AN: Actually the first one I wrote for this, which is probably why it's so short.

It's set on Miranda's loyalty mission. Enjoy


Shepard ducked behind a cargo bin, waving Miranda and Harry forward to take cover near the right side of the large cargo door. She readies the shotgun, waiting quietly for the door to open in front of the YMIR mech they had seen moving toward it. Miranda copies the motion with the hand cannon she'd appropriated from the armoury, backing up Harry who seems happy enough using his odd biotics. Shepard still didn't understand those, the scans she'd had EDI run on the quiet had been oddly fractured, refusing to give a clear image of the enigmatic man. However, the AI remained adamant that there were no mass effect fields emanating from his body. The door finally opened, and the heavy clank of the mech thudded into the room.

Shepard spun round the side of the bin, spiking her biotic implant in preparation for the signature vanguard charge. The mech whirred as it's optics sighted onto her, levelling its main autocannon at her armoured form. A hail of bullets swept out, missing her by half a second as she thudded into its chest at a respectable speed, forcing it backwards even as she was reflected by the shield. Miranda's pistol barked sharply a second later, launching shards of metal into the side of the 'head' of the mech. Shepard took advantage of the machines stagger and blasted it with the modified Claymore shotgun she carried as a matter of course. Without the modifications to both herself and the gun, such an action would have shattered the bones in her forearm, but as it stood it dimply sent the mechs shields shattering out of existence. She moved backwards quickly, knowing from bitter experience that the mech could do a lot of damage in close quarters and heard Miranda start to reload.

In a blink of an eye, the mech was slammed into the side wall. The suddenness of the move startled the experienced N7 operative, and she glanced reflexively at the third member of her little band. Harry stood with a hand out, having obviously performed some sort of biotic attack on the large robot. As she watched, still moving back into cover, he raised his other hand before flinging it to the left with an audible grunt. A second crash from the robot confirmed her thought that he had somehow flung it again, and a shiver ran down her spine. She hadn't felt a thing. Just like the last few times, he seemed to have no biotic aura whatsoever. She shook her head, cursing herself for her distraction, before rounding on the metallic threat. The arm wielding the rocket launcher had been torn off, and the robot appeared to be wedged into the wall it had been thrown into. Whatever it was Harry wielded, it was immensely strong.

Miranda gave a growl, and stalked over to the struggling machine.

"We're wasting time," she spat, putting a round through its optics at close range. The chassis shut down as it dropped below the programmed threshold for effective use. "We need to get to the docking bay and find my sister."

The normally reserved woman had lost a lot of her ice-queen mask recently, mused Shepard as she nodded, gesturing toward the still open door. Harry moved through first, crossing in front of her vision. Her musing continued onto the puzzle of the young man. His reserve, she had yet to crack.