"Shhh!" Harry hissed.
"Cut it out, Harry." Jane replied, in a mildly annoyed tone. "You know just as well as I do that our helmets have closed sonics systems. None of our speech is audible from outside the helmet, so you can stop whispering." Harry grinned, then spoke in a perfectly normal tone.
"Don't deny it, you were whispering just like I was when we snuck past the sentry."
"Well, yeah, but-." Jane conceded. "It's vital that Cerberus remains unaware of our presence here. We're on an infiltration mission to steal their AI, for god's sake. And the AI core is in the very center of the base, at the most secure point on the entire station. You should have at least a little more caution." she admonished.
"Caution?" Harry snickered. "We've bypassed every single security station with ease. We're floating invisibly underneath the only walkway in sight. In the reactor cooling area, of all places. It's just us and a hundred-foot drop. I think we're fine, at least for now."
"You're right." Jane sighed. "I'm used to a different method of 'infiltration'."
"What, run in and shoot everything that moves?" Harry joked.
"In most cases? Yes, actually." Jane announced, after thinking for a moment. "Although I never thought that I'd be riding an invisible flying carpet into hostile territory." She thought for a moment, and let out a high crazed laugh which stopped almost as quickly as it started. "This is all so absurd. I mean, magic?" she laughed again. "Two years ago, I'd have thought you were crazy to say that magic exists. Now? It seems I can't go a few hours without seeing some new violation of everything I've held to be true. You've twisted the laws of physics into a pretzel a few times on this mission alone."
"Yeah. It was somewhat similar for me when I was first introduced to the magical world." Harry commiserated. "I lived just outside London, in the most disgustingly normal neighborhood imaginable. Though you're probably feeling more shock than eleven-year-old me when I was watching impossibilities occurring right under my nose. At that age, kids can -for the most part- accept the existence of all this stuff."
"I know I can deal with it all." Jane composed herself. "It just might take a bit of time for me to get completely used to this. You know- The whole 'magic' thing."
"That's fine." Harry consoled. "I know you'll be able to cope."
"I hope so." Jane sighed. "I hope so." The pair sat in silence for a few moments, as the magic carpet flew onwards.
"I think that's the AI core just ahead." the wizard warned, as he spied a pair of heavy doors.
"Alright." Jane straightened, and drew her pistol. Noticing Harry made no move to grasp the pistol at his belt, she added, "Weapons out, d'you reckon?" Harry shivered, remembering Cedric's final words in the graveyard.
"Yeah." he drew his sidearm, grasping the handle tightly. "Be careful."
…
Miranda was worried.
Conceptually, she knew that the AI was just a thing, just a few wires and databases. She- it! -wasn't real. Just a heartless, soulless hunk of metal.
However, the woman just couldn't stop thinking about EDI. Somehow, the AI had gotten her to laugh -three times!- with her- its! -dry sense of humor. And now there was a plan to install much stricter shackles on her- it! -which would reduce her- it! Stupid pronoun! It's an 'it,' not a 'her'! -personality core to the same functionality as a mere VI. Miranda tossed and turned in her bed, before she stood, and found herself pacing the room.
"Damn it." She muttered, and began to dress herself. Mumbled curses followed her out of the room, as she walked purposefully towards the AI core. The rapid -click, click, click- of her boots against the floor betrayed her anxiety. Striding past darkened windows and offices, Miranda considered the events that had led up to this.
...
"Where's your explanation?" She had asked, confused and frustrated. "Why did Shepard have to die?"
"It needed to happen." Her boss, the 'Illusive Man,' the leader of Cerberus, had replied. "The best possible outcome of this sequence of events can only occur after Shepard is removed from play."
His non-answer had come as a shock to Miranda. Normally, the Illusive Man was cryptic, but grudgingly willing to share information. (With her, at least.) And from everything Miranda had gleaned, she knew that it was highly abnormal for his plans to suddenly require one of humanity's greatest heroes' to die. That led to very few conclusions. Foremost in Miranda's mind was the most worrying possibility. And, even worse, it made perfect sense.
The Illusive Man was in the early stages of indoctrination.
She knew how far-fetched the idea was. However, she had read Shepard's dossier on Saren, and his descent from a jaded spectre to a barely-self-aware Reaper slave. The early stages of Reaper Indoctrination seemed to match the Illusive Man's actions almost perfectly.
'Callous disregard for the welfare of others-' Check. The Man had exhibited that trait as long as Miranda had known him, though. She wasn't certain whether or not that meant that he had been indoctrinated before she'd met him, or if he was just messed up.
'Willingness to sacrifice allies-' Check, certainly. In his last conversation with her, the Illusive Man had practically planned out the demise of Jane Shepard, a hero approaching galactic fame.
'Slowly worsening bias- Usually social, cultural, or racial- Yes, the Man had that in spades. His goal for Cerberus, the organization he'd created, had changed from 'advancing Human progress' to 'pushing other races into harm's way', and he was frequently making more and more offensive quips about alien races, turians in particular. Saren's defection from the Council hadn't helped matters at all. Miranda's boss had gone on an actual rant, which was highly uncharacteristic of him.
And even though the Illusive Man didn't show any signs of the fourth and final step Jane had outlined, 'Slow degradation of mental faculties, leading to eventual insanity,' he was still growing more dangerous.
And Miranda still couldn't stop thinking about the AI. Not with The Man's plans for her -It! Not 'her!'- whirling around her head. Nobody- -Since when had she been thinking of the AI as a person? Miranda couldn't seem to remember.- Nobody deserved to lose their capability for rational thought simply because they were dangerous.
Miranda shivered, as she stepped purposefully through the darkened corridors of Chronos Station. Not from cold, as freezing air from a cooling-vent hit her torso, but from worry, and from anticipation.
She would have to move tonight.
….
Jane and Harry swept through the cool air of the server-room, well above head-height. The magical carpet quivered as it passed over an especially tall stack of technology. Harry slowed the carpet's progress to a crawl as a tall familiar woman in white stepped quickly through the single doorway, muttering inaudibly to himself.
Miranda walked carefully towards the central pedestal, which contained EDI's 'Blue box', holding everything that gave the AI a personality. After a brief moment of frustrated confusion, she tapped a few keys on her omni-tool, and reached for the glowing cube that topped the pedestal. Before she could do so, however, a dark figure dropped down from the ceiling, narrowly missing Harry and Jane on the magic carpet.
Harry cursed fluently, reprimanding himself for not casting a single 'Homonium revelio'. The spell could have averted the near-disaster with ease.
The falling figure landed on the hard floor gracefully, with his? Her? back turned towards Harry. Dark form-fitting armor and a long sword hinted at a file Harry had seen, a long time ago. Memories shot to the forefront of his mind, as Miranda viciously hissed the man's name.
"Kai Leng." The man stood, twirling his sword skillfully. Miranda reached for her belt, but found no weapon there. "Harper's personal assassin, come to take me out because I'm not insane, like him? Because I don't want to sacrifice allies to his perverse plans?"
"You're right. The Man is insane." Leng smiled. "But he didn't send me to kill you. I simply followed you here." the man gloated. "And now, Miss Lawson, I'm going to have to tell him about your- 'change of heart' we'll call it." sighed Kai Leng. "And I don't think the Illusive Man will take too kindly to your betrayal." He took a slow step in Miranda's direction. "And you have a sister." Another step. "If you do this, He'll go after her. And she won't escape." A chill ran down Miranda's spine. Indecisive agony stabbed through her mind.
"It's too late, now." she said, one hand clenched in a white-knuckled fist. "I've already committed to this. There's no going back."
"I'm sorry you feel that way, Miranda." The assassin said. "Because I'll be the one hunting down your precious sister."
"He'll sell you out, Leng." Miranda whispered forcefully, clutching at straws. Wisps of biotic energy hissed into existence with the force of her anger, causing the assassin's shields to buzz at the contact. "Mark my words, Jack Harper will betray you. Maybe he already has."
"Jack Harper? Who's he?" Leng questioned innocently.
"Don't tell me you don't know the Illusive Man's real name?" Miranda scoffed. "You've been killing people for him ever since you joined this organization."
"Huh." The assassin nodded. "No, I never cared about his name. I'm in it for the killing." As he spoke, a ball of black biotic energy wrapped itself around his fist.
Miranda's voice became more confident, and her eyes widened as she came to a realization. "Your biotics- That's Reaper tech!" She scowled. "Damn it, Leng! I was right. He's already betrayed you. He's already sold you out!"
"He sold me out for less than nothing, along with every human in existence." The chinese operative laughed. The blade twirled. "He's indoctrinated. Under the Reapers' thrall." The man stood shoulder-to shoulder with his former colleague. Miranda's eyes twitched. She spared a sidelong gaze at the window separating the AI core from the open-air drop into the dormant reactor coolant area.
Kai Leng twirled his sword again, and quickly, so fast that Jane almost missed it, poised the blade above Miranda's heart.
"The Illusive Man is a traitor to Humanity as a whole, Miranda. And I. Don't. Care." Leng moved to push his blade into Miranda's heart, but froze, as if locked in position. His muscles strained, as if trying to break free of invisible bonds. The ball of black biotics in his other hand dissipated in a crackling hiss of chaotic energy. With a jerk, the assassin lifted off the ground, stiff and immobile. His eyes whirled, as some invisible force launched him through the thick glass that bordered one side of the room. A faint scream was soon audible, dopplering as it fell further and further downwards. Miranda spun around, eyes darting every which way. A few tense moments passed, as she found no visible cause for her sudden rescue.
"Thanks." Miranda mumbled to the empty air, then shivered.
Jane gazed at Harry, confused, until she noticed his outstretched hand. Clearly, he had been responsible for the assassin's fall. The pair of infiltrators turned their gaze back towards Miranda, who speedily extracted EDI's 'blue box' from its pedestal, before taking off at a desperate pace back down the walkway.
Then the alarms went off.
"Harry!" Jane cried, as the flying carpet made no move to follow Miranda's fleeing form. "Aren't we going to follow her?"
"Yeah! Yeah, I'm working on it." he mumbled. "Bloody carpet's being temperamental." He made a vague motion with one hand, and the magical carpet suddenly took off at high speed. The pair quickly overtook Miranda, running across the catwalk towards the closest docking bay. The wide door opened with a muted hiss as she scanned a key-card, and Harry took the carpet through the doors with reckless abandon.
What the docking bay contained stunned the both of them.
"The Normandy." Jane whispered. "Well- a replica. Larger, certainly."
"Definitely. It's got bigger guns, though." Harry added. "Looks like it's set up for some serious stealth work- Those are dreadnought-class heatsinks slung externally on the ship's undercarriage. A Tantalus stealth drive could dump heat for days on those."
Miranda rushed to the airlock door, and looked at her omni-tool. Scowling, she paced in frustration. Her gaze frequently swept across the room towards a small elevator installed in the far corner. A few seconds later, a light lit up, signalling to any outside viewer that the carriage had arrived at its destination.
A tall black man emerged, pushing a man in a wheelchair with a squeaky wheel as fast as it could possibly go. Miranda's sigh of relief was audible even to Harry and Jane, twenty feet above her. She slammed the button to open the airlock, and called to her colleagues,
"Come on! The faster we get out of here, the less likely we are to get killed!" Miranda fumbled with her omni-tool, as Harry brought the carpet and it's occupants into the decontamination chamber.
As the wheelchair and the man behind it approached, Jane and Harry were stunned to recognize one of them.
"Joker?" Jane questioned, with a surprised laugh.
"It's a new Normandy." Harry replied. "Who else do you think they'd get to pilot it?"
"Yeah." Jane reminisced. "That's true."
The decontamination chamber's doors closed with a hiss. The harsh chemical scent of Sterilization-foam thoroughly assailed everyone inside the chamber.
"Decontaminating: Five Passengers." An automated voice announced. Miranda's mouth opened slightly, and her shoulders fell. She looked around for assassins, confused, until her eyes turned upward. With a horrible sense of frustration, Harry realized that the sterilization-foam had stuck to him and Jane; They were now visible, if only from their outline.
"They can see us- I'm lowering the carpet to ground level!" Harry hastily announced.
"What's the plan?" Jane shot back. "These aren't hostiles, and Joker is a friend. Could we go for full disclosure?" Harry considered for a moment.
"Why the hell not?" He responded. "It's not as if they'll be able to talk to anyone who doesn't already know."
"What do you mean?" Jane asked, her tone suddenly dangerous.
"I cast a spell to prevent any sort of information leak." Harry explained.
"Why haven't I heard of this?" Jane scowled.
"I thought you already knew?" Harry defended. "If this is the first you've heard of it, then I guess that means you haven't tried to talk to anyone about- -well, me."
"Okay, so full-disclosure it is." Jane huffed, mollified. A whisper of escaping air heralded Harry's removal of his helmet; His disillusionment, along with Jane's, fell soon after, revealing near-pristine sets of N-7 armor. Jane followed his example, removing her own helmet.
"Hey, Joker." She said, seeing as Harry seemed reluctant to speak.
"Shepard!" the pilot whispered in reply. "I'd heard rumors that you had survived Alchera, but-" His voice stopped, as he became choked up.
"Hey, Jeff." Jane said, in a comforting tone. "It's alright."
"No it's not!" he whined from his wheelchair. "I got you killed! You've never gotten me killed-" His voice tapered off into a mumble.
"But you've pulled my ass out of the fire more times than I can count, Joker." She replied. "Besides, I'm still alive. That's all that matters. I don't blame you." The man in the wheelchair sat statue-still for a moment, before he pulled his hat lower across his face.
"Stupid decontamination-foam always makes my eyes tear up." Joker muttered, loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Excuse me," the man behind Joker's wheelchair interrupted, as politely as it was possible to be with his hand on the butt of his pistol. "I don't believe we've been introduced?" The decontamination-chamber's doors hissed open, as he announced, "I'm Jacob Taylor."
"Jane Shepard." Jane stated. "Nice to meet you." Quickly, she turned to Joker. "Shouldn't we get out of this station sooner, rather than later?" she gestured towards the airlock. Then, facing Miranda, she questioned, "What do you plan to do with the Blue-Box?" Miranda pulled EDI's 'blue box' out, as Joker stood up from his wheelchair, and made his way towards the cockpit.
Harry quietly introduced himself to Jacob while Jane and Miranda spoke.
"This ship has a fully functional AI core." Miranda tentatively announced. "I plan to place the AI there, and have it run the ship."
"Anything else?" Jane probed.
"Yes, actually." Miranda added, fighting not to -squirm was a highly undignified term- crack under the pressure? That was it. Much better.
She was definitely uncomfortable with the lack of her standard sidearm. She still wasn't certain where it was- It had been bouncing against her hip when she walked to the AI core, but had disappeared by the time Kai Leng revealed himself. Perhaps he had taken it? Miranda shivered. The mere thought of being unarmed and in close proximity -unknowingly or not- to the Illusive Man's personal assassin made her tense up. And, while she wasn't useless without a gun due to her biotics, Leng had recently gotten some strange biotic abilities of his own. Miranda had heard some odd rumors about a procedure he'd undergone, and her own recent experience proved that his new powers were granted through the use of Reaper-tech.
She still had some excellent biotics in her arsenal, but she wasn't confident in testing herself against biotic soldiers of Potter and Shepard's caliber. Her biotics were certainly powerful, but not quite on the level of an N-7 Adept, like Jane was. Harry, however, was an unknown. He had gone through the standard Alliance Biotics training, but instead of going to N-School to train as an Adept, he taught the Adept Class. Cerberus had access to terabytes of classified files in Alliance Intelligence offices documenting the man's supposedly impossible biotic feats. She was nearly certain that she wouldn't be able to give him much trouble - biotics-wise, at least.
Miranda knew Harry's face - He was a recipient of the 'Star of Terra' (an extremely prestigious award given to military personnel) and was notorious in criminal circles for leading 'Mortis Solutions,' an alarmingly competent vigilante organization. She didn't think she recognized Harry from any personal encounters, but his voice sounded familiar. Worryingly so. Unfortunately, that meant that Miranda was stuck trying to pacify the two armored (mostly)-unknowns while simultaneously trying to figure out whether or not she'd given either one a reason to go after her.
"There's an infiltration-module for the AI somewhere on board- a body, basically. I plan to bring the AI on any field operations necessary. She'd-" Miranda started, before correcting herself. "It would be an incredible asset for hacking and data skills."
"And what about Cerberus?" Jane asked, quite enjoying the impromptu interrogation.
"I've just abandoned Cerberus." Miranda announced, trying to weigh Jane's reactions. "I've received proof that Cerberus is compromised. Controlled by the Reapers."
"How so?" Jane prodded further.
"I'm almost certain that the Illusive Man is indoctrinated." Miranda announced. Jacob turned towards her, eyes wide.
"What?" He questioned, bass voice quivering. "How long have you known?"
"Since today, really." Miranda responded wearily. "Kai Leng confirmed it when he tried to kill me."
"Slow down, Miri. Kai Leng?" Jacob questioned. One of his hands tapped restlessly on the butt of his pistol.
The Normandy gave a lurch, as Joker pulled it out of its docking bay.
"Hold on to something!" Joker called through the ship's comms systems, as he flared his afterburners and launched the ship away from its mooring. "Stealth drive engaged. Heading for the relay. Gimme a destination sometime before the heatsinks melt into molten slag, Miranda?"
"Set a course for Omega, Joker." She recommended. "There's an operative" -my sister- "I plan on recruiting there." she explained, before returning to her conversation with Jacob. "Kai Leng was waiting for me in the AI core." She explained. "He was going to kill me, but someone-" she looked at Jane. Harry waved.
"That was me." He said. "I launched him through the glass window. He's probably dead, but -" Harry's face took on a troubled expression. "Well, I wouldn't count on it. He went to N-School, so he's definitely trained with fall-compensation boot-jets."
"That's just great." Miranda groaned. "Another pissed-off operative with a grudge." Continuing her narrative, she explained, "he was dropped into the reactor core. But before he died,- here, I have a recording." she said, tapping at her omni-tool. A few seconds later, Kai Leng's voice played clearly through her speakers.
"He's indoctrinated. Under the Reapers' thrall." Leng's voice stated, cool and collected, before continuing in the same deliberate tone, "The Illusive Man is a traitor to Humanity as a whole, Miranda. And I. Don't. Care." Miranda cut off the recording there.
"It's not necessarily the best proof, as it's only vocal, but it's certainly worth something." Jane commented. "So what do you plan to do about that?" the wizard asked. "Take out Cerberus?" Miranda grinned.
"Not quite." she announced. "I'm going to take it over."
"Say that again?" Harry interjected. "I didn't quite catch that."
"I'll sum it up for you-" Joker's voice cut off Miranda, as he quipped through the craft's PA system. "Our glorious sexy overlord Miranda Lawson is going to take over Cerberus via sheer force of will, gluteal muscle-power, and harsh glares."
"I swear I'm going to kill him." Miranda growled, clenching a fist. "One of these days-"
"You'll get used to it." Jane laughed. Harry's grin widened.
"I take it that means we're not enemies?" Jacob questioned.
"Yes, Jacob, that means we aren't going to be shot by a pair of Star of Terra recipients." Miranda replied caustically. "It's not as if the two most famous people to receive the Alliance's most prestigious award are going to murder us in cold blood." she announced, speaking slowly, as if to someone with a terminally low IQ. "No. They. Are. Not. Enemies." she groaned, frustration evident in her tone. "Besides, they would tear through us in seconds, so unless you fancy getting a limb ripped off, why don't you sit down and not antagonize the N7s."
"I don't know, I could go for a bit of comic dismemberment right now." Joker mused.
"Joker. Shut up." Miranda hissed.
"You're right, they are both N7s." the pilot continued, heedless of Miranda's distress. "Their combined kill-count is probably higher than a vorcha stuck in a planet-sized pile of Red Sand."
"Joker? Miranda's turning red." warned Jacob. "You may want to calm down a bit."
"I am not turning red!" Miranda yelled at Jacob, and turned to walk towards the AI core. Unfortunately for her argument, her face was turning a rather impressive crimson.
"Hey!" Jacob exclaimed. "That's not fair, I was trying to help!"
"Well it didn't work, now did it?" Miranda's frustrated voice echoed down the hallway.
"Sexual tension!" Joker called, elongating each word suggestively. "Am I right, Shepard?" Miranda's angry growl could be heard almost a deck away. A few moments later, an almost-human voice played over the PA.
"Hello. I am EDI, the Normandy's new resident AI. My first command as a member of this crew is to tell Pilot Moreau to "Go fuck himself!"" a recording of Miranda's voice played. "Is this a normal example of human interaction?" the AI continued.
"God, no!" Jacob replied. "That's a lot more profane than normal conversations usually are."
"Thank you, Mr. Taylor." EDI responded graciously, before questioning, somewhat curiously, "Under what circumstances would such vulgar language be exhibited, Jacob?"
"Under extreme stress, I think." Jacob answered uncomfortably. "Miranda was -is- probably very annoyed with Joker, so she's allowed to use that sort of language in this situation."
"Pardon me, if I'm understanding this wrong." EDI began, "But would I be permitted to use some of the -stronger- language in my vocabulary?"
"Yeah, if it's warranted." Jacob answered uncertainly, not certain where the conversation was leading.
"What if I felt that a specific individual was personally annoying to me?" EDI asked.
"I guess?" Jacob squirmed. A slight fluttering noise -almost laughter?- emerged from the PA system, before EDI spoke up.
"Pilot Jeff-Moreau's designation has now been changed to 'Executive Jackass.'" she announced, in the most serene voice Harry had ever heard.
"Hey!" came Joker's response. He was nearly unintelligible, due to gales of laughter. He settled down a few moments later, announcing, "Oh, ow. I think I cracked a rib."
"I'll be right up, Jeff." Another voice rang out through the PA system.
"Doctor Chakwas?!" Jane called, in surprised happiness. "How'd they get you here?"
"They told me I'd be working with you." the doctor replied. "It's not every day that somebody resurrects your friends, so I thought I'd best come along."
"Glad you're aboard for the ride, Karin." Harry called over the PA system, exhibiting a level of familiarity Jane hadn't seen him exhibit with many people other than her. She sent a curious stare in the wizard's direction, and in reply, he explained, "I know the good doctor better than most, since she was constantly busy helping me hide all my medical stuff from the Council. Well, and the Alliance."
"What do you mean?" Jacob interjected, confused.
"When I go under one of the new state-of-the-arts medical scanners, they show how long I've been around." Harry's face was grim. Jane understood immediately, and her knowledge shone clearly from her expression.
"I think I'm missing something." Jacob added. "If it's not too personal, would you mind explaining?"
"Yeah, I'll explain in a moment." Harry reluctantly responded. "Though I'd like to have Miranda here, at least. I don't want to have to tell the tale twice, and she deserves to know."
"I would appreciate being 'brought into the loop,' if I'm using the phrase correctly." EDI stated, once Harry finished speaking. "I do not understand your question. You have 'been around' as long as you have been living, correct?"
"Yes, EDI." Harry confirmed. "That's exactly it." He scowled. As he finished speaking, a much more relaxed Miranda appeared from the elevator, shortly followed by the doctor, Karin Chakwas.
"I'd like to apologize for my earlier outburst." Miranda said, in a clipped but polite voice.
"It's alright." Jane immediately replied with a grin. "Joker does that to everybody sometime or other. It's his little defense mechanism."
"Commander!" Joker cried halfheartedly through the PA system.
"Don't deny it, Joker." Jane teased. "You've got too much practice needling people for it to be anything else."
"So I'm a fuckin' hedgehog now?" Joker mumbled.
"No, Mister Moreau." EDI responded, serene again. "Your job title is not 'fuckin' hedgehog,'" the pilot's voice replayed. "Your position is 'Executive Jackass.'" Karin Chakwas let out a rather undignified snort which could only be laughter. Miranda's twitching lips barely concealed a wide grin. Harry and Jane weren't even hiding their amusement.
"Admit it, Jeff, you deserved that one." Harry laughed.
"Ah, hell." Joker conceded. "You're right." He let the group in the CIC laugh for a moment, before changing the subject abruptly. "Now wasn't Harry going to fry everybody's brains again by explaining all his space-wizardry?" There was a brief silence, and a few laughs. Then Harry spoke up.
'Alright, So I should probably explain my earlier comment- -the one that confused Jacob and EDI." Harry tentatively began. "So- -Actually, let's make our way to the med-bay." he cut himself off. "I can give a bit more proof there." Chakwas nodded.
The group made their way to the lift, and crowded uncomfortably inside. Harry's comment, "someone should speed this up at some point." was the only thing uttered during the ride. The crew piled out of the elevator, and made their way towards the medical bay. When they arrived, Doctor Chakwas placed her omni-tool against the door, unlocking it. The doors slid open with a hiss, revealing a modest medical bay with a few machines and gurneys.
"Alright." Harry announced, beginning to unbuckle his chestplate. Doctor Chakwas gathered a few devices, and something that looked uncomfortably close to a drill.
Harry's outer layer of armor came off, revealing his under-suit: the wetsuit-like layer that a soldier wore under his body-armor. It would protect against cold, heat, airborne illness, most acids, and contact-poison, if worn correctly. Harry's was covered in odd inscriptions and symbols, each one slightly luminescent. Glowing lines and shapes adorned every visible part of his undersuit, along with patches and scrapes where his armor had been breached.
"What are those markings, Operative Potter?" EDI queried, fascinated.
"Please, call me Harry." He replied. "'Mister Potter' makes me feel old. -Well, older." he amended. "And I'll get to the glowing stuff in a moment."
"Designation changed." EDI responded.
Having stripped his upper half down to just his armored under-suit, Harry began to unwrap the complicated mesh with expert familiarity. With a quick movement, he pulled off the top part of his under-suit, revealing his pale torso. Long scars and blemishes covered his muscled chest, and Harry prodded a few scars with a sort of reminiscent familiarity. Jacob let out a long whistle, like a mortar shell falling from the sky. Miranda gaped.
"Those are some impressive scars." Jacob said. "How'd you get all those?" Harry stared back at him, with a glint in his eye.
"Ever been impaled?" the wizard said cheerfully. Chakwas covered her eyes, mumbling about 'stupid marines and their pissing contests.'
"Because I certainly have!" Harry continued, in the same cheerful tone. "These three scars are from the last five or six months." He announced, pointing out a pair of jagged circular pieces of scar tissue on his chest, and one on his throat.
"How the hell did you survive that one?" Jacob wondered, pointing at the large white mark on Harry's neck.
"Here, look." Harry turned around. "The exit wound is bigger." Jacob turned awestruck eyes to Doctor Chakwas.
"How is he not dead?" the soldier asked, incredulous.
"Harry, just tell them already, you show-off." Karin Chakwas grumbled.
"Okay." Harry's bright spirits dimmed a little. "Well, let's first explain my comment about my age. That's why we're down here, after all." He walked over to table, and sat down on it. "So this is going to involve the good doctor taking a bone marrow sample from me, so this will involve a drill. And you may want to step back; there may be some blood splatter. And bone splatter. I'll be horribly injured, and-"
"No, there won't be any of that." Chakwas interrupted with an expression that said, 'I've had to deal with this nut before.' "This will just take a few seconds." She explained, as she stuck a needle into the wizard's arm.
"You know that stuff doesn't work on me, right?" Harry asked.
"Do no harm, Harry." She explained wearily. "This is standard procedure. Plus, I'll never get fired from my job for giving an injured person painkillers."
"But I'm perfectly fine!" Harry protested.
"No you're not. Your injuries just mental, rather than physical." The doctor said in fond exasperation. With a quick movement, she poked him with a drill-like device. There was a brief buzzing noise, before she pulled it out and dropped a small tube into an analyzer of some sort.
"Gather round." The doctor muttered, as she lifted the screen to allow better access to it. "Look at the 'carbon dating' statistic." She stated to the group. A moment later, there were a few curious mumbles.
"So your machine is malfunctioning?" Miranda queried, confused. "You brought us all the way down here for that?"
"Not at all." Chakwas announced. Miranda snorted.
"Well it can't possibly be true, so it has to be a malfunction." she concluded.
"Not quite." Chakwas responded. "Here." she said, placing the sample into another machine. "Look, this comes up with the same figure, if a little less accurate."
"But it's still impossible." Miranda said, now suspicious. "He can't be thirty-seven million years old." she said, summing up the thoughts of almost everyone around.
"Well either way, true or not, do you see why I had to hide that information from the Alliance?" Harry asked the group. "I'd be on a lab table for the rest of my life. Either that, or on permanent assignment to a research facility for study."
A chorus of affirmative answers responded, and he nodded.
"Alright. So I do actually have an explanation for that statistic, as well as my extraordinary survival." He paused dramatically, before announcing, "Magic is real."
Miranda snorted. Jacob looked confused. EDI's terminal in the corner of the room buzzed, and she let out a pensieve hum.
"Operative Potter has never shone any past history of mental illness." the AI mused. "Was Doctor Chakwas complicit in hiding references to that as well?"
"Hey!" Said Harry feebly. "I'm not insane! Well, I guess I haven't shown you any real magic, so your conclusion is completely justified." He admitted. Tilting his head sideways, Harry thought for a moment.
Then he turned Miranda and Jacob into a pair of foxes.
The white one, with a bit of an orange coloration around the eyes, looked around briefly. Then it began yipping excitedly, and jumping about. Doctor Chakwas groaned as the creature stumbled around on her desk, knocking things over.
The other fox, this one a sleek jet black with an orange tail, stood stock-still for a few seconds. It cautiously sniffed the air for a few moments, before jumping up onto one of the examination tables.
Then, as one, the pair of foxes turned their heads towards Harry. The white one leapt at the wizard with a snarl, while the black fox jumped down from its table, and started to roll across the ground, whimpering. Harry transfigured the Miranda-fox back into a human mid-air, and found himself bowled over by her increased weight. From the ground, he reverted Jacob back to his human state.
Miranda quickly stood, brushing herself off. Staring wide-eyed at the wizard, she stumbled a few steps back onto an examination table.
"What the hell was that?" Her voice quivered.
"Magic!" a cheery wizard replied.
"Please never do that again." Jacob announced from the floor.
"How else did you expect me to prove the existence of magic?" Harry questioned. "I had to do something that would irretrievably shatter your current worldview."
"Yeah." Miranda said, shocked. "Yeah, well it worked."
"I suggest we all take a quick break," Harry said firmly. "Let's all go separate ways, and meet at the mess hall in an hour. I'll take questions then."
….
An hour passed in a blur of sight and sound for Miranda, who spent the time jotting down questions, and trying to convince herself that she had hallucinated the last few hours of her life. While walking down to the mess hall at the very edge of the one-hour deadline, she stopped frequently to type question after question on her omni-tool. During the time it took for the lift to lower itself one floor, she filled half a page with rampant speculation, and disjointed thoughts in need of answers. Not long after she emerged from the lift, Jacob joined her on the short trip to their destination. The pair stopped just short of the doors, waiting in unspoken agreement for the third person. EDI soon arrived, marking exactly one hour on the dot. Miranda moved forwards, towards the door, holding her omni-tool extended. The door quickly scanned the device, and opened, once it verified that she was allowed entry. Miranda stepped into the mess hall, typing out one last question on her omni-tool, and then gasped in awe.
….
Jacob spent his hour in the armory, cleaning his guns. Only after he realized that he'd cleaned the same piece six times did he give it up as a futile endeavor. Reassembling his weapons, he headed to the mess hall. Miranda emerged from the lift and joined him on his journey, and EDI arrived not long after. The door hissed open- and Jacob froze in shock.
….
Edi spent an hour humming busily, and detailing thousands of questions. When her time was nearly up, she took her infiltration-suit, a robotic humanoid body, down to the mess hall. Jacob and Miranda had arrived before her, EDI noticed. The door opened with a whisper of pneumatics- and EDI blinked. Clearly, the optical sensors on her infiltration shell were malfunctioning. So she blinked again. Then waved her arms on front of said optical sensors, and deployed a cleaning program.
Still nothing.
So, forced to contemplate the scene before her as something other than a malfunction, EDI estimated the room's dimensions, and compared them to the Normandy's layout. Finding the two to be incompatible, she checked her sensors. Clearly, her estimates were correct. Also clear was that this room - no longer just the mess hall - shouldn't exist.
EDI stood still. Back in the AI core, her processors whirled, all working on finding some way for science to explain what she was seeing.
….
"Hey Harry, where's Liara?"
"She's back on the Nyx, sleeping off her alcohol-induced stupor. I still have no idea where she got firewhiskey, by the way. She'll probably be waking up sometime tomorrow."
"Is she just joing to miss this little question-and-answer session?"
"Nah, I'll just beam it into her brain as she's sleeping. She'll wake up knowing everything we'll talk about."
"-Alright. Magic is absolutely insane."
…
An impossible sight greeted all entrants to the mess hall. Once, the room was barely big enough to house two-thirds of the crew at the same time. Now it was unrecognizable.
An incredible valley, verdant and lightly forested, had replaced the entire room. High walls of dark granite at the room's corners climbed up to a distant vaulted ceiling, and a few small waterfalls cascaded down the rocky walls, darkening the stone. Starting below each waterfall, moss-bordered rivers ran down into the center of the room, where they joined a great sparkling lake dotted by white-capped waves. Twelve fountains as tall as buildings rose up from the calm blue surface, arranged horizontally like the numbers of some massive clock-face around a small central island. Birds flew through the air chirping gleefully, and a glowing golden sphere in the artificial sky beat on the brow, performing a perfect impression of Earth's own sun.
EDI, Miranda, and Jacob's footsteps pattered lightly on the broad cobbled path leading to the lake's edge. The artificial sun shone brilliantly in the deep blue sky, somehow projecting its brilliance onto the arching ceilings. A few hundred feet off in the distance, the twelve towering fountains of water produced a deep bass cymbal-crash that reverberated across the valley, and guided a constant cool breeze to tickle the group's exposed skin with minute particles of water-spray. The cobbled path led onwards, changing to a darker wooden dock as it entered the lake. The boards creaked softly as the group passed over them, taking in all the sights and sounds of their new environment.
Looking past the fountains, upon the small island in the lake's center sat a pair of humanoid forms. They were too far away for their faces to be seen clearly, but they could be no other than Jane and Harry. The duo sat at some sort of a table, and were relaxing under the glare of the artificial sun.
The astounded group made their way towards the outcropping of rock and grass that jutted up from the water's surface, realizing that the misty spray that had dusted their skin had slowly petered off into nothing. The artificial sun's warmth evaporated what mists remained, forming soft puffy clouds towards the room's ceiling. Waves happily lapped at the walkway as the group's weight pushed it ever so slightly downwards, and fish swam lazily by, just visible from above thanks to their bright colors. A swan took flight just past one of the fountains, lifting itself out of the water with an almost inaudible squawk.
The two individuals lazing about upon the island were soon recognized as the group progressed further; Harry and Jane had indeed arrived before Miranda, EDI, and Jacob. The wooden walkway made landfall, sinking into warm golden sand on a luxurious beach. Miranda stepped forward purposefully, brow furrowed. Jacob and EDI followed, more sedately, up a short grassy hill. At the top, a tall tree offered shade, while a picnic table lay out in the sun. Harry sat in a rather grand reclining chair, completely foreign to the environment. Jane lay on her back on a cushioned bench, basking in the sunlight. She sat up as the group approached, and gave a casual wave.
"Hey." Harry sat up, sitting straight on his recliner. "Take a seat, and start asking your questions. Since I probably can't answer every single one, please choose your best few, and I'll do my best to answer those."
The three newcomers found places to sit wherever space was available: Jacob sat calmly at another bench, across from Shepard, while EDI simply stood, and Miranda paced nervously.
"What is this place?" EDI asked first, moments after Harry spoke.
"This is a proof-of-concept." Harry stated, before explaining. "I planned to create ships to terraform planets. This was where I did my preliminary testing."
"Terraforming?" Jacob asked, curious. "That would take hundreds or even thousands of years. I'm no expert, but-" He stopped himself. "Do you have some 'magic' way of terraforming a planet?"
"Yes, actually." Harry grinned nostalgically. "A mentor of mine was almost directly responsible for Mars."
"That explains it!" Miranda whispered, eyes wide. "So your terraforming technology actually worked?"
"Well it's not exactly technology, but yes, it certainly works." Harry informed. "I've been busy terraforming Rakhana and Tuchanka as of late."
"Tuchanka, the Krogan homeworld?" Jacob, asked, curious.
"Yeah." Harry confirmed. "It's been an irradiated wasteland for more than four thousand years, so I decided to change that. Besides, Krogan are badasses, and nobody deserves the Genophage."
"That's true, but are you accounting for their rapid rate of reproduction?" Miranda added,
"What do you mean?" Harry's eyebrows furrowed.
"Will they overpopulate the galaxy in a few hundred years?" Miranda said, restating her earlier question.
"No, definitely not." Harry replied.
"How are you so certain?" she questioned, incredulous.
"Do you even know how many Krogan are still alive?" Harry asked in reply. "Because I can tell you with certainty that there are fewer than two hundred-fifty million Krogan left in the entire galaxy. That's tiny, compared to humanity, and even smaller compared to the Asari. There are more Batarian slaves on Khar'shan alone than there are Krogan in the entire galaxy. I've run the numbers- with the genophage, they'll slowly populate Tuchanka, but not much else over the next two or three hundred years. Without the Genophage, they'd have a quickly growing population on Tuchanka by the turn of the 'd expand to another planet in a bit more than one hundred years, and another two a century after that."
"You know that- how, exactly?" Miranda queried sarcastically.
"Magic." Harry responded, tone equally sarcastic. "Besides, we're missing the whole 'Reapers' thing. The Krogan might get obliterated when the Reapers arrive, along with all the rest of us."
Everyone fidgeted a bit.
"What about Rakhana?" Jane changed the subject. "I'm not familiar with that planet."
"That's the Drell homeworld." Harry said. "God, I feel like a history professor now." He muttered, before telling more. "Their planet suffered through an incredibly destructive cycle of environmental abuse during their industrial era, leading up to a population crash of monstrous proportions in late twenty-twenty five. It was extraordinarily deadly, and billions perished of disease or famine. However, there are still almost two billion Drell surviving in shelters across the planet. In addition, any and all food available on Rakhana has the advantage of stronger biological defenses- fruit takes far longer to spoil, meat takes longer to rot, et cetera.
Unfortunately, mass overpopulation negated this bonus, to a degree. Sheer numbers overwhelmed Rakhana's depleted orchards and farms, leading the government to block travel out of population centers. When that piece of legislation was enacted, almost nine billion Drell found themselves stuck in their cities, and unable to find food.
Sure, their government brought food into the cities to feed the hungry, but they couldn't produce food as fast as the population needed it. That was the first warning sign of the population crash. There was a food panic in most major cities, and Drell of all classes tried to stockpile food in massive quantities. Unfortunately, that meant that the wealthiest individuals purchased up most of the available food, and hoarded it. Lavish parties in the wealthy districts marked the next few months, while the poor and poverty-stricken suffered from severe famine and starvation. That was when things went from bad to worse. The food panic expanded to a full-on famine. Everyone, even the wealthy struggled to get a meal, and government-sponsored rationing became a constant facet of life for the Drell. The next few years were devastating, as nearly two billion Drell perished. Although, there were a couple redeeming qualities to that time period.
For example, the Drell government had encountered the Illuminated Hanar Primacy, fresh into space. Translation took a while, as the Hanar communicate via bioluminescence, but the Drell managed it eventually. Imagine their shock when the first message from an alien race basically boiled down to 'Your planet's ecosystem is collapsing.' While that fact wasn't news to much of Rakhana's population, its confirmation was a death knell.
The Hanar did their best to evacuate Rakhana, but they were new to space-travel as a whole. They managed to evacuate less than half a million Drell, bringing them to the Hanar homeworld of Kahje. The Drell government, led by the wealthy, never really revealed to the masses that they were evacuating the rich and the upper one-percent, choosing instead to confiscate their fortunes.
Mostly from trillionaire industrialists, politicians, and business-owners, the ill-gotten gains of the evacuating Drell aristocracy went into the largest public works project ever implemented. Before the resource wars hit, millions of shelters were created, and slowly stocked with canned and preserved food. Wells were dug down to the water table, sadly far deeper below ground than on most planets. Filtration and sewage systems were the cause of the lion's share of the costs, eating up trillions of credits. The program was almost complete when petty squabbles over small food stockpiles led to an assortment of short and deadly wars. Although I guess it's all worked out in the end." Harry concluded his lecture with a wistful smile.
"How so?" Miranda asked. "How could that possibly classify as anything other than an absolute disaster?" She thought, stunned. Everyone knew the tragic story of the Drell homeworld, but not the exact numbers, nor the exact circumstances surrounding it. "How many shelters are still stable, after more than a century and a half?" She asked, painfully curious.
"Around two point five billion Drell still survive in shelters across the planet." Harry announced, nonchalant. "And, thanks to my efforts, Rakhana has rapidly changed back to its pristine, pre-industrial state. There's a new civilization growing from the ashes of the old one's remains." Harry said, a smug grin on his face. "I suppose I should explain that there's a bi-yearly 'Pilgrimage Season' for most Drell. Some go to Rakhana whenever they can, although others only visit once or twice in a lifetime. There has been a massive uproar on Kajhe over the last few years, as Drell have slowly been learning about their newly cleaned homeworld."
"That's incredible!" Miranda exclaimed, accent thicker than usual, before asking, "Is there a full government in place, or is it just roaming clans?"
"Yeah, there's a full government up and running. They based most of the details off of the Systems Alliance, actually." Harry replied. "They're planning on sending a delegation to the Council soon to get themselves an embassy."
"Yeah, that'll work." Miranda muttered, sarcasm filling her voice. "The Council's just going to direct them to the Hanar Illuminated Primacy, and try and make them into some sort of a colony. No way the Rakhana Drell will accept that. Even the Illuminated Primacy won't accept that. There's going to be some serious backlash from this, and it's aimed squarely at the Council."
"The Council will be tied up in the ramifications of this for months, or even years." EDI theorized. "Many other issues are easily apparent, Harry. For example, there is a high probability of batarian slave raids, as Rakhana is unlikely to have a secure orbital defense grid."
"I've taken care of that." Harry's smile grew. "And the Council will be shitting themselves over the way I did it. Although some of the Rakhana Drell might also be scared, as well." Harry mused.
"What did you do this time, you crazy bastard?" Jane asked dangerously.
"I may have sent a couple dreadnoughts with full cruiser and frigate compliments into Rakhana's orbit, where they're broadcasting, "This planet is under my protection. Hostile landings will be detected, and removed via deadly force." to all and sundry." Harry stated. "Let's see a slaver mess with that!"
"Would you like to explain your fleets to the rest of the audience?" Jane asked, pointing out Jacob, EDI, and Miranda.
"Sure." Harry confirmed. "Would you guys like the long story, or the short one?"
"The long one." Was the unanimous reply.
Over the course of the next few hours, the wizard slowly explained the events that led up to the creation of his immense fleets- The tale of their humble beginnings as a shuttle full of mining equipment occupied the lion's share of the conversation.
Other information also made itself known, as Harry explained some details from magical history, including his confused arrival in the distant past, and subsequent conflict with the Reapers.
Doctor Chakwas and Joker arrived not long afterwards, awkwardly announcing that he'd set a course for Omega. The doctor quickly explained how EDI was busy managing any course corrections and similar minutiae, pacifying a worried Miranda.
Hours passed in a comfortable haze, as the fake sun lazily dropped lower down the distant walls that served as the sky. Its warm rays slowly changed to a deep orange shade, and brilliant rays of light glanced sparklingly off of the wispy clouds at the room's high ceiling, and the lake's waves.
Harry looked at his omni-tool to check the time, and then mumbled something about a meal. He stood stiffly, and grasped a small brown bag. The wizard deftly grabbed the bag's mouth, and pulled it open. The island's other temporary occupants didn't even bat an eye when the tiny bag's mouth expanded far beyond its normal size.
Reaching up to his arm into the bag, the wizard started pulling out plates, covered in foods of all sorts. After placing a few platters on the picnic table, he waved his arm dramatically above them. Instantly, aromatic odors wafted around the island; Miranda's stomach growled.
"I've got a dinner here, if anyone wants some food." Harry offered. "You certainly don't have to eat anything, but if you'd prefer MREs- well, that's your choice."
His food was quickly fallen upon by the group- they had been so engrossed in Harry's tales that they had forgotten the time. The only noise for many minutes was chewing, and the occasional contented sigh. ("Where the hell did you get actual beef steaks?!")
As they ate, a false moon rose above them, shining bright blue streams of light. A few conjured candles lit the table, and a warm breeze made them flicker. A stunning green glow in the water indicated the presence of bioluminescent plant life somewhere in the great blue lake.
As the time passed, Harry pulled a few drinks from his bag, and passed the alcohol around. Still seated comfortably in his recliner, he leaned further back, and continued answering questions.
Eventually, a mildly inebriated Jacob spoke up, informing the group that Miranda had fallen asleep. She lay blissfully unconscious on a couch Harry had conjured a few hours ago, drooling slightly. There was a brief silence, as nobody had the courage to wake her. The wizard looked in her direction, mildly surprised, before calling a halt to the gathering.
"We can continue this in the morning." He murmured. "Let's all get a good rest."
The remaining conscious members of the group indicated their agreement, giving nodded heads, and mumbled acceptance. Harry levitated Miranda's couch, and beckoned towards the wooden walkway.
The dock creaked quietly as Harry and Jane made their way across it, followed by the levitating couch holding Miranda, as well as EDI, half-carrying the ship's intoxicated pilot. Jacob and Karin Chakwas followed at a much slower pace, looking over the walkway's edge.
Small glowing fish gamboled wildly, pinpricks of light against the glowing lake-floor, swimming in some divine symphony of color and vibrancy. The fountains had slowed their pounding roar as night had fallen, lowering to small vertical streams spewing water only ten or twenty feet into the air; water-particles no longer rode the wind from stories up in the sky. Instead, a citrus breeze curled across the lake, carrying the familiar scent of oranges - an exotic fruit rarely available outside of the Sol system. A few shooting stars flew across the false sky somehow projected onto the roof, and the artificial moon seemed to smile down on the party as they stepped onto the cobbled path, winding their way back up to the mess hall's door.
The door seemed to stand alone, unsupported. However, it still opened to reveal the familiar grey halls of the Normandy. The group stepped back into familiar territory almost regretfully, as the almost-stale taste of recycled air hit their nostrils.
Harry deposited Miranda's sleeping form on her own perfectly-made bed in the office it seemed she'd claimed. Then, trying to keep his eyes open, he walked back to the mess hall, and walked back through the portal.
Jane sat there, just through the doorway. She looked out at the lake, and at the fountains, now a lower level, more calm. She lay back on the grass of the hillside, so still that Harry might have thought she were asleep.
Hearing his footsteps, she looked up, and beckoned him over. Harry sat down by her side, remaining silent.
"This place is beautiful." Jane whispered, a few moments later. "Do you always take your date to the garden of Eden?"
"Not quite." Harry mumbled in reply. "Only the pretty ones."
"Why, Mister Potter," She sensualized the words, "Are you flirting with me?"
"What if I am?" Harry teased.
"Then by all means, I intend to flirt back." she smiled brilliantly. "But not tonight. I intend to get some sleep." Jane leaned over, and gave the wizard a rather chaste kiss- on the lips.
Then she stood, and headed back inside the Normandy. Harry stayed for a few more moments, observing the peace and calm in his little corner of the universe.
Then, almost regretfully, he slowly removed the portal leading to his personal valley. Smiling for a multitude of reasons, he walked slowly towards the crew quarters, and lay down on a free bed.
In the background, he heard Joker stumbling his way to the pilot's chair, where he would likely fall asleep. ("Leather seats! Seriously!") The lift hummed softly as it traveled, bringing a passenger down an indeterminable number of floors. A pair of footsteps quietly tap-tap-tapped across the floor.
Harry's eyes drooped further and further, until he surrendered to the yawning blackness that slowly enveloped his consciousness.
…
Miranda twisted lightly, stretching out on her bed. She groaned, realizing that she must have slept through her omni-tool's alarms. Her eyes slowly opened, and reality poured into her mind. She sat up lightning-fast, as she remembered the events of the previous night.
Her sister was in danger.
Magic was real.
Those thoughts pounded themselves into her mind, even as she tried her best to dismiss them as bad dreams, or figments of her imagination. But her location disproved all of those. She had betrayed Cerberus, and stolen the SR2 Normandy from the incomplete Chronos Station.
Miranda slid her legs off of the side of the bed, and gathered the blankets around her shoulders. She grasped at her omni-tool and checked her messages, trying to delay her inevitable exodus from the warm expanse of her bed's cushions. However, Miranda's eyes widened in shock when they alighted on the sole message in her inbox.
Miranda Lawson-
I am Operative Sphinx. You may be receiving many communications from me in the near future. You see, I led Cerberus' infiltration cell. I was responsible for the training of stealth operatives, as well as collection of mission-critical intelligence for Cerberus as a whole. And I know what you've done.
Somehow, you injured Kai Leng badly enough to put him in a critical state, and stole the Illusive Man's newest set of toys. And, you're getting away with it- for now, at least. He was furious when he discovered the deception, but he doesn't know anything solid about it anymore. I've muddled the waters enough to buy you some time. Sadly, my diversion was short-lived, and will be seen through quickly.
I'm not sure how much longer I have left to live.
I've set plans in motion to destabilize Cerberus- The Illusive Man's power will be disrupted for a short time. But he's planning something. I've only heard whispers and rumors, but it's something big. I'll tell you everything I know if you can get to me before Cerberus does.
Also: The Illusive Man lied about your sister's location. She was never on Omega, like you thought. Luckily for you, he hid her too well. Even he doesn't have an exact fix on her location like I do. It should take him a few days to trace her.
However, I'm on Omega, and I need help. Myself and a few team members are laying low in an out-of-the-way area, bet we've been discovered. Cerberus operatives are closing in on our position as I write this, and I'm not sure how much longer we can stay hidden.
In the meantime, I ordered Operative Rasa to end the Lazarus Project by stealing the only clone of Jane Shepard, and wiping all genetic data on file. She succeeded. Unfortunately for her, the Illusive Man's assassins found her on Illium. She's hidden for now, although she had reported that your clone was killed.
If you encounter Operative Rasa, I want you to kill her. You see, she lied to me about the clone - Somewhere on Illium, she is hiding a clone of Jane Shepard. For what purpose, I'm not sure, although I'm fairly certain Rasa will to try and steal Shepard's Spectre authorization.
I'm sending you this because you were one of the few members of the Lazarus cell with a conscience - at least before the cell was 'retired.' Now you're the only living member other than the clone. You seem to have some spark of compassion- you stopped all plans involving implanting a control chip from leaving the drawing board. Of course, all of your plans were useless, as Shepard was still alive, on a deep cover assignment for the Alliance. I couldn't figure out any more than that, unfortunately. Somebody's hiding information on Jane Shepard- somebody good. I suspect Liara T'soni: an up-and-coming information broker working out of Illium. You've worked with her before - when you failed your mission to recruit Shepard.
It seems everything is revolving around Illium, right now. I don't know anything other than rumors, but I think Cerberus may be trying to set up something big. A power play, like a coup or a major assassination. Either way, I've delayed it as long as possible.
Thanks to my distraction, and Operative Rasa's presence there, the Illusive Man is also convinced that the Normandy is docked somewhere on Illium, and is sending teams to look for it. You've got maybe one mission before he figures out that you've betrayed him, and taken his fancy new stealth cruiser.
And if both you and your sister manage to evade him after that?
Good job.
By the way, Miranda, I looked through your omni-tool's browser history. You've read Shepard's Spectre Report on Reaper Indoctrination four times in the last day. Are you seeing the same evidence I am?
If so, you'll know exactly why my situation is so desperate. If the Illusive Man is indoctrinated, then our chances of surviving the Reapers just got that much worse.
Good luck and safe travels, Miranda.
-Kasumi Goto - (Former) Cerberus Operative 'Sphinx'
(A/N: Clearly I've changed Kasumi a bit. In this story, she's significantly more badass.)
I hope you all enjoyed! This chapter was a little light on the action. Just remember, something big is coming. Illium will never be the same. :)