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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

Chapter List
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"Fall back! Everyone, fall back to the house!"

Jacob called out the order, before rising up to a crouching position. Pulling his Phalanx pistol off his hip and flicking a switch, Jacob directed rounds of incendiary ammo into the approaching troops. The shots burned through the armor of one of the approaching enemies, and the turian screamed as the flames engulfed him. One of still many more to come, but it had the desired effect, as the other mercs quickly found cover behind trees and rocks.

Jacob glanced behind him to see that the rest of the team had made their way back into the house. All of them except Riggs, whose normally stoic face was twisted in a terrifying mask of rage. Pulling his shotgun out, he let out a ferocious bellow as he started forward, charging in the direction of their attackers and firing off wild shots as he went.

"Riggs, stop!" Jacob called out, getting to his feet and grabbing his subordinate by the arm when he showed no signs of slowing. "Dammit, that's an order!"

"Those... those bastards killed him!" Riggs called out, anger and despair all over his face. Jacob had never seen Riggs in such a state before, and even with all of the horrors he had seen in his life, he felt a shiver run through him at the sight of his subordinate's uncontrollable rage.

"And they'll kill you too if you go charging out there!" Jacob responded. "Fall back to the house, now!"

By now, their attackers had realized that the oncoming fire had stopped, and Jacob ducked as shots whizzed past him, leaving trails of bullet holes in the walls of the mansion behind them. "Would Cortez have wanted you to throw your life away?" Jacob finally asked, as he bodily started dragging Riggs back to the house. "We'll make them pay, Riggs, but we won't do it by dying out here!"

Jacob's words must have finally gotten through to the shaken marine, and after a moment he nodded and stopped resisting Jacob's attempts to bring him back to the house. The timing couldn't have been better, because just as they started double-timing it to the open door, Jacob spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. "Oh, shit," he yelled out, yanking Riggs forward as he dashed with every ounce of his energy towards the door. "Rocket incoming!"

Four feet away from the mansion's entrance, Jacob heard the telltale whoosh of air. With a grunt, he grabbed Riggs around the waist before tossing himself and his subordinate towards the door. He could feel the heat of the explosion and the concussive force propel them both through the air and into the open portal, before the feeling of hitting the floor knocked the wind out of him.

"Jacob!" he heard Vega's voice, sounding like it was coming from somewhere far off in the distance. He felt slaps across his face, and after a few seconds he had regained his bearings. Glancing to his side, he saw Riggs slowly recovering as well.

"What... what the hell happened?" Vega said, helping Jacob to his feet. "Everything was going great, and then next thing we know Tara and Zaeed are cut off, and those guys destroyed our..." Clenching his fist, Vega drove it into a nearby wall, leaving a dent in the drywall. "Dammit! Esteban... those bastards!"

Jacob laid a hand on Vega's shoulder. "I know. And we'll find out who's behind this and get revenge for Cortez, I promise. But right now we have to focus on getting out of this alive."

"Easier said than done, Jacob," Garrus opined, as he drove the butt of his sniper rifle into a nearby window, shattering it in order to aim out at the oncoming enemies. "We're sitting ducks in here. Once those men get down that hill, they've got the numbers to cover every exit to this house." He took a moment to fire a shot, and from his reaction afterward Jacob guessed it must have been a direct hit. "Then come the grenades through the doors and then... well, it's not going to go well for us."

"Can we call for backup?" Vega said, while getting into cover by another broken window and sighting for enemies through his assault rifle scope. "Bring down some more marines from the Orpheus to..."

"The Orpheus only had one shuttle, James," Jacob responded, raising his voice to be heard over the gunfire still pouring into the mansion. "And it's currently in flames. We could try sending out a distress call to the Alliance, but there's no guarantee that there's a team in this system that could arrive in time."

Vega cursed under his breath. "Shit. Us trapped in this house, and Tara and Zaeed all alone against that krogan bastard's bodyguards. How the hell did this all go so wrong? Fuck, how did they know we were going to be here?"

"I wish I knew," Jacob said, leaning his back against the wall underneath the window and readying himself for the battle to come. One that they were going to be lucky to make it out of alive. "Looks like Cerberus was one step ahead of us after all. Only wish I could have..."

"Jacob!" Garrus called out, before pulling his eye away from his scope and looking over at his human comrades. "You're probably gonna want to see this!"

Jacob and Vega both cautiously poked their heads up above the windowsill. Outside, the formerly well-coordinated and precise attacking forces were now a mass of confusion, and Jacob saw several of them tumbling over into the grass, blood of various alien colors spraying from their wounds.

For a moment, Jacob thought that maybe some of his team were getting some good shots in, until he saw muzzle flashes coming from either side of the oncoming mercs. He caught a glimpse of one of the new attackers - either a human female or asari by the shape of her expensive-looking battle armor and face-obscuring helmet - firing off well placed shots from the left flank of the enemy troops. She was accompanied by several other comrades with similarly high-tech equipment, all of them unloading on the alien mercs. Another group was on the enemy's right flank, and with shots coming in from both sides the poor bastards in the middle never stood a chance.

"What's happening?" Tali said, not able to see the events outside from her position in the middle of the house, working to activate her combat drone. "Is it Zaeed and Rooker?"

"I..." Jacob said, as he watched the unknown attackers mowing down the mercs, "I have no idea who it is."

* * *

Moving quickly, Rooker grabbed up an M-96 Mattock assault rifle from one of Dugas' dead bodyguards, before rushing over to the couch. "Come on, Zaeed," she said, pulling him up off his seat with surprising strength. "We have to get moving."

"Just... just leave me, love," Zaeed muttered. "I'll catch up with you once this damned tranquilizer wears off."

"I leave you behind, they're liable to come around behind me and put a bullet in your head," Rooker said, as she wrapped her left arm around Zaeed's waist, the Mattock she had liberated from the corpse in her right hand. "You're sticking with me, Zaeed."

Zaeed shook his head as Rooker helped him towards the door. "I... appreciate the sentiment, but you're just gonna get us both killed. There's no way you can fire that thing one-handed and still..."

Raising up one of her high heels, Rooker kicked open the door to Dugas' office. On the other side were two more of his bodyguards, no doubt waiting in ambush. In the time it took Zaeed to draw a breath, Rooker had the Mattock up in one hand and, with pinpoint accuracy, deliver quick semi-automatic bursts to both enemies' heads. Zaeed watched in awe as the two aliens crumpled to the ground, likely dead before they even realized they were being shot at.

"Fucking hell," Zaeed exclaimed, as Rooker ushered him out of the office door. "I thought Jacob said your specialty was sniper rifles."

"I'm a versatile soldier, Mr. Massani," Rooker coolly replied. As two more enemies rushed towards them, Rooker raised up the rifle, still with only one hand, and fired in their direction. Their shields were down before they could even think to dive for cover behind some of Dugas' expensive art, and the second they poked their heads out to try to line up a shot, Rooker was drilling them right between the eyes.

Shit, she's swinging that heavy rifle around like it's made of bloody tissue paper, Zaeed ruminated to himself. And all while she's slinging me around like I'm a rag doll. Who the hell is this bird?

After a few more feet down the hall, and a few more enemies quickly dispatched, Zaeed shook his head and took hold of Rooker's wrist against his side. "I'm alright, love," he said, and as Rooker removed her steadying arm he was pleased to see that he was able to remain on his feet. Still a little groggy, he could feel his head swimming as he reached down to grab a rifle from one of Rooker's kills.

Not Jessie, but it'll have to do, Zaeed thought as he reloaded a new heatsink. "Gotta hurry. It'll take Dugas some time to prep his shuttle, but we don't have all day if we want to keep him from buggering off."

Rooker nodded, and the two of them proceeded forward. Up ahead, they could see the staircase that Dugas had brought them up. Leaning against the wall, Zaeed peeked around and down the stairs. "Shit," he muttered. "At least eight of them. All with their weapons trained right in our direction."

Taking a moment to consider this, Rooker suddenly started smiling. "What are you so bloody happy about?" Zaeed asked her.

"Lay down suppressing fire for me," Rooker said. "I've got an idea."

"You're the boss, love," Zaeed said. Poking his rifle around the corner, he fired wild shots in the direction of Dugas' men. His shots were wildly inaccurate – that damn tranquilizer still making his hands shaky – but it did the trick of scattering the enemy forces. "Whatever you've got planned, you better do it soon, before they get the bright idea to fire back!" Zaeed yelled out to Rooker.

There was a flurry of motion to Zaeed's side, and suddenly Rooker in front of him, on the stairs. No, not the stairs... she was on the banister. For a moment, Zaeed could only watch in awe as Rooker slid down the wooden railing on that shapely ass of hers, all while firing her weapon at the turians, batarians, and krogan at the bottom of the stairs. Then he remembered he was supposed to be covering her, and continued directing wild shots at the enemy troops.

By the time Rooker came off the end of the handrail and hit her feet, every last one of the enemies at the bottom of the stairs was dead. And by his generous estimation, Zaeed was only responsible for one of those kills, at the most. Coming around the corner, he could only stare slack-jawed at Rooker, who gave him a casual shrug.

"Saw it in a movie once," she said. "Now come on! I can see Dugas out in the courtyard!"

Going as fast as he could without tumbling down the stairs, still feeling a little groggy, Zaeed joined Rooker down on the main floor, and together they made their way out the door into the lavish courtyard they had arrived in. At the far end of the lush greenery, Dugas was running as fast as he could towards a waiting shuttle pad.

"Dugas, stop!" Zaeed yelled out, as he and Rooker dashed off in pursuit of the fleeing krogan. "You're not getting away, mate!"

As he and Rooker trailed after Dugas, suddenly two nearby shrubberies exploded into a cloud of green leaves. And from out of the planters burst two automated turrets. "Down!" Rooker yelled out, shoving Zaeed to the side and behind a concrete bench before finding her own cover, just before the heavy weapons opened fire.

"Nice try, Alliance scum!" Dugas yelled out from atop the shuttle pad, as he worked on prepping his escape craft from a nearby control panel. "Next time bring more people!"

"Dammit!" Rooker spat out, poking her head around her cover only to dart back to safety, as the automated turrets honed in and fired a burst in her direction. "Can't take those things out. Not without heavy weapons." Looking over at Zaeed, Rooker arched a brow. "Don't suppose you've got any ideas?"

Zaeed shook his head. "I've just been following your lead here, love."

"Son of a bitch," Rooker said, sounding defeated. "We made it this far. Can't believe we're going to have to let him go!"

"There we are," Dugas said, as his shuttle started humming to life. "Take whatever you want out of the house, Zaeed! Consider it a token of our former friendship! Just know that you'll only be able to enjoy it for a little while, before I bring back the rest of my men to kill you and all your Alli... ance... bud..."

Dugas trailed off, his eyes going up to the sky. The air was suddenly filled with the sound of a loud engine roaring overhead. From out of nowhere, two accelerator cannon shots streaked through the air and made direct impact on the heavy turrets. With a loud boom, the two weapons exploded into scrap metal.

"What the..." Zaeed muttered, looking over at Rooker and seeing her staring straight up into the air. Following her gaze, Zaeed saw a gleaming Kodiak shuttle swooping over Dugas' mansion and right in the krogan's direction. Zaeed thought it was the Orpheus's shuttle for a split second, but one look at it was enough to know that it was definitely newer, much better armed, and lacking any Alliance markings... or markings of any kind, for that matter. As Zaeed and Rooker both hesitantly moved out of cover, the doors to the shuttle opened, and armored men rappelled out of the Kodiak and down on either side of Dugas.

"Don't move!" said one of the new arrivals, his weapon trained directly at Dugas. "Throw your weapon on the ground and put your hands up! Do it or we will open fire!"

Dugas looked around at the four humanoid figures surrounding him, and then stared down the courtyard at Zaeed, not a trace of fear in his expression. "More of your Alliance friends, Zaeed?" he called out. For a moment, a hint of sadness crossed his face, and he added, "Sorry it had to end like this, old friend. I'll save a seat for you for when you join me in hell."

"Dugas, don't!" Zaeed yelled out, but the krogan was already going for his gun. "No, don't shoot!" he yelled again, this time trying to stop their unknown rescuers for firing.

But just like his warning to Dugas, it was ignored, and soon Dugas was being hit on all sides by automatic weapons fire. Within the span of a few seconds, Zaeed's old comrade was shredded by the incoming bullets, and his crumpled form tumbled down in a pool of spreading blood on the shuttle pad.

Rooker stared at the thoroughly-killed krogan and let out a sigh. "Well... so much for that shuttle," she muttered.

* * *

The team in the mansion watched as the heavily-armored figures prowled along the hill, delivering coups de grâce to any survivors of their attack. Once they were certain that every last enemy had been eliminated, the female figure that Jacob had seen earlier raised up a fist and barked out an order. It was obvious that she was the one in charge, as all of her comrades immediately holstered their weapons.

With that done, the woman turned to the house, and yelled out, her voice coming out of an amplifying speaker on her helmet. "Jacob Taylor! You and your men are safe now. Holster your weapons and come out. We're here to help."

Vega looked over at Jacob intently. "She knows who you are? What do you think?" he asked. "Do we trust them?"

"They just saved our asses, James," Jacob responded, putting his pistol as his hip and rising to his feet. "I think I'm willing to give them a little bit of faith at this point."

Making his way slowly to the door, Jacob walked out into the yard with his hands outstretched, to show he was unarmed. "This is Jacob Taylor," he called out to the leader of their mysterious rescuers. "Who are you? What are you doing here?"

"You've got a lot of questions, Commander Taylor," the woman responded, a hint of amusement in her voice. "Understandable, I suppose. To answer your last question first, you and I have mutual friends."

"Really?" Jacob asked, taking another step towards the woman. Behind him, he could hear the rest of the team cautiously making their way out of the bullet-riddled mansion. "And who would that be?"

"Admiral Hackett told me a lot about you," the woman said. "Said you were one of the finest soldiers in the Alliance, and it was a pity that your past in Cerberus had you related to a glorified garbage heap." Her words reminded Jacob of his conversation with the admiral, Hackett informing Jacob that "other parties" had taken an interest in their mission. I suppose these must be those other parties, then, he realized.

"Enough with the secrets, already," Vega butted into the conversation. "Just who the hell are you, lady?"

"I suppose we are overdue for an introduction," the woman said, reaching up to her helmet and popping the latch. "But then again," she said, her voice now sounding more natural as she exposed her face, "I believe some of your comrades may already be familiar with me."

Jacob heard a gasp, and looked over to see Garrus staring at the woman with wide eyes. "You! But the last time we saw you, you were with..."

A smile briefly crossed the Asian woman's face, nodding at Garrus before turning her attention back to Jacob. "But as far as the rest of you: my name is Maeko Matsuo. Mr Vakarian here met me during my time with ERCS. But now I work for... well, that's a rather long story. And one I'm sure you all will be quite interested to hear."
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Slaves of Cerberus