We are born from darkness, screaming in fear and pain... Cait wasn't sure where she had heard that but those words couldn't seem more relevant now. Everything was a painful haze of bright light and aches, entire body feeling like needles had been shoved under her skin. Her head throbbed painfully and it felt like it was going to split. The room gave a violent shake and she rolled off the table and hit the cold floor.

Gasping for air, alarms screaming in her ears... spinning out of control as shards of the Normandy hurtle past her... the darkness is closing in.

"Shepard!" An unfamiliar voice called over the intercom system wired into the room. "Shepard, get up!"

She had died, that she knew, and yet somehow still alive. There was no way rescue crews found her in time, not when her airline had been sliced by a piece of shrapnel. No... something was wrong but the splitting migraine she was feeling made it impossible to think. The room shook again and she pulled herself up with the help of the table, legs feeling unfamiliar to her.

"Can you stand?" The voice asks, clearly aware of her movements.

Shepard grunts as she pushes herself up onto her feet, using the table to brace herself as she finds her balance. She happens to see her left arm and blinks, unable to process the sight. Her burn scars are gone or faded. Carefully, she ran and hand up to her face and whimpered with a combination of relief and confusion. The mass of scarring that once marred the left side of her face was gone, though she could feel new and unfamiliar scars sunken against her jawline and cheekbone... almost like open wounds but she felt no blood coming from them.

"The locker." The voice insists, making her look up. "In the right corner. There should be something you can use in there. You need to get out."

Shepard grunts as every muscle in her body burns in agony as she limps over to the locker. It takes a moment for her fingers to work the latch, as if she's completely forgotten how to use her limbs. Once opened, she finds a pistol inside. There is a familiarity with pick it up, the weight in her hand though it's not a model she recognizes. Shepard isn't even sure how it's loaded.

"Get to the central hub station. I will rendezvous with you there." The voice commands her before silence.

Though she has no idea where she is or how she got here, Shepard's instinct was telling her that this was a field of war and she had no weapons and no allies here to protect her. She left the room and navigated the dark corridors. She came across several bodies and had to dodge security droids wandering around. Both security personnel and facility workers were left broken and bloodied through the halls. Shepard collected what she hoped were ammo from the bodies of the dead security officers but the marks on their uniforms had given her a clue as to 'who' had her; Cerberus. There were still more questions than answers and she definitely wasn't going to find them if some rouge robot smashed her head in.

The central hub the voice spoke of was an absolute warzone. Shepard saw that one man in the Cerberus security uniform was barely holding out against a pressing advance. Bullets ate away at the barrier of glass and upturned benches he was using as cover. Having grown more used to her body again, Shepard sprinted and slid into the cover alongside him.

"You're awake?!" He says with surprise upon seeing her, seeming to recognize Cait immediately. "Thank god, might have a chance of getting out of this alive."

"Maybe if I had a working gun." She retorts, waving the pistol at him.

"I've got some spare heat sinks on me. Name's Jacob by the way."

He hands her a couple of tubes and Shepard does not understand until she watches him reload his own gun. The glowing heatsink ejects from the side, permitting him to load a fresh one and resume firing on the advancing machines. Shepard take a moment to fiddle with the gun before getting the correct chamber to open, revealing the empty heat sink cradle. With the gun loaded, Shepard makes quick work, none of her sense of aim gone as sparks and shrapnel fly, headless and disabled machines collapsing on the ground. Jacob is stunned as they are finally able to get up from cover and take a moment to breathe.

"Damn... I knew you were a crack shot but even two years on the table..."

"Two years?!" Shepard exclaims, her heart rate suddenly accelerating to the point the sunken scars on her face start to glow with a hideous red hue. "What do you mean two years?!" She demands as she grabs Jacob by the front of his suit.

"Shit. Listen, I'll try to explain but I'm just a hired gun here. If we find Miranda..."

"The voice on the intercom?" Shepard interrupts him again.

"Yes! We find her, can get you all the answers but this station is going to fall apart if we don't move."

Heeding his advice, Shepard lets go of Jacob and they start looking for this Miranda, though it's clear she isn't waiting around the central hub, if still alive. They find a man in one of the security rooms, a technician named Wilson. His leg is injured but they help escort him to the shuttle docks. Just as they are about to enter one, the door opens to reveal a dark-haired woman in form fitting Cerberus uniform. Shepard barely has time to process what's happening. Wilson manages to the name 'Miranda' in surprise before a shot exits out of the back of his head and he collapses.

"What the hell Miranda?!" Jacob exclaims, becoming more panicked when Shepard points her gun at Miranda.

"He's the reason the security mechs went rogue and why we're in this predicament." Miranda says coldly, calming appraising Shepard. "You seem no worse for wear, all things considering."

"What the fuck is going on?!" She demands.

"I'll explain on the shuttle but this station is collapsing and I have no intention of dying here."

Shepard lowers the gun but keeps it clenched in her hands as she boarded the shuttle, Jacob a step after her. Her mind is swirling confusion as she sits down the burning station shrinks. Miranda sits across from her with her omni-tool opened to some interface but Shepard's hardly paying attention.

"I'll need you to answer some questions for me."

"Why?" Shepard growls with hostility.

"To establish a base-line... and prove you are really Cait Shepard." Miranda retorts, ignoring the daggers she glares at the other woman. "Who did you elect to be the Alliance representative on the Council?"

"Captain Anderson. Is he alright?!" Shepard responds.

"He's doing quite well, though the life of a bureaucrat doesn't quite suit him. Next question, after the assault on Saren's base of operations on Virmire, you chose to sacrifice Staff Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko, correct?"

The question is more of a statement but it's still a solid punch to the gut. Shepard lowers her gaze and stares at the floor, fist clenching and unclenching as her scars glow with increasing intensity in response to her elevated stress and agitation.

"Yes... I left Alenko behind." She replies quietly.

"Miranda, isn't that enough?" Jacob protests after seeing how upset Shepard was.

"Just a few more questions." Miranda presses, ignoring him entirely. "What attacked the Normandy?"

The question makes her head hurt as she's drawn to that painful memory. She was shoving Joker into the last escape pod... an explosion separated her and she was careening wildly through space but she had seen the ship during the attack and as she breathed her last...

"It... it was huge." She gasps, finding it difficult to breathe suddenly. "Nothing like it... was waiting for us."

"Miranda, seriously." Jacob interrupts, moving to thump Shepard on the back so she'd start breathing properly again.

"Alright. I think that's enough." Miranda concedes as she closes her omni-tool. "We'll be arriving at the base soon..."

"What happened to my crew? To my team?!" Shepard demands.

There is a moment of silence as Jacob and Miranda share a look but Miranda seems to relent to some silent conversation and pulls up her omni-tool again.

"Twenty members of the Normandy SR-1 crew remain MIA or KIA, according to official records. Most survived, thanks to your efforts, however. Operations Chief Ashley Williams still serves in the System Alliance Navy." Miranda says bluntly. "She has been reassigned to several colony defense projects over the past year." Shepard lets out a sigh, mildly surprised to find Ashley had received a promotion in her absence.

"The xenos members of your fire team..." Miranda interrupts. "Tali'Zorah vas Neema returned home to the Migrant Fleet. Urdnot Wrex returned to Tuchunka and assumed the leadership of the Urdnot clan... and Garrus Vakarian... it would appear he fell off the grid about a year ago."

"And Liara?" Shepard asks with a hint of hope in her voice.

"Ah, yes... Dr. Liar T'Soni." Miranda says in a strange tone. "She works as an information broker on Illium... with suspected ties to the Shadow Broker."

"What?! No, she would never." Shepard immediately protests angrily

"We're here." Miranda announces dismissively as the shuttle docks at another station. Shepard glowers at her but follows regardless. Miranda takes a message as they walk through the facility and her expression is quite displeased as she directs Shepard to a room. It's empty and Shepard finds herself to be the only one here. There is a light hum and suddenly a hologram flickers, revealing her benefactor.

"Illusive Man." Shepard growls.

"I see we can skip introductions. It's good to see you up and around, Cait." He says with a familiarity that unsettles her. "After everything we put into you, would have been a shame if it was all for nothing."

"What the hell do you want with me? Cerberus nearly killed me once before." Shepard retorts sourly.

"Your help." The Illusive Man replies, his tone catching her off guard. "Humanity is in danger. The Reapers are still coming."

"What do you care about the Reapers?"

"I care about humanity, Cait... and they are direct threat to humanity." He continues, shrugging off her childish outburst. "In your... absence, both the Council and Alliance buried the Reaper and geth matter. They sent you and your team geth hunting to keep you busy so they could ignore the truth and it cost you."

An image flickers next to him; surveillance footage from a colony. Shepard recognized the hazy silhouette of the ship that attacked her.

"Human colonies in the Traverse are being targeted... kidnapped enmasse by this ship and whatever serves on it and I believe they serve the Reapers. Their technology is far behind anything we've ever encountered."

"Colony defense is the Alliance's problem. Everyone knows the Traverse is a fool's endeavor in the first place." Shepard retorts with no sympathy.

"The Alliance does the bare minimum and the Council will do nothing to help."

"You've got the resources. The hell do you need me to do that you can't?"

"Inspire!" The Illusive Man says excitedly. "What you accomplished against Saren, the geth... bringing the Reaper threat to light. Becoming the first human SPECTRE, putting humanity on the Council... you accomplished much and even in light of your absence; you continue to inspire humanity as a whole. Cerberus isn't, exactly, a name people will flock to."

"I wonder why?" Shepard retort sarcastically. "You've even tried to have me killed several times!"

"And yet here we are. We need each other, like it or not." The Illusive Man says with a dismissive tone. "You've been gone nearly three years; the galaxy has moved on. You need new allies."

"I want my team." She growls.

"You heard yourself... they've scattered and moved on. Jacob and Miranda will be adequate while I finish putting together a list of candidates for you." The Illusive Man retorts, making Shepard clench and unclench her fists.

"First, I need you to go investigate a colony called Freedom's Progress. We believe they were the target of a Reaper abduction and hope to find some evidence. Think of it as a... field test."

"I do not work for you or Cerberus." Shepard said defiantly.

"Quite posturing, Shepard. We are here to help. People are dying by the thousands and it will only get worse if we cannot find a way to curb this invasion by the Reapers. You've seen them, spoken with them... you know what they did to the Protheans. Is that a fate you'd wish on anyone?"

That made her stop, muscle in her jaw clenching. The Illusive Man knew he had hit a nerve, smirking moments before the hologram flickered out. Frustrated with the situation, she stormed out of the room and nearly barrel over Joker.

"Cait!" He exclaimed, hugging her.

It took her several long moments for Shepard to realize he was walking around, let alone touching her. Overcome with a sudden flood of emotion. She hugged him tight, to which Joker protested immediately as she had forgotten he was quite fragile.

"Shit I'm sorry Joker!" Shepard exclaims in alarm.

"No worries. Getting my bones broken by you is worth it." He winces and smiles at her. "Man, you look good for a dead woman."

"And you're... walking?"

As they walked together, Joker explained what happened after her death. Just like the Illusive Man said, the Council and Alliance wanted to bury the Reaper matter and split up the survivors of the team. Cerberus had recruited some of the Normandy's former ship crew to come work on this new project, keeping them in the dark about reviving Shepard until recently. "I'll see you later and good luck out there." He said, clapping her on the back.

Shepard boarded the shuttle quietly, not surprised to see Jacob and Miranda already there. A suit of armor was waiting for her, the familiar red and white stripe down the arm bringing a tighten clenching to her chest. The surge of happiness was quickly dashed when she saw the Cerberus symbol on the left side of the chest.

"Give me your knife." She demands from Jacob.

"Why?"

"Just give it here or I'll take it from you. Not going to kill either of you." She growls at him.

With the knife in hand, she pries the Cerberus emblem off. Satisfied, she hands the knife back to Jacob and puts it on. Miranda does not look pleased.

"Let's make one thing clear; I do not work for you or for Cerberus. This alliance only lasts until I find that ship and break it."