I'm releasing this chapter early since I'll be busy during the actual release time.

Subject Zero

Normandy, 2185, September 2nd 5:37 AM

"Get up, Vex."

I slowly open my eyes to see Riley standing next to the couch, leaning over me. I close them, it feels way too early for this. Can she come back another time and do whatever this is?

"Give me another hour, okay Riles?" I mumble, snuggling into the pillow.

I hear an irritated sigh come from her. Usually, that means she'll give in and let me sleep. I think I've won this.

She huffs. "Get up now, we dock in thirty. Your ass needs to be in the armoury now."

I groan in response, so she pulls the blanket off. My eyes shoot open and I sit up quickly, holding my hand up defensively. "Okay, okay. Damn Riley."

"Good, now get ready. Your armour was picked up while we were sleeping, so go shower and meet me in the armoury." She smiles triumphantly before walking over to the table by her bed. A broken helmet, that wasn't there when I went to sleep, now sits on her desk. She runs her fingers over it, seemingly lost in thought.

I swing my legs off the couch. "You okay, Riles?"

She hums to herself. "Yeah, I'm fine. I found my old helmet when I visited the crash site. I think I'm ready to leave it out."

"How come?" I wouldn't be too thrilled keeping a memento of my death around.

She turns with a weak smile. "I need to remember that good people died. Pressly, Tucks, Grey... and so many others. I can't forget them, no matter how painful it is."

I give an understanding nod. I know what it's like to lose people. Nulan, Jay, my grandfather. It must be hard for her. Being in the Alliance couldn't be easy in that department.

Riley's different than when we were kids. She's always been dedicated, but now it's so much more. She's focused, driven, fearless even. She wants to help despite what she believes we're up against.

I think I believe too, but there's always this doubt in the back of my head. Collectors, sure. They could exist. But these reapers she talked about? I don't know. I believe that she believes it.

"I'll get ready." I stand and pull my sniper case out from under the couch.

"I don't know why you don't just leave it in the armoury, it's more convenient," Riley says, watching me.

"Well, it's like your helmet." I turn to face her. "My grandfather used to be a sniper in the Alliance. I think he missed it after he retired because he made a range on his property and would practise every day." Smiling at the memory, I continue, "His old buddies from back in the day gave him an M-92 Mantis. He had all these old-school rifles, so he never used the mantis."

"Why is that?" Riley gives me a curious look.

"He said it was too futuristic." I laugh. "He hated it. One day when I was like fifteen, I picked it up because I wanted to join him. At first, he panicked because I was holding it, but he saw how determined I was and decided to teach me. It reminds me of who I am and how I became it. It's the last thing I have to remember him by."

She walks over and puts a hand on my shoulder. "If it means that much to you, keep it in here."

"You really shouldn't be showing me favouritism," I point out. "But thank you."

"Anytime." She removes her hand and heads for the door. "I'll see you down there."

"Sounds good." The door closes as I start the search for my bathroom bag.

Normandy, 2185, September 2nd 5:51 AM

I arrive at an empty armoury. Seriously? And they get upset when I'm late. I put my weapons on the table and make my way towards the lab.

Mordin is working at a console. His skin is a tan colour with some red. One of his weird head things is missing, Nulan told me what they were once, but I can't remember.

He looks up briefly and returns to work. "Did you need something? Very busy. Important work."

"I just wanted to know where Ri-the Commander is." I'm not really sure if he knows her name. So sticking to Commander is probably best.

"Haven't seen her. In the armoury perhaps?" He looks up for a second time. "Try not to touch anything."

"Me? I would never." I give him a grin and he just shakes his head. "I tried the armoury, but I'll check again."

I step out of the room, turning to see him return to work as the door closes between us. He's a little sporadic. He told me before that he was working on something to do with collector swarms, but I'll believe it when I see it.

I start my way back as the debriefing room door opens. Riley steps out, seeming surprised to see me. So much for meeting in the armoury.

"Vex, I was about to come find you." She jabs a thumb over her shoulder. "You can get changed in there, it's all laid out for you."

"Right, thanks." I enter the room after she steps aside. There are several pieces of armour on the table. How the fuck do I put this on?

I shrug and pick up the first piece and after a bit of struggling, I finally get all the armour on. At least, I think it's on properly. I'll have to get Riley to take a look. Maybe she's in the armoury now.

I head there and nope. Why even bring up the armoury if she's never going to be there? Maybe she's in the CIC.

I step out of the room into the CIC and see Riley talking to Miranda. It seems like Miranda is wearing actual armour. It's black with gold trims, sort of like Jacob's. I wonder why she didn't wear that when we first met unless it's also new.

"How does it feel?" Riley asks, spotting me.

I shrug. "Is it even on properly?"

Miranda looks me up and down. "It seems to fit fine. Less chance of death."

"You'd miss me too much," I quip, giving her a wink.

Riley circles around me. "I don't see any issues, good job."

"Yeah, I knew I could do it." Never had a doubt.

"Sure you did." Riley smiles. "Now let's go and gear up."

Purgatory, 2185, September 2nd 6:13 AM

It's weird to have your weapons attached to your armour. I get it, it's more efficient, but I've carried them for so long. I'm just used to it.

I sigh in distaste as I follow Riley and Miranda out of the airlock and through the prison docking bay. Which eventually leads us to a door with several guards dressed in Blue Sun's armour. Great, these guys.

There's a turian between us and the entrance that takes a step forward. "Welcome to Purgatory, Shepard. Your package is being prepped and you can collect it shortly." He pauses. "As this is a high-security vessel, you will need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed."

"Hell no," I blurt out, causing everyone to turn to me.

Riley puts a finger to her lips. "I apologise for that outburst." She faces him once more. "However, we can't do that." Good, I'm not trusting the Blue Suns with my shit.

He doesn't seem happy about it though. He looks like he's about to say something when another turian comes through the door behind him.

"Everyone, stand down," he orders. "Commander, I'm Warden Kuril and this is my ship, the weapons will be returned on the way out. You must realise this is just a standard procedure."

Riley doesn't even take a second to think it over before replying. "I understand, but we'll be keeping our weapons, as per my standard procedure." I can tell she probably has a fake smile plastered on her face right now for added effect.

The turian, Kuril, stares at her for a few seconds. "Let them proceed," he says, finally giving in. "Our facility is more than secure enough to handle three armed guests."

"Thanks," Riley says as Kuril leads us towards the door.

"We're bringing Jack out of cryo," he explains. "As soon as the funds clear you can be on your way, if you'll follow me to Out-Processing for the pickup Commander."

Riley nods and he takes us through the door and into a hallway. This whole thing seems a bit sketchy, but that could just be me. He's a Blue Suns, I don't really get along with them.

Kuril keeps telling us about the prison, but I'm not paying attention to him. I'm too busy looking out over the cells, watching as they get moved around by giant mechanical arms. This place is massive.

We stop as Riley and Kuril start a conversation, Miranda and I standing a few feet away. I focus enough to catch a few bits and pieces. Something about thousands of prisoners and how he can space them at a moment's notice. Riley seems disgusted by it and I don't blame her.

It's weird, if I had gotten caught, I could have ended up in a place like this. This dangerous and powerful biotic we're buying, this... Jack. She and I have at least one thing in common, it seems.

Glancing over at Miranda, I notice she's looking out over the cells. She's trying to seem like she's not listening, but she clearly is. The way her body is slightly turned towards them, the small movements of her face.

I guess I should be making more of an effort to listen. I've been zoning out the whole time. Okay, focusing time.

"And if they don't pay?" Riley asks, still looking disgusted.

"We explain that we can't maintain the prisoner without their help, so we'll be forced to release him back onto his homeworld, at an unspecified place and time," Kuril answers.

"So it's an extortion racket?" Miranda accuses, drawing attention to herself.

I have to give it to her. I didn't think she had it in her to speak out of line. I'm impressed, I kind of like her more for that.

Kuril glares at Miranda. "You don't have to agree with my methods but don't question my motives. These are despicable people and I am keeping them locked up." He turns back to Riley, not even waiting for Miranda to reply.

"Asshole," she cusses under her breath. I like this side of her.

Riley and Kuril start walking again, so we follow behind them as they lead us to the end of the hallway. We pass through some doors and oh great, another hallway. Yawn.

"I'm going to confirm that the funds from Cerberus have cleared. Out-Processing is straight down this hallway." He points to the other side. "Just keep going past the interrogation rooms and the supermax wing."

"Understood," Riley affirms.

"I'll catch up with you later Shepard." Kuril hurries off through some doors, leaving us alone.

We start down the hallway and I jog up to Riley, keeping pace with her. "So, I don't know about you, but Kuril seems shady as fuck."

"Maybe." Riley hums, considering it. "We should stay on our guard anyway, as always."

I nod as we come across some cells. Screams come from one of them as two guards watch from outside. It sounds like the person inside is being beaten.

"Disgusting," Miranda mutters from behind me. She seems more opinionated than usual.

"What are you doing?" Riley demands, approaching the guards. "He's an unarmed prisoner, stop this immediately."

The guards glance at each other before one of them sneers. "This is a massage compared to what his victims went through."

"I said stop!" Riley put on her authoritative voice I see. "It's degrading and not just to him, but you."

The guard stares at her for a second. "You're right," he sighs. "Call it off, at least for now."

Once the beating stops, Riley nods. "Thank you." She takes off past him, continuing her way down the hallway.

"They may be prisoners, but that was barbaric," Miranda states.

I glance at her. "It's not right," I agree. "I may be biased though. I've killed people. I could have ended up in a place like this."

"You have?" Miranda smirks. "I don't remember reading that on your record."

She's right, my record is clean now. I don't think I'll return to Omega after all this is over. So, maybe this could be a second chance. But what am I going to do with it?

We pass by another hallway. The supermax wing that Kuril mentioned, I assume. Who cares about that though? We finally got to the stupid Out-Processing, so we can meet the new recruit and get out of here.

Entering the room, I notice there are three rows of desks and terminals. A few workers are here and Riley is quick to talk to them, asking questions about what to do now. Something is wrong though. The subtle shift in their demeanour, the tension. I don't like this.

The workers point to the other side of the room where a single door sits. Riley thanks them and then signals us to follow her. We open it to reveal... a cell?

"My apologies Shepard, you're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer," Kuril's voice appears as if on cue over the intercom. "Drop your weapons and proceed into the open cell. You will not be harmed."

All three of us turn around to see that the room is now empty. I knew it. I should have said something. Of course, the Blue Suns would do something like this.

"Yeah." Riley crosses her arms. "That's not going to happen."

"Just for the record, I knew this place was shady," I remind Riley, taking my mantis off my back.

Kuril's voice booms over the intercom again, "Activate systems!"

"Congrats, now get in position." Riley heads forward, jumping over a set of desks to get behind the second row.

Miranda sprints to the front of the room, positioning herself behind the first row by the door. Naturally, I take the third row. This'll work, I have a pretty good angle of the hallway.

I count four guards heading our way. "Four incoming!"

Taking a deep breath, I ready a shot. Before the guards reach the door, I fire, hitting one in the head. He falls just as the other three get through the door.

I pull out another thermal clip, ready to reload, while Miranda and Riley hold off the remaining guards. They manage to take one out as the others seek cover. We just have to wait for them to make a move.

As soon as one stands, Miranda lifts him with her biotic power, allowing Riley to take him down with a well-aimed shot. I have to admit, their teamwork is pretty good.

I notice another guard coming with some kind of mech dog. "Three left, two guards and a mech dog!"

"It's called a FENRIS!" Miranda calls back.

Rolling my eyes, I take a shot as the 'FENRIS' enters the room. It sparks but doesn't fall. Fuck, these things are tougher than I thought.

As I start setting up another clip, Miranda shoots at the mech. After a few seconds, it goes down with a thud, followed by a small explosion erupting from it. I could have done that.

Meanwhile, Riley reloads with a different ammo type and sets one of the guards on fire. He panics and runs out of the room, his friend close behind him. She takes the opportunity to swiftly take out him as well.

I take another look down the hallway, spotting two more guards. Oh? They lined up? I seize the moment and pull the trigger, watching as they both drop. Perfect. "That's two for one, piece of cake!"

Miranda glances over. "Now isn't the time to show off!"

"Is it clear?" Riley inquires, not seeming phased by my unprofessionalism. So, I guess that's a bonus.

Peering through my scope, I scan the hallway. "It's clear for now, but I'm betting we'll meet some resistance on our way to the supermax wing." I sling my rifle and head over to the group. "I mean, we still have to go get Jack after all."

"Agreed," Riley responds, patting me on the shoulder. "Let's go get her. Just keep sharp and stay close."

Switching to my pistol, I get ready for the small confines of the hallways. I may not be as skilled close-up, but I'm still a good shot. Plus, I'm sure this place will give me more opportunities to snipe.

As we head towards the supermax wing, another guard spots us. My visor flashes a warning, he has a kinetic barrier. He'll be harder to take down. I wasn't so sure about it before, but it's nice to see this thing is actually useful.

Miranda charges forward, unleashing a powerful biotic blast at the guard. The force shatters his barrier, giving Riley and me an opening. Caught off guard, he barely has time to react to us.

I jump over his body as we rush forward. We turn the corner and see a single door. And with nowhere else to go, we open it.

Inside is a man in a white coat holding up a pistol in a shaky hand. I instinctively shoot him in the shoulder. He falls, clutching his wound before reaching for the weapon once more, forcing me to shoot him in the head.

"Good job," Miranda praises as she follows Riley inside. Not the word I would use, I doubt he ever held a gun before.

As I step inside, I notice the few machines lining the walls, the locked door on the left wall, and the desk positioned in front of a huge window. Peering through the glass, I see what appears to be a cryo chamber. We must be in the right place.

Riley leans over the terminal on the desk, examining it. "Looks like the security controls." She glances back at me. "Think you can hack it?"

"If you do that, every door on the cellblock opens," Miranda warns before sighing heavily. "But it seems we don't have much of a choice."

"Let me see." I open the terminal. Nulan taught me a few things, plus I've been practising. I'm still not at his level, but lucky for us neither is this. "I can do it, but you'll have to be sure."

We lock eyes, and I can see she's weighing her options. I don't envy her, it's a tough decision. Who knows how many prisoners will escape?

She closes her eyes and sighs. "Do it."

That's all I need. I begin typing away on the terminal. I figured a place like this would have better security. It's a fucking prison, after all. If this was an Eclipse ship, we'd be screwed.

I smirk as a mechanical arm whirs to life, moving to open the cryo chamber. With a hiss, the hatch releases its pressure, and the arm pulls out a young woman strapped to a slab. She's covered in tattoos and several scars. Her head is shaven and she, uh, barely has any clothes. Just some low sitting pants and a strap across her chest.

"So, that's Jack?" I remark as the ice coating her starts to thaw. "She seems cool." Miranda shoots me a disapproving glare for the joke, but I can't resist.

As Jack starts to regain consciousness, her fingers twitch before she jerks upright, a mix of surprise and fury flashing across her face. She fights against her restraints, eventually breaking an arm free. She also frees her other one before removing the strap on her neck. She falls to the ground and stumbles forward while clutching her head.

Three huge mechs approach to stop her, but she just charges at them, glowing with biotic energy. We can't see what happens next since it's out of view, but it sounds like we're missing a show. I wish I could see it.

Something explodes beneath us, shaking the room. Riley rushes to the now unlocked door. "We need to get down there now!"

I shrug, following after her. "Let's hope she doesn't treat us like those mechs."

"As long as we don't appear threatening to her, we won't have issues," Miranda chimes in.

We enter the other room. It's a complete mess of scattered metal and rubble. On one of the walls is a giant tunnel. I can't believe she made that. Is she really that powerful?

"Okay, I see why we'd want her on our side," I state, examining the tunnel. "But that's the problem. She's not on our side, Riles."

"Vex," Riley sighs in frustration. "Just get a move on."

I roll my eyes and head inside, the group a few feet behind me. It's dark, with a red hue from some scattered, dim lights. Lots of loose wires too, we should probably avoid those.

Kuril's voice echoes over the intercom, "All guards restore order. Lethal force authorised, but don't kill Jack. Techs, lockdown, lockdown!" Sounds like he's having a blast.

I avoid some more wires and finally make it to the exit. Stepping out, I see we're in a cell block. There are broken machines, open cells, and flames everywhere. I know we caused this, but what else could we do?

There's fighting in the distance. Prisoners fighting guards and mechs, it would seem. What even happened here? It couldn't have been Jack, she's not that powerful, surely. Rioters maybe?

The sound of footsteps appears behind me and I turn to see Riley and Miranda. Took them long enough. "As you two can see, this place has gone to hell," I state, gesturing towards the area.

As if to prove my point, something falls and crashes into the ground behind me. I look back to see a mechanical arm. I am... so fucking lucky I wasn't standing there.

"This prison is corrupt," Riley states. "Our mission is to retrieve Jack. You both have full authorisation to shoot both prisoners and guards if they try to stop us."

"I thought we were already doing that." I smirk at her, clearly joking.

Riley shoots me a glare that can only be translated to 'not now.' "Move out." She starts moving forward, Miranda close behind her.

I hang back slightly, swapping to my sniper. Scoping in, I scan the areas above us. Just some fleeing prisoners or something. I shrug and bring my attention back to the group, who have already gotten themselves in a firefight and seem to be drawing the attention of a huge mech.

"Heads up," I warn over the comm. "Mech coming your way."

Miranda responds quickly, "Disruptor ammo. Use it and we'll handle the rest."

I do as I'm told and load up my mantis. The first shot connects, causing the mech to spark, but the shield doesn't break. I reload and fire a second shot and a third. The sparks grow with every pull of the trigger.

"Just break already," I mutter, squeezing off another round.

The shield shatters and Miranda acts immediately. With her omni-tool open, she unleashes a surge, overloading the mech. Once stunned, Riley wastes no time, laying a barrage of gunfire into it.

I can't help but be in awe of how well that all worked. They seem to have this teamwork thing down. Well, I guess I helped too. I should probably head over to them.

"A YMIR mech? They mean business," Miranda remarks as I approach the group. I'm impressed, she knows her stuff. "Good work." She turns to me. "Let's see if you can keep it up."

"I was about to say the same thing about you," I retort with a smirk.

Our eyes lock for a moment before Riley steps between us. "Cut it out, both of you. We need to keep moving."

Miranda immediately averts her gaze. "Yes, Commander."

I just roll my eyes and follow them towards a door by some dead bodies. As we're about to enter, Riley stops and steps away from us. She places two fingers on the side of her helmet, probably a message from someone on the ship.

"Understood." She turns to us. "EDI informed me that Kuril has locked down the areas behind us. We'll have to find an exit after we retrieve Jack."

"That figures." I scoff, typical Blue Suns. "After what we pulled, he probably wants us dead. I'd love to see him try." I raise my rifle for enthesis.

"Vex," Riley snaps, her tone sharp, before sighing. "You're right. Which means we have to be cautious."

We continue forward when a warning message is played over the speakers. Informing us that the core systems are failing. Well, that can't be good. We're going to need to hurry this up.

Kuril's frantic voice comes next. "Lockdown in Blocks Four, Seven, and Eight!" Seems he's becoming more dangerous.

We enter the next area. There's blood all over the ground and a bunch of stacked crates like someone tried to make a barricade. Probably to block off the gunfire from the men on the balcony ahead of it.

"Get down!" Riley yells and we do just that. "Vex, how many?"

I peer through a crack in the crates, using my visor to confirm. "Two."

She seems to consider that for a moment. "Okay, can you get a pick from here?"

"I can get both." I'm confident enough in my abilities to get either one she wants.

"You take the left, Miranda and I will handle the other." She waits for our confirmation before nodding. "Go."

I spring up, scoping in on the left guard. He doesn't even get a chance to react before he hits the ground. To the right, I see the other one being slammed into the railing, coated in a blue glow. Miranda didn't even need Riley's help.

Riley signals for us to move and we head out from behind the crates. By the look of it. We're in another cell block. Great, this place is too big.

As we make our way, a female voice crackles through the speakers. "The hull has been breached in Sectors Twelve, Fourteen, and Thirty. No survivors." Well, fuck.

The voice fades as some guards charge us. I hang back, sniping while the others return fire. We're almost done with them as another YMIR mech shows up.

It's coming over quickly, but there's just one more guard behind some cover. I activate my armour's cloak to go invisible and dart to where he's crouching. If I take him out, then it's just us and the mech.

I get an angle, shooting the guard as Kuril blares some more nonsense. I quickly draw my pistol and load it with disruptor rounds. Firing into the mech, I watch as its shield shatters, allowing Riley and Miranda to finish it off.

Turning, I spot a giant opening where the next door should be. If the layout of this room is as repetitive as the rest, then it's our only exit. Riley and Miranda confirm it by rushing over to join me.

"Good job," Riley praises, passing me. I think I did a good job too.

As we head inside and down a hallway, Kuril's voice appears again. "All guards to cell block one!"

"That's suspicious," Miranda remarks. She has a point, this whole thing feels like a setup. We're probably walking into a trap.

As we enter the next room, Kuril stands on a platform in the back, surrounded by guards who watch as he mercilessly shoots at fleeing prisoners. A second passes before his gaze locks on us. He fires in our direction, forcing us to get behind whatever cover we can find.

"You're valuable, Shepard," Kuril sneers, voice tinted with malice. "I could have sold you and lived like a king," he continues, his tone darkening. "But you're too much trouble. At least I can recapture Jack."

Riley looks pissed as more shots hit our cover. "I don't have time for this nonsense!" she shouts. "You're a slave trader and I'm putting a stop to this!"

"I do the hard things civil governments are unwilling to!" Kuril sounds delusional. "This is for the good of the galaxy!"

I don't know what we're supposed to do here. We're stuck behind cover as some crazy fucker fires at us. Well, Riley. He seems to be more fixated on her. Maybe I can use that.

"I've had enough of this!" I snap, taking a shot at Kuril. It hits a forcefield and dissipates. Uh, that's not good, now we need to find the generator for that thing. I activate my comms. "Hey, Riles."

"What is it?" she responds, bracing herself as another barrage of bullets pelt her cover.

"He's behind a shield. We'll need to destroy its generator." And that's not even the hard part. "I can scout out its location."

"That's a good idea," Miranda admits. No shit.

"We'll handle the guards," Riley declares. "Just find the generator."

Cloaking myself, I run out of cover, scanning the room for any sign of it. Where the fuck is this thing? The room isn't even that big. It has to be here somewhere, but where?

There, a small flicker across my visor. It's... behind the barrier? How am I supposed to reach that? I need to warn the others and find a good angle.

Squeezing past a guard, I make my way to the back of the room so no one can hear me. "I have some bad news."

"Do I even want to know?" Riley sounds frustrated.

"Probably not." I sigh. "The generator is behind the barrier."

"We can work with that," Miranda interjects. "I can overload the barrier, but you'll only have a few seconds."

Scanning the area, I see some metal boxes I could use for height. "I can do it, I'll let you know when I'm in position."

"Be careful." Riley worries too much.

Without hesitation, I sprint toward the boxes. Just as I'm about to reach them, a shot shatters my kinetic barrier, causing my cloak to flicker and fail. I dive for cover, my heart racing. What happened?

"There's nowhere to hide," a voice taunts. A guard. He must have heard my footsteps.

Taking a deep breath, I wait for my barrier to regenerate. He's getting closer. He'd better hope he reaches me before I finish recharging. Three, two, one.

As soon as my barrier is back up, I stand and aim, but before I can fire, the guard is sent flying across the room.

"What the?" I look around until I spot Miranda halfway across the room.

"Having trouble, Vex?" Miranda's voice crackles over the comms, sounding proud of herself.

I can't help but roll my eyes playfully. "I could've handled that myself."

"If you say so," she retorts over the sound of gunfire. "Now, hurry up and get in position."

I do exactly that and climb up the boxes. Peering through my scope, I line up my shot with the generator. "Ready."

A tense moment passes before the barrier shatters. I waste no time and pull the trigger. The shot finds its mark, triggering a small explosion.

Kuril stares at it then whirls around, his gaze narrowing on me. There's anger in his eyes as he puts the pieces together. Aiming his rifle at me, he takes a few shots.

I fall back off the boxes and take cover behind them. The echo of bullets ringing in my ears as they slam against the metal. This guy just never quits.

"Any time you two want to take him out is fine by me!" I shout.

After a second, the room is silent. I risk a peek, half of Kuril's body is visible, slumped against the wall, the rest hidden behind some cover. I lean back against the cold metal with a sigh of relief. That was close. Fuck that guy.

I stand up and walk around the boxes. Riley and Miranda start heading towards me when an explosion goes off somewhere above us. We all look up to see Jack running through the upstairs hallway.

"We have to move, now!" Riley demands, sprinting off with us close behind.

Purgatory, 2185. September 2nd 10:42 AM

As we reach the docking area, we see Jack standing there looking confused and angry. Her gaze is fixed on our ship before she erupts in a rage, stomping around and throwing punches blindly. She doesn't even notice the guard behind her.

Riley quickly draws her rifle, shooting the guard as Jack finally notices him. Lucky her.

She whirls toward us, a confused expression on her features that's quickly replaced with fury. "What the hell do you want?"

"We've come to get you out of here," Riley explains calmly, holstering her weapon.

Jack starts pacing. "Shit, you sound like a pussy."

I stifle a laugh which earns me a glare from Riley. "Sorry."

"I'm not going anywhere with you," Jack continues. "You're Cerberus."

"I'm not exactly with them," Riley states confidently, even in Miranda's presence.

"Bullshit, Cerberus has been on my ass for years. Anytime I get free, they put a huge bounty on me." Jack points at us. "That's why Warden Kuril figured he'd struck gold when he caught me. It isn't working out too well for him."

"I'd say," I interject with a smirk, earning disapproving looks from both Riley and Miranda. "Okay, sorry again."

"Look." Riley turns back to Jack. "I'm here to ask for your help."

Jack motions towards the ship. "You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere. You think I'm stupid?"

Riley crosses her arms. "This ship is going down and I'm asking for your help. You have two options, come and help me or stay here." She shrugs. "Your choice."

"We could just knock her out and take her," Miranda suggests. Yeah, something tells me that won't work out well for us.

"I'd like to see you try." Jack's demeanour becomes more defensive.

"We're not going to force her. I want her to choose." Riley steps forward. "So, what's it going to be?"

Jack takes a step too, matching her. "You want my help, make it worth my while."

Riley straightens up. "What do you want?"

"I bet your ship's got lots of Cerberus databases. I want a look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me." Jack folds her arms. "You want my help, let me go through those databases."

Miranda tenses up.

"You can have full access," Riley agrees after a moment of silence.

Miranda steps forward. "Shepard, you're not authorised to-"

"Aww. it upsets the cheerleader, even better," Jack interrupts. "You better be straight with me." She points a finger at Riley, who meets her gaze and nods. "So, why the hell are we standing here?"

Riley looks at Miranda and me. "Move out." She strides past Jack toward the airlock.

"Come on," I urge, glancing at Miranda, who's seething. Offering a comforting pat on her upper back, I nod in the direction Riley went.

She sighs and storms off without a word. Well, okay then, I guess.

Normandy, 2185, September 2nd 11:37 AM

While we were getting out of our armour, Riley told me she was going to do Jack's initiation. Technically, I'm not allowed to join, but she had no objections. And I'm kind of curious to see if it's anything like mine.

Following Riley's lead, we enter the debriefing room. Jack is the only one here so far, leaning against the far wall. Riley positions herself by the table. I follow and hoist myself onto its edge.

Jack eyes us, likely wondering what this is all about. We can't start without Miranda and I guess she's late for once. Maybe she just needed some time.

After a minute or two, the door finally opens. Miranda strides in, her eyes snapping onto me. "She's not supposed to be here," she states firmly. Ah, that's the Miranda I've always known.

"I don't see any harm in it," Riley counters with a shrug.

Miranda sighs in frustration and walks across the room. "Welcome to the Normandy, Jack." She turns to Jack. "I'm Miranda, Shepard's second-in-command. On this ship, we follow orders." She stands straight, hands clasped behind her back. For some reason, it's almost cute. In an annoying official kind of way.

Jack merely glances at Riley, unfazed. "Tell the Cerberus cheerleader to back off, Shepard. I'm here because of our deal."

Riley nods. "Miranda will take you into the system, just let me know what you find."

"Hear that, precious?" Jack pushes off the wall and steps closer to Miranda. "We're going to be friends. You, me, and every embarrassing little secret." She sneers before turning to leave. "I'll be reading down in the hold or somewhere near the bottom. I don't like a lot of through traffic. Keep your people off me. Better that way." And with that, she leaves the room.

Miranda's hands tense at her sides. And I thought the incident on the Citadel was the angriest I'd seen her. She doesn't even look at us, just shakes her head and follows after Jack.

"I gave Jack my word," Riley starts, addressing me now that everyone else is gone. "I hope Miranda understands there are no hard feelings."

"You did what you thought was right." I hope I sound reassuring. I couldn't care less about Jack gaining access to Cerberus files, but I understand why Miranda would be upset. She values loyalty and professionalism, things she probably feels Riley didn't uphold today.

"I know," Riley acknowledges.

I hop off the table and stretch. "Don't worry, I'll talk to her when things cool off."

Riley seems sceptical, but manages a smile. "Maybe don't do that."

I scoff. "Seriously, trust me."

"Let's just grab some food," Riley suggests, walking past me. Works for me.

Normandy, 2185, September 2nd 2:29 PM

Curiosity got the best of me. So, I went looking for Jack. It took a while to track her down. She's literally holed up at the bottom of the ship, right under the hum of the engine. It seems fitting for someone like her.

As I walk down the stairs, I spot her sitting on a makeshift bed, surrounded by scattered datapads. She's so distracted by them that she doesn't even hear me coming.

"You weren't kidding," I remark, making myself known. "This really is the bottom of the ship."

Jack glances up, unfazed. "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell Shepard to keep her people away?"

"I'm no one's people." I shrug. "I'm just checking in, that's all."

She returns to her files. "I don't need friends. You can leave now."

"Fair enough." I lean against a wall, trying to act casual. "I just wanted to meet you and stuff."

Jack's eyes narrow, a warning in her tone. "You're pushing it."

I raise my hands in surrender. "Got it, I'll go." The last thing I want to do is piss her off. I can try again later and see what she's about.

I should go see Miranda anyway like I told Riley I would. So with that, I head for the stairs. I may as well get it over with.

"I'm fine now that I have these files," Jack informs me as I grab the railing.

I pause, glancing back at her. "Good to hear. I'll see you later, Jack."

She nods and I make my way back up the stairs. She's interesting, a little rough around the edges, but so am I. I think she and I will get along.

Normandy, 2185, September 2nd 3:15 PM

I step into Miranda's room. She's at her desk, not that I expected her to be anywhere else. She's completely focused on her terminal, not even noticing me until I clear my throat.

"Vex," Miranda greets, quickly composing herself. "What can I do for you?"

Observing her for a moment, I notice that she seems on edge. Well, I shouldn't be surprised after today. Letting Jack look at those files is probably her idea of a nightmare. Hopefully, I don't annoy her more.

I take a step forward. "Are you okay?"

She seems surprised by the question. "I'm doing better now."

"Look." I take the seat across from her. "I know today wasn't exactly fun for you, but Riley is just doing what she thinks is right."

She folds her arms, focusing her eyes on me. "I understand that. I don't have anything more to say on the matter."

"It's fine, I didn't come here to talk about it." I lock my eyes with hers. "I wanted to check on you."

She nods her head with a sigh before she regains her composure. "I can assure you, I'm okay."

"That's all I wanted to know." I lean the chair back and place my hand on the desk for balance.

She stares at my hand for a moment. "If that's all you wanted, I'd like to get back to work."

"Right." I sit on the chair properly. "I'll leave you to it." I stand up, turning for the door.

"Oh, and Vex," she begins. "I was too quick to judge you. You were very capable today."

Did she just compliment me?

Turning back to her, I study her face. No sign of deception, not that I can tell. "I-thank you," I mutter before leaving the room.

Thank you for reading.