Interrogation

- Febuary, 2186

"Let's talk about Cerberus."

Admiral Mikhailovich sat across her in the interrogation room, leaning back, coffee in hand, eyes on the data pad. Of all the people in the Alliance navy, it had to be him leading the inquiry for Messalina's actions in the Bahak system. The operation to infiltrate the Batarian Hegemony and rescue Doctor Kenson had been a covert and Top Secret for clearance to the highest level. Well cited in the workings of intelligence operations, Messalina knew that no matter what happened here she wouldn't get scalded. Nevertheless, it was Mikhailovich.

Mikhailovich and she had went way back to her days on the Einstein. But she doubt he remembered that. The man had jumped from the Second to the Fifth when he was offered a position to command a flotilla. He then had transfered from his position in the 63rd scout flotilla to a bureaucratic position in Vancouver following Sovereign's defeat three years ago. Shepard's decision backed by Hackett had severely crippled most of the 63rd while saving the Destiny Ascension. Shepard could only imagine what the man thought of her now. Hackett, unaware of his disposition toward her, must have recommended him to the Justice as an alumna of the Fifth Fleet. She had hoped he had softened through the years, but these daily sessions had proved otherwise.

"What would you like to know?" Messalina folded her arms. She dropped the honorific 'sir' whenever she talked to him ever since their first acquaintance when she was young. It irritated him to no end.

"Let's put the records straight, Commander. You are a member of the terrorist organization known as 'Cerberus'. I would like to know how you were first approached on being recruited."

"That's a loaded question." Messalina shrugged. "I was rejuvenated earlier this year following the accident that destroyed the SSV Normandy SR-1 off Alchera-"

"Why were you there?"

"I was ordered there to investigate Geth appearances around the Omega Nebula."

"Did Cerberus request you to investigate the Omega Nebula?"

The questions became more and more off track, and too easily disprovable that Messalina had to assume that Mikhailovich only asked these questions to create suspicion that she had been in allusion with Cerberus before her prior death.

"No, I received orders from the Citadel Council as a Spectre."

"The Citadel Council did not specify you to investigate that particular region of space, am I not correct?"

"No," Messalina squinted her eyes, proceeding cautiously. "I was alerted to Geth activities from a distress signal."

"But Alchera itself is a barren world." Mikhailovich smiled. "There are no colonies there. In fact, the Amada system itself is devoid of colonies. The entire Omega Nebula is primarily up for dispute among the Terminus War Lords."

The distress signal had been an open lie, of course. On Liara's suggestion, Shepard had actually been investigating Eingana, following a suspicious Reaper trail. Eingana had been a waste dump of Eezo during the Inusannon cycle. Liara's suggestions that the Thoi'han might have been initially indoctrinated, instigating the beginning the the Inusannon harvest cycle had been what prompted Shepard to go to that system. She should have thought up a better lie to tell the Council, but the Reapers and the denial over their very existence had infuriated her too much back then. The operation had thus proceeded with only Liara, Ashley and Joker knowing what was actually going on. Garrus had left earlier, returning to C-sec briefly before dropping off the grid. Wrex, who seemed to have taken much anguish over the entire incident on Virmire, had blistered with resolve and hurried back to Tuchanka. Tali, of course, returned to her flotilla to complete her pilgrimage. The remaining four of them had gathered in Liara's office, talking about how to proceed. Ashley was the most difficult to convince, but eventually the hard-core marine decided to go along with their plan on duping both the Council and the Alliance on the hunt for Reaper trails. Ashley would bolster Shepard's report to the Alliance that the Council ordered them so, while Liara would back Shepard's report to the Council that Alliance Top Secret intelligence provided them Geth sightings in the area. And all three women worked hard to appease Joker's ego so he could fly them where they wanted. The first few months showed little success, and they had barely begun picking up momentum when Liara suggested that they follow the Eezo trail, based upon the theory that ships as heavy as Sovereign would require massive amounts of Eezo. Ancient Eezo mining activities and surplus Eezo untouched by recent civilizations became the target. Which eventually led them to Eingana, the battleground between the Inusannon and the Thoi'han. Looking back, Messalina wondered if the Collectors had happened upon them when they too had been there to collect Eezo from Eingana.

Unable to convey this enormous double crossing to avoid complicating the matters worse, Messalina simply shrugged. "My bad."

Mikhailovich glared at her, but Messalina refused to budge.

"You report that Cerberus 'rebuilt' you during 2184 and 2185." Mikhailovich offered to punctuate his sarcasm.

"Yes."

"The so-called 'Lazarus project', as you claim, rebuilt you from your burnt out body recovered from the surface of Alchera. Alliance intelligence has not been able to verify the existence of this 'Lazarus project'."

"So much for Alliance intelligence." Messalina yawned.

"Let me tell you what I think happened, Commander." Mikhailovich leaned forward. "You were in contact with Cerberus following the Council's disapproval of your wishes to go to war with the Terminus system. You offered to defect to Cerberus by faking your death, crashing your ship and killing your crew. After which you actively participated in Cerberus funded terrorism, culminating with you rising in their hierarchy and attaining a warship of your own, which you sacrilegiously named 'Normandy'."

Messalina allowed him to finish. "Why would I do that, Mikhailovich?"

"To avenge your father and push your pro-human Terra Firma ideals by destroying what you conceive as your racial enemies!" Mikhailovich was obviously enjoying his monologue, as he ended it by pounding a fist on the table, rattling the coffee mug.

"Does your local writing group know that you're a lonely fifty year old man or do they still think you're a cheerleader when you submit your stories?"

"Do you deny commanding a Cerberus ship, with a Cerberus crew who actively followed your orders?"

"I'm a Spectre." Messalina avoided the question.

"Did the Citadel condone your actions in the Terminus system?"

"I don't see THEM pressing charges." Messalina shrugged, avoiding the obvious trap.

"Lieutenant Williams reported that you actually admitted to joining Cerberus when she met you on Horizon."

"My word against hers." Messalina replied, though she was miffed at Ashley when she recalled that encounter. Of all the people she had expected Ashley to have better understood her plight back then. But like Mikhailovich, the lukewarm pro-human enthusiasts had always shied away from totally going Terra Firma when career was on the line. Besides, back then with Mordin worrying about whether his drone repellent would function properly, and keeping Garrus from lunging at Ashley, Shepard could barely explain the situation properly. Where was Ashley? Shepard's months in 'protective custody', stripped of her rank, while not uncomfortable, had effectively cut her off from everyone, including Liara. James Vega, though friendly and supportive, was not the most resourceful person when it came to slyly acquiring information second-hand. He had regularly fetched her sanctioned news reports and extranet-time, but when Messalina nearly got him into trouble while trying to hack the extranet, even he became wary.

"You're a dangerous person, Shepard. You're a threat to humanity." Mikhailovich, concluded as he could see that his allotted time with her was at a close. "You think you've changed, saving the Council, and placing a human representative there. But, there will come a time when you reflect on your actions and know that you've led your life deluding yourself of what you've accomplished for yourself and for those around you."

"I enjoy these talks we have." Messalina got up first, collecting her jacket. She took a sip of his coffee, wincing before putting it down. "Too bitter. I like mine with some sugar."