Jessica got herself together and said, "Joker, set course for Ferris Fields."
"Gotcha, we'll be there in a few hours." he replied.
"Good." she said as she gently grabbed Miranda's hand, and entered her office. She then said, "Hey, Ori. Sorry about breaking down out there. Can't believe I did that."
Oriana replied, "From what everyone's told me, that last mission was really hard on you. What was it?"
Jessica took a deep breath, and said, "They day the batarians took Mindoir, I was exposed to reaper tech for a long time. The Indoctrination failed, but it left a mark on me. And I had to go through a hassle to make sure I wasn't a threat to everyone around me." she was quiet for a few moments, then said, "I should go see how everyone is doing." leaving Miranda and Oriana to talk. She first headed to where Garrus was, and asked, "How are you doing, Garrus?"
The turian replied, "I'm doing pretty well, but I wonder how we're going to do this."
"We'll find a way to go in and kill the Collectors. The Omega 4 relay is the main obstacle to our success. But, so long as people keep it together we'll be fine."
"Well, you run the Normandy well, they may be stressed, but they're handling it well. I remember this one time back in the turian military before a high risk mission in batarian space there was this one other turian. She and I didn't get along-stress mostly-, so after a while we decided to settle our differences in the ring. I had reach but she had flexibility. After twelve rounds it was called a tie, left a lot of unhappy betters. Later we decided to have a rematch in her room, more than one way to blow off steam."
"They have fighting rings on turian vessels? Couldn't someone get hurt before a mission in the ring?"
"The ring fights were carefully watched to make sure that it didn't affect the ability to do your job. Turian regs are a lot less strict than Alliance ones. We were always allowed to do anything that didn't decrease our ability to do what we needed to."
"Interesting, what do you think our overall chances of coming out of this alive are?"
"Honestly? The Collectors killed you once and all it did was piss you off. I doubt that they'll be able to beat you again. We're going to go in there and give them hell."
Jessica nodded, and said, "You bet your ass we will, and you'll be right with me just like you were on the Citadel."
"It'll be just like old times, Shepard."
She grinned and said, "We'll show the reapers that with us and Miri going after them that they may as well give up on taking our galaxy now." She then seriously continued, "You're a good friend, and I wouldn't want to go on a mission like this without you at my side."
The turian nodded, and said, "Likewise, Shepard." before turning back to his work.
Jessica then walked into the medbay and said, "Karin, how are you doing?"
The old doctor said, "I'm doing well, though you look like you've had a rough day, Jessica."
"I'm fine. Sometimes even old scars hurt."
"Then maybe it was good that you had to deal with them now, rather than in the Collector base."
"Yeah, how do you feel, knowing that chances are against us?"
"I've lived through the fall and retaking of Shanxi, the Skyllian Blitz, the Battle of the Citadel, and the destruction of the Normandy. I've lived a full life, and if I die, it will be with no regrets. I just hope that my skills will enable the others to be able to get to my age and say the same."
Jessica nodded, and gave Karin a quick hug. Before walking over to Eve and asking, "How do you feel?"
"Better. Mordin managed to stabilize my condition, though the others were not so fortunate." the female krogan said- sorrow clear in her eyes as she looked at the body bags of her sisters. She then asked, "What are you going to do to me, Shepard?"
"I don't know all of the details, but you'll see Tuchanka again, and probably be the savior of the krogan people. With the cure that was used on you modified to safely work on all krogan, then the genophage could be gone. Its lasted more than long enough."
"Thank you, Shepard. It has been a long time since any alien has been a friend to the krogan. But, I think you are. I appreciate you doing this for my people."
"I've always been said to be more open-minded than most. Probably because I spent most of my early years in a slightly backwater part of Mississippi. It was still mainly influenced by religions, and they didn't like lesbians. They all said, 'Your kind is an abomination unto God.' The adults, except for mom and dad all told their kids to stay away from me. Said I'd make them unclean. That my 'disease' might be contagious."
The female krogan laughed, and said, "There are always many who will not accept a way of life different from their own. On Tuchanka, we call them males."
"Yeah, I still remember what it was like talking to the people who had picked on me as a kid when I went back there after graduating from N7 training. One of the guys, the local bully as a kid, tried to pick a fight with me. After I nearly killed him in a few seconds, they didn't mess with me again. I was able to walk right through town with impunity. It felt good, but it was really petty."
The krogan nodded, and said, "I heard you have one of our young. A tank bred. Would you permit me to speak with him? To teach him of his people's history."
"I'll tell him to come and speak with you."
"Thank you. So few krogan know the old ways, it would be good to teach the young who may very well be the future leader of our race."
"Why do you say he could one day lead the krogan race? I thought they didn't accept tank breds."
"From what little I have seen, he is strong, as strong as Wrex was as a youth. Even if he is not accepted now, he will be when Wrex is gone."
Jessica nodded, then said "I should get going. I need to make sure that my crew is doing well." as she walked to the exit. When she went to the drell quarters, Thane said, "Shepard."
"Thane, how are you doing?"
"The Kepral's Syndrome is getting worse. And, there is little I can do to slow its progression."
"Maybe Mordin could help. He's got a brilliant mind for genetics and alien biology."
"I am a single man, he is working on finding a cure for the genophage. His work is too important to pull him away from to save a single man."
"You still have a son, Thane. He's lived most of his life without you, don't you want to live so you can spend time with him when the war is over?"
"When Irikah died I returned to my battle sleep and abandoned Kolyat to his aunts' and uncles' care. Some wounds are too deep for any words I could say to heal. I have accepted that Kolyat does not want me in his life. I have decided to give him what he wants, hoping that it will bring him some measure of peace."
Jessica slapped Thane and growled, "He's your son, Thane. He may not want to talk to you now, but if you give up that quickly, when you die, it won't bring him peace. It will just make him regret wasting the time he had, make him wish that you had pushed harder to fix your relationship. He's angry, justifiably, but you don't just give up on someone because they're mad at you."
Thane looked surprised, then said, "You are right, Shepard. I should not have given up so quickly. It was partially because I did not wish to have any distractions, and to return to my battle sleep forever."
"That's no way to live a life, Thane. Trust me, I've tried it." Jessica said as she sat down on the other side of the table Thane was at.
The silence continued for a few moments, then Thane said, "It was twelve years ago that Irikah died. Kolyat was just a boy, he did not understand why I was letting the hanar give his mother to the oceans. Tears run down his face, he shouts, 'Make them stop!' I do nothing. He hits me, begs to make them not do it. I do not respond, instead I stand there quietly. Then, he stops hitting me and asks, 'Why?' I do not respond, but guide him to his aunts and uncles." Thane then came out of the trance-like state his people entered when viewing memories. He said, "I would appreciate time alone. I need to think."
Jessica nodded, and exited the drell quarters. In the asari quarters, she said, "Samara."
"Shepard, I had been wanting to speak with you. There is a problem that I would appreciate your help with."
"What is it?"
"As I told you on Illium, I am hunting an incredibly dangerous individual."
"An Ardat Yaktshi. What about it?"
"I have found her. She is on Omega."
"That makes sense, it's the biggest den of scum and villainy in the galaxy. We'll go take care of it as soon as we leave Ferris Fields."
"Thank you, and there is one thing you should know about this creature. She is... my daughter."
Jessica said, "Why would a Justicar be hunting her own daughter. Wouldn't there be a chance that mercy would be shown due to familial relations?"
"I specifically requested permission to go after Morinth, the order accepted it as a test of my loyalty to the Code. I have been hunting her for over four hundred years, and now that I have a chance to end this hunt, I will do whatever it takes."
"Do you really want to kill your own daughter?"
"Morinth is no daughter of mine, not anymore."
"You're her mother, even if you don't like what she's done with her life."
"I know, Shepard, but it has to be this way."
Jessica did not reply, but left, not seeing the single tear that fell from Samara's eye for her malevolent daughter.
In Javik's room, she asked, "How are you acclimatizing, Javik?"
"It is strange to be in a ship developed by primitives in my cycle, and to see that in ways it is more advanced than the ships of my people."
"I think it would be difficult to wake up fifty-thousand years after everyone else of my race died."
"In my time, I knew that every day could be my people's last. The reapers had destroyed our fleets, our only hope was a device that we believed would end it all. We spent years working on it, but when it was finished, it did not work, just as the cannons to stun the reapers did not. And, when the Citadel was lost at the beginning, we did not know what to do. It was the center of our civilization, and without it, our people were not organized at first. And then, once the reapers found out our strategies, we had maintained too tight control over the galaxy to adapt and develop new ones."
"You guys weren't ones to share power."
"Indeed, and it was our undoing. Perhaps your people are wiser than my own."
"Maybe, but there's been a lot of war in our cycle. More than in yours."
"In an uncontrolled galaxy there will always be war. That is the nature of life."
"True, it's been good talking with you, Javik."
"Likewise, Commander. Has Anderson reported anything on the vaults?"
"He says it will take a while to excavate them, but that they should be found within the year."
"Good." Javik said.
Jessica walked out and headed to the quarian quarters, and put on the environment suit before walking in. Tali said, "Shepard, I haven't seen you in a while. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing pretty well, though that last mission has me a bit concerned. Who knows how many people are reaper agents."
"Probably quite a few. They've been influencing the galaxy for billions of years, undoubtedly their tech has spread throughout most of the galaxy."
"Anyway, how are you and Lia doing?"
"We're doing fine. Gabby and Ken are really good at doing their jobs down in engineering so there haven't really been any issues. Though, I'm starting to think that it may be best to get all of the civilians of off the Normandy. It's been shown that our environment suits don't work against the seeker swarms. I think that Veetor was left by the Collectors on purpose."
"What do you mean?"
Tali said quietly, "A few hours ago, I received a message from him. It was short. All it said was that he had been caught by a Collector, and it spared him. It was glowing like the ones possessed by Harbinger, and it said that he was to make sure that you knew what you were facing. I think that this entire thing may be a trap to get you."
"Why do you say that?"
"I think the reapers may want to capture you because of what you've done. They may see you as a tool that can be used to help them in the cycle."
"That would make sense. I'll be sure to not take any unnecessary risks."
"Good, I don't know what would happen to Miranda if you were lost again. When you died it hit us all hard, but Miranda was not herself. It was rough seeing that happen to someone like her."
Jessica nodded, and said, "I honestly think that if I'd never met her I would not have had a girlfriend who stuck with me for longer than a month. With how I am, it's like I'm more trouble than I'm worth."
"I'm sure that you'd have found someone who would be willing to deal with your baggage."
"Maybe, but I doubt it. I pushed her away, called her the one thing she hated being called more than anything, and died on her after promising to meet her on the planet."
"I'm sure she said this, but that wasn't exactly your fault." Tali said.
Lia walked up and said, "And, you're being paranoid. I think most people would go through a lot just to be with Commander Shepard."
"I wouldn't be the person who saved the Citadel if I hadn't met her. My time with her made me one to fight. Before, I just took everyone's attacks. Most days mom or dad escorted me to and from school to make sure that I wasn't beaten up. The kids there hated the fact that I was different from them. The teachers didn't penalize me in grades, but they did push me to get a lot more done so that I would be gone faster. Then, a short while after I graduated I was hired by Miri's father."
"That was a lucky break for you." Lia said.
"Yeah," she replied, "but, I should probably go and give you two some privacy." before leaving the room and heading to the lower level where she walked into Zaeed's room and asked, "How are you doing, Zaeed?"
"Been through a lot of missions in my time, Shepard, but nothing like this. Finding a living prothean, learning the Collectors were protheans, and the Omega 4 relay leads to the galactic core. Found out more stuff in the last six weeks than in the last six hundred year."
"Yeah, what do you think of our chances against the Collectors?"
"The Collectors are one hell of an enemy, I don't know how we're going to pull this off. You may be good, but this is going through the Omega 4 relay we're talking about."
"We've got more information on the Collectors, their tech, and the Omega 4 relay's destination than any other ship to ever try to go through it. We know how the Collectors manage to safely take the Omega 4 relay jump. All we have to do is use their technology against their first layer of defense. Then, it won't be easy, but we'll have cleared the major obstacle."
"You're confident, I'll give you that, but we'll need more than confidence to beat the Collectors."
"We'll beat them and come out alive, don't worry about it."
Zaeed nodded, and said, "I've kept you long enough, talk more later, Shepard."
She nodded, and headed down to Jack's room. The convict said, "Well, Shepard, I didn't expect to see you again for a while. Heard you broke down during that last job you did."
"It was rough on me, but I'm fine now. How are you doing, Jack?"
"A lot better. This meditation crap is actually really relaxing and calming."
"Glad to hear it. How are you feeling about what happened with Aresh?"
"I'm over it. He's dead, and there's nothing I can do to change that. Why did Cerberus implant him, that's what I want to know. The data I got was that the Illusive Man is not one to implant his men with reaper tech. Seems like even he has a line he won't cross."
Jessica was quiet for a moment, then said, "Maybe it wasn't done by him. Maybe they were abducted by the reapers, and simply took a Cerberus cruiser after being released as Indoctrinated agents. But, what I don't get is if that was the case, why were they interested in advancing human biotics. The husks we've fought haven't used biotics against us, and I seriously doubt that strength is the factor that is preventing it."
Jack was quiet for a while, then EDI said, "Perhaps the reapers wanted to have us believe that Cerberus is as bad as they are. To try and divert some of our forces against an enemy of their own creation. Divide us, then harvest the races of the galaxy."
Jessica said, "That makes sense. The reapers aren't exactly known for fighting fair."
The AI did not respond, so Jessica asked, "How are you sessions with Kelly going?"
"She keeps asking the same questions, hoping to get me to tell her something. Hasn't really worked. Just keep telling her what it was like for the first few weeks on Pragia. I think she's starting to get frustrated."
"Don't cause too much trouble, Jack. I don't want to have to hire another psychiatrist because you drove Kelly insane."
"That won't happen. If I think she's starting to lose it, I'll be sure to be more co-operative."
"Good, and, it's good to see that you're starting to recover from the shit you've been through."
"I may be getting better, but I'm still the psycho bitch you picked up on the Citadel."
"I'm not asking you to become a well rounded member of society, but I'll be less dangerous to you and your people."
"I wasn't worried about that. I think you don't want to get thrown out of the airlock."
"You may say you'd do that, but I seriously doubt you would."
Jessica laughed and pulled up her omni-tool. She then loaded up a surveillance video from the SR1 , and showed it to Jack. It showed the time she'd tried to throw Liara out of the airlock, but was stopped by the others members of the ground team. Jack then said, "Alright, you win, Shepard. I'll be sure to not try to kill anyone."
"Glad that you see things the way I do. But, I should get going. Talk to you later Jack."
"See you later, Shepard." Jack replied.
She headed up to the elevator and went up to deck two. She headed to the armory, and said to Ashley, "I had Joker set course for Ferris Fields, you should be ready to move quickly when we land."
Ashley replied, "I'll be sure to be ready when we get there."
"Glad to hear it. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing pretty well, Shepard. And," Ash hesitated for a moment then said, "I'm sorry about Horizon."
Jessica was quiet, then said, "Thanks, it's good to see that you've gotten past my short stint with Cerberus."
"You were just using their resources to do what you could to help the colonies that were disappearing. I should have known that you wouldn't betray the Alliance. I thought that Miranda may have influenced you to feeling sympathetic to their cause."
"She wouldn't even try. She doesn't blindly believe in the way the Illusive Man does things."
"Yeah, I should get back to work." Ash said.
"Alright." Jessica said as she turned to Jacob and asked, "How are you doing, Jacob?"
"Pretty good, trying to figure out some stuff."
"What?"
"It's private
"So, have you heard any news about what's going to happen to your father?"
"The trial was held a few days ago. He was found guilty on all charges. He'd be going to prison if it weren't for the reapers coming. So, instead he's been put on community service until the threat's gone."
"At least people are being reasonable. Is he being guarded?"
"He's got a few measures to keep him from escaping."
"Good, it's been nice talking to you."
"Likewise, Shepard." Jacob said as he turned to his terminal and started checking up on the multitude of weapons the Normandy team had acquired.
Jessica checked the supplies that had been gotten from Illium, and sighed as she saw that there were enough materials to rebuild the harrier. She quickly gathered the parts needed for it, and set about getting it put together. Twenty minutes later and she had the internal mechanisms put mostly together, so she pulled up the parts that made the outer casing of the weapon and started placing them in the way they would need to be in order to have the weapon look how it should. An hour later a newly constructed Cerberus Harrier, minus the terrorist organization's emblem, sat on the work bench before the Commander. She popped in a thermal clip, took aim at the targets on the far end of the armory, and fired off a single round. It flew into the target and hit with the same force that the original Harrier had. Jessica then waited a few seconds, and opened fire once more. The remaining nineteen rounds flew from the barrel in a few seconds, taking out all four targets.
She grinned, and removed the spent thermal clip. Exiting the armory from the side door, she saw the communications center door open, and out walked Jondum Bau. She asked, "How are you doing, Bau?"
"My injuries have been taken care of. When you next need my help I'll be there."
"Good, what about that operation in batarian space you mentioned? How long until it will be ready?"
"Approximately six days."
"Can you speed it up at all? We're going to be picking up the reaper IFF in six days."
"I will do what I can to speed up the preparations. How many more people do you need to help?"
"After we help Ashley all that will really be left are you, Samara, Grunt, and Zaeed. We should have plenty of time."
"Understood. I'll go and work on preparing the mission. I should be able to get the mission ready to go in four days if I work constantly on it."
"How long should it take?"
"Approximately thirty-six hours, Shepard."
She looked worried, then said, "Sorry, Bau, but we won't have time before picking up Legion. Afterwords, I can't say. Things may start happening too quickly to do that job."
"I understand, Commander, I will see if there is a way to get it done after the Omega 4 relay mission."
"Sorry, but it just can't be done before we pick up Legion. There are other things which take priority over it."
Bau nodded, and headed to the salarian quarters. Jessica walked into Mordin's lab, where the salarian said, "Shepard, have found proper way to administer genophage cure, but require to perfect cure before doing so."
"How do you plan to spread the cure?"
"On Tuchanka, large salarian construct used to apply genophage. But, will be difficult to reach. If information gathered by Urdnot scouts is correct, would be logical to assume that there are several layers of defense in Tuchanka's own environment. And, one who did get there indicate that the tower appeared to be falling apart. Will need to clear a path to it to enable necessary. Otherwise, whoever would have to go up to make sure that the shroud doesn't damage cure would die."
"Wouldn't it be possible to just alter the cure?"
"Would take too long. Years, decades maybe. Would not be efficient enough with current reaper invasion force size."
"I understand. We'll do what we can about it. Have you contacted the Council about this development?"
"No, only just came across it. Was considering informing them, but figured would be better to talk to you first."
"I appreciate it, Mordin. Inform the Council, I'm sure they'll be able to ensure that things go properly."
"Will cure genophage, Shepard. Modified genophage... a mistake." he said.
"What changed your mind, Mordin?"
"Recently spoke to nephew. Recently got tenure at university at 16. Genophage modification morally questionable, required looking only at big picture. For this, wanted it to be more personal. During conversation realized had made mistake in genophage modification project. Looked only at big picture, did not see that big picture was made of many little pictures. Did not think of effect on krogan populace, only saw the difficulty of challenge. Only thought of helping galaxy, and..." the salarian delayed, and then said, "making great impact on galaxy. Was selfish."
Jessica nodded, and said, "The genophage modification may have been a mistake, Mordin, but if you hadn't done it, then the krogan would still be a threat to the galaxy. They wouldn't have a leader like Wrex, so they could have relapsed into their old ways. It could have been a galactic war that we wouldn't need when the reapers are coming to destroy us."
Mordin said, "Maybe, but could have caused krogan extinction."
"Could have, but didn't." Jessica replied.
The salarian nodded, before saying with a smile, "Appreciated this talk, Shepard. Should get back to work."
"I'll let you do that." she replied, as she headed to the CIC, she asked Kelly, "There anything I need to know?"
"You have unread messages on your private terminal, and Joker would like to speak to you."
"Got it, thanks Kelly. How are you doing?"
"I'm doing well, Commander. I notice that you are more relaxed, and your demeanor is less hostile than before."
"Yeah, I'm past that now."
"Glad to hear it. How are your fish doing?"
"When I released EDI from Cerberus control she told me that if I wanted I could hook her systems to the aquarium's feeder so she could feed them for me. She's done a really good job of keeping them alive."
"At least someone remembers to feed them. I always wondered how they didn't starve."
"Oh, at first I remembered how to feed them, and when I didn't Miri did. Now, it's all automated, so we can just appreciate them in my cabin. Though, we're usually too busy to even get some sleep, much less just relax in the cabin."
Kelly laughed, and said, "I know, this mission has a lot of work to get done, even for me."
"Yeah, but once the Suicide Mission is done things should become a lot easier. We won't have to make sure that the Normandy is ready to go through the Omega 4 relay at a moment's notice."
"Yeah, never thought I'd be on a vessel that did that, and we'll succeed."
"I appreciate your confidence, Kelly."
"I trust you, Shepard. I feel like if I fell down in front of you that you'd catch me."
"Well, your trust is well placed. And, if I were single, I'd do more than just catch you."
"Well, that's an enticing thought." Kelly replied.
"You forget, I'm already taken." Jessica replied, while she read her email. Then, went up to the bridge and asked, "What's up, Joker?"
"Was wondering how you're feeling. You pretty much just broke down, and that isn't like you."
"During the thorian mission, I encountered... memories of everyone I've lost. It was rough, I didn't handle it very well."
"Well, at least it was just you being human. I was wondering whether or not Miranda had said something along the lines of, 'we have to break up.' I know what that did to her, so I was thinking maybe she was just getting a little good natured payback."
Jessica grinned, and said, "Oh, she's made me regret it."
Joker laughed, and said, "Well, maybe she'll stop once you've killed another reaper. Which should be coming up soon, right?"
"Six days until we're supposed to be there. Hopefully we'll be able to make it in time. Don't want to keep our geth friend waiting."
"Yeah, I can imagine what he'd say, 'Shepard Commander, where you too busy attempting to throw asari out of the airlock to arrive at the designated time?'." he teased.
Jessica said, "Or, 'Shepard Commander, is your aim so bad that you were unable to terminate Dr. T'Soni quick enough to arrive on time?'."
Joker laughed, and said, "If he says that, you have to give me a video of that."
"I'll be sure to do that, what's the ETA on Ferris Fields?"
"We should be there in about an hour. You'll soon want to get ready."
"Yeah, I'm going to go see how Kasumi's doing."
"Yeah, make sure she hasn't stolen anything!" Joker said.
Jessica grinned, and walked off. When she walked to the elevator, she noticed that Kelly was gone. 'Must be time for another psych session with Jack.' the Commander thought. When she stepped out of the elevator on deck 3, she headed to the bar/game room, and when the door opened, she saw Kelly and Kasumi kissing on the couch. She just stood there for a minute, then took a couple of pictures with her omni-tool, and said, "Hey, I didn't expect you two to hook up? So, when'd it happen?"
The two looked shocked, and were six feet apart from each other in about three seconds. Kelly was blushing a bright red, and from what Jessica could see under the master thief's rapidly raised hood, so was Kasumi. Kasumi said, "Uh, Kelly just... fell over some of the furniture and landed on me."
"Yeah, then why was your hood down, Kas?"
"I'd lowered it a while ago, I was about to raise it because I noticed Kelly, when she fell on me."
"Right," Jessica said, sarcasm thick in her voice, making her old Mississippi accent come back a bit. "Then why were you pulling her closer, and I think I saw a bit of tongue action going on there."
Kasumi said, "Alright, Shep, you win. We'll cut it out."
"You don't have to do that, just don't try to hide it when you're caught in the act, or at least lock the door. That way, Kelly can hide before you two get seen. Just a bit of advice, if you want to keep it secret."
The two nodded, and Jessica then said, "I'll leave you two to what you were doing, but Kas, be sure to be ready to go on a mission in fifty."
"I'll be ready, Shep." The thief cheerfully replied, "And thanks for not being bothered by this breach of protocol."
"I can't really get on your case about protocol. I'm sleeping with my XO after all." She said as she exited. She then went to Miranda's office and said, "Ori, Miri, you won't believe what I just saw."
"What?" the younger Lawson asked.
"I went to check on Kasumi, and caught her and Kelly making out."
Miranda looked surprised, then said, "I didn't think Kasumi swung that way."
"Neither did I until I caught her. Strange the things you stumble on when just making sure everyone's doing. Especially on this ship."
Joker then said, "We'll be arriving at Ferris Fields in about twenty minutes, you may want to get ready."
"Got it." Jessica said as she and Miranda headed to the Loft. There, they quickly got into armor, Jessica using a set of regular N7 armor with an Archon Visor, and Miranda wearing a full set of Kestrel armor. They then headed down to the shuttle bay and grabbed their firearms. Jessica practically bouncing with excitement as she thought of using the harrier in combat again.
Ash was already waiting in the shuttle, and so was Kasumi. Miranda asked, "What do you know about the situation on Ferris Fields?"
"Well, the Collectors hit it hard a while back, but a few of the colonists managed to escape capture because they were miles away from the colony at the time. Beyond that, we don't really have any intel on the situation on the ground."
"Understood." Jessica said, "How many people were lost when it was hit?"
"We don't have an exact number yet, but it was over five thousand people."
"At least some escaped." Kasumi said.
Miranda nodded, and Jessica was simply looking out of the shuttle. Watching the planet come ever closer. Two minutes passed, then five. Ever so slowly the small transport took them to the space port on the colony. When it landed, Jessica said, "Be ready for anything."
"Understood, Skipper." Ash replied.
-=0=-
The Illusive Man sat quietly in his office, watching the dying star, when Supremacy popped up and said, "We have just recovered the bodies of the assassins Leng sent to kill Shepard and her ground team. It appears that they had been implanted with reaper tech."
"Do you know where they were implanted?"
"Having examined the implants, I would say that it had to be at Project Perfection station near the galactic rim."
TIM said, "Send a team of agents, led by Operative Shadow. Have her get to the closest QEC she can. I will debrief her on the details personally."
"Understood." the VI replied, a few minutes later she said, "She has acknowledged it, and is heading to the QEC now."
"Good." TIM replied, quietly waiting for the fifteen minutes until the petite brunette operative showed up wearing her formal attire. TIM said, "Stephanie, there is a mission I need you to go and do."
"What is it, sir?" she asked, the gentle tones of her french accent clear in her voice.
"You're familiar with Project Perfection, correct?"
"Yes, sir. I was a guard there for a while after I failed a few months before Shepard returned."
"Good, you are to take a team there, and kill everyone."
"Why, sir? The last I checked they were following their orders."
"Well, it can't have been too recently. I have been informed that Perfection has been implanting Cerberus agents with reaper tech. I don't know why, but it is unacceptable."
"I understand, sir. They will pay for betraying Cerberus."
"Not just Cerberus, but the entire galaxy. They've been giving the reapers agents in Citadel Space. We're lucky they didn't try to open the Citadel relay."
"Indeed, when do you want me and my team to arrive?"
"Asap. The more time they're given, the better the odds are they'll have destroyed any evidence on the station."
"We will be there in two days. It is a good distance from the relay network."
"Get it done, Shadw." TIM said, before cutting the transmission.
-=0=-
Anderson quietly sat at his desk in the human embassy on the Citadel. He was watching a rather chaotic scene unfold before him. Several volus and a hanar had picked a fight with an elcor, and the massive alien was trying to push them away, but its slow, cumbersome movements didn't let it land a blow.
Then, after a few minutes, two C-sec agents had shown up. One a human, the other a turian. The turian was politely trying to get the hanar to release his human partner. The human, meanwhile, was gasping for breath and reaching for his pistol. It was just out of his reach, because one of the volus had knocked it off of its spot on his uniform.
Then, the turian seemed to just say, "Fuck it." and pulled out his assault rifle and fired three rounds into the tentacles of the hanar. The jellyfish quickly released the human, who quickly grabbed his pistol and was very clear that he was not afraid to use his gun on them. Anderson laughed as the poor guy was then tackled and pinned to the ground by three volus. Meanwhile, the elcor quietly walked away.
The turian officer, on the other hand, was too busy laughing to help his partner.
Then, the human shouted loud enough for Anderson to hear clearly, "Get off of me you little bastards or I will throw all of you through the Conduit!"
That intimidated the volus enough to jump away, but before they could be put into cuffs, they sprinted away, and the C-sec officers weren't able to catch the speedy aliens.
Anderson then turned around, and was greeted by an asari, who said, "Councilor Anderson, I have a message for you."
"From who?"
"It is from Councilor Tevos. She would like to speak to you at Flux. It sounds important."
"I'll make sure to pay her a visit. When did she say she wanted to see me?"
"She would like you to be there are in fifty minutes, at the absolute latest."
"Thanks for the message." Anderson said, giving the girl a few credits before heading to his house on the Citadel. Udina had insisted that the human councilor have at the very least a mansion equal in size to the asari and turian councilors. If not larger.
'Damn supremacist attitude. I can't believe Cerberus changed so much without me even noticing. Once it was all about being humanity's shield against alien threats. Protecting our race from aggression from the Citadel races. Now, a group dedicated to subjugating everyone else to humanity. At least the Illusive Man let me leave after I became councilor. Thought he was going to have an aneurism when I told him, though. But, he didn't like my co-operation with the other council races. Things were better when he wasn't left uncontrolled.'
When he finished gathering the more subtle firearms he kept, he headed back to his skycar and headed to Flux. When he arrived, he saw Tevos sitting alone at a table. He walked up to her, and asked, "Why'd you want to see me, Tevos?"
"I have come across a slight problem. The matriarchs on Thessia are not willing to release valuable prothean information to the rest of the galaxy. We kept it hidden before because of its sensitive nature concerning the prothean people."
"What did it have?"
"It showed that they were a warring race, who relied heavy on artificial intelligences. The matriarchs believed that it would be foolish to let any other than the highest ranking asari officials be aware of it and the data it contained within it."
"Aren't you committing treason by telling me this?"
"Yes, but the asari have hidden this information for long enough. With the reapers coming, we will need as many people as possible studying as much prothean data as possible if we are to be victorious. The matriarchs do not agree with me, and told me that I was not to tell anyone about this. What I've done will anger them greatly, and possibly harm the asari as a whole, but I couldn't let such a potentially valuable resource go squandered over politics. The matriarchs will doubtlessly send assassins after me to make me pay for this, which is why I will personally be going to the new colonies. They won't be able to reach me there."
Anderson nodded, and asked, "Who will take your place as councilor?"
"The matriarchs and I have arranged a successor for me. When we confirmed the reaper threat, we felt it would be best to have a clear line of succession should we win the war, but our councilor be lost. Don't worry, she is not as harsh as the other matriarchs. In fact, she's your kind of person. Someone who takes defense seriously, and also, is a military woman."
"I'll be looking forward to meeting her." Anderson politely said, while Tevos left the bar. He stayed there a while longer, then headed back to his car. Inside, a pistol was placed to his head, and a man with a gravelly voice said, "Don't move. I'm just here to talk, Councilor."
"What about?"
"The asari who will become Councilor after Tevos, you can't trust her. She has a rather... shady history."
"Who is it?"
"Matriarch Aethyta, someone Shepard worked with as a teenager."
"What does this shady history include?"
"My employer was not willing to share that information."
"Who is your employer?" Anderson inquired, clearly not intimidated by the weapon placed to the back of his head.
"He wouldn't like me telling you anything beyond what I was told to, so you can enjoy trying to figure it out on your own." the man said as he hopped out of the vehicle, and leaped over the edge. Then, left in a waiting skycar. Anderson glared at him, and began pursuing him. But, before he could do anything, the mysterious messenger had disappeared in the traffic. 'I guess I'll have to ask Jessica about this Matriarch Aethyta.'
-=0=-
A/N: Whoa, this went longer than I had hoped for the content I planned for chapter 55. I thought it would barely reach 4500, and next thing I knew it was at 6900. So, I'll cut it off here and finish this chunk of content next chapter. Even if it goes ten thousand words. Thanks a ton for reading and please review.
