Miranda Lawson
Miranda Lawson is a female video game character that features in Mass Effect.
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Biography
Miranda Lawson was a female human born in the year 2150 as the daughter of powerful and influential businessman Henry Lawson. He intended to create a genetic dynasty using modified versions of his own genome and hired scientists with creating an heir. The process meant that she never had a mother who was not conceived naturally but was instead genetically engineered to be the epitome of human perfection. She was not the first 'daughter' designed but she was the first that her father decided to keep who desired her to be perfect. Miranda herself came to find her gifts a burden and despite her accomplishments her 'father' never showed any approval or pride in his daughter. Instead, he expected even more from her and always chided her for not being perfect with him imposing a strict lifestyle on Miranda who was forbidden from having a social life. The constant pressure of the lifestyle led to her deciding to leave the privileged life her father gave her where Henry Lawson used his extensive contacts to try and find her across the galaxy though she came to evade her pursuers. Around this time, she was approached by Cerberus in exchange for their protection. Though her father was a major backer to the organization, she decided to enlist in the organization with this causing Henry Lawson severing his ties to the group. Miranda came to agree with Cerberus's aim in aiding and protecting humanity. Thus, she worked hard where her intelligence allowed her to demonstrate her worth and she given a great deal of latitude in clandestine operations with a great deal of resources afforded to her. This led to her being a close agent of the Illusive Man and answered directly to him with him coming to respect her talents. When Cerberus gained the possession of Commander Shepard's corpse, Miranda was tasked by the Illusive Man with heading the Lazarus Cell which oversaw the Lazarus Project. Their mission was to resurrect Shepard with Lawson overseeing the project over the next two years where she dedicated Cerberus resources in bringing him back to life.
After Cerberus gains possession of Commander Shepard's corpse, the Illusive Man selects Miranda to be the head of the Lazarus Cell and puts her in charge of the Lazarus Project. Over the course of two years, Miranda oversees the development and implementation of Cerberus' vast resources towards bringing Shepard back to life. When Shepard briefly wakes for the first time, Miranda is the first and last person seen by Shepard before falling back to sleep. At some point, the research base comes under attack by a saboteur. Miranda wakes Shepard over an intercom and guides the Commander to the base's last shuttle. Miranda takes Shepard to be briefed by the Illusive Man, but not before killing the traitor who instigated the attack. When Shepard goes to investigate the colony of Freedom's Progress, Miranda becomes a permanent squad member. Aboard the Normandy SR-2 she functions as Shepard's second-in-command, but she also serves as a proxy for the Illusive Man, to whom she reports regularly. According to EDI, Miranda is the leading operative of the Lazarus Cell which is headquartered on the Normandy. Initially, Miranda expresses skepticism towards the level of importance the Illusive Man has placed on Shepard, especially since the Lazarus Project required a huge investment of Cerberus's resources and her own time. She also notes that she wanted to implant Shepard with a control device to regulate the Commander's actions, but the Illusive Man declined her suggestion. Soon after their mission gets underway, Miranda admitted that the Illusive Man's estimation of Shepard's value to their cause was accurate.
Operating out of her private starboard office on the vessel's crew deck, Lawson managed shipboard operations while maintaining her role as the Illusive Man's direct proxy, sending regular status updates on the mission and the Commander's progress back to Cerberus leadership. When Shepard visited her office after boarding the ship, Lawson reported that the crew was functioning efficiently and the vessel was operating to specifications. During their initial conversation aboard the Normandy, Lawson openly acknowledged her dual responsibilities to ensure Shepard's success and keep the Illusive Man informed, while offering to answer questions to address any doubts regarding Cerberus's methods. When questioned about her background, Lawson disclosed that she had undergone extensive genetic engineering prior to birth, granting her superior physical reflexes, strength, rapid healing, advanced human biotic capabilities, and an extended lifespan of roughly half again as long as an average human. Lawson explained that these engineered traits, combined with elite training and education, led the Illusive Man to handpick her to oversee Cerberus's most technically demanding operations, including her current assignment aboard the Normandy. Following the initial dossier recruitment missions and the defense of the human colony on Horizon against a Collector assault, Miranda Lawson summoned Commander Shepard to her office aboard the Normandy SR-2 to request personal assistance with an urgent family matter. During their private conversation, Lawson disclosed that her wealthy and controlling father, Henry Lawson, had genetically engineered her to build a dynasty, subjecting her to relentless isolation, training, and invasive medical examinations throughout her youth. After discovering that her father had created a second, genetically identical twin sister named Oriana to replace her, Lawson fled her father's estate, smuggled the infant Oriana away, and arranged for her to be adopted by a loving family on the asari world of Illium so the girl could experience a normal life. Lawson revealed that her father had finally tracked Oriana down and hired a group of Eclipse mercenaries to kidnap her, prompting Lawson to ask Shepard to accompany her to Illium to contact an asari intermediary named Lanteia at the Eternity lounge and safely relocate Oriana and her adoptive family before the mercenaries could strike.
After the Normandy successfully navigated the Omega 4 Relay, Miranda plays a highly visible role alongside Shepard during the attack on the Collector Base. After defeating a Collector cruiser, a disabled Normandy crash-lands on the station, prompting Miranda to grimly remark that the mission was always likely to be a one-way trip. During a briefing just before Shepard's team disembarks to infiltrate the base, Miranda lends her expertise to help the Commander develop a plan of attack. As Shepard's de facto second-in-command, Miranda assumes she will be leading the second fireteam during the assault, but she encounters resistance from certain team members who don't trust her. If Shepard picks someone other than Miranda to lead the second team, she will voice her opinion of the choice, ranging from grudging approval to outright disbelief depending on which team member is chosen. If she is in Shepard's team during the final battle inside the Collector Base and Shepard chooses to destroy the station, Miranda will defy the Illusive Man's direct order to stop the Commander, telling him to consider her refusal to be her resignation from Cerberus.
Overview
Personality and attributes
In appearance, Miranda Lawson was a human female of adult age, possessing fair skin, prominent blue eyes, and shoulder-length, dark raven-black hair that was styled with a slight wave framing her face. Miranda Lawson possessed a slender, athletic, and highly toned physical build that displayed immense physical conditioning and absolute genetic symmetry. Miranda Lawson wore a form-fitting, customized dark Cerberus tactical jumpsuit designed to optimize her high-speed agility and biotic maneuvers, completely eschewing standard military body armor plates or colorful civilian garments in favor of a specialized, streamlined espionage aesthetic that featured integrated holsters for her sidearms.
However, Miranda’s gifts were a burden growing up. Despite her accomplishments, Miranda’s perfectionist father never showed approval or pride towards his daughter. He always expected more and better from her, forever chiding her to be greater than she already was. He also imposed a very strict lifestyle on Miranda, and forbade her from making friends and having a social life. Miranda remarks that he didn't want a daughter as much as a dynasty, which was why he used his own genetic template to create her. The constant pressure and lack of affection led Miranda to relinquish her privileged lifestyle and run away from home as soon as she could—although some gunfire was involved. Her father used his extensive network of contacts to chase her across the galaxy, but she managed to elude him nonetheless.
Unfortunately, Miranda still retains some of the insecurities that drove her from home; despite leading an illustrious career, Miranda doesn’t believe she’s truly earned her accomplishments. Because of her father's genetic tampering which gave her the innate advantage to succeed, she still feels like she's living under his shadow, and that her failures are the only thing she truly owns. Miranda admits this has made her somewhat jealous of Shepard, whose vast accomplishments can be credited to skill, talent, and drive.
Her biological father was Henry Lawson who had dedicated his finances in genetically engineering her to be perfect. She was one of many daughters he had created but Miranda was the first he decided to keep. After she left him, her father had his scientists create a new offspring that was Miranda's younger sister Oriana. Miranda cared for her and would call her Ori as a nickname. Unknown to anyone, Miranda also desired to have a child and had joined organizations with the purpose of finding a compatible mate. However, she had no interest in love with such individuals and simply desired a male with a good genetic history to be the donor for the offspring.
After her sister has been relocated, a male Shepard can talk to Miranda and show a romantic interest in her. He can tell Miranda that she gives herself too little credit for her accomplishments and that she should allow people to appreciate her body and mind, resulting in Miranda "wanting Shepard to admire her body." If Shepard returns her feelings, she expresses cautiousness in the relationship, but also expresses her interest in it as well. Alternatively, Shepard can accuse Miranda of being jealous of him. She will attempt to deny it but sexual tension builds in the ensuing conversation, and if Shepard kisses her their romance is further cemented despite her insistence that it doesn't mean anything. If Mordin Solus notices Shepard's attraction to Miranda, he suggests checking for listening devices as "Cerberus can plant them anywhere," and comments on her biotic talents, sending Shepard a document that outlines "creative use of mass effect fields."
Powers and abilities
Miranda Lawson was born a standard member of the human race where her biological makeup was completely engineered through an advanced, high-level genetic selection process orchestrated by her wealthy family line. On a basic feats level, Miranda Lawson's custom genetic template granted her elite physical attributes, superior cellular regeneration, and exceptional superhuman biotic capabilities, allowing her to manifest powerful micro-singularities and kinetic mass effect fields to manipulate or crush targets at a distance. Beyond these inherited genetic enhancements, Miranda Lawson relied on an absolute genius-level tactical intellect and extensive espionage training provided by Cerberus. Her specialized skillset featured exceptional proficiency in high-precision firearms handling, master-level martial arts conditioning, and advanced system hacking protocols, enabling Miranda Lawson to seamlessly manage complex undercover operations and independently direct black-ops strike teams against heavily armed hostile forces across unmapped sectors of space.
Everything, from her intelligence, physical constitution, biotic abilities, to her appearance were designed before birth to be excellent. Miranda also heals faster than other humans and will probably live half a lifespan longer.
She boasted about being able to shoot a mech's head off from 100 meters away or just as easily crush it with her biotic powers.
A benign neoplasm within her genetic makeup resulted in progressive damage that made her unable to conceive a child.
Notes
- Miranda Lawson was created by BioWare where she was voiced by actress Yvonne Strahovski and featured in the Mass Effect universe.
Appearances
- Mass Effect Galaxy:
- Mass Effect 2:
- Mass Effect 3:
External Links
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