Chapter 2
Lykain was dreading this moment. Her constant fidgeting with the end of her braided ponytail, as she laid on the couch in the rec room, said as much. She was about to tell her team about their fresh addition, Lamont. While she knew they would be fine with an additional person, she had no clue on how they would react to him being ex-Cerberus. Well, all but one.
Sha'tal Vitae, an Asari Commando turned freelance mercenary, had a rather negative disposition towards Cerberus. Any description of her hatred for the organization could never properly measure up to the fury she would induce into herself when she faced them in battle.
Needless to say, she wasn't looking forward to breaking the news to her. Part of her couldn't help but prepare for the worst, which is why she wanted to reveal this before their training session. Not only could they let off some steam after the reveal, but Lykain would have a reason to be armed should Sha'tal go too far. She didn't want to kill her, but she would if she had to. As useful as Sha'tal was, she was also a liability because of her blinding rage.
Ultimately, Lykain knew that the other two would fall in line. Whatever grudges they may have with Cerberus, they were professional enough to set it aside. So, she did her best to put up a calm exterior.
As per usual, Karra Vark, a female turian, had arrived first. Clade in her typical black and gray medium armor, she strolled into the rec room with her sniper rifle in one hand and a bag of supplies in the other. On the left side of her head was her targeting visor. The holographic targeting system was off at the moment, but when activated, it emitted an orange targeting reticle.
"Hey Lykain," she said as she plopped the bag beside the couch. "Any particular reason we're training today?"
"There is."
"Feel like telling me?"
"When everyone is here."
"Huh, interesting." She stops to stare at Lykain for a moment to gauge what exactly was going on. "Must be something nerve-wracking with how fast your heartbeat is."
"Karra," she immediately turns her head towards her, "why don't you take your excellent hearing and shut it off for a bit? I'd rather not get anymore worked up than I already am."
"Okay, okay," she said as she raised her hands, "no need to jump down my throat here. Just curious about the sudden request for a training session."
Lykain pursed her lips as she sided-eyed Karra. She had worked with her long enough that she knew she wasn't being sincere with her innocent curiosity. She had stuck her nose into many places that it didn't belong, which often got her into trouble with her superiors and in several missions. It was, however, mostly made with the best intensions.
"How about just a hint?" Karra said after a few moments of silence.
"Ugh… I told you, not until everyone gets here," she said, throwing her head into the cushion of the sofa.
"I mean, it has to be big. Oh, maybe one of us is being kicked out."
"Say what?" Both Lykain and Karra turn and see Pumpkin, a female drell, and their other sniper of the group. "Why would anyone get kicked out?"
"No one is getting kicked out, Pumpkin. Don't listen to Karra and her desperate need to know what's going on."
"Well… what's going on, then?" Pumpkin said as she gets up on her tippytoes and clasps her hands together, looking as cute as she could.
Lykain couldn't help but smile and shake her head at Pumpkin's posture. While she couldn't claim to know a great number of drell in her life, she knew Pumpkin was unique. Besides her blood orange to light-orange-colored scales and sunset-colored eyes, her personality was practically over-the-top bubbly.
"Pumpkin," Lykain said as she got up from the couch, "I'm not going to say anything until everyone is here."
"Well, we're all here now." Sha'tal said as she passed through the doorway with a small bag slung over her left shoulder. "So, you might as well get started."
"Sha'tal…"
"Oh boy," Karra said with a slight chuckle, "this has to be about her with that jump from your heart."
Lykain snaps a harsh glance towards Karra. "Karra. Shut. The fuck. Up."
As flustered as she was, Karra's teasing completely flushed her nerves of any built-up anxiety. The easy-going person she liked to be was immediately replaced with the soldier the Alliance made her to be. She kept her steely gaze fixed on Karra to assert her dominance over the situation. Karra, familiar with the look, simply nodded at her.
"As Karra so blatantly said," Lykain said as she shifted her gaze to Sha'tal, "yes, a part of what I have to say involves you, Sha'tal."
"What is it this time?" Sha'tal said as she mimicked Lykain's stance and glare. "A reminder that I don't follow Alliance protocol? Maybe a reprimand for how much of a loner I am on missions. Or perhaps a scolding on how violent I am with our enemies."
"This isn't going to be another fight, is it?" Pumpkin said as she backed into the wall behind her. "I rather not see another fight."
"Depends on how she reacts to my news."
"Well, what is it?"
"We're getting an addition to our team."
"Wait… that's it?" said Karra.
"That's not so bad," Pumpkin said, letting the tension ease from her shoulders.
"Oh, I'm certain there's something else to this," said Sha'tal.
This is not how I wanted this to go down, Lykain thought to herself. Well, as always, it is what it is. Can't do anything more than to be completely blunt with it.
"You're correct, Sha'tal. The other half of this news is his prior affiliation. He's ex-Cerberus."
The room went dead silent with her reveal. As she bounced her focused between her team members, she noticed Karra was doing the same. It was unspoken, but she truly was her second-in-command, even though she was a bundle of trouble. Ultimately, both of their focus landed on their asari friend.
As per her usual look, she was cold and unemotive. The only thing that gave her feelings away was her balled fists and biotic energy forming around them.
"Where is this Cerberus asshole?"
"Ex-Cerberus," said Lykain.
"Funny, I don't hear the difference."
"Stand down Sha."
"No."
"Please don't fight," Pumpkin said as she closed her eyes and rubbed her temples.
Sha'tal and Lykain turn to Pumpkin, both knowing what would happen next if they continued their confrontation.
With a deep exhaled breath, Sha'tal dropped her built up biotic energy. "I'm sorry, Pumpkin, but you all know my feelings about Cerberus."
"You mean the blood scattered stains you leave behind whenever we face them? Yeah, we couldn't tell."
"Fuck you, Karra."
"Love you, Sha."
"Enough," Lykain said as she held out her hands. "Lamont will be here in a matter of a few minutes, so get your shit together, Sha. As for the rest of you, give him a chance."
"Oh, I'll give him a chance," Sha'tal said as she threw her bag on the couch.
"I swear to god Sha," Lykain said as she closed the distance between them.
"Shh," Karra said sporadically. "He's here."
The journey to the Alliance base of operations wasn't too difficult to find, seeing that it was next to one of C-Sec's command bases. After asking a few questions about where to go, he eventually made his way to the training rooms and to the rec room Lykain had mentioned to him. Though, as he neared the panel to open the door, a wash of nerves came over him.
Okay, yeah… this is going to go rather well or not at all. Okay… breathe Lamont, breathe.
The moment he hit the panel to open the door, he heard someone make a shushing sound.
Great…
Taking in one last breath, he entered the room and addressed himself to whoever was in the room. In front of him stood three individuals. Lykain was the first person he locked eyes with before he took in a turian and an asari. Then from the corner of his eye, he saw the fourth member of the team, a drell. The turian looked rather average to him, though she was taller and wider than what he had seen on average. As for the drell, he noticed she was smaller than the rest of the team. Her uniquely colored skin made her instantly pop like no one else. However, it was the asari that made him pause.
The instant his eyes locked in with hers, he knew she was the one Lykain had talked about. "If eyes could kill", was the phrase that quickly popped into his head. The absolute look of disgust and hatred she was sending towards him made his stomach turn.
"Uh, hi everyone," he said with a forced smile.
"Ah, Lamont," Lykain said as she heavily patted Sha'tal's shoulder. "Everyone, this is Lamont Cranston. He'll be joining our team for the foreseeable future. He comes highly recommended from Hackett, so his skills will definitely amplify ours."
"Well, I certainly hope so," Lamont said as he set his gear aside.
"Pleasure to meet you, Lamont," Karra said before she gave him a slight nod.
"Hi Lamont," Pumpkin said with a smile and wave, which he returned.
"What's with the glasses?" said Sha'tal.
"Sha'tal," Lykain said sternly.
"No, no, it's okay," Lamont said with his hands up slightly. "They're literally the most obvious thing about me right now."
"I would disagree," Sha'tal said as she fully turned to him.
Sensing a potential confrontation right away, he faces her and mirrors her stance. "It's actually a part of the reason why I fled Cerberus."
Lykain, also sensing the tension and potential conflict, moves in front of Sha'tal. "We don't have to get into this right now if you don't want to, Lamont."
"No, it's okay, LC. It's not my first time being challenged by someone who knows less than nothing about me."
"All I need to know is that you're Cerberus," Sha'tal spatted.
"Was Cerberus. And if anything, my team and I were only tasked with dealing with the scum that raided Elysium."
"How honorable," she said as she crossed her arms. "Does that just magically exonerate you from all the shit they've done?"
He felt the anger bubble up in him as the memories of what happened on Elysium flashed in his mind. Though, when she asked her question, he recalled some of the other things he did while with Cerberus. Things that Cerberus kept hidden on the true purpose of their kill missions. People who betrayed Cerberus.
His face softened as relaxed his stance. "No. No, it doesn't. I'll live with those mistakes for the rest of my life. Though, to be perfectly clear, I didn't fully understand the ulterior motives of Cerberus until it was too late."
"Convenient," she then looks to Lykain, "we're not actually going to believe this tall tale?"
"I believe he's earned the right to tell his story and prove that he's not what only you think he is." She turns to Lamont and nods. "Go ahead Lamont."
He nodded before he shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against a nearby wall. "Well, about two months ago, my suspicions about being lied to by my ex-superiors increased dramatically. They sent us to extract a bunch of scientists in one of their facilities. When we got there, everyone was dead and the place nearly destroyed."
"So what tipped you off?" Karra asked.
"The fact that there was no security footage of what happened. It had been wiped clean. Furthermore, their deaths seemed to be at the hands of their own security turrets. When I reported in, I was told to cease my investigation and to bring back the tech they were experimenting with. I did as I was told, though I snooped around when we returned. That is what got me into trouble…"
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The sounds of a whirling bone saw fills my ears as I feel them cut into the center of my ribcage. The pain was barely manageable as the painkillers they pumped into me started to wear off. Price to pay for all the experimental treatments they put us all through.
"Give him another dose," a masked man said as he looked at a nearby monitor. "His heart rate is about to spike again."
"Sir, he's on the verge of an overdose," said a more feminine voice behind Lamont. "If we give him anymore, it might kill him."
"Do it. His body can take it."
I feel them make the finishing cut just as they pump me full of sedatives again. Instantly, I no longer care what they do to me. I'm just a simple plaything for them to continue their experiments on. I look down at my chest and watch them bring down a device to spread open my rib cage.
"Secure his head strap."
My vision snaps back to the ceiling as the doctor behind me secures my head once again. I then feel the device slip in between the cut made in my ribcage. When I hear and feel the first click of the device, I instantly utter out a guttural scream, but can only whimper through the tubes in my mouth. Another click, and my vision blurs. Then another, and another, until my ribs are spread apart.
"Push another half dose into him. We're almost done here. Are the implants ready to go?"
"Almost."
I struggle to turn my head to the other feminine voice to see the next experiment they're going to put into me. The crimson haired individual shifts and fiddles with the very thing I grabbed from the science base. A form of tech I've never seen before. Suddenly, a light blue light illuminates her face before she turns to the doctor operating on me.
"They're done."
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"They tried to enhance my vision through a chemical concoction and surgery. Highly dangerous, but seeing that I was becoming a problem, they were more than happy to see what would happen and then improve upon the results. Whether it was fate or sheer luck, I survived. Though I became extremely sensitive to light."
"Right so," Sha'tal started as she leaned into a hip, "you caught wind of how much of a shit Cerberus is, got caught, then experimented on in which they expected you to die."
"That about sums it up."
"Then how did you escape? You just walk out the front door?"
Pumpkin moves to stand next to Sha'tal. "That's stupid. There's no way he just walked out the front door… or did you?" she said as she stared at Lamont, in shock about the potential.
"No, no. I didn't just walk out the front door," he said, smiling and chuckling at her appearance and tone of her voice. "My team found out what had happened and… well… tore through the place to save me."
"Where's this team of yours now?" Sha'tal said, brow slightly raised.
"Safely in Admiral Hackett's hands. Even I don't know their whereabouts."
"How great for them." She turns to Lykain and gives her a look before grabbing her bag. "Let's get this training session started. I'm quite done hearing this story," she said as she headed to the locker room.
Once she was gone, Lykain looks at Lamont and shrugs. "Well, that went over better than I expected. You may have even won some points with her."
"I rather not have to go through that kind of point system," he said with a sigh. "But if I have to, then I hope I can accumulate more of them quickly."
"I hope so too," Lykain replied.
"Well, I believe you," Pumpkin said with a smile.
"Mostly," Karra said as she grabbed her own bag and headed off into the locker room.
"What?" Pumpkin said, sounding completely shocked. "What is there not to believe, Karra? Karra?!"
Both Lykain and Lamont watch Pumpkin run off after her, which brought a smile to Lamont's face.
"You have some group here, don't you?"
"That I do," she said as she crossed her arms. "However, Karra is rarely wrong when she figures out someone is lying." She looked at Lamont dead in his eyes, even though she couldn't see them. "What are you holding back or not saying?"
"To be perfectly honest, the less you know, the better off you all will be," he said after he sighed.
"That's not how this works, Lamont. If we can't trust you, then we can't work with you."
"I'm just another body in this war effort. That's all I ever need to be for this team."
"Again, that's not how this is going to work."
He let her words hang in the air as he tried to gauge what more she wanted out of him. It was clear to him she had worked hard to make this misfit group function. With his intrusion into the group, she had to do whatever she did with the others to make him fit.
"I'm sorry," he said as he looked down before looking back at her. "I suppose I'm still getting used to all of this," he paused once more before continuing. "I'll do my best to make my integration into this team as painless as possible. Just give me more time to settle in."
Lykain simply nodded, then looked to her right. "You should be able to find an available locker in that half of the locker room. Suit up and meet us back here in five."
"Aye, aye ma'am," he said before giving her a crisp salute.
She returned his salute, though smiled as she headed off in the other direction. "We gotta work on loosening you up."
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After getting confirmation message from Lykain about their training session, Admiral Hackett shifted over to his terminal and punches for a contact in his extremely long list of contacts. In less than a second, they answered the call, which showed a young, fair skinned Asari.
"Ms. T'Luris."
"Just call me Nalectra. Don't need to be reminded about my mother so often."
"I'm calling to let you know that Mr. Cranston is with Lieutenant Commander Karlid's team now," he said, completely unfazed by her comment, "and we have procured the apartment next to his for you. I believe this concludes our deal."
He leaned over to end the call, but Nalectra interrupted him. "Wait! There's something else I would like."
"I'm not about to alter the deal we made, Nalectra."
"Then a new deal. I want to join the team."
"Ms. T'Luris, I'm not about to let a civilian, let alone someone deeply connected with Mr. Cranston, jeopardize Karlid's team."
"I have something you can't refuse."
He paused for a second before he leaned forward. "Explain."
"I know people. People that can help the war effort. Commandos, mercenaries, maybe even a Justicar."
"Hmm…" Hackett said, as he rubbed the scruff on his face. "And your qualifications?"
"Ex-Justicar, Ex-commando, part-time mercenary. So, clearly not just a civilian."
"Give me the dossiers of these people, then we can talk."