Chapter 6: Miranda
Hackett's cigar smoked in his ashtray. Miranda watched as he flicked off the ashes and laid it in the pile of previously used cigars. Hackett was always cool when it came to tense situations, and with Jacob relaying the report from Kyne Station it was pretty tense. He was pacing about the room. "I think he's playing us, sir. I mean, a Thorian?" Jacob was pretty livid about the whole situation. Miranda understood. They both had father issues.
"Jacob, fall in. Now." Hackett ordered. Jacob stopped pacing and immediately stood at attention. "Sir, yes sir!" Jacob barked. Hackett got up from his desk and walked around to it's front. "Admiral Lawson, I appreciate you going along with Jacob to receive this report. It's obvious he needed to moral support." "Of course, sir," Miranda said. Hackett turned his attention to Jacob. "Lt. Taylor, I understand your feelings about your father, but I believe him." The Admiral walked to his window and looked out. "Back when Shepard got your father off Aeia, we rounded up the survivors of the Gernsback and sent them to stations used for re-habilitation and cognitive development," he began. Miranda listened intently. "They were cared for," Hackett continued, "and reports from the stations seemed nominal. The people were coming back to reality." He paused and turned to face the pair. "But soon, there were reports of deaths coming in form every station. The survivors were dying of their own intelligence. Then, the Reapers showed up." Hackett coughed and went to his desk to take a sip of some water he had poured earlier. "Figures the Alliance kept some problems under wraps when the Reapers arrived," thought Lawson. What could they be hiding about Shepard, though?
Hackett moved on. "We sent a squad to one of the stations that hadn't been attacked by Reaper forces. They said they encountered Husks of some kind there. They were… different though. Reports say they were slower, non-robotic, and their skin was a vile green color." Miranda knew what that meant. From Shepard's accounts of The Thorian's slave Husks, Hackett's description matched his. "They managed to clear out the station," Hackett said, "But the creatures were there in numbers. And there were no reports of any humans on board. Just those things. Now, if you remember, Shepard had a run-in with The Thorian when he first became captain of the Normandy back in 2183. His report of the encounter of Feros described humans that were turned into green husk-like creatures, the same described by my men who cleared out that station." He looked Jacob in the eyes. "So Lieutenant, I would appreciate it if you would put your personal feelings aside and consider that maybe your father was indeed under Thorian control." "Yes sir." Jacob was a good soldier, Miranda thought. She admired how he could take anything from anyone and still stay as strong as an ox. He didn't flinch. He just stood at attention, and seemed to understand.
Hackett went back to his desk. As he sat he addressed Miranda. "Admiral, I know that you and the Lieutenant served with Shepard when the Normandy was under Cerberus control…" Bringing up Shepard and the Normandy reminded Miranda of the files she found. She instantly became anxious, and interrupted the Admiral. "Yes, and sir I'd like-" Hackett held up his hand, asking for her to wait. She stopped and stepped back a little. Hackett pulled up some articles Miranda recognized. They were the ones she was looking into before going to the Spectre office. "I noticed you've been taking an interest in ship disappearances, particularly the recent ones. You specifically searched for any information on the Normandy…" Hackett said, but stopped. Miranda looked unsettled. "Don't worry," the Admiral said reassuringly, "I'm not bugging your office. I personally get notified if anything about the Normandy is looked up in the Alliance Data Archives. I also get notified if anything related to Commander Shepard is looked up."
Miranda was very unsettled now. She wanted to just ask him about the files from the Spectre terminal. Hackett began speaking to her again but she couldn't hear him. All she could hear was a ringing, a knocking in her head just wanting answers to her questions. She couldn't take it anymore. "Sir," she said frustratingly, "I've been wanting to come and talk to you about something I found and with all this coming up about my recent endeavors, I think I deserve some answers so may I speak?" Flustered she breathed heavily after her interjection. The Admiral was silent. She looked at Jacob who was still at attention, but had turned his head to see her outburst. She calmed down and pulled up the two Spectre files on her omni-tool. "It's true, I was looking up reports of missing ships and the Normandy's sudden disappearance. And of Shepard's. But the Alliance had no answers so I went to the next best thing." She scrolled down the list of Shepard's Spectre information, glancing at his hologram. "The Spectre's have all this information on him, his reports, his Cerberus reports, everything." Hackett leaned back, and had a look as if he knew what was coming next. Miranda scrolled to the line at the bottom. "But this line, it's locked. It has information that I cannot even access with my Spectre authority. This same line is found in Normandy's file," she said as she pulled up Normandy's file and showed off the locked line. "I want to know what is locked inside this file. Why is something hidden about Shepard, Admiral?"
Hackett took a deep sigh inward, then punched some codes into his console. From a holo-projector on his desk, the same files in Miranda's hands appeared. Miranda turned her omni-tool off. Taking the line Miranda couldn't open, Hackett pulled both off to the side and got rid of the excess information. Pulling them back in front of him, he started to type into a key-pad a combination. The line glowed green and the words "Access Granted" appeared above it. All of a sudden the line transformed into an extensive file of information.
"Project Ark," Hackett stated letting the words on the files scroll through, "The Alliance developed a failsafe in case the Crucible had no effect on the Reapers or if we couldn't win. To preserve as many forms of life in the galaxy in case it fell into Reaper hands. The Normandy was that failsafe." Miranda was in shock. Jacob had dropped his stance. The information being displayed before them was rewriting everything they knew after their last talk with Shepard. About the end of war. Hackett continued, getting up and leaning over his desk. "The Normandy would escape into dark space to hide when we activated the Crucible regardless of its effects. It was to have its full crew aboard, or whoever was left during the battle, in order to preserve as much organic life as possible. Having prominent members of the War Effort aboard would also give the possible next cycle an advantage against the Reapers. However, Shepard was unaware of this project." Miranda looked up from reading the files. "Sir?" she asked.
Hackett took another sip of water. "We developed Project Ark shortly after deciphering the Crucible schematics. Commander Shepard was already charged with bringing the races together to fight the Reapers, so he and his squadmates were not informed of our plan. Captain Anderson was, as well as the Normandy's pilot, Jeff Moreau." Miranda looked a Jacob, who gave her a bewildered look back. "I know this is a lot to take in," Hackett said to them, "but the assignment you just completed was in relation to Project Ark. And with this new information, we can now begin the new project: Project Beyond." Jacob seemed to be discovering something in his mind. "The List of Forbidden Relay's…" Jacob said, "you need it to find the Normandy again. You need it to find Shepard." Hackett nodded. "It's time for the prodigal son to come home."
During the conversation, Miranda had been fighting back tears. Not tears of sadness, though. Tear of joy. Her love was alive. He didn't die in battle. Somewhere out there, he was alive and stranded. Stranded. Fear came over her. She had to speak. "Sir," she said, "if you're going after him, I'd like to volunteer to head the Project. I want to find him, sir. More than anyone." "I believe you," Hackett said, "and that's why I'm glad you're here. Both of you." Hackett moved to stand in front of the two soldiers. "I want a small team to retrieve this list, pinpoint the Relay last used by the Normandy, and find Shepard. Given your history with the Normandy and its crew, it seems appropriate that you two be the ones to take this mission." Miranda was in a state of pure joy. "We will be more than happy to do so, sir," she said with pride. "Good," Hackett said, "Now, you're going to need a crew and a ship. As I am aware, Dr. Cole is working on a prototype ship for the Alliance in the America's. While you gather your squad, we will be diverting all resources to completing that ship. And Admiral Lawson, I want you as captain of the vessel. You can get this done. And it will be good to have a ship of your own." Miranda gave the Admiral a salute. "Yes sir," she said. Hackett saluted her and Jacob. "This is a quiet mission. I don't want anything on the news about this. We bring Shepard back on our terms, understand?" Jacob and Miranda nodded understandingly. "Good," Hackett said, "now see that you build your crew wisely. I will notify you, Admiral, when the ship is ready. Dismissed."
The duo saluted Hackett, then walked out of his office briskly. Tears immediately ran down Miranda's face as they walked out into the hallway. Jacob didn't notice until they got to the stairs, but when he did he stopped her. "Hey," he said calmingly, "it's o-" He was interrupted by Miranda giving him a huge hug, to which he reciprocated. She let go, sniffling a little and looked a Jacob. "We were right, Jacob. He's alive." "I know," Jacob said, "and we're gonna find him." Miranda wiped her eyes. "Ya," she said, "we are. If it's the last damn thing I do, I'm bringing him back. Again." Jacob crossed his arms cooly. "So, we need a crew. Sounds like for more than just exploration, too. This Thorian has me wonderin'… I'm expectin' we'll need some firepower. More than we already have, I mean." Miranda nodded in agreement. "Yes," she said, "definitely. We need someone who is very good a killing." She smirked. Miranda knew exactly who to call.
