DISCLAIMER: Bioware owns the concept of Mass Effect and all of its characters. This fanfic is for entertainment and no profit what-so-ever. I use Tolkien Elfish for Asarian no copy write infringement on intellectual property.

CHAPTER ONE: Nevermind the Knight-Watch the Pawn

All necessary security precautions.

That had been Shepard's last command to the green skinned asari, Miranda now knew was none other than the highly talented and exceptionally successful bounty hunter Aleena. So that was how Shepard 'took care of' the huntress. She recruited her. Turn the enemy into a powerful ally. Lawson found it rather ironic humanity's first Spectre had achieved the very same thing Cerberus had been attempting to do with Shepard.

Lawson couldn't help but speculate on how Shepard managed it. Had she cajoled, threatened or pressed the asari into service? Or had she simply asked? Showed Aleena what was at stake and asked her to serve? Whatever means Shepard had used, the huntress was utterly devoted to her Commander. There was no mistaking that kind of loyalty. Miranda knew it well for it was what she held for Cerberus and what it stood for.

Before Shepard kidnapped Oriana, Miranda was slipping-almost having a crisis of faith in the doctrine of Cerberus and the truth given to them by the Illusive Man. But with her innocent sister snatched Lawson dug-in and become steadfast in her convictions. Despite her new biotic prowess Lawson did not believe Shepard was up to the task of stopping the Collectors and defeating the Reapers. Not if her mental stability was so easily snapped because of the death of a fetus that wasn't even biologically hers. Admittedly it was tragic that the alien child had to die, but the sacrifice was necessary if only to prove Shepard's incapability to overcome personal matters. If Shepard allowed herself to be so consumed by rage and grief how could she possibly be the icon, the hero the galaxy needed to stand behind when the Reapers finally came?

Short answer. She couldn't.

Not unless Cerberus rebuilt her in their image. But first they would have to finish breaking her.

As the Spectre had promised, Miranda was greeted at the airlock of the Normandy by a full squad of asari commandos: six in total. Had she the time or the inclination, she might have recognized a few of them as the same ones who had accompanied Shepard when she had stormed the sorority house back on Illium. At the moment her mind was absorbing the details of the ship itself. She had to hand it to the asari engineers; they definitely knew how to put a ship together. Not only were the wavecrest frigates a beautiful sleek design, reminiscent of the great prehistoric pterodactyls of Earth, they were as swift and deadly as their Thessian namesake. Within, the bulkheads had a gently sloping curvature to them that the asari favored rather than the more sharp right angles found on vessels constructed by other species, including human. Having been on a few asari luxury liners Miranda also thought the asari concept of shipbuilding was very art nouveau with a bit of art deco and a hint of Jules Verne in them. Captain Nemo would have been very much at home on the Normandy as he was on Nautilus.

The operative's momentary appreciation was cut short however as she was escorted from the shuttle bay's aft cargo lift into the crew deck where the sickbay was located. Of course she had to submit to a routine physical exam. Can't have any nasty secret surprises interrupting what was sure to be (wink-wink) a by the book interrogation of an enemy agent, now can we?

What surprised her when she entered the sterile environment of Normandy's med-bay was the presence of a bald human clergyman. Miranda gave a momentary glance to her asari guards but they were less than forthcoming. Her puzzled expression had obviously translated to the man in question because he answered when he saw her quizzical look.

"I am Father Genativii," he touched his hand to over to his left breast and gave a very slight benevolent bow as was customary of one of the religious order. "Apart from my duties as a clergy of human theology, I am also a credited councilor, one of three aboard the Normandy. In this circumstance I am to serve as your advocate to ensure your proper treatment and to see that your rights as a prisoner of war are duly upheld in accordance to the Citadel Regulations as well as Earth's own New Geneva Convention."

"You expect me to believe a Council Spectre will uphold the New Geneva Convention?" Miranda answered the clergyman's explanation with a tone of cold disdainful resentment and petulant willful disbelief.

It wasn't Father Genativii who gave a rebuttal but the white haired physician. "Commander Shepard is a Spectre Agent and a human, who has a very high respect for laws and regulations. More than that she believes in them. Her crew follows her lead. If they don't they don't stay on her crew long." Blue eyes scolded Miranda for her outburst which she clearly saw as uncontrolled and undeserving. "I am Dr. Chakwas: Chief Medical Officer of the Normandy. Now we will proceed with a full medical examination. I have a few routine questions I need you to answer fully and truthfully."

Miranda was handed an exam gown, the sort that tied around the neck and opened in the back. She was given leave to strip behind a holographic privacy curtain but not without Aleena accompanying her. As soon as she disrobed one of the nursing staff confiscated the formfitting armored unitard before passing it to one of the commandos.

The few hours Lawson spent in the med-bay seemed like days. The questions were exceedingly boring and routine as was the full-physical which was exactly like those she was required to submit to yearly from Cerberus medical. Truth-be-told it was the same exam any soldier was ordered to submit to during their term of service within the military. The whole affair was more of a pain in the ass than anything and filled with annoying, if not slightly uncomfortable, personal questions and examinations.

Name: Miranda Yvonne Lawson: Earthborn, Australian. Born in 2150: aged thirty-four. Height: 1.524 meters, weight: eight stone (or around 50.80 kilograms.)

Was she allergic to any medications, any antibiotics or food? Was she addicted to any legal or illegal substances? As her incarceration would most likely be lengthy, a forced detox would be a problematic and if not properly handled, it could lead to further medical detriment.

No, she did not have a family history of medical issues like cancer, heart disease, or any other debilitating conditions. No, she wasn't allergic to anything. No, she wasn't an addict. Yes, her menstruation cycle was regular and no there were no overly painful cramping sensations during it. Yes, her bowel movements were regular as well. No, she wasn't currently sexually active, no she didn't have any STDs nor had she ever contracted any. No, she had never terminated or miscarried a pregnancy or in fact been pregnant. Her eyes betrayed the pain within her that she could never bear a child. How ironic that because of her father's obsession with his dynasty and perfection, he perfected his daughter out of continuing the line. This, of course, the operative kept from Chakwas. Miranda forcefully shoved the sting away from her mind and focused her attention on the questions that were asked of her.

No, she didn't have any issues with her biotic implants and amp other than the occasional static shock discharge common to all non-asari biotics. No, she didn't suffer migraines but yes, if she didn't consume the typical high caloric diet of a biotic she did become terse and had the symptoms of someone with hypoglycemia. Which again was fairly typical with biotics.

Yes, she was feeling a bit nauseous because of the neurocollar that replaced the amp at the base of her skull but that was to be expected. While the neurocollar assisted in regulating the biotic implants and stabilized them so there wouldn't be flare-ups, it also damped them to such a level it made Miranda feel partially lethargic which was the point. How else could you confine someone biotic with abilities?

You could take the amp away but the sub-dermal nerve-cluster implants remained and so did the capabilities. For the purpose of incarcerating biotic fugitives new technology had to be innovated and implemented. And the asari had found a way to monitor and control the biotics of others. They had created the neurocollar. Other security firms had created their own methods, some more effective than others. Cerberus itself had created a drug to use against multiple biotic combatants but while it was immensely effective (especially against asari) in the battle field, in the incarceration business it was impractical. Leave it to the blues to create a method to control and nullify both natural and implanted biotics.

The asari of course didn't need the implants as their nervous systems were already highly attuned to element zero's dark energy, but they did use bio-amps. In fact they made the highest quality bio-amps in the galaxy. Something the Illusive Man was keen on surpassing for Cerberus's biotic agents. One of his pet projects was the production of what he called the Phantom and Nemesis warriors. They were the means to this end.

Lawson's amp had, of obviously, been confiscated by Aleena beforehand and surrendered to Doctor Chakwas for examination. After which it would then be placed in a highly secure evidence locker in the custody of Normandy's chief security officer. Lawson's bio-amp was a heavily modified Serrice Council L4 hyper amp, which increased the power of her offensive attacks by at least ten percent above the average Savant model bio-amp. It also had a neural mask that provided her with a twenty percent increase in her power duration and the smart amplifier allowed for a swifter cool down rate. In fact it was almost (though not quite) equal to Shepard's own L5 bio-amp.

As per standard procedure during the regular exam, the operative was given privacy with only Chakwas administering. The physician was as professional, courteous and respectful as if she was seeing to a female member of her own crew. Lawson admitted grudgingly that she was due for those tests anyway. If she was allowed to leave, (a fact Miranda very much doubted) she might attempt to convince Shepard to give her an ODS with the results so she could transfer them to Cerberus Medical. It'd be nice not to have to do the whole bloody thing all over again. At least the breast exam wasn't the archaic medieval torture her forebears back in the twentieth century had to suffer.

Now came the more invasive questions and examinations. The air in the med-bay seemed to shift to an almost static surge of concern as to how Lawson was going to respond to being questioned and what the answers to those questions were going to be. One of the reasons that Miranda felt so unnerved at this part of the examination was that another doctor was brought in: a salarian named Dr. Mordin Solus.

He was typical of his species, gangrel with large amphibious almost insectiod eyes. His face was well lived and had seen several battles. No doubt it was during one such confrontation that he had earned the large 'X' shaped scar on what was the equivalent of a salarian cheek, as well as missing one of the horn like appendages on the top of his head. Though it gave him a rather lopsided appearance, it also added a fierceness to a species Miranda had never seen as intimidating. Taking in the wrinkles around his eyes and mouth Lawson gauged that Dr Solus was quite advanced in his years, but it was difficult to say. She was never good at judging the ages of aliens.

"Please take a seat on the bed." The white-haired human physician pointed to the bio-bed directly behind the operative's left shoulder. Once Lawson sat as directed the doctor continued speaking. "Due to the nature of Cerberus methods of ensuring its operatives do not succumb to interrogation, you, Miss Lawson, will be placed under sedation." Dr. Chakwas said. "Your advocate will bear witness to ensure that your rights as a sentient are not violated. Dr. S'thasa, if you will? "

"Of course, Doctor." Aleena responded in an equally professional tone.

Before she could even turn to the new speaker, Miranda felt the now familiar tingling, if not stifling hold, of a stasis bubble envelop her body. It rendered her immobile, more than that it was as if her whole body seized tight. Her hands clenched the side of the bed causing her knuckles to become bone white against her perfectly tanned flesh. Every single muscle cramped causing the pain of a dozen different charley-horses to simultaneously attack her body like a ravaging disease.

"May I ask why you did that Dr. S'thasa?" Genativii turned on the emerald skinned asari. Apparently not everyone knew who this huntress truly was. Doctor... indeed. "That seems quite over the top, even for an agent of the enemy."

Chakwas administered a mild sedative, which did little to relax the operative's muscles until Aleena lifted the stasis field. At which time Miranda's entire body went slack and was caught by the elder woman and gently laid back down on the bed's less than comfortable leathered surface

"Wise precaution. For her. For us." Mordin answered for the commando medic. "Cerberus operatives known to have cyanide capsules hidden in molars. Avoid interrogation by way of suicide. This way prisoner unable to move, unable to deploy use of suicide."

A glimmer of disgust filtered in the clergy man's eyes at the mention of suicide as he spoke. "I see... Very well carry on then. But I must ask, why not use sedation during the first part of Miss Lawson's examination?"

"It wasn't necessary Father Genativii." answered Dr. Chakwas. "She would not have perceived the exam or the questions as a threat to Cerberus."

"And you know for a fact that she might commit suicide for this next part of the examination?" The lanky clergyman gave Miranda a look that would be better suited for a court appointed public defender than a man-of-the-cloth

Her body numb and her mind groggy because of the sedative, Lawson listened with some interest. The operative was more than a little intrigued how Shepard's people would justify their actions.

"In the past when Cerberus Agents were apprehended they used several methods to avoid interrogation." the human doctor said. "Cyanide, death by rushing the guards, one man even slit his own throat with an antique pen-knife he managed to conceal in his rectum. And there was a woman who, rather than submit to questioning, rushed the wall of her cell with enough speed and force that the ensuing damage did more than give her a concussion, it gave her significant brain damage so she was unable to answer even the simplest of questions, even her own name."

"All unnecessary. More efficient and effective to have small explosive device implanted in cranium. Activated by frequency of a bio-scan. Take out captured operative and interrogators at the same time." Mordin piped in.

"Try not to give the enemy ideas, will you Professor?" Aleena quipped. "Strategically speaking it's not a very good idea."

"Ah. Yes. Apologies."

The professor's words however did have a rather profound effect on the occupants in the sickbay. More than a few of the accompanying commandos half expected Miranda's head to explode in the next breath. Even the good Father took a step back from his client with a wary gaze of apprehension and trepidation that had not been there before.

"Oh, for crying out loud." Chakwas grumbled as she ran her medical issue omni-tool over Lawson's head which was still pillowed on the headrest. "Had she such a device implanted in her skull it would have already alerted me from the first time I ran a scan over her. Honestly!" Her usual tempered upper-class London accent became clipped and as stern as any nineteenth century governess. "However that doesn't mean the prisoner hasn't been preconditioned to use other means of self-harm and mutilation to avoid questioning."

One of the younger commandos muttered under her breath. "Would that be so bad? One less xenophobe in the world. Galaxy's better for it. I say let her kill herself if she wants to."

"Yes and where would that leave Agent Shepard?" another retorted. "Without answers as to what Cerberus wants with her."

"That's an easy answer Naga'sadow. Dead. They want Shepard dead because she married one of us. Adopted our religion. Attempted to have a child with one of us. Unforgivable sins in their eyes. Then they made sure her daughter was slaughtered and made a damn fine attempt at doing the same to Dr. T'Soni! Cerberus despises anyone not human! Any human in a personal relationship with another species is considered a race traitor. They consider Shepard the biggest race traitor of them all. Isn't that right you bitch!?" the young woman growled.

"Corporal Handir! Mind your conduct, please!" Genativii reprimanded the highly agitated asari. "May I remind you, Miss Lawson is a prisoner of war not a deranged psychopath or a sociopath running amok with guns a blazing or flinging biotic powers mindlessly. Whether or not she personally committed any war crimes has yet to come to light. For now we know only she is part of a criminal organization."

"Yes and according to Citadel law, that is a capital offence." Handir snarled back.

"If there is to be any sentencing of that law, Corporal, it will not come from you. It will come from either the Spectre or the Council itself." Genativii headily argued back. "I am not very fond of Cerberus. In fact I have more reason to hate them than you. My youngest son died on Akuze. If you know anything about that, then you know that a trap was deliberately set in a thresher maw nest by Cerberus. They wanted to see what thresher venom did to the human body.

"My godson, who was also there, was the only survivor of that fiasco. Cerberus doctors took him prisoner and performed horrible experiments on him...they tortured him. He will be forever scarred by that. He will never fully recover from what Cerberus and the threshers did to him. He still hears the screaming. And I weep for him because I cannot help him. But I will respect the law on this ship and so will you."

Many eyes, including Miranda's medically-induced groggy blues, stared at the man and his outspoken proclamation, all of them clearly shocked by the revelation. Apparently not even Chakwas had been aware of the priest's past. Miranda looked away, her hand unconsciously scratching the spot just below her left clavicle. She hadn't personally been involved with that operation not really. But it had been her algorithm within the faked distress call that had caused the Alliance to believe it was genuine and go in and hit dirt. She tried to argue with herself that back then she hadn't known that it was anything more than a challenge - a test of her skills from the Illusive Man. She wrote the protocols that circumnavigated Alliance comm-system firewalls when she was a part of Cerberus's cyber-warfare division.

The operative had been so young at the time, so eager to prove herself, that she had not questioned the directives given to her by the Illusive Man. Miranda prided herself on being his favored protégée, his most trusted operative, even above Kai Leng. So desperate to prove she was better than the assassin that Miranda started to developed programs, initiatives and concepts to further Cerberus long term goal of humanity's advancement. She had become the Illusive Man's personal go-to-woman. No question.

Akuze wasn't just set up to bait and kill Alliance soldiers. Human soldiers. There was an objective to Project Hydra to study and adapt the abilities of the dreaded thresher maw and to nullify its venomous attacks when deployed. It had paid off. Maybe the Alliance didn't know or didn't care one way or the other that it was Cerberus, not their military-techs that derived the toxin-based ammo many troopers favored. Or that many of the anti-toxin mods for the hardsuits came from what Cerberus scientists and doctors had uncovered via Project Hydra. Yes, the tech officially came from Hahne-Kedar, but that company was owned and operated by Cerberus employees whether they knew it or not. Indeed it had been started by the Illusive Man himself under yet another alias.

Yes, admittedly a few soldiers died on Akuze, but some sacrifices are absolutely and tragically necessary to ensure humanity stays strong. Sometimes hard lines must be drawn so that humanity advances and is not overcome by the shinny newness of alien races. The deaths of those brave Alliance men and women were for the greater good of all humanity. Did not the Alliance, and hell, even some of the other races, reap the benefits from what was uncovered at Project Hydra and many projects Cerberus initiated? How arrogant, how convenient a double-standard and how two-faced these Alliance types and their so called alien allies have become!

As Miranda Lawson's bio-metric x-rays and more in-depth exams were about to begin, they were suddenly interrupted and abruptly shoved aside as a barrage of noise and action assaulted the once tense med-bay in a cacophony of chaos.

Every head turned, snapping away from Lawson to the new comers.

Sandwiched between Shepard and Zaeed and laid upon a stretcher was Garrus Vakarian. The right side of his face all but a semblance of what it once was. Blue blood pooled around his head, a constant drip upon the metal floor. His breath was labored and painful. It was providence's own luck there was no cerulean froth coming from his mouth, which would have meant a perforated lung.

Scrambling frantically on the tail of the would-be orderlies flew Tali, Liara and Williams, the former obviously in great distress. The whole of her environmental suit coated in azure blood. "No. No. No. No. No." The one word continuously poured from her. Nearly all her slight weight was supported by Liara.

"My God!" Chakwas exclaimed. "Quickly get him to the bio-bed. All non-essential personnel—out!"

"He took heavy fire from the gunship. A rocket grazed him." Shepard delivered the SitRep. "We stabilized him with seven medigel applications. But he's lost too much blood."

"Understood. Thank you. Now get out. All of you save for you Dr. S'thasa. We're going to need your help." Chakwas ordered.

"I lend my aid as well." Mordin pitched, he was only given a nod by the silver-haired woman as everyone else filed out of the med-bay.

"No! I want to stay!" Tali screamed, but her protest was cut short by Shepard's presence. She took a firm hand and guided the distraught quarian out of the sickbay.

"Garrus is in good hands. Dr. Chakwas knows what she is doing." the same words were once quoted to Liara nearly two years before. They were as valid now as they were when first spoken. "She put me back together again; saved Liara's life, and she will do the same for Garrus." The Spectre's tone was soothing as if to quiet a terrified child from night terrors. "Come on, we have to get out of her hair and let her get on with saving Garrus." her voice still gentle but becoming more firm. "Come Tali." with a gentle but firm final push the Spectre escorted the younger woman out the door.

"Naga'sadow, Handir," Williams addressed the huntresses, taking over the more administrative duties, "secure the prisoner in the brig."

"Aye aye." Naga'sadow answered, turning to the operative, the tone of her aloof voice containing such a chill one might have become frostbitten. "Let's make this nice and easy Lawson."

For a brief moment the operative thought to demand to see her sister. To ensure Oriana's safety, but sophistication and forethought gave Miranda wisdom enough to keep her teeth together. Now wasn't the ideal time to force the issue of the terms of her surrender that hadn't even been negotiated. However there was perhaps one maneuver the operative might be able to use to ensure certain pieces on the board moved to her liking. And it may yet take some of the bite out of the Spectre's wrath.

"I wish your man well, Shepard."

The small nod of the dark head was more than a simple acknowledgment of the words spoken to her; it was a sign, however minute, of her gratitude. The unvarnished truth was that it was as much a shock to the operative as it was to Shepard that she actually meant the words.

Marched along the corridor back to the central lift, Miranda looked at the crew as she passed. Faces: human, turian, salarian, asari and volus all returning her stare with mixtures of suspicion, distaste and, oddly enough, some even reflected admiration for the operative's submission and the bravery it took to do so. The proud do not often bend a willing knee.

One face amongst the humans and asari was familiar. Miranda gasped for it was her face, fifteen years ago. "Oriana!" she could not help but call out the name of her sister.

The girl turned as any who hear their name in a crowded room. The moment she saw Miranda she shrank back, a young asari looked to her then to Miranda, her blue eyes became an odd fusion of protectiveness and distrust at the same time. The operative was left standing as the asari escorting Oriana, touched her sister's arm with friendly fingers, and led her away. Not so friendly were those that grasped her arm and pulled her to the lift that ultimately led to her incarceration. Miranda consoled herself that at the very least she saw Oriana. She was in fair condition or so it seemed, not a prisoner lingering away in the brig as Lawson had first feared.

Haunting words slipped in Miranda's memory. 'If I were Shepard, and had it been my daughter executed, I would not have bothered with such an elaborate scheme to trap you. I would have allowed you to walk through the doors of my dominion. I would have allowed you a single glimpse of your sister just before I snuffed out her life, making you stand helpless and impotent to stop her blood from spilling.'

Was Lawson meant to catch that cruel sliver of hope? Was she meant to glimpse Oriana before her life was snuffed out as the Shepard-T'Soni child had been? Was Shepard giving her a glance, a single glimpse of her sister before her life was erased from existence?

No. From what she saw of Shepard in the last few moments, Oriana would not be so cruelly used. Nor would Miranda ever allow it. She would do anything to save her sister, up to, and including, sacrificing her own life. They would burn if they dare even try.

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

Tali padded after her commander, more guided by her than following her. "We waited for you in the mess." the quarian's voice sounded meek, listless as if there was no life in the body that uttered them. She of course was referencing the time after a piece of Sovereign's hull had crashed through the Citadel tower windows and landed on Shepard, nearly killing her.

"I know." Shepard turned her hand, touching the soft fabric of the veil that covered Tali's helmet. It was the red and black swirled pattern of the Colossus armor she had given the engineer during their fight against Saren. Goddess that was a life time ago. "But you took care of yourselves, didn't you." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. "Tali, your suit... it needs tending to." She had almost said it was coated in blood but refrained from saying such knowing how detrimental it would be to the young woman's fragile emotional state.

"I want you to reclaim the Kestrel model from Lt. Nual. I know you prefer the Colossus, more I think out of sentimentality than its performance. I appreciate the thought but you know as well as I do that the Kestrel is far superior. Hell, you implemented some of the upgrades yourself." Sam placed her hand under the quarian's helmeted chin and lifted the girl's head. "It's why Garrus is still alive. He was wearing the upgraded model you, Nual and Ash worked on."

It had taken months for the new upgrades to go from the development stage to practical use. First Shepard and Liara's armor were developed, then the rest of the flagship ground team. Regardless of the expense, those upgrades were given to the rest of Normandy's mobile infantry and flight squad.

The armor was truly innovative, with the spinal-mount processor synchronizing artificial torso muscle fibers with limb movements in the cuirass, allowing power to be generated by the legs, channeled through the core, and projected out through the arms. Auto-targeting was assisted by the stabilization of the firing platform. Kinetic barriers were powered by waist-mounted capacitors. The greaves had hip mounted power packs which provided emergency energy for kinetic barriers and heavy weapons.

The pauldron were also heavily recalibrated with backup capacitors for shield generation. Artificial muscle fibers based on spider silk which reinforced the shoulders, allowing for more powerful movements. It increased the power by ten percent. Even non biotics could deliver one hell of a melee attack using the new pneumatic power. The potency of the artificial muscle fibers within the gauntlets were just as equally innovative. Just like everything else, they were controlled by the armor system's central processor allowing for both gross motor movements and precision support of the hands. This steadied aim in a manner compatible with most firearm auto-targeting systems. Additional capacitors for shield generation were installed on the ulnar side of the forearm.

The armor was environmentally sealed with an independent air supply for use in space and extreme planetary conditions, with an onboard "micro-frame" computer capable of running a suite of battle management software. To prevent detection by passive thermal sensors, body heat was channeled to the soles of the feet, where it could be dispersed into the ground.

Tali recalled how utterly proud she had been in designing the VI tech which was dedicated to recognizing signs of stress and medical trauma. The armor's microframe computer also managed biotic amp and omni-tool power, and microservers helped the wearer's movements to counteract the armor's weight.

While the armor the quarian wore now housed many of the very same upgrades, it was not of the quality the Kestrel was. The only reason Tali insisted on wearing the Colossus was because Shepard had given it to her just after the incident with the batarians on the Terra Nova asteroid X57.

Simon Atwall offered a gift of gratitude which he insisted on giving the commander. Shepard could have easily asked for the superior omni-tool the chief engineer had, instead the Spectre had asked for the quarian armor. Atwall only had it on the asteroid base because there had been a couple of quarian pilgrims who had been on Terra Nova for a while, one of which had a spare suit and apparently had left it behind. With no way of returning the suit to her, Atwall had kept it in storage. Fortunately it was designed for a woman and fitted Tali as if tailor made for her. Since she had been given it by Shepard, Tali was hesitant to shed it. It was prized and special to her.

Only the blackness of her armor hid the blue stains of Garrus's blood. It left purple splotches on the red fabric that skirted low on her hips. Even if she managed to get it cleaned the memory of the stain would forever linger and torment her. She understood why Shepard was urging her to change suits.

Tali had to admit she liked the look of her newer armor. It was black, dark blue with accents of gold and her favorite color purple. And unlike the Colossus, it had both a casual feel to it as well as martial. For the latter she had the upgraded greaves, pauldrons, gauntlets and boots, with a purple leg band that wrapped around her right thigh. The hood was black and gold, reinforced with the same material that lined Liara's white and gray pinstriped highway man's coat. They attached and reattached to the environmental suit's underlay at will, as did the breastplates' reinforced plating.

The former casual look had more purple and had a softer appearance with two purple leg bands and a low hip sash which highly accentuated her femininity. The hood covering her helmet was fully purple and billowed more about the shoulders, which were covered in a sheer purple halter. Again, they were made of the same durable armored cloth but had a far less militant quality to them than the armored variety.

"The research lab's clean room is free. Go in there, use the showering facilities and get into the new suit. Once you are done go to the mess hall and get something to eat. No arguments, Tali. No protests. I'd order you to bed but I know that won't happen." There was a tender kindness to the Spectre's voice. "I know this fear, this worry you have, Tali. The man you love is in the best possible care. Garrus is tough, he'll pull through. And he now has someone to pull through for. He won't give up the fight."

"Shep..." Tali's voice wavered, hanging in the air. She sprinted the three steps into her Commander's arms, the strength seeping out of her at each passing breath. Sam wrapped her arms around Tali's slighter frame and held her tightly.

"Hey, hey." Sam cooed. "It's going to be okay, I promise you, it's going to be alright."

Tali pressed her body closer to Sam's, drawing in the security and comfort offered her. She trusted the words she heard as if they were religious text of the Ancestors. Once given, Shepard never broke her word to her crew. She never gave false hopes, only the courage to believe in true hope and possibility. She gave her people belief when there was no hope of success.

"I... I am sorry I... fell apart" Tali pushed away slightly from the arms holding her, embarrassed to have broken down in front of one of the women she admired most.

"Tali you have nothing to be sorry about. Nothing at all." There was something in the Spectre's voice that clearly hinted that she felt the guilt for Garrus' condition lay solely at her own feet.

There were times when you had to hit the human over the head with the figurative clue-by-four and get her to see reason from a clearer point of view. Sometimes however such action was not only fruitless but futile. Tali'Zorah vas Normandy found herself rather perplexed as to what occasion this instance was

Instead of attempting to convince the commander that guilt was not hers to bear, Tali opted for a diversionary tactic. "I think I'll go take my shower." she said with a sigh. "It will actually feel good to feel water against my skin rather than relying on my suit's internal systems to cleanse my body."

Shepard smiled at that. "Good to hear." the Spectre displayed a playful disarming smirk. "Of course we're going to have to find a way for Garrus to join you in one of those showers."

"Shepard!" Tali smacked the human on the arm hard enough that had she not been still in her armor there would have been a bruise forming. Then a more shy voice uttered. "Do... do um... you think... er... it can be done?"

Shepard threw her head back and laughed, "Let me see? We have Professor Mordin Solus on board- an expert on xenobiology, the ever talented Dr. Chakwas and a secret hopeless romantic like Aleena on the case... yeah I think it's possible." A wider lopsided grin spread on the older woman's face. "Very possible."

"Even if I became a little sick it'd be totally worth it." Tali said almost to herself.

Shepard clapped a hand on Tali's shoulder and gave a very slightly smile. Her intention had been to divert the young woman's pain, fear and worry and convert it into hope, into something to believe in. And she recognized the double-play in the quarian's own maneuvering to distract the Spectre from her own haunting thoughts that stalked her upon heavy feet.

Heavier still, and a greater haunting, were words written centuries ago. Words Shepard had committed herself to study and discipline herself to, words quoted by the entity that called itself Wizard. Words the Spectre dare not trespass against.

"… therefore it is said that enlightened rulers deliberate upon the plans, and good generals execute them. If not in the interests of the State, do not act. If you cannot succeed, do not use troops. If you are not in danger, do not fight. A sovereign cannot raise an army because he is enraged, nor can a general fight because he is resentful. For while an angered man may again be happy, and a resentful man again be pleased, a State that has perished cannot be restored, nor the dead be brought back to life. Therefore, the enlightened ruler is prudent and the good general warned against rash action. Thus the State is kept secure and the army preserved."

Yet Shepard had raised an army whilst enraged, fought while resentful. Contrariwise her actions were not in full against the State. For the tides of bounty hunters had to be levied least they flood the truer purpose set by the Spectre's mission to stop Reapers and put an end to their cycles of relentless harvesting.

The thought turned the Sam on to other more pressing matters.

A greater army needed to be raised to face the hordes. And therein lay the problem. The Reapers had the dragon teeth, the horrific monstrous devices that turned dying organics into husks. Shepard was more than positive the dragon teeth were not an invention of the geth, but something Sovereign gave the quarian made machines.

Thus far the crew of the Normandy had only faced those of human origin. But what if those horrors were born of other species? Would the creatures made out of asari still have biotics? More than likely. What of the krogan or vorcha? Surely they would still retain the ability to regenerate swiftly, still retain the blood rage and rampaging charges. But of turian, drell or batarians, what would they become? What the hell would an elcor or a hanar be turned into, never mind the rachni. Surely the quarians with their weakened immune systems would not be made into a husk-creature. For once the great frailty of the quarian people would be their salvation. How ironic!

As Shepard prowled the corridors of her ship, her mind continued to wind back to the Reaper abominations. The damned machines would never run out of disposable foot soldiers. As long as organics struggled to live the Reapers had limitless minions to throw back at their enemy. In a terrifying way it was horrendously brilliant move on the part of the sentient machines. For the price of one, the Resistance lost two soldiers: The one turned into a Reaper minion and the other hesitant to shoot at a friend, a family member.

There was nothing left of the human in the husk save for the perversion of its shape. In the war to come, warriors and soldiers must be made to see past what they knew the person to be - to the creatures their friends their families became and shoot to kill. It would be the only way to survive, the only way to free the abhorrent monsters from a fate far worse than death. The husk creatures were a synthesis of the worst possible kind - the blend of organic and synthetic, was a mockery of life, of creation. As much as the statement was an oxymoron, the birth of such was a pure abomination.

If ever I am captured I want whoever is there to put a cap in my head. I sure as hell don't want to become one of those… things. The Spectre shuddered involuntarily at the thought of her body impaled on the dragon teeth. Only to be released as a slathering mindless zombie that turned on her loved ones, her friends and squad mates.

Of course those thoughts brought the Spectre back around to the whole issue of dragon teeth. With no proof, which the Council would insist she have, they would never believe Shepard if she said the monstrous spikes were not of geth origin but Reaper. So far 'I saw it in a vision' hadn't done her any favors. And saying she saw them in the memories of a dead Prothean woman definitely would not go over well.

There was a chance, however small, that she could convince Aria T'Loak to listen to her, to believe her. If she could get the Pirate Queen on her side Shepard felt it in her gut that Tevos would follow suit. And if she did, Thessia would and if Thessia did, Earth would. At least that was the theory Shepard was betting on. A safe enough wager if Aleena was brought in on the sit down to reaffirm everything the Spectre was saying to be true.

The long shot wasn't T'Loak, it was Lawson. Getting her to admit the crimes Cerberus committed was going to be like pulling the saber teeth from a varran without a set of pliers and whilst wearing blood soaked BDUs. Gaining useful Intel to use against the criminal organization was going to be harder still.

Again, the play on the board involved a sister. But this pawn Shepard was more reluctant to maneuver on the game board. She had disrupted the kid's life enough as it was, gave her a vision of a nightmare Oriana would never forget and it had forever altered her perception of her elder sister.

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

Miranda watched the changing of the guard with mild interest. There were always six asari huntresses, two of them sported full faced helmets. They watched her, perhaps waiting for her to make some kind of attempt of escape or some kind of retaliation. She'd not give them the satisfaction.

"Come to stare at the Cerberus bitch have we?" Miranda challenged, causing the woman to shrink back towards the door. She snorted. Precocious little blue chits, always acting so superior to everyone else. Lawson always loved seeing them taken down a few pegs; the only thing better was besting the turians in martial skills and shoving their arrogance down their skull faces.

The operative fell back against her bunk and sat down. She'd not give her jailors the satisfaction of seeing her shrink before them. Her eyes never left the helmeted figures, she returned stare for stare. What did they think to intimidate her, unnerve her by concealing their faces? Such a tactic might have worked against a lesser mind, but not hers.

She sat and waited.

Shepard was bound to come sooner or later.

In fact it was much, much later before the Spectre made her appearance. Preceding her were two human guards, a blonde male carrying what looked to be folding card table and the other, a redheaded woman, carrying a chair. Once they performed their duties they retreated back out the door.

Almost on cue, Shepard slipped in with the economic movements of a predator comfortable in her surroundings. In her hands she carried two mess trays on top which were two blue foil packs and two plastic bottles of water.

"I imagine by now you're famished." the Spectre said in an even tone.

"MREs?" Miranda looked to the blue foil pouches. "Really? You are going to feed me MREs?" Her voice rose in pitch.

"Would you rather trust a tray of food from the mess? You have to eat something; I don't care what you shovel down." Shepard challenged. "Mess Sergeant Rupert is serving some sort of calamari gumbo. It's pretty tasty. It can be arranged if you prefer."

Miranda shook her head, the dark locks falling about her shoulders like cascading waterfall. "Not presently no."

"I didn't think so. Not that I'd trust any food given to me by you if our positions were reversed. So MREs it is. Rule of thumb, eat now, taste it later." Shepard held up both in her left hand as her right held the two bottles of water. The later she placed on the floor in front of her boots. "I grabbed two packs from field rations. Didn't actually look at what I picked up. Let's see what we have." She turned the packs over in her hands and read aloud their labels. "Looks like we have beef ravioli or a chicken fajita. Which do you want?"

"And what if I said I was a vegetarian." Lawson quibbled.

"I'd say don't eat the main." Shepard answered.

Miranda shouldn't have expected any other kind of answer. Shepard had such an inappropriate glib levity at times. She sighed, well there was nothing for it but to answer back. "What's in the ravioli pack?"

"Let's see…" Shepard looked at the table of contents: "Beef ravioli, toaster pastry, cookies, cheese spread, jalapeno crackers, vegetable beef snacks, a high carb-electro beverage. Hot sauce-if you're lucky both red and green Tabasco and coffee, creamer, artificial sweetener, salt and pepper, chewing gum, and matches. I think I'll confiscate both of those, but you can keep the toilet tissue and the moist towelette." Shepard smirked.

"Then there's the other choice. Chicken fajita, cheese spread, tortillas, Mexican rice, baked snack crackers." Shepard rolled her eyes and in a mocking tone added "Muumm baked snack crackers… tasty. A spice pack- in other words salt and pepper and maybe paprika. Actually the beverages aren't half bad. Irish cream cappuccino, non-alcoholic apple cider, and the other amenities. Which again, I will confiscate the gum and matches. Can't have you starting any fires or causing any sort of MacGyvered mischief with chewing gum and the heating pack. You understand."

"Of course." Lawson responded evenly. "I'm not a massive fan of the military's version of Mexican cuisine. I'll go with the ravioli. That at least seems mildly palatable."

"Fair enough." Shepard opened the preferred pack in full view of Lawson then methodically began separating each course into the segregated sections of the tray.

So we're a little OCD. Miranda mused. To be fair most military types had a bit of that tick in them. She knew from Cerberus's own troopers that some of them, when it came to food, either slopped everything they could on the tray not caring if it was all mix-mashed together, while others depended on the segregated slots to ensure each food item was properly contained and isolated and never touching. Of course the latter tended to be officers and had the affordability and luxury of not being forced into the 'eat now and taste it later' philosophy.

"Since you're confiscating things, take the bloody coffee while you're at it. I prefer tea." the Australian scowled.

"You have an awfully strong opinion of coffee." Shepard jibed handing Miranda her tray through a slot in the bars of the cell. "Did it somehow offend you when you were little or something?"

"I simply find it unpleasant." Miranda didn't say it was the uncultured drink of the masses. That would not go down well considering the Spectre was an obvious fan of cappuccino. She probably favored lattés too. Lawson should be generous with the space born vagabond. After all, what could you expect from a woman who grew up with no true solid family life, always on the move? Of course Shepard favored coffee. It was the navy's go-juice.

Hell the woman probably wouldn't know a three-star Michelin restaurant if she saw one, let alone how to eat in one, despite the refinery of her wife's background. T'Soni's elegance obviously didn't translate across their bond. Just look at the way Shepard sat! It was almost masculine. The operative supposed the 'technical' term was butch and definitely pure military. Shepard didn't know anything else. How could she? She was born from a soldier's womb, sired by a soldier's seed and lived her entire life as one even before she enlisted. Hell, Shepard wasn't covered in placenta when she was pushed from her mother's body; she was born wearing a set of N7 BDU onesies complete with the red honor strip running the length of her pampers.

Despite the methodical way Shepard prepared the MRE on the tray, she didn't seem to have an issue on how she dug into her food. Or at least there was no discernible pattern to it that Miranda could see. Shepard took a few bites of her main before biting into one of the other courses. It took a moment for the operative to realize the Spectre was actually eating in accordance to the hierarchy of the nutritional pyramid: dessert, meat, dairy, veg/fruit, carbs. Shepard was actually eating by rank! Lawson wondered if the other woman was fully aware of how she was eating or if it was such a habit by now that it wasn't even a second thought.

Shepard also ate very quickly: conditioned behavior no doubt due to her militaristic upbringing and years of service. Once more she obviously expected Lawson to do the same. Best not disappoint her.

"What is Cerberus's long term goal?" Shepard asked suddenly in a conversational tone.

It actually took Lawson by surprise but she mastered her unnerved thoughts and settled herself to answering succinctly. "The advancement of the human race, nothing more nothing less. The salarians have their Special Tasks Group. The asari have their legendary commandos with delta recon operations. Cerberus is humanity's answer to those organizations."

"But those organizations are regulated by governments. Who keeps Cerberus in check?"

"Nobody. We're privately funded. And our backers trust the Illusive Man to make the right decisions. But he is very clear about our goals. Protect humanity and Cerberus advancement."

Shepard thought for a moment, seemingly chewing over Miranda's words as she was the food in her mouth. Swallowing the rice she asked. "Are you military or political? Or both?"

"Cerberus has several divisions. Military, political and scientific. But we are working towards the same goal. The teams you encountered before… Dr. T'Soni's accident, were mostly part of our military division. But not all Cerberus operations use the same protocols. We try not to get bogged down in bureaucracy or formality."

Again Shepard paused to think before continuing her line of questions. "What kind of funding does Cerberus have?"

"We're very well funded. Though I doubt anyone but the Illusive Man knows exactly how well. But our resources aren't limitless. That being said, some operations take significant investments and significant risks. If you were to join us we could provide you with resources the Council or the Alliance cannot or will not offer. We want the same things as you: To stop the Reapers, and here and now the Collectors. You're facing the impossible Shepard. We can help you, we want to help you."

Shepard's eyebrows knitted together, a frown etched its way onto her angular face as if chiseled there. Ignoring the weak attempt at recruiting, the Spectre continued her interrogation. "What can you tell me about the Illusive Man?"

"Not much that you don't already know. Even I don't have access to most of his background. It is rare for him to become directly involved in the operations of a mission. But you are something special. Whatever else people might say about him, I can assure you he has humanity's best interest at heart. That includes you and me."

"Phft. How can you be sure of that if you know so little about him?"

"I didn't get to where I am without being able to gauge people's motives and ambitions even from brief encounters. He's no saint and he'd be the first to admit it. But he is committed. Humanity couldn't have a better advocate."

Miranda knew Shepard didn't believe her, not that she blamed the other woman but if there was a chance to keep this open dialog going then there was a chance to take the blinders off the Spectre and allow her to see Cerberus for what it truly was. What it truly stood for. Miranda knew forcing Shepard's hand in the manner the Illusive Man had played wasn't the right course. Yes her boss had to take a proactive measure to clean up what that fool Udina had done, and it might have been the correct one if Shepard had more of a renegade nature in her.

Samantha Shepard was a blunt woman but you don't use a blunt instrument to lever someone like her to your side - you entice with ideals of honor, justice and her natural instinct to protect. Lawson saw a chance to fix the errors that had been done in the past few months. She had never been this open with anyone before; never spoke as an equal to another but was willing to take the chance with Shepard, even if in her heart she didn't truly believe the Spectre was her true equal.

The food on her tray gone, Shepard stood up turned and departed saying nothing more.

"Wait! My sister. I want to see her."

Pausing to look at the two helmeted guards Shepard answered with: "Perhaps tomorrow." Then she was out the door.

The same human guards that had set up the table and chair came in and cleared them, confiscating Miranda's tray and plastic spork and retreated, taking the table and chair with them. And thus a routine was set.

Day by day Shepard would come in following the guards after they set the table and chair up. As before, the Spectre gave Miranda a choice of MRE packs and then set about preparing it. After she laid out her own meal the questions would begin. Once more the tone of the interrogation was more conversational rather than confrontational.

"Tell me about yourself, Miranda." Shepard said before biting into her spaghetti, her choice of meal for the day as Lawson was dining on lasagna.

"Oh, I guess that's fair given I spent the last few months learning everything I could about you. You probably already know about my extensive genetic modifications. Not my decision but I make the most of it. It's one of the reason's the Illusive Man handpicked me. I am very good at just about anything I choose to do."

"Hmm. You certainly don't lack in confidence." Shepard retorted.

Equally as dismissive though very cocky about it Miranda said. "It's just a fact. My reflexes, my strength, even my looks. They are all designed to give me an edge. No point in hiding from it. It's the reason I'm trusted to oversee the most dangerous and technically demanding operations Cerberus undertakes. And it was why I was assigned to you. It's my job to ensure that you succeed, Shepard."

Again the Spectre made a sound of disbelief. "What level of genetic modification are we talking about?"

"It's very thorough." Miranda's lips curled up arrogantly. "Physically I am superior in many ways. I heal quickly; I will likely live half again as long as the average human. My biotic abilities are also very advanced. For a human. After that, add the most advanced training and education money can buy. And well, it's pretty impressive really."

Shepard's cocked eyebrow was her only response.

"I know you won't believe it, but what happened to Dr. T'Soni wasn't Cerberus... not really. Ambassador Udina... former Ambassador Udina took his own initiative against you without consulting the Illusive Man. If he had known sooner, the Illusive Man would never have permitted Udina's revenge fantasy to be enacted. He wants to help you."

With that the meal and conversation was suddenly over.

"Shepard! My sister? You said I could see her today."

Again a look to the helmeted guards. "I said perhaps." The Spectre vanished.

As before Miranda was left with only her own thoughts. There was a very distinct methodology to how Shepard was using these sessions of interrogation, the line of questions, the meals and the abrupt departures.

The next day: It was chicken chow mein for Miranda and schezwan fried rice and wasabi for Shepard.

"Tell me Miranda, what did the Illusive Man do to make you so loyal?" Shepard started the day's interrogation.

"I told you before that my genetic alterations were not my choice. My father… created me. He is a very influential man, and extremely controlling. He didn't want a daughter he wanted a dynasty. I ran away as soon as old and brave enough. I ran to Cerberus because I knew they could protect me."

"You seem capable of defending yourself, why did you need Cerberus?"

"My father invested a great deal into his dynasty. It wasn't a matter of just leaving. I knew he would pursue his... investment."

"I assume Cerberus approves of your enhanced abilities?"

"Of course. Cerberus fully endorses anything that advances the cause for humanity. Genetic alterations included. But unlike my father and his own selfish reasons, Cerberus and the Illusive Man believe in the greater good. They see the bigger picture and that I have a purpose there."

Shepard leaned forward, taking most of her weight on her elbows that were resting on the table's surface. "You talk about yourself like you're just a… tool to be used by your father, by Cerberus."

Miranda didn't like the turn the conversation was taking. "Maybe. I like to know where I fit in the world. It helps me find meaning in how I was created."

Shepard stared in to the grey eyes of her prisoner. "You are who you are Miranda. You don't need to makes excuses for it."

"That's easy for you to say. We've both been engineered for greatness, Shepard. The difference is you were great before Dr. Chakwas rebuilt you. I'm great because of it."

Shepard shook her head. "Your spirit and personality are what make you great, it's what makes anyone great."

Miranda's lips curled into a phantom smile that she didn't feel in her heart. "That's kind of you to say. Not sure I believe you, but thanks for saying it."

The conversation was done, just as before Shepard left without so much as a word.

"My sister, Shepard when will you let me see her?"

Shepard said nothing as the door closed.

The next day:

"Who exactly is your father?" Shepard said as she handed the tray of food over to Miranda.

"A business man, but a very wealthy one. It's ironic, my father believes in a human positive agenda. He donated generously to Cerberus… before I joined them. It's how I first heard about them, through my father's connections."

"You told me a lot about your father. What about your mother?"

"I never had one." Miranda answered softly. "Most of my genetic makeup is based on my father's tissue. He had his Y chromosome altered with an amalgamation of desired traits from various sources." she sighed heavily. "How arrogant can you be? The man's completely egomaniacal. I wasn't the first daughter he created Shepard; I was just the first one he kept. It's just another reason I had to get away from him."

"How difficult was it?"

"Shots were fired."

"Your sister, how does she fit into all of this?

"When I was sixteen he decided I was not exactly what he wanted so he created her. We're virtually identical. She's my genetic twin."

"And because you despise your father you took her from him?"

"I didn't take her! I rescued her!" Miranda shouted. "I didn't want her growing up next to a monster; I didn't want his ideals infecting her mind. I wanted for her to have a normal life and the freedom to choose her own path."

Shepard had finished eating. The conversation was over. Again.

She paused at the door looking at the helmeted guards for a brief moment, waiting for Miranda to call out if she could see her sister. But the question wasn't asked. So Lawson had at least figured it out: As long as she made the demand it would not be granted.

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

"You're going to get me into trouble Ori! No. I cannot." Nual protested for the fourth time. "You'll see her when Commander Shepard believes the time is right. You just have to have patience. Isn't it enough she allows you to watch the interrogation sessions?"

"No! You don't get it. By the time I'm allowed to see her in person it's too late, she'll have formed the perfect response, the perfect reaction to anything I say or do. I need to catch her off guard. I just want to see her, without her knowing it's me watching please Nual tell me you'll help me. Please!"

The asari shook her head. "It's against regulations, Ori I'm sorry. Truly I am. Maybe if you ask the Spectre she'll let you see her as you wish."

The girl dropped her friend's hands and turned away, padding back to her bunk and sat on the edge of it, folding her legs up under her chin and hugging them to her chest. "I have to know, Nual. You wouldn't understand. I see you with the other huntresses in your squad; you're as close to them as a sister should be. My parents never hid the fact I was adopted, they made a point to say I was chosen because they loved me. There was an accident years ago leaving both my parents unable to sire or carry children. They wanted children.

"Then I came along and they held me, and loved me just as if I was born to them. My mother said I was her soul daughter. I was born to be her child as she was born to be my mother. My dad said he finally got how the asari are when their bondmates have a kid by using someone else's mind. They are as much as an arda to the child born to their wives and not sired by them as they are to those that are.

"But I wasn't born to them. I was created in a lab just like Miranda. I was created… I'm a tank bred human Nual! Don't you get what that means? I was never born. I have to know! I have to know if evil is genetic. She's my genetic twin. I have to know, Nual."

The asari puffed out a breath of air. "Okay. Okay" she signed "There might be a way we can pull this off. But you can't say a word; you have to behave exactly like a huntress. Follow any orders given to you without hesitation or question. Just obey them."

Oriana popped her head up, her gray eyes growing wide. She lowered her legs until her feet touched the floor. "I can do that."

"And you're wrong, Ori. I do get it. I understand the fear." Nual looked away. "My elder sister… Yanis is an ardat-yakshi."

"Oh Nual…" Oriana's excited expression transformed from excitement into compassion and remorse. She had lived her whole life on Illium, an asari colony world. She knew the word, knew what it meant. "I am so sorry."

The young woman shrugged. "Nothing can be done about it. I guess it's why I was so eager to join up with this crew. Not for Shepard. But for Dr. T'Soni, we are both true born. We're both lucky that the flaw jumped us. "

To say the word pure blood was a grave insult amongst the asari. Often times those of such parentage referred to themselves as simply pure or true born or even a more the crass term of full-blood but never pure blood. Well almost never.

"My sister was always a mischief maker. I think that's how she gained the attention of a Justicar. She… she didn't do anything… truly bad. She didn't give into the impulse… but… I… I was relieved that when the Justicar came she surrendered and agreed to go to the Monastery. My mother and sire were too. I think they made contact with Justicar Samara just after my sister was diagnosed because they feared Yanis would make a run for it. If she did, the Justicar would be forced to kill her because of the Code. My parents never admitted it, but I knew and so did Yanis. They did it because they rather she live in the Monastery alive even if she hated them than dead.

"I don't think I'll ever get to see her again. Not unless she starts following rules but I doubt it. Yanis never did when we were kids. She never did as she was told. It was like our birth ranks were reversed, I always felt like the older sister." The young huntress signed heavily. "Guess sometimes I'm a lot like her. You know if we do this and we're caught, I'll probably lose my commission and I most certainly will end up in the brig."

"I'll tell the Commander it was my fault, I talked you into it."

Nual snorted, "Do not tell me you are that naïve to think Shepard, or anyone else for that matter, would buy that. The truth is I'm breaking regs. And I definitely know better."

"Nual…"

"Just… shut up about it, alright? Just keep quiet and for the love of the Goddess don't remove that helmet once it's on. We're just lucky humans resemble asari… sort of." She took the human's hand, "Come on let's get you kitted out." She shook her head, This is so going to bite me in the ass.

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEM

Today was different.

There was still the table, the chair, trays and the MRE packs, but this time there was no choice of food, both were beef stroganoff, but the choice of which pack Lawson wanted to eat remained. There were also the bottles of water. But there was to be no questions raised, no conversations pursued. It unnerved Miranda more than she liked to admit.

She tried to gauge Shepard, but she gave nothing away, her posture was the same as it had been the past three days. The way she prepped and ate the food just the same and paradoxically radically different.

Maybe it was due to the body language of the two helmeted guards. The first day they were watching her, studying her, perhaps waiting for her to morph into some kind of beast. Today though, the one on the right was watching the Spectre intently, but the one on the left stared at Miranda making her feel as if she were under a lens of a high powered microscope. Her stomach churned.

"So now that we've had dinner, how about a movie." Shepard said without actually asking a question. "I don't know how you feel about monster flicks. But I want your opinion on this." She craned her neck looking behind us. "Give us the room!"

Miranda watched as the helmeted figurers looked at one another and hesitantly departed the brig. The operative continued watching the exodus until all the remaining huntresses were gone.

Well this doesn't bode well.

"This vid is for a very select audience." Shepard offered almost playfully. "They don't need to see it."

A section of the bulkhead directly across from Miranda' cell slid open.

"What no popcorn?" Miranda snipped.

"I don't think you will want it."

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

Nual pulled Oriana against the bulkhead far enough away from her sister huntresses so as not to have their conversation overheard. "What the hell was that in there? You all but gave yourself away!" the asari hissed.

"I… I… am sorry. I… don't… But you heard her! I thought maybe I was a product of… I don't know... what to think anymore. But to find out I'm nothing more than some kind of piecemeal… Frankensteinian creature! You heard what Miranda said; our father took desired traits from who knows how many women, just created to be the perfect human female. Tits, hair, ass… brains… hell even our biotics all created just for some asshole's ego. His dynasty.

"And look what he created. Miranda is just as twisted. What kind of woman runs from the company of the devil directly into the arms of another demon? She did it eyes wide open. That means it's just a matter of time before I am just like her."

Nual removed her helmet and gripped the human by the shoulders. "That's not true. Your sister was raised by your father then later by the Illusive Man. She had no hope of being anything but what she is. But there must be something good in her, she saved you from her fate and made sure that up until now you had a normal life."

Oriana shrugged off the gauntleted hands on her shoulders to lift her helm from her head. "I need to talk to her."

"Oh no, no no no. You said you needed to see her, you saw her. You wanted to hear what she had to say, you heard. There is no talking, not until Shepard allows it. No way."

"What is this then?" a new voice cracked.

"Oh shit." Nual groaned. "Naga'sadow, I… can explain everything."

Arms folded over a chest. "I'm listening."

"It was me! My idea." Oriana popped in.

"Please Ori, don't help." Nual muttered shaking her hands in front of her as it to wave off the human's next words.

"But she should know that it was all me. Lieutenant, I talked Nual into letting me go in there." Oriana protested.

"Oh no…" Nual clapped a hand over her forehead and winced.

"Is that so?" The older asari ignored the junior officer's reactionary protests. "You mean to tell me that a civilian, barely more than a child even to her own people, somehow cajoled a huntress into not only forsaking her duty, but to deliberately endanger her charge?"

"Um…" Oriana grimaced, "put like that… it sounds very bad."

"You think?" Both Naga'sadow and Nual said at the same time.

"Nual, return to your quarters. You are confined there until Shepard or the XO is ready to deal with you. As for you Miss Solheim, you will come with me."

"Yes ma'am." again a chorused response—this time from human and asari.

MEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEMEME

"That was nothing but propaganda!" Miranda raged.

"No more than what you're people were going to do to me! That faked news report taken from hijacked camera footage was doctored to make it look like I went on a killing spree, rampaging through the Presidium. Presented no less by a news anchor woman who had been a prisoner of the krogan because of her links to… guess what? Your organization.

"I was to be blackmailed into stepping down from my position as Spectre or it would have been aired. Cerberus wanted to discredit me; make me out to be some sort of sociopathic degenerate suffering from PTSD. And it would have worked had it not been for a benevolent hacker that placed a virus on the vid feed that, should any computer run it, the hard-drive is wiped clean.

"Tell me, Operative Lawson, that there isn't a contingency plan in case Project: 'Let's turn Shepard into a raving lunatic,' didn't work."

Caesar Miranda automatically corrected, but said naught verbally. A joint operation with Lazarus, Yes the Illusive Man had wanted to turn you into Julius Caesar a heroic figure turned tyrant to be killed by the Senate in order to free Rome of his hold. Broken, lost you'd then be then saved by Cerberus from the jaws of death and oblivion. Given all you could ever ask for to fight the Collectors…the Reapers. All you had to do was to submit for the better good of humanity. But to the Spectre facing her she said nothing.

"You called that propaganda?" Shepard snarled, drawing Miranda back from her thoughts. "Enlighten me Operative Lawson, which part of it was hyped, where was it falsified? Oh you can't, can you? Because that vid, though a compilation of various instances of unforgivable crimes was all true. Every bit of it was true."

"That 'monster flick' of yours was completely out of context and you know that!" Miranda snarled back.

"Your experiments crossed the line!" Shepard countered.

"All the time yes, but I recall a Spectre who crossed a few lines while hunting down Saren and the geth. And we'd be lucky to have you; too many people join us out of simple xenophobia. We need more people here for the right reasons."

"I saw your bases. You were using rachni, thorian creepers even husks to make your own army."

"The husks were already dead, the thorian creatures were mindless and the rachni were abandoned once we understood their intelligence. We weren't breeding an army; we were breeding expendable shock troops for high risk scenarios. How many soldiers died on Saren's attack on Eden Prime? How many would have lived if we had just a dozen rachni soldiers on our side?"

"What was Cerberus trying to prove experimenting on kids, like Gillian Grayson?"

"A mistake no question. Not mine."

"Oh that's too easy Miranda, and too cheap for you to pull now. Cerberus took an autistic child and tormented her system with clandestine experimental drugs. I can only imagine what horrors were done before Gillian, what experiments preceded Cerberus latching onto the Ascension Program. How many children were tormented, tortured in the attempt to make the perfect biotic? Your biotics?"

Miranda scratched the spot beneath her collarbone indicating her unease. Shepard relentlessly pursued her line of questioning.

"Your Illusive Man is as dirty as they come. You call him a visionary, but of what? That man is a fascist and a terrorist. Just like Saren before his indoctrination."

"He is not a tyrant! He's no saint, and he'll be the first to say it but he is a true visionary. He wants to secure humanity their place in the galaxy. Can you tell me you don't want the same, or are you no longer human?"

"I am much of a human as you are, Lawson. What is better, to be human or humane? With your intelligence you could have landed any job you wanted. Why choose this?"

"Because I still envy Kirrahe's time with the STG, working with people as smart as he is. Cerberus never tells me that something is impossible. They give me my resources and say do it. And they can give you even more. A new life, a new ship, The Illusive Man's personal attentions."

"I have had enough of his attentions thank you very much. You are not making a very good argument for your Hound of Hell, Lawson. I have no intentions of serving in Tartarus under the flag of TIMmy."

"You don't have to serve. An alliance then. You're good at those. Don't let your past with us blind you to what we can offer you! WE believe you, Samantha Shepard. Who in the Alliance military top Brass believes your warnings about the Reapers or the Collectors? Who within your precious Council takes you at your word? None! But we do! We can give you the recourses to face off against the Reapers. To stop the Collectors.

"Strategically speaking you know this is the right course. You need us. Hell, if the batarians offered their forces to face off against the Reapers wouldn't you use them? You would and you know it. If you would use theirs, then use ours, Shepard."

The Spectre stood and headed for the door.

"Just think about it, Shepard."