"We'll fight and win without it. I won't let fear compromise who I am."

"Miranda! Do not let Shepard destroy the base!"

Years of conditioning and instinct kicked in, and before she knew it Miranda had her pistol pointed straight at Shepard's heart.

What the hell am I doing?

Miranda Lawson was one of Cerberus' top operatives. Countless times she had eliminated threats to the organization in the name of humanity's advancement. Ruthless, cold, calculating...she had never failed at a task the Illusive Man had set her, never once disobeyed his direct orders, never once hesitated to pull the trigger.

Then why is this so hard?

She knew the answer well. It was because of the woman standing before her.

Commander Shepard, Butcher of Torfan, Savior of the Citadel, humanity's greatest weapon against the Reapers... and one of the few individuals in the galaxy she genuinely respected.

The woman who had not hesitated to put the mission on hold to help her save her sister, the woman who had been able to put aside her personal differences to work together with Miranda and bring them all this far without losing a single member of their crew.

The woman who told Miranda she trusted her, despite the symbol she proudly wore on her uniform.

Don't make me do this Shepard. Listen to the Illusive Man.

Miranda knew in her heart that Shepard was right. This place was an abomination, a testament to the evil that the Reapers represented. Keeping this place intact would be an insult to all the colonists who had met such a gruesome end here.

But what if the Illusive Man's right? What if the key to defeating the Reapers is somewhere in here?

Could Cerberus be trusted with to handle these resources correctly? After Pragia? After Project Overlord?

But none of that mattered now. The Illusive Man had given her an order.

"Step away from that console Shepard", Miranda said. "Please."

"You know I can't do that Miranda", Shepard said, staring at her with a blank, inscrutable expression on her face. Her hand had not so much as twitched towards her weapon.

This is it then.

In that instant Miranda understood that this was how it was always going to end. That things would never have worked out between them, no matter what they'd been through together. That no matter what had happened, destiny would have found a way to put them on opposite sides of the battlefield.

She was Miranda Lawson, the Cerberus Loyalist.

She was Commander Shepard, the Savior of humanity.

"I'm sorry it had to end this way Shepard", she said, looking into the eyes of the woman standing before her, her irises glowing a bright red from her implants.

"So am I", Shepard said softly.

For a brief instant Miranda's pistol wavered.

It was all Shepard needed.

Faster than even Miranda believed possible, Shepard closed the distance between them. Knocking aside her pistol with one hand, she drew her own pistol and in one smooth motion pressed it against Miranda's abdomen. She quickly squeezed the trigger three times.

With a ragged gasp, Miranda fell to the floor, her gun sliding out of her weakened grasp. She felt Shepard catch her and gently lower her body to the floor.

As she lay there in a pool of her own blood, she looked into the eyes of the woman crouching above her. She saw a lot of things reflected in those eyes. Regret... sadness... anger.

Understanding.

She smiled weakly up at Shepard. "I'm…sorry…I…"

"It's okay", Shepard said softly. "I understand."

"Oriana...please... my father...don't..."

"I'll keep your sister safe. I promise."

"Good... Thank... you", she coughed, blood rushing into her lungs.

"Shepard...I...just wish...I...could've..."

Miranda Lawson went still. As Shepard closed her unseeing eyes, she could not help but wonder if in another time and another life they could have been friends.

She certainly hoped so.

AN: I've always found it a bit weird that a hardcore Cerberus fanatic like Miranda would just turn on the Illusive Man like that at the end of the game. It would have made sense if Miranda had had some dialogues after her loyalty mission expressing her doubts about Cerberus (particularly after Overlord). Watching Miranda do a complete 180 to an organization she's been with for so long simply because she's spent a few months in Shepard's company is just plain unrealistic and smacks of laziness on the writer's part.

At this point in the game, I found myself sincerely hoping that something like the whole Virmire and Wrex situation had happened here. It'd have been nice if a paragon or renegade option was required to convince Miranda to stand down and let Shepard blow up the base.