Running Silent:
A Timely Rescue
…
An alternate ME3. Commander Shepard and her team are on the run from Cerberus and trying to make alliances before it's too late. In a galaxy with no reaper kill switch, how can they hope to defeat something so ancient and powerful? Their last hope is a desperate plan that may cost them everything. Shepard/Garrus, other side pairings.
…
Disclaimer: This author in no way profits from the writing of this story. All characters, dialogue, or other referenced material from the Mass Effect trilogy belong to Bioware.
…
Shepard was bursting with questions when the shuttle door opened, but she stopped short when she saw Miranda standing outside the doors armed to the teeth and carrying two military-style duffles.
"What?" she managed to utter before Miranda cut her off.
"Stay onboard," Miranda ordered. "We need to hurry."
Shepard gave her a hard stare. "What the hell is going on, Miranda?"
Her XO pulled something out of one of the bags and tossed it towards her.
She caught it reflexively and glanced at what was in her hand. A protein bar. This was definitely getting weird.
She tossed one to Zaeed and another to a confused-looking Solana. "It's dextro," Miranda assured the turian.
Shepard crossed her arms and waited for the XO to turn back to her. "Miranda," she said warningly, gaze intense. "Explain. Now." The brunette met her eyes, and though Shepard's expression didn't waver, inwardly she was taken aback. She'd never seen Miranda look this troubled, not since…
"Cerberus is after my sister," she stated in a flat voice. "They may already have her. I can explain the rest on the way down." Miranda held fast under Shepard's scrutiny, silently pleading with the commander to agree and to hurry.
After a moment of consideration, Shepard gave her a nod. "Give O'Connor the coordinates," she instructed.
Miranda relaxed visibly. "Thank you, Shepard," she breathed. Before stepping into the cockpit, she indicated the duffel bags she brought onboard. "Help yourself to extra medi-gel, water, and heat sinks."
Shepard turned her critical gaze from Miranda to Zaeed and Solana. She didn't like to go straight from one mission to another without changing out the squad, but if the situation was as urgent as Miranda believed it to be, they didn't have many options. Shepard missed having a twelve-man team at her disposal.
Miranda returned from the cockpit appearing more composed than a few minutes previous, but Shepard could see through the facade. There was an unfamiliar apprehension in the XO's expression. It brought Liara's odd message to mind. "We need to talk about Miranda," the asari had said.
There was definitely more to this mission than met the eye.
"Shepard," Miranda began, "The Illusive Man contacted me not long ago."
The commander kept her expression level despite the feeling of surprise that shot through her. Shepard hadn't expected the Illusive Man's interest in Miranda to go any further than wanting his former operative dead.
Miranda continued, her eyes never leaving Shepard's despite their hesitation. "He demanded that I help him from the inside the next time Cerberus caught up with the Normandy. He…" She paused, smoothing out her suddenly shaking voice. "He threatened Oriana if I chose not to help." She finally broke Shepard's gaze, looking down towards her feet.
Shepard took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "You didn't think of mentioning this before, Miranda?" she asked warningly.
The brunette's eyes snapped up to hers again, wildly. "I—" She stopped herself before finishing the thought. Her eyes fell again to the floor. She took a deep breath and spoke more calmly, "I did, but…" She trailed off, pleading eyes on Shepard.
"I understand," Shepard said finally. Oriana meant everything to Miranda. Either way, it wasn't the time for this discussion. Nothing would be accomplished by further distressing her XO. "We need to focus on getting Oriana out. After that, we'll talk."
Miranda nodded mutely. Still shaken, she started typing on her omni-tool. She pulled up a schematic. "This is the university Oriana attends," she explained. "Right now she should be in Colonial History, this room," she said, lighting up a space on the three-dimensional map. "The Illusive Man knows her schedule and most likely already has people at the school. I don't believe he was bluffing." Her voice wavered slightly, but she soldiered on. "I've had EDI monitoring all arrivals and departures in the area. As of a quarter hour ago, communications are blocked in the area, but we should know if they try to leave the planet with her."
Shepard gave her a curt nod. "EDI?" she called.
"Commander?"
"Try to interface with the school's network. See if we can find out what's going on down there," she ordered.
A few moments of silence passed before the AI returned with her assessment. "School networks indicate a lockdown. I cannot get through on any emergency channels."
Shepard shared a look with Miranda. "So Cerberus is present, probably in control of the school, but it seems like they're still looking for Oriana," she commented.
Miranda looked thoughtful. "They know her entire schedule, Shepard," she said. "Maybe she had enough warning to hide." Her voice had become hopeful.
Shepard nodded. "She may be inexperienced, but she's as smart as you are," she reminded her. She involuntarily glanced at Solana and Zaeed, both in the dark about the sisters' true relationship. But that was Miranda's story to tell.
Shepard tried to use Miranda as a guide for understanding Oriana's natural abilities, but it was difficult to judge how much was nature and how much was nurture. Miranda had been forced into using all of her natural talents to protect herself and those she loved, but Oriana's childhood had been relatively ordinary. She tried to think of the few things she knew of Oriana. She'd gotten just one message from the girl, a thank you for helping her family on Illium months ago. Shepard could tell from the message that Oriana was intelligent, tenacious, and perceptive. It wasn't much to go on, but it was a start.
"We ought to split up, two and two," Shepard instructed. "Zaeed and Solana, I want you two to disrupt Cerberus any way you can. Make enough racket to distract them from Miranda and I, but try not to put yourselves in unnecessary danger." She turned to Solana. "Follow Zaeed's orders. He's been doing this kind of thing for as long as you or I have been alive," she said, shooting a slight smile to the old mercenary. "And you, Zaeed, you look out for her," she told him, motioning to Solana. "Garrus will murder us both if I let her get killed." Solana scowled at that, and Shepard suppressed a small smile.
"I can take care of myself," Solana muttered, subvocals raised in annoyance.
Shepard shrugged. "If I really doubted that, you wouldn't be here."
Shepard moved to face all three of them again as she felt the shuttle touch down. "Miranda and I will search for Oriana. We'll head up to the classroom first, but it's more likely she's elsewhere," she told them. "We may need to do some pretty extensive searching. Once we've got Oriana with us, we'll extract the two of you," she directed to Solana and Zaeed. She had no idea how yet, but she'd figure it out.
"Miranda," she instructed, "Send those schematics to all of our omni-tools, and give EDI the contact info for Oriana. She can try to get ahold of her while we look around." The XO nodded and started typing away on her omni-tool.
"O'Connor?" Shepard called to the shuttle pilot. "We almost there?"
"Ground entrances are surrounded," he replied. "About the only place I can do a drop without attracting attention is the tower roof."
"Do it," Shepard ordered.
She turned back to the other two teammates. "Comms may be out, but keep in contact while you can. We'll see you on the other side."
When the shuttle touched down, Zaeed opened the hatch with Solana following close behind him. Shepard turned to the shuttle pilot with a short list of instructions before coming back to Miranda. With a nod, the two of them unholstered their weapons and stepped outside.
Shepard and Miranda just reached Solana and Zaeed as the former finished hacking the roof access door. "Go on ahead," Shepard instructed. "And keep them off us."
Solana glanced at Shepard with a nervous, set expression, but Zaeed just looked bored. "Don't get your goddamn panties in a twist, Shepard," he growled. "We'll take care of it."
She and Miranda waited a few moments before carefully following the other two teammates inside. Shepard's armored footsteps echoed in the dark, deserted stairway. Miranda's lighter ones came just behind, hardly making a sound against the floor. Weapons drawn, they backed against the wall on either side of the doorway ahead of them.
Shepard pulled up the radar on her omni-tool to check for hostiles. "Immediate area's reading clear," she told Miranda and opened the door.
They stepped out cautiously. Shepard's eyes darted about, immediately taking note of the dead Cerberus soldier that had been stationed by the door. She squatted down beside the body to take a look. Neck snapped, comm stolen. Good. No gunfire would lead to this position, and now Zaeed and Solana could listen in on Cerberus communications.
As she righted herself, she noticed the security cam. "Let's hope Cerberus doesn't have an eye on those."
Miranda followed her gaze, eyes narrowing. She pulled up her omni-tool to type in a command. There was a spark, and then the camera fizzled and died. "There are bound to be more," she stated, frowning.
Shepard eyed the camera. "There's not much we can do except take them out as we reach them," she responded. "I just hope Zaeed and Solana are doing their job."
They headed carefully down the hallway, bypassing the elevator to use the stairs. Two more dead Cerberus soldiers, one guarding the elevator and another at the stairs. Miranda shook her head at the sight. "Cerberus didn't used to have soldiers."
Shepard took a look at Miranda's troubled countenance. "I told the Illusive Man that he could build an army for what it cost to bring me back," she said. She glanced at the dead soldier. "I guess he took my advice."
"But where did he get the money?" Miranda asked. For that, Shepard had no answer.
They crept down the staircase with careful quiet, shorting out cameras along the way as they descended several floors to Oriana's classroom. Hostiles in the hallway, the radar alerted them, one just beyond the door and others further down. "Warp on my command," Shepard whispered tersely. Miranda's fingertips began to glow, blue light stretching up her arm. Shepard opened the door.
As soon as the soldier came into sight, Shepard gave the order. "Now," she commanded.
The soldier began to turn towards them, but was suddenly encased in a blue biotic field, bending the space around him. His mouth opened into a scream, but the only sound that greeted Shepard's ears was the strange, warping sound of the mass effect field.
As he fell to the floor, the glow encasing Miranda's body dissipated. "Around the corner," she said, and stepped over the body.
Shepard flattened herself against the wall, peeking around the corner. "Two men at the classroom door," she told Miranda. "I'll lift, you shoot," she instructed, giving Miranda the chance to let her amp cool.
At Shepard's signal, the two of them spun around the corner. Partway down the hall the two soldiers stood, white and yellow armor still shining like new. One saw them immediately and called to the other man as he raised his rifle.
He yelped as the two of them were lifted into the air, rifle clattering uselessly to the ground. Two shots rang out, and the field disappeared, dropping the two bleeding men to the floor. Miranda strode over to the gasping, writhing soldiers, and she raised her pistol. Two more shots cracked in the hallway, and then silence reigned.
Shepard tried the classroom door and found it locked. Miranda had already brought up her omni-tool and begun to hack the lock. With a click, the display flickered from red to green. Shepard touched the interface, and the door slid open.
"Stay back!" cried a panicked voice. A petite woman with gray streaks marring her black hair pointed a pistol at the two of them with shaking hands.
Shepard raised her hands, weapon still holstered. She kept her gaze steadily on the professor. "We aren't here to harm you. We're looking for Oriana."
The professor's hands shook more violently. "That's what he said, too," she spat out, looking at a spot off to Shepard's left. She glanced over to see the body of another Cerberus soldier, dead against the wall, with three bullet wounds piercing his chest and a pool of blood beneath him.
Miranda stepped forward, only now holstering her gun. "I'm Miranda Lawson, Oriana's sister," she said. "I need to know if Cerberus has her. I need to know if she's safe."
Shepard watched the realization dawn in the professor's eyes, who lowered the pistol slowly. The resemblance between the sisters was obvious.
"Oriana didn't come to class today," the professor said slowly. "I don't know where she is."
Shepard and Miranda exchanged a worried look.
Feeling the danger had passed, Shepard finally tore her eyes from the professor to look around. Students were huddled near the back of the classroom, watching everything with wide eyes. They appeared afraid but unharmed. She glanced back at the professor, whose hand still gripped the pistol at her side. "What's your name?" she asked. "Can you tell me what happened?"
The questions seemed to relax the professor just slightly. She eased a breath. "Professor Ophelia Song," she told them. "I teach colonial history." After a pause to collect herself, she began. "It was just before class was about to start. There was chaos and gunfire, and no one knew what was going on. Students were arriving in a panic. I tried calling down to the office, but I couldn't get anyone. And then he came in, asking for Oriana," she said, glancing at the body against the wall. "After that, we locked ourselves in."
"Thank you," Shepard told her. "You've been very helpful." It was little more information than they'd started with, but at least it was something. "We've taken care of the Cerberus troops that were outside, but it's possible that more will arrive. You'll be safest if you lock the door again when we leave."
Professor Song nodded, her grip tightening just slightly on her pistol.
"We'll do our best to keep all of you safe," Shepard promised, and she motioned Miranda towards the door. In the hallway, they waited until the lock changed from green back to red again before moving.
"We'll have to do a full sweep," Shepard decided. "Oriana could be hiding anywhere. Ventilation shafts, any secure room. She might have even found a way to leave the premises, for all we know."
Miranda's determined expression never wavered, but Shepard didn't miss the fear that was in her eyes. "We'll find her," she promised.
Miranda's only response was to reload her pistol.
…
Oriana Lawson sat in darkness, her eyes glued to the wall of security monitors in front of her. Cerberus was crawling all over her school, jamming communications, searching through classrooms, guarding hallways and blocking exits. She heard her name.
They were looking for her, but she didn't know why.
She had thought the security office would be a good place to go—it was well hidden and full of resources. But with communications down, she wasn't sure what she could do other than watch and wait, and it was agonizing.
Oriana's fingers flew over the keys of the communications console, trying again and again to find a way around the signal blocking. No comms, no extranet, nothing was coming and going, nothing but internal Cerberus communications. She'd been listening in—the most she'd been able to accomplish so far. She felt useless, locked up in this dark room unable to find a way to help her friends. Tears pricked at her eyes, but she wouldn't let them fall. She wasn't some useless damsel in distress that would cry and wait to be rescued.
There was no signal, no cry for help, which meant that nobody was coming.
She watched the Cerberus soldiers' progress through the security cameras. They were setting up turrets at the entrances now, blocking the way out in case anyone tried to escape. But only moments after the lines were fully set up, the turrets started firing on their own technicians. Oriana watched the feed with wide eyes as Cerberus engineers and soldiers fell to the ground, riddled with machine gun fire. When the room was empty, a figure fizzled into view, the deactivation of a tactical cloak.
The new person, a female turian in slim black armor, stood casually behind the line of turrets, typing away at her omni-tool. "IFF's adjusted," the turian called out. "They'll only attack heat signatures flagged as Cerberus."
Another figure stepped into view, coming out of the shadows of a small corridor. "For whatever goddamn good that will do," grumbled a scarred older man in yellow armor covered in dents and scuff marks. "These'll only hold off so many, and we've got to keep 'em busy until they find the kid."
The human and turian were quiet for a few moments, seeming to survey the room like a battlefield. "Set some charges," the human ordered in his gravelly voice. "We'll give Cerberus a goddamn surprise when they try to come through here."
Oriana tore her eyes away from the two in the entry, and took a look at the other monitors. She frowned slightly. Several cameras had been deactivated—their screens were only showing static now. If this was Cerberus, it was something new. Maybe it was somehow thanks to the human and turian she'd seen on the other monitor. But as she looked at which cameras were out, it didn't make sense. The two non-Cerberus soldiers were on the ground floor, and the cameras seemed to be going out from the top down. It must be the others that the scarred man had referenced—others that were looking for her, just like Cerberus. Were they friend or enemy, she wondered?
Another camera winked out as she was thinking. Her eyes snapped up to the now-useless monitor, and she had an idea. If she figured out the path the intruders followed, maybe she could catch sight of them before they knocked the next camera out. Quickly, she mentally catalogued which security cams were gone, coming up with a path in her mind. If she was correct, the next camera they would overload was—
Oriana let out a gasp as another camera feed went from image to static. She'd only seen the figures for a split second, but she would know them anywhere.
Miranda and Commander Shepard.
…
Shepard stole a glance at Miranda out of the corner of her eye. The ex-Cerberus operative was normally skilled at hiding her emotions, but now her worry was pouring off her in waves.
They'd cleared several levels but were unable to find or contact Oriana. Shepard felt certain that Cerberus hadn't found the girl yet, but Miranda's emotions were beginning to fray. Oriana was Miranda's greatest weakness, the only person she truly loved. If they didn't find her first, Shepard wasn't sure what would happen to her XO.
They exited the staircase once more, walking down a deserted hallway towards what appeared to be a small atrium. Shepard motioned for Miranda to stop when they heard voices.
"I can't unlock it," came a male voice, sounding near tears. "It's a safe room. When it's locked from the inside, no one can get in! I swear!"
Shepard heard the cocking of a shotgun. "That makes you worthless to us," came another voice, modulated through a helmet speaker.
"No, please!" the first man cried. "Please, I—"
At that, Shepard came around the corner, her crosshairs coming to settle right between the soldier's eyes. She pulled the trigger just as two other Cerberus soldiers raised their weapons to point her direction. One shot was fired and fizzled away against her barrier before Miranda's biotics raised both up and slammed them to the ground. Stepping forward, Shepard aimed at each of their heads, shooting them in turn to be certain they were dead.
She looked up from their broken bodies to focus on the cowering security officer whose back was pressed against a locked door. "It's okay," she told him, keeping her voice level and soothing. "We won't harm you."
The man seemed to relax slightly, but his eyes darted back and forth between Shepard and Miranda nervously. He ran his fingers through his thinning hair.
Miranda stepped forward. "Were you telling the truth?" she questioned bluntly. "About the door." She nodded towards the lock behind him.
"Yes," he said shakily. "I can't get in. Someone's in there. Not one of theirs," he told them, looking at the dead Cerberus trooper that lay near his feet.
Suddenly, the lock behind him blinked from red to green. He ran behind Shepard as she and Miranda raised their pistols, aimed at the door panels that were now separating. Light poured into the dim room from the atrium, revealing a petite figure. Miranda gasped, launching herself forward before Shepard could protest.
"Ori!" she cried, and crushed the younger woman in a desperate hug.
Shepard watched the reunion with unmitigated relief, but as Miranda started to question Oriana about her well-being, she turned her thoughts to the logistics of their escape. Oriana required protection, so they could hardly go barging into battle. They might be able to return to the roof through the way they came, but that would leave Zaeed and Solana high and dry.
"Shepard." The commander glanced over to see Miranda inside the security office, motioning for her to come look at something. She followed her's gaze to a wall of monitors, broadcasting from the security cameras that lined the school's hallways.
Miranda sat at the console and began typing away. The first of the camera's they'd shorted out came back online. Shepard's breath hitched at what she saw. Cerberus soldiers and loki mechs were coming in through the roof access doorway. She swore under her breath. That way out was no longer an option.
She scanned the other camera feeds until she reached the one that showed the entryway, a wide open space littered with explosions, broken turrets, and a wave of Cerberus soldiers and mechs. She had her suspicions, but knew for certain as soon as she saw a mech overload. That's where Zaeed and Solana were, and they were probably in trouble, based on the Cerberus numbers she saw in front of her.
Shepard caught Miranda's eye and nodded towards the monitor. "We need to get there," she told her.
Miranda glanced at her sister inadvertently, giving away her thoughts on the matter. Shepard knew it was dangerous, but she wasn't going to leave her team in trouble. They'd find a way to get Oriana out safely. They could clear a path if all of them were fighting.
"Miranda," she said softly, and the XO reluctantly nodded.
Shepard stepped out of the security office for a moment, crouching down beside one of the Cerberus soldiers. She pulled a pistol from his holster and weighed it in her hands for a moment. She stood and turned, striding over to Oriana. "Do you know how to fire this?"
The young woman paled slightly, but gave the commander a resolute nod. Shepard held the pistol out to her, and Oriana took it, her gaze flitting over the specks of blood that marred its surface.
"Don't fire unless you have to, Ori," Miranda said, her authoritative voice masking the nervousness that Shepard knew she was feeling. "Let Shepard and I handle everything."
Oriana shot her sister a glare. "I'm not a child. I can handle myself."
"We need to hurry," Shepard interrupted, before it turned into an argument. "Zaeed and Solana are getting swarmed down there." She turned to the security officer, still standing quietly by the door. "Lock yourself in," she ordered. "Watch the feeds for us. When you don't see any Cerberus soldiers left, wait ten minutes and send the all clear," she instructed. He gave her a shaky nod. She turned to go, Miranda and Oriana following behind.
They made their way downstairs quickly, and entered into a deserted first-floor hallway. Shepard could hear the distant sounds of gunfire drifting towards them. She paused for a moment, considering their options. Barging in didn't seem to be the most intelligent way to go about things, but Shepard was coming up short on ideas at the moment.
"Oh!" Shepard's eyes snapped to Oriana, who was staring off into space. The young woman shifted her gaze to Shepard, suddenly buzzing with excitement. "Commander, I think I know something that can help us!"
Intrigued, Shepard motioned for her to continue. She hoped the idea was a good one.
Oriana ran to a nearby classroom door and threw it open carelessly. Shepard shoved her back out of instinct, even before she saw the mechs. She raised her pistol immediately, but stilled before she pulled the trigger. The room was still and silent, the mechs deactivated. And then Shepard's eyes fell upon something at the back of the room. She heard a sharp intake of breath and glanced beside her to see Miranda staring at the same object that had caught her own attention.
It was taller than the other mechs, a mechanical behemoth. Shepard's eyes scanned it, noting the rocket launcher in one arm and machine gun in the other. At its center, a glass canopy protected a pilot's seat. It gleamed like brand new. It was beautiful.
Shepard glanced behind her at Oriana, who was now grinning. "It's called an Atlas mech. The robotics club just got it in. My friend Tonio can't stop talking about it."
The three of them approached it and stopped a meter or so away, gazing up at the mech. That pilot's seat was begging to be filled, and Shepard just knew she had to have it. She stepped forward and reached for the one button she saw, which popped open the glass canopy and revealed the empty cockpit.
"Shepard," came Miranda's worried voice from behind her. She ignored it, hefting herself up into the pilot's seat. She gazed down at the console in front of her and suddenly realized she didn't have the slightest clue how to control this thing.
When she glanced up, she saw Oriana running to a computer at one end of the room. She quickly typed something in on the keyboard and then pulled up her omni-tool. She looked up at Shepard and grinned. "I've got the piloting instructions and a diagnostic," she told the commander.
Shepard grinned back. "Give me the rundown." Oriana quickly read through the basic instructions, and Shepard walked the Atlas out into the hallway.
When she turned the corner to the entryway, complete chaos met her. Crashed mechs and Cerberus bodies littered the floor, making it difficult to maneuver the Atlas. Fortunately, she didn't need to do much maneuvering—from her vantage point, she could do a lot of damage.
Miranda's biotics were in full swing. She'd taken up crowd control without Shepard's prompting, and Shepard fired her machine gun and rockets at the soldiers she could. She swore at a missed shot as a soldier ran up to the Atlas.
"Lower left, orange button to melee!" came Oriana's cry, muffled by the glass canopy. Shepard scrambled to follow the instructions.
"Thanks," she breathed, her cockpit vibrating with the mech's swinging fist. She saw Zaeed and Solana coming out of hiding on the far side of the room, though Solana disappeared again almost immediately with the tell-tale fizzle of a tactical cloak. The turian's tactics were becoming more practiced as she went on more missions, Shepard noted between shots.
"Stay back, Ori!" she heard Miranda yell.
"But I see the generator!" Oriana responded. "It's powering the signal blocker!"
Shepard jumped in. "Solana?" she called, her voice muffled through the glass.
"On it," the turian replied, though Shepard couldn't see her on the battlefield. After a few moments, a screeching noise came through the comm. Shepard cringed, but then heard Oriana's voice come in loud and clear.
"Commander, can you hear me?"
Shepard fired a machine gun blast before responding, "I hear you."
"Be careful of your rocket arm," the young woman instructed. "The diagnostic is showing some damage."
"Noted," Shepard replied, but most of her attention was focused on the new wave of enemies that poured through the front doors. "Miranda?"
"Shepard?" Her XO's voice was ragged with exertion.
"See if you can get O'Connor in here with that shuttle. Have him clear the outside so we can make a run for it," she instructed.
Shepard fired a rocket blast at a crowd of incoming Cerberus. She wondered, for a short moment, how they had gained so many soldiers so quickly. Had the Illusive Man being silently recruiting an army during her Collector mission? Or was it something more sinister?
She pressed the key for another rocket blast, but nothing happened. She pressed it again, still with no results. A red light began to flash next to the button. "Oriana?" she called. "What does that red light mean? Am I out of rockets?"
A strangled gasp came through the comm. "Commander, get out!" she cried. "You're not out of rockets, it's—"
Shepard had barely begun to climb out of the hatch when a blast threw her across the room.
"…jammed," she heard Oriana's voice say faintly, but it didn't quite register as her ears rang. Shepard grunted, scrambling to get up. On hands and knees, she raised her head to see a soldier pointing his rifle at her. She reached for her pistol just as the figure crashed lifelessly to the ground, a red stain growing beneath him.
Shepard felt a hand under her arm, unceremoniously dragging her to her feet. "Up you go, princess," Zaeed said gruffly, and let go of her to fire his rifle. Shepard shook her head to clear it, still ringing from the explosion, and began to throw out biotic fields to relieve Miranda whose face was now nearly as white as her uniform.
"O'Connor?" Shepard shouted into her comm. She lifted a mech and soldier into the air and fired her pistol to finish them off.
"Outside the front doors, Commander," came the shuttle pilot's voice. "All clear for now, but there's another shuttle incoming."
Shepard took in a deep breath and threw out an enormous shockwave to clear a path to the doors. "Go!" she shouted, and her team made a run for it, firing as they went. Miranda gripped Oriana's arm tightly as the pair followed Zaeed and Solana outside.
Head still pounding, Shepard trailed behind them, firing her pistol at the Cerberus troopers left in the room. She was the last to board the shuttle, calling out orders to the pilot as she shut the hatch.
Shepard collapsed onto the seat with a heavy sigh, blood still pumping and breathing still labored. She took a quick look around the shuttle to examine her team. Zaeed and Solana looked a little roughed up, and Miranda had obviously overexerted her biotics, but there were no serious injuries among the group.
Oriana looked shaken, and as Shepard watched the young woman, her eyes latched onto Shepard's. "My parents," she gasped. "What if they go after them?"
Shepard looked at her XO. "Miranda?" The raven-haired woman gave a brusque nod and moved into the cockpit to give O'Connor the coordinates for each of the couples workplaces. Before long, they were returning to the Normandy with Oriana's family in tow.
Oriana's mother was clinging to her fearfully, tears shining in her eyes. Miranda watched the proceedings with a troubled gaze.
While Shepard's eyes were trained on Miranda, Oriana had left her mother's embrace. "That's twice now I owe you my life, Commander," the young woman said as she approached Shepard. "Thank you for everything." Her eyes glowed with gratitude.
Shepard couldn't help feeling disarmed by her, and wondered for a moment if this is what Miranda would have been like if she'd had a true childhood. She glanced over at the older sister, and let her lips curve into a small smile. "I owe your sister a debt that I can never repay. Helping you is the least I can do for her."
Miranda's head shot up, bewildered eyes meeting Shepard's. She didn't return the smile, but something in her expression seemed to ease slightly. The two of them had a long conversation awaiting them, but Shepard would let it rest until Oriana was safe.
…