Chapter 31
The ride back to the Citadel was much easier than the last time I traveled there. Aria has access to an impressive personal transport ship for when she wants to travel in style. With the main Terminus fleet readying war, she agreed to take us back with her when she went to talk to the Council about deployment. Flying first class made for a much faster journey, but even then we were forced to divert our route a couple of times to avoid coming in contact with the enemy.
Nalar had recovered rapidly in the care of Omega's doctors and would be joining us. The station's hospitals lacked the sophistication of Citadel facilities but they certainly knew what they were doing when it came to fixing somebody up after a brawl. Kallen was also joining us again, as was, to my surprise, Melnar Sol. He said he wasn't entirely sure where he fit in at the moment but if he had a chance to repay the favour of freeing him from the League he wanted to do all I could. I'm not sure if I should be more careful about accepting his help but with his former colleagues in hiding, I couldn't see an ulterior motive at work.
I'd spoken with him briefly about the risks to his family but he'd assured me that he had it covered. He'd already released some information to the Salarian Union regarding the continued existence of the League of One. Coming as an unconfirmed report from a civilian of little or no standing the League had been easily able to use their influence to quash it but purpose had already been achieved. It would be a really bad idea for the accusers family to just disappear at any point in the near future. Not a perfect solution but Melnar was confident that the League would not be willing to take the risk, Salarians were a curious people when it came to any suggestion of a conspiracy afterall.
Back at the Citadel things were pretty much the same as when I left. The anger at Cerberus had faded slightly as their attack receded into the past but not by much. The damage was still very obvious all over the presidium commons and it took a fair amount of influence from Aria to even get me through customs. But at least I wouldn't have to worry about running into another hostile Spectre this time. The Council was only peripherally aware of my existence but they had enough presence of mind to send a message over the extranet to the effect of, I was too much trouble to be worth bringing in at this time. Not exactly a ringing endorsement but it kept them out of my way which was exactly what I wanted.
The main reason I had come to the Citadel is that word had it that's where I would find Sheppard. He'd just returned triumphantly from ending a conflict on the Quarian homeworld of Rannoch and was back on the station to help with some investigation Hackett was interested in. It all sounded like a wild goose chase to me but I was glad that he was here. There was something I needed to ask him.
We met in one of the apartments near the presidium commons. Not having the time on influence to arrange any proper accommodation, I had simply found one registered as empty on the Citadel database and picked the lock. Not my finest hour but I wouldn't be using it for long and it was private, away from the crowds.
"I got your message Miranda," he said the moment he walked through the door.
"Is this about your sister?"
"Shepard. I need access to Alliance resources," I replied bluntly wanting to get this piece of business out of the way before we talked properly. Besides John deserved the upfront approach. Still, there was a limit to what I could tell him.
"I can't say any more. You'll just have to trust me."
"I don't like secrets, Miranda. Just tell me what's going on."
Typical boy scout Shepard. Everything is always so straightforward in his world. Oddly enough even though I live with a very different philosophy I've always found it rather charming. But I couldn't explain how I got this lead without either lying or revealing everything that happened aboard the Normandy.
"I can't Shepard. If that's a problem, I'll go."
"Don't," he replied, the single word heavy with conviction and regret. That's the other thing about Shepard. Much as he might hate secrets, there's nothing he wouldn't do to help keep his crew safe.
"Trust is a little hard to come by these days," he explained.
"Of course."
"You'll have your access Miranda but I don't like the sound of this."
"I know. And thank you, it means a lot."
So Shepard made sure that I would get the support I would need just like he always did. And he also listened while I confessed to a few of the more questionable decisions I made while working for Cerberus. I didn't mention this recent debacle aboard the Normandy but I needed to know that there was one good person in the galaxy who could know me at my worst and still want to know me at all. Shepard forgave me my sins, even when they involved mistakes that could have hurt him personally (wanting to put a control chip in his head to keep him loyal to Cerberus of all things) but it didn't give me the catharsis I had hoped for. As accepting as he was, I don't think I'll be able to let myself off the hook quite as easily.
Afterwards, I got a chance to see what my meeting had won me. Alliance resources, specifically in the shape of a new ship and a team to help me pull off this next mission. We met aboard the SSV Brittany, an older ship model that shared some, but not all of the characteristics of the Normandy SR-1. It didn't have a stealth drive but it was just as fast as the old ship. Adequate for my needs I hoped, but far from ideal. Nor was the team we met in the briefing room.
There were six of them, all marines judging by their gear. Their leader made a point of introducing himself as soon as we got in the room.
"Captain Jason Burke, 13th Corsair division. I guess we're at your disposal now ma'am."
"Oh really? That's good to hear. I worked with a Corsair for several years, called-"
"Lieutenant Jacob Taylor, ma'am. Yes I'm familiar. Worked with the 3rd for two years until he decided to throw it all and sign up with..."
"Cerberus, Captain? Or me specifically? If you have an issue with who you're working with I suggest you air it out with me now."
"Permission to speak freely, ma'am?"
As if my last comment hadn't been permission enough. Honestly, the pompous formality is just one of the reasons that I never considered joining the Alliance myself.
"Granted."
"With all due respect, we're here at the order of Hackett himself given on the personal request of Commander Shepard. My team will get the job done because that's our job. Beyond that, you remain a former agent of our current enemy. Ma'am."
Not exactly a fantastic start to our partnership but I could respect the honesty.
"Very well. Our target is a heavily guarded research facility on Noveria. Officially it's owned by the Prometheus corporation but I have recently discovered that it is nothing more than a shell company controlled by my father, Henry Lawson."
"Your father? Shit, are we're going in to settle some domestic problem?" asked one of the corsairs at the fact.
"Stow it, Corporal, we have our orders," Captain Burke replied, though he somehow still contrived to imply that his superiors had gone mad to give them.
"If it helps, I will note that this facility was created back when my father was still a sponsor for Cerberus. If the intel about them working together again is correct, taking this base could be a major win for the Alliance as well."
"Spare us the soft sell Lawson. Just tell us what you need us to do."
"Infiltrate the facility, find out if my father is still there and capture or eliminate him as necessary. More importantly, there may be a kidnapped civilian on-site, Oriana Lawson. Your primary objective is to rescue her and get her out of the facility. Protect her at all costs, she didn't ask to be any part of this."
"Lawson, huh? So what's she, like your mother?"
"My sister. I don't- She and I escaped from under the thumb of my father a long time ago, I'd like to get back to that state of affairs as soon as possible."
"This is bull, sir! If this place is a Cerberus facility we should just drop a nuke on it from orbit and move onto our next objective. We've got a war to win, in case anyone's forgotten?"
"That's enough, corporal. Go on, head back to the mess and cool off. That's an order!"
We all watched her depart before he spoke again.
"She's not entirely wrong Lawson. We'll help you get into this facility since those are our orders but after that, the priority for me is capturing your father and all the Cerberus research there. If we can save your sister as well, so much the better but I won't pass up an opportunity to help take Cerberus down faster. The sooner they get knocked out of this war the happier I'll be."
"And my priority is getting my sister out of there safe and sound. If you can get us inside the perimeter, we'll handle that objective ourselves."
"You and your... Team?" he asked, looking at Nalar, Kallen, and Melnar incredulously.
"I'm not in the habit of allowing non-humans aboard my ship, ma'am. It was something I was going to discuss with you in private after the meeting."
"You have a problem with aliens?" Nalar snarled.
"No sir but I don't let foreign nationals aboard a secured military vessel. With all due respect Lawson, my team can handle this mission without their help."
"Shepard once went on the record saying that anyone who refuses skilled help is an idiot. Is that you Captain?"
"No ma'am, but I don't know what kind of help they can provide."
"Then let me enlighten you with a few introductions. On your left, we have Kallen Aldrus, a genius at running back-end tactical and strategic analysis. He'll find the weak points in this facility's defenses better than anyone on your crew could. To your right is Melnar Sol, one of the few people in the galaxy that was once a member of the only Salarian unit more elite than the STG, and this," I said finally, placing a reassuring hand on the Batarian's shoulder.
"This is Nalar, the man who actually defeated the Demon of Omega in single combat. Now if you don't know who that is I suggest that you look it up in your own time. The point is that this is one of the only teams I trust to have my back on a mission like this."
The Captain nodded slowly, but I could see he wasn't particularly happy about it.
"One of the only teams?" Kallen asked me in a whisper as we walked away from the completed meeting.
"Well, there is also the crew of the Normandy."
"They kicked us off the ship!"
"Nobody's perfect," I replied with a small smile. I turned to leave but Kallen stopped me by pulling on my arm.
"Listen, Miranda, I just wanted to say, thanks."
"What for?" I frowned.
"For making me feel like a Turian again."
And so with everyone on board, we set a course for Noveria. Even with detours around the frontlines the Brittany, built to the same engine specs as the original Normandy, didn't waste time in getting there. As we jumped into the system I was concerned that we wouldn't be able to get close without tipping off our target but Captain Burke explained that it wouldn't matter.
"Don't worry the Brittany was designed to be able to evade detection."
"A stealth system? I thought the Normandy was the only Alliance vessel that had that upgrade," I frowned.
"That she is. Our girl here isn't nearly so advanced but the Alliance were already looking into stealth options at the time. Our ship comes equipped with a system designed to disguise our drive signature to fool enemy vessels."
"So we can mimic the drive output of any ship configuration we want?"
"That was the plan but they struggled to make the engine output that flexible. Lab techs did their best with it but it's really only effective in high traffic systems like Noveria. If anyone looks at us too closely they'll see straight through us but there's too many ships here for anyone to bother."
'We hope,' I thought to myself.
"Once we're close enough to the planet we'll deploy three squads in UT-47A Kodiak shuttles. They do have proper stealth so if we move fast we should get the drop on anyone waiting at the facility."
"I'll wait in the shuttle bay then," I replied.
"Just be sure that your men are ready."