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The Sanctuary facility was one of the eeriest places Garrus had ever been in. It was so clear that not long ago it had been bustling, filled with beings of all species, and now it was—empty. Dead. Shuttles abandoned near the gates, some of them looking as though they had crash-landed. Inside the facility coffee cups still half full, datapads left carelessly on desks. Items scattered across the floor as if they had been dropped by someone who didn't have a chance to go back. Whatever Sanctuary had been intended to be, he'd bet this wasn't it.
"Why the hell would Kai Leng be here?" Shepard said, whispering in the unnatural silence. "What's here that Cerberus wants?"
"It's supposed to be a refugee facility. Thousands came here." Tali looked around them. "So where are they?"
"And what is Miranda's sister doing here?" They had heard an outgoing message from Oriana Lawson as they came in on the shuttle, warning people away from Sanctuary. "What did she mean by 'it's not what it seems'?"
"This certainly isn't what was on the brochures," Tali said.
"No. No, it isn't," Shepard agreed. "Well, if Oriana's here, Miranda can't be too far away."
Garrus nodded. "I have to admit that makes me feel better. If anyone is a match for Kai Leng, I'd have to think it would be Miranda."
"Let's hope. Come on." Shepard led the way deeper into the silent facility. "Cerberus does not get the jump on us this time."
"Shepard, the radio's offline. Something's jamming our signals. Until we fix it, we're on our own down here."
"Noted. Thanks, Tali."
Garrus had taken point, studying their surroundings as he went. In the corner, a video console was blinking. "Shepard, there's a video monitor over here. It looks like it's still working."
She came up next to Garrus and activated the monitor. The screen was all static, too much to make anything out, but the audio was clear. To their surprise, Miranda's voice came from it. "This is Miranda Lawson. If you've managed to get this far, you must be desperate or stupid."
"Which are we?" Tali muttered under her breath.
Miranda's voice continued. "This is not a refugee facility. This is a Cerberus facility run by my father, Henry Lawson. There is no help to be found here—all communications are being blocked from the central tower. Sanctuary is a lie. Stay away."
Garrus shook his head. "Damn. So we've got Cerberus and Miranda's crazy father. Any ideas how this all fits?"
"None that I feel good about sharing," Shepard said grimly. "Come on. We have to get to Miranda, restore communications, and then find Kai Leng."
Garrus and Tali followed her out of what looked like it had been the main registration center to a courtyard outside, complete with a shining pool and some nice shrubbery—and nothing else.
"What are we missing here?" Shepard asked. "There has to be a way into the main facility."
"Let me take a look. Hang on." Tali disappeared in between what looked like a couple of large industrial fans. In a moment, she had them running, and they turned out to be pumps that drained the pool, which revealed the entrance to the facility at the bottom.
"Clever."
"Henry Lawson is a genius. Imagine if he had turned that to helping people." Shepard led the way down the dripping ladders to the bottom of the pool.
Tali followed. When she reached the bottom, she wandered over to look at some of the equipment nearby. She activated her omni-tool and ran a program. "Shepard. This is Reaper tech. I don't believe it—Cerberus has managed to create an interface between our technology and the Reapers'. This is going to be bad, isn't it?"
"I don't see it leading anywhere good," Garrus agreed.
"Wherever it leads, Miranda's caught in the middle, somewhere up there," Shepard pointed out. "Let's pick up the pace."
Inside the first set of doors, they found a command center with a live feed from inside the facility, and were able to discover the secret of Sanctuary: They were making husks out of the refugees.
Shepard turned away, sickened. "Why didn't we investigate this sooner? Thousands of people! We could have stopped this!"
Garrus wanted to tell her that she had already done enough, and ask when she thought she would have had time to investigate Sanctuary, but he knew it wouldn't help, so he kept his thoughts to himself.
Tali was still watching the video feed, fascinated. "But why create husks?" she asked. "They're just more troops for the Reapers. They could destroy the facility if they escaped. It seems like a stupid risk."
"If they can use Reaper tech, maybe they can also use Reaper troops," Garrus suggested.
Another video monitor had a second message from Miranda, letting them know there were Reaper forces ahead, damaging the facility, and that Miranda had shut off the power inside in order to keep the Reaper forces where they were.
"Reapers and Cerberus. Just what I was hoping for." Garrus turned away from the video, but stopped when Shepard grabbed his arm, pointing to a shadowy figure following Miranda on the screen.
"Kai Leng! And she doesn't know he's there."
On the video, they heard Kai Leng speaking through his comm, asking if he should deal with Miranda. The response wasn't audible, but he nodded briskly and moved off after her.
"Damn it!" Shepard pulled her weapon. "Let's move! I am not losing anyone else to that bastard."
