Chapter10
Endgame
Miranda awoke to the sounds of morning conversation and the aroma of breakfast. She threw on a robe and made her way to the kitchen. John Shepard, Jan, and Sarah were enjoying a morning meal in the kitchen. Sitting with them was Shepard's mother, Admiral Shepard. They were less somber today than they had been the previous day, though the mood was hardly cheery.
"Good morning, John," she greeted. "Admiral, Jan." She saluted Admiral Shepard, but Hannah Shepard just laughed.
"Miranda," she said warmly, "we're off duty. I'm her as a mother, mother in law, and a grandmother. Sit down, join us."
"Thank you, maam," replied Miranda. She turned to Shepard. "I have to ask; you have this enormous apartment, but every time I've seen you eat, you're all cramped into the kitchen. Why not spread out a bit?"
"Good morning yourself," replied Shepard.
"Actually, I've always wondered that myself," observed Sarah. "It seemed like the three of you ate in the kitchen all the time."
"I don't know," he replied. "I guess that it's nice to have Ashley and Jan close before rejoining the weeds of the galaxy. Of course with Ash gone, it's nice to have my family and friends close. It's cozy." He mused for a moment and then said, "And after growing up on ships and being in the navy for most of my adult life, I got used to cramped meal settings. It also makes clean up easier."
"You don't eat dinner in the kitchen, do you?" Miranda laughed, but she was only half joking.
"Most times," he said. "Probably will more often now."
The table got quiet. Shepard did not wear his emotions on his sleeve, but they could all tell that he was missing Ashley very much. The silence was broken when he spoke again.
"After I drop Jan off at school, I'll be heading over to check in on Liara and Anne, along with the rest of the Normandy wounded. Would you like to join me?"
"I will," volunteered Jan.
"Remember that part about me dropping you off at school?"
"But want to go," the little girl protested. Surrounded by adults, she was fighting a losing battle with no support.
"You were out much of last week," countered Shepard. "Your teachers and your friends will miss you."
"Yeah, you're right." Jan relented. Then she perked up. "I hear we're getting a new student today. Now that the Quarians have an embassy, there are some Quarian families on the Citadel. We have a Quarian girl joining our class."
"Make her welcome," said Shepard with a smile.
"Yes sir!"
"Hah!" exclaimed Hannah Shepard. "Now that's the Jan I know and love."
She turned to John and hugged him tightly.
"Son, I have to go," she said. "I was barely able to get the time for this, but I insisted. And so did Hackett. But unfortunately, duty calls."
"Yeah," mused Shepard, "that's one of the reasons I resigned my commission after Ash and I married."
"I couldn't believe it when you and Ashley resigned your commissions," she remarked. "The word soldier could have simply had a picture of the two of you next to it in the dictionary with no words needed. But truth be told, I was glad. I was and still am so very proud of you both."
"Thanks, Mom," Shepard said. "Stay safe out there, Mom. I love you."
She hugged him tightly again. "I love you too, son."
Then she knelt down to Jan and scooped her up.
"And you, young lady, I love, love, love, love, love!" She hugged Jan tightly as she said the words. Jan smiled and just hugged her grandmother.
"I love, love, love, love, love you too!"
With the grandmother/granddaughter ritual complete, Hannah hugged Sarah and Miranda.
"Both of you keep an eye on them," she ordered.
"Yes maam!" Miranda saluted again, in spite of herself. Hannah laughed.
"Good bye," she said.
"Come on Mom," said Shepard. I'll walk you to the transit.
When he returned a half an hour later, Jan was ready for school and Shepard was about to leave with her.
"John," said Miranda, "I'd like to go."
He looked at Sarah, but she shook her head.
"Sorry John, but I've got things that I have got to get done," she said. "And I need to take full advantage of you being here before you ship out again."
Shepard looked at Sarah and Miranda.
"So, what's the deal?"
They looked at him, not following what he was getting at.
"Deal with what?" asked Miranda.
"You two calling me John," he replied.
"I don't know," said Sarah. "It just seems more natural. When Miranda did yesterday, I just felt that it made sense."
He looked at Miranda, who blushed slightly.
"I … I don't know," she stammered. "It just felt right. Everyone knows you as Shepard. I know you as a friend. Someone I care about very deeply."
Before they could address the matter further, Miranda's com chimed. She looked down at it and a smile crossed her face.
"It's Ori," she said. "She's on the Citadel and wants to meet for lunch. I'll let her know that I can meet her after we go to Huerta Memorial."
"Sounds good," said Shepard. "Tell her we said hello."
"I will, John," she said. "She's always happy to hear from you and Jan. Hey, one day, we'll have to all get together."
"That would be nice," he said. "I'd like that."
"I'll put the bug in her ear when I see her."
Shepard and Miranda headed out and dropped Jan off at school. Soon, they were on their way to Huerta Memorial to visit their friends. When they arrived, they checked in on Dr. Bryson first. She was stabilized and had awakened, but was sleeping when they arrived. They looked in on her and saw that she was sleeping peacefully. Then they went to see Liara. In sharp contrast to Dr. Bryson, Liara was not only awake, but her VI, Glyph, was in with her and she was taking advantage of the downtime to catch up on work she'd gotten behind on.
"Good morning Councilor Shepard," greeted the little ball of holographic light that was Glyph. Liara looked up at Glyphs greeting.
"Shepard, Miranda," she said smiling. "It's good to see you both. How did the mission go?"
"It went well," he said. "Though it took a very unexpected turn."
"That's an understatement," observed Miranda. "Finding out that my father was still alive was not just unexpected. It was beyond belief."
"Henry Lawson lives?" Liara sounded somewhat alarmed, though Shepard suspected that it was because it was a secret she had not uncovered more than genuine alarm.
"He lives," Shepard confirmed, "and he's behind the spheres. He found them more efficient than the nanides."
"I'm surprised you didn't kill him," mused Liara. "As a Spectres, you, Miranda or Garrus, can do so at any time and for almost any reason."
"That option is still on the table," said Miranda coldly.
"And would have been exercised if I could have been certain that it all ended with his capture," Shepard added. "So, how are you feeling?"
"Restless," laughed Liara. "I've managed to catch up on some of my work, and the staff has been wonderful. But nobody enjoys a hospital stay. Thankfully, Dr. Michel said that I'm healing nicely and should be able to go home in a day or two."
"That is good news," observed Miranda. "Anything new in store for you?"
"As a matter of fact, yes," she said.
"New base?" Shepard asked. "Branching out?"
"Nothing so banal," she replied. "I've been asked by Councilor Tevos to get more involved in Asari diplomacy. It would be a major career change, but things really haven't been the same since the war. I think it might be time to lay the broker to rest and go into a more public life. I will be serving as a special liason for the Council, so it looks like I'll actually be seeing more of you, Shepard."
"You're still fairly young," observed Miranda. "You could have a long and promising career ahead of you. Who knows? Perhaps you'll succeed Tevos as councilor."
Liara grinned at the thought.
"Oh, the fun I could have in that position," she laughed.
"Speaking of succeeding councilors," said Shepard, "just between us, Valern is stepping down. He's groomed a successor. Balder Dash. Seems like a decent fellow, though I hope he doesn't live up to his name."
Miranda burst out laughing. Liara looked puzzled.
"Am I missing something?"
"The new Salarian Councilor is Balderdash," laughed Miranda.
Liara looked perplexed.
"Old human saying," explained Shepard. "Oh balderdash. Another way of saying that someone is full of BS."
"Well as you say, I certainly hope he doesn't live up to it," laughed Liara.
"On that note," said Shepard, "and this definitely stays between us, I'll be discussing my own successor with Prime Minister Osoba."
"I can't say that I'm surprised," said Liara. "With Ashley's death, Jan will need you more than ever. Do you have anyone in mind?"
"I'm considering putting forth Osoba's name," he laughed. "He's nearing the end of his final term. It would make for a very smooth transition. He'd be a good at the job and the rest of the Council really likes him."
"And unlike you," said Miranda, "he actually likes politics."
The rest of the visit went well, after which they checked in on Gabby. Traynor had actually been discharged while Shepard was in the field and had been at the funeral, but Gabby was still unconscious. In spite of having a good conversation with Liara, Shepard was glad to be out of the hospital. He always felt run down after visiting people there. Too many memories of hospitals and bad things happening to good friends. He still could not bring himself to look in on Kasumi. As Ashley's killer, however unwilling, Shepard was not ready to be in her presence. He said a silent prayer for her recovery. He had never been overly prayerful in the past, but Ashley assured him that praying was important. And with her gone, praying was another area where he would have to step up.
"Well John," said Miranda, "I'm catching a cab to meet Ori at Apollo's Café. I'll check in with you later today."
"Have fun, Miranda."
She hugged Shepard tightly. He returned her embrace, noting that she didn't seem to be in a hurry to let go. Suddenly, she looked up and kissed his cheek.
"See you tonight," she said, finally letting go and running to her cab.
Shepard laughed and shook his head. Perhaps one day, he thought. But he was far from ready to even consider moving on romantically. But the thought of being with Miranda was a very pleasant one. In many ways, she was a lot like Ashley, though her personality was very, very different. His com chimed, interrupting his reverie.
"Shepard here," he said.
"Shepard, it's Bailey," said the Executor. "We've got a situation and you need to be here ASAP!"
"On my way," he said. About ten different ideas as to what kind of situation required his presence specifically crossed his mind, none of them good and all of them related to his current mission.
Bailey paced nervously. He honestly had no idea where to start or what to do. He saw Shepard walk in and was relieved. With Shepard present, Bailey could put this all in his hands and not have to deal with it. He was too close to retirement to get mixed up in anything this big.
"You said you needed me," said Shepard. "What's going on?"
"Your pal, Henry Lawson," said Bailey by way of explanation. "He managed to subvert his guards and they not only let him out, they helped him escape. They killed twenty good men in the process.
"Miranda!" Shepard exclaimed. He immediately called her com, but he got her answering service. Bailey knew Miranda was most likely in danger.
"Do you know how he could have done this?"
"No," said Shepard. We put him in a shielded holding cell for his trip back here. He was put into another shielded holding cell when he arrived. He should have been harmless. Unless the guards were sleeper agents of some kind, which seems unlikely."
Bailey suddenly looked sheepish.
"Well, he had some medical issues and . . ."
Shepard's anger flared a bit at this. Bailey could tell that he knew where this was going.
"Bailey, please tell me you didn't!"
"Don't come at me with that," Bailey retorted, "I have my job to do, and we can't just deny prisoners medical treatment. He's a crippled old man. He needed to see a doctor."
"Yeah," growled Shepard. "And your job is to keep people like him locked up. Let me guess; he escaped from the infirmary. Right?"
Bailey lowered his head. Shepard was right. Damn, he thought. Why can't things just go smoothly, he asked himself.
"Right," he sighed. "His guards suddenly killed the doctors and hustled him out, killing anyone that got in their way. At some point, he was joined by mercs and he released a VI into the system that prevented him from being tracked from there. We're still trying to find him.
"I knew I should have just killed him," Shepard exclaimed. "Bailey, I need to get to Apollo's Café. Now!"
Shepard barked orders like a drill sergeant. Bailey did not like being ordered around, but when Shepard gave orders, he obeyed like a private. He silently kicked himself for being so amiable.
"Get a car here pronto! Shepard needs to get to Apollo's Café!"
Bailey rode with Shepard to Apollo's hoping to insure some measure of damage control. He tried being conversational with Shepard, but Shepard was not in a chatty mood. He hoped that their friendship would survive this. When they arrived at Apollo's, C-Sec was already on the scene. Smoke billowing from the café was not a good sign. Shepard jumped out as soon as the car was stopped.
"Miranda Lawson," he barked at one of the detectives. "Have you found her?"
"We're still investigating," replied the detective testily. He had not seen Shepard get out of the squad car and did not immediately recognize the councilor who was dressed casually. "This is a C-Sec investigation. Smith, Hawthorne, kindly escort this clown out of here."
Shepard grabbed the back of the detective's neck and lifted him off of the ground.
"This clown is a Spectre, and can kill each and every one of you without any legal repercussions. Now answer my question before I break your neck like a chicken's."
He let the detective down. Smith and Hawthorne figured out who they were dealing with fairly quickly and did not go near Shepard. Bailey felt sorry for his detective. Poor guy is white as a sheet, he thought.
"According to witnesses . . ." the detective began, gulping as he realized who he was talking to, ". . . the . . . mercenaries shot up the place and grabbed some girl from one of the tables."
"Description," demanded Shepard.
"Tall, dark hair," the detective stammered. Shepard brought her picture up on his omni tool.
"That her?"
One of the witnesses was brought over who confirmed that it was indeed.
"Thanks," said Shepard. He then turned to Bailey. "Put an APB out on her. Shut down the ports. It's possible they're still on the Citadel."
Bailey grimaced at this. Great, he thought.
"Shepard, you know the hassle that's going to cause in this place?"
"No more hassle than all the faux aristocracy sitting up here in denial of the Reapers caused ten years ago. No more hassle than my wife being killed because of this guy, and no more hassle than one of my best friends being kidnapped by him. If a traffic snarl and angry commuters are the worse you have to deal with in all this, be thankful." Shepard turned to the driver of the squad car. "Get me home now!"
The driver just looked at him, but Bailey cracked the whip.
"Shepard's family may be in danger," he shouted. "Get him there now!"
Better to be in my employer's good graces, he thought. Particularly after dropping the ball on something this big.
"Good luck, Shepard," he said. "I'll keep my fingers crossed for Jan."
"Thanks," said Shepard. "I appreciate."
The detective approached Bailey.
"I guess I have no recourse in this do I?"
"You threatened a man who is both Spectre and Humanity's councilor, not to mention our boss, and ordered him removed from the premises. Oh, you called him a clown. You know, Spectres can wipe whole cities off the map if they think it's in the best interest of galactic peace, and they don't have to write any reports to justify it. What recourse would you like? Besides, it's our fault."
"I don't follow, sir."
"We dropped the ball on a very dangerous prisoner. He got out and it was him and his mercs who did this. I'm going to retire once this is over. I've had a good run. I think I'll make good on that promise to go back to Earth."
Miranda woke up. She was woozy and her vision was blurry. Something was in her mouth and wrapped around her jaw. And her head hurt. She tried to get her bearings and realized that she was restrained. Cold metal against her back, legs and arms. She had been undressed. I'm on a table, she realized. As her vision came into focus, she saw people in lab coats preparing to do something to her. She tried to turn her head to see what was happening, but her head was clamped in place. She tried using her biotics, but nothing happened. She realized that her biotic amplifier had been removed from its socket.
"I knew you'd fall for that invite from your treacherous sister," came her father's voice. She could not pinpoint it, but she knew that it was from somewhere behind her. She heard a chair being pulled up behind her and heard someone sit down. She could feel their breath on her. Her father's face came into view as he looked down at her from behind. He was upside down in her field of vision. She reflexively tried to speak, but all that came out was a whimper. Her mouth was packed with gauze and taped over, then wrapped in a gag.
"You were a failure, Miranda. You were supposed to be perfect in every way, but you were not. You're rebellious and reactionary. And you're an embarrassment. A failed experiment. You cannot even conceive children, can you?"
Miranda felt terror creeping into her mind. Tears were welling up in her eyes, but she could not do anything about it.
"Go ahead and weep, Miranda. It's about all you can do. For wide usage, nanides are inefficient. But for you? I'll spare no expense. And I've developed my own special blend of nanides just for you. They'll quite literally cut your genetic gifts away, copying them to your replacement. You see, I figured out where the mistakes were made. Now I will correct them. But before we do that, I will harvest from you every piece of useful tissue that I can without killing you. That will then be grafted onto her as well."
Suddenly, the table lifted and began to tilt vertically until Miranda was almost upright. Staring back at her from a large glass tank was a mirror image of herself. Only younger, probably no older than twenty, and with blonde hair.
"She's already conscious, Miranda," he gloated. "She agrees with me." He leaned in and whispered into her ear. "She will receive all the talents that I gave you, from your biotics to your enhanced strength and immune system. Then I will remove every last bit of useful material from you while you still live. I will quite literally take you apart. But before you die, I will harvest your organs for sale on the black market. For that, you won't need any of what I'm going to take back from you. I need to recoup my financial losses, you see?"
Miranda was crying, but she could not cry. All she could do was shed tears. Her mouth was dry and she could not even muster any protests beyond a quiet whimper. As she looked at her doppelganger, she realized that it was staring back at her. She saw a wicked smile cross its face as her father disclosed his plan.
"My eye, the one you took," he continued, "was replaced with this." He lifted the patch and removed the glass orb from his eye. When it came out, she realized that it was no glass eye, but a miniature control sphere. He placed it back into its socket. "I used this to control the spheres you found. I made you attack your friends, made Goto attack and kill Shepard's wife. Now, I will dismantle you, sell what I can, and toss the rest into garbage where failures belong."
Miranda's chest was heaving as her body struggled to sob. She was beaten. Her father had finally won. She had won all of those battles against him, but he had won the war. There is no escaping, she realized. He had won everything. He had everything. She lay naked on an operating table, clamped down and silenced. Her body, her freedom had been taken along with her last shred of dignity. Soon, even her will would be taken from her. Doctors and technicians began inserting needles and tubes into her. Another brought over a cart that held an array of old style metal scalpels and various cutting implements. Miranda Lawson, one of the most feared Spectres, was powerless to stop them.
"Crude," he said, "but fitting. You will of course, be awake for the entire procedure."
A needle jammed into her neck. She stiffened in pain and tried to cry out but could not.
"This stimulant will ensure that you experience every last moment of it."
He then tilted the table back down so that Miranda lay flat. Clamps were then put in place that held her eyelids open. A paralytic agent was dropped into her eyes to keep her from moving them. She saw needles lowering towards her. They stopped momentarily.
"And now to make sure that you don't jar the table and disrupt the procedure in any way . . ."
From under the table, she felt a needle penetrate her spine. Her back arched as pain coursed through her body. Another one penetrated her neck just below her skull. She felt liquid being pumped into her. The pain was intense, but her body began to go limp.
"We'll give it time to fully work. I'm taking no chances." He then looked to the doctors and technicians. "We'll begin the procedure in one hour." He looked back down and grinned evilly. "But we can do this now."
And with that, the needles began lowering. She tried to close her eyes or turn her head, but her body would not cooperate. She could only jiggle her head an imperceptible amount. Pain seared through her eyes and her head. She screamed, but no sound came out. Just that same little whimper. She could feel more needles going into her, probes and instruments being inserted into her, and blood being drawn from her. She was consumed with terror. She knew that as bad as this was, whatever he was building up to would be much, much worse. She felt her hair being pulled back and someone began shaving it off. She could not even see anything with her eyes impaled. Her whole body was in agony. She could feel whatever it was that had been inserted into her cutting and taking tissue from inside of her. And it just kept getting worse. She prayed silently for death. But it would not come. She whimpered again. Her words could not be articulated with her mouth immobilized, but she knew what she was silently crying. Shepard.
Citadel and Alliance intelligence extensively and exhaustively analyzed the data from Lawson's computers. But time was running out. Jan was okay, but Lawson and his mercenaries had escaped with Miranda before Bailey had issued the lockdown. His communicator chimed. Incoming voice call. Shepard answered.
"Shepard."
"Shepard, it's Oriana!"
"Where are you?"
"I'm home," she said. "What's wrong?"
"Were you on the Citadel today?"
"No. I thought it was strange when Miranda messaged me to tell me that she was on the way to lunch. I messaged her back but I never got a response."
"Oriana, Dr. Lawson has your sister. Bailey practically let him escape. I'm working to find her and fast. I've got a trace on you. Grunt and another member of Arlahk Company are on their way to you. When you see the two big Krogan, don't be alarmed. Anyone else shows up claiming to be sent by me, don't believe them. Shoot them if you have to. Tell your family."
"Oh my God! No!"
"Yes," replied Shepard. "I promise you, I'll find her."
"Thank you, Shepard," she said. "God speed!"
He ended the call and initiated another.
"Edi."
"Shepard," came Edi's voice.
"No time to waste. I need you to analyze Dr. Lawson's files now. He has Miranda. Time is of the essence."
"Of course, Shepard."
Edi began analyzing immediately. While Edi was analyzing the data, Shepard called Garrus.
"Shepard," replied Garrus' duotone voice. "I heard Apollo's Café has been blown up. What's going on?"
"Bailey screwed up and let Lawson go. He has Miranda. Edi is analyzing the computer data, but once we figure out where she is, we need to be ready to go. Get Liara. She should be well enough to travel. And get Doctor Chakwas. Given what Dr. Lawson is capable of, she'll need medical attention."
"What are you doing?"
"Going to the one man I swore I'd never speak to again for help."
As Shepard ended the call, he knew that he had to go to the one man who might be able to help him find Miranda quickly. Edi could analyze the data, but she could not know where Lawson would go. But one man would. The one man who had intimate knowledge of the various facilities that Cerberus had would know Dr. Lawson's plans. Those plans, whatever they were, went back to before the war. And this man would know. He would have made certain of it.
General Oleg Petrovsky sat in his cell playing chess. The computer was programmed with the moves and strategies of chess masters going back hundreds of years. And the General could beat it every time. He had never lost a game of chess. Never lost a battle. Never failed to reach his objective. Until Omega. Until Commander Shepard had beaten him. Shepard was out matched, out gunned, and saddled with Aria and a Turian biotic with an inferiority complex. Aria had gotten Omega back. Shepard had secured the victory, but she took the credit. She prided herself as being superior, but she was so stupid that she went right back to the Citadel, only to be trapped when the Reapers took control of it. Her body was found during the cleanup. With the Keepers destroyed when the Crucible fired, the bodies did not just disappear. Aria's fate was sealed with the defeat of Cerberus at Shepard's hand.
Oleg had met his better in Shepard, but Oleg was still one of the finest military minds alive. And his expertise would go to waste. He would die in prison. He was being treated well and for a while, he had no shortage of interview requests. He still received them a couple of times a year and he always accepted. But he wished that the Alliance might see fit to make proper use of his talents. His thoughts were interrupted when his cell door opened.
"Petrovsky," called the guard, "you've got a visitor."
Unless arrangements were made well ahead of time, Petrovsky did not get visitors. He was shackled and placed in an interrogation room, but he was genuinely curious as to who his visitor was. He was more than a little surprised when Councilor Shepard walked into the room. And he immediately sensed an opportunity. Shepard would never come here unless he needed something very badly. Unlike Shepard's other vanquished foes, there was mutual respect between them. This could work out to my advantage, he thought. He stood when the councilor entered.
"Councilor Shepard," he said enthusiastically, "I never thought we'd have the opportunity to speak again."
"General Petrovsky," acknowledged Shepard, "I had hoped we never would, but unfortunately, I have need of you."
The two men sat down across a table.
"Councilor Shepard, before you begin, allow me to extend my deepest condolences to you. I heard about your wife. I always respected her as a soldier and an officer." And he meant it. Every word of it. He was my enemy, Oleg thought, but he fought with distinction. And he won the war.
"Thank you," said Shepard. He was silent for a long moment. Discussing his wife's death was not why he was here, but he seemed to appreciate the sympathy. Finally, he spoke.
"Do you remember Miranda Lawson?"
"Yes," replied the General. "Capable woman. She brought you back from the dead. Helped you defeat the Collectors. Then joined you in your departure from Cerberus."
"That's her. How about Dr. Henry Lawson?"
"Miranda's father. Wealthy and brilliant. His work provided the breakthroughs that made the Adjutant project viable." Petrovsky paused, then continued. "In fact, he created Miranda from his own DNA. He was quite upset when she rebelled as I recall."
"He has her," said Shepard. "I have information on possible locations, but I need your help to narrow my search. You're the only one left of Cerberus that might know, and you're the only sane Cerberus officer that I ever encountered during the war."
"You spared me, stopped Aria from murdering me," replied the General. "You may recall that I raised the possibility that we could be friendly one day."
"I do," replied Shepard. "Look, I don't like you. This isn't a question of personality clash. Between the destruction of the Collector base and the beginning of the Reaper War, Cerberus lost touch with its original goals. Cerberus went too far, and you were a part of that. You authorized the use of civilians in medical experiments and released creatures into the civilian population with the intent of infecting them in order to make more creatures. The fact that you weren't indoctrinated makes it all the more monstrous."
Petrovsky was silent. He looked down at the table. Shepard was right, of course. And his ability to defeat the Reapers without resorting to such methods made Petrovsky's own efforts even more monstrous, as they were not even helpful in winning the war. In fact, the indoctrination of Cerberus leaders and swaths of its operatives rendered the whole idea of controlling the Reapers and their forces moot; how do you control what controls you?
"Shepard," he said softly, "I did what I did for the best of reasons. I took no pleasure in it. You proved that we had taken the wrong path. You showed that it was we who were on the wrong side of history. I have no regrets. The Alliance and the Council hid their heads in the sand. We had too much lost ground to make up. We did things that we never would have done if the time were not so short. We may have done the wrong thing, but it was for the right reasons."
"Well General," replied Shepard, "allow me to give you the opportunity to do the right thing for the right reason. Help me find her. Help me save her. Help me stop Henry Lawson."
"Take me with you," said the General. "Let me put my skills to use one last time."
Shepard did not like this. Not at all. But unlike Lawson, Petrovsky had a code. He kept his word.
"Let me help you," pressed Petrovsky.
"Do I have your word that you'll return here without any difficulty?"
He was silent for a moment.
"No," he said. "I would be lying if said that I wouldn't seek freedom. It is human nature. But I do give you my word that I will help you achieve your objective before I do. And that I will make no efforts to harm you or yours in the process."
"You're honest, I'll give you that," said Shepard. "But you know that I can't just let you get away if you try."
"I'd be disappointed if you did," laughed the General. "But I have no desire to be hunted down by you. It would not end well. Perhaps an alternative then. Give me a post with the Alliance. I am a skilled General. The enemy I fought for is vanquished. Lawson is all that remains of them. Let me help you crush them in return for my redemption."
Oleg stared into Shepard's eyes, hoping to get an idea of where he was leaning, but Shepard gave away nothing. I can die a happy and fulfilled man, he thought. The man who bested me was truly the most worthy foe I could have faced.
"You know that I cannot make that offer," said Shepard. "I can request it, but I cannot make it happen."
"If you will agree to do that, then you have my word that I will make no attempt to engineer my own escape, though if an opportunity presents itself after our objective is complete, I cannot promise that I will refrain from seizing it." Again, he meant every word of it. It is rather freeing, really, he thought. To be able to say exactly what is on my mind without the need for subterfuge and without fear of repercussion. If Shepard says no, I'm no worse off than before he came. Better actually; today was not boring. Shepard sat for a good minute. Oleg admired Shepard's ability to remain silent without the impulse to fill the space. It was a trait that few possessed. But finally, Shepard spoke, as he eventually had to.
"Time is short. Let's go."
Shepard made the arrangements with the warden. He was not happy, but as both the human councilor and a Spectre, the warden had no choice. Petrovsky had always been a robust man and he had made sure to keep himself up during his incarceration. Finally, he thought, I can actually use these muscles for something more than moving chess pieces. Shepard led him out to the docks where he saw the SSV Yorktown SR-3. It was breathtaking.
"Councilor," he said reverently, "she's beautiful."
"She is," Shepard agreed, a proud smile on his face. "Come on. Let's get started."
The conference room mood was tense. Lee Riley, Edi, Garrus Vakarian, and a wounded Liara T'soni stood with Shepard facing one of the most infamous war criminals in history. General Oleg Petrovsky. All of four of them strongly objected to Petrovsky's presence on the ship, but all four of them agreed that time was of the essence and that he offered the best chance for recovering Miranda.
"You've brought me here for tactical advice," he said. "I need to see what you've found."
"Edi," said Shepard. Edi brought up the holo with the data over the conference table. Petrovsky deftly manipulated each holo, looking for clues.
"Did they track his ship?" he asked as he browsed.
"No," replied Shepard. "But there is enough traffic to and from the Citadel that they could have been long gone by the time Bailey got around to locking it down."
Garrus shook his head, but did not say anything. He liked Bailey, but did not think much of him professionally. As Petrovsky familiarized himself with the intel, Edi elaborated.
"The Citadel uses active scans of all incoming ships. Since the Cerberus coup attempt, security has been enhanced to prevent the loopholes used by Cerberus and by Aria to board the station. Only one ship in existence could foil them, and we are aboard her."
"Bailey said that Lawson released a VI into the system to keep from being tracked," said Shepard, "but nobody was killed at the docks and there's no way to move that many people in the middle of the day without someone seeing it."
"Which means that they probably utilized the various tunnels and passages once used by the Keepers," observed Riley. "Unfortunately, those are not mapped."
"They are now," said Shepard. The holos of the intel vanished and was replaced by a massive schematic of the Citadel. "Edi, highlight the Keeper tunnels in red."
Edi complied and an intricate map work of the tunnels appeared.
"Now highlight their escape rout in green up to the point where they released the VI."
Edi complied and the rout was drawn for them. Then the General spoke.
"Lieutenant Moreau," he said, "mark on the map the location of the Binary Helix lab."
Edi looked at Shepard. Shepard nodded and it was marked in blue.
"This one is not in any of your data," he said. "Binary Helix is a front for Cerberus. These tunnels here," he paused and enlarged the schematic, "feed into a blank spot on the schematic. That is because there is a hidden facility behind the main Binary Helix facility. This was how Cerberus troops got into the Citadel during the coup."
"You knew about that?" asked Riley.
"Knew about it? I orchestrated it," he boasted. "And had I actually been calling the shots, it may have actually succeeded. However, it was put into the hands of others, including Kai Leng. None of them were a match for you, Shepard." He shook his head. "I actually applauded your victory."
Shepard was not quite sure what to make of Petrovsky, but his presence had proven useful.
"Alright, people, we have a target. General, what you know about the facility?"
"I don't know the layout. But it is their only option to escape unseen. From there, Kai Leng and his men had themselves loaded into crates and shipped out. That won't work with the Citadel's improved security, however, so it's most likely the location of Lawson's lab."
"Clever," noted Garrus. "Get us scouring the galaxy looking for Miranda when she never left the station."
"Right," said Shepard. "We can't risk a frontal assault. Our only option is to use these tunnels. We can infiltrate here, here, here, and here. We get in, stay quiet, and find her. We have to do this fast. If it turns out to be a dead end, we need to be onto the next lead immediately."
"What about me?" asked the General.
"You want to go into the field? Too risky."
"Not if I'm with you, Shepard. Just once, let me help you. Let me work with you."
"Much as I hate to say it," said Liara, "and I really hate to say it, he could be useful. The only problem is that we'd have to arm him."
"We have a couple of hours before we hit the Citadel," replied Shepard. "Let me think about it."
Miranda lay in agony on the table. She could no longer see what was going on around her, as her eyes were still impaled. She could feel the tingle of something entering her. She realized that he was injecting his nanides in through her eyes. She felt the bindings being removed from her jaw and finally, the gauze was removed from her mouth. She screamed, but no sound came out. She was paralyzed. She could do little more than breathe shallowly. Her mouth was forced open and something hard and metallic was inserted, keeping her mouth open. She felt a tube being inserted through the bit and forced down her esophagus. She gagged as it went down. Searing pain erupted in her stomach as some cutting device was inserted through the tube. Whatever they were going to do to her, they were beginning. She could hear the rattle of metal instruments. Suddenly, she felt a sharp pain below her chest. They were cutting into her. Then at the base of her skull on the right she felt something cutting into her. She realized that they were removing her amp interface. They were dismantling her. She felt more cutting in her abdomen. They were cutting her open. She tried to scream, but could not. She tried to block out the pain but could not. She just wanted to die. But she could not. All she could do was lay there as they cut her apart.
"Are you sure about this Shepard?" asked Garrus.
"No, I'm not," he said. "But he made a very convincing argument about his usefulness, so he goes with me."
"Shepard," said Liara, "he'll be armed. He could turn on you. Shoot you in the back."
"Trust me, I've taken precautions," he said. "Now let's do this."
They each went to their tunnel entrances and began crawling to their destination. Edi was monitoring their locations and directing them. Thankfully, the tunnels were fairly large and wide. Not tall enough to stand up in, but hardly cramped.
"Councilor," said Petrovsky, breathing hard, "thank you for letting me join you. I haven't done field work since I was a young man. Rather exhilarating, don't you think?"
"General, I've been more active than you might think."
"Clearly, but as good as you are at politicking, you're not a politician at heart. This is where you belong. Risking your life to achieve your objective, cutting down anything or anyone that gets in your way. You're a soldier, a warrior. Your talents should not be squandered on an ungrateful political body."
"Times have changed, General," Shepard replied as they turned a corner. "The council is grateful. Sparatus and I have actually become friends. Humanity is equal to the other races. We're no longer the new kids in town. And no amount of ham fisted force or clever politicking could have accomplished it. We put it all on the line. We earned our place."
"But we shouldn't have had to," lamented the General. Shepard stopped abruptly and looked the General in the eye.
"Why not?" he asked. "Everyone else did." Then he continued moving. Let the General think on that, he thought.
After what seemed an eternity of crawling and half walking, they finally made it into the facility. Shepard fired up his omni-tool and began programming it.
"What's that?"
"An active scan." And with that, the tool pulsed. After a few moments, a holo of the building floor plan came up.
"Edi, are you getting this?"
"Yes, Shepard," she replied. "Analyzing data now." A moment went by. "I have positioned the Yorktown. Stealth systems are active. There. I have a precise target."
"Do it."
"Yes sir."
Edi fired up the Yorktown's scanner as she flew over the Citadel arm where they were located.
"Miranda's biometrics identified. Sending you the nav point."
"Thanks Edi!" He turned to the General. "And thank you."
"You're most welcome, Councilor."
"Shepard," interjected Edi, "Miranda's vital signs indicate that she is under a great deal of stress. I believe that she is being tortured."
"Understood." He turned to the General. "Come on!"
Shepard unslung his widow sniper rifle. The General's eyes widened, as it was not a gun that most humans could easily use. Shepard handled it as if it were weightless. He looked through the scope in the direction of the nav point. The general looked puzzled. Shepard aimed, squeezed the trigger, reloaded, aimed at something on the other side of the wall and fired again.
"As you said, I'll kill anything that gets in my way."
They entered the hallway and passed the guards that Shepard had shot through the wall. Shepard broke into a brisk run, changing out his sniper rifle for his Lancer assault rifle. Guards appeared to block them, but Shepard was firing concussive blasts and laying down a withering field of fire. The General fired his pistol, killing a guard with each shot. Shepard had to admit that he was a very good shot. Garrus, Lee, and Liara met Shepard outside of the room Miranda was held in. The guards threw down their weapons and put up their hands.
"Open it," growled Shepard. They complied and the five of them entered the room.
"Councilor Shepard, we meet again." Henry Lawson stood. His eye patch removed, Shepard could see the sphere in his eye.
"You and your squad mates are shielded. But what about your informant?"
"What about your head?" asked Shepard, pointing his Paladin pistol at Lawson. "You're nothing but a two bit terrorist and I don't have time for it, so get your hands up in the air."
The other doctors and technicians moved away from Miranda and put their hands up as the five intruders trained their weapons on them. Lawson reluctantly complied as Riley secured him. Shepard looked at Miranda as the doctors retreating had given them an unobstructed view.
Miranda's head had been shorn, her dark locks on the floor, and she was full of tubes and needles. Her abdomen was cut open and her eyes were impaled by a pair of needles. Something had been jammed into her mouth. A large tank stood at the end of the room to Shepard's right, a blond clone of Miranda floating in the fluid.
"Liara, can you disconnect this stuff without killing her?"
"I believe I can, provided nobody interferes."
Shepard stood by Miranda and held her hand as Liara began the process of disconnecting her from her father's machinery. Miranda gripped his hand weakly.
"I'm here, Miranda," he said. "I'm her for you." He stroked her cheek gently as he spoke to her.
Riley was white as a sheet. She could not comprehend a man doing this to his own child.
"Oleg," said Henry, "I never thought I'd see you working with Shepard."
The General was visibly disgusted with what he saw. He shook his head.
"I worked with the Illusive Man because I believed he had Humanity's best interests at heart. But now, it is Shepard who has Humanity's best interests at heart. And you clearly do not. That is your own child on the table. No man who can do this to his own flesh and blood can advance the cause of humanity. Nothing you are doing can possibly be worth this."
C-Sec came in, led by Bailey, along with Edi and Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Michel.
"Oh my God." Dr. Chakwas stood uncomprehendingly for a moment. Suddenly, Shepard reached over and grabbed Henry Lawson's head and slammed it into the wall. He then reached into his eye socket as Lawson screamed and dislodged the sphere.
"You did this. You controlled the spheres and caused Miranda to attack her friends."
"Correct," bragged Lawson. Dr. Chakwas and Dr. Michel worked to sew up Miranda as Liara removed the tubes from her mouth.
"Hold this for a moment." Shepard threw Lawson to Bailey. "This is for Joker."
He then aimed his Paladin pistol and squeezed off two rounds, shattering Lawson's knees, sending him to the ground. Lawson was screaming in agony.
"Shepard, are you crazy?" shouted Bailey, dropping Lawson and getting clear of Shepard.
"Shepard, please," pled Lawson. "I'm unarmed."
"This is for Karin." Shepard proceeded to fire twice more into Lawson's legs, blood and bone spraying Bailey.
"This is for Steve." Then he fired at his left hand, blowing it off. He walked up and pointed his pistol at Lawson's chest.
"This is for Samantha." He fired, blowing a hole in Lawson's right lung. Then he rolled him over and put the gun to Lawson's spine.
"And this is for Gabby." He fired the gun, spraying bone and blood, blowing out Lawson's spine and much his internal organs. Karin Chakwas winced at every shot. Riley went even whiter. Some of the C-Sec officers were vomiting and Bailey barely kept his stomach in. Garrus and the General both nodded their approval. Shepard then looked at Bailey.
"Spectre business. For the good of the galaxy. Now clean up this mess. If it lives, do not let it get away. Again."
"Will do, Shepard," replied Bailey. "I've got officers all through the building. They won't get away." Bailey left to coordinate C-Sec efforts.
Shepard took the sphere and placed it on the floor and fired the gun at it, shattering it. He then went to Miranda and held her hand.
"How is she doc?"
"She'll live," replied Dr. Chakwas. "Though I doubt she'll ever be the same."
Liara finally extracted the needles from Miranda's eyes. Shepard removed the clamps and Dr. Michel began examining her eyes.
"It looks as if he was probing them, not blinding her, though blindness may be a side effect and it may be permanent."
"Do what you can," said Shepard softly.
Dr. Michel put drops into Miranda's eyes to sooth them and then applied a medi-gel salve and wrapped a bandage around her head to cover her eyes. Liara found the controls for the needles going into Miranda's neck and back and withdrew them.
Riley brought some water for Miranda, giving a little bit for her mouth. Dr. Chakwas hooked up a fluid solution for her.
"We need to get her to Huerta Memorial, Shepard."
Before they could answer, the tank shattered as Miranda's clone shrieked, unleashing a powerful biotic blast. Shepard shielded Miranda, but Riley was knocked into the wall head first, taking her out of the fight while Garrus and the General were knocked to the floor. The two doctors immediately knelt down to shield themselves as Liara threw up her own barrier to shield them and Miranda just in time.
"I'm everything she was, and everything she wasn't," said the clone as she floated out of the tank. Shepard fired off several rounds, but her barriers deflected the bullets. She returned fire with a biotic shockwave, sending Shepard, Garrus, and the General flying. Liara tried her best to withstand the blast, but knew she could not hold out for too long against this level of power.
"I'll kill you all!" the clone shouted.
"Don't even bother," sneered Shepard as he stood. "If the real Miranda said it, I might take it seriously. You? You're just a pale imitation."
"Your guns are useless against me," she gloated, unleashing another shockwave.
Garrus and the General slammed into the wall and Liara's barrier disintegrated. Shepard stood, knocked back, but not knocked down. The clone's eyes widened.
"Then we do this the hard way," said Shepard. He holstered his pistol, balled up his fists and charged her. She fired off a warping ball of energy, but Shepard rolled and dodged it, coming up right in front of her and unleashing a flurry of powerful blows, sending the clone to the ground. Shepard closed in to finish her, but she erected a powerful barrier, throwing him back. She stood up, but Shepard was at her again, overloading her barrier with his omni tool and charging in, delivering a punishing series of blows to her ribs. She clearly had nothing but biotics, as her physical defense consisted of balling up like a little girl. He grabbed her hair and pulled her head back.
"And this is for Miranda." And with that, he drove is fingertips straight into her throat, collapsing her windpipe. She lay on the ground gasping for air, but unable to breath any in. Shepard held his pistol to her forehead and fired, spraying bone, blood and brain against the wall and sending a headless corpse to the floor for good.
Shepard ran to Miranda, taking her hand.
"It's over, Miranda. It's over. I'll never let anyone hurt you ever again."
A weak smile crossed her lips as she finally was able to rest.