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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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"Hello, Miss... Chambers," Inania pleasantly greeted the visitor to the cockpit, a metallic smile gleaming on her face. "Based on prior interactions, my calculations indicate a high probability that you are here to visit Miss.... Crooks. I regret to inform you that she is currently away from the ship at the moment."

Kelly glanced at the door into the cockpit as it slid shut behind her. "Oh, really? That's too bad," she said. "I... think I might want to leave her a message. Could you give it to her for me when she gets back?"

"Of course. I will record your message and replay it for Miss... Crooks once she has returned," Inania said. "Please indicate to me when you wish to begin recording."

"Well, actually... it's kind of private. Do you think it would be possible for you to do... that thing you do? To all the cameras and hidden microphones?" Kelly said, lowering her voice slightly.

"That will not be a problem, Miss... Chambers. All recording devices in the cockpit are now being fed a two minutes, twenty eight second loop of innocuous events from the cockpit area," Inania cheerfully informed Kelly. "Your message will be kept in complete privacy. Now, please notify me when you are ready to begin recor-"

A spark of electricity suddenly lit up at the side of Inania's head, and the Alliance Infiltration Unit jolted and slumped in her seat, completely deactivated. Once the bot came to a rest, Kasumi appeared in a shimmer of light next to the co-pilot's seat.

"Those things have always creeped me out," Kasumi remarked.

"Alright, I got you in the cockpit," Kelly said, glancing nervously around as if expecting Morgan and her team to jump out of the shadows at any moment. "What's the plan now?"

Kasumi crouched down next to Inania's seat, tapping her fingers on the Normandy controls. "Now, I need to get to work on a few changes to the Normandy's computer banks. Put a few nasty surprises as deep down in the system as I can," she said. "And while I'm doing that, I need you to do something very important for me, Kelly."

"I'll try, but I don't know if..." Kelly was interrupted by the datapad clenched in her hand letting out a chirping beep. She activated the device and let out a gasp. "They're on their way back. Kasumi, they'll be here in..."

"Shh, I got it," Kasumi said, keeping her focus on the control panel as she spoke. "No time to spare, every second counts, the usual. I need you to go down to Deck 3. There's a control panel by the sleep pods that I need you to access." She interrupted her work to access her omni-tool and tap out a quick message. "I'm sending some instructions to your datapad. Enter the commands I've sent you on that panel, exactly as I give them to you. Do that, and this plan might just go off without a hitch."

Kelly furrowed her brow. "The control panel by the sleep pods? But that controls... the escape pods."

"Kelly, please," Kasumi said, turning her attention to Kelly and staring her directly in the eye. "My cover's blown. I can't stay here. The only chance I've got is to finish what I have to do here in the cockpit and bail out."

"But what about us?" Kelly said, disbelief in her voice. "Sam and Shepard and... and all of us. You said you were going to get us out of here. You promised you'd..."

"We will, Kelly," Kasumi said, anxiously twitching her fingers as she tried her best to reason with the traumatized yeoman. "Me, Jacob, the rest of us are going to come and get you out. But I can't do this on my own. I'm not a soldier. I'm a damn cat burglar. There's no way I could take on that freak Morgan and her team of crazies by myself."

"But you wouldn't be by yourself!" Kelly protested. "Shepard and Liara could..."

Kasumi shook her head. "I'm good, Kelly, but I'm not that good. Security getting up to the captain's cabin is some of the highest tech stuff the Alliance has to offer. It'd take me days to crack it."

"Well, then Miranda and Jack! They're powerful, they could..."

"Enough, Kelly!" Kasumi exclaimed, even startling herself with the sudden vehemence in her voice. "I didn't come along on this mission to play the hero! Self-sacrifice, putting my neck on the line... that's not me. That's never been me. I agreed to play spy here on the Normandy because I thought I could keep out of sight long enough to relay some information back to Jacob. I didn't sign up for some foolish rescue attempt that's just as likely to fail as it is to succeed. I don't like those odds, Kelly. So I'm doing what I came to do here in the cockpit, and then I'm getting out of here before they find me. That's it, period. So, are you going to prep the escape pod for me, or am I going to have to take the extra time to do it myself?"

Kelly stared at Kasumi in shock. The sad look in Kelly's eyes made Kasumi's heart ache, and she instantly wished she could apologize. But there was no time for any more delays. She stared back at Kelly coldly, waiting for her response.

Finally, Kelly looked down at the floor, noddly slowly. "I'll do it," she said quietly.

"Thank you," Kasumi said. Then, trying her best to remedy the situation, gave Kasumi a smile. "You know... you could come with me if you want. The others may be locked up, but there's nothing stopping you from hopping into that escape pod with me."

She already knew what Kelly's answer would be. Kelly shook her head, her expression resolved. "I'm not leaving Sam behind," she said. "If I'm not here, there's no one to protect her from..." Kelly trailed off, no doubt remembering how the Phantoms had treated Miranda and Oriana during their little "party."

"Okay, I understand," Kasumi said. Crouching back down, she began working on the control panel again. "You'd better get going. If they've already left Omega, we don't have much time left."

Kasumi worked feverishly on the control panel, trying her best to ignore Kelly still standing in the cockpit. After a few seconds, Kelly spoke up. "Kasumi, I..."

"Clock's ticking, Kelly," Kasumi said. "Whatever it is, make it quick."

"I just wanted to... thank you," Kelly said softly. "Whatever it is you're doing, I'm sure it's going to help us all escape. So... thanks," she said. After that, Kelly ducked out the cockpit door, making sure to close it quickly behind her.

Kasumi sighed. It had hurt her to do that. To be so firm with Kelly, who definitely wasn't mentally prepared to deal with this kind of situation after her many terrifying experiences on the Normandy. But there was no time for sentimentality. If she was going to get off this ship without getting caught – and get back to Jacob – she didn't have time to spare to be nice.

And now that Kelly was gone, Kasumi could stop fiddling with random controls on the co-pilot’s panel, and actually get down to her real mission.

It was the other reason why she had felt so guilty, but it was the smart play. If things went bad, Kasumi knew Kelly wouldn't be able to stand up to any serious interrogation. She'd crack, tell her captors everything she knew. And if Cerberus had even the slightest idea of why Kasumi was really here in the cockpit, the whole plan would go up in smoke.

Shifting herself over, Kasumi opened up her omni-tool and turned to the real focus of her plan. "Alright, EDI," she muttered to herself, as she accessed the files that the AI had given her. "Let's see if this actually ends up working. Or if I'm putting my ass on the line up here for nothing."
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Slaves of Cerberus