AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey guys, first section here, as you might be able to put together yourself, is all meant to make Miranda's eventual transition from Cheerleader to actually being agreeable, more natural. As for Zaeed's loyalty mission part of this, I know, it's short. Surprised me actually with how short it was, relative to plenty other missions. But… it really is a short mission. I think the next one should be able to be a bit longer for Kasumi's mission, as well as some of the… let's call it interim stuff. Anyways, thanks for reading, and hope you enjoyed!

Miranda Lawson

I wasted no time in returning to my quarters and informing The Illusive Man that the Implant would be allowed on board. As I sent the message, I took a deep breath and leaned back in my chair, pressed a button on the desk to lock the door, crossed my left leg over my right, and put a hand to my forehead. What Shepard said about me and control, my father, back in the med-bay. This is, different, isn't it? He did what he did for selfish reasons. I'm trying to keep a dangerous man from tearing down an organization's plans to better humanity.

Yet his reasons surround experiences where he believes Cerberus did horrible things. I have a hard time believing that Cerberus would be responsible for Akuze, as the victims were human, and I don't see the benefit of such experiments. And I hardly find this, Corporal Toombs to be a reliable source on the matter. As for his experiences during his mission against Saren, rogue cells are always a possibility. Our military cells are, after all, the more unruly, according to the reports I've seen.

But would it be better to convince Shepard that his perceptions are wrong rather than take away his free will? No, it's unlikely, and doing this will simply be more efficient and less risky. I just- God, I sound like him. I shook my head, I don't know where that voice in my head came from. Back to it. Shepard is unlikely to be convinced through reason that his perceptions are wrong, especially considering any sort of concrete proof he'd require either may not be possible or would have to come from Cerberus itself, and that would immediately prevent him from believing it. If we do nothing, the Commander is most certainly more valuable to us and the Galaxy alive than dead, but we won't be able to afford him personally dismantling the entire operation, and we'd be forced to kill him. With a control chip, it will slowly make him more amenable to our cause. At worst, it will result in his death sometime after the chip is activated, as he'd refuse to be a "puppet." But at least then, it would be without extensive damage to our operations. Alternatives: Shepard becomes aware of the changes, and removes the chip, then only becomes more focused at attacking Cerberus wherever he can find them. Or best case scenario, the chip works, it works slowly, and he starts to fall in line.

But what about those close to him? Doctor Chakwas, Councilor Anderson, Joker, and of course, the Turian and Quarian? They'd catch on quickly the moment even the thought of Cerberus didn't enrage him. Yes, having the Commander on our side would be an enormous boon, but, so long as they are around, the possibility of the chip working seems much less likely. The Illusive Man had to have taken that into account, right? I've ensured he's very well aware of the close bond between the three of them. So what made him change his mind? I remember he was adamant that the chip not be installed when I first suggested. He wouldn't accept any potential changes to the man's personality. He understood having him on our side would be invaluable, but found it too risky. Could he be testing me? It wouldn't be the first time, but would he test in a way that could jeopardize such a vital mission? Say I succeed in getting the chip in his head. If they realize during the mission, then the consequences will be instant, and disastrous. If I don't succeed, if I'm caught? I'll either be killed or kicked off, and no doubt the partnership will be broken. Granted, EDI is, fortunately, our failsafe in that scenario, it's not at all ideal.

But how would I even manage to ensure its installation? If Shepard denies the new implant, I'd have to physically make the switch myself. Assuming it's not simply disposed of, I suspect The Professor will store it somewhere in his lab. I'd have to sneak by both him and the other Quarian, and on top of that, bypass any security he's no doubt installed.

It's doomed to fail, it has to be. Yet… I have orders to try, and I'm the Illusive Man's best. 'A tool you cannot use is best discarded, Miranda. And everyone must be your tool, or you will be theirs. As you are mine.' Why did I remember that? Everything that man says I bury and bury deep. It must have been what Shepard said. No, I'm not him. Father would do this for different reasons than I would.

'So he's not wrong?' that same voice whispered. I shook my head again. Of course, he is. Everything about him was wrong. 'Yet you do exactly as he would?' I shook my head again, silencing the voice.

It's a bad idea. It's too late, at least. The control chip will be abandoned. The risks are greater than the benefits. It's done. It's over.

Despite my final decision, the voice spoke one last time. I couldn't even get the last word against myself.

'You even think just like him…this changes nothing.'

Commander John Shepard

After Mordin and Lia had returned with the tech and scanned it, they had confirmed that the tech of the implant would indeed be an upgrade, but there was something that simply didn't add up. A part that their scans couldn't determine the use of, as if it was blocking scans. All that had done was reinforce my decision to not bring it anywhere near my head. I asked Mordin to reverse engineer it and determine the use of the sketchy part. If he can produce a safe upgrade, then I'd be willing to accept it. But in the meantime, I had the broken parts replaced and we were now in orbit around Zorya. Tali, unfortunately, was still condemned to bed-rest, so Kasumi would take her place as a tech expert. Beyond that, I was taking Garrus and Zaeed, obviously, as well as Grunt and Thane. I had a feeling it wouldn't be wise to bring Samara on this mission. As for the planet itself, it's like a Green Omega controlled by the Suns. Mostly unpopulated, relative to the surface at least, and the local companies, thanks to lax industrial laws, work their refineries in the cheapest, and dirtiest ways. Fortunately for the planet, at the current rate, it'll take centuries for that to be a real problem, and long before then, industries will be forced to adopt cleaner methods.

Considering this was Zaeed's contract, the plan was more or less his. We'd be touching down outside the foundry's perimeter, then make our way towards it, quickly taking out any patrols we come across. At the foundry itself, we'd work our way through taking out any Blue Suns we find. We won't be able to free the workers safely if the Suns still have a strong presence.

And obviously, Vido is Zaeed's. But just to make sure he dies, the Normandy is patrolling the skies in a low orbit, still just out of visual from the refinery to prevent any Blue Suns from escaping.

The shuttle touched down in a clearing with a view of one of the foundry's smokestacks. Already, my HUD was reading high temperatures. 118 degrees Fahrenheit. Fortunately, the planet's high spore content would be blocked by the helmets we were all wearing. Except for Zaeed, that is. He wanted to make sure Vido saw his face. The moment we had all disembarked, the shuttle left us.

"Tapping into the fucker's comms. Watch for Ambushes," Zaeed stated as he took point. I allowed it.

"Squad Bravo, a shuttle landed near your location. Check it out," a gruff, angry voice ordered on Suns' comms. Zaeed's stance tightened.

"That's fucking him alright," the man growled. Our path ahead was coincidentally clear, but there was higher ground in the trees surrounding us.

"Garrus, I want you on overwatch. Head into the trees but stick close enough to cover us," I ordered. He nodded, readied his sniper, and made his way into the jungle. His visor should be able to keep us marked, synching with the Normandy for GPS. We continued through, weapons ready. Grunt was already agitated. Along the path, there was a trio of bodies all lying face down. Decaying rapidly, almost just scraps of their work clothes remaining. The bullet holes in their backs were still clear enough, but we could see the maggots of this world's insects writhing around inside.

"Shot in the back and left to rot. His fucking style alright," Zaeed grumbled, running his hand over the scar above his blinded eye. I marked the location of the bodies, and we pushed on.

"Shepard, I've got eyes on you and plenty of space to move around to keep up. I'm about fifty meters up and out. Bush is too thick to try further. There's a structure just ahead with Suns starting to fortify it."

"Understood. Happy hunting."

"If you head into the jungle just to the south around the rock there, you'll have an elevated position to ambush."

"I'm going through the front," Zaeed answered.

"Grunt, with him. Thane, you and I take position, Kasumi, you cloak and work your magic," I ordered.

"With pleasure," the thief cloaked and ran off, while Grunt and Zaeed waited to charge the front, Thane and I made our way to the point indicated by Garrus. A moment later, we were in position. Thane and I with our snipers out. I counted eight mercs, one of whom had a flamethrower, and was standing by two of his buddies.

"I've got the flamer; the explosion should kill his friends. Thane, Garrus, Kasumi, mark your targets. We shoot, kill, then Grunt and Zaeed push," I ordered. We singled ours out, and pulled the triggers, while I'm sure Kasumi used her combat knife. As for my target, the tank exploded immediately, blowing the wearer to chunks, the closest was sent flying in one direction, and his arm in another, and both of the other mercs were covered in flames, while three others dropped to the ground, dead. Grunt and Zaeed charged, killing the remaining two almost instantly.

"Squad Bravo, we heard gunfire by your position. Report!" A Suns officer, a Batarian, ordered. "I said report!" He paused. "Damn it, all squads fall back." Playing it safe? Must be Vido's personal tactics.

"This is Commander Santiago. If you retreat while the intruders are still alive, I'll kill you myself. If Bravo is down, they're heading to southern access. All squads, mass at the gatehouse now!"

"Hasn't fucking changed," Zaeed murmured.

"Garrus, get eyes on that gatehouse. Kasumi, I want you in cloak early. Move on." Past the bodies, we came to a maintenance bridge over a waterfall, the bridge already extended. We crossed and continued along the path.

"Got eyes on the gatehouse. They're waiting. You'll have to pass through a door in a large wall to be there. It's a killing field." Garrus informed.

"Got it, we'll hold at the door." Along the path, we passed what I'd consider a rather beautiful view. A valley out there with waterfalls, a setting sun, just a view that could be better without a large satellite dish. Ah, there's the large metal wall and door. Kasumi cloaked, we opened the door, there was a small 'hallway' of sorts between the door on this side of the wall and the gatehouse itself. I lost track of the small woman. We took positions at the sides of the door. I'd be hesitant to use the other side of the hallway for cover, as the mercs have elevation on us at the upper level of the gatehouse. At the center? A human male with tanned skin. And no helmet. Zaeed stepped out to stare him down. The other mercs had weapons out and trained, but not Vido.

"Zaeed Massani," his eyes were wide for a moment, then narrowed as he grinned. "You finally tracked me down," Zaeed growled, and raised his weapon, the mercs focused on Zaeed. Why aren't we shooting yet? "Don't be stupid," Vido rolled his eyes. "I've a whole company of bloodthirsty bastards behind me, ready to kill or be killed on my command. I saw Zaeed's head move slightly, he was scanning the area. "Ah fuck it, take your shot. Give my men a reason to put you down like the mad dog you are. Again," he chuckled.

"Shep, I'm on the catwalk," Kasumi informed.

"Garrus, take your shot. Kasumi, take one down." Garrus fired, Kasumi slit a throat, we began firing, mostly, covering so that we could get a good position. Zaeed ran up to the left, to a series of pipes and a valve. I saw one bullet strike a pipe by Vido, blasting out fumes. Zaeed took aim. Ah shit. "Kasumi! Get down here!" Zaeed fired again, and there was a fiery explosion that knocked Vido against a railing, and one merc down here with us. But I saw Kasumi's shimmering form land on her feet, just before the explosion.

"You just signed your death warrant, Massani!" Vido shouted. The remaining mercs began suppressing fire, Garrus taking down one of them, causing two of them to search for the sniper, but it would be near impossible to find him in all the jungle. I heard metal clanging on metal. Zaeed was beating on the valves of the pipes here with the butt of his rifle.

"The fuck are you doing, Zaeed?" He can't blow up the damn refinery, they're still workers here! But it was too late, the pipes started detonating, a chain reaction back up to the catwalk, killing the mercs, and more explosions out through the facility.

"Opening the gate," he answered as another explosion blew it open. I stood and approached the merc.

"You have any idea what you just did? Who knows how many fucking civilians you just killed?! Ones you're being paid to save!" I exclaimed. "We don't sacrifice lives for the mission. Not one!" I was right in his face now. He frowned.

"Like what? Wandering the jungle for hours, looking for a way in?" I gestured at Kasumi.

"We have a hacker! With a fucking cloak! If that fails, we rappel!"

"Oh. Hm, well, you want to waste time, I'm going to kill-" Fuck this. I clenched my right fist and slammed it right into his cheek, reeling him back and catching him by surprise.

"You are endangering both lives and the mission for selfish revenge! That is not acceptable! Never!" I shouted, jamming my finger to his chest. Zaeed rolled his jaw.

"You really want to do this?" he glared.

"I should knock you cold on the ground, but now, we have a refinery to save."

"Let them burn," Zaeed growled. "Vido dies, whatever the fucking cost!"

"That's not how we do things! He can't escape, and I told you that you'd have your revenge, but it has to be done right! Fall in fucking line!" I yelled. "Everyone, move! Garrus, you'll have to catch up!" I led the others through the blown door, the refinery was burning with the occasional explosion. Some bridges higher up had collapsed, but we just kept moving over the platform for a door when there was a voice behind us.

"Help! We're trapped!" one of the workers, a human male, called out terrified from a bridge above. "We can't get to the gas valves to shut them off! The whole place is going to explode!"

"Thane, Kasumi, get in there shut those valves down. Garrus, help them if they need it, or just join Grunt, Zaeed, and I. ASAP."

"At once, Shepard," Thane answered. They ran towards the refinery, guided by the worker, while the rest of us continued along the path after Vido. There were a handful of mercs struggling to reinforce, what with explosions still disrupting the battlefield. The chaos only made it easier for us. Grunt, it seemed, was having the time of his life fighting among all the explosions. Zaeed was silent, and I was still seething. We just had to keep moving and fast. Running and gunning. Eventually, running through the facility, we came across a flamer merc who had gotten crushed by debris. The flamethrower lying just outside of the debris. Its ammo would be much more limited without the tanks on the back, but it'll be enough. I picked it up and tossed it to Grunt.

"Have fun, just don't fry us."

"Heh, heh, heh," Grunt chuckled, making me immediately regret my decision. But it was too late, he charged ahead. We heard the screams of a pair of Turian mercs as we caught up, seeing both of them writhing on the ground, but getting slower and slower. We just had to keep moving. This time, into a larger, much more open area. If I'm not mistaken, I think this is where the refined product gets stored into its proper containers.

"You tapped into our fucking comms, didn't you?" Vido growled, still on the Suns' frequency. "I'll fucking kill all of you! I'll roast my own men to do it!" he grunted in pain. We took cover as we saw the Sun's had fortified it. With a YMIR mech.

"Shepard," Kasumi got on the comms. "The valves are shut, and the fire suppression is on. We're heading to regroup."

"Breaking off to join you then," Garrus added. With reinforcements coming, we kept on fighting. Grunt happily charging out and using his new flamethrower, and Zaeed and I covered him, targeting anyone who tried to put down the Krogan. But the YMIR mech would be something a bit different. It was on a catwalk far from us at the opposite side of the large room, and holding a defensive position, behind some low cover that the mercs had placed to protect the entirety of its torso while leaving both of its arms ready to fire, and its head to see. I have an idea, but we're going to need Thane. So we held position, mopping up the Suns, and two minutes later, the rest of the squad arrived.

"They're here. Can I kill this damn thing now?" Grunt growled.

"Thane, can you pull the crate aside and give Grunt a barrier?" I asked the Drell.

"Cover me." He answered. The rest of us rose from cover and fired at the mech to draw its attention. I know my biotics implant is repaired, but that was still a relatively recent surgery. The crate was flung to the side, allowing most of our bullets to more reliably hit the mech's shields. Then, an aura appeared, shimmering around the Krogan. Grunt roared, as he stormed ahead to the far catwalk. All the while we fired at the mech, but it was rightly registering Grunt as the largest threat. It attempted to fire a missile, but Grunt sidestepped and spun to avoid it, and finished his charge by tackling the mech to the ground, tearing off the metal plating protecting its chest by reaching in under its neck, then just began tearing out wires. We didn't have any more time to waste. I took point, Zaeed almost beside me as we ran ahead to make up for lost time.

"Grunt, fall in!" I ordered as we passed by. Fortunately, it registered, and he complied. We ran through just one long hallway, before reaching the outside. There was a gunship waiting on a landing pad, and limping towards it, Vido. Zaeed took aim and shot the side of the landing pad just in front of Vido. He turned, clearly terrified.

"Zaeed. Please!" The merc jumped down from the short ledge we were on to the ground, slowly, silently, continuing his approach. The rest of us kept our weapons trained on the gunship. Myself, with the rocket launcher. "It was nothing personal. Just business, I swear!" Vido tried to limp towards the gunship again. Zaeed shot him in the back of the knee of the leg he had been favoring. Vido grunted in pain and collapsed. "I-I-It was twenty years ago! Look at you! I did you a favor!" he panicked. Looking at the scene, I noticed Vido was on the ground right next to a fuel tank. One that was used to fuel the gunship, and they hadn't bothered to shut it off right in their hurry. Fuel was still pouring out, making an even larger puddle on the ground, that Vido was right in the middle of. "Zaeed! Please! I'm gonna die here, man!" Zaeed stowed his rifle, and drew his pistol, eying it. The gunship rose to the air and began to fly off.

"You bastards! Get back here!" Vido cried. Then, a familiar shape descended from the clouds, dwarfing the gunship. It fired just one of the ship's Javelin torpedoes, and it struck the gunship head on, destroying it as the ship flew back to orbit. "Oh, for fuck's sake…" Zaeed took aim and fired. First, at Vido's leg that had been wounded earlier, then both his arms. He screamed and cursed in pain.

"Fry, you son of a bitch," Zaeed uttered coldly. Turning on a dime, he ejected the thermal clip from his weapon so that it was launched right at the puddle of fuel. The moment it touched the puddle, it ignited, suddenly, violently. Engulfing Vido in flames. He screamed, dying, as Zaeed returned to us, expressionless. The fuel tank detonated, just adding to the image. When he had rejoined us, he turned to look back at the flames, Vido had stopped screaming. Zaeed pulled a cigar out from a pack at his belt, as well as a lighter. He savored the drag.

"We're not done here yet," I stated. "We'll secure the survivors, then get back to the ship. And after that, Zaeed?" He returned my look. "We need to talk."