Chapter VI: Ghosts of Hades

Hard to see big picture behind pile of corpses - Professor Mordin Solus

Communication Channel Epsilon, Forward 55462G7
Classification Level: Omega

Receiver: Rear Admiral Anthony Curtyn
Note: Forwarded herein is a letter intercepted from an illegal vessel seized in transit. We believe it's destination was Venezia, but that is unconfirmed. The ship and all its crew have been destroyed. We have yet to determine the sender, receiver or if there are multiple copies of this letter. Make what you will from the message itself.

MESSAGE:

Dear Uncle

I know it's been quite some while since I last wrote. Things changed. I'd hoped that one day you'd find it within you to forgive my father for his actions. By now, I'm sure you would have found the data he sent you. Believe me, he is not a madman. Everything he discovered is true. It's exactly why he was assassinated by the Office. It's the reason for New Brandenburg.

The galaxy is vast and things are happening that we cannot even get a glimpse of, let alone fathom. All of it is hidden from us by the dictatorship. We pride ourselves from escaping the days when the nations controlled the citizen's every opinion, yet as it turns out, we're possibly the most deluded and deceived generation ever to exist. We might as well be that northern nation from five centuries ago, divided from our own people and tricked into thinking that no civilization existed beyond our borders, only enemies.

This is why I implore you to continue his work. What is within that data you hold may be what brings freedom to a hundred worlds.

Love, your niece.

"In retrospect, do you think things could have turned out differently?" he asked. A muffled bang and a Human's head exploded. The mercenary collapsed to the ground, his head now nothing more than smouldering flesh. His killer from across the alleyway, perched up atop an apartment block, began the search for the next target. He wanted to make short work of this and get off this cold Omega rooftop.

"Maybe," the Spectre replied, adjusting the silenced rifle. "Maybe it I'd stayed around, but no, I ran away."

"That's maybe more judgemental that necessary," Bau commented. Garrus pulled the trigger and another mercenary dropped dead.

"I should have done something," Garrus answered. "I should have joined Shepard straight after that Council meeting. I should have forgot the Council and stood by him. But no, I kept silent and I let him get himself killed. It's was my fault. Worse yet, I ran. Left everyone else."

"It's been six years," Bau told him.

"And it still hurts," Garrus said, squeezing the trigger. The projectile was soundless, cutting straight through the mercenary's shield and helmet. A small burst of red blood before he fell. Garrus ejected the heat sink, reloading the rifle. The front of the Omega warehouse was clear of guards now. Taking out the small time mercenary gang was trivial to him. They weren't even a challenge.

"I'm picking up no more heat signatures," Bau commented. "We're clear to move in."

Garrus slung the rifle over his shoulder and they slid down the side of the building they'd set up on. It now was a simple matter of crossing the alleyway and walking up to the front door. They had targeted this small Omega warehouse only a few days ago and the light security only made them wary. Both Spectres swapped their weapons for sub-machine guns.

"One inside," Bau told him. "We'll want him alive of course."

"No trouble," Garrus answered, backing him up. They always made a good team, but it'd been a while since they'd fought together. It just brought up old wounds in both of them. The Turian kicked in the door and they just marched into the tiny warehouse. A Human cowering behind some crates stumbled back, almost collapsing out of shock. Leaping over the crates, Garrus seized him around the neck before he could find a weapon. Bau moved up behind him, scanning the warehouse for anything unexpected. The man they'd captured just looked stunned, staring straight into Garrus's jet black visor.

"I'm not patient," Garrus told the prisoner. "Just give us what we want. Who do you work for?"

"Cerberus!" the man shouted.

"Join the club," Garrus said, "you and every other bit criminal between here and Earth. Cerberus is dead and buried. Do you really think that you can convince us that a small fish like you is Cerberus? Tell us who you really are!"

"I swear, that's it!" the man shouted, panicking. "I'm not lying! Just don't hurt me!"

"I think he's telling the truth," Bau commented, kicking a nearby crate to roll it. On the front, a faded Cord-Hislop logo. Garrus scowled.

"If you want to live," Garrus told him, "you'll tell us you report to and where we can find him."

"I don't know, I just was told to ship these things! I-"

"As matter of fact, I'm right here," a voice called out. An orange blur walked out of thin air, a hologram from a projector mounted above. He was man shaped but his exact features were concealed. His voice was almost what Garrus would identify as the 'southern drawl', or that's at least what his translator made it out to be.

"Spectres. You've been quite a thorn in my operation."

"Can't get a trace," Bau said, activating his OMNI-Tool.

"You can say I'm very illusive," the orange man smugly stated. "An Illusive Man as matter of fact. I won't be found so easily."

"The real Illusive Man died a decade ago," Garrus said, levelling his Locust SMG at the hologram. "All you are? A wannabe."

"A wannabe that has eluded you for a year, Spectre Vakarian," the Illusive Man said. "Cerberus is not so easily quashed as you believe. I concocted this non-existent operation here on Omega purely to get you off my trail and where I want you. You've taken down several facilities, dozens of operatives and even our Frigate, the Franica. You make quite a dent."

"I wouldn't describe that rust bucket as a frigate," Garrus commented.

"Laugh now, Turian, but you'll see the way of your errors soon enough," the Illusive Man stated. "This isn't your age of heroes any longer. Spectres are becoming quite the obsolete relic. On the path to disbandment I believe?"

"Cerberus is more than a relic itself," Garrus answered. "Give it up. You're finished."

"As matter of fact, I've only just begun," the Illusive Man stated. As Garrus held his attention, Bau had moved aside and began tearing of the crates open, pouring out white pellets. The Salarian went through them. "We're back, and stronger than ever. But conflict isn't what I desire between us. We have a similar enemy."

"I couldn't think of a more despicable kind that yourself," Garrus told him. "Reviving one of the most infamous terrorist organization's and all."

"The Leviathans," the Illusive Man claimed. That got his attention. "They continue to lurk in the shadows while you stand about without a clue. You've failed to find any evidence of them since Shepard, haven't you?"

"What do you know about them?" Garrus questioned.

"Only that they're closer than you realize. Events are happening that the Council can't even fathom. They're on the move. I've met them myself. The only goal they have is subjection of the entire cosmos. Cerberus are patriots in this matter. Unless the rest of the galaxy, we won't just sit down and let the Leviathans take control of us."

"Like your predecessor, you're only indoctrinated," Garrus stated. "Ever considered that?"

"We could both be," the Illusive Man said. "But we're made of stronger mettle than that, both of us. I've got plans, Spectre. As I've said, I met the Leviathans. They've told me the most interesting of things. Things I couldn't possibly imagine. There is something coming for us all, something that will finally bring an end to Council domination. As proof of this, the Leviathans were kind enough to extend a gift of friendship. It's in the crate most further left, Salarian."

Bau pulled the crate open and reached in. Out of it came a data pad like device.

"Goodbye, Spectres. Tell the Council that Humanity is striking back." The Illusive Man disappeared. Beeping began from the projector above.

"Out now!" Garrus shouted, grabbing the Cerberus mook and dragging him out of the structure. By time they were out the door, the projector exploded into a hail of metal fragments. The warehouse caught on fire as they leaped out of the flames. It went up in an inferno, burning all the contents within. Garrus lifted himself up.

"I've still got the data pad," Bau commented, holding the device up. "The design is completely unknown to me. What about him?"

Garrus looked to the young man he still held firmly around the shoulder. He thought about it for a moment, then decided.

"Get out of here," Garrus shoved him forward. "Don't ever think of crossing us again or next time you won't be so lucky."

Before he knew it, their prisoner had fled out of the alleyway as fast as his legs could carry him. Some low level fall guy wouldn't ever be trouble.

"Not so much the Archangel any more, are you?" Bau commented.

"Mercy has its time and place," Garrus answered. "What have we got?"

Bau activated the data pad, scanning over what was on the memory card inside. "The biggest file here is some kind of galactic map. I'll have to scan it later to figure out just what it means."

"Whatever it is, it's just more trouble," Garrus stated. "Let's get back to the ship."

They'd started their return to the Citadel a few days later. Along the way, Bau had taken the map file and inserted it into their ship's own projector. He discovered the data that their Illusive pretender had wanted to pass on. It was all quite an intriguing mystery.

"Three quarters of the worlds on this map don't exist," Bau told him. "Not on any of our records. In fact, many are situated a distance that is beyond our reach in the first place."

"So what do you think it means?" Garrus asked.

"Leviathan worlds?" Bau speculated. "I can't think of anything else these would be. Nothing else notable lies beyond the Mass Relays."

"Anything else on the memory chip?"

"No, nothing," Bau told him. "The rest are just files the map is drawing upon. I'll show you something stranger though."

Bau outlined a certain section of the galaxy map and brought it up alongside another. To Garrus, it looked like Bau had two copies of the same system up on screen. "See these two systems? They match perfectly. Down to the most tiny detail. One is nearby Omega and the other is in this uncharted region on the other side of the galaxy. This looks like it was just a duplication.

"So you doubt it?" Garrus questioned.

"Anyone can make a map like this," Bau told him. "I'm sure if I studied further, maybe I could find more copy and paste efforts. The only reason why I noticed that one, was because it was the system we investigated a few months ago for Cerberus activity. It leans towards the theory this map isn't what it is at face value. Maybe not a chart of locations, but something much more puzzling."

"Can you bring up a comparison to our own references?" Garrus asked, tuning the controls. He opened their own galaxy map with dozens of notes attached to various systems. Overlaying the two maps, some of the systems matched.

"Then overlay recent anomalies," Bau added. They searched the map for something that linked and eventually Garrus spotted where one of these non existent systems matched the speculated location of an anomaly.

"Here," Garrus said.

"Bekistan University recorded an unusual plasma formation while researching that cluster," Bau stated. "Something to do with the Leviathans?"

"It's a link," Garrus stated. "We can find further things from there. Perhaps find something out from this."

"For now, I better finally file a report for the Council," Bau said. "What's more important than this chart is that Cerberus is centralizing again. Perhaps now they might take notice of our work."

They certainly had gone unnoticed. Ever since the Leviathan incident, the Spectres hadn't reacted, only just gone about on a usual campaign throughout Council space and beyond. They'd countered the usual rift raft of dangerous individuals as well as the resurgence of many organizations, Cerberus included. The supremacist group didn't die with it's founder sadly. Remnants of the Illusive Man's army continued to exist in scattered pockets across the galaxy and it wasn't long until many copy-cat terrorists appeared.

There was still many Sanctuary deniers. Someone had conveniently destroyed the planet before anyone came back to record hard evidence after the war. So people continued to attribute it to the Reapers rather than Cerberus, who slipped away. All sorts of conspiracies were drummed up to excuse them for many of the war crimes attributed to them, such as the Citadel attack. The Reaper War had permanently scarred civilization and left resources scarce. Many tensions existed over which worlds received priority in the reconstruction efforts. The Wards of the Citadel were still yet to be properly made habitable again. Beyond Earth, many of the colonies drifted into an opinion that they'd be better off without the System's Alliance that was taking their resources for efforts off world. Those separatist elements had manifested as a new Cerberus.

Personally, Garrus just got ever more tired. He was sick of the fighting and especially putting down remnants of an organization that should have ended years ago. Even with the Intel of the Shadow Broker and other sources, they'd never pinned down every last stronghold. It interested him how a new Illusive Man had managed to slip past Liara entirely. Her updates had grown fewer and fewer over the years, more so after Shepard.

They'd all grown further apart after Shepard.

The Citadel was a shadow of its former self as it rested again at the heart of the Widow Nebula. The Praesidium was no longer shining, but grey concrete and dusty fields. When the Reapers had attacked, they'd simply blasted their way in and released all the artificial atmosphere, killing everything. They hardly had the resources to spare on much of a reconstruction effort here. Minor attempts had been made to restore the gardens, but they were still minor patches.

The people hadn't come back either. Those who'd escaped the Reaper's assault never returned. What was once the bustling home to countless members of all species was just home to the Council, the embassies and a handful of support staff. There was few visitors time to time, but nothing that brought back the majestic atmosphere of old. In a way, it was just a symbol of how wounded the galaxy still was.

The Keepers were still about, back to their old selves as they took to repairing the damage. They'd brought the Citadel back to the Widow Nebula after the Battle of Earth, dragging the Citadel through some strange dimension. Now they just watched and waited. Attempts to have them culled got nowhere so nothing more was tried to remove the former servants of the Reapers from the station.

They'd returned to the Council Chambers and a debriefing by the Council. The entire floor was empty save a handful of C-Sec officers standing guard. The Council was waiting within.

"We'll leave it to the STG to find what they will from this data," the Salarian Councillor stated. "The more pressing issue is this new Illusive Man, not figuring out his puzzles that are most likely an attempt to deceive us."

"Agreed," the Turian Councillor said. "We shouldn't waste our time. What matters is that we cleanse ourselves of this menace before it grows out of hand again."

"What's more important Councillors, is the Leviathans," Garrus pointed out.

"We've already dismissed the theory," the Salarian Councillor said, folding his arms. "There has been no trace of them all these years. All I think is that they've been cited as purely another distraction. Cerberus merely wants our attention elsewhere and they are desperate to do it."

"The data pad however," Councillor Dominic Osoba commented, "is not of any known design. It's certainly Human made however though the components I find strange."

"Cerberus has always had an obsession with their own brand," the Turian Councillor dismissed it. "No doubt they are still in the business of manufacturing their own hardware."

"Indeed, it may be proof that our investigations haven't been deep enough," the Asari Councillor stated. "We all know that Cerberus cannot be anything but a threat. Thus we must expand our search to discover their remnants."

"You've already turned every stone!" Councillor Osoba complained, turning to his fellow Councillors. "Cerberus is a menace yes, but the System's Alliance cannot tolerate any more investigations. So far, they've discovered nothing and only delayed our efforts to rebuild our colonies."

"The fact we haven't found anything only proves we aren't looking hard enough," the Turian Councillor said. "Would you rather we turned a blind eye?"

"No, but-"

"Then we must continue investigating," the Salarian Councillor concluded. Osoba sighed, withdrawn. "As for you Spectres, you should continue your efforts amongst the Traverse. Leave analysing Intel to the STG. Understood."

"We understand, Councillors," Bau answered. With the meeting concluded, they departed the Council Chambers. Garrus didn't have the willpower any more to argue this out with the Council. It was better they just continued and got to the root of it themselves, with support or no support. Each day, he maybe just lost more willpower to do even that.

As he left for the elevators, he ran into someone.

"Garrus," Tali called out. She approached, accompanied by a blue armoured Geth.

"Tali," Garrus answered. "Good to see you."

"You too," Tali told him. Her voice was unfamiliar in a way. There was no longer that spark of energy or any happiness. It was rather more drawl and had been for quite a while. "You're no doubt busy on your Spectre work."

"Just finished a debriefing," Garrus replied. "We should catch up later. Haven't done that for a year. What are you here for now?"

"It's mainly not to do with Rannoch itself, but the Geth are in need of something," Tali explained.

"We Geth seek to reclaim munitions and arms lost in the Reaper-Wars, Spectre-Vakarian," the Geth Ambassador stated. "Much hardware was lost across Council space and we are wary of its misuse. Since we've concluded our reconstruction efforts, we now have the resources to undertake the salvaging operations. There may be platforms stranded and unable to communicate with us. Tali'Zorah is here to assist us with her support."

For the past few years, Tali had continued her work representing the Quarians on the Citadel. From the war itself, she actually knew more about dealing with other species than the isolated Quarian leadership did. Plus, she still had the respect of a well known veteran of the Reaper Wars and respect for Quarians was something the galaxy still had very little of. Garrus knew too there was the top reason of them all that the Conclave could rid themselves of her and get one more Admiral as far away from Rannoch as possible. He never voiced it, but it always hurt him that she'd never lived her dream of settling on her home world.

Political problems weren't just exclusive to Rannoch. While the Krogan had made serious gains, they'd still gained little legitimacy amongst the old prejudices of the Citadel Council. The Batarians warred with each other thanks to Alliance meddling. The Rachni had been denied representation on the Citadel altogether and they'd been forced to retreat into uncharted space to avoid genocide by those who still considered them Reaper abominations or believed they needed to be put down before they became a problem again.

"The Conclave has not exactly treated the Geth well," Tali told him. "It's the same old problems. They themselves have refused to allow the Geth to salvage from amongst that land we've settled. I repay that here with at least helping them gain access to salvage elsewhere."

"The lost platforms need to be reunited with the Geth," the Ambassador stated, its eye flaps lifting up. "They have much data we are in need of."

"Come by in a few hours," Tali told him. "We should catch up, for old times sake."

She walked passed him, and Garrus stepped into the elevator. Old times sake isn't what it used to be.

Author's Afterword:

I can't apologize enough for the wait it has been. Two things, bad news and good news. Bad news is that the document containing the entire plot of the story was lost. The good news is that the document containing the entire plot of the story was lost. I only half remember it. What was holding me back before was that I didn't feel like writing the chapters I'd planned. Now that I've come back and been liberated from writing within that set plan, things can move on.

I've had a lot of writing practice since more than six months ago. Hopefully, chapters can become more frequent than every six months and this story can get rolling again. While this chapter may seem weak, I'm just trying to get used to this story again. The style I previously wrote in might have dissolved a bit. Also, it's a Mass Effect chapter, which are frankly hard to write since I have to keep every character in the dark from what is really going on. A benefit of loosing the planned setup is now I can fast track this story to the exciting bits such as the return of a mysterious new Cerberus. Who do they bat for? Leviathans? ONI? Themselves? Only time will tell...