Mass Effect, its characters, locations, and other references are property of Bioware/Electronic Arts

Mass Effect created by Preston Watamaniuk, Drew Karpyshyn and Casey Hudson

No money was exchanged for either creation, or distribution of this work.

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"This is Citadel News Net. I'm Emily Wong. Tonight's segment on drapery as a fashion statement has been usurped by a surprise visit from a once-claimed-dead Human Spectre, who just so happens to owe me an exclusive!"

The camera pans rightward from Emily to a crimson-haired, calm, but stern-faced, Jane Shepard in a fresh set of civilian clothes, "You got me there, Emily. So here's your payback."

Emily could barely contain her excitement, shifting in the comfy, faux-leather chair, "Great! So, here you are. First thing's first: You were declared dead by the Alliance, the Council, and a Turian-backed STG squad who went to check on you. What gives?"

"I was pretty badly beaten up. The people who aided my recovery had found me on the side of a mountain on Alchera, some three thousand kilometers from where the main wreckage of the Normandy SR-1 is sitting, and apparently I had been in and out of a coma for the better part of two years."

The reporter gestured towards Shepard, "You might just be the only being to survive landing on a mountain side from an orbital reentry."

Jane lifted her right hand in a halting gesture, "The last thing I remember before waking up on an operating table is getting blown out of the shredded carcass of the Normandy after hitting the button to send Joker's escape pod off, only to find that my suit was leaking atmosphere. And seriously, that's it."

Emily noted to the camera, "The whole galaxy knows this woman doesn't sit and wait for trouble." She turned herself back to Shepard, "Sources say you're back in the saddle. Can you talk about your current mission?"

"Your sources are right, as usual. I take it you've also been hearing about whole Human colonies going missing?"

"Certainly. There's only been a confused response from aid vessels sent. That is, they find the physical structures assembled or built by the colonists, but not any colonists."

Shepard nodded, "Out in the Terminus Systems."

The Reporter grinned at that, "Watch out, bad guys. You've got a wild Shepard on your trail!"

Garrus hit a button on the physical remote, turning off the screen in the SR-2's weapon access room, "Not bad, but I'll stick to my policy of giant guns."

Crossing her arms as she leaned her hip against the central console, Jane shrugged, "Both are effective for different reasons."

The Turian scoffed, "This whole thing will get ugly after we take out the Collectors. Their lord will come looking for whoever kicked their asses."

"At least we'll know where the target is painted!" Shepard grinned.

Garrus agreed, "I'll be using plasmid tungsten-carbide as paint. Harbinger should have a hard time wiping that off."

Illium, a few days later

A Salarian engineer looked back and forth between his transparent data pad, and the underbelly of the Normandy SR-2, "Never let a Human do last-minute redesigns of a Turian's reverse-engineered weapon. This could take a bit longer than we initially estimated."

Joker, sitting on an eezo-powered transparent plastic mobility chair, looked over at the engineer, "Hey, as long as you guys are done by Friday, it's all good."

Citadel, Human Embassy

With the holographic images of the non-human Councilors active, Anderson shook Jane's hand, "Shepard, you're a sight for sore eyes."

"The galaxy still being intact has been a refreshing change, Anderson." She looked over to the Councilors, "It's good to be back in Council space."

The Councilors looked back and forth between one another. Eventually, Tevos, the Asari councilor, tells Shepard, "While it is agreeable to know you did not perish, you are known to now be working for Cerberus, an outright enemy of the Citadel Council and its authority."

Jane took a breath before speaking, "Councilors, I realize that keeping the peace, even if only an illusion of it, is your primary concern." She lifted a hand as Valern of the Salarian Union began to interrupt, "I am going to be out in the Terminus Systems again. My mission is to investigate, and maybe even stop, these assaults on Human colonies."

Turian Councilor Sparatus thoughtfully flexed his mandibles, "Peripheral support, as in reinstatement of your Spectre status, is acceptable."

Shepard bowed her head in defrance, "Thank you."

After the Council's images faded, Anderson was a bit surprised at Jane, "I thought you were frustrated with them."

Inviting Anderson to take a seat with her to look out into the Citadel, Jane shrugged, "They have significant concerns. Besides, no need to burn a bridge before crossing it."

When the door chimed, the pair got up to greet Councilor Udina. His demeanor went into panic mode, "Shepard?!" He glimpsed over to the consoles used to Council business, "I take it then, you've already spoken to the Council."

Anderson nodded, "Of course."

Udina clearly dreaded that response, but Jane tilted her head just-so, "They reinstated my Spectre status. Nobody called for nuking Earth, yet."

The Human Councilor merely grunted in response before leaving.

Fleet Admiral Steven Hackett had been waiting for over an hour at a nondescript apartment on the Citadel. He watched several cars go by, until the door chime got his attention. The door opened and then closed, revealing nothing new. He called out as a warning, "Shepard, that better be you..."

The familiar voice brought him some solace, "Sorry, Sir. Precautions and all that." Dropping the cloaking field, Jane stood at attention nearby, saluting her superior officer.

He saluted her, then sighed, "That whole thing was a personal favor, nothing official, and definitely off the books. At ease, Jane."

She offered him a datapad, "It became a colossal mess. I tried to send a warning message. Obviously, it was never heard."

"Object Rho, huh?" For a man of greater than fifty years of age, Hackett read the pad rapidly. "How much of this can you corroborate?"

"Some soldiers have their omni-tools record everything. Some of us have multiple redundant data striping. And only a few of us have our omni-tools striping the data from our suits, and vice-versa." Jane handed over a tiny computer chip to him, "This is a similar method to how my entire team had records of our talk with Vigil on Ilos, so that we could share it with the Council."

"Shepard, I appreciate how you handled the situation."

With a lift of an eyebrow, she noted, "But...?"

He turned to her, "But you're going to have to face the music on this." She didn't flinch at that, so he put his hand on her shoulder, "I expect you back on Earth when this whole Collector mess is over with."

Hackett handed Jane back the pad and the chip, "I don't need to know everything to know that you did everything you could to stop a full-fledged Reaper invasion. And one more thing..."

Clearly mouthing out what could not be stated aloud, I, Steven Hackett, Supreme Admiral of the Alliance Navy, owe you a favor in return.

Shepard knit her brow in a mix of surprise and fear, but he only nodded once.

Seeing that she was in a sort of shock, Hackett led Jane over to the arrangement of couches by a fireplace, "Come have a seat. You have got to tell me about this Geth named Legion." As she took a seat, he went on toward the kitchen area, "You still drink coffee, right?"