Allers: I'm not sure where to start with this Commander. Let's start with Liara, she was an Ardat-Yakshi.

Ashley: Yeah unfortunately she was, it wasn't a good time for her. First her mother now this.

Allers: Not good at all. Did her condition affect the mission?

Ashley: Not at first.

Allers: I have a feeling that that's a story for later.

Ashley: Yeah.

Allers: You also worked for Cerberus?

Ashley: I did, several times over the coming years. How do you think I met my wife?

Allers: Valid point. This must have caused a strain between you and everyone else. Not to mention on you for having to lie to everyone.

Ashley: It wasn't the best situation going, but in the long run it was necessary. I didn't lie to everyone though.

After leaving Liara and Shiala, I quickly went to the Commander and relayed the fabricated story. She was shocked and insisted on seeing Liara straight away, even after I had told her of the quarantine that was in effect. It took a while but she finally came round and decided that it would be best for her to stay where she was. She did insist that Shiala come up and see her as soon as possible so she could put her mind at ease. It was at that point that Joker came over the comms.

"Edolus ETA ten minutes."

"Ash tell Garrus to suit up we're going in."

From Shepard's cabin we went straight down to the cargo bay and the armoury where we met Kaiden who was handing out the weapons and gear. As soon as we were suited we were in the Mako awaiting deployment. With Shepard at the wheel and Garrus on the guns, leaving me with the shields and everything else. When the cargo bay doors the Mako roared into life and sped forwards over the edge, leaving us plummeting down towards the ground. Just at the right moment Shepard activated the Mako's thrusters slowing our decent, it didn't stop us from landing with a bang, the Mako always a fun ride. As soon as we had landed I had brought up the transmitter location of the display and sent over to Shepard, hoping that she'd remember about the Thresher Maw somewhere on this planet. As soon as it was brought up the Commander headed straight towards it, throwing the Mako of the top of sand dunes and making me wish I was still onboard the Normandy. As we were going over the last sand dune the Thresher Maw made its self known. It popped up just in front of the wreckage of another Mako.

"Commander, the signals coming from the Mako try not to damage it any further."

"You do realise there's a Thresher Maw in our way."

"I do and I also know that if this person is still alive they need to stay that way."

"We'll try our best Chief."

Even with the promise I didn't feel that reassured, the Commander isn't known for her great driving skills, but then again Garrus was at the guns so surely at least one competent person would be enough. We'd seen see, as the Commander just jumped the gun with the Mako roaring into life and charging head on with the Thresher Maw with Garrus blasting away with the main guns. It looked like a game of chicken seeing who would turn away first, we did. At the last moment Shepard turned the Mako to the side and allowed Garrus to fire some more direct impact shots.

"Ash, I'm going to get us as close as possible to the Mako. I want you to jump out and see if you can find who you're looking for; we'll lead the Thrasher Maw away."

"Understood Commander."

The more we attacked the more enraged the Thrasher Maw became and it started strike out physically as well. It was time for Shepard to lead it away. I got myself ready by the hatch and waited until I was told to jump. The seconds dragged by as I waited, when Shepard finally told me jump I pushed myself as hard as I could out of the Mako and landed in the sand by the destroyed Mako. I led there waiting until I was certain that the Thresher Maw had followed the Commander. Once it was gone I quickly stood up and headed towards the Mako, the visor of my helmet was telling me how long I could survive out on the surface with no shelter and it wasn't looking promising. I surveyed the Mako and made it towards the main hatch and quickly opened it up and moved in for some shelter. Once inside I found that this Mako was designed to hold more than three people, in fact it looked like it could hold six men. Five of which could be seen through the window as they were lying face down in the sand unmoving, that just left the Cerberus operative. Where were they? They clearly weren't inside the Mako, surely they wouldn't have left the Mako in order to find shelter somewhere else. I had to check the front compartment, they weren't in the back, but hopefully they were in the front. If not then I wasn't looking forward to searching the entire planet for her.

The front compartment should only have had enough room for the driver and gunner. Which it did, it was what was in the driver's seat that I was curious about. Moving closer I brought out my pistol and held it towards the driver's seat. Deciding not to speak I grabbed the back of the chair and turned it round. Sat in that chair was the most perfect woman you could imagine. This had to be the Cerberus operative that I was looking for. I moved closer and put my hand on her wrist and checked for a pulse, it took a while to find but there was a faint one there. Acting quickly I applied the medi-gel that I had and let it do its work. After a few minutes of silence the woman started to come around and her eyes opened and quickly took in her surroundings. Deciding it was best to make the first move I pulled out the flask of water I carried and handed it towards her. Thankfully she took it and took a long drink and quenched the first that had clearly been there for a while. Her eyes finally came down upon my armour and noticed the Alliance standard gear and her eyes opened in shock. Her hand quickly moving to the pistol at her side.

"Who are you?"

"Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams."

"Who sent you, the Alliance?"

"No, Gianna Parasini."

"What's the pass phrase to get into the executive lounge?"

"I'm here to see Jack Harper. Satisfied?"

"For the moment. What's you mission brief?"

"To get you to the Citadel. My team will be back soon. They don't know who we work for."

"What do you mean they don't know?"

"I was approached by Gianna Parasini and told not to tell anyone about who you were and who we work for. I have a feeling it wouldn't go down well."

"Fine. How long till they get back?"

"Commander, what's you status?"

"We've just taken down the Thresher Maw we'll be there momentarily, you need any help?"

"No everything's under control."

"They'll be here soon. Now my turn. Who are you?"

"Miranda Lawson. No more questions just yet, wait till we're on board the..."

"The Normandy."

All went quiet after she heard the name, it seemed like she decided it would be best to stop talking and weigh her options up. Not that she really had any if she wanted to get of Edolus anyway. She didn't have time to decide as at that moment the Commander appeared in the doorway.

"Williams, you can come out now."

With those words I helped Miranda to her feet and led her out of the destroyed Mako and into ours. Our Mako wasn't really designed to carry four people, yet it was going to have to do. With only three seats available for the four of us, I offered mine up towards Miranda who took it willingly. That left me trying to find somewhere to stand without being killed by Shepards driving. Needless to say by the time we were back on board the Normandy I had several new bruises. Once the Mako was deemed secure Shepard opened the hatch and climbed out, but not before asking us to report to him once we'd been checked out by the Doctor. With Garrus and Shepard gone that just left us alone in the Mako.

"The med bay first Miranda, then we'll find somewhere to talk."

"Okay, lead the way."

I led the way towards the med bay in silence, I'd already been promised answers to questions I needed answering, all I needed to do was wait a couple of minutes more. Once inside I moved to the side and let the Doctor do her work on Miranda. From my view point I just watched Miranda, not really sure what to make of her. She was a mystery, never giving more than was needed, but always watching. One thing I did know was that she was beautiful; no one I had ever known had the perfect looks and the perfect body like she did. One thing would be certain all the men would go out of their minds the moment they set eyes on her. There was just something about her that I couldn't take my eyes away from, regardless of her body you could look into her eyes and see nothing but everything at the same time. She showed no emotion, everything seemed to be locked away like an ice queen, but in those eyes you could see intelligence, almost like she was designed to be perfect.

"You're in fine form, just try to get some rest and you should feel it. She's all yours Chief."

"Let's go the Commander wants to see us."

We met the commander in the comms room who instantly had questions all of which were thrown directly towards Miranda, who simply couldn't answer them as they came, quick fast and often.

"Commander slow down, you not letting her answer."

"Yeah sorry, we'll start again. Who are you?"

"I can't tell you that Commander. Only certain people in my organisation are privileged enough with that information."

"You mean Williams doesn't know your name."

"She does."

"But I can't?"

"No."

"Fine, what were you doing on Edolus?"

"We were responding to a distress signal, when we were attacked by the Thresher Maw, that you so willingly attacked."

"Is that all you're going to tell me."

"It is."

"Fine, dismissed. We'll be on the Citadel in a couple of hours."

That definitely went well, it seems like hate at first. Just brilliant. Never the less I still needed answers regardless of their conversation, so I followed her out and led her in to the quarters I shared.

"Is this room secure?"

"We won't be disturbed."

"Let me just double check."

Miranda opened up her omni-tool and started a program running, it looked like it's purpose was to scan the room to make sure there are no hidden mics or cameras. When the program gave the all clear and closed the conversation finally started.

"Let me tell you what I can, before you start asking questions."

"Go for it."

"As you already know I'm Cerberus. What you don't know is that there was no distress signal. The real reason that I was on Edolus was to draw you out and see if you could be trusted. We received word from Gianna Parasini saying that you had managed to deal with the whole Anoleis situation and that you could be an asset to our organisation. Our boss gave Gianna the go ahead to recruit you and here you are. Now as for the reason why I'm currently here, as you know my destination is the Citadel where I have a mission waiting for me, what I'm hoping will happen is that you'll join me on that mission, you'll take some time away from the Normandy and accompany me on this mission. Now ask me any questions you may have."

"Okay, so what happens if I say no to this mission on the Citadel?"

"Nothing, all of this will have been in vain."

"Right okay, what is the mission on the Citadel?"

"That I can't tell you, I was due to be contacted but with your Commanders driving I lost my communicator."

"Yeah she's not the best driver, sometimes I'm not even sure if the Mako is driveable. Do you want to use mine?"

"Yours, you shouldn't have a communicator. On completion of the mission you were to go back to Gianna on Noveria. Give it here."

"Have it."

"This is a type three communicator even if you had been accepted into our organisation, you wouldn't have been given a type three. What is Gianna up to?"

It was at that moment that the communicator activated.

"Miranda I see you've met Gunnery Chief Williams."

"Yes sir. We're well acquainted."

"Good. No doubt you're curious as to why I had Gianna give Miss Williams a type three communicator. Surely now you understand why."

"I do, only a type three is able to broadcast your signal."

"I knew you'd understand. Now Miss Williams the mission that I have planned for Miranda and your self is quite simple. There's a Batarian on the Citadel that goes by the name of Vevran, he has intel on a Batarian terrorist group who have hijacked an asteroid in the Asgard system and our threatening to have it collide with a colony on Terra Nova. I don't need to tell you what this means; you'll find Vevran in Chora's den. And Miss Williams, welcome to Cerberus."

With the location of Vevran given the call was dropped. Leaving me with more questions that I started with, namely.

"Who the hell was that?"

"That was The Illusive Man."

"I take it he's in charge."

"You would be right, now what do you say to the mission."

"Count me in."

"Good anymore questions."

"One more, who are you? You may have told me your name, but there's to you than meets the eye. Your exterior gives nothing away, no emotion is shown on your face and you tone of voice doesn't change. The only thing I do know is that your way more intelligent than you were making out to be in front of the Commander. I can see it in your eyes, it's almost like you were designed to be perfect."

I may have said that she didn't show any emotion, but those words struck her like a blade. There was something there a brief show of pain and anger and as quickly as it came it was gone again. But it was definitely there, I could tell that I had struck a nerve, I also knew that I would find out more. As much as I didn't want her to, but she intrigued me and wanted break through the walls that she had placed.

"Not only that but you are extremely hot as well."

I can't believe I just said that, I don't normally say such things. Who was I and what had I done with the normal Ashley Williams.

"We need to go find the Commander and tell her."

"Lead the way Ash."

There it was the shortened name, she'd moved away from the formal use of just my last name or rank, it seemed like my previous statement had worked on her. She had lowered her guard for one second and shown her true self to me. But it soon faded and her default mode was back on. We found the Commander exactly where we left her, still in the comm room.

"Commander."

"What is it Williams?"

"I need to request a temporary leave of absence."

"Why now?"

"Something's come up Shepard."

"Is this your doing?"

"It might be Commander, but I'm sure Ash has her own reasons to take leave."

"What aren't you telling me?"

"A lot. Just know I'm following a lead."

"If that's the case then we'll go with you."

"No Shepard, I need to do this on my own."

"You mean little miss perfect won't be with you?"

"Well she will be, but that's not the point. Commander I need to do this."

"Fine, how long will you be gone?"

"I have no idea, as long as it takes."

"Fine, get in contact when you're ready to come back. And we'll talk about this on your return."

It had to be said that the Commander was confused, but then again I couldn't blame her. After coming back from seeing Gianna Parasini I'd changed. I'd started lying to the Commander and choosing someone I barely knew over her, but this needed to be done. I just hoped the Commander would understand everything that I was doing. It was time to prepare for the mission. We went straight back to our quarters and set about the task. With Miranda immediately running her program to mute any communication devices in the room.

"What's the plan Miranda?"

"First off leave your armour and weapons here, you'll get armoured once we reach a Cerberus headquarters. Then we'll pay a visit to Chora's den and see what the Batarian gives us."

"Where's the safe house?"

"On the Presidium, so we can't have you fully armoured when we go. The people who run the safe house work of aliases, so shall we. My alias is Sarah Walker and yours is Carina Miller. I've used Sarah before and Carina is one that I've set up just for you. As far as the authorities go they're clean with no records, so we'll have the freedom needed to walk around the Citadel."

"One question, if we are working of aliases for this, are you currently using one now. What I'm getting at are you really called Miranda Lawson."

"Miranda Lawson is my real name. I have many aliases that I have used and still do but Miranda Lawson is real, she's the ghost. Only a few people know Miranda, Ash. You the first person I've told on the first meeting. I've been trained to lie to people about my name but with you Ash there's just something different, please don't make me regret it."

"I won't Miranda. As weird as it may sound, I trust you. Even if I've only known you for several hours."

That brought a genuine smile to Miranda's face, which matched the rest of her. It was perfect it showed the emotion that she was really feeling, everything was given in that one simple emotion. That smile was mine, with her being who she was it was hard to believe that she gave it to anyone she met, it was aimed at me.

"Thanks Ash. Now one more detail we need to pull off if this is going to work."

"What is it?"

"We're partners, in the romantic sense. I hope you have no problems with that. We'll need to keep the cover going as long as we're on this mission."

"No I have no problem with that."

"Docking procedures started."

A/N Two chapters within three days. I had no intention of finishing this chapter so quickly but here it is. I hope you noticed the references to Chuck in this chapter. I'm loving that program at the moment, on a plus side it even has Yvonne Strahovski in.

I'd like to say thanks to those who reviewed the previous chapter and in response to pachecoissa123. There's more to come. It's almost like you read my mind for this chapter.