Archive of Our Own

Kahlee was in her office reading a report sent over to her by the Alliance when Jack strolled in, plopping herself down on the desk in front of where Kahlee was sitting. Kahlee glanced up at Jack with a stern expression on her face at the younger woman's refusal to sit in the chair opposite her own as was expected from visitors to her office, both students and teachers alike.

“The chair is there for a reason, Jack.” Kahlee sighed when no attempt to move from the desk was forthcoming.

Jack rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I'm just here to pick up those papers you wanted to look over and then I'll go.”

Kahlee placed down the report she was reading and started rummaging through the small pile of datapads she kept close to her work terminal. As part of Jack's training as a new teacher at Grissom Academy, Kahlee had taken it upon herself to check the students' latest test answers to ensure that Jack was getting the hang of grading them correctly. She pulled the datapad she was searching for out of the pile and handed it to Jack.

“Here. Before you go, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about.” Kahlee said. She mentally debated whether to insist Jack sit in the vacant chair for their conversation but decided against it. She was quickly learning that Jack had her own way of doing things that it was hard to sway her from and ultimately, where she sat was not that important.

What she wished to talk to Jack about, however, was important.

“Look, if this is about what I wrote on Seanne's paper, it's just the truth. The kid's shockwave is strong but she doesn't know shit about when to use it.” Jack scrolled through the girl's answers, pausing to show Kahlee a specific example. “I mean, look at this. You don't throw a singularity and then use shockwave; enemies can't do shit when they're dangling in the air, which is the perfect time to blast them to hell with your gun, not try to cripple them with an attack that moves across the ground and will barely even touch them. And she doesn't seem to get that it takes time to build up biotic energy again after throwing such a powerful attack. In the time it takes to recharge enough to use a shockwave, an enemy caught in the singularity could reach for their gun and start firing.”

“I know, and I agree with you. It's more effective to use a gun or even a biotic power that exerts less energy like a warp to quickly neutralise the enemy before they can fight back. That's not the problem. The problem is your language.” Kahlee explained.

“What, just because I wrote that she would be screwed if she actually tried using the tactics she was suggesting while out on the battlefield?” Jack chuckled. She had only been working at the academy for a week and had admittedly wasted no time in making sure her students knew exactly what would be in store for them in real combat if they didn't work hard in her class.

Kahlee let out an exasperated sigh. “The word you actually used was 'fucked', and yes. You used the same word on Prangley's paper too. You can't hand these back to the students like this so I'm going to have to ask you to edit your feedback to remove the curse words.”

Jack showed her displeasure at this request by exaggerating an 'ugh' sound. “Do I have to? I've heard the kids say way worse to each other.”

Kahlee knew this was true. The students had known each other for years and in that time, had developed close bonds with each other; it was a small class so they felt comfortable making jokes and bantering between themselves, even though sometimes their remarks pushed the limits of appropriate classroom discussion.

“It's one thing to overhear bad language between students but it's another for a teacher to use that same language when addressing those students.” Kahlee answered, before smiling, “There's nothing wrong with the feedback itself other than your use of expletives. Aside from that, you did a great job, especially for your first time doing this.”

Jack shifted slightly and Kahlee was sure that she saw a hint of pride in the younger woman's expression, though it was gone in an instant, hidden by a mask of neutrality.

“Okay, fine. I'll take out the swear words.” Jack agreed at last.

“Thanks, Jack. One more thing though. I overheard Prangley and Rodriguez talking in the hallway a few days ago about how you apparently told them to, I quote, 'fucking let loose' while they were practising their warps. Did that actually happen?” Kahlee asked.

“Yep. I was just speaking from my own experience and it's always worked for me.” Jack couldn't help but grin at the memory. It was the first time she'd seen real respect in Rodriguez's eyes; she'd stepped up her game considerably after that, much to the misfortune of Prangley who wasn't expecting such a potent attack so soon after Jack's instruction and was thrown halfway across the room before he could put up his barrier.

“I can't argue with that.” Kahlee chuckled despite her attempt to remain serious for this discussion about Jack's conduct. “It's your experiences as well as your abilities that got you noticed by the Alliance brass, after all. You've only been here a week and I can already tell that the students are enjoying having you as their teacher. I'm sure you can guess what I'm about to say next, though.”

“Yeah, yeah. Don't swear around the kids from now on. Got it.” Jack replied begrudgingly.

It was a relief to Kahlee that despite Jack's obvious reluctance, she appeared to be willing to tone down on the unprofessional language. She liked Jack; she didn't know much about her other than that she had a bad past with Cerberus and had joined Commander Shepard on a mission beyond the Omega 4 Relay to destroy the Collectors, though Jack had yet to discuss either of these things with her. Considering her own bad experiences with both groups – she shuddered at the memories, some of them recent and still fresh – she was glad to have Jack working alongside her, a woman she could relate to, albeit likely only in a small way. Unfortunately, the woman's attitude wasn't a favourite among other teachers so far and Kahlee knew that to keep her job, Jack would need to mature and smooth out some of the rougher edges of her unconventional teaching style. Namely, the swearing.

Kahlee smiled at Jack. “Do you promise?”

Jack snorted at that. “Shit, what are we? Two teens pinkie promising not to fuck the other's crush?”

“Jack,” Kahlee rebuked, her smile now replaced with a frown. “This is serious. And that's exactly the kind of language I'm talking about.”

Jack threw her arms up in mock-surrender. “Alright! I promise. It'll be hard quitting cold turkey though.”

“Please just try. That's all I'm asking. The students seem to be responding well to your teaching style but there are some things we can't just let slide.” Kahlee replied. “Truthfully, I don't mind if you use profanities around me from time to time considering it seems to be such an ingrained part of your vocabulary, but you absolutely cannot keep using bad language around the students.”

“Yeah, I get it. I'll try not to blow a hole through the walls with my sailor mouth.” Jack said as she stood to leave.

Kahlee leaned back in her seat and eased some of the tension she hadn't realised she'd been holding out of her body. “I'll appreciate the effort. Don't forget that we've got a faculty meeting at seven tonight to discuss the Alliance's latest intel on the Reapers.”

“Can't wait.” Jack responded sarcastically and then added more sincerely, “See you then. I'll make sure to bring us both coffee. I think we're gonna need it.”

With that, Jack turned and walked out of Kahlee's office with the datapad the older woman had returned to her in her hand.

Kahlee couldn't help but smile. Jack may have arrived at Grissom Academy a week ago with an aloof, brazen attitude that certainly wouldn't be sustainable in the long term, but it felt as though this wouldn't remain the case for much longer after all. Kahlee wasn't asking Jack to mould herself into the image of a perfect citizen – she knew that it wouldn't be fair to the woman, nor would it be a good idea to try to change Jack's teaching style entirely now that her students had warmed up to her – but it was clear to Kahlee that Jack would need some guidance, especially when it came to getting along with other staff and respecting authority while at the academy. Fortunately, it seemed that Jack had just taken the first few steps on her path to achieving a more mature version of herself.

Kahlee did what she could to turn her focus back to the report she had been reading but found that her mind kept returning to thoughts of the faculty meeting later instead. Despite the dire circumstance, Kahlee was looking forward to that coffee.

* * *

Jack had just finished teaching her final class for the week when Kahlee walked in, waiting for the students to filter out of the room before speaking to Jack.

“Rodriguez, remember what I told you about your concentration when you throw a singularity. It'll be the difference between a powerful attack and and one that's sh– one that sucks.” Jack called over to the girl who was still packing away her things.

Rodriguez gave a determined nod as she turned to leave. “Aye aye, ma'am!”

Ignoring the near swear slip-up, Kahlee raised an eyebrow in question once the girl had exited the room. “You've got them calling you ma'am now?”

Jack laughed. “Nah, just Rodriguez. Her idea of a joke I think, y'know, with the whole 'psychotic biotic' turned girl scouts leader thing. I've been telling 'em more about the crap I went through before I started working here and after a while the name seemed to stick.”

Leaving the classroom behind, both women started walking through the hallway, making their way back to staff accommodation. Jack had invited Kahlee over for food and a chat and though she wouldn't admit it, it was the one thing she had been looking forward to most all day. She had been working at the academy for shortly over a month now and while she still wasn't on the best terms with some of the other teachers, Kahlee and herself had started forming a good friendship. Jack would call it unexpected, but if her time alongside Shepard had taught her anything, it was that perhaps it wasn't so bad to place trust in certain people after all.

“I hope you aren't telling the students about anything... too explicit.” Kahlee said, half-teasing, half-serious.

“Don't worry, I'm not gonna traumatise them. Some of them would crap themselves if I shared everything.” Jack replied with a roll of her eyes.

By the time they reached Jack's room roughly a ten minute walk later, the conversation had shifted towards Jack's time on the Normandy. Kahlee listened in fascination as Jack spoke; she suspected that the younger woman had barely even begun to scratch below the surface of her experiences, yet she found it hard to grasp the sheer amount of stories Jack had to tell.

“... so there was me, and Grunt and Zaeed, all of us living on the engineering deck. It was obvious that we were the wildcards so most of the crew avoided us. Donnelly and Daniels holed themselves up in the engine room and the quarian, Tali, wasn't much better but at least she had the balls to try talking to us.”

“It sounds like the whole crew were a bit of a ragtag group to be honest, and all of you were very dangerous. I'm surprised to hear that so many of them were afraid of you.” Kahlee opined.

“Yeah we were all mad dangerous, but nobody was as quick to rage as the three of us and hell, even with them two storming around I was still the angriest one there. It was the way I liked it. I actually had reasons. Cerberus fucked with nobody on that ship more than me.” Jack replied.

The disgust in her tone at the mention of Cerberus didn't go unnoticed by Kahlee and she shared the sentiment. However, instead of voicing this, Kahlee instead asked a question.

“You mentioned that something changed, though. After you came back from the Collector Base. What happened there?”

A wry grin found its way to Jack's lips. “Apparently people can push past how terrified of you they are to thank you once you've saved their asses.” She began, “We had just got the Reaper IFF installed and Shepard made sure that all of us who could fight went out on a shuttle with her to the next mission just in case things went to shit. Which they did. The damn thing transmitted the Normandy's location to the Collectors; they boarded and took all our guys. The only reason we had a ship left to come back to was because our pilot, who can barely even walk by the way, managed to unshackle the AI we had on board who then purged the ship.”

At the mention of the AI, Kahlee's mind instinctively returned to the memory of her time working at the Sidon facility. The deaths of her co-workers – friends – and the subsequent run for her life, being kidnapped, and–

Kahlee forced an immediate end to her thoughts. She had to remain present. She was having a conversation with Jack and she didn't want to discourage the woman who wasn't quick to trust from opening up to her. She couldn't spiral now.

Oblivious to Kahlee's fleeting moment of inner turmoil, Jack continued, “Shepard had us head straight through the Omega 4 Relay. Shit was crazy from the moment we got to the other side. We crash landed and split up into two separate teams to get into the central chamber; the quarian I mentioned earlier went into the vents and nearly got set on fire to get the door open for us while I ripped the Collectors apart with my biotics. It was fucking sweet, just giant bugs to tear into for as far as I could see!”

The grin fell from Jack's face. “But then... when we got to the other side of the door we found the rest of our crew. They were trapped inside these pods. I watched a woman get disintegrated into sludge while she screamed. I've seen some real fucked up things in my life but that was one of the worst. We smashed the pods and saved our crew before it happened to them. I rescued Daniels and carried her out of the pod 'cause she was in too much shock to move. Turns out, the Collectors were turning us into liquid but we had no clue why. The liquid was being pumped into these tubes, so we decided we needed to follow them to find out where they led.”

“That's... absolutely horrific.” Kahlee gasped, struggling to process what the other woman was telling her. “It's a miracle you made it there in time. I can't imagine how it must've felt being trapped inside those pods.” That was almost me, she added in her mind, thinking back to the time she was captured by Pel's men.

“We got lucky. We'd cleared the route back to the Normandy on our way in so Shepard sent the the crew back with the salarian. It left us one down but I wasn't complainin', the guy never shut up. I could actually hear myself think again without him around.” Jack paused, glancing over at Kahlee who was wearing a troubled expression, somewhat concerned. “You alright? This not too intense for you?”

“I'm alright, Jack.” Kahlee assured, keen to keep the conversation moving forward, away from herself. “I take it everybody got back safely?”

“Yep. All we had left to do was blow up the base. Now, this is the good part.” Jack replied, and Kahlee swore the woman sounded almost gleeful.

“All you had left to do? Was it that easy?” Kahlee quipped, amused.

“Hah! It wasn't easy, but it was fun.” Jack chuckled, “The next area we passed through was filled with seeker swarms and Shepard chose me to shield the squad with a biotic barrier to make sure they didn't carry us off to fuck knows where before we could get the security door open for the other team.”

Kahlee was certain she hadn't heard Jack correctly. She knew from her time surrounded by biotics while working at the academy that pulling off such a feat would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible for more than a few minutes at a time. “Wait a minute. You guided an entire squad through an infested area with constant resistance against your barrier?”

“Hell yeah I did. We were the smaller team but it was still really tough. I couldn't fight back and hold the barrier at the same time so I had to trust Shepard and the others not to get me killed.” Jack replied.

Interesting, Kahlee thought. Perhaps Jack isn't so unused to depending on other people after all.

Kahlee smiled. “And they had to trust you not to get them killed as well. None of you could have done what you did without relying on each other.”

“Yeah, yeah. Teamwork's great and all. I know what you're getting at, Sanders.” Jack retorted, though not unkindly. “Honestly... it wasn't so bad.”

An instinctive voice inside Jack's head was telling her to stop revealing so much, that admitting too much was a sign of weakness; she would be screwed over, her words used against her, all because she couldn't keep her damn mouth shut. A year ago Jack would've never imagined she'd be sat here now, speaking to a woman she actually considered a friend and now, apparently, a confidant. But she also would've never imagined surviving a suicide mission through the Omega 4 Relay, being offered a job by the Alliance as a teacher of all things, and starting to feel proud of herself for reasons beyond how many fights she's survived or destruction she's caused.

So much had changed since Shepard came crashing into her life, saving her from her imprisonment in Purgatory. During her time on the Normandy she had even reached out to the Commander, put trust in the woman to help her blow up the Teltin facility on Pragia where she was experimented on as a child and she had not been treated as weaker or exploited because of it. It took Jack a while to realise it, but her time on the Normandy had been a turning point in her life. Seeing how Shepard united the crew, how she cared about every life under her command for more than just what they could do to help her achieve her mission, had shown Jack that not everybody was as deceptive as she'd become accustomed to in her chaotic life, and had helped her start to grow for the better.

Jack pushed away the instinctive voice. Yes, instinct had kept her alive over the years – she wasn't planning on ignoring it permanently, she wasn't stupid – but she now had positive experiences to counter the bad ones that had honed her instincts since she was young. It didn't erase the horrors she'd endured, but she could now see that not every instance of opening up to someone, risking being vulnerable around them, would inevitably lead to getting hurt.

Jack glanced over to Kahlee who was sitting on the opposite side of the kitchen table with a coffee in her hands, gazing encouragingly back at her as she recalled what happened at the Collector Base. She couldn't deny that she was fond of Kahlee; she trusted her, viewed her as a mentor both during her time adjusting to life at the academy and as a stable figure in her life personally. She truly didn't believe that Kahlee would turn against her. She didn't believe her trust was misplaced.

Jack was drawn from her thoughts by the sound of Kahlee's voice passing vaguely through her ears, though she couldn't understand what she had said.

“Huh?” Jack asked, returning her full attention to the other woman.

“I said, it was a good thing the crew had you there so you could pass through the swarms. It's clear why the Alliance was so interested in hiring you to teach our students.” Kahlee repeated.

“Oh, yeah. Thanks.” Jack replied, unsure of how else to respond. Receiving compliments, genuine compliments, was something she was still adjusting to since starting her job.

“So what happened next?” Kahlee prompted, noticing the other woman's slight discomfort and not wanting to linger on it.

“Once we were all on the other side we found where the tubes were leading, but we had Collectors about to bust through the doors so most of us stayed back to defend Shepard while she blew the place to hell. I bunkered down and took them out as they came through. Had to throw one against a wall when it got so close to Garrus that it almost touched him with its nasty bug hands.” Jack chuckled at that memory. “Don't know how long we were there for but one minute I was stealing a thermal clip out of a dead Collector's gun, the next there was a massive fucking explosion; the entire base was falling apart around us as we raced it back to the Normandy.”

Jack paused, taking a sip from her coffee. “Shepard and her squad made it back not long after we did and then we got the fuck outta there as the whole place blew apart behind us. We passed back through the relay, Shepard told Cerberus where to shove it and then we flew to Omega to get hammered. The end.”

Kahlee shook her head good-naturedly at Jack's crude finish to the story of how she helped save the galaxy. “If you ever write a book about it I think some parts of that ending will have to be adjusted.” She joked.

“Do I look like the sort to ever write a book? It's hard enough getting me to mark the kids' papers.” Jack smirked in return.

“You never know what the future has in store.” Kahlee smiled warmly.

The smile fell from the older woman's face as she had a more serious thought. “You didn't mention where those tubes were leading.”

Jack sighed. “I didn't see it myself but Shepard briefed us when it was over. The Collector creeps were using our DNA to create a giant, human-shaped Reaper. Don't matter now though, we killed it.”

Jack watched as Kahlee visibly paled. She remained silent for a few moments, as if trying to understand what she had just been told. Eventually, the older woman looked Jack straight in the eyes as she spoke with solemn sincerity, “Thank you for destroying that base, Jack. At least the people who were killed there are at peace now, and weren't used to fuel that monstrous creature for long.”

As the conversation dried out, the atmosphere became uncomfortable and Jack's first impulse was to bail. It's what she would've done in the past; instead, she stood and propped her leg up onto the table so that Kahlee could get a better look at her tattoos.

“Wanna see something cool? After we got back from the base, I got this sick tattoo from a batarian artist on Omega.” Jack said, pointing to a tattoo not far below her knee. It was a Collector's head, sketched from her own memory while en route to the station.

Kahlee leaned forward to get a closer look. “It looks like an insect.”

“Yep. That's what the Collectors looked like. I figured surviving hordes of them was worth getting a new tat.” Jack explained.

While she had almost been sold to the Collectors once, Kahlee had never seen what they looked like and she was more than glad for that fact. Speaking of which...

“I was almost sold to the Collectors once.” Kahlee revealed suddenly. She had come to a decision. Jack deserved to know about her own experience.

“The fuck you talking about?” Jack asked, confused as she sat back down.

Kahlee paused, debating how much to reveal to the woman who, she suspected, had a more volatile past with Cerberus than herself. Kahlee had previously mentioned in passing that she'd had her own negative experience with the pro-human organization but the two had never gone into depth about it. Jack had appeared curious, but shut the conversation down nonetheless and Kahlee hadn't wanted to discourage the younger woman from talking about Cerberus in the future by pushing her into a wall.

“Three years ago on Omega. I'd just arrived with one of our students and her father. He had wanted to pull her out of the Ascension Project after what we believed to be an attempt on her life by a Cerberus spy who'd weaselled his way into a job here as a scientist. One of our security chiefs, Hendel, who was a friend of mine, got suspicious so we accompanied them to Omega where the man said he had a contact who could keep her safe.”

Kahlee noticed that Jack tensed at the mention of Cerberus.

“Let me guess, the contact was also Cerberus.” Jack said flatly. “But what does that have to do with the Collectors?”

“Yes and no. He was Cerberus, but he betrayed them when the Collectors made him an offer.” Kahlee answered. “We were captured. If we hadn't escaped, we'd have been liquid inside that Reaper you found at the base.” She added, trying not to show the horror she felt at the thought.

“Shit, how'd you get out?” Jack asked, her tone detached from any obvious emotion.

“It's a long story, but we were rescued by a quarian who was on his Pilgrimage and he took us with him back to the Migrant Fleet. We left without Gillian's – the girl's – father; I'd found out that he was with Cerberus too and knew that she wouldn't be safe with him around.” Kahlee explained. She knew she was being somewhat vague on detail but she couldn't read Jack's mood. That, and there were things Kahlee wasn't sure she herself was ready to discuss in full yet, either.

Jack was quiet for a few moments before she spoke, voice low. “Bastard. Did he try to get her back?”

“Yes, once. We were on the Migrant Fleet when Cerberus launched an attack. It was chaotic,” Kahlee shook her head mournfully, “many quarians died protecting ship we were on. Gillian was almost captured but I convinced her father to see Cerberus for who they really were. In the end, Gillian stayed with the Fleet in the care of Hendel while I left with Grayson to turn him in to the Alliance.” Kahlee sighed, “... except he escaped, and went on the run from Cerberus.”

Finishing her coffee, Jack abruptly swirled away from Kahlee and landed a perfect goal in the bin with her empty cup. The cup made a solid thump as it bounced off the wall into the hole and it was clear to Kahlee that the woman had thrown it a lot harder than was actually necessary.

Jack turned back to Kahlee and the older woman was surprised to see that she now appeared to be calmer than she had been moments ago.

“Damn, Kahlee. That's some hardcore shit. Guess there's a lot I don't know about you.” Jack said casually.

Kahlee was confused, albeit relieved, that Jack wasn't pressing the topic further. Perhaps Jack realised that the conversation had brought up difficult memories, or perhaps she didn't want to talk any further about the organisation that had caused her her own torment in the past. Kahlee wasn't sure the extent of what Cerberus had done to Jack but she knew that it must have been traumatic for her to tense up at the mere mention of the name.

“I imagine no more so than there is to know about you.” Kahlee replied, a small smile on her lips.

Jack shrugged non-committally. “You done with that?” She asked, gesturing towards Kahlee's coffee.

“I am, thanks.”

Jack grabbed the coffee off the table and scored another goal in the bin with the empty cup, this time throwing it less forcefully so that it landed without bouncing against the wall.

“You're good at that.” Kahlee chuckled as she watched. “Most biotics like to throw things with their abilities.”

“Chucking stuff around with your mind is fun and all but sometimes you've gotta just rely on your own body force and gravity. Spent enough time in biotic-dampening cuffs to learn that.” Jack replied as casually as if she was discussing the weather.

Kahlee quirked an eyebrow knowingly. “You are no doubt referring to your criminal past.”

Kahlee had known nothing of Jack's criminal past when the younger woman first arrived at the academy. Surprisingly, there had been no specific mention of it in the dossier she had been sent prior to her arrival; in fact, the only reference to Jack's past at all was that the woman had a bad history with Cerberus and that she'd subsequently become “troubled” through her life before joining Commander Shepard's mission. It had become clear to Kahlee through hearing a number of Jack's stories about her less-than-legal activities in the following weeks exactly what “troubled” had been referring to.

Jack snorted. “Well they ain't much fun in the bedro–”

Before Kahlee could shoot Jack a disapproving rebuke for her crudeness, the younger woman's words were cut off by the sound of a shrill beeping coming from Kahlee's omni-tool. Kahlee activated the device and glanced at the notification.

“Damn it, the Alliance has just sent over a new stack of paperwork to fill in that has to be done before the end of the weekend.” Kahlee sighed dejectedly. She had been looking forward to some downtime after a busy few days.

“Hey, looks like that coffee's gonna come in handy after all.” Jack smirked.

“It appears so,” Kahlee agreed, showing Jack an image of the paperwork on the screen, “I think I may need to stay up all night to complete it all. I best head back and make a start on it now.”

Jack's smirked widened. “Glad it's you dealing with the boring Alliance shit instead of me. I might be dependable now but no way in hell they'd be able to get me to fill out all that.”

“I'd avoid telling the Alliance that if they ever ask.” Kahlee teased as she stood, ready to leave. “Thank you for the coffee and the conversation. Hopefully I'll be done with the paperwork by the next time we see each other.”

Once they had said their goodbyes, Kahlee headed back to her accommodation across the hallway while Jack leaned back in her chair, propping her legs up onto the table. Thinking back over their conversation, Jack realised that she had a newfound respect for Kahlee. It was reassuring to know that the woman also had her own bad experiences with Cerberus. If anybody at the academy could understand how awful Cerberus were, it would be her.

Although Jack had shut down the talk of Cerberus when it had started getting too intense for her, Jack suspected that there was more to know about Kahlee's past with the evil organisation than she had revealed, and she also suspected that there were things that were painful for the older woman to discuss. Perhaps Kahlee and herself had some things in common.

Pushing her thoughts aside, Jack loaded up her omni-tool, content on playing extranet games for the rest of the evening.

* * *

The following few weeks were a flurry of activity, with Kahlee attending a seemingly endless stream of meetings with Alliance officials addressing the incoming Reaper invasion, while Jack devoted herself to ramping up the pressure on her students to work harder and do better before the Reapers came through to kill them all. There was very little downtime for either woman and aside from the occasional conversation while eating in the cafeteria or passing each other in the hall, they had been unable to spend much time together.

Tension had begun rising through Grissom Academy as the heavy weight of the impending Reaper invasion set in. It was especially hard on some of the students, who would've never imagined a year ago they'd be spending their time at school now preparing themselves to fight in the face of galactic extinction. Some students were in the process of returning home at the demand of their families when the Alliance sent out warnings of the “rumoured” invasion, though many remained, determined serve the galaxy and not let the giant machines take away everything they love.

Jack was in the process of setting out a lesson plan for tomorrow's class, but more she tried to brainstorm, the further her thoughts strayed from the task at hand. She was never a sit-down-and-plan type, preferring to act on impulse and spontaneity. Unfortunately, the longer she spent working at the academy, the more bogged down she became with structure.

The woman's thoughts turned towards when she'd been offered a job at the academy shortly after Shepard turned herself in to the Alliance. Some of the crew departed the Normandy before the ship docked on Earth; Zaeed flew back to Omega, Thane returned to his son on the Citadel and the Cerberus cheerleader got off at fuck knows where on the run from her former employer. Jack didn't know, hadn't cared enough to pay attention when she left.

On Earth, Kasumi had quite literally disappeared before Jack's very eyes the moment the doors of the ship opened. Jack had also considered immediately making a run for it, but ultimately decided to stick around. The Alliance wanted to question her along with the other remaining crew members to fully understand their mission to destroy the Collectors, and Jack had planned to roam Earth for a bit since she had nothing better to do. Though Donnelly and Daniels had been taken into custody, Jack had never been part of the Alliance so she was free to leave whenever she liked.

She had been staying at the closet hotel to the Alliance compound when she was approached by an Alliance official. At first she was pissed he'd followed her but the man stuck his ground, explaining that they were looking for somebody to fill a teaching position and that the brass thought she would be a good fit. Her performance at the Collector Base stood out in the report and her terrible past with Cerberus made her a trustworthy adversary against the terrorist group, he had said. Jack was preparing to kick him out when he'd explained that the Alliance had read Shepard's report of the events on Pragia after the seizure of the Normandy, but instead she ended up listening to his argument when he mentioned that taking the teaching job could allow her to prevent similar horrors from happening to young biotics in the future.

The man gave Jack his contact details and told her to think the offer over. After considering it for a few days she accepted; she had no plans for the future and, more importantly, she found that she actually wanted to train biotic kids to defend themselves better against anyone who decided to fuck with them. She couldn't deny that some of Shepard's influence had rubbed off on her, helping her find her own protective streak that encouraged her to accept the job.

Jack sighed. She just wasn't getting anywhere with the lesson plan. Feeling her frustration build up she stood, pacing slightly as she considered what to do next. She hadn't realised she'd left her room until she was standing aimlessly in the hallway. A walk it is, then.

As Jack walked through the hall, she reflected on the two months that had passed since arriving at Grissom Academy. It was clear from the first class she taught that she would form a deep connection with her students and she had been absolutely right. She had become fiercely protective over them and she knew that she would kill – or, alternatively, die – to protect them. She put effort into becoming better at her job for them and had, with Kahlee's mentorship, adjusted to life as a teacher more than she ever believed she would.

Would it be enough, though? When the Reapers pour through to bring them the fight, would her students be ready to take on whatever gets thrown at them by the harbingers of death itself? Despite all their training and hard work, the pit of doubt in Jack's stomach wouldn't go away. They weren't military soldiers, they were teenagers. This shouldn't be their fight. Until recently, galactic extinction hadn't even been a possibility in their minds; to them, the universe made more sense than that – bad times usually passed, most places were relatively safe – and now everything they'd previously known was changing. The thought made Jack furious. She was going to tear those Reaper bastards apart.

Jack reached the Atrium, taking a seat overlooking the lake. On the other side there was a class of tech students practising their barriers. She watched them, deep in thought, until she lost track of time.

* * *

When Kahlee first heard the thudding across the hallway she had thought nothing of it. It wasn't until the thuds turned to bangs and then to crashes that she started becoming concerned. She ventured out of her accommodation, glancing around to discover the source of racket. The hallway was peaceful aside from the din, with the disruptive noises clearly coming from Jack's room.

Kahlee knocked on Jack's door, ready ask exactly what the hell she was up to, but no answer came. When another crash echoed through the wall, Kahlee tentatively pushed open the unlocked door and stepped into Jack's room.

“What's all the noise–”

The words fell idly from Kahlee's lips as soon as she saw the state of the room. Datapads had been strewn everywhere, garbage was flowing from the tipped over bin and Jack's bedsheets were thrown haphazardly across the floor. It looked as though Jack had trashed the place and Kahlee needed to know why.

“... Jack?” Kahlee asked, cautiously advancing further into the room.

The only response she received was in the form of a muffled noise that sounded vaguely like a sob. Was Jack crying?

Kahlee stepped around the fallen bin and saw Jack curled on the floor in between her bed and the wall.

“Jack, what's wrong?”

Again there was no response. Kahlee suspected that Jack wasn't comprehending her presence. She knelt down to be more level with Jack and waited in the hope that the other woman would notice her. After several moments the younger woman glanced up and saw she was there.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Jack tried to snap, but the venom in voice fell flat, instead coming out hoarse.

“I heard the crashes, and when you didn't answer the door I became concerned.” Kahlee explained. “I'm sorry for coming in without your permission but I wanted to make sure you were alright... which you're clearly not.”

“I'm fine. You can fuck off now.”

Kahlee shook her head, speaking as gently as she could manage, “I'm not leaving you alone like this.”

Jack glared at her but made no attempt argue. Kahlee noticed she was shaking. Grabbing the bed quilt off the floor she passed it Jack, who took it and wrapped it over her body.

“Thanks.” Jack murmured, not meeting Kahlee's eyes.

“I'm going to get a drink.” Kahlee said. “Of water. A drink of water.” She clarified when she was met with a look of uncertainty from Jack.

“Damn. Was going to say I could do with a drink right now too.” Jack replied, a little more colour in her tone than there was a moment ago.

“I think that would be a very bad idea.” Kahlee opined as she stood. She walked to the sink and filled two glasses with water.

There was shuffling behind her. When she turned around, she saw that Jack had moved from the floor to the couch with the quilt still wrapped around her. Kahlee handed the second glass to Jack and sat on the other couch to the woman's right. Jack took a long sip, her breakdown had dehydrated her and she hadn't realised how thirsty she was. Kahlee waited in silence as Jack composed herself.

“I had a bad dream. Cerberus. I used to have so many nightmares about what they did to me but since working here the memories have mostly left me alone at night.” Jack eventually mustered up.

“Until tonight.” Kahlee concluded. She thought it best to let Jack work her way through what she wanted to reveal rather than immediately bombard her with questions.

“I don't get it. Why now? I thought I'd got my shit together since blowing up the facility.” Jack lamented, voice full of frustration.

For a moment Kahlee thought Jack was talking about the Collector Base, but the word 'facility' suggested differently. Confused, she asked, “What facility did you blow up?”

Jack eyed Kahlee and was met with an expression of concern. She internally debated how much to reveal to the older woman. She had trusted Shepard with the truth and in return the Commander had given her the closure of helping her blow up the place. The Normandy crew also heard about Jack's childhood when Shepard had the ship divert to the facility, and none of them treated her differently as a result. Sure, a few of the crew had tried to sympathise with her, but they'd quickly gotten the idea when they were met with her anger.

There was also the guy from the Alliance who had offered her the teaching job. He'd told her her past was part of the reason the brass were interested in hiring her. She hated that the Alliance had taken it upon themselves to find out about her life like that but she also knew that she may not be working at Grissom Academy now if they hadn't. She didn't like that they pried, but something admittedly worthwhile had come out of it in the end.

Jack made the decision to tell Kahlee the whole truth.

“You know I have a bad history with Cerberus, right?” Jack asked. She continued when Kahlee nodded, “That history began when I was a kid. A young kid. Must've been about four when they kidnapped me. I could've had a normal life but they took that away from me when they turned my childhood into living hell.”

Kahlee's heart almost skipped a beat. Kidnapped?

“The facility I blew up is where they took me.” Jack explained, “They spent years there experimenting on me. They drugged me, tortured me, put me through all kinds of pain... they did everything they could to turn me into a super-biotic weapon. They conditioned me to want to fight and pitted me against the other kids there. They got me high off the adrenaline my kills gave me, and it worked. I learned to love killing.”

Kahlee could barely believe what she was hearing. She'd known that Jack's past with Cerberus was bad but she never could've imagined she had been put through anything like this. She wished that she could be surprised that Cerberus would do something so atrocious to a child, but her own experience with the organisation had taught her the reality of how Cerberus operates. This was the organisation that had secretly injected Gillian with experimental drugs to test how they would impact her biotic powers; this was the organisation that had experimented on Grayson, turning him into a horrifying pawn for the Reapers by implanting him with Reaper tech; this was the organisation that had murdered Nick and Gillian and left them out on the streets of Omega just months ago, and Kahlee had been too late to save them.

Kahlee felt a twinge of nausea in her stomach. Jack hadn't even gone deep into the specifics, yet it felt like too much to process.

“Oh, Jack. I'm so sorry.” Kahlee offered after a moment of trying to digest the information. It wasn't much, but she found herself lost for words.

“I don't need the sympathy.” Jack retorted. “It's haunted me for years but I learned to live with it. In the end, it backfired on them. I became too strong for them to contain. I killed every guard and scientist as I escaped.”

Good, Kahlee thought to herself, but instead she asked, “How did you manage to get out of such an awful place?”

Jack opened her mouth to speak but then stopped short, hesitating. For so long she had believed she had started the riot that led to her escape but the evidence she found at the facility told her otherwise. Though blowing up the place had given Jack the closure she needed to move on, it had taken time for her to adjust to the truth that the events that had unfolded on that fateful day wasn't completely the same what she had believed for years.

“There was... an outbreak. The other kids staged an uprising. The guards tried to keep me safe in my cell because I wasn't any use to them dead,” Jack spoke the words with blatant disgust, “but I overpowered them before they could stop me. I killed everyone in my way and got the fuck out of there through the chaos.” Jack then admitted before she could stop herself, “There were things that happened that day that weren't the way I remembered them.”

Jack inwardly swore at herself for revealing that fact without being certain she even wanted to, but her frustration subsided when she found that she actually did want to. Her eyes ached from exhaustion; she rubbed them, trying to relieve some of the weariness but to no avail.

When Jack saw that Kahlee was waiting patiently for her to continue, she explained, “I thought I was the one who started the riot when the emergency sirens went off, and that I was the only one who survived because I was stronger and tougher than the rest. But when Shepard took me there to blow the place we found logs from the scientists. Turns out, they were testing their theories about how to increase my biotic powers on the other kids before trying them on me. They killed hundreds trying to keep me alive when they experimented on me. The others had enough, fought back and were either killed by the guards or me as I broke free.”

“Honestly, that's probably why the other kids all fucking hated me... I never knew why, back when I was imprisoned there. They were aggressive towards me even when we weren't being made to fight and when I was in my cell, they ignored me.” Jack continued, the words falling almost uncontrollably from her mouth now that she had begun recalling her traumatic experience. “I'd bang on the window when they passed by, but it turns out they couldn't even see me because the window was actually a two-way mirror. Maybe it was the scientists' idea of a sick joke, or maybe they were purposefully fucking with me to make me more pissed off at the other kids when I fought them. Don't know.”

There was a look in Jack's eyes that Kahlee couldn't identify. Sadness? Regret? Guilt? Every word the younger woman had said seemed to be worse than the previous. Kahlee realised she was taking too long to respond and racked her brain for something, anything to say to reassure Jack.

“What they did to those children wasn't your fault, Jack. There's no way you could've known what they were doing to the others in order to keep the experiments they did on you going.” She kept talking even as Jack broke eye contact with her, “You did what you had to do to get out of there; other things may have happened that you weren't aware of at the time but that doesn't make what you suffered any less horrific or your escape any less exceptional. You survived because you were strong, but more importantly you survived because you were determined to live despite everything they did to you.”

Jack was silent for many moments, processing Kahlee's words. There was once a time she would've vehemently denied caring about had happened to the others she was imprisoned with – it had taken a while for her to come around to the belief that maybe they did have it nearly as bad her, after all – but she now realised that maybe the other kids' fates haunted her more than she believed. She thought of her students, how they could've been among the kids tortured for her apparent benefit if they had been born back then, and felt such a strong wave of nausea that she thought she was going to be sick.

Pushing the horrible thought aside, Jack couldn't help but notice some pride swell in her chest. It meant a lot to hear such affirmative words from the woman she'd come to greatly respect and even feel affection for over her time at the academy. Though she'd never admit it, there was a small part of her that had been worried about Kahlee's response, not wanting the woman she thought of as a friend to turn against her like so many others had in the past, albeit for different reasons. The more rational side of Jack's brain reminded her that she didn't genuinely believe the older woman would do that, and that her current vulnerability wasn't going to get her hurt.

“... Yeah. Guess you're right. Thanks.” Jack finally muttered as she stretched out the leg she'd been sitting on. She hadn't realised how tensely she'd been huddled up into herself until now. She sighed, “When we went to plant the bomb, there was a guy there with a bunch of mercs. We had to fight through them to reach my cell, and when we got there, the bastard was poking around my old stuff. He told me he was a survivor of the riot too and that he wanted to restart the facility.”

Kahlee gasped slightly. “God, how could anybody who went through that trauma want to inflict it on others again? What reasons could they have to make them think that's the right thing to do?”

“You just said it yourself, the guy had trauma and it made him stupid. He really thought he could torture more kids to make everything we went through there worth something. I would've put a bullet through his head right then, but Shepard convinced me to... reconsider. Told me that he was crazy and wouldn't ever actually be able to restart the place, that he was just trapped in the past. Killing him like that wouldn't have actually solved anything so I ended up giving him the chance to outrun the blast.” Jack shrugged, “No clue if he survived it though.”

Kahlee considered what she would've done had it been her in that situation. She wanted to believe that she would've spared him too, but with all the old hurt that being back there would've surely brought up to the surface again, she questioned whether she could've so merciful in that moment.

Shaking her mind of the uncomfortable thought, she smiled at Jack, “That's incredibly forgiving. I hope he remembers you spared him and will think twice before he acts on any other misguided ideas.”

“Hah, I don't forgive him. The trauma screwed me up too but I'd never think of doing something as fucked as what he was trying to do. He's just lucky Shepard was with me at the time to make me realise he wasn't worth it.” Jack replied dismissively.

A lightbulb then switched on in Jack's head. “Wait a minute, I just remembered something. We came across a log at the facility that said Cerberus would worm their way into the Ascension Project here. That girl you mentioned a while back whose father was with Cerberus, did they use her to carry on their experiments?”

Gillian. Of course. Cerberus must've decided to use her after their failure at the facility where they imprisoned Jack. Kahlee made an active effort not to let her anger at the realisation show to the younger woman, who was likely still in distress despite now appearing slightly calmer than she had been earlier. She made a mental note to tell David about it the next time she saw him.

“I think you're right.” Kahlee began, shaking her head mournfully, “They sneaked their experiments in without us realising until it was too late. She almost died when one of their injections gave her a seizure.”

“When the Reapers come, I hope they wipe the fuck out of Cerberus and cut the snake off at its evil fucking head before we send them to hell. I want the Illusive Man to die in as much pain as he put us through.” Jack said bitterly, and Kahlee shared the sentiment.

The next hour was spent talking about an array of lighter topics. Jack responded well to the chit-chat, their conversation providing enough distraction to help her recover some more from her breakdown; they discussed the food at Kahlee's last Alliance meeting, a funny extranet vid Jack had watched a few days ago and the décor in the Atrium, among other things. Kahlee helped Jack tidy up the mess from her nightmare-fuelled rampage and, at Jack's insistence, assured her that she wouldn't spread what happened around to the rest of the faculty.

Once Kahlee returned to her own room, Jack's exhaustion overwhelmed her. The moment her head hit her pillow she was fast asleep.

* * *

The shrill alarms harrowed through Jack's ears as she dropped two more Cerberus troops to the floor, sprinting towards the cafeteria where her students were having their lunches. She rounded the corner into the next hallway and was greeted by an engineer setting up a turret. Wiping him out with a biotic fist to his head she screamed, pure adrenaline and rage coursing through her body pushing her to reach the kids before Cerberus could get their fucking hands on them.

This could not be happening. This is not how their evacuation was supposed to go. Following the news of the Reapers' invasion back on Earth a week ago, the Alliance had started evacuating the majority of students before the Reapers could turn their efforts towards invading the academy. Only a handful of older biotic and tech students remained, staying to protect the other students should the station get invaded sooner than expected, and to jam in as much last minute training as they could before integrating with the Alliance military to fight against Reaper troops. But Cerberus? Cerberus had not been part of the plan.

Jack passed one of her fellow teachers – the only one aside from herself who had remained the academy – laying dead beside the shrubbery lining the walls. Shit. There was no time to mourn now. She pressed forward, disposing another dozen troops before crashing full speed into someone also sprinting from the opposite direction.

Jack glared at the woman, attack at the ready until she recognised who it was.

“Shit! I almost pulverized your brain to goo with my fist, Sanders!” Jack yelled over the sirens, grabbing the other woman's arm and pulling her into cover by a nearby wall. As a troop came into view behind Jack, Kahlee raised her gun and hit a lucky shot through his chest.

“We've got to evacuate now!” Kahlee exclaimed, barely masked panic in her voice, “I'm heading to send out an SOS but you've got to get to the students, they won't be able to hold out against a surprise Cerberus attack on their own for long.”

“Like I don't already fucking know that. My kids are not being taken away by those bastards while I'm still alive and like hell I'm planning on dying today!” Jack retorted as Kahlee and herself continued together into the next hallway.

A group of shielded Cerberus troops were having a conversation in a huddle up ahead. Jack ripped away their shields with a singularity, sending them floating helplessly in the air while Kahlee fired an electric pulse through their bodies with an overload attack from her omni-tool. The troops dropped to the floor, convulsing until the attack wore off, their bodies laying completely still.

“Stay in contact with me over our emergency comms line. Let me know if you have any difficulty getting to the students and tell me once you've reached them so I know they're protected.” Kahlee instructed, the authoritative tone in her voice unmistakable. This was no longer Kahlee, Jack's friend, speaking. This was Kahlee Sanders, the woman in charge of Grissom Academy, and she wasn't going to let Cerberus wreak havoc on her school without a damn good fight.

“Aye aye, boss lady.” is all Jack offered in response before bolting away.

Two minutes and several more dead troops later, Jack charged into the cafeteria and was greeted to the sight of her kids ducking in and out from a barricade of lunch tables they had obviously set up for cover, doing their utmost to repel the Cerberus mass that was steadily advancing towards them. Prangley was giving orders while the others fired out biotic attacks and trash talk in equal measure towards the troops.

“Let's see how you like this!” Rodriguez yelled as she biotically lifted a fallen chair, attempting to fling it at the closest troop. The chair missed her target as he dodged out the way, instead hitting the ground behind him.

The room appeared to move in slow motion as Jack built up a well of energy, directing it at an angle so that it would take down Cerberus but avoid hitting her kids. The blast threw the troops across the room; those hitting the wall laid motionless while the remaining couple that tried to return to their feet were shot down by warps from the students.

“Quick thinking with that chair, but it needed way more force to actually hit him before he dodged.” Jack addressed Rodriguez as she approached. She did a headcount and realised some of her students were missing. “Where the hell are the others?!” She demanded, her panic rising.

The students glanced worriedly among themselves. Prangley spoke up, “Just before Cerberus showed up, Reiley and Seanne decided to go for a walk. Froeberg, Holly and Joanna said they were gonna hang out in Orion Hall for a bit.”

Jack swore under her breath as she paced, trying to come up with a plan of action. She tried contacting Kahlee to update her on the situation but was met with static. “Damn it! I think Cerberus has jammed our comms line.”

“Try mine.” Prangley said as he handed Jack his omni-tool.

Jack was about to grab the device when her comms line suddenly crackled to life with Kahlee's flustered voice. “Sorry, Jack. I was being chased by Cerberus but I'm at the server room now, about to send out the SOS. Are you with the students?”

“Yeah but some of them are m–”

There was a bang and line cut out again. What the fuck is Cerberus doing over there?

Jack frantically shifted through her options. They couldn't remain where they were, it was too exposed and Cerberus could be back any moment. Orion Hall was a fairly long distance away, but if they headed there now, there was a chance they'd find the Bellarmines along the way. If they didn't, Orion Hall had good defences, her kids could bunker up while she went in search of the biotic siblings. She hated leaving them to fend for themselves again but they stood a better chance surviving together than the siblings had on their own, wherever the fuck they were.

Jack made her decision. “Alright guys, let's head to Orion Hall. Keep an eye out for the Bellarmines and any other survivors.”

Across the academy, Kahlee was holed up in the server room, desperately awaiting a response to the SOS she'd sent out. She needed to re-establish a connection with Jack but Cerberus had managed to blow communications through the entire facility; trying to get them working again was providing an admittedly welcome distraction from the terrifying thought that none of them may make it out alive. Still, as she repeatedly tried in vain to get the comms up, her mind drifted to David, her memories of their time together and how they may not ever get to see each other again. She wondered, miserably, whether he was even still alive out there.

Just as Kahlee was about to test whether her comms repair had worked, she noticed that a ship was approaching the station beyond Cerberus' blockade of the docking bay. She squinted closer at the security footage. It didn't look like more Cerberus. It was – it was the Normandy!

Incredible. A spark of hope flickered inside Kahlee. Commander Shepard was on her way. With how highly both David and Jack had spoken of the Commander, perhaps they were going to survive after all.

Establishing a connection, Kahlee hastily sent out a transmission to the incoming ship.

* * *

< Subject: Interesting shore leave? >

To: Jack
From: Kahlee

I've been keeping up with news from the Citadel. Did you and Commander Shepard really beat every simulator map together at the Armax Arsenal Arena? Actually, no need to answer that. I saw the vids. I thought shore leave was supposed to be for relaxing.

Hoping you're well,
Kahlee

To: Kahlee
From: Jack

Hell yeah we did! What better way to kick back from fighting Reapers than killing holographic Cerberus fuckers? Didn't think we made the news though – Not that I'm surprised, we kicked ass.

Don't suppose you also heard about the Cerberus clone that tried stealing the Normandy. Now THERE'S a real story.

Jack.

To: Jack
From: Kahlee

Yes, I heard about that. Thank god they weren't successful! We need the real Commander if we're to win this war.

Speaking of which, it feels like we're getting closer every day to completing this Crucible and it's an absolute marvel of technological work. I can only hope that actually counts for something when we finally use it against the Reapers. It's easy to get so bogged down with the endless stream of tasks that I lose sight of the fact that there's an end goal to all this, and that the fate of the galaxy hangs in the balance of what we're doing here.

Let me know if you'd like to video call at some point,
Kahlee

Jack was reading recent reports from the Alliance when the message came through. All her students had survived the attack on Grissom Academy, had been deployed to a few locations since, and now were enjoying some free time on the Citadel before heading out to wherever it was the Alliance needed them next. It was looking like they'd be stationed on Earth. If that was the case, the kids would need as much rest as possible before being thrown into the gruelling conditions on the Reaper-infested planet.

Jack, however, was finding it hard to relax. She appreciated Shepard's attempt to get everyone to chill out at her party the other night but it was hard to let go of stress for long with the giant machines of apocalyptic doom wiping out the galaxy. Perhaps it would be healthy to get up and move around a bit instead of reading about what colonies were next on the Reapers' hit list.

Stretching her cramped muscles, Jack figured she should get back to Kahlee. She was in the mood for a conversation. Pulling up Kahlee's contact information, she hit the video call button and waited for a response.

Several long moments later the call was answered and she was greeted by the sight of a very sleepy-looking Kahlee.

“Hey.” Jack greeted, an amused expression on her face.

“Is everything alright?” Kahlee asked groggily, cutting straight to the chase before she could fall asleep again.

“Yeah everything's fine, I just wanted to chat.”

It took Kahlee a lot of willpower not to grumble at the younger woman. “Do you have any idea what time it is here, Jack?”

“No clue. I didn't think you guys had a time zone over there anyway?” Jack replied nonchalantly.

“Not officially, but we've established schedules here that act as time zones so we can keep up work on the Crucible without burning ourselves out. Working while exhausted could lead to mistakes we can't afford to make on such an important project.” Kahlee explained, unable to mask the tiredness in her tone. The Alliance had made a point of putting this information out to the public but either Jack hadn't gotten the message, or she just didn't care.

Jack shrugged. “You said you wanted me to vid call.”

“I said let me know if you'd like to video call. As in, we can arrange a convenient time for it.” Kahlee sighed in exasperation.

In truth, Kahlee hadn't been sticking to the routine sleep cycle very well. She was exhausted, yes, but she couldn't lose her drive lest she give in to despair and worry. She was constantly focused, continually engaged with a task of some kind for a majority of what constituted as a 'day' that she had to actually set reminders for herself to drink, eat and sleep at least on a semi-regular basis. She'd had a habit of overworking herself to cope with distress for as long as she could remember but with Anderson's support, she had started being able to take a more relaxed approach to situations that would've otherwise caused her to lose herself either to her unrelenting drive to push forward, or to her distressing thoughts and emotions. But David wasn't here now, and though Shepard had informed her half a year ago that he was still alive, there was a good chance that may not be the case anymore.

Kahlee was trying hard not to let her exhaustion show to those around her. Some tech students had stayed with her to help build the Crucible and she knew that she needed to set a good example for them. They couldn't see her barely taking care of herself, nor could they start to doubt themselves by giving in to their own despair. She couldn't have them suffering due to her self-neglect. Privately, however, she knew that as long as she wasn't so exhausted that she started making mistakes, she wouldn't be prioritising her well-being any time soon. Getting stuck in to her workload was the main defense she had against her distress, a distraction that helped her keep going, and she was going to continue utilising it.

Kahlee rubbed her tired eyes. Before Jack called she had just drifted into a light sleep after what felt like hours of unsuccessfully trying to get a night of rest, but if her recent sleeping pattern was any indication, she would've been roused from her slumber by her overactive mind again soon anyway. She was frustrated that Jack had chosen now of all times to call unannounced, but she also couldn't blame the woman much since she herself had been the one to suggest it in the first place. It had been at least a few months since their last call and Kahlee was worried about how she and her students were coping... or whether they were even still alive, after long periods of not hearing from them.

Kahlee decided that since she doubted her ability to get a decent sleep, now was as good a time as any to catch up with Jack. She also couldn't deny that seeing the familiar face of her friend brought her comfort.

Kahlee's concentration must've slipped because when her attention shifted back to Jack she realised she didn't understand what the woman had just said.

“I'm sorry, can you repeat that?” Kahlee asked.

“I asked how damn hard they're working you. When was the last time you slept?” Jack repeated, obvious concern in her voice.

Kahlee didn't want to spend her time with Jack discussing the troubling issues she was trying to avoid, nor did she want Jack to worry, so she deflected with an attempt at humour. “About a minute ago, before you woke me up.”

Jack rolled her eyes. “C'mon Sanders, I know bullshit when I see it. I bet you haven't slept properly in a week.”

Not too far off the mark, Kahlee thought, but instead she replied conversationally, “Well, we don't exactly have shore leave here at the moment.”

Jack could tell that Kahlee was avoiding the topic so she decided to drop it. “Hah, you can take the rest of mine. The kids are enjoying their time off but I'm feel like I'm about to lose my shit just waiting around for the Alliance to tell us where we're going next.”

Kahlee smiled at the thought of the students having a much needed break. “How are they doing?”

Jack grinned. “They're doing good, it was a good move to stick 'em in support roles. They're saving lives but they aren't being thrown against anything they can't handle.” She replied with pride.

“That's great news, Jack. Wish them the best from me next time you see them.” Kahlee said before asking, “How's the new biotic-amp?”

Just as Jack was about to respond, a loud growl came from somewhere in her room; moments later a large varren came crashing into view, almost knocking Jack off her feet. Kahlee watched in bewilderment as Jack affectionately petted the creature.

Previous topic forgotten, Jack finally tore her eyes away from the varren to address Kahlee. “This is Eezo. He's a biotic varren from Thessia I adopted.” She boasted, “Not sure how he ended up on the Citadel but the asari at the rescue place said he was abused by his old owner before he got abandoned. She said it happens a lot to biotic varren because the exposure to element zero makes them short-tempered and hard to control.”

Jack baby-talked the varren before continuing, “He was angry as hell at first but now he's a softy who just loves to play and cuddle. He's really come around since I started showing him that trusting people isn't so bad after all.”

For a few surreal moments, Kahlee was certain she must've fallen back to sleep. Surely she was having a bizarre dream? The similarities between Jack and this varren were undeniable. Why would she be dreaming about Jack projecting herself onto a varren? Had the pressure of the war finally gone to her head? When the creature turned towards Kahlee's holographic figure and tried to lurch towards her, however, she realised he was very real.

“You aren't scared of varren are you?” Jack laughed at Kahlee's surprised reaction.

Kahlee shook her head. She really wasn't much of a varren person. “No, not scared. But I think having a varren around would take some time for me to get used to.”

“One day you'll have to meet Eezo in person, then. It'll be good for both of you to warm up to each other.” Jack said decisively, and Kahlee was sure she won't have much say in the matter if they both survive the war.

Eezo must've decided there were better things to do elsewhere because he wandered out of view, the sound of his thudding paws becoming distant until disappearing entirely.

“It sounds like having him has been good for you as well. Does he remind you of yourself?” Kahlee asked.

“Shit, you sound like Shepard. She also asked me something like that when I took him to her fancy new apartment.” Jack crossed her arms indignantly, “I'll tell you what I told her. I don't know what the hell you're talking about.”

Something in Jack's tone suggested she actually did but didn't want to admit it. Not wanting to press the subject, Kahlee shook her head good-naturedly and glanced around the room she was in to make sure she was still alone. “I'm just glad he didn't wake anyone up with his growling.”

Jack quirked an eyebrow. “Where are you, anyway? I thought you'd be sleeping rough but it looks like you're at a table.”

“I am, I have a makeshift bed on the floor down the hall from where I'm spending most my time working at the moment. There's a lot of us just sleeping wherever we can and it's not spacious. Fortunately, a turian company donated sleeping bags to us a while back so it's not entirely uncomfortable.” Kahlee explained, “I'm sat in our communal kitchen right now, though. I came in here to take your call to avoid disturbing anyone else.”

“Oh so that's why you took ages to pick up.” Jack concluded with a brazen grin, much to the disapproval of Kahlee who frowned in response.

“That's why it's a good idea to give a heads up before calling people unannounced, so you won't have to wait ages for them to pick up.” Kahlee deadpanned.

“Whatever. There's a war going on, time is fleeting and all that.” Jack shrugged, “Gotta live with a sense of urgency these days.”

Kahlee chuckled at that. “Right, because you never did before.”

As Jack laughed, a nagging thought emerged from the back of Kahlee's mind and she debated whether to mention or ignore it. Curiosity won out as she tentatively said, “Jack, I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

Kahlee wrung her hands nervously. “That fancy apartment you went to, the one you said was new to the Commander... was it opposite the Armax Arsenal Arena?”

“Yeah, just up an elevator across the Silversun Strip.” Jack replied.

That's the one, Kahlee thought as a flicker of hope passed through her. “Do you know exactly how new it is to her?”

“Uh, I think she said she'd had it three days at her party, which was two days ago. So about five days I guess?” Jack estimated, unsure why Kahlee wanted to know until a lightbulb flickered in her head. “Wait, I get why you're asking. She told us that Anderson gave her the apartment just before the whole damn clone thing happened.”

Relief flooded through Kahlee as she processed the information. Less than a week ago! If David was alive five days ago despite living through the dire conditions on Earth for so many months, there's a good chance he's still alive now.

Jack knew Kahlee had a romantic relationship with the Alliance Admiral, but what she didn't know was that prior to the war they had shared the apartment together for a brief time – far too brief in her opinion, damn the war – and had discussed what to do with the apartment once the war began. They'd talked about using it as the place to spend their fleeting time together if opportunity arose during the war, and Kahlee had very much wanted to settle down there permanently once the war was over. David had wanted that too, but he'd also mentioned wanting as few loose ends in the galaxy as possible; he knew the Commander never had an apartment of her own before and he trusted her to look after the place. Ultimately they had agreed for David to give the apartment to the Commander if she was still alive in several months and the war had not yet been won, considering he likely wouldn't be willing to leave the battlefront and Kahlee knew she didn't want to live in the apartment without him should he not survive.

Kahlee gave Jack a warm smile. “Thank you for letting me know, Jack. I had been trying not to think about it, but knowing there's a good chance he's still alive out there right now gives me hope.”

“Look at that, I gave you morale. Bet you're glad I called now.” Jack joked, though there was also genuine sincerity in her tone.

“Of course, though I was already glad you called.” Kahlee admitted, “I haven't been having the most restful of sleeps and I've been wondering how you and the students are doing. Just hearing from you has made me feel better. It's good to get out of my head for a while, I've been using my workload as a distraction but it's not the same as speaking to a friend from elsewhere than here.”

Kahlee yawned as she felt the return of the tiredness that had temporarily eased, as if to emphasise her point about not sleeping well. Meanwhile Jack smiled – hell, she was almost beaming, an uncommon occurrence for her – as she mulled over Kahlee's words. She'd missed speaking to the older woman, their messages being few and far between since their last vid call, and was glad to help her in some capacity through the stress of the war despite their great physical distance. She also felt proud of the fact that Kahlee apparently held their friendship in such high regard, a sentiment which she reciprocated although she wasn't yet experienced in fully expressing such feelings.

“Yeah, well, no problem.” Jack responded as her moment of inner sentimentality passed, keen to move the conversation along rather than dwell, “And I knew it. You've barely been sleeping! You look like you're about to fall asleep right now.”

Before Kahlee could stop her sleep deprived self, she mumbled as she slunk slightly further across the kitchen table, “Maybe, this table is comfortable enough...” Her mind then jolted into alertness as the realisation hit her, “Oh damn it, I'm in the kitchen! I can't get caught sleeping in here.”

“So what? I thought you said people were just sleeping wherever.” Jack countered.

“Yes, in hallways and workrooms and nearby ships, but there's a rule against sleeping in bathrooms and kitchen areas for hygiene reasons.” Kahlee explained. She sighed regretfully, “I think I'd better head back to my bed in a minute.”

Jack glanced at the time displayed on the wall of her small rented apartment. It was getting late on the Citadel; tomorrow she'll likely be finding out for certain where she and her students will be heading next and she'd need as much rest as possible to prepare them for the unknowns that laid ahead.

“Shit, I should get going too. Tomorrow I'm probably gonna find out where we're being stationed, so we won't be able to speak to each other again for fuck knows how long.” Jack said. Or ever, a voice in the back of her mind whispered, but she forcefully pushed it away. Letting fatalistic thoughts like that fester was a sure way to end up dead; she had reasons to live now beyond mere survival – her friends, her students, even Eezo – and not even the end of the galaxy was going to make her stop fighting to stay alive.

Kahlee simultaneously reached a similar conclusion. She smiled, though it couldn't quite mask the sadness she felt at the realisation that she may not hear from Jack for many more months even in the best case scenario. “Good luck out there. As long as you and the students give the Reapers all the fight you've got we have a chance at winning this war.”

“Yeah, you too. Keep at it with the tech shit and soon we'll see whether this giant weapon you're building actually works.” Jack shifted, preparing herself to terminate the call, “And hey, thanks for answering. Guess I've missed speaking face to face.”

“Me too, but hopefully we won't have to wait long too speak to each other again. Maybe even in person if we're lucky.” Kahlee agreed, with 'hopefully' being the definite keyword. She would not, could not lose her hope that the war will be won with both Jack and herself alive.

After Jack ended the call Kahlee quietly returned to her bed for a second attempt at sleep in higher spirits than she had been in for weeks. She eventually fell into a peaceful sleep, awaking several hours later feeling rested with renewed determination, ready to continue doing her part to save the galaxy.

* * *

It was over, the war was finally won; the Reapers had been defeated and now the galaxy was burdened with the gruelling task of picking up the pieces of the chaos left behind. High death tolls, destruction of entire colonies and cities, and mass depletion of resources were among the many problems each species now faced as they attempted to recover and rebuild what was lost.

Kahlee had been evacuated from the Crucible shortly before it was taken to the Citadel. The evacuation had been frantic due to the shock of the unexpected announcement, with people pushing to get aboard any transport they could, and in the fray she'd gotten separated from the other technicians working on the project with her. The ship she'd secured passage on floated aimlessly through space with nowhere to land until finally, there was a bright red blast and a transmission from the Alliance saying that the Reapers had inexplicably been neutralised. Once it was confirmed to be safe enough, the ship ventured into the Sol System to return its primarily human passengers to Earth.

The ship had docked in a small port just south of London and conditions from the fighting were worse than anything she could've imagined. Crumbled buildings, dead bodies and burnt vehicles littered the ground as she surveyed the area. Intel from the rest of the galaxy was scarce due to so many comm buoys being down, but the good news was that short distance communications had been re-established on her homeworld. She'd sent out two messages, one to David and one to Jack, in the hope that by some miracle both had survived and happened to be in the general proximity of England's capitol city.

To her surprise, she received a response from Jack a few hours later. She was with her students and they were all alive! Though they were busy clearing rubble in search of survivors, Jack transmitted their location to Kahlee's omni-tool so that the older woman could hitch a ride with an Alliance truck that was driving people into the city to help with the recovery effort.

As she arrived at Jack's location, she was greeted to the sight of the woman in question with her students waiting for her by the drop-off point. They wore exhausted, yet relieved expressions when they saw her; a couple of the students high-fived each other while Jack gave her a celebratory slap on the back for surviving. Jack didn't resist as Kahlee, in her momentary euphoria at seeing them all alive, pulled her in for a hug before setting about the process of asking as many questions she could think of about what they had endured.

Days had turned to weeks as more details about what happened the fateful day the Reapers were destroyed emerged from all corners of the galaxy. The giant machines were gone, their troops falling alongside them, their technological creations damaged but still intact enough to be repaired. But it wasn't just the Reapers that fell; all AI lifeforms were destroyed by the blast, something which Kahlee struggled to wrap her head around given her own experience with AI research years ago.

Commander Shepard had managed to survive, crawling her way out from rubble until she found civilisation. She'd spoken of the choices she was faced with and the decision she'd made; she detailed how the Citadel arms wouldn't open, how the Illusive Man had alerted the Reapers of the plan to use the Catalyst and how the indoctrinated Cerberus leader had used his newfound powers, forcing her to pull the trigger on Admiral Anderson, resulting in his demise.

David. He was dead.

The devastating news had left Kahlee deep in depression. She, along with the rest of the galaxy, was steadily pushing forward to recover from the war, but the weight of loss was heavy and her days blurred one after another, her emotions dulled and distant.

She had been having a particularly rough night when Jack found her sitting alone in the dark, staring into nothing outside the makeshift Grissom Academy they were rebuilding on Earth. She'd grown accustomed to pushing her grief aside as much as she could throughout the daytimes as she worked to keep the rebuilding efforts moving, but Jack had noticed her acting more and more unfocused as the hours went on. The younger woman had brought alcohol, which Kahlee had been tempted to turn down, but ultimately she agreed to having a drink as she realised that this was Jack's own way of reaching out to her. Jack had even told her as much, albeit in more crude words, as she knew she wasn't great at touchy-feely expressions of support.

They drank and talked for a few hours, choosing to ignore their current responsibilities if only for a night. They exchanged tales of the past; Kahlee told Jack about how she and David met as well as some memories of their time together, both the good experiences and the ones that didn't have a happy ending. If Jack hadn't had her own array of wild experiences in life, she'd have sworn Kahlee was bullshitting about the more crazy stories of her time with the man, but she'd seen enough chaos in the galaxy to know better than that. In return, she had opened up to the older woman about the guy she'd ran with for a while, Murtock, who'd died saving her after their weapons heist went to shit. She'd told her about the recording that played in the shuttle as she escaped, how he'd wanted to have a future together, and how he regretted that it wasn't going to happen now he was dead.

Snapping back to the present day, Kahlee was torn from her ruminating about the past several months by the sound of Jack crashing into the room while carrying a crate through the air with her biotics.

“Supplies for the tech kids just came in. Where'd ya want it?”

Kahlee gestured towards the space in front of her, “Here is fine, if I start sorting through it now we'll hopefully have some time left over tomorrow for setting everything up in the classroom.”

Jack placed the crate where Kahlee instructed and began prying it open with her hands. “I'll help, got nothing else to do till then anyway.”

Although rebuilding Grissom Academy was an arduous task Kahlee was grateful for it. It helped to have something to work on, to push forward and reclaim what was lost due to the war. She couldn't bring David back, but what she could do was focus her efforts on restoring the academy that had become such an important part of her life for so many years.

There was no space station to return to, thus why the academy was being set up between a close-knit set of office buildings and a community hall that were fortunately still standing in London. After Cerberus seized the station, it was cast aside and left bait for the Reapers to destroy once they entered the Petra Nebula, and destroyed it they did. The station was simply gone with no hope of salvage, reduced burning debris once the Reapers passed through.

Kahlee didn't think of him often these days – and when she did, it wasn't with great warmth – but the station had been named in honour of the Alliance hero, her father, Jon Grissom. She wondered what he'd think of what became of the great academy or whether he'd even care. Truthfully, Kahlee would like for Grissom Academy to return to the stars one day, but it would be many years before the idea could even be contemplated; rebuilding a brand new station would require enormous funds and resources the Alliance couldn't yet afford so soon after the end of the war. Regardless, Kahlee viewed the new, post-war Grissom Academy as instead being in honour of Admiral David Anderson, the man she loved, who saved the academy from the Reapers alongside her once and died saving the galaxy from them again.

The academy wasn't yet ready for students to return to continue their studies. Jack's students were helping with the rebuilding process, as were the older tech students who had helped Kahlee during the Crucible project. It had taken some work but eventually she managed to track them through their omni-tools and not only confirmed they all survived, but was able to get them on board with rebuilding the academy. She'd also been able to locate several teachers who'd evacuated with the majority of students before Cerberus invaded; most – though not all – had survived the Reapers, and while a few had agreed to help rebuild, many of them expressed an interest in returning to the academy in the future but weren't ready to join them on Earth yet. Kahlee understood. She wasn't the only person to experience loss during the war and everyone needed time to come to terms, to set about the process of healing at their own pace.

As Kahlee shifted through another set of boxes from the crate, she glanced over to Jack who was tearing through the containers with ease. She was incredibly relieved to have Jack by her side, not just to help with rebuilding the academy, but as somebody she considered to be her closest friend. Even before David's death, over the past two years Kahlee had lost four people she cared deeply about due to the interference of Cerberus and she didn't want to think about how much worse her grieving would be without Jack's affirming presence in her life.

Despite their differing personalities, Kahlee had formed a good friendship with Jack as the wayward younger woman adjusted to life as a teacher. Yes, she had been difficult to get through to especially at first, but as the months passed by Kahlee watched with pride as Jack developed into a dependable leader for her students and, on a more personal level, a more mature version of herself overall. Kahlee had become a mentor for her, as well as a confidant and friend. In return, Kahlee greatly admired and drew strength from Jack. Surviving in spite of all the horrors she's endured, never giving up her fight to live in a galaxy that seemingly did its best to kill her, and eventually, steadily learning that trust and letting others in weren't such bad things after all. It was remarkable, and Kahlee was honoured to be one of the first people Jack considered a friend in her chaotic life.

“Looks like that's it.” Jack announced as she peered into the now empty crate, “How about we leave this crap here and grab something to eat?”

Kahlee stood alongside Jack, brushing herself free of dust from the boxes. “Sounds like a plan, Octavia bought fresh food supplies earlier so we've got plenty of choice today.”

“That's great and all but I was actually thinking we could go to the Charon Cafe. It's been ages since I last went.” Jack countered.

“Didn't you take the students there last week?” Kahlee asked, giving Jack a questioning look.

Jack rolled her eyes, though she grinned at the memory, “Yep, and that's way too long ago. Especially with how much I'm craving their coffee right now.”

Kahlee chuckled. Realising it would be good to get some fresh air for a while she agreed, “Alright, you've convinced me. Let's go.”

As they journeyed to the cafe a few streets away, Kahlee was blessed by a wave of appreciation for the life she now found herself with. The sun was shining, light clouds dotted the clear blue sky as summer warmth engulfed the city. Ripples of heat radiated from buildings in the distance, bouncing off the pavement ahead, even coming out from the cracks between mounds of rubble yet to be cleared from the side of the road. Kahlee glanced towards Jack who was sporting a stylish pair of shades and walking Eezo on his leash.

It was true Kahlee had lost more than a few people in her life so far, but she'd also gained several new friends along the way. She had Jack, as well as the students who were now helping to rebuild and the small handful of teachers that had returned to assist with the effort. Not only that, she was still in contact with the other former teachers who had taught at the academy, and periodically checked in with friends she'd made while working on the Crucible project. She'd even warmed up to Eezo after a chaotic introduction to the energetic varren, much to Jack's delight.

Kahlee smiled to herself for the first time in a long, long while.

The war was over. The Reapers were dead. Through sheer determination and hard work, Grissom Academy was set to once again become the prestigious school it had been before. Despite all the hardship, there was much to look forward to.

All in all, the future was bright.