Spider of the Stars

Chapter 1: An Unexpected Development

Unknown Facility

-Approximately 1.5 years after the death of Commander Shepard

Miranda couldn't help but sigh in irritation as she sat at her desk to file the most recent update on the Lazarus project to the Illusive Man. Over the course of the year and a half she had spent into rebuilding the woman who was regarded by many as the galaxy's savior, the Cerberus operative had grown increasingly doubtful that the process would ever reach fruition. It had taken them a year and god knows how many trillions of credits just to reconstruct Shepard's body, and they were only now starting to see signs of possible reawakening. Maybe heroes aren't meant to come back after their time has passed… she contemplated, resting her head on the back of her chair. Then again, if this doesn't work, humanity has absolutely no hope of making it out of this alive. With that last thought, Miranda quickly wrote up the update, then slowly drifted into much needed sleep. Not even an hour later, the blaring sound of the facility's alarms woke her from her slumber. Cursing under her breath, the Cerberus operative immediately activated her omni-tool's communicator.

"Jacob, report! What the hell is happening? Are we under attack?" she demanded.

"Negative, Miranda! The station's passing through an unknown energy signature, and a massive one at that! I've never seen anything like it!" her friend's voice replied.

"Judging by the alarms, I'm going to assume it isn't friendly."

"Heh, you can say that again. Looks like our shields are holding up though. Wait, this is strange…all of the energy is pooling into the-"

Miranda tensed at the sudden halt in Jacob's speech.

"Pooling into what? What's the energy doing, Jacob?"

"It's diverting…to Shepard. All of the energy is going straight to Shepard!"

The Cerberus operative's eyes widened in anxiety. After all the work that went into getting them this far, she wasn't about to let a surprise power surge put an end to it all. Quickly, she rerouted the communicator to the man overseeing Shepard's reconstruction.

"Wilson! What's going on down there? What's the energy doing to Shepard?"

"I don't know! It's too bright in there for me to see anything! Readings are showing a massive spike in Shepard's biotic abilities, as well as some sort of alteration to her tissue. I won't be able to assess the damage until this damn light clears!" the shady scientist answered.

"Dammit!"

No longer able to tolerate such inconclusive information, Miranda made her way to where Wilson stood frantically working on the operating room's control systems. The shutters had been forced down over the room's windows, but a brilliant light could be seen seeping through their creases. Miranda turned her attention toward one of the monitors, which showed the current condition of the commander. As the light began to fade from the room, the identification changed from that of Shepard to 'unknown'. Not waiting for Wilson to check for any potential hazards, the Cerberus operative stormed into the operating room just as the light disappeared. Inside, she found a young woman dressed in street attire, with shoulder length wavy red hair and a small ornate red marking on the back of her neck* in place of Shepard. The woman appeared to be unconscious, but Miranda wasn't quite convinced it was safe to engage the intruder. While she stood staring at the woman in thought, Wilson came into the room.

"Jesus, Miranda! Would it kill you to-" his words came to a halt upon catching sight of the red haired woman. "What the-?! Who the hell is that?!"

"….I haven't the faintest idea. But, is it just me, or does she…look like Shepard?"

The scientist suppressed his rising irritation for a moment to get a better look at the woman. The more he thought about it, the more he found himself agreeing.

"Come to think of it, she does. A bit younger than Shepard, though. What do you think that means?"

"I'm not sure…I have no idea what to make of any of this. I'll go contact the Illusive Man and inform him of what happened, you stay here and make sure she doesn't leave this room."

Wilson nodded in agreement, and Miranda left to contact her superior. Not much later, after getting quite an earful regarding her inability to prevent the loss of their most valuable asset, the Cerberus operative awaited further orders from the Illusive Man. The hologram of the shady organization's director lit yet another cigarette before sitting down and staring at his subordinate.

"You said that this anomaly, this...'girl', is nearly identical to Shepard?" he said at last.

"Yes, sir. Her appearance is remarkably the same, although she appears to be younger in age. However, her appearance is only a minor point of concern. I had Wilson take a sample of her blood, and the results were...peculiar."

"Peculiar? Elaborate, please."

"Whoever this girl is, she has a large amount of an unknown energy source coursing through her veins. It has nothing to do with any biotics we know of, and seems to match that of the strange energy storm that probably brought her here in the first place. She could have powers unlike any the galaxy has ever seen before."

The Illusive Man took a moment to process this new information before putting down his cigarette and returning his gaze to Miranda.

"Sir?" she said confusedly. "What do you propose we do with her?"

"If you say this girl is an almost perfect look alike of Shepard, and the only difference is her age, then...why not keep her?"

"Sir?!"

"Continue the reconstruction process. There is no time left for impediments. Do whatever you must. That is all."

Before Miranda could speak another word, the connection to her superior was cut. The Cerberus operative slowly made her way back to the operating room, where Wilson had restrained the mysterious young woman. She was prepared to carry out her mission, regardless of the cost, but still she could not help but wonder what the consequences would be. As she stared at the woman, deep in thought, Wilson took notice of her presence and walked over to her.

"So? What did he say?" he asked.

"..."

"Miranda?"

"...Continue with the process. We are to use this girl to finish our work."

The scientist looked at her in shock for a moment, then nodded his head in acceptance.

"Yes ma'am, right away."

As Wilson set to work making preparations, Miranda shot one more glance at the woman. Whoever you are, she thought. You had better be worth all this trouble. Humanity itself depends on it...

Sirens. That was the first thing I heard when I opened my eyes. A whole bunch of goddamn sirens. As much as I hated the noise, I quickly became aware that it was the least of my problems. Upon sitting up, I was met with a massive headache, and the sight of an unfamiliar room. From what I could tell, I was in a laboratory of some sort, and judging by the fires raging on the other side of the nearest window, the place was under attack.

"Perfect." I groaned in frustration.

Managing to suppress my headache for the moment, I tried to get a good look at my surroundings, hoping an exit would prevent itself. Just as I found the strength to lift myself off the operating table I'd been laying on, static came over the intercom.

"Shepard!" a woman's voice said.

Since I had no idea what the hell she was talking about, I ignored her. But apparently whoever the woman was didn't like to be ignored.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I don't know your real name yet, but I need you to listen to me! This station is under attack, and you need to get out of there! Go to the locker to your left, you should find armor and a gun. Hurry and get them!"

"What makes you think I'm going to listen to you?" I inquired back at the intercom. "I've got a million questions about just where the hell I am and what's going on."

"Dammit, this is no time to argue! Now hurry up and arm yourself!"

It didn't seem like I was going to get anywhere for the moment, so I decided to play along. I went over to the locker she mentioned, and quickly got into the armor. Surprisingly, it was a perfect fit, though I had to wonder what the N7 on the front was supposed to mean. Another question for later, I guess. I then picked up the firearm that had been placed beside the armor, once again amazed at how light it felt despite its size. Must be the armor. I figured. However, instead of carrying the weapon in my hands, I holstered it at my side. Guns are Kuga's thing, not mine. I've already got the only weapon I need.

"Good, you've got something to protect yourself with." the woman on the intercom said once I returned to the center of the room. "I know you have a lot of questions, but I won't be able to answer them if you're dead."

A door that had previously been sealed off opened in front of me.

"Make your way to the shuttle bay, and I'll get you out of here. Then we can talk to our heart's content. Be careful, the local security mechs have been reprogrammed to attack everyone on board, hence the fires."

"Well, that explains one thing." I replied. "But you'd better have some goddamn answers when I get there."

Not wanting to wait around for more orders, I went through the door and started to make my way through wherever this strange place was. It wasn't until I entered a room with a window looking out into what could only be outer space that I came to terms with how bad my situation might really be. What have you gotten yourself into this time, Yuuki? I thought before turning back toward the next door. However, I had barely taken a step toward it when it sprung open and revealed a human sized robot holding a handgun, which promptly began shooting at me. Acting on pure instinct, I leapt behind the nearest available cover, waited for it to reload, then without thinking drew the handgun from my side and unloaded a couple of shots into its head, effectively disabling it. Immediately after, I paused as I registered the fact that I had just perfectly used a firearm despite having never used one in my entire life. I recalled that I had woken up on an operating table, and couldn't help but wonder if the people who ran this place had something to do with it. Alright, now I really want some answers. I continued to head through the facility, every now and then having to fight off a robot or two. At one point a man on the other side of a window had asked me to help him, once again referring to me as "Shepard". I had been too confused at the time to do anything but watch as a huge robot came from around the corner and blew him to bits with a rocket. The glass barrier held up, surprisingly, so I bolted onward before the robot could figure out a way to get past it. Soon enough, I came upon a dark skinned man engaged in a firefight with another pair of the robots. Glad to finally have some human contact, I helped him dispatch the robots before ducking behind cover with him as another pair came in.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were still a work in progress?" he said.

"I just woke up on an operating table on a facility in fucking space! You mind telling me where the hell I am, and what's going on here?" I demanded.

"Right, sorry about that. My name is Jacob Taylor, I was stationed here to-"

Our conversation was interrupted as one of the robots came dangerously close to hitting us.

"Dammit!" Jacob continued. "First thing's first, we gotta take care of those metal bastards! We're low on ammo, but I'm a biotic."

"A bi-what now?"

He looked at me strangely for a moment, then became serious again.

"Forgot, you're not from around here. It basically means I have powers."

To prove his point, he stood up and pulled back one of his hands. A blue energy field appeared over one of the robots at the same time, and it flew forward in tandem with his hand's movement, sending it floating helplessly through the air towards us, and leaving it open for the headshot that Jacob dealt it immediately after.

"Not bad." I admitted. "But as you might have guessed, I'm feeling a little impatient right now. So why don't you let me take it from here?"

Before he could argue, I stood up and summoned my Element, a pair of metallic gloves with long red nails over my fingers. With a flick of my wrist, long red threads of energy extended from my nails, cutting apart the robots on impact as I wove the threads through the air. Once all of them were gone, my Element dematerialized, and I turned back to Jacob. he sat there staring at me in pure surprise.

"I knew you were a biotic from your file, but damn! I've never seen that kind of power before!"

"That's cause I'm not a biotic. I'm a HiME."

"The hell's a HiME?"

"It basically means I have powers." I answered with a smirk.

He chuckled lightly as he stood up.

"You can say that again. Alright, I think we have a moment, so I'll give you the short version for now. A woman who looks just like you, named Shepard, died, and we tried to bring her back to life. At least, that was how it was supposed to go, then suddenly you showed up."

"Showed up? What's that supposed to mean? Space stations of this size shouldn't even be possible yet!"

Jacob sighed heavily at this, clearly annoyed at my lack of what apparently was common knowledge.

"This is going to take longer than I thought. How about for now we focus on getting the hell off this station?"

As much as I wanted answers, I also knew he was right. Sighing in frustration, I nodded.

"What's the quickest way to the shuttle bay?"

"Depends where the mechs are thickest. Probably best if we-"

Again, he was interrupted, this time by an object of glowing orange energy on his wrist.

"Check. Check. Is anyone on this frequency? Anyone still alive out there? Hello?" a man's voice said from the strange device.

Apparently it was a communicator. Jacob then put his hand to an earpiece in his right ear. At least some things don't change.

"Wilson? This is Jacob. I'm here with Commander Shep-I mean, the unknown. Just took out a wave of mechs in D Wing."

"Excuse me?!" I exclaimed. "I have a name you know!"

"The unknown?" Wilson's voice continued. "How the hell...never mind, you need to get her out of there. Get to the service tunnels and head for the network control room."

"Roger that Wilson, stay on this frequency." Jacob then turned back to me. "Ready to go?"

"(sigh) Guess so."

"We can get to the service tunnels through this door."

He gestured at the door behind him, and we both continued on through the station. The service tunnels turned out to be infested with the robots, and it was too cramped for me to use my powers efficiently, forcing to once again rely on the strangely uncanny marksmanship I seemed to possess. A little while later, we met up the man calling himself Wilson in the network control room. He had been shot in the leg, so we patched him up with some stuff he and Jacob referred to as medi-gel. Whatever it was, it sure did the trick, as Wilson was up and complaining again not long after it was applied.

"Thanks, lady. Never thought you'd save my life..." he groaned. "I thought maybe I could shut down the security mechs, but whoever did this fried the whole system. Completely irreversible."

"We didn't ask what you were doing." Jacob pointed out. "Why do you even have security mech clearance? You were in the bio wing."

"Weren't you listening? I came here to try and fix this. Besides, I was shot! How do you explain that?"

"You could have shot yourself to cover your tracks." I noted. "Something I might have done if I were up to something like this. Then again, I've never hacked into any security systems or really any technology whatsoever."

This time, both of them gave me a weird look.

"Goddammit, you both know I'm severely under informed here!"

"We'll sort it out later." Jacob interrupted. "We need to find Miranda first. We can't just leave her behind."

"Forget about Miranda." Wilson added. "She was over in D Wing. The mechs were all over that sector, no way she survived."

"A bunch of mechs won't drop Miranda. She's alive."

"Then where is she? Why haven't we heard from her? There are only two possible explanations. She's either dead...or a traitor!"

"If this 'Miranda' is the same person who woke me up, then I'll bet she's still alive. However, I've got a feeling she's not a traitor." I chimed in.

"What makes you so sure?"

"She sound's too much like a stubborn mutt I know to become a turncoat when things go south."

"Okay, maybe she's not a traitor. But that doesn't change the facts. We're here, she's not. We need to save ourselves. The shuttle bay is only a few-"

His sentence came to a halt as the door he was looking at opened, and a squad of robots came blasting in.

"I'm getting real tired of this shit..." I growled under my breath before taking out a couple.

From there, the three of us fought our way out the door and to the stairs toward the door to the shuttle bay. About halfway up the stairs, Jacob stopped me again.

"Alright, we took the mechs down, but this is getting tense. Miss, if I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?"

"Probably not." I answered honestly. "I have no idea where or quite possibly when I am right now, so I have no prior knowledge as to who your bosses might be. Don't take it personally, though. I don't trust anybody."

"Fair enough."

"By the way, would it kill you to ask for my name? As much as it pleases me to be called 'miss'-which it doesn't-I'd rather not be referred to as 'unknown'."

I almost laughed as Jacob seemed to realize his failure to try addressing me as a normal person.

"Uh, right. Sorry."

"We don't have time for this!" Wilson interjected.

"True. Once we're off the station, I'll take you to see the Illusive Man. He'll explain everything. I promise."

Somehow I got the feeling that somebody with an alias such as 'Illusive Man' couldn't tell the truth to save his life, but seeing as how I was in need of answers, I had no choice but to go with it for the time being.

"Alright." I conceded.

Having ended the conversation, we proceeded up the stairs and to the shuttle bay door. Wilson eagerly jogged ahead of us and started pushing panels on the door.

"Come on, through here. We're almost at the-"

As the door flew open, we found ourselves face to face with a young woman with dark hair and green eyes who glared angrily at Wilson as he staggered back in surprise.

"Miranda?! But you were-"

The woman ended his sentence with a quick bullet to the throat, watching his lifeless form fall to the ground in front of us.

"Dead?" she said mockingly.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Jacob demanded.

Miranda then diverted her attention to me and him.

"My job. Wilson betrayed us all."

"I had a feeling he was a sleezy little bastard." I noted as I relaxed, having tensed up when she first drew her gun.

"Good instincts." she replied, giving me a slight nod of approval. "Some people are far too trusting to ever sense a coming betrayal. Looks like I was right to continue the project. Come on, let's get out of here. My boss wants to speak with you."

"You mean that Illusive Man guy?"

She then turned to Jacob.

"Ah, Jacob. I should've known your conscience would get the better of you."

"Lying to her isn't going to get us anywhere."

"On that, we can agree." I said. "Alright, I made it here, now you had better start talking."

"I said we would after we get out of here." Miranda countered.

Bossy and bitchy...almost exactly like Kuga. I noted. Well, except for the fact that she doesn't seem oblivious to the big picture.

"Fine. Let's just get off this damn station already!"

"Uh, just one more thing." Jacob added. "You said you were going to tell us your name?"

Despite my irritation, I knew I owed him at least that much for being helpful.

"My name...is Nao. Nao Yuuki."

A/N: And that's the first chapter! So what did you all think? Good? Bad? Too confusing? Please be sure to let me know in a review, as commentary is always welcome! Please be sure to continue reading, and I'll get back to this story as soon as I can! Until next time! Dark Novelist out.

*It's never stated or shown where Nao's HiME marking is, so I thought I'd put it somewhere that's usually hidden.