Interlude 1: The Spider and the Queen

Connected: I.P. 870D. .300291

Transferring files 1 through 37 from BRecluse993

Miranda Lawson immediately minimized all the other windows around her workstation and pulled her chair over to the newly transferred information onscreen and began decoding the heavily encrypted files. She read them quickly and efficiently and paused for a few moments of contemplation.

Her deep blue eyes darted to the report on Geth activity on a pad at her other desk off in the corner and sighed deeply before connecting a chat program on the I.P. that had sent the files.

BRecluse993: Problems?

QueenBee0001: None with what you sent. There is another matter. We need to get someone to go to the beach. Is it possible?

The SSV Normandy would be shipping off soon and the reports indicated that Nihlus Kriyk would be going with it. Cerberus needed someone on that ship to watch the turian and his new protégé closely.

BRecluse993: Maybe. It might be a little close for time, but it's doable. What about the recommendation I made for the troubled dog?

Miranda scowled. Eliminating Shepard was completely out of the question right now and she hated it when Cerberus agents got too eager to take out high-profile targets. She made a mental note to put her concerns in this agent's file and typed in her response onto the holographic keyboard.

QueenBee0001: The dog is too valuable. Whoever goes to the beach needs to watch and make sure she doesn't chase after the bird though.

BRecluse993: Understood. I'll let you know.

Miranda closed the window and severed the connection to the I.P. before sitting back in the chair.

So, Nihlus would finally get his chance to try and recruit Serrica Shepard. The first human spectre was going to be the most deadly combat veteran in the Alliance. Miranda could think of worst choices. Whether or not Shepard would do well in the position was a matter of debate, but the potential for human advancement was too good to pass up. As long as Kriyk was useful, Cerberus didn't mind that the turian would so heavily involved Shepard's training, but he would have to be eliminated eventually if they ever wanted the Alliance soldier to spread her wings.

Though Miranda thought it was Kriyk's mentor that was more of a concern at the moment. Her gaze shifted again to the pad at the other desk. Both reports on Geth activity and files on Spectre Saren Arterius were on it and she was sure they were only going to get bigger and cause a lot more problems.

She added a small note on Shepard's and Kriyk's progress to the report she was going to give via the quantum entanglement communicator later and returned to the rest of the screens in hopes that more on Saren and his plans with the Geth would be revealed before humanity was threatened by his open hatred for the species Cerberus had sworn to protect.

Fidem erga populum, thought Miranda as she began sifting through more data.