Finders Keepers
Fan Fiction for Mass Effect
Characters: OCs and Admiral Hackett
Setting: A couple of months after Shepard's trial for destroying the Alpha Relay
Lt. Commander Edwards sat quietly in Admiral Hackett's office, looking at the window into the stars beyond. That Hackett was late for the meeting was no surprise. The Admiral was always late and, as Bobby knew, it was no reflection on the Admiral's punctuality. The old man couldn't walk down a corridor without someone pulling him aside to ask a question, get an opinion, or have a form signed. Bobby had done it himself a time or two. Hackett was one of the busiest people Bobby knew.
Bobby heard the door open, stood, and saluted. "At ease, Lt. Commander. Sorry I kept you waiting."
"Not a problem, sir. Gave me a chance to admire the view."
"Did you find anything useful?" Hackett was referring to the mission Bobby had completed, a raid to extract intel from an Andromeda Initiative base. Based on other data that had been found, by Bobby and others, Alliance intelligence was suspicious of a link between the Initiative and Cerberus. Bobby had hoped to confirm their suspicions with intel from this raid.
"Not what we were looking for, sir. There was an unnamed benefactor helping to fund the Initiative, that much is certain now. But whoever it was did a good job of hiding their identity and while I'd be willing to bet your money it was the Illusive Man, I'm not ready to bet mine yet. The data also indicates that while Garson and Ryder were in contact with this benefactor, he kept his identity hidden from them as well. Both appear to be nervous about working with this individual, but the records show they needed the support to make the Initiative work, sort of like Shepard working with Cerberus against the Reapers."
"And this benefactor knows the Reapers are coming?" Hackett asked.
"That appears to be the case, though the title 'Reaper' is not used. There was a push to make sure that the arks left before a major galactic conflict began, which screams Reapers, but not a definite mention. I also encountered some Cerberus forces as I was leaving the base, but it's not clear why they were there. It could be they were there to destroy the records I was after, if Cerberus was backing the Initiative. If they weren't though, and they learned about the base, it's likely they would have sent a team to retrieve any valuable information, or technology, that had been left behind. Either could be the case."
"Was there any useful technology there?"
Bobby breathed deeply, and said, "Yes. There were prototype versions of the SAM AI that Alec Ryder was developing along with some of Dr. Ryder's prototype hardware implants. I passed those on to our researchers for archiving."
"Anything else I should know about, Lt. Commander?"
"Nothing sir. I'm going through other leads to see where I should go next," Bobby replied.
"Good work out there. I know it wasn't what you were hoping for but if Cerberus wanted the data, or wanted it destroyed, us getting there first is a win. How are you otherwise, Lt. Commander?"
"Sir?" Bobby asked, surprised by the question.
"Lt. Commander Crichton. I know you were close and now she's joined Cerberus," Hackett clarified.
"She made her choice, sir," Bobby stated, trying to sound like the matter was settled.
"Yes, she did and it was the wrong choice. Cerberus isn't the answer this time. It worked out for Shepard against the Collectors but whatever Cerberus is up to now is not in humanity's best interest, regardless of their claims."
"I agree, sir. I tried to convince her of that but she said that Cerberus was 'actually trying to stop the Reapers while Alliance command sits on their collective asses,' her words, not mine. I understand her frustration, sir, but I don't agree with her choice," Bobby said.
"All right, Lt. Commander. Keep me posted. Dismissed."
Bobby saluted and left the room. He made his way to the labs and found a quiet spot to work. He set up a secure terminal to access the code for the most recent of the SAM prototypes he had found and had decided to keep for himself. "Okay, let's see how this thing works," he thought, and started going through the code.