Chapter Four
Normandy SR-2 Medical Bay, 1049h
After they dropped the technician off at another Alliance base, Garrus and James traveled up to the crew deck for their usual check up. Shepard went straight to the vid com room to make his mission debriefing to Hackett. Chakwas tended to Vega's left arm first, which only had a minor flesh wound. "EDI informed me of the Commander's injuries, Lieutenant. Where is he?" she demanded.
"You know him, Chakwas. He'll be either checking the war room feeds or making another report to Hackett," Garrus shrugged as he removed his helmet. "I'm only here to appease you-I managed to get away scott free today."
"Bravo, Garrus. You shall receive a gold star for your thoughtfulness today. Someone, else, however, may be at the end of a rope."
"Thanks, Doc. I didn't even feel that bullet," James remarked and watched her wrap his enormous bicep with gauze.
The door opened, and in walked Miranda with Shepard. "Aw, come on, Miranda, gimme a break," he began.
"No, don't even start to make any excuses with me, Shepard. Neglecting to refill your entire medi-gel supply before a mission was damned foolish," Miranda scolded him.
"Garrus, you may go. I trust you when you say that you haven't been hurt," Chakwas commanded him. "And Lieutenant, you as well. If it weren't for Miss Lawson, here, I'd instruct you to knock some sense into our commander."
Vega beamed, retrieved a gauntlet from the bed, and jabbed Shepard in the arm. "Two angry chiquitas against one N7 won't be a problem for you, now will it, Loco?" He ventured towards the door.
"If I'm supposed to be training you for the program, are you sure that you don't wanna stay for a class or two?" Shepard smirked.
"Mmm, if there's one thing that my mama nailed into me before the Lord took her home is how to respect a woman. You, sir, well, you seem to be in a bit of a cluster fuck. I'd rather not stay for the shit storm." Vega gave Miranda another weary eye on his way out. "Especially from this one-she looks like she's 'bout to explode like a block of C4."
"I'll be sure to swing by the hangar bay for some more advice on women before I go up to my quarters tonight, hot shot." The Latino's laughter filled the hallway as the med bay's doors closed.
Chakwas finished loading up the wheeled cart full of instruments and bottles. "All right, Commander, this time I am going to insist upon Miranda's intervention. Miss Lawson, if you would be so kind?"
"Gladly," the Aussie returned coolly and proceeded strip off Shepard's armor.
"Whoa." Shepard froze in place. "Just how far are you planning to go there? Can't I at least squeeze in dinner and a few drinks first?"
"If you're embarrassed to do this in front of me, Shepard, then next time, prepare yourself accordingly before your missions," Chakwas reprimanded him and set her hands underneath the hand sanitizer.
"I don't mind stripping in front of you, Doctor, but I'm not the one who's doing it. That's what's a bit embarrassing."
"I don't see any damage below the knees, Chakwas. Would you still like to make an examination?" Miranda inquired as she continued her task.
"I'll have the scanner do it, but it couldn't hurt to check the commander's armor, since he likely did not do that this morning before he left either," the physician replied noncommittally.
Shepard deflected Miranda's hands away after the chest plate, shoulder pads, and gauntlets were off. "At least let me do one thing by myself," he pleaded.
She bent down, picked up the scattered armor that lay about on the floor, and began to place each piece upon the bed closest to the shelves to study them. He shrugged himself out of the polymer nano-suit once again as Chakwas approached him. "Let's see here. Good. It looks like you used your medi-gel twice. What happened, Commander, did the first application not work?"
"No, it did. But before the wound could close up, some shrapnel scraped me."
"I'll be back in a bit, Shepard. These need to go down to the armory for some repairs," Miranda informed him as she confiscated the top half of his armor minus the helmet and traveled out of the med bay.
"Hmm, this might need some stitches. Let's get started, shall we, Shepard?" Chakwas said as she brought the body scanner to life with her omni-tool.
One hour later, just outside the Normandy Med Bay…
Shepard didn't even bother to put his clothes fully back on, even though it was lunch time and the mess was completely full. More than a few female pairs of eyes swept over his Greek anatomy and aesthetically pleasing profile as he passed through the hallway to get to the elevator. He carried his helmet at his side and was pleased to see Miranda in the lift as it came up. "Ah, I wondered when I'd see you again," he gave her a boyish grin. "I knew you couldn't stay pissed at me for too long."
"I owe you an apology for earlier." She took him by the hand and stepped back inside. "On the mission, I mean."
"Why?"
"I didn't want to go silent on you, but I had no choice."
"You don't have to apologize for that, Miranda. We had some interference, and you didn't want to cause confusion."
"If only I'd been able to talk to you for another thirty seconds, you wouldn't have gotten hurt." Her eyes left his and gazed upon the freshly stitched and bandaged wound in his side.
"That's a load of horse crap. I'd have probably done something just as stupid or ignored at least one piece of advice."
"Seriously, Shepard, what has gotten into you? I can't remember you acting like this during the Collector mission." After the elevator reached the top floor, his hands let the helmet drop to the floor outside his quarters and lunged for her. He effectively slammed both of their bodies into the wall and started an open mouthed kiss.
Her lips parted reflexively as he eagerly tasted them. Time suddenly stopped, and there was nothing else that he wanted to feel. He released his grip on her, balanced his hands against the wall on either side of her, and deepened the kiss. Her hands came about the back of his head. One rested upon his neck and the other stroked his hair.
Miranda's caresses only inspired him to further ambition; Shepard proved this by roughly thrusting his tongue into her. She moaned in complete ecstasy as it teased the top half of her teeth, and she returned his fervor by meeting it with her own. His breathing became frantic and rushed as endorphins flooded his brain.
Old memories of kissing Liara suddenly came back to him. She was far too subservient, like she wanted to please him; she let him have complete control. It's possible that she wasn't sure of herself, either; she did admit that Shepard was her first.
But he never knew what Miranda would do. There were a few times when she did let him have his way, but most of the time, it was a battle between the two of them. And that turned Shepard on more than anything else. He didn't want a woman to just lie there, scream, and cry out in pleasure. He needed an equal, somebody who'd match his every move and try to outdo him. And boy did Miranda fit the bill.
They broke apart only to catch their breaths, and she drew him into the cabin by tugging at his belt. Shepard seized her and hoisted her up into his arms. He carried her down the steps, hungrily staring into her eyes, and she gave him a knowing smile as if to say do your worst, Shepard.
No sooner had she given him this look than did he reclaim her mouth again with his. She grabbed his cheeks with both hands; an azure energy seeped from her palms and made contact with his skin. He reveled in the feeling and followed suit with his mouth as he pulled upon her lips with his own. His head was spinning so madly with lust that he forgot about their surroundings and stumbled onto the bed.
As Shepard's shin made contact with it, he completely lost his balance, dropped her, and toppled onto Miranda. He separated himself from her mouth immediately to assess the possible damage while bracing his body with both hands on either side of her. "God, I'm sorry, Miranda," he breathed. "Are you-"
She never gave him a chance to finish the question and grabbed him by the head back down to her carnivorous lips. Shepard was more than happy to oblige, and this time as he broke free, he showered her with numerous kisses. Some were placed upon her lips, some landed upon her nose, and some went to her chin. He finally settled upon a southern route and nibbled down her jaw to the flesh upon her neck. The solitary exhale that came from her lips and the slight tilting upward of her head told him that he was on the right track. Her fingers twitched into his hair, directing it erratically as his lips performed their magic.
A warm but very unwelcome ring tone told him that the intercom was being activated. Moments later, he heard Traynor's voice come over it. "Commander Shepard, sir?"
He growled into Miranda's neck but continued his quest as if nothing had just occurred. She also expressed her disappointment with a heavy sigh.
"Sir, can you hear me?" the British accent softly bored into his ears.
"Unfortunately," Shepard grumbled to himself and groaned as his body suddenly became all too heavy when he straightened up. "What's happening?"
"Ms. Allers is requesting an interview with you, sir."
"Can it wait until later?" He rolled his neck from one side to the other with some very audible cracks. "I was trying to…relax."
"I'll relay the message, sir. Might I tell her a specific time?"
"I'll call for her this evening before dinner."
"Very well, sir. I apologize profusely for the disturbance. Sleep is apparently becoming more of a luxury to everyone these days, myself included."
Shepard swept a hand across his forehead and trudged up the stairs into the bathroom.
"What's wrong, Shepard?" Miranda called after him and sat upon the edge of the bed.
"Maybe it's best that I don't get to bury myself in you right now." He started the water in the sink and began to wash his hands.
Her eyebrows furrowed with worry, and she arose to follow him. She remained just outside with her back to him, though he did not close the door. "We were rarely able to talk like this on the Collector mission. Now's as good a time as any to start."
"Yeah." Shepard turned the faucet off and leaned upon the sink with his hands. "So let's start with a few questions that I've had on my mind."
"Only a few?" she mused with a muffled snort.
"Okay, so there's a lot." He hung his head. "The planet we were just on, Ontarom; that wasn't the first time I'd done a mission there. Three years ago, I found a base there with former Alliance scientists. Well, Hackett said that they were former Alliance scientists, so I guess that that was his way of telling me that they belonged to Cerberus." After a moment, he went on. "This project had to do with someone named Dr. Riley Wayne and a fellow Alliance soldier by the name of Corporal Victor Toombs. Do either of those names sound familiar to you?"
"No, they don't. I was the second in charge to the Illusive Man, but there were projects going on that even my eyes didn't see. Call it damage control or plausible deniability if you will."
"Well I don't know what they called the cell or unit, but this scheme had to do with the deaths of over fifty Alliance marines on the planet Akuze." Shepard waited for her to interject or say something else, but she merely turned around and peered inside the bathroom. "The scientists lured them into a trap and let the entire troop get hit by a thresher maw. All but one marine died. He said that they took him to that facility I found him in on Ontarom and ran all sorts of tests on him."
"Tests?"
"Yeah, they apparently ran non-diluted thresher maw acid through his veins…without anesthetic."
"No doubt that it was to test the creature's toxicity levels."
"That doesn't make it right!" he barked and bit his lip.
"Who said that it did?" She crossed her arms and leaned against the doorjamb.
"Look, you…" Shepard interrupted himself and pushed himself off of the sink. "When my team and I found Dr. Wayne, Toombs had him at gunpoint. Then he told me what had happened. I couldn't let that scientist walk away, Miranda, and I didn't want the poor bastard to go to jail for life just for delivering his own justice. So I shot Wayne myself right there."
"And you want to know what I think of you for doing it?"
"No, I want to know what you think of Cerberus for doing what they did to Toombs." His dark eyes searched hers.
She held his gaze for a moment and then ran the tip of her tongue over her lips as her eyes flickered away to the left. "Sometimes…unpleasant things have to be done in the name of science. Sometimes unspeakable things go on, like some of the experiments that went on with prisoners of war on Earth in earlier centuries."
"You…" his eyebrows wrinkled with disappointment, " you can't seriously mean that. You think that what went on…was honestly for the good of humanity?"
"Maybe not in this case-"
"The marines went to investigate why 150 colonists went missing on Akuze, and this attack happened in 2177, Miranda. The bastards tortured him for almost six goddamned years!" Shepard's voice raised in volume. "How can you condone their actions?"
"You are one to bloody well talk about slaughter, Shepard." Her eyes came back to stare him down. "The Butcher of Torfan who got everyone killed in your unit. And if we're going to even start about bringing up the past, specifically three years ago, you also massacred that entire colony of biotic cultists on Presrop!"
He took a step towards her and clenched his teeth. "I tried to reason with the cult leader, and that in itself worked by playing to his crazed logic. I said that he'd be responsible for all of his 'children's' deaths." Shepard then remembered how it all went wrong and hung his head. "I insisted that we bring Major Kyle, my former CO back to the Normandy with us. He begged me not to, and I refused to listen to him. All hell broke loose as the lunatics lost it when they saw their leader being taken away from them."
"There were about sixty members on that moon, weren't there?"
"Yeah. I didn't feel guilty then, but…" he trailed off and walked out of the bathroom to lean onto his desk. "But I could have avoided that blood bath if I'd only listened to Major Kyle."
"Then maybe that's how Dr. Wayne felt," she returned softly and faced him.
"No, he tried to lie his way out of the situation. He did this after Toombs and his fellow mercs attacked the base. There's no way that he was sorry that he did those experiments; he was only sorry that he got caught. And that's why I sided with Toombs."
"I see."
Shepard removed one hand from the desk and scratched his cheek with a finger. His tone went down to nearly a whisper. "Damn, we're really two screwed up people, Miranda. I'm not sure how we're going to make our relationship work if we survive this assault on the Illusive Man's base and the final battle with the Reapers on Earth."
Her taciturn response made him hesitate before he spun around slowly. "But I'll do everything I can to deliver on my part…and more." He reached for her hand and began to stroke it affectionately. "Throw me a line here, Miranda. Where are we?"
She clasped her fingers through his and led him down the stairs. She then turned to face him, knelt down to sit on the bed, and placed his hand atop her heart. It loomed dangerously close to her bosom, and Miranda looked directly into his eyes. "I'm here, Shepard," was all she said.
And that was all he needed to hear.
Their lovemaking was slow and natural; neither used their biotic talents, and for the first time ever, she laid below him the entire time. When it was over, he curled into her completely, and they slept against one another much like the night before.
Two hours later, a violent nightmare ripped through Shepard's mind. He saw Thessia being torn apart, the shrieks of the doomed asari over his suit radio, the Citadel being attacked again, and innocents that were unfortunately caught in the crossfire by Cerberus assault troopers. Images of Samara's kicking and screaming daughter Falere swamped him as he had to carry her over his shoulder on the way out of the Ardat-Yakshi monastery on Lesuss. The blast of the bombs rocked the elevator violently in the shaft, and after it had reached the top, Samara nearly committed suicide over the shock of having to kill the last of her daughters. Thankfully, he'd been fast enough to stop her, but that didn't make the tragedy of the situation any lighter. If only he'd gotten to the monastery sooner…
He awoke in a sweat and jerked himself out from underneath Miranda's arm. She had been draped over him but now stirred with a quiet moan as he left her. A gentle rapping came to the door of his quarters. "What's going on, Shepard?" Miranda asked with her eyelids fluttering open.
"Nothing, love. Just go back to sleep. I'll be there shortly," he told her and kissed her forehead.
He slipped a pair of boxers on, pulled the duvet over Miranda's naked form, and went to answer the door. "Hey, Liara," he greeted the asari and strolled outside the room.
She nervously avoided gawking upon his muscular form and tried to focus upon his eyes. "Commander, I…if this is a bad time…"
"It's not. What can I do for you?" He leaned against the wall and arched his back like a cat against it.
"EDI says that you weren't responding to your intercom when both Ms. Traynor and Joker attempted to contact you." Her eyes fluttered up and down his body giving him a once over. Then she bent down to recover his N7 breather helmet and gave it to him. It didn't take a rocket scientist to ascertain his previous activities. "I…completely understand why you wished to remain undisturbed, and I'm very sorry to be the one doing it…"
"I woke up from a nightmare, Liara. You didn't disturb us," he shook his head 'no'.
"Do you want to talk about it?" her silky voice brushed against him.
"Later, maybe…thanks, Liara."
"Admiral Hackett is on the vid com in the war room. Come by my office later on, if it pleases you." One last gaze from her cobalt eyes made Shepard recall that she had never forgotten about him. That piece of N7 body armor that was encased in glass in her apartment in Nos Astra on Illium reminded him that she still loved him. Even after they had spoken after his imprisonment with Cerberus shortly after he helped her become the Shadow Broker, she confessed that she still had feelings for him. Much to her disappointment, he told her that he didn't, and that Miranda was his true love. She understood his feelings and wished nothing but the best for him.
Shepard clothed himself in his Alliance casual wear; Miranda herself awoke to the sound of his razor and also dressed. "I'll see you downstairs. I'm going to go check in on Oriana," she informed him with a smile as they parted ways in the elevator.
Orbit of Gei Hinnom, Sheol cluster, Hades Nexus system
Normandy SR-2 Vid Com Room, 1704h
Shepard stood at full attention to give a salute to Admiral Hackett as his image appeared upon the quantum entanglement communicator. "Sir, did you receive my report regarding the mission on Ontarom?" he inquired and went back to his previous posture. "I must apologize for making you wait, Admiral, sir."
"At ease, Commander, yes, I did. Let's relax the protocols a bit. There may not be an Alliance program if we don't get our act together soon." Hackett paused as he gathered his thoughts. "The admirals and I are currently planning for our up and coming assault upon the Illusive Man's base, Shepard. Those ciphers that you passed along to us from Ontarom were a huge help."
"That was thanks to Lt. Vega, sir." Shepard folded his hands behind his back.
"Hmm, well, his actions will not be overlooked, Commander, you can tell him that. Something else has come up in the meanwhile, though."
"Sir?"
"There's another Cerberus base we've located in the Fortuna cluster upon the planet Amaranthine. It appears to be a weapons facility that utilizes Reaper tech to manufacture omni-tools, upgrades, and armor. We know this because there's a mole there who contacted us; someone who knew Admiral Kahoku from years ago, by the name of Armistan Banes."
"I think that I recall that name. It led to dead end after dead end three years ago while I was doing a favor for Dr. Chloe Michel on the Citadel. Nobody could give me a straight answer about him," Shepard agreed with a nod. "Kahoku couldn't even do so when I asked him after I went to investigate those missing marines of his."
"Well, whatever he's done is irrelevant now; he wants to help the cause. And that's because something has gone terribly wrong with that Reaper control signal that Henry Lawson manufactured."
"No kidding-another Cerberus project that went haywire."
"Yes, and the soldiers there are going insane and suicidal, using themselves as bombs. There are some civilians there are well, scientists, who want out for obvious reasons." Hackett rubbed his fingers against the front of his palms. "Banes has been protecting them to a degree, but he won't go too far because of the kamikaze troopers."
"How much time do we have?"
"He says that he'll hold out as long as he possibly can, but I would guess that should we want to get as many of the scientists out unharmed, it's likely that we've got twelve hours or less."
"That's all?"
"This is a huge guess, Commander. Our analysts are being stretched to their limits here, and they can't-"
"Understood, Admiral, sir. We'll hit the base tonight in a surprise attack."
"Good. When it's finished, I won't expect a report or a debriefing for a while, Commander. I know that you haven't been sleeping well."
"Sleep is for weaklings," Shepard said with a thin smile.
"Consider that your next mission to fulfill for the Alliance, then, Commander, after you've completed this one on Amarantharine. And that's an order." Hackett disconnected the call before Shepard could argue.
Shepard departed the vid com room and traveled throughout the war room to make his way to the CIC. "EDI, could you please ask Lt. Commander Williams, Liara, and Miranda to meet me in the crew mess ASAP? Also, please inform them of the mission objective."
"Understood," the AI answered.
Ten minutes later…
Four Alliance crew members eating at one of the tables in the crew mess immediately stopped as Shepard entered and all arose from their seats to come to full attention. Before he could tell them 'as you were', they all cleared their trays from it, and silently strolled to the other table to continue their meal.
Williams walked in first and shoved a protein bar into his hands. "If we're gonna all sit here and plan for this, you're gonna eat something. Sir," she added as an afterthought. When she sat down, Liara and Miranda departed from her office to join them. Their conversation dwindled into one final sentence as they both noticed Shepard's presence and sat next to one another at the table across from Ashley.
"Okay. Since we don't have much time on our side, I'd like to plan for this assault now," he started. "Brainstorming is very welcome at this point, since the intel from Hackett is incredibly little. We have no clue where Banes is located, but we do have some satellite holos." Shepard brought up the images from his omni-tool for them to study. "I'd like to go in the back door just after it gets dark."
Ash gave him an intimidating stare and eyed the protein bar as he had discarded it onto the table; it was reminiscent of his mother's expressions before a disciplinary action occurred. Miranda's eyes scanned coolly over the holo as it rotated slowly. "That sounds logical, Commander."
"Since you plan to hit the base at night, why not just stick to a plain frontal assault? We already have the jump on the suicidal soldiers and have an inside man. He could set off alarms in the complex elsewhere to distract the enemy," Williams suggested.
"Hmm, while I do usually like a straight up fight, I don't want to do it this time. If the troopers are killing themselves, the scientists could get caught in the middle," Shepard's fingers tugged at his bottom lip. "Things could get ugly fast."
"What does that matter? The scientists are already working for Cerberus. They're terrorists just like the soldiers, and who's to say that they aren't indoctrinated as well? Have you considered the fact that this could be a trap set up by Cerberus just to get rid of you, Commander?"
Shepard deactivated his omni-tool and slid his fingers along the protein bar's wrapper to open the package as he listened to her. Seconds later, it found its way into his very hungry mouth.
"Perhaps it's possible to reverse the effects of indoctrination if we remove the scientists as well as Banes away from the Reaper tech," Miranda theorized. "It would also be worth it to have more of them alive to help build the Crucible, wouldn't it?"
Williams' eyes darted across the table and locked with hers. "This is an Alliance matter, Lawson; mind your own damn business. You're not this ship's XO anymore, nor are you a part of the crew, and the only reason you're here is because of Shepard."
As Miranda was about to verbally defend herself, Ashley went on with her diatribe. "Regardless of your actions on Horizon and that god-forsaken project from that lunatic father of yours, I'd still put you under lock and key."
"You seem to forget that Cerberus used to be part of the Alliance, Williams. We were a phantom limb that did a lot of its dirty work beforehand. The Alliance has many skeletons in its own closet as well. If you have any sort of pragmatism in that thick-headed skull of yours, then you should stop glorifying them as if they're saints." Miranda kept her tone extremely civil; this however, only roused Ashley to anger.
"Do you know what surgeons do with phantom limbs that don't serve a purpose or have the potential to become a threat to the body?" she retorted.
"Ash, if you can't follow my orders or stop berating Miranda for offering some simple tactical advice, then you should stay on the Normandy tonight," Shepard calmly intervened. "In case you've forgotten, I'm still the commanding officer of this ship, and I respect both of your opinions. If Hackett doesn't have a problem with a former Cerberus operative on the Normandy, then you shouldn't either." He took another bite of the protein bar and arose to go to the refrigerator for a drink.
Both human women still had their eyes locked upon one another. Liara saw the tension piling up like a horrible car accident and offered an opinion of her own. "Shepard, since we do potentially have another team member here now, what if two teams assault the base? One can go in from the front as the Lt. Commander suggests, and the other can go in from behind as you wish."
Shepard removed an energy drink canister and popped it open with a flick of his thumb and index finger. "That sounds terrific, Liara. Ash, are you game?"
"Aye, aye, sir. Since it was my idea, would it be all right if I led the assault from the front?" She directed her attention towards him.
"Of course. Miranda, would you join us?"
"Without a doubt. I've almost missed fighting alongside you," the Aussie said with a beam.
"Almost, eh?" He poured the contents of the can down his throat. "So about that scuffle we had earlier-"
Miranda stretched out her fingertips, and thankfully, he had just emptied the can. It crinkled into nothing as a blue field surrounded it and stung him as the electricity sought an outlet for its energy. Liara chuckled as Shepard jumped back and got up from her chair. "That was an excellent display of your powers, Miranda. It's doubtful that you'll ever need the tutelage of an asari. Now if you'll all please excuse me, I need to get back to my work."
"Just be ready to get down to the shuttle in a few hours, Liara. I'll be taking you and Miranda with me as we hit the back of the facility," Shepard called.
"Certainly." She waived her hand over the sensor at the door. "And I'd appreciate being given a little more than two minutes' notice prior to our boarding time, please, Commander."
"Isn't that what this is now?" he shrugged with a boyish grin. The asari shook her head and disappeared without another word.
Williams also arose from the table. "Hey, Commander, you don't seriously believe what Lawson said was right, do you, I mean, about indoctrination? What if we touch something in that base or it touches us?" She studied him as he pondered her question for a few moments. "Whom should I take with me, Commander?" she asked.
"Take James and Javik. Having some biotic powers at your side might just give you an extra edge."
"Will do, sir. And thanks for hearing me out. Whoops, excuse me," she apologized after she backed into Oriana, who was just exiting the crew quarters.
"Shepard, I'll go check on your armor's progress to see if it's been repaired yet. Should I need to worry about getting permission from your suspicious colleagues downstairs as well in order to arm myself for our mission?" Miranda questioned him.
"James knows who's in charge. Remind him should it become necessary," Shepard announced and picked up the crushed can from the floor.
"Not a problem." She touched her sister on the arm with a smile and stepped into the elevator.
"Commander, I never got the chance to thank you for saving me-again, from what Miranda's told me," Oriana called and made her way into the mess.
"Hello, Oriana, how're you doing?" he gave her a smile.
"This ship is so much different than I thought it'd be. And your crew has really been nice to me, despite the fact that my sister used to work for Cerberus."
"I'm glad to hear that. I'd have to crack some heads open otherwise." Shepard gestured for her to come closer and gave her a wink.
"Your communications specialist Samantha has been kind enough to take me under her wing, so to speak. I've been learning some things from her about networks, how communication buoys and relays work, and that's just a start."
"Miranda told me that you wanted to work in colony development. We'll sure need people like that to sort us all out after the war." He peered into her stormy irises. "Wow, you really do look like her. Anyhow, is there anything you need while you've got my attention here? Just name whatever you need and it'll be yours."
"Well, I kinda wish that I could get in touch with Danner, the guy that I was interested in before this giant war started. He hasn't been answering any of my messages on the extranet. That's kind of the reason why I was talking to Specialist Traynor."
"You Lawson women are so resourceful," he joked. "We may be able to use some of the Alliance's resources to find out about him. Where was he living, do you know?"
"Freedom's Progress. But that wasn't the reason why I wanted to talk to you, Commander. I know how important the war is right now, and what I want isn't the same as what I need, which you've already given me. Doing that would be selfish."
"And you're practical just like her, too. You uh…don't have any biotic talents either, do you?"
"Father didn't expose me to element zero, no. Miranda took me away before he could start to do that."
"Well, I'd better go get ready for our next fight. I'll never hear the end of it from your sister if my medi-gel supply isn't filled to the brim." He made his way to the lift.
"Thanks again, Commander.