Hi everyone!
New chapter up in record time! Yay! It's all thanks to you all! Thank you for your wonderful and thoughful reviews! I love the support I get from you, both with the writing and with my personal stuff. I wanted to make it up to you all by working harder on this story! Thank you!
I will keep it short and now let you read!
Escape the Fate
Chapter 15: Cerberus
Garrus' POV
The elevator finally reached the cargo hold and slowly opened the door for him. The damned thing seemed to go slower every time he used it and it was really getting on his nerves. He vowed that when he could find the time and wasn't working on the Mako, then he would try to find a solution to fix that damned elevator. He stepped into the cargo hold and found it empty. Although he hadn't expected anything else as it was in the middle of the night, around 3 a.m. Citadel time. Most of the crew was up in their quarters, sound asleep and those few who was up, was operating the Command Deck.
Garrus wasn't a turian who needed much sleep and slept only about four to six hours a night. It was something which had stuck with him after his military training and if he did sleep those six hours, then he would call that sleeping in. He had decided to go straight to work and to finish with the calibrations he hadn't before going to bed the night before. It was a new upgrade to the Mako which would make it driver smoother. At first he had thought of upgrading its cannon or shield, maybe even the acceleration but head had quickly thought against it after having to ride it with John behind the wheels.
Although the Commander was an excellent shooter, his driving skill was so far from the same brilliance as it got. However, what was even worse was that the man couldn't see it and thought he was actually good. There was no persuading him from driving and if you offered to drive, he would joke it off and if you kept persisting, he would tell you off in a way which could rival Quinn's nasty mouth. It had quickly gotten them all quiet and had suffered in silence. Even Wrex had faltered. So far it had only been the pirate who had pushed and argued. Even if she hadn't been on a mission since Therum over a week ago, she still harassed John about his driving the first chance she got.
Even though the pirate had no respect for her brother, the rest of the crew had. It was futile to even bring up the subject and no one wanted to be on that receiving end of the Commander's nasty glare, which was quite similar to his sister's. So instead the ground team had gone behind John's back and had come to Garrus and asked for help. If there was a way to make the Mako go smoother, they had asked him to do so.
At first he had thought they had been exaggerating. But it wasn't until he had experienced it for himself that he knew what they were all talking about. Of course the man knew how to drive, but the strong twist and turns, accelerating and breaking hard, and constantly hitting and driving over stones was nauseating to say at least. Even the strongest stomach wouldn't last for very long. But what was most concerning was that the Commander didn't seem to understand that the laws of gravity applied to the Mako as well, even if it was equipped with micro-thrusters. He would constantly find new paths as he called it, but in reality, there was none and he just suddenly wanted to cross a mountain because the radar had detected some anomaly on the other side. Though everyone wanted to go on missions, no one really fought for it as they knew they would be stuck for hours in the damned vehicle. The only one not bothered by the his driving so far, was John himself.
So Garrus wanted this upgrade done before the next mission. And if he missed a few hours of sleep because of it, it would be worth it when he didn't have to swallow down what he had just threw up in his mouth in the middle of a mission.
As he headed over to the Mako, he spotted a figure lying on top of the nose of the vehicle. Those black high boots with silvery nails crafty decorated on them to pierce through skins, was enough to tell him who it was. He had spotted the pirate there once before a few days ago if he wasn't mistaken. It seemed Quinn preferred the hold over the rest of the ship, especially whenever there wasn't anyone there. Although she had been assigned a bed just like the rest of the newly added crew, Garrus had never seen her sleep there once. Instead he had spotted her sleeping on many odd places, mostly in the cargo hold, which looked quite uncomfortable, especially with her sore and injured chest. But Quinn seemed to prefer dark places and where she had an overview of things. For every ones sake, it seemed best to let the pirate be and though Dr. Chakwas wasn't happy about her sleeping places, she had not pressed on it.
But this time, she wasn't asleep. With a knife in her hand, she threw it up in the air so it spun and skillfully caught it when it in the handle when it got back down. She also seemed to be deep in thought and hadn't noticed him yet. Which too, was rare.
Garrus walked over to the console and was sure to make some extra noise as he walked so to not spook her. He was sure she would either hurt herself or throw the knife at him if he did. With only a few feet away from the console, did she turn her head to his direction. Her face was expressionless as she looked him in the eyes and he found hers not being as bright as usual and the eyelids hanging. He could see she was exhausted.
"Not sleeping well?" He asked as he stepped up to the console and immediately opened up the display to begin working. Immediately the blueprints of the vehicle popped up on the screen.
"I could ask you the same," she retorted, but he thought the bitterness in her tone wasn't directed to him. She returned to her activity, not really interested in an answer.
Silence fell upon them again, but it didn't feel like the awkward type. Either the pirate was getting use to the crew and people around her or she had no problem with him being there. Either way, Garrus was thankful for her not asking him to leave. Their last conversation came to mind and he had asked her about the life of a pirate. Her first response had been guarded and suspicious.
"Is it the C-Sec in you, or just you who wants to know? Cause I don't rat."
He had to admit it had been a little bit of both. If the C-Sec in him learned about the pirate activities and how they operated, he would be able to help stop the raiding and killing of their ships and its' crew. Although Quinn's group had mainly targeted Alliance ships, there was plenty of other groups and organizations who raided every ship they came across. He had once read that it was only roughly four out of ten ships which entered the Terminus Systems each month, who made it out without being raided or worst, killed. Millions of credits was lost in each raid and even if the security around the shipments were enforced, the raiders got more rough and creative in their way of handling the situations.
In the end, he hadn't gotten much out of the pirate, other than;
"If you don't expect being stabbed in the back, you will not last for long. Trusting someone doesn't mean they don't want you dead. You respect other's territories and don't do anything stupid which will earn you an all out war with the other groups. The allies you got, make sure you nurse that relationship. -But if you do want to expand into another's territory, be smart about it. Cause if you get caught, you'll have everyone's attention and they will want your head. The one with the most credits rules. The mercenaries doesn't care who you are or how much you paid them, -if they can get more somewhere else, they will kill you in a heartbeat."
By those few careful words, it was enough to tell Garrus that Quinn didn't trust people. It seemed that not even the closets person to you, you couldn't trust when you lived as a pirate and they might screw you over when given the chance. Much of what she had said, explained her behavior over all. She was tough, ruthless and distant because her survival depended on it.
If she had been like that before her pirate days, he didn't know for sure. However if he listened to the gossip going around the ship, it seemed like she had been even before her Alliance days. A little over a week ago, John and Quinn had had an argument, which a few of the staff had overheard some. Apparently enough to establish that Quinn hated John because he had abandoned her when they were children and blamed him for her life.
But Garrus tried not to listen to gossip and rumors. They could be misleading and completely wrong. Even though as an officer, he needed to take every small thing to get to a conclusion in his investigations, he still couldn't do much if there wasn't hard facts. But there was also another reason why he didn't listen to those rumors- he felt like the siblings past wasn't any of the crews concern.
In the corner of his eye, he saw the pirate sit up and turned her body towards him, her legs crossed, but hanging down the side of the vehicle and her hand under her chin which rested on the knee. She watched him work without speaking for a few minutes. Then she asked bluntly; "Why be a C-Sec Officer in the first place if you don't want to follow the rules?"
The sudden question took him of guard and had him stop with what he was doing. His gaze left the screen and he turned to look at the pirate while wondering where that question had come from all of a sudden. But then he remembered what he had told John about a week ago and Quinn had been there to hear it all and had even commented on it. Also, he had asked her a similar question so he guessed it was her right to ask this.
"Hm. That is a good question. There were several reasons, I guess," he replied simply.
His father's picture entered his mind and he grew quiet. Even after everything, he still respected the man. The two didn't see eye to eye on how to deal with a lot of things, yet the man had had a huge influenced on his life and decisions he had made throughout it. Even though he had tried to make a life of his own, he had in the end become a C-Sec Officer just like his father.
Having grown a little annoyed by his lack of elaboration, Quinn asked; "Like what?"
Garrus returned his gaze to the screen to see which component would go where and had a simulation show him. As he watched the vid, his tone grew indifferent as he spoke; "Probably the same as most officers. I wanted to fight injustice, wanted to help people."
He imagined Quinn had rolled her eyes as her tone had grown grew judgingly. "Like every other stuck up prick with a hero complex."
A quiet chuckled erupted in his throat. He had thought he could make a difference. Help the people in need and stop the crime on the Citadel, but once he had become an officer, he had quickly learned that everything wasn't as black and white as he had once thought. It was naive to think that if you got the criminal who was selling guns and drugs and locked him up, the problem would be solved. But when it came to drugs and guns, there was always another supplier to take that one's place and have it grow twice over. It was an endless fight and no matter how you tried to nail the source, there was always credits and corrupted officers to stand in your way.
The words 'Do it right or don't do it at all' crossed his mind as it had done so many times before.
"I guess my father had something to do with it," Garrus explained with a slightly lighter tone and another small chuckled escaped him, one which the pirate had heard. She hadn't been that far off. "He was C-Sec. One of the best. I grew up hearing about his accomplishments or seeing his picture on the vids after a big arrest."
She seemed to grew more intrigued and though her tone was mocking, there seemed to be no ill will in it. "Following in your father's footsteps, -how original. He must really be proud."
Garrus let his head fall. The tone of his father's voice as he had told him he was resigning came into mind. Proud was the furthest thing his father had felt when he had told him. The man had not understood why his son needed to get Saren so badly, so much that he had gone off to work not only with the Alliance, but with a Spectre as well. His father felt like he had thrown his whole career away just to chase after some unrealistic juvenile dream. Even if Garrus had tried to explain, the man had not seen it the same way.
"He's taking my resignation pretty hard," he said, but more to voice it out loud than to tell the pirate.
He eventually turned to the pirate to see her reaction, but she only looked at him unresponsive. There was a slight tilt to her head and there was no understanding in her eyes. It was then he remembered that the siblings were orphans. Quinn had no idea how it felt to disappoint her parents cause she had none. The only family member she was able to disappoint was her brother and she would probably be delighted and relish in it if she could disappoint John even further.
"Hunting for traitors isn't good enough for him?" She asked and one of the fuss over her eyes was raised. "Even if it is to save the life of everyone in the galaxy?" She frowned. "What a stuck up."
He couldn't help but laugh at that. It was exactly how he had put it when he had talked to his father. Well, except for the stuck up part. But it was true, why couldn't his father see it when even a known criminal could?
Even though these questions was in his mind, he still explained the only reason he knew to the pirate. "My father's a C-Sec man to the bone." He turned his head up and away from the console as he quoted; "'Do things right, or don't do them at all,' he says." Garrus turned his head towards her. "He thinks I'm being too rash. To impatient." He turned back to the console again. "He's worried I'll become just like Saren."
"A traitor who's trying to bring back ancient machines to kill everyone in the galaxy?" She asked with a skeptical tone. "Well, your father have a vivid imagination. Not everyone turn traitor just because you don't want to follow the rules and be like your father. Sometimes the rules are just too stupid to make sense."
"Is that your professional opinion?" He asked and looked at her amused.
Her way of seeing things was kind of refreshing, but he also knew that the line she had crossed to get those opinions had cost something which he wasn't so sure he wanted to pay. John's words came into mind, 'If getting the job done means endangering innocent people, then, no. We get the job done right, not fast.'
She uncrossed her legs and shrugged her shoulders as she said with a careless tone; "Not everyone is born to have that upright, ethical, narrow-minded hero complex, like your father and my brother. If you want to do things right, then make it right however you can." Another shrug as she said; "If you step over a few red tapes while doing it- so what? You do what you believe in and fuck everyone else."
It was strange how their minds was the same. Everything she said had a weird influence on him, but it was kind of like she was voicing what he felt deep down all along. She was the criminal who did what she wanted and was supposed to be restrained, instead he was the officer who was restrained when in fact, he was supposed to have the freedom to catch her. That was the reason why he admired the Spectres, they had just that freedom.
A snort escaped him as he thought about the chance he had had to become one and how he had listened to his father when he had been talked out of it. If he had gone through with it, would he be where John was now? Or would he be where Saren was, like his father thought? There was no way of telling which, yet the though still stung.
"He actually talked me out of becoming a Spectre when I was younger. For the same reasons," he said with bitterness.
Quinn tilted her head again, curious. "You were asked to be a Spectre?"
"Well, I was targeted as a possible Spectre candidate," he explained. "Me and about a thousand other turian military recruits. I could have received special training, but my father didn't like it." His tone grew spiteful. "He despises the Spectre. He hates the idea of someone having unlimited power with no accountability." He looked at her. "He wouldn't like your brother very much. No offense."
Not her either, but he thought that was obvious.
An amused snort followed. "None taken. I'm not too fond of him myself," she said nonchalantly and flicked her hand at that. "But sure. I can see why your father wouldn't want that for you."
Surprised, he asked; "You can?"
"Yeah. Those with too much power scare people," she said simply. "A Specter has power and can do nearly anything. Even kill innocent and have that justified as 'it had to be done' to catch the bad guy. But that still has consequences. You don't become a Spectre to kill people, if that was so, then I would've been dead a long time ago."
"But Saren's not going to play by our rules. C-Sec rules," he corrected himself. " If you want to nail Saren, you need to send someone who isn't restricted by politics and procedures."
"Exactly," she said with a serious tone. "You send someone who isn't afraid to do what needs to be done and get their hands dirty. And yet the Council sent John, of all people, to do this job."
"You don't think John will be able to do it?"
Her tone was light, but skeptical as she looked away. "He will probably catch him- eventually," there was a bitterness to that word. Her eyes returned to him and they were dead serious. "But if we do it his way- it will take much longer and Saren will have most likely done a lot of damage by then. We'll need to beat him at his own game. It's the only way to stop someone like him."
"Hm. Yeah-" Garrus said, looking down with a pondering expression. "-I see what you mean, but..."
John wanted to catch Saren by following the rules and regulations. Even if Saren had lost his Spectre stats, he was still well known and would be able to ride on that to get further ahead. Saren also resorted to any mean necessary which gave him another jump ahead. If they would handle things Quinn's way, would it really go faster? And if so, would they all be the same people when stepping out of this mission as they were going in? Although he craved for the liberty to be able to do things his way, there was still lines he couldn't cross. He knew he wasn't a "hero", but he also wasn't cold hearted who didn't care about innocent people.
"Hesitate and you die."
The grimness in her tone had him shot up his head at her direction in alarm. He met her cold, narrowed gaze and she continued; "That's what Nihlus did. He hesitated and it got him killed. I'm not going to end up dead like him." She shook her head purposely as she stared him dead in the eyes with her two colored eyes. There was a promise within those words and eyes.
His gaze fell a little as he thought of her words. Saren had been Nihlus mentor and he had probably used that to his advantage to kill his former pupil. The pirate's word came back to him, "If you don't expect being stabbed in the back, you will not last for long. Trusting someone doesn't mean they don't want you dead." It was grim, but he was beginning to understand where it came from.
The silence between them stretched on. He had no idea what to respond to that. Of course no one wanted to die, but her determination not to, was stronger than most. There was almost like the though terrified her and she would do anything to avoid it.
The pirate pulled up her legs and lied back down on the Mako with her hands behind her head. What she said next, sounded like she was quoting something she had heard before; "You need to chose a side, Garrus. Either be who your father want you to be, or be who you want to be. Cause you can't be both."
Another silence came upon the hold. He turned back to the console, but his thoughts were too occupied to work on the upgrade. He knew who he wanted to be, that wasn't the problem. He just didn't know how to be that person without stepping over the line and become just as bad as Saren and other felons. Where was the line when you went from someone who wanted to do anything necessary to help, to turn not care about casualties? Should you really kill someone just because they had done something bad?
"Why are you here anyway?" She asked after a while, her tone sounding tired. "Can't that wait until a decent hour?"
"I don't sleep much," he responded simply. "I thought I could do some calibrations. This upgrade need to be done before the next mission."
"Ah..."
"What about you? Don't sleep much either?" He asked as he finally got back to work.
"Apparently not. This ship is too damned quiet to sleep. I need noise," she explained and a long deep yawn followed.
Again the silence returned, but he guessed it wouldn't be for long. The pirate was exhausted, yet she couldn't sleep so she engulfed herself in conversations. He looked at the watch on the console and saw it just tick past four. He felt sorry for her. Quinn hadn't had it easy since they had begun their mission and now she had trouble sleeping.
He started to hum a song he had heard as a child. The melody reminded him of his mother and he could clearly hear her sing along in his head. He hoped his mother had forgiven him for resigning and that she understood why he needed to do this. She had always supported him in every decision he had made and had encourage him.
Halfway through the song, he heard the pirate's breathing getting heavier.
"You're sounding like a cat..." she mumbled already half asleep. "...Thank you..."
John's POV
It was early in the morning, if you could say that when you were somewhere in dark space and no sun to tell you the time, however in Citadel time it was 5 a.m. John walked out of his office, rolling his shoulders one by one to wake up the muscles in his back and headed for the mess to get himself a cup of coffee to start the day. It was quiet and he guessed most of the crew were still asleep for at least another hour. He turned the corner and found Ashley sitting by the table, a cup of coffee in her hands.
"Williams," he greeted her as he walked past the table and over to the counters and the coffee machine. "Good morning."
"Oh. Good morning, Commander," she greeted him and for the first time, she wasn't about to salute him, which was a sign that she finally had let herself relax and be somewhat comfortable around him. It was a relief.
He poured himself a cup of that black rich liquid he craved and then turned around to lean against the counter to take the first sip. It always amazed him how much better he felt after that one single sip and the only way to compare it, was to how people who smoked felt when they took that first puff in the morning. The peace and quiet was also something he preferred the first thing and was happy to find the ship like that nearly every morning. It was also why he liked to get up a little bit earlier than most.
He savored every single mouthful and let his taste buds really savor the flavor before he swallowed. With a few sips later and he was finally feeling the coffee taking effect and he felt more awake. It was then Ashley suddenly decided to speak, almost like she had waited for him;
"Commander," she said, her tone a little bit hesitant which made him look up at the female soldier. "You have a minute to talk?" Her expression seemed quite bothered, but also uncertain.
He wasn't so sure he wanted to take on problems so early in the morning. Couldn't it at least wait until he had finished with his coffee? But he guessed that whatever she had to say, wasn't something which involved him running anytime soon or was life threatening, even though her expression seemed to indicate it.
"I keep an open-door policy. If you have any concerns, lay them on me," he said simply and took another nip.
"All right." Her head lowered and she looked down at her mug on the table, which she was clutching with both hands with an apprehensive look. Then she straightened up and that look was gone as she looked straight into his eyes. "I know things are different aboard the Normandy, but-" Another hesitation and John was beginning to wonder what this was all about and began to feel worry. "I'm concerned about the aliens. Vakarian and Wrex."
He nearly choked on the liquid as he understood his mind had wandered a little too much and he had imagined something completely different coming out of her mouth. He had to put the mug down for a moment and catch his breath.
Before he was able to put a word in, she continued. "With all due respect, Commander, should they have full access to the ship?"
He had to admit, it wasn't what he had expected. For a moment there he had though it had something to do with the pirate again. Both women were like two cats in heat and constantly clawed at each other. If they were in the same room for far too long, then it would be an all out war and anyone close by, would be collateral damage. But as far as he knew, there had been a few days since their last dispute and longer since they had actually fought. Much to every ones relief. Maybe it had something to do with Quinn's injury and the pirate had kept a distance between her and the rest of the crew.
All though he couldn't understand what the Gunnery Chief was getting at. "Don't mince words, Chief. What's your concern?" He asked, a bit more serious and crossed his arms over his chest.
"This is the most advanced ship in the Alliance Navy." She began to shake her head as she continued; "I don't think we should give them free reign to poke around the vital systems. Engines. Sensors. Weapons."
Then there wasn't many other places for the two to be, the thought. But if she was so concerned about the technology getting into the wrong hands, then the one who was more likely to do so, was the pirate, yet the Gunnery Chief's concern didn't conclude her. Neither Garrus nor Wrex had shown any indications of screwing them over and take the technology on this ship to an outside source. Garrus was a C-Sec Officer and John had a hard time believing he would ever do so. And Wrex, yeah he would probably do it if he got the credits for it. But from what Kaidan had said about the krogan after their encounter with Fist, he was an honorable mercenary, if you could call it that, and full filled his contracts. And even though he wasn't paid to come along on this mission, he still seemed to be determined.
With a bit of a frown, he said; "I'm not going to lock them in sleeper pods for the whole trip, Williams."
"I'd be more comfortable if they didn't have access to engineering and the CIC, " she said with a snort and her gaze averted from his. But then she turned her gaze back. "We- humanity, I mean- have to learn to rely on ourselves."
With a skeptical brow raised, he asked with suspicion and slightly disapproval in his tone; "How do you get from 'relying on ourselves' to 'mistreating our allies'?"
"I don't mean we should mistreat them, Commander," she hurriedly explained, when she realized that he didn't really like where this was going. "I just think we should be prepared to go it without them. As noble as the Council members seem now, if their backs are against the wall, they'll abandon us."
Even if there was some truth in her words, John wanted to believe differently. "I don't see that as inevitable. "
"Look. If you're fighting a bear, and the only way for you to survive is to sick your dog on it and run, you'll do it," she said simply. "As much as you love your dog, it isn't human." There was empathy in her tone as she had said that. "It's not racism. Not really. Members of their species will always be more important to them than humans are."
"You sound like one of those Terra Firma Party pamphlets, Chief," he said lightly with an eyebrow raised and took his mug and walked over to the table and took the seat across from the woman.
"Terra Firma is a pack of jackals. The founders had ideals. These days they just play off xenophobia and bigotry," she said, taking no ill will by his comment. "I hope my reasons are more rational. My father, grandfather, great-grandmother - they all picked up a rifle and swore the Oath of Service," she explained, and there was pride in her tone. "I guess we just tend to think of Earth's interests as our own."
He thought about what she had said and even if he didn't believe the same, he could still understand where her worries came from. He would always help humanity to the best of his ability and he guessed if there was a side he would need to choose, if it came down to it, he would chose humanity. But he wouldn't do it lightly and that choice would weight on him for the rest of his life. He still believed everyone was stronger together and every life mattered, no matter who it was, what race or what living creature. Death shouldn't be something to be delivered so easily.
"All right. I can see where your concerns are coming from, Williams," he said with a slight sigh and looked down at the table. But then he looked back up, a more serious expression on his face. "But this is a multilateral mission. You're going to have to work with aliens, like it or not."
She took on her subordinate persona as she said; "It won't be a problem, Commander. You say "jump," I say "how high." You tell me to kiss a turian, I'll ask which cheek." There was sincere in her tone and her expression told him that she had understood him.
It amused him how dedicated she was and he couldn't help but lightened the mood again by joking; "Would you kiss anyone I ordered you to?"
"That depends, sir," she said, still sounding like his subordinate. "If you ordered me to kiss a superior officer, that would be a violation of the regs concerning fraternization. That would make it an illegal order. I'd be required to decline, and relieve you of command. Sir."
He let an amused eyebrow raise at the lack of her understanding it had been a joke. The silence stretched on a little while longer, and it took a while before Ashley's face got stunned and it dawned on her. But that expression was quickly replaced by an embarrassed one and her cheeks turned slightly pink.
"Oh, you were joking?"
His smile widened and he laughed. "Yeah. I was. I was actually considering having you kiss Pressly or Adams, maybe even Joker." He faked a considering look and had his hand go for his chin as he turned his gaze up to the ceiling.
She too laughed and then said with a surprising cockiness and a big smile; "Please. None of them would be able to handle it. They would only come back, begging for more."
Quite taken by her answer, he returned his gaze to her and saw the smug look upon her face. An intrigued brow was raised as he said; "Is that so?"
Their eyes met and for a second there, it seemed like they were both having the same thought. But then she notice her slip of professionalism and grew both embarrassed and uncomfortable. She turned her head away and took another sip of her coffee to hide it, but there was no way John had missed it. His smile just increased as he too, took another sip and watched her intensely.
They had no chance of getting past the moment as Joker's voice broke through the intercom.
"Message for you, Commander. Just came in over a secure channel."
"Alright, Joker. I will be there shortly," he responded and stood up, still with his coffee in his hand. He turned to the Gunnery Chief and said; "We'll talk later, Williams."
She nodded, her cheeks still slightly pink, which made him smile a little wider.
"Looking forward to it, sir," she said warmly as he turned and headed up to the galaxy map.
As he walked up the stairs, the picture of the Gunnery Chief blushing was still clear in his head and he couldn't help but smile. It was both amusing and quite cute at the same time. The way she had responded was so typical soldier like and it really showed her dedication to the military. Although he didn't agree with how she saw the problem with the aliens, he still found himself admiring her. She was a true soldier.
He walked up the stairs to the Galaxy Map where he saw the waiting message on the screen. He took another sip from his coffee and pressed on the message at the same time. Immediately a voice broke through.
"Shepard, his is Admiral Kahoku," the transmission said and there was desperation in the man's voice. "I found out who set that trap for my men. The ones killed by the thresher maw. Damn, I hope you get this message."
The picture of his fellow soldiers, mauled and tear limb from limb came to his mind and he couldn't help but shudder. The thresher maw hadn't even given them a chance. No one deserved such a fate and the poor soldiers had been lured to their deaths by the transmitter they had found at the sight. John and his team would have met the same fate if it wasn't for pure luck and the endurance of the Mako.
The transmission continued; "It was a group called Cerberus. An Alliance black ops organization. Top secret, highest-level security clearance. They vanished a few months ago. Dropped right off the grid. Nobody knew where they went or what they were up to."His tone changed, turned harsher as he pressed on. "They've gone completely rouge, Shepard. They're conducting illegal genetic experiments, trying to create some kind of super soldier."
John couldn't help but think that it sounded ridiculous and completely absurd that something like that would ever exist and if so, go unnoticed. But the Admiral had expected his doubt.
"I don't have any proof-" the man said pleadingly. "-but I found the coordinates for one of their research worlds. I'm uploading them with this message."
Indeed he saw the coordinates and had the Galaxy Map locate it while the transmission continued on.
The Admiral's tone grew grim. "They're completely out of control. Somebody needs to stop them." There was a short silence before he spoke again, sounding defeated. "I've done my part. Now, it's up to you. This is... this is probably the last you'll hear from me. Cerberus is after me now. I need to disappear before they find me."
The coordinates showed it was only in the next cluster over in the Yangtze system and a planet named Binthu. It would be another detour from their way to Feros, but the desperation in the Admiral's tone had him worried. If the Admiral was right about this Cerberus, then it meant they were dangerous and indeed needed to be stopped as quickly as possible.
Again he had to make a decision which involved who to save first. As much as he wanted to get to Feros and save the colony there, he was afraid that they had already lost the colony by waiting so long to get there. Now he had another life to save and probably more if they didn't shut down this organization quickly.
Making up his mind, John pressed on the intercom and said; "Joker, head for these coordinates."
"Aye-aye, sir," Joker said almost immediately. "E.T.A, about four hours, Commander."
During the four hours, he had time to prepare and debrief the team he would have with him. The two who he had found awake had been the two who would come along. Ashley was eager and gladly wanted to find the bastards who had tricked and deceived her fellow soldiers to their deaths. She had also been there and seen the results of the thresher maw's work. He had also found Garrus up and about in the cargo hold, who too had been there when they had found the missing marines.
After he had debriefed the two, John hadn't expected another volunteer who had eavesdropped on their conversation from the start.
"I'm coming along too," Quinn announced and had surprised both John and Ashley when she jumped down from the Mako. "I need to stretch my legs a little."
John took in her appearance as she walked over to them. She seemed to be fine and he found no trace of that jagged breathing she had had when he had talked to her last. Although she had been on "bed rest" for over a week now, he still wasn't comfortable in having her come along until she had been cleared. But he knew that if he brought up the subject, there was a chance that her good mood would shift in an instant and John didn't know if he could handle that so early in the morning.
Quinn's harsh words were still fresh in his mind. There was no way he could make up for what he had done to his sister and a part of him felt like he had no reason to feel guilty. But still, the guilt was there and weighting on him. Even though it was against his judgment, he was still considering in giving her whatever she wanted just to get rid of this guilt and her hatred. However, if he let that single thought slip into words, then she would take advantage of it and be able to manipulate and control him however she wanted. And that he couldn't allow.
Fortunately for John, he wasn't the one who voiced it.
"You need to have Dr. Chakwas clear you first," Ashley said frankly and crossed her arms under her breast and stared the pirate down. But her tone shifted to mock; "It would be pitiful if you suddenly had a hard time breathing and you would need saving again."
John's hope of avoiding a fight, argument or a heated conversation was crashed and burned by that single sentence. He mentally slapped his hand to his face and let it drag down. Why did it always come to this? he asked himself.
"What's pitiful is you thinking you can manipulate me, Girly Scout," Quinn retorted, her tone matching the Gunnery Chief's. "Greater people have tried and failed. You really think someone as piteous as you, would be able to?"
"First of all; my name is Ashley, you pirate scum!" The female soldier spoke through clenched teeth and took a step forward. "And secondly, I'm not the one who had her chest nearly crushed."
John took a step forward to keep the soldier at bay from the pirate.
"Well, at least my chest isn't as flat as yours. Maybe I should call you Boy Scout instead."
Again, Quinn didn't have to do much to bring out a conflict between the two women. John had to admit it amazed him how little Quinn needed to do before people was snapping and nearly losing control of their rage. The pirate could read people like an open book and quickly found which buttons to press to get her desired reaction. Although his sister was staring daggers at the Gunnery Chief, she still was in control of herself and her emotions.
Before it could go any further and turn into yet another claw fight, Garrus jumped in and had it stopped as he said calmly to the pirate; "You're probably fine. But you should have yourself checked out just in case. It would be awful if you died just because to spite people."
It earned him a quick glance from the pirate, who seemed to first wanting to argue, but for some unknown reason, she didn't. That hard gaze soften some and it seemed like there was some sort of understanding between the two.
"We're at the drop zone within half an hour, right?" Quinn asked and eyed John, her gaze hard once again. He nodded. "Fine. Plenty of time to kick that doctor out of bed and have a check." She walked over to the waiting elevator. But half way there, she turned and decided to walked backwards. "If I found out you've left without me, there won't be a ship left waiting for you." Her tone was threatening and dead serious, but then turned light and jokingly, almost sweet. "So please wait for me. Kay?"
As soon as she had stepped on the elevator, John turned to the turian officer. "You really need to show me how you did that."
Garrus chuckled and seemed to have taken it as a joke. Instead of answering, he walked off to the locker.
Quinn's POV
It was quite ironic how she found herself in a similar situation as the first time that arrogant man had managed to track her down on that Alliance freighter which had changed her to what it was now. But back then she had her own merry band of pirates who did all of her bidding. Now she found herself on a far of planet somewhere in space to avenge an Alliance Admiral who had been killed by a human organization called Cerberus. It was quite a twist, one she couldn't even begin to imagine back then.
She had also been stuck in the com-room of the ship with Alliance soldiers keeping her there. Now she was stuck in a Cerberus lab because of a door which had closed shut and refused to budge. Her guesses was that this mysterious man on the screen had something to do with it and it wouldn't open until he had said whatever it was he wanted.
On the other side, she could barely hear the others. They knew she was inside and they were trying to find a way to open it. But neither of them were hackers so the chances of them succeeding was slim. Yet her brother, Garrus and that annoying Gunnery Chief tried and they were calling out to her to know if she was alright.
However, Quinn didn't pay the tree any attention. She was too focused on staring daggers at the screen and the man behind it from where she was kneeling. She hated being trapped like an animal and there was no one alive to take it out on. The two Cerberus lab researchers was already dead, one lying by her feet and the other one was still underneath her palm. Messing up their corpses even more didn't give her any satisfaction and so she let go of the woman's crushed head as she stood up straight. The two humans hadn't even gotten a chance to pull their pistols on her before she had crushed their skulls.
The gruesome sight before him didn't faze the man at all. He just sat in that same chair, smoking calmly and eyed her. It annoyed her still how he hid himself in the shadows of that furiously burning star behind him. She couldn't see anything more than she had seen before, which still made it hard to read the man and his intensions. But his demeanor was just the same as always and it reeked of arrogance and superiority. It was established, this was just the way he was.
"Shepard," he greeted her and the smoke escaped his mouth as he had opened it and made a cloud just in front of his glowing eyes, which still was as freakish as the last time. "You're a hard woman to find."
Her eyes narrowed by the hidden threat in his tone. There was no way he hadn't kept tabs on her, how, she had no idea but she was sure he had not taken his eyes off of her. After all, 750,000 was a large amount of credits no matter how rich you were and a man like him would not let an investment like that just slip through his fingers. His words from back on that freighter came back to her, "If I can find you here, I can find you anywhere".
"Oh, it's you again," she said with a rather nonchalant tone. "What do you want?"
"Cut right to the case, I see," he said, mimicking her own tone which earned him a small growl for the pirate.
"Yeah, well, I'm imagine you being a busy man." There was a bite to her tone. "And I'm not in the mood."
The man took a drag of his cigarette in a calm fashion and let the smoke out before he decided to speak again. "I want what was promised to me. The Prothean artifact you were supposed to deliver for quite a handsome sum."
She put an hand to her popped hip and got a bothered look upon her. "Sorry to disappoint, but that thing's in pieces. However, if you really want it, make sure you bring a broom." Her eyes narrowed to let him know he couldn't fool her that easily. He knew exactly why didn't have it by now.
Silence followed and the man just seemed to study her with those alien like eyes before he decided to speak, his tone calm and collected; "Hm, I know. It's unfortunate-"
However, she cut him short with a detached tone; "But true. So if you already know everything-," she snarled. "-I've been up to since then, then you should also know I don't give a shit about that fucking piece of shit."
Her expression grew darker as she thought about the beacon. If it wasn't because of that thing, then everything would be different. The truth was, she had actually forgotten about the deal she had with this man. Although she had been offered 750,000 for getting the damned thing, those credits hadn't matter much when Nihlus had been killed. Truth be told, she hadn't cared about anything other than revenge. Even the backstabbing Baktan had ceased to be important and he had probably already established himself as the next one in charge.
It was then it dawned on her. The only thing on her mind since Nihlus death had been Saren. Saren with his head detached from his body. Saren with a crushed head and smeared on the floor. Saren with his intestines ripped out of his body and have him feed on it. Saren. Saren. Saren. She had been narrow minded and only seen one thing. But the hatred inside of her whenever she thought about the turian was so intense that it almost felt like it would burn right through her. But why did she hate Saren so much? Baktan had taken more than the rouge Spectre had.
Of course she had loved Nihlus, -once. But at the time of his death, they had been more enemies than ex-lovers. What she hated about Saren killing him wasn't that he had actually killed Nihlus. With the line of work Nihlus did, it was inevitable. They both knew it. It was more that Saren had taken something which had belonged to her. It had been their game, her and Nihlus'. The end should have been one of theirs and Saren had come and robbed it from them.
"Yes. But I also know you're not an ally to the Alliance, nor the Council," he said with a slight condescendence in his arrogance. "You're working with them because you must.- "Of course she wouldn't work with them willingly, she was a pirate. An outlaw. Way to state the obvious. "-I want to make you an offer."
Intrigued, she tilted her head to the side. "What kind of offer?"
Seeming pleased, the man took a last drag before he extinguished the cigarette in an ashtray he had on the armrest and then explained calmly; "I need someone who is willing to send me valuable information. Advance technology, rare biochemical, synthetic components, anything you come across that could be of value. Of course you have to be discreet and not let any of your comrades know." He paused for a moment and then looked back up at her. "For a good price, of course."
"Hm, yeah I'm sure," she said and had grown a little skeptical during his speech. "How much are we talking about?"
The mysterious man sat in his chair and calmly considered how much he was willing to pay. "Depends on the information. 5,000 up to 10,000, maybe even 15,000 if it's something I think is extremely valuable."
She let herself consider it for a moment and contemplated the pros and cons. It wasn't that different from what she had done for the last few years, the only difference was that she did it alone. Of course she knew how to be discreet and even if she would get caught, what could John do to her which wasn't going to happen to her when they had caught and killed Saren? She was no fool in thinking the Council would keep their end of the bargain and just let her go free. She would need credits to escape and at the moment, she had none. They had all taken it when she was captured.
"Fine. I'm in," she stated.
The man shifted his head a little and she could see a satisfied smile spread upon his lips. "Good. You could start with sending everything about the SSV Normandy. You'll receive an anonyms message within an hour with the contact information. Great doing business with you, Shepard."
With that, the screen was turned off and the door behind her opened. Although her attention was still on the screen and the deal she had just made.
"That door, really didn't want to open," John said behind her as he stepped into the lab.
Just hearing his voice had her attention shift and couldn't help but grown at her brother.
"Must be some kind of security system," Garrus said as he too, walked into the room. He got up to the pirate and asked; "You okay?"
She turned on her heels and headed for the door, answering him over her shoulder; "I'm not claustrophobic. We're done here. Let's leave."
She didn't wait for them to follow an headed towards the exit. She had credits to collect.
Thank you for reading!
I'm sorry the last part wasn't as good as it usually is. I really struggled with it and it didn't matter how much I tried it just wouldn't get better than this... I had an idea about that part some time ago and it just woudn't come out as I wanted and I just got annoyed and discourage. So I just said; fuck it, let's continue and make the next chapter better. And guess what, they finally get to Feros!
But this time I have a teaser!
"The tower's secure. Thanks to you, Commander," Fai Dan said, relief in his tone and with much gratitude.
John nodded and said with a slight smile; "I'm just glad your colony is safe." a pang of guilt hitting him. If they had been here sooner, then it probably wouldn't be this bad.
"You're kidding, right?" Quinn asked with disbelief and stared at the leader. "Him? You're thanking him and only him?"
"I'm not-" the man looked from her to John to her again with a confused expression.
"What the fuck are we? His cheering squad?" She gestured to Garrus and Kaidan who stood behind her. "No thanks to the ones who actually did something? "