Hey everyone! I cannot apologize enough for the delays. Just as I had started working on this one and getting a good flow, a tortoise decided it would be fun to crush my hand between a post and his shell. I won't drag this intro out because I know you guys/gals just want to read. So, I hope you enjoy! Thank you again for sticking with me and reading/following/favoriting and reviewing!

Chapter 37

Jane looked out the window of the shuttle, trying to memorize the view from above before they landed on the outskirts of the colony. "There's a lot of movement but none of the figures look human." She could feel Garrus move up behind her to look out the window with her.

"There's a lot of them, but we can handle it," he placed his hand on her should and squeezed lightly before releasing her and moving away.

She watched him walk away and caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Locking eyes with Jack she saw the criminal quirking up an eyebrow and nodding with a smirk on her face. Once Garrus had turned his back, Jack clenched her fists and began moving her arms in rhythm with her pelvic thrusting. Jane glared at her and opened her mouth to scold the newest teammate but before she could get any words out, Jack dropped the act and began readjusting her outfit. Shepard turned around to see Garrus was now looking at them.

"We're about to land. Get ready," the pilot said.

Jane held onto the support bar at the door as the shuttle landed. Once the door opened, she jumped out, bringing up her gun in the same motion. She heard two more thuds as her teammates followed. The hum of the shuttle grew louder as it began to take off.

"We're ground side," Jane called over the radio. Moving forward, she looked up to see a large seeker swarm around a turret. "Mordin, you sure those armor upgrades will protect us from the seeker swarms?"

"Certainty , in limited numbers should confuse detection. Make us invisible to swarms. In theory."

"In theory?" Garrus laughed. "That sounds promising."

"Experimental technology! Only test is contact with seeker swarms. Look forward to seeing you survive."

"He seems awfully chipper for risking our lives," Jack commented.

The team walked closer to the turret, holding their breaths as they began to walk under the swarm. Jane held her pistol steady as a few buzzed around them. They had almost passed the grouping just as one flew in front of her face. It stopped. Everyone froze as the bug hovered. After an endless second, it finally flew away, resuming its patrol. Letting out a sigh of relief, Jane continued and motioned for the team to follow.

The grass crunched beneath their feet. The seeker swarms buzzed above their heads. But that was it. No other sound. Nothing.

"Shepard," Garrus whispered, "what are you thinking?"

"It's too quiet."

"They know we're here," Jack hissed and lit her hands up with her biotics.

Before Jack's hands were ablaze, Jane had already felt the woman charging her biotics. Shepard flexed her fingers as she felt her biotics itch. Keeping her eye on the colony before her, she began to move forward again and as she closed in on the set of stairs, creatures began to fly over the hills.

"Contact!" Jane shouted. "Jack, take cover on the right. Garrus, left hand side. Taking center."

"What the fuck are those things!?" Jack shouted.

"Not exactly sure, but we've been calling them 'Collectors'," Jane shouted back. Bullets filled the air as Shepard and her team hunkered down at their cover. The Collectors unloaded their weapons, keeping them pinned. "Wait for the right moment!" Jane called.

"I'm not going to sit here and wait to die!" Jack snapped.

"Jack, don't fucking do it!"

"Don't be a damn pansy, Shepard," Jack looked at her Commander and put more power into her hands. "Unleash the beast," she smirked just as she spun out from cover and began to send out shockwaves and charged into enemies head on with her fists aglow with biotic power.

"God dammit, Jack!" Jane leaned out to give the convict cover fire. The woman was crazy and didn't seem to care about what would happen to her. "Garrus! They're still coming in. Gonna ask a miracle of you. I'm heading in to help Jack."

"I've got you two covered, Shepard. Don't worry about me."

Firing off the last of her clip, Jane reloaded and spun out from cover, biotic charging into a Collector that was sneaking up on Jack. The convict spun around, her fists glowing. "Nice of you to join me, Shepard." She threw an energy ball around Jane to hit a Collector into a crate. As it stumbled forward again, a shot went through its head. "Your turian is pretty good."

Jane saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She turned and pushed Jack to the side, raising her hand to pull the Collector towards them and a fraction of a second later, used her other hand to send a throw into its chest; the resulting two forces crushing him.

There was a final shot from Garrus's rifle and after a few seconds of silence, Garrus radioed, "That was the last one. All clear."

"I gotta say," Jack said as she strode past Jane, "I liked that little combo you had with your biotics. You should use them more often."

Jane moved in front of Jack and stood with her faces inches from the other woman, "Next time there is a fight, you listen to my orders. I didn't break you out of that prison to be scraping your corpse off the ground."

"Oh, whatever, Shepard. Between you and Garrus, I'll be fine," she laughed.

Shepard blocked Jack's way, her eyes shooting daggers, "This isn't a one person show. We work as a team. If you don't want to take part, I'll keep you on the ship for the rest of the missions. You want that?"

Jack wanted to fight back, it was all she knew if someone got in her way, but this woman was different. As much as she wanted to fight Shepard, she knew that she never could. This woman demanded respect. "Yes, Commander."

"Alright," Jane nodded, "prove to me why I should keep you around."

Jack watched as Shepard walked away from her. She grumbled a bit but followed, determined to prove she wasn't a loose canon.

Garrus secured the area, picking up clips as he went. He heard Jane walking up next to him; without looking, he tossed her one of the clips he picked up. The sound of her catching it and reloading her weapon came next before he turned towards her with another clip in his hand. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Jane took his offer, "She just needs to learn how to work with a group. She'll be fine though."

"Area is clear. Already checked anything available to salvage."

"Let's move out." Jane led the way with Garrus on her right and Jack on her left. A large swarm of seekers spiraled towards them. There was a moment's hesitation in Jane's step but they soon veered off, completely oblivious to the team.

"Comma-aan… we're gett-tting… aa-all ki-nds of... ii-nnterf-ferance…" Joker's voice crackled over the radio. "We can-n't main-ttaain…"

"Joker? Joker? Was that you? What are you doing on comm?"

"The Collectors are disrupting communications," Garrus said.

"I just want to know what Joker is doing out of med-bay."

"He's a tough guy," Jack said, "Well, figuratively speaking."

"We're on our own now," Jane said. She was worried about Joker, but he was on the ship with Chakwas, he would be fine; it was her team that she needed to be worried about now. They began to approach the edge of the settlement. Taking cover at a rock, she scoped out the buildings, looking for any sign of movement; it was silent except for the hum of equipment and the buzz of swarms. Jumping down from the wall, she glanced at the picnic tables that were still set up. She glanced away without giving too much thought to what might have happened.

Jack began moving to the right, her pistol drawn. She preferred her biotics, it was more personal, but who knew how long this mission might last. She knew she was good, but maybe not able to last that long. Glancing over at her leader, she saw Jane and Garrus going up the stairs and moved closer. She had just placed her foot on the bottom step when she heard the turian announce the arrival of the enemies.

Diving up the stairs, Jack slid behind the wall partition. She glanced over to see Shepard and Garrus behind pillars firing. Jack was about to get up and help but remembered Shepard's words. Peeking over the edge, she took the cautious approach. Gun fire from the side immediately met her location and she ducked behind cover again.

"Jack, got you covered!" Jane shouted as she laid down cover fire.

Readjusting herself, Jack took over as Jane began to reload. When it was the convict's turn to reload she threw a biotic blast at the Collector, knocking him back into a wall and he went limp. It didn't take long for the group to clear out the last of them but Jack remained in cover until she heard Shepard call the all clear. Standing up from her position she chanced a look at Shepard.

Jane noticed that Jack had backed off on the showboating and was being a better team member; she just hadn't expected it to be that fast of a turn around. Giving a small nod to the woman, she motioned her team forward.

"What the hell is that?" Jack asked as they came upon a dead husk. "Is that a colonist? What the flying fuck?"

"No, the geth impaled their victims on giant spikes to turn them into husks," Garrus answered. "But we haven't seen any. The collectors must have already had the husks. They want the colonists alive for something else."

"These definitely aren't the same as Eden Prime," Jane said shaking her head. They're more advanced, evolved. The Collectors must be experimenting on the colonists. What are they up to?"

"Maybe it's better not to know details," Garrus offered.

"Yeah, but I'm sure we'll find out."

"Let's move out." Jane led the way listening out for any movement. Their current location didn't provide much cover let alone places for the enemy to hide, but the high walls were making her nervous. "There's going to be more of them. Keep your eyes open."

Turning the corner, the team stopped.

"What the hell?" Jack muttered.

Pods lined the two walls into the next courtyard. Jane approached them slowly, walking around the first one, inspecting the case, what was in it (nothing), what it was made of (unknown), and if there were any controls she could see on the outside (none). Garrus watched her as she moved to the next one and saw her shrink away from it. She looked at him and he knew what was in there before even reaching her side; a colonist.

Jack watched the exchange, knowing that there was a person in the pod; she didn't need to see for herself. She could see Jane fighting to maintain control, her hand drifted to cover her mouth. Garrus placed a hand on Jane's arm in a comforting manner, almost as if it was out of instinct, or so it seemed to Jack.

Shepard turned to look up at Garrus, a silent thank you in her eyes. Taking a deep breath she turned, but as she opened her mouth to speak she paused. Snapping her gun up, she looked around for the source of the clicking she kept hearing. The team was on high alert. Jane made it only two steps before finding the source; a Collector turned on them and opened fire. Jack and Garrus ran to the sides for their closest cover and Jane slid behind a pod; she just prayed that it was empty. In unison they focused fire on the closest target.

"Civilians on the upper level," Garrus called out.

Jane peeked over the edge to get a look but quickly had to duck as their enemies focused on her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes to focus. Coming out from cover she sent a shockwave across the courtyard, knocking Collectors into the air or out from cover. She heard another biotic attack from Jack and the sound of Garrus's rifle; they had finished the last ones off.

"Pretty fancy stuff, Shepard. That shockwave is intense. I like your style," Jack smirked as she came over to the commander. Shepard wouldn't make eye contact with her and continued forward but Jack could see the woman shaking her hands as if she were trying to whip water off.

Jane ignored Jack's comments and rushed to the platform towards the colonists. Upon arriving, she saw them frozen in place, the man helping the woman up. There was a dark cloud that roiled and sparked surrounding them.

"Looks like some type of stasis field. Leaves victims helpless but fully aware," Garrus said.

Jane looked at the couple and then up the stairs to see another man in mid-run. "They've been like this a long time." She looked into the woman's eyes and only saw fear. "Don't worry," she said to the colonists, "we'll get you out of this."

They paused after they exited the building, looking back at the door closing behind them.

Jack was the first to speak up, "So what do you think about that guy? Seems like he is going to have a mental breakdown ASAP."

"There might be other survivors though, others that are hiding out."

No one said anything, they all knew the chances of other civilians being safe like him. The sheer lack of inhabitants, hidden or in stasis, proved that most were probably already taken by the Collectors.

"What was the big deal about that Alenko guy?" Jack asked. She had seen the way Garrus and Shepard had reacted. "I know I'm not really up on my history with your work but I'm assuming you worked with the guy."

"He was on the original team," Jane answered. "He's a good soldier."

Ah, HISTORY, Jack thought.

"We need to reach the defense tower," Garrus broke the silence.

As they stood in front of the gate, Jane turned to her team. "It's going to probably get a little intense in a second. You both ready?"

"Do you even have to ask?" Jack smirked.

The door clicked down, sliding even with the platform. The courtyard looked calm enough, but they all knew that it was just one more trap. Even after the first few steps into the area, it remained quiet. Jane motioned for them to take cover behind the crates, anticipating that the closer they got to the tower, the more likely the attack would be, and she was right. As soon as they hit cover, the Collectors opened fire with husks and scions shuffling their way towards them.

"Covering left flank!" Shepard shouted and peeked over her shoulder to double check her teammates' positions; Garrus center, Jack right. After dispatching her targets, she tried to adjust herself for the next wave but found her position was too covered. "Moving onto the deck. You two stay here."

"Gotcha covered," Garrus answered even though he was not comfortable with her being split away from them. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jane's movement and sent a concussive shot to the scions to distract them. Checking that Jane was behind cover he continued to focus his target as Jack shouted obscenities.

Jane could see that Garrus and Jack were taking care of the scion that was closing in on their position, so she decided to start working on the armor of the next one. Taking a second to reload, she ducked behind cover. When she came up she saw four husks converging on her. She desperately tried to take them out but these were more resilient and set on their task.

One fell. But they were closer. Another one down. They were about to step foot on the ramp. Suddenly, a shot from a sniper rifle sent the husk flying to the side. And a biotic throw threw the last one away.

She said a silent thank you to her team as they turned their focus on the last few enemies and finally took out the last scion. For a moment, the way looked clear and they started to close in on the tower again. Just before making it to the steps, husks seemed to flood from all corners. Jane turned to her left, sending out a singularity that drew in the husks as Jack summoned her biotics against the other group.

Once the last husk sprawled motionless on the ground, Jane felt comfortable heading to the tower again. Garrus opened the panel and began to type as Jane called on the radio. "Normandy, do you copy?"

"Joker here. Signal's weak, Commander, but we got you."

Jane wanted to berate him for being in the cockpit but now wasn't the time. "EDI, can you get the colony's defense towers online?"

"Errors in the calibration software are easily rectified. But it will take time to bring the towers to full power. I recommend a defensive posture. I will not be able to mask the increased generator output."

"We're going to have some unwanted guests soon," Garrus said as he readjusted his rifle in his hands.

"Got any other helpful tips?" Jane asked a little sarcastically to EDI.

"Just one: Enemy reinforcements are closing in. I suggest you ready weapons."

Jack's hands lit with biotic energy, "Northeast corner, they're here."

"Fall back," Jane paused, waiting for Jack to take cover but she stayed out in the open. Grabbing the woman's arm, Jane threw her back to cover with Garrus. As she turned back to their enemies, Jane saw a Collector lining his weapon up with her. Shit… she ducked behind the tower, knowing that she wouldn't make it to anything larger. The beam from the Collector gun burned against the side of the post, barely missing her. Her eyes met Garrus's just as she felt shots test her shield on the other side.

No matter how many times they had been in battle together, Garrus could never get used to seeing her in those situations.

She readied her next attack but as she readjusted to get a better position, her arm slipped out from cover and the laser burned through her shield and sliced into her arm. An involuntary yelp escaped her. Garrus winced at the sound and impulsively came out from cover to fire a few rounds into her aggressor. Jane stayed low and spun out to assist Garrus in taking out the Collector. More began to fly in as Jane ran to jump a barrier for cover.

"Bypassing fail safes and attempting emergency power-up. Please hold the defense tower," EDI alerted.

"Jack, move up to this barricade with me. Take the left flank. Garrus, stay back and snipe away. Jack, on my mark. Three, two, one, mark!"

The women rushed forward and took up their positions. They all soon fell into a good rhythm, taking down each Collector and husk that showed their position. A short silence began to fall, only the sound of their breathing and the buzzing of swarms filling their ears.

"No way this battle is over yet," Jack said.

"If either of you are low on clips, now is probably our only safe chance."

"Sequential power-up initiated. GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 40%."

"Movement, six o'clock!" Garrus announced.

They turned to see more husks flooding from the buildings.

"I am really starting to hate these things," Jack muttered.

They pushed through the fight with EDI updating them on her progress. The Collectors definitely weren't giving up without a fight. However, Jane noticed that Jack was flowing with the team better than she first expected. It seemed that trial by fire was the best way for Jack to learn.

"Down to the last one!" Garrus called out.

The Collector was pinned down but was putting up a decent fight. She crept around the side as Garrus and Jack distracted him. She had a shot, a small window, but it was all she needed. She raised her gun and the Collector's yellow, soulless eyes met hers just as she sent a bullet through his head.

Another lull fell around them as they began to scan for supplies. Yet, they knew the battle couldn't be over, it was too easy. As Jane resupplied with clips, she heard Jack say something.

"What the fuck is that thing?!"

Jane and Garrus turned to see the new enemy. "I have no idea…" Shepard answered. "Take cover!"

It flew towards them and landed in the northern section of the courtyard, its insect like legs hitting the ground with a trembling force as it let out an ear-piercing screech.

"Are those heads in its body?" Garrus asked.

Jane had noticed them too, "They look like husks."

It stalked forward, screeching as it went, and scanned the environment. The thing seemed to be satisfied when it locked onto Shepard. Bringing its legs up, it started to hover and closed in on her position. The eyes began to glow and suddenly two beams shot out, burning everything in their path. Jane huddled behind the crate, hoping it would hold long enough for her to find new shelter. The attack crackled with energy as she felt the heat seeping through the crates. She had to move.

"EDI, we need that system online!" Jane shouted over her radio. A break in the attack allowed her to sprint to a new location. She turned, firing as she went.

"GARDIAN anti-ship batteries at 100%. I have control." Jane didn't have time to sigh relief as she reloaded her weapon.

"Jane!" Garrus shouted, "Incoming! You need to move!"

She looked out from cover to see the creature zooming up to her and dash to the side of her cover. It slammed its body down with an awful screech, knocking Jane off her feet. She scrambled as it began to rise, preparing whatever attack it had next. Still struggling to her feet, she looked up to see Garrus with his outstretched hand. Her fingers found his and he pulled her out of range just as the creature slammed its body down and a red static field crackled around it. They huddled together behind cover as the heard it scream threateningly.

Jane peeked around the corner, "Its barrier is back up. That ability must help it recharge."

"We can't stay close to it. It's dangerous from afar but almost guaranteed to be deadly close range."

EDI interrupted, "Firing anti-ship batteries at Collector vessel."

"I'll distract it. You and Jack hit it with all you've got. We need to get through that armor before it can recover the barrier."

He didn't like it but nodded anyway.

She called to Jack over the radio, "Jack, stay clear of the close range attacks. I'm going to distract it. Focus on ammunition, I don't think any biotics are going to do much."

"Got it, Shepard."

"Cover me!" placing a hand on the side of the barricade, Jane pushed herself up and sprinted across the courtyard. She could hear the monster's clicking behind her. She turned to unload her clip to make sure she still had its attention. Its anger seethed from it as it sped up, closing in on her. Turning around again, she clenched her fists and bioticly charged away, skidding to a stop just in front of cover and hopped over.

Switching out her clip, she turned, unloading everything at it. She could see the lines of fire from Jack and Garrus's weapons. Finally, the bullets tore through the last of its armor and it coiled in on itself, screaming and writhing as it hovered. They waited for it to fall, but, instead, it evaporated in a cloud of blue sparks.

Jane turned to look at the Collector ship to see the final few hits from the defense tower. The engines started up, propelling the vessel slowly into the air as the turret continued to fire. The ground shook, almost knocking them all off their feet.

Garrus looked down at Jane, "You okay?"

She stayed still, before sitting up and allowing him to help her to her feet, "The colonists… They still have them."

It wasn't hard to tell that she was already beating herself up over it. When he saw the colonist they had spoken to earlier come running into view, he knew that things were about to get worse.

"NO! Don't let them get away!" he ran in the direction of the ship. Leaning over, he braced himself on his legs.

"There's nothing we can do," Jane said, "They're gone."

"Half the colony's in there! They took Egan and Sam and… Lilith. Do something!"

"I didn't want it to end this way. I did what I could."

"Shepard saved your ass! You should be telling her thank you!" Jack shouted.

The man paused, "Shepard? Wait. I know that name." He turned to look at her with new realization. "Sure, I remember you. You're some type of big Alliance hero."

She opened her mouth to answer but stopped when she heard a familiar voice.

Kaidan stepped into view, "Commander Shepard. Captain of the Normandy. First human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel." He stopped a few feet from the group, staring at Jane in disbelief. He shook his head to snap himself out of the trance. Turning to the colonist, he said, "You're in the presence of a legend, Delan." Kaidan looked at Shepard again, "And a ghost."

Delan crossed his arms, glaring at Alenko, "All the good people we lost and you get left behind. Figures. Screw this. I'm done with you Alliance types."

They watched the angry colonist walk away but he was soon forgotten as the four focused on each other again. Jane felt her nerves closing her throat, unsure of what would happen next. Kaidan was okay. He was alive, another person from her old life that could help her regain what she lost and resume where she had left off. He took a step forward and Jane shifted her weight nervously.

Garrus felt his muscles tense as Kaidan stopped in front of Jane, his eyes scanning her, trying to judge if she was real.

"I don't care if this isn't real," he whispered, "It's good enough for me." He stepped forward and put his arms around her, hugging her close.

Jack glanced over at Garrus to see him crossing his arms over his chest, his mandibles looking clenched, even to her. She rocked back and forth on her feet, Awwwkkkkwwwaaarrrdd.

"I thought you were dead, Shepard. We all did," he said softly. He hugged her a little tighter, relief flooding through him knowing that she was real and alive.

Jane sighed, giving into the touch, simply happy to know that one more person was glad to see her. Even Garrus had shown hesitation when they first saw each other, maybe it was just her company, she couldn't be sure. Either way, she couldn't help but rest her head on his shoulder, finally feeling like she was a little closer to herself.

Garrus shuffled his stance, trying to seem casual but he couldn't help but think back to when they had been reunited. Yes, when they finally had a chance alone they hugged in greeting, but looking from the outside, he wondered if it was the same as what he remembered.

The two broke their embrace and Kaidan backed away a half step. A million thoughts were rushing through Jane's mind but nothing made its way to her mouth. She could only wonder how many times her mouth had opened and closed before finally speaking words, "It's been too long, Kaidan. How've you been?"

He didn't know what it was in her words that set him off but he couldn't help but feel that, again, he was putting forth more effort than she ever had. "That's all you have to say?" he asked, wounded. "Hmph… You show up after two years and just act like nothing happened?" He looked down, shaking his head and curling his lip in frustration, "I thought that… I don't know. That there was more between us. Thinking you were dead tore me apart."

Garrus fought the growl rising in his throat, You know nothing of true pain.

Kaidan's anger began to build up in his rant, "How could you put me – the team," he attempted to correct, "through that? Why didn't you try to contact me?! Why didn't you let me know you were alive!" he shouted at her, no longer aware of their audience.

Jane was at a loss for words, again. Here, she had been thinking that he might treat her the same but it was clear nothing could ever be the same again. The last strand of what she once was was slowly slipping through her fingers. "I'm sorry, Kaidan. But I was clinically dead." She said the last statement with more emphasis. "It took two years to bring me back. So much time has passed. It's clear you've moved on. I don't want to to make you relive what happened."

"I did move on," he lowered his gaze, "at least, I thought I did." He looked at her again, glaring, "But now we've got reports of you and Cerberus."

"Reports?" Garrus interrupted, "You mean, you already knew?" How can he be so judgmental to her if he knew she had been back? If it had been me I would have dropped everything and started looking for her. Trying to contact her. Anything to know for sure she was back.

Kaidan looked over at Garrus, Of course he would be here… he thought but decided not to bring it up, "Alliance intel thought Cerberus might be behind the missing human colonies. They got a tip this colony might be the next one to get hit. Anderson stone-walled me… but there were rumors you weren't dead. And that you were working for the enemy."

"Building the defense towers was just a cover story," Jane said matter-of-factly. "The Alliance sent you to investigate me, didn't they?"

"I was here for Cerberus!" he snapped. He took a few steps forward, his gaze hard, "You were just a rumor." He shook his head, "I wanted to believe you were alive, so many times I did. But I never expected anything like this," he spat.

Jane lifted her head a little higher, ready to stay silent for more of his berating.

Garrus took a step forward, ready to intervene, yet trying to keep himself in check.

Kaidan continued his onslaught, "You turned your back on everything we believed in. You betrayed the Alliance. You betrayed me."

The word 'betrayal' was not sitting well with Jane. She had planned on staying quiet to make things more civil, but she just couldn't do it, "Kaidan, you know me! You know I'd only do this for the right reason! You saw it yourself," she took a step forward, unable to stop herself from challenging him. "The Collectors are targeting human colonies and working with the Reapers."

"I want to believe you, Shepard. But I don't trust Cerberus! They can be using the threat of a Reaper to manipulate you. What if they're behind it? What if they're working with the Collectors?"

"Dammit, Kaidan!" Garrus snapped. "You're so focused on Cerberus that you're ignoring the real threat!"

Jane tried to bring Kaidan's anger back to herself, the last thing she needed was for the two men to get into it. "You're letting how you feel about their history get in the way of the facts."

"Maybe… maybe not. Or maybe you feel like you owe Cerberus because they saved you. Maybe you're the one who's not thinking straight. You've changed, but I still know where my loyalties lie. I'm an Alliance soldier. Always will be. I've gotta report back to the Citadel. They can decide if they believe your story or not," he turned his back on her, his anger ebbing and already being replaced with anguish.

Watching him walk away, she decided to extend an olive branch, "I could use someone like you on my crew, Kaidan. It'll be just like old times." As she said it, she knew it was probably wrong to say.

He stopped dead in his tracks, "How dare you throw that at me!" he snapped. "What makes you think that would ever be okay? I just got finished pouring my heart out to you, yet again. And what do I get in return? A 'how've been' and an offer to join a team long disbanded. Things won't be the same. They never can be. Have you ever had feelings? Because I've never received a drop from you."

"You are out of line, Alenko," Garrus growled, stepping forward to stand next to Jane.

"And here he is, coming to your rescue!" Kaidan gestured with his hands to Garrus as he looked at Jane. "Of course Vakarian would be here. He's willing to follow you anywhere. Do anything for you. The same that I could have done if you just gave me the time of day." He walked away a few paces, running his hand through his hair trying to calm down but he found himself circling back around, ready to swing a few more blows with his words. "I bet Garrus was the first one you went looking for when you woke up. Did you even contact your family? Does John know you're back? What about your mother? Those who really mean something to you." When she didn't answer, Kaidan stared her down.

"I don't think it's any of your business," Jane said coolly.

"I'm going to guess that John might be aware of you but isn't in the picture right now. And your mother… well, you probably didn't even have the decency to let her know you are alive, did you? I'll just speculate a little bit more and say that your response will be 'it's too complicated' because that is always your go-to explanation."

Jane clenched her teeth, "Why don't you just back down now, soldier."

He laughed at her use of 'soldier' instead of his name. "Not even going to argue, huh? You're despicable."

Garrus stomped forward, "And just who are you to say that?" He wanted nothing more than to wrap his talons around Kaidan's throat and throw him into something – to start – but before he even got close to the human, he felt Jane's hand clasp his, pulling back slightly. His body immediately stopped and looked back at Jane as she shook her head.

"Oh! Garrus!" Kaidan couldn't stop himself from taunting the turian. "As I said before, of course you are here. I can't imagine Jane having it any other way. Have you two fucked yet or is she leading you on like she did with me?"

Garrus's body tensed at the same time as Jane's. He looked back at her again, "He shouldn't be allowed to talk to you like that." He moved to attack Kaidan as the human backed away but Jane pulled on Garrus's hand again.

Jane didn't look away from Garrus's gaze, her internal walls building while the rest of her fell apart. "Don't," she whispered, "He's right." Her eyes began to fill with tears and she looked at Kaidan once again, "Besides, he's not worth it." She let go of Garrus's hand and turned away from them, covering her face as she passed Jack. Jane choked back the sob she felt threatening to brim, "Joker," her voice quivered, "send a shuttle to pick us up. I've had enough of this colony." She swallowed the lump in her throat and continued to walk.

A wave of guilt crashed over him as his words finally processed in his mind. "Goodbye, Shepard," He regretted everything he already said but knew there was no taking it back right now. "Be careful," he added but wasn't sure if she could even hear him at that point. His eyes matched with the turian's.

Garrus glared at Alenko. They had never really gotten along, but Garrus now had a real reason to hate the human. You could do it. You could beat him to an inch of his life like you've done so many times on Omega. He clenched his fist but turned away. That's not who I am anymore. Jane stood on the opposite end of the courtyard, facing away, and he knew where he needed to be.

Jack looked between the former team members feeling like a safety wheel on a tricycle. She knew there would be some tension but she didn't expect the new guy to blow up like that. What he said got under even her skin and she had barely been on Shepard's team. Shepard was way too nice to that douchenozzle.

Joker's with her too, Kaidan thought. I had heard rumors about him leaving the Alliance, but I assumed it was medical. I should have known.

Jack cleared her voice as she stood behind the man.

He turned around and looked the woman up and down. "Your team is going to leave you."

She waved her hand nonchalantly, "Nah, they won't leave me behind." Jack started to walk around him, "You know, the little I know about Shepard, she let you off easy. I mean, I'm sure she could have taken you in a fight and I know for a fact that the turian could have." She stopped in front of him again. "What you said was quite rude," Jack leaned in and added in a whisper, "Even if your ego is a little damaged from losing to a turian."

"Look, I don't know who you are and, frankly, I don't care. Can you just go already?"

"Now, see? That's the thing, I'm having a hard time dealing with the way you treated her, no matter what your history." Jack stood almost motionless, staring the man down. He turned away from her first before deciding to face her again. She swung her fist, nailing him in his jaw, catching him off guard and sending him to the ground. "There. Now I feel better."