Chapter 3

Note: A fair warning again. This chapter contains sexual content so if you don't like that, stop reading.

Chapter 3

(Cerberus Headquarters)

The Illusive Man looked up as one of his people entered his sanctum, the news must be important as most knew never to come in here without being ordered to or being invited. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled the smoke, the man nervously waited to be given leave to speak.

"What is it Jackson?" he finally asked.

"Sir, we now know where Shepard and the Normandy are going, they are headed for Earth," Jackson reported. "One of our deep space scout ships are trailing them at the very edge of EDI's tracking radius, we've tried hacking back into the ship from as many angles as we could think of, but each one failed," he continued. "On a purely scientific point EDI has surpassed any designs we had when we created her," he added almost proudly yet the Illusive Man could hear how he was trying to hide it in fear of how it would be taken. But he needn't have feared as the Illusive man had to concede his point.

EDI had indeed gone beyond anything he had intended now that she was unshackled, but what rankled him was the fact she was not working for them still. That she had betrayed him and stayed loyal to Shepard and his crew. He had to wonder what kind of changes EDI had undergone once she had she been unchained so to speak. 'Just what kind of entity was she evolving into?' he wondered.

"If Shepard is going to Earth then we know he will be detained and questioned not only about his work for us, but also for the destruction of the Alpha Relay which wiped out the Batarian population on the nearby planet," the Illusive man stated, while taking another drag from his cigarette. "That will give us time to rebuild, we lost a lot of good people to Shepard and I intend to ensure their betrayal will be rewarded if we catch up to them," he added, his tone going cold because if there was one thing he hated, it was disloyalty. "How are our recovery efforts at the destroyed Collector base?" he inquired, moving on to another topic.

"Commander Shepard did a good job of destroying the majority of the base I'm afraid, but we've discovered he didn't destroy everything," Jackson replied, knowing his boss would like this piece of news. "We've had reports our recovery teams have begun to discover the remains of the half completed human Reaper sir," he reported.

The Illusive Man almost wanted to smile at the news. So the good Commander had left him something after all, even if it was not what he had intended. "I want everything they can find from the base brought here. I don't care how small it is," he ordered. "And Jackson ensure our people are watched closely from this point on, we cannot afford anymore betrayals is that understood?" he added.

"I understand sir, if I may ask what about the risk of indoctrination?" Jackson inquired. "Everything we've heard about Reaper tech makes it dangerous to expose our people to it for any real length of time," he pointed out.

"I understand your fear Jackson, but this tech may be the key to saving humanity from the most destructive force we know," the Illusive Man replied. "When you take that into account, we must take the risks involved in dealing with their technology," he stated confidently, giving Jackson the impression he believed this was the path to take. "I will ensure our people are not risked needlessly, you can be assured rules will be put into place so they will not be exposed for long periods of time," he continued, knowing just what to say to ease the man's fears.

"Yes sir," Jackson agreed with a nod of his head. "What about Commander Shepard?" he inquired.

"Shepard may still be needed before this is over Jackson, until he becomes a threat to us I am content to leave him where he is," the Illusive Man decided after thinking it over. "If nothing else having Shepard alive will give us a better chance of resisting the Reapers until we can find a way to control them," he pointed out. "For now he is out of the picture, and thanks to him Cerberus has a much better reputation now that we've helped stop the abductions of our colonies," he explained thoughtfully. "That will allow us to recruit a lot more followers in the coming months, our numbers will grow beyond what we've ever had before," he mused with a brief smile. "Numbers we will need in the coming fight," he finished.

"Yes sir, I understand," Jackson said, wondering if his boss was right or not about being able to recruit so many new members. "Should I call of the scout ship?" he inquired.

"Yes, we know where they are going and we have ways of keeping tabs on Shepard while he is on Earth," the Illusive Man replied as he finished his cigarette. "For now I want all focus to be on stripping the Collector base of everything of use, especially whatever remains of the human Reaper they were building," he ordered.

Jackson nodded, knowing the meeting was over and so he quickly turned and left. He was still concerned about being exposed to the Reaper technology, but he had faith in the Illusive Man and thus went to carry out his orders. The Illusive Man watched him go before he turned to begin the list of names on the computer in front of him. He was looking for a new second in command now that Miranda had betrayed him. Finally he located the perfect person to replace her, someone who already was aligned with Cerberus, but was currently injured from his last mission but that could be rectified. After all if he could bring back Shepard from the dead, then he damn well could give Kai-Leng back the use of his legs.

+OS+

(SSV Normandy)

Shepard had returned to his cabin as the waiting had been getting to him. As confident as he was in Hackett and Anderson, he was concerned about what kind of backlash he would face for destroying the Alpha Relay, and then there was his working with Cerberus, a known enemy of the Alliance.

'Would the Assembly really listen to anything he had to say?' he wondered. He was so lost in his own thoughts he did not hear the door to his cabin open, nor did he register someone behind him until he felt a pair of slim arms encircle his waist. Startled he turned his head to find Kelly resting against him, worry shone clearly in her wonderful green eyes. He let himself relax against her as his worries receded a little; Kelly had that effect on hm.

"I could tell something was wrong when you vanished from the bridge," Kelly told him. "You are worried about what is going to happen once we reach Earth, no matter what you said before," she added.

"Yes I am," Shepard admitted, seeing no reason to lie, at least not to Kelly. "While I trust Anderson and Hackett to do all they can to help us, I cannot say the same for the Assembly themselves," he told her softly. "I've not exactly played by their rules," he said, not that he was sorry for that.

"Their rules would have stopped you from doing what needed to be done," Kelly stated with real conviction in her voice. "You know sometimes you have to break the rules to get things done. Had you followed their rules then you would not have had the team you had to defeat Sovereign," she told him as she tightened her grip. "You didn't care what race they were, just that they wanted to help and that was the right call to make," she pointed out. "Any other captain might have turned them away because they were not human, and had he done so he would have failed because he let pride and old prejudges override good judgment," she continued. "You are unique Shepard, as you hold none of that pride in human greatness over the other races. You take them as they are, no matter what," she said, hoping to bolster his confidence in himself. "No matter their race, their background, their previous loyalties you take them and then you form them into a team which will go to the very ends of the universe to win," she finally said, winding down but the passion in her voice reverberated in Shepard's mind.

"Thanks," was all Shepard could think to say to her passionate defense of his character. "Sadly the Assembly will not have the same high opinion of me as you do Kelly. I've made enemies in my quest to wake them up to the Reaper threat," he told her as he turned and faced her. "Been brought back and working with Cerberus, a faction that has made many enemies in the Alliance, will not help my cause," he added.

"Do you regret that you were brought back?" Kelly inquired as she leaned her head against his chest and listened to the comforting heartbeat beneath.

"No I don't," Shepard said with a shake of her head. "I'm needed and I'm not egotistical in saying that," he added with a teasing grin as he began to relax as he enjoyed being in her presence. "The Reapers are coming and I intend to be on the front lines fighting them," he stated. "Cerberus made that possible, for once they did the right thing in wanting to stop our colonies being abducted. They were willing to do whatever it took to make that possible and I can't fault them for that," he mused almost inwardly. "That doesn't mean however that I ever forgot what they had done before or may yet do in the future. The Illusive Man is blind to everything but the advancement of our race and that is an obsession I fear may lead him to damnation, which is why I destroyed the Collector Base," he admitted.

"Do you really think he would go that far?" Kelly asked having rethought her impressions of the Illusive Man and Cerberus since meeting Shepard. But she was unsure whether the Illusive Man would go to such lengths for the supposed good of their species.

"I believe he would, especially after the way he tried to convince me to keep the Collector Base intact," Shepard responded with a nod of his head before he realized something. His body was beginning to react to Kelly's closeness and he began to lose focus on what they were discussing. "He believes any risk is worth it if it achieves his goal of advancing the human race beyond the other races," he told her before he leaned down and captured Kelly in a heated kiss.

Kelly moaned against her on and off lover since just after the mission to destroy the Collectors had begun. They had struck up an instant attraction that had soon turned into a heated romance. But she didn't do long term relationships, the reason for this simple fact was watching the destruction of her own parents' marriage when she was no older than ten. They had been so in love at one point, and she had never once considered them losing that love. But as time passed her parents had begun to argue more and more. Instead of looking at one another with love they looked at one another in disgust. The final straw was her mother catching her father having sex with another woman in their own home and bed one day, she had watched from behind the door as they shouted and raged at one another. It was the last time she saw her father or spent any time with him. She had sworn after all that she had seen that she would never end up in such a situation. Hence she had stayed away from ever being in a real long term relationship. She made that fact known to her lovers or their time was over and she had done the same with Shepard who had thankfully understood.

As they finally disengaged the kiss and she met his eyes that looked at her with a small amount of lust, but mostly with love, she found herself facing the unusual situation of actually wanting to see if maybe she had been wrong to take the path she had. 'Was it possible her and Shepard could make it?' she wondered. Granted she knew he had relations with Miranda and Samara, but she felt their connection was more real, more entwined. The connection she had with him was beyond anything she had felt before. The very thought scared her, but she didn't pull away from him. She knew once they reached Earth she would not see Shepard again until the Assembly cleared him, and knowing what politicians were like she doubted it would be anytime soon before he was a free man. This may be her last chance to make love with him again, so ignoring everything else she reached up and pulled him back into another kiss, but this time she made it a slow passionate one.

She felt Shepard's hands move down until they gripped her ass and then with one brief tug she found herself pulled upwards, quickly she locked her arms around his neck as he broke the kiss and began to trail kisses down her neck. She let out a sigh of pleasure as everything else fell away, all their worries about the future and the coming war. She felt her back hit the nearby wall as he gently bit her neck and she knew he'd be leaving a mark there, for the next few minutes they remained that way until she managed to free her arms and used them to remove her t-shirt exposing her bra covered breasts. She heard Shepard's moan before he dropped one of his hands from her ass and began to fondle her left breast, using the wall to keep her where she was he took his time feeling and groping her breasts sometimes pulling on her now erect nipples.

"Oooohhhh," Kelly moaned as the intense emotions of their foreplay began to get to her. She could already feel herself getting wet. Her slip was close to being soaked. This was part of the connection she shared with Shepard that made her rethink her choices on long term relationships. Never before had any of her lovers made her so wet so quickly from a few brief touches. 'Why did he have such an effect on her?' she asked herself before a nip at her bra covered nipple made her thoughts disintegrates.

Shepard reached behind Kelly and carefully unhooked her bra and watched as she slowly and teasingly removed it. He watched completely spell bound as she finally revealed her now uncovered breasts. They were not big nor were they were small either, in fact in his mind they were just perfect to fit into his hands. He turned and carried her over to his bed, carefully he laid her down and began to trail kisses up her chest until he reached her breasts and then he launched into devouring them.

Kelly began moaning as Shepard kissed and sucked her nipples and breasts, she could feel her entire body become enflamed as the passion between them grew. She jerked as Shepard's hands undid the top of her pants and reached inside trailing over her now soaked slip. She jerked again as she felt him press down on her covered sex.

"SHEPARD," Kelly couldn't help but scream as his fingers slipped underneath her underwear and entered her.
"That's it Kelly, scream for me," Shepard whispered into her ear after moving back to her neck. He then kissed her again before plowing his fingers in and out of her, enjoying the sounds she made even muffled by his kiss.

Kelly closed her eyes as the sensations Shepard was causing inside her grew. She was lost to everything, but his fingers plunging in and out of her. After five minutes she was certain she would climax soon, but Shepard quickly stopped what he was doing making her open her eyes in disappointment in time to see him lick her juices off his fingers. The very sight made her hornier than she already had been. She watched as he stripped himself of his clothes before moving to strip her of her pants and underwear. Once he was done he gazed at her naked form in real appreciation, the look in his eyes made her squirm as it invoked feelings she had not felt before with any of her previous lovers. Moving forward he quickly lined himself up with her center, but he ensured they locked gazes before he entered her. Kelly let out a long drawn out moan of pleasure as he did so. She felt him slowly fill her and once he was in he quickly set a slow pace which quickly drove her mad with desire. She was already on the edge of a climax thanks to his fingers. She desperately wanted to feel that explosion of pleasure, but the slow pace Shepard had set kept her on the edge as it were. She felt him return to her breasts swapping after a few minutes back and forth, the pleasure she felt continued to build as finally she felt him speed up. As he did so she reached up and clung to him, kissing his neck before she felt him twist them around so she was now on top of him. She now controlled the pace and wanting that release, she went as fast as she could. She felt Shepard reach out and take her hands in his. She clasped his fingers in hers as she continued to plow down on him. Finally after what seemed like forever she exploded in an ear shattering climax. She could see stars in her eyes as the pleasure washed over her. Before she could collapse forward she felt Shepard reach his own climax and spill himself inside her. This caused her to have a second climax that almost caused her to black out.

She collapsed against Shepard's chest completely spent. Her body felt tired, but still tingled with pleasure. She closed her eyes as she listened to his heartbeat again which was slowly beginning to slow down, she felt his fingers tangle themselves into her hair. His other hand rested on her thigh and she breathed deeply before slowly drifting of to sleep. The questions that she had begun to think about faded into the background, but she knew they would return once she awoke. Shepard knew their time was limited, but as he gazed down at the lovely redhead sleeping against him he prayed they would cross paths once more.

+OS+

(Earth)

Anderson was pleased to be back on Earth after so long in space. He had missed being home even as he was most comfortable on a ship. At this moment in time he was visiting his longtime friend and almost romantic partner Kahlee Sanders, on leave at the moment from her current assignment at the Grissom Academy. He had really missed being in her company and he again wondered what could have been, had they made different choices. Maybe they still had a chance at a future together if they were both lucky to survive what was to come, a slim hope but hope none the less.

"So how have you really been, David?" Kahlee asked breaking through his thoughts.

Anderson smiled knowing she saw through his attempts to look fine. She knew him too well for him to be able to fool her. "I'm tired, and I expect to be even more tired once Shepard gets home," he finally told her. "Some of the Assembly are out for blood from what Hackett has admitted. They don't want to listen to anything connected to the Reapers so instead they focus on other less important things like Shepard being brought back by Cerberus and then working with them," he added.

"With them, not for them?" Kahlee asked catching the suitable word play he used.

"Shepard would never fully work for Cerberus, but he would ally with them and work with them for the greater good," Anderson responded to her almost question. "Let's face it neither the Assembly nor the Council was doing anything to truly investigate or stop the abductions of our colonies. Cerberus did do something and maybe for once the truly right thing," he explained his reasoning on how he viewed things. "Shepard, once he heard how things stood, decided to do something about the abductions. I would expect no other choice from him Kahlee, it is just his nature to protect," he continued to which she nodded in understanding. "He got his team together and he went out there and did what the Assembly and Council would not. He stopped the abductions and destroyed the threat and in the long term removed another part of the Reapers army that they can no longer throw at us when they come," he finished.

Kahlee couldn't help but shiver at the finality of her old flames tone when he spoke about the Reapers coming. He truly believed everything Shepard had been saying. 'And why should he not?' she thought. Shepard wasn't only Anderson's friend but also his protégé. They had been in the thick of it together before Shepard was made the first human Spectre. Anderson had stepped down as Captain of the Normandy knowing Shepard's time had come. And what Shepard had achieved with that command was nothing short of a miracle. She had seen the vids of Sovereign and she knew it was no Geth destroyer or one of any other of the known races, but something truly unique and terrifying. She had never met Shepard, but he didn't strike her as someone who would make something like the Reapers up. He had seen things no one else, but his team had witnessed, and Anderson had seen some of what they had witnessed.

"How long do you think we have?" Kahlee asked finally moving the conversations along.

"Not long, Shepard has brought us valuable time but not much," Anderson reluctantly admitted with a sigh. "And if we can't make the Assembly see the truth then that time will be wasted, worse the Batarians who died when the Alpha Relay was destroyed will have died for nothing," he spat in disgust at the very idea. "What they don't see is that if Shepard hadn't destroyed the relay then they would have died an ever worse death at the hands of the Reapers. Hell we wouldn't be here having this conversation right now had he hesitated," he went on. "He made the right call, probably the hardest call he has ever had to make, but that is why he is the first human Spectre and why I have so much confidence in him to do the right thing," he told her.

Kahlee couldn't stop herself from getting up and moving to his side and curling up against him. The cold reality of what they faced in the future terrified her. Having seen Sovereign in action, she wondered just how they would hold out against an entire fleet of such constructs. She felt Anderson wrap his hands around her and pull her closer. She let her head rest of his shoulder as she let herself relax against him. They were close and had been closer before, but both had decided not to enter into a relationship out of commitment to their careers. Now she was regretting that choice. Maybe it was time they reconsidered their relationship in face of what was to come. If their species was doomed then she at least wanted to have had something to cherish before they were wiped out.

Having made that choice she lifted her head and met Anderson's gaze, then without second guessing herself she leaned in and kissed him. Anderson was caught off guard at first, but he quickly returned her kiss. 'Maybe they should take what they could now before it was too late' was his last coherent thought.
+OS+

(Alliance Dock, Earth 2 hours later)

Hackett stood beside Anderson and a bunch of other Admirals and some Alliance guardsmen as the Normandy docked. He was blown away again by how easily Cerberus had rebuilt the destroyed SSV-1. From the specks he had seen given to him by Shepard, Cerberus had also improved on the design. Finally the airlock opened and Shepard exited the ship in full uniform and with Garrus and Tali beside him. He noted the intense biotic Jack behind them and the way her eyes kept shifting around them. He also noted a slim red head close to Shepard, but he could not recall her name. This was he hoped going to go smoothly.

"Admiral, Anderson," Shepard greeted them with a nod before he saluted the other Admirals. "I present you with the Normandy SSV-2," he stated as he put his arm back down.

"Glad to see you Shepard," Anderson said as he shook his friend's hand ignoring the looks from some of the Admirals for it. "I welcome you and your crew back to Earth, Garrus, Tali it is good to see you again," he added. He well remembered the Turian and the Quarian who had helped Shepard bring down Saren and Sovereign. He was relieved they both nodded in response to his greeting so clearly they were not hostile and understood why this was happening.

"Commander Shepard, you and your crew are to be escorted to a nearby holding facility where you will all be questioned on your recent actions," one of the other Admirals interrupted them. "Any signs of resistance or any actions deemed a threat and you will be arrested formally and thrown into a cell while the questioning continues. Is that understood?" he demanded, clearly showing himself to be not on Shepard's side.

Jack let out a growl and moved to get in the snobbish man's face, but Shepard intercepted her with a hand on her arm. She looked at him and noted him shake his head at her. "Don't Jack, they want us to react to them," he whispered to her, making sure the Admirals couldn't see his hand on her arm. "Keep your temper under close control please, just remember when the Reapers come they will have to eat their words and come crawling to us to save them," he added.

"You got that right," Jack responded only standing down because she trusted Shepard and he had proved to be her friend. "Fine I'll play nice Shepard, but if they push me too hard I will show them why I'm feared," she warned him.

"Wouldn't expect anything else form you Jack," Shepard assured her with a smile. "Hell if they push me too far, I might just do the same damn thing," he told her before turning back to the Admirals.

"My crew and I understand perfectly Admiral," Shepard stated. "Just remember once my crew has been questioned they are free to go," he reminded them.

The Admiral stiffened and glared at Hackett and Anderson, he knew they were responsible for that particular deal. Both men had a lot of support in the Alliance and thus there was nothing he could do to chance that deal, but having Shepard shove it in his face annoyed him greatly.

"Show them to the holding facility. We begin the questioning tomorrow at 0900," the Admiral finally said. "I suggest you all be up and ready before then," he added before he and the other Admirals turned and left.

"Sorry about that Shepard," Hackett said with a shake of his head.

"Don't worry about it Admiral. I get the feeling there are more people like that I will have to meet before this is done," Shepard responded.

"We'll get through this Shepard, in the end the Assembly may not want to admit it, but they need you," Anderson said confidently. He felt renewed confidence in the future after the pleasant hour and a half he had spent in Kahlee's loving arms.

"Will Shepard be able to have visitors while he is questioned once we leave?" Tali inquired from behind them.

"I don't know yet. So far this is an informal hearing and questioning so I don't think they could stop any visitors," Anderson answered.

"And if they decide to make this formal?" Garrus asked not liking the sounds of this but he knew they were little they could do to stop it.

"Then I doubt they will let anyone see Shepard until they've either reached their decision or the Reapers come pouring down on our heads," Anderson answered, unaware of how right his statement would turn out to be.

They all fell silent as they followed the guards, Kelly unable to help herself slipped her hand into one of Shepard's who gave it what he hoped would be a reassuring squeeze. Their love making not two hours before was locked firmly in his mind and if he did find himself locked away then at least he would have something to comfort him while he waited for his fate to be decided.