Need to Know (Miranda/Ashley) 46/50
anonymous
January 29 2015, 11:52:59 UTC
Shepard looked at them and grinned. “He did a good job. So good, in fact, that Miranda started to rebel against him. So he made a clone of her to start all over again. Oriana.”
“Clone?” Vega snorted. “Jesus Christ, this dude was sick.” “That still doesn’t explain…” Ashley said. She was frantically trying to put the pieces together in her reeling mind, her memories all flooding her at once. Miranda’s body was certainly- “And then? What went wrong?” she blurted out before her thoughts continued down that path.
“She ran away and took Oriana with her,” Garrus replied, getting back from the weapon’s bench, leaning against the shuttle.
“You have to appreciate it, though,” Shepard mused, standing up with a tired grunt, getting ready to leave. “What?” Vega asked.
“Miranda ran to Cerberus for protection. Imagine how bad it must have been that this was her best option.” Shepard patted Ashley on the shoulder as he passed her by and grinned. “Not a lot of people stop and think about that.”
Vega just shook his head, too baffled to catch the gesture, “That’s messed up, man…”
Shepard was already on the move, strolling with energetic steps towards the stairs. “You guys kicked ass down there! Good job, everyone!”
“Are you all right, Ash?” Garrus asked, tapping her shoulder and she realized that she was staring at her pile of armor. She looked at her hands, still traces of blood on her, and then the stains on her gear. She felt a bit guilty thinking that she needed to wash them off.
“Hmm? Oh. Sure. A bit tired. Can’t feel my arms,” she offered with a tired grin, looking up at the turian. “I’ll be fine.”
Garrus nodded reassuringly, and Ashley reluctantly stood, shaking the cramps from her limbs. “I just need a shower. Several.”
***
She did pick up her gear, dragged it over to the decontamination tanks and dumped the whole thing into the bath, setting the timer before sauntering off to the showers, where she stood under the steaming hot water for a long time until she started feeling human again.
Her mind wandered, replaying everything the last intense months brought, especially the parts about Miranda. It was all so bizarre… Being grown in a petri dish to start a dynasty, destined to be perfect at everything from birth. Having Henry Lawson for a father and then run away to become second-in-command to the most dangerous human in the Galaxy.
She felt queasy just thinking about what Miranda’s father did and how that made her think differently about Miranda Lawson. She started to doubt her feelings about her, and considered just staying out of the Lawson sisters’ way until they went their separate ways.
Not that Oriana was responsible for her father’s action, but Miranda did have a long list of charges against her on the System Alliance’s Most Wanted board. Can you really take out the megalomania and the dubious morality from a child who was programmed to be following in her father’s footsteps?
Ashley turned off the water and stood there, dripping in the shower, her hands on the tap, until she started shivering.
The answer was obvious, and she didn’t even have to recall Shepard’s words about Miranda’s choices. Helping her father to raise her three younger sisters, Ashley knew exactly what it meant to take care of them and she knew she would have done anything to protect them.
And as the granddaughter of a disgraced general, Ashley Williams was also well aware of the stigma that followed her family. And her grandfather actually didn’t do anything wrong. Still, Ashley did choose to enroll in the Navy, just like her father, almost asking for more humiliation no matter how stellar her performance was. She remembered telling Shepard a lifetime ago, how a Williams had to be better than the best. If anybody, Ashley knew how nobody should be held accountable for their father’s sins.
Maybe she had more in common with Miranda than she thought.
Ashley blinked the water from her eyes, swept her wet hair from her face and stepped out from the shower. She toweled off thoroughly, rubbing away the last traces of Horizon.
“He did a good job. So good, in fact, that Miranda started to rebel against him. So he made a clone of her to start all over again. Oriana.”
“Clone?” Vega snorted. “Jesus Christ, this dude was sick.”
“That still doesn’t explain…” Ashley said. She was frantically trying to put the pieces together in her reeling mind, her memories all flooding her at once. Miranda’s body was certainly- “And then? What went wrong?” she blurted out before her thoughts continued down that path.
“She ran away and took Oriana with her,” Garrus replied, getting back from the weapon’s bench, leaning against the shuttle.
“You have to appreciate it, though,” Shepard mused, standing up with a tired grunt, getting ready to leave.
“What?” Vega asked.
“Miranda ran to Cerberus for protection. Imagine how bad it must have been that this was her best option.” Shepard patted Ashley on the shoulder as he passed her by and grinned. “Not a lot of people stop and think about that.”
Vega just shook his head, too baffled to catch the gesture, “That’s messed up, man…”
Shepard was already on the move, strolling with energetic steps towards the stairs. “You guys kicked ass down there! Good job, everyone!”
“Are you all right, Ash?” Garrus asked, tapping her shoulder and she realized that she was staring at her pile of armor. She looked at her hands, still traces of blood on her, and then the stains on her gear. She felt a bit guilty thinking that she needed to wash them off.
“Hmm? Oh. Sure. A bit tired. Can’t feel my arms,” she offered with a tired grin, looking up at the turian. “I’ll be fine.”
Garrus nodded reassuringly, and Ashley reluctantly stood, shaking the cramps from her limbs.
“I just need a shower. Several.”
***
She did pick up her gear, dragged it over to the decontamination tanks and dumped the whole thing into the bath, setting the timer before sauntering off to the showers, where she stood under the steaming hot water for a long time until she started feeling human again.
Her mind wandered, replaying everything the last intense months brought, especially the parts about Miranda. It was all so bizarre… Being grown in a petri dish to start a dynasty, destined to be perfect at everything from birth. Having Henry Lawson for a father and then run away to become second-in-command to the most dangerous human in the Galaxy.
She felt queasy just thinking about what Miranda’s father did and how that made her think differently about Miranda Lawson. She started to doubt her feelings about her, and considered just staying out of the Lawson sisters’ way until they went their separate ways.
Not that Oriana was responsible for her father’s action, but Miranda did have a long list of charges against her on the System Alliance’s Most Wanted board. Can you really take out the megalomania and the dubious morality from a child who was programmed to be following in her father’s footsteps?
Ashley turned off the water and stood there, dripping in the shower, her hands on the tap, until she started shivering.
The answer was obvious, and she didn’t even have to recall Shepard’s words about Miranda’s choices. Helping her father to raise her three younger sisters, Ashley knew exactly what it meant to take care of them and she knew she would have done anything to protect them.
And as the granddaughter of a disgraced general, Ashley Williams was also well aware of the stigma that followed her family. And her grandfather actually didn’t do anything wrong. Still, Ashley did choose to enroll in the Navy, just like her father, almost asking for more humiliation no matter how stellar her performance was. She remembered telling Shepard a lifetime ago, how a Williams had to be better than the best. If anybody, Ashley knew how nobody should be held accountable for their father’s sins.
Maybe she had more in common with Miranda than she thought.
Ashley blinked the water from her eyes, swept her wet hair from her face and stepped out from the shower. She toweled off thoroughly, rubbing away the last traces of Horizon.
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