Chapter Fourteen
The skies of London, U.K.
Kodiak UT-47A shuttle, 0802h
"You're a sight for sore eyes, Shepard," Anderson gave his underling a large beam and stood up from his seat. Shepard almost collapsed into it, and he threw himself against the back of the bucket seat in complete exhaustion.
"Thank you, sir. I'd shake hands with you, but," Shepard gasped and activated his omni-tool for another dose of medi-gel. "Think I'll just have a rest first."
"You must be Miranda Lawson." The admiral turned and offered his hand to her. She accepted it and gave him one firm shake before reclaiming her own.
"Never thought that I'd be glad to step onto an Alliance vehicle," she marveled.
"And I never imagined that I'd have the services of Cerberus' former second in command. It's good to see that your eyes were finally opened about the Illusive Man."
"Using weapons from your technologically superior enemies isn't always evil. He just went too far, probably because of those implants. The Cerberus that we were all fighting; that wasn't truly the organization that I had joined." Her eyes traveled over to Shepard's, who seemed to be mulling over something in his own mind.
"True enough. Look at the Thanix cannons that the Turians helped us develop. Those came from Sovereign's wreckage."
"And so did EDI," Shepard agreed. "She's been a lifesaver."
After a moment of quiet reflection among the shuttle's occupants, the officer who sported a red beret with the Alliance logo on it spoke up.
"We'll be sure to find a good place for someone with your talents, Ms. Lawson," an Alliance soldier with a London accent told her and gave her a nod. "Major Coats, at your service."
"I also have the ability to cloak, so I could provide some scouting reports, if need be." She sighed and brought her omni-tool to life. "Not sure why the damned thing malfunctioned in the last fight. Maybe I need to calibrate the software. I don't suppose you have a working extranet connection at your base of operations, do you?"
"We do," Coats informed her. "But it's a bit dodgy. You have to stay within a certain range. One of our com techs can assist you with that once we arrive."
"I was born here; hope I won't die here, too," Anderson announced despondently. "But Shepard, you've done it. Hammer will be landing very soon."
"How many?" Vega asked.
"Less than 50%, it seems."
"That few?" Garrus inquired. "Why?"
"The fighting here has been the worst that I've seen anywhere," Anderson told them all and rubbed his forehead. "The last time I was visiting this city…I don't even recognize it any more."
"It's remarkable that Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament are still standing. I was inside that damned tower for three days, sniping at nearly anything that moved," Coats commented.
"Well, it's only because of Anderson's leadership that we've come this far and that the Resistance has been able to hold on for this long," Shepard finally spoke up. "It's too damn bad that it took a war like this to bring the whole galaxy together," Anderson muttered.
"Shepard's the one who did that," Vega reminded them.
"Yes, and that's the reason why I ordered you to leave. I hope you realize that, Shepard. You bring hope to these men and women; about forty percent of them have never even held a weapon before."
"I don't hold a candle to you, sir," Shepard said. His face became a question mark as he wondered why his gun rack seemed lighter than usual; then he remembered that he'd left his assault rifle behind to go chasing after Miranda. Oops. "I think that I might need a replacement for my mattock rifle when we get to the FOB, sir. I may have left it behind in the field."
"I can't promise that we'll have anything better than the standard Alliance Elkoss Combine avenger model, but we'll pull some strings and see if that's possible," Coats told him.
"We'll all be needing lots of heat sinks, too," Garrus informed them.
"And grenades," Vega added.
The shuttle came to a stop behind a barricade to drop them all off, and everyone exited the vehicle. "Coats and I will be upstairs in the west building," Anderson pointed in the opposite direction. "We'll meet you there. Ms. Lawson, Major Coats will be giving you your assignment in due time. We'll contact you on your radio with the details soon. Patch your radio into the following-"
"I'm aware of the Alliance's communication protocols," Miranda interrupted him.
Anderson's jaw tensed for a moment, but then relaxed as he remembered that she was there to help. "Shepard, in the east building is our coms specialist. He can interface you with whomever you'd like to speak with, in case some of your team didn't leave the Normandy."
"They'll all be here in person," Garrus announced proudly. "In fact, a couple of the engineers said that they wished they could come."
"As if either one of them could shoot," Vega joked. "Come on, Scars, let's give Loco a moment or two with Legs."
"Lieutenant," Shepard warned him, and Miranda rolled her eyes.
"I've been called far worse, Shepard," she sardonically remarked and made eye contact with the younger marine. "Let him keep digging his own grave."
"Uh, she's not serious, is she?" Vega wondered and began to slowly back away with his arms raised in surrender.
"Age comes with wisdom, Vega," Shepard laughed. "No, I want to have a few words with you first." He motioned to his pupil to come closer, and Miranda withdrew herself from them.
"I'll be over by the entrance to the FOB, Shepard," she informed him and switched on her omni-tool once more.
"Commander, I…I want to apologize for the shit that I was sayin' earlier. You know, about Legs and all. Guess it was the stress talkin'. I didn't mean…-" Vega began.
"It's all right, Vega. I know what it's like to have to follow somebody whose motives you weren't entirely sure of or didn't agree with," Shepard reassured him and gave him a pat on the forearm. "I was out of line to cut you off like that, too."
"So, I guess this is it, no? One last push forward, Commander?"
"What, no Loco?" Shepard gave him a tiny smirk.
Vega sighed and hung his head. "I didn't know what I'd feel coming back here. I just knew that I wanted to, but now…it all seems so-"
"Cities can be rebuilt. They just need the souls and the will of the people to make it happen. That's what we're fighting for, Lieutenant."
"But what if this is all just some lollapalooza before the shit hits the fan, you know? My pastor once told my youth group about a battle, a spiritual and I think a physical battle that's gonna be huge. He called it Armageddon. I can't think of a better term for what we're going through right now than that."
"Who won?"
"Well, the good side, of course. But are we on the good side, Commander? We don't know what this mega weapon's gonna do. Is it gonna wipe out only the Reapers or will it make a big old black hole that's gonna suck everything into it?"
Shepard let a finger glide across his upper lip as he pondered Vega's question for a few seconds.
"I'd bet on the fact that it'll only destroy the Reapers, Vega. The millions of scientists that have not only from our time but from the previous cycles before worked their collaborative asses off to make sure that this won't happen. Will it? I sure as hell hope not; I've got some land on New Canton..."
"Wanna make some babies with Legs and get a farm of your own running?" Vega's crooked smile returned as he relaxed.
"Do you see her as being the type to sit on a stool milking the cow or bending over to pluck out the weeds from a vegetable garden for hours upon end?"
"Aw, hell no. Can she even cook?"
"I'm not gonna go there," Shepard laughed and shook his head 'no'. "But, hey, Vega, no matter what happens, it's been my pleasure to be your commander. You're a good man and a great soldier." He stuck a hand out towards his underling, who pumped it up and down energetically.
"And I hope it won't be the last. Good luck out there, Loco."
Shepard made his way over to the east side of the building, said his goodbyes to his fellow squad mates from the previous mission aboard the Normandy, as well as Cortez, and approached Ashley. Before he could begin the conversation, a private rushed up to him and delivered a vindicator assault rifle to him with a wordless salute. "Hey, Commander, it looks like you've still got some friends in high places. How do you feel?" Williams inquired.
"You took the words right outta my mouth, Ash," he chuckled. "A part of me wants to get this shit outta the way, and another part of me is begging me not to go up that ramp over there. I'd rather not let her out of my sight, but we all have to make sacrifices." He signaled her attention towards the FOB and Miranda.
And I'm getting tired of being the one who's making the majority of them. Shepard brushed away his inner conflict and gave Williams a thin smile.
"How about you?"
"I was thinking about Kaidan just a little while ago, and how he sacrificed himself so that I could live, well, so that we all might live," Ashley's lips drooped. "I hope that he'd be proud of us all."
"Yeah. He would be, Ash. If he were here right now, he'd also have that spectre title and probably be concerned about how some of his biotic students are faring a few klicks from us. But he is here, Ash." Shepard pointed to her heart, then his. "Let's honor his name today."
"I'll be more than happy to shove those Reaper bastards' tentacles up their asses yelling out his name." She paused for a moment when she saw him incredulously shake his head and shrugged. "On second thought, guess I'll just fight with honor."
"Always the soldier first and a lady second. What a spitfire you are."
"Wars aren't won with smiles and kisses. That's generally how they get started. Sir," she added as an afterthought.
His forehead crinkled with question. "How exactly-"
"Saren was kissing the Reapers' asses? Or at least, he was trying to."
"I see your point, Ash. Well, have you two uh…come to terms?" he motioned with his head over to Miranda, who was still preoccupied with her omni-tool.
"There are some things that won't change in this galaxy, Shepard, no matter how this fight turns out," Williams shook her head. "Lawson and I would still never actually get along."
"You still hate her, huh?"
"No. But you won't find either of us chatting over lattes or getting our nails done together."
"What about target practice?"
She actually seemed to think over that suggestion and tilted her head to the side. "Hmm, nope. Not interested. But she loves you, that I do know and can respect her now that I understand a little more about what makes her tick. She's not a bad shot for a civilian, either." With a much lower voice, she came closer to his ear. "Why do you keep stroking her ego and telling her that?"
"I don't know how good her hearing is, Ash," he whispered back and gestured to Miranda, who by all outward appearances, was oblivious of their conversation.
"So…I guess this is it, then." Williams sighed. "Semper Fi, Commander." She came to attention and saluted him.
"Your grandfather would be proud of you, Ash. So am I; you've earned every single one of those stripes on the shoulder of that uniform. Now, let's go kick some Reaper ass."
"You bet, Commander." He saluted her as well, took off his goggles, and jogged over to Miranda.
"So, did you get your orders…I mean…did they find a place for you yet?"
"I'll be with the 102nd Marine division; they're located a bit north of our current position. Samara is with them."
"Well, I'll be damned; I thought that she'd be supporting the Asari commandoes."
"Anyone who's got biotics has been allocated to barrier support. They're that desperate now," she shrugged. "You know, I heard that they're even taking in people who used to work for Cerberus."
He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Even I did at one point, too, so it's only natural that they'd keep going down that path." His face grew more somber. "I'm glad that you and your sister came with us. If you hadn't, my only means of communication with you would be over that vid channel."
"I am as well. Christ, that mission on Horizon seemed like it happened years ago. And it's good that Ori wanted to help, too."
"I'm grateful…that I…that I'm able to get to hold you in my arms one last time."
She bit her lower lip with her upper teeth. "Now don't you think like that, Shepard. You can't lose that fire of yours."
"I haven't. I'm just...facing the music," he shrugged his shoulders. "We still have no idea of what this device is gonna do. I'm hoping that it won't be a giant doomsday machine and decimate the planet. Blowing up that Batarian system was hard enough."
"Wasn't that done with just an asteroid?"
"Yeah. Wouldn't that be easier for us to do now instead of all this?" His eyes glanced upward into the sky. "Take thousands of asteroids, give them propulsion, and launch 'em all at the Reapers in space. Then on the ground, we evacuate everyone and well…at least we'd know what the outcome would be."
"Regardless of what the Catalyst does do, you've done so much for the galaxy that should Earth explode and that destroy the Reapers, Shepard…"
"Yeah?"
"The only regret that I can think of today is that we didn't meet sooner." Her hand came up to stroke his cheek.
"Really? Would you have fallen in love with me before when I was blowing up Cerberus bases and wreaking havoc upon all your hard work?"
"Shepard, I didn't fall for you because of your actions alone. You were only carrying out the orders given to you from the Alliance brass; as was I in the past from the Illusive Man. I fell for a stubborn ass that is sometimes too sentimental for his own good and one who loves me for who I am as a person, not as an asset or some prize to be won in a contest." She traced the outline of his lips. "And it wasn't my hard work; those bases were under someone else's command. You on the other hand, certainly are."
He turned his head to kiss her fingers.
"Miranda, if you survive this, what do you hope to do next?"
"One thing at a time."
His eyes pleaded with her for a real answer. "Please," he whispered.
"Oh, I don't know, maybe…start another school like Grissom Academy or something. I did divert a lot of funds to the Alliance. Maybe I'll make an exceptionally large donation with a request to do so."
"Do you think that you'd ever want to go into teaching yourself?"
"Perhaps I'd consider advising the advanced students, but teaching basics to the beginners just wouldn't be my cup of tea. My patience only goes so far, as you know." Miranda reached out to draw his head closer to hers; the crowns of both of their foreheads touched. "I'd also like to rebuild some of our colonies. We'll obviously need some new planets to live upon since the majority of our cities have been decimated like this. Oriana will likely want to head up that project using Father's fortune. And what about you, Shepard? What are your hopes and your dreams if you survive this?"
"To be with you for the rest of my life. And doing whatever you'd like with you."
She lowered her eyes from his and hung her head. "There's one thing, Shepard, that…" her voice wavered. "That I can't do. I've tried to…-"
"I already know what it is, Miranda." He lifted her chin and forced her to gaze into his eyes. "And I don't think any less of you for what you might not be able to do."
"But how…?" A few tears welled up within her eyes. Then reality dawned upon her. "T'Soni told you. How long have you known about this?"
"She didn't blatantly tell me this; I read over a few transcripts that she had run across that had been in the old Shadow Broker's dossiers. He had one on every single team member that was on the Normandy, along with a file on the Illusive Man, Anderson, and Commander Bailey. I've known about this for probably…oh…almost a year now," Shepard admitted. "Your file mentioned that you did try to conceive a child. But I don't care about that."
"You don't care that I tried or-"
"I mean to say that I don't think any less of you for your present condition. And that's why I worded what I originally said with the word 'might'. With all the miracles of science that are out there nowadays, I'm sure that they'd be able to fix it if that's what you want. Besides, there are many other ways to have a family should we both decide to go upon that avenue one day. I love you just the way that you are, Miranda. "
"Really?" she wiped the tears away before they could start to run down her face. "You still want me…?"
"You make me feel human, Miranda. Everyone else puts me up on a pedestal, almost like I'm some god or something," he said and made a motion over his head to demonstrate his point. "But with you, I don't have to be the savior of the galaxy. I don't have to give you a deeply emotional and poignant speech to get a response out of you."
She laid her head upon his shoulder, and they just held one another tightly for a while. Gradually, his cocky attitude came back, and he gave her a cavalier grin. "In fact, all I have to do is hit that spot right there beneath your jaw to make you hot for me." With that, he pointed to her neck, tilted it upward, and went in for the kill.
The gasp that emitted from her mouth caused him to smile into her neck; she pushed him away and bent her head towards his so that she could feel his lips upon hers once more. Both of their bodies emitted a cobalt field as their touch merged.
The sirens that were constantly blaring about them faded into nothing as well as did all the scattered gunfire. All that either lover experienced melded into one another as they explored one another's lips and mouths. What had begun as a kiss of crazed hazy lust transmogrified into a true sensation of two becoming one.
Both Shepard's and Miranda's earpieces mildly buzzed with Anderson's voice. He truly didn't understand or care about what was being said; he was so focused upon Miranda. She tore herself just inches away from his mouth. "I think…Anderson's trying to-"
He hungrily reached for her again and made contact with her lips as if he were dying of thirst. When he was satisfied that he had practically drowned her with desire, he finally let go, and she struggled to keep her balance in his arms. "Shepard, are you there?" Anderson's voice came through to him clearly this time.
"Yeah," he acknowledged his superior breathlessly.
"What's your 20?"
"I'll be up to the FOB in just a minute, Anderson." Although it pained her to do so, she slowly released herself from their embrace. "I'd better get up that ramp now before I lose the will to continue," he muttered.
"You'd better not, Commander. The Reapers are nothing compared to my fury." Her eyes narrowed as she made a gesture towards the FOB with her head.
"And there's one more thing that you need to promise me."
"What's that?"
"Back on the Collector mission, Mordin told me that Cerberus operatives are all outfitted with cyanide capsules in their molars." He paused to study her for a moment. "Do you still have yours?"
She didn't answer him at first but rather looked away.
"Answer me, Miri," he ordered her in a gentle but firm tone.
"Yes," she sighed. "I still have it."
"Promise me that you'll never use it, no matter what becomes of me."
"Shepard…-" She attempted to turn away to hide the tears that had begun to fall, but he stopped her and wiped some of them away. He gave her one final nervous but gradual kiss, cupping one of her cheeks and rubbed the pads of his fingers along it.
"Don't use it," was all he said afterward. "I love you, Miri."
She licked her lips and ran her fingers through his hair one final time. "I…won't." Even more bittersweet tears began to fill her eyes. "Damnit," she soughed. "Now…finish this…and find me."
With one final backward look, like a good soldier, he followed his orders and trudged up the wreckage to the FOB.
THE END?
**A/N**-It has truly been my pleasure to write this work of fiction, and I hope everyone has enjoyed reading it. Thank you to everyone for your kind feedback. It is still warmly appreciated as my 'pen' mires its way through those practically endless paragraphs.
For those of you who are curious, yes, I am a supporter of the indoctrination theory. There are flaws with this theory, but you know what? There are also flaws with humans in general, not to mention the 3 "different" endings. I still highly respect the writers at Bioware for 95% of Mass Effect 3, and this novel is dedicated to their hard work, which is why I'm not going to progress the novel from this point. I hope that I've done the game some justice, despite the fact that some of us Miranda fans were thoroughly disappointed with the overall weakening of her character in the game.
The remark that Shepard makes towards Joker about 'playing chicken' is a reference to my earlier Mass Effect novel spin-off of Star Trek's "The Trouble with Tribbles". It's not intended to poke fun at the ending that the BW writers created. Besides, "playing chicken" would involve Joker flying the Normandy into a Reaper, not away from the effects of the Crucible.
I may have softened up Miranda too much in some people's eyes, and I make no apologies; this is my interpretation. However, I'm certainly willing to listen to anyone's differing opinions.
I was just listening to some music recently and found a very appropriate song that Miranda might listen to if Shepard sacrificed himself for the galaxy. "To Where You Are" by Josh Groban. If you haven't heard it before, it's an extremely beautiful ballad, and I'd recommend doing so.
This particular Shepard's first name is Angel, and I'm not sure how big that avatar by my profile is, so if you want the identity code to see him for yourself on the big screen, here it is:
531.G8D.L7D...6CK.C55.2LD.E36.