Mass Effect: The Man Who Saw Tomorrow
Let me know what you think! AThousandSuns
Chapter VI: Portraits of Funerals
The stench of death pervaded the air. Blood was thick on the soles of Big Boss's boots, and he could taste salty copper in his mouth. He could feel the death on his skin, in his sinew, and in his bones. He stood before the steel door— the door that would take him away, outside of the corridor of blackness that gripped him so tightly.
He had been here before.
Always. Always when he pulls on the door, it never opens. They call his name behind him, in the shadow and red. They whisper and croon for him in a bittersweet lullaby.
He turned ever so slowly, his heart an anchor to the fear of what hid from him.
And he dragged it with him, and entered the long corridor with a harrowed breath.
The walls dripped and oozed in red, distant screams echoed all around him. Voices pleaded for their lives to be returned to them. He tried hard to hold his breath, to block the horrid stench about him, but when he finally breathed, the smell was only worse.
He shut his eyes, and took the first step forward. Blood rained over him in tiny tear drops from heaven. He tried hard to look straight ahead, but their cries and woes of terror forced him to look down. Down into their eyes, empty and soulless.
Dogs, victims of their master.
Each step was an echo of despair, and each footfall made the anchor weigh more and more behind him.
On his last step, his heart sank, the anchor descended, and he fell to the floor with its weight, to his knees, to the river of blood.
He was surrounded by their corpses— his boys and girls, dead by his hand— their Reaper.
They sang in wallows, and filled him with anguish.
And he screamed, a voiceless scream into the hell that circled him.
The Ishmael groaned as the ship exited FTL travel. The suddenness sent Big Boss' stomach into a fit, and he swallowed hard to keep his rations down.
Joker's voice came in over the intercom. "Approaching Purgatory space station, docking permission granted, ETA, five minutes."
He rose from the chair of his desk.
It had been several hours since Garrus Vakarian joined them, and he had slept for only three of them. It was a restless sleep. It always was.
The turian sniper—who proved to be a relatable spirit— hunkered down in the forward batteries. He had talked in depth on the ships firing power, how it compared to its previous design of the Normandy SSV.
He was almost giddy about the new ship, making an aside that Shepard should have joined up if this was what they offered to civilian frigates. Snake had mentioned that from what he had heard, turians weren't all that common in the ranks of Cerberus.
"Well, signing up for Cerberus wouldn't be the first bad call I made." Garrus joked, but he paused and his face fell somberly, if but for a split second.
When Snake asked what happened on Omega, to make every mercenary band there try to kill him, Garrus was quiet in contemplation before speaking.
He told him how after the Normandy was destroyed, he went back to his old job at C-Sec—a cop, but he quickly found there was just too much red tape slowing him down from doing anything worthwhile.
He had quit and traveled to Omega, a place riddled with criminals nobody could touch. Its lawlessness gave him free reign to do as he pleased.
"People here needed someone to believe in. Someone to stand up to the local thugs." Garrus had said.
When asked how he got a whole squad, he said it was pretty similar to how Big Boss introduced himself; he shot a bunch of people and then had a polite conversation after it was all over, but that they were mostly mercs who wished to atone, security agents tired of playing by the rules. He had given them chance to make a difference.
"And now they're dead. Shows what I know..." He told Big Boss. Snake knew how he felt. He knew exactly what that pain was festering into.
Garrus had shifted on his feet, he had tightened and clenched his fists in suppressed rage. "It was my own damn fault too... One of my people betrayed me. A turian named Sidonis. He drew me away just before the mercs attacked my squad, then he disappeared. Everyone except me is dead because of him. And because I didn't see it coming."
The turian turned to Snake, and the man noticed that, with the way the light behind the turian silhouetted him, he looked like a devil, his eyes angry and fierce with fiery vengeance.
Snake asked him if he knew where he was now, but Garrus shook his head, mentioning that he lost him after he left Omega.
"One day I'll find him... and correct that."
And then, Big Boss saw him— Kaz— He saw a man broken with fury— for someone to answer for the losses of his arm, and of his leg... for all the comrades he lost. He needed someone to pay.
"Kaz..." He whispered.
The conversation ended there, he did not know what to tell the man. His life had once been consumed by vengeance. And when it was reaped, what did he feel? Nothing. He remembered he pulled the trigger on Skull Face, more than once, and he felt only the sliver of justice before it was dark inside again.
He exited the elevator and entered the CIC of the ship.
It was very early in the morning, a few, if not most of the crew were just waking at the announcement of docking. Only a handful of members were on the deck, Kelly Chambers was nowhere to be seen. He approached the terminal near the star map and struggled to look through his online mail.
After they recruited Garrus, The Illusive Man had sent more dossiers to build his team with; one of them was a person of interest by the name of Jack, a convict currently serving time on the space station, Purgatory. The other was a master thief, a woman named Kasumi Gato. Curiosity made him choose to look into recruiting the criminal, Jack first.
The Ishmael flew in close, the massive space station gleamed against the smooth contours of its hull, a monstrosity in size compared to the frigate. The ship docked with careful precision, until it was firmly locked in place airlock-to-airlock.
Snake prepped his team, bringing Garrus, Miranda, and Mordin with him. They armed up and entered the space station with Garrus to his right, Miranda to his left and Mordin close behind.
He was originally hesitant to bring the salarian, but he insisted, saying that a break from research would let him come back with new ideas, and possible samples.
Snake relented, he had no real qualms, as long as he carried his own weight and watched their backs.
An armed guard stood to greet them. A quick glance revealed their armor to be that of the Blue Suns, putting Snake and the others on high alert.
"Welcome to the Purgatory, sir. Your package is being prepped, and you can claim it shortly. As this is a high-security vessel, you'll need to relinquish your weapons before we proceed." The guard stated.
Big Boss looked to Garrus and Miranda, then shook his head.
The guard moved to rebuttal, but a turian approached them from behind him.
"Everyone stand down. Cerberus agents, I'm Warden Kuril, and this is my ship." He greeted with authority.
"Your weapons will be returned on the way out. You must realize this is just a standard procedure." He tried to assure.
Snake stared at the man, and offered a slow shake of his head as his response. The warden stared back, his brow furrowed in aggravation.
The turian relented with a flick of his mandibles. "Let them proceed. Our facility is more than secure enough to handle four armed guests." He ordered his men.
The guard before the team stepped aside, and Big Boss led them up the steps onward.
Warden Kuril guided them to the next area. "We're bringing Jack out of cryo. As soon as the funds clear, you can be on your way. I'll bring you to out-processing for the pickup."
They entered a long corridor with thick glass on either side to display the enormous housing facility.
"Cellblock Two. As you can see, we keep tight control over the population." Kuril played tour guide as he led them, gesturing toward the window.
Snake watched as cranes lifted and moved various units to and fro, as well as observed the guards leading prisoners across the floor to their cells.
"Each prisoner's cell is a self-contained, modular unit. I've blown a few out of the airlocks as an example." He stopped to show them a prisoner who entered one of the units, and a crane lifted and placed it into one of the blocks.
"This ship is made up of thirty cell blocks identical to this one— we house thousands of criminals." He led them further in.
"We can put this whole place in lockdown on a moment's notice. Nothing goes wrong here." He said.
"What can you tell us about Jack?" Garrus asked.
Kuril stopped with a raised brow. "Cerberus hasn't told you? Jack, is the meanest handful of violence and hate I've ever encountered. Dangerous, crazy, and very powerful."
Miranda clicked her tongue. "Just what we need, more crazy."
Garrus snickered. "He had me at, meanest."
Mordin held a finger to his chin. "Hm, mean, violent, hateful, dangerous, crazy, and very powerful? Must be krogan—no— named Jack. Must be man, sized, like krogan." He thought to himself.
Kuril laughed. "You'll see soon enough." He gestured for them to follow.
"Have there been escape attempts?" Garrus asked curiously.
Kuril shook his head. "We're in space— they have nowhere to go, and they know it. But still, we exercise extreme caution. These are dangerous individuals. We have many ways to control the population."
Snake watched through the window as two prisoners began to argue, one shoving the other. A guard nearby opened his omni-tool and the two convicts were separated by two glowing spheres effectively.
Of all the prisons he had seen, this one seemed to be the strongest and most civil. It sure beat the gulags or Afghan hot boxes.
When they reached a fork in the hall, Kuril stopped.
"I'm going to confirm that the funds from Cerberus cleared. Jack is straight down this hallway. Just keep going through to the observational bay above cryo. I'll catch up with you later."
He pointed and gave Snake one last look before disappearing round the corner.
The team continued down the winding hall 'til they entered the observational bay.
A guard, a man balding at the crown, stood in front of a console that overlooked the cryo chamber. "You must be the Cerberus agents. We're just pulling Jack out now, it'll be just a sec'."
He pressed a few keys on the terminal and swiped. The room below blinked red, and three heavy mechs powered on, training their sights on the platform ahead.
A cylindrical pod hissed and steamed as it began to rise from the floor. Locking mechanisms spun and unlocked, and the cryo-pod opened, cold mist dripped onto the alloy below.
The lights in the room switched from white to red, and the heavy mechs below powered on, and stepped closer with weapons poised.
The pod sat exposed, the cold mist disappeared to reveal its inhabitant— a woman, her head shaved, her figure short and slim, and heavily tattooed.
Garrus felt his mandibles flick in surprise. "Uh... that's Jack?"
The woman's eyes flared open, and she tore herself from her restraints and threw herself from the pod.
"Oh sh— anesthesia isn't working, Jack is trying to escape!" The guard shouted, tapping away at the console.
An alarm sounded, and the woman screamed in blind fury, her face contorted with rage. The veins in her neck pulsed as she glared at Snake through the glass.
The heavy mechs moved in on her, readying their weapons.
She let out another scream and charged forward, reeling a fist back and throwing it into the nearest mech, before she disappeared from view. The cellblock shook with an explosion, and one of the heavy mechs flew into the cryo-pod.
Snake stepped to the glass to peer into the room below, but the girl was gone.
Warden Kuril's voice screamed over the intercom. "What happened?!"
"Jack escaped! She's loose on the ship." The guard informed.
"Spirits! Activate systems! Secure Jack!" Kuril shouted.
The doors around them flickered from green to red, locking down.
Garrus turned to Big Boss. "We need to get down there, Boss."
The guard shook his head. "Impossible. While security systems are activated, the ship is in lockdown."
Snake turned to Mordin. "Can you get us out?"
"Most likely." The salarian stepped to the console.
The guard raised his Predator at the group. "You can't! If you override the system, every door will open on this ship!" He protested.
Mordin paused, looking back at Snake, awaiting an order.
If they opened every door on the cellblock, every prisoner would be unleashed. Their odds of escape were slim, since they were in space, but with thousands of prisoners on board, a few escapees was inevitable... But if they did not, they were stuck here, and they would lose a very powerful team member.
Snake sighed inwardly, and gave Mordin a nod of approval. The salarian motioned for the guard to step away at the console.
The balding man stood defiantly, glancing between the formidable team before defiantly stepping away from the console to the far side of the room.
Mordin tapped at the terminal, and it was in short time before the doors changed from red, to green. Another alarm sounded over the intercom and an automated woman's voice echoed through a storm of buzz.
"Warning. Warning. Ship lockdown, overridden." It crackled
"Let's go." Snake ordered, taking point as he led the group in a file out the room, down a ramp, into the room below.
"Most impressive." Mordin whispered as they entered the room Jack had been in to see all three heavy mechs destroyed and ripped apart. A hole in the wall of the opposite side of the room clapped and sparked with electricity.
They followed the path of the enraged woman as Kuril screamed over the intercom.
"All guards: restore order! Lethal force authorized! But don't kill Jack! Techs: lockdown! Lockdown!" He shouted.
They battled their way through the first cellblock, pushing past guard and prisoner alike.
Garrus whistled at the devastation left in the wake of Jack. "This girl is powerful, but she lacks subtlety." He mused.
A catwalk above collapsed to the floor and they double timed it across the cellblock.
Warden Kuril continued to shout threats and orders over the station wide intercom, his voice growing more desperate and vicious, all he seemed to care about was retrieving Jack unharmed.
They came near the exit, Snake saw a guard, gasping for air, gripping his neck tightly. He looked up at Big Boss before his eyes rolled into the back of his head, his last breath a gurgle of blood.
"Stab wounds all over his neck and face." Snake said, crouching and shutting the dead man's eyes.
"Rushed by prisoners with improvised weapons… Shows you what kind of people these prisoners are. I heard stories about their treatment of prisoners here, but it seems in the galaxy's best interests." Garrus said as Snake stood.
He was inclined to agree. They may have unleashed a torrent of criminals on the galaxy, just to retrieve Jack. He swallowed the unease he felt and led them forward.
They continued to fight their way through the next cellblock, clearing the room of guards who turned their weapons on them, and prisoners who picked them up to try their luck against the squad.
The station shook violently as they entered the next sector, where armed prisoners attempted to gun down Warden Kuril, who stationed himself above.
The turian blasted his rifle, striking down a fleeing prisoner from behind.
As Snake stepped into the loading bay, Kuril's brow furrowed, and he fired blindly in their direction.
"Damn Cerberus agents! You ruined EVERYTHING. I was going to live like a king!" He fired randomly at them. "But you're too much trouble. At least I can recapture Jack!"
Garrus scoffed. "Shouted the Mad King moments before his death!" He shouted over the pillar and fired off a few shots from his Viper. The bullets bounced off the Warden's glowing armor.
Kuril shot at them from the hip. "I do the hard things civil governments are unwilling to do! This is for the good of the galaxy!"
Snake looked back to Miranda who hunched behind her cover beside him. "Why is he glowing?" He asked.
"Tech Armor. It's an energy suit that boosts his shield strength. We could unload our entire thermal clips into him, and he'd still have shields enough left to fully recharge while we reload." Miranda informed.
Mordin and Garrus shot their weapons around the corners of their barricade and pillar, dropping Blue Suns forces that charged into the loading bay.
Snake leaned out and fired a few rounds at Kuril. His shots bounced off his tech armour, only serving to stumble him backward, but not by much.
Garrus' voice chimed in over the radio. "Too far for an effective Overload, and he's a crack-shot with that Revenant. Any ideas?"
'He's got higher ground advantage as well…' Snake thought to himself, popping out his thermal clip, and replacing it with another.
Mordin fired over his barricade. "Suggest unconventional actions— cellular units on wall. Shutdown affected all locks. Could attempt to drop unit on Warden!"
Snake looked from his cover, Kuril's bullets hissed past his head. He was right. The entire wall before them, was lined with cell units, doors ajar. Some were not even set securely in their place.
"How?" He asked.
"Would suggest console." A bullet whizzed by Mordin's face.
"But too close to Kuril." He finished.
Big Boss pondered. It was a sound idea, but how would they pull out one of the units from the wall?
He looked to Miranda. "Can you use your biotech?"
The woman found it hard to keep a straight face but managed a slight smirk at his mispronunciation. "Biotics." She corrected impulsively.
"I could try. But I'll need cover." She added.
He nodded, turning back to Garrus. "We'll flank his right, draw his fire. Mordin, cover Miranda."
The salarian scientist agreed, and Garrus nodded as well.
"I'll take point. Suppressive fire." He said.
Snake leaned out with his rifle, pumping untrained rounds at the Warden as Garrus moved from behind his pillar, over to the toppled cell unit.
He then leaned out, and drew Kuril's fire as Snake rushed to join him.
Eventually, they were on the far right side, and Kuril fired his rifle brazenly.
"I could have been set for the rest of my life! Living off Jack!" He shouted angrily, as Snake launched an Incinerate at him. The turian dove out of the flying plasma bombs direction before firing more rounds at the group.
Miranda stood, her body a glowing haze of blue, one of the cellular units above the turian scraped forward just barely. She pulled hard, and the unit pulled with her.
A bullet flew past her head, as more Blue Suns mercenaries joined the fray.
Mordin launched a barrage of gunfire in their direction, before throwing a Cryo Blast at them, freezing one of the troopers in his place.
"Must hurry!" He shouted.
"I'm trying!" Miranda retorted and pulled harder. Her head felt as if it were close to bursting into an atom bomb, she found it harder and harder to breathe the more she struggled.
The unit hauled out from the wall, juddering until it sat halfway out.
Her brow creased and sweated, as she continued to glow blue, and brighter as she forced the unit from the wall.
Kuril's eyes darted as a bullet ricocheted off his chest plate, he spied Miranda, her aura a distraction in the corner of his eye, and furrowed his brow plate. "I'll kill you all—!" The shriek of metal on metal above, drove him spin around and peer up to see the cell unit floating overhead.
And Miranda released, falling to the ground with a thump.
The warden's screams were drowned out as the unit dropped onto him, crushing him beneath its mass, rending him into a putrid pool of blood and bones and fire. Sparks and debris shot into the air as the unit groaned on the ground.
Garrus stood, scanning the loading bay with his visor.
"We're clear." He said, grabbing a thermal clip from a dead guard for his rifle.
Snake stood, and rushed over to Miranda with the turian in tow.
Mordin, pushed her delicately onto her back, and inspected her. He lifted her eyelid to see her pupils flicker and danced away from the light he shined in them.
Blood swelled and oozed slowly from her nose, dripping down the smooth curve of her cheek.
She groaned, but made no effort to move. "I'm fine…" She uttered tiredly.
Mordin peered up at Snake with a positive gesture of his head. "She will be okay. Will need food and water. Rest."
Snake nodded. "Move." He said, and knelt down beside the Cerberus agent while Mordin stood away. He scooped Miranda in his arms, lifting her and adjusting her weight without discomforting her.
Garrus stepped past them. "I'll take point. Mordin, bring up the rear." He said and headed for the exit. The salarian covered them from behind as they exited the loading bay and headed down the tunnel leading back to their ship.
From the gate beyond, they could hear gunfire, but it lasted only moments.
The group took cover behind the right side of the wall before Garrus and Mordin entered first.
They were greeted by that of a furious girl, her fist bashed against the window, and she glowed a pale blue when she kicked a dead mercenary high into the air and away from her. A string of curses escaped her breath.
She turned to face the group, her brow a furrow. She squeezed her fist tight, the glow of blue danced on her skin in a terrifying ballet.
"What the hell do you want?" She seethed.
Garrus raised a hand and lowered his weapon as a gesture of trust. "Jack, relax, we're busting you out."
Jack shook her head as she paced left to right.
"Fuck off. I'm not going anywhere with you. You're Cerberus."
Mordin stepped forward, lowering his weapon with Garrus. "Need you. Here to ask for help." He interjected.
"You show up in a Cerberus frigate to take me away somewhere. You think I'm stupid?" The woman scoffed, gesturing to the Ishmael outside. Snake followed her gaze and saw the Cerberus logo gleam in the light of the nearest start on the hull of the ship. He exhaled slowly.
Miranda stirred against him, and he adjusted her weight accordingly.
He began to walk past Jack, who stepped away from him.
"This ship is going down. You can come with us, or die here." He said as he continued down the corridor toward the airlock that would lead them back to the Ishmael.
Mordin followed after Big Boss, taking point.
Garrus was all that remained in the hall with her. He moved to follow the others, but stopped and turned to face her.
"Look— we're flying Cerberus colours, but we're far from what Cerberus is known as. Come with us, and at least hear what we have to offer." He said.
The girl paused. She looked back to the ship, then back to Garrus, and swallowed.
"… Shit." She said and nodded, following the turian after Big Boss.
They exited Purgatory and entered the Ishmael. The ship unfastened itself from the space station and flew away, jumping away at FTL speeds just as the Purgatory exploded into millions of bits and pieces, scattering the system in debris, shrapnel, and element zero.
Big Boss entered the med-bay, and set the unconscious woman down in one of the beds ordered by Dr. Michel, as Mordin filled her in on the womans condition.
Miranda's eyes open slightly, and she turned her head to Big Boss. "Did I get him?" She asked tiredly.
Snake smirked and nodded.
If she saw him past her tired eyes, she made no gesture, falling into a deep sleep.
He stood there for a moment, before he pulled one of the blankets from the overhead compartment and placed it over her. He turned to the female doctor conversing with Mordin.
"She'll be okay?" He asked.
Dr. Michel nodded and she set her tablet on the desk. "Yes, but she mustn't abuse her biotics like that again, she can risk serious brain damage if her L5 implant is shorted out, or worse." The doctor said, in a delicious French accent.
Big Boss nodded and left the med-bay, but not without a final glance to the sleeping agent.
Garrus and Jacob stood outside, the turians arms crossed as he leaned against the wall.
Jacob, a serious look on his face as he paced. He stood tall when Snake approached.
"How is she?" He asked.
Snake bowed his head. "She's fine. The doctor is looking after her."
Jacob sighed with relief. "Thank god."
Garrus whistled. "Hell of a thing she did, I've only seen asari do that kind of thing."
Snake nodded. He had watched her and Jacob throw people around with their… biotics. He was not entirely sure how it worked, his only frame of reference would have been the SKULLS from '85, slinging rocks at him through the air.
"Anyway, Jack is down at the sub-level, below engineering. Said she wants to talk with you." Garrus said, offering a brisk nod to the veteran as he returned to the forward batteries.
"I'm just gonna see how Miranda's doin'. Catch up with you later, Boss." Jacob said with a salute before he disappeared in the elevator.
Snake walked to the elevator and descended to the engineering deck below.
He had stopped down here once before, when he was inspecting the ship. Zaeed had set himself up in the disposal block, and he had a brief introduction with Gabriella Daniels and Kenneth Donnelly.
He found their close banter a welcome sight, a semblance of what Outer Heaven was before the fall. Friends, families, and sometimes lovers, maintaining a home for themselves in places that did not want them anymore.
That was one of the reasons why he was never strict on military regulations. His men and him, were always more family than soldiers in arms.
After asking Daniels where Jack was, Snake descended down the steps to the lower levels of Engineering.
The girl sat alone, her face half hidden in the shadows that loomed about. She looked up at Snake and offered a curt nod.
"Hey. I wanted to ask you something." She greeted.
Snake nodded, running his bionic hand over his scratchy beard.
"You sprung me and asked for my help. Why?"
He shook his head. "Human colonies are going missing. We're looking for them. They're being taken by a group called the Collectors."
Jack raised a brow. "Collectors?"
Snake nodded.
"Shit, only ever heard nightmares about them in the Terminus Systems."
She leaned forward, so the entirety of her face was exposed to the dark red that illuminated the wall before her.
"Well, I've survived this long by not doing favours, and taking what I need. You want my help, I want something too." She said pointedly.
Snake shifted on his feet.
"I'm positive there are Cerberus databases on this ship. I want to look at those files. See what Cerberus' got on me. You want me on your team, let me go through those databases." She said, now standing from her seated position.
Snake thought for a moment. He was not sure he even had the ability to extend that offer to her. But what harm could it do? If the Illusive Man was indeed keeping secrets, it was best to root them out and expose them. Snake would not become a tool for Zeroes and Patriots, not again.
So, he nodded, and agreed to give her access to the files, as soon as Miranda was up.
The girl scoffed, but complied. "Just tell me when I have access. Till then, I'll be down here when you need me."
Snake turned to leave, the gesture of his head an acknowledgement of the deal made.
She returned to her seating position, and took in hand the tablet she had been using before.
"Name's Jack, by the way. Who are you?" She asked after him.
He stopped at the foot of the alloy stairwell, and turned back to face her. "Big Boss."
"Big Boss?" She stifled a laugh, as if she did not believe him.
"I'm not calling you that. Any other names?" She prodded.
He pondered for a moment before he spoke. "Snake."
Jack raised a brow, but went with it. "Thanks… for busting me out, Snake." She said.
He could hear the genuine in her voice, though it was masked by trained sardonic vigor. He nodded in response, and returned back to the CIC. Kelly turned and saluted him as he exited the elevator. "Big Boss, you have unread messages at your terminal."
Snake stepped over to the console and conjured the menu; quicker than last time as he started to become used to the operating system.
He remembered an older Big Boss, one that used to struggle with the use of computers. It had taken him ages it seemed, to get used to the iDroid when R&D presented it to him.
Snake, however, found computers and technology were more of the same over the years. Even now, centuries later, holo-keyboards were still modeled after QWERTY keyboards, and guns still fired straight when you aimed them. Everything still required the use of a button or an instrument of some sort.
He recalled seeing the movie, Aliens, in his time at Mother Base with his Diamond Dogs during Peace Day.
They had decided to play the movie on a projector, against one of the walls of the Medical Platform. He did not remember much from it, not at all— but he remembered the machines, he remembered the rusted and beaten tools; dirty from overuse.
This world was not much different from what he saw. As they explored the Omega station, he had seen many of the same things that he remembered from that horror film— rust and dirt, used tools and machines, and jobs people did not really want. The only difference was the aliens were numerous in species, intelligent and carried guns as well.
He blinked before he realized that Chambers was trying to get his attention. He cast her a curious look.
"I was just saying; Mr. Moreau wished to speak with you when you had a moment." She informed him.
He nodded and walked through the CIC to the front of the ship, where Joker sat silently.
"Joker." Snake called to him.
The pilot spun around with a loud shush. "Shhh-shshsh-sh!"
Snake stared down at him stoically.
"I can tell… when it's listening." He whispered under his breath.
The sphere beside him blinked in response. "I am always listening Mr. Moreau." EDI replied.
"I know!" Joker groaned audibly.
Snake smirked and he leaned on one foot, and crossed his arms over his chest. "You needed something?"
Joker nodded. "I got a hail from my old CO in the Alliance, David Anderson. He asked me the usual things— what I'm up to, how my aunt is, where the hell I've been and why I haven't reported for duty. I may have let slip the mission details about Reapers and Collectors, he says he wants to meet you."
Big Boss shifted on his feet. He remembered from the recent history he skimmed that the Systems Alliance was humanity's governing body on the galactic scale.
"Why?"
Joker looked at the floating sphere to his right before leaning forward to Snake, and covered the view of his mouth with an open hand as he whispered. "I may have told him Cerberus was looking into the missing colonies and that they… brought you out of the freezer."
"Mr. Moreau; that is a violation of Cerberus conduct." EDI's voice informed.
Joker scoffed and backpedaled. "I didn't tell him about mission details!" He defended. "He was captain for the Normandy, Shepard didn't trust anybody more than him. He says he might have information that could help us. Off the record."
Snake ran a hand over his beard. "Where is he?"
The pilot propped his chin onto his fist. "He's at the Presidium on the Citadel. Should I tell him to break out the fine china?"
One of their potential recruits was on this Citadel, and more intel was always preferable to no intel.
"Fine. We'll pick up our next recruit, then meet this Anderson." He said with a nod.
"Will do, Boss. We still have about a day's worth of travel. Hope you brought a book to read." The pilot said, his seat spinning around to face the controls.
Snake turned and walked down the path, back to the CIC.
Hope you enjoyed! AThousandSuns