Chapter Seven: Meetings


"Congratulations Commander!"

"Don't congratulate me yet, Ashley. I haven't done anything."

"You tracked down Saren's men, rescued Tali and the Captain, and became a Specter. I'd say you did quite a lot Commander." Jason said.

"Your crew is right Shepard. You should be proud of what you've done." Udina said. "However Saren is still out there. You're going to need a ship, supplies, and a crew." He turned to the Captain, "Anderson, come with me please. We need to set this up."

"We've got two of those taken care of." Anderson said. "She can take the Normandy."

"Captain, you can't!" Shepard protested.

"It's alright Shepard." Anderson said. "You need your own ship, besides something tells me I'll be a lot more use here coordinating our military with Udina and the other races."

Udina nodded, "That's right. Anderson come with me please. We have a lot of work to do and I'll need your help to set this up." With that Udina left.

Shepard gave Anderson a glare. The Captain sighed and shook his head, "I know this isn't how you expected this to go Commander, we'll talk about this later, for now though consider yourself and the crew on twenty-four hour shore leave. Hopefully by then Udina and I will have some leads for you to follow." Anderson left with out saying another word.

Jason looked over at Shepard and could tell she was angry at the Captain. He didn't blame her. Finally she shook her head and looked them over. "Garrus, Wrex. Are you guys coming with me?" She asked.

"Absolutely Commander I want to be there when you bring Saren down." Garrus said giving a turian grin.

Wrex gave a belly laugh, "Are you kidding Commander? This was the most fun I've had in centuries. You couldn't keep me away."

"Good. Garrus, I want you to go and finish whatever you need to do at C-Sec then get on board the Normandy, same goes for you Wrex."

"Kaiden, in the meantime go down to the Normandy and let Presley know we're going to have a few additions to the crew, then get yourself checked out by the doc, you look like hell."

"Yes ma'am." The Alliance soldier said. Now that Jason had looked at him Kaiden looked miserable his eyes were bloodshot and he was very pale. "Amp's acting up again. I think I'll do that." Kaiden stumbled off.

"What about me Commander?" Tali asked quietly.

"We are going shopping." Shepard said. "I want everyone on my crew to have a decent set of armor and weapons. You're no exception Tali. You're part of the crew now."

"I wouldn't worry too much about the weapons Commander." Jason said. "I plan on giving everyone a weapon from my armory. Just make sure Tali has a decent pistol and I'll take care of the rest."

Jason saw Shepard's eyes light up at the mention of him giving out weapons.

"What about you Jason? What are you going to be doing?" Tali asked.

"I had to leave my last home in a bit of a hurry. If its alright with the Commander I'd like to go shopping for some raw materials and I need a few personables." Jason said.

"I'll go with you." Ashley said. "I've worn nothing but this suit of armor for the past two days or so and I'd really like to have a change of clothes."

Shepard nodded. "We'll see you to back on the ship."

With that Jason turned to Ashley and smiled, "Shall we?"


Long ago if someone had told Jason that he would go clothes shopping with Ashley Williams he'd have asked them what they were smoking and if he could get some of it. He surprisingly enjoyed the time spent with Sargent. Most of the things she bought were standard fair. Shirts and pants for when she was off duty on board. Jason managed to get a hold of a salarian that could provide him the raw materials he would need to have Ghost fabricate his ammunition. After sending a message to the Commander telling her to expect a delivery he turned to Ashley.

"You want to get a late lunch?" He asked.

"Sure, I'm starving, and let's see if the Commander will join us." Ashley said.

"Alright, sounds like fun."

Jason smiled as Shepard and Tali joined them. They found a place that served traditional hamburgers and actual milk shakes. Jason had instantly demanded that they go there.

"God this is good." Jason said as he tore into his third hamburger. It was smothered in onions, peppers, bacon, and cheese.

"Man Jason, it's like you haven't had a hamburger before." Ashley said.

"It's been a few years. Mostly I survive on combat rations and even then I very rarely have to eat. Transmatting on a regular basis basically means I don't have to eat. I'm eating now because I want to, not because I need to." Jason said after finishing another mouthful.

Ashley gave him a face, "Sounds like you've had it rough. What do you do for fun? You had to take a few days off. No one can fight nonstop, you'd burn out."

Jason shook his head. "Unfortunately not really." He set his hamburger down and Shepard and Tali leaned in to listen to his story. "You have to understand the mind set of my people Ashley. The longest stretch I went with out fighting was six days and that was while I was working on my ship to get it combat ready. It wasn't that I was forced to fight non-stop, its more that we Guardians expected more of ourselves. We each held our selves to high standard and that meant to keep fighting and never give up. Back home everyone was depending on us. If we faltered for even one day, then all we held dear was put in jeopardy."

Shepard stared at him, and Jason stared right back. "That's rough." She said.

Jason shrugged, "That's life."

"Kheela." Tali said quietly.

The table was quiet for a while after that. Then Shepard spoke up, "Jason I've been meaning to ask you what does HUA mean?"

Jason barked out a laugh, "HUA, stands for Heard, Understood, Acknowledged. It was kind of the Army's thing back before I became a Guardian. It was one of those things I kept saying after I became a Guardian and it kind of stuck you know? It reminds me where I came from and why I keep fighting."

Shepard and Ashley shared a grin, "Kind of like 'Whose like us?"

"Danm few!" Jason finished. "That's still around?" he said with a smile.

Shepard nodded, "Yeah, after the Alliance was founded the Army kind of went away and the Marines took over." She said with a smile. "What kind of training did you have before you became a Guardian?"

"75th Ranger Regiment." Jason said with pride.

Ashley let out a whistle. "Not bad."

"I don't understand." Tali said.

"Back before humans started colonizing space there were two main groups of armed forces that participated in ground engagements, the Marines and the Army. Now, basically, when war broke out the Marines were responsible for establishing beach heads and leading assaults to secure landing sites for the Army. Once that was done the Army was responsible for waging the ground war. Before the Alliance was founded there was a Country known as the United States of America, which at the time was considered to have the largest and most well trained military on Earth. When they went to war the Marines would do their job, but when the Army took over there had to be a tip of the spear so to speak. The Ranger Regiments and Battalions were ones that fought on the front lines and pushed back the enemy lines." Shepard explained.

Jason nodded, "To just be even considered for Ranger Training you had to be in the top 20% of all the Army's personnel. Even then there's at least a 75% dropout rate that occurs during the training. That number goes up if your training takes place during the November, December, and January months like mine did."

"So it's kind of like the N7 program of the current System's Alliance?" Tali asked.

"That's a close enough analogy I guess." Jason said. "Granted, I never had to learn how to fight in zero-g. I learned that when I became a Guardian."

"What was that like?" Tali asked. "Training to be a guardian, I mean?"

Jason thought back to his first moments when he woke up with Ghost floating above him, the sound of a Fallen patrol not to far off in the distance, "I never was trained to be a Guardian, Tali. I just was. It was a 'learning-on-the-job' kind of thing. Hell my first time waking up I had a squad of Fallen chasing me. Took me over an hour before I got away."

"Talk about trial by fire." Ashley said.

"Yeah, I learned to adapt quickly, or die. Trust me dying isn't something I enjoy." Jason said.

"How many times have you died?" Shepard asked.

"More than I can remember." Jason admitted. I was odd talking about his life as a Guardian. At the time all the crap he went through was just expected, but now that he was here talking with normal people he realized just how insane his life had become.

/Guardian, all the surveillance in the area just went dark./ Ghost said. Jason tensed and stood up. During their conversation he hadn't noticed that the restaurant they had been eating at had slowly emptied. There wasn't a single patron left in the entire place. Hell he couldn't even see the wait staff. He put his helmet on.

"Jason what's up?" Shepard asked.

"Surveillance is down." He responded. He pulled his shotgun and checked to make sure it was fully loaded.

"That won't be necessary." A voice said.

Before she had even finished speaking Jason had turned and brought the Universal remote up to bear on the Asari standing at the door way. Something about her seemed familiar but Jason couldn't place it.

The rest of the team had stood up and were now behind him each with a gun drawn and pointing at the unknown Asari.

She walked over. She was wearing the skin tight suit of an Asari Commando. It was pitch black and blood red and exposed more than a generous amount of cleavage. "Please. I mean no harm. My charge has asked that I bring you to her. She wished only to speak to you." She stopped a few inches from the end Universal Remote's barrel and looked Jason directly in the eye.

"Who's your charge?" The Commander asked.

"Matriarch Benezia." The Asari said simply.

Jason tilted his head a bit, "Last we heard she was working for Saren, why would she want to talk to us?"

"It exactly that relationship that she want's to speak about. I swear by my code you will not be harmed, and should the Matriarch attempt to hurt you I am honor bound to stop her."

Wait. Code? "Samara?" Jason couldn't help but blurt out. He cursed himself on the inside as soon as he said it. Now that he saw her he couldn't believe he hadn't recognized her as soon as she walked in.

"You know me human, but I do not remember ever meeting you." The Asari said.

"I've had Ghost running facial recognition since you showed up." Jason lied smoothly, he put up his gun. "Commander, Samara here is an Asari Justicar. Something like a knight errant mixed with a samurai, Ghost says there's never been a single case of a Justicar breaking her word ever."

"Are you sure Jason?" Shepard asked.

"More like interested enough to take the risk." Jason responded.

Shepard was silent for a moment, "Ashley take Tali back to the ship and have the others get prepped in case we need an extraction." Shepard said.

"Aye aye, Commander." Ashley said grabbing Tali.

"Your precaution is commendable, but unnecessary." Samara said.

"Better safe than sorry." Jason said. He turned and left a credit chip on the table to cover the cost of their meal and turned to face Samara, who raised and eyebrow. "What? I've been a waiter before. No reason why we shouldn't pay for our meal." Samara smiled in response and motioned for them to follow her.

He and Shepard followed her the back of a private air car not too far away.

Shepard leaned in close and whispered, "What was that with the credit chit?"

"Justicar's are honor bound to punish anyone that's guilty of a crime. Usually by summary execution, didn't want to give her an excuse to come after us." Jason said softly. That and he always hated it when his patrons left without leaving a tip when he was working as a waiter.

"Seriously?" Shepard asked.

"Seriously."

"You're weird you know that?" Shepard asked, half jokingly.

"Thank you." Jason said. Normally he would never banter like this while on a mission, but as soon as he heard Samara say she would protect them if they came to harm, he had relaxed a bit.


Shepard couldn't figure Jason out. She stared at him. One moment he could go from a joking kind individual to easily one of the most deadly people she'd ever met. If even half the stuff he told her about was true then chances are he was the best human soldier in the galaxy. His skills in combat certainly backed that up. Even though she had only met him a few days ago she couldn't help but trust him to watch her back.

They spent the rest of the trip in silence. The air car arrived at what looked like a small apartment building in the Lower Zakera Ward. With Samara guiding them they went down from the roof into a surprisingly well decorated apartment. When they entered there were more Asari Commandos waiting. Sitting at a table was who could only be Matriarch Benezia. She was wearing a slim black dress with an ornate headdress.

"Commander Shepard. Thank you for agreeing to see me." She said. "Please, you and your companion take a seat."

Kara and Jason walked over to the two chairs opposite of the Matriarch. The Matriarch was quiet for a while before Kara decided to break the silence.

"What's your relation to Saren and Nihlus?" Shepard asked.

"I used to work with Saren. I learned long ago of his hatred for humans, I had hoped to persuade him to a gentler path. I failed." She admitted, surprising Kara.

"Sounds like you two had a falling out." Jason said.

"We had more than that. Shots were fired." Benezia said. "I invited you here Commander to give you information on Saren. Information you desperately need, and to ask a favor."

"What kind of information?" Kara asked curiously.

"When I first met Saren, I did not think much of him, but as time passed I began to see what he was planning to do. As a favor to Tevos, I had hoped to guide him along and attempt to free his soul from the anger that bound him to his task. I was trained by the Consort in my early life, I had hoped that I could ease his mind."

"The Councilor knew Saren hated humanity?" Kara asked angrily.

"Until now Saren, while biased and certainly vocal about his regard to human's, had never allowed his emotions to get in the way of his duty." Benezia said softly.

"Tell that to Captain Anderson!" Kara shouted. "He told me about his time as a Spectre candidate and what Saren did to him!" Late last night she had gone to him demanding answers, and he gave them. He had told her about his chance to become a Spectre, and how Saren had set him up.

"Yes," Benezia said, "at the time however Commander, there was no reason to doubt Saren. I can only offer my apologies on behalf of the Asari Republics." She said.

Kara gritted her teeth. She'd seen the look of shame on Anderson's face when he first told her of his opportunity to become a Spectre. To this day he still blamed himself for his failure despite knowing that it was Saren that had orchestrated his failure.

"What information do you need to give me? Tell me why I shouldn't take you in right now and bring you before the Council?" Kara demanded.

"Saren has a ship named Sovereign. It somehow allows him to influence his followers. You begin to think like Saren. Combine that with Saren's natural charisma and he can convert anyone to his cause given enough time. Saren and Nihlus are dangerous, but it is the ship Sovereign that you need to be worried about Commander."


Jason listened intently to Matriarch Benezia as she talked. A scene like this had never happened in the game and he was interested in how much interference this would cause with the story line. He also began to feel something in the back of his mind. With a start he realized what it was.

"You've been on board it haven't you?" He asked.

Benezia looked at him in surprise, "How did you know?"

"I can feel it, the Darkness. I can sense it in you."

"Jason?" Shepard asked worriedly.

"Don't worry Commander. It's not as bad as Nihlus was. She's fighting it." Now that Jason knew what he was looking for he could see the subtle signs written on the Matriarch's face. She must be under intense mental strain to resist the Reaper's control, the Darkness's control.

"Yes. I spent some time on board Sovereign." Benezia said, looking down. "When I realized what was happening to me I took everyone of my followers that were still loyal to me and ran, but I can still hear the silent whispers in my mind." She locked eye's with Jason, "I will not allow that man to make me into his pawn!" She growled, "That is why I asked Justicar Samara to come help me. Her orders are to kill me should I ever lose control of myself. It's the same for all my Commandos. I once had dozens of Commandos at my call now only these few remain." She gestured around the room. "Only these seven were not exposed to Sovereign. Now they wait for the order to kill me should I lose myself."

Jason nodded, now that Samara's presence had been explained he could practically visualize how it had happened. Benezia, having fled would have noticed immediately that she was still in danger of being influenced. Fearing that she would lose control and do something bad, she had called the only person she new could absolutely be trusted to kill her if it came to it, an Asari Justicar.

"Why didn't you go to the Council and tell them all this?" Shepard asked.

"You saw how quick they were to dismiss your claims, Commander. If I went to the Council they'd no more believe me then they did you. Saren thinks I'm dead right now. If I went to the Council he'd know I'm still alive and he would come for me. I'm not afraid of dying, but there is something I must do before I pass away."

"Is that why you called us here?" Jason asked.

"Yes, Saren is looking for something the Protheans built. Something called the Conduit. I don't know what it is, but the Beacons are the key. I have a daughter, she is young, but she has dedicated her life to studying the Protheans, she can help you. I'm afraid that Saren might be looking for her." A look of sorrow crossed Benezia's face. "Commander please, save my daughter. She can help you, she might be able to help you understand the visions from the Beacon. Do this for me, and I'll turn myself over to the Council. I'll given them everything I have on Saren."

Jason looked at Shepard as she thought. She had leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms. Jason knew she was weighing the possibilities of this being a trap. Jason didn't blame her, but he hoped that wasn't the case.

"What do you think Commander?" He asked.

The Commander looked him in the eye, Jason nodded in response.

"Alright we'll do it, but if you don't turn yourself over to the Council, I'll come back here and drag you in myself."

Benezia smiled and her shoulders slumped in relief, "Thank you Commander. My daughter, Liara, is currently on a dig site on Therum in the Knossos system."

"I'll leave immediately."

Jason stood up and joined the Commander as they walked out. Before he left however Jason turned back to Benezia. "Matriarch, the Darkness. I've faced it, I've seen all it can do. The road a head of you will be a hard one, but so long as you have hope, so long as you have the will to keep fighting, it will not win. You will have to find the light within yourself and burn it away. If you can do that, Sovereign's hold on your mind will break and you'll be free. Don't give up hope."

Benezia was quiet for a moment, "Thank you Human, I will try." She said softly.

Jason smiled, "Call me Jason." With that he left. The only reason why Benezia hadn't been completely taken by the Darkness was the light in side of her still shone brightly. One day it might be enough to set her free and possibly more. Time would tell.

A/N: Hey everyone. I'm sorry it's taken a while to get back into this. I had a lot of things happen recently that I won't go into details, but It hasn't left me in a mood for writing in a while. Now that most of it's taken care of I can get back to it. I know this chapter is short, but I should have another update in a week or two. That'll cover all of Therum.

See you guys soon!