Chapter 12: Under Pressure

Jack awoke to the familiar smell of medi-gel that had been frozen for too long. That was a good sign, he doubted the Blue Suns would've kept him alive as a prisoner. His mission on Torfan probably burned any desire on their part to take him in and so, he had to be on the Normandy. He opened his eyes slowly and saw this medbay was expanded massively with surgical equipment normally found in a hospital. The Illusive Man obviously didn't want his new shiny ship to be taken into permanent custody at a Council port. On the less cynical side, this new medbay meant that the entire mission wouldn't come to a grinding halt because of one injury.

The leathery, gloved, three fingered hand he so closely associated with Kal squeezed his own and the Quarian called out, "Hey doc, I think Jack's awake. I know you wanted to look him over."

When the doctor came around the corner, Jack was stunned to see Doctor Karin Chakwas standing there. As a member of the Alliance, he would've never assumed she would join Cerberus. They stood against everything the Alliance was supposed to believe in, so why was she here? Even though Joker had told him the team separated after his presumed death, Jack couldn't see any reason the Alliance would turn on her. It wasn't as if she joined them on ground missions back then and thus would know a lot about the Reapers. Regardless of the reason, Jack was definitely happy to see another friendly face and trusted her to treat him well.

She pulled up her omni tool and started to scan him with an orange light, "It's good to see you again Commander, especially in these strange times. How are you feeling?"

Jack smiled up at her only to squint when the light crossed past his eyes, "Better than my first time into your care that's for sure. I'm more worried about everyone else. What happened down there?"

Kal spoke up for her while Chakwas was busy looking at the results, "Aria decided to send a rocket on top of us from orbit to cut her losses. Luckily, Saren somehow saw it and protected all of us with a biotic barrier. Garrus got hit though, is he going to be ok Karin?"

Chakwas seemed somewhat distracted closing her tool, "Hmm? Oh, yes everyone will be fine with some time. I have to say Doctor Solus' quick thinking on the ground probably saved Garrus' life. I'm looking forward to working with such an experienced professional. Your good as new Shepard, feel free to risk your life at your leisure. Now, I need to get back to tending to Ms. Nyx's wounds. I'm sure you two have a lot of catching up to do anyways."

Jack looked over at Kal feeling a little confused, "Ms. Nyx? Did Mandaria change her last name or did we rescue someone else too?"

Kal finally let go of Jack's hand to rub at his ankle, "She gave an alias, I think she's scared anyone not us would turn her in to Aria. There's already a three hundred thousand credit reward out on her head."

Jack gave him a concerned look, "What happened down there Kal? How did you get in trouble with all three gangs?"

The Quarian's opaque, shiny, blue shaded glass visor hid his expression while he seemingly stared off into space. He could tell the last two years weighed on Kal like an anchor, a lot had happened. Given that Kal probably spent most of these past two years on Omega, probably the majority of that time was bad. Maybe it was too early for Jack to ask that kind of question but, he just wanted to help Kal get through it. Looking down at the suit, he could see multiple slash marks that had been repaired with makeshift fabric. Since he was an exile, Kal didn't have the ability to get a fresh suit from the flotila and who knows how expensive they were to order in Council Space. Jack was going to have to pull some strings and get him a new one.

Kal finally looked down at him with a soft yet worried tone, "We can talk about it later, I'm sure you have things to take care of with Solus. I need a shower and food."

Jack sat up quickly and cupped the side of Kal's helmet, "I can always make time for you my cyar'ika. Are you sure you don't need to talk now?"

Kal grabbed the hand on the side of his face to his mouthpiece so he could kiss it, "Yeah I'm sure, I need to come up with what I need to say without... hurting us." He motioned towards the door, "There's a Human outside claiming he's Arnold Vega. I know from what you've told me about Akuze that doesn't seem possible so, I'd be careful."

Jack wanted first and foremost to reassure Kal that nothing he said would hurt them but, EDI cut in the intercom, "I've made several DNA scans to account for this inconsistency Kal. However, each test proves that the Human your referring to is indeed Arnold Vega. My only logical hypothesis is that Shepard was somehow mistaken and he survived the Thresher Maw attack."

He couldn't accept that was the actual answer, he had that nightmare enough times to know Arnold was devoured by the beast. With Saren walking around and fighting at the base, Jack could only assume Cerberus found a way to bring the dead back to the living. It seemed crazy, like something out of a science fiction novel but, there wasn't any other possible explanation. How powerful could Cerberus become having this type of power? The Alliance needed to know killing Cerberus' leadership wasn't going to be as easy as they may have thought but, Jack didn't know how to safely reach them. One thing at a time he reminded himself, the first thing he needed to do was settle the situation with Vega.

Kal got to his feet from the chair he was in and looked at the ceiling sounding confused, "Thanks for the input I guess...?"

EDI's blue glowing ball like appearance displayed on the projector next to him, "Your welcome Kal, I'm always trying to help the crew and morale. I also took the liberty of placing your recovered personal items in Shepard's cabin. I hope I'm not jumping to conclusions that the two of you will most likely sleep together?"

Kal approached Jack and kissed his forehead while he was getting shoes on, "There's nowhere I'd rather be. Come to the cabin when your done with Solus."

When Kal disappeared following EDI's instructions, Jack went to the mess hall and saw Arnold sitting alone waiting for him. It had been fourteen, no, sixteen years now since Akuze and Arnold had understandably changed. While his physical form could still be best described as hunky, he seemed more confident than he was back then. Jack had to wonder how long Arnold had been working with Cerberus, the uniform seemed to fit him a little too well. Back when they knew each other, Arnold was anything but xenophobic, he often flirted with any male that could move on shore leaves. Times changed people though, Jack would have to be careful around him. The Illusive Man could see Arnold as the perfect opportunity to quietly spy on him.

Arnold stood up with an outstretched hand and a grin on his face, "It's good to see you again Jack. I'm sure you have a lot of questions for me but, how's the love bird doin?" He pointed to where Kal had been walking a second ago.

Jack chuckled and shook his hand briefly, "A little shaken up I think, I know he'll be fine, he's just gone through a lot. How are you standing here though? I watched you get swallowed hole.."

Arnold looked uncomfortable and then pulled Jack off to the side into a shadowy corner of the mess hall, "I shouldn't be telling you this but, I never died Jack. Cerberus had a trap door where I was standing and...saved me. Akuze was all just one big experiment for them."

He knew he couldn't trust Arnold completely due to the circumstances but, that statement made a lot of terrifying sense. Jack had always wondered why the Thresher Maw hadn't killed them outright and had chased them instead. At the time, Jack just thought that the Maw was sentient and just playing with it's food. If Arnold was telling the truth however, it meant Cerberus had been pulling the beasts strings for their twisted little games. How did destroying entire Human colonies advance Humanities' interests at all? The Illusive Man was no better than the Collectors if he thought Akuze was an acceptable price to pay for scientific breakthroughs.

Jack's anger towards The Illusive Man was blossoming into a rage, "I'm going to confront someone about this and see what they have to say right now!"

Arnold grabbed his wrist to keep him from moving, "Hey wait, please... just don't do that loco. The Alliance has everything under control, trust me. I need you to stay quiet about this until my mission is over, ok?"

Jack started to understand and his mind raced, "If you have any control in when they take him down, I need you to wait until my mission with them is over. We can't afford to ignore the Reaper threat, and Cerberus are the only ones willing to listen."

Arnold rubbed the back of his neck and let Jack's arm go, "I'll do what I can but, I need you to work fast. The Illusive Man gets stronger by the day and the brass is getting worried. Stop the Collectors as soon as you can so we can end Cerberus, understood?"

Jack bit his lower lip, he not only had the Collectors plan to worry about, now he had a ticking clock counting down until he lost all his resources. "How much time do I have, realistically?"

Arnold gave him a sympathetic expression but shrugged, "Weeks maybe a little more. As soon as we can locate that culo's base, I'm leading a strike team inside to take his head. Like I said, you need to work fast..." He spoke louder as he started to walk away, "Good luck on your mission Jack, I'll be in touch soon."

Feeling a new sense of urgency, Jack started marching towards the briefing room. If The Illusive Man was taken down before their mission together was over, the Alliance would probably take him into custody as well for working with the terrorist group. In the time it would take for an inevitable trial to prove he was innocent, the Collectors could complete their plans for the Reapers and all kinds of hell would break loose. Jack needed Mordin Solus to have some answers, otherwise he was at square one again. The pressure was now on him from multiple fronts for results, this had to work.

He could already hear the Salarian's rapid fire voice in the room beyond, "Hmm. Didn't recognize any of you from area. Too well armed to be refugees. Also ship is state of the art. No mercenary uniform. Hired guns, maybe? Looking for someone? Yes! But who? Someone important. Valuable. Someone with secrets. Someone like me. Me. Looking for me. Why? Who are you? What do you want?"

Jacob was in the room with his arms folded, "How much do you know about Cerberus Doctor?"

Mordin started to pace back and forth, "Knows they attempted to cure Genophage. Was on Virmire, have the scars to prove it," The Salarian motioned towards what was left of his left cranial horn, "No knowledge of man behind it though. Anti-alien reputation obviously listed as problematic."

Jack raised an eyebrow, "I don't remember you on Virmire, were you part of the diversion team?"

Mordin gave him a smile but was always moving around the room, "Is quite understandable. You were busy getting proposed to as I recall. Also was part of bomb team. May have aggravated Urdnot Wrex. Was an unfortunate miscommunication. Still haven't answered my questions. Why am I here?"

Jacob seemed more than happy to get off the Virmire discussion as soon as possible, "The Collectors are abducting Human colonists out on the fringes of Terminus Space, The Illusive Man was hoping you knew something about them given your connections to the STG."

Mordin shook his head continuing to do slow laps around the room, "No, have been too busy on Omega. Retirement project. Can't be simple abductions though. Wouldn't need me for simple."

Jacob had a dark tone, looking worried, "Entire colonies disappear without a trace. No distress signals are sent out. There are no signs of any kind of attack."

Jack added grimly, "There usually isn't any evidence that anything nefarious happened at all... except that every man, woman, and child are gone."

Mordin tapped his chin and Jack could see the wheels in his mind turning, "Gas, maybe? No. Spreads too slow. Airborne virus? No. Slower than gas. Drugged water supply? No. Effects not simultaneous. Intriguing. Fascinating. No distress calls? No signs of resistance? New technology. Marvelously advanced. But what?"

Jack put his hands on the table watching him, "We have video surveillance footage from the latest colony hit, Freedom's Progress. It shows some sort of insect like drones freezing people so that the Collectors can take them to somewhere unknown."

Mordin seemed to perk up, "Do you happen to have a sample? Can't study from video alone."

Jacob frowned down at the floor looking defeated, "No, we couldn't stay long enough to search for the bugs themselves. We do have omni tool scans of them... as well as someone with possibly similar Collector tech inside them."

Mordin appeared as though he just received a Christmas present, "Patient plus readings will be good place to start. Will need a lab, place to work. Where are they now?"

Jacob gave them both a concerned glance, "You can both follow me, I think Miranda already has him in the lab. I'm going to warn you doctor, he might not exactly be.. the most polite patient you've ever treated."

Mordin waved his hand dismissively, "Was stationed on Omega for retirement. Think I can handle your definition of difficult patient."

Jack silently followed the pair lost in his own mind, this wasn't ideal. At least Mordin seemed to have a direction to go in but, it wasn't the slam dunk that The Illusive Man promised. It could take all the time Arnold was willing to get him just for Mordin to find a way to stop the seeker swarms from freezing them. That didn't solve the problem of knowing how to get through the Omega-4 Relay safely. He needed to stop worrying about three steps ahead and worry about his problem right now, time. He needed to give Mordin the time he needed to complete his research while also not taking too much time and get arrested by the Alliance for treason.

Saren's angry voice shouted from the next room, "And you brought me back anyways?! Who is to say I don't have remnants of the indoctrination still inside me? This was a foolish risk on your part! Why am I not surprised a Human would be the first to try and play God."

Miranda gave a cold reply, "We didn't play God Saren, we are God."

EDI's calm synthetic voice spoke as they entered, "We did not go in blindly Mr. Arterius, our main Reaper scientist, Doctor Chandana, had this to say," A male voice spoke through her blue orb, "Reaper indoctrination is an insidious means of corrupting organic minds, reprogramming the brain through physical and psychological conditioning using electromagnetic fields, infrasonic and ultrasonic noise delivered by nanomachines in the blood stream. The Reaper's resulting control over the limbic system leaves the victim highly susceptible to its suggestions. Organics undergoing indoctrination may complain of headaches and buzzing or ringing in the ears. As time passes, they develop feelings of 'being watched' and hallucinations of 'ghostly' presences. Ultimately, the Reaper gains the ability to use the victim's body to amplify its signals, manifesting as 'alien' voices in the mind. However, once these machines are removed from the victims blood, they return to normal. So far the only symptom I have seen is memory loss during the time a victim is effected."

Miranda greeted Jack with a nod but continued, "And for what it's worth, I wasn't in charge. The Illusive Man was. If I was running the show, we'd have done a few things differently."

Saren raised a browplate and folded his arms, "What kind of things exactly?"

Miranda shrugged innocently like they were talking over a friendly cup of tea, "To start, I would have implanted you with a more direct type of control chip. The type we could control exactly what you did on the battlefield. But, The Illusive Man wouldn't allow it. He was afraid it might affect your personality, alter your character somehow. He wouldn't let us do anything that might limit your potential in any way. The Illusive Man is taking an incredible risk with you. I just hope his gamble pays off."

Saren gave a snort shaking his head, "You phrase it as though Harp-"

Miranda cut him off, "Freeze all motor functions, what did we say about not using names Saren...?"

Jack couldn't help but feel a small sense of pity as the Turian obviously struggled to speak until whatever hold was lifted, "Fine, if I'm not a threat why don't you let me see my brother? I want him to see...me...when he wakes up."

Miranda looked over at Jack, "Because I'm not the Captain of the ship, Shepard here will decide if we should keep you aboard."

EDI turned to look at him before he could even think of what to do, "Shepard, while Saren has an obvious racial bias against Humanity, it is worth noting Saren's combat abilities exemplify everything a SPECTRE should be. Since he isn't indoctrinated and has a control chip restraining his worst impulses, I'd suggest we keep Saren on the ship. Ultimately however, the decision is yours to make, The Illusive Man can put his skills to use elsewhere if you wish."

No matter how badly he hated this decision, it was logically simple: he needed to keep Saren around. Mordin would need him for research and Saren could give helpful knowledge to the team where Reapers were involved. Jack had no idea how far Saren's memory loss went back but, he could probably explain how he and Sovereign met. The control chip was definitely a necessary component to this though, he didn't trust Saren to behave without it. It was a risk for sure, just one that could help them all in the long run.

Jack took a deep breath resigned to the decision he made, "You can stay as long as you let Doctor Solus examine you whenever he needs to."

Saren blinked stunned by what he said, "I... thank you Shepard. What do you need from me Doctor?"

Mordin smiled and motioned for Saren to follow him, "Just a tissue sample right now. Can collect in the medbay with your brother. Studies show being close to loved ones lowers pain receivers effectiveness."

As they walked out, Jack gazed to Miranda and Jacob, "Tell me if anything changes, otherwise I'll be in my quarters if you need anything."

Jack went to the elevator without another word, it was time to make things right with Kal.