jane's career is shaped by human - batarian conflict; battles of which she witnessed the aftermath or participated in herself heavily influence her perception of batarians as a whole. out of these are two moments that define jane's life and military career: the raid on mindoir (2170) and siege of torfan (2178).
jane was 7 years old when the relay 314 war happened. anti-alien sentiment made its way to earth in the aftermath, steadily becoming entrenched especially in gangs like the reds; this shapes jane's perception of humanity's place in the galaxy, a viewpoint enforced during her first deployment on mindoir. the horrific treatment of human colonists at the hands of batarian slavers (and the lack of support from the council as batarian - human tensions escalated throughout alliance expansion into the skyllian verge) cemented jane's view that regardless of how much diplomacy occurred and how strong human - alien relations would become in future, humanity was ultimately on it's own.
during the firefight on mindoir, her squad's commanding officer was incapacitated. jane stepped up, holding ground against the raiders and managed to push through their lines to rescue a handful of colonists, albeit at heavy cost to her squad. in the aftermath, she was invited to the ICT program, earning her n1 designation in 2171. jane's exceptional performance during the program marked her as an asset of note, fast tracking her career in special operations. during this time, jane studied batarian language and culture extensively, learning to weaponise it against them to the best of her ability.
the next few years saw jane's career split between progressing through ICT and deep cover missions in the skyllian verge, many of which laid groundwork for alliance pirate suppression campaigns in the region. this culminated in the skyllian blitz of 2176; the alliance was thus spurred into eliminating batarian presence from their territory once and for all. the next two years saw jane setting the groundwork for a major operation on torfan.
by this time, jane had earned her n6 designation, developing a reputation for ruthless efficiency and a charismatic personality, well - loved and respected by those under her command. she was assigned to major kyle's unit as 2ic. each member of their ground squad was personall selected for their grit, conviction and discipline – particularly yishai shepard, a gifted biotic and highly capable soldier – the sledgehammer that would undoubtedly be essential to victory.
the siege of torfan was a bloodbath. from the start, alliance command knew the operation would be a monumental effort; pirate strongholds were dug deep into the moon where orbital bombardment couldn't penetrate and comms between ground and naval units would be spotty at best. when major kyle cracks under pressure from the heavy losses sustained by ground units, jane takes command. under alliance orders to take the moon at any cost, jane rallies her unit and pushes forth; yishai serving as both vanguard and battering ram.
though her charisma and dedication had earned the unflinching loyalty of her troops, her orders – to execute every batarian on the moon regardless of surrender or civilian status, no prisoners – stirred discontent amongst the soldiers. some had fought on mindoir and understood her intentions, complying without question. jane convinced the rest during their first encounter with one of many slave - pits on the moon. the experience was convincing enough; no one disagreed after that.
jane sent half her unit to their deaths in an unrelenting march to force the batarians into retreat. soon enough, the batarians realised that surrender would not save them; in the vicious battle that followed half of the rest of the unit are killed. when the dust settled, jane sent a squad above ground to contact the rest of alliance troops with information on casualty counts, slave survivors and a report on the battle. the remaining troops were ordered to free and administer first aid to surviving slaves; jane reinforcing the necessity of the war crimes she had ordered.
upon returning from torfan, jane reported to major kyle, then alliance command, and was taken into custody to be trailled before alliance parliament for war crimes. during the investigations, all the survivors from jane's unit defended her steadfastly and fiercely despite heavy pushback from parliament. admiral hackett, though distanced from the matter, also voice support for jane's decision on torfan, citing that she had to make a difficult call that was not made lightly.
hackett was partly right – the decision was easy but nevertheless not made lightly. jane's actions were carefully considered. she intended to send a message to not just the hegemony but the galactic community: start a fight with humanity and this is how it will end.
in the weeks after torfan, batarian presence retreated from the skyllian verge, signalling the end of an eight year conflict. jane was acquitted of all charges but suspended from duty for three months. afterwards, she went through probation and subsequently re - training.
during this time and the months that followed, the siege of torfan became a major subject in human and council space; the primary incident discussed in debates about war crimes abd political commentary about the human - batarian conflict. for a time, jane’s history was paraded in the media, her name dragged through the mud becoming synonymous with "war criminal" to the general public and "hero" to conservative human radicals. when torfan finally fell out of the public eye, jane was awarded the n7 designation, reassigned to the alliance's black ops division and quietly promoted. she would run various black ops for the alliance, participating in missions during the theshaca raids until 2183, when yishai shepard became the xo of ssv normandy and the first human spectre.
