This is a long one. I just got to writing and did not find a good break point...so you get most of the opening of ME2 all rolled into one. I hope you guys like what I did with the characters and there is plenty more to come. Please let me know if you have suggestions, comments, or something you really liked so far. I love getting to hear from my readers. It really makes my day. Read, review, and enjoy!

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A faint rumble like distant thunder caused a tingling sensation in her arms and legs. She remembered seeing a ceiling above her the last time she had opened her eyes, but before that…a leak in her hardsuit? Floating weightlessly away while Luke called her name? An explosion? Why was it so hard to remember?

The rumble came again, but this time she couldn't only hear it. She felt it in her bones. She knew this feeling all too well. Explosions. Another eruption jolted her and pain shot through her jaw and neck.

"Wake up Commander!" a woman's voice called over the intercom. She knew that voice. She remembered it from the last time she opened her eyes. Miranda, that was the name. Another explosion rocked her so hard that her eyes sprung open like she was waking up from a horrible nightmare, though this time she was waking up into one. The florescent lights above her hurt her eyes as she blinked trying to get her eyes to adjust.

"Shepard, can you hear me? Get out of that bed now! This facility is under attack." That voice and the accent. Yeah, definitely the same woman as before. Claire started to move her mouth but found that her jaw felt sore, like she had just gone twenty rounds in hand-to-hand training with Mallory.

"Your scars aren't healed but I need you to get out of bed and moving. This facility is under attack," the voice repeated. Claire sat up only to see tracer rounds flying in every direction outside the area that contained her. Smoke clouded the ouside of the windows but Claire could see and hear the fierce battle raging outside. Who knows how many people were losing their lives in that fire fight.

Claire turned her legs off the side of the table. Looking down, she found herself in a hospital gown and nothing else. Well, this is a new one.

"There's a pistol and armor in the locker on the far wall. There should be a uniform there too to go under the armor," Miranda stated. Claire shook her head and jogged over to the lockers. Popping one open, she found a white and black uniform with her name stitched into the fabric along with a Predator M-3 and a shiny new set of N7 Specialized Commando Mark 5.2 Armor. As she slipped on the uniform and zipped it up, she found herself feeling odd. It wasn't that she felt sick or tired, but more of an abnormal feeling. The hairs on her arms and neck were standing straight up and a slight tingling sensation danced across her skin from head to toe. Shaking her head, She clamped and connected the armor on and the feeling dissipated. She collected the pistol and checked it. Empty… of course it is.

"No clip," Claire announced waving the pistol at a camera.

"You'll have to find ammo as you go. I had to seal the door to keep anyone from getting to you. Take cover, I'm overloading the lock. There will be a small explosion," Miranda informed her. Claire ducked behind a small fiberglass frame that surrounded some piping that ran above floor level a few feet out from the wall.

Small explosion was definitely a bit of an understatement, but the door was "open." More like blown off its hinges, but she was moving forward.

As she emerged from the lab, a mech opened fire on her from the stairs. Diving behind a crate, Claire cursed under her breath. She glanced around trying to find anything that could give her an offensive advantage but the mech fired at her every time she reached for anything. She did finally get a hold of a guard's body and pulled him to her as the mech punched additional holes in the man's corpse. Grabbing a thermal clip from his ammo belt, Claire jammed it into place and leapt up firing a single round through the mech's facial plate blowing its head off. Claire smirked as the body crumpled into a heap of scrap metal.

"I'm patching into your radio. The door up the stairs is the best way. Once inside, take cover. There's a group of mechs converging on your position. I'll jam the door behind you." Though Claire had no idea who this woman was for sure, she was deeply grateful for the help.

"Got it. Oh and on that note, what's going on here?" Claire asked kneeling down behind some lab equipment. The door hissed shut and the control interface glitched and turned red before vanishing.

"Someone hacked security. I think their trying to kill you. Most of the mechs are headed in your direction. I think I can guide you around the majority," Miranda stated through Claire's ear piece.

"Not just that," Claire snapped. "I mean where am I? Where's Luke? I remember he was here with me. Where is he?"

"He's not here. I'm sorry," Miranda responded.

"Fine, then what's-" Her sentence was cut short by the door on the far side of the room exploding and six mechs advancing into the lab. This was one hell of a wake up call.

000

Luke's shuttle swooped in to the landing bay. The pilot turned to look back at Luke as he pat the man on the shoulder.

"Hold here and seal the hatch. The only people aloud to have this shuttle without me are my sister, Operative Lawson, and Beta. Get me?" Luke ordered as he grabbed a Paladin pistol from the small armory and a Vindicator rifle. He slipped an Avenger on the other position just to bring a little more fire power to the fight.

"Miranda, this is Alpha. I'm on station at evac bay 1 with a shuttle. What's your status?" Luke shouted into the radio as he locked his helmet into place. The door opened and Luke stepped out into the bay. Empty wouldn't have described it, but graveyard, that came pretty close. Pilot bodies along with several mechs were spread out all over the floor.

"I…a…clear signal…interference," Miranda responded.

"If you can hear me, get to the evac area. I'm going to head in and try to get to Claire," Luke shouted into the radio. Of course, having a reunion with his sister in a combat situation was not what he had in mind.

Kneeling beside one of the mechs, he examined it and tried to reactivate some of the subroutines without reactivating the main cpu. Scanning the feeds, Luke hoped he would not find the virus the Pack had tracked over a year before. No virus, but the operating system showed signs of hacking. Pretty obvious signs too. A brute force approach in the main hub.

Luke pulled the butt of his rifle into his shoulder and started moving forward. Keeping low may not have been the fastest way to move through the facility, but with so much fighting going on, he needed to be careful and not get caught up in a fight. Claire was all that mattered. Everyone else, even Miranda and Jacob were expendable.

As he crept through the facility, Luke found himself at Server Room B. The door was open and there she was. Claire stood with Wilson and Jacob talking about something that Luke could not quite make out. He smiled under his helmet seeing the N7 on her chest as she turned around.

"I don't care what you say. I'll never work for terrorists," Claire snapped.

Well, she must know that this is a Cerberus facility now. Does she remember seeing me here? Luke set the speaker in his helmet to distort his voice. Though he wanted to run up and hug his sister, he did not want her to know exactly who he was until they were out of danger.

"Tell that to the boss when you meet him," Jacob responded. "Speaking of which, here's my boss." Jacob motioned to Luke. With a sigh and a shake of his head, Luke stood up straight and entered the room.

"Commander Shepard, it's good to see you up and moving. Glad to see your cat nap hasn't dampened your skills," Luke stated. The look of surprise on Jacob's face nearly made Luke laugh. He had obviously not been expecting the voice distortion.

"Who are you?"

"For now, you can call me Alpha," Luke responded. His eyes fell on Wilson and his blood soaked leg. "You alright, Wilson?"

"I've definitely had better days," the doctor snarled.

"We found him in the server room wounded. He should be okay until we can get him to a medical bay," Claire added on. "But I'm still not sure if I can trust you, any of you."

Luke nodded. She didn't know who he was except for the fact that he was Cerberus. "I'll give name, rank, and serial number once we get to my shuttle. I've already cleared the way back," Luke stated.

"Fine Alpha. Lead the way," Claire stated making sure to emphasize the use of my code name, though she was obviously still put out from learning where she was. Now was definitely not the time to reveal who he was. She'd probably shoot him just on principal.

"I need to check a few systems before I leave. Beta, the shuttle is in evac bay 1. Get there fast. If I'm not there in twenty minutes, leave," Luke ordered. Claire looked over at Jacob then back to Luke. Please don't figure out who I am yet. We don't have time to argue about bad judgment.

"Roger that," Jacob responded. Luke smiled still amused by the look of utter confusion on his face.

"Wait, my brother.I thought I saw him when I woke up the first time. When I saw you," Claire said turning back to look at Wilson. "Miranda said he wasn't here, so what happened to him? If you're Jacob's boss, then you should be able to tell me, right?" Claire snapped. Luke sighed and wet his lips.

"You will see your brother very soon. I guarantee it," Luke answered. He saw Jacob smile at the comment before he started forward.

Without waiting for a response, Luke pushed past the trio and headed straight for the servers. He needed to know who had reprogrammed the mechs. It had to be someone from the project with tech experience. Though those preconceptions wer immediately shattered when he approached the console. Still plugged into the OSD port was a small stick drive. Scanning through the coding, Luke realized that this tech was not just well developed; it was a damned work of art. All a person would have to do to activate the hack was plug the drive in. This could not have been just anyone. This was a planned attack, timed and well thought out. Hell, the person that delivered the drive was probably dead or…

"Miranda, can you read me?" Luke asked isolating his radio. He quickly pulled up his snooper programs for the Lazarus project and searched the files.

"I hear you. I'm at the evac site, where are you?"

"Server room B. I know who betrayed us, and he's on his way to you," Luke stated pulling the drive and stashing it in his pocket.

"Who was it?"

"Wilson. He installed the program that hacked the mechs. Judging from the program's coding, I'd wager a guess that the Shadow Broker is behind it," Luke responded taking off at a dead sprint through the halls.

"I'll handle it," Miranda stated coldly.

"Negative, I'll take care of it. I want more intel on this, then you can do what you want," Luke ordered.

As he approached the door, he could see Wilson starting to punch in the code to open it. Luke set his jaw and reached out biotically. The blue energy wrapped around Wilson as the door opened and jerked him backward into the wall with a loud thud.

"What the hell are you doing?" Jacob exclaimed. Luke ignored him and pulled his pistol.

"Did you think I wouldn't find your toy?" Luke snarled grabbing a fist full of Wilson's uniform as the biotic energy released him. Luke jammed the pistol up under Wilson's jaw. "What does you loyalty cost huh?"

"What're you talking about?" Claire asked. Luke spotted her in his periphery wither gun drawn and aimed at him.

"This traitor reprogrammed the mechs. Considering that he's been bought by the Shadow Broker, I'm not surprised," Luke said pressing his fist into Wilson's collar bone. "The tech is way too advanced for you. Who gave you it? I want a name."

Wilson held his tongue. He must have thought that Luke would keep him alive if he stayed quiet. Oh, how wrong he was. Luke need to make sure that Wilson knew that he was going to die for what he did, though the manner of his death could be a powerful motivator.

"Name in 3 seconds, or I'll let Miranda deal with you as she sees fit. Just remember how much she invested in this project that you just tried to destroy. I'm sure she has ten different styles of torture in mind for you. If you cooperate, I'll make sure to make it quick," Luke stated. Wilson's eyes darted form Luke to Miranda then back to Luke.

"I not telling you anything," Wilson growled. Luke sighed and shook his head.

"Let me know what hell looks like when I get there," Luke responded turning and nodding to Miranda. The woman pulled her pistol and fired a single round into his chest. Luke released his hold on Wilson's clothes and allowed the corpse to crumple to the floor.

"What the hell was that?" Claire snarled stomping up to Luke. Luke sighed and looked down at the body.

"I was doing my job. Keep Commander Claire Shepard safe. Those are my priority orders from the Illusive Man," Luke responded holstering his weapon.

"We can talk about all this on the way to the Stage," Miranda stated hurriedly. She was right. Mechs would be closing in on anyone that was still alive, including their little quartet of fighters.

"What do I care if the Illusive Man doesn't get what he wants? And what the hell is the Stage?" Claire asked as Luke sealed and jammed the door behind them.

"You should care. There are a lot of things that you missed while you were out. As far as the Stage goes, it's our support facility for the mission we hope you'll accept. There's a true and present threat against the galaxy," Miranda chipped in.

"We all believe that the reapers are real and they are headed our way, but there's something that's going after humans, and only humans right now. We're not sure if it's related to the reapers but five colonies have already vanished without a trace. The Illusive Man can tell you everything." Luke looked over at Miranda and Jacob as he wiped dust and ash from their armor and offered his hand to show Claire the way to the shuttle.

Without looking at him, Claire brushed past her brother and made her way to the shuttle as Miranda, Jacob, and Luke all fell in line. Luke watched his sister move. She didn't look very different at all, although she was still sore judging from how she moved. Her hair had gotten a lot longer and bounced in its ponytail as she walked. But the lights on the back of her armor burned like a bonefire signaling that her biotic power was ready to be released. She might not even have realized that she had biotic abilities now. He might have to take the time to train her on how to use her new skills.

Climbing into the shuttle, Luke felt Claire's eyes fixed on him. Between Miranda's visible thoughts resentment about how he had left her the last time they spoke and Claire glaring daggers at him for his treatment of Wilson, Luke felt like an abused ping pong ball getting slapped back and forth.

"So, name, rank, and serial number right?" Claire asked leaning forward and interlacing her fingers. Luke sighed and he felt his sister's eyes boar into him.

"Serial number is 27-65-94-018. Rank: Operative Team Leader. Name…that's difficult to explain, so I need you to promise to not over react." Luke's comment caused Claire's eyebrow to raise. Luke unlatched his helmet and slowly removed it. His hair fell down onto his forehead as Luke collapsed the helmet and stuck the piece to his belt.

"Luke?" Claire managed to say. The shock must have thrown her for a loop, seeing her brother again. "What…what the hell are you doing with Cerberus?"

And the good feeling was gone. Luke started to tell her about everything that happened while she was sleeping but there was simply too much. The Normandy blowing up, the funeral, Cerberus' approach to him, his and Liara's assault on the Broker base, where could he start?

"The Alliance gave up on you, sis. They classified you as killed in action," Luke started as the shuttle lifted off and shot into the vast nothing of space jumping to FTL speeds.

"Wait, killed? But I'm alive," Claire started.

"Miranda, do you want to take this one?" Luke said standing and starting to strip the armor so he could clean and calibrate it.

"The Lazarus Project, I know Luke told you about the experiments done to him when he was a teenager. The work continued and the scientists managed to synthesize a serum that restores dead cells and reanimates nerves. On top of that, new cybernetic implants helped rebuild the muscles and bones. All in all, the Lazarus Project's goal was to rebuild you and bring you back to life. So far, it appears to be a success," Miranda explained. Luke removed the last piece of his armor revealing the Cerberus field uniform. Luke could feel her eyes wanting to tear the Cerberus symbol off his shoulder.

"So far?" Claire asked.

"There are some tests we need to run to test your memory and personality to ensure that we restored you," Miranda explained.

"If they changed anything about your morals, personality, or memories, they failed," Luke stated taking a seat next to his sister.

"Let's start with personal history," Miranda said looking over at Jacob.

"Come on, Miranda, more tests," Jacob responded.

"The sooner we start the sooner we can be done," Miranda snapped back. Luke shook his head and leaned back crossing his arms.

"Alright, records show you grew up on Mindoir until you were sixteen when slavers attacked," Jacob began. Luke lowered his eyes and tried not to listen to recounting of their childhood. He did not want to think about those memories again. He had a hard enough time watching the machines cut, screw, and stitch his sister back together. Luke closed his eyes for a moment then opened them again.

"You won a medal fighting batarian pirates in the Skyllian Blitz. Do you remember that?"

Jacob looked up from his omni-tool and glanced over at Luke. Rolling his neck form side to side, Luke looked over at his sister waiting for her response.

"There were a lot of people depending on me holding that position. I couldn't let them down," Claire responded.

"That's her. Classic Claire response," Luke responded with a smile. Claire glanced over at Luke. He was not sure but he thought he saw a smile pull at the corners of her mouth.

"Satisfied Miranda?" Jacob asked.

"Almost. Let's try something more recent. Virmire where you destroyed Saren's research facility. You had to leave someone behind to die in the blast," Miranda stated. Luke's heart dropped into his feet. They had to bring this up… He started wondering if this wasn't a test of his sanity rather than Claire's memory.

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams was reported killed in action. It was your call. Why did you leave her behind?" Jacob asked. Luke felt tears swelling in his eyes. Why did they have to ask about that? Anything but Virmire.

"I left a good friend to die that day. I wish I could have saved her. That decision is one of the toughest I've ever had to make… I'm sorry Luke," Claire said placing her head in her hands.

"You have nothing to be sorry for," Luke said quickly as he wiped his eyes and cleared his throat. "Ash…she'd…She'd tell both of us that she didn't regret a thing. She'd do it again if it meant stopping Saren and the reapers."

Claire nodded and this time showed a truly genuine smile. Luke had missed that. That smile that made him think that everything was going to be okay.

"We weren't judging. Everyone at Cerberus knows that base had to be taken out," Jacob stated.

"Shepard, think back to the Citadel, after you saved the council and killed Saren. What happened next?" Miranda asked. Luke's eyes hardened. She did not even acknowledge that Claire and he were hurting from the last question. She really was cold and uncaring, completely focused on the mission and task at hand.

"Luke killed Saren, but after Soveriegn was destroyed, humanity was offered a place on the Council. I recommended Captain Anderson for the position." Claire's attention had split between the interview and Luke. She faced him but was obviously still listening to the questions.

"Yes, Captain Anderson is now Councilor Anderson, though I'm told he preferred life in the military." Miranda considered some of the notes on her omni-tool for a moment before looking back up. "Your memory seems solid. There really are more tests we should run-"

"Come on Miranda. More tests. The memories are there, and I can vouch for Shepard's combat skills personally," Jacob chimed in. Luke appreciated Jacob sticking up for his sister and hoped Miranda would leave it at that. Any more questions digging into their past and Luke might start answering the questions instead.

"I guess you're right. Let's hope the Illusive Man accepts out little field test as good enough," Miranda stated sitting back in her chair. Luke turned and looked out the window as the shuttle dropped out of FTL.

"Head for hanger 14. I need to check in with my team," Luke said as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yes sir," the pilot responded.

"Team?" Claire asked.

"I'll explain after you meet the Illusive Man. I have a bad feeling that we are going to be headed out very soon," Luke said leaning back and relaxing as much as he could.

"The way you've been working, I'm surprised you haven't fallen over," Jacob retorted.

"It's all about pacing my friend," Luke stated as the shuttle landed. "Not that I really ever pace myself. I just run on adrenaline and caffeine." Luke heard a small laugh escape Claire.

"And you always said you were not a marine."

Luke smirked as the door opened. He still wasn't a marine, not in his mind. But he was not exactly a cop anymore either. He was someone else…something else.