Thank you to everyone that reviewed! You guys make me happy.

Miranda Lawson's heels clicked rhythmically as she strode through the CIC of the Normandy. High heels may not be the most suitable choice for the planet of Bekenstein, what with it being a lush garden planet, but she was one to allow herself a little vanity.

She spent a lot of time to keep up with her looks, so she may as well flaunt a little, so long as it didn't interfere with her performance.

And her performance was going to be top notch, as today was the day of the Kasumi's big heist.

And to be honest, she kind of looked forward to it. It presented a new challenge, as the operation was going to be a nightmare for logistics. Donovan Hawk was rumored to have security measures that rivaled the Councillor's quarters on the Citadel.

A literal private army, biometric scanners, laser grid defences… It's is going to be quite a day, Miranda thought as she made her way to Shepard.

Finally spotting him near the cockpit, she made note that he was with Kasumi. The two were animatedly talking, when the younger japanese woman stood on her tiptoes and planted a small kiss on the Commanders cheek. The commander looked smug, and it was obvious that she was excited, as she all but bounced around while hugging him. It would have been an endearing scene, were it not for the one thing that was amis...

Miranda stopped dead in her tracks, and stared at the object in Kasumi's arms. Is she holding a greybox?

Miranda did not like surprises when it came to Shepard. And the fact that Kasumi was holding a Grey Box, presumably hers, was pretty fucking big surprise.

"Hello Commander, Miss Goto…" Miranda greeted cautiously. "Tell me, what is that you're holding?" The thief held it up for the Cerberus Director to see.

"The Commander got me my greybox back! Isn't that wonderful?" she said happily.

"How in the hell is that even possible? We've only been in the system for an hour!"

"Wohhhh-wohh-woh, Miranda" the Commander said and put a reassuring arm around her. The gesture looked friendly, but really he was using it to discreetly remove her weapon in the event that try and use it on himself. "Okay, listen... you know how we're in a big hurry and all, since we gotta go save the crew, right?"

"What did you do?" The cerberus director asked with an eerie calm in her voice.

"Okay, I'll tell you... but you gatta promise not to get mad.

"What. did. you. do?" She asked again, and Joker wisely took cover below a console. The Commander couldn't help but notice that she had that crazy look in her eye. The one she usually had when she biotically lifted someone in the air, and drove them into the ground like an oversized railroad spike.

"Uhh, well you know greyboxes are kinda like black boxes, as in they're reeaally tough. So I got to thinking; what if it could survive a minor explosion?" On reflex, the Lazerus cell director looked at the GreyBox, and noticed that it was indeed a little burnt around the edges, and was sporting a large dent.

"Are…" she looked back to him with a look of disbelief "... are you telling me that you blew up the mansion, and sifted through the debris?"

"Ehhh…" the commander hissed a breath in through his teeth, "Kiiinda… except, lets replace the word 'minor' and go with something a little bigger" he said and pointed out the cockpit window. Miranda turned her head..

...and dropped her coffee on the floor.

"Oh my shit…" She breathed. To the casual observer, one would have said that they were looking out at the edge of an asteroid belt. However, since Miranda Lawson was not the casual observer, she noticed many things wrong with what she was seeing. Most of which, was that most of the 'asteroids' were still smoldering. And to put the final nail in the coffin, the Statue Of Liberty's head decided to pass by the window, and for a second, both women made eye contact before she continue on her way.

Miranda could only watch as lady liberty's head spiraled away, to god only knows where.

"You used the thanix cannon on a garden world…"

"Okay, I may have used some mildly excessive force. B-but we're the victims here! Kasumi needed her GreyBo-"

"You used the thanix cannon." Random objects in the CIC began to shake, and drop off their respective surfaces. Digital readouts began to flicker as Miranda began to glow. Her rage manifesting into a biotic field that actually crackled and popped like an open campfire. "O-okay, I can see that you're a little upset, a-and i can understan-"

"You used the thanix cannon." She said. Her voice coming out in an impressive g-minor, she looked at the cowering spector with eyes that were now glowing solid white. The few crew members that were on the deck began to scurry like rats off of a sinking ship. Kasumi ran and dived into the garbage chute, figuring it was the quickest way to get below deck before Miranda blew. Hopefully she'd find a way out before she got to the compactor.

Mordan and Tali, who were standing next to the star map, made a mad dash for the elevator. Since it was made for only one, the quarian tripped Mordan and jumped iin. she pushed the 'door close' button just in time to see the terrified salarian press his face against the glass. He beat against the door screaming 'noooo!' as she descended to safety.

Zaeed, having always been a hardcore survivor, slapped on his rebreather mask, and jumped into the air-lock. A second later, he was jettisoned out the side of the ship, telling EDI to swing back around if it didn't explode.

Shepard backed up until he was up against the cockpit, just in front of Joker's impromptu bunker. In one last attempt at survival, the Commander tried the last thing he knew. "J-Joker! I need you to beam me down to the engineering deck!"

"That's Star Trek you idiot!"

Reaching her final form, Miranda only started to glow brighter, and everyone started to scream as the ship started to shake. Warning icons flashed across many of the screens as the ship's integrity was now beginning to falter.

And suddenly… it was all over.

Cups, data pads, an entire computer terminal that was too close to ground zero, all fell to the ground. The commander opened an eye, and found that he was still alive…

He looked over, and saw that Miranda was still standing in the middle of the CIC. Her face was so calm, that it looked outright unsettling. Her cloths partially torn, and hair standing on end, she looked like she'd stepped out from the center of a tornado.

"M-Miranda? Are… are you okay?" Shepard asked cautiously. She looked a little lost before she realized that he was talking to her.

"Who, me? I'm doing just fine."

"...Are you sure?" he asked " Cause... your nose is bleeding a little, there…"

She checked, and sure enough, it was. "Huh… how about that? I'm probably drinking too much coffee." Were Mordan not unconscious, having been thrown clear across the room and landing head first into a waste bin, he probably would have objected to her diagnosis.

"Y… yea, you should switch to decaf or something…" The Cerberus Director turned around, and began to shamble back to the elevator.

The moment of silent sanity lasted only a mere 13 seconds before the commander found himself smirking again.

"Man, is it just me, or is Miranda really hot when she's mad?" Shepard asked out loud, and took a moment to admire the view that her retreating form offered and bit his lip. "...the ass was fat."

EDI's sphere winked into existence "Somebody please hit him."

Joker's hand snaked out from his temporary shelter, and Shepard flinched as he was smacked across the back of his head.

Just dusting off ye old keyboard. Working out the kinks in the old knuckles and all that.

I'm kind of thinking about doing a separate little series, starring Jacob and Miranda. And their adventures before they were promoted to Director, and Operative. Just those two going around, and doing all of the grunt work that Cerberus needs. I think it could be fun!