Chapter 40: The BA Weekly

Jack's brain was fighting itself about what he should be doing right now. The Illusive Man's financial dealings with multiple bounty hunters checked out and he was getting video recordings from Zaeed Massani. Apparently, Cora was last sighted in the Armstrong Cluster meeting with a former N7. No more details were given except for the fact that Zaeed was going to follow her around until she separated from her meeting associate. It was all checking out to be on the up and up, yet he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. The Illusive Man had lied to him so many times already that Jack was trying to see where the lie right now was.

He had a plan in place if everything on the Collector ship had gone perfectly but, very little actually had. For starters, the data they had grabbed from the bridge was in a strange Prothean dialect meaning only EDI, Saren, and he could read it. The Alliance had the Mars Archive for Prothean material but, if the data was in another dialect, it could take years for independent Alliance scientists to translate it. That would mean years of the Alliance not doing anything while Sovereign continued his quest to restart the cycle and he would most likely be in custody. Then there was the fact that Saren still had the control chip in his head meaning Cerberus owned him. Not only would the Turian fight them if they tried to escape but also, Garrus would be forced to leave him behind or kill him again. Jack couldn't ask Garrus to do that again.

With all those things running through his mind, Jack once again saw his only option was to stay with Cerberus. He knew just how terrible of an option it was, knowing that The Illusive Man was probably still lying to him about something but, he didn't have any other options. Sovereign wasn't going to wait on a dozen Alliance scientists translating the Prothean data, and he certainly wasn't going to wait around for Saren to become free. Kal wasn't going to like this at all but, as long as The Illusive Man didn't actively try to sabotage them and Zaeed kept giving them credibile information on his hunt for Cora, they were going to have to stay with Cerberus. It was for the good of the galaxy that they stay and he knew Kal saw that, no matter how reluctantly. After the briefing with The Illusive Man, Jack invited Feron up to their cabin for a chat.

Kal rubbed his hand up along his helmet and glanced in Feron's direction, "So? Could you tell if the di'kut was still lying to us?"

Feron looked uncomfortably at the both of them, "I don't know, the data he's sending checks out but.. I wasn't in the room with him. With Shepard I could read his facial features and listen to his heartbeat. I can't do that with someone potentially millions of lightyears away."

Jack took a deep breath trying not to sound too disappointed, "I'm guessing you haven't heard anything from the Alliance yet either. Nothing clearing my name at least."

Feron shook his head regretfully, "I hate to admit it but at this rate they're estimating it'll take three years to fully translate the dialect." He held up his hand before they could speak, "I understand you and Saren can read it right now but, the Alliance doesn't exactly view either of you as neutral parties. In the meantime, Admiral Mikhailovich has given me the order to arrest you for the Collector attacks."

Kal stood in front of Jack getting defensive, "You'd have to go through me and every other member of this crew first. There's no way we're letting the Alliance railroad him for something he didn't do."

Jack pulled Kal gently back to stand beside him, "I don't see any cuffs in hand so I think we're alright Kal. Is Mikhailovich new to the Joint Chiefs? I don't remember hearing his name when I was running around chasing Saren."

Feron nodded to them both, "Yes on both counts. Mikhailovich replaced Udina's position among the Chiefs as well as General Oleg Petrovsky who just resigned as head of the AIA. He's much more..hands on with his agents then Oleg. I am being told to arrest you but, I have no plans to. I believe the Reapers are a threat and your the key to stopping them.. That doesn't mean everyone in the Alliance agrees with me."

Jack raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "Meaning what Feron?"

Feron put both of his hands in his jacket pockets, "Meaning Ashley Williams and Arnold Vega have been tasked with bringing us both in by any means necessary. I'm no longer an agent of the AIA, I have to stay in my Cerberus cover for the time being."

He shouldn't have been surprised Ashley joined the manhunt against him after their encounter on Horizon but, Vega's mention made him blink. Their short talk on the Normandy had gone well enough, he had warned Jack he was going to kill The Illusive Man. Why would he do that if he thought Jack was working with Cerberus the entire time? Did he blame Jack for not finding him on Akuze and thus being trapped to work with Cerberus for over a decade? It wasn't his fault he thought the Thresher Maw ate him whole and he didn't look under his corpse. What was he supposed to think after seeing that? There must be a secret back door underneath the hospital that he fell into? It was a ridiculous assumption to make for an eighteen year old.

Kal filled the silence, "Ashley doesn't surprise me, she was always a bosh'tet. I thought you and Vega worked together though? Shouldn't he be on your side?"

Feron kept a professional posture but he seemed a little upset, "Arnold feels betrayed that Shepard stayed with Cerberus even after learning what happened to him. He also thinks it's impossible that you have had no idea about Cora's involvement with the Collector attacks and thus must be working with her. I tried my best to suggest other alternatives but he wouldn't listen to me."

Jack rubbed the back of his neck lightly at the possibility of having to fight Arnold and Ashley if they ever crossed paths, "Thank you Feron for the update, and for not arresting me."

Feron smiled shyly putting his hands behind his back, "With all due respect Shepard, I didn't do this for you. The galaxy is at stake and no one seems to be stepping up to the plate to save it. Someone had to look at the big picture, I guess it just so happens to be me."

The Drell turned around and left without another word leaving Jack to wonder how he really felt about him. Feron had to be aware of what happened on Torfan if he worked in Cerberus for two years. Did he judge Jack for the actions he took to save Kal? He wouldn't have blamed Feron, many had already seen him as a monster. In the end, it didn't really matter all that much, he was here working with him to stop the Collectors. Jack did find it interesting that Feron seemingly devoted himself to the big picture just like Thane focused on his religion. He hoped the two of them would be able to reconcile their differences before Thane passed away.

Jack sighed as he watched Kal was pacing around the room, "So, what do you think?"

Kal turned to face him and tilted his head, "What do you mean? We don't really have another choice here."

Jack stood up walking towards him, "I can't do this without you. If you'd rather I turn myself in to the Alliance instead of staying here, I would."

Kal took both of Jack's hands before looking down at his feet, "I'm scared about what could happen to us if we stay but, we can't just leave either. I won't watch you rot in a prison cell for something your actively trying to stop."

Jack rested his head against Kal's visor, "Thank you...I just needed to know your still with me even now."

He was about to kiss him when EDI called his omni tool, "Shepard, Operative Lawson would like to have a word in the medical bay. She says it's urgent."

Kal pulled away from him and looked down at the omni tool, "He's on his way EDI." His eyes glanced up back in Jack's direction, "And for the record, I'm always with you cyar'ika even if I disagree with it a little."

Jack went into the elevator with a brief smile before the door closed leaving him alone. He had a small amount of time to think about what Miranda could've wanted and what the best response to it was. Since she was in the medbay, she was probably questioning how Saren and Jacob received their injuries inside the Collector ship. Admittedly, Jack had let Saren go off and do that because even if it failed, he thought they would be on their way to the Alliance by now and thus coming up with an explanation wasn't necessary. If Miranda got wind that he allowed Saren to attempt to remove his control chip, there would be hell to pay. She would call it reckless and irresponsible to the mission, maybe she'd even take full command of the ship.

To his surprise, Miranda was standing over Jacob's bed when he arrived, "Shepard, I thought you'd want to see this before you made up your mind about what to do about it."

He was about to ask see what when Jacob spoke up, "You too? How much did that Batarian bastard pay you to flip on the Alliance? When I get out of here I'm informing Kahoku personally that your a traitor Shepard. A traitor to the Alliance for Balak and Aria T'Loak."

The problem became clear the more Jacob kept talking, he had lost his memory after the Blitz. Jacob told him about being captured while working in the Alliance Corsairs program and Jack knew he lost his father because of Torfan. This sudden memory loss presented Jack with a few new problems and no easy solutions. His first reaction was to get Jacob off the ship and send him back to the Alliance for proper medical treatment. The problem with that though was if he remembered anything in Alliance custody, he could be just one more thing to add to his growing criminal charges right now. He couldn't just keep him on the ship either though because Jacob could attempt to escape back to the Alliance while he was out of it. Handing him to The Illusive Man created the same problem at a time when he didn't want any more exposure.

Miranda took him by the hand and led him to the door, "I suggest we just tell him the truth and see how he reacts. If poorly, we let him go back to the Alliance. We have enough problems to worry about other than Jacob."

Jack shook his head and whispered, "We can't tell him he's been working for a terrorist organization for two years without any context. And that context could make our mission harder than it already is."

Miranda bit on her lower lip trying to think, "The Alliance is already going to be hunting us because of the evidence Cora planted against you.. Your right that Jacob would only add fuel to that fire but, I don't see a way to avoid it..."

Kasumi's voice made them both jump, "You could all pretend this has been one massive prank or something. Don't the boys in the Corsairs do silly things to each other like that?"

Jack glanced at the thief who was now standing next to them, "And how would we explain going after the Collectors instead of the Batarians? Or the four year time difference on all our omni tools?"

Kasumi shrugged innocently, "It was just a thought, I don't have all the answers. Mainly I don't want a handsome guy like that leaving the ship so soon."

They all heard Jacob screaming for help and Miranda groaned, "I'm going to knock him out, and take a shuttle to Huerta Medical on the Citadel. We don't have time to debate how to deal with this. I'll catch up to the Normandy again when I'm done."

He wished there was a better option that wouldn't potentially have negative consequences for all of them but, Miranda was right. In order to fight the Collectors effectively, they needed everyone to be at one hundred percent. They couldn't constantly worry that a member of the team was going to attack them just because he didn't remember why he was there in the first place. Maybe this would be a good thing for Jacob, allowing him to forget all of the torture he experienced while in a cage on Torfan. He also found it interesting that Miranda was willing to leave the ship and Jack alone without any Cerberus supervision besides EDI. Did she trust him enough to know he wasn't going to run away from the ship? It was probably more likely that she knew EDI wouldn't allow him to do anything against the mission.

Kasumi frowned for a few seconds, "Poor thing, he must feel like an animal caged right now." A second later, she perked back up for Jack, "With that settled, I'm ready to cash in my favor with Cerberus. And before you say no, why don't you come to my quarters so we can talk about it?"

Jack cocked his head to one side, "What makes you think I was going to say no? The Illusive Man doesn't have any other leads on the Collectors right now so we have the time."

She smirked at him and started walking past the elevator, "You might change your tune when you hear what I need you to do but, we'll see."

The sheer amount of space for quarters on the Normandy continued to surprise Jack as he followed Kasumi down the hall in the other direction from life support. Her room was small and probably it's original design function was supposed to be a washing room for the ship but, she made it look cozy for a thief. Ancient paintings were hung on the walls that had to be stolen from art museums and she had a dozen fake roses in a vase next to her bed. In the makeshift closet, Jack could see a wide variety of fancy outfits that couldn't possibly just be for her. There may have even been a Quarian 'dress' inside if his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. He was surprised to see Vetra already sitting on the bed looking at a omni tool but just for a moment. It was possible that Kasumi's mission had something to do with Sidera's disappearance.

Vetra glared in Kasumi's direction and threw the omni tool on the bed, "What the hell is this Kasumi? Are you trying to get me killed?"

Jack stepped forward and looked at the image on the tool to see what she was reacting too. His eyes widened as he saw a picture of himself wearing a suit and holding a predator pistol with Vetra on his other flank getting cozy with him. The words around the picture were in a bold yellow font reading, "BadAss Weekly: Meet the gang that tried to kill a Pirate Queen!" Not only was the photo of them together heavily manipulated but, Vetra was also wearing her old Talons outfit and wasn't wearing any facepaint revealing her as Mandaria. What was Kasumi thinking? Putting the two of them together made Mand less safe from bounty hunters, the entire reason she was staying on the Normandy.

Kasumi rolled her eyes, "Yes I've spent all my time helping you try to find your sister just to kill you.. I'm not stupid. Just let me explain." She turned to address Jack, "Don't you think you clean up well, Mr. Solomon Gunn? Hock won't know what hit him. You run a small but talented band of mercs out in the Terminus Systems and you've been gathering rejects like Mandaria and Archangel for your next big score. Precisely the type of person Hock respects. I took the liberty of giving you a reputation. Papers, recordings from the Dantius Towers, witnesses, and this article in BadAss Weekly. Just don't start talking business with him, and you'll be fine."

Jack crossed his arms taking a defensive tone, "Who is this Hock anyways? I remember you mentioning he was holding a party soon when we first met but nothing else."

Kasumi kept a neutral tone, "Donovan Hock's a weapons dealer and smuggler. He killed my partner and stole his graybox, a storage device. Other than that, he's not so bad. Rich, charismatic, willing to crack open a man's skull to get at the neural implants inside."

Vetra was still understandably angry, "And what does any of that have to do with blowing my cover and endangering everyone on this ship?"

EDI's voice filled the room, "Even if bounty hunters were able to identify Solomon Gunn as an alias for Shepard, they would be unable to find us because of the Normandy's stealth drive. You will continue to be safe here."

Jack looked up at the ceiling, "Thanks EDI, but that's not the point."

Kasumi had a slight sarcastic tone, "You've both been waiting so patiently. Our friend Hock is throwing a party for his closest friends, namely other terrorists and slave traders. As well as couple dozen of the worst liars, cheaters, and mass murderers you'll ever want to meet, all bringing gifts as a tribute to the man himself. Including little Turian girls meant for Nassana Dantius."

Vetra's eyes widened at that last part, "You found Sid then, your sure. No more wild goose chases?"

Kasumi smirked towards her, "Of course I'm sure, I wouldn't have gone to all this trouble if I wasn't. Now, our tribute is a lovely statue of your old friend Saren, since the galaxy still thinks he's dead, rendered with loving detail and filled to the brim with our weapons and armor. You can keep your pistol, as long as it's concealed. They won't hassle you over a sidearm. Once inside, we'll make our way to Hock's vault door, somewhere in the back of the ballroom. After that we case the security and start peeling away the layers. The statue should be there, waiting for you to crack it open and arm up. Finally, we just waltz into the vault and find Sid while I'll take back Keiji's graybox. And I'll finally get a chance to say goodbye..."

Vetra raised a browplate curiously, "Keiji meant a lot to you didn't he?"

Kasumi tried to keep a lighthearted voice, "Was I that obvious? Keiji's graybox holds a lot of priceless, personal memories. It's all that remains of who he was. But, the secret he discovered is also very dangerous. I wouldn't bring you into this if it wasn't. The graybox itself holds Keiji's memories. Everything from all the codes and plans he stole to... all the time we spent together. Wrapped up in those memories is the last secret he stole. Keiji never told me what it was, but the information got him killed."

Jack motioned to the closet full of different species fancy outfits, "I'm guessing Mr. Gunn's mercenary band is more than just the three of us plus Garrus, who else do I need to bring that stuff to?"

Kasumi gave a nonchalant shrug, "I'll hand the outfits out but, it's going to be us, Garrus, Kal, Tali, Subject Zero, and I guess that's it since Miranda's leaving."

Vetra started playing with her hands, "How long before we get there?"

EDI responded for Kasumi, "We should be arriving in an hour, by my estimate you will be just in time for the party."

Jack grabbed his tuxedo from the closet, "Well then, we better hurry up and get dressed. It's time we get your sister back Mandaria."