A/N: Very light time-skip from the last chapter. Something between four to six weeks, just to push the plot forward.
Chapter 141 - The Admiral's Daughter
"Damn, you pick up on this stuff way too fast," Morgan laments, watching Liara masterfully moving her pieces across the chessboard to trap her hapless king. A few days ago, having a rare free afternoon, she had actually dared to go downstairs and explore the basement, where the Alliance staff had brought some personal items of the previous owners of the house. She had avoided touching the more private belongings, but the wooden chess set had attracted her attention immediately and she had decided to borrow it for the time being. The set had been almost complete save for a pair of missing black pawns, quickly replaced by food cubes.
"This is oddly similar to some of the ancient asari board games, that are by now nearly forgotten," Liara remarks, smug look on her radiant, victorious face. "Not to mention that my scientific mind gives me a distinct advantage."
"Yes, yes, your bondmate is just a dumb marine grunt, we get it," Shepard chuckles, pretending to be upset. "But a good marine never gives up, so I will not accept my probably inevitable defeat just yet!" But before she can make her move to withdraw her patriarch to safety there is a soft beep on her omni-tool. "What the... at this time of the evening, again?" she accepts the incoming voice-call immediately, however.
"We urgently need to talk, Commander. Can we drop by in fifteen minutes?" it is Miranda's voice, firm and insistent.
"Sure, what's the-" Shepard is about to ask, but Miranda hangs up on her, rather rudely, making Morgan more worried than annoyed, knowing that something important is afoot. "Geez, what the hell is going on now?"
Liara is already on her way to switch on the Alliance news feeds, starting to browse through the messages, not finding anything particularly exciting, just more of the usual patting on the back reports of Alliance reclaiming more and more territories, preaching patience regarding the dwindling supplies and celebrating the war heroes, almost in all cases coming from the Third or First Fleet, under the command of Admiral Singh and his loyalists. "There's nothing here that would explain Miranda being so anxious," the asari finally says. "So it must be about something that the Alliance would not dare to report about..."
"Well, we won't know anything more until she gets here anyway," Shepard shrugs, dimming the lights in the living room and taking her place to stand at the window, looking outside in anticipation of an arriving shuttle or skycar. Time slowly crawls by, but there is no movement in the air, until suddenly two shadows swiftly cross the small yard in front of the house and arrive on their doorstep, having appeared literally out of nowhere.
Liara is the first at the doors to let their sudden guests inside, Morgan awaiting them in the living room. "Miranda, Kasumi, what brings you around at this hour?" the asari wonders, greeting the pair warmly.
"The shuttle," Miranda responds curtly, stepping into the living room while Kasumi lingers a little behind, taking off her boots before daring to enter further into the house, Shepard inwardly chuckling about the obviously deeply cultural thing, wondering if the master thief follows her ritual when breaking into houses with the intention of stealing from their owners.
"Hey Shep!" Kasumi grins, finally entering as well together with Liara, her eyes glued to the slowly growing bump of the asari's stomach. "Which month are you in, Liara? I can never remember!"
"Early in the sixth, Kasumi," Liara smiles in reply. "But from how miss Lawson barged in here, I gather that you are not here to discuss my pregnancy."
"What? Oh..." Miranda looks a little confused, then quickly gathering herself. "I'm sorry, I... have too much on my mind right now, I didn't meant to come off as insulting."
"Don't worry about it, Miri, Liara was just teasing," Shepard grins, motioning for the former Cerberus operative to sit down on the sofa. Liara perches next to her while Kasumi chooses to sit down on the thick sheep rug, legs crossed in a meditating posture, Shepard remaining standing as she waits for Miranda to start talking.
"You recall the news reports from a while ago about Admiral LeClerc being murdered, yes?" Miranda begins to speak, receiving a nod from Shepard.
"Yes, those traitorous aliens of Eclipse were to blame, obviously," Liara speaks sourly.
"Quite. Well, I can tell you that it was done by the conspirators firstly to punish the deserter, secondly to use it as a method of intimidation against those who are becoming disillusioned with fighting their fellow humans instead of focusing on rebuilding the nearly uninhabitable planet. The move was aimed at Admiral Trevor McIllis of the Sixth Fleet in particular, by my reports he was beginning to seriously consider giving open support to Hackett's message of peace."
"I can't remember this McIllis," Morgan shrugs. "But please tell me that he grew a spine and was instead repulsed by such crude and brutal attempt to bring him in line."
"That is exactly what happened. Admiral Singh miscalculated," Miranda says. "McIllis was livid with them and threatened to sever all ties and expose their conspiracy. However, Singh and his lackeys have a trump card to use against McIllis. The admiral has a daughter, Caitlyn, and it seems that Singh's people have got to her before we could react and bring her to safety. However, an opportunity has presented itself, thanks to Kasumi..." She points at the master thief, urging her to explain herself.
"Right. Well, I managed to track down Caitlyn," Kasumi quickly explains. "She was working in one of the many hastily rebuilt hospitals in London, using their meager resources to save as many lives as possible, until this morning a squad of marines came in and dragged her away. I've tracked down the location of the bunker she is being held in."
"They are using the girl as a leverage to control the admiral?" Liara asks, fuming. "That is beyond treacherous! Something has to be done to help her!"
"Have they bothered to state any reason for taking her?" Morgan demands to know.
"Something about smuggling medical supplies and trading them to mercenaries for personal gain," Miranda shrugs. "Obviously a fabrication, but everything's being kept hush-hush anyway, so I don't know why they even cared to come up with some false justification."
"Do we know anything more about those holding the girl? Numbers and such?" Morgan asks.
"Not too much," Kasumi shrugs. "The bunker is fairly well defended, but I spotted several potential points of entry even from casual observation. The opposition numbers are between two to three dozen Alliance marines, under the command of Lieutenant-Commander Harris."
"Never heard of him," Morgan says. "Shit, this could be complicated. Hate hostage situations. We need to get her out of there, but I also don't want to just slaughter three dozen marines and maybe get this Caitlyn girl killed."
"If I wanted that kind of outcome, I would have asked the resistance to handle it, or cashed in my last favors with the mercs," Miranda scoffs. "I came to you, Shepard, because I wanted to solve this with minimal bloodshed."
"To act against Singh so openly would mean placing myself... and by extension Liara and our child in danger," Morgan grumbles, starting to feel a little worried. "Still, I cannot sit idly, knowing that this innocent young woman is being held hostage, possibly mistreated."
"I think your relationship with Singh is already ruined, so that's no longer a concern," Miranda says. "He plans to begin a smear campaign against you and to some extent also against Hackett."
"Yeah, that 'show' is going to air in a few days, I've seen some leaks on the extranet," Kasumi adds, sounding a little upset. "It's... pretty bad. Shep, do yourself a favor and don't watch it, okay?"
"She won't be able to stop herself," Liara says gloomily, Morgan silently agreeing with her bondmate's reaction, knowing that the asari is assuredly correct.
"I would feel much better if you and Liara relocated back to the Citadel," Miranda says, sounding deeply concerned.
"It can't be that bad yet, can it? I don't think it is," Morgan shakes her head. "Come on, I didn't flinch when staring down the Harbinger, I'm not going to run from some Alliance separatist bastards, that would be humiliating."
"Well, if Morgan's not leaving, then I'm not leaving either," Liara adds sternly.
Miranda sighs deeply. "Well, have it your way. I have delivered my warning."
"We didn't decide how we want to play it with Caitlyn," Kasumi reminds them.
"Well, this Harris is just LC, so technically I outrank him," Shepard muses, uncertain. "We could try diplomacy first. Also, because using diplomacy after the shooting is over with kind of doesn't really work... but maybe I can talk him down. Or, you know, use an opportunity to remind his marines that they are executing clearly illegal order by holding a civilian hostage."
"And if you can't talk them down?" Liara asks, wringing her hands nervously.
"Well, I want to give those who don't agree with holding a hostage the opportunity to get out of there. Then we go in and mop up. Cut all comms going out of the bunker, disable all vid feeds, preferably use cover of darkness. We cannot allow ourselves to be identified."
"If you show up there prior to the attack to speak with this Lieutenant-Commander Harris, they will surely know that you were involved," Liara looks at her, deeply worried.
"What they know and what they can prove are two different things. Besides, they already know I oppose them. I'm more worried about Miri and Kasumi not getting recognized," Morgan says.
"And what about me?" Liara asks.
"Are you kidding?" Morgan blinks, pointing at her bondmate's swelling belly. "There's your answer. You're staying behind and that is final, don't be ridiculous by trying to argue this!"
"I would advise sending Liara to the Citadel or at least having someone here with her, just to be on the safe side," Miranda adds, Shepard nodding in quick assent, ignoring Liara's scowl when she is completely left out of the decision making.
"Yes, I'll ask one of our friends to come down here and stay with Liara until we are done with our rescue op," Morgan says, already typing something on her omni-tool.
"I hate it when you ignore me like this," Liara fumes, giving Morgan an angry stare, which she simply deflects with a goofy, lopsided smile, making Liara instantly relent and sigh in reluctant acceptance of her fate.
"By the way, Jondum is going to join us too," Kasumi speaks, smiling fondly.
"Oh, excellent," Morgan says. "That's four of us. Where is he, by the way? Why do you never bring him with you?"
"He's sitting not far in a shuttle and looking out for potential trouble... not that we're expecting anything," Kasumi replies. "We got out several blocks away and made our way here on foot, just in case. Can't be too careful."
"Ah yes, I was wondering about that," Morgan nods. "I'll ask Tali and Garrus too... yes, it's risky to get them involved in something like this, in case it goes public, but... just the four of us against three dozen marines? I think we will need them."
"You could just take me with you, with my biotics you would not need Tali and Garrus," Liara suggests hopefully.
"Nice try, babe," Shepard shakes her head, quenching all Liara's hopes. "Sorry, but you're in the sixth month, and that belly is starting to really grow. If I took you with me on a mission right now, do you have any idea what your father would do to me? There wouldn't be anything of me left over for burial."
"...you might be correct about that, yes," the asari finally sighs, admitting defeat.
"One thing, Shep. We need to act on this real quick before they move her again... which they just might do," Kasumi suggests.
"First thing tomorrow morning?" Morgan asks. "I need to give heads-up to Tali and Garrus, anyway. Or... don't tell me, you wanted me to rush there now?"
"That would have been preferable," Miranda grumbles. "But I suppose you are right, it can wait that long. We will pick you up at 6am."
"No, I need to show up in a proper Alliance shuttle if I am to attempt diplomacy first. I'll call on Cortez again," Shepard decides. "You two, Bau, Tali and Garrus can follow me in another shuttle and land somewhere out of sight. I'll join you after I have stopped shouting uselessly at them, and then we can plan out the regrettably inevitable shooting..."
"That sounds acceptable, Commander," Miranda nods. "Well, since we need to be up early, we better disappear and let you grab a few hours of rest," she adds, rising from sofa. "Come on, Kasumi, let's get back to the shuttle."
"See how she's always bossing me around?" the petite thief grins, jumping to her feet and rushing after her friend. "Goodnight Shep, Liara!" she waves, dashing out of the house, having pulled her boots back on.
"Well... that was interesting," Shepard remarks, tiredly rubbing her brow, until she notices Liara giving her piercing and insistent gaze. "Uh... yes?"
"You still haven't told me who is going to be my... minder?" Liara scowls. "Cortez? Traynor? Perhaps Wrex?"
"Uh... actually, Aria already agreed to come down for a visit tomorrow," Morgan explains helpfully, then feeling a little worried as her bondmate looks more than just a little stunned.
"Aria? You... you want me to spend time with... Aria? After all that..." Liara swallows heavily, trying to recompose herself. "Why? Why Aria?" she only manages a while later.
"Err... why not? With her around, you two would be able to kick ass of anyone who tries something," Morgan ponders, rubbing her brow in confusion. "Or... wait, were we still supposed to be angry about that, uh, recording thing? I thought it was water under the bridge by now."
"Easy for you to say, you won't have to spend several hours alone with Aria," Liara gives Morgan a mildly annoyed glare. "Unless you want to trade places, that is."
"I wouldn't have any problems with that," Morgan shrugs. "And it sounds like it might actually be a good thing for you to spend some time with Aria, maybe you two can work out some of those issues between yourselves that Tevos spoke about."
"I don't have any issues with Aria that need... working out!" Liara protests.
"So you don't actually have any arguments against spending time with her then," Morgan says, sighing when Liara still does not look convinced. "Okay, fine... I agree, that was a bit of a jerk move dropping it on you like that. I'm sorry, love... here, I'll cancel it," she says quickly, activating her omni-tool, yelping in surprise as Liara swiftly grabs her hand to stop her from sending the message.
"No, by the goddess, that would be exceedingly rude, you cannot do that to someone like Aria!" Liara shakes her head fervently. "It is... fine, I can deal with her, I'm sure. I just wish you had consulted me before making the decision. For that alone, I am tempted to make you sleep on the downstairs sofa tonight."
"But... that large upstairs bed will be cold without me keeping the other side warm," Morgan argues. "Imagine yourself rolling over to the other side and finding it unpleasantly cold. That would be simply horrible, no?"
"I will need a more persuasive argument to allow you to share my bed tonight, Shepard," Liara says imperiously, crossing arms on her chest and giving her a narrow-eyed, challenging stare.
"Uh... let me think," Morgan rubs her chin, thinking desperately. "Hey, you said that your feet were hurting from walking around so much earlier in the day. How does a long, gentle foot massage sounds to you, love?"
"Hmm... so you have been paying attention, that works in your favor," Liara appears ponderous, continuing to regard Shepard with a measuring stare, but then breaking out in a forgiving smile. "Very well, Shepard... I accept your terms. But this better be the best foot massage that I have ever received in my life..."
"So, Shepard... shooting it is?" Garrus asks, observing the Alliance bunker through the scope of his sniper rifle, sitting in relative safety on the roof of a partly collapsed administrative building couple of blocks away from the place where Singh's loyalists hold their captive.
Shepard has just returned from her brief visit to the bunker, brought back by the Normandy shuttle, having first made a wide loop to convince the bunker defenders that she has departed for good. Now, as she rejoins Garrus and the others in hiding, her face is creased with anger and disgust. "That LC is a brainwashed moron, that's for sure," she curses. "Makes sense, they wouldn't have entrusted this to someone whose loyalty they doubted. Still, I had hoped some of the marines would reconsider, because I certainly shouted loud enough for the entire bunker to overhear what were the consequences for following illegal orders, such as holding a civilian hostage."
"What did they respond to your accusations, Shepard?" Spectre Jondum Bau asks, standing next to Kasumi, the shorter human girl looking up at the taller salarian.
"They even denied that the Admiral's daughter was on the premises," Shepard snarls. "But Harris did not consent to showing me the entire facility, I don't even remember what he cited as grounds for denying my request. I'm guessing she's being held somewhere on the lower levels."
"I guess we should start doing some more serious recon then," Kasumi nods, not sounding her usual cheerful self as she pokes around the stealth generator of her suit, testing it.
"This must be really hard for you, Shepard," Tali says, climbing out of the nondescript grey brown shuttle with no ID that Bau has used to fly them all in. "They are all Alliance, same as you. Are you truly prepared to wipe them all out to the last and leave no witnesses?"
"Damn it, I don't want to, but I did give them a fair chance to reconsider!" Morgan exclaims, starting to pace around restlessly. "As for them being Alliance... I don't know, the Alliance I enlisted with didn't stand for things like these. If it did, I would have handed my uniform back long time ago."
"Try looking at them the same way as at the Cerberus troopers," Miranda speaks resolutely, last to leave the shuttle behind Tali. "They were indoctrinated by the Reaper tech, these bastards don't even have that as excuse, they are ruled by their greed, spinelessness and willful ignorance of the evil they are committing."
"Sometimes it's just very hard not to lose faith in humanity, Miranda," Shepard remarks, feeling angry about having ended up in a scenario she had hoped to never face again.
"I know what you mean, but we can't turn our backs on them. There's nothing inherently good or evil about any species in the galaxy, humans included, but everything that is decent about our people needs to be nurtured and preserv-"
"We've got movement!" Garrus suddenly shouts, interrupting Miranda's unexpectedly passionate speech. "Something's happening down there!"
"What?" Shepard blinks, grabbing her own Widow and peering through the scope. There is definitely something going on in the Alliance bunker, she can see that the massive gate has been lowered, even if for the moment nobody is emerging. "I don't get it-" just then, a loud burst of weapons fire can be overheard, coming from the facility.
"Is someone attacking them?" Tali asks, having to rely on the others to tell her what is happening. "Could it be the resistance or the mercenaries launching their own assault?"
"No, that is impossible," Miranda replies confidently, as they finally see one Alliance soldier running through the gate as if in a hurry to escape, but the fire coming from the bunker catches him and quickly mows the hapless bastard down. "Shepard, I think your appeal to their better nature was successful at least with some of the marines. Unfortunately, it seems as if their commanding officer has ordered to shoot deserters on sight."
"Damnation," Kasumi shakes her fists angrily. "Now I know why I've never trusted the military. Should we get down there and help those poor sods? We might be able to use the confusion as an opportunity to enter the compound amidst all this panic and shooting."
"No, we need to stick with our original plan," Morgan says, cringing, as she realizes that her decision means death sentence for those few Alliance soldiers whose conscience she has managed to awaken. Going there didn't amount to much in the end, except that their blood won't be on my hands... at least not directly, she thinks to herself. "We still need to cut the comms and vid feeds, do careful recon... and most importantly, I need to change into something else, this N7 armor kind of gives me away," she says, turning to Miranda. "Did you bring something for me?"
"Of course I did, we brought the Kestrel pieces. I remember you being fond of that armor when we were taking down the Collectors," Miranda says, allowing herself a small smile.
"Excellent. You really do think of everything, Miri," Shepard says, heading back towards the shuttle for armor change, finding herself stopped by Kasumi.
"Shep, we should probably get started on that recon," the petite thief says. "I'll take Bau with me and we'll try to get as close as we can to learn about the bunker's defenses."
"Sure thing, Kasumi," Shepard nods, before disappearing into the cargo space of the shuttle. "Just be careful."
"Spirits, Earth is turning into Noveria," Garrus groans, watching the snowstorm intensifying around them as they carefully move towards the Alliance bunker, both the darkness and sudden shift in weather conditions providing them with the perfect cover.
"Not really British weather, but the climatic changes are really making this planet a lot less nicer than it supposedly once was," Morgan remarks, before turning back towards Kasumi. "So, under twenty, you say Kasumi? I think that's quite doable."
"Yeah, I think so. They're not really expecting trouble," Kasumi nods.
"I have been monitoring their communications," Spectre Bau says. "It is strange that they have not asked for reinforcements. We counted bodies of nine dead."
"Well, this Harris probably doesn't want to let his superiors know that he was forced to shoot his own men who threatened to walk out on him," Morgan shrugs. "So, you and Kasumi are heading for the control and comm room, disable everything and open the gate, right?"
"That's right, Shep. Then Miranda, Tali and Garrus can storm the main entrance and keep them distracted while we are already inside and working under their noses," Kasumi explains.
"And I'm heading right for the lower levels, disabling the guards there and springing the girl free," Morgan summarizes as they come in sight of the bunker, Miranda, Tali and Garrus slipping into the cover of some debris and fallen chunks of concrete, while the trio of infiltrators activate their cloaking and proceed towards the compound.
Hacking one of the surveillance cameras for just long enough to keep the break in signal innocuous, provides Kasumi with enough time to make a quick run-up, use Bau's linked arms as a trampoline from which to launch herself into a daring somersault, landing on top of the wall and then quickly helping both the salarian and the other human up. Once up on the wall, they activate their cloaking again and separate, Kasumi and her salarian boyfriend sneaking off to deal with the guards in the control room, while Shepard finds the hatch leading down into the lower levels of the compound, using the time when no patrols are in sight to drop down into a dark shaft.
For once luck is on Shepard's side, as she jumps down and lands directly next to a very surprised marine, patrolling the corridors. While he is still blinking rapidly in surprise at her sudden appearance, Shepard moves fast like lightning to suddenly step behind the marine, quickly ending his life. Rear approach, hands to chin and base of skull, neck-snap. Thank you, Thane.
'Opening the gate now, Shep. Free to proceed,' she reads the message, after her omni-tool has given a silent buzz to alert her. She begins to move through the basement level, looking for the hostage, eliminating the few single guard patrols in her way quietly and efficiently. There are several incarceration cells at the back of the lower levels, and the two guards camped outside one of them, currently chatting with a patrolling marine, having stopped by, easily gives away the location of the hostage.
For a while, Morgan remains cloaked, waiting for the patrolling marine to leave, but he does not move, the trio continuing to chat merrily. One of the marines is telling the others about his 'adventures' a few days ago, having come across a pair of asari, so starved that they had offered sexual favors in return for some rations. His description of the demeaning and humiliating encounter is as crude as Shepard expects it to be, but the revelation made through laughter that afterwards he had left the two asari without the promised supplies, draws such maddening ire from Shepard that for a moment her temples are throbbing so violently that she is unable to think properly, her feet carrying her stealthed shape towards the trio of chuckling bastards, the idiot who had tormented the asari finding Morgan's omni-blade sticking from his chest, the Carnifex in her left hand pressed against the brow of the other marine and she shoots without thinking, feeling some of the sputtering blood hitting her in the face, but she does not care.
The last of the guards is drawing his weapon and at the same time trying to activate his commlink, but Shepard is too fast, punching his hand aside before he manages to fire, the shot bouncing harmlessly from the wall. Her own shot from the Carnifex is not to kill, she aims for his left hand about to switch the comms on, the close discharge of the pistol taking off several of his fingers, making the traitorous scum cry out in agony. Shepard jerks forward with her head in the best krogan head-butt traditions, hitting the man in the face with her heavy helmet, smashing his nose and knocking out teeth. As he slumps against the doors, Shepard finally takes pity on him, unloading several shots of her pistol into his chest, the rapidly growing pool of his blood joining that of his fellows and beginning to stretch beyond the doors to the cell, where it's unfortunate inhabitant can be heard making muffled noises to attract attention to herself.
'Target secured,' she quickly sends to Kasumi, starting to search for the passkey, but then realizing that she does not want to touch the bodies of the despicable men at her feet, she simply decides to shoot the lock open, and after very brief resistance it yields and the doors part.
'Almost done here too, Shep. How many did you count?' Kasumi sends back.
'Six,' she replies, stepping inside the cell. There is a shape of a gagged and tied young woman roughly tossed on a mat in the corner, and Morgan wastes no time in removing her gag and restraints. "Caitlyn McIllis?" she asks, receiving a frightened nod in reply. "It's okay, you're safe now. We're taking you to your father," Shepard adds, trying to calm the understandably shocked young woman down, her blonde hair is filthy and caked with dirt, and the odor that wafts over Morgan is overwhelming and almost makes her vomit, the admiral's daughter having been kept in terrible conditions, denying her even the most basic amenities to humiliate her.
"Who... who are you?" the young woman asks.
"It doesn't matter, Caitlyn," she replies, not itching to reveal her identity. "All that matters is that you're safe. They can't hurt you anymore."
"Are you with the resistance? Or one of the mercenaries?" the questions continue to pour even if Shepard is not really in the mood to indulge the girl's curiosity. "Did you just kill thirty Alliance soldiers just to free me?"
"Look, this isn't the time," Shepard says impatiently, grabbing the girl by the hand and pulling her along, ignoring her brief struggles. "It's kind of complicated to explain," she continues, leading Caitlyn towards the stairs out of the basement. "Someone was going to use you against your father, to control him and get him to do what they want. We're making sure that this won't happen. A shuttle will take you to Montreal as soon as you've recovered a little bit."
"But I don't understand... the resistance is fighting the Alliance, you would have no reason to help my father... and you can't be Alliance, you would have never killed dozens of your own in cold blood! I still want to know just who you are before I let you take me anywhere!"
I've done worse than that, girl. Far worse. And I won't feel guilty about these lives taken, either, they had it coming. "All clear," she hears Miranda's voice on the comms as she is still pondering what to reply to the admiral's daughter. "We're bringing in the shuttle, hurry up and get out," Lawson adds for her benefit, informing Morgan that Bau is already on his way back to the shuttle.
Miranda, Garrus and Tali await them by the gates as they emerge from the compound, corpses of surprised defenders of the bunker lying everywhere. Kasumi has already slinked into the shadows, discreetly staying out of sight as Shepard brings a rather stunned looking Caitlyn McIllis with her as she rejoins the others. "Everything went fine?" she asks, seeing Garrus respond with an abrupt nod.
"We sustained no injuries, while the opposing force has been eliminated to the last. Even though there shouldn't be any evidence to link back to us, I still think that it's safer to bomb this place to oblivion, just in case." Miranda replies, pointing at something in the shadows, where Morgan imagines Kasumi is working to set up explosives to detonate upon their withdrawal. Lawson then turns towards the rescued girl. "You must be Caitlyn. Your father is very worried about you, we will bring you to him as soon as possible."
"Yes, so I've been told," Caitlyn remarks, peering insistently at the visor of Shepard's helmet, looking deep into her eyes and maintaining the contact until she makes Morgan turn away, beginning to feel uncomfortable. "My god, I know who you are, I recognize you now. You're that war hero everyone talks about, Shepard... are you not? Nobody else could take out a whole squad of hardened marines with such a small team! And you were working with a team of aliens," she adds, looking at Garrus and Tali. "Gods... but you're Alliance! You killed three dozens of your fellow marines just to get to me? That's... crazy!"
"I would have expected a little more gratitude for getting rescued," Tali remarks, a little sourly.
"These people were holding someone innocent as a prisoner on obviously false charges, with the mere intent of using her to manipulate her father," Shepard says, a little angrily in face of the accusations. "They were not the Alliance I stand for, they were terrorists!"
The young woman lets out a bitter chortle, her face twisting in a sarcastic smile. "I don't know about the manipulating my father bit, that may very well be true... but here's something for you to consider, Commander Shepard. The charges they brought up against me were entirely valid. I did steal from our already small stash of medical supplies and sold them to the Blood Pack mercenaries. I hated living in these conditions, with my stomach growling each night while I tried desperately to find some sleep. With the help of the mercs I could trade in for very comfortable living quarters and more food than I could consume... yes, someone probably died from the lack of medical supplies because of this, but I would do it again, who cares if some salar-"
"Shepard!" Miranda exclaims in shock, watching the body of Caitlyn McIllis falling limply on the floor, unconscious from a heavy backhanded slap hard across the side of her face.
"Fuck this," Morgan snarls, angrily stomping away, rubbing her bloodied knuckles. "I'm out of here."