Chapter 5: Letting Go

The shuttle ride back to the Cerberus station seemed longer than the trip to Freedom's Progress by light years. It was clear from the awkward silence that Miranda wasn't used to taking orders, or being told no. On some level, he understood the out burst, having been no stranger to standing up to authority for something you believed in. When Admiral Kahoku had denied his request to go save Kal on Torfan, Jack had punched the man, so they weren't really all that different. However, the stakes seemed higher now that they knew that the Reapers were ultimately behind the abductions. He and Miranda couldn't keep having these kinds of spats if they were going to work together now.

Jack was still reeling with the question of what should he do but, he didn't see any good options. He could leave Cerberus and go back to the Alliance with information about the Collectors but, what would the Alliance really do? Since part of his evidence centered around the vision on Eden Prime once again, he would probably just be laughed out of the room. Despite having video evidence of the Collectors kidnapping people, he had no proof the Reapers were involved. They still might not even believe the Reapers exist period, let alone the fact that the Collectors were allied to them. In the time it would take to convince the Council and the Alliance of the true threat, millions of more Humans could be taken. With Cerberus, he just had to worry about being backstabbed eventually. For the sake of the galaxy, Jack knew the only way he could really help would be to work with Cerberus.

Once in the hangar, Miranda stormed off leaving Jack and Jacob alone. Even though she obviously wasn't happy with the decision to let Veetor go, Jack didn't think she would be this unprofessional about it hours after it was over. At first, Jack had thought Miranda's anger was because she feared his actions had endangered their chances of discovering the truth but, now it was becoming clear that this had been personal for her. Since this had been their first mission together, it couldn't realistically be about him directly. The only option he could think of was that Cerberus' conflict with the Quarians had personal stakes for Miranda herself. Maybe an ex lover?

Jacob patted him on the back, "Come on, let's get something to eat. I'm sure Miranda will forward the data no matter how pissed she is."

Jack raised an eyebrow looking at him, "I thought you hated me Jacob, not usually a good idea to have dinner with someone you hate..."

Jacob folded his arms, "Oh I hate your guts, your selfish, and I'm sure you hate mine too. The Collectors are the real problem though and Cerberus needs all the help it can get. We need to work together, trust each other. The way I see it, the best thing to do is to just pretend we don't have any baggage. Deal?"

That proposition was correct but at the same time, Jack didn't know if it was going to be that easy. They had both done horrible things to each other even though for Jack, it had been unintentional. Every time Jack looked at the burn scars on the side of Jacob's face he was reminded of his own failings on Torfan. Being part of the Alliance and an N7 had taught him that self sacrifice and control were supposed to be of the highest importance. Jack had ultimately lost his resolve and gotten his mother killed in the process. Jacob was asking him to do this so, Jack needed to try. It was the least he could do for the man he had given so much pain to.

Jack bowed his head and started following him, "So, when and how did you get involved with Cerberus?"

Jacob chuckled with a smile, "Already breaking our little deal I see. To be honest, a medical officer from Cerberus approached me during my burn recovery. They told me what you did and that the Alliance was either ignoring it or actively covering it up. I decided to join them on a temporary basis back then. Watching you deal with all the Council's red tape on the Normandy made me realize The Illusive Man was the only one actually willing to do something."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "What has he been doing exactly to stop the Reapers? From my perspective all Cerberus did was cause problems for me during the hunt for Saren."

Jacob scanned his keycard so they could go to the mess hall, "Obviously, some of it is way above my pay grade but I'll let you know what I can. Miranda stole the data on the beacon from Eden Prime and used the AI she stole on Luna to help translate it. Without Cerberus, you wouldn't have found the Mu Mass Relay or the Conduit."

Jack felt skeptical even though that all made sense, "Your painting an awfully pretty picture of what your people have been up to. I seem to recall Cerberus murdering an Alliance Admiral, stealing our automated shipyard on Luna, and attempt to cure the Genophage during my mission."

Jacob shrugged putting a plate of food together at the buffet bar, "Like I said, some things are above my pay grade. All I know is that The Illusive Man acts in Humanities best interest, even if it's not always obvious. Or whether or not I personally agree with the decision."

Jack got a small plate for himself and decided to challenge him, "Yeah? What's something he has done that you weren't a fan of?"

Jacob sat down looking a little worried, "The war with the Quarians for starters. You remember the orphanage we were running on Noveria right? Where we were using ancient Rachni to try and enhance the kid's biotic abilities?" When Jack nodded taking a bite from his food he continued, "Well, it turns out one of the kids escaped from the orphanage during Benezia's assault and went to the Quarians for asylum. They accepted the offer taking the thirteen year old girl in as one of their own."

Jack held up a hand to stop him, "The Quarian flotila isn't exactly known for it's charity work, especially for other species. They also aren't interested in biotics at all because they don't have any. Why did they let her in?"

Jacob played with his fork, "Don't tell Miranda I told you this but, Oriana is special in a lot of ways. She has Autism which has allowed her to understand the Geth's native language. So, instead of just talking to Legion, we could communicate with the entire Geth consensus as a whole. The Quarians probably just want to use her for their own research. The Illusive Man saw value in her and so had Miranda led an attack on the Migrant Fleet. When it was clear we weren't going to be able to get her back, Miranda blew up one of the Quarian liveships."

His heart stopped with those last words as if Jacob had told him a friend died. The Darasuum Kyr'Vhetine, the Rayya, and the Shellen were the three Quarian liveships, or agricultural hubs, and combined they contributed to all of the Quarians food supplies. From what he remembered Kal saying, the ships were larger than the rest of the flotila and military ships clustered around them because of their importance. Now that one was gone, the Quarians had to be in truly dire straits, a third of the population wouldn't have any food. Hopefully, the Alliance would send aid because of Han'Gerrel's participation on Torfan but that could be a stretch. Like most people in Citadel Space, the Alliance brass liked to generalize the Quarians as poor thieves who deserved their fate. Jack was going to have to call Tali and make sure she was doing ok when he had some actual privacy.

Jack was even more doubtful about staying with Cerberus after getting that information. This terrorist group was willing to potentially cause the slow death of billions just because they wanted one girl with special talents. What other tragedies did The Illusive Man greenlight for his perceived vision for a better Humanity? He once again had the dilemma of how to proceed but in the end came back to the same answer, he had to stay for now. Things would be different if he could convince the Alliance or the Council that the Reapers exist. However, since they didn't and Cerberus did, Jack couldn't see another option. He couldn't defeat the entire Reaper army alone, no matter what he wanted.

Jack leaned back in his seat trying to hold back his anger, "Which ship was hit? Are the Quarians surviving on only two thirds of their supplies?"

Jacob was about to answer when Miranda's voice carried towards them, "Shepard, The Illusive Man wants to speak with you again. The comm system is waiting for you..."

He just got up and marched passed her trying to hide his disgust. She could've just burned a few crops inside the liveship and had a similar impact, but instead she went for the kill. The Quarians would've recovered from a loss of a crop for a season, now they were permanently crippled with less food supplies unless they had a new world to settle on. Putting that aside was difficult but he needed to focus on the bigger picture, the Collectors. He stepped on the comm device again and once the process was completed, he saw The Illusive Man sitting calmly in his chair. Jack had to wonder if he ever left this office, it didn't look like it. He was even wearing the exact same suit.

A puff of smoke from a new cigarette greeted him, "Shepard, good work on Freedom's Progress."

Jack took a hostile tone, "No thanks to Miranda... She was questioning me at every opportunity."

The Illusive Man flicked the back of the cigarette with his thumb, "If I had known Quarians were going to be there I would've sent someone else with you, I apologize. Miranda has a personal history with them, I reminded her the mission should always come first. It won't happen again, I assure you."

Jack hated the way that he seemed to have an answer for everything, "What about Veetor's omni tool data? Did it have what we're looking for?"

He readjusted his back in the chair, "Miranda forwarded the findings from Veetor's omni tool. We're still looking at the data, but it's a surprising olive branch, given our history."

Jack couldn't help but put some venom into his words, "Who would've thought that actually helping people gets you what you need more often than blowing them up?"

He took a drink from a new glass ignoring Jack's sarcasm, "Diplomacy is great when it works, but difficult when everyone already perceives you as a threat."

Jack looked coldly in his direction, "What's the next step then? The Collectors clearly aren't going to stop because we want them to."

He took another puff of smoke, "I don't doubt you Shepard but I need more data. I won't commit our resources if we aren't absolutely sure they're behind this." Jack was about to say something but, The Illusive Man cut him off, "But unlike the Council, I'm not going to wait until the Collectors come to our doorstep with more proof. One of my other cells have had dealings with them in the past-"

Jack snorted as a chuckle, "Why does that not surprise me?"

He put out the cigarette looking away for a moment, "It was one of many judgement errors I made with that particular cell. I have a team going to their old base looking to see if they have any Collector data. If it matches Veetor's omni data we can proceed. In the meantime, stay put and wait for my signal."

Jack bit his lower lip, "Fine, but don't keep me waiting too long. The Reapers are planning something big."

He reached for his omni tool, "I know. I'll keep you in the loop."

The images faded away leaving Jack with a bad taste in his mouth. He was reluctantly working with the people that committed genocide against the Quarians. He desperately wanted to reach out to Kal and make sure he was ok. It was a good thing Kal was an exile and far away from the fleet when it happened. The fact that Cerberus was probably monitoring all communications here was the only thing stopping him. They couldn't know he still loved Kal with all of his heart. Like Balak, Cerberus would use that love as a weapon. With that in mind, Jack returned to his room waiting to get more news.