Chapter 7

(SSV Normandy)

Shepard finally decided to head for the bridge, he had been up in his quarters for ten minutes which was enough time to settle his emotions and get his mind focused. He headed for the lift and hoped he and Ashley could at least work together through this nightmare. He knew she harbored doubts, but he had hoped he had proven he wasn't loyal to Cerberus. Once he had arrived he quickly made his way to the pilot's station where Joker sat, behind his chair stood Ashley, but he noted neither was talking.

"Report," he ordered, making them aware of his presence.

"We are fifteen minutes out from Mars closing fast," Joker replied as he spun his chair to face him and smiled in greeting while Ashley spun around and nervously watched him making him want to sigh. "I hope Liara is okay," Joker added.

"Liara can take care of herself Joker, I'm sure she is still alive," Shepard said assertively and with as much confidence as he could find.

Liara was a powerful biotic and an Asari to book. Asari had some of the most powerful biotics of all the species. Her mother Matriarch Benezia had been even more powerful and he was certain that as Liara will grew older she would one day eclipse her Mother. 'No, she had to be alive,' he thought.

"Question is what happened to cut Mars off?" he finally said aloud. "Hackett said it went dark just before the attack on Earth began, that sounds suspicious to me," he mused.

"Maybe an advance party struck there, knowing it is the location of the Prothean archives and that a weapon against them could be found inside," Ashley suggested, putting her distrust of Shepard aside for now and focusing on the mission they had been given.

She considered Liara a friend even with the tension that had arisen when they both tried for Shepard's attention. Liara hadn't held a grudge when Shepard had chosen her and even wished her good luck in her relationship. When the first Normandy had been destroyed and Shepard killed, it had been Liara who had helped her find some sort of closure about the whole thing, although it had taken time to heal. That closure had of course been ripped to pieces when she encountered a very much alive Shepard on Horizon. To find him and Garrus working for Cerberus had sickened her and worse the idea he had been resurrected by the pro-human organization made her doubt he was the real Shepard. Something she still doubted to this day, which is why their relationship had become strained.

"But then they'd have to know the archives were there to begin with," Joker argued. "And its location is one of our greatest secrets, we don't tell just anyone about them," he pointed out. "For Liara to even be granted access she would have to been granted the highest security clearance by Command. As far as we know none of the other races know about the archives," he continued.

"Then maybe they intercepted the communication between Liara and Hackett when she told him about a possible weapon that could be used against the Reapers," Ashley countered.

"It is also possible another force intercepted the communication Lieutenant Commander," EDI cut in, gaining all their attention.

"Such as?" Shepard inquired.

"Cerberus would be very interested in a weapon that could be used against the Reapers. Everything the Illusive Man has done from resurrecting you and rebuilding the Normandy has been aimed at stopping the Reapers from destroying Earth," EDI explained. "I don't doubt he would know of the archives location and importance. If he had found out Liara T'soni had been granted access he would no doubt monitor all her commutations," she informed them.

"That makes sense, but he wouldn't attack Mars just to get the information, would he?" Shepard inquired with a frown. "All the time we worked together against the Collectors he only seemed intent on protecting human lives and keeping Earth out of the Reapers grasp," he added to which Joker nodded. "Even at the end when I decided to break away from Cerberus and destroy the Collector base while he was angry at our choice, I think he knew it was the choice I had to make," he stated.

"He did suggest using the base and its technology against the Reapers and for the good of mankind," Joker reminded him.

"True, but I have doubts if he actually thought that could be done, especially after we proved even a dead Reaper could indoctrinate people," Shepard countered, but even to himself he sounded unsure of that fact.

"Are you listening to yourself Shepard? Cerberus is only out for itself," Ashley exploded. "You saw the kind of experiments they were conducting during the mission against Saren. You know what they did to your friend Jack and the other children they got a hold of," she vented.

"While Miss Williams raises valid points against Cerberus, she has failed to grasp that in our mission against the Collectors no such actions took place," EDI countered. "From what we learned from records on Pragia the operation there went rogue and not even the Illusive Man knew of how brutal the doctors had become to the children," she stated. "Miranda Lawson confirmed contact with the base on Pragia had been lost sometime before Jack escaped. The brutal experiments were conducted without the knowledge of Cerberus command," she concluded.

"Yeah like I'm going to believe a Cerberus AI on that," Ashley muttered.

"You're out of line Ashley. EDI is not Cerberus anymore and neither is anyone else on this ship," Shepard snapped in a tone that showed his growing frustration with Ashley's distrust. "EDI do you think Cerberus would hit Mars to gain the information?" he asked, turning away from Ashley who looked stunned by the tone he had just used on her.

"Given the Illusive Man's growing obsession with the Reapers and as Jeff reminded us of his idea of using Reaper technology he might have decided the archive has information he could use," EDI answered. "Whether he would kill other humans for that information isn't conclusive at this time. We have no idea how Cerberus might have changed since we broke away from them," she pointed out.

A beeping sound gained Joker's attention and he spun back around to face his controls. "We're coming up on Mars Shepard," he reported. "I can't locate any ships in orbit, clearly no Reaper presence either," he added as he checked the sensors. "EDI, any signals coming out of the base?" he inquired.

"None that I can detect Jeff," EDI answered.

"Ashley, get James and meet me in the hangar, full weapons load out and armor and don't forget your helmets," Shepard ordered as he looked over the readouts on one of the other screens.

Ashley hesitated before nodding and leaving for the lift, she was very wary now since the AI had mentioned Cerberus could be involved. 'Was it possible this was all a set up?' she wondered to herself as she glanced back at Shepard before getting on the lift and headed for the mess where James had last been reported.

"Joker, keep sensors on full I have a bad feeling about this," Shepard said as he moved to leave.

"Do you think it is Cerberus, Shepard?" Joker asked quietly, halting Shepard's momentum.

"Maybe," Shepard answered after a small silence. "But I hope not Joker, because then it means we have more than one fight on our hands and we have enough to face with the Reapers as it is," he stated before he turned and left the bridge, leaving Joker to think over his words and worry how right he was.

+OS+

(Cerberus Headquarters)

The Illusive Man sat listening to the reports from one of his men on the Reaper invasion. The devastation being reported made him angry, not only at the Reapers but at Shepard as well. If only the man had listened to him and not destroyed the Collector base they would have found a way to either stop the Reapers or better yet, control them. But no, the Commander had only seen things in black and white, now they were all paying the price.

"Sir, the Normandy managed to escape Earth, but we have no idea if Shepard was able to board her before she left," the man, Jameson if he recalled correctly, reported after a brief pause.

"Where is the Normandy heading?" the Illusive man demanded to know as he glared at Jameson.

"Mars sir and it is been escorted by two other cruisers that managed to escape the slaughter around Earth," Jameson answered. "So far the Reapers are focusing on Earth itself, but we all feel it is only a matter of time before the other planets in the system come under attack as well," he informed his superior. "The Alliance fleet is in shambles and trying to rally, but we doubt they will manage to do so before that time comes," he advised.

"If the Normandy is heading to Mars then you can bet your life that Shepard is on board and more to the point I bet he knows about T'soni and the secret she may have discovered in the archives," the Illusive Man spat. "Send a signal to Eve and fast, tell her she has to get that data now before Shepard can," he ordered as he lit up a cigarette and took a deep drag from it before exhaling the smoke.

"Yes sir," Jameson responded and all but ran out of the room.

"You should have let me kill Shepard when I requested," Kei-Lang said from the corner of the room where he had been listening.

"Shepard is best kept alive to keep the Reapers focused on him and his crew, that way we can operate in secret and without interruption," the Illusive Man countered after another drag of his cigarette. "But if he begins to get in our way or becomes too much of a problem then I will have you remove him permanently, but for now he isn't our focus," he stated as he turned to face his second. "Shepard will rally as much of a force as he can and that is something we need. The stronger a force he can build the more time we have to find the key to controlling the Reapers," he told him with a slight glare. "Now continue with our preparations, we have many missions to get under way," he reminded the man.

Kei-Lang nodded and quickly left the room, he hoped in the course of some of those missions he would end up face to face with Shepard. Killing him would be his first step of revenge against David Anderson, the man who had crippled him. He hoped the old man had survived the assault on Earth as he intended to rip his heart out and show it to his lover Sanders before he killed her as well. The Illusive Man watched him go, knowing Lang would do as he was told up to a point. If he had a shot at Shepard he would take it. Turning he faced the screen showing mass amounts of data on multiple subjects, he continued to smoke as he read through one small section of the screen.

+OS+

(Mars)

Shepard jumped out of the shuttle and landed with a crunch on the Mars surface, James came next and then Ashley. He quickly moved towards the ladder leading down to the path that would take them to the base where the archives were located. James went first and took up a covering position and he and Ashley followed. At the bottom they found a downed shuttle and two dead bodies. Ashley quickly began to scan the scene with her Omi-tool.

"Looks like they got taken by surprise," Ashley stated as she scanned.

"Yeah, but by who?" James inquired as he kept a close eye out.

"They were hit by what looks like normal weapons fire, at least normal for humans," Ashley answered. "My Omi-Tool shows the energy signature to match Alliance ammunition, whoever hit this shuttle were not Reapers," she stated turning a dark glare on Shepard showing exactly who she thought was responsible.

"No jumping to conclusions Ashley and stop glaring at me," Shepard snapped when he noted what she was doing. "I'm not allied with Cerberus anymore, nor am I being controlled by them, so get a damn grip on yourself," he shouted, causing her to jump a little.

"Hey loco keep it down before you give us away," James cautioned him with a grin. He didn't share Ashley's suspicions about Shepard, having guarded the man for seven months he was certain the commander had no ties left with the pro-human organization.

"Take point James, but stay on guard," Shepard ordered with a nod of his head to indicate he saw the other man's point. He hadn't meant to let his anger get the better of him, but Ashley's glares and doubts were beginning to rub him the wrong way.

Slowly they moved down the path towards the base, they hadn't gone more than thirty meters before they ran into signs of life. Two Mako APC's blocked the path and both had the markings of Cerberus on their sides. Cerberus troops stood in front of the APC's, some were clearly on over watch, but three of them had several scientists on their knees. Before any of them could do anything they began to shoot the scientists in the head, even as the last two pleaded for their lives the soldiers ignored them and blew their brains out before laughing over the sight.

"Those bastards," Ashley hissed as she glared at the laughing troopers. Turning she moved to demand they do something when she took note Shepard had taken out his sniper rifle and was already aiming at one of the troopers who were laughing.

"Get ready to open fire," Shepard ordered as he zeroed in on the troopers head, with a dark grim smirk he pulled the trigger and watched through the scope as the trooper's head snapped backwards and blood spurted out of the man's head before he fell dead.

The other troopers quickly rushed to take cover even as Ashley and James opened up as well. One of the troopers was riddled with bullets just as he reached cover. Shepard quickly moved his scope to zoom in on another trooper as he stuck his head out of his cover and fired, once again he was on target and he smiled as he saw the man fall. James and Ashley began to lay down a curtain of fire allowing them to move forward. Shepard remained where he was and calmly waited for another shot. Finally he found one and quickly took aim and fired, this time his shot went right through the trooper's eye socket, shattering the glass that surrounded it. The man let out a scream of pain as he jumped up allowing him to be hit with another round right through his head as the man pulled his helmet off showering two more with brain matter. James took down another as Ashley threw a grenade taking out the last two, both were thrown backwards in the explosion and one lost his leg before he perished.

"Clear," James said as Shepard moved to join them switching his sniper rifle for his assault rifle. "Well we have our answer now loco," James stated as he kicked one of the dead bodies.

"Cerberus," Shepard agreed. "God damn it, Joker keep an eye out for any Cerberus ships and have EDI monitor for any Cerberus comm traffic," he ordered through the comm in his helmet.

"Roger that Shepard, I guess this means we have more than one enemy then?" Joker inquired.

"It looks like it," Shepard agreed reluctantly. "Let's move people, Liara could be in deep trouble," he said turning to the other two and ignoring Ashley's look of suspicion.

They ran forward heading up the path and straight into more Mako's surrounded by five more Cerberus troopers. There was a brief pause as the two groups looked at one another before they all opened fire. Shepard quickly ran forward and used a crate to propel himself into the air, when he came down he had activated his Omi-blade and used it to kill the lead trooper with a hard trust into his chest. He was then forced to take cover, James charged the nearest trooper as he moved to reload his weapon. They began to exchange fists and kicks before James got the upper hand and locked the man in a headlock and broke the man's neck with a sickening crack.

One trooper moved to shoot James, but Shepard noted the move and managed to open fire riddling him with bullets before he could fire on James.

Ashley reloaded her own weapon before opening fire and managing to hit the second to last trooper right in his face as he wore no helmet. His face was reduced to a mass of blood and flesh as he fell down to the ground. The last trooper seeing he was outnumbered tried to grab a grenade, but James grabbed him and head-butted him, causing him to drop it before he pulled the pin. James picked up the grenade and grabbed the man's helmet which lay on the nearby crate. With a dark smirk he pulled the pin and shoved it inside the helmet before putting the helmet onto the stunned trooper and kicked him backwards. The trooper stumbled backwards a few feet before the grenade exploded, turning his head to a bloody mush. Ashley looked away in distaste not that she didn't think he deserved it.

"How many of these bastards do you think there are?" James inquired as he reloaded his assault weapon.

"A full squad I would say, what I'm wondering is how the hell they got inside the base," Shepard answered as he led them towards the hangar that acted as the entryway into the base.

"Perhaps Cerberus hacked the codes?" James responded as they entered the hangar and then walked onto the lift that would take them up into the base itself.

"Or they have someone on the inside helping them," Ashley added in a dark tone.

"Give it a damn rest Ashley," Shepard said, having already felt Ashley's gaze settle onto him. "I've told you once and I've told you a thousand times I'm no longer working with Cerberus. I have no loyalty to the Illusive Man or his Organization," he argued as the lift began to take them up into the base, passing two doors that were closed and they heard the base's upper hangar fill with air indicating they could remove their helmets which they did. "I worked with them to stop the Collectors and that it is, so let it go I did not and nor would I ever help them do something like this," he stated with a glare of his own.

"Look Shepard I'm sorry, ok? But I just find it suspicious that it would be Cerberus who is attacking the one place that might hold the key piece of information we need to stop the Reapers," Ashley said in a weak defense.

"I only found out about that an hour ago Ash I've had no time to tell anyone and especially not in time to have this attack start before we were invaded, remember?" Shepard shot back.

"The commander's right, he had no clue about this or that his friend was on Mars," James said wading into the argument and hoping to put an end to it. "Now can we focus on finding this Liara and not on trying to kill each other?" he inquired sarcastically.

"Fine" Ashley reluctantly agreed as she looked away from Shepard and tried to focus on her job as the lift came to a stop, leaving them in the hangar. Just as they stepped off the lift they all heard a banging noise. Raising their weapons they looked around the hangar and tried to locate where the noise was coming from.