"Imagine that, Garrus was nervous because he thought I'd be upset he fell asleep in my room that night." Jane chuckled to herself as she washed her hair in the shower. I guess I could have not called his bluff and invited him to join me. But with this war and everything, I don't want him to get too attached in case I don't survive. Or maybe it's the other way around. I don't know how to live without him anymore. Those six months on Earth, I couldn't get him out of my mind. Last night though, that felt good. Just being near him seemed to help because I did sleep well. "Ugh, Jane, pull yourself together. You have more important things to worry about." She said to herself as she got out of the shower and dried herself off. She decided to get dressed and go join the boys for breakfast before they headed out to Eden Prime. On her way out she spotted the black fleece zip-up hoodie with the N7 emblem that she had been gifted for being a graduate of the prestigious N7 Program, the highest ranking awarded to those that graduate. "Screw it, I earned this." She said as she put the hoodie on and partially zipped it up over her Alliance clothes before heading out the door.

Jane sat down across from Joker and Garrus at their table in the Mess Hall and greeted them after getting her breakfast and coffee. Joker got red in the face and started stammering that he needed to go before rushing out. Jane questioned Garrus about Joker's behavior, and he told her that he wasn't sure, but Joker had gotten weird when he mentioned Jane's reaction the vids he had borrowed to him. Oh, now I'm not going to chew Joker out for that. This is so much more satisfying watching him get all embarrassed about the fact I found out about them. Jane smiled to herself as she just brushed the subject off with Garrus and informed him they were going to meet Liara in the shuttle bay to go to Eden Prime when they were done. Garrus joked that he was surprised that Liara had allowed them time to eat before going to see what the important artifact Cerberus had found was. Jane laughed as she told him she had managed to convince Liara they had needed to eat before taking care of Cerberus.

When they arrived at the colony on Eden Prime, Jane could smell the iron from bloodshed before she even saw any bodies. She could feel her anger swelling up thinking about how Cerberus had come and murdered colonists for no good reason. She remarked how Eden Prime couldn't catch a break after Saren had attacked them three years prior and now, they got attacked by Cerberus as well. Liara said they had survived before, and they could do so now. Jane told them Mindoir had been rebuilt, but it wasn't the same as it had been before. She remembered she had gone back to visit once after being awarded an honor for her survival on Akuze. There was no one left there that I had known or grown up with. I didn't even feel like my medal for Akuze was earned, I just barely survived while my squad was tortured and killed. I heard they built a statue in my likeness on Mindoir when I had died, but I can't bring myself to return there again. Jane was distracted by her thoughts by Liara apologizing that she didn't mean anything disrespectful by her comment. Jane told her it was fine and that was just a sore subject for her. She wanted to steer away from the current conversation topic and pointed out a console ahead of them and asked Liara if that was what they were looking for. Liara agreed as she ran for the console and started interacting with it.

"This can't be possible!" Jane heard Liara exclaim as she and Garrus caught up with her. Jane saw a pod rise up in front of them. "It's not a Prothean artifact, it's an actual Prothean!"

"Like the Collectors, or the ones we saw on Ilos?" Garrus asked her.

"Like Ilos, but this one is still alive!" Liara exclaimed as she studied the pod.

"That can't be possible. How is it alive still?" Jane questioned Liara. Could we really be lucky enough to find a living Prothean? Maybe they'll be able to help us with this Catalyst no one can seem to figure out.

"The ones on Ilos only died because of power failure. It seems Cerberus had dug this one out from an underground bunker. It must have still had a power supply." Liara explained. "He was the only one it looks like. Maybe he was a brilliant scientist or held a seat of power in their government. Imagine how much we could learn about their culture from him!"

"Well, let's open it!" Jane exclaimed, joining Liara in her excitement.

"Oh no, it looks like Cerberus damaged the pod when they excavated it. His life signs are unstable. We need to find the command code in the labs nearby to safely open it and wake him." Liara told her. It was then they heard a shuttle approaching and Jane noticed it was Cerberus. She made a remark about them sending target practice for her as she pulled out her sniper and shot the first agent before he could exit the shuttle.

They had reached the first data console after they had dispatched of the Cerberus agents that had landed in the area. Jane went up and started interacting with the console when all of the sudden, she saw Protheans fighting Collectors. She had also seen one Prothean sealing some life pods in the area. A Prothean VI had mentioned how a bulkhead nearby couldn't be sealed because hostiles were there and the Prothean next to it said they needed to move their forces. Then she saw a flash of the Protheans fighting a Reaper before she snapped back to the present.

"Okay. I think I should be able to duplicate that to open the life pod." Jane spoke up.

"You could understand that?" Liara asked her, puzzled.

"Wait, you couldn't?" Jane questioned her.

"No, we just saw static. The cypher you received on Feros allows you to see images as the Protheans did and allow you to understand them." Liara told her.

"Well, whatever it is. I saw how they sealed the pods." Jane said.

"We still need to code they used to activate their stasis." Liara told her.

"Okay. Let's go before more guests pop in!" Jane told them as their ran to find the second console. Once they reached it, Jane interacted with it again. This time she saw the same Prothean and VI again. The Prothean called the VI Victory and told it to broadcast the stasis signal to all nearby life pods and it questioned him about the refugees who hadn't reached their pods yet. He told Victory their sacrifice would be honored in the coming empire. She then saw a flash of Reapers again before she felt herself pulled back into the present.

"Okay, I got it." Jane told them. "Now let's go wake us up a Prothean!"

They headed back to the pod and Liara started inputting the data Jane had given her. Jane saw the pod open and the Prothean started defrosting, he then opened his eyes, and they got hit by a blast of biotic energy. Jane opened her eyes to see the Prothean was stumbling away, and she got up to catch up with him. She heard Liara call out to her to be careful because he was confused and it had only been a short time for him, not 50,000 years like it had been for them. Jane caught up with him and grabbed his shoulder to stop him when she was pulled into another vision. She saw the Prothean and Victory talking as Victory was trying to convince him to get into his life pod. As the Prothean settled himself in, he heard Victory say something had happened and it would have to divert power from other pods to sustain his. He tried arguing that he needed what few Protheans were left, Victory told him he would be a symbol for what the Protheans were, and he replied he would be more than that before he went into a deep sleep. Jane snapped back from the vision and the Prothean asked how many of them were left. She apologized and said he was the only one, then questioned him about being able to understand her. He told her he had read her physiology and knew enough to understand and speak her language. She questioned him about reading her as she was seeing whatever the vision she had seen was. He told her she saw their failure. She told him they didn't fail, that they tried their best, but the Reapers overwhelmed them. I couldn't imagine waking up after so long and being the only one of your kind left. Joker came on the comm and interrupted them to tell them they had gotten Cerberus's attention, and they needed to leave right away. She acknowledged him and turned to the Prothean to ask if he would come with and help them. He asked if they're fighting the Reapers and she said they were trying to, to which he replied that he might before following them to the shuttle to return to the Normandy.

"Well, that was enlightening?" Jane spoke up as she and Liara were heading back after speaking with the Prothean who introduced himself as Commander Javik.

"I can't believe we got them so wrong. Enslavement or death? How could they do that to other species!? And they were studying us to 'uplift'?" Liara started ranting, obviously upset. "I mean I knew we couldn't theorize everything about them right, but we didn't get any of it right! Is it possible I was blinded by wishful thinking and romanticized them?"

"I would say so." Jane told her.

"Thanks." Liara scoffed.

"I'm sorry. Should I lie and say no? No one had any way of knowing what they were really like. There was no documentation on what their civilization was really like."

"You're right. It's just shame that he was a soldier and had no idea about the Catalyst." Liara sighed as they neared her office.

"Yeah. He has first-hand knowledge on fighting the Reapers. That's something, at least." Jane told her, as she put her hand on Liara's shoulder. "Get some rest, think things over. You can still speak with him and find out the truth about their culture."

"I suppose. I should pour over my old notes. Good night." Liara told her before going into her office.

I wonder what he meant by that. "Stand over the ashes of a trillion dead souls and ask their ghosts if honor matters." Of course, it matters. I've lost a lot, I've gained some. But I've always kept my honor, my morality. I can't change who I am just to win. I can be ruthless towards the Reapers, I have to be. But I can't betray my friends and allies, I would lose myself. No matter what, I've never lost who I truly am. Not with Saren or the Illusive man, I won't let it happen now. Jane was deep in her thoughts as she reached her cabin and changed into her N7 tank top and comfy cargo pants before sitting down and going over her padd, hoping to find helpful information to delegate between the krogan and salarians the next day. After a short while, she heard a knock on her door, and recognized it was Garrus's knock. She called for him to come in and he questioned her about how she knew it was him. Ha, he doesn't realize he has a distinct knock. He always does three quick taps followed by two slow ones. I think I'll keep this my little secret. Jane smiled and told him it was just wishful thinking, he teased her that it wasn't anymore and sat down on the couch next to her. He asked her about Javik and if he was going to be an ally. Jane told him that he wasn't what anyone was expecting, and he questioned her that he had heard something about them enslaving other races. She confirmed the rumors and said he had fought Reapers before, so they needed his expertise. She told him she had worked with others that had opposing views before, teasing him about his trigger happy attitude. He agreed with her and told her that her morality had felt like a hindrance at first but that she managed to charm him. She agreed she was a charmer, and he then asked what was next for them to do. She said she was trying to figure out how to manage negotiations between the krogan and salarians. He teased her by saying she could just use her charm, she laughed and told him she wished it could be that simple as she rubbed the back of her neck. He grabbed her hand and held it in his as he told her he believed in her. Did he pick up on my habit of rubbing my neck when I'm nervous? No one has ever done that before. God, he's making this platonic thing difficult for me, she thought as she looked up at him. He told her they should go to bed so she could rest. She questioned him about sharing her bed with her again and he said he'd like to unless she wanted him to leave. Of course, I don't want him to go. Everything just feels right with him here with me. Jane smiled and told him she wanted him there as she led him towards her bed.

Just a few moments had passed since they laid down together. Jane was cuddled up against Garrus and he had his arm around her, just as he had the night before. Ah, screw it. I can't hold myself back anymore. Jane thought as she felt all her willpower disappear and put her hand on Garrus's cheek and pulled his face towards her. She then kissed him deeply.

"What was that for?" Garrus asked when their lips parted, looking both puzzled and content.

"I just couldn't hold myself back anymore, Garrus. It's your fault for being selfless and being here for me." She smiled at him, as she found herself entranced by his steely blue eyes.

"Well, in that case, come here you." Garrus smirked before he kissed her and then pulled her on top of him.