Mistakes

Miranda couldn't help but smile as she watched her project navigate its way through the space station, hacking mechs and pulling off headshots as if she'd been doing it yesterday. More and more evidence was lining up to her success. Shepard was just as tactical an infiltrator as ever, taking expert cover and firing off perfectly executed shots, using her tech abilities to ensure that she always had the upper hand.

Truthfully, it was almost orgasmic. Miranda couldn't help herself or the euphoric feeling that was swelling throughout her torso. This…this human had been perfectly reconstructed. She was the first ever attempt of her kind, and she was a success. And it had been entirely her doing. Sure, the Illusive Man provided the credits and technology, but she was the one to make it come to life. She had drafted the plans, executed them, and seen them through. Even if this wasn't the trial anyone had expected, it would still be filed as a success. Shepard finished off one final mech and raced to a doorway.

"You're doing great, Shepard, just—

The sentinel was cut off by the sound of her door blasting open. She turned, unfazed, and watched as a heavy mech clunked its way into the surveillance room. Shepard could do fine without her for a few moments. She was about to run into Jacob anyway, who was certain to help her. They'd meet up again at the docking bay in a few minutes. And if Miranda was lucky, she'd stumble over Wilson's bloody corpse along the way.

0-0-0-0-0

A surge of electricity shot through Shepard's brain. Yet despite the startling wake up call, her eyelids were lazy and heavy at responding to it. Everything was a stark white blur when her lids finally parted, bright green eyes revealed as pupils quickly dilated. Her other senses came alive as her vision struggled to focus. A sterile, metallic smell filled her nostrils along with something smelling sweeter, alluring. She could hear the beeping and sputtering of various monitors and her body slowly started to ache in what seemed like a deep and buried pain within her body. Eyes finally adjusted to the light, she made out the figure of a pale woman. She had a heart shaped face and kind but determined, focus eyes, the intensity of their blue color only adding to the fervor. Dark hair cascaded around Shepard as the woman leaned over, the alluring smell filled her nose once more, slowing her rapidly beating heart ever so slightly.

The woman was saying something, but Shepard was beyond comprehension, struggling to breathe and hear over the thundering of her chest. She stared intently at the full lips hiding white teeth and tried to decipher what she was saying. But a sudden rush of cold liquid entered her right arm and before she could thank the mysterious angel before her, Shepard was out again.

The next time the Commander woke was a much more jarring incident. Fighting through heavy mechs of all shapes and sizes while trying to figure out just how the hell you got here was no small feat, but Shepard made it look easy. Firing a gun always came naturally to her anyway, and when instincts arose, Shepard was first to fire. The brief meeting with Jacob and Wilson had helped determine her location, but did nothing to quell the rotting, sinking feeling in her gut.

Cerberus.

Not exactly her arch nemesis, but she could hardly say she fully supported them. The headstrong Commander had her own way of dealing with racism and prejudice against humans, and she generally took note from Cerberus on what not to do. However, she couldn't deny the facility's passion for what they wanted. It was admirable, even if she didn't necessarily agree. And currently, they weren't killing her. So joining with them, for now, was the best way to go.

It wasn't until they'd reached the loading dock that Shepard got the biggest surprise of the night. Wilson ran to the door and punched in a few codes while she and Jacob surveyed the area to make sure they were clear of enemies.

"The shuttle should be right through—

Wilson was cut off as the door opened, revealing the same dark angel that Shepard had seen once before. The Commander had barely turned around to recognize her when the angel's face fell into a grimace and she unloaded a shot of her pistol right between Wilson's eyes. Aiming her pistol right between her eyes, Shepard determined that she needed to find out this woman's name soon, as 'angel' was clearly no longer fitting.

"Drop your weapon!" Shepard shouted, cocking her own and pressing her finger just enough against the trigger to feel resistance.

The dark haired woman turned to the Commander and looked her up and down, a cocky grin forming on her full lips. Despite Shepard's sudden want to smack the grin right off of those beautiful lips, she stayed put, refusing to blink.

"Easy, Shepard," Jacob began, slowly walking toward the two in hopes of getting in between. "Miranda's the voice that's been helping you through this. Though I have no idea why the hell she shot Wilson." He shot Miranda an icy glare that the sentinel had no problem returning.

"Who do you think rewired the mechs, Jacob?" Miranda spoke at last, the foreign accent melting some of the stress off of Shepard's shoulders. But still, she did not lower her pistol.

"You shot an unarmed man."

Miranda smirked again, giving Shepard a look over once more with a pleased expression. "He wasn't unarmed," she finished as she gestured to his holstered pistol.

"It's holstered. Same as being unarmed. I won't ask you again. Drop…your…weapon."

Miranda sighed and lowered her pistol. This satisfied Shepard enough to where she lowered her own. However, before she could even see it happening, Shepard found herself in the midst of a chokehold. In her aggressive gasps for breath she took in that familiar alluring scent that she recalled when she first woke up. That must have been Miranda's perfume. Though the only thing she could concentrate on now was the muscled yet slender arm that was being forced against her throat.

"Come on, Miranda!" Jacob shouted, "She didn't—

"Let me make something perfectly clear to you," Miranda began, ignoring Jacob as her hold tightened on the Commander's neck. "I am going to be your second in command. Once that happens, I will do anything you ask, as long as it pertains to the mission. But until then, remember that I built you, Shepard. I know everything about you. You were high and mighty two years ago. A lot of things have changed. I suggest you watch your tone," she finished, releasing her arm.

It took every bit of will that Shepard had not to fall on the floor, gasping for breath. But she wasn't going to give Miranda the satisfaction. Instead she took slow, even breaths, straightening her posture and never taking her eyes from the brunette.

"Know everything about me, eh?" Shepard began once she was sure her voice wasn't going to crack. "Then you must know about my childhood, watching my friends and family get carried off by Batarians. Someone with a childhood like that can't be very stable. And probably already has trust issues. Then of course there was that incident on Torfan. Someone who would sacrifice their whole squad for the sake of the mission probably doesn't hold a lot of remorse."

The brunette eyed Shepard suspiciously, waiting to see what she'd do next. Shepard hoped that she wasn't giving herself away. She had experienced and done all of those things, but she wasn't about to let Miranda think that she was sorry about it. Not yet, anyway. Smirking, Shepard stepped closer to Miranda and placed her left hand on her shoulder, impressed at her lack of reaction. However, the minute Miranda's eyes darted to her left hand, Shepard struck with her right, punching the sentinel in the stomach.

Miranda lurched forward only for the cause of physics before straightening herself back up. Shepard could see the tears forming in her enraged eyes and smiled at her. "Maybe you should do a little bit more research, princess. Now let's get on the ship." Shepard headed towards the shuttle without another word. Jacob moved to help Miranda, only to be stopped by her hand. He looked up at her curiously, his brow furrowing even more when she flashed him a pleased smile and followed Shepard to the ship.

Jacob shook his head, knowing right there that he would never understand women.

0-0-0-0-0

Miranda stood at her station, typing furiously into the computer. It was in moments like these that she wished her fingers could move faster. There was so much data to enter and precious little time. Time that Shepard seemed to be wasting as she stood in front of the armory, changing colors and brands on her armor as slowly and meticulously as possible. This wasn't a goddamn fashion show. She needed to speak to the Illusive Man and get her orders so they could be on her way. The Reapers weren't going to wait around as Shepard made sure she looked good.

Of course, she could be just a hint biased, if the bruise forming on her stomach was any indication. Miranda grimaced into the computer screen, ignoring the look that Jacob was giving her from over his shoulder. It was as if he was surprised that she was mad about getting punched in the gut. Who wouldn't be mad? Perhaps he was more concerned about the smile she gave him afterward. That made more sense, but only a bit more. Shepard was showing the same flaring temper and cockiness that she'd had before the Normandy's attack. Of course she was proud. As far as she could tell, she was a perfect replication of herself. More testing would prove that, but for now, Miranda and Shepard were passing with flying colors.

Shepard was exactly who she used to be, she'd just lost two years of her life. Scratch that: Cerberus had given her the two years back, recreating Shepard back to her 29 year old self instead of aging her to her would be 31. She should be thanking them. She should be thanking Miranda.

Instead, Shepard aims her gun at her, more than ready to fire. Miranda could see the glint in her eyes, the one that was begging her to make a move so she could pull the trigger. She could care less who Miranda was. The sentinel hit the spacebar furiously, causing both Jacob and Shepard to glance over briefly. She ignored them, as well as the aching feeling that entered her chest. Emotions were worthless to the mission. In fact, emotions were worthless in the entirety of her life. They only served to slow her down and cause her to make mistakes.

A presence on her left caused Miranda to turn, and she came face to face with the Commander once more. Apparently, the sentinel had been so busy being…emotional, that she'd failed to notice Shepard finished her outfit and her chat with the Illusive Man. She'd have to remedy her lack of focus. But that was for another time. Her eyes gave Shepard a once over. She'd chosen a deep crimson suit with white outlines. Capacitor chest plates for her shields and a visor that improved her headshot capability. Miranda wondered why she went with the visor, given that her headshots were near perfect. But, there was always room for betterment. She of all people knew this.

"Can I help you, Commander?" she asked curtly, turning back to her monitor.

Shepard shuffled from side to side for a bit before reaching up to rub the back of her neck. "Look, Lawson, I'm…I'm sorry about what happened back there. How's your stomach?"

"Bruised. Thankfully, there is no internal damage and I heal faster than average." Miranda saw no need to look at the Commander as she spoke. If Shepard minded she made no mention of it. Though, from the corner of her eyes, Miranda could see her smirking just a bit.

"Australian, eh?"

"Pardon?"

"You're Australian. Australian's are the only ones that give 'no' about twelve extra syllables. I've been there a few times. Quite beautiful back in the day, I'm told. Much like the rest of Earth was, I guess."

Miranda's brow furrowed and she finally allowed herself to look up at the Commander. "Twelve syllables? You're not making sense. I should have done more thorough testing." She cast her angered eyes over at Jacob who just shrugged and continued to look over the ledge.

Shepard laughed. It was…pleasant. Miranda made sure her expression hadn't changed before looking back over at the woman. She had pulled her hair back up into its trademark bun. It defined her face well. She had strong cheekbones. The scars looked to be healing at an acceptable rate. Miranda turned back to the computer and typed in a few more details.

"Yeah, when Australians say 'no' it's always something along the lines of 'nuuoweh,'" Shepard did her best to imitate, slight color rushing to her cheeks at the embarrassing and definitely not Australian sound that emerged.

Ignoring the fact that she was mildly offended, Miranda raised an eyebrow at her Commander and turned to the side. "Look, Commander, there are quite a lot of human lives at stake. Let's start acting our age and get to it."

"Jesus, so much for trying to pull the stick out of your ass," Shepard answered with a wave of her hand, shaking her head in disbelief at the woman in front of her. How could someone be so cold, so unemotional? Shepard was hardly a paragon of how to act or live life, but at least she made an attempt.

"We have a job to do. We can talk about it, or we can do it," Miranda answered with finality, turning back to the screen. Shepard muttered something under her breath but moved on, heading over to Jacob. Miranda sighed in relief and went back to work, which also meant watching the two out of the corner of her eye.

"What the hell is her problem?" Shepard asked none too quietly as she approached Jacob, casting an arm towards the sentinel. She knew that Miranda would hear her but didn't care. It's not like their distaste for each other was a secret.

Jacob glanced over at Miranda and smiled faintly. "She's a very dedicated woman. You've been her project for two years. Truthfully, you should be thanking her, and not socking her in the gut."

"It was just one punch! Not like I aborted her child or something!" Shepard shouted, noting instantly that Miranda straightened her posture just a bit. Jacob looked torn between hitting Shepard, or running her out of the room for her own safety. Apparently, the Commander had touched a nerve. She sighed at her lack of reserve and lowered her eyes, along with her voice.

"I take it that was the wrong thing to shout at the top of my lungs," she began slowly.

Jacob nodded slowly, with a hint of disappointment. "It's not my place to say why, but it'd be in your best interest not to mention things like that again."

Shepard's nostrils flared impatiently. She liked being in the loop. It avoided accidents like this. But there was no going back in time, so she'd just have to apologize, again. "Look, Jacob, I'm sorry. Not about the abortion thing, because clearly that's Miranda's issue. But…I've been more than a little brusque to you. It's been quite an enlightening few hours. And I think I'm calming down. The Illusive Man said you brought me back because of my impressive history and I haven't been showing one ounce of it. If you'll give me a chance, I'll prove my worth to you, Miranda…Cerberus…the galaxy."

Jacob nodded, seemingly pleased, and saluted her. "Aye, Commander. I never had a doubt. Everyone makes mistakes. Just something you gotta learn to deal with."

Shepard noticed his eyes dart to the sentinel as he spoke, but thought it best not to mention it. She couldn't afford having another squad member mad at her. Especially when heading to a supposed 'Collected' colony where everything was unknown and anything was possible. Jacob seemed to notice her slight struggle, and spoke again.

"Look, Miranda's tough. She'll get over a few words. If you want to get her respect, show her that her project didn't fail. Go out there and be the soldier we all know you are, and she'll be eating candy out of your hand."

Shepard nodded, trying not to think too hard on the image of Miranda on her knees in front of her. She couldn't help being attracted to the woman, at least physically. Promising herself that it was nothing more than that, Shepard signaled her crew out the door, impressed that Miranda followed without a single hitch.

0-0-0-0-0

Shepard had to admit, she was impressed with her two squad mates. They followed her orders on Freedom's Progress perfectly and also had a few tricks up their sleeves. Shepard could tell that Jacob and Miranda were close. They seemed to know what the other wanted before either said anything. With a little bit of time, she would have the same relationship with them. They had passed through the hacked mechs and had taken down the heavy mech and finally found Veetor. Tali would most definitely be arriving soon. Not wanting a confrontation with the quarians, Miranda hoped that they would get the information they needed quickly and head out.

Veetor was mumbling incoherently to himself, haphazardly typing all over the several keyboards in front of him. Shepard watched him for a moment, her pistol still raised, just in case. This man had been responsible for killing Tali's crew. She couldn't be too sure of anything just yet.

"Veetor, can you hear me? You're safe," Shepard began, taking a step towards him. Miranda raised her weapon, just in case, but lowered it when she saw Shepard wave her down. She and Jacob exchanged glances as Shepard stepped closer. "Hey, I'm talking to you!"

There was still no response. Shepard raised her gun, as if about to fire, then holstered it, taking out her omni-tool instead. After a few button presses, she waved her arm across the screens and Miranda watched as they all became unavailable to the distressed quarian. He stopped typing then and looked at the screens, then turned back to face them. Despite her contempt for the Commander, Miranda had to admit that was handled well. Shooting anything in the room would probably render him incapable of helping entirely.

Veetor told them everything he knew as best as he could. It wasn't much, given his current state, but the video footage was more than enough evidence to confirm Collector contact. Shepard gave a soft smile to the quarian once he finished. "Thank you, Veetor. You've been a big help."

"Shepard, we should take him with us. Calm him down and find out what else he knows. I bet his omni-tool has quite a good deal of information on it," Miranda said, stepping up to him.

"No, you're not taking him!" Tali shouted, having just entered the room. Everyone turned to her but she focused only on Shepard as she made quick strides to near her. "Shepard, you can't give him over to Cerberus. We'll never get him back."

"No one asked you," Miranda retorted, pleased when Tali turned angrily at her.

"Shepard, please, let him come back with us. He needs to come home."

Shepard stood and regarded the two women. "Are you sure you won't come with me?" she asked almost shyly, reaching out to touch the quarian's shoulder.

Tali stood back, removing the hand. "I told you, I can't. I have my own business to take care of. Besides, I'm still not sure about you and Cerberus."

"Thanks for the trust, Tali," Shepard answered, lowering her head. Miranda could see the hurt in the Commander's eyes and resisted the urge to shoot the quarian on sight. It probably wouldn't do well for the Commander's favor. After a few moments, Shepard raised her head and looked at Tali. "Veetor goes with you; his omni-tool comes with us. That's my only offer."

Tali considered this for a moment before she sighed. "Fine, take it. Goodbye, Shepard. Be careful out there." Not waiting for a response, Tali removed Veetor's omni-tool and tossed it harshly to Miranda before leading the troubled quarian out of the room. Shepard watched her go and Miranda found that she couldn't read her expression. She wasn't sure if that made her angry, or if Tali had made her angry.

Either way, she was angry. She wanted to shoot the quarian in the back as she walked for treating Shepard in such a manner. Miranda could justify herself. She hadn't experienced Shepard before the Collector attack. She had no loyalties to her. But Tali, from her records, should have been kissing Shepard's feet. She didn't even seem to care that she'd hurt Shepard. Miranda wondered if there was something that wasn't in the records. Something that had caused a falling out between them. Or it could be that Tali was just a bitch. She definitely seemed the type.

Shepard sighed and turned to Miranda, looking at the device in her hands. "Are we finished here?" she asked professionally, as a soldier should. Miranda nodded and Shepard returned it. "Let's head out then. I've had enough of this colony."