The traffic along the skyways of Bachjret Ward was thick in the early evening hours on the Citadel.
Miranda sat in the front passenger seat of the skycar as her salarian contact maneuvered the vehicle chaotically through the skyway lanes, zipping past commuters with the casual acceleration of someone that was only vaguely aware of the local vehicle regulations. The landscape below them blew by in flashes of light as they sped further along the expanse of the Ward, soaring well above the seemingly endless towers that lined the Citadel's massive arm and approached their latest clandestine rendezvous.
"How much farther, Jelix?" Miranda asked impatiently.
"Oh, just a little bit further, Miranda," the salarian cheerfully reported. "Shouldn't be more than another minute or two."
"You had better not be wasting my time," she said in a menacing tone.
"What?—No, of course not, Miranda!" Jelix turned to the human woman and smiled broadly. "I promise. This buyer will be very interested in what you have to offer."
"Sheesh, is it just me or does this guy smell like wet cat?" Kasumi muttered over the comm.
Miranda stifled a laugh, unable to give an audible reply to her partner's comment. Jelix, of course, had no idea that the diminutive master thief was occupying the skycar's back seat, cloaked with her voice muted beyond the auditory disruption field her suit projected around her.
Oriana's voice was the next one she heard through the tiny transmitter implanted close to her right ear. "Uh oh, can you roll down a window or something, Miranda?" the younger Lawson girl said and sniggered.
Miranda cleared her throat loudly to discourage any further banter, wishing she could voice the scolding thoughts running through her head.
Jelix turned and briefly eyed her with a curious look but then quickly turned his gaze back to the skyway when Miranda shot him a withering glare.
"Alright, kiddo, let's cut the chatter for now," Kasumi said. "Your big sister's working here."
"Sorry Randa," Oriana said. "Back to business."
Miranda shifted a little in her seat and rolled her eyes. Still, she couldn't help smiling to herself. Despite her sister's occasional immature and casual demeanor on the comm and Kasumi's stubborn refusal to adopt proper radio etiquette, hearing their voices cut through the tension she was feeling. And times like these, as she approached yet another secret meeting with people of dubious nature, Miranda could use a little levity.
It had been nearly two months since Miranda had first met Anita Goyle in her Tayseri Ward apartment and the two had begun their investigation into the activities and motives of the Systems Alliance Intelligence Service.
The task before them was daunting, but Goyle's access to intelligence resources within both the Alliance and Council governments had remained strong over the years and provided a vast array of leads for them to follow. Anita not only acted as an intermediary between Miranda and Admiral Anderson, but also helped her assess which leads should be chased and which could be tabled. The older woman had an almost uncanny knack for cutting through layers of bureaucracy and penetrating the murky veil that seemed to obscure the real power brokers involved. As they continued to work together, Miranda was learning just how brilliant the woman was. And thanks to their combined diligence, there had been no shortage of potentially hazardous leads to follow,
But, thankfully, Miranda hadn't been alone to pursue them.
After recovering from the wounds she'd sustained on Noveria, Kasumi had been eager to jump on board. And basing their operation out of the Citadel made Thane's participation feasible as he continued to receive care for the Kepral's Syndrome that was steadily eating away at his vitality. The drell's son, Kolyat, had also decided that he wanted to remain with his estranged father and do what he could to both reconcile their fragile relationship and assist Commander Shepard's allies.
Undoubtedly, Oriana had proven to be the unlikeliest member of the team. But Miranda had taken her recent conversations with Thane to heart and had finally come around to the idea that her sister couldn't be shielded indefinitely from the threats lurking just beyond their galaxy's borders. So soon after settling in with Goyle, she contacted Oriana and floated the idea to her of joining them on the Citadel. The younger Lawson girl had been ecstatic and shortly after her parents were a little stunned— but quite proud—when they were notified that their adopted daughter had been selected for a very exclusive and prestigious internship in the Citadel's human embassy.
It was a modest little group they had assembled under Goyle, and Oriana and Kolyat were still exceedingly inexperienced, but Miranda was proud of the work they were accomplishing. Operating completely outside of official Alliance channels, C-Sec, and Council Security, they were completely autonomous and at liberty to chase whatever lead seemed most promising. Anderson and Goyle provided the only oversight to the clandestine operation, but Miranda was the indisputable operational leader of the team.
Still, it was a far cry from the elaborate operation she and John had been running under the Cerberus umbrella on the Normandy.
A few days after their return from Noveria, Garrus had gone back to Palaven in order to begin working on the monumental task of preparing for war with a foe of unparalleled and terrible power. Miranda had been disappointed to see the turian go but understood the urgency he felt to begin planning for a conflict that seemed beyond anyone's ability to fully comprehend.
Mordin followed soon afterward, returning to Sur'Kesh to resume his work with the STG. He hinted that he had some kind of unfinished business to attend to there, but declined to say much more than that. Still, the eccentric salarian scientist had left Miranda with a generous supply of the treatment he'd formulated for her and promised to continue searching for a permanent solution that would lead to a full restoration of her biotic abilities.
Liara and Feron had stayed on a few days longer, helping to get Miranda and Goyle's operational base sorted out, but then eventually returned to Hagalaz in order to apply the full weight of the Shadow Broker's intelligence network to the task of searching for a way to stave off the impending galactic crisis.
Shepard, of course, was back on Earth, confined to the Systems Alliance facility in Vancouver, British Columbia. Thankfully, Anderson had been successful in keeping him safe and deflecting responsibility for the Bahak incident—at least for the time being—and downplaying his associations with Cerberus. Still, Alliance Internal Security was keeping him under intensive, round-the-clock surveillance, and monitoring all of his personal interactions.
So Miranda had upheld her commitment to stay away and hadn't tried to contact him, knowing how damning a correspondence from her could be to his fragile status with the Alliance.
But it was heartbreaking for her.
There wasn't a day that went by when she didn't think about the man she'd fallen so helplessly in love with and feel the bitter pang of loss when she remembered how complete she had felt when she was in his arms. She didn't even know for sure if he knew she was still alive and hadn't actually been executed by the SAIS. But truthfully, part of her felt that it might be for the best if he felt she was gone from his life. Tali's voice echoed in her head, you're toxic, Miranda… You can't give him everything he needs…
And the irony of the situation wasn't lost on Miranda. She had spent the better part of her entire adult life actively working to subvert the Systems Alliance and further the cause of a key competitor to the Terran government's primary representation in the galaxy. Now, the former Cerberus operative found herself working directly for two of the Alliance's most steadfast champions—Admiral David Anderson and former ambassador for humanity, Anita Goyle—while John Shepard, hero of Eden Prime and the Battle of the Citadel, languished in custody. It was an absurd injustice, but the galaxy seemed to be rife with that sort of thing.
Everything was so twisted now. But I won't abandon him.
In truth, the work Miranda was doing now was far more for Shepard's and her own sake than it was to prop up the Systems Alliance. She still wasn't convinced that the Alliance was worth the trouble of saving. Beyond the years of committed service to Cerberus that still influenced her worldview, she could see there was something fundamentally rotten about the whole system of galactic governance.
Perhaps the distasteful actions of the SAIS were only accelerating the eventual fall of the system. Or maybe there was still hope for the entity if people like Anita Goyle were successful in purging the cancers that were eating away at the institution.
It didn't really matter to Miranda. In the end, she simply saw her new role as an opportunity to achieve some measure of redemption for all the questionable actions she'd undertaken in the past. And maybe someday, if the world didn't come to an end first, she could follow this road back to the man that had changed everything for her.
The salarian's sharp voice roused Miranda from her musings. "Ah, see. Here we are."
Jelix was putting the skycar down near a cluster of poorly lit warehouses. Everywhere in the Citadel was generally teaming with people, but this particular stretch of industrial-looking buildings seemed remarkably deserted and free from unwanted eyes. It was an ideal spot to conduct all manner of underground activities or, Miranda thought warily, to setup an effective ambush.
"This place looks a little spooky," Kasumi reported in Miranda's ear.
Miranda silently nodded in agreement. "You're sure this is the place, Jelix?" Miranda said.
"Of course. I've been assured they'll meet us just inside that building," the salarian said and indicated one of the structures along the darkest part of the street.
"Fine. Let's get on with it, then."
Miranda and Jelix exited the skycar, followed unseen by Kasumi, and approached the seemingly abandoned warehouse building.
Oriana took a sharp breath over the comm. "Be careful, Randa," she said. "I'm with Kasumi. This place doesn't look safe."
Miranda almost smiled at her sister's innocence as she pictured Oriana watching intently over the vid feed Kasumi's micro surveillance camera was broadcasting back to the team's base. This sort of thing was still very new to the younger Lawson girl. I hope I'm making the right choice in bringing her into all of this, Miranda silently fretted. Seeing her older sister murdered in some seedy, dark alley wasn't the sort of education she was hoping to provide.
But over the course of her life Miranda had walked into far more unsettling places than this rundown warehouse. All the same, she still briefly fingered the Paladin heavy pistol holstered in her tactical shoulder harness close to her left side.
Jelix strode a few steps forward to the building's front entrance and punched in the code for the door's lock. Kasumi quietly walked next to Miranda and placed a reassuring hand on her back, silently alerting the operative to her close proximity and offering a measure of comfort.
A moment later the door slid open and the trio moved forward into the warehouse's dark and expansive interior. Miranda rapidly scanned the area with her eyes, detecting all the likely places a Cerberus or batarian hit team could be lurking—there are a lot of dark corners in here. She knew Kasumi would be slowly moving to the perimeter, looking for a spot with the best vantage point and offering the quickest path to support her partner.
"I'm ten meters to your two o'clock, Miranda," Kasumi reported a few seconds later. "I've got you covered."
A bank of lights was suddenly thrown on and illuminated the center of the space where Miranda stood alongside Jelix. Then seven figures wearing long dark cloaks slowly stepped forward from the back of the large room and out of the shadows. They all wore different sorts of body armor and were holding pistols or shotguns at their sides. And though all of their faces were concealed by the hoods of their cloaks, Miranda recognized the slim, lithe figures of at least two females among the group.
Then one of men let out a long, slow whistle as he walked a little closer into the light. He was a tall, powerfully built man and as he threw back the hood from his head Miranda caught sight of his deeply tanned skin and the long brown hair that framed his handsome, chiseled features. He radiated a sort of barely suppressed energy that seemed to charge the particles in the air around him and gave the impression he could unleash a violent act at any moment.
Miranda swallowed and felt her heart sink uncomfortably into her gut as she immediately recognized him.
"Oh shit," Kasumi said under her breath. "Dorian Logan. This guy's bad news."
He gave Miranda an appraising look as he walked closer and stopped just out of arm's length from her. "Well, well, well," the man said with a wry grin. "It's none other than the infamous Miranda Lawson. Jelix told me he was bringing me someone special but I never imagined I'd meet you here."
Dorian Logan had been something of a rock star among the ranks of Cerberus around the time Miranda had first been recruited. He was an elite operative that possessed the sort of flamboyant and charming nature that caused many women in the organization to swoon absurdly for him. But she was no different back then and had soon found herself rather smitten with the rogue.
Being new to the lifestyle and at an impressionable age, Miranda was easily bewitched by the man before she fully realized the depth of his ruthlessness and brutality. The affair had been brief, but it left her with a deep seeded distrust for such men and an aversion for the entire concept of romance.
Some years later, and under rather mysterious circumstances, he parted ways with the Illusive Man and struck out on his own. Since then, his mercenary accomplishments and the often sadistic pleasure he took in extreme violence was something well known to a certain segment of the galactic population. Miranda had hoped she would never see the man again.
"How long has it been, Miranda? Nine, ten years?"
"Eleven," Miranda said stonily.
Logan smiled and shook his head slightly. "It's nice to be remembered, especially by someone like you, Lawson."
"I remember everything, Logan. Not just you."
"Hmph. Well, nevertheless, it's good to see you again, Miranda. You look as stunning as ever." Logan allowed his eyes to track over Miranda again and smiled more broadly. "But selling Prothean tech on the black market seems beneath you. What's your angle?"
Miranda rolled her eyes and tilted her head to the side. "Please. Don't waste my time, Dorian. You know damn well I've been disavowed by the Illusive Man. I'm being hunted by the Alliance, the batarians want my head, and I've even had to evade a Council Spectre recently. My accounts are frozen." She shrugged her shoulders. "I need the credits. Simple."
Logan smiled more broadly and laughed softly. "So you're saying you're desperate."
"I've never been desperate in my life, Dorian," Miranda said and fixed the man with an icy glare.
"That's the girl I remember. What do you have for me?"
Miranda reached into her jacket, causing several of Logan's people standing around the perimeter of the room to flinch, and produced a datapad. "Very advanced Prothean tech I secured from Binthu a few years back. Have a look." Miranda handed the tablet to Dorian keeping her eyes locked with his. "It's a weapon system of some kind. It was beyond the ability of Cerberus engineers to understand at the time."
He curled his lip as he continued to admire Miranda and then took the datapad containing the schematics of the Prothean tech Goyle had helped secure. In fact, the tech Logan was studying was determined to have been some kind of elaborately designed navigational and surveying system. However, the design was so complex and alien they were confident it would fool the middlemen long enough to allow them to find out who the real buyers were.
"I'll have to run this by my client, of course," he said as he studied the tablet. "If it's as valuable as you say we'll arrange for the exchange afterward."
"Who are you working for these days anyway, Dorian?" Miranda ventured.
Logan kept his eyes on the datapad for another moment before he gazed up at her again. "Looking for a job, Lawson?" he said and shot her a wicked smile as he leered at her shapely figure a little more overtly. "Go to dinner with me and I may be convinced to tell you."
Miranda forced an alluring smile. "It may be possible to tempt me with such an offer," she said even as her stomach lurched at the prospect of spending an evening with the dodgy man.
"Excellent," he said and pocketed the datapad. "Club Meridian, Zakara Ward, tomorrow night, 2100."
"Dorian, did you not hear me clearly? I'm being hunted by half the known galaxy. I can't be seen out in public."
"Don't worry, Miranda. Meridian is a very discreet spot," he said and winked. "And my place is just right around the corner."
Kasumi made a noise over the comm. "Oh god. I think I just threw up a little in my mouth."
Miranda felt a knot tighten in her gut but kept her expression neutral. "Fine. Tomorrow night it is."
"Fantastic," he said and made to leave but then paused and turned back to Miranda. "Oh, and Miranda, wear something… nice."
When Miranda stormed through the foyer door to the 23rd floor of the Tayseri Ward high-rise she and Goyle had made their makeshift base of operations, she was still agitated by the surprising encounter with Dorian Logan. Kasumi hurried in after her, keeping her distance and recognizing her friend needed to dial down the tension before she'd be ready to discuss it further.
A moment later, Oriana came striding up to Miranda, a comm link sticking out of one ear and mic extending out close to her cheek. She gave her older sister a quick smile but looked anxious. "Who was that creep? And please tell me you are not going out with him."
Miranda sighed. "Just someone I used to know," she said as she caught Kasumi giving her a quick sideways glance before walking ahead. "And I absolutely am going to go out with him. He's the best lead we've had in weeks."
Oriana looked reproachful and bit her lip. "I don't know, Randa. I didn't like the look of him—not one bit."
"It'll be fine, Ori," Miranda said and flashed her sister a tired smile. "I'll have backup. Nothing's going to happen to me."
Oriana looked unconvinced and opened her mouth to protest but was cut short by Kasumi's voice.
"Hey, guys," Kasumi called over. "We're gathering in the conference room."
"Come on," Miranda said and put an arm around Oriana's shoulders to lead her toward the large conference room located at the center of the floor. "How was your training today?" she asked, eager to change the topic.
Oriana looked reluctant to let the subject of Dorian Logan drop but then gave Miranda a bashful smile. "Not bad. We did a lot of tumbling and hold techniques today. I already have bruises all over my arms and legs," she said and laughed softly. "Thane says I'm improving."
Miranda gave her sister a proud smile. "That's great, Ori."
Within their little group of unofficial Alliance agents, Thane had embraced the role of combat instructor to their youngest members. His condition was continuing to slowly deteriorate, resulting in a few more bad days than good as he struggled with the disease that afflicted him, but he was determined to pass on the necessary skills both Kolyat and Oriana would likely need to survive in this unlikely future of theirs.
Oriana had proven to be a natural with all manner of advanced comm and navigational tech. But small arms handling and hand-to-hand weren't coming quite as easily to her. She was athletic and strong for her size, but seemed to lack the fierceness to excel at combat techniques. Still, Miranda saw that her sister was putting in a tremendous effort and at least wasn't completely defenseless any longer. And the elder Krios had proven to be a patient teacher who understood the strengths and weaknesses of his charges, never failing to encourage them both to improve along the lines that their natural skillsets directed them toward.
When the two Lawson women entered the conference room, Thane and Kolyat were already present, leaning against the wall and talking through some kind of past combat scenario. The drell men both turned toward the women as they walked in and nodded respectfully.
Miranda noted Thane looked stronger today as she returned a friendly nod in their direction and briefly considered how fond she'd grown of having him around. He had no reason to pledge himself so faithfully to her and Goyle or to take on the responsibility for much of Oriana's teachings, but he never flinched from the responsibility and, in fact, seemed to find purpose in it.
Perhaps that was born out of the friendship he'd developed with Shepard or simply the desire to fill the final days of his life with meaningful work—it didn't really matter one way or the other to Miranda. Whatever the reason for his commitment to their modest little group, he had proven to be a steadfast companion to them all. She no longer saw the drell as the man that had fulfilled hundreds of contract kills as arguably the most skilled assassin in the known galaxy. Now, he was simply a friend.
Kasumi had already taken a seat at the large, oval-shaped table at the center of the room and was busy typing away on a portable terminal. Miranda and Oriana took their seats at the table and were quickly joined by Thane and Kolyat. Anita Goyle entered the room a moment later.
Even after working closely alongside the stately woman for nearly two months, Miranda still marveled at her energy and passion for their work. Well into her eighties, Goyle projected a degree of poise and innate intensity that less self-confident people found intimidating. But Miranda wasn't one lacking in self-confidence and found that she meshed with the former ambassador rather effortlessly.
Anita had never presumed to try and "mother" Miranda, but the two undoubtable shared a mutual respect and fondness for one another that generally went unspoken. The former Cerberus operative was well accustomed to being surrounded by strong-willed men and women, but there was an authenticity with Goyle that she found refreshing. Simply put, Miranda admired her.
Goyle stopped at the edge of the table, placed a hand on the polished surface, and gazed at Miranda with her deep, soulful eyes. "It sounds like we have a bite."
Miranda nodded definitively. "I believe we do. Logan's connected to something or someone major, I know it. He doesn't do smalltime."
"From what I've just researched about the man, I'm inclined to agree. The question is whether or not he's the final link to whatever shadowy figures are directing this little Prothean scavenger hunt."
Kasumi looked up from her terminal and frowned. "He's definitely got a reputation for delivering results—whatever the cost and regardless of the collateral damage. I wouldn't call him a direct competitor, but he's definitely cost me a job or two in the past when I wasn't willing to take certain risks with other people's lives. "
"Are you sure you're up for this little rendezvous with the man, Miranda?" Goyle asked.
"Absolutely. We have a history. I can put him off guard and acquire the information we require."
Oriana set her jaw and eyed her big sister with concern but remained silent.
"Very well," Goyle said nodded. "Though, I think I'd like to have Mr. Krios here provide additional security for you."
Thane inclined his head slightly toward the older woman. "Of course. I will ensure I'm prepared."
"Good," Anita said and surveyed the group. "I have other news. Cerberus has taken Omega."
Miranda looked startled. "What?"
"Details are still fuzzy, but apparently they engineered some kind of bio hazard crisis in advance of landing troops. They've since assembled a significant fleet around the station. There's no word yet on the fate of the Pirate Queen."
The news was disconcerting. Miranda didn't particularly care about the fate of Aria or the loathsome space station that was the self-proclaimed capital of the Terminus System. But the fact that Cerberus had seen fit to seize the station—and had the resources to do it—was troubling. The Illusive Man wouldn't have committed to such an effort if there hadn't been good reason. What was he after?
Goyle gave Miranda a knowing look, seemingly reading her mind. "It's certainly an intriguing turn of events, but our priority is still to discover the motives of the SAIS, expose their leadership, and find out why they're so interested in acquiring these Prothean artifacts. Perhaps we can move onto Cerberus once we've wrapped that up."
Miranda nodded slightly to Goyle and gave her a half smile. She was right. I have to remain focused on our task at hand. It's what will move me forward and, maybe someday, closer to Shepard.
A rapid succession of three electronic chimes then rang out in the conference room, alerting the group to the presence of someone at the doorway that separated their floor from the foyer and the primary bank of elevators. The group exchanged a few rapid looks of concern before Miranda shot up from her chair and pulled the Paladin from its holster at her side.
"Oriana, Kolyat, stay with Anita," Miranda commanded. "Kasumi, tell me who's out there."
She then dashed over toward the entranceway with Thane right on her heels.
Miranda leaned in close to the seam in the doorway, near the keypad, and held her pistol in close to her body, muzzle facing forward. Thane took up position at the other side of the door and yanked back on the action of his heavy pistol.
Kasumi raced over to a surveillance terminal and quickly brought up the cameras that were arrayed outside the door. She did a double take as she brought up the image just outside the entryway.
"Uh… It's alright, Miranda," Kasumi said and then looked up from the monitor and across to where Miranda and Thane were poised at the door, weapons drawn. She stifled a mischievous laugh and grinned at them. "You can open the door. It's safe... well, probably."
Miranda paused for a moment as she gave Kasumi a puzzled look and then turned to key in the entry code for the door. Keeping her pistol at the ready, she allowed the door to slide open only a few inches and peered through the crack.
Miranda's jaw dropped in shock almost comically as she stared through the partially opened doorway and registered the tattooed neck and scowling face of their visitor.
"Let me in, cheerleader. We've got a lot of shit to talk about."
Author's Note:
I'm taking a different approach with Oriana in my story, as the brief conversation between Thane and Miranda en route to Noveria foreshadowed. I find the helpless, damsel in distress routine painfully boring and think having the younger Lawson girl around offers an opportunity for Miranda's character to evolve a bit more. This doesn't necessarily preclude the Henry Lawson abduction scenario, but I haven't really settled on that one way or another yet. We'll see.
And I just couldn't wait any longer to get Jack back into the story. She might not be around for too long right now, but it's an opportunity to tie some things together moving forward.