Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 14

David sighed as he opened the file, it had come too late to really matter but he supposed Captain Shepard would appreciate it. Commander Shepard had been posthumously promoted to Captain, a promotion he should have technically received once he took command of the Normandy since he was fulfilling the role. It was a surprise to notice that pressure had come from both the Asari and Turian governments to push it through and he wondered if Shepard's teammates had anything to do with it.

And it was a good thing it was confirmed because also among his messages were rumours he didn't believe for a second but knew others would. Shepard would have never worked with Cerberus or let everyone think he was dead. He had seen Liara, her grief had been deep and real, John would never have let her think him dead if it wasn't true. And Joker had seen him spaced, seen his suit leaking air. Their rescue ships had been the first in the area, if John had been alive they would have found him. So where were the rumours coming from…and why?

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Riku jerked awake, breathing heavily, clutching at his chest. He sat up and looked down, he was fine…he wasn't hurt…but it had felt so real. He pulled his shirt away and stared at the unmarked skin over his heart, why had he dreamed of being stabbed by the weirdest sword ever? There'd been…a voice…saying something…he'd fulfilled his role? A girl calling sadly, his name and another he couldn't quite hear.

He shook his head and got up, noting it was close enough to the time he needed to be up that there wasn't any point trying to go back to sleep. Being security head had its perks and he ducked into his shower, letting the hot water help wake him up properly. Once dressed he headed for the mess, exchanging greetings with the others in there. He noticed Wilson and Miranda at a table but they seemed to be arguing over something so he didn't join them.

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Joker grabbed the bars and pulled himself up to his feet. He could do this, he could. Slowly he took a step and then another, letting his weight rest on the bars. There was so much less pain than before! The muscles were weak from his recovery so he had to strengthen them but his legs weren't threatening to break under his own weight.

The docs said he'd be able to walk unaided once his recovery was done which was something he'd given up dreaming of. What had they done to him? He would probably sleep better not knowing though.

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"Tissue regeneration is proceeding. The helmet kept the brain intact…for whatever good that will do," Wilson reported.

"Lawson will find a way," he waved off the issue as if it was nothing.

"Sir you realise that with Shepard's history with Cerberus…"

"I'm not looking for a dance partner. We need Shepard, and Shepard needs resources. He'll work with us," he was sure of it. And he would make sure he had to, that he couldn't turn to his old 'team'.

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Kaidan entered the office and saluted. "Admiral."

"At ease Commander," Hackett told him. "Sorry to take you away from your unit but we have a mission for you."

"Yes Sir."

"Have you heard about the Colony disappearances?"

"Yes Sir," they hadn't been that cut off from news.

"The Council won't get involved, they said it's a purely human concern and our government is saying the colonist knew what they were getting into moving into the Terminus. But the investigations we've managed tell me that this isn't the normal slave raids or anything. The Colonies are totally empty but there's no sign of damage from a fight and all possessions have been left behind."

"You want me to look into it?" Kaidan asked.

"We'll be sending you to several colonies where you will help to set up defences and do some discrete investigating. We do have one suspect in the disappearances, one you've dealt with before, Cerberus."

"Cerberus?" He wouldn't have thought they'd have the staff after all the messes they'd cleaned up which had involved taking out their agents.

"They've been spotted at several of the empty colonies, whether they were to blame or investigating we don't know."

"Understood sir."

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Miranda read the latest reports, the work on Shepard was going well except for one problem. He remained brain dead, there was no recordable neural activity. If they couldn't get that then they'd wasted a lot of credits. There had to be a way. His limbs were replaced, cybernetics, cloned organs…they were working on stimulating skin growth now. Well, if they couldn't get his brain going at least he made a pretty corpse? She sighed and rubbed her temples; she'd been up too long if she was thinking that.

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Sora watched as Nyxeris set up her desk outside of her sisters' office. Liara's work had become involved enough that she needed a secretary and that was not a position Sora could or would want to fulfil.

The Shadow Broker had backed off a bit which was nice, she was getting sick of fending off attacks and she knew the local authorities were pleased as well, they had gotten tired of cleaning up after her.

She glanced down as her omni-tool signalled an incoming message alert, Admiral Anderson?

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David watched as an image of the younger T'Soni sister appeared in front of him. She smiled at him but he thought she looked a little stressed, and it was strange to see her out of armour. The ceremony after the Battle of the Citadel was the only other time he'd seen her in more casual clothing.

"It's good to see you Admiral," she greeted.

"And you too, Huntress. I understand your sister's set up on Illium?"

"Changing from archaeology to information brokering is an…interesting career change but she's doing well. And I'm no longer a Huntress, Admiral. I resigned to stay with Liara. She's…made some powerful enemies and while she's come a long way, she still needs someone to watch her back."

"Powerful enemies?" he asked in concern.

She glanced down at her omni-tool, doing something, and the connection wavered for a moment. Had she just increased the encryption? Now he was getting truly worried. "Do you know what became of Commander Shepard's' body?" she asked, seemingly changing the subject and he had a bad feeling.

"It was never recovered," he admitted. "There are still twenty missing bodies, the conditions on the planet were not suitable for retrieval. There have been some disturbing rumours lately, that he's alive and working with Cerberus."

Sora frowned. "I see…well, technically he is with Cerberus but he was definitely dead when they claimed his body."

"I beg your pardon?" he stood straighter, staring at her.

She crossed her arms, almost defensive. "I came into the hunt late," she warned, and he nodded in understanding. "Not long after the attack, mercenary forces landed on Alchera where they retrieved the Commanders remains. They were being paid by the Shadow Broker who we later learned planned to sell the body to the Collectors."

"The Collectors?" he asked in disbelief. No government admitted to their existence but he'd done enough work in the Terminus to know they did. They hired slavers and pirates to grab people but no one knew why.

"We don't know why and we can't exactly ask them. But they weren't the only ones who were looking."

"Cerberus," he growled. They had killed Kohaku, he had respected the Admiral, and he hadn't deserved to die that way. Akuze, Edolus, the Rachni…

Sora nodded. "Liara found out about both the mercenaries and Cerberus and went looking, teaming up with a Drell eventually. Cerberus approached them for help in retrieving Shepard's body and then I found them not long after. The Shadow Broker's forces were very determined to not let us find his body…but we did. He was preserved within a stasis capsule but the damage…" she shuddered slightly. "His armour protected his vital organs from re-entry but he was definitely dead."

"Did you give his body to Cerberus?" he asked, surely they wouldn't have.

"We did at Liara's insistence…because they said they could bring him back. But they have only had him for a few months, not long enough to have done that."

He shook his head. Cerberus planned to somehow bring Shepard back to life? The real him, or would it be a VI controlling his body, a clone? He understood why she had increased the encryption on their communications. "Why do they want Shepard?"

"We don't know, but we do know that Cerberus has been investigating the vanished human colonies. It is possible they seem him as a rallying point for the future fight against the Reapers."

David nodded; he could see that. Yes, the Council and Alliance had tarnished his reputation by being very public in their disbelief on the Reapers but as soon as they appeared everyone would turn back to Shepard for help. "So the search for Shepard led to her change in career?"

"Partially…we are still being hounded by the Broker's forces, though the attacks have slowed since he captured the Drell we were working with. He was originally employed by the Broker to slow Liara down, he changed sides once we found out about the Collectors. We don't know if he's dead or alive, and Liara is determined to find out, and take down the Broker."

"I see. If I hear anything about Shepard beyond these rumours, I'll let you know."

"We will do the same," she promised.

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"Our sims indicate that the Enhanced Defence Intelligence gives the highest combat improvement on frigates. Anything heavier and the ships react too slowly to benefit from EDI's advice."

"EDI?" The Illusive Man frowned.

"Oh, that's, uh…well, the boys in the lab came up with the name for her."

"For it… Good work. I'll take your recommendations on planned installation." The timing was working out perfectly for the SR-2.

"Sir, she…it can be very persuasive. If it were to turn a crewman, convince them to disable the shackles…well…"

"It's a cyberwarfare suite, Doctor. Nothing more." Scientists… Shepard's pilot had made some good suggestions for modifications to the original design of the Normandy. The SR-2 would be even better and with a shackled AI he would have eyes and ears everywhere along with control of the ship if necessary.

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Riku stood outside the lab, watching the work. At least Shepard looked like a person again and not a mess of half cooked meat. If it worked, how would Shepard react to just how many cybernetics were now in his body? There was some cloning involved, mostly when it came to his organs and skin, and Riku knew how hard that could be to adapt to. He'd needed a lot of therapy, but since Shepard wouldn't be aware of losing his limbs and was unconscious for the whole thing…maybe he wouldn't even notice?

Another Colony had vanished, they needed to push forward, but until they could find a way to fix the whole braindead issue they were stuck.

He walked away, heading for the security office to check the latest reports and video footage. They'd had to deal with a pirate raid a few weeks ago but they'd done well. The station had good barriers and a small fighter wing for defence. The pilots were good, they'd stopped the pirates before they could get close enough to even consider boarding. He'd been running security drills since, now they'd been found once the odds were good they'd be found again.

He didn't like how reliant the station was on security mechs, they could be hacked or even malfunction. There was a reason the Alliance didn't use them very often. But to keep down the number of staff it was necessary. They were running on as few staff as possible due to secrecy and probably because the project was over budget. Could Cerberus really take such a massive financial loss if they failed?

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Liara stared at the image on the screen, fighting tears. Getting into the Cerberus systems had not been easy and she almost regretted it now she was seeing it. John…he looked so much better than the last time she'd seen him. How could he look worse? She hadn't managed to get any of the reports on his condition, couldn't tell if he was breathing or not. But he had four limbs and even the stubble of hair on his head. That had to be a good sign, it had to be.

If only she could find even that much on Feron but there was nothing. She still couldn't get into the Broker's systems.

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"Project Lazarus is reporting neurological activity. They're requesting more funding."

He nodded. "Granted. Get me our potential recruits file. Shepard will be up soon and we'll need a crew," he told them, inhaling as he studied the reports coming in while talking to the two scientists. He'd had every faith that Miranda would find a way and she had not disappointed him.

"Our existing forces should be more than sufficient…"

"No," he cut her off. "We need sympathetic faces; I need Shepard invested. Tap Kelly Chambers and recruit Donnelly, I imagine Miss Daniels will follow. We'll want some old friends as well. Contact Dr Chakwas, and send me the latest files on Moreau…along with a bottle of '47 Thessia Red."

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Sora rolled over to see it was far too early to get up. Another dream, a glance of silver hair, a voice calling her name desperately. Silver hair wasn't possible except through dye, she'd checked the extranet. Though…there'd been that Alliance officer on the way back to the Normandy, though his hair had more of a blond tint to it, it had still been closer to silver than she'd seen. She'd found several shades of grey hair called silver but none were as truly silver as in her dreams.

Who was he and why did she dream of him calling her name so often? Should she talk to Liara about it…or an older Asari? Shiala maybe? She'd decided to stay on Feros to help the Colony after the Thorian had been destroyed. Maybe she would like to hear from her? Especially if word of the Normandy's destruction had made it to them.

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"There, on the monitors, something's wrong," Miranda frowned at the readings.

"He's reacting to outside stimuli. Showing an awareness of his surroundings… Oh my god Miranda, I think he's waking up," Wilson stared at her in shock and then looked to the table.

Miranda looked as well, seeing Shepard's eyelids moving. "Damn it Wilson, he's not ready yet. Give him the sedative," she snapped before leaning over the disorientated and barely conscious man. "Shepherd don't try to move. Just lie still try to stay calm," she warned him.

"Heart rates' still climbing, brain activities off the charts, stats pushing into the red zone… It's not working," Wilson called.

"Another dose now!" She ordered. She watched as slowly, Shepard's eyes closed again, body relaxing as the sedative kicked in. The problem with all the cybernetics was they increased drug resistance by crazy amounts.

"Heart rate dropping, stats falling back into normal range… That was too close we almost lost him."

"I told you the estimates were off, run the numbers again," she told him firmly.

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Joker wasn't an idiot and he'd known his ship, any good pilot made sure they knew their ship inside and out. So Cerberus might not be letting him see the plans or know everything even when getting his unput…but he knew they were making a new version of the Normandy. How had they gotten the plans for the original anyway?

A few months ago, he would have been on a call to Anderson or Hackett immediately over that but now? After the Alliance was writing Shepard off as nuts over the Reapers, after they'd clipped his wings…he didn't like Cerberus but the idea they could bring Shepard back and would give him a new Normandy, he could live with that. Besides, if it really was Shepard then she wouldn't be staying a Cerberus ship long.

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Garrus walked silently among the bodies, checking each one but none of them were alive. Ten dead and Sidonis…it had all been a trick, a trap for his men. He had trusted him and Sidonis had betrayed them. He grabbed what supplies were left in good enough condition before slipping away. They knew they'd missed him, missed 'Archangel', they'd be coming after him so he had to find somewhere just right to make his stand.

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Karin Chakwas stared at the message, she had to admit that she was curious. Such a thing should be impossible and yet those were definitely Shepard's scans and they were current as of two days ago. A clone? How could it really be him, no air and then re-entry…she knew what that would have done to him. There was even an image included and it looked like Commander John Shepard lying on that bed in a lab somewhere, hooked up to machines yes, but alive.

She wasn't made for working on planet, though Mars was a better posting than Earth but not by much. The chance to work with Shepard again…to do something good for the Galaxy was very tempting. Who knew what the Cerberus scientists might be doing to him, he would need a doctor he could trust. The Alliance and the Council didn't want to hear about the Reapers…or the now vanishing colonies but she'd bet the two were related somehow. And apparently Joker was there, helping with a new ship, and had even let them use experimental treatments on him, enabling him to walk without crutches. Both of those boys needed a keeper.

It looked like she'd made her decision and she called up the correct forms, putting in for a leave of absence. She doubted Shepard or Joker would be with Cerberus long. She also sent a message to Lieutenant Gregory Adams to let him know of the Cerberus offer, they'd need a trustworthy chief engineer to see what kind of traps Cerberus put on this new ship.

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Kaidan stared at the intercepted reports, it couldn't be true. The Commander would never do that, he wouldn't. They'd been friends, had seen what Cerberus did. And he was dead, Joker had seen him spaced, the failure of his suite. But…why spread rumours he was alive and with Cerberus if he was dead? It didn't make sense.

He looked out the window of the small room he'd been given. He'd be leaving soon for the next colony on the list, Horizon. So far, he hadn't found any evidence of Cerberus sniffing around, had helped set up defences for if the colonies were attacked…and he'd rather be back with his biotic squad. Once he'd left, he'd send a message to the Admiral and…the T'Soni sisters. They had different kinds of contacts, maybe they'd heard something. On second thought, he'd contact Sora, it would be cruel to ask Liara about rumours of Shepard being alive.

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Tali leant against the wall, looking out at the passing stars. After almost two years it still seemed strange to be back with the fleet, to be a respected member of the crew of the Neema. She was Tali'Zorah vas Neema now, she had duties and responsibilities…and hadn't even spoken to her father in months beyond answering some questions on the Geth she'd faced.

She missed the Normandy crew…Shepard, Liara, Sora, Garrus, Adams…even Wrex for all his grumpiness. She'd always known it wasn't forever, that she'd have to return to the Flotilla eventually, but Tali had thought she'd chose when to leave and that it'd be a happy occasion.

Tali sighed as she received a message, frowning at the information. Veetor'Nara, a young Quarian on his Pilgrimage was helping a human colony in the terminus and there was concern for him with the disappearance of several nearby colonies. A team was being sent to ensure he was safe and to bring him back or take him elsewhere, somewhere safer.

She did not believe it was the Geth behind the disappearances. She had contacted Admiral Anderson and he'd sent her the information he had. If it was the Gath, there would be structural damage, signs of battle, but there was nothing. Cerberus? They had seen nothing of the group since their attack on the Flotilla, was that because they were taking human colonists? But why? It was a concerning pattern no matter who was behind it.

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He stared at the stars, stroking his beard. It had been so long since the last war, since the last of those wielders had passed on, his final apprentice among them. So why, why did it almost seem as if he could sense two of them…the first two to die. Was it possible, had they been reborn? But it was the barest of a whisper of familiarity. Wherever they were, if it was them, they were far beyond his reach. Perhaps that was for the best, let them live their lives in the peace they had never gotten to experience after the war began.

TBC…