II

Marcus Dienz had all but given up on seeing his old protégé once again. To find him here, inside the innermost sanctum of Cerberus, was a gift beyond measure. And he intended to savor and take advantage of every moment of this reunion.

"How does it feel? Was it just like you remember? All your sense-s firing, the feel of the gun in your hands, scoping your targets. The pull of the trigger as you become one with the fates, passing final judgment upon the wick-ed..."

The old general could see that his words stabbed and twisted inside Dylan. He plunged deeper into the wound, drawling and seething.

"You were a great soldier, Dylan; one of the best. Could've even been the first human Spectre yourself if you kept at it. When you're that good, the training never really leaves you… so how's that little fam-ily of yours –?"

Dylan pressed down on his remote and cut off Dienz's gloating. Dienz yelled out and gritted as he instinctively grabbed and pulled at the drill although he could not remove it. Dylan released the remote button.

"Good seeing you, too… sir!" he spat. "Where's the Illusive Man?"

Dienz managed a smirk through his pain "That is –such- a ri-diculous name… Jack always had a flair for theatrics…"

"WHERE IS HE?"

"GONE… Dylan! Disappeared and left every-thing behind! Tell me… why are you looking for him now?"

Hannah drew her Phalanx pistol "That's none of your fucking business, Marcus!"

Dienz acknowledged the dreadnought captain "Ahhh, Hannah… as lovely and as fiery as ever." He seemed to have no fear of the woman training a weapon on him that could scatter his skull about the chamber with one shot. He cocked his head to one side "I remember long ago when I sooo wanted you to be mine…"

"In your sick imagination, maybe! I was never yours!"

"No, you were no-t. You repaid my loving attentions with a kick in the nuts. But Dylan, he found the way to your heart. He was gooood like that, an artist. Back in the day, the mind was his medium. He could size you up; exploit your weak-nesses. He could do far greater damage with words than a frigate could do with TAC missiles!"

Hannah's eyes winced but her arm did not waver. Her husband glanced back at her hoping she was not reading too much into Dienz's taunts. Dylan's former life in black operations was lies and deception, but his love for her and their child was always true.

"That's what made him perfec-t for my team, our new team. He was young, moldable but bright and innovative, a counterweight to our more traditional method-s. He... became the third and final head… of the feared guardian of the Underworld!"

Miranda breathed out in astonishment at Dylan "…you helped create Cerberus…"

Hannah's grip on her Phalanx shook "Bullshit! You're lying… tell me he's lying!"

All Dylan could do at that moment was lower his eyes and swallow hard, placing his remote on the floor. The one dread secret he had hoped to keep was out in the open. When he first allied himself with Marcus Dienz in his more naïve days to form the mercenary group, he had no inkling of the heights of power it would reach and the depths of depravity it would sink to in the years to come. Hannah began to tremble from Dylan's silent admission and lowered her pistol. They risked their careers and their lives to help their daughter only to be confronted with the dark truth that the father helped sire the current bane of Cadrina Shepard's existence. Miranda gained new insight into why Dylan had been kind to her, protecting her from his wife's initial ire. He also sought redemption for his life with Cerberus and saw within Miranda a kindred spirit. She saw him mustering all he had to steel himself and could empathize with the regret and remorse that even half a lifetime in his current service of rescue technician could not fully placate. It forced her to look back on her own reasons for going on this mission and what she intended to do when it was finally completed.

Dienz absorbed the atmosphere of shock and misery amongst his captors with gusto.

"Now, don't you fret none, Hannah" Dienz winked and sucked his teeth "He's innocent. He left before the real fun started. Before the 'Illu-sive Mannn' took over everything. We were much smaller then, less… publi-c. Like the Spectres, we brought down those who would threaten our country's interests and security when officials couldn't be bothered to get their hand-s dirty. We devoured the flesh and left no trace. We kept the dead and the past bur-ie-d. But then one day… Dylan wanted out, got a taste for a new life. And he got out! He left a hole that was nigh im-possible to plug up. I could never find another mentalist like him, so I had to settle for a patrio-t instead… Jack… Harper..."

"… AKA Illusive Man," Dylan added, trying to regain control of the situation. "Looks like he outsmarted you too, Dienz!"

"HE WAS NEVER SMART!" Dienz grated through his teeth." …somehow he got smar-t!"

Dylan hit a raw spot in the general. Cerberus was the brainchild of Marcus Dienz, but the beast was no longer his to control and he spent the next several years plotting to take it back. Dylan remembered the one other occasion Dienz confronted him in person since their tumultuous parting to try to convince him to return. Dylan had used his meager network of well-placed informants and personal knowledge of key assassinations and operations to keep Dienz at bay. He checked in on his dealings from time to time, but it was never his intention to return, take leadership or undermine Dienz's activities in any way. Dylan Shepard simply did not want to carry on as an operative anymore. He just wanted to be left alone.

"After the First Contact War, something chan-ged in him," Dienz explained "Jack kept going on about an impending alien threat that humanity was ill prepared for. Insisted we expand our operations, work to evolve humans and create an army to meet the invaders head on. We dismissed him as a rambler – the turians were restrained by the Council and there was no evidence at the time of any looming threa-t. But he was a crafty son-of-a-bitch! He gathered his own little cadre of sympathizers, just like you did, Dylan. He started to take over, slowly, quietly. When we finally got wind, he stood up proud and tall before us and said that we had outlived our useful-ness. Our services… MY SERVICES… were no longer required. Brannock and I wouldn't stand for that; he knew we wouldn't. So Jack the Illusive Man flexed his new muscle-s… made an example of Brannock."

"I know… 'Accidents can be your friends,'" Dylan recalled one of Dienz's old adages. Through his private sources, he learned that Colonel Gabriel Brannock, the other head of the early Cerberus, was investigating element zero traffic that the Illusive Man was suspected of re-routing only to end up killed in a collision with a cargo transport hauling a shipment to a fledgling human colony.

"He left me alive, powerless…" Dienz continued "Out of respect for my being 'the first father' of his new empire. I was relegated to a desk, completely cut off. One step out of line and I was dea-d!"

"You had to have seen reports, heard rumors of the artifacts being discovered," Miranda interrupted. "Illusive Man is obsessed and manipulative, but he's no fool. He saw the danger long before anyone else did. The Reapers will destroy every last living thing… including those in your be-loved country. But you don't really care, do you? You only saw this war as an opportunity. Your only concern was revenge!"

Dienz cast his glare upon Miranda and wheezed out a chuckle that gave her chills; he gave the impression that he knew quite a few things about her as well.

"Aren't yooou… the insight-ful one?" he grinned. "Yes, I had to bide my time, wait for an opening. I couldn't be bothere-d with theories and speculation. My 'concerns' were Cerberus and Harper, seeing how well his ef-forts to build his "army" were coming along. It was quite easy to get your father's support once you signed up with the new outfit. We had both been wronged by the Illusive Man. Your father... was extreeemely helpful in assembling a new team committed to my cause. If Cerberus was to be the one to deliver humanity from darkness… it would do so under its RIGHTFUL leader-ship!"

Miranda rued speaking out of turn. She went to Cerberus volunteering her services and loyalty in exchange for protection from a wrathful father, to protect her sister as well. Miranda's father promptly withdrew his support for the organization, likely at Dienz's urging. She considered with trepidation what her father and the general may have agreed to do if she were encountered in the campaign to retake Cerberus. Was she to be brought back alive? Or was she to be eliminated along with Jack Harper as a traitor?

Dylan had risen and walked close to one side of Hannah, taking her shoulder. Miranda remained where she stood. They were a helpless audience cast in doubt, their bid for retribution denied. Dienz shifted in place still grasping the drill in his shoulder. They clearly wanted to learn what became of the Illusive Man, but there was not much time left; Dienz needed to finish. He imagined what looks of horror or anguish their faces would contort into with what he was about to reveal next.

"So, with everybody focused on the Reapers, my team and I made final preparations for a sneak attac-k. We had already captured a Cerberus agent, a cell leader with base schematics and a very uni-que piece of equipment, a quantum entanglement communicator. Direct line to central headquarters, untraceable; a prize find but useless since we couldn't exactly eavesdrop with it. And then suddenly… fortune smiled. An alert came through on the communicator; a class one, all hands on deck emergency! Headquarters was under siege by the undead forces the Reapers whipped up and they were calling for reinforce-ment-s. I thought it might well be a trap, but if true… it was better than I hoped. We would charge in to the rescue, gain the allegiance of some of Harper's people… and then make an example of him to the rest!"

"As you've seen on your way here," Dienz went on "It was chaos. We fought to within an inch to secure any ground we could. The flesh eaters were coming in on ships they'd hijacked, so we blew them out of the stars. Nineteen hours after we arrived, we repulsed the first wave. I had prevailed. Turns out I didn't have to work so hard to gain trust. Jack Harper had abandoned them, sold them out to the Reapers. They said he was indoctrinated, hypnotized into obeying them. It didn't matter; so long as he was out of the way. He didn't even bother to wipe his servers. Like it didn't matter anymore who else might go browsing through his data. I quickly set up shop and got up to speed, to see if anything in there confirmed field reports, shared my findings with the others… he's been a bus-y little bastard… and he has such plans for your daughter, Dylan!"

Dylan spoke for his wife and himself "He brought her back so she could go after the Reapers and salvage their technology for himself." He declared with pride "His scheme blew up on him. She told us everything..."

"Did sheee?" drawled Dienz, pausing a moment to take in the pulse of uncertainty in Dylan's face his utterance caused. He looked back to Miranda.

"Want to fill him in on what dear Cadrina left out or should I? After all… you were the head of Project Lazarus!"

Miranda cringed, the eyes of her commander's parents wounding her inside. Dienz took great pleasure in the new misery he was inflicting on them and he had only just begun.

"Ah, didn't tell you that, did she? Two years under this test tube beauty's watchful eyes. This wench, who wanted a control chip jammed into your daughter's brain! Jack… had something else in mind..."

Miranda began to wilt even more under everyone's scrutiny.

"Your little Cadrina… is the key to finding and restoring a prothean mind control wea-pon. Jack had reams of notes and writings from the scientist that built it-t, assorted prophecy and other mumbo jum-bo. But this Interface weapon… Jack's no fool, all right! Reaper indoctrination is amateur hour compared to this thing: the ability to reach in the minds of multitudes, the span of the entire galaxy, to make your will their ac-tion. No pain, no struggle, your thoughts are their thoughts. Think them dead and they will be. The ultimate wet dream of psych warfare, Dylan! And Cadrina Shepard will make it possible! See, Jack made some… modifications while she was on the slab with the help of an unwitting aide, a nutrient IV and some nanite-s. Neurokinetic taps: microscopic, bleeding-edge tech, far more elegant than a control chip. Oooh, it's beautiful. They're lined throughout her nervous system. When Jack flips the switch, the Alliance's Angel will be a pup-pet on a string. She can shout to the hills, but she'll only be along for the ride. Seems this Interface can only be used by her, will only recognize her thought patterns. And through her… Jack will wipe out the Reapers and then take control of us all. All the races of the galaxy at his command. From womb to tomb, from generation to generation…. for all eter-nity..."

Hannah and Dylan were dumbstruck and could not bring themselves to speak or move. What more would Dienz reveal of his exploration through the Illusive Man's classified data? Silent tears flowed from Miranda, her kinship with her commander's family in peril of coming undone.

"Aww, I'm so sorry, my dear. I just remembered: Jack never told you any of this. Might have affected the fine work you were doing. You were so tender, so loving to Cadrina, making sure everything was per-fect. Making sure she came back ex-actly as she once was. It must have been quite a rewarding experience to restore life to her, to see her up and about again saving the galaxy… the closest you would ever come… to being a mo-ther!"

Dienz spared no one, trying to drive wedges between them. Even knowing about Miranda's secret pain of infertility, yet another denial of the chance to live her life as a regular human being, even if she and her offspring would enjoy certain genetic advantages. Miranda's rage threatened to overwhelm her; she wanted nothing more than to tear out the old man's leering grin along with his heart. But that honor should be reserved for Dylan, she determined. If anything, General Dienz should only suffer. Make him endure double the pain he so eagerly doled out. Miranda drew her Phalanx and fired a round into Dienz's right leg. Dylan called out to her, his lower half dotting with the general's blood. Hannah's countenance flickered in silent approval of her action. Dienz's eyes squeezed shut as he grunted loudly.

"Let's just leave, Dylan!" Miranda choked out, lowering her pistol "Let the bastard bleed out! There's nothing more here; let's just leave...!"

Dylan was torn between wanting to comfort Miranda and remaining with his wife. Hannah watched as Miranda gasped and sniffled, placing her hand where Dylan rested his. She stroked it gently, giving her consent. Dylan released Hannah's shoulder and went to Miranda, gently taking her shoulders and trying to coax her into his arms to show that in spite of all that was said, she had no reason to fear or expect hatred. Miranda hesistated, then allowed herself to be cradled, shutting out thoughts of Dienz's venom. She could feel Dylan's breath upon her forehead as her head and hand settled on his chest, exorcising the last of her heartache. Miranda was grateful for his gesture. What she never received from her own father, she was being given by another.

It was Hannah's turn to question the general, risking another verbal bombshell. A nagging suspicion had grown inside her, but she wanted confirmation. She wanted to hear it straight from Dienz's lips.

"Why didn't you go after him, Marcus?" Hannah stomped her foot to get his attention "HUH? You'd be part of Jack's puppet show, too..."

"I told you…" he groaned "He wants to bring down the Reapers… but they're also working their own mojo on him… he's probably... pretending to cozy up… while he's tracking your daughter… sneaky shit… built himself a little army after all… QE lines to secret cells of shock troopers… probably for extreme emergencies… he hadn't deployed them yet… we were spread too thin…going after him was out of – AAAAUGGGH…! GOD…DAMMI - GGGAAAGHH!"

Hannah discharged her own pistol into Dienz's abdomen. She then dropped down and picked up Dylan's drill remote and jammed its switch. The drill spun at full speed as she grasped it, twisting and turning it in Dienz's shoulder, shorting it out. Hannah squeezed hard on his neck as he wailed in agony. Miranda and Dylan ran over and pulled Hannah away, holding her arms as she tried to kick free, screaming.

"YOU FUCKING COWARD – YOU SENT THEM! YOU SENT THEM AFTER HER!"

Dienz coughed violently, grasping and rubbing his throat. Dylan held Hannah's shoulders tightly and shook her, urging her to calm down. Miranda, now more composed, cupped the back of Hannah's neck gently. She also held her hand and squeezed. Hannah squirmed against Dylan's grip but then complied. Her breaths became steadier. Miranda forced a smile that quickly melted away when she caught a glint of fire in Hannah's gaze at her. Dylan needed to have his companions sufficiently occupied while he settled his affairs with the bitter general.

"Hannah, listen to me… Hannah! Start - start uploading as much data as you can to the shuttle's server banks. Miranda… I want you to help her…"

Miranda bobbed her head in the affirmative.

"He sent them to kill our baby, Dyl!" Hannah mewled.

"I-I know... Get to the chair, start cracking the server. He's my garbage. I'll deal with him…"

Hannah slid away from Dylan to sit in the Illusive Man's old control chair, calling up a holgrammatic display. Miranda stood over her shoulder to provide assistance and support as she was directed. Dylan stood over his former comrade-in-arms once more.

"You never stop, do you? My wife! Me! And now CADY!"

"Lisssten, you… sh-sh-shi-t…!" Dienz strained, bleeding from his wounds "Jack'ssss… sui-cide…! You'd be killed… In-indoctrinated… or turned inta one of these…things…!"

More anger bled into Dylan's face but he remained in control "Much as I'd love to see you burn… my offer still stands. Recall the troops and I'll let you drag your sorry ass out of this wreck! Which is more than you deserve!"

"C-c-can't… My…my orders were explicit… I… I showed them as well… the truth… they won't stop… till they're all dead… or she is...! She... mustn't… find it, Dylan!"

"Cady's got a brilliant scientist friend; he can remove the transmitters!"

"Toooo... ex-tensive… irr-irreversible… she… she has to die…"

As Dylan clutched Dienz's collar and prepared to strike him, the bulkheads in the chamber walls shivered and whined loudly.

"…j-just like you… Dylan…!"

Hannah switched on a view of the station's sensor net. As she typed in instructions and whipped her hand through screens, Miranda consulted the preliminary readings. The station was in the grip of a gravity wake, but they were too far from the system's sun for that to be the cause.

"It's not the sun's gravity," said Miranda "The station's not moving. Something's moving towards us... "

Dienz coughed again in grim amusement while Dylan lowered his fist.

"You only stopped… the second wave… you ... you should never have come here…It…has been… a truuue plea-surre - heh hah haah...! Third's one the charrrm!"

Dylan looked back to his wife and Miranda at the control chair. They were motionless, their faces pale against the orange glow of the holoscreens. An image on the main screen had them transfixed. The large, squid-like outline was unmistakable.

"Dylan...!" Miranda cried out "It's a Reaper!"

End of Part II

Author's Notes and Thoughts:

- In Mass Effect 2, when you hang around Joker on the Normandy long enough, one of the random things he'll say is "Cerberus… three headed dog… wonder why it's only run by one guy?"

- General Marcus Dienz… If you've seen Sin City, then you're familiar with Powers Boothe's role as Senator Roarke and his snarling delivery of his lines, which I tried to capture in Dienz. If the Illusive Man is suave, methodical and patient, Dienz is his antithesis: a drooling, angry dog out for blood, using the last few moments of his life to lash out at everyone in sight.

- In the comic Mass Effect: Evolution, Jack Harper (Illusive Man) was hit with a jolt from an artifact, likely of Reaper origin, which not only gave him visions of the coming invasion but also the ability to speak and understand other non-human languages. It's safe to assume that it may have boosted his overall intellect as well.

- QE – Quantum Entanglement

- In the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC, you get access to confidential information on your teammates on SB's ship. Miranda's file shows a doctor's test results confirming her sterility as a side effect of her genetic engineering as well as her failed efforts to find a suitable companion

Coming soon, the conclusion - Part III: Reap What you Sow