I don't think I'll be continuing to write this. I've been incredibly busy and writer's block.
Note:I do not own the Mass Effect franchise.

Chapter Five

"Jason?" Miranda called out, her submachine gun pointed at the ground in front of her, as she stepped further into the room. Following the trail of broken glass and motionless bodies of Blue Suns mercenaries that littered the floor, her cool-sapphire eyes met weary grey-blues past the window frame where several fragmented pieces of glass were still attached – relief overcame her at the sight of the man, causing her to inadvertently breathe out, "You're okay."

Taking notice of the number of terminals appropriating the space, the salarian squadmate set out to examine the databanks for any valuable information while his companions proceeded into the adjoining chamber.

"What happened here, Sterling?" Jacob asked, glass crunching under his feet as he made his way to the Vanguard. He squinted once he entered the room. "Damn. It's bright in here."

Miranda followed after him, blinking a few times for her eyes to adapt to the unpleasant whiteness of the room. Her chest tightened a bit, guilt seeping into her, as she noted the man's condition – the pallor of his skin, the muted shade of his normally coffee-colored hair, and the bruising on his wrists and probably ankles as well as she viewed the restraints on the wall behind him.

Jason viewed them blankly – the strangers held their weapons at their side while one spoke to him as if they were acquainted. Who are the- An unexpected wave of pain overcame his mind as he clutched his head, an attempt to keep his mind together as countless memories flooded back all at once, prompting him to stumble a step forward before someone managed to steady him.

Immediately after picking up a thermal clip off the ground, Jack used it to reload her shotgun. "We scoped out this entire level, Shep. He's not here." She watched the N7 armor-covered man rummage through some crates for something – possibly, some heavy weapon ammo – as she leaned against a wall, idly poking the body of a nearby merc with the butt of her weapon.

"Fuck," The commander cursed, hastily rearing away from the container he had been rifling through a second earlier. "Bomb." He watched helplessly as the timer activated. "And I may have somehow triggered it."

"What?" The convict yelled, joining Shepard out of the room running. "Damn it, Shepard. How long do we have?"

"Less than five minutes."

Jason shook his head to clear away the ache that remained after the succinct, yet uncomfortable regaining of his memories – nevertheless, his present situation was now more comprehensible than it had been seconds earlier. The trial mission for the Illusive Man, the trap the Broker had planned for me… There was a brief moment of silence as he recalled everything that had transpired before becoming conscious of present reliance on someone for support. He gave an easy smile to the XO, "Sorry about that, I'm fine now."

Before Miranda could nod to show that it was no matter at all, she heard the commander's voice question them from her ear comm, "Did you guys find Jason?"

"Yeah, we found him." Jacob responded summarily, pondering on what had possibly caused the Vanguard's sudden distress a minute earlier.

"Great. Well, get out of the base. There's a bomb, and we have less than five minutes to evacuate."

As a result of being caught in the edge of the blast radius, the Kodiak shook to some extent before Garrus entered the appropriate commands to level the shuttle whilst he piloted it back to the Normandy.

"Shit. If I had died, I would've haunted you, Shepard." The shaved-headed woman growled as she did the closest thing to relaxing into her stiff seat. She loathed the 'combat cockroach' as Shepard had so fondly called it; it was hardly bearable as it was with the customary ground team of three – sitting next to an overgrown krogan and the always-serious Cerberus operative was certainly doing wonders for her budding dislike towards the confined shuttle.

The commander chuckled as he followed her in suit, crossing his arms as he leaned back into his seat. Realizing that he still had not queried for the specifics as to how his XO and the Vanguard had landed in the custody of the Blue Suns, he commenced to do so before he took in the weariness on the two of his squadmates – he settled on holding a meeting with the duo in Communications once they returned to the Normandy, allowing them sufficient time to recuperate on the way back.

"Let me get this straight." Shepard stopped for a second to gather his thoughts, finding the explanation he was given rather difficult to believe. "You," He glanced at the civilian attire the taller of the two sported. "You received an invitation to the party at Dark Star and asked Miranda to accompany you," He paused, turning to the XO with skepticism apparent on his face. "As a date?"

"Is it that hard to believe?" Jason gave the commander a slighted expression before looking at the dusky-haired woman beside him, hoping she would go along with the story. "I thought it was going pretty well too. Until we were ambushed by the Broker's agents, that is."

"It was more of friendly outing." Miranda corrected, nonetheless reinforcing their cover for the Vanguard's trial mission to Shepard – her self-reproach for her inability to react fittingly at Dark Star was gone with her disapproval towards the lie Sterling attempted to weave taking its place. "I wanted to finish a few reports before I joined him at the lounge, so he went ahead."

"Then you were ambushed by the Shadow Broker's agents?" The commander shook his head before presenting a look that told both squadmates that he was not going to yield his questioning until he got the truth. "It is hard to believe, to be honest."

"Shepard, I-"

The holograph of the Normandy disappeared from display above the conference table as several screens materialized in its stead. The same clip played on all of them, differing only by the angle which it was taken in – each showed a certain ship's XO in the embrace of the same dark-haired man presently standing alongside her, reacting ardently to the kiss he initiated, before each video abruptly went static.

Joker's voice filled the room – the smirk he wore was unmistakable as he stated over the intercom, "Look what I found, Commander."

"Mr. Moreau," Miranda practically hissed, venom palpable in her voice. "I'm sure you are aware of the things I'm capable of as a biotic. I will not hesitate to use them if I find that you have shown this video to others, posted it on the extranet, and any of the like." Her embarrassed rage manifested on her face, reddening as she struggled with her anger for control as the video commenced to play on a loop.

"That's enough, Joker." Shepard ordered – the ship's holograph promptly replaced the videos of his squadmates' kiss which had tormented the characteristically impersonal Cerberus operative whom left the room, possibly off to murder the Normandy's pilot. His mind was perplexed with where the Vanguard had found his audacity to manage such a feat, "You're a brave guy, Sterling."

Jason shrugged, an indistinct smirk manifesting on his face, "I should go see if she needs help killing Joker." With a casual salute, he departed the Comm Room.

"Shepard," Mordin halted the commander en route to his quarters; despite the late hour, the salarian was still up and about since their return from the retrieval mission on Anhur. "Need to speak with you." He continued as Shepard came closer to the work table the professor typically stood behind. "Retrieved files from Blue Suns base. Most curious."

"What is it?"

"Project involving decades of DNA modification – all leading to single genetic derivative. Comparable to Okeer's work. Tank-bred. Ideal human specimen."

Shepard frowned as the information sunk in. "What? It sounds like you're talking to Miranda. I mean her father did modify her genetics."

"Connection likely. Conversely, associated with Shadow Broker. Project dated further back than Operative Lawson's birth. Yet, actual test subject created after." The professor animatedly disclosed his findings, his hands making wild gestures as he did so. "Designed to be the perfect operative. Puppet for the Shadow Broker to control."

"Why do I have a feeling that you're going to say 'but?'" The commander queried, his brow raising as he viewed the salarian's pithy nod.

"Goal to produce mindless tool for executing Broker's demands. Development of emotions in Subject Alpha led to failure of project." Mordin explained – his disapproval for the rash testing of a creature's life merged with his awe of the project's results. "Abduction meant to correct irregularity in Subject Alpha's protein sequence. Aborted last minute with reason unspecified."

Shepard's brows furrowed as he grasped what Mordin was saying, "Jason's a clone? Of who?"

"Uncertain. Dispatched enemy of Shadow Broker, maybe? Desired proof of domination combined with boredom led to project. Best to have full examination. Implanted control chip, highly possible."

"I'll tell Jason to head over to the Med Bay as soon as possible, then."