Miranda

"Tell me where the cameras are Miss Lawson," Xandi Shepard demanded.

"I'm not authorized to do that Shepard," the Cerberus woman stated calmly.

"Then the Illusive Man won't be able to rely on my help," the former spectre stated.

"Wait Commander," Miranda said as she activated her omni-tool and tapped a few commands. "There are no more bugs active in this room."

Xandi frowned at the other woman for a long while. Trying some how to get more of an impression from that cold exterior.

"I guess I'll take your word for it," Shepard said. "Now deactivate any present in other down time areas."

"But commander the courtesy the Illusive Man is willing to extend to you don't…"

"My ship, my rules," Shepard stated as she sat down on the couch and indicated Miranda should do the same. "So turn them off."

Miranda sighed but complied by inputting further commands.

"Well now Miranda I suppose I should thank you for reviving me, and I apologise for decking you the first time I woke up," Shepard said.

"It is unnecessary Commander I was merely facilitating my duties as a Cerberus officer."

"Cerberus tool more like it," Shepard said. "How can you be so unquestioning about everything they do?"

"They do a lot of good in the galaxy," Miranda offered.

"All I've seen is bad," Shepard explained. "People turned into husks, thorian creepers destroying an upstart colony and things done to the rachni that made me want to request the turian fleet bombard us all back to the stone age."

"It was necessary research," Miranda tried to defend her organization. "I'm sure you've had to make similar decisions."

"Yes I've done some horrible things," Shepard conceded. "But they never been premeditated, systematic abuses of power that throw humanity into disrepute."

"Do you have a point Commander?" Miranda asked.

"I'm just suggesting you shouldn't follow Cerberus blindly," Shepard said. "You seem to have your heart in the right place, it would be a shame if I had to come after you when this is over."

"So you won't continue your association with Cerberus?"

"No, in fact I received a message from Councillor Anderson this morning," Shepard explained. "We're headed to the citadel right after we finish at Omega, hopefully I'm still a Spectre."

"Doesn't that make you a tool of the council?" Miranda retorted.

"I work for them sure but not blindly," Shepard said. "Maybe the Illusive man's information network isn't as good as he thinks if you didn't know I actually had to steal the original Normandy to get to Illos."

Shepard stared at Miranda again; maybe the girl owed Cerberus for something. Yeah that was probably it.

"You're a person not a Swiss army knife Miranda," Shepard said. "Now go make a report to your boss, I know you're itching to, as for me I want a little alone time in my now bug free quarters."


Garrus

"On second thought perhaps it makes you look better than you did before," Xandi Shepard said as she took another look at Garrus' injury from across the room. Garrus just grunted as he put his feet up on Shepard's coffee table.

"So they made you a Spectre," Shepard stated.

"Council figured I learnt from the best," Garrus stated. "Thought I was, what do you human's call it, a sure thing."

"I'm guessing your dad didn't like the idea?" Shepard asked as she passed Garrus a drink suitable for his physiology.

"Not at all," Garrus said. "I didn't care, I thought I'd finally be free of those rules and restrictions that had always hindered me, and then I found out Saren's betrayal had changed things."

Shepard nodded remembering the additional paperwork she had to start filling out about half way through the hunt for Saren.

"It's better to ask for forgiveness than permission," Shepard said thinking of some of the things she had to justify in her reports.

"It was worse than that Shepard," Garrus said. "The Council was constantly redirecting me onto missions I didn't feel suited for, and their refusal to acknowledge the reaper threat…"

Garrus shook his head.

"So you decided to head into the Terminus systems?" Shepard asked.

"I was already tracking down a few links in a criminal syndicate towards Omega," Garrus explained. "The Council wouldn't give me permission to go get them, even though the few legitimate governments out here would gladly see them bought to justice."

"I would have gone after them to," Shepard said. "But burning bridges with the Council?"

"Not my choice," Garrus said. "I guess they didn't want an incident with the batarians."

"So you end up on Omega as the self appointed sheriff," Shepard said wistfully.

"And I screwed that up," Garrus said. "Did you feel the same way about Alenko?"

"Yes," Shepard said. "That's why I asked you up here, this is how I sometimes deal with it."

Shepard picked up her own drink, an asari concoction she had taken a liking to, and held it in the air.

"To those that have died," she toasted. "May we be able to kick our enemies that have killed them squarely in…. damn I still haven't come up with a word that covers all species."

Instead of trying to find a word she downed half her drink in one gulp and Garrus did the same.

"That didn't really help Shepard."

"I know but it's a start."

"Thanks," Garrus said as he got up. "I better go see if this new Normandy lives up to it legacy."


Anderson

"I don't care Udina," Shepard said to the man on her screen as she lent back in her chair in her personal workspace. She stared through the empty display case as the diplomat droned on. Shepard had been staring for a full minute when she finally had enough.

"Shut up Udina," she said. "I remind you my Spectre status has been reinstated and thus when I say I have urgent business with a Councillor you put me straight through."

There was enough menace in her voice to imply the or else. Xandi was satisfied that the vein on Udina's head was popping out when her call got transferred.

"Shepard," Anderson greeted.

"Councillor," Shepard said. "I have some information that could take Cerberus down for good."

"You want to transmit it to the Council Shepard?" he asked.

"Not yet," she said. "I need it in case some one like Udina would use my current association against me when I try to rejoin the alliance. I do however need something set up so that it gets released to the Council and Alliance if I don't survive going up against the collectors."

"I'll see what I can do," Anderson said as he ended the communication.