As soon as she was able to stand, Miranda left the hospital. She left the United Kingdom, and traveled west to New York. It was in disarray, just like London was. No big surprise. The Reapers were trained to do one thing and one thing only: Kill, and destroy, if necessary. Sometimes they were just too damn big to not destroy anything.
As she got off the plane (what annoying creations, using gasoline as power), carrying her small amount of luggage in one hand and a bottle of water in the other, she followed the crowd towards a kiosk. A turian female (with years of observation, Miranda had begun to notice the difference) stood there, handing different slips to different people.
Miranda was given a blue slip and followed the travelers with blue slips. Family members greeted their relatives, most likely soldiers who were on the front lines in London and now returning. Most of the aliens had no one rushing forward to greet them, but Miranda noticed a couple of elcor greeting each other.
Miranda herself had someone to greet her. Oriana, her twin sister, stood waiting at the gate. Miranda gave as best a smile she could and embraced her sister, who was made in a laboratory just as Miranda was. Although twins, they were years apart in age and looked almost nothing alike. Their hair color was the only similarity.
"Glad to see you, Sis," Oriana said as they pulled away from the hug, feigning enthusiasm. Miranda knew Oriana loved to be happy, she'd learned that right off the bat. But with John gone, Oriana could feel Miranda's overwhelming sadness. "Let's get to the car. I'll take you home."
Cars were another vehicle she hated. More gasoline, less effectiveness. Less money in your pocket at the end of the day. Miranda feigned enthusiasm right back. "Excellent. I can't wait to sleep in a comfortable bed." They made their way to the exit, along with the rest of the passengers. Oriana took one of her bags, lessening her load.
As they put the bags in the trunk, Oriana came over to her sister once more and hugged her. "I love you, Miri."
"And you, Ori," said Miranda, feeling the tears well up in her eyes. They both opened their mouths as if they meant to say something, but both shut them as quick. Miranda had a feeling she knew what Oriana was going to say, just by looking into her eyes.
They stepped into the car, Oriana getting into the driver's seat. There were some classes in high school that offered Driver's Ed, but Miranda had never been interested. She had doubted there would ever be a time when life would have to go back to the old ways.
"So, how was London?" Oriana eventually asked.
"Not good," Miranda replied bluntly. "I'm hearing reports about my fr-…the crew. On the way here, the news…they found Samara's body."
"Oh, Miri," Oriana replied after a while, her mouth agape. "She was so powerful…how anything overpowered her…"
It was true. Samara was one of the most powerful asari Miranda was ever privileged to have met, and was not a bad person either. To hear that she was dead had torn her apart, but it didn't even come close to what she felt when she heard about John.
"Were there any other casualties?" Oriana asked after a longer period of silence.
"A pilot named Steve Cortez," Miranda replied. "He apparently knew John well, he was a part of his newest crew members…Crashed his shuttle after a Banshee attack. And of course, Mordin and Thane…"
She was still torn up. They had died before the battle, but had sacrificed themselves for the safety of others. Mordin had applied a cure to the genophage on Tuchanka in an extremely dangerous building. It collapsed in on itself, leaving a heap of rubble and no sign of the salarian's body.
Thane had died fighting the Cerberus assassin Kai Leng. Leng had stuck his katana through his stomach, and due to Kepral's syndrome, which prevented Thane's body from producing blood, Thane had died later that week. John had been broken up when he had seen Miranda after that event. She had suspected Thane was one of his closer friends, along with that Kaidan Alenko, back when John had taken on Saren and Soverign.
"Maybe we should talk about something else," Miranda said, scowling slightly. Not at Oriana, just at thinking about all of her dead friends, so many people that had helped her change her ways from the cold hearted bitch she had been before to the warmer, more welcoming woman she'd become.
The rest of the ride was spent in silence. There wasn't much to talk about, seeing as they were both thinking about one thing: Death. And Miranda was in no mood to talk about more death, she was surrounded by it. Oriana could read her sister. Maybe not as well as Miranda could read her back, but this was obvious, and they both knew to avoid the topic.
They arrived at a large apartment complex. Humans and aliens alike walked around in the lobby, yelling at a woman behind the counter. "People, people, please, calm down! I will try my best to get each and every one of you a room, but we are very limited. The top floors have been destroyed and are in the process of being rebuilt. I plead for your patience, but I'm afraid we only have so many rooms, and not all of you will get one, I'm sorry!"
The crowd went wild, but Miranda and her sister walked right past the mob as they groped over the counter. The sisters stepped into the elevator that was waiting for them, pushing the up key. They felt themselves rise as they reached the 4th floor, which was now the top floor due to the destruction. Oriana led Miranda down a few doors then turned to the right, opening number 405. "Welcome home, Miri."
There wasn't much to brag about in the room. A simple loveseat and a couch opposing it on the other side. A television stood across from a wide window that overlooked the next few blocks of New York. Miranda stared out across the city, where men, women, and aliens alike were at work, rebuilding buildings and demolishing others that were beyond repair. Oriana carried her bags into the room, telling her something that didn't register with Miranda.
"Sorry, what, sis?" Miranda called as Oriana disappeared behind the door.
"I said this'll be your room," Oriana replied. "My boyfriend and I separated – no worries, it was in the best interest for both of us – and now his room is empty. The timing was great. I'm not sure I would have been comfortable, sleeping with him."
"Oh, yeah, I understand," replied Miranda following her into the room. It wasn't much to brag over, either. A twin sized bed and a small television laying on a dresser. A vanity sat on the left side of the room, and a couple of windows on the other side of the room, a large wardrobe laying in-between.
"Is this good?"
Miranda smiled. "Perfect, sis."
Oriana cooked them a dinner that Miranda found delicious. "I never knew you were such a good cook."
"It's just spaghetti," Oriana replied sheepishly.
"Please, the sauce is delicious, and the noodles are perfect," Miranda retorted, smiling. She suddenly felt her eyes well up with water and stared at her dinner, averting her gaze from Oriana so she would not see her tears. They slowly trickled down her cheeks and off her nose into her spaghetti.
"Come here, Miranda," Oriana said, and before Miranda could tell what was happening, they were hugging each other. Miranda began to cry even harder and fell off her chair. The next thing she knew, she awoke from a nightmare in bed, a cold sweat matting her hair down to her head.
She'd dreamt of John.
She awoke the next day to the smell of pancakes. She crawled out of bed and got dressed before stepping out of her room. Oriana turned at the kitchen in a bathrobe and smiled. "Morning."
"Morning. Smells good," Miranda replied, sitting down on the loveseat, curling up. She grabbed the remote and turned the TV on. It was the news. Javik was on screen. 'Good,' thought Miranda, changing the channel. She was glad to hear he was alive. She hadn't known him, but John had spoke highly of the last Prothean. She couldn't bear to look at the channel, though.
The next channel, the salarian on screen talked of John's death. She changed the channel. The next channel showed a picture of the fallen. A picture of Admiral Anderson, another of John's friends, faded to black before showing a picture of John. She changed the channel. 'Finally, a comedy,' she thought, sighing quietly. 'A shitty one, but a comedy.'
The screen faded to black as a laugh track transitioned out and a commercial came on. "During the battle against the Reapers in London, many brave soldiers and citizens alike lost their lives to the vicious Reapers, including one very important man who sacrificed his life for the sake of life. Commander Shepard, the first human Spectre and -."
Miranda shut the TV off and stood. "Nothing good on," she told Oriana sitting at the dining room table. She went to the terminal, to check on global news. She knew what she'd find, but she booted up the browser anyway. A pop-up of John showed up on screen, accompanied by the same voice she'd just heard on the television. She shut the terminal with a scream.
"What?" Oriana said, coming out of the kitchen with a spatula in hand. "What happened?"
"CAN'T THESE FUCKERS STOP TALKING ABOUT HIM, MAKING ME RELIVE HIS DEATH IN MY HEAD! DAMMIT, DAMN THEM, FUCK THESE ASSHOLES!" she pushed away from the chair, knocking it over and rushing out the door, slamming it behind her.
The door opened again just as quickly, and Oriana's voice called out for Miranda. "Miri, wait, wait! Where are you going?"
"Taking a walk," Miranda said weakly. She heard Oriana chase after her, but by then she was in the elevator, pressing the down button. When she reached the lobby, she slammed her palms against the glass door, not caring if they cracked or broke.
As she took each step, more tears welled up and fell down her cheeks. She felt the passers-by stare at her as she walked by.
"I think it'd be best if I left," Miranda told Oriana.
Oriana looked up from her plate, the food falling off her fork. "What?"
"I can't stay here any longer," Miranda said, letting her fork fall on the plate. She put her eyes in her palms. "I'm dangerous, Ori. I'm a psycho, and I need to get away for a while. I'll send you money, wherever I go, but…please don't be mad. It's better this way."
"You can't!" Oriana yelled at her, her eyes watering up. "I'm your sister, you have to stay with me! We'll get through this, John may be gone, but we'll get through this!"
"That's why I can't get through this," Miranda replied. "John was my everything. And now he's gone."
"Sis, we'll be fine, I can get you help if you want," Oriana said. "We'll get through this. We will."
Miranda stared at herself in the mirror that night, feeling her hair. 'I love my hair. Dammit,' she thought, pulling the knife out and cutting it off in one swipe. It fell in the sink, leaving her hair choppy and uneven.
She grabbed the luggage from her bed and opened it up, to reveal all her packed clothes. She found it, the little pistol she'd always concealed in her boot. She went back to the bathroom and set it down on the sink. "Just in case."
She zipped up the luggage after repacking and carried it out, closing the door behind her silent. Miranda stalked to the elevator, keeping her feet as quiet as possible, and pressed the lobby button. The elevator took her downstairs.
She paid every cent she carried to the quarian who had repaired the small, human cruiser. It had taken her days, weeks, maybe even months to get down to Texas. She'd lost all track of time, and she didn't care. She needed to get off of this damn planet. Her home. Had she been born there? That was another thing she forgot, where she was born…well…grown.
The quarians were always technologically advanced, and this one, Yaros'Reegar vas Rannoch, was very smart, or so he claimed. He had a crew comprised of krogan, batarian, and salarian, and they were all bustling around, running maintenance on the ship. Yaros told her to go and sit in the cockpit until they took off.
Miranda looked through her luggage. Fresh clothes, she'd washed them before leaving Oriana's place. She smelled them…the smell of laundry detergent was a silly luxury she loved, but had never admitted to loving. It soothed her in times of worry.
She must have stayed in the cockpit for more than five hours, but couldn't remember most of it. She assumed she'd dozes off. Yaros walked in, along with a batarian (named Jaxus, the co-pilot) and ordered her out. She found a nice salarian woman and they began to play a game of Sally's Quarter, a game the salarian had created. The rest of the crew laughed as Miranda beat the salarian every time.
Miranda followed the crew into the stasis chambers. A krogan was tapping away at a terminal on the back wall, but cursed. He ordered everybody out of the stasis pods and told them they didn't have enough energy to use them. The crew, enlisting the help of Miranda, pushed the stasis pods back into the walls, pulling out shelves that acted as bunk beds. They collected mattresses from inside a closet and set to work getting everything ready.
Miranda barely got any sleep, with the crew shifting out every so often to pilot the ship, and some of the crew unable to sleep. And when a krogan got up to piss, forget about sleeping. The whole room moaned when one did. But that didn't bother Miranda. She wasn't tired.
She had to find a new life for herself. She'd abandon her clothes as soon as possible, just in case, change her face if need be – no, she couldn't do that. Her face would be the only thing that'd keep her herself, in truth. But a new name, for sure.
It came to her suddenly. Maxy. Maxy Orin. If she become a lowly job, such as a janitor – no, too messy – a secretary – who would be accepting a secretary in these times? – a waitress – definitely a waitress. It paid well, depending on who and where you worked for. She fell asleep soundly, repeating the name to herself. "Maxy Orin. Maxy Orin. Maxy Orin. Maxy…Orin."
Sorry for the long chapter, guys, but the pre-story stuff is officially DONE!
Just to clear something up, I am following the ending of Mass Effect 3, not some fantasy ending I created. Some things may be edited slightly, but nothing too major. Please do not get into the details of the ending or start flaming the ending. Thank you.
Don't forget to give feedback! Enjoy!
