Imperfection
- May, 2186
Off-worlders, aliens and Spacers always were surprised at the continuous downpour of rain in the area. Visitors who only sought Earth on military business to Vancouver super-city left with skewed impression of its weather. The Captive seemed bewildered, at least. The Cerberus Operative had been docile the entire time she was transported to Earth. Ashley had been expecting some fall back, but except for a few mercenary Vorcha who tried to interfere, the transport from Omega had gone relatively smoothly. The Intelligence wetwork squad had rendezvoused with her as soon as she cleared Omega's firing range, and the Kilimanjaro had ferried her directly to Earth non-stop.
It was good to be planet side again.
Admiral Hayes had been overjoyed at her success in acquiring the Cerberus official behind Shepard's Lazarus project. Shepard's trial had been stalling for six months now with the question remaining unresolved whether it was Shepard, an impostor, or whether she had been conditioned. Admiral Hayes had invited her in to observe the proceedings.
Ashley had stopped by Kaidan Alenko's empty grave on the way. She always tried to visit his grave when she was in Vancouver. She was never able to visit his parents. After the Battle of the Citadel Shepard had visited them by herself. Shepard had asked if she would like to go, but Ashley couldn't find the courage. Since then, whenever she visited Earth, Ashley would make plans, buy flowers, bring pictures, prepare stories to share, and would ultimately find herself in her cups. She had been drinking more lately. Especially when she was on leave, Ashley would drink every day; first it had been just a beer before bed, and later the cups remained the same but the liquor became stronger, yet sleep became more fleeting.
"Weather control is a myth," Admiral Hayes greeted Ashley as she escaped the rain into the main entrance of the Naval Intelligence HQ.
"I heard that terraforming is easier." Ashley panted, as she shook the rain from her hair. "How's the Captive? A bit more talkative, ma'am?"
"I can safely say that she spoke more to you than she spoke to us since you handed her over." Hayes grimaced.
- Two weeks ago
Miranda and Heather Lawson sat down in their empty apartment on floor cushions in their Omega apartment. Courtesy of Aria T'Loak, the room was devoid of comfort, sporting only a string of bunk beds and portable cooking utensils. The Aralakh had left to hunt for the Rachni; though gruff and hardened warriors, they couldn't contain their excitement. They were all experienced warriors, even for Krogan. More settled down with family, and firmly rooted in the Urdnot Revolution that was now brewing. Both Nax and Charr were married to asari, while other members also sported a firm relationship with Krogan females on Tuchanka. One of the group even boasted of an offspring. Miranda considered that it was shrewd of Wrex to somehow have elevated his strongest special missions group. It was standard tactics of leaders to drag the toughest through toils and hardships, then reward their troubles with gifts and comforts to rationalize what made them who they were. Of course, the exception was Grunt, who had been born to be a leader.
Birthright. It seemed to be a crutch now. Like Grunt, Miranda was born to be a leader. Perfect and crystalline. Yet, if anyone were to ask her who she was, she would say without hesitation that she was Messalina Shepard's second in command. Like Grunt, who served Wrex, those born in to leadership sometimes failed to achieve their full potential. Unlike Grunt, Miranda had settled into her role as the executive of Shepard's affairs.
Some say that Shepard had mellowed through the years, that she had grown attached to the persons she had surrounded herself with. Miranda would liked to have thought that Shepard considered her one of her friends. But Miranda knew that Shepard had laid out her pieces like a genius tactician. All of Shepard's key members had coordinated themselves to key positions to prepare for her return. Back on Ilium, Shepard had expressed her firm plan of action in her absence. Garrus, as the key to persuading the Turians; Wrex to rally the Krogan; Tali to keep the Quarians from destroying themselves. While none of them knew they were being moved into place, Liara and Miranda had orchestrated an action plan to shuffle them along the road. While Miranda had voiced doubts on Tali's ability to keep the Admirals at bay, Shepard had told her that she didn't believe everyone will succeed at their objectives but it was the least they could do.
"... Current Heart condition, likely to deteriorate within the next five years." Mordin had informed Miranda and Heather. "Compounding risk of aneurysm, also likely to develop. Cannot state for certain what asari meld will do. Severe blood pressure elevation likely, must administer preemptive adrenergic blockers."
"I will be gentle, Mordin." Samara put her cloak on the table as she seated herself between Miranda and Heather.
"Will maintain close observation, just in case." Mordin seated himself behind Samara, waving at the air to produce a pair of medical drones that hovered in behind each sister.
Samara sat cross legged and breathed deeply. "The meld will perform more smoothly if both participants are willing. Are you willing to join with Miranda, Heather Lawson?"
Heather nodded without replying. She had some difficulty coming to terms with Mordin's diagnosis, but she had always known that she would not live beyond forty. Her sisters, despite having been decapitated by their insane brother, had been deteriorating rapidly as they turned thirty five, some earlier. Unlike Miranda she had been relegated to kept under watch, studied for further appearances of defective phenotypes, pricked and prodded until the whole of them had escaped. It had been Miranda's doing, after she had discovered her clone sisters, she had engineered a plan to liberate everyone from their Father's clutches. And it had succeeded for a while. But the clone sisters were relatively poorly educated, frail and ultimately became a burden to Miranda. They soon became prey to life, and then to their brother.
Heather felt the cool touch of the Asari on her temples.
"Embrace Eternity." came the distant soothing voice, as she drifted off.
Heather felt herself become a spectator to the play of Miranda's life. The terrors of uncovering the hidden cells lined with copies of her, deteriorating and aging.
A small girl walked past the line of cells, dressed in a smart uniform like dress, clutching tightly a ring of biometric mimicry tools. The girl stopped before the cells, frightened as she looked at the older women. When one of the more mindless women gnashed at the plate glass, the frightened girl scampered off further down the aisle.
Then came the vats of unborn fetuses, some deformed and pulsing, others growing tenderly in the warm amniotic fluid. At the end stood a solitary vat that held a full formed baby. Heather knew instinctively that it was Oriana, the ultimate incarnation of Miranda, drifting in deep slumber. The vat had been simply numbered "Miranda V 2.1".
"Do you like what you see, Miri?" A sudden voice appeared from the shadows. Heather recognized the voice. It belonged to their brother, the eunuch, Marcus. Miranda didn't turn to face him, but he walked up and gripped her shoulder, spinning her around.
"Do you like what you see, Miri?"
Miranda's eyes were filled with terror, lips trembling, unable to speak. "Where's Father?"
"Does Daddy know that little Miri is in the vats?" Marcus cackled.
"Father will kill you if you hurt me." the young Miranda hissed, with venomous spite uncharacteristic of a sweet sixteen.
"Oh, I'm not going to hurt you." Marcus stalked over to one of the fetal vats. He produced a small syringe from his pocket.
"What-"
Ignoring her, he injected the full amount into the receiver. The two of them watched as plumes of violet wrapped about the fetal form as it twitched violently.
"Perfection." Marcus hissed. "I only found this vat a few years ago. It's so difficult to reach with all his cronies watching my every move. It's his obsession, and now it's become mine. I'm going to make them Purrfect."
"Stop!" Miranda shouted. A small alarm went off from the vat that he had injected his syringe.
"Time to go, Miri." Marcus began walking away. "Daddy won't like it if he's found you've been playing with his toys."
Life blurred away as Heather found herself in a dark alley. Ran dripping from the rails, sputtering down to the dirty streets. She couldn't smell anything, but dank sweat. It must be what Miranda had been smelling.
A man was on his knees, trembling, head bowed low. At his neck a long katana extended to the grip of another man, artful in his pose as he held the blade lightly with finesse. The sword bearer, handsome with a thick mane of hair dragged into a loose pony tail wore a smirk of derision. In his other hand he held a projector which beamed the presence of a well groomed gentleman with shimmering eyes.
"Miss Lawson." the sandy voice interrupted the silence. "Kai Leng tells me that this is all you need. An interesting bargain, if I may say so."
"I don't see his head rolling." Miranda appeared from behind Heather, now full grown, beautiful, walking with precise and calculated steps. Miranda looked down at the figure huddled on the ground, reached down and grasped a handful of his hair before abruptly jerking it upwards.
It was Marcus, his face was skewed and broken, but Marcus nevertheless.
"Miri!" Marcus screamed. "Please. Don't do this!"
Miranda nodded at the assassin and turned away. Heather could not see the action, probably because Miranda did not witness the act of decapitation.
"I am pleased to see that you are everything they told me about." the hologram smiled.
"And what is that?"
"Perfection." the hologram shimmered into a wisp.
The assassin booted over the decapitated body, tumbling it sideways.
"The shuttle is in the back, Lawson." The assassin walked past her. "Welcome to Cerberus."
Life blurred away into a mixture of feelings, troubles and anxieties. Heather watched as stars exploded, Quarian life ships crashed, and ships roar above her in glittering star beams.
She found herself in the vats again. This time filled with women whom she didn't recognize. They all bore the same face, about half a dozen of them. It was a sterile lab room. Unlike Father's dark metallic dungeon, it was clean and white. The logo of the three headed dog, orange and black, plastered sparsely. The man from the hologram stood there in the flesh, observing the slab where a charred and burnt corpse lay.
The assassin was with him again, his sword drawn, lazily circling the floor, etching marks with a quiet scraping noise. Miranda and a bald man stood next to the slab, while a dark skinned woman held the restraints of one of the clones from the vat.
The woman, one of the clones, seemed sedated and drowsy, but still managed to struggle against the restraints. She was skinny and pasty white. Dark hair tied into a pony tail. Through the drug haze the woman managed to flash a venomous look with her green eyes.
"Not good enough, Agent Lilium." It was the leader from the hologram. His unmistakable sandy voice. The leader, whom Heather could now see, actually had weird shining eyes, which roved up and down the struggling woman.
"I don't see why not, sir." Agent Lilium appraised the clone with a cold English accent that betrayed no fondness for the product. "She is in every sense Commander Shepard."
"It's not all there, now, is it?" The leader tapped his temple.
"But she's the perfect specimen." Agent Lilium persisted. "I've corrected all the defects. She's faster, stronger and smarter than Shepard would ever be."
"I don't want a 'better' Shepard, Agent Lilium." the Leader turned away. "Despite my misgivings, none of your 'perfect' clones were able to best Leng. None of your 'perfect' clones were able to survive the 'maze', either. I have a string of corpses and no results. Something is not there."
"She can be trained." Agent Lilium defended her product.
The assassin smirked behind the leader.
"Stop scratching my floor, Leng." Miranda snapped. Miranda replied instead of the leader. "We don't need a clone, Agent Lilium. We need the genuine Commander Shepard."
"That's impossible." the bald man, behind Miranda, stammered.
"It has simply never been done before." Miranda shrugged, then turning to the leader. "But it is possible."
"And what of these clones." Agent Lilium asked, exasperated.
"Use them for spare parts." shrugged the Leader. Somehow, sensing danger, the clone suddenly jerked up from her seat, knocking Agent Lilium to the floor. The clone then bolted to the door, but was soon tripped by the assassin, who deftly plunged his blade into her back.
Miranda frowned in disgust.
"Don't do that again." the Leader warned the assassin.
The assassin shrugged and sheathed his weapon as blood began to pool on the floor.
"Miss Lawson," the Leader turned to Miranda. "Begin project Lazarus. Use these clones for parts if you need to. But I want Shepard back alive from the dead. Not from some vat. Understood?"
"Of course, sir." Miranda smiled. "I don't like vats."
Heather now found her self in empty space. Death was closing in on her. She dreamed of her funeral, no one attending her grave but Miranda.
"What is perfection, Miri?" Heather sighed, her body began to crumble to dust as she spoke.
"Perfection is a myth, Heather." Miranda replied. Somehow, Heather sensed that she was talking to the actual Miranda, no longer a construct of memory. "I don't think it actually exists."
Heather was crumbling to ashes, flakes of her falling away.
"Aren't you perfect, Miranda?" Heather wished Miranda was perfect. All her life she lived as an imperfection, knowing her younger siblings would always outlast her. It had been a jealous thought, but it had been her faith nonetheless. But before her eyes, Miranda also began to crumble, slowly becoming dust.
"Of course, I am." Miranda smiled. "So are you."
- May, 2186
Major Antella nodded at Admiral Hayes and Ashley Williams as they entered the observation room.
"Caleb Antella, Admiral." Major Antella saluted Hayes. He shook hands with each of them, before indicating the large screen that showed Miranda Lawson in restraints. "Good job, Lieutenant Commander."
"Thank you, sir." Ashley nodded. "Do you think we can get to the bottom of this?"
Antella nodded, confidently. "I've been looking into Shepard's alleged 'resurrection', since she first turned up on our scopes last year. I've contacted Admiral Hackett immediately, but I've been blackballed from investigating further. And then the Bahak system was wiped off the maps."
"This is a highly trained Cerberus agent, Major." Hayes advised caution. "We may never get another chance if you break her too much."
"It would be easier if we could just use some of our tools on Shepard." Antella advised. "I assure you, that is the best way to be certain."
"Don't you dare." Ashley flared up a moment, unable to contain herself.
"Woah!" Antella held up his hands. "You've got a Shepard-ist here, Admiral. You think it wise to let her in on this?"
"I personally vouch for Ash." Hayes nodded sincerely. "But interrogating Shepard is out of the question. She is still seen as a hero among the people, especially the aliens. I don't want to cause a political mess by releasing a slobbering shell back to her mother."
"Understood, Admiral." Antella got up and entered the interrogation room.
"Ma'am?" Ashley asked Hayes cautiously.
"Don't worry Ash. We won't harm Shepard." Hayes replied. "But I want you to set your priorities straight. You have no idea how much I hold Messalina Shepard dear to my heart. She was like a grand-daughter to me."
Hayes's voice tinged with some semblance of regret, as she exhaled deeply.
"But I hold the Alliance dearer." Hayes's eyes returned to a steely coldness that even Ash had never seen. "I can't have an unprincipled rogue running around the Galaxy taking matters into her own hand. Whether she is a clone, or a mind controlled Cerberus agent, or just her plain old self, Messalina Shepard has become a liability to the safety and security of humanity."
Ashley was taken aback, stunned. "You're not seeking the truth?"
Hayes turned on the young officer grimly. "What is the truth, Ash? You don't know even half the truth."
Hayes turned back to the interrogation, as Antella began injecting truth serum into the subject.
"She was a mistake." Hayes whispered cryptically.