Jacob

Jacob was trying to eat as fast as he could while still attempting to enjoy the meal. The food on the Lazarus Research Station was better than most, at least to him. Others grumbled about it, but, when you spent five years eating military rations, almost anything was a step up. So he wasn't going to complain.

What he really wanted, even more than evening chow, was to get some rack time. The day had been long and unexciting. Even though he was Miranda's top lieutenant, Jacob was not a scientist. That meant he was regulated to managing the day to day affairs of the station as well as its security. He didn't like his horribly mundane job, but it was the one he was given. He would see it through.

He returned his dishes to the kitchen and headed to his room. He was about half way there when Jacob felt a small vibration through the bulkhead. He thought his mind was playing tricks on him at first before a stronger tremor shook and made him stagger. It was accompanied by the distinct sound of an explosion.

Jacob's training quickly kicked in, and his weariness left him. He raised his omnitool to call the security control room.

"Control room, this is Jacob. What the hell is going on?"

There was no response.

"Control room! Ryan!" The radio stayed silent. "What the hell is happening?" he said mostly to himself. He tried one of the men he knew was on duty. "Calvin, report."

After a moment, a frantic voice came over the radio, accompanied with gunfire and more explosions. "Jacob! It's the mechs! They've gone berserk! They just started firing on everyone and trying to sabotage the station."

"What?! How did – never mind. Where are you?"

There was more gunfire and a burst of static. "I'm over by the dorms. They are closing fast. They already got Fitz. I don't know-"

The line went dead. Jacob tried to raise Calvin again but didn't have any luck. He started to move toward the dorms while answering a new call. A familiar voice broke.

"Jacob, what's the status?" Miranda asked.

"I'm not sure. There is a report of the mechs attacking our people and trying to destroy the station. The security control room isn't responding, and I don't know how many of the security personnel are left."

There was a pregnant pause before she spoke again. "Where are you now?"

"I'm on my way to the dormitories. One of my guys is there. I'm going to try to-"

"No. I need you to head to the medical wing."

"Miranda, there are people-" Jacob tried, exasperation evident in his voice.

She didn't allow him to finish. "There is only one person on this station that is worth the risk of hacking all of the security mechs. They are after him. The rest of us don't matter." There was another moment as she waited for his answer. "You know I'm right, Jacob."

He swore under his breath. "I'm on my way. Just. Be careful, Miranda."

"I always am."

The channel closed, and Jacob was off in the opposite direction of explosions and distant gunfire he was now hearing. He just had to hope that some of them would be able to defend themselves and make it to the escape shuttles.

Unfortunately, the medical wing was on the opposite side of the station, and it became evident that the entire automated security force had been hacked like Miranda said. Jacob crossed through many rooms where the machines had systematically cut down everyone. It seemed they didn't run into much trouble either. There were only a few sparking mech corpses scattered about in the carnage.

As Jacob closed in on the medical wing, he ran into more and more opposition. The question was whether the increased mech presence was due to them closing in on their target or someone was trying to stop him.

He almost made it to the offices in the medical wing when he was overwhelmed by a constant stream of security droids. He took cover behind a set of metal seats, dipping in and out to fire and keep the machines at bay.

Jacob ejected a spent thermal clip, reached into his ammo pouch, and started to worry. He hadn't been ready for an all-out assault from inside the station, and his ammo supply was quickly dwindling. He didn't know how much longer he could last against this onslaught.

Then, he noticed an armored man emerge from the door that leads deeper into medical. He couldn't really see who it was in the craziness of the firefight. He knew it wasn't anyone from his security team, but he was human and wasn't firing at him. Jacob wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth as the old saying went.

The man glanced at the mechs keeping both of them pinned down before catching Jacob's eye and nodding at him. He knew what the newcomer wanted him to do. He popped out from behind the seats and started shooting, giving the man cover as he made his way to Jacob's position. One of the mechs' head was blown clean off, but three more took its place from another room.

Jacob ducked back into cover and instantly recognized the armored man. "Shepard?!" he exclaimed. "What the hell? What are you doing here? I thought you were still a work in progress."

"Listen," Shepard said curtly, "I was just woken up five minutes ago in some hospital room by some woman. Everything I've come across since then has been trying to kill me. I don't know where I am, and I don't know what is going on."

"Yeah, sorry. I forgot this was all new to you right now. I'm Jacob Taylor. The woman who woke you was probably Miranda Lawson. We've been stationed here-" A shot pinged off the metal seats in front of them, causing both of them to duck a bit lower. "Damn it! Things must be worse than I thought if Miranda's got you running around. I'll fill you in, but we better get you to the shuttle first."

"No," he answered firmly. "I'm tired of being led around like a dog on a leash. You need to tell what I want to know before I go anywhere with you."

Another bullet whizzed by closer than Jacob would have liked. "Fine. But we need to take care of-"

Jacob was interrupted by the Spectre quickly standing and emptying his clip into the three mechs. All three had bullet marks on their chassis, and none of them had their head intact. No more entered the room.

"Damn, Commander. The vids kept saying you were the best soldier in the Alliance. I thought it was just something they said to drive up recruitment, but now I can see they weren't wrong."

His face remained stony and cross. "Answers, Taylor."

He nodded. "Right, sorry. I'll give you the quick version. You and your ship were attacked and destroyed by an unknown assailant. You were killed. Dead as dead can be when they brought you here. Our scientists spent the last two years putting you back together. You've been comatose, or worse, that entire time. Welcome back to life."

Shepard's expression quickly changed to a look of shock, not that Jacob could blame him. It was a lot to take in.

"I… That's… I'm having trouble wrapping my head around this."

"Yeah, I can imagine. The Alliance officially declared you killed in action. The whole galaxy thinks you're dead, Commander."

Worry appeared his face. "What about the rest of my crew on the Normandy? Did any of them make it out alive?"

Jacob nodded while noting how quickly the man's emotions were changing. It wasn't indicative of the stoic Spectre the Alliance boasted about. "Just about everybody survived. A few servicemen from the lower decks didn't get out. Navigator Pressly was killed in an explosion on the bridge. But everyone else, including the non-Alliance crew – the asari, Liara, and the turian, Garrus – they all made it out alive."

"Good," Shepard answered, relieved. "Do you know what they are doing now?"

"I don't. It's been a long time. They've moved on, left the Alliance. Could be anywhere."

"I need to look for them, let them know I'm alive."

Jacob knew the Illusive Man wouldn't want his new operative wasting valuable time on a search for old friends, but Shepard didn't need to know that. "Maybe you can track them down after we get off this station. If you're ready to move,-"

He held up a hand. "Not yet. I still have questions. I don't know where I am still, and I don't know if I trust you yet."

"Okay. Where to start?" Jacob took a moment to gather his thoughts. "We are on a deep-space station that was designed for Project Lazarus, designed to rebuild you. I'm in charge of the station's security. Usually it's a lot more dull then this. Normally, I don't fire my weapon unless it's target practice. Before this, I served for five years in the Alliance."

Jacob noticed the commander visibly relaxed at the mention of his previous marine experience. It was probably the only common ground the man had discovered in the middle of this insanity.

"You said they spent two years rebuilding me," he said, the edge to his voice mostly vanished. "How bad were my injuries?"

"I'm no doctor, but it was bad. When I first saw you, you were nothing but meat and tubes. Anywhere else, they would have put you in a coffin. But Project Lazarus was different, cutting edge technology."

Shepard tensed. "What does that mean? Cybernetics? Am I a clone?"

"I don't know the details," Jacob answered as he shook his head. "You'd have to ask the scientists. But I'm pretty sure you're not a clone. They wanted to bring you back exactly as you were. Miranda, the lead on this project, made sure that you are still you. You just may have some extra bits and pieces."

Shepard took a minute, and Jacob was more than willing to give him the time. He couldn't imagine what was going through the man's head. It sounded too bizarre, too ridiculous, too fanciful. If he didn't see the before and after pictures himself, Jacob would have thought what they had accomplished here was impossible.

Taylor felt more explosions shake the station. "Listen, I know that this is a lot to process, but we can't stay here much longer. We need to get to the evac shuttles. I think if we-"

"Check. Check," a familiar voice interrupted over the radio. "Anyone on this frequency? Anybody still alive out there? Hello?"

"Wilson," Jacob answered. "This is Jacob. I'm here with Commander Shepard. We just took out a wave of mechs over in D Wing."

"Shepard's alive?! How the hell… never mind. You need to get him out of here. Let's see if I can find you a safe route." There was a moment of eerie silence as the ground vibrated again. "Get to the service tunnels and head for the network control room. I'll meet you two there."

"Roger that, Wilson. Stay on this frequency." Jacob looked toward Shepard. "You ready?"

He had a pensive, suspicious expression on his face, but it eventually faded. "Lead the way."

Jacob led both of them down the corridors of the station, trying to make it to the meeting point in one piece. Yet, it seemed that every corner they turned, every room they passed was filled with mechs. Even the rarely-used service tunnels Wilson suggested were full.

"Damn it, Wilson!" Jacob yelled into his comm as he took cover. "This way is crawling with mechs! Find us another route, preferably one without an enemy squad."

"The whole station is crawling with them," he answered. "But I'll see what I can do."

Shepard crouched down next to him and ejected a spent thermal clip from his pistol. "I think this Wilson is leading us into the mechs instead of away from them."

"No way," Jacob said. He stood, shot one of the droids, and biotically pushed another before ducking. "He's part of the team that helped rebuild you. There is no way he would risk everything now."

"If he worked on me, then he must have known how close I was to coming back," Shepard yelled over the pinging bullets. "Why was he so surprised that I was up and moving?" He stood back up to unleash more gunfire on the dwindling mechs.

Jacob didn't have an answer for his question. Wilson had sounded exceptionally surprised at Shepard's resilience. There was the possibility…

He shook his head. It was crazy talk. Wilson spent two years of his life on this station trying to reconstruct the man crouching next to Taylor. They had shared a table during mealtime and drinks afterhours. What reason would he have to throw it all away now?

Shepard blew the head off the last mech and waited for it to explode before speaking again. "Listen, Jacob. You're Alliance, and I trust you."

Jacob internally winced at that. He hadn't lied to the commander, just didn't tell him the complete truth. Still, he didn't enjoy misleading the man.

"But I don't know this Wilson. Ever since we spoke to him, we have been running into a constant stream of enemies, and someone had to hack the security on this station, someone on the inside."

Jacob understood what Shepard was concluding to. The commander believed Wilson could be the traitor, the same thought that had just passed through his mind. Jacob just wasn't willing to consider it.

"Wilson may not be the easiest person to get along with," Jacob said, "but I'm not going to condemn the man without some hard evidence."

The Spectre watched him closely, his eyes hard. Jacob felt like he was being evaluated which probably wasn't far from the truth. Finally, Shepard relented and gave a small nod.

"Fine. You know him better than I do. I'll follow your lead. All I ask is that you think about what I said."

"Let's move. The network control room isn't much further."

There was only light resistance the rest of the way. It gave Jacob a chance to assess Shepard's combat capabilities. He quickly realized that the man was damn near flawless. There was no wasted movement, every action crisp and purposeful. If the Shepard wasn't like this before, Jacob doubted that there would any objection to the improvements. Miranda would be content with proof that the commander was the way he used to be once they found her.

If we find her, Jacob thought before he could stop himself. He needed to not think like that. She was tough. She would survive this.

The two were only a few meters from the stairs leading up to the rendezvous point when Wilson's panicked voice came over the comms.

"Oh God! They found me! Help!"

Jacob stopped to hear the frantic man better. "Wilson? Where are you?"

"Server Room B! Hurry! They're out of control!"

They bounded up the stairs and streaked down the hallway, trying to reach him in time. They heard one distinct gunshot as they ran past the empty rooms. They reached the door to the server and hurried inside to provide support. However, they found nothing except sparking terminals and a wounded Wilson behind some crates. There weren't even bullet scorings or mech corpses.

"Jacob! Shepard!" Wilson shouted from his position. "Down here! Bastards got me in the leg."

Jacob made his way over to see how bad the wound was. The commander stood back and covered him but kept a suspicious eye on the downed man.

He checked Wilson's leg. The injury was superficial. The bullet only grazed his thigh, but he guessed that it hurt a great deal to the non-combatant.

"Shepard, could you get me some medi-gel? There should be a first aid station over on the wall."

He nodded and quickly found what Jacob needed. When he handed it to Taylor, he took a double take at the injured man.

"I know your face," Shepard said to Wilson.

"That's surprising," Wilson answered with a grunt as Jacob applied the gel. "You only woke up once before today. I was there though, but it's incredible that you remember." He laughed mirthlessly as he stood on unsteady feet. "It's funny. Never thought you'd save my life. Guess that makes us even now."

Wilson turned to Jacob. "I thought maybe I could shut down the security mechs from here, but whoever did this fried the whole system. Completely irreversible."

"We didn't ask what you were doing," Jacob said. "Why do you even have security mech clearance? You were in the bio wing."

"Weren't you listening?" Wilson practically growled. "I came here to try and fix this. Besides, I was shot. How do you explain that?"

"And who shot you?" Shepard asked coldly, his arms crossed. "I don't see any mechs around here."

Wilson's eyes burned with anger, but, before he could say anything, Jacob stepped between them.

"Stop. We can blame each other when we get to the shuttle. Let's just get there and wait for Miranda."

"Forget Miranda. She was over in D Wing. Mechs were all over that sector. There is no way she survived."

"And how do you know that?" Shepard said, an accusation heavy in his voice.

Wilson looked like he was going to blow but chose to ignore Shepard's question. "Even if she did survive, where is she? Why haven't we heard from her? There are only two possible explanations: she is either dead or the traitor!"

"No way," Jacob quickly countered. "She would never betray the boss. She put two years of her life into this project. She wouldn't sabotage it now that Shepard was almost ready. Besides, why set up this trap only to wake up Shepard after the attack started?"

"Okay, maybe she's not the traitor. That doesn't change the facts. We're here, she's not. We need to save ourselves."

"Fifteen minutes," Shepard said quietly. "We give her fifteen minutes once we hit the extraction point. If she's not there by then, than she probably isn't going to get there."

Jacob nodded his head in agreement. It was an older marine guideline. You stay at the extraction point for as long as you can or up to fifteen minutes to give separated squad members a chance to make it. Every marine hated leaving their fellows behind or getting separated, but you could never stay in complete control of the situation once boots hit the ground. Sometimes it was necessary, and the rule was put in place.

"Fine," Wilson begrudgingly said. "Let's get going."

Jacob quickly looked at Shepard and saw the tension in his body. Meeting Wilson had set him on edge, and he doubted the commander would stand being left out of the loop much longer.

"Wait, Wilson." He turned to Shepard. "Shepard, if I tell you who we work for, will you trust me?"

"This really isn't the time, Jacob," Wilson warned.

"We won't make it if he expects a shot in the back."

"If you want to piss off the boss, it's your ass."

Jacob turned back to Shepard and noticed that he had gotten unsettled during their small conversation. He shifted his weight from foot to foot uncomfortable, and his hand looked ready to reach for his gun.

Jacob took a deep breath. "The Lazarus Project," he said slowly, "the program that rebuilt you… it was funded and controlled by Cerberus."

He barely got out the third syllable of the group's name when his back was slammed into the wall, and his head bounced off the bulkhead. Stars exploded in his vision. He had to blink half a dozen times before his sight cleared and realized he was pinned to the wall by Shepard's forearm. The Spectre's pistol was also leveled at Wilson.

"If either one of you makes even a twitch I don't like, I would kill you both without a second thought," Shepard growled, murderous rage burning in his eyes. "Is that clear?"

Jacob nodded ever so slightly. Wilson let out a weak "Yes."

"Wonderful."

Jacob never heard the word 'wonderful' be said with such malice before.

Shepard leveled his intense glare at Jacob, and it made him shudder. "You lied to me, Jacob. You told me you were with the Alliance. I don't like being played for a sucker." He pressed harder into his neck, making it more difficult for him to breathe.

"I-I didn't lie to you, Commander. I was with the Alliance, before I joined Cerberus. The Alliance declared you dead. They gave up. Cerberus-" He choked for a minute as Shepard pressed harder whenever he said the name of the black ops group. "Cerberus spent a fortune to bring you back."

"Why?" he snarled. "What do you want from me? I'll tell you right now, you're not going to get it."

Jacob fought to take a deep breath. "We just wanted you. You are one of humanity's best soldiers. You destroyed a Reaper. Humanity needs you. The galaxy needs you." Another labored breath. "Look, I'd be suspicious too. We don't have the best track record with you, but right now we have to work together. I'll take you to the Illusive Man once we are off the station. He'll explain everything. I promise."

"Your promises mean nothing to me," he spat back. But Jacob noticed the fierceness in his eyes subsided a bit. He eased the pressure on Jacob's chest but still kept him pinned to the wall and his gun leveled at a visibly shaking Wilson. "Why did you tell me this? We were almost off this godforsaken station. Why risk it now?"

"Because you deserved to know what's what," he choked out.

Shepard did nothing except hold Jacob's gaze for a moment. Eventually, he pressed his forearm hard against the pinned man's throat one last time before releasing him. Jacob flopped to the floor, coughing roughly. When he was able to look up again, he noticed that Shepard's pistol hung limply at his side.

"Let's get one thing straight: I don't care what they did or what you say. I'm not working with terrorists."

Jacob stood, rubbing his throat. He knew there would be a bruise there later. "You can tell it to the boss, but after we save our butts. We're almost at the shuttle."

"You two first," Shepard demanded. "I don't trust either of you to watch my back."

"Fair enough," Jacob answered and led the two men out of the server room.

Author's Note:

I'm sorry. I've been horrible to you guys, missing weeks for updates. I won't make promises, but I'm going to try to make it up to you guys this weekend. I hope to get two more chapters up before Monday, but we will see how it goes.

So we finally hit the Mass Effect 2 game. It is a little exposition heavy, but that's because Shepard just woke up in a foreign environment around people he's never seen before. The man is going to have questions. Hopefully it wasn't too boring. You know what; the more I write Jacob, the less boring he becomes. Not saying he is getting his own spin-off, but he's a good narrative vehicle for Shepard-centric chapters.

As always, thanks for reading and please review!