Garrus lumbered down the busy hallway toward the Dark Star club with Mordin and Thane flanking his sides. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, none of it had gone down properly. John Shepard had died back on that Collectors base to save all of their skins and now the Illusive Man had them hunting down Shepard's sister, Jane, to finish the fight that was coming.
Sister… Garrus couldn't believe it. He had known the man for awhile, been to hell with him, and John had never mentioned a sister.
"Back of the bar. Most likely place to find her. Turians and Salarians likely with her," Mordin rambled on as they walked through the front of the club, the hiss of the door getting lost in the music that vibrated through the place. It had come as a surprise to all the remaining team members that the Salarian doctor knew where to find her. Mordin had said the girl was Special Forces in the Alliance and had worked with him when he was still part of the Salarian Special Task Force.
Special… Garrus would have sworn it was the girl's middle name.
A roar of laughter erupted from a small table in the back corner, drawing Garrus' attention. There were two Salarians and three Turians surrounding the table, another Turian sitting in a chair. The seated Turian had a strained look on his face, one of his arms on the table, gripping a small human hand with his claw. Garrus couldn't see the human, his view blocked by the loud spectators.
"Arm wrestling. Human is Jane, no doubt," Mordin rambled on. Garrus looked to the scientist before casting his gaze back to the table.
"How can you be certain that it's her?" Thane asked, his voice low and precise.
"Arm wrestling. Taught me. Loves to test strength. Loves to spar," Mordin replied. Garrus shifted in his spot, just getting a glimpse of brown hair as a Salarian in red rocked back and forth on his feet.
"Her and Jack should get along then," Garrus said, his eyes looking to the scientist.
"Not likely. Would spar with Grunt. You, maybe." There was a silence amongst the three as they looked between each other, then back at the table, a yell of victory piercing the air.
"Fascinating," Thane hummed before they all made their way toward the group.
The closer they got, the more things came into picture. The aliens were dock workers, not C-sec like Garrus had originally thought. A slender arm jutted out from behind the Salarian in red and toward the Turian who had lost the human game they had been playing. Feminine fingers curled back and forth, gesturing the Turian to hand something over. His clawed hand reached into a pocket on his blue vest and pulled out a few credits before slapping them into the humans hand.
"There's half. I won't be able to give you the rest until later," the Turian said, his voice vibrating from his chest.
"It's always the same with you sticks," a raspy, but feminine voice spoke up, her fist tightening around the credits. Garrus stopped behind the group, his mandibles twitching in irritation when everyone in the group didn't notice their presence. He reached out, his gloved hand falling on a Salarians shoulder. The alien turned around, quickly drawing everyone else's attention in the group.
That's when Garrus saw her. Jane was tall, about 5'8", her body slender but trained for battle. Her brown hair hung to her shoulders in soft curls and her C-sec uniform fit her body perfectly. She looked at him defiantly, but with a spark of curiosity in her gunpowder grey eyes. Jane plopped down in the chair behind her and threw her legs up on the table, her black combat boots shiny as if they were brand new.
"Are you Jane Shepard?" Garrus asked, the group of aliens giving him a wider berth. Surprised eyes looked from Jane to Garrus and then back again.
"Yeah, that's me," Jane replied smoothly.
"I have some important business I must speak with you about."At that the others began to scatter, knowing that it was better to leave if someone had business with Jane. Her eyes narrowed at him before they shifted to the right, growing wide.
"Well I'll be damned! Mordin, is that you?" Jane asked, a smile gracing her face.
"Yes. It's been many years," Mordin replied, a small smirk coming to the scientist's face.
"What's going on Mordin? What's this business your friends talking about?" Jane asked. Garrus bristled, angry that she had dismissed him. Mordin looked to Garrus, as did Thane, waiting for him to answer.
"It's about your brother John," Garrus answered. Her eyes shifted to him quickly, her jaw clenching shut as the smile vanished from her face. A sigh escaped her lips a moment later.
"Mordin I'd rather talk about some more interesting… like your Drell friend," Jane said as her eyes went to Thane, a lopsided grin forming on her face. Thane looked at her non-pulsed. His hands help behind his back, his back ramrod straight.
"Is it true," Jane started, her eyes giving Thane the once over, "that oral contact will give me hallucinations?"
Garrus started, his eyes blinking at her words. He looked to Mordin, who didn't look surprised, then to Thane. Thane just stood there staring at the girl in front of them. He looked back at Jane again, her eyes dancing with wonder as she waited for an answer. Garrus sighed. This girl was nothing like her brother.