Hey guys, sorry for the delay, I have been pretty busy with other writing projects (I am writing an original novel) and making my FemShep Cosplay outfit! It was way harder then it looks!
Thanks for the reviews for the last chapter, I am glad you guys are enjoying the fic, this chapter is only a short one, but I was having some trouble writing it for some reason. The next chapters will be up soon!
Hope you enjoy!
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Chapter has been edited and updated!
Chapter 10
It felt strange being back on the Normandy, very strange, but as Miranda gazed around at the large silver walls, high reaching struts and neatly uniformed occupants, she couldn't help but feel at home on the Normandy…even if the frigate was now flying Alliance colours.
She pressed her palms tightly against the warm coffee cup in her hands, closing her eyes as a welcomed warmth spread through her body.
"Miss Lawson?" A sweet accented voice broke the silence, causing her eyes to snap open at the sudden interruption. She couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips, her eyes coming to rest on the friendly faces of Engineers Daniels and Donnelly.
"Aye it is you!" Kenneth said, his voice raising excitedly as a large smile crossed his face. Gabby shushed him from where she stood, shaking her head at the man's enthusiasm.
"It's good to see you both." Miranda said, finishing the remains of her coffee. "How have you been?"
Pulling a chair from the table Ken sat opposite Miranda, drinking from his own cup of coffee. Gabby sighed, reluctantly taking the seat beside him.
"We've all been grand!" He said. "It's great being back on the Normandy. Shepard runs a tight ship as usual. It's nice to be serving on the ship when it's not heading towards certain doom!" He said happily.
"We are lucky to be serving on the ship at all "Gabby interjected "If it was not for the Commander vouching for us in the war, we would probably be sitting in an Alliance jail…or dead"
Miranda nodded silently, her eyes narrowing in concentration. She wondered where she would be if Shepard had not vouched for her, if she had not given her the chance to get away from the Alliance after the coming back through the Omega 4 relay. They may have taken out the Collectors, delayed the Reapers and saved the entire galaxy, but they were still part of Cerberus. Still part of an organisation that was deemed extremist by most.
She made a mental note to thank the women when she had the chance.
"If we don't get back to work, she is going to fire our butts!" Gabby's nasal voice broke through Maranda's thoughts once more, causing the raven haired woman to be brought back to the present. She smiled as the two engineers stood, waving goodbye and making their way towards the elevator. Kenneth had to stop himself from walking into the Commander as she rounded the corner, a sheepish grin on his face as he saluted the woman before scurrying off towards the elevator.
Miranda watched the woman walk towards her, only now noticing the slight limp she had on her left side. She frowned slightly as Selena walked passed her, heading straight for the coffee machine in the kitchen. As soon the clear glass was full, Shepard snatched it away from the machine, then fell into the chair Ken sat in moments before.
Miranda watched as the woman took three large gulps of the black liquid in her cup, shaking her head in amusement. Shepard practically lived off coffee, she wondered if the woman drank anything else.
"So what do you know?" Shepard asked, tiredness creeping into her voice. Miranda shrugged her shoulders.
"Honestly, probably not that much more than you." She answered "One of my contacts mentioned something about an unusual Cerberus presence in the terminus systems. I thought nothing of it until I...stumbled upon a transmission between Gorack and someone using old Cerberus black ops codes. They originated from Sylar."
Sylar? Shepard repeated. "We were just there. They were running experiments on a young Alliance solider...he almost killed me."
"He tried to kill you?"
Shepard nodded, her hand absentmindedly moving to the faded bruises on her neck.
"Yeah. One minuet he begging me to help him. Then after they injected him with something he didn't remember who I was...and he was strong, I felt like I was struggling against steel."
Miranda was silent for a moment, her brow furrowing as she took in Shepard's words.
"And you're sure he was an Alliance solider...not just posing as one...to throw you off?"
Shepard nodded wordlessly, finishing off the rest of her coffee.
"Ran the tags myself, Corporal Joseph Bentley. Grew up in a farm in Mississippi. Both parents still don't know he's dead. I plan to personally deliver the news. His unit has been informed."
Shepard stood, moving towards the kitchen for yet another cup of coffee, Miranda noticed her tense shoulders, but said nothing.
"What else did you discover on Sylar?"
Shepard sipped her coffee before falling into the chair once again.
"We got a sample of the serum they used on the Corporal. Alex and Doctor Chakwas are analysing it now." The Commander explained. "There was also a man. Tall, wore a suit...reminded me a lot of the illusive Man...Same eyes."
The glass that was making its way to Miranda's lips stopped half way, her eyes seemed to darken as she glared over the rim.
"Did this man have an accent?" She asked, saying each world slow through clenched teeth. Shepard nodded slowly.
"Yeah. French I think."
Miranda sighed heavily, the cup in her hand slamming down on the table with a loud clatter.
"Then it's worse than I thought."
Miranda rubbed a hand through her hair, then leaned both elbows on the table.
"This man is bad news Shepard. Very bad news. Years ago, he was put in charge of a black ops group tasked with the advancement of Cerberuses' soldiers. I thought the bastard was dead!"
Mirada's fist hit the table with a loud thud, shaking the glasses on its surface with the force.
"Well then we need to find him" Shepard said, unfazed by the women's outburst. Miranda breathed through her nose and out her mouth. Nodding.
"He goes by the name of Mr Smith."
Shepard crooked an eyebrow, she could not help the snort of amusement that tickled the back of her throat.
"Mr Smith...he couldn't come up with anything… original?"
"What do you expect him to call himself Shepard...Mr Bad Guy!"
Shepard's mouth turned up in a genuine smirk. Amused at the woman's outburst.
"Point taken. How do we find him?"
"To have a chance at finding him. We have to find Daral It would probably be good to head back to Sylar as well. There are many more facilities on the planet then the one you visited."
Shepard stood. "Got it!" Selena said, standing up.
"Where are you going?" Miranda asked as Shepard started for the elevator. The women stopped short of rounding the corner.
"To have a little chat with our prisoner."
Shepard had always disliked interrogations. She never had the patience for them. Especially when it came to people like Gorack. Arrogant, cocky, careless sociopaths with a hate for everything human.
As she rounded the corner on her way to the integration room, she could not help but feel a pang of…something run up her spine. It was not fear…she knew that, ,it was something more sinister…a dark, cold feeling that couldn't be described as anything less than hate. It was a feeling that festered right in the bottom of her stomach, a sensation that made her feel like screaming. Like hitting the nearest thing over and over again until the feeling was gone. She took a deep breath, focusing on her breathing, before reaching out to open the previously locked door in front of her.
The door hissed open to reveal a small grey room, a table and two chairs placed symmetrically in the middle. Gorack sat at the chair furthest from the door, a smug smile on his face as he rested his bound hands on the table in front of him.
"Commander Shepard. I was beginning to think you had forgotten about me."
Selena said nothing as she took a seat, the door hissing closed behind her, she focused on her breathing, eyeing the Baterian with a distasteful expression.
"You are wasting your time in bringing me here human."
"Where can I find Daral?" Shepard asked, leaning back in her chair, left leg resting rigidly over her right knee. Her hands were fists on the table. Gorack chuckled, a low guttural sound that made Selena girt her teeth.
"What makes you think I am going to tell you?" Gorack's gravelly voice mocked her, a grim smile crossing his chapped bruised lips.
Shepard tried hard to control her temper, biting the inside of her lip before speaking.
"Because I asked nicely. So please, tell me what I want to know."
Gorack chuckled once more. Leaning forward in his seat, all eyes blinking in unison.
"Any if I don't?" Gorack challenged, smirking.
Shepard had, had enough of playing games. She was aching and tired and wanted nothing more than to fall into a mountain of pillows and never come out. She leaned forward, a strange expression crossing her features as she rested her forearms on the table. Her body was suddenly relaxed, her eyes narrowing dangerously.
"Have you ever been spaced Gorack." She asked. "It's not something I would recommend."
Gorack glared at her as she rose to her feet, following her with his many eyes as she took small steps towards him. She rounded on him, her hand trailing on the table behind her. She did not look at him as she spoke, instead, her eyes were squinted slightly, looking up with an almost 'dreamlike' gaze.
"First, you don't feel much of anything. You go numb… then you start to feel pins and needles in your fingers and your toes... and suddenly..."
Selena slammed her fist on the table, hard enough to make a dent, she felt a sudden rush of pride as Gorack noticeably flinched. A flash of fear crossing his ugly features.
"Bang!" Shepard's voice takes a harsh turn, her voice normally filled with authority and humour now scarily cold and cruel. "It hits you like a ton of bricks!"
"You try to breathe, but your lungs feel like they are filled with sand. Every breath you take feels as if you are trying to breathe under water." She leans forward, her face inches away from the aliens left cheek.
"If you are unlucky enough not to die from your ruptured lungs, you'll start to feel cold. Very cold."
Gorack shifted in his seat once more.
"To top it all off, your body's so traumatised that it starts to shut down...slowly. One by one, your organs start to fail."
She leaned in closer, her voice dangerously low, it all most sounded like a growl.
"The last thing you feel, is you skin peeling away from your bones as you enter the planet's atmosphere."
Gorack's posture stiffened with each word. Shepard pushed away from him, moving to the seat opposite. She could feel a sudden rush of satisfaction as she noticed the Baterian hands shaking.
"It's not how you wanna go...trust me." Leaning back in her chair, Shepard rested her left ankle on her right knee, glaring at the Baterian opposite.
"So, I ask you again...where can I find Daral."
Gorack bit his bottom lip, shifting once again in his seat. His eyes glared at Shepard.
"If I tell you, he will kill me!"
"I think we've already established that I'll kill you if you don't tell me."
Gorack's eye twitched as he met Shepard's gaze, his breathing becoming quick. There was a silence that came over them, the two soldiers glaring at each other, daring the other to blink. Finally, Gorack smirked, leaning forward.
"I don't believe you." He said, his teeth showing behind ugly purple lips. "You are Commander Shepard. Saviour of the Galaxy, protector of its people…you do not kill people in cold blood."
Shepard nodded silently, biting the inside of her lip.
"You're right about one thing." She said. "I do protect people. Good people; but you… I don't like like you. You are a salver. You don't deserve to live." Shepard rose, walking calmly towards the door with a stiff back. "The next time I come to talk to you, you better have an answer for me."
Gorack chuckled.
"And if I don't?"
Selena turned, her expression passive.
"Then I will personally throw you out the airlock…"
As she opened the door, she turned to the marine that stood outside.
"Take him back to his cell."
Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. My spell check is still not working, so please tell me if anything is out of place!
(Also, I do not know if Spaceships have struts...but...Yeah lol )
Anyway, next chapter will be up soon!
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Many Thanks!