Chapter 8: On the Offensive
The hostages from the Berengaria were all returned and accounted for, and the Asari who were mixed in were taken to the Citadel so that they could be reunited with their families. Miranda had done a lot since the Collector base, but this one felt good.
In spite of her successes, however, she still had more enemies than friends. Thwarting the Illusive Man was temporary; he would send others after her, or send Kai Leng again. Jona Sederis may be in prison, but there were plenty of Eclipse mercs out there who wanted her dead, as well as Blue Suns and the Blood Pack. Miranda was wanted by the Alliance, the Batarian Hegemony, and her father was still out there as well.
Running from everyone was getting her nowhere; it was time to go on the offensive. Avoiding the mercs should not be too hard, but she was certain that someone was feeding people information on her. She was certain that Cerberus was part of the problem, but she suspected that there was an individual who was the common denominator in many of her recent travails. And Miranda Lawson knew exactly where to find that someone.
Careena never did hear back from Jona Sederis, and had not yet received the rest of her money. She was starting to get nervous, as Sederis was crazy. The night they had spent together had been horrific. Sederis was a cruel mistress, and Careena had never felt so used … or abused … in her life. The prospect of Sederis coming back to exact revenge for bad information terrified the aspiring information broker, and now she wished that she had never ventured outside of her role as concierge.
She was about to open her door and go to work when she felt something being jammed into the small of her back, and heard a chilling voice.
"Don't move, bitch," said Miranda Lawson. "You sold me out, didn't you?"
"Please, Ms. Lawson, I never meant to …"
"Don't give me that! Don't you dare give me that," Miranda hissed. "You knew exactly what you were doing, and you did it purely for money. You're despicable. You Asari think you're so refined and cultured, but you're as backstabbing and greedy as the Batarians. Now, if you don't mind, I need some questions answered."
Careena felt the needle jab into her neck. She cried out in pain, but then a euphoria spread over her as she collapsed into Miranda Lawson's arms. She felt herself being picked up and carried to her bed.
"I've already taken the liberty of faking a call from you to your job," Miranda explained. "You won't be missed. Now, tell me everything I want to know."
Miranda began questioning Careena, who under the influence of the drug, told all.
Careena had given Miranda a wealth of information, including her own involvement with Cerberus, who had contacted the concierge with a very lucrative offer. Of course, Careena had sold Miranda out to the Eclipse Sisters as well as to any bounty hunter who came looking for information on the former Cerberus second in command. Miranda got the name of Careena's Cerberus contact; a rather unsavory man called Vernon "Buck" Buckley. Miranda had detailed information on him from her very recent time as the Illusive Man's second.
"Time to pay Buck a visit," she said to herself. She then sent a message to Liara T'Soni with all the information she had on Careena. Miranda figured that as the new Shadow Broker, Liara could corral the aspiring information trader and put her to a more positive use.
Buck Buckley could not believe his luck. A hot blonde named Miri Solheim was losing her self-control after having more drinks with him than was prudent. He knew the look of a girl ripe for being taken advantage of, so he decided to make his move.
"Hey, baby, let's go back to my place."
"Oooh, I'd love that," she cooed.
Buck had an English accent. Gets 'em every time, he thought.
The drunk woman stood shakily and Buck took her arm and walked her to his skycar.
"You gonna do me in the car?" she slurred.
"I can put her on autopilot an' we can make that happen, toots," he said with a chuckle.
"Mmmm, I'd love that." The drunk woman had already opened her top, showing ample cleavage.
Buck had never seen a woman in person who was this beautiful. Not even the women in the vids compared to this near perfect example of the human woman. Turned on as he was, he immediately honored her request, and set the skycar on auto for a cruise around Illium. Miri pulled him close as soon as he had the controls set and began kissing him hungrily. Buck started opening her top further, drawn in by the voluptuous woman's ample bosom. He was almost delirious as fumbled with her garment.
For some reason, he found it difficult to get the garment opened the rest of the way, as though his hands would not cooperate with him. He felt his body relaxing, as though he had drunk far too much, even though he knew that he had been careful to have no more than three beers.
"Feeling a bit lethargic?" Her voice now had an Australian accent that was not present earlier.
Buck nodded. "Yeah, toots. I don't understand …"
"Of course you don't." She sounded far less drunk than she had a few moments ago. She reached into her clothing and produced a hypodermic.
Buck's eyes went wide, but he realized that he could hardly move, let alone resist her. She rolled up his sleeve and found a vein, injecting the needle's contents into his arm, a charming smile on her face all the while.
"I drugged your last beer at the bar," she announced. "My lip gloss activated the toxin, which paralyzed you. The drug I just introduced to your system will guarantee that you answer my questions … Cerberus lackey."
Buck had no idea who she was, but as the skycar cruised along leisurely, he dutifully answered her questions nonetheless.
Miranda was very troubled by what she had learned. It seemed that Buck had been the contact for Doctor Henry Lawson, Miranda's father. Buck had passed onto Lawson every piece of information that Cerberus had on Miranda, including every detail about Oriana. Miranda cursed herself for not thinking of Ori's safety until now, though even she had to admit that she had been running nonstop. Of more immediate concern, however, it seemed that Buck had also sold her out to Vido Santiago of the Blue Suns. She and Shepard had helped Zaeed to free the workers at the Eldfell-Ashland refinery from Vido's enslavement, but Vido got away. They had crippled Santiago's operation during their efforts to stop the Collectors, but had never run into Vido himself. Now, she knew where to find the merc leader, and she knew just who to call upon for help.
Bekenstein: Zaeed Massani smiled to himself as he looked at his account balance. He had just finished taking out a Blue Suns outpost on behalf of Jonah Ashland. Vido had not been present, but the pay was generous. He got out of the skycar and was headed to the bar to celebrate his success when he heard a familiar voice.
"Zaeed Massani, I have an offer you don't want to refuse."
"Miranda Lawson," he said, turning to face the beautiful, now blonde, woman. "Good to see you, Lawson." He shook the hand of his former colleague. "I hear you're a wanted woman. Don't worry; I don't sell out my friends."
Miranda took his hand and pulled him close, hugging him. "Good to see you, Zaeed."
"Damn, woman," he exclaimed, "you've warmed up since we first met."
"The commander has had a … liberating effect on me," she explained. "Now, how would you like to get your hands on Vido Santiago?"
"You sure know how to make man happy, Solheim. That is what you're going by these days?"
"Astute, Zaeed, and yes, I do. I have Santiago's location and detailed information on his base. I'm owed a few favors, and I figured that you're a good man to talk to if I want to put a team together."
"You bet your sweet ass I am," Zaeed boasted. "How many you need?"
"Twenty, plus you and I, and a few people I'm collecting on."
"I'll have 'em in forty eight hours," Zaeed declared. "Be ready with your own people."
"Excellent. Meet me at the port, dock 87."
"I'll be there, ready to do some killing," the big merc said enthusiastically.
With Zaeed on board, Miranda decided to strike at Cerberus. She had held off on doing this, mainly because she knew that good, but misguided people would be hurt, but she could hold off no longer. They had crossed the line with Ori, and now they would pay. She prepared a data packet that contained everything she knew about the organization. It took her several hours to put it together, but once she was done, she sent it as a gift to the Alliance, the Migrant Fleet, the Asari High Command, STG, Urdnot Wrex, and every non-human group that had a beef with Cerberus.
Time to put Cerberus on the run for a change.
Then she sat back and lamented her sister, her genetic twin, Oriana. Since her meeting with Buck, she had checked into Ori, and found that everything she had put into place for her had gone dark. She considered contacting the Bransons, but dared not put them in any danger. No, Miranda would have to solve this on her own. First things first, she thought. Strike back at my enemies so that I'll live to help Ori when the time comes.
Vido Santiago sat in a Blue Suns base lamenting the state of his organization. Not only had Shepard not gone down when helping Zaeed, but the Alliance hero had systematically dismantled much of Vido's operation, costing him millions of credits and wiping out a significant amount of well trained personnel. While there were always up and coming recruits, replacing key people was more challenging. Not only that, Zaeed Massani was still gunning for him, and the old merc was proving more tenacious than Vido had anticipated.
His contemplations were interrupted when one of his Batarian lieutenants rushed in, a look of panic on his face.
"Sir, one of the returning ships landed, but instead of Blue Suns mercs disembarking, a company of mercs charged into the base, led by Zaeed Massani and some biotic woman!"
"Fuck!" Vido pounded the desk, actually breaking the top. "Suit up! I'll meet you out there, and we'll take care of them!"
"We can't," the Batarian protested.
"Why the fuck not?"
"Because they've disabled our security and infiltrated the base. We have no idea where they are!"
In anger and frustration, Vido shot the Batarian in the head, the four eyed man's brains spraying the wall.
Miranda and Zaeed led a squad consisting of three Asari commandos that Lanteia had recommended, four Krogan on loan from the Patriarch, and a former Cerberus trooper by the name of Flint Stone. An alias, to be sure, but he had left before Miranda had, citing ethical concerns, and had spent months dodging Cerberus assassins. When he learned about Miranda, he had sought her out and signed on.
So far, Flint, in his Ajax armor with the Cerberus logo removed by an acid splash and replaced with a Betty Page pin up sticker, was proving to be a real asset. While the Krogan had entered the main part of the building, the Asari commandos had gone into the east wing, while Miranda, Zaeed, and Flint had entered the west. Resistance was light, but against just three people, it was plenty.
"Great to work with you again, Lawson!" The big trooper hammered away at Blue Suns mercs as he spoke.
"We're in battle right now, Flint!"
"I know," he shouted. "That's the best part! Too bad I ditched before you hooked up with Shepard! Woulda loved to have been along for that ride!"
"Cut the chatter, you two," growled Zaeed as they pressed forward. "We got enough to worry about without getting distracted!" He lobbed a grenade and then took cover. The resulting explosion sent both mercs and pieces of mercs flying, and was accompanied by screaming. Miranda followed up Zaeed's grenade with with an overload, as Flint sprayed the Suns with his inferno ammo loaded Mattock assault rifle. When they finally paused in their assault, the room was cleared.
"Alright, move further into the compound," Miranda ordered.
Entering the next room of the compound brought on more fighting, but the Suns were unprepared for Miranda's biotics, and with their forces split up between three lines of attack, they were quickly being overwhelmed. The Krogan had made quick work of the forces in the main areas, while the Asari had made it in far enough to cut off the Sun's retreat, effectively catching them in a pincer maneuver.
Miranda, Zaeed, and Flint dealt with the remaining resistance in the west wing, and then double timed it to the shuttle pad. There was no telling what Zaeed would do if Vido got away again, and she had no interest in finding out.
As they hit the shuttle pad, they encountered three Atlas mechs, covering Vido and his lieutenants as they made for a gunship. Miranda had gotten her hands on a Salarian Scorpion in preparation for this mission, recalling Vido's escape the last time. She fired off six at the gunship, which stuck to the tail, engines, and windshield. As soon as Vido and his men got within ten feet of the gunship, they went off, tearing the gunship apart.
"Now where can I get one of those?" Flint asked exuberantly.
With the mechs and Vido and his men taking them on all at once, Miranda's biotics were put to the test. Unlike the Seeker Swarms, the mechs were all heavy weapons and large caliber guns, and Vido and his group were going all out. Miranda tried to maintain a field to protect herself and her squad, but they rolled out of the way as the barrier shattered under the heavy onslaught, barely escaping the blast. Miranda came up firing off a shot at Vido and six more at one of the mechs.
Vido realized too late that Miranda had stuck his leg with a proximity mine, which blew before he could get his armor off, leaving him prone on the ground, his right leg blown off from the knee down. As the mines on the mech went off, the Atlas count reduced to two. The disabled mech pilot jumped out, only to be shot in the back by Zaeed.
They circled around behind the demolished gunship to evade the mech fire, returning fire as best as they could. A well placed shot with the Scorpion blew the heads off of two of Vido's men, while Flint immolated one with inferno rounds and Zaeed used his Incisor Sniper Rifle to blow the heads off of two more. Miranda then stepped out and cut loose with a powerful warp, wrecking the armor of both the remaining mechs and the mercs.
The compound doors opened, and the Asari and Krogan all came pouring out onto the pad, and within minutes, the mechs were destroyed and the Suns dead. Only Vido remained, and he was bleeding out. Zaeed walked over and Vido promptly surrendered. Zaeed, however, would have none of it. He stomped on Vido's head repeatedly, his face a mask of rage and fury, shouting obscenities as he crushed Vido's skull to pulp on the landing pad.
"Finally paid you back, you son of a bitch!" Zaeed then lit a cigar, savoring the moment. "Lawson, you really came through," he said, his demeanor now calm. "I picked up a couple of jobs, an' I could use you and Stone here, if you're interested."
"Hell yeah," Stone bellowed.
"Here," said Miranda, tossing the Salarian weapon to Flint Stone. "Consider it a bonus. I have a job of my own, one that I need to do alone. Also, I need to disappear for a bit." She shook hands with both men. "But I'm sure we'll meet again."
"Count on it," Zaeed said as he shook her hand. "You're a helluva shot, Miranda. Damn good working with you again."
"Likewise, Zaeed, but ..." Before Miranda could finish, her omni tool, and those of Zaeed, Flint, and the commandoes all lit up simultaneously. The Alliance sent out a priority message over all channels. Miranda felt faint, and the color drained from Zaeed's face as the words were spoken.
"Warning to all spacecraft and travelers: Avoid Earth at all costs! The Reapers are here! Earth has been invested! The Reapers are here! I repeat, the Reapers are here!"
"Holy goddam shit!" Zaeed looked at Miranda, his face now a mask of worry.
Flint was silent, and the Asari looked panicked. The force that nobody was ready for was finally upon them: The Reapers. And they all knew that their governments had squandered Shepard's warnings.
"Oh God …" Miranda's voice was barely above a whisper. "Shepard …"
