Chapter 39: Reasonable Doubt

Jack was the last one to step back onto the Normandy with his heart pounding. The Collectors had chased them from the bridge all the way back to the hull breach with a furious, relentless, efficiency. Mordin had tossed a cryo grenade at one of the Collectors legs only for it to use it's wings to fly forward without it. He was extremely thankful for Feron's and Thane's biotics which had shielded them from the acid weaponry shot at them. It was a bit of a surprise that Sovereign's Collector had stayed back commanding the rest of them instead of charging after the group personally. Was he intentionally allowing them to get away?

Joker was quickly tapping at the controls, "We're headed for team two Commander, hopefully they're ready for a pick up."

EDI's orb appeared next to them, "Unfortunately, all members of team two have just disabled their omni tool's. I am unable to determine their exact location."

Kal tensed and kicked the wall, "Shit, EDI what was their last location?"

EDI pulled up an image of the Collector ship again, "As of 5 seconds ago, all members of team two were still inside this elevator shaft."

Jack picked up his rifle again checking the ammo count, "Alright, if they're not at the hull breach we're going to go in after them."

Miranda's eyebrows shot up and she shook her head, "Shepard, if they aren't there we're going to have to leave without them. If we lose the Normandy, all of this was for nothing."

He knew she was right, the mission needed to take priority. The galaxy was at stake and if they died, every other living being was at risk. His hope was that the omni tools were disabled just because the team was busy getting Saren's control chip out but, he had a bad feeling. Logically, his only option was to order the Normandy right back through the Mass Relay if no one was waiting for them at the second hull breach. Jack's heart couldn't just do that though: Garrus, Tali, Zero and Saren were in there and may need to be rescued. Garrus and Tali were some of his best friends and Zero meant the world to Kal, abandoning them wasn't on the table.

EDI's response made his heart sink, "I'm not detecting any life signs at the hull breach. There is a 94% probability that all members of team two were ambushed and killed."

Jack looked at Feron with a nod and then to Miranda, "If we aren't back here in two minutes take the data and leave without us."

Before he could even put his helmet on, Thane was approaching the airlock still suited up, "Commander, allow me to go in and look for them. I do not have the responsibility of saving the galaxy on my shoulders."

Jack glanced at Kal and snapped his helmet on with a hiss, "We're going with you. Joker, open the airlock and keep the Normandy here for the next two minutes."

The three of them jumped back into the ship without hesitation. Jack had no idea what his plan was if they found them after the Normandy was already gone but, he'd think of something if he had to. Luckily, they could already hear the sounds of gunfire meaning at least one member of the team was alive and they were close. Running around the corner, Jack could see Garrus and Tali were dragging an unconscious Saren, while Zero was trying to multitask between holding off the Collectors and dragging Jacob. The three of them started shooting at the Collectors so Zero could focus on just moving Jacob.

Tali huffed while tugging on Saren's shoulder, "Sorry we're late, this bosh'tet decided I was a good choice for brain surgeon in the middle of a battle."

Garrus fired at a Collector Kal had missed, "Hey, it's tech so I thought you'd know about it more than I do at the very least."

Jack helped Tali lift up her side of Saren's body, "We'll worry about it when we get onto the ship alright?"

Out of nowhere, the ground beneath their feet rumbled and the whole ship felt like something had hit them. Jack knew the Normandy didn't have that much power in it's guns so the question was, what hit them? His first thought was that maybe the Collector ship had accidentally hit the Mass Relay as it was charging up. The second impact made him realize they were under attack by another ship, most likely a dreadnought of some kind. What were the chances that a dreadnought would just happen to jump into the system and immediately start attacking the Collectors?

EDI spoke through his omni tool, "It appears as though the Turians have responded to the fake distress call and are attacking the Collector ship. At this rate they might be able to destroy the ship before you get back to the Normandy. I would suggest you hurry."

Jack shook his head wanting to scream, "So much for The Illusive Man giving the Turians false reports. You heard her, we gotta move!"

Joker sounded worried when he said, "I had to detach the Normandy because of the explosions. Your going to have to jump across a pretty big gap to get to the airlock!"

Jack tried not to get more furious with the situation, "It's alright Joker, just keep the ship as close as you can. We're almost there!"

The hull breach was right in front of them now as well as a squad of Collectors. He and Tali let go of Saren so they could start shooting while Garrus threw the other Turian over his shoulder. At the same time, Kal was covering their other flank so Zero and Thane could carry Jacob forward. Jack felt his nerves get more tense upon seeing just how far the Normandy was from them now. The only way they were going to get back on board was going to be by jumping with a biotic member of the team catching them at the airlock. To his surprise, he could already see Miranda waiting for them at the entrance to the airlock. He assumed she thought this was a waste of time and was more interested in leaving them behind.

Jack glanced in Garrus' direction since he was hesitating, "Go, we'll cover you!"

Tali added after shooting another Collector with her shotgun, "I'll be right behind you bosh'tet."

Garrus took a running jump into space with Saren over his shoulder only for Miranda to catch them with her biotics and drag them back to the Normandy. Jack lost his footing for a few seconds from another boom to the ship but, it allowed him to avoid a few shots from the Collectors weapons. He quickly got back up to his feet and tapped Tali's shoulder so she'd know it was her turn to jump across. When she left his left flank, Jack moved to a corner of the hull breach so he could at least see where all the Collectors were coming at them from. Zero and Thane were next at the breach and looked at each other while holding Jacob up. They used their own biotics to hurl Jacob in Miranda's direction.

EDI didn't seem to care that he was distracted by killing Collectors as they arrived, "The Collector's drive core has spiked to 97%. I hypothesise they are intending to make a jump through FTL at any moment."

He was about to respond when another boom rocked the ship about dramatically. That hit was different from the others because the ship was still shaking them about. The Turians must've scored a major hit because the ship was even now, still shaking. Jack eyes widened in fear as the ground started to disappear around Zero's feet and move towards another part of the ship. Zero wasn't paying close enough attention to what was happening under her and started falling through the hole. He was too far away to help her but, started running in her direction anyways.

Kal threw himself on the ground with a slide and reached out to grab her, "Got you! Just hold on!"

Zero glared up at him and warped a Collector with her free hand, "Just let me go! You don't have time to mess around with me."

Jack killed several Collectors coming up behind Kal and grabbed him so they wouldn't fall, "Hang on Jack, we're getting out of here." He pulled them both to their feet. "Ok, we gotta keep going."

Thane snatched his rifle from him and kept firing at the ever increasing crowd of Collectors, "I suggest the three of you hang on to each other as hard as you can."

Without another word, the Drell used his biotics and tossed them out of the hull breach and in the direction of the Normandy. Did the Drell know he was sacrificing himself since Miranda wasn't going to be able to catch four of them? He smirked though when he saw Feron had joined Miranda at the airlock and was using his own biotics to save his father. Even though they weren't completely out of the woods yet, Jack couldn't help but feel relieved that they were off of the Collector ship. Despite The Illusive Man throwing him into a trap in the lions den, not one member of his team had been killed. Now he just had to hope EDI was able to grab evidence about the Reapers or information on the Omega-4 Relay.

Jack pulled his family deeper into the airlock so the door would close behind them, "Joker get us out of here! Anywhere will do buddy."

Joker let out a breath, "You don't have to ask me twice, here we go."

Miranda was panting heavily with a slightly bloody nose, "You could've gotten yourselves killed, let's not do something like that again."

Zero stood up gruffly and wiped down her armor, "I think that's the only thing we can actually agree on princess." She looked down towards Jack and Kal, "Thanks for not leaving me behind but, don't think this changes anything. Your both still assholes."

Feron jabbed Thane with his index finger, "What were you thinking? You could've gotten yourself killed."

Thane just gave him a sly smile, "I was thinking my son was going to drag me back to the ship in one piece."

His blood was still pumping with adrenaline as EDI commed the airlock, "Shepard, The Illusive Man has set up communications and is waiting for an update in the conference room."

Jack considered the possibility of trying to take over the ship right now. That had been the original plan after all and they most likely had the data they needed for the Alliance. From Tali and Garrus' discussion, Saren's control chip was still installed but that wasn't a big issue if he remained unconscious. Jacob was in a similar state so that only left Miranda and the other support crew. The only problem was he had underestimated how much combat with the Collectors they had to go through on the ship. He wasn't feeling much better than the two unconscious crew members right now.

Feron straightened up and turned away from Thane, "Tell him we'll be right there EDI."

Jack helped Kal back up to his feet and gripped his shoulder, "I think he has a lot to answer for."

Miranda, Feron, and Kal joined him as he made way to the dark room. The usually bright orange and red dying star outside The Illusive Man's window was now a dull blue and purple. His first thought was that the station The Illusive Man was on had changed systems until he saw the same swirl like solar flares coming off of it. How unstable was the star if it could change temperatures that drastically every couple hours? He didn't think The Illusive Man was foolish enough to stay that close to that type of star, then again he didn't think he'd work with the Collectors.

The Illusive Man was standing in front of his chair with a cigarette in one hand, "Shepard, congratulations on getting the data we needed."

Jack marched forward so he would be right in his face, "Congratulations? After all the lies you've told me just today you have the nerve to say congratulations?"

He didn't move away not intimidated by Jack's hologram in front of him, "We needed information on the Omega-4 Relay. That required direct access to Collector data. Trap or no, it was too good an opportunity to pass up. I needed the Collectors to believe they had the upper hand. Telling you could've tipped them off in any number of ways."

Jack glared at him wishing he could shoot him from here, "Well at least your admitting you lied to me to get your way today."

He took a puff from his cigarette, "It was a trap I designed... but I was confident in your abilities. And don't forget EDI. The Collectors couldn't have anticipated her."

Miranda put a hand on her hip trying not to sound too suspicious, "And how did we have open communications with the Collectors? Why would they believe anything Cerberus had to tell them?"

He started walking back towards his chair and grabbed his full shot glass, "As you well know, Cora traded technology with the Collectors shortly after kidnapping Shepard. I was able to use her old channel in order to communicate with them. The Collectors believe that Cora was giving them a lead, someone they thought they could trust."

Jack frowned still full of anger, "You make it sound as though that communication ever stopped. Are you trying to tell me you weren't aware your daughter has been leading the Collectors by the hand to each of the colonies hit?"

He sat back down and started putting his cigarette out, "Of course I've known from the very beginning Shepard, there's a reason she's no longer with Cerberus. If I had told you from the start it would've been impossible for me to gain your trust. Now, you can compare both of our behaviors and see I'm interested in defeating the Collectors."

Miranda couldn't help but smile, "Since we were able to escape the Collectors so easily, they'll think Cora sold them out. Your making her more and more isolated by the day. And the Collectors won't have her help in jamming colony communications."

The Illusive Man nodded taking a sip of the alcohol, "My only regret is not having the opportunity to cut that relationship sooner. More Human lives might've been saved."

Jack honestly didn't know how to feel right now, what The Illusive Man was saying did make a twisted sort of sense. He definitely wouldn't have trusted Cerberus at all if their first conversation revolved around Cora guiding the Collectors to their targets for the past two years. Cerberus supposedly had some of the best assassins Humanity had to offer and yet, The Illusive Man just waited until now while Cora hit Human colonies? Yes she was his daughter but, she was apparently doing something that was against everything he believed in. Why would it take this long for him to take action?

Kal took an angry tone, "You've lied to us for months now and once you get caught, you want us to believe you've always been against her? Give me a break."

When he didn't immediately respond, Jack said, "I need you to actively prove your going after Cora with everything you've got. Otherwise, I walk and take my crew with me."

He folded one leg over the other and tapped a button on his chair, "I've just authorized EDI to forward you financial transactions I've had with several bounty hunters as well as hourly updates from them."

Jack looked down at his omni tool, "Zaeed Massani? Who's that?"

Feron's eyes glazed over for a moment, "I scan my Alliance field test looking for any wrong answers. My eyes hurt from hours of staring at the same omni but, I find something wrong. The red ink of my pen has circled Vido Santiago as bounty hunter founder of the Blue Suns. I cheat and remember it was instead Zaeed Massani."

The Illusive Man motioned towards the Drell, "I couldn't have said it any better myself. Zaeed led a primarily Batarian mercenary organization for over thirty years, certainly someone not sympathetic towards Cerberus' cause. And yet, I hired him to go after my daughter because I know he is the best bounty hunter in the galaxy. He'll find her, and until he does he'll be sending all of us hourly video reports. If that's not enough proof I'm on your side Shepard, I don't know what is."

Jack gritted his teeth, "No more lies, there's no way I can actually defeat the Collectors if you go behind my back with information."

He didn't directly look at him, "This is no time for petty grudges Shepard. Things are about to get a lot tougher. As much as we try to avoid them, these decisions need to be made. Given your record, I expected you to be more understanding. Besides, I wouldn't have sent you in if I didn't think you could succeed. You may not like being on the receiving end, neither would I, but the facts are with me."

Jack put both hands on his hips, "I guess that's the best answer I could hope for coming from you. What's the plan now?"

He grabbed his lighter but just looked at it, "EDI is sifting through all of the data looking for anything regarding the Omega-4 Relay. I would suggest taking some time off and telling the crew I didn't risk their lives unnecessarily."

The room returned to normal leaving Jack uncertain about what to do now.