"Jack, medbay. Now." Sheppard commanded with a stern look, two Cerberus officers following closely behind her and Jack. The men looked like they were bursting at the seams trying to keep their line of sight steady, away from the tattooed convict covered in blood, limping through the hallway.
Jack's pace slowed as they reached the intersection of the corridors. The blood from her wounds dripped from her face and arms, soaking her cargo pants and leaving a faint trail on the cold, metallic floor
"Commander, I'm afraid doctor Chakwas is unavailable at present." A third officer joined them to report, chin held up high in a salute, afraid to meet the commander's gaze.
"What do you mean she's unavailable?" Shepard snapped, her voice sharp enough to cut through the tension.
"I'm afraid she's on shore leave, ma'am," replied the officer, still upholding the salute until Shepard relieved them with a slight nod of her head.
"God damnit" Shepard cursed, furrowing her brows "Who's the next medical professional that isn't on shore leave?"
Silence fell for a second as the officers shuffled their boots, a ripple of unease passing between the Cerberus personnel. They shared a tense look, not wanting to be the bearers of bad news.
Shepard was rarely angry, but when she was, it was as if the entire ship braced for impact. Seeing her curse with every sentence as she stomped through the deck, it would be unwise to keep her waiting any longer. Finally, a young man with shortly trimmed black hair cleared his throat and sheepishly said, "I believe it's officer Lawson, ma'am."
Shepard ran the palm of her hand over her face, highlighting the dark eyebags under her eyes. The officers found it puzzling how the woman could withstand the pressure of maybe the most dangerous and important mission in the history of humanity, but it was her own crew that was able to drive her to this level of stress and anger.
"Get her in here now" Shepard demanded, pointing her finger at the very spot they were standing.
Jack's bloodied head rose slightly. She had been biting back her words, trying to stay out of Shepard's wrath, but the words spilled out before she could stop them. "But—"
"I don't want to hear another word from you, Jack." Shepard stopped her with a wave of the hand. Finally she sighted, trying to compose herself, "You've done enough today."
The sound of heels clacking on the deck echoed the corridor, a rhythm of authority and control.
"You wanted to see me Commander?" Miranda's voice was calm, as she nodded towards Shepard, her hands neatly tied behind her back.
"Dr. Chakwas is on shore leave. You will see to Jack's injuries in the medbay."
"With all due respect Shepard, I'm sure this could be delegated to a more appropriate personnel, I have many matters to attend to-"
"Miranda, I do not want to hear another word of this. Both of you, "Shepard pointed to each woman individually, giving them a stern look, "Medbay. Now. That's an order." Shepard waiting, almost in anticipation for any dissenting voices. When none came, she continued more calmly, "If I hear about the two of you causing any trouble I'll personally throw you out the airlock."
Miranda's expression hardened, and Jack's scowl deepened, but neither dared to argue further.
And with that, the commander left, with the two women visibly unhappy with the current situation, and the Cerberus personnel almost sweating from the tension.
"Understood" Miranda replied coldly.
Jack slouched on one of the examining tables in the medbay, her boots repeatedly thundering against the metal frame as she swung her legs back and forth. The constant thud echoed through the sterile room, amplifying the tension between the two women. She observed the Cerberus officer curiously, swaying and angling her head like a semi-domesticated animal.
Miranda carefully pulled the blue medical grade gloves on her hands as she prepared to examine the convict. It made her think back to the Lazarus project. There, she was surrounded by the best medical technology and personnel Cerberus had to offer. Yes, she did a lot of the planning, monitoring and research, but she was also an active member of the surgery team. There was nobody she could trust more not to make a mistake on such an important task as herself. She had a whole team just to help her with scrubbing in and donning before the surgery. Of course doing a simple exam was nothing compared to bringing someone back to life, and yet she couldn't shake the contrast of now being left alone in this dimly lit medbay with a woman she could barely stand.
Finally, the gloves were on, as sterile as they were going to get. The catsuit didn't have any long or loose bits that could make contact with her hands, yet she held her arms up out of habit. So far Miranda has avoided as much as looking at the other woman up until this point. She released a final sigh to mentally prepare for what would surely turn out to be an ordeal, before turning to the convict who observed her with a mixture of curiosity and wariness, like a wild animal eyeing a handler.
"I'm planning to make this completely professional. We don't need to add more stress to the Commander's schedule. "She said matter of factly. With no snarky response from the other woman, she narrowed her eyes and added "Don't try anything stupid"
"Ugh-hmm" Jack grunted, rolling her eyes, her boots beating the cold metal frame even harder this time.
"I'm going to check your eyes Jack, I need you to sit up and look at me." Miranda tried to sound as neutral as possible, but her voice wavered slightly, betraying her inexperience with patients that were... well alive and conscious.
Jack sighed as Miranda adjusted the height of the table with a couple of clicks on the datapad in her hand, before placing it back onto the table next to the surgical tray. Miranda again cursed in her mind at the lack of resources on the so called state-of-the-art ship. She should not have to touch anything after scrubbing in. She should have more manpower and better equipment to handle these situations. But since most of the crew was outright scared of the other woman, it would have been counterproductive to get an assistant who would just mop around and hide in the corner. Of course she couldn't blame them. The convict was unpredictable at best. Violent outbursts and untamed biotic potential, as per her Cerberus file.
"There. Happy?" Jack gronaed, ripping Miranda out of her train of thought.
Miranda shook her head, trying not to let the other woman notice she had trailed off. "I will be once we get this over and done with" Miranda said, gently placing her fingers on each side of the convict's face, examining the cuts on her cheek and eyebrow. "Look up." Surprisingly, Jack followed her instructions without any further complaints.
"Look left," Miranda asked with focus painted across her face, "And look right for me". Jack again followed the instruction.
She hesitated before the last part of the exam, surprised the convict hasn't lost her patience yet with a series of such mundane and 'boring' tasks. "Now straight ahead" Jack once again locked eyes with the other woman only to be met with a harsh light coming from the torch in Miranda's hand.
"Pupil dilation normal, eye function and response time satisfactory" She muttered, jotting notes on a chart on the datapad.
"That cut on your eyebrow looks pretty gnarly, you're going to need some stiches." Miranda reached into one of the cabinets to retrieve a surgical kit. In her head she remarked to herself that the convict had been surprisingly cooperative up until this point. She paused threading the needle before looking up at the other woman. "I can offer painkillers if you'd like."
Jack snorted, "No thanks, I'm not a pussy".
Miranda nodded in acceptance. "Let me know if you change your mind." She gently moved Jack's face in a more convenient position and began the stitching, the needle swiftly moving in and out of the torn flesh. She expected the woman to at least wince at the pain, but Jack remained unbothered.
"So what was the fight about? I heard things got out of control," Miranda asked, more to fill the silence than out of genuine curiosity.
Jack's silence was unnerving, and for a moment, Miranda thought she wouldn't answer, certain the other woman was debating how much to disclose and likely whether to even humour the Cerberus Operative with the conversation. But then, in a low, almost reluctant voice, Jack muttered, "The guy was chatting shit about Shepard." The woman shrugged her tattooed shoulders as she said it, which made the XO almost miss the next part of the stitch.
Miranda raised an eyebrow, trying to mask her surprise. Jack's loyalty to Shepard was something she hadn't expected, especially not after everything Jack had been through. "So you decided to beat him?" She asked, trying to kee her composure but she couldn't deny she found the idea rather funny if mildly immature.
Jack shrugged again, nonchalant. "He had it coming"
"Don't take it the wrong way Jack, but I've seen what you can do on the battlefield." She hestitated for a second, surprised at herself for almost giving the convict a compliment. "Are you really going to tell me one man did this to you?"
"Oh no, those were his security buddies. Turns out he's some foreign diplomat or some other bullshit." Miranda accidentally pulled on the stitch too hard in shock and immiediately scolded herself for losing focus.
Jack seemed to have noticed the tension in the Cerberus officer. "Shepard has it handled. Besides they threw me through at least two windows, I think we're pretty much even."
"I'm sorry, what?" Miranda said in disbelief, moving her hands away from Jack's face, her mouth left slightly agape.
"Don't worry, the other guys are worse off, I guarantee it" Jack smirked, clearly proud of her antics.
Miranda couldn't help but feel a flicker of amusement at Jack's bluntness and let a small chuckle escape her lips.
"All done, won't even leave a mark" Miranda said, taking a step back to assess her work, a glimpse of pride in her eyes. It's been almost a year since the last hands on medical procedure she was a part of, and she has not lost her skills.
"Yeah not like that's ever bothered you before" Jack rolled her eyes. Miranda immiediately understood this was in reference to the horrors the woman endured at the Teltin facility that left her with scarring all over her body. She knew better than to stare but even with all the tattoos it was impossible not to notice the long trail of scars running along her spine, arms, chest and abdomen. Miranda could only imagine the sort of experiments that might have been the cause. She always thought it was a botched job, lack of appropriate surgical techniques and after care for the wounds. A bunch of quacks playing doctor. Perhaps in this case, one more scar wouldn't really make a difference. Nonetheless, she was determined to provide the best quality of care, even to someone like Jack.
Miranda cleared her throat, deceiving herself that it might help to relieve the awkwardness of the situation. "The cuts on your arms are only minor. I'll give them a clean and you'll be fine. I'm more concerned about your ribcage, "she paused, vaguely gesturing to Jack's abdomen, "especially now that I know you went through 'at least two windows'."
Jack seemed completely uninterested in anything she had to say at that point, which Miranda considered to be a sign to get the exam over and done with before the woman loses her patience. She began feeling up the sides of her ribcage, moving in towards her sternum. "Not much damage here, perhaps some bruising," she muttered, more to herself than her patient.
Miranda had noticed blood staining Jack's cargo trousers which she thought warrantied her attention. Of course no artery could have been damaged as the two women wouldn't be having this almost pleasant conversation. She debated asking Jack to remove her trousers, but something told her that might not be the best course of action. She placed her hand near her knee and carefully but swiftly ran it up her thigh. Jack immiediately flinched and pulled away, bringing her knees closer to her chest. Her eyes were wide, highlighting her high cheekbones, another sign of her almost malnourished state.
Miranda was left confused as she did not notice any cuts or foreign bodies embeded in the flesh and with Jack's established tolerance for pain, the reaction seemed unusual.
"Does it hurt?" She asked, retracting her hand despite the other woman already having puller herself away.
"No" Jack said quietly, refusing to meet her gaze.
"Oh..." Miranda managed to mutter, for the first time in a long time finding herself at a loss of words.
The atmosphere between them shifted, the air thick with unspoken memories and shared pain. Jack's demeanor changed in an instant, suddenly her body shot up, an ominous purple glow surrounding her as her biotics fired inside her.
"Don't fucking look at me like that, I don't need your fucking pity cheerleader," Jack spat, her voice trembling with a mix of anger and fear.
Miranda immiediately realised her mistake and recognised the need to diffuse the situation, which ironically she had caused by trying to avoid any negative reactions from the convict.
"I don't pity you, I just want to clarify that I didn't mean to cause you distress," she replied, her tone sincere despite the panic that fluttered in her chest.
"Bit too fucking late for that, don't you think?" Jack jumped off the table and shoved Miranda. With no time to brace, she felt the pain shoot up her spine as she fell backwards, landing on an adjacent examining table. "That's what you Cerberus motherfuckers do, isn't it?" Jack shoved her again, making the metal dig deeper into her back. "How about you get the taste of your own medicine for once" Jack growled, grabbing Miranda's crotch. With no way to escape, the Cerberus woman shut her eyes, flinching, memories flooding her mind.
Suddenly she sensed the other woman had backed off. Finally, she found the courage to open her eyes just to see Jack with a panicked look on her face.
"Shit... I didn't mean it like that." She blurted out, eyes wide as she took another step back. "I don't fucking know what the fuck is wrong with me." She said through clenched teeth, falling to the floor. She hid her face in her hands, once again bringing her knees to her chest. "What the fuck is wrong with me!" She closed her hands into fists and slammed them into her forehead. She kept repeating the phrase in a trembling voice, swaying slightly back and forth as Miranda observed in shock. "What the fuck Jack" Her blows getting harder and harder.
Miranda could barely gather what has just happened. Still in shock, she shifted toward the other woman, gently grabbing her wrists and pulling them away from her face, careful not to startle or set the woman off any further.
"It's okay, Jack." She felt the woman struggle against her grip "It's okay" She repeated. She could finally feel the woman slowly release the tension in her muscles. Jack still refused to look up, her face burried between her knees. Finally, Jack had relaxed her hands, letting them sit in Miranda's grip.
"I'm sorry" Jack muttered. It wasn't a phrase Miranda ever expected to hear from the woman, under any circumstances let alone this strange situation she had never imagined she'd find herself in. Despite the awful and unusual ccontext, she appreciated both the apology and the remorse she had immiediately recognised.
"I know." Miranda let go of the woman's hands and sat dumbfounded for a moment, trying to process what just happened, and the best course of action. Finally, she inched closer towards the woman, sitting next to her, their shoulders barely touching.
Miranda sighed, looking up at the bright lights of the medbay. "Jack?"
"Hmm" she heard a grunt, although this time it wasn't condescending and filled with spite like the usual communication the two of them had.
"Can I ask... "She paused for a second, her brain still not quite able to formulate the sentence, "Just... Keep this to yourself please"
Jack seemed to finally have found the courage to raise her head and look Miranda in the eyes as she nodded in agreement. Miranda could swear she could see a hint of tears pushing their way out her brown eyes. For the first time, she didn't see the hate and rage she was so used to, but rather a very broken, scared young woman who did not know how to deal with the horrors she had went through. Miranda couldn't help but think back to the Teltin facility. To what they did to all those innocent children. No, to what Cerberus did to Jack.
"Your father?" Jack asked, perhaps out of interest, perhaps to break the awkward silence between them.
"Yes," For some reason Miranda didn't hesitate. She hid this from everybody in her life for over two decades. Nobody knew, not Niket, not Cerberus, not even Shepard, and especially not her sister. She had tried to repress it for a long time, pretending it didn't happen. But now, somebody knew. Jack knew. On one hand she felt like the biggest weight has been liften off her shoulders, like she'd been able to breathe again. On the other hand, it was Jack. Out of all people, it was the woman who hated her very being.
"Fucking sucks." Jack replied, perhaps betraying more emotions than she'd like, and once again averting her gaze. "I'm sorry that happened to you." Miranda didn't have the energy to analyze how and what she meant exactly, but the honesty and the warmth in her words made her feel like she could finally relax. She closed her eyes and leaned further back, reminding herself of their bodies touching.
"Thank you Jack and vice versa."