Mass Effect 3: Fate of the Galaxy

by GhostWriter83

In 2186 the Reapers attacks the galaxy and Commander Shepard leads the crew of the SSV Normandy (SR-2) against the Reapers, traitors and Cerberus in a war for survival. At the tip of the spear, Shepard must uncover the secrets of the protheans and the Reapers to halt the unstoppable force of terror. Cover by Elisa-Gallion on Deviantart.

38. The Perfect Spy

Gabby and Kenneth were seated in the mess hall eating breakfast with the rest of the day shift early in the morning. This was the first proper time they had socialized with the rest of the crew as they had eaten before everyone else the day before so they could help Adams with installing and testing the new thermal pipe. And now they looked like proper Alliance personnel as both were wearing regular Alliance colored BDUs.

The two engineers had been working hard with Adams, and monitoring the drive core levels had been a Herculean task and Adams was happy with additional people to assist him. Although Kenneth had been butting heads with the Lieutenant for some time, the Scotsman had a very casual mindset concerning ranking officers. Gabby on the other hand was getting along fine with Adams.

Both Gabby and Kenneth were colony kids, their respective families had moved to the Outer Colonies in the late 2160s. While Kenneth's family hailed from Scotland - he still had a deep Scottish drawl - they had settled on the semi-independent mining planet Longshore, while Gabby and her family had left North American and settled on Tuphium, also in the Traverse and another semi-independent world. It was not until they joined the Alliance in the early 2180s where the two met.

Their families were safe for now...but both engineers were worried. Everyone was.

There was causal chatter amongst the crew, while others sat quiet and focused on their food.

Jones was seated in front of the two engineers and looked up and asked cautiously, "So…you guys served here last year?"

Word had apparently spread somehow.

Gabby looked up from her food and nodded, "We did, we were here for Commander Shepard to take down the Collectors."

"But…Cerberus?" Jones asked and took a bite from his fork.

"We didn't know much beyond the Lazarus cell, as we were called," Gabby explained. "We learned of despicable actions by Cerberus as Shepard shut down one other cell whose project had gone awry, and then there was another instance of an abandoned Cerberus project we visited. Both Ken and I served in the Navy for a few years until after the Battle of the Citadel."

"Aye, that's when the Illusive Man heard of me because I had been vocal against the Alliance for their attitude against the Commander, and I brought Gabby with me," Kenneth said.

"There appear to be a lot of former Alliance types within Cerberus," Dieter mused next to Jones.

Gabby shrugged, "Disillusioned types that are drawn to something that they think is better, I guess. Thankfully we saw reason."

Dieter explained, "We had two guards that…got hung up on Cerberus – and especially our XO. You two missed that."

"Oh?" Kenneth asked.

"Yeah, they were always bitching about Cerberus and a bunch of crazy conspiracies what the Commander had done in the past."

Jones chimed in, "Well, I'm glad that's done. It got a little too much after a while. The Commander kicked them out yesterday."

Kenneth interjected chipper and gestured dismissively, "Hey, I know all that was important. But is Miranda Lawson aboard?"

"Eh…yes," Jones answered curiously.

Kenneth almost salivated, "Does she still wear that fine cat suit?" He continued dreamy, "Everything was so bouncy…"

Gabby exclaimed annoyed, "Kenneth!"

The Scotsman didn't take any notice of his fellow engineer.

Dieter snickered, "Well, she doesn't wear it that much anymore…but she does look fine."

Kenneth chuckled, "That she does."

"Thank god we showed up in time for the coup so the Commander and the team could respond," Jones said relieved, changing the subject.

Dieter nodded, "On one hand I'm not surprised Cerberus launched something like this. Remember Mars? Or the bomb on Tuchanka? They've been trying to disrupt everything."

"Yeah, I wonder how long they can keep it up. Sooner or later they have to run out of cannon fodder."

Kenneth agreed, "One can hope."

---

Shepard was sitting in the couch in the lounge and going over the last parts of the documents on his laptop sent by the asari General.

He glanced over at the bed with a smile, Miranda was still sleeping soundly and breathing softly, she was likely tired after their evening and hadn't even woken up when he had disappeared to the shower and changed to a new set of clothes. She apparently felt safe enough for her to sleep so soundly. The bed sheets were lazily draped over her body and her long slender naked legs were visible.

Shepard turned his attention to his computer and spent a couple of minutes reading. When he was done he quickly compiled a mailing list of those he'd bring along to Lesuss, even Ashley, and sent the files to the recipient's e-mails on the ship's intranet. He had yet decided what to do with Ashley, he was annoyed at her behavior. But he did recognize that if he kicked Ashley of the ship it would raise further concerns with Hackett regarding Miranda, thus he intended to keep Ashley aboard.

Shepard sighed, if Ashley only had behaved. But Shepard knew that Ashley and he had never managed to resolve anything, there were always things that interrupted. They had to sit down and talk things through if they were ever going to reconcile.

Shepard's musings stopped when he heard Miranda wake up under the sheets. She looked at his place in bed and curiously noted he wasn't there.

Shepard said softly, "Good morning."

Miranda looked over her shoulder and her tangled hair and saw him seated in the couch. She sat up and the bed sheet fell away, presenting her naked and perfectly round and abundant breasts which hung proudly.

Shepard couldn't help but to smile even more at his beautiful woman.

"Morning," Miranda responded with a cute yawn as she stretched her back and arms. She dropped her arms down and pulled the cover over her legs. She looked up and noted his stare and smiled saucily at him, "Hmmm, eager for me again, are we?"

Shepard shrugged and feigned indifference, "Eh, I thought your performance was pretty lackluster."

Miranda's eyes widened and she exclaimed offended, "Lackluster!? What? You were head over heels satisfied last night!" Miranda grabbed a pillow behind her and flung it in Shepard's direction who defended himself and swatted it away into the couch with a chuckle.

She huffed, "That's a fine way of complimenting a lady!"

Shepard chuckled with a wide smirk, "Well, what you did last night was not very lady like…"

"Hmph, I happen to love passionate sex," Miranda said indignantly and crossed her arms.

"I do to," Shepard reassured her. "Truth to be told I have things to attend to so…" Shepard grinned, "Maybe later?"

Miranda feigned being agitated, "Not happening, lover boy."

"You were magnificent," Shepard tried with an appreciative smile.

"I'm sorry, I don't speak never-gets-sex-again," Miranda taunted.

The two lovers looked at each other for a few moments and they broke out in a fit of laughter at their antics.

"Can I have the pillow back?" Miranda said with a smile a few moments later and gestured.

"Sure," Shepard said and reached for it and tossed it back. Miranda grabbed it and put it back in its place behind her.

Miranda shook her head, "You're annoying."

"I am," Shepard reaffirmed with a grin.

"What are you doing?"

"Finished with the Lesuss-files and sent it out. You'll have some reading too do."

"Okay," Miranda said and lied back down in the bed, she pulled the cover her and looked up in the ceiling and the window above with the blue-shifted contrails of FTL-flight outside in the vacuum.

Miranda felt rested and elated after their evening of passion, Ashley Williams was out of her system but she still hated feeling so exposed. She didn't like that the Citadel had knowledge about the Udina/Cerberus files, but she accepted that she was a known commodity within the Alliance Intelligence Service considering Cerberus had been a black ops organization part of the AIS. But she definitely didn't like that Shepard's ex had read them as well. It made her feel so...violated.

No…Williams wasn't entirely out of her system, Miranda concluded afflicted.

Miranda swallowed a lump in her throat and said, "John, can you come here for a moment." She needed his embrace.

Shepard heard her upset tone and closed his laptop. He rose from the couch and walked over and asked concerned, "What's wrong, Miri?"

She patted his part of the bed, "Just hold me for a while."

Shepard pulled of his boots and lied down on top of their bed and wrapped his arms around her and held her close. Miranda rested her head on his shoulder and unbuttoned a few buttons and slid a hand in under his shirt and softly caressed his abdomen with her fingertips.

Shepard asked softly, "What is it?"

"I realized yesterday that Williams has read the files Udina had. She knows a lot about my past," Miranda explained emotional.

Shepard asked softly, "Did you read the files?"

Miranda nodded and said afflicted, "A bit. At first glance it appears Cerberus had detailed quite a lot about my years as an operative, although everything was focused on…well my undercover missions which highlight my…seductive abilities." She sighed, "No wonder Council members thought I might be a threat and manipulated you. Cerberus had removed a lot and there was a lot of fabrication and lies, but there's enough truth to make it all feel uneasy for me."

"I understand how you feel, Miri. I'm sorry, but not much can be done about it."

Miranda propped her head on her elbow so she could look into Shepard's eyes and said solemnly, "And Williams knows more about me than you do…" Her voice trailed off.

Shepard leaned up and planted a kiss on her lips, "It's alright, you can tell me when you want to."

He returned to rest his head on the pillow and turned to his side to face Miranda. She shifted position as well and faced Shepard who gazed with concern at her. He slid an arm under the sheet and her naked body to caress her back softly.

Miranda looked into his eyes for several minutes. Neither talked and Miranda took comfort in Shepard's presence. Miranda contemplated what had happened in the last few days, she also acknowledged that John was a much more open person then she was, but he really only shared with a select few people – which she was undoubtedly part of – but he could still be reluctant, and she was reluctant as well. Sharing her past – especially some of the sins she'd done for Cerberus – had always been a struggle thus why she hadn't revealed much.

She took a deep breath and decided to take the plunge and open up a bit.

"I remember my first ever mission," Miranda said slowly. "I had spent two years in espionage and intelligence gathering training and then I spent two years attending Harvard and studied business strategy, law, economics, galactic culture, political sciences as well as getting a PhD in Biomedical Engineering. All paid for by Cerberus. After graduation I was assigned to Cord-Hislop's financial department as a cover for my upcoming first real assignment, by now I was twenty as the Illusive Man didn't want to send a child out into the field."

Shepard said nothing but listened intently, lending silent support to her.

Miranda explained methodically, "At that point, as we were a Council associate race, human corporations could compete for contracts and Paramax Communications had won a profitable deal to develop a state-of-the-art communications encryption suite for C-Sec. In truth, a lot of political favors had been pulled to at least let a human corporation compete about the contract. The system was actually quite good, up to the same standards as any of the systems offered by the dozen of alien corporations, and would make it difficult for outsiders to hack C-Sec's networks – the Illusive Man thought otherwise. So the lead programmer, Charles Carmichael, was targeted. We wanted a backdoor into C-Sec, so I was sent to the Citadel as we had learned that he would be there for a few days of bug-testing before the system went online. We also learned that C-Sec would hold a party on the second night in the hotel where the Paramax programmers stayed and that would be an excellent opportunity to gain access."

Miranda began telling her first mission for Cerberus.

---

Miranda was in the hotel's expensive bar full of people of all kinds of races having a lot of fun and enjoying drinks. There was a large crowd dancing on the big dance floor while loud music boomed out of the speakers and holographic spotlights flickered colorfully in the ceiling.

Miranda spotted the target at the bar on a stool sipping on an expensive drink. He was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt underneath, he had short dark hair, dark brown eyes and an olive skin complexion. He was barely in his thirties, although considerably older than Miranda, and Carmichael clearly visited the gym regularly as he had a solid frame and broad shoulders. He was quite attractive in Miranda's eyes and she wouldn't mind to indulge herself if the opportunity presented itself, but she had other more pressing matters to attend to.

She had done her homework and knew he was a sociable and honorable man, yet a little too trustworthy despite his profession in keeping company secrets but apparently he took such things serious. Cerberus intelligence had learned a lot about him, and had advised that Carmichael favored blondes with an outgoing personality, so for this mission Miranda had dyed her hair and played the part of Sarah, a sultry Australian party girl on the Presidium looking for fun. For tonight's escapades Miranda wore a tight, light blue exquisite strapless mid-thigh cocktail dress with a low cut showing off her cleavage and the short skirt showed of her gorgeous long legs. No male human heterosexual specimen would be able to take his eyes of her or function cohesively once Miranda turned on her charms.

The plan was simple; Miranda would make contact, chat for a bit and manipulate Carmichael to bring her up to his room, once there she would seduce him and slip him a drug to knock him out so she could go to work. She would upload various bugs in any and all electronic devices she could find, especially his personal datapad and omni-tool. The handheld omni-tool device was stored in Carmichael's expensive wrist watch which was a common place for it to be stored in; other means to keep the omni-tool on one's person was through bracelets or armbands of any sort. Once the uploaded program was within range of C-Sec's wireless intranet, the bugs would activate and mine the network and beam back access codes to Cerberus.

Cerberus had people on the inside of Paramax who had fed information on Carmichael, and Cerberus knew that C-Sec had requested information on Carmichael's devices he would bring with him so these devices could be added to the network and the list of trusted instruments allowed within C-Sec, hence why Cerberus knew to go after Carmichael and his devices. With the loyalty within the human community, Cerberus also had a fake identity, birth record and employment set up for Miranda, and with the ability to make forged Council-standard medicards and identitags, Cerberus had a solid background and story in place for Miranda, she was as ready as she could be.

Miranda purposefully walked in a brisk pace, swaying her hips approaching the bar, here the music wasn't as loud which made it possible for a conversation. She got several looks from male passersby but ignored them. At the bar she took a seat on a stool near Carmichael and crossed a leg over the other.

The bartender, a turian, approached Miranda, "Something to drink, ma'am?"

"Yes, a glass of rosé," Miranda replied sweetly. "From Earth if you have."

The turian nodded and quickly grabbed a wine glass and poured wine into it.

While waiting for the wine, Miranda kept a casual outward appearance but was on the constant lookout for C-Sec observers - the bartender could have very well been one - Shadow Broker agents and likely STG spies. Cerberus wasn't the only one interested in getting access to C-Sec's networks. And having a party for the programmers on the same hotel they lived on would make it easier for C-Sec to observe the programmer's social interactions because of their sensitive work. Miranda had to be careful.

The bartender placed the glass in front of Miranda.

"Thank you," she said as her omni-tool activated and beeped, indicating that the bar was going to charge her for the wine. Miranda tapped her omni-tool and accepted the bill.

Miranda took a sip of the wine; it had a fresh flavor and likely was from France. Since the end of First Contact, the asari had adopted rosé-recipes to make their own version of it but Miranda had never found the taste quite as good and preferred those from Earth. With a quick glance Miranda noted that her target had indeed noticed her presence.

Miranda put down the glass and shot him a glance with a smirk, "Something I can help you with?"

Carmichael was caught in the moment, "I was just-"

"Taking a peek?" Miranda offered with a smile.

"Am I that obvious?" Carmichael gibed with a hint of teasing sarcasm. "I'd say half the club likely watched you enter the premise."

Miranda shrugged coyly, "Maybe."

"Do you also stay in the hotel? Or do you live on the Citadel?"

Miranda turned on the seat to face Carmichael, "No to both. I'm visiting the Citadel, I'm due to head back to Earth tomorrow. Are you staying here long?"

"A week," Carmichael replied.

Miranda extended her hand and smiled warmly, "Sarah."

"Charles," the unwitting target said smiling back. "But my parents call me Chuck and so does my friends."

"Wow, I didn't think people still named their kids Chuck," Miranda teased and took a sip of her wine.

Carmichael quipped, "My parents were sadists."

"So, what do you do, Charles?" Miranda asked with a pleasant smile.

"Computer programming. You?"

"I work for Cord-Hislop with their financial department."

Carmichael looked at Miranda with an amused look, "Hmm, I'm trying to place your accent…New Zealand?"

Miranda giggled, "Close, but no. Australia actually. And where do you hail from?"

Carmichael drank some of his drink and said, "Burbank, California."

"Oh, I love America, sweetie," Miranda cooed. "I was born in Campbelltown outside Sydney. Before I came here my girlfriends threw me a wild day. We went to a club in Miami and then another one in Vegas, and then an afterhours spot in Hollywood."

"Quite the traveler."

Miranda nodded and peered at him, "Definitely, with the wonders of modern technology I can go coast to coast in one evening, or even another continent, and party away. And I love the Presidium, so many clubs to visit, so little time."

"So what got you to come to this hotel?" Carmichael asked curious.

"I was somewhat afraid to leave the Presidium and venture into the wards," Miranda explained. "There are not many humans living here, and you will stick out like a sore thumb."

"I understand," Carmichael said sympathetically. "And I haven't seen that many humans here, but definitely more have come here in the last few years now."

"Hmm, yes. And I was tired of the clubs on the Citadel, I can't have fun without an asari trying to chat me up. I wandered around and found this party which had at least some humans present."

"Yeah, we're a few here on business," Carmichael said.

Miranda said with a sly smile, "But I'm here for pleasure. I figured this would be a good place to get a drink." She added with a sexy wink, "And maybe even get lucky before I have to leave tomorrow."

With Miranda's charm turned up they fell into a comfortable conversation, the two got along well and they talked about a wide range of topics but Miranda steered it towards light topics to ease Carmichael and manipulate him in the right direction, which wasn't hard considering the amount of alcohol he consumed and the glances he gave below her neckline. The conversation soon detoured in a much raunchier direction and they laughed and had a great time as the time ticked by.

Miranda, who had sent him signals all evening, had moved the stool a bit closer earlier and said with a smile, "I'm glad you looked my way, Chuck. Not sure my evening would have been so enjoyable otherwise."

Carmichael chuckled, "Well, you are hard to miss, Sarah. You're an attractive and fun woman." He enthused, "And your accent…"

Miranda knew she wouldn't necessarily have heard those words freely from Carmichael without the alcohol they'd consumed, but compared to Carmichael, Miranda's senses hadn't faltered. After all, thanks to her perfect genes she could process alcohol faster than most people. Plus she hadn't consumed as much alcohol as Carmichael had.

Miranda leaned forward a bit, displaying her charms for Carmichael and reached out with her hand on his lap and squeezed with a saucy smile, "Thanks, Chuck. I like being…appreciated." She spoke the last word slowly to emphasize it.

Carmichael's nostrils flared a bit at her actions.

Jackpot, Miranda thought victoriously.

Miranda continued and held his gaze, "How about we share a drink in your room. It's a lot closer than my quaint little hotel."

Carmichael tried to remain cool, "Sure. Why not? I was getting sick of the loud music anyway."

Miranda murmured saucily, "Me too."

The couple left the bar for a nearby elevator lobby and took an elevator up to Carmichael's hotel suite on the 20th floor. The 40 story hotel towered high over the busy boulevards of the Presidium, a tall building made of spirals in a cigar-shaped construction encased in diamond patterned and tinted high optical quality composite, giving those staying in the exquisite hotel a grand vista of the freshwater lake and the rolling fields of grass which ran the length of the lake below.

Arriving on the 20th floor, Carmichael led the way to his suite and opened the door for Miranda who gracefully stepped into the hall of the luxury suite with a smile.

Indeed, C-Sec spared no expense for the programmers who would finalize the encryption software. But the hotel was one of the more luxurious ones on the Presidium so the luxury style was expected.

The suite, as well as the rest of the hotel, was of asari design. The hall led into a spacious lounge with a large thin television screen on the wall, two large black cushioned couches placed around a sturdy glass table, there were some unknown plants placed near the glazed walls which could turn opaque for added privacy. There was also a varied assortment of furnitures, cabinets and shelves throughout the room and elegant lamps, both standing on the floor and one hanging in the roof, the lights of course turned on automatically when the sensors detected movement.

"Amazing," Miranda said playing her part walking further in, surveying her surroundings. But she was quite amazed and appreciated the luxury of it all.

The door closed behind Carmichael who followed behind.

"Indeed," Carmichael said. "The Jacuzzi also adds a nice flavor to the suite."

Miranda turned with a sultry smile, "Oh? Interesting possibilities arise. Where is it?"

Carmichael gestured to the right of the room and Miranda wandered off to a half closed door and opened it to disappear into what was the bathroom. Indeed there was a Jacuzzi there large enough for two. There was a wide sink in an elegant white vibrant color displaying soaps, shampoos and lotions, and in the corner of the bathroom there was a quite spacious shower surrounded by frosted glass.

Miranda turned to Carmichael behind her, she easily noted his hungry eyes. She shot him a wink and a grin, "So where's that drink, Chuck?"

He was clearly unable to take his eyes of the young woman and it took a few seconds before he reacted, "Hmm? Oh…yes of course. This way."

She noted the slight disappointment in him, he likely had other thoughts.

They returned to the lounge and Carmichael walked over to a mini bar on the other side of the room, it was a bar counter with four bar stools in front, with various cabinets and shelves with bottles of alcohol, glasses and other assortments of items needed to mix drinks.

Miranda sat down on a bar stool and crossed a leg over the other.

Carmichael turned and smiled, "So what will you have?"

"Hmm…" Miranda pondered. "An Orgasm?" She bit her lower lip and giggled, "There's no feeling in the world like it."

Neither her comment nor her flirty behavior went unnoticed by Carmichael.

Carmichael grinned, "I'll have that mended soon enough."

"I hope so, "Miranda teased. "I'll be waiting eagerly for the drink on the couch." She rose from the stool and crossed the short distance to the group of couches, swaying her hips appropriately while her target went to work on the drinks, while simultaneously eyeing the sexy blonde who had now seated herself in the couch.

It didn't take long until the drinks were finished and he made his way towards Miranda and presented the drink to her.

"Thanks sweetie," Miranda beamed and grabbed the glass and took a sip from it. She hummed, "Delicious."

"I aim to please," Carmichael teased and sat down close to her with a glass of his own and drank from it.

"Oh, that sounds very promising, Chuck," Miranda murmured huskily with a grin and another sip from the drink.

"It was a good idea we left the club," Carmichael began. "So we could get to know each other a little better."

"Very…" Miranda said with a gorgeous smile.

Carmichael grinned, "I intend to take advantage of that opportunity." He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her even closer.

Miranda put away her glass on the coffee table and cooed, "Are you trying to take advantage of me, Chuck?"

"How did you know?" Carmichael teased.

Miranda took away Carmichael's glass and placed it on the table. She leaned closer and spoke huskily, "Call it a woman's intuition…but this is just sex, Chuck. I'm not looking for a relationship."

Chuck said under his breath, "One night deal."

Miranda hummed huskily, "My kind of man…"

She moved to straddle him, pushing him down on the couch while her hands slipped down to caress his abdomen as Carmichael moved his hands to grope her ass. Miranda mashed their lips together while she moaned into his mouth, her tongue wrapped around his and slowly sucked, lulling his already drunken mind deeper.

They parted and she rose from him and grabbed his hand. She dragged a grinning Carmichael up from the couch and led him to the master bedroom which had a king-size bed adorned with a handful of pillows and a soft bed cover. There was a small working desk in the corner with a cushioned chair but more importantly for Miranda, Carmichael's laptop and datapad were on the desk.

Arriving at the edge of the bed Miranda turned and grabbed Carmichael by his suit and yanked him to her in another passionate kiss. Miranda's hands was quickly removing his dinner jacket and tugging on his shirt with his help. Her mission was at the foremost of her mind, but she did enjoy the kissing and sexual tension, despite her mission her arousal was growing and she had a tingly sensation within her.

Carmichael threw away the shirt and they fell into the soft bed. As Carmichael was topless this gave Miranda a moment to study him. Carmichael had a mix of vigorous handsomeness and innocence as her eyes roamed his chest and abdomen. It had been quite some time since Miranda had sex and she decided to use this opportunity to the fullest. They soon started kissing anew, sucking and biting each other's tongues. Miranda locked her legs around his waist and swiftly turned them around in the bed so she was on top, continuing their kissing and caressing and she began to unbuckle Carmichael's belt.

Despite Miranda's aversion of being used like this by Cerberus for espionage purposes, she needed to prove herself to Cerberus who had gone to great lengths to educate and train her the past four years, she wanted to be a part of something greater and protect humanity. By climbing the career ladder she could use her skills to better serve humanity than through sex. Miranda's rigorous conditioning and training had allowed her to suppress any sort of feelings and control her emotions, to focus on the assignment. She would transform into a focused and clinical operative regardless of the mission. But despite her training this was all a new experience and she had mix of excitement and anxiety as her adrenaline was pumping within her, for this was her first real mission, but she had outmost confidence in herself and her abilities. She knew what she was doing.

Both of them later lied spent together in the bed, their bodies sticky of sweat, both trying to catch their breaths, and Miranda was actually quite content with such a release she had experienced. But now her plan was to start in earnest as her hands slowly caressed Carmichael's toned arms then moved from caressing his abdomen up his chest and behind his neck. She captured a surprised Carmichael's lips in another passionate kiss.

On her left ring finger she had a specially crafted ring with a tiny needle behind a lid. With a careful flick of her thumb on the ring the needle was revealed. She clasped her hands on the base of Carmichael's neck and with a quick press of her ring finger the small needle was buried in his neck, injecting the powerful sedative which would knock him out for the reminder of the night a couple of minutes later.

Carmichael made a low muffled gasp when the needle struck and pulled back, ending their passionate kiss, he didn't know what happened.

Miranda quickly closed the lid with her thumb and appeared perplexed, "What's wrong sweetie?" She teased and winked playfully, "Am I to forceful?"

"Something pinched my neck," Carmichael explained rubbing his neck.

Miranda moved her offending hand eyelevel with his eyes and said innocently, "I'm sorry. Maybe my ring got caught in a strand of hair or something."

Carmichael didn't want to dwell further it appeared and lustfully looked at Miranda, "Perhaps."

Miranda grinned and said sexily, "I know just the thing to express my forgiveness…"

Carmichael chuckled and he leaned in for a new kiss. While they continued Miranda began to notice Carmichael succumbing to the drug, his actions and breathing become heavier and slower, thus Miranda slowed down as well and soon Carmichael had fallen to the sedative.

Miranda made a sigh and rolled off him and pulled the bed cover over them. There was a chance the room could have been under surveillance and Miranda couldn't risk walking around and physically tamper with Carmichael's devices and she continued playing her role, now annoyed that her pick-up had fallen asleep due to exhaustion. With the bed cover over her she accessed her omni-tool in low visibility-mode and with a double tap of a hot-key the hacking program began to install through the wireless network of all devices present in the room. The omni-tool was visually turned off but continued its work. And thanks to Cerberus' moles within Paramax she had all the passwords she needed to gain root access to Carmichael's devices in order to hide the Cerberus program.

It was necessary for the victim to think his passing out was natural, and the messy state of the bed and the odor of sex was needed to sell what had just happened, otherwise it would raise alarms. The whole encounter had to be believable to Carmichael and any C-Sec onlookers. So Miranda's seduction mission had to be well played all the way through. Anything suspicious and C-Sec would take notice.

Once the installation was complete Miranda made herself scarce a couple of hours later; retaining a messy makeup, mussed up hair and dress. Maybe the hotel suite wasn't under surveillance, but other parts of the hotel could have cameras and recording devices and some of the hotel staff could very well be C-Sec agents, a natural walk of shame with said appearance was vital as she left the suite and the hotel. Miranda reported to no one as she made her way to her own hotel room, she could after all be followed. She quickly showered, cleaned up any DNA in her room and grabbed her bags and hopped on the flight her identity had back to Earth. And once she departed her flight on a busy spaceport in Berlin, Miranda disappeared. She could likely never use that identity on the Citadel ever again, it was one of several she had, but it could still be used in other places.

---

When Miranda was done with her story she took a deep breath. Shepard had listened quietly as she described her first mission. Miranda gazed into his warm blue eyes that had not once wavered from her. He still held her close and caressed her. She actually felt kind of good to have opened up like that, telling him a bit about herself and her Cerberus career. Although, that was one of the cleaner assignments she had carried out. But she was scared; she adored John, but wondered if her sins of the past could break their relationship, and she had done more in Cerberus than just use her seductive skills, but sometimes flirting and charming men was second nature in social settings for her; she had done it to bate Vega when he hit on her the first day she was aboard the Normandy. When he approached her she was pleased thinking it was Shepard but immediately shut down seeing Vega, going into 'aloof Miranda'-mode. When he flirted she was annoyed but quickly thought how to best use the situation and fell back on her habits. She entered 'on the job'-mode and flirted back with Vega before shutting him down.

And on top of that was her private nature; she wasn't used to revealing much, even to John.

Shepard reached up with his free hand and brushed away a lock of hair from her face.

"What a spy story," Shepard said. He quiped, "Think of the memoirs you can write, it'll have everything: a sexy spy, drama, suspense." He grinned, "And Commander Shepard. It'll be a best seller."

Miranda chuckled, she knew he was making a joke, but proclaimed, "I don't think I'd like to put my life out there for everyone to read about."

"I was just joking," Shepard said softly.

She planted a soft kiss on his lips and reassured, "I know, John."

Shepard smiled disarmingly, "Thanks for telling me, but the past is the past, it's not a deal breaker for me Miri if you don't want to reveal much."

Miranda smiled back, "Thanks, John…but it's not fair to leave you out of it either."

"So was the mission a success?"

Miranda nodded, "Yes. Within one solar day Cerberus had full access. The programmer's devices were on the approved list and he could wander in with them, unknowingly of what they contained. The bug erased itself as soon as it had access to C-Sec's networks." Miranda explained. "For ten years we could monitor anything C-Sec did, thus keeping them from interfering in our operations on the Citadel. But ten years later they did an overhaul and a new system was installed, and our bug stopped responding, but by then it didn't matter as there were more humans in C-Sec and more were on Cerberus' payroll."

"Impressive, Ms. Lawson," Shepard said.

Miranda shrugged, "Manipulation was what I did sometimes. And to the general populace that is a bad word, but to those in the espionage world it's not a cynical mindset, it's a proactive approach to exploiting opportunities."

Shepard suddenly pushed her on her back and she uttered a surprised yelp. Shepard settled on top with a sly smile, propped on his arms planted on each side of her. Miranda spread her legs to make room for him.

"It makes one wonder," Shepard began teasingly. "What would the evil Cerberus agent provocateur have done to turn me to Cerberus?"

Shepard suspected it had been difficult for Miranda talking about her past, he knew it was an issue with her, and decided to ease the tension a bit.

Miranda wrapped her arms around Shepard's neck and faintly smiled, "My planning never left the table after the Battle of the Citadel, but emotional manipulation, friendship, romance and sex was to be used to attract you to me and recruit you over to Cerberus. A long term mission." She pondered, "Then you died and the plans were shelved, but once the Collector mission started I was to start anew with seducing you…only I fell for you and defected."

Shepard nodded, "I know, babe. And I suspected that once we became intimate, but as we were on a suicide mission I figured that I had nothing to lose fucking the Cerberus femme fatale." Shepard smiled in love, "And I fell for an amazing woman so I gained a lot." He pondered, "Hmm, I wonder, I was…a lifer in the military, but could I've resisted you? I can't resist you nowadays." Shepard smirked, "I simply can't believe that you Ms. Lawson didn't realize that the state-of-the-art combat suit had such enormous... untapped potential."

Miranda giggled, "Oh really?"

Shepard continued playfully, "Indeed, what would the ruthless curvy Cerberus Operative do if John Shepard was a little stubborn? How to convince him to cooperate?"

Miranda smiled and shook her head at his antics, "You're silly John…"

"I haven't seen you in the suit in quite some time," Shepard kissed her lips softly.

Miranda shrugged, "Maybe it isn't me anymore."

"A woman who has settled down with a boyfriend," Shepard teased.

Miranda faintly smiled again, "It's that to, but I'm not Cerberus anymore."

Shepard hummed thoughtfully, "But I…appreciate its splendor."

Miranda laughed and kissed him, "I know you do." She winked sexily at him, "But don't worry, we can find uses for it."

"Obviously the uniform would be torn in certain strategic places... as a result of combat of course," Shepard said playfully.

Miranda purred, "I'll give you something to do tonight, don't you worry."

"Oh, and what's would that be, you sexy minx?" Shepard smirked and captured her lips in a kiss, their tongues grazed each other and Miranda purred delighted.

"Well, you naughty boy, you just have to wait," Miranda smirked back when they parted. "I ought to shower before I get dressed again…or undressed perhaps." She giggled, "I'm not quite certain which actually."

"If you say so, Ms. Lawson," Shepard grinned. "I'll be eagerly available."

Miranda smiled sultry and whispered huskily, "Mhmm, good boy."

They shared a final kiss before Miranda slid out of the bed and headed towards the shower while Shepard returned to the couch and his duties on the laptop.

---

God, what have I done?

Ashley was seated at the table in the Life Support Room and merely stared at the screen of computer on the table at the moment. She'd awoken a couple of hours earlier and made a quick visit to the mess hall to grab some food and had eaten in her quarters. She hadn't slept very well either because she was anxious about her future aboard the Normandy.

She knew she had crossed the line and believed she would likely be out the airlock within a couple of days on their return from this new mission. Her hopes of fighting the war with her friends, and an excellent group of warriors, was never going to happen. She'd be reassigned to Admiral Hackett and be part of a group of unknowns instead.

She dreaded the thought.

Insulting Lawson won't go over to well with John, Ashley mused upset. And despite Ashley's feelings about Miranda and her reservations of her being aboard and being the Executive Officer, she had started a fight with Shepard's lover. And those last words made Ashley cringe.

Shepard was non-existent in her life, and had been for a long time. There had most definitely been a lot of hurt, anger and resent on both sides. But despite it all she wanted to repair and be friendly…but that was obviously a lost cause by now. She just had to accept what had happened; someone else was with Shepard.

Would she experience love again? Not if she didn't let go of Shepard once and for all. He had done a remarkably better job in moving on than she had.

Ashley sighed. She hadn't even read the briefing packet forwarded by Shepard earlier in the morning. Apparently she had been chosen, alongside Shepard, the prothean and Lawson, for a mission to some planet on the fringes of asari space.

An Ardat-Yakshi monastery? What the hell is an Ardat-Yakshi?

Ashley pondered if she should even bother with reading the files sent to her. She believed that any second she would get notified that she had been replaced on the team and then Shepard would come up and scold her for what she had done.

She shook her head and began reading anyway to pass the time and to sate her curiosity concerning with an Ardat-Yakshi was and why they had taken a detour to this planet.

As she spent time reading the documents she learned things she had never heard off. Ardat-Yakshi was asari with a genetic defect which made them kill those they had sex. That was…astonishing to say the least, and horrific. Shepard's own notes on the Ardat-Yakshi – and that the asari kept it under wraps – definitely suggested it was something the asari wasn't keen on people knowing anything about. And the Reapers were up to something in that monastery. No wonder Shepard had accepted the mission and the detour. Such monstrosities had to be destroyed.

Ashley returned to her own predicament after intently studying the bomb schematics and the detonation sequence. She still wanted to be part of the Normandy, and she had done a major screw up with Lawson. That Shepard hadn't shown up yet was curious.

What annoyed Ashley was Miranda's body and how the rest of her fitted in. Lawson didn't even have to be naked for Ashley to notice that the woman's snug clothes revealed enough of her body that Ashley couldn't fathom the proportions, especially that of her thighs. To even get remotely close to such thighs Ashley had to burn a huge amount of calories in any normal fashion, which in return would shrink a woman's breasts. But Lawson's breasts were…natural? And that was if Ashley was to believe Lawson's own words of course, but Ashley just couldn't wrap her mind around that. It was impossible! The only way for anything not to shrink in order to get such thighs was if the cup size grew to that size in the first place. And the apparent amount of firmness and perfect shape was even more mindboggling. And clearly Lawson's hips and butt had the same qualities.

Ashley herself was a fit woman, but nowhere near Lawson despite that she spent as much time as possible in a gym, preferably several days a week, hour after hour to keep her muscles at the best possible condition. Her military training had rigorously molded her body, and continued to do so. Ashley was a toned, lean and athletic woman with strength and endurance to accomplish any task she was given.

Ashley dropped those thoughts and called out, "Eh…EDI wasn't it?"

She was not used with the continued presence of an AI on the ship.

"Yes, Third Lieutenant Williams?"

"Can you tell me where the Commander is?"

"Standby." A short moment later EDI said, "He is in the Captain's Cabin, Lieutenant Williams."

"Could you ask if it's appropriate of me coming up? It's important."

"Certainly." The AI said and forwarded the request.

---

EDI had just relayed Ashley's request which Shepard had agreed to and EDI then informed Shepard that Ashley was on her way up. Shepard had also asked EDI if there had been any mumblings about Ashley's and Miranda's altercation. Even if EDI didn't know about the confrontation right away, a quick check in her databanks had her up to speed. She then processed other audio and visual recording archives and reported that no one had mentioned the incident so far; the crew seemed oblivious about it.

It was a little 'big brother' having the ability to watch over people with EDI's capabilities, but after the incident with the guards days earlier Shepard needed to be in the loop, and EDI's observations led him to believe no one knew of the incident as according to Miranda it had taken place behind closed doors.

Miranda crossed her arms under her chest and leaned on her hip, she wasn't thoroughly amused that Williams was coming up. She had stepped out of the shower half an hour earlier and was wearing her usual attire of a blouse and snug pants with high-heeled shoes while her hair was as perfect as always after blow-drying it. She locked her eyes on Shepard's, they were standing next to their bed, now adorned with new and fresh bed covers and pillows.

She pressed pointedly, "I don't want her in here. This is our private quarters, our private life."

"I'll talk to her out the hall," Shepard explained.

Miranda nodded appreciatively, "Thank you." Miranda took a breath, "And John?"

"Yes?"

"I…might have baited her towards the end," Miranda revealed.

Shepard raised an eyebrow, "Might have?" He continued sarcastically, "Very diplomatic, Miri."

"Ugh, she irked me so much with her attitude and all the accusations she made. So I baited her, I wanted to put her at her place and push her buttons. That's why it became heated," Miranda explained tiredly.

"Alright…thanks for telling me. I'll see to that this isn't repeated. For everyone's sake," Shepard explained evenly.

"Right."

"And you'll keep it professional?"

"Yes," Miranda responded. She continued softly, "John…a lot of things have happened now, the two Privates and now your ex, and one thing all this have in common is me."

Miranda closed the distance and wrapped her arms around his kneck and looked into his eyes as he slid his arms around her waist.

She continued, "Don't kick her out, if you do it's going to look very bad on you and your decision to keep me aboard. I love how much you support me, I really do, but things can't escalate further. You are, after all, dating someone from Cerberus. That's a pitfall for you, it doesn't look good. The Council might not care, but the Alliance certainly does." She kissed his lips softly, "You shouldn't have brought her aboard to begin with precisely because of what just happened. And I'm not saying this because I'm your girlfriend, it was bound to happen."

Shepard was unable to say anything cohesive, "I'm…I…" He took a deep breath and collected himself, "I'm too lenient on her, aren't I? Because of my past with her I'm unwilling to reprimand her of this entire mess. Plus…well, I'm sleeping with my XO – former Cerberus – who I quasi-kind of maybe, but not really, dumped Williams for." He sighed afflicted, "What a mess this turned into bringing her back…"

Miranda nodded sympathetically, "Yes on all of that, John. I'll do what is best to support you."

Shepard gave her a quick nod of his own and a soft kiss on her lips, "Okay."

He turned for the steps and headed out of their quarters and waited outside near the elevator. Ashley was bound to show up shortly. Shepard leaned against the wall in front of the elevator and saw the floor lights lit up on the interface as the elevator now ascended to the Captain's Cabin and stopped.

The door opened and Ashley stepped out, surprised to see Shepard waiting outside. She walked out and stopped near him. She didn't really know what to do, but Shepard certainly had a disappointed look on his face. The atmosphere between them was stoic at best.

Ashley opted for a salute, their relation was likely not the best at the moment. She greeted evenly, "Commander."

Shepard responded with a salute of his own, "What is it, Williams?"

Ashley said distressed, "I just want to come clean, Commander. Everything with you and me, and your association with Cerberus, but also your new relations…it's been a lot for me to handle. Even after Horizon, neither Anderson nor Hackett gave me much to go on they just said that even if you were with Cerberus you were doing important work." She took a deep breath and continued, "I'm…I'd like to apologize for my behavior last night. It wasn't professional conduct of a junior officer, despite the unorthodox idea of having a non-Alliance member as XO."

"I'm disappointed, Williams," Shepard sighed afflicted. "You told me you'd behave."

Ashley nodded dejected, "I know."

"I do not take attacks on Miranda lightly, do you understand?" Shepard continued strongly, "We already had some problems last week, I do not intend for a repeat again. We have more important things to worry about."

"Garrus told me about the guards yesterday."

"I understand that a lot that has happened in the last year has had its toll on you," Shepard said sympathetically. "Both Miranda and you pushed each other's buttons last night, and Miranda told me she also bated you." He pointed out, "But attacking Miranda like that won't win you many points in my eyes." Shepard sighed, "I try and want to repair things between us."

"I'm sorry. I want this to work to…" Ashley said glum.

"This is best you voice to Miranda," Shepard said and straightened himself from the wall and walked up to the door to the Captain's Cabin. Once it opened after a button press on the interface he called out, "Miranda, could you join us out here?"

A muffled, "Of course," was heard.

A short moment later Miranda appeared next to Shepard and they approached Ashley while the door closed behind them.

Ashley turned to face Miranda, to salvage her friendship with Shepard and her position aboard the Normandy she needed to swallow her pride.

"Ms. Lawson. I'd like to apologize for my unprofessional behavior yesterday. There's a war going on which needs to be won. My behavior is not acceptable regardless of private disputes."

Miranda was surprised by Ashley's words but did note that she apologized for her behavior only, not her words. Not that she expected her to do so. Miranda hadn't even expected her to apologize at all, even if it was likely only half-hearted to save her career. But this was the informal ways of resolving such situations in a military organization, Miranda knew that. It was the politically correct way to handle things.

Miranda decided to be the bigger woman and said evenly, "Apology accepted, Williams. Let's do our duty instead and this won't be a problem."

"I intend to Ms. Lawson," Ashley replied neutrally. Referring to Lawson as Ms. made Ashley cringe internally, but it was something she didn't show. She wouldn't give Lawson the satisfaction.

Shepard interjected commanding, "No more incidents like this, Williams. Do you understand? Disagreements are one thing, but I do not want a rerun of last night again." Shepard looked at both women and stressed commanding, "And that goes to both of you."

"Yes, sir."

"Understood."

"As of now, only we three knew what has happened, sans EDI, and I want to keep it that way," Shepard ordered. "The crew has no idea thanks to that the incident took place behind closed doors."

"I understand, Commander. It won't happen again," Ashley iterated her stance

"Good," Shepard said pleased. He continued, "Dismissed."

Ashley saluted and turned to the elevator while Miranda turned and entered their quarters.

With a press of a button on the interface the elevator door opened and Ashley entered.

Shepard turned to the elevator and called out, "Williams?"

Ashley turned to face Shepard, "Yes?" She stopped in the doorway so the door wouldn't close.

"I'll swing by when I have time, we haven't really resolved anything between us, have we? I think both of us would need to talk things through considering everything that has happened. This is nothing that will be fixed in one conversation, but it'll be a start."

Ashley smiled weakly, "I'd like that."

"Good," Shepard said and smiled back.

"Am I still on the mission?" Ashley asked carefully.

"Yeah, you are. Read up on the files I sent you."

Ashley smiled relieved, "Thanks. I will."

Shepard nodded and returned to the Captain's Cabin and Ashley disappeared behind the closed elevator door.

Inside, Miranda was waiting at the edge of the office table, leaning her butt against it.

She pointed out evenly, "You know, she didn't actually apologize for what she said, only that she said it."

"I know. Are you alright with this?" Shepard asked softly and closed the distance.

Shepard wasn't torn between the two women, but he did recognize that Ashley had been through a lot, and in no small part because of him. After all, they hadn't resolved anything and the wounds were still fresh. He wanted to be friends with her.

Miranda smiled and reached out with her hand to cup his cheek and caressed it lovingly, "Yes. Keep in mind what I've said, John. De-escalate this, for your own good."

Shepard leaned in and kissed her soft lips and Miranda wrapped her arms around his neck and hugged him and Shepard hugged her slim waist.

"Alright then," Shepard whispered in her ear. "Let's go and grab some late breakfast."

"Sounds like a lovely idea," Miranda whispered back.

---

Ashley rode the elevator down to the Cargo Bay, she intended to pick out some weapons from the armory for her to use on missions and also take possession of a weapons locker.

Ashley felt a little better, and Shepard was right, their issues weren't something that would fix itself in one conversation and she intended to redeem herself. She wanted to be on the Normandy, and the first step to do so was to be part of the upcoming mission so she could get back in the game, just like old times. But she also wanted to see how good Lawson was in combat. Ashley couldn't best her in body or intelligence, but she could trump her on the battlefield, which was where it really counted in this war. Expensive clothes, perfume and lingerie were not the tools to win this war. And it was obvious that the only reason Lawson was brought to the battlefield at all was because she had Shepard wrapped around her fingers, keeping a close eye on him.

The elevator stopped and Ashley stepped out into the Cargo Bay, which was empty at the moment, she walked to the left of the elevator to the row of lockers and picked one out for herself and programmed the locker code for it. Then she turned and walked to the opposite side of the armory near the Kodiak where a large weapons locker which was filled with an assortment of all sorts of weapons hanging on the racks. A scribbled note on the inside of the locker door read that additional weapons could be found stored in crates and one was to ask for either of the armory chiefs; Lieutenants Cortez and Vega.

After scrutinizing the selection of weapons Ashley grabbed an M8 Avenger assault rifle, the semi-automatic Devlon Industries M13 Raptor Mod 1 Designated Marksman Rifle and an Eagle pistol. The M13 was the latest DMR built by Devlon Industries after advancements in weapons heat management. Compared to the M96, the M13 fired a smaller bullet but at a higher rate of fire and more accurate. The M13 did not come with an M405 underbarrel micro-grenade launcher module but did have a Mark 4 Enhanced View Optic Scope with 4x magnification.

Even in their collapsed state the weapons were cumbersome to carry by hand and she made two trips to retrieve the weapons and store them in her personal locker.

From behind her she heard the elevator open and she turned to see who it was and immediately recognized Vega, even if they had only interacted briefly in London and on Mars.

Vega saw Ashley and greeted with a nod and approached her, "Hey, Williams."

"Lieutenant Vega."

Vega stopped near her and they both shook hands. The buff Marine gestured dismissively with a friendly smile, "Eh, you call me James."

"Okay James. You can call me Ashley," she said friendly.

"So, what are you doing down here?"

"Picked out some weapons and a locker for me to use."

"Yeah? Are you on the team for tomorrow's mission?"

Ashley nodded, "Yes."

"Who else?"

"The prothean – which will be a first for me – and our XO."

"Ah. And I gather you've met her?"

"Yes," Ashley said evenly. She wasn't going to say more than that, honoring Shepard's requests. Seeing as Vega was the only other Alliance marine on the team she asked, "What do you think of her?"

"Her Cerberus association was an interesting revelation," Vega began. "I deferred to Shepard's judgment on that, and he trusts her, and so does Garrus. But that was way back and since then she has proved her worth a dozen times over. Not the…most sociable person aboard." Vega smirked, "Easy on the eyes, though. She sure can fill out her clothes."

"Hmph…a 'quality' men have noticed I see," Ashley commented acerbic.

"Ha! I tried to hit on her the first day she was here…shot me down rather quickly. A little devious as well."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, she led me on and then I figured out she was Shepard's woman."

"Do you know anything beyond her looks?" Ashley let slip a little reluctantly.

Vega shrugged, "Eh, not really. As I said she isn't sociable but Shepard told me she has a younger sister, and Miranda is apparently very protective."

Ashley was also an older sister, very protective herself of Abby, Lynn and Sarah. Ashley could understand that protectiveness. At least her sisters and mom was safe and sound…for the moment at least. They had been unable to attend her Spectre induction, and she had hoped to meet Sarah and pay their respects for her fallen husband, but everything had happened so quickly after the coup attempt so that never materialized. Ashley hoped the Normandy could return to the Citadel later so she could work something out to meet Sarah.

Ashley had been quietly musing to herself for a while and Vega's jovial voice returned her to reality, "And we've met some real characters since we left Mars, you know? Two crazy krogan-"

"Wrex?" Ashley interrupted.

"Oh yeah, a very old stubborn guy. Then this young krogan – Grunt – who rushed into firefights without a second thought, and then we had this tattooed chick who we rescued on Grissom Academy along with some students." Vega grinned and mused cryptically, "Yeah, she was fun."

Vega was missing Jack, their adventures underneath engineering had been a lot of fun.

Ashley shook her head dejected, "Damn, Earth and Mars…it feels like yesterday."

Vega nodded somber, "Yeah. How 'bout you, Ashley? Was that your first time on Mars?"

"No," Ashley shook her head. "Came there for training. Got trapped in a cave for two days waiting for a storm to pass. Just like the one we encountered."

"Wow, two days?" Vega asked amazed.

"Almost three. Took another week to get the dust out of my equipment," Ashley explained.

"Your equipment, huh?" Vega asked with a slight mischievous grin, his mind wandered slightly.

Ashley raised an eyebrow and snorted, "Yeah, smart guy. My equipment." Christ, all men are the same, Ashley mused.

Vega chuckled, "Easy now, I didn't mean anything by it."

"Right," Ashley countered dubiously. She asked, "Have you been to Mars before?"

"No. The first unit I was deployed with skipped training there because of Saren's attack on the Citadel."

"Really? Did you see any action on the Citadel?"

Vega shook his head, "No, when we arrived the geth was defeated. We spent a few of weeks as security before we got transferred to Fehl Prime."

"Okay. We were already out and hunting geth two weeks later. They had a ceremony for us first, we got some well deserved R&R too, but then it was into the breach again," Ashley mused.

"Ah, I hate the Citadel. Everything's so polished and…I don't know," Vega muttered. "At least now they know the war is upon us all. They can't escape it."

"It felt kind of too safe in the Presidium. The hospitals pretty much knew there was a war on, and the political establishments, but not the rest. To them it was just far away news on the television. I guess the Presidium is a way to escape the reality," Ashley said.

Vega scoffed, "Politicians? When have they ever done any good?"

"Yeah, hate them too. Gladly I don't have to deal with that, it's all on Shepard's table now. Not that I envy him."

"Not me either. I just shoot things."

"A lot easier," Ashley agreed.

Vega shook his head and lamented, "I knew Udina was a dirty bastard, but…I mean, Cerberus?" He exclaimed angered, "What the fuck?! I still haven't wrapped my head around all that."

"It came out of the blue, yes," Ashley agreed solemnly, acutely aware of her own unwitting part of it all.

Vega huffed, "Ah, I got a new shoot first, ask questions later policy when it comes to politicians."

Ashley chuckled, "That sounds like a fair deal."

Vega nodded, "Yeah. I mean the turian Primarch got some cojones, that's the kind of politicians we need."

"Perhaps you are right," Ashley said. She had only heard about the Primarch. "I have browsed through the reports. Not much R&R for you guys."

Vega shook his head, "Nah, we were in the Terminus and back and then to Tuchanka and after that a journey to what once was Alliance space. I thought we'd have some time on the Citadel, but only a few of the ship's crew got of apparently."

Ashley raised an eyebrow, "Didn't you just say you didn't like the Citadel?"

"Well, the Presidium and the elite yes, but there's good parts there. I go where people have a reality check already, like the lower docks or maybe the Purgatory. And yes, it was some time ago since we last had some R&R."

"It'll likely be a long time until we'll get some R&R, but I can't wait to get back into the action. Shore leave is good and all, but we can't just sit on our asses while there's a war raging," Ashley declared.

Vega was quiet for a moment and then he smirked, "Do you dance, Ashley?"

Ashley raised an eyebrow and asked bewildered, "Dance? Well…yeah it happens if there's good atmosphere and music…" She wondered where this was going.

Vega laughed, "Nah, I mean you must know some marine hand-to-hand, don't ya?" Vega gestured for Ashley to follow him to the open space of the Cargo Bay.

Ashley followed and chuckled tauntingly, "Oh, you're asking for it. Ever been beaten by a girl?"

"Not happening," Vega shot back with a smirk.

Ashley scrutinized the back side of the bulky marine in front of her. Sure he was big and strong, but muscles weren't everything and she had taken down guys like him during hand-to-hand drills. This was doable.

And it might just be what the doctor ordered to get Miranda Lawson out of her mind.

---

Shepard swiped his hand on the door-interface to the infirmary and stepped in and approached Chakwas seated at the table.

The elderly doctor turned her chair around to the disturbance behind her. She greeted Shepard with a smile.

"Good day, Commander."

"Hey. Did you get anywhere with the medi-gel?" Shepard asked friendly once he stopped near Chakwas.

"Ah, right to business," Chakwas said with a smile. She declared victoriously, "Indeed, Shepard. I was able to turn medi-gel multipurpose to current and former species. After all, medi-gel works on humans as well as turians without any ill-effect."

Shepard sighed relieved, "Thank you."

Chakwas grinned, "You're welcome. It wasn't too difficult to adapt it, concerning our prothean friend is levo-amino based like us. I've done rigorous tests as well as a few practical tests." Chakwas lifted up her left arm that had some band-aid on various places.

"What did you do?"

She chuckled, "I cut myself a few times and applied medi-gel. Not gun-wounds mind you, but the cuts healed up and I'm still alive and kicking." Chakwas lowered her arm.

"You could have asked someone to be a guinea-pig," Shepard pointed out.

"It was no bother, really," Chakwas assured. "And why risk someone else to the dangers?"

"Well, yes, but we can't lose our CMO either…" Shepard pointed out.

"The lab tests showed no abnormalities so I had faith in the new medi-gel," Chakwas assured Shepard. "I knew what I was doing."

Shepard mused thoughtfully, "Sounds like something Mordin would have done. Test a new compound on himself."

Chakwas nodded fondly, "Maybe, I did spend a lot of time with him last year. Sadly I didn't interact much with him when he was here…always so busy with the genophage cure. He welcomed me when I came by and chatted but I didn't want to interrupt him too much."

"I know, he'll be missed."

"Indeed." Chakwas straightened herself and continued, "In any event, we have the ability to manufacture the new medi-gel and even upgrade the stockpiles we have."

Shepard nodded approvingly, "Great, Karin."

"I'll have Lieutenant Vega ferry up our stockpiles here and I'll definitely have a batch ready for the mission tomorrow."

"Good work," Shepard praised. "Well, I need to have Cortez modifying Javik's armor to have it up current 'primitive' standards. Hopefully that'll work without much trouble."

"Good luck, Commander."

"Thanks again," Shepard said cordially and turned to leave the infirmary.

He tapped his omni-tool and sent an instant message to Cortez to expect Javik to show up for having his armor upgraded. Shepard strolled towards the elevator and decided to pay the prothean a visit to see how he was settling in, but also forward the order for him to talk with Cortez. While Shepard arrived at the elevator and took it down to the Engineering Deck Cortez promptly responded that he'd do what he could with the prothean armor. Shepard also made an inquiry about the possibility about adding additional modifications to Javik's armor pieces, but Cortez duly replied that the Normandy lacked the necessary equipment to properly do such changes or even a brand new armor but that he would do his best. Cortez suggested that the best bet was to turn to the Alliance base on the Citadel.

Shepard shrugged dull and made a mental note to see to that on a future return to the Citadel. They would have to take an omni-tool measurement of Javik so the armor would fit him. For now they had to make due.

The elevator stopped and the doors slid open and Shepard saw Zaeed waiting outside.

"Shepard," Zaeed growled as the namesake walked into the hallway.

"Hey Zaeed, how are things?" Shepard asked and stopped near the mercenary.

"Fine, a little dull, but that's nothin' new on starships. Headin' ter the mess ter grab some food. You?"

Shepard tilted his head to Javik's quarters, "Going to check up on Javik. Had any run-ins with him?"

"None. The thing doesn't leave 'is quarters much. Or at least I've yet ter see 'im."

"Right, it's interesting to see what makes him tick. Mostly combat I think." Shepard grinned, "Kinda like you…"

Zaeed chuckled, "Well, it's Jessie, whiskey, bacon and asari hookers."

"In that order to, right?"

"Definitely," Zaeed joked. "I would have hoped you'd drag me along fer a new mission, headin' ter the quarians will take time, an' I'd like ter shoot somethin' before that long transit. "

"I need to dial in Williams, and I want to see Javik in action some more, and he'll also need to adjust to our tactics."

"You're the boss." Zaeed mused, "The Citadel was a good fight. First time I'm in a capital tryin' ter stop a coup, instead ov instigatin' one.

"A new experience I gather," Shepard quipped.

"Yeah. I remember dis one time on Zangaro - a backwater planet in the Terminus - some fifteen or so odd years ago. A turian eezo company wan'ed the rights ter mine eezo but they determined that if the findings wen' public i' would only benefi' the local salarian government. The turians hired the little outfit I was runnin' ter oust the salarian leadership an' install a puppet leader who would then sign over the eezo ter the company without any fuzz."

"Sounds like any other coup attempt in history," Shepard pondered. "What happened?"

Zaeed explained, "We gathered that the army was a very small fightin' force, an' if the presidential palace was stormed an' the presiden' killed they wouldn't put up much ov a fight. After a few weeks ov preparing an' infiltratin – which wasn't what difficult as they lacked proper planetary defense an' trackin' systems – we eventually launch the attack against the palace an' the nearby army camp. I went in wiv seven'y men, about fifty died, one ov the batarians under me command ratted us out an' the Blue Suns was waitin' fer us." Zaeed snarled, "Bastard. Lost a lot ov good men on what op, but I executed the traitor after he tried ter run away."

"So you took over the government?"

"Yeah, killed the guy myself, the slick bastard put up a fight an' I slit 'is throat an' let 'im bleed out on the floor. His asari mistress didn't fare well either, bitch tried ter shoot me wiv a shotgun so I ended her wiv a round ter the stomach." Zaeed shrugged, "Once the palace was under control the company flew in, and the puppet leader was installed an' I took me paycheck an' left."

"Sounds like a bloody and ugly mess."

Zaeed shrugged apathetic, "What isn't in the Terminus? It was a good pay day."

"Yeah, if you say so, Zaeed."

"I won't keep yew fer long, go an' talk ter that ancien' bug."

Shepard chuckled, "Alright, good talking to you."

"Anytime, Shepard." Zaeed said and ventured towards the elevator.

Shepard strolled towards Javik's quarters. Once he opened the door he could hear Javik talking to someone and as Shepard walked further in he saw Liara facing Javik and his pools of water.

Javik asked taken aback, "My race survived into this cycle? But I was told they didn't."

"Sort of," Liara explained. "We call them Collectors, they fought for the Reapers. There are reports of them fighting on Palaven – the turian homeworld – and a few other scattered places. For a very long time no one knew they were prothean."

Both Liara and Javik saw Shepard approach them and he stopped nearby. Only Liara greeted Shepard with a nod which he returned.

Javik continued and held Liara's gaze, "And when did you realize?"

Liara tilted her head to Shepard, "John had no other option but to kill those encountered last year. They were all indoctrinated and had seen extensive genetic rework since your cycle." Liara fidgeted with her fingers and spoke with dampen spirits, "I'm sorry."

Javik shook his head and spoke more softly, "I'm grateful. It was an act of mercy."

Liara nodded reluctantly, she had yet adjusted to the protheans dreary and blunt personality, "I…suppose it was."

"I killed many minions in my time. There was nothing that could be done, ending their lives ended their hell."

Liara prodded carefully, "The Crucible…there must be something you know about it. Anything would help."

"It was supposed to be our miracle, but we were fragmented by that point. Communications had been severed." Javik shrugged apathetically, "I put no fait into it. All we could trust were the weapons in our hands."

"And you really know nothing of the Catalyst?"

Javik scoffed and gestured dismissively, "I already told you asari – no!"

"I'm sorry, it's just that so much depends on it," Liara explained dejected.

"I know more of that than you do."

"Yes…of course," Liara said dreary. She turned to Shepard, "I have things to do. I better be going."

"You do that, Liara," Shepard said friendly and offered her a smile.

Liara smiled back relieved of the presence of her friend. She nodded as she duly left Javik and his room.

Javik mumbled, "Commander, your Liara-asari asks many questions." He mused with a hint of humor, "You would think she's never seen a prothean before."

"You should work on your people skills, Javik," Shepard pointed out.

Javik turned to a pool of water to wash his hands. The prothean responded indifferent, "I'm beginning to wish that the asari never learned to talk. I believe some of the crew wishes to be my friend, that's not my purpose here."

"Killing is I gather."

Javik finished washing up and turned to face Shepard. He answered bluntly, "Yes. I've been reading your reports the past days. The killing of the Reaper on Tuchanka was glorious to read, but in my cycle thresher maws were smaller. I would have wished I could have witnessed its destruction." He shrugged, "No matter. There will be more."

"Plenty more," Shepard pointed out.

"Yes, a difficult fight remains. I understand the salarians didn't commit forces because of your actions on Tuchanka."

"You are correct."

"I would have offered the lizard people a deal." He continued cunningly, "You could have made the krogan believe you cured the disease. They're too stupid to notice the difference. The salarians would have rewarded you, and you would have gained two forces fighting the Reapers. Now you only have the krogan instead. Morality and friendship do not matter now, your allies are simply resources to use against the Reapers."

Shepard chided, "There should be a galaxy left when this war is won, putting races on collision course with each other could spark more wars in the future." He didn't discount the consequences of curing the genophage, but the Reapers were foremost on his agenda, and gaining the krogan was important to humanity and the turians. "And throwing away your allies against the enemy is not how we do things here."

Javik mused, "This cycle has turned out differently than I expected. Winning against the Reapers is what matters, Commander, not how it's done."

"I agree, that's why having the krogan on my side was the best choice to gain turian support. Those two races can fight a frontline war, the salarians can't. They are more apt being behind the scenes. That's not how we win this war." Shepard shrugged, "Besides, the salarian Councilor seemed to have her eyes opened after the coup, we might still gain something from the salarians."

Javik glanced at Shepard, maybe there's more to this human then he believed.

The prothean murmured incredulous, "Did I ever mention that the salarians used to lick their eyes? How far they have come."

"Uh…they licked their eyes?" Shepard asked baffled.

"Indeed." Javik continued flabbergasted, "Now they wear clothes and have seats of power."

"I can understand the…surprises of waking up again."

"I'm learning a lot," Javik simply said. "Your asari said you found the Crucible plans not long ago?"

"Yes on a planet called Mars in my homeplanet's system. There was a prothean base there which we uncovered almost forty years ago, that was how humanity discovered mass effect technology. Just recently scientists were allowed to excavate further because a few in the Alliance actually saw the writings on the walls about the Reapers and thought maybe they could find something on Mars. They discovered a vast prothean archive underground where we found the plans to the Crucible before the Reapers landed on Mars. Cerberus was there as well and managed to download a copy of the Crucible plans but we managed to intercept the plans before Cerberus forces escaped."

"Doing the bidding of the Reapers," Javik drawled bothersome. He asked evenly, "No other beacons have been found?"

Shepard explained, "The one on Eden Prime is the only known one which was intact, I and a few others were sent there to retrieve it but we got there to late before Saren Arterius, a indoctrinated agent of Sovereign, managed to access the beacon and had a vision transferred to his mind. Later when Ashley stepped to close to the beacon it activated and I managed to get her away but not before I was caught in the transfer process and the vision was transferred to me and the beacon overloaded. I fought the beacon's vision and it might have been the cause of the overload. The beacon was unsalvageable after that. Later we assaulted Saren's base of operations and found a second beacon which also transferred the vision to me and this time I managed to cope with the process better. Liara used her mind melding and managed to find more details which had eluded us about the Reapers. Saren's base was later destroyed with a crude nuclear bomb to stop Saren from breeding krogan."

Javik frowned, "Breeding krogan?" He pondered, "Because of the disease they were unable to have offspring until recently."

"Yes," Shepard nodded, "they were sterilized a long time ago to stop their onslaught against the Citadel species, they were only able to produce very few children."

Javik nodded, "Yes. Wise choice, Commander. Indoctrinated krogan would have proven…troublesome."

"That was what I thought as well," Shepard simply said. He asked, "So, are you acclimatizing aboard the ship?"

"I've been exploring your ship. There are traces of those who lived on the Normandy before."

"Yes, you were in the CIC the other day. Find anything interesting?"

"I was in that room below that primitive engine of yours. One of your crew lived in that space, that angry young woman."

"Jack, yes. Anger is her specialty. Even if she's mellowed out a little bit."

"Traces of her pain are still present, she sought revenge against Cerberus," Javik revealed. "A goal you helped fulfill. I hope you'll do the same for me. At least I've better quarters."

"Thank Liara for your quarters."

Javik murmured, "I've found I need to wash my hands often, the residue across the ship is strong. And there's been copulating recently in Jack-human's space."

"Really?" Shepard asked flabbergasted.

"Yes, Jack-human and James-human mated."

Shepard was surprised by this revelation. He had no idea. Although a few of Vega's comments the last days made sense in light of this.

"Don't…go and spread around that," Shepard said out of respect for his two friends. "And I really don't need any details either."

"Ugh…I wish I hadn't sensed it," Javik complained disgusted, he could still sense the crud of it. Javik continued evenly, "The human female biotic aboard? I detected her genetic structure…it was unnatural. As if artificially created."

"Miranda," Shepard simply said.

"And the drell who died on the Citadel. There was illness in him."

"Thane. His blood didn't carry oxygen properly."

"And the krogan who occupied this room before me. He was undergoing a metamorphosis. His memories were confused. Not organic to his mind. There was great confusion and turmoil."

"Grunt was a created in a lab, his…creator implanted memories of the past in him," Shepard explained. "And I still find this ability of yours fascinating. Evolution is an amazing force," Shepard stated astonished.

"Our scientists believed it was the only force in the galaxy that mattered. They called it the 'cosmic imperative'." Javik said vigorously, "The strong flourished, the weak perished." He scoffed, "The governments of your cycle seem to be concerned with the survival of all."

"Was this 'imperative' just your scientists opinion? Or did they prove something we do not know?" Shepard asked curious.

Javik explained like he was talking to a child, "The universe had already proven it. They only had to look around."

"And what did they see?"

"That extinction is the law of the cosmos. The natural order of things." Javik asserted strongly, "Weaker species are doomed."

"The strong are supposed to protect the weak," Shepard countered.

"Why? Those who have nothing to offer should be eliminated." The Commander was an enigma to Javik. On one hand he was a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield, and he seemed cunning when needed. But he was in favor of cuddling the weak.

"What? Conflict should be the way of life?" Shepard asked bothered.

"Evolution demands it," Javik explained methodically. "The strong grows stronger by dominating the weak. It's for the greater good of all. Although the weak does have it uses, they can be used as resources, let the Reapers conquer the weak thus they will not be watching you."

Shepard countered sardonically, "Not very good for the weak, right?"

Javik snorted, "In this war, all strategies needs to be considered to win. And few strategies are to extreme to turn aside. Though I don't think your asari approves of my beliefs."

"She's frustrated you didn't turn out to be an enlightened avatar of good," Shepard explained sardonically.

"Childish behavior," Javik said indifferent. "She's not suited for war. You should leave her aboard, let her tend to information. That much she has told me she does."

"She's an excellent biotic," Shepard explained.

"All asari are biotics. You can find others with better mind set to fight, others who are more powerful as well," Javik shook his head impatient with Liara, but Javik continued sympathetically to Liara's views, "We're a product of our time. If I had been born in this cycle, maybe I would have been this scholar she wishes me to be."

"Maybe. Or maybe you still would have been a soldier," Shepard said.

"I wouldn't know, would I?" Javik continued dreary, "Living a life of constant war, taking life in every battle…"

"It's understandably difficult thinking outside the box when you know nothing else."

"It's the only…'box' I've known, yes. It shapes me. As stone is shaped by the one who carves it. The stone has no choice in the form it will take." Javik looked at the memory shard on the table by the wall. The shard contained the painful memories of the past. He had glimpses of his own life in his mind, but most of it was lost to the time which had progressed. The shard further proved his point, reading it would mold him. "You and I Commander…war is our sculptor. And we're prisoners by its design." As were the memories within the shard, neither had a choice in the matter.

Shepard followed Javik's gaze before he turned to face the prothean.

The human nodded, "Perhaps. I've been in the military since I was 18, granted the first four years was education and training, but I've fought battles for ten years now and I do not know much beyond fighting. Maybe when this war is over and we win this, we will both be set free. Combat has shaped me, and it did mold me, but it hasn't jaded me. Not enough so I would forever be a slave to war."

"Maybe…for now," Javik mused. "Commander, if we're given the opportunity, I'd like to revisit the Citadel. It was lost in my time, and I'd like to see it. Experience it."

"When we have the time, sure."

"And your traitorous Councilor deserved far worse than some bullets," Javik asserted disappointed. "Traitors are the worst form of enemy. In my time we dealt with them by hacking off their limbs one by one and then we offered them a choice; eat their own flesh or starve."

Christ! The protheans are indeed severe, Shepard mused. He asked curious, "And what did you do to those who defected from the enemy."

"We killed them as well," Javik bluntly said. "They could not be trusted."

"Well, they were indoctrinated after all," Shepard reasoned.

"Yes, but before the Reapers came, my people killed those enemy combatants who betrayed their own. It was standard procedure."

"That's awfully nice of you," Shepard said sarcastically.

Javik ignored Shepard's retort, "The human female – the one defending the traitor – I heard she saw reason." Javik declared uncompromising, "If she hadn't, her death would be certain too. There's only one enemy in this war, the Reapers. No others will be tolerated."

"Do not shoot anyone without my go ahead," Shepard ordered just in case. "Reapers and Cerberus troops are fine." To him, Javik sounded more and more like a loose cannon.

Javik huffed, "You're the Commander." The prothean warned, "That Kai Leng-human bears watching, Commander. I sensed that the blood in his veins is very cold. I will enjoy killing him if we encounter him again."

"He is trouble," Shepard agreed. "I have no intention of letting him live."

Javik approved sternly, "Good."

"I talked with Chakwas earlier, it appears we've been able to adapt our…" Shepard grinned, "Primitive sludge for you. I'd like you to head down to the Cargo Bay and have your armor modified by Cortez – the pilot – before the mission with various upgrades. I have sent word to him. Plus he'll install an omni-tool also."

Javik huffed; he was still not really amused by all this. He looked at Shepard curiously, "What's this 'omni-tool? '"

Shepard brought up his left arm and activated the device, his arm glowed in a yellow tint.

The human explained, "A multipurpose diagnostic, manufacturing and computer system, it can also be used for communication in various forms, hacking. Military variants also come with certain offensive and defensive capabilities. Cortez will send you an operator's manual."

Javik huffed under his breath, "Primitive…"

That's starting to get old now, Shepard mused uninspired. He explained, "On our future return to the Citadel I'll need to take some omni-tool measurements of you and have the research center on the Alliance's Citadel base to properly build armor pieces so your armor is definitely up to our specs. There is only so much which Steve can do, so for now we'll have to rely on whatever modifications he can make."

Javik nodded and said curt, "Yes, Commander."

"Right, I'll be going Javik. Are you reading up on the mission?"

"Yes, despite the primitive ways of distributing information. The information supplied is troubling Commander, yet another nightmare created by the Reapers."

"I agree, hence why we must stop whatever's happening there."

Javik turned to the interface table behind him connected with the monitor hanging from the roof. "I'll be ready for tomorrow. I'm looking forward to facing the Reapers, even if it seems only their creatures are present."

"Good, but I want your trauma module and other components installed before the mission."

"Yes, Commander."

---

Quotes, Dragon Age: Origins (some alterations), Dragon Age 2, Chuck (Chuck versus the intersect, Chuck versus the Cat Squad, slight alterations)

A few blatant Chuck-references, including one reference for Yvonne Strahovski (although IMDB lists a different birth town for her than Wikipedia does).

Chapter title inspired from the John le Carré novel A Perfect Spy.

The hotel's construction is based on the 30 St Mary Axe in London, while the Presidium description is inspired from the book Mass Effect Revelation.

Miranda's ring in the flashback was inspired from Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol.

The flashback itself was inspired from a suspected honey pot trap in China in 2011 when a British aide was seduced by a young Chinese woman who he brought up to his hotel room. The following morning he reported his BlackBerry stolen.

Credit to EbabahCussiEnoImreh for assistance and ideas on the flashback, Miranda's thoughts after the flashback, and some of the dialogue and other writings prior to Ashley talking with Shepard and during the Shepard/Miranda/Ashley-scene.

A couple of the lines regarding Miranda's suit after her flashback credited to xXserialkillerXx, plus some pointers for the Shepard/Miranda/Ashley-scene.

Miranda's line about manipulation is inspired from a quote from a book called 'Work Like A Spy: Business Tips from a Former CIA Officer' by J.C. Carleson.

Thanks to SihaKatieKrios for letting me borrow a line from her story 'Miri's Valentine Gift'.

Ashley's continued musings on Miranda, and a few pointers for Ashley's and Vega's conversation, was inspired by ideas from Mastermind4892.

Zaeed's coup-story is based on Fredrick Forsyth's novel 'The Dogs of War' including the name of the planet which is the name of the fictional country in the book.

The following was taken from the leaked script:

*A few of Ashley's and Vega's lines about Mars (with minor alterations).