Author's Notes:

Since this follows my Shepard, here's a brief summary of a few major choices that were made:

Colonist, Ruthless, Soldier, Renegade

ME1: Saved the Council, saved Rachni queen, Wrex survived, Ashley died on Virmire, Kirrahe survived Virmire, no one romanced

ME2: Saved Maelon's research, all crew members and squad survived suicide mission, romanced Miranda

ME3: Cured Genophage, Thane and Mordin killed, peace between Geth and Quarian, killed Rachni queen

Chapter I

Priority Mission: Sanctuary

The ground trembled as the brute's lifeless corpse dropped heavily to the floor. Its face was severely mangled and its skull had been crushed by an immense force. Commander Shepard picked himself up off the floor and glared down at the dead abomination as smoke cleared from the barrel of his shotgun. He noticed that his legs were shaking. He had made some daring choices before, but none of them compared to what he just did - waiting until the last moment to blast a charging Brute in the face from pointblank range before diving out of the way. He had used similar tactics against charging krogan, but brutes were bigger, tougher, and nastier. If he hadn't been the galaxy's most skilled soldier, he would be smeared against the wall right now.

Suddenly, a shot whizzed past his ear, snapping him back into action. Shepard rolled behind the nearest bit of cover and loaded a fresh thermal clip into his shotgun. The shot came from behind him and sounded like a round from a sniper rifle. Braving a peak, he poked his head out from behind cover. Anticipating another shot, he immediately pulled his head back, but no shots were fired. Whoever fired at him might be behind cover.

Shepard decided to risk a lengthier look to pinpoint the enemy's location. Cautiously, he stuck his head out again and quickly scanned the room. There was nothing in sight except for the fallen brute and a few lifeless husks. The only thing different was a corpse of a cannibal at the far end of the room, a fresh kill.

A very distinct chuckle clued him in to what just happened. Shepard let out an annoyed sigh as he stood up and moved out from behind his cover, turning toward the figure strolling up to him.

"You may be the best shot, but you have to admit, that was pretty impressive." Garrus popped out the used thermal clip from his sniper rifle and loaded a fresh one in, seemingly very pleased with himself.

Ever since Shepard proved he was the better shot by beating the turian at his own game in the Presidium, Garrus was finding opportunities in nearly every firefight to prove otherwise. He claimed that, without competition and the fear of being surpassed, Shepard would get rusty. This was Garrus' way of making sure that Shepard continued to perform at his best.

"How about a warning the next time I'm directly involved?"

Garrus raised his rifle, pretending to take aim at a target. "Hold still, Shepard! This one's going right over your head."

Shepard shook his head as he turned around and made his way down to the other end of the room with Garrus at his side, chuckling at his own joke. They had to step over the lifeless cannibal to get by. As Shepard stepped over the dead creature, he noticed the bullet hole in its head, perfectly centered between the top pair of eyes. Garrus was right, that was an impressive shot.

"Commander!"

Shepard snapped his head up to find Liara crouched down by a door, urgently motioning them to come over. He signaled Garrus to follow him and rushed over to the door, kneeling down beside her.

"This should be the facility's main control room," she whispered, "but..."

CRASH - something heavy slammed against the other side of the door, immediately followed by gunfire and the unmistakable sound of biotics. Shepard switched out his shotgun for his assault rifle and loaded in a fresh thermal clip.

"Stay sharp," he advised his team. "Kai Leng may be in there."

He certainly hoped so. The assassin had interfered too many times and killed Thane, and for that reason alone, Shepard wanted him to suffer a slow, agonizing death.

"If he is, I'll put a bullet right through that bastard's head." growled Garrus as he readied his rifle.

You and me both. Shepard glanced back at his squad and received a confirming nod from each of them, signaling that they were ready. Taking a deep breath to steady his aim, Shepard opened the door and burst into the room.

Immediately, he had to duck as several shots flew by, missing him by inches. Shepard darted back up and aimed at the source, but was too late. The man had jumped behind a young woman and wrapped his arm tightly around her neck, forcing her to be his human shield. Shepard rolled his eyes at the man's futile attempts to protect himself. He often resolved situations such as these by shooting the hostage in the leg and then dealing with the then shocked captor.

Wanting to end this quickly and move on to hunting down Kai Leng, Shepard aimed at the young woman's legs. She'll live.

"Shepard..."

Shepard froze. There was no mistaking her distinct aussie accent. That was definitely Miranda, but her voice was strained. She sounded like she was injured, but also... pleading. Shepard snapped a glance over in the direction of her voice and found her hunched over, on the ground, beside a desk. Her right cheek was scratched up and covered in blood. She looked up at him and their eyes met, but the look in her eyes was different. Instead of her confident, cool, and calculating look, there was fear, desperation, even helplessness. She never had that look in her eyes. The only time she would let her defenses down like this was if her-

Shepard snapped his attention back to the hostage situation and eyed the young woman closer. He had only seen the girl once before, and that was from afar off, but now he saw it. This was definitely Miranda's sister, Oriana. Then that meant the man behind her was none other than Henry Lawson.

"Commander Shepard. Excellent timing," sneered Lawson as he pulled Oriana closer to better shield himself.

Shepard felt his face twist into a look of disgust, not because of Lawson, but because he found himself hesitating to shoot Oriana's leg. Damn it! Miranda would kill me if I hurt her. Crippling the hostage was currently out of the question. He would have to try a more traditional approach.

"Put the gun down," ordered Shepard in a low, dark tone as he tried to line up a shot. But even with his precise aiming, it would be too risky to fire without harming Oriana; the assault rifle's accuracy was too low for such a delicate situation; Lawson had the terrified girl perfectly placed.

"No. Oriana tried to shoot me. Miranda's poisonous influence, no doubt," he growled as he eyed Miranda.

"I'm sorry she missed." Shepard began to feel uneasy. This was the facility's main control room, so any valuable data would be stored here, but his main target was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Kai Leng?"

Lawson shrugged. "I don't know. Gone. He took my research and left us here to die."

Garrus grunted, confirming that the room was clear. Shepard was fuming on the inside. Yet again, the assassin managed to elude him and his inevitable demise. The next time they met, Shepard wanted nothing more than to crush the assassin's legs and watch him attempt to crawl away from him.

Movement caught Shepard's eye as Miranda rolled over onto her knees, moaning in pain. She reached up to the desk next to her and used it to pull herself up to her feet.

"Miranda, are you all right?" Shepard asked, instinctively taking a step toward her.

"That's close enough. Both of you!" warned Lawson, his eyes darting back and forth between Shepard and Miranda. "Kai Leng didn't finish the job, but I will." His knuckles whitened as he tightened his grip on the pistol.

Shepard snapped his cold blue eyes on the man and gave him a threatening look. "This ends here."

"On the contrary. Now that the Reapers are taken care of, we have a way out."

Shepard narrowed his eyes and lowered his voice to a menacing level. "Let her go."

Shepard's threats were having no affect on the man. He wasn't even flinching under has soul piercing stare. Lawson knew that his life relied on keeping his gun and his hold on Oriana, losing either of them would do him in. Shepard kept his intense gaze upon the man as he calculated out a plan.

"Shepard..." Miranda panted in between short, uneven breaths, "Don't let him take her."

"What exactly do you think you've created here?" asked Shepard.

"Hope," Lawson replied. "Few people have the stomach to do what it takes to survive. What we learned here will save countless lives. I will be seen as the savior of the human race."

"I doubt that," sneered Shepard.

The man was smart, he knew to only give short answers so as not to give anything away that Shepard might use against him, but he tripped up, and a flash of worry in his eyes showed the he realized it. Pride.

Shepard should have known. He recalled all the times that Miranda spoke of her father and what he wanted most. The man was a powerful, egomaniacal businessman whose leading goal in life was to create a lasting dynasty. That was why he engineered Miranda to be perfect, and after she 'failed,' he created Oriana. Now with both his creations against him and his research facility all but destroyed, he would need to figure out something else to create his dynasty, and to do that, he would need live.

"Shepard... please," pleaded Oriana, her voice trembling with fear as tears poured down her face.

"You try to leave with her, you die. Let her go, and maybe you walk," said Shepard.

"I've done nothing to you," spat Lawson.

"This isn't about you and me. Let her go, and walk away. I won't say it again."

Shepard kept his piercing gaze focused on Lawson, judging every minute change to his expression. Lawson was being careful to stay stone-faced, but a slight quiver of his lips gave him away. Lawson knew he was backed into a corner and only had two options: accept Shepard's offer, or attempt to take the upper-hand by putting the gun up to Oriana's head and wagering her life. If he chose the latter, Shepard would have to resort to shooting Oriana in the leg to get a clear shot at Lawson. As much as he would hate to harm Miranda's sister, if the situation called for it, he would do it.

Lawson stared shrewdly at Shepard, mulling over the offer given to him. Shepard matched his stare, but then softened his features. If he backed the man too far into the corner, he would feel trapped and do something drastic. But, if he eased up, the man might feel more inclined to trust him and accept his offer. If not, then things could get ugly quickly.

After a moment, Lawson shoved Oriana to the floor, but kept his gun pointed straight at Shepard.

"All right. Take her. But I want out alive. Deal?"

A devilish grin spread across Shepard's face as his finger tightened around the trigger. He never had any intentions of actually letting this man walk. Lawson's face lit up in terror as he realized this and began to fire. Before he could get a single shot off, he was hit in the chest by a force so powerful that it crushed his ribcage and sent him careening off his feet, through the expansive observatory window, and down into the test labs far below.

"No deal," breathed Miranda, glaring at the window she just threw her father through. Shepard stared at Miranda, momentarily stunned. He had seen Miranda perform wonders with her biotics before. Wonders that even some of the best alien biotics would have trouble repeating, but never before had he seen her strike a man with such force. All that rage toward her father, finally being unleashed into one powerful strike. No wonder Jack's biotics seemed more powerful when she was on Pragia.

Shepard smiled and collapsed his assault rifle, storing it on his back. He would have loved to have put a few rounds into Lawson's head himself, but the look on the man's face as he fell to his death was priceless. No shot to the head could replicate that.

Miranda rushed over and knelt down by her sister. "Did he hurt you? Are you all right?"

Her eyes darted over every inch of her sister, looking for any signs of injury. Finding none, she helped her to her feet and immediately enveloped her in a tight embrace. "It's okay, Ori. You're safe now."

"I'm fine," she said. "I just... I want to get out of here."

"We will." Miranda pulled out of the embrace and wiped the tears from her sister's cheeks. "Give me a minute, okay?"

Miranda gave her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulders and turned toward Shepard.

"Shepard... I can't believe it's you," she sighed as she walked up to him. When she drew near, he placed his hands on the small of her back and pulled her in. She stood on her toes and wrapped her arms around his neck so that they were cheek to cheek. The touch of her soft, perfect skin to his face sent a warm shiver down his spine.

"We caught a break. I'm just glad we got here in time."

"As am I." She pulled back a little and slid her hands from around his neck and down to his chest. She traced the N7 logo on his chest plate with her finger. "Never saw myself as a damsel in distress," she confessed. Her cheeks reddened; she was not accustomed to needing rescued, let alone ever admitting it to anyone.

"How did you do all this?"

She stepped away from him and crossed her arms. "Finding my father didn't take long once I confirmed he worked for the Illusive Man. Just had to follow the lies." She took a few steps toward the broken observatory window and looked down at the labs below. "Once I saw what this place really was... I couldn't just walk away."

"Of course."

"Things got really complicated when Reapers showed up. And Kai Leng."

Shepard thought her tone sounded a bit disappointed.

"You survived. Not many people could do that," he pointed out.

"When you mentioned Kai Leng was involved, I took a few precautions. Probably saved my life."

She still sounded disappointed. Shepard didn't know exactly why. He could only assume that Miranda was attributing her survival on the information and resources he sent her, rather than her own abilities.

"You broke into a fortified Cerberus lab while it was being attacked by Reapers," he emphasized, trying to get her to appreciate what she was able to do. "I think you did okay."

"I needed to find Oriana. Nothing was going to stop me."

"You found her. And I found you. That's all that matters"

She turned around and looked up into his eyes. "Did you worry?"

"Of course I worried." He moved toward her and raised a hand to caress her cheek. She leaned her head into his hand. Goosebumps crawled up his arm as he supported her warm face in his hand. Her eyes fluttered shut as she enjoyed the warm touch to her cheek. A faint smile brushed her face.

"It was nothing I couldn't handle." Her voice fluctuated playfully. Her smile broadened as she opened her eyes and looked up into his eyes.

"I know." He returned the smile and lowered his hand to her shoulder as he glanced at her sister. "At least Oriana is safe."

Her smile faded as she looked over at her. "Yes."

Her expression wasn't as relieved as he assumed it would have been. She kept her gaze on Oriana for a moment and then looked down at the floor. "I just wish she didn't have to see all this."

Shepard didn't know what to say. Miranda would always blame herself for the trauma that Oriana had to endure today, and nothing he could say now would change that. Part of him wanted to say, 'She needs to suck it up and move on,' but not everyone is as steel hearted as he is. Not everyone had to endure the shock and trauma of losing everything and everyone at a young age to batarian slavers. Some people enjoyed normal, peaceful lives, where any exposure to a firefight would leave lasting scars.

"About your father..." he heard himself say, his subconscious deciding for him what to say.

Miranda moved to a nearby desk and leaned back against it. "I'm glad he's gone, Shepard. I'm sorry if that sounds cold."

"No, I understand."

Miranda leaned forward, picked up a chair that had been knocked over, and sat in it. She looked back over at the broken observatory window and stared off into the distance. She appeared to be deep in thought. A few silent moments went by as she sat there.

"It's finally over," she said, the reality of her new situation beginning to kick in. "For both of us. We can stop running." She glanced over at her sister. Miranda looked exhausted, but happy. A huge burden had finally been lifted off her shoulders.

"Yes, you can," affirmed Shepard.

Deciding to give her some time to herself, Shepard went over to Garrus and Liara, who were hunched over a data terminal. "What's our status? Any intel we can use from this place?"

"The research data's gone," Liara replied as she continued scanning through numerous files, "but there's basic facility information. Shuttle arrivals and departures. Cerberus included. No direct links, but it's a good start."

Damn it! Why can there never just be a huge flashing sign that says, 'Over Here!' Shepard shook his head in frustration.

"Grab anything you can off the computer. We'll take it back to be analyzed."

He knew Liara's connections as Shadow Broker would bring forth results, but how long would it take? The Illusive Man already had the Prothean VI and was probably on the verge of discovering what and where the Catalyst was. The Crucible was useless without the Catalyst and Shepard needed to find it before the Illusive Man.

"I can do better than that."

"What?" Shepard spun around to see Miranda approaching him. She was looking down at a small device in her hands, a smug look on her face.

"Before Kai Leng took off, I planted a tracer on him." Shepard gaped at her as she handed the device to him. "If you act fast, you'll track him right to the Illusive Man."

"A tracer?" Shepard repeated, shocked that his chance to find Kai Leng and the Illusive Man just became a reality. "Sounds like you thought of everything."

"Not quite, but... Nobody's perfect."

Shepard moved in closer and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "Thanks, Miranda. This is... exactly what we need."

"Thought you might need some good news."

"Damn right. What's next for you two?"

"Get her someplace safe. Get this scratch cleaned up."

Having Miranda so close again made him realize how much he missed her, how attached he was. His current squad lacked the talents and capabilities that Miranda had, and he needed them. He needed her.

"Dr. Chakwas can look at that for you." He figured it was worth a shot. If he could get her to come aboard the Normandy, perhaps he could persuade her to stay.

"It's barely something to be concerned about. I can take care of it myself."

Shepard knew she would require some persuading to get her on the Normandy. "Then let your sister see her. She's been through a lot. It wouldn't hurt for her to see a doctor."

"I don't want to trouble you any more. You've already done a great deal for me and my sister. You need to focus on Kai Leng."

"It's no trouble at all. Besides, we need time to verify the tracer's information and come up with a plan of attack."

Miranda placed her hands on her hips and looked over at her sister, debating whether to accept his offer or not. Shepard studied her, waiting for an answer.

"You're right. It wouldn't hurt if she were to see a doctor...and it'd be nice to be back on the Normandy, for a short while."

Shepard could feel a smug look beginning to creep onto his face, but he quickly converted it to a pleased look. Miranda was too easy to read and sway when it involved her sister. He felt a little guilty for using her weakness against her, but it got what he wanted, and he would rely on it for what was yet to come.

"The Normandy has missed you."

"I'll meet you there." Miranda gave Shepard a playful wink before heading for the door. "Come on, Ori. Let's go. We've had enough of father's hospitality."

Shepard watched the two leave before facing Garrus and Liara. "Let's make sure everyone knows about this place."

Garrus spun around and slid over to the main console, eager to do something other than read numerous files over Liara's shoulder. Garrus tapped away at the controls and, within seconds, a computerized voice rang through the room, "Communication scrambler disabled."

"Listen to me," Miranda's warning began playing, "this is not a refugee camp. This is a Cerberus facility run by my father, Henry Lawson..."

Shepard put a hand up to his ear. "Cortez," he called through the comm channel. "We need a pick up at the tower."

"Roger that. ETA 5 minutes."

Author's Notes:

First off, thank you for checking this story out. This is my first major writing project ever. Please leave constructive criticism, I'm eager to improve so I can provide an engaging and thrilling experience to a series I love.

As you probably noticed, the majority of this chapter is straight from the game, but novelized. This gave me a good foundation to start out on as I work my way up to writing original and exciting chapters that only resemble events in the game, not simply rehashing the game in novel form.