BioWare owns what they own. Alright, so I explained where I've been in my Skyrim story. So the situation is, I'll release this chapter then work on my Skyrim story until it's done, since it's almost finished. Then I'll be focusing all my attention on this story and it's sequel until they're done. I'll probably move onto other stories after that, but I've really wanted to work on this one solely, and I'll finally be able to do that when my Skyrim story is done.

Chapter Eight: Subject Zero

Normandy, 2185, August 29th 5:37AM

"Wake up Vex." I slowly opened my eyes at the familiar sound of Riley's voice. She was standing next to the couch, leaning over me. I close my eyes again; it felt early as hell and I didn't want any part in it.

"Give me another hour, okay Riles?" I mumbled as I snuggled more into the pillow.

I heard a slightly irritated sigh come from her, I would usually assume that means she was about to give in, but this wasn't like that. "Get up now, we dock on Purgatory in about thirty minutes and your arse needs to be ready."

I groaned in protest causing her to kick the couch. My eyes shot open and I started to quickly sit up as I held my hand up in a defensive way. "Okay, okay, damn Riley."

"Good, now go get ready, your body armour was picked up while we were sleeping and you need to try it on. So just shower and meet me in the Armoury," she said with a triumphant smile before walking over to the table near her bed.

It was then that I noticed a broken helmet sitting on the desk. She ran her fingers delicately over it as she seemed to be thinking of something. "Umm, you okay Riles?" I asked quietly.

She hummed to herself before answering my question. "Yeah, I'm fine. I just found my old helmet at the crash site; it's hard remembering what happened."

Well… she did die; it would be tough remembering that. If it was too hard though, why would she keep a memento around? "Then why put it in here?"

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

I gave her an understanding nod. I understood what it was like to lose people; we owed it to them to remember them, to live for them. I couldn't help but think Riley was somehow different though. She was always a good person, but now she seems more… focused, more dedicated than she was as a teenager, though I suppose that's to be expected.

Riley began to leave the room as I swung my legs over the side of the couch. I checked my omni-tool, seeing how early it was caused me to frown, but I had to do it for her, she had a hard enough time without me being difficult. "I'll get ready," I said as Riley passed me.

"I'll see you down there." There was still a slight sadness to her tone, but she seemed fine overall. Riley was always fine, it made me wonder how fine she actually was. She had to be stressed with the mission, it was to my understanding that humankind, if not every race, depended on us.

The sound of the door shutting echoed from the front of the room as I stood up and stretched, my shoulders making a satisfying popping sound as I did so. I then leant down and picked up the bag that held my bathroom accessories inside.

Normandy, 2185, August 29th 5:51AM

I arrived at the Armoury and dumped my bag of weapons on the table, but to my surprise no one else was there. I saw it as an opportunity to look around for a few minutes, which led me to some kind of lap where a Salarian was working on a console.

I knew who he was, but I had never met him, Mordin Solus. He looked up briefly to see who had entered the room, then returned to work, an act that slightly reminded me of Miranda.

The room was silent for a few moments, it didn't seem like either of us would break it. "Did you need something? I'm busy. Important work," Mordin asked without looking up again. He seemed focused on his work; could I even consider this meeting him?

"No, I don't need anything. I'm just looking around." I shoved my hands awkwardly in my pockets as I backed up towards the door.

"Be careful not to touch anything. It's all sensitive." He looked up at me again for a few seconds, probably making sure I wasn't touching anything in the room.

I opened the door and stepped out, watching him go back to work as the door closed between us. Yeah, I was going to count that as meeting him. That left only two more to meet, the pilot and the doctor, well… until Riley recruits more.

I passed what was apparently the Debriefing Room as I made my way back to the Armoury. The doors opened to reveal Riley leaning against a table. I was so glad to see her; I was ready to go on my first actual mission.

I pointed my thumb over my shoulder towards the closing door. "Umm, Mordin, he's cool… I guess," I said as Riley gave me an amused smile. "So… armour?"

She pointed to the table in front of her, several pieces of armour sat upon it. "Right there, try it on before we leave." She stood up straight, "You can get changed here since we're in a hurry." And just like that, she stepped out of the room, leaving me alone again.

I stared down at the armour, it looked uncomfortable. I had never worn anything like it before and I was sort of dreading it. I picked up a chest piece and looked it over for a few seconds; it occurred to me that I had no idea how to put any of it on properly.

I attempted to put the armour on and after a few minutes I managed to make it work. There was no mirror in the room, so I couldn't exactly see if it looked okay, but I suppose that wasn't the point of armour.

I looked towards the door Riley left through, it led to the CIC. I walked over to it and left the room, I saw Riley talking to Miranda before she looked over and spotted me. "Vex, how does it feel?" She asked as I approached.

Miranda looked me up and down, "It seems to fit fine. You won't die as easy now." She smirked at me and I returned the gesture.

"You'd miss me too much," I said with a smug smile. She glared at me and I was expecting a comeback, but I didn't get one. I turned my attention back to Riley, "Uh, yeah. It feels fine, the Kuwashii Visor is cool." I tapped a finger on the visor that was hidden under my hood.

Riley smiled at me, "Good, that's one less problem. Let's get geared up so we can get started with the mission." She walked passed Miranda and I and headed back to the Armoury.

Miranda nodded before following after her, I then noticed what Miranda was wearing. She wore actual armour instead of her skin tight suit, and it was black with gold trims. I was glad she was in something safer than her usual attire.

I shook my head; I didn't really know why I was worrying about her. She's made it this far, she could obviously handle herself. I just wanted to get my first mission started, so I followed them into the Armoury.

Purgatory, 2185, August 29th 6:13AM

I hated the feeling of my weapons being attached to my armour. I knew it was a more… effective way, but after so many years of carrying them it felt odd. I sighed in distaste before following Riley and Miranda out of the airlock.

We walked through the prison until we were met by a Turian and several guards dressed in Blue Suns armour. The Turian stood between us and the entrance. He wore a helmet so his voice was slightly muffled, "Welcome to the Purgatory, Shepard. You package is being prepped and you can collect it shortly." He paused for a second as he studied us quickly, "As this is a high security vessel, you'll need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed."

"Hell no," I said under my breath, there was no way I was trusting the Blue Suns with my guns. Riley quickly turned and put her finger to her lips to shush me. Her eyes told me all I needed to know, that I was in trouble.

She turned back to the Turian, "I apologise, but we can't do that."

The Turian didn't seem happy about that but before the situation could get heated, a Turian entered from the doors beyond the guards. "Everyone, stand down," he ordered as he stepped between the guards. "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 didn't even take more than a second to think that over before replying, "I understand, but we'll be keeping our weapons, as per my standard procedure." I could tell that she probably had a fake smile plastered on her face to get her point across.

Riley and Kuril practically had a staring contest for the next few seconds. Lucky for us, Kuril yielded, "Let them proceed." He nodded his head towards a guard behind him as he said it. "Our facility is more than secure enough to handle three armed guests."

"I hate this place already," I mumbled as the guards moved and we started to walk forward.

"We're bringing Jack out of cryo. As soon as the funds clear you can be on your way, if you'll follow me to our processing for the pick-up Commander." Riley nodded and we were soon following the warden.

The warden gave me an uneasy feeling; I wasn't quite sure what it was. He eventually led us to Cell Block Two, where they showed us many cells being put in place and moved. Kuril started telling us about the cells.

"Each prisoner cell is a self-contained modular unit. I've blown a few out the airlock as an example." Riley seemed a little disgusted by that, but he continued anyway. "The ship is made up of thirty cell blocks identical to this one. We house thousands of criminals. We can put the whole place on lock down at a moment's notice. Nothing goes wrong here."

Riley and Kuril stopped and started to talk amongst themselves as Miranda and I waited against the wall to continue walking. I looked out at the cells, I could have easily ended up somewhere like this if I was ever caught. This Jack and I were both criminals, I suppose that's at least one thing in common with my soon to be new crew mate.

I looked over at Miranda; she was also looking out at the cells. I then looked at Riley and Kuril, picking up key words like Jack and dangerous. I smirked, it sounded like Riley would have quite the handful with her.

I soon realised that Miranda was listening in on the conversation between Kuril and Riley by the small gestures she was doing. Like frowning slightly or tensing up when Kuril mentioned certain things. I decided to find out the gist of the conversation, so I tried to listen.

"And if they don't pay?" Riley asked him with a little distaste in her tone. I had no idea what she was asking about, but I tried to piece it together as best I could.

Kuril started to answer Riley's question, "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."

Miranda made herself known as she spoke up, "So it's an extortion racket?" The words left her lips with a slight hint of disgust; oddly enough it made me like her a little more.

I may be a hitman and I don't often do the right thing, but I wanted to change that and Riley was giving me a chance to. I wanted to prove I could be a good person, Riley must have seen something in me if she offered me a spot on the team.

Kuril looked over at Miranda, a small hint of annoyance in his gaze, "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 dusted off his hands and returned his attention to Riley.

Miranda scowled a little, "Arsehole," she muttered under her breath. I felt myself smirking at her; maybe we weren't entirely different after all.

Kuril and Riley started to walk again, talking about escape attempts and other things as they walked. Miranda followed silently behind them. I took one last look out at the cells, I wanted it etched in my mind that this is where I could be someday if I didn't change.

As we walked, I looked down and saw a prisoner shove another, the guard escorting the prisoner activated something and a machine near them separated them with some kind of mass effect field. At least it was a somewhat humane way of stopping them.

We walked through some doors into a separate room. "I'm going to confirm that the funds from Cerberus cleared. Out-Processing is straight down this hallway." He stopped to motion down the hallway, "Just keep going past the interrogation rooms and the Supermax Wing." He glared at Riley as he started to walk off. "I'll catch up with you later Shepard." He walked through some doors and they closed behind him.

We started to walk down the hallway that was littered with guards every few feet. I jogged up to Riley and started walking beside her, "I don't know about you, but Kuril seems… off." She hummed in acknowledgement.

"Maybe, but we're here for a reason. We should just complete the mission and be on our way." Riley continued to lead us down the hallway until we came to a cell that was being watched by a guard. The sound of yelling was coming from the cell and we soon noticed a prisoner getting beaten inside by another guard.

"Disgusting," I heard Miranda say quietly behind me. I turned back to her before I heard Riley confront the guard.

"What are you doing?" She demanded as she approached the guard. "He's an unarmed prisoner, stop this immediately." The guard looked over at her and merely shrugged.

"This is a massage compared to what his victims went through," the guard said before returning his attention back to the cell.

"I said stop," Riley put a little more authority into her tone; "It's degrading and not just to him, but to you." They both stared at each other for a few seconds before the guard sighed.

"You're right," he turned to the cell, "Call it off, at least for now." The guard in the cell ceased and stepped away from the prisoner, who scrambled across the floor to get away from the guard.

"Thank you," Riley said before she continued her way down the hall.

I walked alongside Miranda as we both followed Riley. "They may be prisoners, but that was barbaric," Miranda said. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye to see if she was talking to me or herself, I was surprised to find it was me.

I wasn't exactly sure how I saw it, I do agree that it was wrong… but I did kill people for a living. "It's not right, even though I know some people here deserve it." Miranda looked at me, seeming curious at what I was saying, I felt like I had to continue. "I've killed so many people that I've lost count, I deserve to be here."

"That's funny," Miranda said, causing me to give her an odd look, "Your record doesn't mention anything about you killing anyone." She gave me a wink before walking further ahead of me.

Then it hit me; she told me the other day on the Citadel that my record wouldn't show up. That couldn't have meant that Cerberus wiped it, could it? I just thought they hid it. Even if they did, I wouldn't let it change my view of Cerberus.

I looked around as we made our way down the hall. Guards and cells were all you could see, I still couldn't shake the feeling that this place wasn't right, it was run by the Blue Suns after all.

We passed another hallway that probably led to the Supermax Wing as we finally made it to Out-Processing. We entered the room; it was filled with terminals and desks. A few people worked within it on said terminals.

"Seems like the place," Riley announced before approaching one of the workers. I figured she'd be asking about what we'd have to do next or something and opted for looking around a little. The people inside the room seemed a little on edge, causing me to feel uneasy.

Riley finally thanked the worker and signalled us to follow her. We walked to the back of the room where a single door stood. Riley opened it to reveal a cell. We should have known since this place seemed off from the start.

Warden Kuril's voice appeared as if on cue from the intercom, "My apologies, Shepard. You're more valuable as a prisoner than a customer." All three of us turned around to find the room now empty as he continued, "Drop your weapons and proceed into this open cell. You will not be harmed."

"Yeah," Riley started as she crossed her arms, "That's not going to happen." She stared up at the speakers and smirked.

"Just for the record, I knew this place was shady," I reminded Riley as I took my Mantis off my back. Miranda and Riley did the same.

Kuril's voice boomed through the speakers again, "Activate systems."

Riley smirked at me, "I'll buy you a drink or something as a reward. For now, get in position." Riley ran forward, jumping over the set of desks in front of us and getting into position with her Avenger Rifle behind the desks that were second closest to the doors.

Miranda got behind the closest set of desks to the door and I readied myself behind the desks that were right in front of me in the back. I looked through my scope, taking note of how many guards I saw coming down the hallway towards us, "Four incoming!"

We all readied ourselves, I held my breath, ready to shoot the first guard that entered. As soon as the first guard showed himself, I fired. I hit him in the head and he fell back as three more guards poured into the room.

I quickly pulled out another heat sink and started reloading as Miranda and Riley tried to hold off the remaining guards. I aimed down the scope again and noticed that they managed to take out one of the guards; the other two were trying to hide behind the desks.

One of the guards stood up and Miranda warped him in a mass effect field. Riley took this opportunity to fire shots into him. I looked down the hallway and saw another guard coming with a mech dog, "Two more, and ones a mech dog!"

"It's called a FENRIS!" Miranda called back to me. I rolled my eyes and finished reloading my Mantis. I'd hate to admit it, but the visor made finding my targets easier, it's something I didn't want to rely on though.

I shot the FENRIS as it entered the room; it sparked a little but didn't fall. I set up my next shot as Miranda started to shoot the mech. Riley changed the ammo type on her rifle and started to shoot the guard, he started to catch fire.

Miranda took out the mech and it fell with a thud before creating a little explosion. I checked the hallway again, two more guards were approaching. Riley finished off the guard that was on fire as I noticed the two approaching guards made a mistake, they basically lined up for me.

I moved up as they entered the room and took aim. I fired and watched as the bullet ran through both of their heads. They both fell down; I smirked and jumped over the desks in front of me, "Piece of cake," I said as I approached the rest of my squad.

Miranda withdrew her weapon and scowled at me, "This isn't the time to be showing off." I gave her an apologetic look as Riley turned to me.

"Is the hallway clear?" She didn't seem annoyed at me for acting unprofessional, so that was a bonus.

I checked the hallway once more and nodded, "It's clear, though I suspect we'd be meeting some resistance on our way to the Super Wing." I looked between them, "I mean we are going there right? We have to get Jack after all."

Riley smiled a little, "Yeah we are, good work by the way." Riley patted me on the shoulder before heading to the door, "Be careful and stay close, this won't be easy." I put my Mantis away and got out my Carnifex, ready for the close quarter combat.

We exited the room and straight away spotted another FENRIS and guard. Miranda and I unleashed our clips into the mech as Riley shot at the guard. Both fell and we proceeded towards the Super Wing.

The FENRIS exploded behind us as another charged us. I noticed two more guards hiding behind the half walls on the side of the hallway, "Two more guards ahead." I said as I jumped over the FENRIS. Miranda warped the mech and Riley ran past to help me take out the guards.

Riley and I hid behind some of the walls and waited. I noticed one of the guards had a shield; he was going to be harder to take out. We heard the mech explode behind us as Miranda came up and threw an overload out as the guard with a shield turned from the wall to check our locations.

It hit him, causing his shield to drain. He was stunned and just stood there, which made it easy for us to take him out, and soon the other guard fell too. I was surprised Miranda had noticed his shield as well, I suppose I underestimated her.

We turned the corner towards the door and all three of us saw one last guard with his weapon raised at us. We all fired and he fell to the ground.

Riley placed her hand on the door, "Okay, let's get her and go." The door opened to reveal a man in a white coat holding a pistol up to us. I instinctively shot him in the shoulder of the arm holding the gun. He fell down, clutching his shoulder with his hand, but he still reached for the pistol, resulting in me shooting him in the head.

Riley and Miranda walked passed me into the room. "Good job," Miranda said as she passed. I followed soon after and looked around the room. It was a pretty standard room with a few machines around the walls, a locked door to the left, and a desk in front of a window.

I looked out the window; it seemed to be a cryo chamber. Riley looked over the contents of the desk, "It seems to be the security controls for the ship." She turned to me and nodded towards the terminal on the desk, "Could you hack it?"

"If we hack that control, every door on the cellblock opens," Miranda stated as she crossed her arms. She sighed heavily, "But… it's the only way to get what we came for, it's not an easy decision."

I walked over to the terminal on the desk and examined it, "I could probably do it, but you have to be sure." Riley and I locked eyes for a moment; I could tell she was really considering it.

She closed her eyes and sighed, "Do it." I nodded and started to hack the controls. It wasn't hard at all and when I was finished I stood up with a smirk on my face.

We watched as a machine like arm activated and started to open the cryo chamber. The pressure in the chamber released as the hatches opened and the arm pulled out what we came for.

A young woman was strapped on a slab; her whole upper torso was covered in beautiful tattoos. Looking closer I noticed several scars covering her body. Her head was shaven and she wore well… barely any clothes, just pants that started low on her hips and a strap around her upper torso to cover herself.

"So that's Jack?" I asked as the ice covering Jack started to thaw, "She seems cool." I saw Miranda glare at me from the corner of my eye which caused me to smirk a little.

Jack's fingers begun to twitch slightly and suddenly she brought her head forward, a surprised expression flashed on her features before she started to struggle against the restraints. We watched in awe as she broke an arm free and started to pull at the restraint around her neck.

Her other arm was soon freed and she used both to pry herself free of all restraints. She stumbled forward and brought a hand up to her forehead like she had a headache. Three huge mechs approached to stop her and she looked over them angrily.

She ran towards them as she started to glow blue with biotic energy. This seemed like it would be fun to watch, but we didn't get to see anything. She brought up her fist as she made contact with the mechs causing an explosion underneath us out of view.

"We need to get down there now," Riley ordered as she turned to her left and jogged over to the door. She quickly opened it and signalled us to follow her.

"She seems… fun," I said as I followed Riley through the door with my pistol raised. "Let's just hope she doesn't treat us the same as those mechs."

"As long as we don't seem threatening to her, we should be okay," I heard Miranda say from behind me as we made our way to the room we just saw that spectacle in. As we entered the room, we saw nothing but utter destruction. The mechs that Jack took out were scattered around the room and a giant hole in the wall was visible.

"Okay, I see why we'd want someone like that on our side," I said as I examined the hole in the wall, "But you see Riles, she isn't on our side." I heard Riley scoff from behind me as I got my Carnifex ready and stepped into the tunnel in the wall. I sighed before turning back to Riley and Miranda, "I'll scout ahead."

Riley nodded and I made my way further into the wall. The tunnel was a clear path with nothing inside. I sighed in relief and went to tell the squad when Kuril's voice echoed from the intercom, "All guards restore order. Lethal force authorised, but don't kill Jack. Techs, lockdown, lockdown!"

I smirked before activating my com, "He's getting frantic. I almost feel bad." I walked further down the tunnel, the wires above me flickered. I avoided the sparks and saw an exit to my right, "It's clear in here, exit at the end. I'm going to see what's outside."

"Affirmative, we'll make our way in now, and be careful," Riley said before the com went silent.

I stepped out into what seemed to be the room I looked down at earlier, or one similar to it. Only it looked slightly different now, well more than slightly. The whole room had a red tint to it with several broken machines around the general area. I could see fire in the distance and many panicking people.

I walked forward and noticed one of those mechanical arms about to fall. I stopped as it fell and crashed into the ground in front of me. What the hell happened here? Was she really this powerful? It couldn't have only been her.

I walked over to a bridge that led to the other side of the room when I spotted prisoners across it hiding behind some broken machines. They appeared to have guns, which wasn't good at all. They seemed to be fighting with some guards, so I decided it would be wiser to wait for Miranda and Riley.

I leant against the machine that fell earlier and watched the tunnel while I waited. It didn't take long though, they arrived within the minute. Both of them approached me with their guns ready. "Do you have anything to report?" Miranda asked before she observed the machine I was against.

I nodded and pointed behind me with my thumb, "As you can see, this place has gone to hell. Prisoners have guns and seem to be in a mini war with the guards, so I suggest we grab her and go. There isn't much we can do here."

"Alright, this place is corrupt. Our mission is to get Jack. You both have permission to shoot both guards and prisoners if they try to stop us," Riley instructed before checking around the machine. I smiled; I liked it when there were no rules. "Head out."

Riley and Miranda ran out and headed straight for the bridge. I on the other hand went up to the railing that outlined the bridge and aimed for the guards in the hallways above the area with my Mantis. I heard Kuril talking over the intercom again as I took aim on one of his guards, "All prisoners return to your cells immediately or I'll open every airlock on this ship!"

"He's really losing it," I said to myself as I shot my first bullet at one of the guards. It was easy to do since they hadn't noticed me yet, but now they knew I was firing at them. The rest of them scattered and hid behind the walls. I sighed and brought my attention to the prisoners the rest of my squad were killing, they were up to the last one, which I needlessly shot for them. "Thought you could use a hand," I said into my com.

"Uh… we probably could now," Riley's voice seemed a little off, but once I turned my attention to the direction she was looking in, I saw why. A huge mech arrived and was rampaging its way towards us from the other side of the long room.

"That could be a problem," I said with some astonishment. I heard Miranda snort through the com.

"You think?" Both she and Riley instantly got into cover, "You have disrupter ammo, right? Take out its shields; we'll take care of the rest." I did as I was told and activated the ammo type on my sniper. I shot the mech and it sparked a little, but didn't falter.

I shot it a second time and a third; finally I saw the shield explode around it. "Done, go," Not even a second after I said those words, Riley and Miranda appeared from their cover and charged the mech. Miranda threw something at the mech that stunned it for a second as Riley unleashed her clip into it. They had it covered, so I took to checking the upper hallways for more guards.

The guards were preoccupied with something else that was attacking them in the hallway, so I decided not to waste the ammo on them and left the safety of distance I had to join my squad.

"Hmm, an YMIR mech, I guess they mean business," Miranda stated as I approached the two of them. I had to give Miranda some credit, she knew her stuff. I was kind of impressed. She looked up at me and nodded, "Good work out there, let's see if you can keep it up."

I smirked at her, "My exact thoughts about you." She returned my expression and we both locked eyes for a few seconds.

"Come on you two, we have to keep moving," Riley ordered before walking between us and heading towards the door that was beyond the fallen YMIR mech. She stopped suddenly as she appeared to be listening to her com. She turned to us, "EDI informed me that Kuril has locked down the area behind us. We're going to have to find an exit after we get Jack."

I scoffed, "That'd be right, I'm pretty sure he wants us dead after what we've pulled." I lifted up my Mantis and smirked, "If he tries anything, I would love to put a bullet in him."

"Vex," Riley snapped before sighing in defeat, "You're right, but let's just be careful and get through this." She turned back to the door and kept walking with Miranda and me walking closely behind.

We were almost to the door when we felt the ship shake and heard a woman's voice echo above us, "Warning: power plant damage has led to overload, core systems failure imminent."

"Well, that can't be good," I said as I stumbled a bit from the shaking. We kept moving and opened the door, walking passed the dead guard that lay near it. We entered a small room with a wall down the middle, kind of like a turning hallway.

As we walked through the room, we heard Kuril through the intercom again, "Lockdown in Blocks Four, Seven and Eight!" He was definitely losing it and that could be dangerous.

We finally made our way through the hallway and out a door on the other side. The first thing we saw was the blood that covered the ground in front of us. To our left was a bunch of crates stacked up as some kind of barrier.

"Get down!" I heard Riley yell as she noticed a guard on the railing beyond the barrier. We quickly rushed behind it to take cover. "How many, Vex?"

I looked through a crack in the crates and looked around the railing. I could only see two guards standing on the railing and another under it. I used my visor to confirm what I saw, "Two on the railing, one below."

"Can you get a target from here?" Riley asked as she readied her rifle.

I looked again; I figured I could get any of them really. "Any, just pick one," I looked back over to Riley, she seemed to be planning something.

"Alright, Vex take out the one further left on the railing," She looked me over and I nodded. "Miranda, slam the other. I'll take out the one below." Miranda nodded as well and Riley got ready, "Okay, get ready, now."

I instantly shot up, bringing my sniper up within a second. I took aim and shot the guard in the head as soon as he stood to take aim on us. I looked to the right just in time to see the other guard being slammed into the metal ground, by nothing but a blue glow.

Riley signalled us to keep moving and we exited the crates. As we ran towards another bridge, we heard the woman's voice through the intercom again, "The hull has been breached in Sectors Twelve, Fourteen, and Thirty. No Survivors."

A few more guards attacked us after that, I stayed back and sniped all I could while Miranda and Riley took cover and shot at them. It felt like they were never ending, and then another YMIR mech attacked us.

It came from our left by using the bridge that connected both sides of the room. I activated my armour's cloak to go invisible for the first time. It felt good to be completely gone, to watch the enemies become confused, scared. I left my squad to fire at the mech while I ran towards some cover that had the last remaining guard behind it.

Kuril's voice echoed above us again as I slammed my fist into the guards head. "Find Jack! Full alert! Find Jack!" I took the guard out and immediately took aim at the mech. I activated my disrupter ammo again and fired a few shots at the mech, allowing my squad to take it down.

I turned around and saw an opening behind me where a door should have been, it seemed to be the only way out of this room, at least that was my guess since the room was identical to the last. Riley and Miranda must have thought the same since they came over to where I was.

"Good work," Riley praised as she passed me and headed for the opening. I couldn't help but smile at that, her opinion mattered to me.

We entered the next room, it was another turning hallway. This place was starting to get repetitive, how much longer would we have to go? Kuril's voice came again, yelling more nonsense, "All guards to Cellblock One!"

"That seems suspicious," Miranda commented as we walked through the room. She was right, of course. This whole thing was shady from the start, for all we knew there could be a trap waiting for us.

I spoke too soon though, because when we exited the room and saw what awaited us, I was sort of right. Kuril stood on the floor above us on a platform, gun in hand as he shot at fleeing prisoners. His guards stood on the sidelines, keeping them in check.

We walked in, our guns ready when Kuril noticed us. "You're valuable, Shepard," He begun as he took a few shots at us. All three of us scattered immediately, heading for any cover we could find. "I could have sold you and lived like a king," Kuril continued. I peeked from behind the crates I hid behind and saw him walking forward, "But you're too much trouble. At least I can recapture Jack."

He shot at the piece of cover Riley was behind. She looked furious by this point, "I don't have time for this nonsense! You're a slave trader and I'm putting a stop to this!" She yelled out.

"I do the hard things civil governments are unwilling to! This is for the good of the galaxy!" He shot another bullet at us. It was clear that he was done talking, so we had to think fast. Riley and Miranda were hiding behind some double stacked crates to my right, so they were standing. I was crouched behind a few single crates.

"I've had enough of this!" I shouted as I took a shot at Kuril. The shot didn't even have a chance to reach him as it was stopped by some force field. The generator things from earlier that apprehended the prisoners, it had to be. "Hey Riles!" I yelled over the gunfire.

"What is it Vex?" She shouted as she turned and shot at a guard on the same floor as us.

"We have to take out those shield generator things!" I shot at the generator that was in front of us and it sparked a little, it didn't break but it seemed to do some damage.

Miranda seemed impressed by my assumption, "That's actually a good idea!" Miranda quickly turned the corner and threw something at the generator that made it spark and breakdown, show off. I noticed that the line of energy it was sending his force field had disappeared.

I quickly scoped out the room for all generators, I only saw two more. "I'll get the one on the left; you two get the right one!" I called before getting up from my hiding spot and jumping over the crate I used for cover. I ran up the ramp that was on the other side of the crates and got behind some suspicious looking half wall.

I shot the generator once and it started to break down, but I had some resistance, I started to get shot at. I ducked behind the half wall, I could hear the sound of bullets hitting against it. I knew there were only two guards shooting at me; I saw them before I hid.

One of the guards seemed to have tactical armour on. I knew one shot wouldn't be able to kill him, but I could at least take his shields down in one shot. I activated my disrupter ammo again and swiftly pulled my sniper over the wall. I shot one bullet, hitting the one with armour in the chest.

I watched his shields flicker, causing him to get behind cover quickly. I could see Kuril standing on some elevated platform, but his attention wasn't towards me, it was focused on Riley. I quickly shot the non-armoured guard that was in front of me.

I got back under cover as the armoured guard shot at me again. No doubt his shield was regenerated by now. I shot his shield again and quickly tried to reload so I could finish him off before he hid again, but suddenly he flew across the area into the wall to my left.

I was confused at this point, but a voice came through my com that put my confusion to rest. "Now you owe me a drink," I heard Miranda say through my ear piece. A small smile played on my lips as I looked over the edge and saw Miranda nod at me from across the room.

"I could have handled that myself," I said playfully as I shot at the generator again. It flickered and then collapsed on itself.

"Whatever you say," Miranda said as I heard gunfire in the background, gunfire that I could hear even without the com. I moved up towards some more crates as I ended the com. I looked to my right and saw that Miranda and Riley were behind some cover, the generator they were after was pretty beaten up. There weren't any guards around, but Kuril was still shooting at them.

I decided the best way to help them would be to take out the final generator. It only took one bullet for it to break and Kuril's force field to disappear. In a panic, he immediately started to fire in my direction. I got behind the crates, "Any time you two want to take him out is fine by me!"

It only took a few seconds for the sound of gunfire to cease and silence to fill the air. I turned to look beyond the crates, I could see half of Kuril's body lying on the ground, the rest was out of sight behind the cover he had up there. I sighed in relief as I exited the cover.

I saw Miranda and Riley walking towards me, and then a sudden explosion could be heard above us. We all looked up to see Jack running through the corridors above us towards the docking area. "Come on, we have to move," Riley ordered before running off towards the next door with us in tow.

Purgatory, 2185, August 29th 8:42AM

We ran into the docking area to see a confused Jack. She was looking out the window at our ship; she muttered something before her demeanour changed to one of rage. She stomped around, punching the air. She didn't even notice the guard coming at her from the right.

Riley drew her rifle as we made our way down the stairs; she shot the guard in the head as Jack noticed him. She turned towards us with a confused expression which soon turned to anger as she stood her ground, "What the hell do you want?"

"We're come to get you out of here," Riley said as she put her gun away.

Jack started to pace around, "Shit, you sound like a pussy." I stifled a laugh which only caused Riley to look back and give me a glare that clearly meant shut up. "I'm not going anywhere with you, you're Cerberus" Jack finished as she stopped pacing.

"I wouldn't exactly say I'm with them," Riley seemed confident saying that, even with Miranda standing right there.

"Bullshit, Cerberus has been on my ass for years. Anytime I get free, they put a huge bounty on me," Jack said before walking over to the window again, "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 said with a smirk. Riley and Miranda both turned to me with sour looks. "Okay, sorry."

"Look," Riley started as she turned back to Jack, "I'm asking for your help." Jack seemed almost shocked by this as she stepped away from the window.

She motioned at our ship, "You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere. You think I'm stupid?" Riley just crossed her arms. She wasn't about to stand by and let Jack run off again.

"This ship is going down, so you only have two options. I'm asking for your help," Riley put emphasis on the word asking. "You can come with me and help or you can stay here." Jack seemed a little annoyed by the ultimatum. "You're choice," Riley offered.

"We could just knock her out and take her," Miranda suggested. Something was telling me that would be a terrible idea.

"I'd like to see you try," Jack said as she stood her ground again.

"We're not going to hurt her, I want her to have a choice," Riley looked Jack over again, "So what will it be?"

"Look," Jack started as she stepped towards us, "You want me to come with you, make it worth my while." She stopped a few feet from us.

Riley stepped forward too, mimicking Jack's movements, "What do you want?"

"I bet your ship's got lots of Cerberus databases. I want to look at those files. See what Cerberus has got on me." I could see Miranda tensing up to my left. Jack folded her arms across her chest, "You want my help; let me go through those databases."

Riley went silent for a few moments, probably thinking it over. Miranda seemed to be ready to explode. "You can have full access," Riley finally said.

Miranda spoke up, "Shepard, you're not authorised to do that."

"Aww, it upsets the cheerleader, even better." I chanced a look at Miranda and she was absolutely fuming. "You better be straight up with me," Jack warned as she pointed a finger at Riley. Riley just looked straight into her eyes and nodded. "So why the hell are we standing here?" Jack asked as she looked at the ship again.

Riley looked back at Miranda and I, "Move out." She started to walk passed Jack and towards the airlock. I put a reassuring hand on Miranda's shoulder as I passed her. I noticed that Jack was still looking out at the ship as I passed by her. I think things were about to get more interesting.

Normandy, 2185, August 29th 9:37AM

I was walking with Riley towards the Debriefing Room. We had just gotten changed into more casual attire, well I did. Riley preferred a uniform. I wasn't supposed to go with her, but she said she was going for Jack's debriefing and I was interested in watching. Riley didn't object.

We entered the room to find Jack was the only one inside. Riley walked across the room to lean against the wall as Jack was leaning against the wall near the table. I jumped up on the side of the table to use it as a seat. Jack was eyeing me as I sat down, probably wondering why I was there.

A minute or two past by and the door finally opened to reveal Miranda. Her eyes instantly sat upon me, "She's not supposed to be here." Well, that was the Miranda I always knew.

"She wanted to come, I didn't see any harm in it," Riley countered while crossing her arms. Miranda just sighed before she started to walk across the room.

"Welcome to the Normandy, Jack," she said as she was walking. "I'm Miranda, Shepard's second-in-command." She turned to face Jack, "On this ship, we follow orders." She placed her hands behind her back and stood up straight, which I have to admit, I found kind of cute.

"Tell the Cerberus cheerleader to back off, Shepard. I'm here because of our deal." Jack didn't even look at Miranda; her eyes were strictly on Riley.

"Miranda will take you into the system, just let me know what you find," Riley said. The annoyance on Miranda's face was almost unbearable to look at.

Jack pushed off the wall and took a step towards Miranda, "Hear that, precious? We're going to be friends. You, me, and every embarrassing little secret." Jack leaned in as she spoke and I could see the smirk playing on her lips. "I'll be reading down in the hold or somewhere near the bottom. I don't like a lot of through traffic." She turned towards the door, "Keep your people off me. Better that way." And with that, she was gone.

I just stared at Miranda, she looked absolutely pissed off. She crossed her arms and scowled at the door. I had never seen her that mad. A few days earlier, and I would have loved to see her that annoyed. But those days were over, and I just felt bad for her. She looked back at Riley before shaking her head and leaving the room also.

"I gave Jack my word, I hope Miranda understands that there's no hard feelings," Riley said, probably to me, we were the only ones left in the room.

"You did what you thought was right," I tried to sound reassuring. I jumped off the table and walked towards the door, "I'm going to wait for all of this to die down then I'll probably go and talk to her. I don't think this is something you need to worry about."

"I hope you're right."

Normandy, 2185, August 29th 12:29PM

I went down to the engine room to look for Jack. I figured I may as well befriend the only other person that's sort of like me. Kasumi was like me to an extent, I suppose, but it wasn't the same.

It didn't take long to find Jack; she really was at the bottom of the ship. She found a small place, under the engine, it seemed so lonely down there though, but I suppose that suited her. She was sitting on some makeshift bed as she read through some files, there were other files scatter across the ground by her feet.

"You weren't kidding," I said as I walked up to her, she didn't even flinch at my voice, "This is pretty much the bottom of the ship."

She looked up at me briefly before looking back down at the file, "What are you doing here? Didn't I tell Shepard to keep her people away?"

"I'm not here to annoy you, or spy on you, or anything. We don't even have to talk; I just wanted to see how you were doing." I walked passed her and sat against the wall opposite of her. She kept her eyes down at the file for a minute before finally looking up.

"Listen, I don't want to make friends. So you can just go now, I'm done with you hanging around." She seemed annoyed, but I wasn't about to back down.

I stretched, "Nah, I think I'm good."

"You're pushing it," Jack said sternly as she stood up and threw the file she was holding onto her bed. She could probably kill me easily, but would she? I wanted to see if she would.

I shrugged, "I don't think I am." We stared at each other for a few moments before I realised it wasn't working in my favour, "I don't want to get on your bad side, so I'll leave." I stood up and started to leave before turning back to her, "But I will come back sometime, maybe we can talk then." I had to give her space if I wanted to get along with her. Better to not push her too far so early.

I went to ascend the stairs before I heard her voice, "I'm doing fine now that I have these files."

I turned back, "That's good to hear, I'll see you later, okay?" She nodded before sitting back down and picking up the file again. I smiled as I walked up the stairs and out of the room. She wouldn't be easy to get to know, but something told me it would be worth it.

Normandy, 2185, August 29th 1:15PM

I waited outside Miranda's door for her to let me in. It didn't take her long, to which I was thankful for. The door opened and she was sitting behind her desk like usual, only this time she was still annoyed from the Jack situation.

"Vex," she begun as she looked up at me, "What can I do for you?" I ignored her question, not to be rude. I just wanted to make sure she was okay before we talked about the reason I was there.

"Are you okay?" I asked as I walked further in the room and took a seat at the desk. She seemed to go over my question in her mind for a few seconds, which was fine by me. I found myself enjoying her company lately, even if neither of us said a word.

"I'm doing better now, I'm surprised you were concerned about me," she stated plainly. I couldn't say I blamed her; it wasn't like I showed her much kindness. I had to expect she wouldn't have guessed I'd be concerned about her.

I questioned why I was to be honest, it's not like we were friends. Would it be so bad if I wanted to be though? Sure she could get on my nerves, but she wasn't all that unpleasant.

I decided to do something that she'd probably think was out of character. I looked into her eyes and tried to seem as serious as I could, "Miranda, I'm sorry about how I've been acting. I don't want to be on bad terms with you."

She didn't seem surprised by my apology, "I know," she said with a small smile, "You've been much more tolerable and I don't mind the playful comments. Shepard told me you could be... difficult, at first. But she said you're a good person and that you can be trusted."

"She did?" I asked a little surprised at that. I didn't think Riley tried to interfere, but it was the kind of interference I could live with.

"Yes, but enough about that, what did you come here for?" She folded her hands on the desk and watched me carefully. I leant back in my chair, lifting the front two legs off the ground and placing a hand on the desk for balance.

"On Purgatory, you said that thing about my record." She hummed in acknowledgement so I continued, "Did Cerberus wipe it?"

She nodded, "Yes, we did."

"Why?" I was genuinely curious as to why. They just had to hide my record, why bother erasing it completely?

"Shepard actually asked me to as part of the conditions for you helping the cause. She wanted you to have a clean record, a second chance. So you can put your past behind you," Miranda glanced at her monitor for a second, "Vex, I have to get back to work. I'm doing the mission report. We can talk later if you'd like."

I immediately put the chair back on all fours and stood up, "Sorry, I'll just let you finish." I paused for a second before moving a muscle; an internal battle went on in my head. I didn't know if I should thank her or not, but I ended up going with the former, "Thank you, Miranda."

She looked up with a surprised expression yet again, it wasn't the first time I had thanked her, but I suppose she'd never expect it from me. "You're welcome," she said with a small smile. I returned the gesture before finally moving and letting her get back to work.

It was only my first mission, but I could already tell this is where I belonged now. A fast paced, exciting life, only this time it was for a good cause. I had to thank Riley for giving me a second chance and for believing in me.

So, I know some of the dialogue is from the game and some isn't, I wanted to add some originality especially when it comes to Vex since she isn't in the game. So scenes with Miranda and Jack for example won't be like the game because they were talking to Shepard in those scenes, not an OC. And powers like Miranda's slam, I know it's her loyalty reward, but since I'm not restricted by the game's rules, I can do that. It makes sense.

I wanted Riley to be similar to Paragon Shepard, but with a personal spin. I also wanted Jack to react a little more warmly to Vex because Vex seems less formal to her. I know this is basically turning into a long section about how I want things to be, sorry, but I find it necessary. Just a few more things though, I want Vex to slowly become a better person, starting with her realisation in this chapter about how her life could have been. As for gameplay elements, with ammo I want it to be settings on certain guns and not a skill, it makes more sense to me. And since I'm not restricted to the game's rules, sometimes there will be more than two party members going on missions and powers and skills can be attained already like Miranda's slam.

That's all I wanted to say, I hope you all enjoyed the chapter.