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Slaves of Cerberus	By : NakedOwlMan Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 138308 -:- 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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"This new Cerberus hired you to take me out. To come in here and stab me in the back. Just admit it, Zaeed. Admit it now and maybe I'll make your death quick."

"Mierda," Vega cursed as he heard the krogan's words over the radio. "This has gone to hell in record time. Should have known that senile old merc would botch the whole thing."

Jacob looked over at Vega, who was rushing over to grab his assault rifle. "Where are you going, James?"

"Where do you think?" Vega responded. "We need to go in there and bail Tara and Zaeed out! We don't go soon, that crazy krogan and his people are gonna kill 'em!"

"Hold on," Jacob said, pointing at the radio receiver. "Zaeed hasn't given the signal yet. 'No time like the present,' we're not supposed to move until we hear those words, remember?"

"Fuck the signal!" Vega barked out. "I'm not going to sit by while Tara gets torn to shreds! We need to..."

"Now hold on just a damn minute, Dugas," Zaeed's voice came through the radio. "Let's just calm down and talk this out, okay? I know there are times when it's good to get your bloodrage going and come off all hot and bothered, but this isn't the time. Are you hearing what I'm saying? This isn't the time!"

"Isn't the time," Jacob repeated to himself, then turned to Vega. "He's telling us to wait, James. Give him a chance, let him see if he can calm Dugas down."

Vega looked conflicted, but finally moved back to stand next to Jacob at the receiver. "Fine, but the second you hear that signal, everybody better be ready to move." He hit his personal comms unit. "You receiving me, Esteban? Might need you ready to get that shuttle over here real damn soon, comprende?"

"Shuttle's ready at your order," Cortez responded over the comms. "Got it all warmed and can be there ASAP."

Vega didn't seem mollified by the assurances, but nonetheless he remained in place, anxiously waiting for the next sound out of the receiver.

* * *

"Oh, I think this is definitely the time, Zaeed," Dugas snarled, his eyes narrowed at his former partner-in-crime. "What time could be better than when a Cerberus operative walks into my home, pretending to be my friend while looking for the best way to stab me in the back?"

Rooker glanced over at Zaeed, waiting to see if he would make a move. But the veteran merc remained seated on the couch, looking strangely calm. "Listen, mate... you remember that job back in 2168? Hijacking for that small-time band of mercs operating out of Sigurd's Cradle?"

Dugas stared at Zaeed suspiciously. "The ones who went back on the deal after we completed the job for them. Of course I remember that one. What's your damn point?"

"Glad you remembered. Nice to know that pile of varren crap inside your skull is good for more than just wanking off to human women and imagining Cerberus conspiracies," Zaeed responded.

The men surrounding Zaeed and Rooker brandished their weapons, but Dugas held up a hand. "Just a minute. Curious where he's going with this."

"Where I'm going with this, old friend, is that if you remember that job, you remember what I did to the bastards who double-crossed us," Zaeed stated. Rooker watched in surprise as he leaned back on the couch and propped his feet up on the table, seeming completely unconcerned about the guns being pointed in his face. "You do remember that part too, don't you?"

Despite the tense situation, Dugas let out a slight chuckle. "Yeah. You hunted down every last one of them and showed them their insides before you killed them. Never seen you so angry before or since."

"It's one of the few things that you can do to piss me off, Dugas," Zaeed said, holding up a hand and counting off on his fingers. "Shoot me in the eye and leave me for fucking dead... and hire me for a job and refuse to pay once it's done. Which is what Cerberus did to me the last time we worked together."

"So.. you admit that you work with Cerberus," Dugas said, rage rumbling in his deep voice.

Zaeed let out an exasperated sigh. "Worked with, you bloody krogan bastard! Your translator having a glitch, screwing up my tenses here? Or are you just that fucking dense?"

* * *

Vega looked over at Jacob. "Is he trying to get himself killed? The old bastard's gone loco!"

"I don't think so," Jacob said, as a smile creased his face. "I think Zaeed knows exactly what he's doing."

* * *

"Last job I did with Cerberus was years ago," Zaeed said. "Negotiations went badly after it was over, and I walked away with no credits and a burning desire to fuck over Cerberus in any way I can. You got an omni-tool on you?" he asked, and Dugas tentatively nodded. "Look up a ship named the Stalwart. I imagine you'll see quite a few stories on it with just a quick keyword search."

Humoring Zaeed for now, the krogan activated his omni-tool and performed the search. "Hmm, ship named the Stalwart found destroyed... no survivors... unregistered frigate," he muttered, before turning his attention back to Zaeed. "Not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing here, mate."

"What you're seeing, Dugas, is the last remains of an unlicensed Cerberus ship," Zaeed explained. "Blew up that bastard myself, along with a team of turians, ex-military who found out about it and wanted to stick it to those alien-hating bastards. Turians didn't make it, but I did, and their next-of-kin were a lot better at paying their debts than Cerberus was. See, that's what happens when you fuck over Zaeed Massani. Wasn't the only job I took that hurt Cerberus. Just the most obvious."

Dugas frowned. "A nice story, Zaeed. But just like you telling me that you aren't working for Cerberus now, all I have to go on is your word."

"And after how many years, my word ain't enough?" Zaeed asked in disbelief. "Well, if that ain't enough, than let me put it to you like this. Since you know so much about the return of Cerberus, then I'm sure you know that Commander Shepard has defected back to their ranks. So you know that if I'm working with Cerberus, than I'm working with Shepard. And if you believe that Cerberus wants you dead... then that would mean that Commander fucking Shepard wants you dead. And if she truly wanted that, you think she'd send some beaten-down old merc like me, unarmed and with nothing with me other than my gorgeous girlfriend, to take you out?"

Shaking his head, Zaeed smirked at his former krogan comrade. "Nah, mate. I've worked with Shepard long enough to know that if she wants you dead, she wouldn't leave anything to chance. She'd come around here and put a bullet in you personally, and then blow up your whole mansion around your dead fucking body to boot. If Commander Shepard wanted you dead... then I can assure you that you'd already be dead, before you'd even have time to see her coming."

Dugas seemed to ponder this. He still stared intently at Zaeed, but the anger in his gaze seemed to have dissipated slightly.

"So you want to shoot me, Dugas?" Zaaed asked. "Go right ahead. Hell, I've lived long enough of a life already, not too afraid to see it end. But just know that if you do, then Cerberus will have already beaten you. They will have made you so paranoid, so afraid of your own goddamn shadow that you ended up putting a bullet in one of the few bastards in this galaxy who still gives a shit about you. Who would still consider you a friend, and would stand side-by-side and fight with you if Cerberus ever did come knocking at your door. So make your decision now. Either kill me now, or tell your men to fuck off so I can finish my drink. Alright?"

There was a long quiet. Dugas's men stood at the ready, never wavering in their aim at Zaeed.

* * *

"Think he bought it?" Vega asked Jacob, his frazzled nerves still evident in his voice.

"I damn sure hope so," Jacob responded, staring at the radio receiver and waiting for the next sound. And hoping it wouldn't be the order to fire.

* * *

After several tense moments, Dugas suddenly let out an angry cry, and slammed his fist down on the table beside him, shattering the empty glass sitting on it.

"Cerberus bastards!" Dugas yelled out, before waving his hands at his men. "Stand down. Stand fucking down!" he bellowed, and the bodyguards quickly lowered their weapons and moved back into position. "Dammit, Zaeed, you're right. These humans have me paranoid about everyone these days. Even you, who never gave me any damn reason to doubt you."

"Don't I know it," Zaeed said, trying not to make his relief at the diffused situation too evident in his voice. "Believe me, I'd put a bullet in every last one of those Cerberus sons-of-bitches if I was still in my prime. But these days, I'm just lucky that they don't seem to have the same grudges the Illusive Man did. Because if they came at me now... fuck, I might be able to break a hip at them, but that's about it."

"Zaeed, I... damnit, I've been a fool," Dugas said. "Here you are, coming to me to reminisce about old times and be a friend, and I almost had you killed." Shaking his head, Dugas let out a low, rumbling sigh. "Forgive an old, paranoid krogan?"

"No need to even mention it, mate," Zaeed responded. Picking up his glass, he gave Dugas a toothy grin as he swallowed down the last of his brandy. "Fill me up again, and we'll put it behind us."

Dugas nodded. "Of course, of course," he said, gesturing to one of his men to grab the bottle and refill Zaeed's drink. Dugas looked over at Rooker and gave her an apologetic gesture. "And you, miss. I certainly didn't mean to drag you into this... madness. So sorry if I scared you."

"A little," Rooker said, recovering her composure enough to put back on her dumb bimbo guise. "But I'm just glad you two straightened it out. I'm okay now."

"Glad to hear it," Dugas said, turning his attention back to Zaeed. "She's a fine woman, your Miss Reis. You do whatever it takes to keep her, Zaeed."

Zaeed nodded and sipped on his drink. "Oh, I fully intend to, mate. Here's to human women."

"A toast I'll gladly join," Dugas agreed, taking hold of the replacement glass his underling handed him and downing it in one gulp.

"Glad we were able to hash that out, Dugas," Zaeed said, setting his glass down. "Because I do have a confession to make."

"Oh?" Dugas responded. "Don't tell me after all that you really are here working for Cerberus?"

"Of course not, mate," Zaeed responded. "We just went through all that."

Dugas let out a low, rumbling laugh. "I know, just joking with you. But seriously, Zaeed. What is it you have to tell me?"

"See, the truth is... while part of the reason I came here was really because I was in the neighborhood, there was another reason. One a little more... mercenary, you might say."

"Hmm, tell me more," Dugas responded, now completely calm after his earlier outburst.

Zaeed took his feet off the table and leaned forward. "Got this mate of mine from back in the old days. Rings me up and tells me he's got this sweet gig he wants to cut me in on. I tell him I'm out of the business but he insists. Says it's low-risk, but high-payout."

This made Dugas let out a grumble. "Never liked the sound of that. Usually what you hear just before you get stabbed in the back."

"Yeah, I know it. But I trust this guy. He's never steered me wrong in the past. So I ask him, if the job's so good, what does he need me for? And he tells me that there's one piece of the plan he doesn't have. One that he thinks I might be able to procure for him."

"And this piece of the plan... let me guess. It's something that you believe I might be able to help you with," Dugas said.

Zaeed gave him a nod. "Never could fool you, could I? Yeah, it's... well, I'll come right out and say it. I need a ship."

Dugas's glass, recently refilled by one of his minions, paused halfway to his mouth. "A ship, you say?" he asked, a strange note in his voice as he finished taking his drink. "Job pays so well they can't provide one for him?"

"See, that's the thing. Can't just be any ship, mate," Zaeed explained. "Gotta be one with a record. For the plan to work, this guy has to make like he's an experienced merc. So that when some dangerous blokes scan his ship, they see that he's been in the business for years."

Dugas nodded. "An interesting dilemma. So, he wants these other parties to believe that he's an experienced human mercenary."

"No, no, I... bugger, did I forget to mention that?" Zaeed put on a show of slapping his head. "See, getting too old for this kind of shit. These blokes who are going to be scanning him... they bloody hate humans. Almost as much as you do, mate. So it's gotta be a ship with a record as a non-human vessel. Krogan, turian... whatever, just not human. Look, I know you aren't the biggest fan of my race, alright? I get that. Maybe you don't want to help out a human looking for an assist on a job. But you'd be doing me one hell of a favor, Dugas, if you were able to get me a ship like that."

"A ship with a record as a non-human vessel," Dugas repeated, and Zaeed gave him a nod. "A very interesting request. A very... specific request, actually."

"I know it is. But like I said, you'd be doing me a real solid here, Dugas. To be honest... being a hero may get me a nice spot at a fancy asari resort to kick up my heels, but it doesn't exactly pay the bills, if you get me. And this job... well, the payout is small enough that me offering you a cut would just be insulting. But know that you'd be helping me out." He let out a barking laugh and added. "And bloody hell, after you had your men point their guns into my face, I don't mind saying that you owe me just a little bit, am I right?"

Dugas nodded thoughtfully. "You're right, Zaeed. And I believe I might have just what you're looking for."

"Really?" Zaeed explained. "Fucking hell, mate, if you could, you'd be my bloody friend for life, you know it?"

"Just a moment," Dugas said, beckoning over to one of his henchmen. "I'm going to take Zaeed and his lady friend here up to my lounge for a bit, go over the details on this ship he's requesting. Could you make sure it's warmed up and ready for when we're finished?"

"Of course, sir," the bodyguard responded.

"Oh, and while you're doing that," Dugas said, holding up a finger as if remembering something. "Could you send a message to Janthus, and let him know that the party is on for today?"

The turian bodyguard glanced for a moment at Zaeed and Rooker, then nodded back to Dugas. "Party is on, yes sir."

"Having a party, mate?" Zaeed asked as the bodyguard walked away. "You never really seemed the type."

"Oh, it's nothing special," Dugas said, gesturing for his guests to stand up and follow him. "Just a small little affair. A few drinks, a few laughs... and then I'm going to have my men kill them all." There was a tense pause in the air, before Dugas let out a loud, cackling laugh. "Should see the look on your face, Zaeed. After all these years, I can still get you."

"Yeah, you sure can," Zaeed said, forcing a jovial tone into his voice despite the tense situation they had just escaped.

"Now then... if you follow me, we can go over the registration details of this ship," Dugas said, leading Zaeed and Rooker over to a tall, sweeping staircase. "Make sure it'll work for your friend's little scheme."

* * *

Vega let out a sigh of relief. "Shit, that was tense. Guess the old bastard still has some charm left in him after all."

Jacob nodded. "Guess so. Just hope that charm holds up long enough for us to get out of here with this ship."

Activating his comms unit, Vega called Cortez. "Everything's good, Esteban... for now. We'll let you know if shit goes sideways again."

* * *

"I'll keep the shuttle prepped and ready," Cortez responded from the pilot's seat. "Over and out."

Breaking the connection, Cortez stared out of the cockpit at the trees that surrounded the landing zone. It had been a while since he'd seen a place so naturally green before. There were plants on the Citadel, but nothing could compare to planet-side greenery like this. Just the right kind of place to spread out a big blanket and share a nice picnic lunch with someone.

Someone like David? the thought popped into his mind, and a grin crept onto Cortez's face. The thought of the intimidating, stoic Private Riggs in a brightly colored shirt and cargo shorts, sitting on a blanket in the sun and munching on cress sandwiches was so incongruous that the very image made Cortez want to burst out laughing.

And yet? There was something about the image that strangely appealed to him. But only after he put himself into the picture as well. The two of them resting and relaxing after all the war and death. Just taking a chance to talk and get away from everything that had happened. He was so lost in the mental picture that he almost didn't hear the loud thump against the side of the shuttle.

"What the..." Cortez muttered. Jumping up from the pilot's seat, he grabbed a rifle before rushing to the side entrance. Gun at the ready, he triggered the door and it slid open to reveal... someone. He couldn't tell if she was human, asari, or batarian, but whoever it was was a woman, in heavy combat armor and a helmet covering her face.

"Don't move!" Cortez called out, stepping cautiously out of the shuttle and keeping his weapon trained on her. "Who are you, and what are you..."

He felt a sharp pain and heard the thump of the rifle butt against the back of his head, before tumbling down into the green grass.

The other armored figure, from his position hiding by the shuttle door, replaced his rifle on his back and turned to the woman who had drawn Cortez out. "What should we do with him, Commander?"

"Get him secured and out of the line of fire," the woman responded, her voice calm and even. "Don't want to have to worry about him getting in our way when this place turns into a war zone in a few minutes."
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Slaves of Cerberus