The following text is part three of a three part article, written by journalist Emily Wong. Published by the Future Content Corporation news service, 2183. FCC is trademarked and/or copyrighted, variably registered in both Alliance and Council space. All rights reserved.

For the Uniform

Part 3: Jane Shepard

In certain fields, one should be wary of making assumptions.

"Assume nothing," was (and still is) the creed of Doctor Amanda Kenson, based in the University of Arcturus. Admittedly the speech of hers I reported on a few years back was primarily centered on the "assumption" that the mass relays were created by the protheans and thus dated back 50,000 years, but it was a valuable lesson for her students, and a good reminder for myself. "Assume nothing. Approach the issue from an outsider's perspective. Have an open mind, even a blank one."

Ironic perhaps that now, within the same star system that I heard those words, I'd seemingly forgotten that lesson altogether. I had no reason to think otherwise, but even so, my assumptions were beginning to stack up. I'd assumed that Hannah Shepard was still slated to become an admiral. I'd assumed that John Shepard was her biological son. And now, I'd realized that I'd assumed that the woman sitting opposite me had no biological offspring at all.

"Didn't I mention Jane?" Hannah asked curiously, in regards to my perplexed expression. "Hmm…must have slipped my mind."

And mine. I had the copy of her service record, and her next of kin had been absent from it (Drew Shepard, her husband, had been killed in a patrolling action in the Skyllian Verge in 2171). I'd learnt beforehand that John had been listed, but with her son dead, it had left a void in the captain in more ways than one. It seemed superfluous to ask about a partner at the time, let alone a daughter.

I could have ended it there. I'd come to learn about Commander Shepard primarily. But Hannah seemed willing to talk, and let me record our conversation as well.

"Jane, my daughter," my contact said, drawing up a visual file on her omni-tool and showing it to me. "Or at least, my daughter as she looked when I last saw her."

I'm afraid I didn't get round to asking when that was. Another mistake on my part, but I was so taken aback by the image that it slipped my mind. She was her mother's daughter…to the barest of extents. Most striking was her red hair (practically non-existent outside gene therapy, and few choose red anyway) and her…hard, look. Like Hannah might have been had she not given birth once and adopted again for good measure. John had seemed at ease on the Citadel, in the company of humans or otherwise. Jane, however, struck me as the type of person who'd only been at ease if she'd been carrying a firearm with the safety off.

"I…don't suppose you could tell me about her," I ventured, giving in to curiosity. "I mean…this is about your deceased son, but…"

Hannah shrugged. "May as well. They were two sides of the same coin in a sense. Besides, you're not going to find much info on her anyway."

Was this legal, I wondered? Jane Shepard had been completely absent from extranet searches I'd carried out prior to this interview (not that I'd been searching for her specifically), and her mother's words were leading me to suspect that there might have been a reason. Still, Hannah had already turned down a promotion. Perhaps possible demotion didn't faze her.

"Jane isn't much older than John…" Hannah began. "Seven months, actually. Still…no offense to our mutual friend, but I think she grew up much faster."

"Not a proverbial Alice then?"

"No, and not Peter Pan either," the captain murmured. "If anything, Jane was…is…a Navy brat. A spacer."

I was familiar with the word. "Spacer" is a term used for individuals born and/or living on space stations or starships for extended periods of time, never staying in one place for long. The entire quarian race for instance, if you were inclined to extend the sense of the terminology. And since the Alliance Navy is almost entirely space based, the term "Navy brat" and "spacer" go hand in hand. It was a position that Hannah told me served Jane well. Maybe too well.

"Jane was far more comfortable with ships than people…" the brat's mother told me. "She…isolated herself. I think that may be part of the reason why I adopted John. I wanted her to have a brother."

"And did they get on?" I asked.

"If they did, they didn't show it, nor talk about it. But I can imagine what my daughter might have felt…"

"Go on…" I said.

I didn't grow up on starships or space stations. But as Hannah talked, I began to get a sense of what it might have been like, especially for a person like Jane Shepard. For sixteen years, she'd, in her own mind, 'served' the Alliance. There'd never been any doubt in her mind that she was going to follow in her parents' footsteps. And one day, another sixteen year-old became her brother. Put in the same position. Never mind what he'd faced, what hardships he'd experienced planet-side. For Jane, planets were irrelevant. So was John. And him enlisting the same year that she did…it was outright insulting.

But Jane would get her chance to shine, Hannah told me. A chance that presented itself in the Skyllian Blitz.

Occurring in 2176, the Skyllian Blitz was a batarian-backed attack on the colony of Elysium, a response to humanity's expansion into the Skyllian Verge. Drew Shepard had been killed in an operation against such pirates five years previously, and now, Jane was presented with the chance to avenge him, and distinguish herself from her brother. Successful ground and space operations by Elysians and the Navy respectively, and Jane Shepard found herself a hero. A hero awarded with the Star of Terra, in honour of her single-handedly holding off enemy troops.

"Jane did me proud, then…" Hannah admitted. "I mean, not that I loved John any less (and I think she resented me), but…well…"

"I understand," I interjected. "From what I know of the Blitz, anyone who took part arguably deserves a medal. But there's one thing I don't understand. If Jane became a hero…why isn't she known?"

Hannah's expression darkened. "Torfan," she said simply. "Torfan changed everything."

Torfan…the name was vaguely familiar, but…well, I admit, I don't know everything, and anyone who claims that they do is a liar at best and deluded at worst. Yet I still felt embarrassed. But as Hannah explained, maybe I shouldn't have been. The Skyllian Blitz was a triumph, something for the Alliance to celebrate, an example to the Homogeny (and all other 'evil aliens') that humanity was a force to be reckoned with. Torfan though, was best left forgotten.

In many ways, Torfan ended what the Skyllian Blitz had been part of-an undeclared war over the Verge. The planet was a stronghold for batarian criminals, with strongholds deep underground. They had to be removed. And Jane Shepard, the Hero of Elysium and a woman who lived and operated on the creed of "get the job done or die trying" was the logical choice. A soldier with a reputation for efficiency. Efficiency that, as Hannah explained, resulted in the deaths of every batarian on that world, even those who surrendered. And the deaths of three quarters of her unit.

One year before Torfan, John Shepard had lost his entire unit. Now Jane Shepard had gone through a similar experience. Only with her, she'd been the one who drove it. John Shepard was a sole survivor. Jane however, once the Hero of Elysium, was not the "Butcher of Torfan."

"And she didn't care…" Hannah told me bitterly. "Not for the batarians, not for her marines…she got the job done. That was all that mattered."

Hannah clearly didn't approve. And from what I was hearing, I didn't either. The brass however, were a different story. Some wholeheartedly approved such actions, wanting to give the Lieutenant Commander another medal. Others wanted to see her court-martialed. In the end, neither path was taken to avoid setting precedent. But Jane Shepard was no longer the shining star she'd once been. In one day, she'd gone from being the Alliance's poster girl to a dirty little secret.

And in the meantime, her brother's career progressed steadily. Unremarkably bar his survival at Akuze. And as I reflected on this, I began to wonder. John Shepard was chosen to become a Spectre-an individual authorized by the Citadel Council to get the job done, no matter what. Jane had shown herself to be capable of that…yet her adopted brother had got the job instead of her. Right now, this very second, Lieutenant Commander John Shepard was being mourned by millions, the Hero of the Citadel. In contrast, full-commander Jane Shepard was in some dark place in the galaxy completely unknown. How might she have felt about this?

"Good luck in asking her," Hannah grunted when I presented the question. "She isn't that interested in talking now."

And nor was her mother. And somehow, I could understand why. Hannah Shepard struck me as what some might call a paragon, a shining example of "the best of humanity" to cite those who insist that "humans are special." She had values, and from what I knew about the first human Spectre, these were values that she'd imparted into her adopted son. Yet Jane Shepard, her own flesh and blood, a girl she'd raised for eighteen years had turned away from them. Gone renegade. Had become the opposite of her brother in every way.

Two sides of the same coin indeed…

Maybe it was a good sign, that Lieutenant Commander John Shepard was given Spectre candidacy. Maybe it was a sign that even now, in a galaxy of woe from within and without, compassion is a valued trait. Maybe it was a sign that the Council would accept an individual they could control. Maybe I was overanalyzing. But there was one thing I did know above all else…

I needed another coffee. One to drink while warm.

In order to toast two lost children, I think we both needed one.

Also in this issue:

Geth and Batarians: The Final Solution

Humans are Special: The Words of Pope Leo XIV

Conspiracies, Citadels and Councils: The Inside Story

A/N

Well, that's that done. Solidifed personal canon, obeyed to the creed of show, not tell (hopefully) and even more hopefully, got a half-decent fic out as well.

In the realm of shameless plugging, I currently have one other Mass Effect story on my 'to write' list, said story being titled Hand of Steel (see homepage), OC-centric and set prior to the events of ME1. However, that's awhile off, and I'm currently working on a Sonic the Hedgehog fic titled Heads or Tails.

Or maybe after this, I could start writing tabloids. 0_0