glad you believe her."

Maddock frowned. "I do. But a lot of others don't. Truthfully, her stories scare them to the core. They don't want what she's saying to be true. Honestly, neither do I. But what I want doesn't matter. Jane's seen things and I have no choice but to believe them."

"So what will you do?"

"Try to convince the other half of the committee. Pull the strings I can. Advocate for Jane. It's an uphill battle. They know I'm closely associated with her, so my motives are suspect."

Hannah shook her head. "How do you put up with the paranoia, the overly cautious fear?"

Maddock grinned. "Sometimes I mentally imagine I'm throwing committee members across the room or gunning them down with an assault rifle."

Hannah laughed aloud.

"In all seriousness, it isn't easy, especially after commanding my own ship where the people under me immediately did what I asked instead of questioning everything that came out of my mouth. I put up with it because it keeps me on Earth, with Lourdes and near Jules."

"How is Jules?" Hannah asked, remembering the last time she had seen him when she'd brought him back from Omega.

"Moody, testy, anti-alien…He's still Jules. But he's calmed down a bit. I think his experience with Terra Firma tempered his willingness to get involved with organizations touting lofty goals, so that's good."

"I bet he doesn't believe the Reapers exist."

Maddock guffawed. "No, he doesn't. He's adamant on that point. I avoid that topic altogether when I see him. That and Jane. He doesn't want to ever hear about her. I think he's still embarrassed he was caught tracking her ship. Maybe a little sorry, too."

Poor Jules, Hannah thought. He'd been used and abused, too young and naïve in the galaxy to defend himself. He'd needed a good dose of humility, but she hoped it hadn't harmed his spirit for good.

"What's he up to?"

"Working for a computer company. Programming something. I don't know what. I know ships, not computers."

"Girlfriend?"

Maddock shook his head. "Jules has never exactly been savvy when it comes to social interaction."

Hannah nodded, agreeing. The room fell silent. Hannah wracked her brains trying to think of something to say, but couldn't. Maddock finally broke the silence.

"Well, I came here because I wanted to see you before I left headquarters. I'm going back home for a couple weeks. But I wanted to assure you Jane has my full support. She's not alone in this fight."

"Thank you," Hannah said, gratefully and sincerely. Maddock rose from his seat and Hannah followed. She reached out a hand, Maddock copying her movement. They shook hands, looking into each other's eyes, both acknowledging the underlying friendship and respect that bound them together.

"Tell Lourdes 'hello' for me and I hope she's well," Hannah said as she released Maddock's hand.

He nodded. "I'll do so. You take care of yourself out there. If Jane's right, we don't have much time."

Hannah walked Maddock to the door and watched him walk down the hall, admiring the sturdy gait he'd always had. Maddock was a force to be reckoned with, Hannah thought. If anyone could sway the defense committee, it was him.

Since she was already up, Hannah decided to eat some breakfast. She made her way to the cafeteria, grabbed an omelet with fruit on the side, then headed for the greenhouse at the center of headquarters. She'd come here each day of the week. It reminded her of the atrium she'd been reading in when Daniel had sought her out in middle school. As she found a quiet bench to eat at, she couldn't help but talk to Daniel now that memory had been stirred.

Jane's in a fix, Daniel. But she'll get out. I'll make sure of that. You'd still be so proud of her. She's had to make the most awful decisions ever since she joined the Navy, but she's been strong, made the right ones even when it hurt her. She's our girl—special and unique, and awesome, just like you said she'd be.

After she finished eating, Hannah stood and circled the interior of the greenhouse. She checked the time on her omni-tool. Thirty minutes until she could visit Jane. She picked up her pace, looping the greenhouse several times to use up the clock. Finally, her omni-tool showed 0800. Hannah bolted from the greenhouse, making her way to the detention center. She didn't want to waste one moment of her last morning with Jane.

Hannah passed through security, handing over the pistol she regularly carried and her omni-tool. The guard let her know that Vega had come through a little before and would be able to open Jane's door for her. He also let her walk to Jane's room on her own. By now he'd learned he could trust her completely. It might have helped that Hannah had gone out of her way to get to know him, especially ooooing and ahhhhing over his twin girls' pictures. Hannah wasn't the most adept at making close relationships, but she did know how to get a parent in the palm of her hand. As she neared Jane's room, she found Vega just leaving.

"Ma'am," he said, halting outside Jane's door and saluting when he saw her.

"Vega," she greeted. "How is she?"

"The Commander's good."

Hannah smiled. "You know she isn't a commander anymore."

Vega smirked. "So? I'll call her anything I want."

"Watch it," Hannah teased, "Or the committee will go after you next."

"Let 'em try. Then I can give them the beat down I've been working up to all week."

Hannah shook her head, amused. She'd come to like the young soldier immensely. He was obviously awed by Jane. Hannah knew why Anderson had chosen Vega to be Jane's personal guard—he was completely on her side.

Vega punched the code to open Jane's door, then departed. Hannah stepped inside, skimming the room. It was far more comfortable than Lucas'. As Jane was under house arrest, she'd been afforded a relatively comfortable living space. The room boasted a double bed, book shelves with quite a few hard copy titles, a desk and even a computer with limited, and monitored, access. It was at the computer that Hannah now found Jane. She stepped up behind her chair and peered over her shoulder. Jane was perusing a Palaven news site. The article title at the top of the page read "Primarch Fedorian Proposes New Task Force."

"Whatcha reading?"

Jane jumped and jerked her head to look behind her. "Uh…just…catching up with the galaxy."

Hannah narrowed her eyes as Jane quickly closed the site down and swiveled in the chair to face her mother. She felt that Jane had just been caught with her hand in the proverbial cookie jar. "Why Palaven?"

Jane shrugged.

"Checking up on your turian friend?"

Jane blinked her eyes a couple times. "Well, I'd be lying if I didn't hope to see how he was doing."

Hannah once again wondered about Jane and this turian she'd picked up. Could it be that they…Hannah paused in her thought, considering how strange it would be to have a turian son-in-law. Before she could inquire further, Jane changed the subject.

"Maddock came by to see me."

Hannah cocked her head. "Did he? He came by my room this morning."

"I assume he told you he's on my side."

Hannah nodded. "Said he'd work to convince the committee to wise up."

"Yep," Jane said, confirming Maddock had also told her the same.

An uncomfortable pause filled the room, then Hannah spoke quietly. "I don't want to leave you today."

Jane sighed. "Mom, I don't want to hash this out again. You're going to go and kick the Reapers' in the ass for me."

"I'm not arguing," Hannah explained. "But that doesn't mean it feels right. I'm your mother. I'm supposed to protect you."

Jane smiled. "Well, I've done pretty good protecting myself, haven't I? I'm still alive anyway."

Hannah sat down on Jane's bed, observing her daughter. Now that the ruling had come down, Jane had visibly relaxed. Exhaustion was still evident in her face, but the tension in her shoulders and back had eased. "Maybe it's a good thing they forced you to stop and rest," Hannah mused. "You haven't had a break since you were after Saren. And two years on an operating table doesn't count."

"I'll admit the comfy bed is nice and the food is leagues better," Jane said. "As for resting, Anderson's got me detailing everything. It's going to take me weeks to fill out all the reports he wants."

"At least it will give you something to do."

"Yeah," Jane agreed, glancing back at the computer. Her eyebrows creased suddenly.

"What is it?"

Jane tapped the side of the computer. "The screen went dark for a second."

Hannah laughed. "I don't think the Alliance provides the best for its prisoners. It's probably donated."

"Maybe," Jane said. "Anyway…"

The lights abruptly flickered. Hannah looked up at the ceiling as the lights came on and off several times. "Or…maybe it's an electrical problem."

Jane stood and walked over to her window, looking down into a courtyard. "Something feels wrong."

Hannah smiled gently. "Nothing's wrong. You've spent too much time watching your back all hours of the day. Relax."

Jane breathed deeply and turned. "You're right. What do you want to do today? Play a game? Chat? Read?"

Hannah pulled at her pony tail, thinking. "I feel like we should do something significant since we won't see each other in a while, but I can't think of anything."

Jane's face broke into a wide grin. "I know exactly what we can do," she said, touching a finger to her forehead. She strode over to the bookshelf and pulled out a thin, little book. She handed it to Hannah whose eyes widened when she read the title.

"The Space Fish? Here? Why?"

Jane laughed. "Who knows? It's not exactly Alliance required reading, is it? Makes me wonder who occupied this room before me. But I won't lie. I found it yesterday and read it more than once. Something about the familiar words brings back dad's voice. It felt good."

Hannah stared at Jane. She had wistful look on her face. "He'd be so proud of you."

Jane glanced down at her, her eyes somber. "He'd be proud his sunshine's under house arrest?"

Hannah nodded. "Yes, he would. He'd be proud you could make the hard decisions, do the job right no matter the cost."

Jane sat down next to Hannah. "I hope so."

"I know so," Hannah encouraged. She opened the book Jane had handed her and smiled at the drawing of a plump orange fish in the ocean whose thought bubble displayed a picture of a rocket in outer space. "So…You want me to read it?"

Jane shrugged. "Why not?"

Hannah felt a little silly, but why not, indeed? She cleared her throat, then began. "Once there was a fish. He did not like the ocean. He thought the ocean was boring. He wanted…'" Hannah stopped abruptly. The room had gone dark, now lit only by the window. A couple seconds later, a blaring, harsh alarm sounded outside the door. Jane stood and walked to the door. It slid open and the alarm grew louder. She sent a worried gaze to Hannah.

"It shouldn't open."

Hannah put The Space Fish on the bed, the plight of its protagonist forgotten. "What's wrong?"

Running footsteps pounded down the hall. Three guards came rushing past the door. One of them stopped and glared at Jane. "Shut your door, prisoner! That's an order!"

Jane stepped back and the door slid shut. She rushed to the window and sucked in a breath as she looked down. Hannah stood, joining her at the window. Several people lay motionless in the courtyard below. Several figures in armor were entering the detention center.

"Are they here for you?" Hannah asked, anxiety coloring her voice.

Jane breathed out slowly. "Maybe."

Hannah walked to the door and it slid open again. "Come with me," she commanded her daughter.

"I'm supposed to stay here."

"No," Hannah spoke decisively, her eyes hard on Jane. "I'll take the blame for this. If they're here to kill you, this is the first place they'll come. We're getting out of here."

Jane hesitated a few seconds, then nodded, following her mother out into the darkened hallway lit only by red emergency lights.

Hannah's first intention was to go back to the entrance of the detention center and ask for her gun back. As she and Jane traversed the halls, she considered how to convince the guard to hand over her gun when she had her daughter with her. She wished everyone knew how trustworthy Jane was, that she wouldn't be making a break for it during the chaos.

"Where is everyone?" Jane pondered aloud, walking next to Hannah.

"I don't know. It shouldn't be like this." They had met no one so far, which worried Hannah. She'd not seen the halls empty all week. She picked up the pace, wanting to get Jane out of the center as quickly as possible.

As they approached the entrance to the center, they had a clear view of the guard's room since three of its sides contained glass windows. Jane reached out a hand and pulled on Hannah's shoulder, causing her to slow down.

"A krogan," she hissed out.

Hannah scrutinized the room and saw that Jane was right. A reddish krogan stood inside the room, looking this way and that as a man in armor leaned over next to him in front of a computer. Obviously, they weren't affiliated with the Alliance. Hannah sank to the ground at the same time as Jane. They crawled forward slowly, silently, until they were right next to the door of the room. It appeared to be jammed open and they could hear the krogan and the man discussing.

"Hurry up!" the krogan growled out.

"I'm working on it. There's a lot of info here," the man protested.

"We should have been in and out by now."

"Look. We didn't have a map of this place, so we're going to have to make do. That's why you and your friends came along, right?"

The krogran responded with a grunt.

"Got it. He's in cellblock B, number 12."

"Listen up!" the krogan spoke authoritatively. "Head to cellblock B." Hannah assumed he must be speaking into a comm, supposedly to the other armored figures they'd seen in the courtyard. The location revealed they weren't after Jane. Who then? Was this a prison break or something more sinister?

Hannah felt a tap on her arm. Jane nodded toward the door and indicated she was going to rush the two when they exited. Hannah shook her head, but it was too late; the krogan had already stepped through the door. Jane jumped up and tackled him. The krogan cried out angrily, tousling with Jane as she struggled for his rifle. Jane's bold move alerted the man with the krogan. He emerged from the room with his rifle leveled and ready to shoot. Luckily, he took no notice of Hannah, the fight between Jane and the krogan drawing all his attention. Hannah bounded off the floor and karate chopped the man's arm, causing him to lose his grip on his rifle. It clattered to the ground and Hannah made a grab for it. The young man yelled, startled, but recovered quickly, kicking Hannah in the stomach as her fingertips brushed the rifle on the ground. Hannah doubled over, but still managed to thrust her foot out, kicking the rifle away as the man tried to recover it. The rifle slid across the floor, near Jane and the krogan, still struggling with each other.

"Jane! The rifle!" Hannah called out.

Jane eyed the man's rifle. She let go of the krogan and snatched up the rifle in an instant. She turned and fired, her shot tearing a hole in the krogan's armor at his right thigh. The alien howled out in pain and dropped his own rifle, clutching at his leg as blood poured from the hole. Suddenly, Jane was pounced upon by the man who clawed at her from behind. Hannah stumbled over to the krogan's rifle, commandeering it. She held it up at eye level.

"Get off her, now!" she commanded.

"It's too late, lady," the man ground out. It was then Hannah saw that the man held a knife to Jane's throat. Jane eyed her conspiratorially. She wasn't afraid. In fact, she was all too confident.

Hannah flicked an eye to the krogan sitting on the ground, groaning and gripping his leg.

"Give my friend his rifle back or she dies," the man warned. Now that things had come to a stalemate, Hannah was able to get a good look at him. He was young, maybe in his early twenties. He had tousled pale brown hair and a distinct tattoo inked onto his neck, a red scythe. He reached over Jane's shoulder and yanked his rifle out of her grip.

The krogan now stood and ripped his own rifle out of Hannah's hand. At the same moment, Jane threw her elbow backwards into the young man's stomach and ducked under his knife. She wrenched it out of his grasp and raised it, but never got to thrust it down. A shot rang out and Jane cried out, clutching her arm as blood dripped from her elbow.

Hannah turned on the krogan who had just fired on her daughter, angry, her fists pummeling him. The krogan managed to get a hold of Hannah's shoulders, uttering a deep cry as he performed a mighty headbutt. When he let her go, she stumbled backwards, her head swimming, her eyes unfocused. She knelt to the floor. Jane jumped in front of her, shielding her from the krogan and man leveling their guns in her direction.

"Let's go," Hannah heard the young man's urgent voice. "We've already messed up."

"Wait…Do you know who this is? It's Shepard."

There was a pause, then the young man's voice, full of awe. "Yeah."

"Do you know how much bounty is on her head?"

The young man spoke quickly. "Come on, Krik, she said no killing."

"It would be so easy," Krik argued. "20 million credits in one kill."

"We're not here for her."

"What? You a Shepard-lover?"

"It's just…I just…That's not the job. I swear I'll gun you down if you try it."

The krogan suddenly laughed harshly. "I'd like to see you try. Alright, let's go."

Hannah saw the krogan's feet as he walked up to Jane, her vision getter hazier by the minute. Jane screamed in agony. Hannah looked up and thought she saw the krogan, Krik, squeezing Jane's elbow. "You come after us, I will claim that bounty."

Hannah heard departing footsteps as the two attackers walked away. Her vision was almost completely gone.

"Mom, mom, are you okay?"

Hannah felt her body falling to the floor, then the world went dark.

Hannah came to a little while later. A cold sensation covered her forehead. She reached up and felt an ice pack. She fought the rip roaring headache tormenting her and gradually opened her eyes. She was inside the guard's room. Jane sat next to her on the floor, an emergency medical kit open next to her. She was in the process of binding the wound at her elbow with a strip of cloth, now pulling it tight with her teeth, apparently trying to make a rough tourniquet.

"How bad are you hurt?" Hannah asked, then moaned. It hurt to talk.

"Bad," Jane spoke through gritted teeth. "There's no medi-gel in here." She nodded to the kit, then spoke angrily. "Who doesn't stock medi-gel? Is the Alliance that shoddy now?"

"Maybe they already used it for something else."

"Right. That other infiltration of Alliance headquarters we never heard about," Jane came back sarcastically, disagreeing with Hannah's attempt to defend the Alliance.

Hannah changed the subject as she rubbed her temples, not in the mood to argue with Jane. "How have you survived so long pulling stunts like that?"

Jane actually smiled and Hannah suddenly realized this was the first time she'd ever fought side by side with her daughter. She was one tough cookie. "Taking them by surprise usually works. The krogan was stronger than I thought he'd be."

"I'll say," Hannah groaned, sitting up and gasping at the pain in her head.

"I'm worried about you," Jane said, placing a hand on Hannah's shoulder.

"I'll be fine, I think," Hannah replied.

"I tried to trace them with the cameras," Jane then said, her tone changing from one of concern to one of authority. "But they're all offline. The guard's out cold."

Hannah glanced across the room and spied a still form underneath the computer desk. "He's not dead?"

Jane shook her head. "I think they gassed him or something." She pushed herself shakily to her feet with her good arm. "I'm going after them."

Hannah now stood abruptly, clenching her teeth at the pain reeling through her head. "No. I will. You're staying here." She stumbled over to the cubbies that held the possessions of visitors and pulled out her pistol and omni-tool.

"Mom, you're in no condition…"

"You're worse than I am."

"This? Oh come on, I've faced way worse than this."

"Yeah, and even you admitted it was bad."

"Mom, you stay here…"

"No! Listen to me, Jane. I'm your mother and you're staying put and that's final. That krogan said he'd kill you and I believe him." Hannah marched towards the door, forcing herself to walk steadily on her feet to emphasize her ability to handle the situation. She looked back over her shoulder as she exited. "If that's not enough, I outrank you. I'm ordering you to stay here and get medical attention. Got it."

Jane shook her head, but acquiesced verbally. "Yes, ma'am."

Hannah made her way to cellblock B. Not only had she remembered the cell the two assailants had mentioned, she also found tracking them easy since the krogan had left a trail of blood as he walked. Her sight had returned in its entirety and the pain in her head was gradually fading. She did, however, feel a tender spot on her forehead and avoided thinking about what the bruising would look like.

When she reached the cellblock, Hannah paused at the end. The entrance had been jammed open just like the door at the guard's room. She pushed her back against the wall and slid over to the side of the door, slowly peeping her head around the corner. A guard's body lay in the middle of the hall, but no one else was in sight. Hannah stepped into the hall, navigating carefully, trying to see clearly by the subdued red emergency lights. She knelt next to the guard and put a couple fingers to his neck. His pulse beat strong. He wasn't dead either. What kind of rescuers were these people? They came with guns, but had been commanded not to kill. She didn't understand.

Hannah stood and walked a few more feet, peering through the window of cell 12. No one was inside. Hannah made her way back out of the cellblock. Once they rescued their prisoner, where would they head? Would they go back to the entrance? Back where Jane was? Hannah started to walk back to the guard's room when she heard a rustle in the other direction. She held her pistol out with both hands and crept down the hall, ready for any attack. When she turned the corner, she saw another guard on the floor, only he was moving and gasping for breath. Hannah approached and knelt down next to him. She recognized him as the one who'd commanded Jane to stay in her room.

"They're…heading to…the landing pad…" he stammered out between shallow breaths. He slipped off his omni-tool and pushed it into her hands. He gestured to a stairwell not far down the hall. Hannah nodded and made for the stairs. She climbed the steps as quickly as possible, determined to stop the invaders. After what seemed like hours, but was most likely minutes, she reached the top. Using the guard's omni-tool, she worked to unlock the door. In a few seconds, the door slid open revealing a flat roof high above the detention center. Hannah exited and looked down below. Only one story down was the landing pad for the center. A ship was already parked there, its engines coming to life. A mixed retinue of human and alien figures stood outside it, guns held at the ready. Hannah knelt down and crawled to the edge of the roof, thinking how to stop the ship from taking off. There was a ladder to her right that she could slide down to reach the pad.

However, before Hannah could come up with an idea, the krogan, limping as he walked, and the young man emerged onto the landing pad, heading towards the ship. An older man walked between them. Hannah tried to get a good look at who was so important professionals had been sent to bust him out. When she did, she gasped aloud. The graying hair and the gait were unmistakable. It was Lucas. They'd come to rescue her former XO. Why? How did Lucas know these two? How much don't I know about Lucas' life? Hannah asked herself.

Hannah's hands trembled as she aimed her pistol down below. What was her duty now? Stop the escaping prisoner? She could stop him easily, take him down right now. She didn't have to kill him, just wound him, go for his legs. But then, they might just pull him on board anyway and get away. She could kill him, stop him entirely. But it was Lucas down there. What should she do?

They had almost reached the ship. Hannah's finger began to inch backwards, pulling on the trigger. Suddenly, a hand came out of nowhere and pushed forcefully down on the barrel of her gun. Hannah looked up to see Jane standing above her.

"What…"

"You'd never forgive yourself, mom. Trust me. I know."

The engine of the ship below roared loudly. Hannah watched as the ship lurched upwards, then took to the sky, soon nothing but a dot on the morning horizon. She rolled over onto her back and stared at the clear, blue sky, utterly worn out. I'm too old for this crap, Hannah told herself. She felt Jane sit down next to her. Hannah looked over and saw her cradling her arm.

"I thought I ordered you not to follow me," she reprimanded her daughter.

"If you recall, I'm not even a commander anymore. I can do whatever I want." Jane spoke defiantly, yet through labored breathing.

Hannah shook her head at her daughter's rebellious attitude. "You needed to go to medical."

"I will. Just give me a minute to catch my breath."

"Shepard! Shepard!" a voice came from the stairwell. In a few moments, Vega burst onto the roof, rifle in hand, head snapping back and forth. When he saw Jane, he marched over to her, then knelt down. "You're hurt!"

"Cool it, Vega."

Hannah waved at Vega. "She needs to get to medical."

Vega nodded shortly to Hannah, then reached over to pick up Jane.

"My arm's injured," Jane protested, "Not my legs. I can get there on my own."

"You're pale," Vega argued. "You've lost a lot of blood."

"Let him carry you," Hannah insisted.

"No way," Jane said, slamming her good hand into the ground. "I'm not letting anyone carry me into medical like a child."

Hannah sighed. "At least lean on the guy."

"Okay," Jane acquiesced, willing to go that far. She stood and gripped Vega's arm as they headed towards the stairs.

Hannah slowly stood to her feet. She glanced below one more time before following Jane and Vega. A guilt-inducing question assaulted her thoughts: If Jane hadn't stopped me, would I have killed Lucas? She couldn't even begin to answer that question.

Once they made it to medical, Jane was whisked away into surgery. The shot from Krik's gun had lodged more than one projectile into her elbow and they would need to be removed immediately. Before she would go with the doctor, Jane insisted on consoling Vega who was chastising himself viciously over not being there when she needed him. He'd tried to get back into the center when the alarm sounded, but the area had been shut down to block any escape attempts. He vowed never to let Jane down again. Jane told him to buck up and stop acting like an idiot and call Anderson to let him know she was alright. This left Hannah alone, waiting for Jane to reemerge. She'd already talked to Steven over her comm, reassuring him both she and Jane were going to be fine.

Hannah spent the next 45 minutes flipping through her data pad and then old hard copy magazines in the waiting room. She paced a good bit as well. More than anything, she tried to avoid thinking about Lucas, to push away questions concerning the possibility that she could have killed him if she hadn't been stopped.

Finally, the doctor came out and announced Hannah could see Jane who had awoken from the anesthesia. She found Jane laying comfortably in a hospital bed. She stood next to the bed and took Jane's hand, squeezing it. Jane looked up at her with a goofy smile. Hannah smiled back, recognizing her daughter wasn't entirely with it yet. "How are you?"

"Fine. Good."

"Good."

"How are you?"

"I've been better."

"Your head?" Jane's eyebrows creased in worry.

"It's fine."

"You got a good bruise."

Hannah sighed. "I figured that would happen."

"Looks stylish."

Hannah laughed, but her laughter soon faded into a sad sigh.

"You're thinking about him, your friend, your XO," Jane said, her words coming slowly as she brought her thoughts to fruition through the fog of waking up from surgery.

"Yeah. I could have stopped him."

"Sure," Jane agreed. "You could have killed your best friend and it would have eaten you up for the rest of your life."

"Why did you say you knew that? What did you do?" Hannah asked warily, recalling Jane's words on the roof.

Jane smiled broadly. "Wasn't me. I stopped Garrus from killing an old friend. It's strange how people seem to think killing someone will take away the pain. It never does. It just means you never get a chance to make it right."

Hannah stared at Jane, listening to wisdom come out of her daughter's mouth, even in a groggy state. How old was Jane now? Sixty? It seemed she had aged so much over the years, forced to grow up to maturity through the experiences she'd faced.

"I guess…you're probably right."

"I know I'm right," Jane said arrogantly and Hannah smiled again. She wondered how much of this conversation Jane would remember. She thought back to when Jane had gotten her wisdom teeth pulled as a teen. She'd said all kinds of things, revealed some embarrassing school girl crushes. Hannah had been kind and never told her how much she'd said. Now, Hannah's memory spurred an idea. Maybe she could wheedle out of Jane some similar kind of information now.

"So, um…Garrus…tell me more about him."

Jane grinned. "Garrus…Nice looking turian…Attractive." She paused. "Is that weird, for a human to say that about a turian?"

Hannah tried not to laugh. Jane was already saying too much. "I don't think so. You've always liked turians."

Jane nodded. "Yeah, maybe that's why it was so easy to come on to Garrus."

Hannah giggled inside. So, it was Jane who had instigated the relationship. Hannah's suspicions had been confirmed. Her daughter was in love with a turian. It wasn't so surprising really. Jane had always had a soft place in her heart for alien races.

"So, how serious is this relationship?"

"Well…" Before Jane could go on, a new voice entered the conversation.

"Shepard, glad to see you're alright."

Hannah looked over to see Steven entering the room.

"Yes, sir. I'm fine."

"She's still waking up," Hannah whispered.

Steven nodded. "The doctor says you'll be back to your cell by the end of the day."

Jane knit her eyebrows. "Cell…Just what I need when Reapers are coming."

Hannah eyed Steven. Jane's mouth was flowing freely.

"Yes, well, keep your anger to yourself for the time being."

"Sure, sir."

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to take your mother home now."

Hannah sighed, willing tears to stay away from her eyes. She didn't want to leave. "I wish we had more time, especially now," she said to Jane.

"Go, mom," Jane said, her eyes hard. "Go and give 'em hell for me."

"I will," Hannah promised, leaning over to embrace Jane in a tight hug.

Before Hannah left with Steven, she was interviewed by detention security regarding who had helped Lucas escape. She gave a description of the krogan and young man, but couldn't be of much help. Security was in a tizzy, everyone upset that Alliance headquarters could be infiltrated so easily. The rescue had been well organized. It turned out the bulk of the infiltrating force had attacked a different part of the center, giving the young man and krogan time to find Lucas and get him to the ship. All of them had gotten away. Hannah was sure heads would roll over the event. She was glad dealing with the fallout wasn't her job.

Within an hour, Hannah was back on Steven's ship headed to Arcturus. She'd fallen into a melancholy mood. It would have been hard enough to leave Jane under house arrest; leaving her with an injury to boot made it much worse. When her daughter needed her the most, she had to leave. She'd contemplated just telling Steven she was resigning, but it didn't seem right, not when the Navy needed every person who did believe in the coming threat on its side.

She and Steven spoke little, talking mainly strategy regarding the training of the Navy for the coming attack. For the most part, Steven left her to herself, getting the message loud and clear through her body language that she wanted to be left alone. She tried to sleep, but only managed to doze. She was called out of one of her foggy attempts when her data pad beeped. She looked down to see a new e-mail message. She turned it on and read the message.

Hannah, I'm writing to apologize. I specifically ordered that no one be injured during his rescue. Those responsible are being punished as I write this. I didn't want you to be part of this. Sorry. Oh. And the grufax is in good hands.

The message was anonymous, but its author clear nonetheless. Keta had been behind the attack. Hannah breathed slowly. She should have guessed Keta wouldn't sit back while the man she loved went to prison. It wasn't in her nature to let justice take its course.

Hannah closed her eyes again. She supposed she should tell Steven who had rescued Lucas, but she didn't want to. Part of her was actually glad Lucas had gotten away, that he'd found his way to the batarian he loved. At least with Lucas and Keta together, Hannah felt her guilt at almost killing him alleviated slightly. She was sick and tired of dealing with Lucas in her head. She'd gone from raging at him to feeling sorry for him to wanting to kill him to hoping he found some kind of peace with Keta. What she really wanted to do was wash her hands of him completely.

Go, Lucas, she said inside. Hide away with Keta and promise me you're never coming back.

With those words, Hannah felt a burden lift off her shoulders, then the comforting darkness of sleep descended.