Jane arrived to the cock pit after leaving her cabin and addressed Joker.
"How we doing? Have we gone through the Relay yet?" She asked him.
"Mr. Moreau and myself were just about to navigate through it. How are you feeling, Commander Shepard? Do you need to see Dr. Solus?" EDI, the recently unshackled AI, asked her.
"Uh, no, I'm fine. Thanks EDI." Jane said, as she felt her cheeks get hot with embarrassment. Shit, I had forgotten Mordin had mentioned he'd have EDI forward interspecies relations to my cabin. She saw Joker give her a puzzled look. "Never mind, Joker. So, is that it?" Jane pointed at the Relay directly in front of them, feeling relief at being able to change the subject.
"Yeah. Might want to grab onto to something since we don't know what's on the other side." Joker replied. Jane grabbed the back of his chair to hold herself steady as they went through the Relay. Once on the other side, she looked through the window and saw a debris field made up of hundreds of broken-down ships.
"These must be the ships that never returned from the Relay and now we know why. Joker, you sure you can maneuver through this?" Jane worriedly asked him.
"That hurts, Shepard. This will be a cake walk, well debris walk." Joker told her, as he started steering the ship around the debris.
"Mr. Moreau, we have enemy ships headed our way." EDI told them.
"Collector?" Joker asked as he kept avoiding the debris.
"Who else?" Jane spoke up, unsurprised. She looked to see several dark colored circular machines with glowing red centers. "What the hell? Those look like giant evil eye balls!" She yelled out as Joker started aiming the Normandy's weapons at them.
"It is identified as an Oculus. Oculi for plural." EDI informed them.
Moments later, they felt the Normandy jolt and EDI informed Jane that there was an intruder in the Cargo Hold. Jane sighed, then radioed Garrus and Grunt to grab their gear and meet her in the Cargo Bay as she grabbed her sniper.
Jane arrived to the Cargo Bay first. When she walked into the bay, a bright red particle beam had barely missed her. She heard Garrus swear out and start firing his rifle at the Oculus as she ran for cover. She heard Grunt say they needed to use heavy weapons and she yelled back that he was a heavy weapon with a chuckle. She peeked around the corner and saw the Oculus was distracted by Grunt, so she took the opportunity to aim a shot with her Widow Sniper Rifle right in the center of its eye. They heard a loud screeching sound before it retreated.
"Damn, I love this gun!" Jane exclaimed, as she admired the long, dark grey, heavy rifle with the powerful scope and built-in ground mount.
"Hey, Commander. I'm going to have to go further into this debris field to try to shake these motherless suckers off of us. It might get a bit bumpy down there." Joker informed her on the comm.
"Roger that-" Jane was interrupted mid-sentence when she felt herself being shaken violently. She instinctively grabbed onto Garrus to hold herself up while he clung to a nearby beam with one arm as he held onto her with his other arm. After everything was steady again, Jane let go and thanked Garrus with a blush. He told her he was always happy to catch her with a smile which made her smile back at him. How did I get so lucky? She thought to herself before Grunt interrupted them that it was back with a 'lovebirds' comment. Shit, does everyone on this goddamn ship know about us already? Jane thought as she ran for cover again as they started shooting at the oculus. They had gotten a few shots in when she heard Grunt yell out "I am KROGAN!" as he charged at the machine full force. Jane saw sparks emanating from the Oculus, exchanged a quick glance with Garrus, then they both ran and grabbed Grunt to pull him behind a crate mere seconds before it had exploded sending sparks and metal shards in the small area it and Grunt were just at. She smiled and gave Grunt a high five while proudly saying "that's my boy". He chuckled back at her and told her she had told him he was a heavy weapon.
"Shepard, if you're done playing around down there, you might want to come back up here. We're about to clear the debris." Joker informed her.
"Ha-ha, we're coming. How about you kill the evil looking eyeball machine and I'll drive next time?" Jane joked with him.
"After the stories I've heard about the Mako, I think I'm good. I like being in one piece." Joker retorted back at her through the comm.
"Hey, I always brought everyone back in one piece!" Jane annoyingly said back as they left to meet up with Joker in the cock pit.
They met up with Joker just in time to see the Normandy clearing the debris. Looking ahead, Jane saw a massive looking space station. She rubbed her eyes, then took a second look. It was the largest station she had ever seen. Just then, a ship came into their view. It was massive, making the Normandy look tiny in comparison. It looked as if it was made of half metal and half strange looking rock for its structure.
"That Collector Cruiser is powering up its weapons, Commander." EDI informed them.
"Shit, shit, shit! That's the same thing that destroyed the first Normandy. Hang on, I'm not losing another one!" Joker shouted as he maneuvered to avoid the large particle beams that started shooting at them. Jane told him to show them their new gun upgrades.
"That did some damage!" Joker exclaimed after the first shot from the Normandy's guns had hit. He then swerved them around to avoid the beams, then came back and hit it a second time. The Collector Cruiser exploded and the blast also impacted the Normandy. Jane felt the ship violently shake as it descended towards the Collector Base right below them. EDI told them to prepare for a crash landing. Jane felt herself move and looked up to see Garrus had pulled her up to his chest as he stood in a protective stance with his arms around her. She gladly held him back as she hoped for the best. She felt her back hit the ground as the ship crash landed. She looked up to see Garrus's face right above hers, as she felt that he was still holding onto her. He then got up, reached out his hand to her and helped her up. She smiled at him, then asked if everyone was okay.
"Other than the five ribs I think I've broken, yeah." Joker groaned as he held his side.
"There are no casualties, Commander." EDI told them.
"Yeah, but we're not going anywhere anytime soon. Me and EDI should be able to make her space worthy but it'll take a little bit." Joker informed her.
"Well, we all knew this could possibly be a one-way trip. EDI, have everyone meet us in the meeting room to go over a plan." Jane said before she headed that way with Garrus and Grunt.
Once everyone had gathered, EDI pulled up a hologram of the schematic for the base. She informed them that the control center was most likely the weak point for the bomb. She also told them that was likely where any colonists and Normandy crew members would be if they were still alive. She then went on that there were two paths leading to the center and that they would need someone to go through the thermal vent in order to open the way for the others.
"Tali, I need you to go through the vents and use your tech savvy-ness to get us through." Jane turned and told Tali.
"Of course. I'll get us through." Tali spoke up.
"We should have someone lead a second team and take the other way, Shepard." Miranda spoke up.
"Hope you don't mean yourself, cheerleader?" Jack, the female biotic they broke out of prison, spoke up. She had a shaved head, dark makeup, and tattoos covering her body. She was tortured and tested on by Cerberus as a child so Jane could understand her distrust with Cerberus.
"Well, you have no leadership skills." Miranda argued back at her.
"Enough, you two! This is no time for arguing. You two can kiss and make up later. Miranda has the leadership skills for the job so she will lead the second team." Jane said as she saw Jack scowl at her. "Garrus and Grunt, you two are with me."
"Of course, you'd take Mr. Archangel after your date." Jack mumbled. Jane rolled her eyes and ignored her and told everyone to set out with their assigned jobs. Seriously, everyone knows?
They started fighting their way through the Collectors in the base's corridors. Not far in, Tali came on the comm.
"Shepard, I'm starting to burn up in here. The way forward is blocked." She told Jane.
"Shit. Hang on, I think I see a console." Jane told her. She could see the console about twenty feet from her location. "Cover me." She told Garrus and Grunt right before she started running and hit the console while dodging the incoming fire from Collectors.
"That worked, thanks." Tali said.
They paved their way through the Collectors while opening vents for Tali to get through until they got to the locked door. They held off Collectors until Tali managed to hack the door open on both sides, where they met up with the other team before locking the Collectors back out.
"Everyone good?" Jane asked them, taking a breath.
"No injuries on our side." Miranda reported to her.
Good. Jane thought as she stole a quick glance at Garrus. They went forward a little bit when they came across the same strange containment pods that they had seen on the Collector ship. Jane noticed that these ones weren't empty and peered into one. She saw a woman with pale skin and dark, cropped hair and guessed it must've been one of the colonists from Horizon. All of a sudden, the woman's eyes popped wide open and she started screaming. She looked like she was getting disintegrated. Jane yelled out that they were still alive as she used the butt of her gun to try to break the glass open, but she couldn't get it open in time and had to witness the woman slowly disappear into nothing, leaving only a few specks of dust inside the pod. She ordered the others to hurry and open the other pods, which contained the Normandy crew members who had been kidnapped. Jane didn't waste any time and opened the pod that Doctor Chakwas was in and held her to help her stand up. The others had managed to get the rest of the crew out safely.
"Doctor, are you okay?" Jane asked as she helped her steady herself.
"We are now, thanks to you." She replied to Jane.
"How about everyone else?" Jane asked.
"They're a bit disoriented, but otherwise alive." Mordin told her as he checked over everyone.
"Commander, the others they- they were getting turned into some grey paste that would then get sucked into those tunnels. I don't know what for, though." Chakwas informed her with a shaky voice. Jane looked up and saw large, metal tubes running through the base.
"Then we need to follow those tubes. It may lead to the central command center." Jane spoke up. "EDI, can you find me the best path along the tubes?" She spoke into her comm.
"We have a problem. The only path to your destination is infested with Seeker swarms, even Dr. Solus's countermeasure won't be enough." EDI told her.
"What about a biotic field covering a small team? In theory, anyone with biotic abilities should be able to do it. I probably could." Miranda spoke up.
"We'll need a really strong field. Jack will do it." Jane said as she looked at Jack who nodded in affirmation.
"There is a second path which a distraction team could take to keep as many Collectors off you as possible." EDI told them.
"Okay, Jacob will lead the distraction team while me, Grunt, and Garrus go with Jack. Joker, can you pick up the remainder of the crew?" Jane asked him.
"Sure. From our starting point, still working on repairs." He answered her.
"Right. They won't make it on their own. Mordin, escort them back." Jane ordered him before they all went their separate ways.
Jack's biotic shield worked as they made their way through the swarms, taking out Collectors as quickly as they could. They had just made it to the next door before Jack became exhausted. Jack let out a biotic blast that propelled the swarms back before Jane locked the door behind them. Jane then opened the other door for the distraction team and contacted Joker.
"Did Mordin and the crew make it back okay?" She asked him.
"All safe and sound. Almost finished with the repairs as well." He told her.
"Commander, you can use the platforms ahead to get to the main console to set the bomb. Although, there are Collectors behind you that'll come through the door at any moment." EDI informed her.
Alright, it's now or never. Jane thought as she turned to address everyone. She told Garrus and Thane that they'd go with her while everyone else held off the Collectors for them. She then told the others that they needed to destroy the base no matter what and that it'd been an honor to work with them and if they made it out alive, drinks would be on her. She then stepped on the first platform with Garrus and Thane as they made their way to the console in the center. After fighting through Collectors, they had reached the center console and Jane saw what looked like the top half of a massive human skeleton hanging in the open space in front of them. It was being held up by two tubes attached to each shoulder.
"What in the fuck is that?" Jane asked, aloud.
"I believe they are using the colonists to construct a human Reaper. By my calculations, the paste they were turned into is being funneled into its construction. This is only hundreds of thousands of humans and they need many more to finish it." EDI told them over the comm.
"This thing is a damn abomination." Jane said as she shot each tube, causing the incomplete Reaper to fall down into the abyss of the base. She then turned around and opened the console to get ready to set the bomb when EDI told her she had the Illusive Man waiting to speak to Jane. Thane pulled up his hologram on his omni tool.
"Shepard. We don't need to destroy this base. We can just eradicate the Collectors." He said as Jane saw his hologram image.
"Are you fucking kidding me? This place is an abomination. Look how many people have already died for this place!" Jane argued with him.
"We could use this for research against the Reapers. I want to save humanity by any means necessary. Remember I brought you back to work for me." He sternly told her as he took a drag from his cigarette.
"I don't care. I'm blowing this place up. I won't let fear compromise who I am. You wanted me just as I was and that's what you got." She told him right before Thane disconnected the transmission on the call. Jane thanked him as Garrus handed her the detonator for her to place in the console. She put it in place and set it then told them they had ten minutes until it would go off. She then felt the ground beneath them shaking. What now? She thought to herself right before she saw the Human Reaper rising up in front of them.
"Shit! Everyone over get over here and grab cover. Aim for the eyes on that bastard!" She shouted as she grabbed the Collector Particle Gun she had recovered on Horizon. She peeked over the concrete barrier she was hiding behind and aimed the beam at the Reaper's eye. It shot a straight stream of blue particle lasers until the Reaper's eyes had exploded, causing it to fall again. This time it landed partially on the platforms, causing them to start falling as well. Jane held on to the barrier to keep herself from falling until she saw Garrus had fallen off and was sliding towards the abyss below them.
"Garrus!" She shouted out as she dove headfirst after him. She slid down the now vertical platforms after him and held out her hand. He reached out to grab her hand and she managed to get a grip on him right before he reached the edge. She used all her strength to pull him up and before she could even ask if he was alright, she felt them start falling the opposite way they were before. Jane felt a sharp pain in her back as she finally landed on solid ground again. She looked around and saw Thane on his side. She went over to see if he was okay, then helped him up. She then saw Garrus lying motionless with a metal beam on him. No, please be okay! She panicked to herself as she ran to remove the beam off of him. He opened his eyes right after she had managed to get it off of him. Thank God, she thought to herself as she helped him up and gave him a quick, tight hug. Her relief was short lived when she saw the Seeker swarms heading their way.
"Joker, please tell me you have the Normandy up and running and that the others made it there!" Jane contacted him on her comm.
"Yes, and yes. We're on our way to you. Sending coordinates now, Commander." Joker replied to her.
They ran towards the rendezvous point Joker had sent while dodging Seekers and Collector bullets. They eventually saw the Normandy come into view with Joker in the Airlock compartment, holding an assault rifle giving them cover fire. Garrus and Thane jumped onto the ship first, before Jane could reach the ship, the platform in front of the Normandy had collapsed and left a giant gap between Jane and the ship. You've gotta be kidding me. I don't know if I can make that jump. Jane thought right before she ran as fast as she could and leapt towards the Normandy. She had barely grabbed onto the ledge of the ship. She felt herself slipping but then two hands grabbed her arms and pulled her up. She found herself in the embrace of Garrus's arms. She returned his hug as they raced to escape the explosion back through the Relay.
"Commander, the Illusive Man wishes to speak to you." EDI informed her once they were through the Relay.
"Of course, he does." Jane sighed as she made her way to the meeting room to take his call. Once she was there, she opened the communication line to see a hologram of him sitting in his chair, smoking a cigarette.
"Shepard, you're costing me more than just time and money lately." He told her with a scowl.
"Stop the bullshit. Hard to understand you over that." She told him as she crossed her arms.
"You're too idealistic. You can't make the hard decisions. I should have known that." He spoke.
"You know what? I know what kind of person you are and the price of dealing with you. From now on, we do things my way. If you don't like it, then stay out of my way."
"That's one hell of a risk. You sure that's what you want?" He asked, angrily.
"Hmph. Joker, lose this channel." Jane smirked as she turned to walk away. Once she was in the CIC where everyone else was, she announced they were now on their own.
A few days later, Jane was sitting in her cabin after helping Liara become the new Shadow Broker. She had poured two glasses of wine while she waited for Liara to come visit her. A few moments later, Liara showed up.
"Liara, so nice to see you again." Jane spoke up while she gave her a hug. "You're not gonna turn all dark and secretive on me now, are you?" She laughed at her own joke.
"Hardly. I couldn't have done it without you, after all." Liara replied as she hugged her back. "Oh, I have something for you." Liara handed her a small case. When Jane opened it, she saw that her dog tags were inside.
"How did you- I thought I'd never see these again." Jane sniffled as she hugged Liara again.
"It wasn't easy. They exchanged hands a few times and ended up with Admiral Hackett who gave them to me so I could get them to you. He hopes you're doing well." She told Jane. I'll have to remember to thank him, she reminded herself as she set the tags on her bedside table. "How are you doing with everything?" Liara then asked her.
"Hell if I know. So much is depending on me and only a handful of people even believe me about the Reapers. I have no clue how we're supposed to stop them, I barely managed to stop the Collectors. If it wasn't for Garrus, I would have died a second time." Jane confessed to her.
"And I'm thankful to him for that. I've gotten everything I wanted now that my friend is alive again, but what do you want? Do you want to make a better life for Garrus?" Liara asked her.
"I do. He's been hurt so much and he deserves the best. I only hope I can-" Jane got interrupted when her comm went off.
"Commander, Admiral Hackett is on the line for you. He said he needs to talk to you in private. No offense, Liara." Joker told her.
"No problem. I should get back to the ship anyways. Stay in touch, Jane." Liara said as she gave her a hug goodbye.
Jane contacted Admiral Hackett, who asked her to rescue a scientist who was deep under cover in Batarian space. He told her it was top secret and she'd have to go alone. When she asked about what the agent was doing there, he said she had found proof that the Reaper invasion was imminent but was arrested for terrorism by the Batarians. She reluctantly agreed and told Joker to get them as close to Batarian space as possible so she could take a shuttle to rescue Doctor Kenson. She decided to talk to Garrus before she left. She told him that all she could say was that the Admiral asked her on a top-secret assignment and she had to go alone. He was hesitant and didn't seem happy about her going on her own, but he was supportive of her decision. He asked her to be careful and she told him she would before she gave him a kiss goodbye before leaving.
Jane woke up in a bed in a lab room. That goddamn idiot. Why would she let them all be around a Reaper artifact unprotected? Jane thought to herself as she sat up. All she remembered was Kenson turning on her after declaring she wanted to Reapers to come and sending mercenaries to take Jane down. Jane took care of the mercenaries just fine but then a wave of energy had hit her and she blacked out. The scientist that was guarding her screamed and sent two guards in to deal with Jane. Jane beat them both in hand-to-hand combat but the scientist had put up a barrier, locking her in. Ugh, you've got to be kidding me. She sighed in frustration as she looked around, she then spotted a console which she used to take care of a mech. She used to mech to shoot the power to the barrier. Jane then went to take care of the scientist and went to the weapon locker to grab her gear. She took a look at the countdown for the arrival of the Reapers and saw she only had little over two hours left.
"Fuck!" She shouted out. Just then, the alarms started blaring in the facility. "Well, everyone knows I'm awake now, I guess." She made her way to the Project Control Room she had passed on her way in. I guess this is what I get for rescuing Kenson from that Batarian prison, she sighed as she took out the guards coming after her. "Yeah, go on a top-secret rescue mission for Admiral Hackett by yourself, Jane. What could go wrong? And now, I'm talking to myself. Shit."
She had finally reached the Project Control Room and set the engines so the station would be on a collision for the nearby Relay. A computer came on warning her that a nearby Batarian colony housing 300,000 residents would also be destroyed. Shit. Jane went to the console to warn the Batarians to evacuate immediately. Her communication was cut short by Dr. Kenson who blamed Jane and said she ruined everything and the only solution was to destroy the station with an eezo core meltdown before it's collision. Goddammit. Jane raced to replace the cooling rods to stop the meltdown while dodging and shooting down the guards in her way. After she got the rods in and the VI announced that the core temperature was going back down to normal, Kenson told her that she could still override the engines. This indoctrinated psycho just won't stop, Jane thought as she ran after her and finally caught up to her in the engine room.
"You-why won't you just die?! I can't hear their whispers anymore and it's all your fault!" Kenson screamed at Jane.
"I think you should be grateful that you no longer hear voices in your head, but then again, you're a crazy bitch." Jane replied to her while she held her gun on the doctor.
"I won't witness their arrival but I'm taking you with me!" Kenson yelled as she pulled out a bomb detonator.
"Sorry, doctor, but I have someone waiting for me to come back." Jane said as she thought of Garrus, then shot the doctor. The doctor fell but she had already primed the detonator and the blast sent Jane flying backward.
Jane awoke to the VI saying a collision was imminent. Jane asked the VI to contact the Normandy but it said that all communications were down. It told her the only way out was the evacuation shuttles. This day just keeps getting better, Jane thought as she ran to the escape shuttles. She got to the roof of the facility and took out the guards when the VI informed her that external communication was available with the Comm Relay near her. She immediately contacted Joker and told him she needed an immediate pickup. Her communication was interrupted when a hologram of a Reaper appeared, calling itself Harbinger. Harbinger told her she had become an annoyance and that she only delayed their invasion, and hadn't stopped it. He then went on that her civilization would still fall. She told him that they would fight and win, no matter what. He ended their conversation by saying she would fail and told her to prepare for their Arrival before disappearing. Just then, Jane saw the Normandy come into view and she ran towards it. Right before she got onto the ship through the airlock, she felt a sharp pain in her left arm and noticed a guard left behind had shot her. As soon as she boarded the Normandy, she told Joker to hurry through the Relay, then collapsed from exhaustion and pain. Before she felt herself hit the ground, she noticed someone had caught her and she looked up to see Garrus holding her up.
"Told you I'd make it back." She smiled at him.
"Jane, are you okay?" He looked at her, worryingly.
"It's always this damn arm." She replied as he helped her to the med bay.
"Dammit, what happened?" He asked her.
"I'll explain later. I have to turn in my report first." She told him.
Garrus waited in the med bay with her as Dr. Chakwas checked her out. Not long after, Admiral Hackett walked in asking to talk to Jane alone. Chakwas and Garrus both then left, leaving her alone with the Admiral.
Hackett then asked Jane what happened. She told him everything from the rescue, to the doctor turning on her, and about the Reapers planning on using the Relay to start their invasion. He then asked her if she thought the invasion threat was real and she told him she did without a doubt and that she only had minutes to spare. She told him she tried to warn the Batarians but she was cut short. He warned her that the Batarians will be out for blood and although the evidence against her was shoddy, she'd have to eventually face the music on Earth and that was the only way they could protect her. He told her he'd give her a medal if he could but not everyone would see it the same way as he did. She asked him if she could at least drop her crewmates off somewhere first, as she didn't want them to take the heat for something she did and she'd turn herself in right after. He told her he was glad Cerberus hadn't stripped her of her honor and that he'd hold off the council on Earth as long as possible. She thanked him with a salute and he went on his way. As soon as he was out the door, Garrus came running in. Jane was sitting on the hospital bed hugging her knees. She hadn't told anyone but the Batarian death toll was eating away at her. I really can't save anyone, can I?
Garrus asked her if she was okay. Jane radioed to Joker to set a course for the Citadel before she turned to Garrus. She could feel the tears welling up in her face. She told Garrus she was sorry and he asked her why. She told Garrus that he and the others were going to the Citadel. He asked if she was going too. She tried to blink away the tears she knew were coming no matter what she did. She explained to him that she, Joker, and a skeleton crew were taking the Normandy to Earth. Garrus said he'd go with her as he sat down and reached to hold her hand. She felt tempted to take him up on his offer but reminded herself that she couldn't let him do that. She told him that he couldn't and she had to go turn herself in as she took her hand away. He questioned if it was about her working with Cerberus because she had gotten permission from the Citadel Council to do so. She saw the hurt on his face and her emotions came over her and she started yelling that it was because she destroyed a whole system along with 300,000 Batarian colonists in that same system. She went on as she felt the tears flooding her face as she stood up that she didn't want to do it but some insane scientists had gotten indoctrinated by an artifact and were going to let the Reapers come through the Relay. She then said she tried to warn the Batarians but her message couldn't get through. Dammit, I really did try. She had to remind herself before she completely fell apart. She turned back towards Garrus and told him that she did it alone and wasn't going to let anyone of them suffer the consequences for her actions. She felt Garrus hugging her as he told her he didn't care and he'd go with her. She knew he was serious and thought she didn't deserve someone as amazing as him. She stood limp for a moment before hugging him back tight. She told him to go to Palaven and warn them about the Reapers. She reminded him they were still coming and begged him to do it for her as she kept trying to hold back her tears. He hesitated but agreed to do it and asked her to promise him that he'd see her again as she felt him gently rubbing her back. She looked up at him and told him she promised she'll do whatever she can to be able to see him again. She apologized and told him she had to tell everyone else and told him she really cared about him before giving him a quick kiss and walking out of the med bay.
As soon as she heard the door close behind her, she leaned her back against the wall and let herself fall down to the floor. She bent her knees up to her chest and held her head in her hands and she let her tears finally fall.
"I'm sorry. I love you, Garrus Vakarian." She cried to herself.
