Chapter 10

She awoke feeling groggy and disoriented. The lights were bright, almost blindingly so. She was lying on a rough bed. She looked around her. She was in an isolation cell, a dozen feet wide and in length. She had only a bed and a small toilet in her cell, there was no hope of privacy. Lights were brightly lit and dome cameras hung from the grey ceiling. She didn't need to stretch out her hand to know there was a barrier keeping her trapped. Beyond the barrier was a large empty chamber, with only a chair for adornment.

This room reminded her of the dozens of cells where Cerberus ran their experiments. She sat up and saw a food tray at the foot of the bed. The food didn't look appetizing, three plates holding congealed gels of various colours. There was a gelatinous bag filled with a clear liquid, possibly water. She didn't think it was possible to find something that looked less like food than military rations, but she was clearly wrong.

A door opened. In walked a woman holding a datapad in one hand. Despite her imprisoned state, Kara found it difficult to ignore how attractive she was. Her body was nimble, raven haired and piercing blue eyes. She was wearing a form fitting outfit. Though as she neared, Kara found something uncanny about her features, but she couldn't discern precisely what. It was like she was too perfect. The woman sat down in the chair. Kara stood and faced her. The two women stared at another. The woman's look was inquisitive but hard, in contrast to the soft features of her face. Finally, she spoke with an Australian accent.

"Hello Shepard. My name is Miranda Lawson."

"Where am I?" Kara asked.

"You're in a Cerberus facility. No harm will come to you, I simply wish to talk."

"Give me a gun and I'll be in a mood to talk." Kara said.

"That's not going to happen. Not until we can trust you at least." She said.

What was this about trust? They could've easily killed her. There was something they wanted from her.

"Why are you keeping me here?" Kara asked.

"Like I said, we wish to talk." Miranda said evenly. She remained perfectly still in her chair, holding a firm but comfortable posture. She didn't avoid Kara's gaze, and she could gleam nothing from her eyes. She was no amateur. This Miranda was clearly someone used to, and very good at, hiding her emotions. She wondered where this came from. Was this taught or learned behaviour?

"How long have I been here?" Kara said.

"Two days." Miranda said. "We're quite safe from your Alliance friends. They'll never find you. The only way out is through cooperation, or death."

"What do you consider cooperation?" Kara asked.

"Let's start small. I think you would be open to an even exchange. Information for information."

"Okay." Kara said. "Why are you interested in Prothean ruins?"

A casual observer would've missed it, but a flicker went through Miranda's eyes.

"Simple." Miranda said. "We want to advance humanity. One way is through researching prothean artifacts. If Cerberus were to make a breakthrough, to succeed where centuries of turians, asari and salarians had fumbled and failed, that would be great for humanity."

"And for you." Kara said.

"Of course." Miranda said. "Now, my turn. Why were you in the Terminus systems?"

"It's classified." Kara said.

"Of course it is. I answered your question. Answer mine." Miranda said without missing a beat.

"Investigating leads for more of Saren's geth."

"So why were you nowhere near the Perseus Veil? If you're investigating geth, surely that's the best place to be." Miranda leaned forward. "Maybe, you're looking for the same thing we are: Ways to fight the Reapers."

"Reapers? What are those?" Kara asked, even she knew her skeptical facade wasn't convincing.

Miranda leaned back. "Don't be coy, it doesn't suit you. You stopped Sovereign and Saren, but we don't know if there are more hiding like Sovereign, or if the Reapers have alternate plans to invade our galaxy."

"How do you know that?" Kara asked.

"We have our sources." Miranda said with unmasked smugness. Her attitude on top of the intelligence leak was like salt on a wound.

"You see?" Miranda said. "We don't have to agree on everything, but in this we have a common goal. We want you to work with us."

Despite her feeble strength, Kara bellowed laughter. At first, her laughter was amused but it quickly took on a bitter tone.

"After all you put me through on Akuze, all your horrible experiments, assassinating a goddamn Admiral, you want me to work for you? I'd rather die first."

Miranda breathed in deeply. "We anticipated you would be hostile. I'll remind you we have a common foe and a common goal. We can put aside minor disagreements and focus on the task at hand."

"Leaving a trail of dead bodies is not a minor disagreement!" She thundered.

Miranda seemed to decide that was enough for the day. "We have some informative materials that may broaden your horizons and change your mind."

Miranda stood and walked towards the barrier. She activated her Omni-Tool and a small gap appeared. She passed the datapad through the barrier, it landed on the cold ground with a flat thunk. Kara didn't bother looking at the datapad. She thought about rushing towards her, but she still felt weak and wouldn't make it before Miranda would close the gap in the barrier. Later. She thought, hoping her strength would return to her.

"We have provided you with food. I suggest you eat to regain your strength. I look forward to speaking with you again." Miranda said, retreating from the room.

"I've smelled better things coming from a Varren's asshole." If her retort had any effect, Miranda didn't show it, casually closing the door behind her.

Despite her misgivings, and as much to relieve boredom as to relieve hunger, Kara did eat. It tasted oddly sweet and it reminded her of pudding or yogurt in its texture. It was at least better than military rations, but not by much. She did feel better and stronger. She paced the length of her cell, probing ever inch of the floor, every pillar, looking for some kind of structural weakness. She could find none. The floor was cold steel and the pillars were welded into both the floor and the ceiling. Even standing on the bed, the ceiling was out of reach, and it was as flat and featureless as the floor. There was no way out of here.

The toilet was a standard air suction type common on most lower grade spaceships. It was solidly welded to the floor. The cameras were positioned throughout the chamber, leaving no blind spots. Her attention then changed to the datapad. It was a standard datapad, though most of the functions were restricted. The wireless adapter had not just been disabled by physically removed, making connecting to any kind of network impossible. Even the clock and calendar were disabled. It was a read only device, loaded with Cerberus propaganda and nothing else. Out of as much boredom and curiosity, she started watching.

She found exercise another way to pass the time, she ran, basic calisthenics and yoga. She had much time to herself, and to think. she had much time to think. She worried about the Reapers. Every hour she spent in this prison was an hour wasted. How close was the Normandy to finding her? She had no doubt that Ashley and her crew were like bloodhounds on her trail. Her heart softened when she thought of Ashley. When I see you again, I will tell you how I feel about you. She had many things to focus on, factors to motivate her to continue to struggle, Ashley was one of the strongest, second only in her desire to eliminate the Reaper threat. But she also thought of Kaidan, of those who'd died under her command. Dead Shep. Her only surcease from her anxieties was thinking of Ashley and her friends on the Normandy. She had to, lest she succumb to despair.

Kara found it disturbing that she was looking forward to Miranda's visits. It wasn't because she enjoyed the company, the opposite was true, but because she was bored. Arguing with Miranda gave her a form of mental stimulation and social interaction she needed badly. When they talked about the Reapers, Kara gleamed that Cerberus was as in the dark as everyone else. They weren't trading information so much as trading conjecture and speculation.

The datapad filled with Cerberus propaganda was risible, but she was starting to enjoy going through it so she could mock it. Despite her mockery, she could see the appeal. They were appealing to humans in the Terminus systems who felt powerless against hostile aliens and the ambitious who wanted to do something with their lives. She realized she'd dismissed them as just some other terrorist group, but there was a sophistication to this propaganda that belied what she'd witnessed from them before. That was the downside of operating in separate cells.

"Hello, Shepard." Miranda said, almost casually to her as she sat down in her habitual chair. Five days of this. She suspected it was at the same time every day, but she had no way of knowing. She assumed it was five because she'd gone to sleep when the lights went out, awakened five times with the lights on, each time with a new food tray in her cell and five times she'd spoken with Miranda. Miranda continued to dress provocatively, Kara was wondering if this was some tactic designed to wear her down. Sorry sugar, it takes more than a flash of cleavage to get to me.

"Hello again." Kara sat down on her bed, facing her inquisitor.

"Have you thought about what we discussed yesterday?" Miranda said.

"Yes. I've wondered about how you justify the things Cerberus has done." Kara said.

"I've told you, those weren't Cerberus. They were rogue cells." Miranda said with irritation.

"You seem to have a lot of rogue cells." Kara said.

"Cerberus cells operate independently to best maintain initiative, security and independence. Those experiments got out of hand because of bad leadership in those cells, nothing more."

"Thanks for the intel." Kara said.

Miranda frowned and stared darkly at her. Any pretense of professionalism or friendliness were gone. The more times they talked, the more she was able to poke holes in Miranda's impervious facade. "We've noticed during your sleep you frequently mention the name of Lt. Ashley Williams, one of your crew mates. Is she a source of unrequited affection? How very charming, in a juvenile sort of way. Do you really think an exceptional woman like her would want anything to do with you? A faithless, unqualified, drug addict."

Kara picked up the datapad and threw it in Miranda's direction. It bounced off the barrier and landed on the floor. The cracking sound indicated she'd shattered the screen. "You know what's juvenile? This Cerberus Plan 9 From Outer Space bullshit you loaded onto that."

Miranda continued. "And there's the other name you call out in your sleep. Kaidan Alenko. Do you feel guilty over his death? What is it they call you? Dead Shep?" She chuckled. "There's another soldier you killed. I've studied the AA reports from Virmire, I could've easily accomplished that mission without nuking a squad member."

Kara glared at her.

"We don't have to do it this way, Shepard." Miranda said, she took a breath and tried to regain her composure. "We have your genetic material on file now. We could get rid of you and clone you. Your clone would be more willing to work with us."

"You're joking. Cloning? What's next, bringing someone back from the dead?" Kara said.

"We've...had some success in cloning." Miranda said, there was an odd catch in her voice, the smugness was gone. She oozed confidence when she talked of Cerberus' success. But suddenly she looked vulnerable, human. Blinded by her hatred, Kara saw this only as a weakness to be exploited.

"Some success?" Kara said. "Is Cerberus' favourite stripper some pervert's designer baby?" Miranda bolted up, kicking the chair away. She stared at Kara, her blue eyes staring daggers at her. But behind those eyes, Kara saw echoes of pain, blinded by her hatred and confinement, she sought to exacerbate the pain rather than assuage it. "Aww, have I hit close to home?" She said mockingly.

"Fuck you." Miranda said. There was as much hurt as anger in her curse. She turned around and stormed out of the chamber.

When she awoke the next 'day', Kara didn't find a fresh food tray, her old one was still there. She was given neither food nor Miranda's visit. Time passed with imperceptible, agonizing sloth.

Then, the noise started. It startled her so much that she jumped. It was a loud, heavily distorted, pulsating chime. So loud that the ground shook with each deafening pulse. She cupped her hands against her ears but it did little to diminish the overwhelming volume of the noise. She jumped on the bed and buried her head beneath her pillow but it also had little effect. Her ears exploded, she screamed but couldn't hear herself scream. She pulled the pillow away, she tore strips off the pillowcase. Wrapping the torn cloth into small balls she shoved them in her ears. It was small relief, but better than none.

She curled up in a ball in one corner, leaning against one of the support pillars. She closed her eyes and tried to think about... anything. But the noise was so overwhelming she could think of nothing. She leapt up and threw herself at the barrier. She bounced right back like she was a ball and fell on her back. Tears slid down her face. She placed her hands against her ears, pressing hard, hoping in vain it would diminish the excruciating volume of the infernal noise. But it didn't. She stared at the bland ceiling. She pleaded, begged for the noise to stop. But it didn't. Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop! Makeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopmakeitstopchristmakeitfuckingstoppleasemakeitstop!