Chapter Two

Normandy SR-2 War Room, 2057h

Shepard journeyed down the steps into the center of the room to bring up a graphical interface of all the resources and armies he'd gathered so far. The war terminal simply listed them all as war assets, but to Shepard, they were much more. The list represented sacrifice, sweat, and blood. It was hardly perfect or as complete as he'd hoped, and the equation suggested that his chances against the Reapers were even.

He closed out the holo-screen after looking one last time at the Crucible's progress and made his way to the CIC. The two sentries there muttered quietly between themselves and saluted him as he walked by them through the scanner. As he passed through the next door, he was pleasantly surprised to see Miranda leaning against the wall. "I see they've completely remodeled the aft section of this deck," she commented. "And they installed two Alliance flunkies at nearly ever single door."

"They wouldn't let you in? I thought that I-"

"Honestly, Shepard, I don't care what's back there." She rolled her eyes and straightened up. "Besides, I've been having a chat with your communications officer."

"Oh? What have you two been talking about?" He closed the distance in between the two women.

"Strategy games, encryption codes, this and that," Samantha Traynor announced as she worked at her console. "Your name might have come into the conversation once or twice." She gave him a smirk.

"Miranda's probably a mean chess player, too. I think you may have found yourself a worthy opponent, Traynor."

"We'll have to sit down and have a game. I already pounded the Commander here into submission."

Miranda's eyebrows arched upward, and Shepard raised his arms up in protest. "It was an innocent game, I swear."

"I heard that it was through your hard work that the Normandy was able to track Kai Leng to Horizon in the first place. Well done," the Aussie remarked. "Shepard's fortunate to have you on his team."

"We were all appalled to hear about what happened down there. But I'm glad that you and your sister were able to get out of there safely," Traynor said.

"We had some help." She glanced in Shepard's direction and journeyed towards the elevator. "They didn't change the location of your cabin nor shrink its size at least. Perhaps the Alliance is slipping up."

Shepard hit the call button. "You didn't see what they did to the port side observation room? They've relaxed a lot, let me tell you." They filed inside the elevator, and Miranda pressed the '1' on the touch screen. "What'd you think of what Liara's done with your old office?"

"It needs some tidying; cables shouldn't be lying about everywhere ready for someone to trip over them. But then that seems to be the norm all over the ship now, thanks to the retrofit. I had a short talk with Liara; I was quite impressed with how she dealt with Cerberus in her escape."

"Did you hear about Thessia?"

"Yes. I expressed my condolences to her. Is that where she grew up?"

He nodded and passed his hand over the sensor to open the door to his cabin. When it did, they both entered, and Shepard began to strip off his armor. "It's another reason why the Illusive Man and Kai Leng both have an appointment with the muzzle of my shotgun."

"I only heard bits and pieces of information, but mostly that all communication has been severed to the planet as well as any public travel through the Artemis mass relay. What happened, Shepard?"

"The Reapers were there in full force, and several Asari teams held their own, clearing a path to a temple where an artifact was. It was supposed to be able to help us locate the missing part of the Crucible: the Catalyst."

"Was it there?"

"Yes. This artifact was…" he pulled off his boots, "a Prothean beacon with a Prothean V.I. It was hidden in plain sight just beneath one of their goddess statues. Nobody knew about it except only top leveled government officials."

"Shepard, does that mean what I think it means?"

"Yes, and unfortunately before I could get any more information from the V.I., Leng swooped in with a goddamned gun ship and stole it!" Shepard banged his fist onto his desk, and Miranda ran a hand over his shoulder. "All those soldiers died for nothing! I couldn't re-establish contact with any of the teams because of the interference. All I could hear over the fucking radio was their screams!"

"I know you feel awful about this all, but it wasn't your fault. The Asari could have jumped into the fight sooner, they could have-"

"Shared all of the technology they inherited from the Protheans? I know that that's what you were going to say next, but it doesn't change my failure on Thessia. And it won't stop the blood that's currently soaking their streets or the bombs that are ripping through all of their once magnificent architecture."

Miranda listened to his tirade and trailed her hand over his back. "Living among the Asari on Illium was certainly illuminating. That's why I'm not entirely surprised about their actions. Think about it, though, Shepard. Would humanity share technology like that any faster if we'd been the ones to find or guard it?"

"I'd like to think so, yes." He paused and leaned into her touch. "But I know better."

"And by all means, I am not condoning their actions, Shepard. It makes me angrier than hell to hear all this. I'm just telling you that it doesn't surprise me one little bit." Shepard lowered his head shamefully and let out a sigh. "Well, enough pessimism for one night," Miranda continued and made her way down the steps to the couch.

"This day's been exceptionally too long."

"I meant to tell you something else, Shepard."

"And that would be what?" He typed his password onto his terminal and began to read over his messages.

"Seeing EDI in a body was…amusing."

"Joker's mood has vastly improved ever since that happened."

"Yes, and your assistance with our relationship continues to be greatly appreciated, Shepard," EDI's graphical interface reappeared by the entrance to his cabin. "I promise not to interrupt you and Ms. Lawson for the rest of the evening, but since you have been so kind to help me, I would like to return the favor."

"How's that?"

"I have noticed that your inbox has a priority N7 message from Admiral Hackett on it concerning a mission on the planet Ontarom. It is an Alliance communication center that Cerberus has usurped. Do you plan to infiltrate the base in the morning?"

"The thought had crossed my mind, yes."

"Perhaps it would be best if Ms. Lawson were able to provide you tactical support either via your goggles of choice or your breather helmet. This choice is of course, your preference. I have found some software that can optimally partition our radio communications matrix from Devlon Industries. In other words, she will be able to talk with you on a separate channel while you maintain contact with the Normandy and your fellow squad members at the same time. I can send it to Ms. Lawson's omni-tool so that she may interface it with your equipment as necessary."

"I'd actually rather physically have her there for the mission," Shepard shook his head 'no'. "But thank you just the same, EDI."

"I can't, Shepard. I'm not fully fit for duty yet," Miranda reminded him. "Your offer, EDI, is extremely magnanimous, thank you. Please upload it whenever you can."

"Done. Your omni-tool will notify you when the download is complete," the AI informed her. "Again, I apologize for the disruption of your-oops."

"What is it now, EDI?" Shepard rolled his eyes and began to change into his Alliance casual wear minus his bulletproof vest.

"Nothing that demands your direct attention, Shepard."

"Okay, when you say something like that, it worries me. The last time you did that, the Normandy's power and com systems went haywire."

"Do not worry yourself, Shepard, but there may be a few times tonight when the Normandy's artificial gravity might…fluctuate."

"Dare I ask why?" Miranda suddenly broke in.

"Will these be dangerous levels?"

"No. I have already informed Engineer Adams and his team about it as well as Ms. Traynor," EDI responded.

"And does Joker know about it?"

"Not yet."

Shepard pinched the bridge of his nose and groaned. "All right. Good night, EDI, that'll be all." The blue matrix interface disappeared from sight.

"She still values your privacy, I see," Miranda noted.

He made his way down the stairs to sit on the foot of his bed. "The interruptions haven't been as frequent ever since I played matchmaker. It's paid off, I'd say."

Miranda's omni-tool chirped, and she activated it to read over the data packages. "Hmm…that should be relatively easy to do. The installation will probably take me about an hour or so. Now, will you be taking a pair of your combat goggles or your helmet with you tomorrow?"

"Well, according to the intel that I received from Hackett, the base is above ground and has lots of tight corners as well as a few good sniper perches. I should probably take my helmet, just to be extra safe."

"Right." She got up from the couch and seized his helmet from his desk. "I'll be back in a little while. The armory's down in the shuttle bay now, isn't it?"

He nodded and headed for the elevator. "I'll come with you."

"Shepard, you don't need to accompany me everywhere on this ship as if everyone is going to molest me."

"And what if I want to be the one doing it?" he quipped and gave her a rogue smile.

"You ass," she laughed and followed him into the elevator.

About thirty seconds later, after a cursory introduction to the shuttle pilot Steve Cortez, Miranda activated a light over the weapon bench and went straight to work. Shepard distracted himself by purchasing a few new weapon upgrades at the nearby terminal and then made his way over to James Vega. He was back to his conditioning exercises, namely pull-ups as Shepard approached him. "Hey, Loco. We're getting pretty close to kicking Cerberus in the cajones, no?" Vega inquired.

"Yep, and I could use you tomorrow morning on a mission where we'll be doing just that on Ontarom," Shepard returned.

"You got it, Commander." He released his grip from the bar and got down onto his hands and toes for some push-ups. "Hey, what's up with Legs and your helmet?"

Shepard's eyes narrowed and crossed his arms. "I take it that that's your nickname for Miranda."

"That's the one I'll use in front of you, yeah. Those aren't the only parts of her body that are distracting. What's she doing to your gear?"

"She's very versatile. You know that she headed the team that rebuilt me?"

"It's all the more reason why I'm asking what she's doing to your equipment, Loco." He quickened his pace.

"I know that trust is a thing to be earned, not given. That's why I'm not going to ask you to trust her, but rather me. I'm sure that that'll be easier," Shepard answered.

"Is she coming with the two of us tomorrow morning?"

"Garrus will be accompanying us; I'll tell him during breakfast. He usually does his calibrations in the evening, anyhow."

"Hey Loco, since you got Joker and EDI together, are you planning on doing the same thing with Sparks and Scars?"

"Neither of them hardly need encouragement. They've been at one another's throats since our early days with Saren, back when Tali was just a kid on her pilgrimage. I figure it'll only be a matter of time before Tali lets her 'sparks' intermingle with Garrus' 'scars'," Shepard chuckled. Vega joined his chorus.

"Hey, how 'bout you and me in a game of poker one of these days?"

"Hmm…we all did just get paid two days ago. You really wanna blow it all away just like that, huh?"

"Game on, Loco." He got up and shook Shepard's hand. "But you're the one who's gonna be filling up my pockets."

"Careful what you wish for," Miranda's voice suddenly chided him from opposite side of the hangar bay.

"I'd better get back to my duties, Commander."

Shepard traveled back over to Miranda and pulled up a stool behind her. He boldly slipped her hair back from her neck and planted his lips at the base of it. She made a disgusted groan and brightened the overhead lamp. "Why does the Alliance make its ships' ambient light so damned dark? I feel like I'm working in a bloody mausoleum. Should I drop something small on the floor, I doubt that I'd be able to find it again."

"Yeah, I wasn't too crazy about that part of the retrofit," he said in between kisses and slid his other hand around her waist.

"Shepard, you're making a shadow; I can't see what I'm doing."

He pulled away to scoot himself beside her but returned to his previous actions. "Is that better?"

"I suppose, but that might mean that this will take twice as long to complete, since you're becoming a diversion."

"Call it an opening act for the real headlining entertainment to come later on." The hand that had gone around her waist meandered upward to graze her breast.

"Aw, get a room, you two," James sneered as he walked into the lift.

She gasped, and the screw driver that she'd been fiddling with inside of his helmet now dropped completely out of her hands. "Damnit, Shepard!"

He let out a low chuckle and wrapped his arm around her other side. "Ah, so you can still get angry."

She flipped the helmet right side up and shook it so that the precision tool fell out onto the work bench. "Consider yourself lucky that I'm letting you get away with this."

"I do," Shepard whispered into her right ear and pushed some of her sepia tresses behind it. "Crimony, for six long months, I craved for just two minutes with you. All I could do was pray that nothing had become of you."

"I couldn't make promises to you before Sanctuary, but I can now. I'm not going anywhere," she returned softly as she continued her work.

This enticed him to envelop the lower flap of her earlobe with his lips and charge up his implants ever so slightly.

"Oh, God," she mumbled nearly indistinctly and leaned into him. "Please, Shepard, just let me finish installing this PC board in here so that I can start to…upload the…"

The tip of his tongue darted out between his lips as quickly as a snake's. She shivered, which made him squeeze her possessively closer to his body. "Damn you."

Miranda put the final machine screw in and passed her omni-tool over the helmet. As the omni-tool glowed to begin the program's installation, his lips moved down to the flesh just beneath her ear to the back of her jaw. That did it; all of her self-restraint was gone. She activated her own biotics, covered her hands with his own, and he spun her around so that their lips could finally synchronize. Their melding was not gentle nor was their breathing.

Much to his surprise, she was the one who thrust her tongue into his mouth first. Her attack came on so suddenly and so fierce that when she broke away to catch a breath, some saliva escaped from their kiss. "Christ, I've never slobbered onto someone before," she mused and wiped it away from her mouth.

"Don't let that stop you from doing it in the future, it's hot," he breathed and licked his lips. He was about to return her kiss, when she turned her head away. "What's the matter?"

"We shouldn't…not tonight. Neither of us is at 100%."

"That doesn't matter to me. Having you here with me on the Normandy is enough."

"But it does to me. I can't-" Her omni-tool interrupted her with a beep, and she withdrew herself from his arms. "Done." Miranda peered inside of the helmet for any visible flaws and slipped it onto his head. "How does that feel? Any discomfort?"

"No. Is there a switch that I have to flick on or something?"

"It's on your right side, just below your normal earpiece." She took his hand in hers and directed it on top of the toggle. "Do you feel it here?"

"Yes." He removed his helmet, set it onto the table, and snagged her hand before she could fully retrieve it. "Will you stay with me tonight, please?"

"I told you, Shepard," she shook her head 'no'. He ran her hand onto his clean shaven cheek and kissed her palm.

"And I told you that I don't want you in my bed for that reason tonight. I won't accept the fact that you don't need me, either." Miranda's expression warmed, and she followed him hand in hand with a silent nod into the elevator