Sarah stepped out of the shuttle and onto the Citadel. Following her out was Jennifer, who asked, "Why did you want me to tag along with you?"
"Because," Sarah sighed, "I have to meet with a pair of individuals who are working for the Blue Suns. It will probably end in a firefight, and I'm going to need backup. And, I couldn't get any of my friends other than Miri to meet me on the Citadel at the moment. And, I've always said, 'Minimum of a three individual team for any operation.'. And, since you were the second best in basic, you were an obvious choice."
"I suppose I should be honored. You went through Basic like it wasn't even a challenge, just a boring chore."
"That's because it was." Sarah said as they walked down a path. "Miranda said she'd meet me here at the C-Sec precinct just outside the dock."
"Why is there one so close to the dock?"
"Just to handle any issues that might rise up." Sarah said, as she stepped through the door. Sitting on a nearby bench was Miranda, in the black outfit she had favored ever since Sarah had helped her with Oriana.
The soldier smiled as she struggled to just walk over to her at a normal pace, and pulled the woman into a bear hug. "God I've missed having you around, Miri." she said, before Miranda pulled her into a kiss.
When they finally separated, Miranda said, "I've missed you too, Sarah. We can catch up more once we've taken care of those mercenary bastards."
"What's going on?" Jennifer asked.
Miranda looked at Jennifer for a second, then asked, "You're Jennifer?"
"Uhm, yes." she said, clearly unsettled by the way Miranda was examining her.
"Sarah's said that in Basic Training you performed quite well. However, the details of this operation are of a personal nature. And, I won't share it with someone who hasn't earned my trust."
Sarah sighed, and said, "Miri, you can trust her."
Miranda looked at Sarah, and said, "You know how this is for me. It was difficult enough asking you for help back in the day."
"What are you two talking about?"
"Don't worry about it." Miranda said. "All you need to know is that there are some Blue Suns that we need to kill."
"Whoa, kill? Outside of a sanctioned operation?"
"If you're going to hang out with us, you're going to have to learn to deal with it." Sarah said, "This isn't the first time, and it's not going to be the last."
"You're way too calm about this, Shepard." Jennifer said.
"No, you're not calm enough." she replied. "But we need to get moving. I'll drive."
"Do you remember what happened last time you drove?" Miranda asked.
"That was against Eclipse, and if I recall correctly you told me to take the car down so that we'd make a better distraction." Sarah replied, smiling at the Operative.
"I was thinking more about the time we were taking care of the unusual data storage facilities." Miranda replied.
"What are you people talking about?"
"Stuff the Alliance doesn't even know happened. It was done very much under the radar." Sarah said. "And, Miri, I think I did a pretty good job. They didn't put a single hole in our vehicle."
"Because you crashed it before they could."
"Yeah yeah, also, that was before the time you had me take the car down."
Miranda was silent for a moment, looking lost in thought, then said, "True. But, we need to get going now if we're going to get to the Suns before they get off the Citadel."
"Alright." Sarah said, "You brought the package?"
"Of course. They're waiting for us at the car." Miranda replied.
"Then lead the way, Babe." Sarah said, giving Miranda a quick kiss.
The Operative smiled at her, and started walking out towards a single black skycar. Once they were by it, Sarah slipped into the driver's seat as Miranda handed her the keys.
A moment later, they were in the air, heading toward the Presidium. Jennifer asked, "How strong is the enemy force we're going to be facing?"
"Twenty seven men aided by twelve Loki-class mechs." Miranda said. "All heavily armed."
"How are we going to take out that many people?" she asked as the skycar landed in an area where no one couldwatch.
"Easy." Sarah said stepping out and opening the trunk in the front of the vehicle. Jennifer walked around to see it, while Sarah said, "Looks like you got everything, Miri. Suit up, team. We've got some mercs to kill."
"How did you get this much kit? And aren't those weapons limited to N7 operatives?"
"Don't ask so many questions." Miranda said, "Otherwise my employers will make you disappear. Probably force me to do it too."
"Whoa. Why is your girlfriend so psychotic?" Jennifer asked.
Sarah just laughed, and said, "This is a personal matter for her. She doesn't like people poking into her personal matters. So I'd do as she says, and just shoot the mercenaries."
"Alright." Jennifer said, as she grabbed some weapons. "How did you manage to fit so much armor in here?"
"She's good at pretty much anything she sets her mind to." Sarah said as she quickly pulled on the suit of armor.
When Jennifer saw the N7 symbol emblazoned on it, she said, "Uhm, should you really have that there? You're not an N7."
"Yet." Sarah said as connected her weapons to the magnetic clamps on her armor. "Don't worry. It'll probably only be another year before I get my N1, and from there it's just a matter of time."
"You're really cocky, you know that, Shepard?" Jennifer asked.
Sarah laughed, and said, "I'm not cocky. I'm experienced. I know what I'm doing better than pretty much anyone else out there."
"We need to get moving." Miranda said. "They're going to make the grab in forty-five minutes. We have to make sure they're dead well before that."
"Wait, grab? What are they grabbing?" Jennifer asked.
"You don't want to know." Sarah said, as she got back into the driver's seat.
-=0=-
Henry Lawson looked up as a pair of men walked into the room. He said, "Who are you?"
"We were sent here by the Illusive Man, Mr. Lawson." one said.
"Why? I cut all ties to Cerberus when he took in Miranda." Henry said.
"We have received intelligence that you have hired the Blue Suns to abduct your other daughter. The Illusive Man has come to inform you that while Miranda is loyal to Cerberus, she is under his protection."
"You can inform him that I am aware of his position, now get out of my office." Henry said. The first man nodded at his compatriot, who walked up to Henry and slammed his head against the table.
"Mr. Lawson," the first said, "if you do not call off your henchmen, my companion here, will kill you."
"Get out of my office." Henry said, as he wiped away the blood leaking from his nose. "Or neither of you will see the outside of this room ever again."
"You will not agree to the Illusive Man's terms? You will not leave Oriana alone?"
"That is correct."
"Kill him." the first man, said, before a bullet pierced his skull, and Kai Leng dropped from a rafter onto the second. As the man collapsed to the ground, Leng broke his neck.
"Good work." Henry said, "You should go back to your duties as an N7, Leng."
"Understood, sir." he replied, walking out of the room.
"But first take care of these bodies." Henry said.
"Understood." Leng said, grabbing the corpse.
-=0=-
Sarah stepped out of the skycar, and pulled the pair of assault rifles on her back. "Let's kick ass."
"Uhm, that won't work." Jennifer said.
Miranda just shook her head, and said, "She'll be fine. This isn't her first time dual wielding weapons."
"Is it her first time using two rifles?"
"I think so." Sarah said, "But, rifles, pistols, not much of a difference when you're as good as I am."
"I think you're a bit too cocky." Jennifer said, "I mean, you're really fucking skilled, but that's not something skill can help with."
"When you've done what I have, and seen what I have, it's not really very impressive to dual wield assault rifles." Sarah said, "But enough talk. We have some mercenaries to kill. Then a quick trip to earth to kill an N7."
"Sarah, no altering the timeline." Miranda sighed.
"Wait what?" Jennifer asked.
Sarah sighed, and said, "Goddammit, Miri."
"Sorry." Miranda sighed. "Why did you have to bring Jennifer along anyways? With what you did on Keltharan, you wouldn't need a hand with these Blue Suns."
"What's Keltharan? What are you talking about."
Sarah sighed, and said, "Well, we have two options. I could either wipe her memories of what you said, which could have psychological issues including suicide due to the psychological torment of knowing something is missing from her memory. Or, we can just tell her everything."
"Well, it was my mistake." Miranda said, "I can't believe I made such an amateurish one. There's no reason that someone should have their mind fucked because of it."
"Alright." Sarah said, turning to Jennifer. "The truth is that Miranda and I's essences have been sent into the past from over ten years in the future."
Jennifer burst out laughing, and said, "Yeah right."
Sarah looked at her, and said, "I'm not joking. Things were going to shit. The reapers were almost back, I'd only barely prevented them from surprise attacking the galaxy. Killing the Council. Long story, short, I died, was brought back to life by Miri, that's actually how we met, and had to do a lot of missions for her boss to stop the Collectors from abducting entire colonies.
"But, I'm getting a bit ahead of things. One of the main reasons that Miri's been so harsh to you is that you and I used to be a thing, in the first time I went through the timeline. So, she's naturally a bit jealous. A lot of people in her life have betrayed her."
"Wait, you and I were together? What happened?"
"You died a horribly painful death." Sarah said, "I won't spoil the details."
"Uh, I'd rather you told me when and where so I know how to avoid it."
"Uhm, can you make so that I don't die?"
"I have a plan for when that happens." Sarah said. "But, anyways, a lot of stuff happened, including me getting my N7 and becoming the first human Spectre. I saved the galaxy, got killed, was brought back by Miri, worked my ass off to get a team together to take out the Collectors, took them out, but Miri died in the process,"
"You have a bad habit of getting your lovers killed, don't you?" Jennifer said.
"Shut it." Sarah said, "Went through an entire reaper invasion, then turned back time the first time."
"Wait, this has happened before?"
"This is my second time traveling back in time. Miri's first. Anyways, to cut a very long story short, I went through things how I had before, died again, Miri brought me back, some very powerful friends I didn't remember brought her back from before she died, and after a while, she got kidnapped. I learned from said friends a bunch of stuff that made me even more deadly, and went in to rescue. But, an asshole interrupted, and I had to resort to turning back time to save both my life and hers. And then I ended up back at the first day of Basic."
"So that's why you didn't want to tell Ellison where you learned your stuff. It was from him and the N7 instructors."
"And time in the field." Sarah said, "But we need to get moving if we're going to stop these Blue Suns fuckers."
"The first time I'm guessing Miranda didn't have your help. How did she handle the situation?"
"I had to get my boss to agree to loan me a pair of N7 Operatives. After the mission was a success, I shot both of them in the back of the head, per his orders."
"Why did your boss want them dead?"
"They were Indoctrinated." Sarah said as they walked down the path, and saw the first three mercs.
Miranda said, "Sarah, we need to get their attention. Get them to focus on us."
"Got it." she replied, before turning to the guards, and saying, "Hey, what the fuck do you people think you're doing? Don't you know this is private property, and that by trespassing here you have inadvertantly signed waivers that give me permission to kill you?"
"What the hell are you talking about, bitch?" one asked as they turned around.
"I want you people to get the hell out of my house, right now! This is private property, and I'm not going to let you mercenaries just walk around on it." Sarah said as she lifted both of the assault rifles she was holding into their sight. "Now if you and any friends you might have here don't leave right now, I will have to shoot."
The first shook his head, and said, "Kill her."
Sarah shook her head, and said, "Bad move." before firing on his two companions. As the rounds pierced their skulls, the soldier turned to the last one and said, "Tell any friends you have in here that they better not try to finish their job. Because if they do they'll be facing someone who has the power of a god and is very angry with them."
"Not quite the power of a god." Miranda said.
"Alright, fine. Just tell your friends to leave this job undone, or they'll have someone with way too much biotic power hunting them down. And, whatever is left of them will not be identifiable as having once been an organic life form. They'll think it's some kind of very red compost." Sarah growled.
"Yeah right." he said, as he turned to run, saying, "We have enemy forces in the area. Some kind of commandos. Requesting backup!"
Sarah waited a moment, then fired a round into the back of his head. Jennifer asked, "Why are we trying to get more of them to come our way?"
"It will make them easier targets." Miranda said, "At least this time they don't have an inside man. I'd hate to have to kill an old friend."
"Who would you kill? I can't really think of any old friends who would be traitors like that. I mean, there was that one guy who I stopped you from killing, but beyond that, I can't think of anyone."
"I think the Doctor might." Miranda said.
"If she tries, I'll put two in her skull." Sarah said, as they continued to walk through the hallway.
"Who's this doctor?" Jennifer asked.
"I'll not ruin the surprise." Sarah said, before taking cover, and glancing at the seven Blue Suns approaching. She motioned for Miranda to warp the merc in the front and said, "Jennifer, hit the guy in the back with a concussive shot. I've got the rest of them."
"Got it." they replied, and did as they were told. Sarah put away one of her assault rifles, then a second later stepped out of cover and quickly put three rounds into the skulls of the remaining mercs. She nodded at her squadmates, and said, "Ten down. Twenty-nine to go."
"Let's move." Miranda said, "We have three minutes to kill the rest of them."
"Go all out?" Sarah asked.
"No, we don't want to attract too much attention."
"Got it." Sarah said, "So, make them know we're here, but don't do anything that would catch too much attention." as they ran down the halls, and right into all twelve of the mechs and thirteen of the remaining mercs.
"Shit." Sarah said, as they readied their weapons. "Uhm, guys, is this really necessary, I just want you to get off my property."
"This isn't your property." a turian merc said.
"What has given you that idea?" Sarah asked, as Miranda and Jennifer got into cover. "I bought this land seven years ago. If you put your guns down I can go get the deed."
"Men, open fire." The turian said.
"Bad fucking move." Sarah said, as a barrier surrounded her. Every round fired hit the swirling energy, and fell to the ground. She then nodded at Miranda, who threw a singularity into the center of the group. As it pulled them up, Sarah pulled a grenade off her belt, and after arming it, tossed it into the center of the group.
As it detonated, Sarah, Miranda, and Jennifer opened fire at the group. Each round pierced shields and armor, and tore flesh apart. As the mercenaries began to die on the ground, Sarah said, "Move out! We've got thirty seconds to stop the remaining hostile forces from getting to their target!" as she started sprinting down the hallway.
"What is the enemy's target?" Jennifer asked Miranda, as they sprinted down the path.
"This is a personal matter for me." Miranda said, "And even though Sarah trusts you, and sees you as a friend, I don't feel comfortable telling you."
"Fair enough. Must be really personal."
"Incredibly." Miranda replied, as they sprinted out of the long corridor and into the boarding area of a transit bay.
Walking towards a man and a woman with a young daughter following behind them were a pair of batarian mercenaries. Sarah increased her speed, and pulled out both of the pistols at her side, and opened fire.
The sound of weapons fire caught everyone's attention, just before the mercenaries fell to the ground, lifeless. Sarah then fired on the two remaining mercs, one on her right and one on her left and up. They both fell dead, bleeding out, and Sarah put the pistols away.
A group of C-Sec agents ran up to her and said, "Ma'am, we're going to have to ask you to come with us."
"No you won't. This was a council approved operation. Code seven twelve epsilon zeta three six one archangel."
"What are you talking about?" the first one asked.
"Tell the Council that code. They will acknowledge my operation as legitimate."
"Why would a human be doing Council operations?"
"Some things you can't even have Spectres do." Sarah said, as she saw the people that the batarians had been approaching looking at her with horror clear in their eyes. "Let me handle this situation, officer."
"I'll have to run that code by the Council." he replied, "Until then I'm going to have to hold you in custody."
Sarah looked him in the eye, and said, "No you don't. Contact them and tell them the code."
"I don't have a straight line to the Council."
"A shame. I'll get Councilor Tevos on the line." Sarah replied, activating her omni-tool. A moment later the image of the asari councilor came into view, and she asked,
"What is going on?"
"This C-Sec Agent doesn't believe me that I took down a group of Blue Suns with the authorization from the Council. I gave him the code you gave me and he did not follow directions."
"Show me to him." The Councilor sighed.
Sarah extended her arm so that the display was visible to the turian. Seeing the Councilor he stood up straight and saluted her. "Ma'am." he said.
"This woman has been operating under the command of the Council. Let her go."
"Yes Ma'am."
"And dispose of the bodies too." Tevos said, "They'll make people not want to travel using that station if there are corpses lying around."
"Understood." he replied as he walked away.
"Thanks for the assist, Councilor." Sarah said.
"It's not a problem, Shepard. But next time try to be a little more subtle."
"I was trying to eliminate them all where people would notice. But, unfortunately a member of the team I was working with slowed us down considerably." Sarah said.
"Get whoever it is in line so this doesn't happen again." Tevos said, cutting off the communication.
Sarah then turned to Oriana and her family, and said, "Don't mind me. Just a concerned citizen who doesn't like kidnappers."
"Wait, we were preventing a kidnapping?" Jennifer asked.
"Yes." Miranda said, fiddling with her omni-tool.
"You seem like more than just a citizen." the man said, looking at her.
Sarah sighed, and said, "You're right I'm a time traveling zombie from the future."
"I was more thinking that you're some kind of psychopath with access to way too many guns." he said. "And, I don't really think that joke is funny."
"Yeah, I'm pretty shitty at being funny. Or at least that's what I've been told by a lot of people. Garrus always thought he was so funny. He's a nice guy, but has about as much of a sense of humor as me."
"Sarah, we need to move out." Miranda said, tapping her girlfriend's shoulder.
"True. No need to talk to the locals." Sarah said, turning to walk away when Oriana's mother said,
"Ms, what are you wearing?" to Miranda.
The Operative turned to her and said, "Combat gear."
"That doesn't look like armor." she said. "Does your boss really let you walk around in that? You look like a stripper."
Then, Sarah slapped her, and said, "Be more polite. Now apologize."
"You first." The man said, stepping up to Sarah.
"In case you didn't notice the four dead mercs, I saved your life less than five minutes ago. They were going to kill you and kidnap Oriana."
"How do you know our daughter's name?" the man asked, starting to look concerned.
"Because, one of the main reasons I'm on this station was to keep those fuckers from kidnapping her and taking her to the man whose DNA she's made from."
"How do you know she isn't ours genetically?" he asked. "And could you please stop swearing in her presence."
Sarah sighed, and said, "Sorry, Miri. Not any other option."
"I'll take care of it, Sarah." Miranda said. "She knows Ori's name because I am Ori's older sister. I'm the one who knocked on your door, and left her on your doorstep."
"You're her sister, not her mother?"
"Ori and I have no birth mother. We were grown in a lab."
"That's illegal."
"Our progenitor is an influential enough man that the law is not really a problem."
"We could go kill him, Miri." Sarah said.
"I have a hard time believing that you and Oriana are related." Oriana's father said.
"They are." Sarah said, "Trust me, I have plenty of reason to believe that."
"What are you talking about?"
"It's a very long, very complicated story that would bore you less than ten words into. Tons of military jargon and operations that are still so classified you won't hear about them for years."
"Then you shouldn't tell us about it." he said.
"Right. Now, we should get going. I've got a lot of stuff planned, and it wouldn't be good if it was interrupted. But, before we go, please tell your wife to apologize to Miri for calling her a stripper. Her outfit is made out of materials which disperse the force of getting shot efficiently enough that it only causes minor stinging at the heart of the impact.
"It's so tight-fitting because that way it maintains its effectiveness without significant weight increase or otherwise limit mobility. It helps her do her job and not die." Sarah said.
The older woman blushed, and said, "Oh, I'm sorry. Ms..?"
"Lawson." Miranda replied.
"I'm sorry for saying you were dressed like a stripper, Ms. Lawson."
"Good, now we'll get out of your hair for around a decade." Sarah said, turning to leave when Oriana said,
"You're my older sister?" to Miranda.
The Operative nodded, and said, "I am."
"Why didn't you let mommy and daddy know you exist."
"It would create complications. The less you know about me the better."
"Why?"
Miranda sighed, clearly irritated by Oriana's youthful innocence. "Because, Ori, there are a lot of bad men out there who would hurt you to get to me."
"Like the ones your girlfriend shot?"
"How do you know that Sarah and I are together?"
"Please, I may be young, but anyone could tell that you two are in love."
Sarah laughed, and said, "Looks like we'll have to be a bit more subtle in the future, Miri. Otherwise we'll have problems."
Miranda sighed, and said, "Ori, next time you might try being a bit less direct when you say things like that. You might make someone angry if you are that direct."
"Okay." Oriana said, "Will you keep in touch, 'Randa?"
Miranda tousled her little sister's hair, and said, "I'm afraid I won't be able to keep in touch with you much, Ori. I'm a very busy person."
"You had time to meet Sarah." the young girl said.
"Well, we originally met through her work." Sarah said, "She acted very cold at first, but I got her to warm up with my undeniable charm."
"I'm sure that there a lot of people who would deny that." Miranda said.
"Those are just people I turned down. I mean, you know Jack was way into me, but had to settle for Kas because I was more interested in you."
"More interested in me? Are you saying you had some interest in Jack?"
"Well, curiosity." Sarah said. "I was wondering what she'd be like. But, I'd figure it would end up being a matter of curiosity killing the cat."
"What?" Oriana asked.
"You'll understand when you're older, kiddo." Sarah said, smiling at her.
The others talking simply shook her head, and Miranda said, "I'm glad to know that you realized that trying to satisfy your curiosity would be a bad idea."
"Yeah. And, I was a lot more curious to see if you'd be as official then."
Miranda swatted at Sarah, who raised her arms in defense and said, "That was a joke! Please don't kill me, Miri."
"I won't." Miranda promised before turning to Ori, and saying, "I won't be able to keep in touch, Ori, but I'll still be doing what I can to help you."
"Okay." the young girl said.
Miranda then turned to Oriana's parents, and said, "Keep her safe, or you will regret it."
"We aren't going to sell our daughter to someone." Oriana's father said.
"Make sure you don't, Ben. Because if you do anything that leads to her getting hurt, they won't find your body." Miranda said, as they turned and began walking away.
Sarah said, "That went well. I think her parents hate us both now."
"Or at least you." Miranda said, "What were you thinking making that kind of joke!"
Jennifer giggled, and said, "I think someone wants you to stroke their cat."
Sarah chuckled, and said, "Maybe."
Miranda, on the other hand, said, "I see why you two got along so well."
"Alright, we'll stop." Sarah promised, kissing Miranda on the cheek.
"Good." the Operative replied, looking around. "We've handled the only thing I have going on right now. So, we have the week to ourselves."
"That sounds great." Sarah said.
Then, Jennifer asked, "Why did you leave your sister, presumably as a baby, on those people's doorstep?"
"They're completely normal. Literally nothing about them sticks out. If they choose to adopt a child, it wouldn't get anyone's attention." Miranda replied.
"Oh, makes sense. Anyways, I'll let you two have some private time. I'll find someone to do." Jennifer said, walking away.
"Did you really sleep with her?" Miranda asked.
"Back in the day, before I met you." Sarah said, kissing Miranda softly
After they separated, Miranda said, "You know, my hotel room isn't very far from here."
"Lead the way." Sarah said, grabbing Miranda's hand.
-=0=-
John stepped into the palace of the King of the Lucis Entia, and asked Bryce, "Why am I here?"
"Because, this is the only place I can be certain we will not be listened to." Bryce said, "It is as we feared. Halthas has agents amongst the Lucis Entai. You are one of the few who I can trust, John."
"I see. You want my help hunting them down."
"Not want, need." Bryce said, "They may be too many for one to handle. I will need to gather the few I can trust to my side."
John nodded, and asked, "Are there any I should be watching particularly closely?"
"I have no suspects currently. I just now they are out there because one of us was assassinated." Bryce said.
John nodded, and said, "So, keep an eye out for suspcious behavior. Is that all?"
"Yes." Bryce said, "Hopefully we'll be able to hunt down the traitors before it is too late to properly take care of them."
"Indeed." John said, "I should return to what I was working on before."
"You should." Bryce agreed as he walked away.
-=0=-
Halthas walked down the empty path. For farther than the eye could see there was blackness. He continued to walk down it, before another appeared. Wearing a dark cloak that covered their entire body. It said, in a synthesized voice that could have been used in any VI, "I was almost discovered. I had to kill the woman who would have revealed my loyalty to you."
Halthas shook his head, and said, "You should have simply arranged for her to disappear. Now you and the others who are loyal to me will be hunted. The King will certainly have Bryce hunt them now."
"What of me?"
"You have made a drastic mistake. As such, you are to disappear from the sight of the Lucis Entia."
"How, Master? Their eyes are everywhere."
"You will remain here. Over the millenia I have shielded it from the eyes of the Lucis Entia. When the time is right, if Synthesis cannot be achieved we will have to lay siege to their palace, and slay any who dare stand against us."
"I understand, Master." the rogue Lucis Entia said.
-=0=-
A/N: Thanks a ton for reading the latest chapter. I hope you enjoyed it! And, if you did, please leave a review. They are greatly appreciated. :-) Also, please check out Another Light and Another Darkness. It's a short oneshot I wrote just because I felt like it.