Prompt: It occurs to me that Miranda didn't exactly enter Cerberus until 2165, or 2166. And even with her smarts, it would have taken her some time to become TIM's second. So my question is: Who was the second in command before Miranda showed up? Have at it, A!As.
2150
Her little sister is born in a military hospital, far away from the gunfire and explosions. The desert has gone from blistering hot to bone-chilling cold as the sun sets.
On one side, Shoshanah holds her mother's hand as she gives birth. Her father is not in the waiting room. Oleg is. He is her mother's best friend, but he is not the same as her father. Shoshanah wishes he was there.
Hours later, a soldier enters the hospital, tags in hand. She introduces herself as Lieutenant Shepard, and she informs Shoshanah and her mother that Sargeant Katz has been killed in action.
When the Systems Alliance formed, people did not simply go along with it. Most did, but resistant groups still formed, both in the most dangerous sects of Earth, and the safest. Shoshanah's father was part of the military force sent to deal with such resistance.
Oleg holds her mother as she cries. Shoshanah holds her new little sister. She does not have a name yet. She does not cry. Her sister does not either.
When her mother has composed herself, she decides to name the little girl after the woman that brought her the news of her husband's passing. Hannah.
2153
She is eighteen now. Old enough to enlist. On her first day, she knocks her partner unconscious during a training session. It is an accident. Still, one would think that the instructor would be able to take a punch.
2156
General Williams looks at her as though she has gone mad. She cannot fault him, given what she saw during her patrol through Relay 314.
"Aliens? Are you sure?"
"Positive." Shoshanah holds her head high. "You can verify my story with Pressley, Fawkes, and Singh."
The general is quiet for a moment. Shoshanah has to fight the urge to fidget. If she were home, there would be no contemplation about what needs to be done. Israel did not survive for so long by being hesitant in matters of warfare.
Instead, she asks, "Permission to speak freely, sir?"
"Granted."
"The birds killed dozens of good men and women aboard those ships. I believe it was an act of war." Something flickers in her grey eyes as she speaks. "I suggest we begin preparing for one."
2157
She will be hailed as a hero when she returns to Earth, they say. A definite N7 recruit. As if she pulled off some masterful feat during the war.
Before First Contact, the soldiers were weak, spoiled. A united Earth softened them. They did not understand that conflict—real conflict, against overwhelming odds—breeds innovation. They said there was no structures for them to hide under, that the birds would find them, and send fire from the sky.
They did not know to camouflage their movements. There are no structures in the desert. One cannot see the mines, the bombs, the shrapnel, until it rains from above. A good soldier needs to sink into the earth itself to cover ground. To watch out for traps.
Only five soldiers made it…Anderson, Mariano, Shepard, Sullivan, Katz. Only five. The men ate something besides tree bark that night, and for that reason alone, the five would be honored.
Shoshanah doesn't care, because there are only three people in this world that she wishes to be proud of her. One of them is lying in a morgue on Shanxi.
There are streaks of grey in her mother's hair. Before the war, it was the color of sunshine, just as Shoshanah's is. She looks at peace, lying there under a white sheet, as though the simple, sewn fabric will erase the fact that she was delivered to this place with a gut full of shrapnel.
Still, Shoshanah takes her mother's icy hand, and kisses her cheek, just as she would have, were her flesh still pink and warm. She whispers a few Hebrew words into her mother's ear. Words of comfort. No prayers. In her opinion, God went extinct when the skullfaces showed up at Realy 314.
The war is over now. And all Shoshanah can think about is that Hannah doesn't have a mother anymore. It doesn't quite register to her that she is an orphan as well.
Oleg approaches soon, and laying a hand on her shoulder. "I am sorry. I was in charge of the unit. I should have-"
"Don't." Shoshanah immediately interrupts him. She can't hear an apology. Not now. Not from him. "Soldiers die, Oleg. I heard about the skirmish. It was an impossible situation for you, for her, for all the soldiers involved. Ima died doing her duty."
"Regardless, I am sorry."
They speak for some time after that. He asks her about what she will do after the war. He points out that they are standing on the precipice of change, on the crux of history being made.
"Do you trust the Alliance to do what needs to be done?" Oleg asks, and Shoshanah bristles.
"Professionally? Or personally?"
"Off the record."
"No. Of course not." Shoshanah swallows hard. "I see a lot more dead mothers in the future if they continue their policies as such."
"I suspected that you would say as such." Oleg smiles to Shoshanah. "If you will, there is someone I would like to introduce you to tomorrow. He's becoming somewhat reknowned for his writings on the extranet. You may have read his manifesto…"
2158
She likes to think that she has let go of the old prejudices she developed on Earth. She likes to think that she now stands for a strong humanity, moreso than a strong Jewish state. But she still sees parallels.
Turians. A military state. Only attacked because they believed their borders were threatened. No civilians, really. Only soldiers. Like Israel. She respects them.
Krogan. Sterilized. Persecuted. Home worlds threatened. Betrayed. Ostracized. Still fighting. She likes them very well.
Asari. Arrogant. Useless. Use other races as tools, underwhelming personal power. Take more credit than is due. Will abandon allies at a moment's notice, once usefulness has worn out. Strength comes from advancement, no real fighting spirit. The population is docile, soft. Arrogance. Only power in numbers, expansion, and luck. Too dependent on allies, and doesn't even realize it.
Salarians. Shifty. Scientific. Soft, not soldierly. But dangerous, due to apitutude, to organization, to innovation.
Volus, Hanar, Elcor…irrelevant. Squalling. Angry at power given to those who deserve it.
Quarians. Weak, but scrappy. Hard working. Might in numbers, and in technology.
Batarians…vermin. Threat. She looks at them, and she sees the Third Reich. Inquisition Spain. Stalinist Russia. Biblical Egypt. The zealots that tortured her people during the Black Death.
She makes her opinions well known. She endorses the idea that humanity must be powerful on its own. She is careful not to insult the Alliance. She paints herself as the Alliance's war dog, all gnashing teeth and ferocious barking, always directed at strangers passing by her territory. An honest, down-to-earth warrior, who tells it like it is. The Terra Firma party loves her. The media loves her. Good. All is going as planned.
2159
"Jack." Shoshanah purrs, her voice rich, deep, and silky as she curls against him, gently nipping at his earlobe.
"Shoshanah." Jack looks at her with translucent blue eyes, and grins as he pulls the cigarette from his lips. "We'll have the technology for our first AI system in a few years, I imagine. I think she would be incomplete without a voice like yours."
2160
Shoshanah narrows her eyes at the picture. The girl has black hair, and blue eyes, like her thieving father. She is young, but Shoshanah recognizes pieces of the girl. Shoulders that will take years of abuse without showing any wear and tear. Arms that will allow her to deliver strikes with hundreds of pounds of pressure behind them. Knees that will cause tension pneumothoraces. Legs that will allow her to run marathons. Stolen. All stolen.
"I understand that Henry Lawson has plans to make this girl into a biotic." The soldier comments. "I think she would be an ideal candidate for the Teltin facility."
Jack merely chuckles. "I already have plans for the young Ms. Lawson, Shoshanah. There's no place for her on Pragia."
2161
They call her the Lioness of the Verge for her actions out near the Skyllian. Colonies rejoice when they hear that she is commanding patrols in their region. She is yet to lose a single civilian to the pirates. She eviscerates threats to the colonies with dogged, ruthless efficiency. She is well loved for her success. A people's champion, as it is.
The Alliance loves her as well. She is a prized soldier. They do not realize that they have other names for her amongst intelligence circles. Phantom. Nemesis. She likes these names. She suggests to Jack that they name some of their new combat units after these monikers.
He agrees.
2162
Shoshanah smiles as she sits down to meet with the CEOs of Constant Times, Scott Examiner, and Galatic Broadcasting Corporations.
They think that she is there to negotiate exclusive interviewing rights with them. That she is auctioning off her thoughts and opinions at a monetary price. Money has little do with the price she's asking.
Later, when she is wiping the blood off her face and hands, and operatives are coming in to collect the signed contracts, clean up the bodies, and collect enough DNA to disguise themselves as the perished media heads, Shoshanah's omnitool rings.
"Hello? Hey, Hannah! How are you?"
Her tone is genuine. Bright. Cheerful. She speaks to her sister about her day, even as she wipes a spare drop of blood off her shoe, then hands both wipe and shoe to the servicing operative.
They talk about Hannah's day at school. The soccer game that Hannah will be playing in next week. Shoshanah assures her that she will be home to see it. She promises that the Alliance will only make them move one more time this year. She promises that Hannah will not be alone on Passover.
She has to stop to wipe blood off her knuckles once more. A security guard lies groaning on the ground behind her, his nose disfigured. She pushed the bones in his nasal cavity far back enough to pierce his brain. The operatives will take care of the body. Then she will take care of them.
She remembers that Hannah's birthday is coming up. She wonders what to get her.
2163
She makes it a point to personally deliver the dog tags of every fallen Alliance soldier under her command. No one notices the duplicated medicards and identitags.
2164
"Ms. Safin." Shoshanah salutes in a professional manner. "I am Commander Shoshanah Katz. I will be safeguarding your presence during your campaign. Is there anything that I should know about before we get started?"
2165
Shoshanah smiles as she hears the news. Her operative on the SSV Geneva has revealed the name of their organization. It looks as though the assignment has gone wrong. The Alliance will see it as a victory. They are wrong. The recruiting numbers will prove that.
But for the moment, she turns her attention to the four-year-old girl sitting next to her on the shuttle. She is scared, her brown eyes big and wide as she begins to regain consciousness.
Shoshanah smiles softly, and kneels down, so she is at the child's level. "Hi, Jennifer. My name is Commander Katz of the Systems of Alliance, but you can call me Shoshanah, if you like. Can I call you Jennifer?"
"It's Jack. I go by Jack." The child responds.
"Jack." Shoshanah can't help a grin. "It's a good name. I have a very good friend by that name."
"Where's my mom?" The little girl interrupts. "We were at the hospital. I know it."
"I'm sorry, sweetheart." Shoshanah sighs. "Do you know about Batarian pirates?"
"Mom and Dad talk about it sometimes." Jack responds. "They're worried that they'll hurt people on Eden Prime."
"The batarian pirates came today, and they did hurt people." Shoshanah bites her lip. "I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I got to you just in time, but your parents…they didn't make it."
The girl is angry. She blames Shoshanah. She cries, soon enough. Shoshanah holds her. She tells her that it will be alright. She tells her that it was not her fault. She gives the girl a little cup of ice cream when the tears stop. She promises to take care of her.
And Shoshanah means it. She is not a monster. She did not take this child from her home for some sadistic reason. This girl had more potential than any other human biotic in history. She would be hunted. She would be hurt. Her family could not protect her. Cerberus could.
The Teltin facility would look after her. Shoshanah would be overseeing it herself. She would make sure the girl was well cared for. She would grow up with Cerberus ideals, and serve the organization when the time came. Not because she had been forced, but because it would be her world, her purpose, as befitted the best biotic humanity had to offer. And Shoshanah would be there to guide her.
That would not come to pass. Shoshanah never even saw the facility on Pragia before she was taken.
2166
Elanos Haliat sends her a smile that makes her stomach lurch, as she lies there, blood trickling from her ears, and the open wounds on her abdomen and extremities. She's cold. She's going into shock, and she knows it. She needs to stop it. Needs to get warm, get focused. Stop him.
"With the money the Hegemony will give for you, I'll be able to fund my own damn war." The turian pirate laughs, before reaching for his belt buckle. "But I think I'll get a little sample of the goods before I send you off."
He samples the goods, as he puts it. His men do the same. She is unconscious when they arrive. But Haliat is left with a broken fringe, half a mandible, and shredded facial markings.
2167
She understands the hellish greeting she receives each time a politician or high ranking officer amongst the Batarians "welcomes" her into his or her home. She understands why they do not allow her to die. What she doesn't understand is why they insist on patching her up each time. Her face is restored from every broken bone, every bruise. She looks just as she does in her interviews. What's the point? Do they really need her pretty face intact for what they do to her?
She is not perfect. She no longer feels anything in four of her fingers. There is a nerve on her forehead that no longer responds. Her toes are crooked. Most of her teeth are fake. There are scars on her legs and belly that will never fade. Her ears ring. But her pretty face is intact.
The others think of themselves as animals. She remembers her name, rank, and serial number. She remembers Hannah. She is not an animal.
2168
Some days, they find it funny to feed her nothing but slices of ham. They find this funny, for they know this offends her. Some days, she takes out their eyes with nothing but her teeth and nails. She finds this funny, for she knows this offends them.
2169
She wants to die. Some days, she thinks she will.
Their semen is every bit as jaundiced as their faces. It stinks like rotten pork. She can feel it spreading through her body like an infection. She wishes it will kill her.
But it is not her time yet. This is not something she has determined herself. She is too tired to think much these days, beyond what is needed for survival.
But the ringing in her ears has changed. It is no longer a monotonous, singular tone. There are pitches, vibrations. Whispers. The whispers tell her that her current master is a scientist responsible for investigating a secret Batarian discovery: The Leviathan of Dis. His name is Dr. Hurglak.
The whispers care little about how the scientist pokes and prods at the enormous machine. But the scientist has began searching for the creature responsible for the Leviathan's demise.
This must not come to pass. Dr. Hurglak must turn back.
2170
The Hegemony is responsible for the majority of raids on the Alliance colonies. They claim it is piracy, unrelated to them, but Shoshanah knows better, after spending time at Balak's estate.
Dr. Hurglak accompanies raiders to Mindoir. They set upon the colony like a plague. Those who aren't slaughtered are brought to the ships, forced to bear Hurglak's new cranial implants. Alliance marines are in the distance. They cannot reach the colonists.
Something inside Shoshanah snaps. Seconds later, Hurglak lies dead, along with many of his guard. She has her fists and feet and knees and elbows, but now she has their guns and knives.
Many of the colonists die. Many are loaded onto ships. Shoshanah is a mess, covered from head to toe in blood and screaming "Esh!" with every strike. She registers that a number of children escape during her frenzy. She takes care to slay any Batarian that gives them a second look. They will grow up with the memory of her smashing a Batarian skull until it resembles a plate of scrambled eggs, but at least they will grow up. And they will be free.
The marines finally break through, just as the Batarians are leaving. A bullet is fired, and lodges into Shoshanah's chest.
The fire leaves her. She looks over, and sees that the shot was fired by an Alliance soldier. A new recruit, judging by his terrified face. She couldn't blame him. She must have looked worlds more frightening than any of the raiders.
2171
Shoshanah spends the next few months comatose, slipping into fever dreams about times long past. Some about her youth, her tenure with Cerberus, her time in the Alliance. Others about giant machines, sent to wipe humanity from the face of the universe. Jack had spoken of something like this, she notes.
At other times, she thinks she sees Hannah. Her sister is not so little anymore. She wears armor emblazoned with the symbol of the Blue Suns mercenary company. Her grey eyes, just like Shoshanah's, are worried.
Oleg is there as well. He places his hand on Hannah's shoulder. He tells her that his employer has treatments available for Shoshanah. Things to restore most of her functions, if not all. He wants Hannah to read his employer's manifesto.
2172
Cybernetics, physical therapy, and medication all work in Shoshanah's favor. She is on her feet again, but her mind is not the same.
Hannah's ex-boyfriend is the nephew of Dr. Indira Patel. She brings her in to examine Shoshanah's brain.
She has met Dr. Patel before. She watches as her lips move, as she tells Hannah that the damage is most significant in her right inferior parietal lobe.
Shoshanah watches Dr. Patel's lips move. She has the same mouth as the girl in Australia, the one Indira views as a lost daughter, and Shoshanah views as nothing. Little more than parts. Shoshanah herself is little more than parts herself these days, she supposes. But she did not steal the iron and wires running along her bones and muscles. They were gifts, given freely. The girl's father stole what he wanted.
She watches the doctor talk. The same mouth. She wants to carve a smile into those lips that will leave the good doctor looking like the Black Dahlia. But she won't. The doctor is good for humanity. She will save many people. She will be needed.
The same mouth. Shoshanah wishes that the girl had more of Indira inside her. The same dark skin, and brown eyes. Better than Lawson's icey hues. Shoshanah will steal them out of his skull one day, if she ever gets the chance.
She wishes that the girl had less of her. She wishes that her strong shoulders and legs were back inside her. The girl is the only one who will ever receive Shoshanah's gifts. Henry has stolen all her potential. She wanted Jack's children. Not Henry's. Because of him, now no one's.
Her concerns are petty. She has a war to think about, damaged right parietal lobe or no.
2173
She is whole. Outwardly, at least. Iron and wires live inside her now. They glow orange and red when they are cut. But they are not the craft of the machines. Or their makers.
She wants to warn others of what she knows. She wants to tell them of what she sees. But the voice in her ears will not let her. They do not wish to be disturbed. And she does not want to go back in a coma.
At other times, they ignore her. She is allowed to say what she wishes, for they know that no one can understand her. Hannah is such.
Hannah's armor is grey now. With black, white, and yellow trims. She speaks to her when she visits the institution. Shoshanah tries to warn her. She tells her that the creatures do not lie in the Mediterranean sea any longer. That the waters of Jordan no longer fall into their mouths.
But Hannah does not understand. No one does.
It's alright. Shoshanah spends her days in the gym now. She trains. She conditions. She prepares.
When the time comes, she will continue her duty. She will fight to guard humanity. She will fight for Hannah. She won't allow herself to fail.