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The Illusive Man nodded as Miranda Lawson approached his seat and got straight down to business. "Miranda, your job has been to study Shepard for the past year. Tell me what you know, starting from the beginning."
Miranda recited the first items of what she knew from memory. "Commander Paul Shepard was born on the SSV Tsushima on July 6th, 2154, the son of Simon and Hannah Shepard, both in the Alliance Military. He spent the majority of his childhood life aboard starships, following his parents from assignment to assignment, and enlisted in the Alliance Naval Academy at the age of 18. He showed glimpses of biotic potential up to and during his time at the Alliance Naval Academy and proved to be quite resourceful as an officer candidate. He graduated from the Academy and was enrolled in the N7 Program soon afterwards. As usual, all N7 records are sealed, but one of our plants within N7 revealed that Shepard was impressive, even by their standards. Shepard was outfitted with L3 implants, and graduated the N7 Program as a 'Vanguard', a fast-striking soldier capable of utilizing close and mid-range biotic techniques on opponents. He also showed a great deal of proficiency with assault rifles and shotguns, but not sniper rifles."
"Useful skills, and ones you can appreciate, I'm sure." The Illusive Man said firmly. "Please, continue."
Miranda nodded. "In 2177, Shepard and his unit were assigned to the colony world of Akuze..." The Illusive Man's eyebrows rose worriedly. "...and was one of only two survivors of his unit..." Her voice trailed off.
"The other being Corporal Toombs, who is testifying in front of the Alliance Senate against Cerberus even as we speak." The Illusive Man finished. "Along with Doctor Wayne."
Miranda picked up, uncertain of how to voice this information at first. "After Akuze, Shepard was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and bounced about from assignment to assignment. Eventually, he was handpicked by Captain David Anderson of the Normandy and helped foil Saren's efforts on Eden Prime, earning a commendation for valor. He then reignited and more or less took over the Citadel Council's "investigation" of Saren Arterius, leading to Saren getting stripped of his Spectre status. After heading to Therum, he met Dr. Liara T'Soni, who helped him get on the right track towards finding Saren's ultimate objective, the Conduit. After missions to Virmire, Ilos, and Noveria, along with a foray into the Armstrong Nebula, Shepard was able to find the Conduit...but not after Saren had proceeded through it."
"Virmire was troubling. What do you know of Shepard's mission there?"
Now he was testing Miranda's memory. She nodded, "I know that Shepard had a very vocal confrontation with a Krogan mercenary under his command, Urdnot Wrex, and was nearly forced to kill him. Through sheer force of will, or through Wrex's loyalty to Shepard, Shepard got a Krogan, and a particularly hard-headed one at that, to understand why the installation on Virmire and the research Saren had conducted there had to be destroyed. Shepard, Wrex, and Chief Ashley Williams then cut a swathe of destruction through Saren's base, encountering a largely intact Prothean beacon deep inside. Williams was left behind to guard the nuclear device the STG used to destroy Saren's installation and died a hero's death when Shepard chose to rescue Lieutenant Alenko from the anti-aircraft tower."
The Illusive Man afforded her a very rare smile. "If you had been in Paul Shepard's position, who would you have chosen, Ms. Lawson?"
"Alenko." Miranda's response was almost instant. "He's a damn good biotic, and with the Reapers on the horizon, I feel Alenko's skills would be more valuable than yet another front-line soldier."
"There are no wrong answers, Ms. Lawson. What happened on Ilos and the Citadel?"
"Shepard became romantically involved with Dr. T'Soni, according to our source aboard the Normandy, and she accompanied the commander and Urdnot Wrex to Ilos. They cut through Saren's defenses on Ilos, as well as the geth and krogan forces on the Citadel, with hardly any difficulties. They followed Saren through the Conduit to the heart of the Citadel itself..."
"And the rest is history." The Illusive Man finished. "Curious thing, and certainly not something to be forgotten. Another question, Ms. Lawson, do you approve of Shepard's actions on the Citadel?"
"Of course I do." Miranda said after a moment. "Shepard did everything right, more than we could have hoped for. Saving the Citadel, even saving the Council...Humanity has the trust of the entire galaxy and the faith of the entire galactic community." She turned to the Illusive Man. "And still it's not enough."
"Our sacrifices may have earned the Council's gratitude, but Shepard remains by far our best hope."
"They're sending him to fight geth. GETH!" Miranda's last word was practically an outburst. "We both know they're not the real threat. The Reapers are still out there."
"And it's up to us to stop them." The Illusive Man stated as though that were a perfectly obvious fact.
"The Council will never trust Cerberus, and they'll never accept our help...even after everything humanity has accomplished. But Shepard? They'll follow him. He's a hero, a bloody icon. But he's just one man." Miranda said resignedly. "If we lose Shepard, humanity might well follow."
The Illusive Man rose to his feet and looked directly into Miranda's eyes. "Then see to it that we don't lose him. Is there any likelihood that Shepard will receive an offer from Cerberus, Ms. Lawson?"
"Unless you give him no other choice, he'll accept it...with gunfire. If you want Shepard to help this organization, you have to put him in a corner and make him realize how vulnerable he is. It's harsh, I know, but given his actions on Binthu and his reaction to the killing of Admiral Kahoku..."
"Harsh, but understandable. He's also got enough bad history with Cerberus after Akuze. We'll have to disavow our actions with either Kahoku or Akuze if we want Shepard to have any semblance of loyalty to Cerberus. We'll also need a crew..." The Illusive Man said. "But I'll handle that. You're dismissed, Miranda. Keep an eye on Shepard. These next few days promise to be very interesting."
As Miranda walked away from the conference room, she muttered. "On that, we can agree."
