Upon exiting the shuttle, Kaidan could see the unsettling amount of damage Cortez had commented on. Crashed shuttles littered the entrance, fires raging from the damaged machines. The building in front of them was massive in size and, as Kaidan looked towards the entrance, he saw the Alliance logo emblazoned on the wall.

"I didn't know this was an Alliance facility." Kaidan mused.

"Neither did I." Kacey replied.

Kacey's response did little to alleviate his fears. The sight of several crashed shuttles and broken infrastructure left the biotic wondering what exactly had happened here.

"Pretty big mess, Kacey." Garrus mused, "Lot's of combat."

"Yeah, but who was fighting?" Kacey asked.

Kaidan had a feeling that Cerberus was one of the combatants; as for the other, he wasn't so sure. His focus was on the irritated commander, who looked around the area almost eager for a fight. But his thoughts were interrupted by a static noise that caused the trio to stop.

"Everyone hear that?" Kacey said.

"The comms are offline." Kaidan replied, "Something's jamming our signals."

"Explains no comms leaving the facility." Kacey responded flatly. She sounded angry; gritting her teeth with each word she spat out. Kaidan eyed her nervously as they climbed the stairs at the front of the facility. All was quiet, but not for long; a sudden loud bang erupted throughout the area, as a Cerberus shuttle crashed into the upper catwalk in front of the facility, a Harvester watching from atop on the far side before flying away, unaware of the trio below it.

"You see the Harvester?" Garrus called.

"I saw it!" Kacey shouted back, "Fuck, Phantoms!"

Phantoms dropped from the crashed shuttle and sped towards the trio, gripping their swords tightly as they swung them towards the trio. Kaidan didn't hesitate; the Phantoms grinder to a halt as Kaidan trapped them in stasis.

"Could've sworn you forgot how to do that, Kaidan!" Kacey said in a snarky tone.

"You would think." Kaidan replied, surprised that he could still pull it off; it has been years since he last used stasis. There wasn't much need for it following Sovereign's defeat.

"Looks like they were evacuating." Garrus mused as the final Phantom hit the ground.

"And it looks like the Reapers were after them." Kaidan added.

"About time they started killing each other." Kacey spat before moving towards the facility's entrance. Kaidan shot Garrus a worried look as they followed her; her mood clearly hadn't improved.

Once Kacey hacked the door open, the trio found themselves in the reception area; the place was deserted, save for a few corpses lying here and there. The PA system was still playing, while screens continued to display messages. Kaidan looked over the railing, seeing the more official landing pad as they searched the area.

"What happened here?" Garrus said.

"I don't know. Come on." Kacey replied.

The sounds of shuttles departing rippled across the area; Kaidan looked up to see two Cerberus shuttles leaving the tower with a Harvester in pursuit. Once the sound of rumbling engines disappeared, Kacey ordered the trio to split up and search the area; Kaidan wasn't keen on the idea but did as asked.

He moved through the rows of desks, computers on each one listing the private information of the refugees. He looked through the terminal, finding security footage of the refugees but no trace of Cerberus. Kaidan wasn't even sure what he was supposed to look for, so far nothing made sense.

"Guys look." Garrus called, bringing the pair over towards another landing pad, "It's another landing pad. More official."

"So, the shuttles outside were waiting to get in." Kaidan mused.

"But where are all the people they brought?" Kacey questioned, "This place is deserted."

They headed downstairs, past the crashed shuttles and into a different reception area. Kaidan could see something odd ahead; upon closer inspection, he found the corpses of Cerberus soldiers and Ravagers.

"Casualties. Both sides." Kaidan mused.

"Looks like a bloodbath in here." Kacey mused, "What the fuck is going on?"

"Don't know, but it looks like we're about to find out." Garrus said, drawing his rifle, "More Cerberus!"

It was clear that the Cerberus troops had been fighting a while; their shots missed and their movements were slower than normal, leaving Kaidan to wonder exactly what happened here. He opened fire, mowing down the Cerberus troops with ease. He watched Garrus and Kacey from the corner of his eye; the turian was clearly struggling as the recoil from the rifle was clearly causing pain from his injury while Kacey's injured hand was loosely gripping onto the rifle.

Kaidan wasn't stupid; he knew that going along with this was stupid. He didn't have to do this, Kacey made that clear, but the idea of her doing this herself worried him more. The last time she had done something like this, it had almost got her killed. He knew better than to let her go off on a mission by herself.

"Dead end, Kacey." Garrus said after killing the final soldier.

"Look for an exit. There has to be one." Kacey replied sharply.

The room was just as deserted as upstairs; only bodies littered the pristine floor, blood pouring across the ground. The computer terminals were broken and it didn't look like anything could be gained by searching the area.

"This is a Cerberus facility…"

"Did anyone hear that?" Kacey asked; Kaidan nodded. He heard a woman's voice through static.

"Through here!" Garrus called as he led Kacey and Kaidan to a small side room. A computer terminal was spitting static and cut audio as they approached.

"That's Miranda." Kacey said as she typed on the terminal. The image cleared up as a message played through the speakers.

"This is Miranda Lawson. If you managed to get this far, you must be desperate or stupid. Listen to me. This is not a refugee camp. This is a Cerberus facility run by my father, Henry Lawson. Turn back now. There is no help to be found here; all communication is being blocked from the central tower. Sanctuary is a lie. Stay away."

"So we've got Cerberus, Reapers and Miranda's crazy father." Kacey said as the terminal was reduced to static, "Any ideas on how this all fits?"

Kaidan shook his head; he had to admit this all seemed to be so confusing. Whatever had happened here, it was enough for the Reapers to send their forces after. Kaidan wasn't sure if he wanted to know; considering what the standard soldiers were turned into, he knew that whatever happened here was horrific.

The other door led out to the pool, right at the bottom of the facility. It looked like a dead end as the trio stood by the eerily still water. Kaidan watched as Kacey looked around, heading towards a control panel nearby. Kacey pressed the button, leading the water in the pool to be drained.

"Is that a door down there?" Garrus questioned; Kaidan followed Garrus' gaze towards the far end of the pool, where a locked door remained sealed.

"Definitely a Cerberus facility." Kacey said curtly, "Come on, let's go."

The trio moved down the ladder and towards the facility's entrance. The facility was desolate and abandoned, much like the facility above. The place had an eerie sense of quiet and stillness that was unnerving.

"This is going to get ugly Kacey." Garrus mused, "Nothing good ever came out of Reaper tech."

"You're telling me." Kacey mused.

Kaidan entered the next room, following Kacey's lead. It looked like a command centre, but it was hard to see with the emergency lights on. The place was still empty of any form of life other than themselves. Kacey found the power switch and, upon turning the main power back on, Kaidan could see security footage play on the monitors, and what he saw was horrific.

"What the hell?" Kaidan mused; the footage showed people being put into machines, with smoke rising from their bodies as they thrashed about in pain.

"Those are the refugees." Garrus said.

"They're just killing them?"

"Worse." Kacey said through gritted teeth; Kaidan glanced at the screen, now seeing husks in place of the refugees in the machine, "They're being turned into husks."

Kacey walked off towards the terminal towards the window, switching on the lights in the main chamber. As they flickered on, growls rumbled through the chamber as husks scattered. Kacey jumped, leading to Kaidan nearly pulling the trigger as a husk clambered up on the window, slamming its fists on the glass.

"That's a lot of husks." Garrus mused.

"Yeah. Come on." Kacey said, leading them out of the main control room.

"I don't get it; why go through all this trouble just to make husks?" Garrus asked, "What does the Illusive Man gain?"

"The Reapers attacked because this place was a threat." Kacey replied, "We need to find out why."

"Kacey, there's another terminal here." Kaidan said, "It's Miranda."

"Play it."

"Reaper forces have made a mess of the facility. I'm shutting down the power to the processing plant to lock them down. Should keep them out of the entrance as well."

Miranda disappeared from view, with the screen reduced to static. Before any of them could move away from the terminal, the screen whirred back to life, showing security footage of the last person any of them wanted to see.

"Kai Leng." Garrus mused, "Miranda doesn't know he's here."

Kaidan could see Kacey scowl at the screen as the assassin appeared on screen, almost unaware of the security camera.

"Miranda Lawson had arrived sooner than expected. You want me to deal with her?"

"Only if she gets in your way. Stay focused on the research data. Find it and get it out."

"Yes, sir."

Kacey scowled, "Damn it. Let's move!"

…

Kaidan was already worried going into this mission, and his concern had only grown as they entered a battle with husks. Truth be told, Kaidan would've preferred holding off until the squad had rested up and Kacey was in the right headspace. Neither of which was right now.

Kacey was always reckless; considering all that he had learned about her now, it made sense. But, this wasn't one of those self-imposed reckless choices done in a split second or done for the sake of others. This was recklessness for the sake of it; and Kaidan didn't like it.

They had been here before; Kaidan could remember it as clear as day. Kacey would dive right into battle without much of a plan, and fight like there's no tomorrow. Little care given to any other consequence. However, ruthless precision and recklessness was not what he had expected, even from such a simple encounter.

Husks weren't challenging to deal with; if you know what you're doing. Kaidan didn't think that it would warrant such a hostile response such as fiery concussive shots burning them to cinders. Kaidan didn't think it was necessary, but Kacey seemed to think so. And that was what worried him.

The audio logs they uncovered didn't help matters; whatever Miranda's father was up to, it had something to do with manipulating the Reaper signal. They believed it to be the only way to stop the Reapers; Kaidan thought they were crazy.

Kacey bolted up ahead, unusually quiet as she mowed down a marauder; the chamber was littered with Reaper troops; likely left over from the attack. A banshee scream rippled throughout the area as husks flooded the area. The banshee darted past Kacey and Kaidan, making a beeline for Garrus, who's injury was clearly getting to him as the recoil of the rifle made contact against him repeatedly.

"Kacey!" Kaidan shouted, but it was clear she couldn't hear him; she was too far ahead and she was too immersed in the battle in front of her to be bothered by anything else.

"Fuck." Kaidan sighed. This was going to hurt. Kaidan used reave on the banshee, slowly peeling away at its barriers. The monster took notice and screeched as it threw one biotic blast at Kaidan, who dived out of the way and fired back. Garrus fired a concussive shot, knocking the banshee back. Kaidan caught the banshee with his biotics and tossed it towards the pile of husks that gathered around Kacey. She didn't seem fazed by it; she simply jumped over it and shot the banshee in the head.

"Garrus, you okay?" Kaidan asked.

"I'll be fine." Garrus said through deep breaths, "Just need a minute."

"You need more than that, Garrus. You need to rest." Kaidan replied firmly, Garrus simply scoffed.

"I could say the same to you." Garrus remarked, "I wasn't going to let either of you do this yourself."

"Still, you shouldn't have, not with that injury."

"I'm still breathing, that's good enough for me." Garrus said as they headed towards Kacey, who pressed on through the door, "I wonder what's going on with Kacey."

"There's a lot going on, but this…this is personal." Kaidan mused.

"Guys, I found another message from Miranda." Kacey called, avoiding the gaze of Kaidan and Garrus, "Terminal's damaged though."

"Give me a minute." Kaidan mused as he began to fix the terminal.

"The Reapers want this place bad. Maybe we'll find out why." Garrus mused.

"It doesn't make sense." Kacey mused, "Thought Cerberus and the Reapers were getting along…what changed?"

"I think we're about to find out." Kaidan said as the audio played from the terminal.

"Heading to the tower to disable the communication scrambler. I have to get the word out. Some refugees are turned into husks. Some are indoctrinated and shipped to the Illusive Man. Whoever's left is used in experiments. The data indicates that my father is trying to figure out how Reaper indoctrinated works."

"Tricking refugees with food and shelter only to turn them into test subjects. And for what?" Kacey said through gritted teeth.

"This is just disgusting." Kaidan remarked.

"She mentioned shipping indoctrinated refugees to the Illusive Man." Garrus mused, "We could use that to find him."

"Good catch. Come on, let's head to the tower." Kacey said.

…

If there was one thing that Kaidan hated, it was fighting in tight quarters.

The fight down the hall was intense; after listening to another audio log from Miranda, they discovered that Cerberus had found a way to control Reaper troops, hence the attack on Sanctuary. The footage ended with Miranda being attacked by Kai Leng, which had spurred Kacey to march on ahead, leaving Kaidan and Garrus to play catch up. They ended up in a hall with banshees and brutes on the other end, supported by cannibals and husks.

Bouncing between cover, watching his thermal clip count drop; Kaidan pressed his back up against the wall, trying his best to ignore the pounding migraine caused by his biotics, which had gotten worse with each banshee scream.

Kacey was up ahead, recklessly opening fire on everything that moved within her line of sight with surgical precision. Despite Garrus asking Kacey what the plan was, Kacey remained silent, focusing on the fight ahead of her.

Kaidan shook his head; this was starting to get on his nerves. First Liara, now Kacey. Kaidan rolled out of the way of a brute's arm before using reave to weaken it as Kacey shot it with a concussive shot. The fight was intense and it took one hell of a toll on all three of them.

Once the final banshee was dead, Kacey marched off; Kaidan, who was at the end of his rope, marched after her.

"Kacey! Hey!" Kaidan shouted, "Kacey, stop!"

"Why? We've got a job to do." Kacey replied bluntly. Kaidan put his hand on her shoulder, leading Kacey to turn and face him.

"Yeah, we have a job to do. As a team." Kaidan replied, "I meant it when I said I have your back. But you need to trust me. Trust us. You're our leader, Kacey. And you're a damn good one; you just need to trust your team."

Kacey sighed, "I know. I get it. It's just—"

"Just what? Kai Leng?" Kaidan said to which Kacey shot him a sheepish look, "Just because he's a murderous asshole doesn't mean you have to be to get to him. Now, let's get out of here."

It was clear he had gotten through to her on some level; she looked sheepish, a look that didn't belong to her. They moved through the door, and the previous conversation was all but forgotten. A dark-haired woman was on the floor, covered in grazes and wounds while a middle-aged man held up a young woman, pressing the barrel of a pistol into her head.

"Shepard…" Miranda said weakly.

"Commander Shepard." The man said, "Excellent timing."

"Put the gun down." Kacey said, clearly agitated. All three of them pointed their gun at Henry Lawson, keeping the weapons trained on the man.

"No." Lawson replied, "Oriana tried to shoot me. Miranda's poisonous influence, no doubt."

Kacey scoffed, "I'm sorry she missed. Where's Kai Leng?"

"I don't know. Gone." Lawson replied, "He took my research and left us here to die."

"Miranda, can you hear me?" Kacey said.

"That's close enough. Both of you!" Lawson snapped as Miranda managed to pick herself up off the floor, "Kai Leng didn't finish the job, but I will."

"This ends here."

"On the contrary. Now that the Reapers are taken care of, we have a way out."

"Let her go." Kacey said firmly.

"Shepard…don't let him take her." Miranda pleaded.

"Shepard…please…" Oriana whispered.

"Look, I don't have a problem with you." Kacey said after a moment of silence, "All I want is Oriana and the research data."

Lawson narrowed his eyes, "You want a lot."

"You get your life in return." Kacey said, "How much is that worth?"

Lawson thought about it for a moment, before letting go of Oriana, causing her to drop to her knees, "All right. Take her. But I want out alive. Deal?"

With his focus on Kacey, Miranda took the opportunity to send him flying through the window. "No deal." Miranda sighed as she walked over to Oriana, "Did you hurt you? Are you all right? It's okay, Ori. You're safe now."

"I'm fine." Oriana replied, her voice shaky, "I just…I want to get out of here."

"We will. Give me a minute." Miranda said before turning her attention to Kacey, "Commander Shepard. Fancy meeting you here."

"We…caught a break." Kacey replied, "Are you all right?"

"I'll be fine. Really." Miranda replied, "I don't know how you managed it, but I'm grateful you're here."

"You should have told me about this, Miranda."

"You have a war to win, Shepard." Miranda replied, "This was my fight and it was a long time coming."

Kaidan looked around, finding Garrus immersed in the terminal nearby. Tuning out of the conversation, he approached Garrus.

"Find anything useful?" Kaidan asked.

"Not what we need." Garrus replied, "Just facility info. Shuttle arrival and departures."

"Guess EDI will have to try and extrapolate Leng's course." Kaidan mused.

"You two find anything useful over there?" Kacey asked.

"Just some basic info, not much." Kaidan replied.

"If you're looking for Kai Leng, you'll need this." Miranda interjected, giving Kacey a small handheld device, "I put a tracer on him before he took off. If you act fast, you'll track him right to the Illusive Man."

Kacey smirked, "Sounds like you thought of everything."

"Not quite…but nobody's perfect." Miranda replied.

"Thanks Miranda. This is…exactly what we need." Kacey said.