Apologies for the long delay. University work needed my attention and I recently had surgery so I didn't have the time to write and then I blinked and suddenly half the year was gone. Amazing how that happens.

Thank you for your patience and hopefully I will have another update soon.

Chapter 11: Cyber

The conference room felt unusually tense. Shepard hadn't felt this uncomfortable in this room for a long time. Miranda and Jacob were standing there with her and were the reason for the discomfit. Ordinarily, Shepard would welcome different opinions especially for a mission where they didn't have much information. This was not one of those times. At least when the Alliance gave a mission, there was some idea of what to expect. Admiral Hackett always made sure mission critical information was shared. With Cerberus, there was no way of knowing what to expect and sometimes it felt like Cerberus' secrets had secrets.

The Illusive Man had asked Shepard to investigate a research station that had suddenly gone dark without any explanation. He didn't reveal many details about this research station aside from the fact that their work was important. This didn't mean much to Shepard. The argument behind every experiment done by Cerberus was that the work was too important. It was also named Project Overlord which sounded ominous and not really something Shepard wanted to get involved in. Naturally, Miranda was attempting to gather more information which was easier said than done.

"There really isn't much information I can access," Miranda commented quietly.

Jacob crossed his arms in front of his chest, still annoyed with how things played out on the Collector Ship. "What else is new?"

Miranda shot him an annoyed look but kept her thoughts to herself.

"What do you have?" Shepard asked.

"They were experimenting with volatile technology," Miranda answered tersely.

There was a pause as Shepard and Jacob waited for more information. When it was clear Miranda had nothing else for them, Shepard resisted the urge to sigh. In situations like this, she had to wonder if the Illusive Man really wanted her to succeed or if he was just testing her to see how well their experiment worked.

"Well, that's… something, I suppose," Shepard commented. "If there's technology around, I want to bring Phoenix."

Jacob looked at her like she was insane whereas Miranda's head snapped up with an annoyed "Commander, no."

"Whatever issues you have with her, you can't deny she gets results," Shepard explained. "Besides, if technology is the reason behind this research station going dark, she's the only hacker I know who can bypass Cerberus protocols. We have no idea what the situation is down there. Do you really want to take a chance?"

Miranda pursed her lips in disapproval. "She can't be trusted with this sort of information. There has to be a good reason for the security measures in place."

"You're kidding, right?" Jacob demanded. "After what just happened, you're still defending the Illusive Man? I don't know about you but if the Commander trusts Phoenix, then so do I."

Shepard really did not want to argue. "I'm not saying Phoenix doesn't require some… supervision. I'm just saying she may be the right person for the job. I'll even get her to submit to a search if you want."

Miranda looked like she was seriously considering it. "Fine but I'm coming too. I don't want her to go where she shouldn't."

Shepard wanted to point out that no one really controlled Sid. She either chose to do what she was told or she wouldn't do it at all. Or she would find some subtle way to make it look like she was cooperating while actually sabotaging them. Shepard decided not to share this detail, mainly because this was the first time Miranda had agreed to a compromise where Sid was concerned. Was that progress?

"Fair enough," she said out loud. "But you do realise Phoenix takes some pleasure in annoying you?"

"I had suspected as much," Miranda replied. "But don't worry about me, Commander. I can handle a smuggler."

With that, Miranda turned and exited the conference room.

"She has no idea what she just signed up for, does she?" Jacob asked with a hint of amusement.

Shepard was also smiling. "Not even remotely. I do admire her confidence though."

There was still some time before they arrived at their destination so she headed back up to the Loft. Sid was sitting on the couch with her feet on the table and a few datapads spread around her. Her attention was almost entirely focused on her omni-tool however she also seemed to be deep in conversation with EDI. It amazed Shepard how easily Sid trusted the AI yet refused to trust almost every person she crossed paths with. Shepard didn't particularly trust EDI but she had to admit she had proved herself on the Collector Ship. Was that enough though? Could they depend on EDI to get them through this mission safely?

::Simulation failed.::

Sid groaned in frustration which was quite the contrast to her usual smartass self. "Why this time?"

::Insufficient data.::

Sid sighed and then finally noticed Shepard. "How's it going, Jojo?"

"What are you doing?" she asked slowly. "What simulation?"

Sid's expression changed so subtly that Shepard almost missed it. "Nothing you need to worry about."

"Sentences like that make me worry about it," Shepard replied. "Especially when it isn't an answer."

"It's part of my plans to take over the Volus," Sid answered in a light hearted tone, almost like she was trying to make everything look like normal.

Shepard didn't buy it. "Sid, I'm trying really hard to trust you but-"

Sid interjected. "So trust me then."

"You're not giving me much to go on."

Sid was quiet for a moment. "You trusted me on Alchera when you were at your most vulnerable. The things I'm keeping from you will be revealed when the time is right, Jo. They need to remain secret now though. I'm not doing it to hurt you but to protect you and to make sure Cerberus doesn't know. All I'm asking for is a little patience."

It was perhaps the most genuine Sid had ever been during a conversation. She must have had really good reasons, or so Shepard hoped. "All right, Sid. But I won't wait around forever."

Sid smiled, glanced at the datapads and then she realised something. "What brings you here?"

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Now I need a reason to come to my own room?"

Sid shrugged. "It's too early for bed and it looks like someone switched your coffee with motor oil which means you just had a conversation with the Illusive Man."

"That actually makes some sense," Shepard replied slowly as she tried to decide if the last bit was an insult or some future prank Sid was planning.

"Try not to sound so surprised," Sid commented.

"We're going to investigate a Cerberus facility that just went dark," Shepard explained. "All we know is that they were experimenting with dangerous technology."

"Right because that never ends badly," Sid pointed out. Then something else occurred to her. "No offence, EDI."

::I lack the programming to take offence, Phoenix.::

Sid seemed unusually amused by that. "Good enough for me."

Shepard really had no idea how she could joke around with it. Sid must have understood the expression because she was only more amused. Before Sid could start a conversation about AIs, Shepard decided it was time to make her rounds. She paid visits to her remaining ground crew members. It looked like Jack was starting to calm down a bit and didn't look as angry as she had before. Grunt was starting to make sense of whatever imprints Okeer had left for him so he was starting to understand what it meant to be Krogan. Mordin impressed Shepard with an interesting musical number and Thane, as always, was a fascinating conversationalist. Shepard made a point to avoid a conversation with Zaeed - mostly because she didn't have her gun with her – and checked in with Kasumi briefly. After that, she headed up to the cockpit and hung out with Joker.

Whenever she had the time, Shepard made a point to visit the helmsman and it had nothing to do with him and Sid… mostly. Joker would fill her in on the things that had changed over the past two and a half years but the little, unimportant things. She already knew about how the weapons and hardsuits had evolved and anything else related to getting the mission done. She wanted to know about new music, the latest vids, interesting news stories and the like. Basically, whatever had absolutely nothing to do with saving the galaxy. Of her crew, Joker seemed to be the only one who enjoyed the 'normal' side of life and it was a good way to relax. It also made it easy to avoid Chambers and a conversation about Alchera.

"How are you doing?" Joker abruptly asked.

Shepard considered giving him the same answer she gave Chambers but Joker was a friend who genuinely cared and wasn't looking to undermine her or report on her to someone else. "I'm not really sure," she answered quietly. "Some changes are easier to handle than others. And it would have been nice to have a chance to adapt before being thrown straight in and expected to save the galaxy again."

Shepard didn't mean to sound ungrateful or whiny but she couldn't stop herself wondering why the big missions had to fall on her shoulders. A lot of people still regarded her as crazy for believing the Reapers were real and others thought she was a traitor for working alongside Cerberus yet that didn't stop anyone from depending on her to stop the Collectors. It did feel like a cruel twist of irony when the only people who believed her about the Reapers belonged to an insane terrorist organisation.

"It isn't all bad, Commander," Joker pointed out. "I do have leather seats." He even moved around in the chair just to prove it.

Shepard cracked a smile. "Well, as long as there are leather seats."

Miranda's delicate eyebrows knit together in a frown. It was not an expression of confusion but one of frustration. She understood Cerberus' need to compartmentalize the various projects into unique cells that only the Illusive Man had information about but surely the current situation would be an exception. He was knowingly sending them into a dangerous situation and gave them little to prepare with. Again. Miranda had tried to convince herself that the Collector Ship had been an anomaly, that the Illusive Man had good reasons for doing what he did. It was hard to come up with a good defence for this one.

If it was a matter of information security then he wouldn't allow Shepard to take just anyone with or he would insist on an all Cerberus team at the very least. Or the more frightening idea was he didn't know what was going on in Project Overlord. At times, it was easy to see the Illusive Man as someone better between his resources and his skill at manipulating events. Miranda sometimes forgot he was only human. He wasn't perfect. Maybe no one was perfect. That thought hung around in her mind for longer than it should have. She had important work to focus on. She couldn't get distracted by philosophical debates.

The other thing that frustrated her was Shepard's insistence to bring along Phoenix. There was so much about the smuggler that was unknown. Even EDI's searches had yielded little information. And yet, the Illusive Man personally recruited her and Shepard trusted her. There seemed to be a lot more history there than they were letting on. Chambers was also having a hard time getting a read on Phoenix which made her a wildcard. Miranda did not like wildcards. But this was Shepard's mission. She had done an acceptable job so far. Perhaps Miranda could give her the benefit of the doubt. She just had to wonder how long it would be before the classified details of Project Overlord made it onto the extranet.

Sid watched Jo leave in silence and sighed quietly to herself. There was too much going on to risk Cerberus finding out about her plans and it was far easier to keep things secret than she had realised. Not too many people on this boat really wanted to know what Sid was up to. Garrus and Tali were too busy being suspicious of Cerberus to worry about what she was doing. The rest of the crew pretty much avoided her. Jo was proving difficult though. She was asking too many questions and Sid wondered how long she could keep deflecting them. She had been honest when she said she would fill Jo in on all the details but somehow, she figured Jo wouldn't have the patience.

::Do you require my assistance to run more simulations?::

Sid glanced in the direction of the holographic representation of EDI and then looked around at her collection of datapads. "No thanks, EDI. I'll let you know when I need you again."

EDI disappeared again and Sid didn't move. She was trying to understand geth programming and EDI's simulations were an attempt to make it easier. So far, things were not going well. Sid also didn't miss the way Jo suspiciously glared at EDI. In Sid's opinion, the AI was more trustworthy than anyone else on the ship. The Illusive Man had programmed her to report back on mission related information and since this was not mission related, EDI was not reporting it to anyone. Sid often preferred technology over people but she had decided not to try to force Jo to trust EDI. That would only come with time.

A part of Sid could understand the general mistrust of AIs. The geth pretty much turned everyone against the idea even though Saren's misadventure was the first time they had been sighted outside of the Perseus Veil in years. The geth weren't that bad. They had stayed in isolation for such a long time and from what Sid understood, they let the quarians go even though they could have wiped out the survivors. Sure, they weren't perfect and she was still likely to shoot without hesitation but that policy applied to mercenaries and pirates too. And yet, an artificial intelligence was the bogeyman of the galaxy. And this was an opinion held by people who didn't believe in the Reapers. Oh, the irony.

::Operative Lawson is requesting your presence in the conference room, Phoenix.::

Sid was silent for a moment. Why would Miranda want to see her? Was EDI capable of playing a practical joke? After another few moments, Sid thanked the AI and headed towards the conference room. When she entered, she was surprised to find Miranda and Jacob standing at the opposite end of the table with no Jo in sight. This was certainly unexpected… and mildly interesting. Jacob looked like he wasn't entirely sure why he was there whereas Miranda had a stern expression on her face. Perhaps this was going to be a conversation Sid wouldn't enjoy. Or Miranda was finally decided to put her foot down as XO and attempt to put Sid in her place… not that that would actually stop Sid.

"Operative Lawson. Mr Taylor," Sid greeted with a polite nod. "If this is some super-secret meeting to plan Commander Shepard's surprise birthday party, I'd recommend a pink colour scheme."

Jacob blinked a few times in confusion. "What?"

"Ignore her, Jacob. She's just trying to mess with us." Miranda instructed tersely although her annoyance was directed at Sid, not Jacob.

Sid feigned an innocent expression. "You wound me, Miranda. Can I call you Miranda?"

Miranda's eyes narrowed so slightly. "If you must."

"Isn't this great? We're becoming friends!" Sid gushed in such an over the top tone, she half expected rainbows to magically appear.

"Are you done?" Miranda demanded.

Sid had a few more things she could say but she sensed any further antagonising would result in some painful displays of biotic power. "For the moment," she answered normally. "Why am I here?"

"We have some… concerns," Miranda answered in a neutral tone.

Jacob seemed to realise why he was here now. "The top of the list is Zaeed Massani. The last thing we want is for a gun battle to break out in the middle of the ship."

"Don't worry, we'll do it on some planet somewhere," Sid easily dismissed. The pair of Cerberus agents was not amused and Sid raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? Not even a smile? Does the Illusive Man solely recruit people without a sense of humour?" She sighed and decided this would go a lot faster if she took the conversation seriously. "Look, you don't need to worry about Zaeed and me. I can handle him."

"Because of some promise to find his nemesis?" Miranda asked sceptically.

Sid crossed her arms in front of her chest. "Zaeed wants revenge on the man that almost killed him and stole his mercenary company from under him. That kind of betrayal leads to mistrust and in the Terminus Systems, sometimes it better to shoot first before you get stabbed in the back again. Zaeed and I aren't about to ride off into the sunset together or anything but we aren't about to kill each other either. I'm the best chance he has for revenge and after that? Well, what's life without a little bit of uncertainty?"

Jacob looked torn between looking impressed at what could be regarded as bravery or worried at her lack of concern. "Being on the same ship as someone who may want to kill you doesn't bother you?"

Sid shrugged her shoulders effortlessly. "It's a perk of the job. And if I worried about everyone who may or may not want to kill me… well, I wouldn't have time to do anything else. So I worry about the two groups at the top of the list who are the most dangerous and have the best chance of succeeding. It makes life a bit easier."

"And they would be?" Jacob asked.

Sid was surprised he had to ask. "The Collectors and the Shadow Broker, of course."

Jacob and Miranda shared a glance that Sid couldn't read. Were they surprised that she was being? Did they not believe her life's philosophy? Or was the next question going to be even less enjoyable?

"Why do I feel like this is a polite interrogation?" Sid asked curiously.

Miranda's calm gaze focused on her again. "It's interesting that you feel like you're being interrogated."

Sid raised an eyebrow, almost amused. "If you want to begin the psych eval portion of the interrogation, you may want to bring Chambers in on it. It really isn't your forte." She paused to see if there would be a retort and then continued. "You have more concerns?"

"Yes," Miranda replied in an icy tone. Perhaps she didn't like being told she wasn't good at something. "The Commander has insisted you join us on the next ground mission."

Silence followed this statement so Sid raised an eyebrow. "Okay." Still no response. "Shepard's taken me on ground missions before without an interrogation. Why is this one different?"

"It's a Cerberus research facility," Miranda admitted uncomfortably.

Sid grinned. "And you're concerned for my safety. How sweet."

"What?" Miranda asked in a tone that closely resembled horror. "No! I don't want critical research data to find its way onto the extranet."

Sid considered the implication for a moment and then decided she actually took offence to that. "You doubt my professional discretion?"

"You haven't exactly led us to believe you are professional," Miranda countered. She was probably still upset over Sid's stunt with the listening devices.

"Fair enough," Sid allowed slowly. "But throughout my antics and weird conversation topics, have I ever revealed any information about past clients or what I was smuggling for them?"

"Well, no…" Miranda answered carefully.

"Cerberus is paying me to be here which makes them – you - my client and that includes my discretion," Sid explained. "I don't trust Cerberus and I don't trust the Illusive Man but I still have a reputation to uphold. If I went about leaking Cerberus secrets, I won't get any work and I kinda enjoy working. Besides, the Illusive Man and I have an understanding."

"What does that mean, exactly?" Jacob asked.

"I don't use any information I find against Cerberus or him and any information he has on me doesn't get used either," Sid explained. "After all, we both want to get rid of the Shadow Broker."

"And that deal is the reason why your dossier had so little information?" Miranda enquired.

"And also why Chambers doesn't have a file on me," Sid added. "Look, if me going makes you that uncomfortable, just tell Shepard to take someone else. I promise I won't take it personally."

"The Commander insisted on bringing you since the research station is focused on technology," Miranda replied. "And if you ever quote me on this, I'll deny it, but I tend to agree with her. You've demonstrated an adequate understanding."

It didn't take a genius to see that the compliment was hard for Miranda to say and that 'adequate' was the best she was going to give but Sid was a bit sceptical. "What about Tali? She's solid under fire and knows her stuff. Plus, you wouldn't suspect her of distributing secrets." There was a slight pause. "It's not because she's a quarian, is it?"

"No," Miranda answered stiffly. "If I had an issue working with aliens, I wouldn't be here. It's just… Tali'Zorah is a bit more hostile with her distrust of us than you are."

Sid's amused smile resurfaced. "You're more worried about Tali shooting you in the back than of me posting stuff on the extranet? What did you do?"

If Tali was that angry that even Miranda was concerned, it couldn't just be suspicion of a pro-Human organisation. It had to be more personal if sweet, non-violent Tali was suddenly more dangerous than Sid.

"There was an incident with the Flotilla a few years ago but I don't want to get into that now," Miranda answered evasively.

Sid decided not to press her luck. This conversation was going better than expected and it seemed like she had a better understanding of Miranda. It was better not to push her luck right now. Especially if Miranda was having doubts about her unwavering loyalty to the Illusive Man. It wasn't obvious however Sid had noticed Miranda didn't jump to Cerberus' defence over what ever happened with the Quarians. And she also suspected Miranda knew next to nothing about this research facility which was bothering her.

"I'm prepared to offer you a one-time deal, Miranda," Sid decided. "In the aftermath of what happened on the Collector Ship and what might happen in the future assuming we find the Collector Base, we'll need to find some sort of a working balance. Therefore, if you want, I am prepared to use a Cerberus issue omni-tool with whatever restrictions you deem necessary for this mission and this mission only."

It was difficult to decide who was more surprised by that offer: Miranda or Jacob. As much as Sid enjoyed messing with Miranda, she also understood that she was in a difficult position trying to look after Jo while still putting Cerberus interests first and she had also willingly signed on to this suicide mission. Even if Miranda didn't act like it, she was a part of the crew and there would be a day soon when Sid and Miranda would need to trust each other with their lives. Sid understood the need for trust. After all, if she had trusted her old crew like she trusted her new crew, maybe the mutiny wouldn't have happened. Maybe Tiro wouldn't have abducted those innocents and used them on the Dragon's Teeth.

"You would do that?" Jacob asked incredulously.

"You want to protect Cerberus," Sid answered. "I get that."

"I'm sure I can work something out," Miranda agreed. She also looked surprised. It was an offer that probably no one could have seen coming.

Sid smiled pleasantly. "Great. If that's all sorted, I would really like to eat something before the mission. Gardner's making his calamari special and I don't want to miss that."

Miranda grimaced. "You… actually like that?"

"Sure. It's salty yet tangy and kind of reminds me of some Batarian food," Sid answered.

"I'm not sure that's a compliment," Jacob stated.

Sid only smiled in response before heading out of the conference room. She had been honest. Gardner's cooking did remind her a lot of the days she spent with Morkal and the Batarians. It seemed so much simpler back then. No galactic death machines to worry about, no giant bugs with guns to give her nightmares. She even fit in better with the Batarians than she did with the Alliance or on this ship. All they needed to worry about was the next job and getting paid. Perhaps, when all of this was over, it could be like that again. Sid almost snorted in amusement at herself. When did she become sentimental?