AN: From here on it will be more like the first one I did, more fast forwarding through game stuff everybody already knows. I may change bits and pieces, but the meat of the original should be there.

Commander John Shepard, Cerberus Shuttle LAZ-AU562

Miranda just looked at John calmly. "If it will put your mind at ease, you are not a wholly Cerberus project."

John frowned, staring at her for a moment. He tried to get a read on her, but it was like she was made of marble. She just stared back, though a slight smirk started to tug at the edges of her lips. "What does that mean?" he finally asked.

"Shepard," she began, with an exhale. "Bringing you back took us two, almost three years. Well over four billion credits. You were brought back with, and even filled with, well beyond bleeding edge technology. There will never be another you. There is no way to do this again. It was too specifically tailored to you."

Still frowning, John crossed his arms. "Alright...how does that mean I was made by more than Cerberus."

Shaking her head slightly, Miranda leaned forward. "Shepard," she began, her tone like she was talking to a small child. "Humanity is an amazing species. We have come a long way in a very short time. We have even made some technological advances that benefited the entire Galaxy. But we are well behind the curve. So, we got help."

As she leaned back, she nodded as if that was supposed to be the explanation. "Miranda...you are seriously starting to piss me off..." John began, he fists balled under his armpits.

"Hang on, Shepard," Jacob interjected, looking from Miranda to John and back. "Miranda is terrible at explaining things."

"Jacob…" Miranda started, taking offense to his comment.

"Miri, enough," the man held up a hand. "We need to play straight with Shepard. We need him to trust us, and to do that, we need to tell him the truth."

Nodding now, John relaxed a bit. "Yes. All of it."

"Yeah, of course Shepard," Jacob smiled. "Let me explain. I'm not the tech guy, so I am not really going to give you any of those details, but I can give you some broad information."

John looked at the man for a moment. He seemed like a decent person. Why the hell is he working for Cerberus then? "Alright. Let's just start with what Miss Lawson here, meant by people 'other than Cerberus'."

"Right, okay," Jacob rubbed his hands together, nodding. It was clear he was gathering his thoughts. "So, Miri said that humanity is behind the tech curve, and it's true. So, to get the real cutting edge stuff? We got it from other species. Biotech, to regrow tissues from Salarians, advanced alloys for the cybernetics and stuff from Asari, and even salvaged and reverse engineered Geth. I don't know what we got from Turians, but we had some stuff. Some from Krogan even, from the scuttlebut." He turned to Miranda with a questioning look, and the operative sighed.

"Fine," she said, begrudgingly. "We borrowed, stole or even paid for a lot of things that most races denied even exist. We got specialists in every field to contribute small bits, but when Cerberus put them all together, we got you," she gestured with a flourish. "Tah Dah!"

John looked from one the the other before looking at the floor for nearly a minute, processing the information. "Even Geth?" he asked looking up, an eyebrow raised. "Boy Tali won't be thrilled with that..."

Miranda Lawson, Cerberus Shuttle LAZ-Au562

"Boy, Tali won't be thrilled by that," Shepard said with a raised eyebrow.

Miranda was...surprised. She had expected more from the man. She had expected...cursing, maybe threats. Some kind of chest pounding. It's what men did, in her experience.

But then, Shepard was a most unusual man. She had read the dossiers. Watched the vid footage. But still...seeing him in person, actually watching his movement through the station had been impressive. And that was while he was freshly out of a nearly three year medical coma while most of his body was regrown or replaced. Miranda was fairly sure she would not have handled it quite so smoothly.

His immediate sidestep to the quarian was interesting, however. The dossiers did mention how he had a mostly alien ground crew. He even spent a lot of time talking with them, but from what she read in the reports, it was mostly bonding conversations. Trying to get into his team's heads, make them a better unit. And, clearly, it worked.

Except for the asari… Chief Williams's reports, among some others, had made it quite clear that the Commander had a relationship with Liara T'Soni. But, then again, he clearly had some family history with that. Seeing as how the one his mother chose to marry and have offspring with, was asari.

But, instead, most of his comments, questions and jokes were around the quarian, Tali'Zorah and not the asari. That was probably a sign of something, but Miranda didn't know what. And she hated not knowing.

With her superior mind, all her analization took less than thirty seconds.

Jacob Taylor, Cerberus Shuttle LAZ-AU562

Miri had gone silent for close to thirty seconds. Meant she was processing a lot of information. Probably about Shepard. Anybody else, and Jacob would expect them to be dwelling on what happened on the station, but not Miri.

Jacob had known Miri for a few years now, they had worked closely for a good most of that time. A few times...more than just close…

With a shake of his head, Jacob leaned back in his seat and watched Shepard. The other man seemed exceptionally calm. Currently he was sitting back in his own seat, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. His head was turned toward the window, his eyes watching the field of stars passing.

Way too calm, Jacob thought. It can't be healthy. Hell, I'd be screaming, maybe even hitting things. But then...I didn't have to fight my way through swarms of geth to defeat a rogue spectre being controlled by malevolent space monster, like some sort of psychotic Lovecraftian horror.

Jacob opened his mouth to say something, when the indicator light on the shuttle pinged, indicating their arrival at their destination.

Standing, Jacob nodded to Shepard. "Looks like we're about there."

Shepard leveled him with a half lidded stare. "Yeah, and where, exactly, is 'there'?"

John, Quantum Communication Room, Classified Cerberus Facility

"Commander Shepard," the man said. The Illusive Man. John noted the man was seated, and smoking a cigarette, a glass of something, probably alcohol, sat on the arm of his chair. But what truly stood out were the man's eyes. The were cybernetic in nature and glowed faintly with a blue light. Stood out, at least, if you ignored the fact that he was a hologram.

"Illusive Man, I take it," John looked at the man casually, if slightly annoyed. "I only half expected to meet you in person."

"Yes, well," The Man said. "A necessary precaution when you have the information that you and I have."

"Really? And what is it that 'we' know," John frowned and crossed his arms. "You might be the reason I'm still alive, but I don't trust you farther than I could throw a dreadnought."

"Understandable, Commander," the Man nodded, gesturing slightly with his cigarette. "What we both know, is that the Reapers are coming. And we don't have the ability to stop them. Not as we are now."

John's eyes narrowed to slits as he stared hard at the Man. "So what caused you to spend all that time and money on me. I'm sure you could have spent it far more wisely. Maybe, I don't know, attacked more colonies with thresher maws, or cut up people to make into super slaves?" John spat.

The Man regarded John for a moment before nodding slightly. "I won't lie to you Shepard. Cerberus has done some dark things. Occasionally, a cell will go too far with a project. When they do, they are shut down, I assure you. Cerberus is to be humanity's line of defense, not a horror sideshow."

"Uh, huh," John shook his head slightly. "And being violently against non-human species, is just a misunderstanding?"

With a small laugh, the Man sat back in his chair. "Well, you could say that. Cerberus's goal is to promote humanity. We don't intend to rule other races, nor exterminate them. But humanity must not fall behind, nor be swept under the proverbial rug."

"Fine," John sighed. This conversation was getting him nowhere, and he had a crew to find. "What is it exactly you intend to make me do?"

Surprised, the Man's eyes widened slightly. "Make you do? Shepard, I don't intend to make you do anything."

"Right, and that's why you dumped so much into me," John scoffed. "I assume you have some type of control chip or doomsday device in my head so I will do what you need done."

"No, Shepard," the Man shook his head. "No, You were brought back as close to you as possible. No controls, no..'doomsday device'. Just you and the enhancements needed for your survival. I need Commander Shepard. Not another automaton."

"Alright…"John hesitated. "Then what, exactly is it you have planned?"

"I need you to save humanity," the Man smirked. "Fairly straightforward."

"Little clarification, if you will," John rolled his eyes. This guy was clearly an Evil Overlord. John was pretty sure he had seen this scene in a vid somewhere.

"Human colonies have been disappearing, entirely. Tens of thousands of colonists have gone missing," the Man leaned forward on his knees and taking a small drink from his glass. "The colonies have all been in the Terminus, so the Council and the Alliance refuse to look into it, or even pay it any heed."

"That's… not good," John frowned. If he had a weakness it was tens of thousands of people disappearing.

"Indeed, it is not," the Man agreed. "I am proposing a partnership, of sorts. Cerberus will give you resources, you save humanity."

"Yeah...it can't be that easy," John scoffed again. "Deals with the devil always have a catch."

"No catch Shepard," the Man denied with a shake of his head. "No tricks. A human colony, Freedom's Progress, has recently gone quiet. The Alliance is not yet aware, so it would be a perfect opportunity for you to take a look around."

"Take a look around?" John asked his brows furrowed. "What would I be looking for?"

"Anything," the Man replied. "Survivors, information, vid footage, anything that can help us identify what is going on. If, after the mission, you feel that this is not a situation you are willing to get involved it, then you may go about your way. If, however, you wish to help find these people, Cerberus will offer you support and the resources to take the fight to your target."

Groaning, John rubbed a hand across his forehead. He was having a headache. It had been there since he had blown those mechs to hell and begone with his biotics. He had to be careful and practice, finding his limits again. He was mentally babbling.

"Fuck," John growled as he looked back at the man. "You know I can't look the other way, you asshole. I hope I get to wear something more than pajamas, however?"

The Man smiled slightly as he sat back in his chair. "Yes, Shepard. I believe Mr. Taylor will have the gear you need for this mission."

"Good," John said tersely as he spun on his heel and stomped from the room, returning to the main section of the station.

"How did it go, Commander?" Miranda asked from the computer station she had begun working at before John had gone in to speak to the Illusive Man. Her voice was polite, but held no warmth. Pure business. John liked Jacob better.

"Splendid," John told her. "Looks like I get to bask in the glow of your winning personality for at least one mission."

"Good," Miranda said with a nod. " I hope we can work well together."

"Yeah...I'm sure we are," John inwardly cringed. Not a smile, not a smirk, not even a flaring of the nostrils. This woman is going to be so much fun…

Misinterpreting John's silence, Miranda paused before standing and moving to him. "In case you are unsure about me, let me tell you my qualifications. I am a biotic. Stronger than you, by a fair margin," she said, clearly not bragging. "I have been genetically created to be perfect. I am stronger, faster and smarter than the average baseline human, by a significant margin. I am an expert shot with small arms and I am skilled in hand to hand combat."

John could feel his eyebrows creeping up toward his hairline a little more with each proclamation Miranda made. "Well…" he shook his head in amazement. "All that, and so humble."

Miranda frowned slightly. An expression John decided was a small victory. "Commander," Miranda said, exasperated. "I was made to be perfect. A weapon. Even my looks are made with that intention. You, especially now, are not much different."

"Ouch," John chuckled. "Alright, you got me there, point for you."

Slightly confused now, Miranda tilted her head slightly. "I..thank you?"

"Look, your Evil Overlord has me by the shorts, as it were. I'm sure he knows I'm not turning my back on people going missing," John admitted, but frown slightly at Miranda's smile. "Any people. Not just humans." John felt a little satisfaction as her smile died.

The satisfaction, however, was short lived, as Miranda nodded. "I understand Commander. I have no particular animosity towards non human species. And I have, and will continue, to find crew that share similar outlooks. I am sure that the team you gather will be both talented, and probably include non humans."

"Yes...well," John said, eloquently. "Good...wait, crew?"

"Ah, here comes Jacob," Miranda cut in. "He'll get you set up with gear for the mission to Freedom's Progress. From there I will meet you two in the shuttle bay."

"Wait! What did you mean crew?" John demanded as the woman walked away and left through a side door John hadn't noticed until she went through it.

Turning to Jacob, John shook his head. "Is she always like that?"

With a grin, Jacob nodded. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Don't suppose you'll tell me what she meant?"

"Not sure, but probably support staff," Jacob continued to grin.

"Okay, why are you looking at me like that?" John demanded.

"You watched her ass on her way out didn't you?"

"Um…" John shrugged slightly, uncomfortable. "Maybe?"

"Good to see you're still human, Commander," Jacob laughed, clapping John on the back. "Let's get you geared up, so we can get out of here."

Miranda Lawson, Cerberus Station

"Evil Overlord?" Miri muttered to herself. "What the hell did that even mean?"