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Played	By : Nicker Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 16397 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Mass Effect, nor the characters. I make no profit from this fiction.

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Ashley and Miranda landed in the empty car with a loud thud, and slammed against the wall as the train slowly chugged along. Miranda cried out in pain and dragged Ashley down on top of her when she lost her footing. Shots rang around them as Ashley pushed herself up, glaring down at her hostage, their faces inches from each other. Miranda seemed flustered, hissing painfully but blushing under the marine’s glare.
Ashley didn’t have time to worry about it at that moment. She pressed herself back against the side of the car and shot back towards the bridge, forcing the Cerberus goons to duck. She kept them at bay until the train cleared the bridge and started to disappear into a hole in a metal wall.

“Great! Now we’re screwed!” Miranda hissed, grimacing painfully as she tried to find a comfortable position to sit in. Ashley looked at her.

“I’m screwed either way. How much worse could it be?”

The train slowly screeched to a halt. Trapdoors opened above the front cars with loud bangs.

“I don’t know—” Miranda shrugged sarcastically. “How about a couple of tons of raw ore?”
About a dozen cars before them, the loading tubes started to empty their content into the cars, hundreds of head-sized or bigger chunks of rock filling the ore cars in a deafening, deep rumble. Miranda tried to cover her ears, but handcuffed to Ashley she couldn’t protect herself well enough. Both of them grimaced at the unearthly sound.

“Come on!” Ashley shouted and started to climb over the edge to the next car behind them. Miranda followed clumsily, and it took Ashley a couple of minutes of frustrating tugs and impatient glares to realize that the Cerberus agent’s leg was bleeding from a gunshot wound, probably since they fired at them in the corridors.
It was a race they were quickly losing as the mine train moved along five cars at a time. Ashley looked over the side of the cars to see if they could jump off, but they were on an elevated track. Even if they managed to get off safely, they wouldn’t be able to climb back in.

“Wait!” Ashley yelled when the loading stations finally caught up with them. She pulled them up to stand between cars, one leg on each car. The train stopped for the loading. Their car was under the last loading bay, Ashley nodded upwards, holstering the gun on her belt. “Jump and catch!” She shouted at Miranda. “One, two... now!”
They jumped, grabbing the frame of the loading dock, and hung on for dear life as the trapdoors slammed open on both sides with loud, metallic bangs, but it was nothing compared to the rumble of the lumps of ore that started to fill the car.
Miranda pressed her lips thin and clung to the frame desperately. She glanced to the side and saw that Ashley was watching the loading process. Miranda took the opportunity and wrapped her legs around Ashley’s thighs and let go with her left hand to reach around her waist and grab the gun. Ashley yelped in surprise and started twisting her hip, swinging her legs to the side to try and keep the gun out of Miranda’s reach, while avoiding the falling rocks and hold on to the frame.
It was getting harder, their combined weight straining her arms. After a quick struggle Ashley let go with her right hand, both of them now hanging by their cuffed hands and she started to slap Miranda’s hand away from the gun. The Cerberus agent was surprisingly flexible and fast with her hands, but she could not match Ashley’s strength. With a couple of parries and some legwork she managed to hold off Miranda, but they were reaching an impasse fast.
Finally Miranda’s hand slipped and she fell, pulling Ashley with her and they fell back into the next empty car just as the loading finished. They got up on their feet as the automated train moved the next five cars into position, and glared at each other for a few long seconds, fists raised. They were covered head to toe in thick, black dust, the whites of their eyes and teeth glowing in the dusty air.
Ashley looked up as the train ground to a halt again.

“Fuck!” she hissed.

“Get out of here!” she yelled at Miranda and they both grabbed the top of the car and scrambled up frantically, the trapdoors opening again with a loud bang just as their legs cleared the car. They fell into the other car, on top of rough, sharp rocks. Their painful yelps were drowned by tons of rock falling into metal cars.
“You almost got us killed!” Ashley moaned as she tried to sit up with minimal pain, clinging to the side of the car and dragging Miranda with her not too carefully. Miranda cried out indignantly as she half-fell against the side of the car.

“Was worth a shot,” she gasped. She didn’t even convince herself.
They both held onto the car to catch their breaths, hissing and grunting painfully. They tried to find a comfortable position and assess the bruises and cuts suffered from the dive. It wasn’t easy to see the damage under the layer of greasy, sooty dirt that clung onto their clothes and skin.
As soon as Ashley was sure nothing was broken and the discomfort was bearable, she lifted her gaze to Miranda and took a breath to continue chewing her out, but then she noticed movement out of the corner of her eyes. She turned her head and saw a catwalk around the loading chutes that went along the walls and disappeared into a control room. Two men were rounding the corner, wearing vests and helmets.
Ashley ducked, and pulled Miranda with her. There was little space on the pile of rocks, they had to lay down close to the wall to avoid getting spotted. Soon they were lying on their sides, Ashley spooning Miranda from behind, pressing her to the wall. She clasped her hand over the Cerberus agent’s mouth in case she tried crying for help. Looking over her hostage’s shoulder she watched the men approach.
The train started moving again, pulling the last batch of empty cars under the chutes. In the relative quiet Ashley could hear their voices.

“I’m telling you, man, I saw something move down there!” one of them said nervously.

“Nah, it looks clear,” the other said annoyed. “What’s the fuss, anyway?”

“You saw the memo. Bosses said if they catch freeloaders, they’ll dock our salary for letting them slip through.”

“Yeah yeah yeah,” the second man grumbled but they both leaned over the railing to check out the cars just in case. The chutes started belching out the next round of rocks in an explosion of sound, drowning out the rest of their conversation. After a while they gave up and went back, mostly to get away from the noise.
Ashley watched them make their way back to the control room. She returned her attention to their own situation and noticed only then, how placid Miranda became. Ashley first thought she passed out, but when she checked, she saw Miranda’s eyes were open, looking at her from the corner of her eyes. She was lying very still, surrendered under Ashley’s grip, breathing evenly through her nose. She did not try to fight Ashley or pull away. She even seemed to relax, lean her back against her. She could distinctly feel the curve of Miranda’s buttocks against her lap.
Ashley frowned and looked at Miranda again, but she didn’t move, just blinked at her. Ashley had the impression that despite the rocks, the dirt, the sound and the bruises, the Cerberus agent was quite comfortable. That was when she realized she was holding Miranda’s waist with her other hand. Only to keep her pinned down, but still, suddenly it was just a little bit too snug. She pulled her hands away from Miranda’s waist and mouth and looked away, keeping an eye on the control room.
Miranda still didn’t move and let out a soft sigh, but Ashley tried to ignore it.

“Keep still,” Ashley warned her until the train started moving again, this time pulling away from the loading station and slowly started to pick up speed. As soon as they were out of visible range, Ashley shifted, pulling a little bit away from Miranda.

“We can sit up now.”
They sat awkwardly, their back against the side of the car, looking forward, their legs pulled up, Miranda on Ashley’s left as the handcuffs allowed. The Cerberus agent was glaring sulkily at her. If those blue eyes could kill, Ashley would probably have several holes burned into various parts of her body. Ashley was not impressed, however.
“You can stop looking at me like that. You were the one who almost got us killed back there.”

“And jumping off a bridge was what?” Miranda shot back.

Ashley shrugged, and pulled her knees up, letting the tense silence settle between them as the train clattered along slowly. She tried to think, plan her next move, but her attention was drawn to Miranda, who tried to examine her leg, where a bullet scraped her. She was shifting uncomfortably on the rocks, hissing and cursing under her breath, trying to stretch and twist her legs to see it better through the dirt.
There was some blood, but the wound didn’t seem too deep. The dirt was more cause for concern. If not cleaned properly, it could get infected. Miranda tried to position her left arm to bring up her omnitool, probably to run some sort of a diagnostics software. Although the Cerberus agent seemed more concerned for her health, than escaping, Ashley couldn’t take the risk.

“Give me your omnitool,” Ashley said, holding her hand out, trying to look stern. Miranda glared at her in surprise, her expression quickly changing into defeat. She clenched her jaw and held out her left arm for her until Ashley detached the tool, trying to look unfazed while Miranda looked like she just signed her death sentence. The silence grew longer and Miranda returned to studying her wound.
The ore train was approaching a marshalling yard. It clanked through switches and snaked up a slope, where it slowly ground to a halt. They both looked up and peeked out over the rim curiously. The railyard sprawled out below them, in a wide valley between rust-colored, rocky cliffs and slopes. The sky was also red, blanketed in thick clouds and dust. At one side of the marshalling yard, at the foot of the cliff walls a station building was visible, half-dug into the rock wall.

“There!” Ashley pointed at the building just as the train lurched under them and slowly started to crawl backwards. “What the...?”

Miranda frowned and stretched her neck to look back the way they came from.

“We’re on a slope.”

“So what?”

Miranda rolled her eyes.

“They are sorting the cars, see?” she pointed at the end of the train, where several cars started to accelerate, separating from the train. “The ore will go to different refineries.”

Ashley nodded. They could ride the cars to the yards, but she was worried the stopping would not be entirely pleasant and it would just take them farther away from the station.
“Then this is where we get off,” Ashley said and started to push herself up.

“I’d rather stay.” Miranda said, trying to fold her arms.

Ashley tugged at the cuffs. “I don’t think you want to be in this car, when it stops. You don’t have a choice anyway.”

Miranda reluctantly followed, stretching her cramped limbs and clambered over the edge with Ashley, dropping a few feet down next to the rails. Knowing that the landing will be hard for Miranda, Ashley caught her arm and held her up to ease the impact on her injured leg. She did it by reflex, but the Cerberus agent seemed surprise and leaned on Ashley for a few extra seconds, looking confused and grateful.
Miranda nodded her thank you and pulled herself straight, looking around.

“Must be somebody around,” she remarked.

“Yes. And we need to avoid them, so let’s stay in cover.”

Miranda snorted. “Why, you think I’ll ask for help and my people will know where to find me?”

“No. More worried about what they would want to do to us,” Ashley smirked. “And then when I would be forced to kill them, then your people would know where we are.”
Miranda fell quiet, too tired to argue, so she let Ashley lead them from cover to cover, across the marshalling yard. When an impossibly long train crawled across, forcing them to wait, seemingly until eternity, Ashley had an idea and switched on Miranda’s omnitool before throwing it on one of the cars passing by. She looked at the Cerberus agent with a triumphant grin, and enjoyed the cold stare she received in exchange.
Eventually the train passed and they made their way to the station. They didn’t see or meet anyone, and the place seemed abandoned. The control room was gutted, and barely anything was left behind.

“We must have missed something,” Ashley frowned, trying to hide her disappointment that she couldn’t radio for help. She looked out the window and searched the area. From this vantage point, the whole marshalling yard was clearly visible, way better than from the train on the slope.
She noticed a much sturdier, newly-built control tower at the mouth of the valley, on the other end of the railyard and snorted.

“Of course,” she chuckled. “We came from the wrong direction.” She looked at Miranda with a smirk. She could tell the Cerberus agent made her own observations and maybe knew more about their environment, but she was obviously not going to make Ashley’s life easier.
Soon they went back to the main entrance hall, where large metal doors closed off the back section of the station. Based on the layout, that was already underground, cut into the cliff wall, sealed with some mining company’s logo. A couple of shots short-circuited the locks and they could push the doors open enough to slip through.
Ashley quickly found the power switch and managed to activate the dim emergency lights. They were in a big meeting area, empty food stands and small shops along the walls. The place seemed to be abandoned for years.

“What are you looking for anyway?” Miranda asked impatiently, after Ashley checked a couple of stores randomly.

Ashley looked back at her with a smirk. “If you don’t already know, you’re not that smart.”

“Or you are making dumb choices,” Miranda retorted.

Ashley grabbed a bag from one place, and raided the abandoned stalls for anything useful. They didn’t find any food though.

“There,” Ashley pointed when they finished, and started walking towards a door, dragging a reluctant Miranda with her.

“It might help if you would share some information with me, you know” ,Miranda said.

“I bet.”
The door read: STAFF ONLY
Ashley kicked the door in unceremoniously and they marched into a locker room area, where miners used to change into their working clothes at the beginning of their shifts and clean up at the end of their day.

“Get it now?” she grinned at Miranda. “I thought you might like to get a shower. You don’t smell that nice now.”

“I’m surprised you can smell it through your own stench.”
Ashley chuckled, amused at Miranda’s irritation. They could tolerate the dirtiness until they were trying to survive, but now that they found a place resembling civilization and the chances were getting better for a shower, it became a growing source of discomfort and the need to get clean a sudden urge. They could at least agree on this, and Miranda helped with the search.
They started opening lockers, Ashley kicking them in with seemingly effortless, but very powerful moves. They found a couple of overalls, shirts and even some towels. Ashley showed them to Miranda with a triumphant smile, and for once, Miranda shared her enthusiasm.
They hurried to the showers, and impatiently started opening the taps. Even cold water would do—except there was no water in the pipes. Miranda let out a frustrated growl, kicking the pipes angrily.

“Damn,” Ashley sighed, her shoulders sagging. She was looking forward to the shower. They stood in the middle of the bathroom, looking around and then at each other in defeat.
Miranda let out a frustrated growl, throwing the clothes at Ashley. “This is just great! Now we’re stuck who knows where, looking like we crawled out of a coal mine! Eugh!”

“Relax!” Ashley snapped, grabbing the clothes with her right hand. In a blink of an eye both realized what this meant. Miranda leaped, Ashley tried to throw her off, and they tumbled to the ground, growling and grunting, rolling over each other to grab the gun.
After a few seconds, Miranda managed to get a good grip on the gun and accidentally pulled the trigger. The bullet ricocheted off the tiled floor next to Ashley’s thigh. Lying on top of the marine, Miranda pushed herself up on one hand and pointed the gun at the other woman’s head.

“Come on,” Ashley said calmly. “You can’t win this. You need me alive.”

“Well then, better do as I say. I’m not as good with my left hand. I might accidentally hurt you.”

“No, you won’t,” Ashley declared.

“Why—” Miranda started, but Ashley was already halfway on top of her, gun in her right hand, pointing it at Miranda.

“Nice try, though.”
Miranda glared at her, ignoring the weapon in front of her, just looking into Ashley’s eyes. The Cerberus agent seemed to be blushing under the layers of dirt. Probably from the frustration, Ashley thought. Suddenly, those ice blue eyes opened wide.

“The water reserve. For the fire hydrants!”

Ashley frowned.

“What about it?”

“Mines like these collect water into large, independent reserves in case there’s a fire or they need to flood shafts.”

Ashley narrowed her gaze. “And you know this, how...?”

Miranda looked up at her baffled.
“Obviously I read about it— What does it matter?!” she protested, trying to push Ashley off of her, pressing her palm against her shoulder, but suddenly less confident, tearing her gaze away.

Ashley smirked at her discomfort, writing it off as prudeness and almost spilling out personal information that would make her look more nerdy. She climbed off, pointing the gun at her as they slowly sat up, collecting their loot.

“So where would this water reserve be?”

Miranda looked around, furrowing her brow as she tried to orient herself. She became more confident by the second, facing a problem she could solve.

“Apparently this was a station and barracks for the people who built the rails and the shafts for the mining machines, and they abandoned it after they finished. But all the security and backup caches should be in place. The water reserve has to be on this level, above the facilities and the entrances.” She points towards the hall they came from. “It must be behind the main hall, above the elevators.”
Ashley pursed her lips and nodded curtly.

“Not bad. Let’s go.” she nodded, throwing the clothes and bags to Miranda to carry, so her hands remained free, keeping the gun at the ready.

Miranda grimaced but fuelled by the possibility of an imminent bath, she started to move, almost dragging Ashley with her. Back in the main lobby behind the metal doors she started to look up at the ceiling, going to the back of the large hall, where the elevators and corridors leading to the mine opened.

“There!” she pointed up. Above the elevator shafts and staircases there was a huge hole in the ceiling and a few dozen feet above the characteristic bottom of a water-collecting metal tank was visible.
The women eagerly rushed to the staircase and hurried up until it ended in a metal door. Miranda stepped aside immediately and Ashley was quick to shoot the lock mechanism. Then they both pulled the door open and squeezed in. They were on a catwalk that ran along the circular chamber, lit by dim emergency lights. Above them, pipes from the filtering units dripped clear drops of water into a dark, smooth pool.
Miranda let out a relieved sigh and almost giggled in excitement and looked at Ashley. For a few seconds they exchanged glances, and then Miranda frowned and Ashley cleared her throat.

“Fine. So. How about a nice bath?” Ashley smirked and produced the keys to the handcuff from her cleavage, tucked into her sports bra. “Are you going to behave now, or do I need to take extra measures?”
“I am willing to make compromises to take a bath,” Miranda replied coldly.

Ashley chuckled. “That’s not a straight answer,” she said but uncuffed her own wrist and let it slip off her hand. “Go ahead,” she motioned with the gun.
Miranda sighed in frustration but started to peel off her once white outfit, almost too eager to get out of the filthy garment. Ashley pursed her lips as more pale skin was revealed. The Cerberus agent looked soft, but was enviably feminine, she had to admit. Even subconsciously, she seemed to slip out of the clothes in an enticing manner, that probably would have worked on any men in the galaxy. Ashley didn’t even want to think about what she would look like if she would really try to be sexy. She got a glimpse of that when Miranda slipped out of the pants, careful around the wound on her thigh, like she was rolling off a delicate stocking from those curvaceous legs—
Ashley snorted out loudly, that made Miranda shoot her an angry glance.

“I am glad you enjoy my misery,” she snapped, looking up at her. “I’m normally not spending my time getting shot and beaten up like you, career military type!”

Ashley blinked, realizing she made a sound. “Take it easy, princess! You’ll survive,” she grinned, and then pointed at her again. “Those, too,” she indicated her underwear.
It was Miranda’s turn to snort. “You don’t think I would let these get wet!” she said indignantly, starting to undo her bra. “These probably cost more, than your monthly salary.”

“What a waste of money!” Ashley whistled, and watched as the fine fabric fell away. Of course, her breasts were perfectly round even without the bra, and a good size larger than hers. Ashley started to feel jealous that this soft agent could be so smooth and lean and flawless in both shape and skin. There must be a trick to it. The Cerberus agent only got shy when she dropped her panties, trying to cover her sex, which didn’t make much sense to Ashley.
“Suddenly self-conscious?” she smirked.

“Your turn,” Miranda said grudgingly, but Ashley just shook her head.

“First you go in.”

“You don’t even trust me this much?”

“Did you earn it?”

Miranda shrugged and stepped to the ladder, Ashley keeping the gun trained at her. When Miranda reached for the railing to step down into the water reserve, Ashley finally saw what she was shy about. The Cerberus agent apparently liked to shave thoroughly, everywhere. Ashley could not suppress a chuckle.

“Wow, they really did pull you off from a date, huh? Your boyfriend likes the smooth touch, huh? Or is he kinkier than that?”

Miranda’s glare could have burned through steel.
“I don’t have a—It’s none of your business,” she snapped, and promptly slipped into the water to cover herself, hissing and shuddering from the sudden cold. It didn’t stop her from snapping back. “You spend too much time with men, major. You leer like a true marine,” she said, her voice quivering from the cold. She kept pedalling to keep herself afloat, and started to drift backwards when Ashley motioned her to swim away.

“And you are too shy in women’s company. Obviously you never shared the shower with a whole regiment,” Ashley smirked, but started to unbuckle her pants, still holding onto the gun.

“Yes, play the class card Williams, that’s very original. The tough, working class women versus the pampered aristocracy like me, how original,” Miranda continued, seemingly warming herself up by pure hatred. “Did you also grew balls and a penis in basic training?”
Ashley made an amused grimace. “Now you’re getting to it,” she chuckled as she dropped her pants and started to take off her top. She fell quiet while she got out of her shirt and top, but she decided not to push her luck by continuing the conversation. Lawson suddenly got very lively and she didn’t want to risk losing this battle of words. Obviously, this was a strong suit for the Cerberus agent.
She quickly finished undressing, putting the gun down near the ladder as she sat down, dangling her legs into the cold water. She had less curves than Lawson, she had to admit. Not that she was boyish, of course. She was round in all the right places and lean from all the exercise, but she had muscles, and a healthy, toned belly. And she was less thorough with the shaving.
Lawson was floating in the middle of the pool and hiding her mouth below the water level, she was staring at her. When Ashley noticed, she tore her gaze away.

“I’m beginning to think that you have a crush on me,” Ashley mocked as she slipped into the water, but remained close to the ladder. Lawson started to drift away, starting to wash her face and hair.

“That’s ridiculous! It’s just—” she shrugged. “Those bruises... I didn’t know...”

Ashley touched her ribs reflexively.

“Ah, yes. Cerberus interrogation. Your boys can sure be vindictive when a girl kicks their asses,” she grinned, slipping into the water with a quiet splosh, stretching her arms and legs under water. It felt good to work some of the tension and soreness of the last few days from her muscles.

“I’m sorry...” Lawson said, wiping back wet hair from her face, which just made her blue eyes more prominent. She seemed at least a bit ashamed.

“No you’re not, but it’s okay,” Ashley shrugged. “I’ve had worse. You should have seen when the Reaper ship—” She grimaced and suddenly fell silent. They both got busy with soaking the dirt and the pain from their bodies, diving underwater, washing their hair in blissful silence, their gaze occasionally meeting.
Soon Lawson began to shiver and paddle faster.

“I-I think it’s time to get out now.”

“You think so?” Ashley teased, swimming back and forth with long strokes on her side of the pool. Miranda was banished to the far end so she could wash in peace without having to watch out for the next inevitable coup by the Cerberus operative.

“Do I have to listen to a lecture about being a pampered princess before you let me out?”

Ashley chuckled. Lawson was getting testier ever since they found the pool. Ashley would have thought the prospect of a good bath would be enough to make her relax. Apparently she was wrong.
Ashley shrugged and lazily drifted to the ladder and made a show of getting out, even swaying her hips to show off her shiny wet, athletic shape, just to annoy the other woman. As soon as she was out, Lawson started to make her way to the ladder, too. Ashley picked up a salvaged towel and started to rub herself dry, goosebumps forming on her skin.
She was tempted to stall Lawson from getting out of the water, but she thought she pissed her off enough. She got another icy blue glare anyway, when the Cerberus agent climbed out and had to dodge her to get a dry towel, a much smaller one than Ashley’s. The damn bitch still managed to look beguiling as waterdrops ran down her impossibly round breasts and curvy hips, not to mention running together in her smooth lap, which was involuntarily drawing attention.
She was roused from her thoughts when a beige handtowel covered it up. Ashley blinked, rubbing her hair faster with the damp towel.

“Now who has a crush?” Lawson mocked and nodded at Ashley’s lap. “I was half-expecting an erection.”

Ashley frowned. This was not good. She felt the urge to explain.

“I was just—wondering,” she shrugged, trying to look casual. “How a woman like you could end up working for a terrorist organization, like Cerberus?”

“A woman like me?” Miranda stopped, covering her chest and dangling the towel down to hide most of her torso.

“I mean... you’re... I don’t know. I wouldn’t peg you for Cerberus if I saw you...” she was hopelessly getting herself deeper into trouble. “Never mind,” Ashley sighed, hoping to leave it at that.
Sadly for her, Lawson seemed irritated ever since they undressed and now she was on the offensive.

“What? If you saw me naked?”

Ashley shrugged. “On a beach. Whatever.”

“So I’m too pretty to be a terrorist?”

“Look, I get it. I was judging by looks. You got me.” She opened her arms in a sign of defeat, forgetting she was still naked. “I wanted to say... sophisticated.”

Miranda raised an eyebrow, opening her mouth for a retort that didn’t came, so she started to rub her hair with the tiny towel, rolling her eyes in disapproval.

“And now you’re judging me!” Ashley went on determined. “You’re obviously not a field agent... or very new at this. You’re wasting your talent.”

“My talent?” Lawson pulled away the towel and struck a pose with tightly closed legs but tilted hip and spread arms, presenting herself like a cabaret dancer. Even her breasts seemed to sway angrily. “And you got that by staring at me naked?” Lawson asked, looking around. “In a dim water tank, cold and wet, on the run, holding me hostage.” She shook her head slowly.
Ashley was ready to let it go, but the last gesture made her clench her fists.

“Prisoner, actually,” she snapped. “And I was trying to pay a compliment of sorts. Sorry for thinking there’s more to you than supremacist bullshit.”
The Cerberus agent was bending down to pick up her underwear, but Ashley quickly swiped her leg and the dirty outfit along with the black panties and bra fell into the water. Miranda gasped, straightening up and staring at Ashley.

“Oh, that was very mature!” she snapped, her hands on her hip. Ashley stepped into an overall she scavenged, and pulled it up to her waist before reaching for an undershirt.

“Don’t flatter yourself, I meant to do that anyway,” Ashley smirked. “I can’t have your people search for us with chemical tracers.”
Lawson blinked, still clutching the towel to her chest, now slightly shivering.

“Yeah, I bet you didn’t think I would think about that. But this is a mining world, so chemical detectors are everywhere for security anyway. It’s fair to assume if Cerberus has a cell here, they could hack into the system and try to find us. They probably tagged me while they were beating the shit out of me and you would have something on you for safety. Right?” Ashley pulled on the undershirt and then zipped up the rest of the overalls, looking pretty convincingly like a local worker, with a size too big clothes. “Sadly, your underwear had to go.”
Miranda remained quiet, not moving, just glaring daggers at Ashley.

“So. We are on Terra Nova, right?” she asked casually, and nodded when the Cerberus agent narrowed her eyes. “Good. Then I could be out of here in less than 48 hours.”
The Cerberus agent seemed disappointed as she tried to cover herself with the tiny towel, that managed to look like she was teasing Ashley by just not hiding enough curves and soft spots, and perky nipples and smooth valleys.

“Good, you guessed it. Now. Can I get some clothes to dress, please?”
Ashley nodded towards the pool of water. “Throw in the towel, too.”

Lawson rolled her eyes, making Ashley chuckle. She could have waited with the towel, but she was having fun making the Cerberus bitch annoyed.
The towel fell in the pool, drifting away with the rest of the outfit. Miranda folded her arms across her chest, defiantly not covering up herself any more. She squared her shoulders and struck a pose, tilting her hip.

“I think you leered enough, Major Williams. You are a true marine, glaring at bimbos way out of their league. If you had your fun, I would like to have something to wear, unless you want to prance me around naked like a trophy all the way to Scott City.”
That seemed to work, Ashley shaking her head clear and throwing Miranda a bag, maybe harder and higher than she should have, that gave another glimpse of Lawson’s shape and breasts. Ashley quickly pulled herself together, focusing on the task ahead. She kicked her clothes into the pool as well, then grabbed her gun and the rest of their loot.
She waited impatiently until the Cerberus agent pulled on the pants, shirt and a jacket that said MAINTENANCE at the back. To Ashley it seemed that although the other woman was pissed off at her enough, she still managed to dress up very slowly, but maybe that was just because she couldn’t dry herself enough with the tiny towel. In the end she didn’t look at all like a maintenance worker. She looked clumsy and awkward, and less sexy for the first time. The pants were too baggy and the arms of the jacket too long. Somehow she made it look charming in a girl-next-door way.
Ashley shook her head again. She didn’t understand how this was possible or why she bothered to notice these things about her prisoner. Maybe she was jealous that Lawson could look feminine in almost every situation, and still manage not to look weak and frail. Maybe that’s why her words stung when she compared Ashley to men. Maybe she was behaving like a testosterone-filled meathead. Or maybe it bothered her that Lawson thought she was way out of Ashley’s league.
Lawson may not be clever enough on the field to survive or adapt, but she was dangerously smart and witty. Ashley had to keep this in mind. It also baffled her, that when they got into an argument, she was left speechless, unable to reply with a proper comeback. She could usually stand her ground when it came to friendly banter between marines and she was certainly familiar with the macho stuff the guys threw at her, but with Lawson... she was too high-brow for her. Too sophisticated.
Ashley growled, brushing away these thoughts, but it was already too late. She was pissed at the smart bitch for ruining her groove. She had to take back control.
As soon as Lawson was finished buttoning up her jacket, Ashley stepped closer and cuffed her wrists together in front of her and grabbed the chain.

“Let’s go,” Ashley snarled as Miranda stared surprised at her wrists, that turned into a smirk.

“Sure. You’re the boss,” Lawson said sarcastically.
Ashley yanked at the chain and started to make their way back to the old control room. Outside it started to get dark.

“Yeah, you won’t be that cocky in Alliance custody,” Ashley snapped back, against her better judgement.

“We both know it won’t happen.”

“Really? Why?”

“Because Cerberus won’t let me get captured and interrogated by the Alliance. They either catch you, or they make sure I won’t talk.”

“Yes, I saw they were willing to shoot you, when I escaped. Why are you even still standing with them? Some loyalty...” she shook her head.

Miranda shrugged. “I would have done the same. They are just doing their job.”

“Yeah, keep telling that to yourself,” Ashley snorted. Meanwhile they reached the control room. In the twilight they could still make out the railyard. It was all quiet.
“Why is it that when an Alliance marine is loyal it’s heroic, but when a Cerberus agent does it, it’s despicable terrorism?”

“Because that’s what you are!” Ashley snarled, stepping very close to Miranda, their noses almost meeting. Miranda leaned back just a little so she can focus on her face. “You are a slimy bunch of fanatics. Yes, your men are loyal and they won’t talk, but how? They kill themselves to protect secrets that are crimes against the rest of the galaxy! That’s low. The Alliance has principles. What do you have?”

Miranda blinked, and her lips twitched into a smile. This was easy. She led the argument into familiar territory, where she knew the answers by heart.

“We believe, Major Williams. We believe in the greatness of humanity. And it may shock you, Ashley, but we believed in Shepard. More than that: we believed Shepard. We believe it wasn’t the geth that destroyed the Normandy. We believe in the Reaper threat.” She paused, suppressing a victorious smile as she saw Ashley’s face get clouded. “Can you tell the same about the Alliance. Or the Council for that matter?”
There was a heavy pause, as Miranda finished, delivering the final blow, searching Ashley’s face, who frowned and her expression betrayed her turmoil.
And then she punched Miranda in the jaw with a clenched fist. It surprised the Cerberus agent, her head snapping to the side, and she staggered, falling against the gutted switchboard table. She hissed and lifted her cuffed hands to her bleeding lips, glaring at the marine with a hurt expression.
“You are naive, Operative Lawson, if you think Cerberus is a force of good. Their methods are unethical, and they taint everything that humanity stands for. They weaken us in the eyes of the Council. You might not see it yet, but you will, and then it will be too late.” Ashley snarled. “I am doing you a favor by taking you to the Alliance.”
Miranda took a long breath through her nose, pressing her lips thin in restrained anger, wiping away blood from the corner of her mouth. If only you’d knew, she thought. But still, this was almost where she wanted Ashley to be.

“I guess we’ll never know, right? I won’t leave this planet alive as your prisoner, and they will never listen to a Williams.” Miranda snorted. “I guess Shepard died in vain.” There was a pause and she expected Ashley to hit her again. She even winced and narrowed her eyes in expectation, but the punch never came. Ashley seemed to have ran out of steam. “I think I would like to eat something now and maybe get a good nights sleep. I’d like to be in my best shape when they take me out.”
Miranda lifted her wrists to eye level, staring defiantly into Ashley’s eyes.

“Fuck you,” Ashley growled and pushed Miranda to sit on the floor. She turned away, and stared out at the last rays of sun disappearing over the horizon. It was going to be a long night and she needed to clear her head.
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