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Slaves of Cerberus	By : NakedOwlMan Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 138070 -:- 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

Chapter List
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Zaeed stepped into the conference room to see a crowd of familiar faces. Reminded him of that party at Shepard's just before the final battle of the war. And from what he had seen and heard since Jacob had shown up on his doorstep, seemed like they were in a situation almost as dire.

Garrus was the first to approach him, taloned hand extended in greeting. "Good to see you again, Zaeed," Garrus said, as Zaeed shook his hand. "Only wish it could have been under better circumstances."

"Heading off to battle alongside a handful of people, against a foe that has us outnumbered and outgunned? A few years ago I probably would have considered those the best circumstances," Zaeed observed. "These days, though, I'm just looking forward to kicking this clone's arse so I can get back to working on my tan."

"You and me both, Zaeed," said an unfamiliar woman in a breathing mask and terribly gaudy clothes. Seriously, Zaeed knew as much about fashion as any man would (i.e. nothing) and even he could tell that the unsuited quarian's taste in clothing was god-awful. "It's Tali, by the way. Don't think we've seen each other since I came out of the suit."

"Of course it's you, love. I'd recognize those hips... er, that voice anywhere," Zaeed said, before turning his attention to the two alien men on the other side of the table. "Grunt, Javik. Hopefully we can get this all settled real goddamn fast, go back to Shepard's flat and celebrate with another round of target practice."

"Yeah, probably not gonna happen," Grunt grumbled. "You remember? After we put a few holes in the bar last time, Shepard banned any firearms in her apartment." He shook his head in disbelief. "Unbelievable. A party without guns is like a party without alcohol."

"And that is assuming we are able to retrieve the Commander alive from her captivity," Javik observed. "And that she has full retention of her faculties after enduring whatever tortures they are currently putting her through."

The conference room went quiet, Javik's usual sunny disposition reminding them all of their friends currently being held captive. "Yeah, Jacob told me about Shepard and the lot," Zaeed finally spoke up. "I suppose anyone who isn't here is currently in the hands of Cerberus, then."

"Mostly," Vega said. "Wrex is back on Tuchanka dealing with some political stuff. And Samara... we're not really sure where she is. Justicars kinda work on their own, so she hasn't really kept in touch. Last we heard, though, she might have been on Omega with a reporter, so either she's still there, or Cerberus got their hands on her when they paid a visit."

Zaeed sighed. Pity. He had always had a weakness for asari matriarchs. Always seeming so dignified, but when you got them out of their dresses they could always show you a trick or two they still remembered from their maiden days. "So, you tracked down Dugas yet?"

"It was fairly easy, actually," Tali said, bringing up the display on the conference table to show the face of a younger, but still hardened-looking krogan. "The mercenary group he started after you and he parted ways, Elite Force Incorporated, grew fairly substantial after the war ended. Not big enough to challenge any of the big three groups, of course, but a fairly profitable enterprise."

"Dugas always did have a good head for business," Zaeed said. "Would have liked to have kept working with him, but we had conflicting goals back then. He wanted to make money, and I wanted to plant Vido in the deepest hole I could fucking find for him."

Vega glanced over at Zaeed, quizzical. "So he's legit now? Why don't we hire him, then? I'm sure if we gave him enough credits, he'd be happy to loan us out a clean ship to make the run to Omega in."

"Eh, you don't know Dugas like he do. He's never been a fan of humans. Only reason he ever worked with me was that were both flat-broke, and I could be a charming bastard when I needed to be. If he even suspected for a second that he was being hired out with Alliance credits, he'd drop the job in a heartbeat."

Jacob nodded. "And besides, this isn't exactly a deal we can do through any official channels. If word got back to Omega that Dugas was working with us, and then we're back to square one. No, we're going to have to do this under the table if we do it at all." He turned his attention to Zaeed. "You sure he's going to be willing to hand you over a ship, though?"

"Can't say for sure, but Dugas and me were real mates back in the day," Zaeed said. "All the times I pulled his quad out of the fire, I figure the least he owes me is to borrow a starship for a while. Of course, first thing is, we're gonna have to figure out where he is."

"Already done," Tali said. "Records indicate that the profits from EFI have bought Dugas a fairly large home on Elysium. I hacked into his personal itinerary and his schedule indicates that he has no plans to head off-planet for the next two weeks."

Garrus cocked his head at Tali. "Really? You hacked into his day-planner? You know we probably could have just called his secretary and asked if he was going to be in."

Tali smirked at the turian. "Well, where's the fun in that?"

Despite the casual air, the news left Jacob looking troubled. "Shit, Elysium," he muttered. "That's almost all the way across the galaxy. Three days travel time at the least." He looked over at their newest teammate. "Three days leaving Shepard and the rest of them in the hands of Cerberus. And leaving Omega in the state it's currently in."

The rest of the group immediately turned somber, having seen the news report back on the Orpheus while Jacob and Rooker were meeting Zaeed. The images of humans being forced into slavery and raped in the streets still echoed in their minds. "What the hell could have happened down there?" Vega said, a haunted expression on his face. "I mean, I know Balak is a goddamn monster, but just him taking over shouldn't be enough to turn everybody else on the station loco along with him, right?"

"Well, whatever's happening, we've got to deal with it," Jacob said. "And if meeting with Dugas is the only way to make that happen..." he got on his comms. "Joker, set a course for the Petra Nebula. And..."

"Make it as fast as possible, I know, Commander," Joker's voice said over the comms.

"So what's the plan for when we get there?" Rooker said. "If Dugas is as distrusting of humans as you say, there's no way he's going to be happy to see you flying in with an Alliance shuttlecraft."

Jacob tapped out commands on the conference table's control panel, accessing a map of Elysium. "We'll take a shuttle down here, to the Amber Island settlement. Should be able to rent a hovercar, and it's only a fifteen mile trip to Dugas's house from there. We send Zaeed in with a few marines undercover as his bodyguards, and..."

Zaeed immediately shook his head. "No way. Dugas may trust me, but that's about as far as his trust for humans goes. If I come to his flat with a couple of hard-looking blokes at my back, he's going to twig right away that something's up. No armed bodyguards if we're going to make this work."

Rooker gave Zaeed a questioning look. "You sure about all this? I know Dugas is an old friend, Mr. Massani. But if he's as paranoid about humans as you say, maybe after all these years that paranoia extends to you as well. You sure you want to go into this all by yourself?"

Zaeed rubbed his chin. "Didn't say anything about going in alone, did I? See, the thing about..."

They were interrupted by the sound of the conference room door sliding open. Riggs walked in with his usual blank expression. "Sorry if I'm interrupting," he said. "Just wanted to let you know that Mr. Massani's living quarters have been prepared. I can show you where you'll be sleeping whenever you're ready."

"We'll just be another minute, Private," Jacob said, before turning back to Zaeed. "You were saying?"

"Well, Dugas is a funny one," Zaeed said. "He may hate humans in general, but the pervy little lizard actually loves human women, oddly enough. Get him around a human bird and the old bastard starts thinking with his quad instead of his brain. So I was thinking the deal might go down easier if I pay a visit to my old mate with a little bit of arm candy by my side to distract him, you get me?"

Jacob frowned. "Not sure I'm entirely comfortable about the idea, but if you think it will help. I'm sure we could find someone suitable who could take on that role. Bridge Officer Mason, perhaps?"

Zaeed chuckled. "Actually, I had someone different in mind. Like you said, there's always the chance that things might go bad down there. And if I end up neck-deep in shit, I think I'd rather have somebody with me who knows how to handle herself in a fight."

"Hmm, afraid we don't really have a lot of female marines on the Orpheus," Jacob said. "And the ones we do... well, not to sound crass, but I don't think Dugas would find them very distracting. Well, except for... uh..."

Slowly, one by one, all heads turned in the same direction.

"Wait, why is everyone looking at me?" Rooker said.
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Slaves of Cerberus