From Ashes
Chapter Twenty-One: Our Own Worst Enemy

A/N: Sorry for the slight delay, guys. I got caught up in updating another of my ME stories, "Eclipsed". I've been neglecting it and thought I should show it a bit of love as well. Anyway, here is chapter 21. Happy reading!


"It is worth looking into, Admiral."

"Under the circumstances, I'm inclined to agree."

David Anderson was sitting in the embassy lounge speaking with Steven Hackett while keepers were moving about and correcting repairs that had already been made. It had been nearly two hours since the conversation he had with Shepard about investigating the ExoGeni facility that could have had Cerberus ties, but this had been the first time he had been able to get in touch with the admiral that was most likely to let her go and do that. Anderson knew as well as anyone that there had been times when Shepard could have easily ignored what the Alliance wanted her to do in favor of pursuing Saren, but she had complied without argument when the brass at Arcturus wanted her to look into something. Now, he hoped it would pay off.

"We all know what trouble the Illusive Man can be." He went on; Hackett's holo nodding on the omni tool display. "Seems likely that Cerberus has begun testing to create super-soldiers. They did it with husks, rachni, and now these thralls." Anderson, suddenly remembering something, brought it up. "Also, in regard to Cerberus, we don't have to worry about that doctor that worked with Banes."

"Why is that?" Hackett questioned somewhat sharply. "She is still safe, I hope."

"She is." Anderson confirmed. "She was here as a first responder, and they've put in for her to transfer to the presidium clinic."

"Good." Steven nodded with slight relief. In regard to Shepard, I don't like the implications, but I also know that the committee will be there in a few days. If they wait, it will look worse."

"And if she was back by then?"

"It wouldn't be a problem." Hackett confirmed.

"I'll oversee the mission and ensure that the Normandy returns before they get here." Anderson suggested.

"Sadly, they'll feel more assured by that as opposed to Shepard leading the mission." Hackett muttered.

"I don't understand why." Anderson nodded but spoke his mind. "It's like lines are being drawn between humans and the rest of the galaxy now, when the whole point of her being a spectre was to get rid of those barriers."

"A lot of human lives were lost during that battle, but I tend to agree with you." Hackett relented. "Others lost their lives as well. It wasn't just our side. Leave as soon as possible for the Maroon Sea cluster. Keep me posted on what you find."

"Of course, Admiral." David stood from his place and headed for the door with the communication still going. "Just for the record, I'll be there strictly as an observer. Shepard's team will be on the ground, and she will be in charge of the mission; running it as she sees fit."

"Understood. Hackett out."

Leaving the lounge, Anderson headed down the hallway, past the executor's office, and down the short flight of stairs to the embassy lobby. People were still swarming around out here and were hoping for any news from their embassy about the situation; as if the media circus wasn't enough. Nodding in a friendly and understanding way toward a very stressed Saphyria, David kept going until he got through the crowd and out onto the walkway that led down to the lift to C-Sec academy. Eddie Lang was just heading back down from a midday break, and he spotted the captain.

"Afternoon, Captain."

"Afternoon, Eddie." Anderson stopped and took a look around the immediate area. "You've been up here for a bit; have you seen Shepard? I heard she was up here somewhere."

"She was down by the consort chambers, last time I saw her." Lang scratched his head. "She and some of her team were assisting other biotics in lifting a piece of bulkhead up to one of the top levels."

"So much for taking it easy…" Anderson muttered to himself. "Heading back down to the academy?"

"Break just ended, so I'm resuming my shift." Lang nodded. "Been pulling a few more hours over the last day while helping with search and rescue teams."

"Good man." Anderson nodded and bid the officer good day. Remaining on the path he was on, he went around and eventually ended up near thefinancial district. The consort's chambers weren't too far from there, and there was still a crowd around it. Workerswere going up on manual crank lifts to work on repairing the water leak that had sprung up, and the bulkhead was still being sealed into place; pieces of catwalk for the keeper paths were being added as well. Not too far from that, making their way back toward an overlooking walkway, were Shepard, Liara T'Soni, and the krogan, Urdnot Wrex. Getting their attention with a quick throw up of the hand, Anderson met the three from the other side of the walk.

"Shepard," He greeted. "I just got word that you're clear to leave the station."

"How did you pull that off?" Shepard questioned

"I volunteered to observe the mission." Anderson admitted. "With the committee coming soon, the brass want you here and ready for them. I'm just making sure that happens with the best outcome possible."

"No objection, Captain." Shepard assured. "I understand. They don't want me going off and bolting when charges are still in play."

"I was hoping you'd take it that way." Anderson said before getting back to the point. "We'll need to leave as soon as possible. Is your team ready?"

"Most of us have just been waiting for the order." Wrex answered; to which, Liara nodded in response.

"Good." Anderson nodded. "Get the rest aboard the ship and finish whatever you need to do here." As the others nodded, he added: "And Shepard, you'll be running this. I'm just here for show, for lack of a better term."

"Understood, Sir." Shepard nodded. "And thanks." The four went their separate ways; Anderson back to the embassy, Wrex and Liara toward C-Sec academy, and Shepard toward the hospital. She knew Garrus was there at the moment, having gotten a message from him earlier. Using her omni tool, she put a call through to Ashley and had the sound coming through the earpiece in her right ear; while the tool itself remained active. "Williams, we're out of here."

"Manage to pull it off?"

"Captain Anderson did, yeah. We're leaving within the hour. Wrex and Liara are headed to the dock now."

"I'm still shipside, so we'll be ready when you get here." Ash replied. "Garrus is at the hospital; he was moving some injured C-Sec guys."

"I'm headed there now." Shepard confirmed. "See you soon." Terminating that communication, Shepard finaly got to the presidium clinic and entered the atrium. One of the C-Sec officers nearby, the one that had to deal with the "presidium prophet", greeted her.

"Good day, Commander."

"Good day." Shepard returned. "You haven't seen Garrus Vakarian around, have you?"

"He's up on ward seven." The turian motioned to the map on the wall. "Had some injured earlier while they were clearing out some debris from Kithol ward."

"Thanks." Heading for the lifts, Shepard went up when one became available. Exiting onto the ward, she saw Garrus speaking with Doctor Michel nearby; he was motioning toward one of the C-Sec officers that looked to have a badly broken leg. Letting them have their conversation, Shepard looked out one of the large windows that made up the nearest wall for a moment before she was spotted by another doctor.

"Commander, I hoped I would get a chance to check on those ribs of yours."

"Do you ever take a break, Wiks?" Shepard asked; amused.

"Well, I had planned to." He admitted as Shepard turned around to face him. "I was in the process of leaving when something else came up and I was asked to stay for a few more hours." He motioned for her to follow him. "Maybe I'll get out of here sometime today."

"Hopefully." Shepard nodded. "Salarians need sleep just like everyone else. Seems all I've seen you do is work since this allended."

"I definitely feel like that's all I've done." Padok nodded. When they got further back into the ward, he took a quick scan. "Aah good, healing nicely." He studied it a bit closer. "I see your biotic amp was active recently."

"It was. Some engineers needed assistance lifting something, and about thirteen of us lent a hand."

"So long as it wasn't overly stressful, shouldn't have been an issue." He deactivated his omni tool and stepped back. "Yes, that injury should be cleared off nicely within a week or two. The wonders of modern medicine, I tell you…"

"…I want her arrested!" A doctor, from his rank, it looked like a corporal, was storming past. "Tried to kill me-"

"Sir, I can't do anything about that at the moment." It was an asari C-Sec officer that he was shouting at. "Your would-be assailant is currently incapacitated."

"Would be?" He roared in response. "She would have done it if-"

"I read the report, Sir." The asari cut him off.

"The report didn't do it justice." The corporal shot back. "What is this? You asari stick up for your own-"

"Give me a break!" The C-Sec officer rounded on him. "I've been up for the last twenty hours, have been pulling people out of debris dead and alive, and now this?" She didn't show any sign that she cared that others were watching as she continued. "I'm well aware of the circumstances of what happened up there. You're angry because your brother's gone, you hate that the Alliance wasted time and effort saving a non-human ship, and you're lucky she didn't throw you off." Turning again toward the lifts, the C-Sec officer strode off; not bothering to acknowledge the curses that the corporal threw at her retreating back.

"What the hell was that about?" Shepard asked Wiks in a low voice.

"One of the reasons I chose to stay and not go home just yet." Wiks answered in an equally low tone. "The official story is that doctor seriously agitated a patient." He crossed his arms before continuing. "The unofficiall story: she did nearly throw him off the roof."

"Who?"

"The councilor's guard."

"You're kidding." Shepard looked at him oddly for a moment. "As disciplined as she is, the Ascension's CO nearly threw him off?"

"Anyone can be provoked, Commander." Wiks admitted. "I don't know the circumstances other than what security caught, but yes. Had it not been for her own injuries locking her body down, she would have probably done it."

"She was subject to shock, so her muscles locked down, didn't they?" Shepard remembered. "We were exposed to minute amounts of electricity as a precaution during training. Some had the same result."

"Exactly."

"Doctor, there is something I needed to speak to you about anyway." Shepard had thought for a moment about the reason she was here, after learning more about what had distracted her. "I am leaving the Citadel in about an hour to explore an ExoGeni facility and collect any data they had left around."

"I can easily clear you medically for that." Wiks nodded slowly. "So long as there is no combat involved."

"As far as I know, there shouldn't be."

"Fair enough." With that, Wiks excused himself so that he could go for a few more rounds. Shepard, having looked back oto check on Garrus' conversation, saw that he and Chloe were still talking. Deciding to make use of her time there, Shepard headed in the opposite direction. Finding the door she wanted, she entered after a moment's pause, and found the room's occupant where she had been earlier that afternoon; this time, she looked to actually be asleep. Stepping closer to be sure, Shepard saw the asari's eye twitch beneath its lid.

"I am awake, you know."

"Faking sleep, now are we?" Shepard, amused, sat down in her previously occupied chair from earlier.

"Only to avoid certain conversations." Tevos admitted with a half smile. "I was able to avoid a few doctors that way."

"So by that, I take it nothing has really changed."

"Sadly, no." Barely shaking her head, the asari's expression lapsed into a more neutral one again. "Pain is tolerable, but I still do not remember anything."

"It will come back to you." Shepard said, but it wasn't an assurance. It was simple fact.

"That is what I am worried about." Tevos admitted. "From what I have heard so far, I am not certain I want it to."

"I know the feeling." Shepard said absently, while sending a message to Garrus that they would be leaving for the Maroon Sea soon.

"You seem distracted."

"A few things on my mind." Shepard deactivated her omni tool and leaned back for a moment. "Nothing too serious."

"And Sovereign didn't just try to seize this station." Tevos said sarcastically.

"You're right." Shepard accepted defeat in this conversation. "These matters aren't as simple as I would hope." Beginning to reel them off, Shepard started with the worst first: "The Alliance is questioning me on the death of one of their admirals and they are suspicious of my motives during the assault on the Citadel."

"Nothing serious, hmm?"

"Well," Shepard rephrased. "Nothing serious in the sense that there is no point in worrying about it too much, I suppose." The possible interrogation was on her mind but not in a weighing sense. "All that I can really do about it is argue my case, present my findings, and hope that they come to their senses."

"And if they don't?"

"I don't know." Shepard admitted. "I suppose that's what worries me the most; the fact that I'm not sure what I'll do if this goes the wrong way."

"You are a spectre." Tevos reasoned. "In the event the hearings don't go well, you should consider working with the council on a more… primary basis."

"Now there's a thought." Shepard nodded. "Actually getting through a mission without the Alliance wanting assistance on something; that's how all of this started."

"Is that the only thing that troubles you?"

"No, I can't say it is." Shepard considered her words for a moment, and thought about one thing that had been in the back of her mind as of late; something that she hadn't let herself think about with everything else taking priority. "I've put off thinking about where things stood between us before I left for Ilos." There it was; the thing that had been secretly hanging back in the back of her mind. It seemed she wasn't the only one thinking about it.

"As have I." It was the councilor's turn to pause and consider her words now. Expression passive, she chose them carefully as she proceeded. "I mentioned that day that it was purely business, and so it was."

"And before?"

"Personal." She replied stiffly to Shepard's question; her emotions creeping into her tone the more she elaborated. "So much so that I acted on impulse for the first time in many years."

"I spent some time between here and Ilos thinking about this and at first the question was: What happened; what did it mean?" Words came, and Shepard had no control over them. They were an admission that she did not see coming; did not rehearse. "Then, when it was all over and I was about to nod off in my cabin last night, something clicked; that wasn't what I really wanted to know. I suppose the more appropriate question is whether I want to find out where this is going."

"And do you?" The question was simply that, a question; there was no hesitation and there were no expectations.

"I think I mentioned this before I left for Feros that morning," Shepard searched her memory, but came up blank. "But in the event that I didn't; yes, I do." Shepard nodded, though it didn't quite emphasize the point; ll things considered. "And you?"

"I don't believe I would have taken this conversation so far if I didn't." There was a slight hint of a tease in that statement, and Shepard called the asari on it.

"Do politicians ever give a straight answer rather than talking in circles?" This ilicited a response that Shepard had hoped for. Small at first, Tevos' expression quickly changed from neutral to amused; shoulders shaking slightly with semi-quiet laughter. That strengthened to the point to where she was doing so in earnest. "Well," Shepard went on. "I suppose I'll just have to find that one out, won't I?"

"Perhaps." At that moment, Shepard's omni tool chimedwith a new message coming through. "Well," Tevos remarked. "It seems I don't have to wonder about whether you are keeping yourself busy."

"No shortage of that." Shepard read the message; it was from Garrus. His reply was simply that he had received her message and would meet her shortly. "That's actually something I came by to mention." She deactivated the tool and leaned forward slightly. "I'm leaving the station for a few days."

"Surely not something to do with Saren or Sovereign."

"No; nothing to do with them. This is about an ExoGeni facility we heard about during the run to Feros."

"As I recall, ExoGeni has a bad reputation as of late."

"I have a feeling this will make it worse." Shepard admitted. "You remember the Thorian and its thralls from my report?"

"Both fascinating and terrifying to know that such a creature exists." The councilor confirmed.

"ExoGeni's records show that some of the thralls were sent offworld for further testing." Shepard explained. "Though they have no mind of their own, they can be hostile. There were also mentions of some of those thralls being sent off to that shadowy organization, Cerberus, that I also mentioned before."

"Ah yes, Cerberus." Tevos thought back. "They were involved in the project on Noveria and were responsible for what happened in the Styx-Theta cluster. Yes, I remember Ambassador Udina being less than pleased that the council saw that report."

"He's less than pleased about a lot of things." Shepard remarked.

"Very…" Tevos paused; in search of the right words. "High strung."

"High strung is putting it mildly."

"Well, technically, I shouldn't say what is on my mind at the moment."

"Technically," Shepard countered. "You aren't in your office or dealing in council business at the moment."

"On that, you are correct." Tevos nodded. "Very well. Donnel Udina is an egotistical, self-absorbed twit."

"Ha!" Shepard laughed. "I don't think I could have put that into any better terms."

"You know, I sonder if you are having a bad influence." Tevos joke casually.

"Well, we have broken a few rules, now haven't we…" Shepard took it a bit further with that statement.

"I cannot say that I am against it." Tevos went on in a bit of a more serious tone.

"And why is that?"

"Life is too short to live the same day twice," Tevos explained. "And on this station, that is easily possible."

"Says the one who can live up to a millennium."

"True." Tevos conceded. "I have already lived half of that."

"Well then," Shepard rose and moved to stand beside the councilor before continuing. "Here's hoping that the second half will be a bit more interesting than the first."

"With you around, that is guaranteed to happen."

"Flatterer." Shepard leaned down and gently kissed the asari briefly. Unfortunately, they didn't have time to even consider deepeinig it with approaching footsteps from outside; reminding them that they weren't well enough alone for that.

"I do hope," Tebos began when they broke it off. "That when you return, there will be more time for things like this."

"Either way this all goes, I think there will be." Shepard said quietly. "If not, I'll make time."

"Good." The councilor leaned her head back; eyes staring blankly at the ceiling and a more positive expression on her face. "Something to look forward to."

"Count on it." Shepard received another message; this one from Anderson. They were making final preparations, and the ship would be clear to leave in fifteen minutes. "They're ready." She muttered before clarifying. "Making final preparations now."

"Fly safely, Shepard."

"I will," She paused before leaving. "And call me Seryna. I reserve my surname for those that just have to have more authority." She teased.

"I will keep that in mind." Tevos turned her head in Shepard's general direction. "Be well, Seryna."

"You too." Shepard finally left and was prepared to head back down the ward when she saw Garrus waiting for her. They headed out of the clinic in comfortable silence, bt when the two reached a rapid transit terminal, his mandibles twitched in amusement.

"So, how long has that been going on?"

"What?" Shepard was half distracted by working the terminal, she didn't half hear what he said. After finishing with unlocking the skycar for them to use, rather than waiting on a driver, she addressed him again. "What did you ask me?"

"How long has that been going on?" By his tone, she knew what he meant then. "Makes sense how we got off the station now."

"Technically since before we left for Feros." Shepard admitted while leaning back in the passenger's seat; Garrus was driving. "How did you find out?"

"Saw you two in a… compromising position." Garrus said; amused. "Then again… I don't know what I saw." He joked. "The glass isn't exactly transparent, and well… I'm starting to forget the whole thing."

"Ash and Liara know. They noticed." Shepard said simply. "Really, I don't see an issue with my team knowing; not like any of you would cause trouble with it."

"No point in stirring up anything." Garrus nodded. "Sure, it would get your name in the papers, but we've got enough of that already. Bulletin came out this morning and we were all featured in it."

"Figures." Shepard muttered. "Good thing I managed to ignore the press today."

"That and we're leaving the station, so you'll be able to ignore them some more." Garrus added as they went down into the wards with the traffic and headed for C-Sec academy's shuttlepad. "Got to appreciate the rush of traffic." He commented. "Easy way to get somewhere is to just get in a car and go. Used to, there were regulations on speed to the point where traffic just crawled."

"Now, everyone is in such a hurry." Shepard nodded. "I know. Earth was that way last time I was there."

"Do they still have cars that stay on the ground?" Garrus wondered. "I knew the tanks did, but do people actually still drive cars that don't get airborne?"

"Some, I think." Shepard remembered seeing a few in Vancouver when she had been there. "They aren't common, but they used to be before humans began working with other species in council space."

Landing a bit later, they headed up the lift and out onto the dock. The Normandy was still finishing with final preparations. Shepard and Garrus boarded, waited for decontamination, and then joined the rest of the crew in the comm room. Anderson was there in his dress blues as he had been during their shakedown to Eden Prime. Garrus took his seat between Tali and Wrex, while Shepard took hers between Liara and Ashley; Kaidan's chair still standing empty. Captain Anderson, who stood near the console at the rear of the room, used the comm to address Joker. "Everyone's here, Joker. Pressly has already laid in the course."

"Aye, Captain." Joker responded. "Preparing to leave the dock now,"

"Good." Addressing the rest in the room, the captain went on. "I'm sure you all know why you're here. The report from your mission to Feros indicated that an ExoGeni facility had received a shipment of "Test subjects" from Feros. Since then, it has gone dark, and no one is able to get into contact with any of its staff." Looking at Shepard, he continued. "The Alliance wants this to be short and to the point. Shepard, youwill be in control of this mission. You know why I am here."

"I do, Sir." Shepard nodded.

"Then you have the floor." Anderson crossed his arms.

"You all know the details." Shepard began. "The facility on Nodacrux went dark after they received a shipment of the Thorian's thralls from Feros. The report also mentioned something about a Cerberus connection. I want to find out what that is." She stood from her chair and stepped up to where Anderson was. Utilizing the display, she brought up the results of Cerberus' experiments that they had come across. "Rachni, husks, and the death of an admiral that got too close to the truth;" She displayed images from all of their encounters that had been taken by hard suit computers. "They were allegedly an Alliance Black Ops group at one point, but they experiment on people and creatures that don't deserve such cruelty."

"Cerberus' leader claimed that the organization was humanity's response to the salarians' STG, asari commandos, and even Turian special forces." Anderson clarified. "So he claims, anyway."

"If that's the case," Shepard looked back at the display herself. "Then Cerberus isn't simply humanity's sword anymore; they're our own worst enemy."


A/N: Right, so I'll be working on the next chapter this afternoon. Not sure what I'll be calling it yet :) I've mentioned in other stories' author's notes that some of these stories are going to be connected, either as companion pieces or otherwise. This story (so far) has brushed a bit on part of my "Jagged Whole" series plot, which I have neglected as well... *note to self* and I will brush on "Eclipsed" in later chapters. (Note that that story takes place in ME2's timeline, but I will poke at it in this as well) That's enough of my babble for now, though :)

Cheers!