Chapter 9: Hades in a Handbasket

Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, Dock 422

February 20th, 2183. 8:09 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)

Jordan was flanked on either side by two very familiar looking C-Sec officers: One human, and one turian.

In fact, if Jordan didn't know any better, he might have assumed that these were the very same officers that escorted him to Barla Von… Oh, wait… yeah, they're the same two guys. Standing between the two of them with his arms cuffed behind his back with omni-cuffs, Jordan realized that maybe he should have talked the Geth out of going to Solcrum.

Standing before him, explaining the situation to the officers was Commander Shepard, with Tali and Garrus on either side of him, watching Jordan carefully, as if he were the Citadel's most dangerous fugitive. Hehe... yeah, this isn't very good for him...

"…and he is to remain imprisoned until I return." Shepard finished his thought, as the Turian officer seemed to form the equivalent of a turian frown.

"I'm sorry sir, but we have orders to transfer this criminal to another location beyond the Citadel."

Jordan's face paled as he realized the implications of the 'officer's words. He already knew this officer worked for the Shadow Broker, which meant he was likely going to be 'transferred' into the Broker's custody.

Shepard took his turn at frowning, crossing his arms, "Spectre status." He said plainly, "You are to hold this man on the Citadel until I finish with my upcoming mission. If you have a problem with it, take it up with the Council."

The turian's mandibles twitched in anger, but the human stepped in before something happened, "Of course, Spectre Shepard. He'll remain in our custody until you return."

"Thank you. At least some officers aren't incompetent." Shepard said, staring at the turian officer to Jordan's side.

Garrus coughed inconspicuously, making Shepard smile, patting him on his shoulder, "You too, I suppose, Garrus."

After a few more details were hashed out, Jordan, the officers, Shepard, and his squad entered the elevator, descending from the Normandy's dock and entering C-Sec. As they went down in the elevator, Jordan couldn't help the thoughts rapidly flooding his mind.

Virmire. Kaiden or Ashley will die.

Should he say something? Try to help make sure they both live? Give Shepard a heads up? He might not believe him, but dammit was he going to give it a try.

As the elevator door finally opened, before Jordan could speak, the officers began almost dragging him away from Shepard towards lock-up, while the other three simply continued on their way to do their business on the Citadel before leaving.

That's it!

Jordan struggled, doing everything in his power to slow down and possibly stop the officers' advance. He turned his head over his shoulder, yelling towards Shepard, "Commander Shepard, wait!" He yelled. He could have sworn that Shepard's pace slowed for a moment. He was listening still, that's good. "VIRMIRE! Don't split up your squad on Virmire!" He yelled, warning the Commander. This caused Shepard to stop completely turning towards him immediately.

Before Shepard could do anything, the turian officer had become fed up with Jordan's resistance, administering a not-very-friendly shock through the omni-cuffs, rendering Jordan's world completely black.

His vision faded as darkness greeted him on all fronts, barely making out the sounds of a man yelled towards him… maybe Shepard…

Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, C-Sec Holding Cell.

February 21st, 2183. 6:01 am. EST. (Earth Standard Time)

Jordan laid in the uncomfortable prison cot, staring up at the ceiling of his cell with a frown, nursing a small headache from yet another electrical overload. He'd woken up thirty minutes prior, all thanks to the events of last evening.

Things were… not working out very well for Jordan at the moment.

He was in C-Sec custody for breaking intergalactic laws pertaining to artificial intelligence. All of C-Sec had it out for him thanks to his last 'encounter' with them. The Shadow Broker, himself, is out to get Jordan for effectively running away from him. Shepard and his crew distrusted him, especially after he accidentally injured Liara. And, to top it all off, he was out of range of any Geth nearby, cutting off his communications with the Collective; not to mention being cut off from the extranet too.

All-in-all, most of the Galaxy considered him a threat or a tool, earning him far more enemies than friends. He had no idea if Shepard believed any of what Jordan had told him. About the Heretics. About Virmire. He won't know if he changed anything until it was too late…

Welp, guess he'll be stuck here for a while. He was, however, confident that he'd eventually get out. Maybe when Shepard returned he'd let him go? Perhaps he could get out when the Citadel was attacked? He could even possibly be rescued by the Geth. And then, there were the less pleasing options. What if the Shadow Broker or Cerberus 'transferred' him into their custody. What if he died during the attack on the Citadel? What if he was stuck in prison for the entire duration of the war?!

Jordan took a deep breath, reigning in his thoughts. Now was not the time to be losing it.

Laying there, Jordan remained in his Cell for several more hours, 'somehow' missing both breakfast and lunch as he laid there. He honestly wasn't very surprised that he'd 'missed' his meals, likely due in no small part to the way he pissed off C-Sec and the Broker. His stomach rumbled as he heard his door slide open.

Looking up, he put up a small false smile, "Is it lunchtime yet?" He asked, knowing full well he wasn't going to be getting any.

The asari officer in the doorway looked unamused, frowning, "Interrogation room." Was the only thing she said, before using her biotics to lock Jordan in stasis, freezing him in place. Stuck in the biotic field with no way out, the officer then approached Jordan, roughly reattaching the omni-cuffs to his wrists, before pulling Jordan to his feet as the stasis was ended.

"Ahh, shit, I was complying…" Jordan complained.

"What are you going to do, electrocute me?" She asked with an eye roll, before shoving him towards the door, "Not a step out of place or I'll add attempted escape to your charges." She threatened, gripping the cuffs firmly with one hand and shoving Jordan forward and out the door with the other.

Pushed forward and pulled back repeatedly as they progress down the hall, Jordan could almost feel the bruises forming on his wrists. Luckily, it wasn't long until they reached the interrogation room.

Upon entry, the officer used more of her biotics to move Jordan, since she deemed he was going too slow for her tasters, into the chair on the other side of the table. The moment he was down, she readjusted the cuffs to hold his hands in front of him, attached to the table. As soon as she finished, she sneered and Jordan, shaking her head as she left him alone in the room.

Jordan leaned back as best as he could and stared up at the ceiling, sighing, "This is fine…"

Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, C-Sec Interrogation Room #2.

February 21st, 2183. 2:49 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)

Sitting alone in the room with nothing to keep him company, other than the camera and one-way glass, for over thirty minutes, got old really fast. Boring as hell, that's for sure.

Luckily for Jordan, extranet access or not, part of his omni-tool was still functioning despite the interference, allowing him to access his music library and listen to a few songs silently in his head, just as he'd done on the Normandy. Normally, omni-tools are forced offline when in detention cells or other locations, but either because it was of Geth design or because Jordan's makeup was nearly 50% synthetic, his omni-tool could still function, but was unable to be visible or produce the actual, physical interface.

Either way, it made spending and wasting time that much easier for him as he waited for whatever reason he was actually being kept in an interrogation room. There was no way Shepard was back already, so that wasn't an option. Maybe this was the Alliance or the Council, trying to gather information about who he was or what he's done? He'll soon find out.

Bobbing his head and slowly swaying back and forth, Jordan kept his eyes closed as he absentmindedly allowed his body to move to the music. He even caught himself mouthing out and even singing aloud a few times. Imagine the officers on the other side of the glass. They must be thinking that he was actually insane.

Jordan's eyes were closed as he sang aloud, not even noticing that the door had opened and someone had finally arrived.

"Come on baby… don't fear the reaper. Baby take my hand… don't fear the reaper. We'll be able to fly… don't fear the reaper. Baby, I'm your man…"

"Ahem." A female voice said, clearing their throat to get Jordan's attention.

"La la l- ah!" Jordan said, jolted from the song as he silently turned it off, shaking his head. He opened his eyes and looked forward towards the woman in the room. Err, rather, the women, one behind the other.

The one in front was someone he didn't recognize. She stood confidently, her blonde hair nearly reaching her shoulders, framing her soft face, and her pure, bright blue eyes were locked onto Jordan's green ones. She wore a tight, System's Alliance uniform with a dress skirt and a pair of heels to match. Her skin was fair, unblemished and tanned. Overall, she was pretty attractive.

Stepping out from behind her was the second woman, allowing Jordan to get a better look at woman number two. She, too, wore a professional System's Alliance uniform. Unlike her partner, the skirt was replaced with pants, but she too wore heels. Examining her face, Jordan felt the blood drain from his own. The woman's pale, perfect white skin was framed by her black hair, reaching partially down her back. Her own blue eyes were focused on Jordan as well.

Jordan slowly, and melodramatically, lowered his face to the table and left it there, groaning aloud for everyone to hear. He prayed that his thoughts were incorrect, that he'd been mistaken.

"Mister Sower, really, there's no reason to be groaning." The unmistakable Australian accented voice said, mildly annoyed. Miranda Lawson… Cerberus… Shit!

Slowly picking his head back up, Jordan looked over both Cerberus agents before him. He obviously recognized Miranda but had no idea who the first woman was. Speaking of her, she spoke now.

"Hello Mister Sower, my name is Cynthia Wake, Alliance Intelligence, and this is my partner, Miranda Lawson." She introduced, "We're here on behalf of the System's Alliance." So, sounds like they're using their real names. Maybe it was time to shake them up a bit? Probably not a good idea, but meh, might as well have some fun after the day he's had. "I could tell…" he said, motioning towards their uniforms with his cuffed hands.

Jordan knew he needed to try to play along a little bit, but the combination of lack-of-food and overall stressful state of mind wasn't helping him out much. He raised an eyebrow at them, in pretend shock as he said more, "Wait a moment! Lawson?" He asked, looking at Miranda, "Are you related, perhaps, to the great genius Henry Lawson?" He asked.

He clearly could see Miranda's eyes twitch slightly as she almost began to tremble. Ok... not exactly the response he was expecting...

Cynthia smiled, almost ignoring her partner, taking a seat in the other provided chair across from him. "We're here because we believe you have important information regarding the Geth and their recent string of attacks and acts of hostility against the Alliance." She informed him.

Miranda took a few steps towards the table, recovering quickly from earlier. Her heels clicked against the floor before leaning against the table, smiling lightly as well, "Just be honest with us, and we might be able to cut a deal with you. You know, lower your sentence…"

Jordan's heart began to beat faster, but he fought desperately to keep his stress under control. Cerberus was already tipped off about him. If he suddenly started glowing green, they'd take him in for experimentation in a heartbeat. He took several deep breaths as he calmed himself down, which the operatives obviously noticed.

"What's wrong, Jordan? We haven't even started yet. Is it alright if I call you Jordan?" Cynthia asked kindly, her eyes searching for something within Jordan's.

He forced himself to nod, "Th-that's fine, sure."

Her smile grew, but something in her gaze gave Jordan the impression that he was simply being humored, with a predatory aspect within her eyes. "Good. Jordan, we only have a few questions. Miranda, if you would."

Miranda Lawson nodded, activating her omni-tool as it brought up a screen full of data, "Alliance spy drones intercepted a message within Geth space over a month ago. It was played across all frequencies during the broadcast..." She started, causing all color to drain from Jordan's face. He prayed he wasn't about to hear what he was about to hear.

She pressed a button on her omni-tool.

"This is Jordan Sower… I… I know about the heretics… about the old machine, Nazara. I'm here to negotiate with the geth consensus. I have no weapons on board, my weapon systems on board my shuttle are offline, and I am alone. I want peace between Synthetics and Organics. I want to end the hostilities caused by the Morning War. I'm here to help… I know there's no reason to believe me; no reason to trust what I say. But… please, give me a chance… Keelah se'lai…"

Jordan felt sick in his stomach, only made worse by the lack of food.

Cynthia smiled, nodding towards Miss Lawson, "Thank you, Miranda." She returned her gaze to Jordan, her smile growing as she picked up on his distress, "Now, I don't know about you, but this sounds an awful lot like your voice, especially with that introduction… Jordan Sower."

This wasn't good. Not good at FUCKING all. There was no way they knew what happened on Rannoch with the Collective, but they definitely knew that he sought the Geth out. This, alone, incriminated him. What was he supposed to do? What does he say? How the hell does he respond to that?!

Cynthia broke the moment of silence. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that you went to the Geth of your own free will, actually seeking them out. The thing is, that can't be right, because the Geth would have destroyed you on sight, like every other organic they've come across." He pondered aloud, "And then you show up on Solcrum in the Armstrong Nebula a couple of days ago, working with the Geth, alive and well. Something doesn't quite add up." She informed him.

Miranda continued from there, "We're not saying that you betrayed humanity, Mister Sower." She tried to reassure him, "What we are saying, however, is that we'd like to know how you lived and actually gained control of the Geth."

It clicked. Cerberus thinks I have control over and lead the Geth like Saren does. Images of Project Overlord flooded his head as a shiver went down Jordan's spine. 'Oh god, they're starting Project Overlord early, and they want to use me to do it…' He internally realized. He needed to change the course of this conversation. He couldn't just tell them the truth about everything; they wouldn't believe him. What does he do?!

"I... I don't know what you mean." He tried to uselessly deny.

Cynthia chuckled, "Come now, Jordan. Have you already forgotten the message you sent back in January?"

"N-no, I just."

Miranda spoke up now, "What did you do to the Geth to gain control of them? Other than the odd message, there wasn't anything attached to it that could clarify what transpired."

Still focusing on Project Overlord, Jordan said the first thing that came to mind, hoping maybe nonsense could help or something, whispering, "Square root of 912.04 is 30.2."

Miranda looked slightly confused at what he had just said, but Cynthia looked outraged, her friendly, calm demeanor rapidly evaporating. Miranda spoke up again, however, "What does that mean?"

Not willing to go back, he whispered again, this time maintaining eye contact with Cynthia as he said the following line, noticing her original reaction, "It all seemed harmless…"

Cynthia slammed her hands onto the table, anger clear in her eyes, "Enough!" She demanded, openly hostile now. Even Miranda seemed shocked by the behavior, no longer leaning on the table. She appraised her 'partner' with a look that almost appeared to be... no... Was that fear in Miranda's eyes? What the hell?

He turned towards Miranda, continuing his current plan, which started with improvising and continued to consist of improvising, "Cancel Project Overlord. It's not worth it." He said, his tone almost pleading with the last statement.

"I… I beg your pardon?" Miranda asked, even more confused. God, she wasn't even trying to use her profession 'Ice Queen' persona! What's wrong with Miranda?

"P-please, Miranda. You have to listen to-"

Cynthia turned around and glared at her fiercely, "Ignore him, Miri." Immediately, Miranda reacted, looking down in genuine shame and sealing her lips and nodding, obeying without question.

Jordan's eyes shot open in shock now. Miranda Lawson, the Ice Queen and 'cold-hearted bitch' who couldn't be swayed by anyone less than Commander Shepard… and she just shut down at a glare from Cynthia? What the actual fuck?! "What the hell...?" He breathed out.

Cynthia turned back to Jordan, nodding towards the door, "Miss Lawson, please wait outside until I call for you." Wordlessly, she nodded, leaving the room. Miranda had a gleam of sadness in her eyes, almost like someone had kicked her puppy or something.

As soon as she left, Jordan stared at Cynthia in shock, his mouth agape. "What the hell have you done to her?" He asked.

Amusement danced in Cynthia's eyes for a single moment as she chuckled, "I have no idea what you're talking about, Jordan." She responded easily. "Now, back to business…" She started, staring directly into Jordan's eyes, "How about we just stop dancing around the issue and pretending we don't know what really going on, ok? Is that fine with you, sweety?" She asked mockingly.

Jordan's gaze hardened as he glared back, "Sure. After you, Cerberus bitch." He spat at her, which caused her smile to grow.

"Ahh, you are a smart cookie." She said condescendingly, "So let's cut to the chase, shall we? You need to stop this, alright?" She said simply.

"Stop what?" He asked incredulously, "I'm sitting here in a C-Sec Prison on the Citadel, with an empty stomach and nothing to do but lay around."

She slammed her hands back onto the table, standing up, "Stop changing everything!" She demanded, her eyes attempted to burn Jordan alive.

"Wh- I… I, what?!" Jordan asked, shocked.

She pointed a glowing blue hand at him, ezzo dancing across her fingertip, "You know exactly what I'm talking about! You, the Geth, everything!" She screamed at him, "I heard you screaming at Shepard about Virmire! I know you know about the Heretics and Reapers!" She listed off, "You WILL stop!"

"What are yo-" He began before he was lifted off his feet, his omni-cuffs disconnecting from the table as Cynthia held him tightly and uncomfortably in the air with her biotics.

"Enough of the bullshit, Sower!" She demanded, "We both know what's really going on here! You're changing everything, ruining the way things are supposed to be! You've ruined so much! The Leviathans, the Batarian assassination, Rasa's death, the attacks on Cerberus bases, you've been ruining everything!"

"I don't know what you're talking abou-" he was interrupted once more by a squeeze, the biotic field around him constricting him, causing pain to ripple across his entire body.

She pointed at him once more, pressing her index finger into his chest, "Do you have any idea how hard it's been to convince the Illusive Man to maintain his Cells and Projects in the same exact fashion he was supposed to? He's become afraid and cautious, wanting to pull out some of the Cells before Shepard could shut them down. Hell, Kahoku almost lived for fuck's sake!"

"That's not my fault." Jordan finally said, "I'm just trying to save lives…"

She shook her head, "I don't care what you're reasoning is." She slammed him back down painfully, back down into his seat as the omni-cuffs reattached to the table magnetically. "Let me make something clear to you, Mister Sower. If it were up to me, I'd kill you right here and now!"

"B-but I've been on Rannoch." Jordan tried, this time speaking the truth, "I couldn't do half the stuff you think I did."

She shook her head, "Lies!" She hissed, "And speaking of Rannoch, we've gotten countless reports of Geth activity recently..." She said, before slamming her glowing, blue fist back onto the table, leaving a small dent in its wake, "True Geth, Jordan!" She yelled, "They aren't supposed to be doing anything until Shepard dies!"

"So what? You here to kill me?" Jordan finally asked, fear in his eyes. "I'm just trying to help..."

"Oooohhh, you're just trying to help. Silly me, dear. I'm sooooooooo sorry." She patronized him, "Let me be abundantly clear, Jordan Sower..." She began, walking around to stand behind him.

"The Illusive Man wants answers from you, so killing you outright would ruin that, not to mention piss off the Geth." She informed him, "So, I can't just kill you without making things worse." She then bent over slightly, her mouth close to his ear as she whispered into his ear.

"However, I want you to pray, Jordan. Pray that you die in the Battle of the Citadel. Because if you survive, I promise, you'll live out the rest of your meaningless life in a holding cell on Cronos station as the first test subject of our Indoctrination projects." She threatened, stepping back and approaching the door to leave.

As she began to leave, she looked over her shoulder to add something, "And on the off chance you can contact the Collective, try to convince them to stop changing things too. Maybe we'll even go easy on you if you do me this one little favor..." She added, smiling as she continued to the door.

Pausing by the exit before leaving, using her omni-tool for a moment, reactivating the cameras and other equipment in the room. She gently opened the door.

Turning back to look at Jordan when she was halfway out the door, she smiled fiendishly as him, "Remember what I said, Avatar. I'll be watching." And with that final word, she left Jordan alone in the room, closing the door behind her. Now alone in the room, Jordan began going back over the events of the past several minutes.

She knows who I am… She… She knows about the games… Who is she?

He groaned, leaning his head back and stared back up at the ceiling once more, whispering to himself, "What the fuck is going on?"

Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, C-Sec HQ

February 21st, 2183. 3:14 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)

Cynthia Wake exited the room, turning to her right as she looked for her partner.

Her partner, Miranda Lawson, leaned against the wall across from her, a frown on her lips as she stared at the ground, disappointment clear in her eyes. Cynthia sighed as she approached, lightly bringing a hand up to Miranda's chin as she slowly made her look into her own eyes. "Miri... no hard feelings, right?" She asked quietly.

Miranda hesitated, before nodding, "I... I understand." She admitted, "I was unprofessional back there."

Cynthia smiled back to her, "It's fine, Miri. We all have our moments, even someone as perfect as you..." She added sweetly, before releasing Miranda's face from her grasp. She turned abruptly and began walking down the hall to exit the C-Sec compound, Miranda immediately falling in line without question, "I want surveillance on Jordan nonstop." She instructed.

"Ma'am?"

Ignoring the inquiry, she continued, "I don't want a Shadow Broker agent within a hundred feet of Jordan Sower. Get the squads and agents informed, Miss Lawson. Not a hundred feet." She demanded.

"O-oh course, Miss Wake. I-It's just..."

They stopped at the end of the hall, Cynthia turning towards Miranda with fury in her eyes at the last part, "It's just what?" She asked impatiently.

"Why are we going through all of this trouble if we're just leaving him here? What's so important about Mr. Sower?" She asked, shivering unconsciously, which Cynthia noticed. Using a small amount of her biotics, Cynthia stopped the unneeded movement, slowly soothing Miranda. Operative Wake smiled gently at Miranda as dark, midnight-blue tendrils of energy danced on her fingertips. With this energy, she took Miranda's chin into her hand once more. forcing eye contact with one another. If one looked closely enough, you might see faint blue and black cracks appear momentarily across Cynthia's otherwise flawless skin. Her pure, deep blue eyes seemed to almost glow for a moment as well, as Miranda's posture straightened. The energy had the desired effect, calming and soothing the other Operative.

Cynthia nodded, "There, there Miranda, just relax..." She whispered, "Don't worry about Jordan. Just focus on my orders..."

"I... alright..." She soon gave in. Miranda shook her head and the familiar 'ice queen' mask of professionalism reappeared on her face, "I'll alert all undercover operatives to the change in mission parameters."

The other woman nodded, "Excellent. Now, come, Miranda. We have much to prepare for..."

Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel, C-Sec Holding Cell.

March 1st, 2183. 6:48 pm. EST. (Earth Standard Time)

He'd spent about a week locked up, only periodically receiving news about the outside world.

After that nightmare of an interrogation at the hands of Cerberus, Jordan had a lot on his mind. Cynthia knew! She knew he was changing things, and even mentioned she'd been trying to maintain how the 'original games' went. At least, in regard to Cerberus. She blamed, and rightfully so, the death of Maya Brooks on him, which was accurate… but the other things she'd said…

Someone else must have influenced the Leviathan investigation. Someone else was attacking Cerberus bases aside from Shepard. Someone else assassinated the Batarian Politician-turned terrorist. There's no possible way any of his actions could have caused some of these events, even with the damned butterfly effect. If it wasn't him, and it wasn't her, then who?

And another thing! With her knowledge, she must have come from his world as well, with experience from the games to help guide her. This wasn't making much sense. Why were there others? How many of them were there? What's going on?

Regardless, Cynthia didn't seem like she'd be an ally, especially since Jordan WAS still intent on changing things.

After the first day in prison, the guards had finally begun to let him out for meals in the mess hall. Were they some of the worst meals he'd ever had? Absolutely! But not having any food the day prior, he couldn't help but wolf it down and ask for seconds. Beyond that, everything else here had been fairly normal, falling into a regular routine. A few times, he'd been 'roughed up' by some officers, and he even thought he overheard an attempt to bust him out occurred, but other than that, it was a stereotypical stay at Casa de Prison.

Considering the fact that he wasn't dead or in Shadow Broker custody by this point, he assumed there was someone or something watching over him carefully, making sure he wasn't taken. Was it Shepard making sure he'd be there when he returned? Was it Cerberus, watching him carefully at the behest of Cynthia? Was it, maybe, the Geth, trying to look out for him? Maybe... he wasn't sure.

A day ago, he heard that the Normandy had arrived and went on lockdown, only to be freed by a rogue Spectre as he escaped the Citadel. That means Illos was coming… and so was the Battle of the Citadel. Still, though, he didn't know how Virmire went yet... God, he hoped he'd managed to save both Kaiden and Ashley. Damn, it'd be awkward if he failed to save both and he confronted Jordan about his warning later on... and it'd be all his fault, too, for not warning him earlier... 'God, having all this knowledge kinda sucks somethings, making you feel guilty about things you knew about...', he thought.

Laying there in his cot, Jordan stared up at the ceiling, wearing an orange jumpsuit as he tried to plan what would come next. He needed to tell the Geth about Cynthia Wake. She was living, breathing proof that there were more people out there that knew what was coming. Possible allies or possible enemies…

His thoughts were interrupted when his entire cell shook like there was an earthquake. Alarms began to blare across the prison as emergency lights turned on.

The Battle of the Citadel was beginning.

Seems like everything's begun to go to Hades in a handbasket now…

A/N:

I think we know what's coming next chapter…

That's all for this note! I'll just let you ponder the implications of this chapter…

See ya next time, hopefully in just a day or two!