Q n A

Shepard entered the mess hall, which consisted of a long table and several chairs either side. A circular lamp shone brightly overhead, reflecting off their silver surfaces. At the far end of the table the Cerberus officer they had rescued was waiting in a white T-shirt and black trousers. Both garments were torn and bloodstained. The Cerberus emblem had been torn away violently. The man's eyes were hollow, remote and scared, his dark beard and hair a mess. He had been staring at his reflection on the table and didn't like what he saw. Shepard was almost a welcome distraction.

Shepard sat at the opposite end of the table and cut to the chase. "So, who are you? Apart from Cerberus."

The man's voice was faltering at first but he managed to strengthen it as he went on. "I am, ah, Cerberus Fleet Navigator 2nd class Nathan Cornwell."

"We know you were headed to a place called Mata Faculty on Vana and that you took something from the Turians. What was it?"

Cornwell hesitated, then realised how hopeless any resistance would be here. "They killed the Captain," was all he could muster at first, though. When he saw Shepard's expression harden rather than exude sympathy he continued. "It was a high priority mission, even by our standards; the order came directly from the Illusive man himself. He said he'd selected Captain Peterssen for the mission because he was one of the organisation's most promising officers and could think outside the box." He looked askance and added sullenly: "That's where Arturus came in. The Captain knew him and he said the guy was pissed at his own for some reason, that he'd help us, work as a double agent and get us what we wanted. Which he did."

"I say again: What was it you took?" Shepard leant forward and put her elbows on the table, her chin in her hands.

Cornwell rolled his eyes. "We were informed that a Turian science team had landed illegally at a remote Prothean site on Feros and that more importantly, they had taken an artefact back to Palaven."

Shepard fixed her eyes ever tighter on him. The news gave her a curiosity head-rush. "Go on."

"Once they realised what it was they'd recovered they got worried; they knew owning it was big time criminal, nevermind the dig. But on the other hand they didn't particularly want anyone else using it. So their secret service stored it away and no one would've been any the wiser had it stayed that way. Unfortunately, their top agent was Arturus. He un-stored it and arranged a dead-drop with us. That went perfectly and we got off-world clean, set a course for Vana."

Shepard wanted to scream at him to just say what "it" was, but restrained herself. "What went wrong?"

Cornwell sighed. "Our ship. The engines failed. Nothing complicated, we just had a malfunction. A distress call was sent on our supposedly secure channel, but we underestimated the Turian's capabilities. They found us within an hour. That damn ship of theirs found us. With Arturus their commanding officer." He looked down again at the table.

Shepard puffed out her cheeks. "Underestimated the Turians? Man, you guys are more stupid than I thought."

At this the Nav-officer burst into a rage and jumped up, gesticulating wildly. "They tortured us! They executed the Captain! And you wonder why we hate them and all these other... species?" He calmed down a little, but now his eyes were burning and he had broken a sweat.

"Are you done?" Shepard pointed a finger at his chair. "Sit the hell down. I may not agree with their methods but you hadn't exactly endeared yourself to them. Anyway, please now, precisely what the hell was this artefact they found?"

"A map. It gave the coordinates for a mass-relay, out in an uncharted region of space, somewhere in the Attican Beta, long way out of the Theseus system. No one knew it existed, until the Turians found the map."

Shepard let this sink in. As Cornwell had said, this was dangerous ground. Undisclosed knowledge of a mass-relay could lead to all manner of interplanetary disagreements, both small and great. Most likely great. The Turians were proud and militaristic, but they ought to know better than to cover this up, even if they weren't going to use it for any gain of their own. Cerberus and the Illusive man had been knew if they were able to expose this dirty secret it could potentially cost Palaven very dear indeed, in status, economy and in lives.

But Emily Shepard did not flinch. "Is this Relay active?"

Cornwell shifted in his seat. "Well, no. Not at the moment. But there was script with the map and it appears to be like, well, a manual. To activate it, I mean."

"The Turians were working on deciphering it?"

"I don't think so, I think they just wanted to push it under the table and forget about it really. Arturus will try though."

Shepard digested all this for a time, until she grew tired of the increasingly anxious looks she was getting from her prisoner. "You know, when you tell me all this, you almost sound as if you'd rather it didn't happen."

Cornwell scratched the back of his neck. "No, the Turians have got themselves into this mess, if they hadn't been trespassing on Feros they wouldn't have found anything and I wouldn't have had a mission. But..."

"But?"

He kept scratching, looked at himself in the table again. "My C.O would still be alive, too." He stopped scratching. "If our mission... or if Arturus is successful, if he does open this relay and the Turians get into serious trouble because of that? If things go to hell? Well, we'd get involved as well, Shepard. Too involved. We always do. Too many humans would die in the mess that exposing this would create, if you ask me." He coughed. "Yeah, I never did like the operation myself."

Shepard nodded. "Illusive man doesn't care for collateral, Cornwell. Just likes results, symbolic victories. Ideology that will conquer simple minds."

Cornwell raised his head, expression still wilted. Her words struck deep.

"So we know what this is about at last. Thank you." Emily smiled. "I have some more questions before dinner, though. About Arturus."

"What do you want to know?" Cornwell sounded more willing to cooperate with this.

"He got you the map but then comes back and takes it off you and leaves you for dead after letting a bunch of mercs he'd hired hijack his own ship. Why? I'm assuming that is what happened?"

Cornwell nodded, recalling all too well. "Yes, near enough. He brought myself and the Captain aboard the dreadnaught once they'd caught up with us. We tried to put up a fight when they boarded, but it was a lost cause. I remember a big blue flash... then waking up in a holding cell like the one you found us in." He paused at the memories flooding his mind now. "The captain was gone. But I could hear him screaming. Somewhere." His voice faltered and failed.

Shepard waited for him to collect himself.

Eventually he managed it. "After a while they came for me. Dragged me to an operating table. Blood on it. I... then,,, then Arturus came in. He seemed nice."

"He does that, doesn't he?" Shepard agreed.

"He said the Captain never gave up the map. Asked me where it was. I said I was surprised they hadn't found it. He said it should be easy for me to tell him if that was the case. I said okay." Cornwell looked at Shepard for forgiveness. She didn't believe in it. She believed some people were weak and some were strong. She knew what Cornwell was. Even so, there was still some paragon of virtue alive in her heart, and she could sense there was similarly still something good in this man. So at length she softened up for him and he breathed easier. He thanked her.

"Just tell me the rest, man," she said gently.

"We'd hidden it in the shuttle very carefully. But I told him where to look. He left and then they started on me, you know? But then before it got really bad something hit the ship and the soldiers cutting me up ran off. It was some kind of emergency. Now I know it was the Blue suns. They crippled the ship almost immediately, had to have been given codes and all that-By Arturus, of course. And then he turned on his men and helped the mercs slaughter them before they knew what was happening. After that he took the map and left with most of the Suns, leaving just a few behind to take care of you. He knew you'd show."

Shepard was intrigued again. "Me specifically?"

"He mentioned your name when he was talking to me, yes."

"Hm. Okay. You know what's at Mata Faculty?"

"Mata? No. All I know is it's a front for something and its security is very, very heavy."

"Any idea why he would want to betray his own people?" Shepard wanted more than she was getting but unfortunately she didn't think Cornwell was holding out on her.

He shook his head. "Sorry."

"One more thing," Shepard said, reaching into her deni-plast jacket's breast pocket. "You recognise this?" She held up a small red data card. A hologram on its surface showed a ream of glassy binary code streaming from right to left.

Cornwell's eyes widened. "My copy?"

Shepard looked up at the light and waved it like a ticket. "Yes your map copy, Cornwell. Guess they never had time for a second sweep. Unlike me."

"Where'd you find it?" Cornwell asked, recovering his surprise.

"Dead pirate on your shuttle. Consider it a favour that I don't ask why you didn't tell me you'd made this, Cornwell."

"Who killed him?" was Cornwell's involuntary response.

Shepard shrugged. "We'll see. Now though, I want you to help us get into Mata."

He was silent for a time, then said: "I will."

Shepard pocketed the card again. "Good." She got up to leave, but stopped just short of the door and looked at the Cerberus man a last time. "Maybe you can get yourself some payback, huh?"