Interstellar Wine and Spirit

Zakera Ward

Ex-Cerberus Operative Miranda Lawson casually wandered up and down the aisles of the surprisingly large store, which seemed to be carrying a bit of everything. Imports from Palaven, Thessia, Earth, even some Ryncol barrels that read 'Distilled on Tuchanka'. Miranda guessed that that particular label could be advertising either a genuine Krogan recipe, or an extra kick from the radiation all over the planet. She laughed to herself as she kept walking, her keels clicking against the linoleum floor.

Many other products on offer were from local breweries, which somewhat outnumbered the 'imports' section for obvious reasons. Lawson picked up one bottle with the silhouette of an Asari on it from Illium, looking up from it when she heard footsteps approaching.

"Hello, Shepard." She said.

"Find something interesting?"

Miranda shrugged, setting the bottle down. "Not much stands out, really. Aside from those Krogan drinks."

Shepard eyed the small barrel. "Imported from Tuchanka...I'm not sure if that's good or bad."

"I was thinking the same thing." Miranda laughed.

"They say great minds think alike." The commander said with a grin. "Maybe we should take one. Wrex and Grunt are going to be at the party...at least I hope."

"Trouble?"

"Well, C-Sec is keeping an eye on Grunt, thanks to a little 'stunt' he pulled. Broke out of his hospital room, stole a C-Sec car, crashed it, set it on fire…"

Miranda raised a brow as Shepard listed off the things her Krogan friend had done.

"I was able to get him out of it, but now there are some parts of the Citadel he's been banned from."

"He's only ever been here, like...twice." Lawson said with an air of disbelief.

"Well...Grunt is like a giant toddler sometimes." Shepard shrugged, picking up a Ryncol barrel and placing it in her cart. "He's young...and an idiot. You know that."

The Operative nodded as they continued down the aisle. She pointed out a few bottles of wine from Palaven, with a price tag that read 'All Profits To The Troops'. At Shepard's nod, she took five of them, as Tali'Zorah was rather well known for her indulgences.

As they approached a wall lined with Earth-imported items, Miranda chanced a question.

"Speaking of young squadmates. Your friend Abigail looked very familiar the last time I saw her. Any idea as to why?"

Shepard picked up a small case of cider, thinking for a moment before she answered.

"Some say she looks a bit like her sister. She and Ashley have the same eyes, hair color..."

"No...it's as if I've seen her somewhere before." Miranda stopped and turned to face her friend. "You said she's a skilled infiltrator. What exactly does she do?"

"Just that." Shepard said dismissively, setting her item into the cart. "Infiltration, sabotage, larceny. A bit like Kasumi. Remember her? Actually, I ran into her today at-"

"Shepard." Miranda interrupted. "She's going to be at the party, so I'm going to find out either way. What's wrong with just telling me?"

Jane looked down, then up at her friend. "Fine...she's an Assassin. Spends her days hunting down high value Cerberus targets."

Miranda shook her head. "That can't be."

"How? Why not?"

"Because she's worked for me before. She...unknowingly… contributed to Project Lazarus. To you. I hired her for her skill with infiltration."

"Well...did you ever notice items...or people going missing?" Shepard asked.

"There was one...one of our scientists. But she...Dammit! I knew that was too easy of an excuse! Your friend killed her?!"

"Keep your voice down!" The commander hissed. "And...yes. Possibly. Ever heard of a group called the Templars?"

Miranda appeared bewildered for a moment. "Sort of. And that they're merely a legend. Old folklore."

"Yeah, well, they aren't. They're real. And Abby is on a crusade against them...as the last surviving Assassin."

"Some of us higher ups were told about the Assassins, too." Miranda admitted. "But the message was different. To be watchful out in public, keep an eye out for people with hoods covering their faces. Things like that. I always thought both of them were just myths."

"Well, Abby's no myth. The Assassins are the real deal. Here." Shepard brought up her Omni-Tool and opened the video bank. "I snagged some recordings at the Arena earlier. Does this fighting style seem at all familiar?"

Miranda eyed the vid from over Shepard's shoulder, and what she saw sent a chill throughout her body. One camera shot showed Abby slashing her way through a squad of hologram soldiers with wrist blades and occasional gunfire. Her method of movement matched the things Lawson had heard as well. Often opting for stealth and hit-and-run fighting, making it as if she was everywhere at once.

"So...all that time…" Miranda sounded almost devastated. "She was an Assassin. She could've killed all of us without much difficulty."

"She wouldn't if she didn't have a reason." Shepard said, closing her Omni-Tool. "Obviously, you weren't a target, but she did know who we all were. You, me, Jacob, the Normandy. She knew about all of it. Just not about the whole 'you resurrecting me' part. She made you the second we got back from Sanctuary."

The Ex-Operative looked at her reflection in the glass refrigerator door.

"Huh...at any given time, your friend could've killed me."

"Well, she won't. And if you'd like to win some brownie points with her, tell her about Lazarus. Explain the stuff you had her do."

Miranda looked up at Shepard.

"Ordinarily, I would say that that was highly classified information...but I'm not with Cerberus anymore, am I? And I'm definitely not...whatever on Earth a 'Templar' is."

"If you were one, you'd already be dead." Shepard joked.

"True enough, I suppose. Now, back to business. What does she like to drink?"

"I...don't know actually. Let's see if there's anything 'old school' from Earth."

"Old school, eh?"

"She really likes anything 21st century."

"Hmm. And here I thought Assassins weren't supposed to stand out..."

A/N:

Sorry for how long this took, and how short it is. I just needed something to prove that I still exist.

I've been completely sucked into my planned sequel to 'The Fall of Pravda'. If anyone's into Girls und Panzer or anime in general, give it a read. While not my best work, I had fun writing it, and hopefully you'll enjoy reading it. The sequel is already proving to be quite long. I'm writing it on Google Docs...it's at 250 pages and counting. It's going to take a step away from the tanks, and go for a more...grounded fight, if you catch my drift.

I'm hoping to finish either this, or 'State of The Union' before I begin posting anything for that, though.

Anywho, thank you everyone for your continued patience. I really can't say it enough. Hopefully, the next chapter will be for Shepard's big party, as I really want to write it. Some banter between Abby and Miranda or Jack might be fun, as well as our beloved Assassin's further interactions with a certain Communications Officer

Any questions or comments? Anything at all? Leave them below!