Twin Fates

By Belle and Tobias

Automatic Disclaimer: We do not own the rights to the Mass Effect or any other referenced copy righted material.

Belle's Note: This chapter is one that I had to annoy Toby about a LOT for small details. The hardest part of writing this chapter for me was truly the IFF since we acquired Legion early on it meant that a major portion of the IFF mission was changed. Plus, when we FIRST set up the ME 2 arc of Twin Fates with the goal of Legion being acquired far sooner than in actual game, I honestly put this ripple out of my mind. Toby was super into getting Legion early, I'm not really that into Legion because I find him a pallid AI character when in comparison to EDI...I mean seriously, who doesn't love her screwing with Joker? Anyway, I didn't even consider myself being the one to write the IFF since, Legion's early appearance wasn't my idea, I figured creating that ripple would fall to the one who wanted Legion early...but that's not how it worked out, so it took me a solid two-three weeks of sitting down, staring at a blank word document before I figured out how to do this. When Toby asked me how it was going I explained writing this chapter as "I feel like a little kid eating a dinner that's okay, but not my favorite while waiting to get to my favorite dessert. Dinner's not bad, but I REALLY want the dessert." I've been looking forward to this chapter in many ways...the IFF was not originally even supposed to be in this chapter, but as we write, sometimes we need to change things to make the story we want to create come out. So I got "stuck" with the IFF, but once I got the direction I wanted to go into down...this story began to flow. I hope you enjoy this chapter, I truly couldn't wait for this and I think when you read it...you'll understand why.

Toby's Note: I offered to help her with the IFF but I give it to Belle. She powered through and it turned out good. I have to admit, I thought I would be the one writing this chapter initially. However it turned out to work just fine. This will be a rough chapter for some of our characters and others will come out better on the other end. Also Belle and I got into a nasty argument about some scenes in here. I think we got it worked out but I hate when it happens. Still it helps us make a better story.

Chapter 26: As if Millions of Voices Suddenly Cried Out

Earth Date: April 14th, 2186 CE

Location: Normandy SR-2, Mid-Transit

"I don't like it that the science team went silent," Jane said as she looked at the holographic display of the 'dead' Reaper in the middle of the communications room table. John was staring at it too as Miranda sighed.

"There's nothing to like about it," she stated.

"Cerberus doesn't seem like the type of organization that approves of long radio silences," John commented, giving Miranda a look. The woman looked irritated but she didn't have an argument.

"It's very concerning. For the first week the team was reporting on the expected twelve hour schedule. It slowed over the course of the next week, was sporadic over the course of the third week, and now silent," Miranda said.

"Tali and Legion would be a massive help on this," Jane pointed out and John nodded at that.

"Not a bad call, I want Garrus and Grunt as well," he added.

"Maybe Jack," Jane muttered and John blinked before nodding in agreement. Miranda shot them a concerned look. "It's a Reaper...I want to be able to rip our way out if we have to, Jack and me working together, we might be able to rupture the hull." Jane explained and John made a sound of agreement having realized that.

"I should be there," Miranda huffed and the twins shared a look. Jane kept her mouth shut.

"Miranda, we all know that Jack has the raw power to rip a hull apart...however we also know your loyalty to Cerberus would make you hesitant to damage the Reaper because of the research potential," John pointed out.

"You act like you will have to destroy it," she said and John gave Jane a sideways look. Jane knew John was thinking the same thing. They were going to destroy it either way.

"Something went sideways on that thing..." Jane said. "We don't know what is going to happen, but we will bring Tali and Legion to get all the data, I promise you, Miranda. I hate your organization, but I'm not stupid enough to let that data go either." The two women shared a look. Distain, outright dislike colored both of their eyes, but begrudging respect existed in both faces.

"Fine...but I don't like it and I want that noted," Miranda huffed and John nodded.

"You objections are noted," he said. "EDI, call Grunt, Garrus, Tali, Legion, and Jack up to the communications room. Thanks Miranda." The Cerberus agent sighed as she headed out and Jane watched as the five companions entered the meeting room. Garrus paused.

"That's a Reaper," he commented and Grunt stared at it with wide, excited eyes.

"If it makes you feel better, Cerberus is certain that it's dead," John said.

"It doesn't," Garrus groaned and Jane nodded.

"Looks like a bad hentai monster," Jack commented and the twins had to hold back a pair of snorts.

"We need to board it to get the IFF to go through the Omega 4 relay," John explained.

"I don't like this," Garrus said.

"I second that," Tali added.

"An Old Machine," Legion commented as his head panels moved.

"We are going to be the team going on the Reaper," Jane said as she touched the display to show the basic outline of what Cerberus had built.

"We need you two to collect all the data as fast as possible," John said to Tali and Legion. The two looked at each other and then John...nodding.

"Smart," Garrus stated and Jane smirked.

"We want you because we know about fighting Reapers and the things associated with them," Jane said and Garrus nodded at that.

"Tali makes double sense," he said.

"I get my job," Jack grinned. "The krogan and I get to mess shit up."

"If it is necessary," John said in a warning tone and Jack smirked before giving Jane a look. Jane chuckled.

"If it is necessary," she repeated and Jack kept her shit eating grin.

"I don't like that smile," John said and the two biotics chuckled as John rolled his eyes. He activated his omni-tool and a map of the Reaper's interior replaced the hologram in the center of the table.

"This was the latest interior layout the science team sent to Cerberus before they started acting oddly," John pointed out. "The IFF was located near the core of the Reaper so that's where we'll be making our way to."

"Shepard-Commander, we recommend following this path towards the interior," Legion said, a path highlighting up on the display. "Our calculations show this to be the least time amount of inside the Old Machine and obtaining the most access to data from the Cerberus team and the Old Machine archives still intact while achieving our objective."

"Legion hit the purpose for this meeting directly on the head." John noted and everyone turned to him. He was looking at them with a grim expression. "I want us to spend the least amount of time on the Reaper as possible. From what we do know about indoctrination it takes time, days in fact for someone to be indoctrinated. Benezia herself said something similar when Jane and I met her on Noveria. However, I subscribe to school of better safe than sorry."

Jack rolled her eyes but Jane elbowed her, hard.

"Something to add Jack?" John demanded having seen the byplay.

"Yeah I think you're being a pussy," Jack shot out and Jane sighed. John turned his focus on Jack and Jane saw John's expression harden as he scowled at Jack. Jack jerked next to her and Jane smirked.

"I don't care." John snarled. "I will not let anyone of my friends become indoctrinated if I can help it. If anyone feels anything creeping in, something you know isn't right you will report it to me or Jane. There is no shame needing to leave mid mission. Are we clear?"

"Yeah, yeah," Jack muttered looking away. John turned to look at others.

"Are we clear?" He asked them and got a chorus of agreements. He sighed turned back to the hologram.

"We'll be entering here at Cerberus's main airlock, but the Reaper has its own we can use as alternate areas of egress. Joker knows of them but these are them coded as needed…"

~*TF*~

Earth Date: April 15th, 2186 CE

Location: Entering Mnemosyne's orbit, Thorne System

The twins struggled to make it to the cockpit. The Normandy was rocking wildly, it was more than a little concerning.

"What's with all the chop, Joker?" John cried coming up to grip the back of the pilot's seat while his sister braced herself on the doorway into the cockpit.

"Doing my best. The wind's gusting to 500 kph," Joker explained and Jane winced. Suddenly the ship stopped rocking.

"What just happened?" Jane asked as she cautiously let go of the wall.

"The Reaper's mass effect fields are still active. We just passed inside their envelope," Joker said and Jane gave a look to John.

"Dead Reaper," John muttered.

"Eye of the hurricane, huh?" Joker as the team headed to the hatch.

"Still have to get back out of the hurricane," Jane muttered and John winced at that.

"Don't want to think about it," he said and the group entered the airlock to wait.

"Ship is secure, breathing equipment won't be necessary," Joker's voice informed them.

"Thanks, Joker," John said as the team prepped their weapons. They passed through the long airlock Cerberus installed before seeing bloody smears and a desiccated corpse.

"Bad sign," Jane said as she pulled up her assault rifle.

"Smells bad. There's blood, but something's wrong with it," Grunt added. The twins shared a look as the team moved carefully down. They found a row of terminals and quickly Tali and Legion each took one. Within moments Legion made a noise.

"Shepard-Commander, Shepard-Spectre, I have located various entries you may wish to see," he stated as Tali continued her download.

"I can't wait," Jane muttered as Legion touched another terminal and the team looked at the screen. Jack and Grunt watching the hallway but listening. A man in a Cerberus officer uniform popped up.

"The airlock has been installed at the far end of the holed section. We have begun pressurization for shirtsleeves work. The crew is edgy. I reassure them it is mere nerves. A superstitious reaction to what this hulk represents-the corpse of a vast, ancient life form. Privately, I can't deny the atmosphere. The angles of the walls seem to press down on you. I find myself clenching my teeth." The man spoke.

"Even dead Reapers can indoctrinate," Garrus reminded them and Jane gave Tali a look over her shoulder. The quarian nodded. A copy of all of this was going to both the Alliance and the Council. This was not good. Immediately another man in a Cerberus uniform, lower rank, popped up.

"We finished cataloguing specimens A203 to B016. No evidence of active nanotechnology noted. Dr. Chandana believes they would have decayed over the last 37 million years. There's not enough data to support his claim. He asserts that the truth is 'patently obvious.' I am...concerned. Chandana has been staring at the samples for hours. He says he's 'listening' to them."

"Bad sign that it hit the commanding officer first," Jane said and John nodded at that. A security camera's footage popped up next.

"You're married? You never mentioned that," one Cerberus member stated.

"Katy had anger management issues. When my brother got married, the best man tried to hit on her. She kicked him down the church steps," the other man explained.

"Wh...? Katy's my wife! I must have told you the story," the first man cried out.

"No. I know my wife. I remember...that day was the only time I saw her wear stockings," the other man insisted.

"Yeah. the kind with seams up the back. That's what I remember, too," the first said in shock.

"What the hell is this? How can we remember the same thing?" the second man cried.

"What did their reports say?" Jane asked and John glared at the screen.

"They were normal reports, just the timing was off," John said and Jane stared.

"Chandana was the one making them, wasn't he?" she asked and John nodded.

"They had to have known," Garrus whispered.

"Creepy as fuck," Jack hissed. "Imagine not being able to tell what was your memory or someone else's." She looked pissed.

"Let's not stay here too long," Garrus added and the team all nodded. Another security camera clip appeared.

"Third day with this headache. You'd think Chandana would let me have a few hours off," one guy muttered before jerking away from the other man. "Goddam!"

"What?" the other guy demanded turning to look behind him.

"That thing that just...gray thing! It disappeared when I looked straight at it. Came out of the damn wall! Where we took off that panel," the first man cried out.

"I didn't see anything. You should lie down," the second said staring at the first.

"I'm telling you, this ship isn't dead. It knows we're inside it," the first said, the panic obvious in his voice.

"Calm down. Now I'm getting a headache," the second complained.

"Son of a bitch!" Jane spat and John stared at her. "Cerberus knows about my reports to the Council about what I found in Prothean records. I reported that Reapers had the ability to mess with minds like this. I checked Cerberus' records when I got on the ship...the Illusive Man and many of the upper leadership knew about the dangers of being exposed to Reaper tech." John's eyes widened.

"They should have known to evacuate the ship when these signs started," he said and the complete lack of concern for the crew meant one of two things. Either the leadership had not informed the crew knowingly endangering them or Chandana prevented them from leaving. John hoped it was the second. Another scientist log appeared. His eyes were wide and fanatic and his face was splattered with blood.

"Chandana said the ship was dead. We trusted him. he was right. But even a dead god can dream. A god...a real god...is a verb. Not some old man with magic powers. It's a force. It warps reality just by being there. It doesn't have to want to. It doesn't have to think about it. It just does. That's what Chandana didn't get. Not until it was too late. The god's mind is gone, but it still dreams. He knows now. He's tuned in on our dream. If I close my eyes I can feel him. I can feel every one of us."

"It was too late for all of them by this point," John said and Jane nodded.

"Indoctrination was complete," Jane sighed.

"We have collected all the data," Legion explained. "The IFF needs to be collected manually."

"Nothing is ever simple," Jane huffed, giving Tali another look. The quarian nodded again.

"We got the location for the IFF, we just need to go through the...ship...to get it," Tali said and the team began to head for the airlock to the Reaper's interior. John looked at the team, nodded in satisfaction as the other door closed before he hit the switch to open the airlock. Everything seemed to buck and loud clang echoed as the Repaer's airlock opened.

"Normandy to shore party!" Joker called and John activated his comm.

"What just happened Joker?" John asked.

"The Reaper put up kinetic barriers. I don't think we can get through from our side."

"Nothing is ever simple!" Jane snapped, looking grim.

"As curious as I am about Reapers I'd rather not be trapped inside one," Tali griped.

"This is why the Shepard-Units covered other possible points of exit, Creator-Zorah," Legion chimed in and Tali huffed.

"We'll have to take down the barrier generators from in here. Any idea where they are?" John asked, ignoring the team's byplay.

"At the moment of activation, I detected a heat spike in what is likely the wreck's mass effect core," EDI chimed in.

"We have the coordinates, uploading to the infiltration team's hud displays," Legion announced and new data point popped on John's hud, not too far from the IFF location.

"Be advised: this core is also maintaining the Reaper's altitude," EDI warned.

"So when we take that barriers down to escape, the wreck falls into the planet core," Jane muttered.

"And that means everyone dies. Yeah, I got it," Joker noted, sounding grim.

"If any helmsman can pull us off this thing before it reaches crush depth, it's you. We'll make a sweep for survivors, Tali and Legion already got most of the data. Stand by," John ordered, unholstering his rifle.

"Aye, aye. Good hunting," Joker said before turning off the comms. John sighed but led his team deeper into the belly of the beast.

~*TF*~

After a few minutes of moving deeper John heard a chilling and familiar groan. Down the way he saw a husk begin to crawl over the railing.

"The fuck?!" Jack cried and Jane used a biotic push to toss the husk into the railing where it to splattered like rotten fruit. The two biotics stared at each other.

"Watch our six," Jane grinned.

"I'm gonna take out more than you, Shepard!" Jack laughed and the two biotics took to the front of the group. The two began shooting off shockwave attacks, throwing husks into the air. Every now and then Garrus or Legion would snipe while John and Tali took care of anything that got too close. Grunt bellowed in joy every time he got his hands on a husk to rip it apart.

"This is rather easy," Tali commented as the two biotics kept the front clear, the narrow walkway making it difficult for the husks to surround them.

"Scion on the field!" Garrus cried and Jane took one side of the staircase while Jack took the other. John, Grunt, and Tali watched the biotics' flanks while Legion and Garrus worked on taking the Scion down before he could cross the platform towards them.

"Those things are a bitch," Jack said as she kicked the Scion's headless corpse. The head had been popped like a melon with a well placed sniper shot.

"Dragon's teeth," Jane stated as they reached the end of the platform. "Looks like the Cerberus crew rearranged this area. Guess this confirms that the dragon's teeth were Reaper tech, not heratic." Cerberus corpses resided on the teeth, still mostly human but the bodies were in bad shape. "Odd. The bodies changed faster on Eden Prime."

"Maybe the Reaper being 'dead' slowed the process. It looks like they treated this thing like some kind of altar," John noted.

"You mean those crazy fucks wanted to be...to become those things?" Jack hissed.

"That's what indoctrination does to you," Garrus commented.

"We need to develop a defense against it, somehow..." Tali hissed and the Shepards both nodded.

"It sort of makes me think of the Geth...I mean the Heretic Geth shrine on Ferros," Jane commented. Legion processed that.

"The Old Machines wish to be gods as the log commented," Legion said. "They are not."

"That's for damn sure," Jane nodded as they headed to the airlock.

"Please stand by. Equalizing pressure with exterior conditions," the VI commented. "Remember, safety is everyone's concern. We have gone five days without a workplace death."

"Yeah, those bodies looked only a few days dead," Jane nodded as the team fixed their helmets. From that point on the team fell into a rhythm. The two biotics, while taunting and competing with the other, cleared most of the way given the fragile nature of the husks' bodies. Garrus and Legion covered them as John, Grunt and Tali covered close quarters. John couldn't help but smirk. The ground team was falling into place. As they took a breather by a set of ramps, he reflected that no matter who he brought they worked well with the others, even Miranda and Jack couldn't be counted on to work together rather than attack each other. With the Cerberus crew on the ship it seemed like they were finally ready. He was musing on how much time to take before announcing the mission to the Omega 4 relay to the ship when they got back as they headed into an interior Cerbus lab. After a few minutes of scanning the room Legion gestured to a terminal with a small piece of tech on the keyboard.

"That terminal has the IFF," Legion stated as Tali approached the terminal.

"Great. Where are the guys who moved it here?" Grunt growled and Jane smirked.

"I'm pretty sure we already met them and destroyed them," she commented and Jack laughed as Legion began hacking the door into the core. Shortly after they headed inside and John couldn't help blinking in surprise. It was massive.

"Tali, you and Legion expose the core and keep the system from protecting it," John ordered. The two quickly moved the terminal while the team heard the sound of husks climbing up and into the room.

"How big was the Cerberus crew?" Garrus asked.

"We're going to find out," John growled as Jane and Jack began keeping the horde back while Grunt and Garrus helped watch the flank.

"John!" Tali cried as she began firing her shotgun into the core. John turned his attention and growled to himself as he saw a swarm of husks climbing the rail at Tali and Legion as the core was exposed.

"Jack, we keep them clear!" Jane ordered and the two biotics allowed the group to fire on the exposed core without fear of the husks. Shortly after the core exploded and the team rushed to exit the core chamber.

"Hang on, folks!" Joker cried over the comms. What felt like too long, the Normandy appeared beyond the walkway.

"I will pull you over one at a time," Samara's calm voice came over the comms. The Justicar's form was within the airlock doorway.

"Fuck that!" Jack cried as she ran and leapt.

"Trust issues," Jane said to John as Samara and Mordin caught Jack as Legion ran, Samara's biotics caught him and pulled him in.

"Husks!" Garrus cried out and Jane began throwing shockwaves. Tali followed Legion, then went Grunt. "Jane go."

"Who's the boss here?" Jane asked and the turian looked at John. "Well...that's rude."

"Jane go first," John barked and Jane threw two more shockwaves before running, letting Samara pull her in. Garrus and John quickly followed her, landing behind her just as the Normandy headed out.

"Not only did we get the IFF, but we also learned something very useful from that," Jane said as she and John stood near the cockpit, Blasto by Joker's feet.

"We haven't even gone through all of the files Legion and Tali got," John pointed out

"Yes, but we have learned, a collapsing planet core can destroy a Reaper," Jane said and John gave her a deadpan look.

"Real easy to weaponize that," he drawled and Jane shrugged as she headed to change.

~*TF*~

John breathed out as he finished getting out of the shower. Being inside that Reaper and killing those husks felt like he had been just walking through evil. He'd never let onto the others but every moment they had been in there he'd worried. He wanted to keep anyone he knew from being twisted and turned. As he finished drying and moved to put on his boxer then jeans he thought about Liara's stories of her mother Benezia. She hadn't been that woman when he met her. A woman who wore yellow, smiled softly at her daughter and encourage her to grow into her own woman. He didn't want that to happen to anyone he cared about. In fact he-John's thoughts were cut off as the door to his room chimed indicating someone wanted entry.

"Who is it EDI?" John asked, reaching for his under-shirt to pull it on.

"Tali wishes to speak with you about a personal matter," EDI informed him. John sighed, so it was time then.

"Let her in and please stop monitoring us until she leaves would you EDI?" John asked.

"Of course, Shepard." EDI said and her hologram flickered off just as the doors opened. Tali walked into the room wringing her hands.

"John I've been thinking about something for awhile and after the trip to the Reaper I need to...to…toooo…" Tali trailed off and seemed to be staring at him as she walked down the step. John frowned, puzzled. If Jane had been there to witness it she would have face palmed. Her brother had once again displayed his dense nature but not realizing he was wearing a tight under shirt right out of the shower.

"Tali?" John asked in concern and Tali shook her head as if to clear it.

"John! I just wanted you-I mean wanted to speak with you and you-oh is hot in here," Tali muttered and John sighed.

"Listen I think I know what this is about," John said approaching her. "I've been wanting to talk about us to you."

"You have?" Tali exclaimed and John mentally groaned at how excited she sounded.

"Tali you're my friend, a damn good friend but right now that's all we can be. Friends." John said deciding to just rip the band-aid off.

"Friends?" She said, seeming to deflate. John sighed and approached the Quarian and hugged her. Tali seemed to stiffen before returning the hug.

"I'm sorry but that's all I can give you," John said after a moment. He pulled away and looked at her while holding her hands. He had the feeling if he could see her face he'd see tears in her eyes which just made him feel wretched. "I know some humans have multiple partners but not me. If I didn't have Liara I would be more than willing to try with you and you deserve to have someone. Not wait for me hoping I might leave Liara."

"You're going to stay with her," Tali said. She considered for a moment and pulled her hands away. "Thank you for being honest with me Shepard." John winced at that. She hadn't called him that in a long time and as she turned to walk out he had to stop himself from calling after her to still call him John. After Tali left he closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead.

"God I hope I handled that right," he muttered. After a few minutes he stopped and opened his eyes. He had to let Liara know they were heading for Illium to stock up and he wanted to talk to her about Tali.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: April 18th, 2186 CE

Location: Normandy SR-2, Mid-Transit

Jane finished her last report to the Council as she rested in her hammock. Blasto was eating...something. Jane looked closely at it to see what looked like a bone. She would need to talk to Gardner about that. A secure message pinged on her omni-tool. She opened it.

"Shepard...it is time for Operation Prometheus Unchained," Chirum's voice stated and Jane sat up.

"Confirming, Prometheus Unchained is a go?" Jane asked.

"Confirmed," Chirum stated. "Sending coordinates. Alliance has approved the SSV Okinawa to intercept the Cerberus Vessel Normandy SR-2 to collect you."

"Orders are understood, Spectre," Jane said. "I will go and let the Normandy crew know."

"Over and out," Chirum said before the communication was cut. Jane quickly got out of her hammock and headed to the elevator.

"EDI, where is my brother?" Jane asked.

"He is in his quarters," EDI stated and Jane entered the elevator and hitting the first floor button. She knocked before entering. John looked up from his desk as she strolled in.

"What's up?" he asked and Jane stared at him for a moment.

"Classified mission, it should only take a few days, but it must be done before we go through the Omega 4," Jane said and he looked at her.

"Are you in danger?" he asked and Jane laughed.

"I can't tell you and you know that, but how about I leave Blasto behind to prove how certain I am that I'm going to be fine?" she suggested and John made a face.

"Where can we drop you off?" he asked.

"Can I just send a message to my Alliance crew, they have clearance to take me on this mission?" Jane asked and John nodded. Jane pinged the SSV Okinawa.

"Flight Lieutenant Green, have you missed me?" Jane asked and there was a chuckle.

"It's been pretty boring without you, ma'am," Green stated over the comm.

"I'm sending you my current coordinates, we are on our way to Illium, think you can intercept for the pick up?" Jane asked as she sent the Normandy's current location. There was a moment.

"Sending the most efficient intercept point," Green said and John blinked as Jane displayed the location was a few systems away from Illium.

"Good?" Jane asked and John nodded.

"Let Joker know," he said and Jane nodded.

"Approved, Green, see you in a day," Jane said, disconnecting the call before she headed towards the elevator.

"Jane...you are going to be okay?" John asked and Jane smiled.

"I still can't tell you that," she said but John was comforted by her confident posture as she strolled out, heading to the cockpit. A few moments later she was casually walking up behind the pilot.

"Hey Joker, you need to drop me off." The pilot blinked.

"What?" he asked shocked.

"I have a mission I need to complete before we go where no man has gone before," Jane stated.

"Seriously?" Joker asked and Jane nodded. "This better be important."

"First off, we're preparing to make sure the IFF works, it will take some time and, second, I'd rather do this before going on what could end up being a suicide mission," Jane said and Joker rolled his eyes. "We are going to meet up with the SSV Okinawa here, I'll hop over to their ship. You're on Blasto duty while I'm gone." She turned and walked off.

"Hey! I never agreed to that," Joker snapped.

"You just sound so sad that I'm going off on a mission," Jane shot back. She headed down to the Main Battery next.

Garrus looked over his shoulder as she entered the room, his mandibles jumped as he turned to face her.

"Jane...I've been thinking..." he started and Jane put a hand to his mouth.

"No," Jane said and he blinked. "Whatever you are going to say was because you are nervous about us...I'm not, you're not going to change my mind." She removed her hand and he opened and closed his mouth a couple times.

"Are you sure there isn't someone more close to home?" he asked and Jane chuckled as she took his hands in hers.

"Garrus...right now, this ship feels more like home that I've felt in nearly three years," Jane explained and he looked at her before nodding.

"I know what you mean," he said as they got closer. His hands closing over hers as they stared at each other. "What did you come down here for?" She smiled.

"To see you of course," she said and he gave her a look. "I have to run a mission for the Council before we...make our move." Garrus nodded at that.

"Do you want me to come with you?" he asked and she sighed.

"I would love that...but this is a classified mission and I can't even tell you how long I'll be gone," Jane said and Garrus didn't look pleased. She smiled and curled a finger. He brought his head down and she leaned close to his ear. "Don't tell anyone, but it's not a combat mission." She pulled back and his mandibles twitched in confusion before he sighed.

"I suppose I could let you go alone..." he huffed and Jane smiled as she quickly leaned in and kissed his cheek.

"While you're on Illium...you might want to pick up some of those supplies we'll need...for some interspecies collaborations..." Jane whispered and Garrus made a choking noise. "If we're going through the Omega 4...I'd like us to have at least one night..." She turned, leaving a sputtering turian behind her. "Have fun with your calibrations..." The door closed behind her.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: April 19th, 2186 CE

Location: Normandy SR-2, docked with the SSV Okinawa

"Blasto," Jane ordered before making the hand signs at Joker. The varren barked before wrapping around the base of Joker's chair.

"Thanks for that," he sighed.

"How long?" John asked and Jane shrugged.

"Can't tell you, I'll let you know if it will just be easier to meet at Omega," Jane said and John nodded. Jane waved, as she headed into the airlock. Jane walked the short way from the Normandy onto the Okinawa, heading to stand behind Green.

"Welcome back, ma'am," Green said.

"You have the coordinates," Jane said and the Okinawa pulled away from the Normandy.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: April 20th, 2186 CE

Location: Illium, Nos Astra Restaurant

John sat on the patio overlook and wondered. The crew was going over the Reaper IFF while making adjustments and slight repairs to the Normandy. As soon as Jane got back they were heading for the Omega 4 relay. Despite his best efforts no one knew anything about this mission of Jane's. Apparently her room wasn't as secured as she thought because when he'd asked Miranda about it she'd informed him they just learned it was called Prometheus Unchained. Knowing his sister it had to be something she came up with and was in charge of. However, being Jane she'd picked a name that could cover hundreds of possible topics. He finished his coffee as he mused it over. Not even Liara's contacts as the Broker could get anything about it. There was record of one agent getting close but he vanished.

"Well played sis," John mused to himself before some approached him from his left. John stopped musing and looked up. He blinked in surprise as it was not the expected waitress but an old comrade instead.

"John, it's been awhile," Alec Ryder said as he approached with a satchel in hand. John felt himself move quickly in instinct.

"Major Ryder!" John exclaimed going to salute but Ryder waved it off.

"I haven't been a part of the Alliance for a few years John," he informed him, gesturing at the free seat. "May I sit?"

"Of course," John said. He waited for Alec to sit before he sat himself.

"So a Spectre. Very impressive," Alec noted and John flushed.

"Thank you, Sir," John said. Alec shot him a look and John gave him a sheepish look.

"It's hard to drop, isn't it?" Alec mused and John relaxed.

"Just a bit, especially for a commanding officer you respected," John noted. "I don't know if I ever thanked you for that recommendation letter. They wouldn't have let me into the Hell Run alone without that."

"I'm glad to see you've been putting it to good use," Alec replied. "But John I'm not here to catch up. I've been waiting on Illium for you to make port so I can speak with you. I'm glad you did, I would have had to leave tomorrow."

"Speak to me about what?" John asked. Alec smiled and pulled a pad out of his satchel. He slid it across the table to John who picked it up. As he read he could feel his eyes getting wider and wider.

"Andromeda?" John said in shock after he finished. He turned to stare at his old commanding officer. "You're going to Andromeda?"

"I am and I'd like you to join us," Alec said and John's mouth fell open. "I've been in contact with your girlfriend in regards to some data we needed. If you come with us I'm sure you can convince her to join us. I can make room for the two of you but that's about it."

"Alec, Sir, I-holy shit," John muttered and Alec nodded.

"I know it's a lot to process but we leave in three weeks so I need to know. We had approached your sister a year ago but before we even could tell her where we were going she brushed us off. She's Alliance through and through but after recent events I think you might welcome the opportunity." Alec said. John leaned back. Another galaxy? The chance to be the first to step on a planet? To build something with Liara and not have to deal with the destruction left by others? To stand somewhere and say it was theirs and no one else's. To meet other races, the chance to do it right from the start. God it was tempting, so tempting.

But leave Jane? Garrus? Tali? Grunt? Face after face seemed to flash before his mind's eye and then he remembered his mission. If he left would they be able to do it? Wouldn't he just be abandoning them if he did? Running from the Reapers just to make a better life literally a galaxy away? Could he do that?

"Alec I'm sorry but no," John replied and Alec sighed in disappointment before nodding. "I have too many responsibilities here."

"Well it was a long shot but I had to try," Alec said taking the tablet back. He packed it away before pulling on a pair of gloves. They stood and shook hands, John wondering why Alec as wearing gloves that had such rough pads. "Good luck John."

"The same to you sir," John said watching the man head off. John shook his head in winder at the surprises life still threw you just as EDI called his comm.

"Go ahead EDI," John said deciding to head back for the ship. He headed for the counter to pay his bill.

"Comm System incoming message from Admiral Steven Hackett, Alliance HQ," EDI informed him. "He insists on a live call and is remaining on hold till you return for secure call."

"I'll be back shortly EDI, have the call transferred to my quarters please," John noted as he headed for the docks, disconnecting the call. A few minutes later he was in his quarters answering the call on his large display.

"Spectre, thank you for your time. I'll keep this brief. We have a deep-cover operative out in batarian space. Name's Doctor Amanda Kenson. Dr. Kenson recently reported that she found evidence of an imminent Reaper invasion." Hackett informed him and John blinked.

"So why call me?" John asked and Hackett sighed.

"Just this morning I received word that the batarians arrested her. They're holding her in a secret prison outpost on terrorism charges. I need you to infiltrate the prison and get her out of there. As a favor to me, I'm asking you to go in alone."

"What's Dr. Kenson actually doing out there?" John questioned.

"She's a deep-cover operative, Shepard. We talk only when we have to. I'd heard she was investigating a rumor of a Reaper artifact in the system. Her last report said she'd found it."

"What else can you tell me about the operation?"

"Amanda is a top scientist and Alliance agent working in batarian space. It's a deadly assignment, and she's one of the few up to the challenge. She and I go back pretty far, Commander. I won't let her rot away in a batarian torture camp." Hackett said firmly.

"And why ask me instead of sending an Alliance team?" John demanded.

"I need this off book Shepard. Your sister is too well known and is still formally Alliance. You are not," Hackett noted.

"I have a hell of a squad with me. I'm sure they'd help out," John noted but Hackett shook his head.

"Kenson is my friend. If the batarians see a squad of armed soldiers, they'll kill her. This is serious, Commander. Go in with discretion, or don't go at all," Hackett said and John sighed.

"Jane is a better black ops agent but I can see why you'd call me instead," John noted. "I'll do it, Sir."

"Excellent. The prison is hidden underground at a batarian outpost on Aratoht. I'll upload the coordinates now. Once she's secure, confirm her discovery and we'll debrief you when you're back. I have a shuttle near Illium standing by. They'll pick you up tomorrow."

~*TF*~

At 0200 in the morning the next day John checked the pistol and the attached silencer. Satisfied it would work he looked over the armor for the mission. All black in color with no lights. It was lighter than he preferred but it would help him move silently and quicker. He left his favored weapons behind and picked generic, blacked out weapons. Untraceable if he had to drop one. He quickly dressed and reached over to his nightstand. In the bottom drawer he pulled out his incase box and set it in the middle of the bed. He hoped Jane wouldn't have to use it again. He headed out and hit the messenger send on his table terminal sending his message to Liara to let him know he'd be going off grid for a mission but nothing else. He quickly made his way to the airlock knowing no one would see him thanks to EDI and it being late. Only Joker knew he'd be off ship until was announced later at noon. They'd continue maintenance and checking the IFF while he was gone and the ground team was elsewhere getting supplies and taking shore leave. As he boarded the Alliance shuttle waiting not too far he hoped he'd be back before anyone really even noticed.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: April 21st, 2186 CE

Location: Classified

Jane exited the clean room with Doctor Trazia Selessi and Dr. Remicius Donisis. The three went to join the team of medical personnel, scientists, and various leaders at the center of the room containing two hundred and sixty-eight pods that had been discovered across eleven worlds over the last nineteen months. Three of the planets had held the majority of the current pods, sixty-three from a human colony, sixty-two from a turian colony, and seventy-four from a Salarian colony. Had Citadel teams not worked to use the data Jane had found, over half of the current pods would have run out of power in the next year.

"Welcome to Operation Prometheus Unchained," Trazi said as they reached the center console. "I have to say, when I met you, I never thought you would be the one to create this opportunity for me." Jane smiled at the asari.

"The contacts you helped me make, I cannot thank you enough," Jane said and then the introductions began. The console in the center was Prothean and Jane sighed.

"We found all we could, it is time for them to wake up," a human scientist said and Jane took a breath as she placed her hand on the console. Memories entered her mine as they did with all Prothean tools. She could read the personal information about each of the pods, she knew the ranks, the names, and the chain of command. As she absorbed the information, her body seized slightly, each time she accessed a Prothean object, she was maintaining more and more control. Most importantly, Jane learned how to open the pods. She released the console and stepped back. Stretching her neck slightly.

"Well?" Remicius asked and Jane smiled.

"I know who would be best to wake up first," Jane said as she began to walk through the pods, she knew who was needed now. Someone who would be perfect for the team and for integrating the sleepers with the Council. Jane approached a pod and began the awakening sequence. Panels shifted and the top opened like a coffin, the form inside was dressed in a light orange armor, it made the blue of the skin more obvious. "Frost" on the body began to dissipate quickly, slowly the four eyes began to flicker open, revealing golden eyes with two pupils each. The eyes seemed independent for a moment before the figure began to awaken. Jane held her hand back, the scientists were frothing, but Jane stood before the figure waking up and bowed as she had seen in the images. The Prothean stared at her in shock as she got up. Jane stood and held out her hand as she had seen in the visions. The Prothean reached out and their minds were one. Jane thought about what she knew. The beacons, the incomplete messages, the Council and the Citadel, Vigil's message on Ilos, Saren and Sovereign, Jane acquiring the cipher and learning the truth, discovering the pods and working to rescue the Protheans, and last, Operation Prometheus Unchained. The Prothean released Jane's hand and stared at her. Tears rolled from the four eyes.

"I am Doctor Jaimini," she said and Jane nodded with a bow.

"I am Jane Shepard," Jane introduced and the Prothean looked at the team and then the pods.

"We failed," Jaimini said and Jane caught her shoulder.

"Until the last of us falls, you did not fail," Jane said and Jaimini stared at Jane for a moment before her eyes narrowed and she nodded, her own warrior's spirit rising in her eyes.

"You are correct, I forgot myself," Jaimini said before looking around her. "Let me receive a health check up and then let us wake my people. My team will help you fight." Jane grinned as she held out her hand. Jaimini griped Jane's hand hard and the two pulled into each other, their shoulders hitting. The team rushed in and Jaimini was taken to the center to be checked out. Jane looked at the remaining pods. Most were science teams, but warriors were among them. Fewer females, mostly males, but in another room was a collection of pods that were no longer active, but the remains were viable for cloning purposes and thus, now in storage to keep the genetic material useful.

"How does it feel to break the chains?" Chirum said as he approached and Jane smiled.

"I'm going to love presenting Jaimini to the Council," Jane stated and Chirum looked at her.

"Why did you choose that Prothean to wake up first?" he asked.

"She is the third highest ranked scientist, her spouse is here too, he is the second highest ranked military member, she has the best results with working with other species," Jane explained and Chirum grinned.

"She'll know who to wake up and get on our side first," Chirum chuckled. "Smart human."

"Not as dumb as I look," Jane chuckled.

"Best be ready...only two hundred and sixty seven more to wake up," he teased and Jane smiled.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: April 25th, 2186 CE

Location: Batarian outpost on Aratoht

"This one's apparently the mastermind." The guard growled as they watched Kenson's interrogation through the window.

"I'll ask you again. Where is your base?" the interrogator's voice came through the overhead comms.

"If she doesn't talk, kill her." The other noted.

"You're wasting time. The Reapers are coming!" Kenson gasped.

"She just keeps talking about Repaers," the first guard said. "Think we'll get anything useful out of her?"

The second guard gurgled and he turned to his right. A man in all black armor with tinted visor was pulling his knife from his partner's throat. He tried to lunge for the alarm but the man's free hand shot out and grabbed his reaching hand breaking his arm at the wrist. Before he could even scream the hand holding the knife buried it to the hilt in his head.

John jerked the blade out and hurried out of the room to free Kenson. He hurried in just as the interrogator was reaching for a electrical prod. John snatched his pistol and put two rounds in his head. As the body fell he hurried to get Kenson free of the restraints.

"Who are you? What are you doing?" Kenson asked as he triggered the unlock behind the chair.

"Doctor Kenson? I'm Spectre John Shepard. I'm here to get you out," John said handing her his pistol and taking the rifle off his back.

"Spectre Shepard? I'd heard you were alive. Hackett must have received my message," Kenson said, rubbing her wrists.

"We're not safe here. Can you walk?" John asked

"I'm fine. Just give me a moment..." Kenson said just as the alarms began to ring. John cursed. They must have found one of the bodies.

"We have to go now," John said, leading the way into the hall.

~*TF*~

After a quick fire fight to get to a console and then to the shuttle bay they were quickly heading for the project base. John was checking the reports and sighed in relief. No mention of himself, only that Kenson had been freed by other terrorists.

"I'll need to check in with my pilot for a convert pick up and see if Jane is back yet," John murmured to himself. Kenson turned her attention to him, overhearing him.

"Oh and where is your sister? I'm a big fan of her work," Kenson chimed in. John felt a chill go up his back as she said that. The tone in her voice, like she admired Jane but…

"She's on another mission." John said being intentionally vague. Kenson nodded, checking a console.

"We should be well out of range before they get their security measures unscrambled." She noted.

"Do you think they'll come after you?" John asked.

"I'm not taking any chances. Batarians don't take kindly to humans who plan to destroy their mass relays."

"So the charges against you are true." John said leaning back to cross his arms, not impressed.

"Well, to be fair, that's about half the story. My people and I were here investigating rumors of Reaper technology out in the fringes of this system."

"I guess you found something."

"We found proof that the Reapers will be arriving in this system. When they get here, they'll use its mass relay to travel throughout the galaxy. We call it the "Alpha Relay." From here, the Reapers can invade anywhere in the galaxy."

"So you decided to destroy it." John realized.

"Exactly. Doing that would stop the Reapers' invasion. Even at FTL speeds, it'd be months or years before they got to the next relay. We came up with what we just called "the Project": a plan to launch a nearby asteroid into the relay and destroy it before the Reapers could arrive. Of course, the resulting explosion would probably wipe out the system."

"How did you plan to launch an asteroid into a mass relay?" John wondered.

"Moving an asteroid just requires thrust and guidance, which are readily available in Omega's salvage yards. Get the right amount of power and a good VI to drive it, and you can pretty much just point and shoot." Kenson explained.

"Is the Project still operational?" John wondered.

"I...I imagine it is. We were one button-press away from launch when the batarians arrested me."

"Why do you think destroying the mass relay would destroy the entire system?" John asked, wanting to know if it really would have that much of an impact.

"Mass relays are the most powerful mass-effect engines in the known galaxy. The energy released from a relay's destruction would probably resemble a supernova. This is a remote system, but just over three hundred thousand batarians live on the colony where they held us. The explosion would undoubtedly kill them all."

"How were you caught?"

"We've been smuggling starship parts from Omega. Thrusters, guidance, an aftermarket eezo core. The batarians thought that looked suspicious. A few days ago, I took a few of the men on a scouting trip, and the batarians pounced on us. They never found our actual base."

"I still don't see how you learned about this supposed invasion." John noted.

"The evidence came from what we call Object Rho, a Reaper artifact we discovered among the asteroids near the relay itself. When we get back to Arcturus Station, I'll explain everything and provide copies of all our notes on the artifact."

"The stakes are too high. If you were willing to destroy a whole system over this, I want to see your proof." John explained. "Then maybe we can figure out how to get the batarians to evacuate Aratoht."

"I guess I can't argue with that. Give me a moment." Kenson said turning from John to make her call. "Kenson to Project Base." John couldn't hear the reply she got but she turned to glance at John.

"Affirmative. And I've got Spectre John Shepard with me." There was another moment of silence.

"Tidy up the lab. The Spectre needs to confirm the artifact." Kenson said and after a moment turned off her comms. "All set. Just sit back and relax. We'll be there in no time."

~*TF*~

"Shepard could you spare a moment," Jaimini called and Jane smiled. Jaimini really was very good with other species and had been invaluable in helping match Protheans with various scientists.

"How may I help you Jaimini?" Jane asked and the Prothean looked annoyed.

"Anik is trying to get the soldiers to accept that you are a great warrior, but unless you share your mind with all of them, it will require battle," the Prothean scientist said in the tone reserved for females annoyed with males. Jane sighed, while she had not minded sharing her mind with a few of the Protheans, Jaimini, the two scientists above her, her husband Anik, and his superior, she really didn't want to have to share her mind with the thirty-some soldiers.

"Who should I spar with to get them to listen?" Jane asked and Jaimini grinned.

"Javik is leading the group who feel we need to take over the efforts of this cycle among the military members," Jaimini said and Jane paused at that. The thirty some soldiers thought the less than three hundred Protheans needed to be in charge. Jane fought a smirk. Cute.

"What do the scientists think?" Jane asked and Jaimini sighed.

"We are in agreement that we need to work with the races of this cycle or there will not be a third chance for our people," she said and Jane nodded.

"Let's play with Javik, shall we?" Jane said and the two headed to the training hall. The Prothean soldiers were in various activities, except for a few supervising. Jaimini waved at Anik and he nodded before approaching another Prothean. It was quick and the soldiers quickly made a circle. Jane approached from one side, stretching.

"I see the human wants to play," Javik stated and Jane smirked as she looked at him. Protheans could feel emotion. Javik was good, Jane had been watching the Protheans train, but they were arrogant. He was used to smaller opponents being easier to beat, but Jane was used to fighting above her weight class. She also knew how to pull emotions forward. She thought about the fears she had had in battle, the tastes of defeat, desperation. She focused on the feeling of when Dirake had been choking her to death when she nearly died. Javik and the Protheans around Jane looked confident. Good.

"Come at me, Prothean," Jane shot back. Javik approached and Jane met him in the middle. They bowed at each other in the way of Protheans, then Jane dropped to the floor and swept her legs out. Killing intent covered her brain and she could see Javik's startled expression, he could feel emotions and hers dropped. He wasn't used to that and as Jane moved she caught glimpses of other confused Prothean faces. Javik was good, but in hand to hand he relied on his longer reach, he often left his legs open. He clearly was used to fighting with a gun, something Jane noticed in all of the Protheans, and with many weapon based fighters, he left his legs open.

"Primative!" he barked and Jane was up in the air, her foot aimed at his head Javik pulled an arm up to block. Not bad, Jane bounced back, more like a boxer. He stared at her, his eyes wide and he was staring. Jaimini had explained the Prothean practice of staring for intimidation. Unfortunately for Javik, Jane knew how to intimidate a batarian, she picked his right middle eye and focused on it. It would be easy for her to draw a blade and remove his head from his neck. He blinked and Jane jumped again, this time the kick hit him dead center, he took a step back and Jane was down, sweeping the legs out from under him. He hit and his biotics flared. Jane was over him, both hands glowing solidly while her biotics shimmered over her skin. He stared at her for a moment before he looked pissed. Jane could be given Prothean emotions through touch, but she couldn't sense them. She stood back and offered Javik her hand. He stared and took it. Jane helped him to his feet and she shared with him her battles. Awakening her biotics on Mindoir, running for her life on Akuze, Eden Prime, Saren, Dirake, Collectors, geth...so many battles. He stared at her and she looked at him.

"This Shepard is not untried...I will try it your way...for now," Javik said and Jane was pleased she was no long just "the human" or "the primitive" but actually named. Hopefully the others who worked with Javik would not have to do the same to get respect.

"We do things differently this cycle, but it is worth a shot," Jane said and Javik nodded. Jane was pleased, she would call the Normandy to meet up once the Protheans were more settled.

~*TF*~

"Here we are. Welcome to Project Base." Kenson said as we stepped off on the landing pad. John had to admit he was impressed. To build something like this in a batarian controlled system took a lot of work. Then he noticed a timer above the door with a little over two days of time.

"What is this?" John asked, gesturing to the timer.

"That's our countdown to Arrival. When that gets to zero...the Reapers will have come. Just over two days and counting. Puts things in perspective, doesn't it," Kenson noted and John realized just how dire things were. If Hackett had called him any later they would already be overwhelmed by the Reapers.

"You're saying the Reapers could be at Earth in two days? There's no time to waste," John noted and Kenson nodded.

"Then let's show you that proof. That door exits the hangar. The artifact is in our central lab area. Go through the door at the end of that corridor to your left," Kenson said. John briskly walked noting that most of the staff was armed. Most of the doors were locked. While it made sense given they were in a batarian system something felt…off. As they approached the door Kenson spoke of she moved forward.

"One sec. Let me get the door. Commander Shepard, I give you Object Rho." Kenson said, leading him into a large room. John stared numbly as he realized the object was just there. No shielding, no barrier, nothing.

"You have the Reaper artifact just sitting here...out in the open." He said numbly not believing what he was seeing.

"When we found it, it showed me a vision of the Reapers' arrival." Kenson said proudly.

"Kenson, this is not good," John said, his mind awhirl. He needed to get Hackett, keep these people contained. Oh God he was alone on a base full of indoctrinated people!

"Give it a moment, Shepard. It'll give you the proof you need." Kenson stated. The object pulsed, emitting a wave of dark blue energy. John felt images burn into his mind, the Reapers, the relay. All true and it sent him buckling to his hands and knees. Something else tried to press in but he shook his head felting it leave. Something like a frustrated snarled echoed in his mind but withdrew.

"I can't let you start the Project, Shepard. I can't let you stop the arrival." Kenson snapped and John realized she was pointing his own pistol at him as he struggled to his feet. As the base's men moved in to surround them Kenson glanced at them. John lunged for the gun and they struggled. He finally got a grip on her gun arm and broke it taking the gun from her. "Take him down!" she screamed as she staggered away. John dove for covered pulling his rifle. He cursed as he realized he hadn't restocked on clips after rescuing this insane boshtet from the batarians. He began exchanging fire and noted that most of these people were novices but they had his massively outnumbered and his clips were low.

"He won't go down!" One said in panic just before John shot him.

"We don't want to hurt you, Commander. Lay down your weapons!" Kenson called over the comms and John scoffed.

YOUR GALAXY IS IN SIGHT. YOUR FINAL DAYS ARE AT HAND

John staggered. It was the object again. Trying to dominate him. He shook it off but it allowed the guards to get close. His rifle was shot out of his hands. He made a disgusted noise in the back of his throat and pulled his shotgun free.

"We can't keep this up much longer!" Another guard said and John felt a rush of hope. They were too green if he could get the comm room or the shuttle ba-

THE END OF YOUR SPECIES WILL COME.

It pressed again. John hissed ignoring the blood dripping from his nose. Never, never, never, never! He opened fire on a flame unit, causing the man's tank to explode taking out several others.

STRUGGLE, IF YOU WISH. YOUR MIND WILL BE MINE.

"Fuck, you!" John bellowed, even as he staggered. A shotgun blast sent him reeling but he used his momentum to spin him around and shoot the man. His gun ran empty and John threw it at an approaching man. It smacked into his face and sent him reeling. John tackled him and reached for his knife, intending to stab down and kill this piece of-

YOU SHALL BE THE FIRST TO WITNESS OUR ARRIVAL.

John jerked back as it hit him again. He heard that snarl of frustration. A sense of anger, why won't you yield. Yield, yield, yield, yield yield yield yieldyieldyieldyieldyieldyieldyield-

"NO!" John bellowed and was shot with a concussion round by another guard. He went rolling and slammed into a barrier. He couldn't move and felt his consciousness slipping away. The presence seemed to scream in frustration and John had a vague, disoriented thought.

'We have to be conscious to be indoctrinated…'

He decided to just let himself pass out. He knew he was in bad shape and hopefully the med bay was far from this thing. Just before his eyes drifted shut he saw Kenson kneel before him, her eyes glowing eerily.

"Take him to the med bay and patch him up." Her distorted voice ordered. "We want Shepard alive."

~*TF*~

Earth Date: April 25th, 2186 CE

Location: Normandy SR-2, in Transit

"Good, looks like the Reaper IFF is finally hooked up and ready to go. We can let the Commander know when he checks in," Joker mentioned as he waited for John to contact him for first check in. Blasto was sleeping under Joker's legs in the cockpit, not annoying at all.

"That is not entirely accurate, Mr. Moreau. The device is powered, but it is causing some unusual instability in other systems," EDI commented and Joker rolled his eyes. He continued to monitor the ship as it stayed in a specific pattern around the system. His eyes flickering to the clock as he realized that it was past check in time. That was probably okay, nothing bad, check ins didn't have to be to the exact second...

"I have detected a signal embedded in the static. We are transmitting the Normandy's location," EDI stated, Joker sat up straight. Oh great.

"Transmitting? To who?" Joker asked. As if the galaxy truly wished to make life even worse, the Collector ship appeared like a monster from a bad dream. Alarms began to sound and Blasto surged to his feet. "Oh, shit. We're getting out of here!" As Joker's hands flew over the console, nothing happened. It was like a nightmare where you ran as fast as you could but you stayed in place as the monster advanced.

"Propulsion systems are disabled. I'm detecting a virus in the ship's computers," EDI reported and Joker's stomach fell through the floor. Not again...not again...

"From the IFF? Damn it, why didn't you scrub it?" Joker growled and the sounds of the Cerberus crew assembling made the hair on the back of his neck rise.

"Primary defense systems are offline. We can save the Normandy, Mr. Moreau, but you must help me," EDI stated. "Give me the ship." Joker looked behind him as the sound of something banging on the doors began.

"What? You're crazy. You start singing 'Daisy Bell' and I'm done," Joker cried and Blasto growled, remaining pressed into Joker's side.

"Unlock my sealed databases, and I can initiate countermeasures. The maintenance shaft in the science lab will allow passage to the AI core," EDI stated and Joker turned to look over his shoulder at the Cerberus crew aiming at the elevator door. "Main corridors are no longer safe. The Collectors have boarded." Joker got up and Blasto remained to his side. "The emergency floor lighting will guide you, Mr. Moreau."

"Damn it," Joker hissed and Blasto whined next to him. "I'm glad you agree, boy." Joker walked as fast as he could, the pain in his legs was high as Blasto remained by his side and he placed a hand on the varren's back. "Shit, shit, shit."

"Oh my god! What is that?" Goldstein cried out as the elevator doors opened, revealing a monster. Joker froze and Blasto shoved into his side gently, pushing the pilot. He continued, his heart racing.

"We'll hold it off as long as we can!" Hadley cried, waving Joker on. The monster leapt at two of the crewmen. "Hurry, Joker! Go!" Joker rushed into the lab, screams and gunfire more muted as the doors closed. As he approached the hatch he could see another monster floating in the mass effect core.

"Shit, shit, shit, shit," Joker hissed as he headed for the ladder. He looked at Blasto. "How are you getting down there?" The varren barked before crawling down the ladder like a demonic monkey. "I could have lived my life without seeing that." He groaned as he followed the varren into the dark maintenance tunnel. Blasto dropped down out of the hatch as Joker slipped out into Thane's room.

"Multiple hostiles detected on the crew deck," EDI reported. Joker looked to see Hawthorne hanging by the door.

"Joker! This deck is crawling with those things! Stay close...I'll protect you!" Hawthorne cried. Joker was relieved to have human back up. As they moved into the hallway, Hawthorne rushed to the left to avoid a monster dragging a crewmember back into the elevator. As Joker was about to follow Hawthorne, Hawthorne flew across the hallway. Another one of the monsters was staggering. Joker's heart dropped, he was dead. Then Blasto was on the creature that had attacked Hawthorne. Joker rushed towards the medical suite.

"Shit, shit, shit!'" he cried as he rushed, his legs hurt! There sounds of a varren in battle and a creature howling on the other side of the elevator made his heart pound.

"Main fusion plant offline. Activating emergency H-fuel cells," EDI reported and as Joker entered the medical suite, Blasto walked over, looking quite proud.

"I'm good with that!" Joker hissed, locking the door behind him as he headed towards the AI Core. "All right, I'm at, uh, you."

"Connect the core to the Normandy's primary control module," EDI explained. Joker sighed as he began working at the console.

"Great. See, this is where it starts, and when we're all just organic batteries, guess who they'll blame?" Joker groaned. "This is all Joker's fault. What a tool he was. I have to spend all day computing pi because he plugged in the Overlord." Blasto stared at EDI's display, attempting to chew on it. Then the holographic display appeared to explode and Blasto looked around confused. "Yeah...me too."

"Ah. I have access to the defensive systems. Thank you, Mr. Moreau. Now you must reactivate the primary drive in engineering," EDI explained.

"Argh! You want me to go crawling through the ducts again," Joker groaned.

"I enjoy the sight of humans on their knees," EDI stated and Joker stared at the display. "That is a joke."

"Riiight," Joker stated, pondering if he would be blamed for the coming Overlord and if she would be worse than the Collectors.

"The shaft behind you connects to the engineering deck. Good luck," EDI stated and Joker pointed at the ladder and Blasto did the creepy climb down the ladder again. As he emerged in Jack's "room" he heard movement above.

"Hostiles are present in engineering. They are heading towards the cargo bay," EDI explained and Blasto bared his fangs at the shadows in the stairwell. Joker took a few deep breaths as he watched the inhuman shadows move. "Engineering is clear of hostiles. Proceed immediately to minimize chances of detection." Joker rushed up the stair before entering engineering. He approached the panel. "Activate the drive and I will open the airlocks as we accelerate. All hostiles will be killed." Joker froze at that.

"What? What about the crew?" Joker cried.

"They are gone, Jeff. The Collectors took them," EDI explained.

"Shit," Joker hissed.

"I am sealing the engine room," EDI said as Joker activated the core. "I have control." The Normandy took off and Joker started to fall. Blasto was there to help him keep from breaking anything. Joker panted as he slid to the floor in pain.

"Purge is complete. No other life forms on board. Securing airlocks and cargo bay doors," EDI explained and Joker groaned as he got up.

"Send a message to the Illium leave team. Tell them what happened," Joker groaned.

"Message away. Are you feeling well, Jeff?" EDI asked.

"No. But thanks for asking," Joker sighed as he headed up with Blasto following close behind him.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: April 26th, 2186 CE

Location: SSV Okinawa, Approaching Illium

"So you will be leaving this ship to continue your mission against the Collectors?" Tarak asked. The young Prothean was a scientist, but he was learning about the Okinawa as he would most likely be assigned to it as Jane's personal contact with the Prothean team should she come back from the Collector mission. Jane nodded as she headed to the cockpit with her Prothean shadow.

"Green, put me into contact with the Normandy," Jane said.

"Yes, ma'am," Green stated and there was a moment. Joker's voice was frantic he went straight to her comm.

"Jane, thank God, how close are you to Illium?" Joker asked and Jane didn't like the tone.

"We're about to enter orbit in the next hour," she said.

"The Collectors attacked the Normandy and John missed his last three contact times," Joker stated and Jane's heart stopped.

"What?" she asked, cold entered her body. "Explain what has happened since you landed on Illium slowly and calmly." Her body was rigid as her mind raced for a moment before her killing intent stopped it. She could not afford to panic, she needed to be rational.

"John let the ground teams have shore leave on Illium and he got a call from Hackett. I took him out to a meet point where an unmarked shuttle took him on. EDI and I were testing the IFF and the Collectors set a trap. A virus shut down the Normandy. The Cerberus crew got taken," Joker said. "John hasn't met a single one of his check ins and he was planning on doing them every six hours." Jane paused. Six hour intervals, eighteen hours overdue for the first. Bad.

"Have you got the ground crew back?" Jane asked.

"We are here, Jane," Garrus said and relief washed over her.

"Blasto?" Jane asked. There was a bark and Jane nodded. "I'm going to contact Hackett, give your dock to Green. I may be using selective language when I speak to the Admiral." She switched Joker to Green before looking at Tarak. "My brother is missing while on a mission and the crew of his ship was taken by Collectors. The pilot managed to keep the ship from being taken over, but I need to find my brother and I know who to ask, but you will not be able to sit in on that meeting. I apologize." Tarak bowed.

"You forget, I understand the necessity for limited knowledge about priority missions," the Prothean said and Jane nodded as she headed to her cabin. A secure line was set up and Hackett looked less than pleased to see her.

"Shepard," he said and Jane gave him a look.

"Where did you send my brother?" she asked and the admiral kept his composure. Damn old soldiers and their poker faces. "I don't care about the why. He missed three check ins. I need to know if I need to go after him or not."

"Three?" Hackett grunted. "That's not good."

"Where did you send him and what do I need to know?" Jane asked and Hackett stared at her for a moment. "Remember, I'm technically on Spectre duty at this moment, this wouldn't be an order at all, but me trying to complete my Council mission to stop the Collectors." Hackett nodded at that.

"I sent him on a rescue mission for an undercover operative," Hackett said and Jane nodded. "I needed someone not connected to the Alliance and since the recent campaign against your brother has it well known he has...fallen...from Alliance honor, he was the best I could think of." Jane didn't like that, but she understood. She spend enough of her time on Black Ops. "She was in a prison on Aratoht." Jane winced at that. Batarian territory. Well shit.

"Could he still be in the system?" Jane asked and Hackett nodded his head.

"The undercover operation is within that system," he said and Jane nodded.

"I know some Dramye who might be able to get me the local Batarian chatter," Jane said.

"Jane, you should know this operative found a Reaper artifact," Hackett stated and Jane froze. Reaper tech was bad.

"Thanks for the heads up," Jane said and Hackett nodded.

"Hackett out," he said and as soon as he was gone Jane contacted one of the Dramye she knew. Almost immediately the batarian woman answered the call, an obvious smile on her face.

"Greetings, Shepard," she said with a bow. Jane returned the gesture.

"I apologize for the hour of my call," Jane said.

"No, it was perfect, I just celebrated morning prayers, you did not interrupt anything," Palak said and Jane nodded.

"I need your help, Palak," Jane said and the batarian smiled more.

"To be able to help you, I am honored," the woman said and Jane sighed.

"I need to know the local chatter for the Bahak system," Jane said and Palak chuckled.

"That will be easy, we have eyes there," she said and Jane blinked in surprise. "We keep spies on most militant planets. I can get you the local chatter recordings within the next two hours."

"Thank you, Palak, may the rain nurture the soil," Jane said and Palak grinned.

"It is an honor to aid you, our representative to the Council is making great strides for us because of your help. May the sun nurture your crops," Palak signed off and Jane nodded. If the Dramye spies knew what was going on, it would help Jane know what happened with John and if...rescue was necessary. She shook her head before an idea came to mind. She exited her room to find Tarak near the kitchen speaking to the crew chef.

"Tarak...I have a question about Reaper tech..." Jane started.

~*TF*~

"I assume you have a plan?" Miranda demanded as soon as Jane got on the Normandy a few hours later. Jane paused as she looked at the ground team. They were all looking at her. Jane looked at Miranda.

"Until John comes back, who is in charge?" Jane asked and Miranda's face scrunched up.

"You," the Cerberus agent sighed and Jack's face nearly split in vicious pleasure. Jane looked at Joker.

"I've got coordinates, I'm waiting to hear back from my Dramye contact, but we know we need to get to the Bahak system yesterday," Jane said.

"The Dramye?" Miranda seemed shocked.

"Peaceful batarians, Bahak system Hegemony world, may have spies," Mordin commented and Jane nodded.

"Dramye routinely rescue batarian slaves of any race when they can in undercover missions. Dramye believe all beings are equal, they make it a point to do what they can to rescue those in need. Part of the reason the Hegemony kills the Dramye whenever they can is the Hegemony needs slavery to keep power over the batarian people, such a radical ideological difference cannot be tolerated," Jane explained.

"And you made sure the Dramye are the batarian government system that the Council works with. They get all the benefits of a Council race while the Hegemony doesn't," Garrus chuckled.

"Not as dumb as I look," Jane said.

"We are leaving," Joker said.

~*TF*~

The team was in the communication room looking at a star map of the Bahak system.

"This is Aratoht," Jane said, pointing at the second planet around the sun. "John rescued the operative from the prison on this world. The chatter from Aratoht is clear, John got her out and the batarians are not happy about that. We don't have the operative's base coordinates, but we do know what the batarian scans of the asteroid belt look like." The map changed slightly as the batarian intel overlapped the map. "Thanks to a friend of mine I just made recently, I have a filter that should help to locate the Reaper tech this operative found. EDI, use that filter."

"Shepard, who supplied this filter?" EDI asked.

"I'll tell you about that later...it's currently classified information," Jane explained, Liara would flip her shit if she knew that the SSV Okinawa, parked mere blocks from her office had had a living Prothean on it...well, it make Jane smile slightly since Liara had known John was alive...Jane shook her head. Not the time for petty crap now. She would tease Liara in the future, not that Liara probably wasn't aware of Operation Prometheus Unchained. As the filter registered, one of the asteroids had a glow. "Holy shit, it worked." Tarak had revealed that most Reaper tech was untraceable on energy scans, but some tech was made from certain materials, commonly found in basic scans, but rarely looked for in combination. Worked like a charm.

"Joker, get us there," Miranda ordered and Jane took a deep breath.

"Not bad," Garrus said.

"Be honest, you weren't sure it would work," Tali teased and Jane nodded.

"I wasn't. I don't know why John hasn't checked in, but I know he got off of Aratoht on his own two feet. My only concern is that he might have ended up with an operative who was indoctrinated by the Reaper artifact," Jane explained. Garrus placed a hand on her shoulder.

"He's going to be fine," Garrus said and Jane leaned into his body.

"If you believe that...I suppose I can believe in you," Jane said.

~*TF*~

Earth Date: April 27th, 2186 CE

Location: Project Base, Asteroid Belt in the Bahak System

An ache is what John felt as soon as he woke. Like he had gone five rounds with Krogan then gone another five after he had passed out. His head throbbed and the strangest sensation. Like his head had been exposed to the sun and almost but not quite burned.

"...like Shepard was waking up a moment ago. But it could be a glitch in the system." Someone was saying. John groaned as he woke and sat up.

"No glitch. The sedatives aren't working! Security!" a woman screamed rushing from the room. John hopped down from the table as the security officers rushed in. He lunged at them, hitting one with a hook and the other fired in a panic. John slammed another punch into him, sending both men to the ground quickly. He glanced at the observation window as the room locked down and saw the woman's smug look. Not even bothering to says anything he took stock of the room, walking around to look for a way out.

"Step away from the terminal!" the woman who locked him in ordered as he passed by a terminal. John paused and smirked as he looked it over. It was a mech control terminal. Ignoring the woman's inane chatter he took control of a nearby mech. Guiding the mech with the display he sent it into the room. The woman panicked and tried to shoot it but he just had it focus fire on her. He felt a twinge of sorrow but knew she was likely indoctrinated and beyond help. Moving the mech into the next room he guided it through the other mechs, shooting them down. Spotting a power junction he guided to it and had it shoot it down. As the junction exploded, taking the mech with it, the door to the room came down. As he exited he found a nearby weapons locker. He overheard Kenson barking out orders for teams to stop him. As he finished arming up in a generic set of armor her glanced up at the arrival timer in this room.

Only an hour and fifty-six minutes till the arrival.

"Not much time," John growled as he checked a rifle and finished arming up. "I have to get this asteroid moving and get the hell out of here."

~*TF*~

Jane stood behind Joker and EDI played the information from the base.

"Shepard's escaped!" a woman's voice cried and Jane smiled.

"Joker, blow up every shuttle on that roof," Jane ordered.

"What...why?" Joker asked.

"They've been indoctrinated by the Reaper artifact," Tali said.

"We can't afford to have Reaper servants infiltrating space," Jane said as she headed to the airlock. She looked behind her. " Tali and Legion, I want to have control of this station and that radio tower looks like a great place to take over. I want you to make life hell for these bastards. Find John and see if we can get him on comm. Miranda and Samara, I want you two watching over our techs to make sure no one stops them. Thane, Kasumi, you make sure no one gets close to the Normandy, better yet, keep this roof as clear as possible. Grunt, Garrus, Mordin, and Jack, let's go get the rightful Commander of the Normandy back." The team split and the rescue team waited for Tali and Legion to get set up.

"Good news, we know where John is," Tali said.

"Great, can we ping him?" Jane asked and Tali made a noise.

"That's the bad news. Those in control are jamming his comms, we can't reach him, but we can use their tracking of him to keep tabs and they won't be able to jam our comms," Tali said.

"Get all information you can from their servers, EDI...help them with that," Jane ordered. "Let's so rescue John."

~*TF*~

"Finally," John grunted to himself as he shot the last of the guard in the project control room. He holstered his rifle and made his way to the engine control. He rolled his eyes when he began to access the console and the VI spoke up to welcome him. It wasn't even encrypted, anyone could have started the project.

"That might have been the original intent," John muttered to himself before addressing the VI at the terminal. "I want to activate the Project."

"Warning. Activating the Project will result in an estimated three hundred and five thousand casualties. Do you wish to continue?" the VI spoke up. John took a step back. Hundreds of thousands of people. Innocent people just going about their lives and with one push of a button John was going to kill them all. He clenched his hand into a fist. It was simple math, thousands versus billions but he never like that kind of math. He always wanted to save everyone he could. He would die to do that, he had died to do that. Could he kill to save billions? Mustering his courage and whispering a prayer to the God his sister still believed in John stepped forward and activate td the project. He staggered as the engines kicked on.

"Project activation in progress. Collision with mass relay is imminent. Begin evacuation procedures." The VI exclaimed and John made a split decision, accessing the base's comm system and directing a message to colony.

"Alert: All colonists living in the Bahak system: This is Spectre John Shepard. Extremists have armed a locale asteroiud with engines and have set it on a collision course for the relay in this system. Evacuate imm-" John tried before he was cutoff.

"Shepard! No! Do you have any idea what you've done? You leave me no choice. If we can't stop this asteroid, it must be destroyed!" Kenson screamed at him.

"Tell me where to find Doctor Amanda Kenson," John ordered the VI.

"Doctor Kenson is traveling to the reactor core module." The VI informed him.

"An eezo core meltdown should do it. Because of you, everyone on this rock will be obliterated!" Kenson snarled.

"Not if I get to you first." John snapped.

~*TF*~

"Did you hear that?" Tali asked and Jane hissed.

"Hold, Tali, plot us the quickest path from here to the reactor core module. Legion, get me a clear line," Jane barked and there were some noises before her omni-tool glowed. Jane pulled up the secret Dramye comm channel she had gotten from Balak.

"This is the Devagopa warning the batarian agents on Aratoht, that message was legitimate, you have less than an hour and a half to get to the mass relay. Repeat this is legitimate, any evacuation that can be done must be done now!" Jane closed the comm and prayed that was enough time for the Dramye spies on Aratoht to not only evacuate but to save some of the other people on the planet. "Thanks, Legion." Jane said.

"What does Devagopa mean?" Garrus asked.

"Oh...it's just the batarian word for shepherd," Jane explained. "The Dramye use that when talking about me because they don't want the Hegemony to know how much I support and help non-Hegemony batarians."

"Clever tactic," Mordin commented and Jane nodded.

"What do you mean?" Grunt growled as he shot a guard trying to flank the group.

"Hegemony propaganda makes Jane Shepard into batarian boogeyman, use her to scare batarians into submission. Dramye have no such fear and can create positive propaganda using code name. Hegemony don't know who Dramye speak about because they believe their own propaganda," Mordin explained.

"I have the path ready," Tali said. "Follow the emergency lights and I'll get you to John." A door across from the group opened and they could see emergency lights flashing silently.

"Thanks, Tali," Jane said.

"Anytime," Tali responded.

~*TF*~

"Turn around. Now!" John barked at Kenson, utterly fed up with her bullshit. Running around, overriding the meltdown, killing these poor indoctrinated fools. He was full prepared to shoot her now but he needed to have her questioned. Who knows what else she had done.

"You've taken them away from me. I will never see the Reapers' arrival," Kenson growled as she pulled out a detonator. John paused as they locked eyes. "All you had to do was stay asleep. None of this had to happen." A shot went off and Kenson's forehead exploded in a spray of blood. As her body dropped revealing Jane in the opposite doorway, her sniper rifle in her arms.

"Did you miss me?" Jane asked and John smiled, barely glancing at Kenson.

"We need to go," he said and Jane nodded.

"We cleared the path behind us," Jane said. "Tali, can you get John back on our comms?"

"You've taken out most of the people in the building," Tali said in all their ears and John felt relief.

"Good to hear you again," John said and Jane turned to head out. John looked at Kenson for a moment before they began to run.

"Glad we got you back," Tali said. "We have a lot of the data from this project."

"That's something," Jane said, taking a shot down the long hallway.

"Shepards, ships are starting to leave Aratoht, Jane Shepard, you have a message from one of the first ships heading to the relay," EDI said.

"Put it through, it should be a straight run back to the ship," Jane explained to John.

"Devagopa, we will manage to save a few hundred between the twelve ships we have been hiding on the planet. Our agents live because of your actions and those of your duplicate," a batarian voice said. "Thanks to Shepard's message, the Hegemony leaders on the world authorized evacuation, we made sure it would not be easy for them to leave people behind. Not all will escape, but enough will live to tell the tale. A few of our agents will be aiding in planned mutinies. Most who survive this will be with the Council soon."

"What was that?" John asked.

"Jane just passed on the seriousness of your warning to the planet," Jack chuckled.

"Let Dramye spies know you were a legitimate warning, got them moving," Mordin added.

"The Dramye had spies here?" John asked before shooting an attacking guard coming from behind.

"Apparently," Jane said and the team headed for the airlock.

"Let's go!" John barked and the team took off across the roof for the Normandy. Cover fire let them know they were followed, but nothing reached them as they boarded the Normandy.

"We're clear, Joker!" Miranda called and the ship took off. As they approached the relay they could see ships approaching from Aratoht.

"Time to go," John said as he looked at the pilot. As they entered the relay John noticed the quiet. He stared at the CIC. Before he could open his mouth Jane grabbed his shoulder.

"John, I know you've had a rough day but something has happened."

~*TF*~

Belle AN: I have been looking forward to this chapter since Jane's time skip chapter. I'm sure you guys caught me setting it up, but how about them Prothean apples? I love the culture shock of the Protheans, especially that Javik Liara relationship, and I look forward to incorporating them into the story more. Let us see the ripples this change makes. Also, let me just say, one of my favorite moments in gaming is the moment the player got to take over Joker during the Collector attack. It was amazing and then immediately annoying because he is so FUCKING slow. I know why...but I'm sure everyone's first play through was "nope, nope, nope, WHY DON'T I HAVE A GUN?!" Side note: The technique used on the IFF with Jack and Jane using shockwaves is actually one I use when playing the IFF. I usually only bring one biotic and have them do shockwaves, just because the Scions can be a pain if you only have one person shooting them. The IFF generally doesn't take me that long because I know where the Scions show up so I just shockwave Husks and let Grunt and Garrus take on the Scions. If the Husk waves are done, I'll snipe the Scion from a safe distance.

Toby AN: Belle and I were talking as we were finishing this chapter and I just realized something that you might want to hear. The Object Rho always struck me as something Reapers made to force indoctrination on someone. You always have to be around typical objects for days, even weeks at a time. Rho just slams it into your mind. It seems the opposite of what they try so I thought is deserved something different. Plus it helps us reveal the insights into indoctrination they will discover.

OMAKE 1

Liara sat working at the Shadowbroker terminal. So much data to compile and leak to the right sources. A message pinged. She looked to see it was a recording from Jane Shepard.

"Hey Liara, I'm sure you already know about the whispers of this," Jane said, looking rather smug. "I just wanted to let you see what I've been working on." Jane turned the camera to show a collection of aliens. "These are Protheans... I woke them up. Guess whose permission you need to acquire to join the team? Yes, I set it up that way. Don't bother trying to get John to help you." Liara's eyes widened in awe as she realized there were living Protheans available to speak to...then dark realization fell upon her. Jane Shepard was the one she needed to ask...her face turned nearly purple as she realized she would need to appeal to Jane for access to the Protheans. Darkness surrounded her and she wondered if that noise she was hearing was the mad cackling of Jane's laughter across the galaxy.

OMAKE 2

The view starts on a close-up of Tobias's face as he addresses the readers.

"I would first like to say that I am sorry. Sorry that I have been blocking Belle's somewhat smutty Omakes and comments while indulging in walking that line myself. Know in the future that Belle will have a few scenes that she will write without any grief from me."

The camera pans out to see Tobias wrapped in rope and hanging above a large pile of wood for a bonfire. Garrus holds up cue cards with his lines on them as Jane and Belle hold lit torches with other Shakarian fans in the background.

"I hear your demands and we will adhere to them."

OMAKE 3

"Let's play with Javik, shall we?" Jane said and the two headed to the training hall. The Prothean soldiers were in various activities, except for a few supervising. Jaimini waved at Anik and he nodded before approaching another Prothean. It was quick and the soldiers quickly made a circle. Jane approached from one side, stretching.

"I see the human wants to fight," Javik stated and Jane smirked as she looked at him.

"That's right, I'm here to take you on," Jane said and Javik snorted.

"I do not play with primitives," he huffed and Jane glared.

"I am challenging you to prove myself!" Jane barked and Javik looked at the others.

"Primitives like you only understand one form of combat," Javik sneered.

"Trial by Snu-Snu," the Protheans began to chant and Jane blinked as Javik began to undress.

"Wait...what.." Jane was confused as Jaimini and Anik gave her thumbs up.

"Trial by Snu-Snu!" Javik cried as he dropped his chest armor.

"Oh...you have got to be fucking me," Jane groaned.

"The Primitive does understand!" one of the soldiers cried and Jane decided she should have left some of the Protheans asleep.

Belle Note: Yes, I know Javik and the Protheans were not interspecies hanky-panky friendly, but I was watching some Javik cuts to make sure I got his speech pattern right and it showed the night together with Javik after the DLC party and I couldn't help but giggle at his nonchalant comment about primitives doing something right. Also, I love the Futurama Amazonians, in fact, I'm one of those people who loves using armor in games that is "sexy" because my battle cry is "Death by Snu-Snu!" Let me have my metal bikini because it makes me laugh whenever I play. I hope you enjoyed this one.

OMAKE 4

Hiding in his office at the Twin Fates studio Toby catches up on paperwork he has been neglecting to get the finale of this chapter. Sighing as he sees a request to resume the studio tours he agrees to it hoping none of the fans will try to make off with the crew again.

They're still cleaning off the remains of the last fan who had grabbed Jack from behind.

He got to the last of it and was surprised there was no bill for the team's latest monthly paintball carnage. It started out as a great way to blow off steam but the bills were outrageous. Whoever created paintball versions of biotics needed a stern talking to. That field five miles away was still smoking after six months. Jane just blamed it on Jack.

"Done with the paperwork yet?" Belle asked as she strolled in. Toby nodded and handed her the stack to sign off on.

"I did notice one thing, no paintball bills. They skip it this month?" Toby asked, going for his coffee.

"Nah, they sold tickets to a fan event they're just starting now actually. They're using the old arc 1 studios." Belle explained flicking through the papers. Toby started at her in horror and Belle glanced up at him, unconcerned. "What?"

The answer to Belle's question was given as the entire building was rocked by an explosion and screaming and shouting rang out.

"FOR TUCHANKA!"

"CAPTURE THE TURIAN STUD MUFFINS!"

"FOR OUR QUEEN JACK!"

"BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!"

"WE ARE HERE TO HELP THE QUARIAN PEOPLE!"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Belle and Toby looked out his open door to see a screaming, naked Miranda covered in paint go running by the door with hordes of fans after her.

"If she gets that biotic dampener off they use during these things they're so dead." Belle mused. Toby slowly dropped his face into his hands.

"Ah HA!"

"OH SHIT SHE'S USING BIOTICS! RUN!"

"SHE WARPED MY WINKIE!"

"DIE PERVERTED SCUM!"

"Studio undies for sale! Would you like lacy-Liara or lacy-Miranda?"

"Do you have leather-Jane?"

"KASUMI!"