Divided Lineage

Chapter 7

A/N: No this story isn't dead...I'm just really slow and was very indecisive on how I wanted to write this chapter. While I'm not sure I have it exactly how I want it, I feel this will get towards the outcome I have imagined. I hope you still enjoy and hopefully, the next chapter won't take me another year.

It was supposed to be a simple job. Get in, hack the systems, grab the intel and then get out. Maybe if there was time, splice in some data that could embarrass the turian government. Instead, her hands shook uncontrollably, the light-weighted pistol now heavy in her hands. The turian ambassador laid on the marble floor,blood oozing out of his head. It had never dawned on her that the alien's blood would be a different color than her own. The color reminded her of her father's eyes.

Her thoughts and movements were lagged from the lingering effects of red sand. Her eyes trailed across the pool of blood, to the turian corpse and finally landed on her lover puffing on the cigarette in his mouth luting the body. It had only seemed natural that they ended up together after everything they had gone through in foster care. He had helped her leave the foster system, giving her another chance to belong and have a family.

"Don't worry this is just a minor issue," Curt reassured, pocketing something from the turian's belongings. He grabbed a shirt, beginning to wipe down the surfaces around the body.

"A minor issue," her voice raised in question, looking down at the body again. The ambassador had finally stopped twitching, either unconscious or dead. "Killing the turian ambassador is a minor issue?"

"Ok maybe we did get a bit off track," he amended with a shrug. He smirked, strutting to her. He draped an arm around her, showing his omni tool to her. "We got the intel the boss wanted. It's no different than other jobs we've done. We'll be out of here and back to our digs in no time Zorra."

Her green eyes couldn't leave the corpse on the floor. She wanted to believe him, but she wasn't really one to believe in blind faith. "Curt, we were suppose to retrieve some files, not to assassinate the first turian ambassador on earth and starting another fucking galactic war!"

The dark haired man shrugged it off, turning off his omni-tool. "It's all good sweetheart. Mission accomplished. Cameras are down in the hallway, right," she confirmed with a slow nod. "Good, you have ten minutes to wipe and restart the systems. I think we earned ourselves a night on the town."

Jane nodded again, pressing several keys on her omnitool before she rushed behind Curt out of the room. The teen felt numb, her thoughts jumbled. She never realized that she had laid the gun down on the sofa, leaving it in the room.

The Presidium was dark, emulating night like many of the aliens' homeworlds. She always found it strange that this area was the only place that emulated the day and night cycles. She leaned on the rail overlooking the lake below her, her eyes analyzing the statuting imataing the Mass Relays scattered across the Milky Way Galaxy. The nurse was amazed that the artist had even found the means to capture the low humming sound that emitted from the massive structures. She kept her eyes locked on the statue, her posture tensing at the sound of footsteps behind her. The smell of cheap beer and foul body odor made her want to gag. "Lets cut to the chase, why me?"

Finch's mouth twisted in a sneer. "I need someone good with tech. Rumor has it that Zorro was amazing with hacking into government databases," he stated simply. "I recognized you in the news feed about the first human spectre. You were standing by him when the camera zoomed in. A friend of ours had a picture of the two of you together when you ran with the gang. Getting the information to contact you was tricky, but I know people."

Annoyed, Jane gritted her teeth. During her time in the Tenth Street Reds, most called her an obnoxious nickname Curt had given her. Zorro, the spanish word for fox. Curt had thought it appropriate for her hair color and her unique set of skills. After stepping away from the gang life to join the Alliance, she was relieved that very few people knew her given name.

The back of her ear itched where she had once had been branded with fox for her given nickname and RX, the brand all members received after their initiation. It had been removed shortly before she joined the Alliance Navy. Even though to the naked eye it was gone, Jane would never permanently erase those memories.

"I haven't hacked into a government facility for over ten years. Software changes constantly. You'd be a fool to have me do this, I would be caught, and I wouldn't be afraid to hand you over to them," Jane threatened, forcing as much confidence into her voice that she could mustard.

Finch chuckled. "I see where you got the name now. You can be a bitch when you want to be," he said. "Curt mentioned you would say something like that if he ever needed a favor from you again. He thought you might need some incentive."

Jane twitches her head to the left to stare at the gang member, eyes wide. Curt, it was a name she hadn't heard in over a decade. She had tried to forget him and everything else she had gone through those few years on Earth. "Curt," she whispered.

"Yeah, Curt, you know him? The guy you fucked and betrayed to the police a decade ago. He had to go into hiding for a few years after the shit you pulled to get out," Finch spat. He messed with his omnitool absently. "Ya see, he's in custody in C-SEC and will be transferring to Palavan within the week. We just need a tensy favor from you to use your twinkling fingers and get him out."

Jane thought she could almost feel her heart sink into her stomach. Of course, it would be Curt, the only person she would have dignified as a friend in the Reds. He had helped her escape the foster care system, giving her a fresh start at life. Or at least that is how she imagined it as a kid. Not everything had been perfect with Curt. He kindled her fear after Mindoir into hatred for all alien races. He had been the one that had encouraged her in even taking Red Sand, honning all of her biotic power into a weapon and creating an addiction that nearly killed her. Still, after leaving that life behind, she hesitated to say no.

It wouldn't be hard to do, she processed, her mind's eye delicately going through the details. She would have to find access to C-SEC terminals. From there she could access the cells, opening the doors, but that wouldn't keep them from chasing him and wouldn't completely fix the problem. No, instead she could search through the database for his case files, manipulating the evidence to a degree where there would be no case. It had been a while since she had done any work like this, but she could do it. It would be like riding a bike.

Jane mentally chastised herself for even thinking through the process. Curt knew what he was doing, he made this choice and had to endure the consequences. She had been given a second chance at life (or a third) working in the Alliance. Her job made differences for others in a good way. The nurse wouldn't let her life fall into the downward spiral that her childhood had fallen into.

She cleared her throat. "It sounds like you need a spectre for this one. Despite me being the sibling of the first human spectre, I can pretty much guarantee that no matter how much I try to convince him to help you out, Shepherd will not budge on his moral compass. You'll have to find someone else."

She pushed off the rail, the conversation over. She took ten steps, hailing the sky car when her omnitool beeped. She turned back, seeing the criminal leering at her, elbows resting on the railing relaxed.

"Ew, you got mail, Zorro," he chirped. "Check it out.I just have to know what it is?"

Jane swallowed nervously, opening her mail. An encrypted message from an unidentified sender. With ease, she decrypted the message. Her stomach dropped, staring at the grainy photo, taken from video surveillance. She recognized the room and the three people in the room. A young red headed girl, gun pointing at a dead turian on the floor. The boy, though harder to identify with the hood covering his head, she recognized instantly. There had only been one other person in the room after all. "Where did you get this?"

"The turians never got over the fact that they could never find who assassinated Ambassador Kaetus Mursis," Finch stepped away from the railing walking towards her, ignoring Jane's question. "Curt said he'd be happy to hand the surveillance picture over to the turians for bargaining. He said they probably would just let him go if they could have solid evidence on the person that assassinated Ambassador Kaetus Mursis. It is afterall, what you did to release your charges and joined the Alliance, right? You told them about Curt and about the family that took you in when you had lost everything. What is that old saying again, an eye for an eye?"

Jane faltered, resting her hand on the transport console shakily. She remembered being the scared, cold teenager shaking from red lyrium withdrawal addiction in the brightly lit room. She was shackled to the seat, shoulder slouched when they read the long list of charges held against her. The trial and verdict wouldn't be held on Earth, but would be handled by the turians. According to her handlers, she would be tried as a terrorist and dealt the death penalty by the turians, unless she was willing to give them intel about the Tenth Street Reds. She had given them everything and anything about the Reds in exchange, charges would vanish and she would serve her time in the Alliance Navy. The charges had disappeared and the Turians never found out that the murderer of Ambassador Kaetus Mursis was every caught and Jane had a chance to try again.

Finch was in front of her, his yellow teeth shining in the light of her omnitool. He reached to touch the strands of her shoulder-length hair. "The Reds protect each other. I just can't imagine how the galaxy would react to find out that the sibling to the First Human Spectre, Commander John Shepherd is actually a terrorist. Do you think that would settle well with the Citadel Council, Janey?"

Finch leaned even closer his lips near her ear, the ear that had once been branded with the letter R and roman number for ten. Jane shivered but didn't pull away, as if she had been paralyzed. "What would those birdbrains do to you, Janey? A terrorist who killed one of their brightest. You wouldn't see the light of day again."

He grabbed her arm. "Help us, and we can forget what you did to Curt and the family. Help us, and this won't be released to the public."

The nurse shakily inhaled, a single tear rolling down her face. She could smell the forigen blood again and gunsmoke. She could imagine the feel of the blood trailing down her temple. The day went through her mind's eye again and again like a broken record. It had been the second time she had taken a life and it had been as bad as the first time. Jane remembered the hours afterward scrubbing her skin in the scorching hot shower.

"Jane, is everything okay?"

Jane inhaled sharply, her head turning to the new voice. John stood six feet away still wearing the Alliance dress uniform. He looked sharply at Finch, his fingers twitching near the pistol he carried concealed on his hip. The spell had been broken, Jane pulling away from the deplorable man. Her eyes shifted from her brother to Finch.

Finch ignored the Commander, instead stepping into the transit that had arrived minutes ago.

"You have exactly three days to get Curt out of that cell and back to the Reds. If I don't hear from him by then, this picture will be released to every Reporter on the Citadel. Good luck hiding then."

As the skycar flew out of eyesight, John moved to stand beside her, his eyes scanning her head to toe. "Jane, what are you doing hanging around a man like that? What did he want? Are you okay?"

Jane stared at the horizon, where the car had vanished. "I'm fine John," she lied, forcing her lips upward. "It was a misunderstanding."

John didn't look too convinced. "And things have been cleared up?"

Clearer than mud, she thought bitterly. She had three days to do the near impossible. Three days or everything would be ruined.

"Yeah, it won't happen again."

He threw the small duffel bag over his shoulder, breathing in the crisp cool air. The whiff of pine made his nose twitch. The mountains were covered in white. It was ski season, but John hadn't come to Elysium to ski.

The Alliance base was small but a common location for maintenance and repair of Alliance ships. Technicians and engineers ran around him, muttering under their breaths about things the soldier couldn't wrap his head around. Regardless, in the distance, he could see the small medical compound. There was one person he came to see on this chilled planet.

Second Lieutenant John Shepard chose to be here. He would finally speak to his sister after five years. After he had joined the Alliance, she had disappeared for several years. It wasn't until several months ago that he heard from her. It had been a short message, telling him she had graduated from nursing school and was stationed at Elysium. She ended it with wanting to reconnect.

He had been relieved to know Jane was fine and training to be a nurse on Elysium. He wasn't sure why she had joined the Alliance, but he wouldn't deny that he wasn't pleased. THe Lieutenant was aware of the dark influences that had grasped his sister's life before he had joined the Alliance. There had been times sitting in the barracks he wondered if he would get the news of his sister's death. Would it be drugs or would she be killed in a gunfight?

Like the base, the hospital was a modest size. The interior was bright and white, from the milk colored tile floors to the drop ceiling. The hospital staff seemed to be camouflaged walking through the halls, wearing white coats and scrubs. John leaned against the only colored mahogany desk, giving his most warming smile to the receptionist.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a nurse, Jane Shepard. Where could I find her?"

The receptionist typed on the transparent screen, chewing frantically on blue gum with the distinct smell of mint. "And you need this information because.."

"I'm her brother, Lieutenant Shepard. I thought I would surprise her," he answered, tapping the desk lightly.

"Well, Lieutenant Shepard, she won't be on call until 1900. She'll be doing her rounds in the ICU which has limited access," the lady informed, chomping loudly. "I'd suggest finding an alternative way of surprising your sister, ser."

John swore under his breath, nodding his thanks to the receptionist before he stepped out of the hospital, no idea how he would reach his ever-illusive sister. Looking at his omnitool, he checked the time. The blinking lights read 1500. He had several hours to come up with a plan.

"I heard what happened in the Artemis Tau Cluster," Udina stated disapprovingly. "The Council wasn't too happy about the destruction of those Prothean ruins."

John raised his eyebrow at the comment. "I'm not sure how it's my fault that the ruins were destroyed due to the Geth shooting everything that they see. We barely made it out of there alive."

"You could have been stealthy as opposed to parading around like elephants in a china shop," Udina muttered.

Anderson cleared his throat loudly. "Ambassador, this isn't a game. Commander Shepherd is out there trying to stop Saren from destroying this galaxy. If Shepard doesn't take the necessary steps to track the fugitive, there won't be a galaxy full of ruins to worry about anymore."

Udina sighed, though he wasn't pacified by the Captain's words. "I know I know. Just try to be a little more careful. The Council's watching you. And we all get judged on how you behave."

"Did you find anything pertaining to the Conduit, Shepherd," Anderson asked, redirecting the briefing.

"Nothing concrete ser," John replied. "I spoke with Dr. T'soni about the Conduit, but it seems she had never heard of it in all of her research."

"It appears the asari didn't know anything about her mother, nor where she could find her. That's a shame," Ambassador Udina crossed his arms. "I thought there would be something we could learn from her."

"I wouldn't count her out just yet," Anderson countered, his gaze warm. "She's a Prothean expert. Perhaps she'll have more information about the ruins you found on Eden Prime. Maybe she'll know why the geth and Saren were after that artifact."

"I believe Liara has a lot to offer to our team. Her expertise in the Protheans may give us the edge we need to find the Conduit before Saren," John defended the Asari. "She spoke of her mother having projects on Noveria. She couldn't give us details on what her mother was working on but, I think we might find something if we take our investigation there," John explained, his finger tapping the wooden table repeatedly.

"Noveria is a lawless planet. You'd be on your own and your newly appointed Spectre status won't help you there," Anderson sighed.

Udina scoffed, crossing his arms. "You're first priority is protecting humanity. "

"Protecting humanity? With all due respect Ambassador, my oath to the council was to protect the council races. If I just think about humanity, you'll never be appointed as a Councilman for Humanity," snapped John.

The Ambassador grumbled under his breath, glaring at the commander. Anderson shifted in his seat rubbing his forehead. "Before you head to Noveria, there is something else we would like you to look into.

The holographic screen that had shown his reports on the Artemis Tau disappeared, replaced with images and charts of a colony. John leaned forward, elbows pressing on the table edge holding his weight. "What's this?"

Udina raised his glass. "We have a colony in the Feros system. Before we dropped out of contact, we had received reports of Geth attacking the colony."

John felt his heart race in his chest, his hands sweating. A colony being attacked by some entity wasn't something new, but it always pulled at him, reminding him of Mindoir. He had been sixteen when his home had been attacked. He remembered the sound of the colony alarms ringing too late, running building to building, trying to get home. He saw so many die that day and many more shoved into cages and hauled away like livestock into a ship. It was weeks later, embracing his younger sister that he swore to himself that he would never let himself feel that powerless again.

Looking up, he saw Anderson staring at him carefully. Anderson knew his history and was well aware of what a mission like this meant to him. John's mentor nodded his head tightly. "We need you to go to Feros and find Zhu's Hope colony. I will send everything I can to Normandy as well as contact Admiral Hackett. In the meantime, you have a few more days to restock the Normandy for your mission ahead. Make the most of it, Commander."

"I'll take my team to Feros and see what we can do. I'll report back with whatever we find there and head to Noveria," John stood, saluting Captain Anderson and nodding to Ambassador Udina. Dismissed, he rolled his shoulder as we walked out of the human embassy. After his meetings with the Council and with Udina, he needed a stiff drink.

The Presidium had been shifted tonight during his meeting. He had several things he needed to look into on the Citadel before departing, starting with Spectre weapons hidden in the basement of C-SEC headquarters. Several members on his team would need some upgraded weapons, especially Liara who insisted she could work in the field. He sent her a brief message, scheduling a quick meeting to get armor measured within the next day.

It would take several hours before Liara could meet him. It gave him time to meet with the asari that had contacted him hours before landing on the Citadel, Nassana Danius. Although she left him little information on what she wanted with him or what she was offering, she had given him a location to meet, the Embassy Lounge. Entering the establishment, while not as flashy as several of the bars on the Citadel or as trashy as Chora's Den, the lounge had a sophisticated presence. The floors, walls, and ceiling and furniture were a simple white, the floor to wall glass panels showcased the Presidum's landscape perfectly. Music was played softly in the background, an instrument unfamiliar to him but reminded him of a piano. He leaned on the counter ordering a drink, searching the premise. An asari sitting alone by a vid-screen wearing a long red dress caught his attention. He took a seat opposite the alien, drink in hand.

"Commander Shephard, I see you received my message," the asari commented, finishing her typing and closing the screen. "I'm Nassana Danius."

"It sounded like you needed some help," John said, shifting in the seat. Despite the extra cushion, the seat was uncomfortable, not necessarily made for a human to sit in. With the short back and seat cushion longer, he wondered if these had been designed more for a turian.

"I do," she sighed. " My sister Oahla is a crewman on a cargo vessel operating out beyond the fringes of the Traverse. Her ship was attacked by privateers. There were no reported survivors."

Taking a sip, the Alliance officer frowned. Losing family was always difficult. "I'm sorry for your loss."

Nassana nodded silently. "This is where it gets complicated. Last week, I received a message with her voice on it. Dahlia is alive," she said hopefully. "The rest of the crew was killed, but they had taken her as a prisoner. The slavers are demanding a huge ransom from me in exchange for returning her unharmed."

"Why didn't the raiders kill Dahila along with everyone," John asked.

"My sister probably told them who she was. My family is very wealthy, Shepard. They must have realized she was worth more to them alive."

John thought about the options Nassana had. She could just pay the mercenaries to release her sister. It would be the faster option with less bloodshed but he assumed her option was not to pay the ransom and hire him to take out the mercenaries. Perhaps she should have sent this to C-SEC to come up with a solution. The marine leaned on his elbows on the table. "Coming up with the ransom seems like the best way to ensure Dahlia's safety," he thought aloud.

"That's what I thought. I did what they wanted, transferred the funds to the account they specified. Only, they never released her. They haven't contacted me since," Nassana slouched, her diplomatic face cracking along the edges. She looked exhausted, tired, and ashamed. "I've made a terrible mistake, Shepard. I am a diplomatic emissary. By law, I am required to report any attempted extortion to C-SEC I was afraid for Dahlia, so I just paid the ransom. Now she is still missing and if anyone finds out what I did I could end up in jail."

"Why would they put you in jail? You're the victim here!"

"Government representatives on the Citadel are not allowed to negotiate with terrorists. It is too dangerous. Paying a ransom would only encourage more kidnappers," the asari explained, shaking her head. Frustration crept into her weary eyes. "I support the law in theory, but when I got the message, all I could think about was Dahlia's safety. I doubt they would actually send me to prison for what I did. But they would strip me of my post and Dahlia would still be in the hands of the slavers."

John understood Nassana's position. He had been in a similar situation a week ago when mercs had attacked the Alliance Hospital where his sister worked. They planned to take her as their hostage to slow the Commander down. While he almost had crossed lines that could get him in trouble, he hadn't, but he had been willing to. Jane was his only family left. Despite their grievances and differences, he loved her and would do anything to protect her. Protecting her was why he had insisted that Jane transfer to Normandy in the first place.

Given the story the asari portrayed, he could only assume what she wanted. "You want me to find her and bring her back," he insinuated.

"You only need to bring her back. I have already found her for you," Nassana confirmed. Reaching across the table, she handed him a small data chip. "I tracked the ransom payment through several accounts. Eventually, it led to a small mercenary band operating out of the Artemis Tau cluster. The information I gathered is in this data chip. Hopefully, it will aid you. I need you to go to the merc base, take them out, and bring my sister back. You shall be well rewarded."

"Keep your reward," John stated. "I'll bring your sister back. I promise."

"Thank you, Shepard. I knew you were the right man for the job."

John nodded curtly, standing. He adjusted the wrinkles in his military blues. "I'll send you an update when I arrive."

"Please do Commander. I'll be waiting," Nassana said. "Until then may the goddess go with you."

John left the lounge exhausted. There was still so much he would need to do before the Normandy departed into the traverse for several weeks in search of evidence of where Saren was and what he was doing. He mentally went through his list as he started his trek back to his ship to rest for the night. His eyes scanned the almost empty Presidium. The hanar still preached several steps from C-SEC headquarters, and keepers were maintaining the Citadel mechanics.

He stopped in his tracks. Not far from the Mass Relay statue, Jane stood leaning against the railing beside a man. John moved closer, his instincts telling him that something wasn't right. The nurse stepped away from the shady creep, calling for transit while the man remained by the rail, watching her. Jane opened her omnitool and froze. The man pursued her.

John moved briskly through the Presidium. Something bothered him about this encounter and he was going to stop it. His blood boiled seeing the man lean beside his sister intimately, grabbing her arm. The transit car had lowered beside them, but neither one moved.

Only a few steps away John called out. "Jane," he shouted. "Jane, is everything okay?"

Jane broke contact with the man, taking a step towards him. She looked at him, her eyes moving to observe his fingers twitching near his pistol he always carried. John frowned, taking a careful look at the man in front of him. His clothes were worn and hair in disarray. He looked like a drunk that had lived in his clothes for a week. His face was in a permanent snarl, eyes shifting to the red-headed woman. He murmured something to Jane, something John could barely hear from where he stood, but he thought he saw the man mouth three days. Three days? What was to happen in three days?

He rushed to his sister when the man moved quickly for the skycar. As he watched the transport leave, he began to wonder if Jane had more secrets that she wasn't telling him that could jeopardize everything he was working towards.