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Slaves of Cerberus	By : NakedOwlMan Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 138076 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: Mass Effect and all the characters in it are owned by people that are not me. I have not made a cent off this work of fiction

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Cortez found him in the armory, obsessively cleaning his shotgun. Riggs looked up at his arrival, his expression as blank as usual, before returning to his work.

"You're getting ready for a fight, I see?" Cortez asked as he entered the room. He stood on the other side of the work table from Riggs as the stoic marine worked an oiled-up cloth along the inner workings of his weapon.

"We're gonna be docking with Omega in thirty minutes, and Cerberus was there before us," Riggs said. "I know enough about how they operate to be ready for anything. Chances are whatever the mission is, Cerberus made sure that it isn't going to be easy."

Leaning forward with his palms on the table, Cortez stared intently at Riggs. "So you're actually planning to fight this time? Because I was worried you might end up sitting in front of a shoddy power conduit again, waiting for it to explode."

Riggs's eyes flicked up from his work, his gaze narrowed at Cortez. "What does it matter?" he asked coldly. "I go out fighting or go out like a coward. In the end, the world is rid of the Bloody Hand. One less piece of Cerberus filth to pollute the galaxy."

"Stop it," Cortez said, his eyes never wavering from Riggs. "You're more than that and you know it. Listen, I know you said you couldn't afford to show the rest of them who you really are. That if you don't put on this scary act in front of them that they'll walk all over you. But that's all it is: an act. There's a human being underneath all that attitude, with emotions just like anyone else. And it's killing you to hold them back."

Riggs puffed out a breath. "Right. You know so much about me, from the few weeks we've been serving on this ship together."

Cortez nodded. "Yeah, maybe you're right. Maybe I don't know that much about you. So show me. You want somebody to open up to? Somebody to talk to about why you would rather die than keep on going? Talk to me. Because here's the thing: if you're right, and there's a fight waiting for us on Omega, you're going to be going into that fight with my friends. And if they're in there counting on you to watch their backs, the last thing I want is for you to go charging in to get yourself killed."

A hint of a smile came to Riggs's face. "Ah, so this is strictly pragmatic on your part," he said. "Nothing but you watching out for your friends is all."

"Well, no," Cortez admitted. "Look, I'm not going to pretend that the things I've been through could compare to what happened to you. But after I lost Robert... there were times when I felt like I lost everything. The nights were the worst. During the day I could keep myself distracted with work, put my mind on other things. But at night, alone in my bunk... I won't lie. Right after it happened, there were some nights that I thought about ways I could join him. I felt so empty, so adrift that it felt like just letting go was the only option."

Riggs's hands had paused over his weapon, his eyes locked on Cortez. "And what made you change your mind?" he asked.

Cortez let out a low laugh. "Shepard did. Seems like there was nothing she couldn't do. Stop a Reaper invasion, or help a grieving man find the strength to carry on. When I felt like I had nothing, that I was just a walking dead man, she was there for me. So maybe... maybe now I want to be there for you like she was for me. Do for someone else the same as she did for me."

"Look, you don't..." Riggs said, letting out a frustrated sigh as he went back to working on his shotgun. "The things I went through back then, all the things I've seen? You want to know why I was ready to let that conduit explode in my face? Because it scares the hell out of me to think about walking into another Cerberus facility, okay? The thought of seeing what sorts of twisted things these Cerberus people are doing... reliving that nightmare again..."

Looking down, Cortez saw that Riggs's hands were shaking. Without thinking, he reached forward, grabbing onto Riggs's wrists and steadying his trembling hands. "It's okay," Cortez said. "I know you've been through a lot. But you don't have to hold it all in anymore."

Riggs let out several ragged breaths, eyes cast down at the work table. "I... I appreciate it," Riggs said after several seconds in silence. He pulled his hands away from Cortez's gently. "But I don't think I'm ready yet. Even after all these years it's still... still too fresh." He looked back up at Cortez, and Cortez saw his expression shift. His furrowed brow smoothed, and the cold stare of his eyes softened. "But I promise that... well, if I ever feel the urge to sit in front of a power conduit again, that I'll come to talk to you first, okay?"

"It's a start," Cortez said with a smile. "And I'll do my best to keep James off your case."

"James is a meathead," Riggs said, a mild smile coming to his face as well. Cortez was surprised at the change that had come over Riggs in such a short time. His normally cold and stoic voice had lightened up considerably, the hard gravelly edge that it normally carried almost vanished. "He doesn't bother me. I dealt with plenty of his type back on the farm."

"The farm?" Cortez asked.

Riggs's smile widened. "What? You're surprised that the Bloody Hand wasn't birthed straight from the maw of Hell itself? Nah, I grew up just a simple farmboy, believe it or not."

"On Earth, or one of the colonies?"

"Cochran Colony. Small farming community in the Arcturus Stream," Riggs said, his eyes distant as he glanced away from Cortez. "It was me, my two brothers and sister, and our parents. All of us working together to keep things running. We may have just barely made enough credits to scrape by, but we were happy. At least, until the talk of war started. And somebody from one of the neighboring farms brought along the flier for a place called Sanctuary. A place we could go where we'd be... where we could all be..."

"Hey," Cortez said, seeing Riggs start to get emotional again. "It's okay. If you're not ready to talk about this..."

Riggs nodded, but his eyes still didn't make contact with Cortez's compassionate stare. "Thanks. Sometimes it's good to remember things like that. Even if it hurts... it's better to remember the happiness and the hurt instead of trying to block it all out, you know? But for right now, I think I just need some time to myself." Seeing the concern on Cortez's face, Riggs chuckled. "Don't worry. Your friends are in good hands. Talking like this... it really did help."

"Glad to hear it," Cortez said, scratching an itch on his face as he leaned away from the work table. "And yeah, I should probably go do a systems check on the shuttle anyway. Just in case Omega doesn't have a place for the Orpheus to dock. But we can talk later if you want."

"Absolutely," Riggs said. Just as Cortez made a move to walk away, Riggs called out. "Just one more thing, though."

"What's that?" Cortez asked.

Instead of speaking, Riggs picked up the cloth that he had been using to clean and oil his weapon. "Hold still," Riggs said, before turning the cloth around to a clean section and reaching up to Cortez's face. Cortez felt the hard, firm press of Riggs's thumb into his cheek, as the marine wiped at Cortez's face. After a few seconds, Riggs pulled the cloth away to show a light spot of oil on it. "There we go," he said. "Wouldn't want you flying us to Omega looking anything less than perfect."

"Perfect? Not hardly," Cortez said with a laugh. "But thanks. I'll talk to you later."

"Sure thing," Riggs said. And for a second, Cortez was sure that he could see a blush coming to the intimidating marine's cheeks. "Later."

* * *

His sizable bulk parked in one of the mess hall's chairs, Grunt shoveled food into his mouth with one hand, while using the other to bring up his omni-tool. The last time he had been on Omega, he had been sure to take extensive notes on the best places to eat. He just hoped that Cerberus hadn't destroyed too many of them, either from when they took over during the war or from whatever the hell they had been doing on Omega just within the last few days. It was bad enough that Cerberus had abducted his battlemaster and many of his former comrades. But if they had done anything to that great pyjak meat stand that Grunt had discovered the last time he'd been there... then Cerberus would know the true wrath of house Urdnot.

In the middle of his studies, he suddenly started to hear the most aggravating sound. He turned his head to see the light-haired human female heading in his direction. Without warning, she threw herself down in the chair opposite Grunt.

"I'm sorry, Grunt," Lisa said, her voice trembling. From the way her shoulders shook and the wet glisten in her eyes, Grunt figured out that the noise he had heard was what humans referred to as "sobbing." Not something any self-respecting krogan, male or female, would ever allow themselves to do. "Do you mind if I sit with you for a second?"

Grunt stared at her. Humans were hard to figure out sometimes. Always asking permission to do things. Even when they've already gone ahead and done them, as Lisa had. But Grunt knew that refusing her would just result in more of that annoying sound, so he shrugged. "Go ahead," he said, while turning his attention back to his list of favorite restaurants.

"I'm sorry if I'm bothering you," Lisa said, struggling to get herself under control. "I was just thinking about Kasumi. That poor thing, captured and being held by those horrible Cerberus brutes. I can't even imagine a more frightening thought."

Grunt could think of quite a few others. Being eaten alive by a pack of ravenous varren. Having your corpse being used as a mindless puppet by a rachni queen. But he had enough experience with humans to have learned that offering such thoughts was usually not appreciated. So instead he simply nodded. "They may have her for now," he said. "But we will take her back from them, and spill every last drop of their blood in the process."

"I know, but... sometimes it's hard for me to sleep at night," Lisa said, shivering slightly. "All alone in my bunk, feeling so defenseless at the thought of someone coming in and taking me captive. Holding me hostage and... using me." At those last words, Grunt saw something flash in Lisa's eyes. Admittedly, he had little experience with human emotions, and even less desire to try to understand them. But he could have sworn that the thought of Cerberus "using her" didn't bring as much fear to Lisa as she was trying to claim. "If only I had some way to feel less scared." She looked up at Grunt, giving him a wide-eyed and desperate look. "You know, something that could help keep me company during those long nights... or someone."

Grunt let out a rumbling sigh. Humans. Always talking around what they really wanted. It was like they were speaking in code sometimes. But Grunt had finally figured it out. "Fine, human," he said. "Come down to my quarters tomorrow night. I'll give you what you're asking for then."

"Really?" Lisa said, her expression brightening. "Oh, Grunt, you're the best. I'll come pay you a visit first thing when my shift ends tomorrow." Cocking her head to the side, she ran a hand through her hair, flipping it over her shoulder. "I just hope you're properly prepared when I get there. Us humans, we may look small, but some of us have big cravings, if you know what I mean."

As Grunt was about ready to speak up again, Jacob's voice suddenly spoke up over the ship's PA system. "All bridge crew report to your positions. We will be reaching Omega in fifteen minutes. Repeat: all hands report to your positions."

"Well, that's my cue," Lisa said. Standing up, she paused for a moment to lean down next to Grunt. "But I'll be counting the hours until tomorrow night."

"Yeah, yeah," Grunt said. The things he did for these squishy humans. Mentally, he began thinking about what he was going to need. If he was going to make sure this human left properly satisfied, he was going to need a lot of different tools.

Walking away from Grunt, Lisa spotted Michele on their way to the CIC. "It's all happening, Michele," Lisa said giddily. "Grunt and I are going to be doing it tomorrow night! God, after all the work I've been putting into getting some nice hard krogan cock, it's finally gonna happen."

Michele let out a weary sigh. "I'm so happy for you. The galaxy threatening to descend into chaos, humans and aliens at each others' throats... but Lisa Mason managed to seduce a krogan, so all is right with the world."

"See, that's why we're friends," Lisa said. "You always manage to look on the bright side of things."

* * *

As the crew of the Orpheus took their seats, Jacob and Rooker stood side-by-side at the CIC. "Visual on Omega confirmed," Rooker said. "Any sign of trouble?"

Accessing her station, Lisa examined the readings from the area. "No sign of any recent ship combat in the area. Scans of Omega itself show nothing out of the ordinary."

"What the hell was Cerberus doing here?" Jacob said, staring at the hovering rocky space station in the distance through the cockpit window. "And how'd they manage to set up an entire VI network without Aria or anyone else noticing?"

"Guess we'll find out more when we get there," Rooker said. "Assuming Aria lets us dock, of course."

Jacob nodded gravely. "If we can get her to talk to us, we can show her Tali's readings. As protective as she is of Omega, she's not going to be happy to hear about Cerberus's meddling on her station. Whether or not she trusts us to deal with it or tries to handle it herself, though... that's another story."

As Omega slowly grew larger in front of them, Lisa suddenly called out. "Commander, I have multiple signals heading in our direction from Omega! Their shields are up and their weapons are armed!"

"Guess a warm welcome is out of the question," Rooker mused.

"DeSilva, raise our barriers," Jacob quickly ordered. "Weapons at the ready. Mason, what are we looking at here?"

"Looks like two frigates escorted by eight fighters," Lisa said. "Their callsigns indicate them as..." she paused, staring at her screen. "No, that can't be right."

Coming down from the CIC platform, Jacob leaned down next to Lisa. "What is it, ensign?"

"Those three there?" Lisa said, pointing at the screen. "Blue Suns. But those three are Eclipse, and the others are Blood Pack."

"The merc groups working together again?" Rooker said. "That hasn't happened since the Reapers were defeated. And that was only because of Shepard."

From next to Lisa, Michele turned to look at Jacob. "Commander, one of the vessels is sending out a hailing signal."

"Open up communications," Jacob said.

As he returned to the center platform, a holographic screen activated in front of him. A hovering image of an intimidating batarian in a Blue Suns uniform appeared. "To the commander of the Alliance vessel at heading 194.26. You will deactivate your engines at once. Any further movement in the direction of Omega will be considered an act of aggression and will be dealt with thusly."

"To whoever I am speaking with," Jacob responded. "This is Commander Jacob Taylor of the SSV Orpheus. We have taken damage and are seeking to dock with Omega for repairs. We have no intention of any hostile action against this station or its people."

The batarian on the screen retained his stern expression. "The damage to your vessel is none of our concern. I say again: deactivate your engines. There will be no further warnings."

From his pilot's seat, Joker turned around to look at Jacob. "Commander, what do we do here?" he asked.

Reaching to a side panel, Jacob muted the communications connection. "What are our odds, Joker? You think we can take them?"

Joker shifted nervously. "If we were 100%... maybe. But after the damage we took from those Oculus drones? I don't like our chances, Commander."

"Alright, so the direct approach is out," Jacob said. "Bring us to a stop, Joker." As the Orpheus slowed to a halt, Jacob could see the enemy ships approaching from out of the cockpit window. Once they were within weapon range, they came to a stop as well, hovering menacingly in front of the Orpheus.

Unmuting the connection to the batarian Blue Sun, he spoke loudly and confidently. "Under whose authority are you detaining us? We have repairs to be done and the credits to pay for it. I can't imagine Aria would be happy to hear about you people scaring away potential business."

The batarian sneered into the camera feed. "Aria T'Loak is no longer in command of Omega," he said. "And as far as business is concerned, it's going just fine without you humans sticking your nose into it. So tell your masters back on Earth that, by the command of Omega's new ruler, this station is off-limits to your race from now on. And if they've got a problem with that, they'll have to bring more than just a dented-up piece of shit like what you're flying to deal with it."

"Listen," Rooker said, moving to stand next to Jacob and speak to the batarian. "Whoever this new ruler is, they should know that Cerberus is up to something on Omega. We have readings from devices that were planted by Cerberus all around this station. They could present a danger to this new ruler and his or her subjects."

As soon as Rooker was seen on the viewing screen, the batarian's attitude immediately changed. He bared his sharp teeth in a leering smile. "Well, now. That does sound quite concerning," he said with a hint of sarcasm. "I tell you what, Commander Taylor: why don't you send that pretty little thing over to us in a shuttle? We'll talk all about this supposed Cerberus plot, and afterward we take that sweet human ass of hers back to Omega. Strip her out of that uniform and show her all the big changes Balak has made around here."

Rooker started to say something, anger flaring in her eyes, but Jacob held up a hand to hold her back. "Balak?" Jacob exclaimed to the batarian on the screen. "Balak is in charge of Omega now? That terrorist?"

The batarian's demeanor immediately hardened. "You would know about terrorism, wouldn't you, human?" he said bitterly. "For all I know, you and your entire crew is in league with Cerberus. Regardless, Omega's affairs are our own, and the Alliance is no longer welcome here. You have thirty seconds to turn your ship around and put as much distance between you and Omega as possible. If you do not comply, we will open fire."

Jacob looked at Rooker, who was glowering at the batarian on the screen. "What do you think, Rooker?" he asked quietly.

"I think I'd like to introduce that bastard's face to the sole of my boot... sir," Rooker said, keeping her voice low to not be heard on the comms. "But I also think that right now, with the state the Orpheus is in... we don't stand a chance. Much as I hate to say it, we're going to have to come up with another plan."

Turning back to the screen, Jacob spoke up. "Very well. If humanity isn't welcome on Omega, I suppose we will have to take our credits elsewhere."

"Yes, run along now, human," the batarian said dismissively. He shot one more glance at Rooker. "The offer does still stand, however. Send us your mouthy little female and maybe I'll dispatch a repair crew from Omega to patch you up. Hell, I'll even pay for the job myself if you dress her in something... lacy before you give her to us."

Reaching around Jacob, Rooker stabbed the disconnect button with her finger. The image of the leering batarian faded away. "Sorry, sir," Rooker said immediately. "I just couldn't hear any more of that..."

"Not a problem, Rooker," Jacob said. "Joker, turn us around. And let our guests know to meet me in the conference room immediately. We need to figure out our next course of action."
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Slaves of Cerberus