Oriana moaned as she slowly awoke only to be blinded by the light above her. She groaned as she covered her eyes slowing her eyes to adjust to the light. Looking around she found herself looking around a large medical bay which was quite clearly more advanced meaning it was built before the crucible fired. She sighed as she relaxed on the bed while a Japanese woman walked into the medical bay.
"Oh, hi." she said walking over to her. "You're awake, how are you feeling?"
"Tired and sore." Oriana said.
"Ok." the doctor said as she wrote on a clipboard. "Well given what you went through that's normal. Anyway, I'm doctor Shoko Sugimoto and welcome aboard the Normandy SR3."
"The Normandy?" Oriana relaxed in the bed. "That's good to hear. Is Commander Williams here?"
"Not at the moment she's Omega station, she's trying to establish a police force for the station however there is someone who's here to see you."
Just then the door opened and a dark haired woman in a bodysuit with a slight bulge came through the door. She walked up to the bed and pulled up a chair.
"Shoko can we have a moment?" she asked.
Shoko nodded and walked out making Oriana look at the women in front of her.
"Wh...who are you?" she asked.
"I'm Miranda Lawson, I'm…. well I'm your older sister."
Oriana just looked at her for a moment. "What?"
OOOOO 1 year 7 months after Arrival.
The crew were getting settled on the Normandy SR-3 slowly. The ship was amazing to say the least, but the only part that they weren't used to was the AI EDI who was supposed to be on the SR-2 but that didn't happen due to the ship's destruction. Given the situation they couldn't complain but Joker did, a lot and it was pissing Ashley off. As she looked over the storage reports she was considering using her desk as a weapon to beat him over the head, however Miranda walked in surprising her.
"EDI, turn off all monitoring equipment." she said making Ash shoot her a not so pleased look.
"I'm not happy about being watched Miranda." the Commander said.
"I know, but I've got something to talk about."
"About?..."
"First off I'm sorry about your family, but I think we did the right thing. However I need your help and only your help." she said turning to face Ash her face almost red with anger and worry. "My sister is missing, and I need your help to find her."
"Miranda explain."
"Ok, as you know, I was not born like you. I was made in a vat, the same is with my sister Oriana. I was only a teen when I took her away from my father. But that's because well you know."
Ash nodded. "Yeah, the expectations, the tests, the loss of childhood. Ok where is she?"
"Horizon, the Sanctuary refugee base. that's were she'll be."
OOOOO Kodiak on root to Horizon.
"Ok EDI what do we have?" Ashley asked as Miranda strapped on her armour.
Normally she would ware her bodysuit but this time she didn't want her father to recognise her. She loved her sister as such, she didn't want her to know anything.
"Sanctuary was a facility dedicated to aiding refugees from Reaper controlled systems. The facility went offline recently with no communications to or from the facility. However given New Cerberus involvement there is little of interest for them to be here." EDI said.
Ashley nodded. Despite the Reapers arrival and most of Cerberus joining the Alliance the so called New Cerberus was against it so much that they hunted any old Cerberus members. Sometimes even a common enemy would not change the mind of extremists.
"Well we'll let's find out why." Ash said as she picked up her rifle and looked at Miranda who held a helmet in her hands. "You ok?"
"Unlike you Ash I keep my distance from my family. Not because I don't want to but because of my upbringing, I wanted my sister to have a good life. She's better off without me in it, but seeing her again. She'll nearly be 20 now, and I want her to have that birthday." she said as she slid the helmet on and stood. "Even if it costs my life." as she spoke her voice was filtered by a modulation unit in the helmet.
Her father wasn't going to know who she was.
"Commander." Cortez said from the cockpit. "I'm picking up a signal from the facility, it's weak but I'll try and boost the signal."
Ashley walked so that she was behind the pilot seat as the message came through. "This is Oriana Miller, stay away from Sanctuary! It's not what it seems to be. Please you must, listen they're…." but the message cut off.
"If he hurts her…." Miranda said.
"I'll let you have that pleasure Miranda. But that still leaves out the link."
"Approaching the LZ, I'm seeing some damage but no activity."
Ashley hit the panel and the door opened allowing her to survey the damage. There wasn't much but something did happened but what? That was the question, as she and Miranda jumped off the ship onto solid ground. The two immediately looked around before moving forward. Moving up slowly Miranda tapped her radio but just heard a scratch.
"Hear that?" she asked in her new voice.
"Someone's jamming our radio, we're on our own. Explains the no comms." Ash said as they moved up.
But as they did a screech sounded and the two looked up to see a Kodiak fall from the sky. Coming from the roof they saw something that made their hearts sink. A harvester, the Reapers were involved here. But thankfully another ship flew overhead and attracted it's attention. The two looked to each other before moving on towards the main entrance but before they could get close gunshots sounded and rounds impacted their shields.
"Phantoms." Miranda called.
Coming from a walkway ahead where the Kodiak crashed and four black silhouettes came up and fired. The two took cover before firing their own weapons at the Phantoms. Their rounds hit the barriers of the Cerberus forces as they advanced. Miranda threw a warp ball at them bringing them into one place allowing Ash to fire a concussion round at them. The round detonated sending shrapnel everywhere taking out their shields. Miranda threw a grenade at them, it detonated killing them outright but before they could do anything fire from a sniper pinned them.
But the fire only focused on Ash but not so much on Miranda who was in better cover. She moved to the other side of her cover and she drew her pistol. Taking aim down the sights she aimed carefully as Ash whittled down the snipers shields. Once they were down Miranda fired and the round penetrated the visor and killed the sniper. With the area clear the two met up.
"Good shot." Ash commented.
"Yeah." Miranda muttered as she spotted a Kodiak. "Looks like they were trying to evacuate."
"And looks like the Reapers where chancing them out. About time they started to kill each other."
"On that we agree." Miranda said as they moved up to the main door.
She then activated her omni tool and opened the door. The two then raised their weapons up only to see serious damage around the main entrance. They lowered their weapons as they took stock with the area.
"What happened here?" Miranda asked.
"Not a clue." Ash said before moving the only way forward. "Come on."
She lead Miranda to a glass bridge before the sounds of shuttles met their ears and the two looked up to see Kodiak's fly off.
"They came from that tower." Ash said.
"Then that's where we're going." Miranda answered.
Moving across the bridge the two moved up to a door but there was no way to access it. Looking to the side Ash then lead the former operative to the right and down a set of stairs leading to the landing platform. Two Kodiaks had crashed into each other and landed on the platform in flames.
"This must have been the landing area. Those ships where waiting to get in." Ash said.
"Then where are the people they had?" Ash asked.
They moved into a main room looking around they saw a few bodies to the left. Looking at each other they moved up to them.
"Causality's on both sides." Ash said before gunfire made the two of them move fast into cover.
Cocking their weapons the two then moved out of cover and focused on the four soldiers in the room. Miranda took off to the desk and jumped on the soldier who was taking cover behind it. Using her legs she twisted in such a way that she snapped the soldiers neck sending him to the floor. Another one came up and she used her SMG to weak his shield before using her pistol to finish him off.
Ash however moved up fast pinning the one of the soldiers to the wall and used her knife thrusting it through his neck. Killing him before throwing it at the other. The knife landed in the gut before she pulled up her rife and finished him off. She then walked over and pulled out her knife and wiped off the blood on her a part of cloth then slid it into her sheath.
With the war taking out much of the made tech that they normally use gone they had to go back to the basics with stuff like knifes. It was standard for all alliance troops while other races took something along the lines of swords and axes. But Miranda was not that interested in such weapons rather she preferred her biotics. The two then walked through the only opened door that lead to a pool but there was a ladder leading downwards. The two looked at each other with a bit of a smirk.
"Too obvious." they said at the same time before laughing a bit.
Miranda moved over to a terminal and activated it draining the water. Once drained the two jumped down and looked around but Miranda was concerned about some of the tech being used. She moved over to look at it.
"This looks like Reaper tech." she said.
"Shit, well at least we know why the Reapers are here though." Ash said before looking to Miranda. "You thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Maybe, but if so then that asshole will die in a painful way."
The two moved off through a door and moved though it. But the feel and look of the place, the two knew what it looked and felt like.
"This place is more like a factory then a Sanctuary." Ash said.
Miranda didn't do anything as they moved up to another door an opened it leading to a control room.
"No power." Miranda muttered.
"Yeah."
The two moved around before noticing the main power terminal. Miranda moved up and turned it on. The screens came one with disturbing images, two scientists to a pod with refugees inside. The two said nothing as they looked at each of the screens. Cerberus was capturing people and using them for test subjects, huskifiying them.
"That's what Cerberus is here for, and your father." Miranda said but the Cerberus operative looked to a terminal in front of a window.
She moved over to it and hit it. The lights came on and husks moved around in the chamber they where inside.
"Well this is a problem." Ash said moving up next to Miranda she hit her back braking the raven haired woman out of her concentration. "But there has to be more to this."
"Y… yeah."
Looking at her Ash could see what the ex-Cerberus operative was thinking about. It was clear as day and all she could do was agree and think the same, did her father do this to her sister? That was the real question and she wasn't sure how she could handle it. Ash lead Miranda through another door with a workstation on the other side then down some stairs but the door opened and three husks came through the door. Ash busted the head off one while Miranda used her biotics to throw the other to into a wall. But in the next room the place was swarming with husks. The two looked at each other before readying themselves.
Ok so as much as I don't want to end this chapter here I have to make it into a two parter because well, I've been Ill due to labyrinthitis. Due to this, every time I move my head… well it does me no good and you get the idea. Concentration issues aside it's not allowing me to focus on the chapter as I have to move from tab to tab which makes me feel even more Ill. So when I finish the other part I'll put the whole thing up.