Ice
As she shoved Joker in to the escape pod, she took one last look at the burning Normandy. The blast took her before she could do more then begin her turn.
The explosion propelled her into space with such force that it was a moment before she realized she was floating beyond the wreckage. At the same time, she realized that her oxygen tanks had been shredded and her oxygen was hissing out the back of her suit. She fumbled vainly at the connectors, trying to find an end, a valve, anything to stop the leaking.
Have to survive, she thought. ...Not done yet! They need me!
Her thoughts came more slowly with every labored breath. The cold sliced through her, disintegrating her thoughts and chilling her body. She had one last thought before darkness took her...
Kaidan!
*****
The first thing she felt was the cold. It surrounded her, enveloped her. Slowly, she became aware of voices as well. She struggled for consciousness, fighting against the cold that held her immobile.
"There, on the monitor. Something's wrong"
"She's reacting to outside stimuli. Showing an awareness of her surroundings."
She fought harder, knowing that she had to get up, to move, to fight.
"Oh my god, Miranda. I think she's waking up!"
Damn right I am, she thought. What are you doing to me? She forced her eyes open. The light blinded her momentarily, but soon she was able to make out two figures standing above her. A man, a woman.
"Damn it Wilson. She's not ready yet. Give her the sedative."
No, she thought
"Shepard! Don't try to move. Just lie still, try to stay calm."
What the--?
"Heart rate still climbing. Brain activity is off the charts. Stats pushing in to the red zone. It's not working."
"Another dose, now!" Metal pressed against her neck.
"Heart rate dropping. Stats falling back in to normal range. That was too close. We almost lost her."
"I told you your estimates were off. Run the numbers again."
The cold took her again.
*****
The next time she woke, the cold had lessened, diminished to an icy draft through her veins.
"Wake up, Commander! Shepard, do you hear me? Get out of that bed now. This facility is under attack!"
Shepard? That's right, her name was Shepard. Commander Shepard...the first human Spectre. Savior of the Citadel. That's what they called her. Each thought brought back more memories, another piece of her identity slotting into place.
Why was she lying on a slab? And she was so cold. She hated the cold.
"Shepard. Your scars aren't healed, but I need you to get moving. This facility is under attack."
Gunfire. Explosions. The familiar battle sounds sent adrenaline rushing through her system. Instinctively, she slid off the table and into cover, looking around for enemies.
The voice came again. "There's a pistol in the locker on the other side of the room. Hurry! Grab the pistol and armor from the locker."
She didn't need to be told twice. She ran toward the locker and pulled out the gear, throwing it on with practiced ease.
"This pistol doesn't have a thermal clip."
"It's a med bay. We'll get you a clip from...damn it! Those canisters by the door are going to blow! Get behind cover, now!"
She remembered waking before, and hearing that voice. Miranda, that was her name. She and someone called Wilson had been bending over her...
"Keep your head down, Shepard! Shield yourself from the blast. Someone's hacking the security trying to kill you. Look for a thermal clip for your pistol."
"Looks like they set up a barricade to try holding the mechs off. Look out!"
She slid into cover as the mech came toward her, grabbing the thermal clip along the way. Knowing that she had very few shots, she carefully aimed and fired, taking the headpiece off the mech. She checked around for more enemies, but the room was clear for now.
"Keep moving. We need to get you to the shuttles."
She fought through more hallways, picking up the grenade launcher she found, and using it to detonate a handful of mechs. As she ran down yet another hallway, the intercom started to cut out
"You're doing...--Shepard. Head to the...meet you...Shepard? --read me? I've got...-closing in...--position." The intercom went dead.
Shepard ran through another doorway to a small overlook. A man was crouched behind the railing, shooting at some mechs stationed across the opening.
"Shepard? What the hell..."
I could ask you the same thing, she thought.
She dove down beside him and took out the attacking mechs.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were still a work in progress."
"Are you with Miranda?"
"Yeah...sorry. I forgot this is all new to you right now. I'm Jacob Taylor... I've been stationed here for--"
Hostiles detected!
"Damn it!"
"Things must be worse than I thought if Miranda's got you running around. I'll fill you in, but we better get you to the shuttle first."
"I know this isn't the best time but I'm sick of stumbling around when I don't know what's going on."
"Fair enough. I'll give you the quick version. You and your ship were attacked and destroyed. You were killed. Dead as dead can be when they brought you here."
Dead?
"Our scientists spent the last two years putting you back together. You've been comatose, or worse, that whole time. Welcome back to your life."
Two years? Her mind seemed to be stuck in repeat as she took this in. She looked around and tried for coherency.
"This doesn't look like an Alliance facility."
"It isn't. I can't say much more then that for now. The Alliance officially declared you killed in action. The whole galaxy thinks you're dead. And if we don't get to those shuttles, they'll be right."
"Were there any other survivors from the Normandy?"
"Tell you what--you help me finish off these mechs and I'll play Twenty Questions with you all day. We're low on thermal clips but I'm a biotic. Just let me know when you want me to hit them with the good stuff."
The good stuff? Really? Without bothering to answer, she sighted down her pistol. One shot each, and the mechs were down for the count.
"They're falling back. Okay I promised I'd answer your questions. What do you want to know?"
Try 'everything,' she thought.
Shepard listened as he explained who he was, the extent of her injuries, about Project Lazarus, her implants, and the survivors of the Normandy.
How can it have been two years, she thought? It felt more like two minutes since she was struggling in the dark cold of space. She shook off the disorientation and continued interrogating Jacob about himself, and about the Miranda that had woken her up. When it seemed he'd given all the information he was going to, she directed him to show her the fastest route to the shuttle bay.
A voice over the radio interrupted them. Someone named Wilson. She remembered that name from her previous awakening. He told them to head toward the server room.
"Lets get out of here."
They were ambushed by three more mechs when they got to the server room, but she and Jacob were able to take them down. She got some faint amusement from Jacob berating Wilson about leading them into an ambush.
*****
Wilson staggered to his feet a few moments after the medi-gel was applied. "Thanks Shepard. Never thought you'd save my life. Guess that makes us even now. I thought maybe I could shut down the security mechs. But whoever did this fried the whole system. Completely irreversible."
Jacob looked at Wilson skeptically. "We didn't ask what you were doing. 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?"
Shepard heard movement in the adjacent hall, and cut the argument short. "You're all strangers to me. Let's get someplace safe, then we'll sort out whose fault it is."
They dove down as the noise in the hallway grew louder, resulting in a group of incoming mechs firing from the opening doorway.
She ducked up just enough to shoot out the explosive crates next to the door, pulverizing the mechs.
Jacob reappeared, panting. "OK, we took 'em down, but this is getting tense. Shepard, if I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?"
Again, Wilson objected, "This really isn't the time, Jacob."
"We won't make it if she's expecting a shot in the back."
Wilson shrugged, "If you want to piss off the boss, it's your ass, Jacob."
"The Lazarus Project, the program that rebuilt you...it's funded and controlled by Cerberus."
Cerberus! She remembered the experiments she'd run in to before. They were an elitist group with criminal non-accountability and dubious morals. If she was in Cerberus hands, she'd better tread carefully. She pretended mild ignorance.
"I think I ran into Cerberus a few times while I was investigating Saren. Some kind of pro-human spinter group, right?"
"Well that's what the Alliance wants people to believe. But there's more to it. The Alliance declared you dead. They gave up. Cerberus spent a fortune to bring you back. Look, I'd be suspicious too. But right now, we have to work together. I throught you deserved to know what's what.
"Once we're off the station, I'll take you to the Illusive Man. He'll explain everything. I promise."
She couldn't keep the words back, the reports she'd seen of the Akuze flashed through her mind. "I don't care what they did or what you say -- I'm not working with terrorists!"
"You can tell it to the boss. But after we've saved our butts. We're almost at the shuttle."
She reluctantly nodded. Right, survive first. She headed toward the shuttles with Jacob and Wilson.
*****
Wilson entered the access code with some relief. "C'mon, through here. We're almost at the... "
The door slid open and a woman stepped through.
"Miranda! But, you were..."
Miranda pressed her gun against Wilson's chest, and fired before answering. "...Dead?"
"What the hell are you doing?" Shepard asked.
Miranda replied, "My job. Wilson betrayed us all."
"You should have taken him alive. See what he knew."
"Too risky. I've put too much time and effort bringing you back to life to let you get killed now."
Jacob asked her frankly, "You really think Wilson's capable of that?"
Miranda looked down at the corpse, then raised an eyebrow at them, "Not anymore."
What else did I expect from Cerberus? She shrugged. "If you say so. What's our next step?"
"We get on the shuttle and go. My boss wants to speak to you."
"You mean the Illusive Man? I know you work for Cerberus."
"Ah Jacob. I should've known your conscience would get the better of you."
Jacob shook his head. "Lying to the commander isn't the way to get her to join our cause."
"Well, since we're getting everything out in the open, is there anything else you want to ask before we go, Commander?"
Just one thing. "What does Cerberus want from me?"
"Maybe you should ask the Illusive Man when you meet him. He poured virtually unlimited resources into Lazarus. Obviously he has some kind of plan for you."
No more personel showed up for evacuation over the next few moments, so she agreed to get on the shuttle and get away from the Station. She didn't see any escape opportunity yet, but she was sure one would present itself. Or be created.