Note: Yeah. I have deleted the previous story of Mass Effect. I wanted to revise it but found it was a complete mess. So I decided to start from scratch and change a few things which I didn't like personally. Also the release of ME: Legendary Edition and announcement of new Mass Effect really pulled me back into this universe again. So, yeah here it is -
Mass Effect : The Reason we Fight for v 2.0
Also as a note: I do not have Photoshop skills, so if anyone is interested, can anyone make a cover picture for this story who has the necessary Photoshop skills? You can send me a PM, we can discuss over there.
SOMEWHERE….
It was night time. The streets were quiet, no movements were visible on the streets. People in the city had done their daily work, taken care of their household works, and went to sleep, oblivious to the world outside their home.
At that time rapid footsteps pierced the silence of the streets of the night city. A hooded figure came into view from the dark alley of the streets. Her face could not be seen because of the hood that was obscuring her face. On her left hand she was carrying something which was hidden under a long cloth she was wearing. It looked like she was clutching something against her chest and was very cautious about it. But on her right hand she was carrying a gun.
The way she was holding the gun, it didn't seem like she was holding a gun for the first time in her life. Suddenly several more footsteps were heard, and instantly she again went to hide herself into the darkness of the alley.
Only after a few seconds several men appeared. All were wearing combat gears and were armed to teeth.
"Where did she go?" One of the men asked.
"She couldn't have gotten much farther. She is somewhere near us. Hiding."
"Why are we chasing her again?"
"Yeah man. This is boring. I was enjoying myself."
"I know you man. Your enjoyment means wine and women." One of the soldiers said sarcastically.
"What else is there to enjoy more?"
"Shut up! You fools. We are not chasing any ordinary woman. She is extremely dangerous. We were ordered to bring her back alive if we can."
"Why not just shoot her, take what we need and report that we were forced to shoot her?"
"Shut up! No one lies to him. You know what will happen if we lie to him and he comes to know of it? No. You don't. You will wish you were never born, boy. So, do as I say."
As the men were speaking the woman was watching them carefully. She was there in the shadows, silent as a statue. As she sat there she felt slight movement against her chest.
Dread begins to fill inside her chest. She carefully removed the cloth which she was wearing over her armor. She peered down and there was a baby boy sleeping in her arms peacefully. But he was already waking up, and his cries will draw those men to her. The place where she was hiding was a corner and if she tried to run, those armed men would definitely see her.
She quickly took her decision. There were four of them. She could've taken them out easily, but she never wanted to risk her baby. Especially in a fire fight. But now she has no choice. With lightning reflexes she shot one in the head, dropping him immediately. Another one was also shot before he could figure out where the shot came from. She slid behind a cover before the other two could shoot at her. From her cover she pulled out one of the men from behind cover with a biotic pull. She shot the man, blowing his head off with the heavy pistol in her hand while he was floating helplessly in mid air.
But she failed to spot the last man. He had flanked her position and was now pointing his gun towards her head.
"Drop the gun." The man ordered.
She didn't.
"Right now!"
She still didn't.
"Why you bitch!"
The man's finger tensed on the trigger of the gun in his hand. The woman was sure she would die right at the moment. She expected a sound and blackness. But nothing happened. She looked up and was surprised to see that the man was still pointing his gun at her, but he was not moving and there was a biotic aura all around his body. Who could've saved her life? There was no one she could see anywhere near. But then as if by instinct she looked down towards her baby boy in her arms. She looked into his smiling face. His blue eyes were looking into hers which were the same as hers. She sighed with relief that at least her baby boy was safe.
She quickly got on her feet and hurried away from there with her boy in her arms. She couldn't tell the time for which she was running, it may be ten minutes or even an hour. All she was focused on was getting her boy to safety. If he gets his hand on her baby…. No, she has to escape. There was no other alternative. At that moment she heard soft footsteps coming towards her, from the darkness of the alley to her left side. Taking no chance she pointed her gun towards the source of the sound and began to step back slowly. This could be his mercenaries.
But there weren't any mercenaries with guns in their hands, instead there was a lonely figure whose face was covered by a mask. The figure had no weapons in hands, so she relaxed a bit, but didn't let her guard down, even for a moment.
"Who are you?" She asked the figure.
The stranger didn't answer but slowly removed the mask. Her eyes lit up in recognition.
"Merinn?" She asked.
"Why are you still here? You should escape immediately, with him." Merinn said, indicating towards the baby boy in the woman's arm.
"His mercenaries chased me down for sometime. But I managed to escape somehow, with a little help of course, from you." The woman smiled slightly.
"From me?" Merinn asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"
"You didn't help me back then? Then.. who did?"
"I just found you here." Merinn revealed.
Then if Merinn didn't help her, then who did?
"Tell me what happened." Merinn requested.
The woman explained how the mercenaries chased her down and how she fought back. At last she explained how someone helped her without revealing themselves by trapping the mercenary inside a stasis field.
The asari looked at the woman, then at the baby in her arms. "I think I understand who might have saved you back there. But there is no time to discuss such matters now. First we must escape from this planet, at any cost.
At that moment both of them heard several rapid footsteps coming towards them from a distance.
"They have found us." Merinn said.
"Yes." The woman's eyes narrowed in determination. "Listen, if there is no one to distract them, then we have no chance."
"What do you propose?" Merinn asked.
"Here. Take him." The woman said, putting her baby in the asari's arms.
"What are you doing?"
"I will distract them. They are after me, not you. They will chase me down. You use the distraction and get out from here." The woman ordered.
"No…"
"Merinn….. I know you are worried about me. But trust me."
The asari sighed in defeat.
"Tell me his name." Merinn said. "What should I call him? You fixed a name yet?"
The human woman smiled a little. "He won't carry his father's last name. He will carry mine." Then she bent down and kissed the sleeping baby slightly on his forehead.
"Good luck. John Shepard. My son."
SEVERAL YEARS LATER
John Shepard was standing inside the prototype vessel, the Normandy SSR – he was looking out of the window towards dark space. He practically wasn't observing anything, he was just standing there staring at the dark space deep in his thoughts. The words of his superiors – Captain Anderson, Admiral Hackett, and Human Ambassador Udina were still ringing in his ears.
"Well, what about Shepard? He grew up in the colonies." said Udina
"He knows tough life can be out there. He lost someone very close to him there when the slavers attacked Mindoir." said Anderson
"He proved himself during the Blitz. Held off enemy forces until reinforcements arrived." said Hackett
"He is the only reason Elysium is still standing." said Anderson
"We can't question his courage." said Udina
"Humanity needs a hero and Shepard's the best we got." said Anderson with pride in his voice.
"I'll make the call." said Udina.
He still didn't know what to make of that conversation but of course he understood what they wanted him to be. A Spectre. He really didn't need this, he is fine working under Captain Anderson as his XO of the Normandy. But he will accept the Spectre status for Captain Anderson because John respects his judgement. He never knew his father, but Anderson might be the closest to the father figure he ever had. The Spectres represents the Council's power and authority. They work directly for the Citadel Council. They usually work alone or in small groups. They don't have official power, though. They are a shadow organization with a mandate to preserve and protect galactic stability. Protect it at any cost. Spectres operate above the law. Then Joker's voice broke his thoughts.
"The Arcturus Prime relay in range. Initiating transmission sequence." Shepard heard the voice of Jeff Moreau commonly known as Joker, the pilot of the Normandy in the comm. He got salutes and nods from Corporal Jenkins, Navigator Pressly, and other marines in the Command Deck as he was walking towards the bridge to talk with Joker and Kaidan Alenko. "We are connected. Calculating transit mass and destination. The relay is hot. Acquiring approach vector. All stations secure for transit. The board is green. Approach run has begun. Hitting the relay in 3,2,1…" Joker was still taking on the comm. Shepard was standing behind Joker's seat and watching the process of jumping mass relays.
"Thrusters…check. Navigation…check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems online. Drift…just under 1500k." Joker gave the status report.
"1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased." complemented Nihlus, a Turian Spectre. Then he turned around and left.
"I hate that guy." Exclaimed Joker
"Nihlus gave you a compliment…so you hate him?" asked Kaidan
"You remember to zip up your jumpsuit on your way out of the bathroom? That's good. I just jumped us halfway across the galaxy and hit the target the size of a pinhead. So that's incredible!" And there was that arrogant side of Joker when he wastes no time in pointing out his prowess to others but he was indeed an exceptional pilot. He continued, "Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don't like having him on board. Call me paranoid."
"You're paranoid. The Council helped fund this project. They have a right to keep an eye on their investment."
"Yeah that is the official story. But only an idiot believes the official story."
"You always expect the worst." Shepard said.
"Well, bad feelings are an occupational hazard. We don't go anywhere unless there's a good reason, so what are we doing here? Joker defended himself. He was about to say something more when Captain Anderson's voice interrupted his bickering.
"Joker! Status report." Ordered Anderson in the comm.
"Just cleared the mass relay, Captain. Stealth systems engaged. Everything looks solid."
"Good. Find a comm buoy and link us into the network. I want mission reports relayed back to Alliance brass before we reach Eden Prime."
"Aye, aye, Captain. Better brace yourself, sir. Nihlus is headed your way."
"He's already here, Lieutenant. Tell Commander Shepard to meet me in the comm room for a debriefing." Said Anderson.
"I am on my way." Shepard said.
"Pff. Is it me or does the captain always sound a little pissed off?" Joker asked no one in particular.
"Only when he is talking to you Joker." Kaidan joked.
Shepard turned around and left Kaidan and Joker with their argument and headed towards the comm room. On the way over there, he found that Navigator Pressly and Engineer Adams were talking about having Nihlus on board the Normandy. He approached Pressly and talked with him and found that he wasn't too happy to have a Spectre on board. The reason Pressly gave for his attitude towards Nihlus was because Nihlus is a Turian and he hates Turians because his grandfather lost a lot of friends in the First Contact War when the Turians attacked. Shepard made him see that he can't blame Nihlus for that, because it was thirty years ago and a lot of things have changed now. But he had no complaints regarding Captain Anderson. Shepard had none either. He respects the man. Then he heard Corporal Jenkins was talking with Doctor Chakwas, the Normandy's Chief Medical Officer.
"I grew up on Eden Prime, Doc. It's not the kind of place Spectres visit. There is something Nihlus isn't telling us about this mission." Said Jenkins
"That's crazy. The Captain's in charge here. He wouldn't take orders from a Spectre." Replied Doctor Chakwas
"Not his choice, Doc. Spectres don't answer to anyone. They can do whatever they want. Kill whoever gets in their way."
"You watch too many spy vids, Jenkins."
"What do you think, Commander? We won't be staying on Eden Prime for too long, will we? I'm itching for some real action!" Jenkins asked Shepard.
"I sincerely hope you are kidding, Corporal. Your 'real action' usually ends with me patching up crew members in the infirmary." Chakwas joked.
"You need to calm down, Corporal. A good soldier stays cool, even under fire." Shepard advised Jenkins.
"Sorry, Commander. But this waiting is killing me. I've never been on a mission like this before. Not one with a Spectre on board!"
"Just treat this like any other assignment you've had and everything will work out." Shepard said.
"Easy for you to say. You proved yourself in the Blitz. Everyone knows what you can do. This is my big chance. I need to show the brass what I can do!"
"You are young, Corporal. You have a long career ahead of you. Be careful in the field. I don't want to lose anyone on my squad."
"Don't worry, sir. You won't lose me." Jenkins smiled and walked away.
"How are you fairing Doctor?" Shepard asked.
"I am doing quite well, Commander. It's you I am worried about."
"I am fine, Doctor."
"Commander, I know this is a very personal matter. But there is no need to hide it from me and if I am not mistaken, you had that dream again?" Chakwas asked. Shepard hesitated for a bit.
"You know me well, Doctor." He sighed as he rubbed his hand over his forehead. "But it's better that we don't talk about this."
"I am worried about you, John."
John smiled. "I know. But I don't want to talk now."
"Yes. Maybe we will talk later. You shouldn't keep it inside you Commander. It's not good for your health."
"I know." John answered and his mind drifted to a memory years ago.
19 YEARS AGO, MINDOIR COLONY ATTICAN TRAVERSE
The day was pretty boring for an 11 year old John. Heck, to him everyday was boring. He has no friends, or family. He was all alone in this world. Sometimes when he laid in his bed at night, he would cry silently. He also doesn't know the identity of his parents. This made him even more depressed that he doesn't even know who he is. He would have died of hunger if the man named David Levinson hadn't found him and let him work in his shop. David was also kind enough to help him rent an apartment. At first, he was living in an orphanage, which was destroyed when the slavers attacked. Most of the children died, and those who survived were taken away as prisoners. He somehow managed to hide himself from the slavers. And from then on, he wandered in the streets, tired and hungry. Then one day, David found him when he was crying due to how hungry he was. From then on, he was working in David's shop.
John was walking along the street unmindfully thinking about his heritage, and how he survived his encounter with the slavers. He just got out from his job in David's shop and was walking towards his home. Then he heard a faint sound of someone crying. He looked around but couldn't see anybody. So he started walking in the direction he thought the sound was coming from. After looking for a bit, he found the source of the sound. A girl, her face hidden in her palms, was crying. She was sitting at the end of a dark alley. He slowly approached her, trying not to frighten her. At the sounds of his footsteps, the girl looked up towards him. He was stunned. He was a child himself, but when he saw the girl's face, only a single thought came to mind, she was stunningly beautiful. She has shoulder length dark hair, a pale face with a pair of blue eyes and flawless skin. As soon as the girl saw him, she cringed away in fear. He sat down on the street in front of her and gave her a big smile.
"Hello!" he greeted her. The girl seemed confused at his actions because she didn't say anything. He continued, "Hey, I am John. I am not going to harm you." He extended his right hand towards her for her to shake it. The girl looked at his hand suspiciously but never took it. Realizing that she won't take his hand, he retracted it away from her, but never dropped his smile.
He said again, "Hey, I am John. You are?" Still she didn't say anything. He continued, "Why are you crying? Tell me, I can help you." He smiled at her. Now the girl seemed hesitant. It looked as if she was thinking about whether to trust him or not. But she spoke at last, "Why do you want to help me?" She asked with suspicion in her eyes.
"I know the feeling of being alone and helpless. I don't want anyone to suffer what I have faced in my life. So…"
"I am hungry." The girl quickly stated.
"Come with me. I will give you food in my apartment." At the mention of taking her to his apartment, she jumped away from him immediately. "I don't believe you. " She said. Now he couldn't understand how he would convince her that he meant well.
"Well, you are justified not to trust me. I am a complete stranger to you. But I assure you that…" He stopped as he could see three boys enter the ally and were approaching them. When they came near, he recognized them as bullies who beat up other children around.
"Well! Well! Look what we have here." Said one of them. The other two sniggered. He approached the girl and grabbed her chin, forcing her to look at him. "Well isn't she pretty?" The other two had evil smiles on their faces. She tried to move his hand away from her chin, but she was unsuccessful as he was much stronger and bigger than her. Still, she struggled to get herself free.
"Stop it girly, or the consequences will be bad." Said the boy. John was fuming in anger. He always hated bullies.
"Leave her alone." John stated in a cold voice. The three boys looked at him surprised. The one who was bullying the girl smirked, "Ohh, we are so scared. Let's run or he will beat us to a pulp for touching his girlfriend." The other two laughed out loudly. John glared at them.
"Leave her or I will…" John warned.
"You'll do what, kid? said one of them. Without answering them he punched the boy who was holding the girl, straight in the nose. The pain made the boy release the girl from his grasp.
"Damn it! He broke my nose! Get him." The boy ordered his companions. The other two immediately lunged at him. One grabbed him from the back and the other punched him in the stomach. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground clutching his stomach. They began to kick him mercilessly. Blood came out of his mouth, nose and ears. He was helpless to do anything. But what happened next was beyond anyone's imagination. One of the boys beating up John suddenly flew away and smashed into a wall. He fell to the ground unconscious. The other two were dumbfounded. Then they looked at the girl and saw that she was glowing with dark energy around her. Their eyes bulged. John took the chance, even though his body was aching in pain from the beating he just took. He grabbed a stone that was lying in the streets and hit one of the boys in the back of his head, rendering him unconscious. But the other one with a bleeding nose was quick. He punched John square in the jaw. Blood spluttered from his mouth as he was thrown away. He laid on the ground seeing stars in his eyes and a throbbing pain on his chin. The bully turned to the girl. She was lying on the ground breathing heavily, exhausted from using her biotics.
"Now you deserve a punishment little girl. I thought I would go easy on you, but now you will see the consequences of messing with me." He sneered. Then he grabbed her and tried to force himself on her. She screamed and struggled to get free. "No one will hear you girly, scream as much as you want." He said with an evil smile. John was watching the whole scene. Seeing what the boy was trying to do to the girl, a strange sense of protectiveness for the girl arose within him and something burst inside him in his anger. The boy was still laughing as he attempted to take advantage of her.. But his laugh didn't last long as he received a punch in the jaw, which almost shattered it. The girl and the boy both looked up and both of their eyes became wide.
Standing in front of them was John. His entire body was glowing blue with dark energy much brighter than the girl and the cornea of his eyes were no longer there. Instead, his eyes were glowing bright blue like his entire body. The girl's jaw dropped. John grabbed the bully and easily lifted him up with one hand by his clothes as if he weighs like a paper.
"Please let me go! Don't kill me please!" said the bully trembling in fear. John gritted his teeth in anger. He turned towards the girl and saw both amazement and fear in her eyes. He faced the bully once again.
"Never do this again." He said in a much colder voice than before. The bully just nodded. Then he threw him away. He fell to the ground and ran away. As soon as his anger dissipated, the energy surrounding him vanished and he felt exhaustion like never before. He fell to the ground. Before he became unconscious, he saw with his hazy eyes that the girl was hovering over him and looking at him with concern in her eyes. After that, the world around him turned black.
When John regained consciousness, he felt his entire body was aching in pain. He then suddenly realized that he has his head on something soft. He became confused. Opening his eyes and saw that he was lying on the ground with his head on the girl's lap. She is still here. He slowly sat up. The movement awakened her from her sleep.
"You alright?" She asked him immediately.
"I think so…"he replied. He flinched as pain shot through his abdomen. He saw that she was looking at him with gratefulness and concern in her eyes.
"I don't know why you saved me, but…thank you. If not for you, I would…"She was cut off by John.
"It was nothing. Besides, you were in need and I helped. It's nothing to thank for. Anyone would have done the same thing. But you are welcome as you said 'thank you' to me." He rambled on and flashed her a smile.
"Miranda…" she said quietly.
"Sorry, I didn't get that."
"Miranda. My name is Miranda Lawson, but you can call me Miri." She said with a smile.
"Well you said your name at last. Phew! I get you to speak your name. That's a success. You have a nice name, but I like the name 'Miri' more." He grinned at her. She laughed at him and blushed. He continued, "So I presume you trust me somewhat now?" She nodded in agreement, still blushing. He laughed, but stopped immediately from the pain in his jaw. She immediately came forward and touched his face. As soon as she touched his face, they both flinched as an immediate shock went through them. She retracted her hands from his face. "Your jaw is bruised." He pouted. But immediately changed the mood with his joke, "I bet the girls will like me now if they saw this bruise."
"What?" She seemed confused.
"Well some girls like bad boys. Maybe this bruise will prove that I am a bad boy and you know…" He stopped as she laughed out loud at his joke. He grinned at her.
"You are so silly." She said in between her laughter. Then her stomach growled.
"Looks like someone is hungry." He said while chuckling. She pouted. "What?" he asked, seeing her reaction.
"Is your offer still open?" she asked him.
"Yes, of course." He smiled brightly.
"Good, because I am starving." She started and helped him up. She ordered him to lean on her as they walked towards his home.
COMM ROOM
"Commander Shepard, I was hoping you'd get here first. It will give us a chance to talk. I am interested in this world we are going to – Eden Prime. I have heard it's quite beautiful." Said Nihlus.
"I've never been there." Said Shepard.
"But you know of it. It's become something of a symbol for your people, hasn't it? Proof that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy, but also protect them. But how safe is it really?"
"Do you know something?"
"Your people are still newcomers, Shepard. The galaxy is a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?"
"I think it's about time we told the Commander what is really going on." Said Anderson.
"This mission is far more than a simple shakedown run." Interjected Nihlus.
"Is someone going to fill me in, Captain?" Shepard asked.
"We are making a covert pick–up on Eden Prime. That's why we needed the stealth system operational." Said Anderson.
"There must be a reason you didn't tell me this, sir." Said Shepard.
"This comes down from the top, Commander. Information strictly on a need–to–know basis. A research team on Eden Prime unearthed some kind of beacon during an excavation. It was Prothean."
"I thought the Protheans vanished 50000 years ago."
"Their legacy still remains. The mass relays, the Citadel, our ship drives – it's based on Prothean technology." Said Nihlus.
"This is big Shepard. The last time humanity made a discovery like this, it jumped our technology forward two hundred years. But Eden Prime doesn't have the facilities to handle something like this. We need to bring the beacon back to the Citadel for proper study." Anderson stated.
"Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests, Commander. This discovery could affect every species in Council space." Nihlus stated.
"Why didn't we keep the beacon to ourselves?" Shepard asked.
"You humans don't have the best reputation. Some species see you as selfish. Too unpredictable. Too independent. Even dangerous." Answered Nihlus.
"Sharing that beacon will improve our relations with the Council. Plus, we need their scientific expertise. They know more about the Protheans than we do." said Anderson.
"The beacon's not the only reason I am here, Shepard." Nihlus said. Shepard looked confused.
"Nihlus wants to see you in action, Commander. He's here to evaluate you." Anderson cleared his confusion.
"What's going on Captain? he asked.
"The Alliance has been pushing for this for a long time. Humanity wants a larger role in shaping interstellar policy. We want more say with the Citadel Council. The Spectres represent the Council's power and authority. If they accept a human into their ranks, it shows how far the Alliance has come." Anderson answered.
"You held off an enemy assault during the Blitz single–handed. You showed not only courage, but also incredible skill. That's why I put your name forward as a candidate for the Spectres." Said Nihlus.
"Why would a turian want a human in the Spectres?" asked Shepard.
"Not all turians resent humanity. Some of us see the potential of your species. We see what you have to offer to the rest of the galaxy…and to the Spectres. We are an elite group. It's rare for an individual with the skills we seek. I don't care that you are human, Shepard. I only care that you can do the job." Nihlus explained.
"Just tell me what I have to do." Stated Shepard.
"I need to see your skills for myself, Commander. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together." Nihlus added.
"You'll be in charge of the ground team. Secure the beacon and get it onto the ship ASAP. Nihlus will accompany you to observe the mission." Said Anderson.
"Why is the beacon so important?"
"All advanced galactic civilization is based on Prothean technology. Even yours." Said Nihlus.
"If we hadn't discovered those Prothean ruins buried on Mars, we'd be still stuck on Earth. That was a small data cache. Who knows what we can learn from this beacon. What if it's a weapon archive? We can't let it fall into the wrong hands." Answered Anderson.
"Like who?" Asked Shepard.
"The Attican Traverse isn't the most stable sector of Citadel space. There are plenty of raiders and criminal groups active in the region. They might figure a Prothean beacon is worth the risk of attacking an Alliance ship. Plus, Eden Prime is right on the border of the Terminus Systems." Answered Anderson
"The Attican Traverse is under Citadel protection. If the Terminus Systems attack, it's an act of war." Shepard stated.
"Technically, yes. But some of the species in the Terminus might be willing to start a war over this." Nihlus agreed.
"The last thing the Council wants is to be dragged into a major conflict with the Terminus Systems. We have to keep this low–key." Said Anderson.
"Just give the word, Captain." Said Shepard.
"We should be getting close to Eden…" Anderson was cut off by Joker's voice in the comm. "Captain! We've got a problem." Said Joker.
"What's wrong, Joker?" asked Anderson.
"Transmission from Eden Prime, sir. You better see this!" said Joker.
"Bring it up on the screen." Ordered Anderson.
When the screen turned on, they saw that Eden Prime was under chaos. Soldiers were screaming orders and reported heavy casualties and asking for reinforcements. Then the screen focused on a huge, strange ship. It had four tentacles and red lighting was sparking in its entire body and people were screaming. Then the transmission cut off. Anderson asked for a status report and Joker reported that there is no Alliance ship near Eden Prime. Anderson ordered Joker to fly towards Eden Prime. He stated that Nihlus will accompany Shepard.
"Grab your gear and meet us in the cargo hold. Tell Alenko and Jenkins to suit up. You are going in Commander…" said Anderson.
EDEN PRIME, FEW MINUTES LATER…
"Somebody was doing some serious digging here, Captain." Joker informed through the comm.
"Your team is the muscle in this operation, Commander. Go in heavy and head straight for the dig site." Said Anderson.
"What about survivors, Captain?" Kaidan asked.
"Helping survivors is a secondary objective. The beacon is your top priority." Said Anderson.
"Nihlus? You are coming with us?" asked Jenkins.
"I move faster on my own." Replied Nihlus. He then jumped down from Normandy and moved towards his objective.
"Nihlus will scout out ahead. He'll feed you status reports throughout the mission, otherwise I want radio silence." Anderson ordered.
"We've got his back, Captain." Shepard assured.
"The mission is yours now Shepard. Good luck." Said Anderson.
"We are approaching drop point two." Joker informed through comm. Shepard gave a nod to Anderson and prepared to descend on Eden Prime with Kaidan and Jenkins.
After landing they made sure that the Normandy's perimeter was secure. Nihlus informed them through radio that enemies were swarming the area. They began to move slowly keeping their guard up.
"God, what happened here?" Said Jenkins. Shepard stopped him because he heard something. Then they saw two combat drones approaching them. John ordered Kaidan and Jenkins to get to cover and he himself dove behind a rock. He knew that these assault drones had heavy fire power which would be able to cut through their shields and armor within seconds. But Jenkins began to fire on the drones instead of going to cover. The consequence was imminent. Both the drones focused on Jenkins and put their heavy fire on him, which tore through his shields and armor. He dropped dead on the ground immediately. "Shit" John cursed under his teeth.
"Kaidan overload the drone's shield on your left." Shepard ordered. He nodded and used overload on the drone at his left side. The drone's shield went down immediately and he finished it off with two bursts from his shotgun. Meanwhile, John switched to disruptor ammo in his assault rifle and opened fire on the remaining drone from cover. The disruptor ammo dropped its shield and the rapid fire from his assault rifle destroyed its armor, finishing it off. They made sure the area was clear before moving towards Jenkin's body. Kaidan began to check on him.
"Tore through his shield and armor. Never stood a chance." Explained Kaidan. John didn't say anything. "Commander?" he asked.
"He deserves a proper burial. When we finish our mission, we will make sure that he gets a proper burial. But we must push forward to the dig site and I need you to stay focused."
"Aye, aye Sir!"
Shepard and Kaidan barely moved a few meters ahead when they were again attacked by combat drones. This time, Shepard didn't even give Kaidan any time to attack the drones, as he destroyed both the drones with his shotgun with exceptional agility and quickness.
"These are geth drones Commander." Kaidan informed.
"Then the geth are nearby. Let's move."
Again they encountered a few more drones. After taking care of them, they pushed towards the dig site. They reached near their destination without further resistance. They noticed that the geth were there along with the female marine who they saw on the video. She was pinned down by the geth.
"Kaidan provide covering fire. I will try to get behind them." Shepard ordered.
Kaidan nodded and started to provide suppressive fire with his assault rifle. Shepard sneaked behind the geth and took them out from behind with his shotgun. After seeing the fight was over, both Kaidan and the female marine lowered their guns. She walked towards Shepard, realizing that he was the team leader and her savior.
"Thank you Commander. I thought that…" she stopped. She saw with horror that Shepard was aiming his shotgun at her and even before she could blink, he fired at her. But the shot never hit her. Instead she heard a mechanical groan behind her. She turned around and saw that a geth was lying on the ground, clearly dead and its cloak slowly fading away. she turned back towards Shepard, clearly impressed by his ability and skill and she was also impressed in other ways…by his looks. She saw Commander Shepard in the news and extra net many times and it clearly showed how handsome he is but watching on the video feed was nothing compared to watching him directly in front of her. This man is a hero and she knew… not only herself but also everyone knew that every human woman desires him…hell she even saw some asari's gossip about him.
"No need to thank me marine. You are?" Shepard asked.
"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. You are the one in charge here, sir." she saluted him.
"Are you wounded Williams?"
"A few scrapes and burns but nothing serious. Others weren't so lucky." She replied.
"What happened here?"
"Oh, man… We were patrolling the perimeter when they attacked us. We tried to get off a distress call, but they cut all our communications. I've been fighting for my life ever since."
"Where is the rest of your squad?"
"We tried to double back to the beacon, but we walked into an ambush. I don't think any of the others…I think I am the only one left."
"Are they all geth?"
"Yes sir."
"The geth haven't been seen outside the Veil in nearly 200 years. Why are they here now?" Kaidan asked Ashley.
""They must have come for the beacon. The dig site is closed. Just over the rise. It might still be there." Ashley replied.
"We could use your help, Williams." Shepard said.
"I am with you, sir." Ashley smiled.
Kaidan rolled his eyes. 'Not again.' he thought. He knew where this was heading, as usual. Ashley Williams is clearly taken to the Commander…her expression and the way she is looking at him tells Kaidan its true. This always happens. Every lady who meets the Commander, wants to be with him within a few minutes of knowing him. Maybe it's the Commander's charm or personality, maybe both which draws females without the Commander even trying to do that. If truth be told he is sometimes jealous…no, absolutely not, maybe envious, yes…that's right, envious of the Commander. But strangely, Kaidan always observed that the Commander never encouraged women that he liked them and he never pursued them, even though women always wanted to woo him. He either remained strictly professional or established a relationship of merely friendship and certainly not friends with benefits. It's not that the women who desired him were always bad women… well most of them were nice. But the Commander didn't even look at them, he never did. Joker also told him about Shepard being reluctant to establish a romantic relationship with a woman. He really cannot find any possible reason, because as far as he knew and observed, he knows that the Commander doesn't have a girlfriend or a wife or a family. But for now, he decided to let it go because he realized that it's the Commander's personal matter, so he turned his concentration on the conversation between Williams and the Commander.
"Tell me about the beacon." Shepard said.
"They were doing some digging out here to extend the monorail and expand the colony. A few weeks ago, they unearthed some Prothean ruins…the beacon. Suddenly, every scientific expert in the colony was interested. That's when they brought us in to secure the site. I don't know much about the beacon itself, but I heard one of the researchers say the could be the discovery of the century."
"What happened to the researchers at the dig site?"
"I don't know. They set up camp near the beacon. The 232 was with them. Maybe their unit fared better than mine."
"Describe what happened leading up to the attack."
"We were sent out a couple of nights ago from the main colony to secure the area. Seemed like a routine patrol until the geth hit us. We never knew they were coming."
"Have you seen a turian Spectre around here?"
"There aren't that many turians on Eden Prime. None that I have ever met. Not sure I'd be able to tell if one was a Spectre anyway."
"If you saw this guy, you'd know. Carries enough firepower to wipe out a whole platoon. Luckily, he's on our side." Kaidan said.
"Sorry. Like I said, no turians." Ashley shrugged a bit.
"Let's move out then." Shepard ordered.
After a few minutes, they reached the did site to find that it was empty.
"This is the dig site. The beacon was right here. It must have been moved." Said Ashley.
"By whom? Our side? Or the geth?"
"Hard to say. Maybe we will know more after we check out the research camp." Ashley replied.
"Do you think anyone got out alive?" Shepard asked.
"If they were lucky. Maybe hiding up in the camp. It's just on top of this ridge. Up the ramps." Ashley said.
"Wait." Shepard stopped his team as they were about to move. He started to speak with Nihlus in his comm. "Go on Nihlus, I can hear you."
"Change of plans, Shepard. There is a small spaceport up ahead. I want to check it out. I will wait for you there." With that Nihlus ended the conversation.
"Ok team, let's move." Shepard ordered. Soon they reached the camp and saw the destruction there.
"Looks like they hit the camp hard." Ashley murmured.
"It's a good place for an ambush. Keep your guard up." Kaidan advises.
"Looks like the camp is empty, no hostiles and no survivors either." Ashley informed.
"What the hell are those?" Kaidan asked, pointing to a few metal pillars on which some human bodies were stuck and hanging from them. But they didn't look human anymore. They were like skeletons and they were totally changed. There was no skin on their bodies, instead their bodies were covered with an unknown substance which was radiating a blue light from their bodies. They had some kind of mechanical robotic eyes with the same blue glow.
"Oh, god! They are still alive." Ashley exclaimed in horror as she saw them move.
"What did the geth do to them?" Kaidan shouted while reading his rifle. Then he saw that the metal pillars were lowering and the mutated human beings detached themselves from the pillar and started to move towards them.
"Abominations." Said Shepard in a strangely calm voice.
"What?" Kaidan asked and when he turned to look at Shepard, his eyes became wide. He saw that Shepard's eyes were glowing blue, but not like the husk's strange blue color. It was the color of blue dark energy, biotics. Kaidan blinked his eyes and next time when he saw Shepard, he saw that his eyes were normal as usual. Did he see that right? He dismissed the idea, realizing that it must be the light from those monsters that were reflecting on the glass of Shepard's helmet, which made it seem like his eyes were glowing. So he concentrated on his enemies. After killing those things, Shepard learned a few things about the creatures.
"Listen, These things don't have armor, so it would be fairly easy to take them out but they are quick and attack in numbers. So don't let them corner you. Kill them hard and fast." Shepard advised his teammates.
"Yes, Sir." They replied in understanding. After that, they killed a few more of those creatures on their way. Shepard saw that Ashley Williams got herself pretty well adjusted with them and she has no problems regarding taking orders from him.
"Are they all dead?" Kaidan asked looking for more of those creatures. Then he saw a body of a turian lying on the ground a few feet away from them. It was Nihlus.
"Commander, its Nihlus. He is dead. He was shot at the back of his head."
"A turian? You know him?" Ashley asked Shepard.
"He's a Spectre. I was asking about him." Shepard replied.
"Something is moving! Over behind those crates!" Ashley warned them in a low voice. They all moved towards the crates with their weapons raised. A man stood up from behind the crates with his hands over his head.
"Wait! Don't…don't shoot! I am one of you! I am human!" He pleaded.
"Sneaking up on us like that nearly got you killed!" Shepard told him.
"I…I am sorry. I was hiding from those creatures. My name is Powell. I saw what happened to the turian. The other one shot him." Powell explained.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Shepard asked him, confused.
"There were two turians here. Your friend and the other one is called Saran. I think they knew each other. Your friend seemed relaxed. He let his guard down…and Saran killed him. Shot him right in his head. I am just lucky he didn't see me behind the crates."
"Damn! We were told a Prothean beacon was brought to the spaceport. What happened to it?"
"It's over on the other platform. Probably where that guy Saran was headed. He hopped on a cargo train right after he killed your friend. I know that beacon was trouble. Everything's gone to hell since we found it. First that damn mother ship showed up. Then the attack. They killed everyone. Everyone! If I hadn't been behind those crates I'd be dead too."
"How come you are the only one that survived? Why didn't anyone else try to hide behind the crates?" Shepard asked with suspicion.
"They never had a chance. I…I was already behind the crates when the attack started."
"Wait a minute. You were hiding behind the crates before the attack?" Kaidan asked.
"I…sometimes I need to nap to get through my shift. I sneak up behind the crates to grab forty winks where the supervisor can't find me." Powell answered.
"You survived because you were lazy?" Ashley said with disgust.
"If I hadn't snuck off for that nap, you'd probably be dead just like the others." Shepard saved him realizing that the man was telling the truth.
"Yeah. Yeah. I guess. I don't really want to think about it." Powell said.
"Alright, tell me about the geth attack."
"It was quick. One minute, that ship was descending. The next, those geths were swarming over the platform, thousands of them. They must have been inside that mother ship. They shot anything that moved. It was a massacre." Powell explained the situation to Shepard.
"Is there anything else you can tell me about the beacon?" Shepard asked.
"They brought it here this morning. We loaded it up onto the train and shipped it to the other platform. Hard to believe that was only a few hours ago. Feels like a whole other life."
"Describe the mother ship you saw."
"I have never seen anything like it before. It…it was huge. Landed over near the platform. The whole place got dark as it came down. And…and it was making this…this sound that bored right into your brain. That's what woke me up. The attack came a few minutes later."
"We need to find that beacon before it is too late." Shepard said to his teammates.
"Take the cargo train. That's where the other turian went. I…I can't stay here. I need to get away from all this." Powell ran away after giving them the information.
"Let's move out." Shepard ordered. They didn't even move five meters, when they were again attacked by the geths. Ashley and Kaidan took out several of them, leaving Shepard to only deal with two. Shepard lobbed one grenade at the one hiding behind the crates, killing it effectively. He threw that grenade while he was running and after throwing it, slid across the ground and shot simultaneously and took out the last geth behind the cover to his right.
"The cargo train is at the end of that pathway, let's move out." Shepard said.
"Commander! Look out a Geth Prime!" Ashley warned.
"Ashley behind the crate to your left and be ready with your sniper. Kaidan and me will drain its shield for you to take the shot." Shepard said to Ashley. She immediately took cover behind the crate to her left readying her sniper rifle. Kaidan overloaded the geth prime's shield draining it partially and he and Shepard took down the rest of its shield with heavy fire. Ashley was ready. She shot it immediately after its shield went down. She took it down with a single shot to the head.
"There's the pathway. It must lead us to the cargo train, Commander." Said Kaidan. They reached the narrow pathway and immediately took heavy fire from geth troops.
"Shit! There are too many of them and this path too narrow to avoid being shot." Shouted Ashley in the midst of the shooting.
"Don't worry Williams, the Commander is here. He will find a way. He always does." Kaidan assured Ashley.
"Kaidan, Williams, stay behind the cover and snipe them." Shepard indicated towards the geths at the far end of the pathway.
"Aye, aye Commander." They both said in unison. The trio took all the geth down except for one, which was at the farthest end of the pathway behind cover, armed with a missile launcher. It was behind cover in such a way that they could not even target him with a sniper. Kaidan tried to push foreword but he was forced to take cover as heavy missile fire rained down on him, draining his shield in the process.
"Damn it! It took down my shield." Kaidan informed and jumped behind cover to avoid taking damage.
"We can't move Commander. He has us pinned down and he is behind good cover." Ashley said while she continued to shoot at the geth, preventing it from boarding the cargo train.
"Williams, come to my position. You will get a shot at him." Shepard said. Ashley moved to Shepard's position and tried to scope the geth with her sniper but after looking for a few seconds, she discovered a gap through which she could see the geth, barely. The gap was the size of a keyhole she could see the geth through her scope for just a few milliseconds. She realized that this was an impossible shot. The bullet won't go through the gap.
"Commander, this is an impossible shot!" she shouted. Shepard looked at her and indicated her to take back your pervious position. Shepard took the sniper from her and went back to his sniping position.
"I am taking it down. Force it to show its head." Shepard said to them. Ashley was about to say something but she stopped as a missile missed her by inches and she dove for cover. She wondered after taking cover, how on earth will he shoot that geth, it's impossible. She resumed firing bullets at the geth, keeping it in its place. Then she heard the sound of a sniper shot. She peeked from cover and her eyes became wide. She saw the geth was lying on the ground, clearly dead and its head was blown away from the sniper shot.
"How did…" Ashley stated with amazement in her face and her mouth hanging open. Kaidan smirked at her reaction.
"Let's go to the controls of the cargo train." Shepard ordered. Kaidan smirked again and moved towards the train. Ashley was still standing at her position with her mouth hanging open. At Shephard's voice she got out of her trance and followed them to the train.
FEW MINUTES LATER…
"Damn! Commander, the geths are setting charges. They want to blow this place apart." Said Kaidan.
"I will diffuse the charges. You and Williams cover my back." Shepard ordered.
"You got it sir." Ashley said.
Then a heavy fire fight started. Shepard quickly disabled the first charge while Ashley and Kaidan rained hell on the geths. After searching, disabling all the charges and fighting off the geths, they finally reached the place where the beacon was. But immediately, they were ambushed by abominations. The trio worked in unison and killed the abominations in no time. The last few abominations were killed by Kaidan's inferno grenade.
"I think that's the last of them." Kaidan sighed.
"I hate those things." Ashley said with disgust in her voice.
"Normandy, the beacon is secured. Request immediate evac." Shepard said in the comm.
"This is amazing. Actual working Prothean technology. Unbelievable." Said Kaidan while watching the beacon.
"It wasn't doing anything like that when they dug it up." Ashley said.
"What do you mean?" Kaidan asked.
"I mean, it wasn't activated then, but now something has done it." She replied and slowly walked towards the beacon. But soon realized her mistake. AS she came within three feet distance from it, the beacon began to pull her towards it with an invisible but extremely powerful force. She tried her best, but couldn't free herself from the force which was dragging her towards the beacon. She fell down and desperately tried to claw at the ground to prevent herself from getting dragged towards the beacon, but her actions were fruitless and had nothing at which she could grab on. Shepard was talking with Joker in his comm with his back turned towards the beacon so they did not see Ashley. But as soon as he heard her desperate cry, he immediately ran towards her. He quickly grabbed her hand but immediately found himself being dragged towards the beacon along with Ashley. He used all his strength and yanked her free from the pulling force of the beacon but he couldn't free himself. He was pulled towards the beacon and found himself being lifted off from the ground and immediately felt an immense pain inside his head. Ashley wanted to run towards Shepard to save him but Kaidan stopped her.
"No! No! Don't touch him. It's too dangerous." Kaidan stopped her by grabbing her tightly with his arms.
Shepard saw a vision while being suspended in mid–air. The whole galaxy was in chaos, everything is dying everywhere and a war against thousands of mother ships similar to the one he saw. But he saw the most terrifying thing next – his worst nightmare. He saw himself standing in front of a round platform in a strange place and on the platform stood a girl with raven black hair. My God! It's her. Suddenly, the platform on which she stood on gave away and she slid down with her hands outstretched towards him, eyes wide with fear and silently begging him to catch her. He immediately jumped after her but he couldn't prevent her from falling into the dark void. He watched in horror as she fell but while falling, she said to him, "Find me John, I am waiting for you."
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" he shouted as he saw her disappearing into darkness. After that, he knew no more.
At the same time at an unknown distance and place far away from Eden Prime, a woman woke up in her bed from her nightmare, sweating and breathing heavily and fresh tears were rolling down her cheeks. She started sobbing loudly with her face buried in her pillows as she remembered her nightmare.
AT A BAR IN PLANET ILLIUM
Two men were sitting face to face at a table quietly sipping their drink. One man was Asian and the other one was mean looking but from his outfit it was evident that he was extremely rich. He was smoking a cigar and looking at the asari dancer with lustful eyes who was dancing on their table. The Asian man named Mr. Chang spoke after some time, "Are you sure they are not following you here Mr. Simpson?"
"Positively. I left no trace back there that I am here and they can't do anything here, this place is heavily guarded and I also have my personal bodyguard with me." The mean looking man named Mr. Simpson indicated towards the krogan sitting on a table a few feet away from them.
"But I don't get it, why are they after you?" Mr. Chang asked.
"Took a lot of credits for them against the goods they demanded but I didn't dispatch them." Mr. Simpson replied smugly.
"Why didn't you? If you don't mind me asking."
"Not at all. I just got a better customer than them after taking the credits and I didn't return them the credits because I needed that credit to meet some losses I incurred in my factory."
"Mr. Simpson, you should have known better. They don't take betrayal lightly." Mr. Chang said. Mr. Simpson didn't answer him for a while he just puffed on his cigar. Finally he said in an almost inaudible tone, "I know….." but he stopped in mid-sentence as his eyes fell on a woman standing a few feet away from him and smirking at him. She is sexy and hot….. Correction, she is the sexiest and hottest woman he had ever seen. As he observed her body she gave him a seductive smile. After that Mr. Simpson couldn't control himself any longer. He has to meet her and if things go well soon he will be getting what he wanted from her. He stood up and walked towards her where she was standing at a corner of the bar leaning against a wall sipping her drink. He stood for a few moments in front of her, admiring her body. His eyes were glued to her breasts. She saw that and smirked again at him.
"See anything you like?" she asked with a smug smile. Mr. Simpson unwillingly took his eyes away from her breasts and looked at her face. She has shoulder length blonde hair and a pair of beautiful blue eyes. She is the image of perfection, he thought.
"I am Mr. Simpson. You probably saw me in the news many times." He started to praise himself to impress her.
"OH MY GOD! You are Mr. Simpson – the famous businessman. Yes, yes you are. How I couldn't recognize you?" She said in a way as if she was ashamed of herself for not recognizing him. She continued again, "I….I am really lucky that I met the man of whom I dream about every day. You know my father always advised me to follow your works and I learned many things from you." She stuttered, her cheeks were red with embarrassment.
"Oh! Glad to know I have a fan. But I can give you something for which you will remember me throughout your life." He gave her a devilish smirk. Her face colored more as she caught the meaning of his words.
"I….I…mean that…." she stuttered again.
"Don't worry my dear, I won't keep you for long, maybe for two hours." He told her.
"OK." She gave him a shy smile.
"You won't regret this. Maybe if I find you satisfying enough, I will take you as my personal assistant." She smiled at him hearing his offer and said, "Thank you Mr. Simpson. I….. I will be glad to work with you."
"Let's not waste any time. My apartment is nearby."
After a few moments they both stood outside his apartment while his guards were checking her for any kind of weapon. When they were satisfied that she wasn't carrying any kind of weapon they let her enter the apartment.
"So what is your name?" Mr. Simpson asked her.
"Ana." She answered.
"Will you like some wine before satisfying me?" he gave her a lustful smirk.
"I would like some wine." She said shyly. After that they had some small talks regarding his accomplishments in business while drinking wine. Suddenly Mr. Simpson felt dizzy, his vision began to cloud.
"What's happening to me?" he asked himself while grabbing his head with both his hands. Soon he found that he no can no longer move, his whole body had become paralyzed. He looked at Ana and saw that she was smirking at him. Slowly realization dawned on him.
"What did you put in my drinks, you bitch?" he questioned. His vision became dark with every passing second. She slowly put her wine glass down on the table. Then she walked towards him and stopped just in front of him. He looked at her face. He saw the smile on her face was long gone replaced by cold hatred and anger. Then he saw that her body started to glow with dark energy. His eyes became wide with fear. He wanted to call his guards but realized that he couldn't even speak anymore. Is she going to kill me? He thought with fear in his mind. Then she socked him in the face, hard and he immediately saw blackness.
"Cerberus says, hello. Bastard!" Ana spat at him with disgust. After that she left him in his bedroom. The toxin which she gave him in his drinks will render his unconscious for at least eight hours but the toxin has no side effects apart from making his body unmovable and making him unconscious. She hacked his omni – tool easily and got the code for his vault where he kept his valuable items. She had one more work left, getting rid of his bodyguard. She knew that by this time her fellow men already took care of other guards in the apartment. She took the pistol from her prisoners' body and went towards the door. Then she shouted for help and stood with her back against the wall just beside the door, so that the krogan couldn't see her. Her plan worked effectively. The krogan came rushing inside and tried to locate the source of trouble. She raised her pistol to the back of his head and shot him right in his head. The krogan immediately fell to the floor dead. To make sure that he was dead he emptied the entire clip in his body. She ordered her men in her hidden comm to collect the prisoner. They immediately came inside the room with a tall man with a strong body and an assault rifle in his hand. The others who entered immediately got to work. Ana took off her blonde wig from her head causing her shoulder length raven hair to fall down loose.
"Everything okay, Miranda?" the tall man asked Ana.
"I am fine Jacob." Miranda gave Jacob a curt reply.
"I have no doubt in your skills Miranda but you know….. I can't help but worry…" again he was stopped in mid – sentence by her.
"Jacob I told you many times that I am not interested. I don't have time for relationships and besides I don't have any kind of romantic feelings for you." Now she raised her voice slightly.
"But how could you know? You never gave us a chance. Miranda, I genuinely care about you." Jacob almost pleaded to her.
"I don't want to talk about this topic anymore. I am heading to my apartment, will see you at the base later." She replied coldly and quickly left the apartment before Jacob could say anything.
Miranda after entering her apartment in Illium felt pretty tired. She realized it must because of the lack of rest she got for the past few days and lack of sleep because of that dream. It was still fresh in her mind, haunting her every time she closed her eyes. She shivered thinking about what she saw in the dream.
She saw him, her John, exactly as she remembered him from her teen age. He was with her in a strange place and she herself was standing on a short, round platform. Soon she found herself sliding down along the platform as it suddenly gave away. At that moment she knew that her life was about to end. She looked up at him and saw that he was looking at her with utter horror in his face. She watched the vast blackness down the platform in which she was about to fall and her eyes widened with fear. Then she saw him sliding towards her with his arms outstretched towards her trying to grab her hand. She didn't know how, but somehow he caught her as she was suspended in mid - air and was about to fall into the darkness of the void. They both grabbed the edge of the platform and tried to get up on the platform. Somehow she pulled herself up with his help as he pushed her from behind with his hand, so that she could lift herself up. Suddenly, she saw with panicking eyes as a rubble from the ceiling fell on him, taking him down with it in to the dark void. He looked at her straight in her eyes while falling, blue eyes met blue eyes and he uttered, "I will find you Miri, wait for me." She shouted in horror as she saw him disappearing into the void, "NOOOOOOOOOO! JOOOOOHHHHHNNNNN!" Then she woke up in her bed sweating and breathing heavily with tears running down her face. She hid her face in her pillows and sobbed loudly and murmured, "Please, be alive John. I am living every day of my life with the belief that you are alive and you will find me one day. Don't be dead, John. I can't survive with you being dead. I always believed in you and I still do, so find me quickly, I can't stay without you anymore, please come back to me."
Miranda was shivering every time she thought about the scene in her dream in which she saw him falling into the darkness. She quickly realized that she was crying again while thinking about him. She rubbed her tears away from her face and decided to freshen up by taking a bath and getting some much needed sleep.
After a few minutes she got herself refreshed and went to bed after eating some light food. She was thinking about her mission with her eyes closed while lying in her bed. Her objective was to track down the target and get the job done by seducing him which was the easiest method. This mission was simple to her which she has done many times. But she feels disgusted with herself every time she does her job of seducing men. But she never let any men touch her ever in the past nor would she let them ever, except him. She can't think of being intimate with any man except that one man she loved, with all her heart. She knew that if she wanted she could have any man in her bed begging her to seduce them because she was beautiful, perfect physical beauty and everything else which screams for male attention. She never wanted men to stare at her body like animals. She just wanted only one person's attention and she got it, she got more than she ever imagined. She remembered the way he looked at her always with respect, admiration and most of all with his eyes full of love, that he reserved only for her alone which was completely different from other men who just wanted to get their desires fulfilled. She still doesn't know how he could love her so much after she told him what she was. She expected him to see her with disgust or hatred in his eyes but those expressions never appeared in his face. His eyes still showed her that it doesn't matter to him. He told her that he will always love her and nothing would ever change that and his love for her will never lessen but it will grow steadily, and it really happened. She also loved him equally if not more. At that time she knew that her heart is permanently taken by him and no one else will ever be in her heart except him. She remembered the first time when Operative Jacob Taylor first expressed his desire to be with her. She felt bad now because of the way she put him down immediately with her harsh words. It wasn't that Jacob was a cruel or a vile man, he is indeed a good man. She also liked him but not romantically. They became friends quickly from working partners from doing many works and missions together. She turned him down because she knew she will never be able to love him because her heart was stolen long ago by that 15 year old boy. Those old memories still brought tears to her eyes every time she thought about them. She got caught by her father's men after he was gone. She was tortured by her father Henry Lawson for over a year continuously. But during that time she trained herself with her biotic abilities, hand to hand fighting, became expert in many medical and technological studies and got herself prepared to fight against her father one day. She shifted her thoughts to the first time she met Illusive Man in person. He assigned her with a job which was of utmost importance to the organization of Cerberus. The Illusive Man put his faith in her and she decided that she will try her best to keep his trust and as the years went by she became one of his most trusted operatives.
She turned her thoughts once more to John. After all these years she really doesn't know where he is now. Does he miss me like the way I miss him? She thought. All those years ago when he was taken away by the slavers she became heartbroken and miserable. She wanted to die because she had no purpose to live anymore and she had no one in the world who cared about her. The only person who cared for her was taken away from her cruelly, and she could do nothing. Then suddenly, one day she again found the purpose to live once more when she heard that everyone who was imprisoned by the slavers from the Mindoir colony was rescued by an Alliance ship. From that moment she desperately wanted to see him once again and be in his arms which made her feel special, loved and safe. But she couldn't get out of her father's grasp. She cried almost every day for him, wanting to see him again with her own eyes. But it never happened. After two years when she was seventeen she was ready to escape from her father once again and this time it wasn't just only for her. She recently discovered that she has a sister. She decided to give her sister a normal life which she never had, not entirely correct she thought. She had a normal and a very happy life when she was with him. She kidnapped her newly born sister and escaped from her father's grasp with the help of a friend Niket. He really was her friend, probably her only friend whom she trusted more than anyone, except him. Then one day when she was wandering alone with her sister not knowing what to do, two people approached her and said that they will make sure that her sister will have a good family to grow up and in exchange they need her service. They appreciated her talent in many fields. She accepted their offer and went away with them. After that she desperately tried to find him through her various contacts which she gained over the years working for Cerberus but she never found any trace of him. Now after all these years she realized that the heartache she always feels whenever she thought about him will go away with time passed but her feelings for him only grew stronger instead of lessening, so did her heartache. She doesn't know how much longer she could carry on without him. It was pathetic. She was a grown woman, a tough operative under whose icy glares men wets their pants. She even managed to earn the title of Ice Queen throughout all these years working for Cerberus. But when it came to him she acts like a love-sick teenager. She couldn't help it though. She shifted her thoughts on how the two of them became best friends only within a year and after two years from then they both realized that they were in love with each other, hopelessly and forever in love. She smiled at the memory when she first kissed him and his reaction to that.
19 YEARS AGO, MINDOIR COLONY IN THE ATTICAN TRAVERSE
John entered his apartment with Miranda supporting him. She let him sit on his bed leaning against his pillow.
"Where's the first aid kit?" Miranda asked him.
"There….. Inside the cabinet." John answered. She got the kit and was about to clean his wounds and dried blood on his face and arms when he stopped her. She looked confused.
"What?" she asked him.
"I will treat my wounds, don't worry. You get yourself some food from the kitchen." He said.
"No. First I will take care of your wounds, then we will eat together." She said the words with such determination in her eyes and face that he couldn't find any words to argue with her.
After thirty minutes or so, they were eating and having small talks. That's when Miranda asked him, "So you are also a biotic?"
"Me? Biotic? No. Whatever gave you that idea?" he asked her.
"What do you mean by 'no'? Your biotic powers were incredibly powerful. I neither heard nor ever saw a powerful biotic like you." She said in amazement.
"I really don't know what you are talking about Miri, I really am not a biotic." He said now totally confused.
"John you saved me from those boys with your biotics."
"What? Are you serious? But I don't even remember it. I thought that you saved me." Miranda looked at him and saw that he was indeed telling her the truth. It was clear from the expression of his face that he is totally confused.
"But how couldn't you remember? This is really strange."
"I don't know what happened back there and it doesn't matter whether I used biotic abilities or not, the only thing that matters is that you are safe." He smiled at her lightly.
"Thank you, for what you did. No one ever did anything like that for me." She smiled and kissed both his cheeks. Miranda lowered her face to eat her food so she didn't see him blushing madly after she kissed him.
"So what is your story? I mean why were you there alone in the dark corner of the street? Don't you have a family? You can answer if you feel that you can trust me."
"Of course I trust you. But first I want to know about you."
"Ok. So, what do you want to know?" he asked her. She looked at him with curiosity in her eyes.
"What is your full name?" she asked.
"John. You know it." He said with a chuckle.
"I mean, what is your surname?"
"I don't have one."
"What do you mean?"
"I grew up in an orphanage Miranda and I never knew who my parents were."
"I…. I am sorry."
"You don't have anything to be sorry about Miri. Before I met you I was all alone in this world, now I gained a friend." He smiled slightly.
"I also never had a family." She whispered.
"Are you an orphan like me?"
"No….. I have a father. But he was never a father to me. I…. I escaped from him. I travelled from Earth in a shuttle. I stayed hidden inside until it reached here. And then you found me."
"Why did you escape?"
"I will tell you everything John, but….not now. Just know that he is not a good person."
"I knew it. Otherwise no one would have left their own father."
"Yeah."
They finished their food quietly after the conversation. Then Miranda turned to him and said in a soft tone, "Thank you again. I don't know what I would have done if you didn't find me. I would probably be dead by now. But I don't want to intrude into your life anymore. Now, I must leave."
"Wait. Where will you go?" he asked her.
"I really don't know. But…" she stopped speaking as he put his finger on her lips.
"Stay with me."
"That's not possible John. I need to find a new home. How much longer can you let me stay with you?"
"Forever." He replied without hesitation.
"Did you mean that?"
"Yes. Absolutely. You can stay here as long as you want." He smiled at her. After hearing his words Miranda threw herself at him and hugged him tightly. John was taken aback by her sudden joy. Then she kissed his cheeks again causing him to turn crimson red, again.
"Thank you, John. I… I…." she couldn't say anything. She buried her face in his chest and cried while embracing him tightly. John didn't know what to do at that moment, so he patted her back awkwardly.
Now in present time Miranda Lawson lay on her bed in her apartment in Illium, sleeping. She turned to her right side in her sleep with a soft smile on her lips. She mumbled in her sleep, "Love you John."
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