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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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The mood was quiet in the mess hall. By now, word was beginning to spread among the crew about what had happened on the surface of Ontarom, and the normal cheerful bluster between marines had been dampened somewhat by the news.

Most especially, the former comrades of Shepard, those who knew Miranda and Kasumi personally, stared forlorn into space. The experience of letting their enemies walk away with one of their friends, and sending another one off into danger, was a difficult thing to handle.

Cortez had never served with the two of them in the Normandy, and only exchanged some pleasant conversation at the Citadel party years ago. Still, it hurt him just to see his old shipmates feeling the losses. Garrus and Tali sat across from each other at one table, Garrus clutching one of Tali's hands in his own taloned fingers as the quarian wore a mournful expression. Off to the side, Javik practiced some sort of Prothean martial art, four eyes squinted in concentration. Even Grunt was looking a little morose, although it wasn't preventing him from shoveling down another plateful of some horrific looking meal.

Staring around the mess hall, Cortez caught sight of Riggs, sitting by himself in the corner again. Cortez wasn't sure what possessed him in that moment, but maybe it was something he saw in Riggs's eyes. Something he was trying to keep hidden behind that veneer of stern intimidation he usually wore. Whatever it was he saw, Cortez soon found himself walking boldly over to the intimidating marine and having a seat opposite him at the table.

"Careful now," Riggs said to the pilot as he sat. "Haven't you heard this is the Cerberus sympathizer table? I think you'd rather sit with the cool kids over there."

"No, I'd rather be here," Cortez said. "Look, I just wanted to say that I know what you're going through."

Riggs arched an eyebrow. "Do you now?"

"You remember Ferris Fields? One of the colonies the Collectors hit during the war. My husband Robert was stationed there," Cortez said. "When they took him... he managed to call me. To warn me that the Collectors would be coming for the station I was on next, and that I needed to run. And it took all I had not to jump in a shuttle and fly off to try and find him. Now, of course, I look back on it and realize it would have been foolish. That all it would have accomplished would be to get both of us abducted and killed. But for a long time after that, I just couldn't forgive myself for not doing more. Not figuring out some way to save him."

Riggs watched dispassionately as Cortez told his story, but again Cortez saw that pain lingering behind his eyes. It was a pain he knew all too well.

"What happened down there... it wasn't your fault," Cortez said. "I know you're probably not in the state right now to believe that, but trust me: if it had been anybody else in that same position, I'm sure that Phantom would have gotten the drop on them just the same as they got on you."

"You know, there are times..." Riggs said, pausing to take a sip out of the glass sitting on the table. "Where I think I still hear it. That voice in my head from back when I was indoctrinated, the one that told me who the enemy was. Who to fight, who to kill. Sometimes it's just so vivid, I hear it in my mind almost as clear as my own voice. I know it's not real. That it's just a memory of what Cerberus's indoctrination did to me. But sometimes I wonder... maybe there's something still in there. Some lingering remnant of what they did to me, that told me to turn my back just before that Phantom came and tossed me around like a ragdoll. Maybe anyone else in that position would have caught her before she attacked." Riggs shrugged. "I dunno. Guess it doesn't matter now. Rooker's in the infirmary and I'm here. Trying my best to drink away that imaginary voice."

"I can't imagine what you must have gone through," Cortez said. "But you're free of that now. And you've got people you can trust here, that you can talk to if you need to. You don't have to keep putting up these walls, you know."

Riggs stared over Cortez's shoulder at the crew sitting at the tables behind him, a light sneer on his face. "Oh, of course," he said sarcastically. "I'm sure they'd all be eager to listen to the Bloody Hand's personal problems." He stared Cortez in the eye intently. "Don't know if you knew this, Steve, but last time I checked there were forty-one 'chipped' men and women like myself, that were allowed to enlist or re-enlist in the Alliance military. You know how many of them are deck swabs? Mess sergeants? Glorified toilet scrubbers? Only former Cerberus person I know that's doing better than me is the one in charge of this ship. All the rest of them are treated like the lowest of the low. And if I hadn't spent every day since I enlisted convincing everyone that I was dangerous, borderline psychotic, and liable to snap if I wasn't put in combat on a regular basis... I'd be right down there doing the grunt work along with the rest of my fellow defectors from Cerberus."

Leaning back in his chair, Riggs looked sour as he crossed his arms over his well-developed chest. "So don't tell me I should open up to my fellow marines... share my feelings with them and look to them for understanding. Because the second I do that, they'd have me cleaning their weapons and ironing their damn uniforms. I have to be David Riggs, the infamous Bloody Hand, if I ever want to get any damn respect around here."

Cortez wasn't sure how to respond, and his mouth hung open up until he noticed that the quiet conversation behind them had completely stopped.

Turning, Cortez saw the entire mess hall watching as Vega walked into the room, and turned to head directly toward the table where Cortez and Riggs sat. There was a tense silence as every set of eyes followed the muscular marine, everyone waiting for what was about to come.

"James, now wait," Cortez said, rising to his feet to try and calm his old friend. Behind him, he could hear Riggs pushing his chair back and standing as well. Out of the corner of his eye, Cortez could see him adopt a fighting stance.

"Don't worry, Esteban," Vega said. "I ain't here to start a fight." Despite this, he still glowered at Riggs. "But I just wanted to make something clear to the Bloody Hand over there. The only reason I ain't laying you out right now is that Commander Rooker made me promise not to. And I'd like her to feel like she can rely on me... unlike some other marines on this ship I could name."

Riggs said nothing, the emotion he had been showing earlier now replaced by his normal cold, intimidating stare.

"But just know that from now on... I want you on point on the next mission. And every mission after that," Vega said to Riggs, his tone simmering with barely controlled anger. "I don't trust having you at my back, I don't trust you at any of my friends' backs, and I sure as hell don't trust you to have Commander Rooker's back. Any combat we see from here on out, I'm gonna tell Jacob to put you right at the front line."

This elicited a bored shrug from Riggs. "Fine. Just means I get first crack at the enemy."

"Yeah," Vega said, glowering at him. "And it means they get first crack at you."

"So we both get something out of it," Riggs said blandly. "Glad we could come to an agreement. Anything else you wanted to discuss besides our upcoming battle plans?"

Vega turned away from Riggs without responding. For a moment he stared at Cortez, a look of confusion on his face. "Why..." he started to ask, then shook his head. "Forget it. Just don't turn your back on him, Esteban."

As Vega stepped back out of the mess hall, and the people in the room started resuming their conversations, Cortez and Riggs sat back down. "Friendly guy," Riggs said. "Maybe I should open up to him about my feelings, you think?"

"James is... he's been through a lot," Cortez said defensively. "A mission he was on a few years ago went bad because of a Cerberus mole. A lot of people died as a result. Since then... well, it's still a touchy subject for him."

"Ah, well. Pity he didn't start something. Would have been a nice show for everyone," Riggs said with a rueful smile. "Especially that sneaky little peeping tom with the cloak. Bet she's watching all of this stupid drama right now and giggling."

Cortez stared at Riggs, mouth agape. "You..." he started to say in shock, before the realization dawned on his face. "You were unconscious on the trip back, of course you hadn't heard. But still... nobody here told you?"

"I'm not exactly on the rumor mill, you might have noticed," Riggs said. "What, what's going on with Kasumi?"

"It was Jacob's plan B," Cortez explained. "When he knew that they wouldn't be able to capture Brooks and the clone alive, he made it look like we were letting them go. But Kasumi slipped onto the shuttle with her cloak. She's on the Normandy right now, and we're following her tracking signal."

Riggs's expression turned deadly serious. "Wait, so you're saying... we know where the Normandy is?"

"Yeah, we're tailing it right now," Cortez said. "Once Cerberus reaches their home base, we're... wait, where are you going?"

Riggs had hastily gotten to his feet. "Didn't know we were that close to finding them," Riggs said, finishing the last of his drink and clumsily dropping the glass back onto the table. "All this time we wasted chatting, I could have been preparing for the next battle. I've got my weapons to clean. Armor to do repairs on. Want to be in peak fighting condition. Don't want to have another screw-up like last time, after all, right?"

"Uh, right," Cortez said, as Riggs maneuvered around the table and made his way to the door.

The marine paused for a moment before leaving, turning to glance over his shoulder at Cortez. "I... uh... this was... well, if you ever get bored again and have nothing better to do than hear the Bloody Hand whine to you for a while... I wouldn't mind it."

And before Cortez could react to that, Riggs was turning again and dashing out the door.
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Slaves of Cerberus