Chapter 19: You Don't Own Me
Miranda
I had always been afraid of the dark. It was irrational; I knew that. Yet any number of things could be waiting, hidden, within shadows, and if I couldn't see the threat, I couldn't prepare for it. If I wasn't prepared, I wasn't in control, and losing control was what I feared most.
I awoke in the dark, my face pressed against, from what I could tell, a soaked carpet. The rough material rubbed at my face, and whatever liquid was pooled in it I had accidentally breathed into my nose. It burned my nostrils, and I gagged when it hit the back of my throat. The copper tang of blood was unmistakeable, overpowering the other disgusting tastes in my mouth.
I didn't think it was mine at least; I would be feeling any injury that had cost me that much blood. I twisted and tried to sit up, struggling against my bound hands that were trapped between my stomach and the floor, and immediately smashed my forehead against a metal ceiling. I dropped back down, cursing. Damn it, where am I?
I needed to see, so I flared my biotics, knowing the blue light would at least give me something. The familiar power fluttered around me with barely the strength of a butterfly's wings, uselessly weak without an amp. I didn't have biotics. I couldn't feel my omni-tool on my arm. My breath caught in my chest, and I lashed out, panicked, with my legs. The kick landed against the side and resounded with a thump throughout what I recognized as a car trunk.
I managed to roll over but landed on something hard in the trunk with me. I pushed myself back, turned my neck, and found myself nose to nose with Niket, a very dead Niket with a charred hole in the middle of his forehead.
I screamed.
I scrambled as best I could to the other side of the trunk, not even pretending to suppress the shaking in my limbs. There was no one to see me here, no one to be strong for. No one but my dead friend whose blood was in my mouth. I gagged again.
The metallic stench was already clogging my nose, blocking the smell of pine trees and spices that had always clung to his clothes. Memories of stolen kisses in dark corners and strong arms were warped forever by the sight of his mangled face. It was hard to look away, and the trunk felt like it was getting smaller, closing in around me and pushing me towards Niket.
I kicked out again, thrashing my feet against the solid metal wall, and I began screaming in earnest. I need out. Get me out. Get me out!
The humming of the engine stopped when the car did, cutting off the acceleration so rapidly that I went rolling with it. I was slammed up against the side of the trunk, and I hissed when something sharp cut into my cheek. Niket's body crushed me seconds later. I bit back another scream and kicked him away from me.
The latch of the trunk clicked at the hatch opened, and I was blinded by a flooding of light. An asari in Eclipse armor loomed over me, sneering with disgust. I maneuvered a leg up to kick at her, but she froze me in a stasis field. Then she punched me square in the face with a biotic wrapped fist.
"Shut up," she hissed, and I groaned with pain, the noise sounding distorted through the stasis field.
She stuck another needle in my neck, and I was unconscious in seconds.
XXX
I woke a second time with significantly less panic, berating myself for drawing attention. Now, in addition to still being locked in a car trunk, my thoughts were fuzzy from whatever drugs were in my system, and my head hurt. The floor swayed underneath me, and I blinked to try and focus.
There were at least no more surprises in my surroundings, just obstacles to overcome. My first objective was to grope around for an emergency release in the trunk, but I gave up on that quickly once I realized the car was very obviously flying through the air. I would never survive a drop like that.
I stilled at the sound of voices.
"Yes, I still have her. What am I supposed to do now? Niket turned on us and tipped them off. Now the girl is surrounded, and I don't have enough people to try to take on Commander Shepard and her whole crew." The voice was that of the asari that had punched me, muffled from inside the car. I sagged against the trunk floor in relief. Shepard is keeping them away from Oriana.
My next emotion was confusion: Shepard had converged the whole crew around Oriana instead of coming after me? Somewhere in there, there must be some grand plan to get me back. She wasn't just going to leave me. Right? Or is this just the perfect excuse to get rid of me?
My blood froze at the next voice. "You're saying there's absolutely no way to get to her?" my father asked. Some of the tension released when the audio crackled, and I realized he was only on a comm system. With luck, he wasn't actually on planet. Granted, that would make it more difficult for me to shoot him, but it did keep him away from Oriana.
"I don't see one. I can deliver just Miranda to you, if that's acceptable." This time I recognized the voice of my first kidnapper.
"I didn't want Miranda," my father spat, and I sneered into the dark, the words unexpectedly painful. "I just needed her out of the way. Not only is she disobedient, but I don't have the resources to go against the Illusive Man, not when she knows so much about his organization. I'd have to kill her and pay Cerberus an exorbitant sum to smooth it over."
"No offense, but it sounds like taking Oriana is going to cause similar problems with Cerberus," the asari replied.
My father laughed. "No. The Illusive Man is a businessman above all else. Oriana is an expense he takes on only to keep Miranda's loyalty. But if I were to provide a way for him to keep Miranda while I take Oriana...Let's just say I've already made the phone call."
I clenched my fists in front of me, struggling to breathe properly. He's lying. He always lies.
"Take Miranda to the docks and offer the commander a trade," my father ordered after a pause. A trade? For my sister? Shepard would never take that.
"And if Shepard says no?" the Eclipse merc asked.
"She won't. Shepard has a reputation; she'll want Miranda," my father replied.
Reputation? I dropped my head back, letting it thump against the thin carpeting of the trunk but immediately regretting it when my head rang with pain. I rolled to my side and resigned myself to waiting.
XXX
Another syringe of drugs and a blackout later and I woke to a still car. I moved my body experimentally: still bound but nothing hurt. My thoughts were slower in coming, and my stomach rolled. I held my breath trying to keep myself from vomiting in the small compartment.
I couldn't fight like this. Whatever cocktail they keep shooting into me was being metabolized faster than a normal human, but the nausea wasn't a good sign. The Eclipse merc was stabbing them into me anytime she saw me awake unlike the calculated doses of my original kidnapper, whoever she was. Too much more, and they would begin to do real damage. I could begin hallucinating or my heart could stop: overdose. I gritted my teeth and forced myself to calm down.
Too much time in the black of the car trunk was disorienting. I heard nothing but footsteps on the outside of my prison, pacing. Guards? I quietly felt around the walls of the trunk, renewing my efforts to find an emergency release now that I was actually on the ground. My hand grazed over something that felt like it could be what I was looking for, but, no, I also pricked my fingers on the exposed, frayed end of a cable. Disabled. Damn it.
Next I tried feeling for anything that would let me pry open the latch, a crowbar or maybe a tire iron, but I stilled when I realized it was too silent. The pacing had stopped, and I tensed when two soft thumps landed against the ground.
When the click of the trunk latch heralded its opening, I rolled to the far back, pushing hard with my knees until I could feel Niket behind me. I pushed down my revulsion and concentrated on remaining quiet.
The door opened just a crack at first, not the forceful flinging open of the Eclipse mercenary. I hazarded a push forward, for a better look, and was met by impossibly dark, black eyes staring back at me through the crack, green scaled skin visible around them.
I blinked. I didn't know very many drell. Feron? Am I hallucinating already? Is this some sort of guilt thing? I don't usually have those. In fact, that last thought ground me to reality. I'd never cared one ounce about Feron's current well-being, and my conscience certainly wouldn't have started that now. But bloody hell, my head does hurt.
The door opened even wider and revealed a drell, like I'd thought, but he definitely wasn't Feron. Through the larger gap I could see two Eclipse mercenaries prone on the ground, and I stared cautiously at my would-be rescuer.
"Are you in need of assistance?" the drell asked.
"I'm locked in a bloody car trunk. You think I'm here voluntarily?" I snapped, but my words weren't barbed like usual. They came out slurred, and it was hard for me to wrap my mouth around them, like chewing on cotton.
"No, probably not," the drell answered.
"Who are you?" I asked, shielding my eyes from the flooding of light when the drell pushed the trunk door completely open.
"I am Thane Krios," he answered.
I stared at him. "Did Shepard send you?" I asked. He looked surprised at the question and cocked his head to the side as he watched me pull myself to the lip of the trunk.
"No. I heard talk of a kidnapping over the Eclipse radios and decided to investigate," Thane explained.
"Maybe they should work on their security," I muttered, concentrating on swinging my legs over the side. It was surprisingly difficult to get my limbs to cooperate. "If you're freely listening into their radios."
"It is difficult to guard communications when the recipients are dead," Thane replied, and the corners of my lips twitched up in response. "Do you work for Commander Shepard? My contact sent me a message saying she was looking to speak with me. I decided to detour here first."
"I do," I answered, pursing my lips as I thought about how much effort it would cause me to stand up. Fingers snapped in front of my face, and I jolted back. How long had I been staring off?
"There are no more guards in this area. We should seek medical attention," Thane insisted.
"Nonsense," I scoffed at him. "I need to get to my sister. She's at Dock 94. Where are we?"
I huffed in impatience and motioned with my bound hands. Thane disappeared, and I heard the scrape of armor on metal and muffled fumbling through pockets. He reappeared with a key and released my hands. I rubbed feeling back into them gratefully.
"We are in the cargo bay of Dock 94," Thane answered, dropping the keys of my cuffs to the ground.
I evaluated Thane, dragging my eyes along his light clothing and thin frame. A sniper rifle was strapped to his back, but I remembered from his file that he was also highly proficient in hand-to-hand, as evidenced by the askew necks of the two Eclipse guards on the ground. I would be moving slower than usual, but he could definitely be of use.
The omni-tool of one of the mercs lit up, and I recognized my asari captor's voice.
"Delta Team, it's time to transport the prisoner to the dock for the trade. Do you read?"
I looked at Thane. "How serious are you about helping me?" I asked him.
"I have no other pressing engagements," Thane replied. I smiled, stretching my lips over my teeth. I was going to like this one.
"Answer her, then steal that merc's armor," I ordered him, pleased when my voice came out a little stronger. "I've got a plan."
XXX
Garrus
"Kasumi, stop touching my fringe. I've told you repeatedly that turians do not like that," I grumbled, turning to glare at the woman in question.
"I'm just curious," she said, shrugging. "And bored. Shouldn't this guy be here by now?"
"What's the point anyway?" Jacob broke in. "Do we really want an assassin covering our backs?"
"Shepard makes the final call. You know that," I repeated. I ignored Varia Dantius smirking at me from behind a datapad. We'd exhausted conversation long ago in our wait for Thane Krios to arrive, and our asari hostess had turned back to working at her desk. However, she was a terrible actress, and I doubt she'd answered a single email while we'd been sitting here. Her smiles were far too frequent.
"Yeah, but Shepard listens to you. You could tell her this guy wasn't a good fit," Jacob pushed.
"Shepard makes the final call," I reiterated through gritted teeth. "What's your problem anyway?"
"I don't like mercenaries," Jacob said with a frown. "That's what assassins are. Killing for money."
"I'll be sure to tell Zaeed that you don't like him," Kasumi said, crossing one leg lightly over the other as she perched on my chair's armrest. "Maybe I'd like to hear your opinions on thieves as well."
"Alright, let's not start this," I mediated as Jacob opened his mouth to reply.
"Or what about Garrus? He killed loads of people on Omega. You don't seem to have a problem with him," Kasumi continued anyway as Jacob frowned.
I held up a talon. "Criminals," I corrected her. "I killed criminals."
"I'm a criminal," Kasumi said, crossing her arms.
"Well I wasn't planning on shooting you," I replied.
The thief gave a light laugh and flicked my fringe again, eliciting a growl from me.
"My point still stands," Jacob maintained. "I don't think an assassin is what we need for a mission like this."
"I sent Mr. Krios the message you requested," Varia said, shuffling between datapads on her desk. She looked up at me with a frown. "I'm surprised he isn't here by now."
"We can afford to wait a bit longer," I answered, glaring at Jacob when he let out a disgruntled sigh.
We fell back into the slightly uncomfortable silence of before, but Kasumi moved over to Jacob's chair to bother him instead, much to my relief. I startled in my chair when my omni-tool vibrated and blared a siren: the emergency line. I hit the button to receive the call.
"I need you, Jacob, and Kasumi outside. We've got an emergency. All hands on deck," Shepard ordered.
"But we don't have Thane yet," I protested.
"We'll figure it out later. I need everyone now," Shepard repeated, practically growling. Right. Not the time for arguing.
I sprang from my seat and motioned the others to follow. I paused in the doorway, and turned back to Varia, who had nothing of the look of someone who'd just had her sister assassinated.
"Er, thank you anyway. For your help," I said.
"It was my pleasure," she answered easily. "Maybe I'll need help in the future."
I grimaced, not sure I liked the sound of that, but I nodded anyway, heading through the door and re-tracing my way back to the exit of the ship. We were barely past the exterior guards when the Normandy's shuttle slammed down in front of us. The door opened and I saw Shepard, Mordin, Tali, Jack, Grunt, and Zaeed all crammed into the small space.
"Get in," Shepard ordered, her voice cracking like a whip.
I stared at Shepard's face, lit up like the neon signs of the Silversun Strip, but looked away quickly when she pinned me with a death glare. I joined Jacob and Kasumi in scrambling on without question, wedging the three of us into the already tight space. Awkwardly, I was forced to pin Shepard to the wall and support myself with my hands above her head to keep my weight from crushing her as she scowled to the side, though it was hard to tell whether that was because too many people were in her personal space or she was just that angry.
"Shepard…" I began.
"Do not say anything about the glowing, Garrus," Shepard hissed. "It's my cybernetics reacting to the fact that I am so unbelievably pissed that if this shuttle weren't so fucking useful, I would have ripped it in half with my bare hands."
My eyes widened. I was definitely standing too close to the rage. "Okay. Emergency. Fill us in."
"Miranda was taken," Shepard growled in explanation. "By, I suspect, her bastard of a father. EDI wasn't able to track her, but her omni-tool turned back on a few minutes ago and we got a location. And a message. It just said 'Hurry.'"
"Miranda's gone?" Jacob repeated. I saw his fist clench at his side.
Shepard answered with a sharp nod. "She was arranging safe transport for her sister out of Nos Astra. We found security footage of Miranda being pulled into a taxi at the stand where we were supposed to meet," Shepard elaborated, her eyes flashing a deeper red.
"Miranda has a sister?" Shepard softened just barely at the question, and I put a hand on the part of Jacob's shoulder I could reach. "She never told me. Said she was an only child," Jacob continued, his voice trailing off until he was only muttering to himself.
"Miranda likes her secrets," Shepard said. "I guarantee she only told me because she needed my help."
"Did you bring our gear?" I asked Shepard, redirecting the conversation.
She pointed to the lockers on the shuttle, and Zaeed caught the signal, pulling them open and passing over my distinct blue armor. Then came the acrobatics required to strap the pieces on in such a tight space. Shepard rolled her eyes and gave me help with some of the more difficult clasps.
"How do we know it was actually Miranda that sent the message?" I asked, worried.
The shuttle wobbled, and Shepard stumbled forward, grabbing onto the top of my chest plate. I grunted at the extra weight, but I was more surprised at the heat rolling off of her. Was that normal for all humans? Or a result of her glaring cybernetics?
"Sorry," Shepard said, disentangling her hands. "And we can't be sure it isn't a trap, especially considering all the cameras in that area have mysteriously shut down. Still, Dock 94 is where Oriana was supposed to leave out of, and I won't take the risk of leaving Miranda's kid sister exposed. So if it's a trap, it's a trap, but hopefully one that gets us closer to Miranda."
"Remind me why we give a fuck about the cheerleader's sister?" Jack jeered.
In that moment, I considered it a mercy that there were several bodies in between Shepard and Jack.
"For the same reason Miranda scheduled a stop on Pragia in two weeks," Shepard stated, snapping the words out with deceptive calm. Jack froze, looking confused, shocked even, and I glanced between the two, wondering what I was missing. What was on Pragia? "A member of the crew made a personal request. And we will honor it," Shepard finished. "Besides, Oriana's still just a kid."
The shuttle landed down, and the pilot announced we'd reached our destination. Shepard was the first to jump down, stalking forward like a predator, and the small crowd around the taxi area immediately parted around her.
"Fan out," Shepard ordered. "We need to locate Oriana fast."
"How are we supposed to know what this girl looks like?" Tali asked. "No offense, but humans start to look really similar after a while."
"Oriana looks just like Miranda. Maybe her face is slightly rounder," Shepard stated. "They're almost identical, genetic twins or something. EDI actually got Oriana on camera earlier when we were scanning security footage for Miranda."
"Damn." I exhaled. I blinked to check my eyes.
"Yeah, I know–"
"No," I interrupted her, pointing. "I mean 'damn, you're right'. She's just over there."
Shepard followed my finger to where Oriana was standing with an older human couple, smiling at something they'd said. The girl looked eerily like a teenaged Miranda, but her expressions were foreign to the face I knew. Oriana smiled with abandon and her blue eyes were bright as she moved her hands along with her conversation, animating her words.
My chest twisted, just slightly, like I was seeing something I shouldn't be. It was almost like peering into an alternate universe to see what could have been instead of what was. Would this be Miranda without her father's influence? Granted, I didn't know much about the man, but the fact that he was willing to kidnap one daughter and steal the other from her family told me enough.
Too late, I realized Shepard was staring just as hard as I was, and we'd caught the attention of the teenager. I dropped the finger that was pointing at her, but Oriana's eyebrows were already furrowed, causing a crease between them that I'd already seen aboard the Normandy a thousand times.
"Shit, what do we do?" I turned to Shepard.
"Introduce ourselves," Shepard said with a shrug. "Then we get her out of here."
Oriana watched us warily as we approached, her eyes flickering to her parents. The human couple turned around at whatever she said, and the man stepped out in front of them.
Shepard dove right in. "Hello, I'm Commander Shepard," she said, offering her hand. The man took it, but Oriana pushed forward.
"I know; I've seen you on the vids. You're supposed to be dead," Oriana said, eyebrows pulling down. "And not have strange glowing eyes."
"I was just trying to get out of paying my taxes," Shepard deadpanned, the joke falling flat with bad timing and Shepard's 'all-business' voice. "But in seriousness, Oriana–" The girl frown fixed firmly in place at the use of her name. Her steely expression mirrored her sister's so perfectly a chill ran up my spin. "–this is going to seem very sudden, but you're in danger. I need to get you and your family somewhere safe."
"What's this about? How do you even know us?" the man who was obviously Oriana's father demanded.
"There is someone looking for your daughter," Shepard explained. The two parents threw knowing glances between each other. "If you would just come with us, I'll tell you everything."
I pulled at Shepard's arm, dread pooling in my stomach. "Too late," I announced and motioned to the Eclipse shuttles landing down a small distance away. "Damn it, there's a lot of civilians here."
I surveyed the area. The docks worked in a block system. To the left and right, I could see Docks 93 and 95, separated completely from this one. A strip of walkway connected the exterior of this dock to the other ten in this district and also held the rapid transit taxi stands. There was one door to the large room we stood in, a room which acted as customs for incoming passengers but as a waiting area for outbound passengers. Through another door behind us was the actual dock. Only a small strip was enclosed and environmentally controlled, and it led directly to the airlock of the waiting transport. An elevator to the cargo bay blinked just inside inside the doors.
This dock was packed with people. They couldn't go through the one door because they wouldn't all fit in the small area that actually had air, and they couldn't go out to the taxi area because they would be running right into the mercenaries.
"Run to the doors!" Shepard ordered, pointing towards the taxis. "Block them getting in here. The civilians in the taxi area can evacuate to the sides, but these people have nowhere to go."
The seven squad members we had with us all started to the door, but Shepard grabbed Grunt's arm, then latching onto his chest plate and pulling his face down to her eye level.
"Grunt, you are going to watch Oriana," Shepard ordered. When the krogan frowned with discontent, she lowered her voice and growled, "This is Miranda's sister. You are now responsible for her. If so much as one hair on her head is harmed, Miranda will come here and eviscerate you. Slowly. Do you understand?"
I laughed at Grunt's excited smile. He pulled his shotgun out and posted himself directly in front of Oriana. With that, Shepard turned and charged after our companions towards the door, myself directly behind her.
We walked through the doors to greet a dozen Eclipse mercenaries spread out in a semi-circle with two obvious leaders in the center, an asari and a human in black. The civilians were gone, as Shepard had predicted, likely running as soon as they'd seen guns out and ready by both parties, steady hands waiting. A black car appeared overhead and sank next to the asari. Another silent Eclipse mercenary stepped out and stopped next to the trunk of the car, a hand placed on it protectively.
"It's your lucky day, Commander," the asari stated.
"And why's that?" Shepard sneered.
"If you hadn't been tipped off, we would have easily accomplished what we wanted here," she replied. "However, now we're willing to give you your XO back."
A surge of blue flashed around Shepard as her whole body tensed. I hazarded a hand on her shoulder, and she settled herself, the built up energy flooding out and leaving my arm tingling.
"So you do have Miranda," Shepard gritted out.
"We do," the woman in black confirmed. Now that she had drawn attention to herself, something about the woman rubbed me the wrong way. She held herself tall, but had a way of flowing into the background. When her chin tipped up, I could see eyes that were a disconcertingly familiar shade of blue. "Our employer would like to speak to you about our terms."
The woman held an omni-tool to chest height and hit a button. A projection of a man in a tailored suit followed soon after, all his austere features showing as electric blue.
"Henry Lawson," he introduced himself unnecessarily. "I would like to offer a trade."
"I'd like to offer you a lot of things," Shepard threatened. "But do go on."
Mr. Lawson waved a hand, annoyed. "First I want to see Oriana. Make sure you haven't whisked her away somewhere," he ordered. When Shepard looked about to argue, his lips curled back in a scowl and motioned to the mercenary standing at the car trunk. "I see Oriana, or I kill Miranda in front of you."
Shepard's eyes locked onto the car now, then flickered to Miranda's father. "She's your daughter. You wouldn't kill her."
"Miranda is my property to do with as I wish. Considering she fired the first shots, I'd just be finishing what she started," he snapped, an ever-present sneer wrinkling his face. "But today, Miranda can be useful in acquiring the daughter that I actually want." I gripped my assault rifle tighter at his words, grimacing in distaste. I even heard Tali mutter bosh'tet behind me, and though I was surprised, I nodded my head at her in solidarity. "So what will it be?"
Shepard hesitated, and the silence and tension stretched as we all held a breath. Her eyes glanced to where I knew Oriana waited, and my stomach twisted at the impossible situation. I knew the same thoughts were echoed in Shepard's head, weighing whether the man would actually kill his own daughter or if he were bluffing. He'd make an enemy of the Illusive Man by killing Miranda, but it was possible he had enough resources to survive the blowback. So it came down to whether Shepard were really willing to hand over Miranda's sister to save her.
My tactical side said to do it: hand over the teenager because Miranda was more useful. But I'm not sure I'd be able to live with myself afterwards. Miranda, certainly, would hate Shepard forever if the commander allowed it.
"If I bring Oriana out, you have to show me Miranda. I'm not about to hand this girl over for a dead body," Shepard asserted.
Mr. Lawson smiled and nodded like that was to be expected, his holographic head turning to the asari mercenary waiting beside him. Shepard murmured something into her omni-tool, and I heard the docking door slide open behind us and Grunt's heavy footfalls as he walked through. A wide-eyed Oriana soon appeared between Shepard and me, and the commander took half a step in front of her, shielding the girl with her body as Mr. Lawson directed a satisfied grin at her. He snapped his fingers, and the driver of the car, who had been hovering by the car trunk, unlatched the trunk. The asari whipped out an arm, pulling a body out of the trunk biotically towards her and holding it hovering in the air. Oriana sucked in a loud breath.
Miranda looked like a wreck. A thin gash dragged all the way across her forehead, complemented by another on her cheekbone, but they were covered by smears of blood, too much to have been from the cuts. Half of her face was painted in the blood as well as what looked like much of her hair, judging by the awkward way it stuck against her skull. Still, it wasn't enough to hide the swelling in her cheeks and her lip. The slender column of her throat bent like Miranda couldn't bear the weight of her own head, and though her eyes were open, her pupils were twice their normal size. Any other injuries or bruising was covered by her still mostly intact Cerberus uniform, though it was covered in blood and grime, much like the rest of her.
I could see Shepard's jaw moving tightly in light of the reveal, each wiggled movement acting like a timer for her self-control. Her cybernetics were brighter than they'd ever been, shining through her skin to turn it a hellish red. But I could practically hear the gears grinding in her brain, working through scenarios to get to Miranda before they could crush her in biotics or shoot her.
Shepard glanced over to me and dragged her eyes pointedly down to her own hands, and I froze, looking back at Miranda. There. Miranda's handcuffs were loose on her wrists, and her dilated eyes were now zeroed in on Shepard instead of aimlessly directed forward.
Movement from the Eclipse merc that had been driving the car caught my eye. He moved like liquid, not like a mercenary should, but no one was paying him any mind with their focus on the ensuing standoff. He stopped just behind the asari maintaining the biotic field around Miranda.
The merc stepped past her, cementing my theory that he was no mercenary by acting in one fluid movement. He kicked into her knee so she fell, jammed his own knee into her back, and snapped her neck.
Time held still. Then everything erupted with gunfire.
XXX
Miranda
I landed hard against the ground once the biotic field dropped, hands barely coming up to protect my face. My forearms took most of the impact, and I grunted in pain before slipping my hands through the cuffs Thane and I had put back on for show. Thane himself was only a few steps from me, having removed his helmet like we'd discussed so the crew of the Normandy wouldn't kill him with the other mercenaries. The crack of guns began sounding all around me, distracting my already slippery thoughts, and I tried shaking my head to ground myself. No, that just hurts more.
I saw the boots of my kidnapper racing past me, and I flung and arm out and latched on. She slammed into the ground and landed a hard kick against my ribs right before the cool tingle of a biotic barrier wrapped around me, and Shepard arrived next to me seconds later in a blaze of blue. From the corner of my eye, I saw a mercenary come around the car, but Shepard grabbed him with her biotics and pinned him to the ground as I scrambled forward to the woman I'd just tripped.
The woman was struggling to her feet, but drugged and injured or not, I could still be faster than a normal human. I surged forward and tackled her to the ground, shimming up her body to pin both of her arms with my knees. She struggled underneath me, kicking her legs, but I slammed her head into the ground, stunning her. I wrapped my hands around her neck.
"Not so much fun now that I can move, is it?" I growled down to her.
I had no gun, no biotics, and my reflexes were slowed, but I still knew exactly where to press my fingers down until the woman in black began to turn a satisfying shade of red. She paralyzed me. I dug my thumbs in harder. She ripped out my amp. She fought harder now, desperation giving her strength, but I sneered down at her and never relented. The trunk. Niket. I felt her heartbeat slowing underneath my thumb and her body went still.
I barred my teeth and snapped her neck, then I sank back on my heels, just staring at her. I'd sworn I wouldn't forget her face, and I hadn't. The woman had paid for what she'd done, all without my even having learned her name. Still, my victory didn't feel as rewarding as it should have.
"Miranda." Shepard's voice coming up behind me. There was no more gunfire; the fight was over.
I turned and tried to stand, but it was like the woman's stolen heartbeats had joined my own, my pulse racing in my chest. Shepard put a hand on my arm to help me, but I pushed her away, managing to stand on my own and walk to the still open car trunk.
Niket. Now that I was no longer trapped in with him, it was less like a nightmare. His body looked small and broken, not ghastly and horrifying. I leaned hard against the rim of the trunk, dropping to my knees when it was too hard to breathe.
Some part of me knew that I was dangerously close to breaking down, like watching myself from the outside. I had been drugged, punched, and locked in a car trunk with the dead body of my best friend, and I was tired. However, the tears prickling at my eyes were not an option: I had an audience.
"Where were you?" I snapped, twisting to see Shepard who'd walked up behind me.
"We were trying to find you–"
"You should have been faster," I bit out, but the words were slurred. I brought a hand up to my chest. My heart was pounding too fast. I gasped for air, putting a hand out to stop from crashing to the ground.
I was scooped into Shepard's arms instead, cradled against her chest. She looked down at me with a pained expression, and I realized her eyes were red instead of green. Yet, Shepard was also warm, so warm after hours in a trunk damp with blood. She brushed my hair out of my face, tucking it behind an ear, and I couldn't stop staring at her face, at all the freckles painted across her cheeks and the redness of her lip where she was biting it.
"Significant trauma to head," Mordin explained at her side, drawing my attention to the rest of the team that had gathered around us. "Drugs. Adrenaline of fight. Too much for her body. Likely disoriented. Overwhelmed."
"We'll get her to the medbay of the Normandy. It's closer than the hospital. Garrus, have Oriana and her family come with us," Shepard barked out orders, then focused back on me. Her next words came out in almost a whisper, soft and gentle. "You'll be okay."
I let my head rest against her armored chest, and darkness swam up to greet me.
The next thing I knew was Chakwas' voice, something soft under my head, and a hand trailing fingers through my hair while another wiped at my face with a what felt like a damp towel. I opened my eyes to see what looked like my face staring down at me: my face without my father's surgical 'corrections' on my chin and my cheeks. My heart trilled in my chest. Oriana. She was cradling my head in her lap with a gentle smile, carefully using a cloth to clean away the grime on my face.
"You're awake," Oriana said quietly, glancing up at Shepard and Chakwas, who were speaking with their backs to us. The medbay was packed still with squad members sprawled across the cots around the room. They were waiting for their post-mission evaluations, so I couldn't have been unconscious long.
"I am," I replied, surprised at how rough my voice sounded. I moved my mouth a few times, struggling for words, but Oriana was perceptive and barreled into a conversation.
"Grunt here kept me company during the fight," Oriana stated, patting Grunt's leg from where he sat next to her. I didn't need to look at him to know there was a huge grin on his face. Then Oriana beamed over at Jack, of all people, and said, "And your lovely friend here kept a barrier around us the whole time."
Jack scowled, but there almost seemed to be a tint of pink to her cheeks. She glared at me.
"There's no fucking way you two are related," she snapped, turning on her heel and walking to a cot farther away. She glanced back over her shoulder. "Also, your dad is a dick."
"Our dad," Oriana muttered, drawing the rag through my hair. She didn't seem to flinch away from the blood and grime at all, and I couldn't help but continue to stare up at her. My sister. Her eyes came to mine again. "Your commander said your name is Miranda. Miranda Lawson. You're my sister."
"Yes," I confirmed. My throat went impossibly tight with embarrassment. Here I was, meeting my sister for the first time, and I was lying in her lap like a child, battered and dirty. "I know it must seem like a big surprise, but I've hidden you from our father since you were very young. I simply made a mistake today: one that won't happen again."
"Not a mistake, I think. We're both still here, and I've finally met you," she replied kindly with another smile for me. I almost wanted to agree with Jack. Oriana may have looked like me, but she was so much lighter. She wasn't looking at me like I was a disappointment to her. Oriana was watching me like, well, like I'd always imagined I looked at her. Like she was precious. "I always wanted a sister."
I reached a hand up to touch her face, and she smiled that bright, beautiful smile back down to me. I managed to return the smile this time, but I still didn't trust myself to speak, so we stayed that way, just for a moment. One wonderful, perfect moment.
"So what happens now? I mean, now that I know about you," Oriana asked. "I'm reading into all sorts of things. Like my dad's new job: he said the new assignment just fell into his lap." Her eyes widened. "And my emergency contact at school! My file had a relative named that I'd never heard of. I even tried removing it once, but it was right back on the next day That was you?"
I laughed, wincing when it hurt my head, ribs, and face. She's smart, I glowed. " Most of it. As for what will happen now, I'll make new arrangements for your protection at home, as well as university if you wished to take your schooling away from your parents," I assured her. "We'll have to find a place for you and your parents to stay tonight, but I think I can manage to have everything settled by morning."
"Shepard made it sound like she had everything handled, and she already said we could stay on the ship for the night," Oriana assured me.
I frowned at the breach of security protocol and tried to push myself up, already swinging a leg over the side when a hand on my arm stopped me.
"Dr. Chakwas said I could only be here if you actually rested," she pointed out, something almost mischievous in her eyes as she said the one thing that would keep me in a bed. I sighed and resettled myself back on the pillows.
"Would you…" Oriana trailed off, eyebrows pulled down. "I have a lot of questions for you. I asked Shepard, but she said she didn't know all of the answers. And that it wouldn't be her place to tell anyway."
My eyes found the commander and traced along the line of her back, relieved. Shepard wasn't a woman I would normally associate with tact, but she had gotten that much right. There was much I didn't want Oriana to know, not just yet. In time we could speak about the details of our father or what I was currently doing with Shepard, but for now, I just wanted her not to worry. I didn't even know what to tell her and what not to. I hadn't expected to reveal myself to her yet. She was still so young.
Oriana watched me watch Shepard with a cryptic smile, and I hurriedly tore my eyes away.
"I will answer what I can," I promised her. "But you have to know there's a lot about me that I won't be able to tell you, like my work with Commander Shepard. And other than the general warning of don't go anywhere near him, I'm not sure I want you to know too much about our mutual biological father."
"Well, I did gather you worked for Cerberus," Oriana stated, pointing to the dirty but still visible logo of my uniform. It was the first time I ever regretted not being discrete in my outfit, even though I knew the medbay walls were covered in the same logo, and my stomach twisted at the thought. When had I become ashamed of who I worked for? But Oriana didn't seem to be looking at me with judgement, just making an observation.
I decided right then and there that my sister was the most incredible person in the entire universe. I barely knew her. She barely knew me, but I would give her everything, anything she ever wanted.
"Yes," I admitted. "Though it's against many rules for you to know that. To be on this ship at all, actually."
She flashed a pleased smile, her cheeks bunching up the skin at her eyes. "I can keep a secret," she said with a wink. She looked over, and I followed her gaze to see Shepard and Chakwas had noticed that I was awake. "The doctor did ask me to keep this short," Oriana admitted. "It's already late, and we don't have to do all of this today, right? You'll be in touch now?"
My heart squeezed at the simple question. Yes, now. Now I could contact her. I could speak to her when I wanted. Why hadn't I done this all along?
"I will," I promised her. "We'll talk in the morning, and I'll give you my contact information."
"Good. Then I'll let the important people talk to you. It looks like they're waiting." I wanted to protest her words. She was the only important person I cared about. "Grunt needs to finish telling me about the book you two were reading together anyway," Oriana finished, a playful twinkle in her eye. She hopped off the bed, squeezing my hand before she danced away, leaving me feeling lost even as she stood a few steps away.
Shepard took the place Oriana vacated, the bed bending down under the weight again until our hips were touching. The contact wasn't as comforting as usual, and it almost hurt to look at her.
"The Illusive Man called to talk to you while you were out," Shepard stated, business first as usual. "He didn't seem surprised to hear you'd been taken. But he said that he was personally arranging Oriana's new location. The flight will be in the morning at 0700."
No, he wouldn't have been surprised, I thought, but I dismissed any thought of taking my newfound suspicions to Shepard.
Likewise, I couldn't confront the Illusive Man directly, ask him if he'd taken my father's deal. I knew what he'd give me anyway: a non-denial denial. He hadn't said yes, but he hadn't said no either. I was sure whatever my father had offered had been tempting. Perhaps they would have convinced me that Oriana had been killed so I'd never think to go after her. That's how I would have arranged it anyway. Then the Illusive Man would have me with no baggage.
I curled my fists, tired of feeling like I was owned by one party or another. I'd heard my father refer to me as his property, and I hardly needed confirmation to know that I had been bartered between the two men with no thought for me or what I wanted.
I was shaken, my world view just a little crooked from where it had been before. I had always liked the Illusive Man's no-nonsense treatment of me. I liked knowing my place. But I wasn't sure what I was feeling now, now that I knew I would take his resources in the morning not out of a feeling of receiving my due, but because I needed them to protect Oriana. There were cameras to wipe and police officers to pay off. There was a docking worker who had to be convinced to write down Oriana and her family as non-humans under their fake names to make them harder to follow. New jobs needed to be found for Oriana's parents so she would be well taken care of. Their true location would have to be buried under layers of encryption in Cerberus' secure servers. I just didn't have the capital to do that on my own, even with my generous paycheck, because my father always had more.
I had run from one trap right into another. No, the Illusive Man wouldn't have betrayed me. He wouldn't.
"Hey, what's that look for? I thought this was a good thing?" Shepard asked, concerned.
"The Illusive Man's personal interest didn't seem to protect Oriana today," I replied vaguely, forcing my voice to stay even.
Shepard narrowed her eyes with a grimace before releasing a sigh. She glanced away. "At the risk of making you angry with me, I did call in a few favors."
"Favors for what?" I asked.
"Well, after meeting your sister, I just didn't want your father to get another chance at her. I'm not sure if this is going to piss you off or not, but I called a few guys that are willing to run protection for her for a few months. They're good; I met them in N training. They said they'd keep Oriana safe for the next few months, until after the mission when we can find a more permanent solution for keeping your father's hands off her," Shepard offered. "But they'll be able to move her at a moment's notice if need be."
Relief uncoiled the tension in my stomach. A back-up plan was certainly welcome, and I re-evaluated my suspicions from earlier. Voluntarily offering help for my sister wasn't exactly the actions of someone who had planned to leave me to my father.
"I...would appreciate that, Commander," I said genuinely. "Your help in this doesn't upset me at all."
"Good, so you won't protest when I help you to your room then. Chakwas said as long as someone wakes you every few hours to check on your head, you could sleep in your own bed," Shepard said.
"I guess EDI will be doing the waking?" I asked.
Shepard bit her lip. "I actually volunteered for the job. Besides, I gave Oriana and her parents my cabin, so I didn't really expect to sleep much anyway."
"Oh," I replied, surprised.
Shepard reached to help me out of the bed, but I snatched my arm back. "Please, don't," I snapped. I took a deep breath at Shepard's hardened expression. "I can walk on my own. And I've had enough manhandling for one day."
"You tackled a woman like some sort of secret agent earlier. I'm fully aware of your capabilities, including those of walking," Shepard replied, her smirk slowly coming back. "But it's still a little easier if you lean on someone else every now and again."
I looked over at her, catching the double meaning of her words. Then I put a hand on her shoulder and let her take some of my weight as we started out of the medbay, purposefully ignoring her smug little smile. I was tired, admittedly, and Shepard's support was helping me walk straight. Not that I'd tell her that.
We crossed through an empty mess hall as many of the squad members had already disappeared to their beds, and I waved at Oriana and her parents as they went into the elevator to go up to Shepard's cabin.
"You know I am actually a secret agent," I retorted eventually as we walked into my room.
Shepard laughed, and I smiled along with her until I let go of her and moved to my closet.
"You could sleep in here if you like. There's plenty of room," I offered, leaving the rest to her interpretation.
She nodded. "I'll take the couch or something."
I smiled to show I'd heard then grabbed clothes to sleep in before walking gingerly into my bathroom. Shepard had obviously bathed and changed already, but I was still covered in things I didn't want to think about. I turned the shower up as hot as I could stand and worked on not noticing exactly what was washing out of my hair.
It was tempting to offer for Shepard to help me—not the least because it was really painful to wash my back with cracked ribs—but even if it weren't a terrible idea, I doubted she would even take it. She probably wasn't even thinking about me after meeting Liara today, the same way she was so focused on her that she hadn't seen me being taken only a few meters away from her. Not that I blamed Shepard for that. Mostly.
I pressed my forehead against the shower wall, allowing myself a minute to try to untangle the mess of emotions clamoring for my attention. Then when I was as clean as I could manage, I towel dried my hair and brushed it out before slipping into the clothes I'd brought in with me, and old t-shirt and shorts. I'd grabbed actual clothing instead of just sleeping in my underwear because of the company in my room. Because, naturally, it would be unprofessional to try and tempt Shepard by going out barely clothed. That's what I reminded myself anyway, no matter what the Illusive Man hinted at.
Shepard was seated on the corner of my bed when I walked out, though she had thrown a pillow and blanket on the couch, and her face was drawn in the way that meant she wanted to talk about something. I rounded the bed to the left side, crawled into the covers, and waited as EDI began to dim the lights.
"Are you alright?" Shepard asked eventually, her voice muted by that instinct to stay quiet in the dark.
"I heal fast. My ego is more bruised than anything, I suppose," I replied. I turned onto my side to face her, but that hurt my ribs so I flipped onto my back.
"You know what I meant," Shepard said. "I'm not buying the whole emotionless robot routine. Not after seeing you with your sister–"
"Shepard," I interrupted. "I have no interest in talking about my father or most of what happened today."
"–I know I'm probably not the person you want to talk to. But you should talk to someone, a friend…"
"I have colleagues, not friends," I broke in again. "Niket…" I hated how my voice shook on the name. "...was my best friend. My only friend. And my father had him killed. So, no, even if I felt like sharing, there aren't exactly a lot of candidates for me to talk to."
She swung her legs up and shimmied across the bed until she was close enough to grab my hand, interlacing our fingers and squeezing until my stomach fluttered.
"That's not true," she argued. "Grunt spends every travel day glued to your couch, and Garrus definitely warmed up to you. Kasumi isn't exactly a traditional friend, but she seems fond of you in her weird way. The others will come around too. Well, probably not Jack, no offense, but the point is you're not alone here."
"I felt alone today." I locked my jaw and looked away from her, even as her grip on my hand tightened. "I spent hours in a trunk covered in my best friend's blood. Hours, Shepard, where I was drugged and tossed around. And it didn't sound like you were coming. I understand after our past history that you might have wanted–"
"Woah, no!" she exclaimed, her face twisting in horror. "Miranda, I wasn't going to let them take you. I was coming for you. The fact that your sister was at the same dock just worked out in our favor, or I would have split the team."
"And my father's deal? If you'd actually been forced to decide, would you have let them take my sister?" I asked.
Shepard made a frustrated noise in her throat, grimacing as she bit her lip.
"You know the answer to that," she stated, moving to the edge of the bed again, presumably to go back to the couch. "You just don't like it."
"But if this had happened a month ago, back when you still hated me…" I trailed off, knowing I was pushing the boundaries of our fragile working relationship. Still, I wanted to know.
"Miranda," she stopped me quietly. "I still would have come for you, even then."
I stared at her back as she turned away, sinking back into my pillow. She hadn't been planning on leaving me. She wasn't another betrayal to mark down for the day. Shepard was...Shepard. At times unpredictable, but steady when it matters. One would think my two years of research into her would have taught me to trust her more than I had.
As she shifted again, I realized I didn't want her to go, didn't want her to let go of my hand.
"You could stay up here," I offered. She stopped with one leg over the edge of the mattress. "The bed is big, and I know from personal experience how uncomfortable that couch is. To be honest, I chose them as an attempt to keep people from wanting to stay in my office too long."
"That doesn't seem to be working too well for you," Shepard replied with a small huff of a laugh.
I could see that she had turned to look at me, but I couldn't see much of her face in the dark. I wondered if she was thinking about the same night that I was, how this night could progress much the same way but with less alcohol.
"No, it doesn't," I agreed.
She hesitated only a moment longer before hopping down and rounding the bed to actually crawl under the covers. I tried not to think about the fact that she was going to sleep next to me all night, or the very cliché situation I'd put myself in. I definitely didn't think about how pleased I was that she'd settled herself comfortably close to the middle of her side instead of pushing closer to the edge.
"It was wrong of me to hate you. Today, more than anything, has proven you are not the woman I thought you were," Shepard mumbled eventually, burrowing farther down under the blanket. "My anger was...misplaced. So if you're willing to forgive me, I'd be happy to be a friend instead of a colleague."
My throat went tight as her words sank in. Silence blanketed over us until Shepard's breathing started to get slow and even.
"Shepard?"
"Yes?" she hummed.
"There's nothing to forgive," I murmured.
Alright, so this took a little longer than planned. I had a 10,000 word chapter mostly written when I posted ch.18, which is why I promised it would be out quickly because of that cliffhanger. Buuuuut then I hated it, scrapped it, and wrote an entirely new chapter. I hope everyone likes the rewrite.
I'm really fond of how Thane's mission got twisted into the plot, so I'd love to hear everyone's thoughts about it (polite criticisms accepted as well, of course). And, naturally, did you like how Miranda's loyalty mission was resolved? Writing Oriana was challenging because the game skipped over that conversation, and it was hard to try to get that feeling of sisters who are just meeting for the first time (even though Miranda knows everything about her. Because she doesn't learn about other people normally, like actually talking to them. Seriously, one of these days, someone is going to come along and know every detail of Miranda's life, and she's just gonna sit there like...I don't enjoy being on this end of the research)
Anyway, I can't wait to hear what you think. Thanks to everyone who reviews and those that have followed and favorited this fic! I can't believe I'm over 100 followers now!