Shepard listened to what the Illusive Man had to say without interruption and wearing her carefully blank mask.
"Welcome back Shepard." He nodded to her. Tapping the end of his cigarette over the ashtray in the arm rest of his chair that was more like a modern day throne. His 'throne room' was a darkened room with little in the way of features bar an elegant holographic console that surrounded him and the clear view of the backdrop, a rather magnificent blue fiery gas giant that was seen through filters to enable a pristine picture of it. It was all geared towards a theatrical show of ultimate power.
Shepard would have shot him right between the eyes if she was physically standing in his presence, "Illusive Man." she greeted him neutrally.
"How are you feeling?" He attempted civility and it was clear he wasn't used to the concept.
"I've had better wake up calls, had worse too." She shrugged nonchalantly.
He smirked, a lopsided movement of his mouth that might have been considered charming in his youth and though he maintained an air of good looks it was all lost in the unnatural, mechanical blue eyes that were utterly soulless. "Good to hear, the galaxy needs you Shepard."
"I hear I cost you a substantial amount of credits. You could have trained an army for what you spent on me. Why'd you do it?" She asked cautiously.
"Because Humanity is under attack. The Council refuses to acknowledge the threat and the Alliance's hands are tied, not to mention there are remarkably few people who know what you and I know." He looked to her pointedly, getting to business quickly as it was clear she was in no mood for chit chat.
"Let me guess, the Reapers are up to something that you need me for." It was the only logical thing. The Council had wanted to blame the attack on the Citadel on Saren and the Geth, no mention of the Reapers when she'd been alive so it was no wonder that without her it was easier to sweep it under the carpet.
"Indeed. Someone is abducting entire human colonies out in the Terminus." He paused and waited for the response, it was ever so slight but her eyes darkened and her lips pursed a little tighter. "The Council and Alliance are simply blaming slavers and pirates, it's much easier that way. However, hundreds of thousands of humans have been taken without any sign of a fight taking place. There is no evidence whatsoever left behind, not a weapon scorch, not a drop of blood. The people have just vanished." he piqued her curiosity. "I believe it's the Collectors working as agents of the Reapers."
"And what makes you think it's Reapers? Last I checked they wanted to wipe us all out not harvest us." Shepard asked slowly as she processed this information. She knew very little about the Collectors other than they were a reclusive species that stayed out in the Terminus in small numbers, she wasn't even sure where they came from or what their home world was called, if they even had one.
"We've never truly known their intentions nor understood how they think. Besides this focussed attention only came about after you killed one of them." he paused to take a drag from his cigarette to let her comprehend that.
Shepard stood for a moment, "The Reapers would be the only ones who have the technology to subdue entire colonies without a fight." she mused carefully, "The abductions are definitely something I'd be willing to investigate. If I find evidence of Collectors or Reapers I'll be willing to put aside my dislike of your organization and work with you to stop them. If I do not find evidence, I walk and you have no claim over my expensive arse." She looked him firmly in the eye as she made herself very clear in where she stood, that she didn't give a damn about what he put in to get her alive and wasn't about to be used like some lap dog at his bidding.
The Illusive Man was one hundred percent certain of the Collectors and nodded in agreement, "Deal. Freedoms Progress was just hit. I want you to take Miranda and Jacob and investigate it before the Alliance can get there and tamper with any evidence that may have been left behind."
Shepard's eyes blazed red from the cybernetics and anger at the request. "I've been conscious for under six hours after being dead for two years and you..." She seethed but quickly regained control of her anger though her eyes continued to glow. "I understand. Anything else I need to know?" she growled.
"Miranda will brief you on anything further en route. We will talk again once your investigation is complete." He tapped his armrest console and the communication net vanished leaving Shepard in the small circular room.
Gritting her teeth she strode back out to where Miranda and Taylor were prepping for the mission, Miranda going over data while Taylor sorted weapons.
"Do you have everything you need to go over on the way?" Shepard asked softly but stepping easily into her Commander role that had defined the last few years of her life.
"Yes Commander." Miranda had only just heard her approach she moved so quietly even in the armour. She finished downloading the information to her omni-tool.
"When we get on board I'd like to know as much as possible about the other colonies that've been hit previously so I have an idea of what to expect and if there's anything that should grab my attention." she nodded to Miranda.
"Of course Commander." Miranda had anticipated that, after all these abductions had only started happening after her death so she knew nothing about them. She caught the shift in Shepard's figure as she wrestled with obviously wanting to say something.
"Thank you for what you did Miranda, bringing me back..." Shepard began, her voice soft, she was searching for any sign of her old friend in this cold, unfeeling woman.
"It was my job." Miranda asserted quickly, they didn't have time for idle chit chat.
"All the same, you were in charge of the project and gave me back my life. Thank you." Shepard sighed, it was quite clear Miranda didn't want to talk about anything that wasn't mission related. Miri had always been focussed but this was different.
Miranda looked peeved, "I wasn't in charge. If I was I would have done things a little differently." her tone was cold and harsh.
Shepard subtly stiffened, bracing herself for what she had a feeling wasn't something she would be pleased at hearing, "And what would you have done differently?"
"For starters I would have installed a control chip but the Illusive Man didn't want anything that could interfere with your personality in any way. Nothing that would change the woman you were." Miranda flicked off her omni-tool and looked to Shepard coolly waiting for a response.
Shepard was appalled, she felt sick to her stomach that Miranda would even consider doing that to someone. "I see." was all she managed to say through her suddenly dry lips as flashes of Batarians shoving their control chips in the heads of kids on Mindoir and Torfan came to mind immediately.
"The Illusive Man is putting a great deal of trust in you Commander, I hope you don't let us down because I promise you if you do anything to compromise Cerberus or this mission I will kill you myself." Miranda took an almost sick delight in having obviously affected the hero so much.
Shepard's eyes began to glow red as her anger seethed to the surface, "For someone who knows everything there is to know about me, you sure are fucking stupid." she growled her dearest childhood friend.
Miranda's eyes narrowed and she tensed under that fearsome glare that could turn grown men into jelly.
Shepard took a menacing step forward, her biotics flaring with her rage, "Have you ever seen a slaver attack? Have you ever seen those fucking Batarian scum cutting open kids heads and shoving control chips in their brains? Have you ever heard their screams as the whole operation is done in under ten minutes without any anaesthetic or any kind of meds? Hell they barely take the time to shove the skin flap back over the wound. I watched my friends get chipped and so much more." her voice was low, huskier and cold, so very cold.
Miranda lit hers up defensively in an instant, shivers tricking down her spine.
"And you have the gall to stand there with such disdain and arrogance bitching about not being allowed to put a fucking chip in my brain? Threatening to kill me if I don't dance your little game?" her husky voice had dropped again into a menacing snarl that truly did put the fear of Shepard into Miranda. "I came over here to just talk with you, to thank you but clearly you have no fucking intention of working with me." she reached up and firmly tapped Miranda's forehead to which the woman took an instant step back from, "You'd better get your head on straight Miss Lawson because I'm not a lump of meat and tubes anymore thanks to you and being on my shit list is not healthy. It's a very short list in fact because most people on it end up dead." She stepped back and forced down her biotics, "And I really don't want you on that list Miss Lawson so perhaps a little more thought before saying things that compare you to Batarian Slavers." she snapped before turning on her heel and stalking towards Jacob.
Shepard's response shocked her. There were no words for a long moment only her eyes and the set of her jaw. What she saw in those reddened amber eyes was not just anger but hurt, a deep chasm of emotional pain. Miranda frowned as she watched her go, the slight sagging of her shoulders, the heaviness of her footsteps. Surely her words shouldn't have had such a profound effect on the woman who'd made it clear that she hated Cerberus with a passion, surely Shepard understood it was merely a warning. There'd been no need to bring the Batarians... Miranda mentally cursed at her blunder, of course that's where Shepard's mind would have gone at the mention of a control chip. That flash of pain in her eyes had been like the pain of seeing a dear friend turn on her, sure she'd spent two years learning Shepard's file but Shepard had only known her for a few hours. It didn't make sense and Miranda didn't like things that made no sense.
"Taylor, what've we got?" she looked down at the array of weapons on the table, trying very hard to keep her voice calm and not betray the roiling emotions within her.
"Reports say you favour a pair of heavy pistols as your primaries," he picked up a very nice looking Phalanx and held it out to her, "with a sub-machine pistol as backup." he motioned to them on the table.
Shepard looked over it quickly, her experienced eye seeing it was very fine. She clicked it in place on her hip magnetic hook, "What about you and Miranda?" she asked as she began to clip on her weapons.
"I take an assault rifle with the same backups as you, Miranda's primary is the sub and a hand cannon in addition to her badass biotics and tech skills. You really don't want to piss off that woman." He smirked, his voice low enough that she couldn't hear from over at her console.
Shepard returned his conspiratorial smirk, "I can imagine."
Miranda joined them shortly to gear up and they were moving out in under ten minutes for Freedom's Progress. The true test of whether or not Shepard was going to play ball with Cerberus or kick them out on their arses for which Shepard had no qualms in doing. Especially after what Miranda had made abundantly clear to hear.