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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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"This way," Kolyat said, straining to turn the large wheel keeping the door in front of them shut. "I believe there is an old shuttle bay through this door."

"Sounds good," Gianna said, already looking forward to getting this dead asari's body armor off. God, she'll never complain about having to wear a dress for a job again after this. How did Shepard and all of her buddies deal with wearing this stuff all the time?

After a few more straining turns, Kolyat finally managed to work the door open with one last grunt. After a hard shove, the large metal portal creaked open to reveal an old, barely lit shuttle bay.

As Gianna and Kolyat stepped inside, Gianna's eyes went wide. "Hell, yeah!" she exclaimed, pointing down to the large shuttle-craft resting near the metal doors that led out into the blackness of space. "Can you believe it? Thing almost looks brand new!"

"Yes," Kolyat said, narrowing his eyes at the shuttle. "How... peculiar."

"Hey, I ain't looking a gift horse in the mouth," Gianna said, stepping down the short flight of steps just inside the door and making her way towards the shuttle. "If it flies and it'll get me off this..."

"Freeze!" called out a voice from the darkness. Gianna immediately halted in her tracks, cursing under her helmet. Of course, she thought to herself. And just when things were starting to feel nice and chilly out of that frying pan.

Stepping out of the shadows, pistol in hand, a batarian glared at Gianna. He looked haggard, like he hadn't slept in days, but his hand was steady as he aimed it at Gianna's helmet.

"Eclipse, huh?" he barked at her. "Balak is stupider than I thought, sending just one of you after me. And only packing a pistol, too." He gestured with his own weapon. "Drop it on the floor. Slowly, now."

"Look, this isn't what you think it is," Gianna asked, pulling her pistol off her hip and dropping it to the floor before slowly raising her hands. "I'm not working for Balak."

"A defector?" the batarian asked with a scoff. "You expect me to believe that you came down here to... what? Be my new best friend? Aria may have let herself get duped by that kind of talk, but I'm not going to make that same..."

Gianna heard a rustle of heavy cloth, saw a blur of motion out of the corner of her eye. And suddenly Kolyat was behind the batarian, his own gun at the batarian's temple. "Drop your weapon," Kolyat said, his voice quiet but firm. "I have already taken too many lives today. Do not make me add another."

With an angry grunt, the batarian tossed his weapon to the floor. "Dammit, fine," he said. "You win. Take me to your new King if that's what you want. But you should know that Balak's just a damn pawn. I've seen what's really going on here, and all of you are being played for suckers."

Something about this was strange. Gianna thought back to Delston, the way he had been once the mysterious gas device had been activated. He had been angry, completely out of control. Not at all like this batarian.

"Koylat, put the gun away," Gianna said. The drell looked at her, confused, but complied with her request.

No longer being held at gunpoint, the batarian looked behind him. "A drell," he said, staring at Kolyat with a quizzical look, before glancing down at his former captor's robes. "And one of those monks, too. I told Aria you people were hiding something, but she wouldn't listen. The rest of your people with Eclipse now, too?"

"What's your name?" Gianna asked the batarian, speaking loudly to draw his attention back to her.

"Bray," the batarian said.

She was taking a risk, with Kolyat no longer keeping Bray at gunpoint. But it wouldn't be the first time she had acted on a hunch. Reaching up, she began fingering the side of her neck.

"Gianna, what are you..." Kolyat asked, slightly alarmed.

"Nice to meet you, Bray," Gianna said, as she finally unfastened the helmet and tossed it aside. "My name is Gianna Parasini, and I'm a human."

Bray sneered at her. "Yeah, that you are. So, what... you're with those bastards in Cerberus? You think you can..."

"Bray..." Gianna interrupted. "Would you like to fuck me?"

The batarian paused, taken completely aback. After a few seconds, he narrowed his four eyes at her. "I don't know how you get your kicks, lady, but I really don't think this is the time."

"You sure?" Gianna asked, glancing up at one of the loudspeakers broadcasting Balak's endless barrage of human hate. "Not feeling any urges to tear all my clothes off, throw me to the ground, and rape me?"

"Look, I don't know exactly what weird shit you two are into, but if you're not going to kill me, I've got better things to do," Bray said. "And no offense, human... but you're really not my type."

Gianna's face widened into a grin. "It's not working down here," she said. "Kolyat, you said you were feeling... the effects up there. Are you feeling them now?"

Kolyat looked puzzled, and shook his head. "I... no. I had not noticed until now, but they seem to have faded."

"What in the hell are you two going on about?" Bray asked. "If you know something about what's going on here..."

Gianna didn't know who this guy was, but considering he was one of the few aliens on this station not out to hold her down and rape her, Gianna decided he was an alright sort of guy. She told him what had happened to her since taking Delston into custody. The device she had seen being installed, the armored figure who had shot at her. The way it had affected all of the non-humans on the station.

"Son of a bitch," Bray said as Gianna finished her story. "At least the last time Cerberus just herded all the non-humans into the worst parts of the station and kept them under lock and key. Now they're turning us into rapists?"

"Cerberus, that's it," Gianna said, something finally clicking in her brain. "That person I saw setting up the device... I'd seen that armor once before. In one of those post-war retrospectives Diana Allers did. The... Phantoms, that what it was. They wore armor just like that."

"But... why would Cerberus do something like this?" Kolyat said. "They claim to fight for humanity, and yet they would subject their own race to this sort of treatment?"

Bray gave a low chuckle. "All part of the plan," he said. When Gianna and Kolyat gave him questioning looks, he told his own story. How he had been there, watching from the shadows as Aria had been abducted by Commander Shepard and her new Cerberus comrades. How they had welcomed Balak onto Omega, and aided him in taking command of the three major merc companies. And how Shepard and her companion had discussed using footage from the Omega surveillance cameras to help fire up the anti-alien sentiment across the galaxy.

"I still can't believe it," Gianna said after Bray had finished. "Shepard and I worked together, twice. She always seemed like a good person... hell, almost too good sometimes. To think that she'd be a part of something like this..."

"Hey, I can only tell you what I saw with my own eyes," Bray said with a shrug. "Hell, Shepard and I met too, back when she helped Aria retake Omega... the first time, that is. And if that wasn't her that took down Aria and flew off with her in a shuttle a few minutes before you got here, it was a damn good lookalike."

"Perhaps that is the case," Kolyat said. "The two of you may find this difficult to believe... but I have also met Shepard before. And the woman who stood by my side at my father's death bed... I cannot allow myself to believe that she would commit such evil actions."

"Geez, we've allmet Shepard? Small galaxy, I guess," Gianna said. "But hell, maybe all that shit Cerberus did to her back when they brought her back to life finally had an effect on her. Or maybe they gave her some weird gas like the one they're feeding into the streets up there."

Bray rubbed his chin. "Still not sure why it's not working down here," he observed. "Think maybe they didn't bother to put one of those gas devices down here?"

"No, they definitely did do that."

Everyone turned at the sound of a voice coming from the open door. Stepping over the bottom edge of the passage, a suited quarian walked into the room, cradling one of the metal devices in his hands.

"Son of a bitch," Bray said in a delighted voice, rushing forward as the new arrival stepped down the stairs and into the shuttle bay. "Len, you always were a lucky bastard!" he exclaimed, clapping the quarian on the shoulders.

"Careful," the quarian said, his tone friendly. "Already cheated death once today. And it would be so pathetic to keep myself out of sight from Cerberus only to die from some batarian dufus rupturing my suit."

Bray turned to Gianna and Kolyat. "This is Len'Tolas vas Omega. Our chief engineer and general tech genius around these parts."

"Vas Omega?" Gianna said. It occurred to her that it had been almost a year since she had last seen a fully-suited quarian like the one standing in front of them. Most had returned home to have immune system treatments done by this point. "Thought all of your quarians had switched over to vas Rannoch these days."

Len shrugged. "Meh, I've seen the homeworld in vids. Looks like kind of a letdown. Besides, Len'Tolas vas Rannoch would just be another poor sap planting crops and scooping manure. But Len'Tolas vas Omega... now he's one of the only reasons this decrepit old station is still running as smoothly as it is. And Aria makes sure I get paid handsomely to keep her kingdom from blowing up around her." Glancing over at Bray, he sighed. "Or at least, she did."

Bray looked down at the device in Len's hands, before glancing over his shoulder at Gianna. "So I guess that's the..."

"Yeah," Gianna said, shaking her head and driving a fist into her thigh. "Dammit, I knew I should have destroyed that thing when I saw it!"

"Actually, that would have been... a very bad idea," Len said, dropping the disabled gas device gently onto a nearby stack of crates. "This thing has so many countermeasures built into its circuitry, you would have been more likely to blow yourself to bits than to even put the slightest dent into the outer shell. Took me about forty minutes of hacking and rewiring before I finally managed to shut it off."

"But you can shut it off," Kolyat said. "So if we could find the rest of these devices and have you disable them..."

Behind his helmet, Gianna could hear Len clucking his tongue. "That's the hard part, though, isn't it? Finding them. Do you know how many ventilation systems this station has? Not to mention that we're looking for a device that's specifically built to not be found. If I hadn't been watching and seen exactly where that Phantom had put it before triggering the cloak, I probably never would have been able to find the thing."

"But at least it's something," Kolyat said. "And if we can find and disable at least one more of the devices... perhaps one that's affecting the residential areas up above us..."

"Then maybe we can find some allies once they're not getting gassed anymore, get some people on our side to take the fight to that bastard Balak," Bray said. "Shit, it ain't the best odds, but I've seen worse. I mean, the four of us working together, I bet we could..." Seeing the change in expression that came to Kolyat and Gianna, he frowned. "What?"

Kolyat clasped his hands in front of him, staring down at his feet. "I am afraid that Gianna... will not be staying with us. She asked me to accompany her here to find a shuttle, so that she might leave."

Feeling the stares of the other two aliens on her, Gianna held up her hands. "But I'm coming back!" she clarified. "Like I told Kolyat, I know people. If you three can just hold out for a few days, I'll come back to Omega with help. I know a few suits back on Noveria who'd be on the streets begging for spare credits if I hadn't solved a problem or two for them. I'm sure I can call in a few favors." Seeing the doubtful look on Bray's face – and feeling fairly confident that a similar expression was behind Len's breathing mask – Gianna quickly added. "And besides, you two haven't seen what it's like for me and other humans up there. The gas that those things are spitting out makes any non-humans go absolutely nuts. They've got humans out in the streets and they're... well, the point is, I can't stay here. But I swear I'm coming back."

None of the other three looked particularly convinced. "Well, I suppose we could use the help," Bray finally said. "And Balak did leave his shuttle there. Might as well put it to good use."

"Hey, why don't you three come with me?" Gianna asked hopefully. "I mean, it's not like you'd be able to put up that much of a fight against the entire non-human population of Omega, after all. Not to mention the Blood Pack, Blue Suns, and Eclipse all out for blood. We'll all get out of here and come back with a damn army to take Balak down."

The three of them considered it. "Nah," Bray finally said. "Aria'd kill me if I left this place with Balak in charge. Think I'd rather face a hundred firing squads than have her come back here and find out I turned tail and ran."

"Yeah, and I've kinda gotten attached to the whole 'vas Omega' thing," Len said. "Really don't think that 'Len'Tolas vas Some-Crappy-Shuttlecraft' has quite the same ring to it, you know? And besides, I'd hate to have one of these two try to disable one of those devices and end up blowing a big hole in my beautiful station."

Gianna turned to the last of the three. "Come on, Kolyat," she said to him. "You said it yourself: you wanted to live a peaceful life. Getting into gunfights in the streets of Omega... that's pretty much the opposite of a peaceful life. But if you come with me, we can both find some help and come back here. We could let a bunch of private security grunts do the fighting instead." Stepping forward, she laid a hand on Kolyat's shoulder. "Come with me. It'll be a pretty boring shuttle ride otherwise."

Kolyat said nothing, simply staring at her with those dark black eyes. Finally, he shook his head. "I appreciate the offer. But my place is here. I cannot turn my back on suffering. If that means that I am forced to take up arms against those who cause that suffering... then I must do what I must."

Letting out a disappointed sigh, Gianna let her hand drop from Kolyat. "Well, then. Guess it was nice meeting you." She looked at all three of them, looking so determined. How could they be so stupid? They were just three people against an entire station of insane rapists and well-armed mercenaries. How could they possibly hope to win?

"I... well, good luck," Gianna finally said to them. "Try to keep out of sight if you can, until I come back with the cavalry."

"Of course," Kolyat said, sounding not entirely convinced. "We will await your return."

She felt like she should say something more, but seeing the looks on their faces made her realize that nothing she said would matter. Turning away from their glowering stares, Gianna quickly walked towards Balak's shuttle. She half expected it to be secured in some way, but Balak either never intended to make use of the shuttlecraft again, or simply never considered that anyone else might try to access it. The hatch into the shuttle easily slid open, and Gianna stepped inside and sat down in the cockpit.

"Alright, let's get this baby warmed up," she said to herself. Talking out loud to herself, to try and drive away the image in her mind of Kolyat. Staring at her with those soulful drell eyes of his, looking at her so sadly as she turned and walked away. Shaking her head, she focused her mind on the instruments in front of her.

It's suicide to stay here, she thought to herself, as she heard the engines of the shuttle start to warm up. Only an idiot would stick around when they'd seen what's being done to humans on this station. And you're not an idiot, Gianna. You're not the type to do stupid things just because some drell in a silly robe gives you puppy dog eyes. You're not that kind of person.

"So, who can we call once we get out of here?" Gianna continued talking to herself. "Galina Needham from Chaplain Technologies, maybe? I bet she could throw in a few credits to help us out. I mean, we did help her deal with that blackmailer, after all. We should definitely... definitely..." She pounded her fist down on the console. "No, you are not doing this! You are not turning into a sap on me, Gianna. You're going to get this shuttle off this station, and you're going to put it as far behind you as you can! Let those stupid bastards get themselves killed. 'I must do what I must.' Who the hell even says things like that? If he's dumb enough to go up against these odds, than the guy deserves to... to..."

Gianna slumped down on her seat. In front of her, the console informed her that the shuttle was prepped and ready for takeoff.

Dammit, Gianna thought to herself. Damn it all.
* * *

"Alright, here's where we are," Len said, as he activated his omni-tool and called up a hovering map of the station. The three of them had moved into a side storage area after Gianna had entered the shuttle, standing together in a circle. "Kolyat, from what you've said, it sounds like we should be able to move through the station relatively easily?"

"Yes, only humans are being detained from what I have seen," Kolyat said. "But I'm afraid that it may have to be just you and myself. The gas up there would most likely affect Bray if he were exposed to it."

Bray crossed his arms over his chest. "Hey, maybe I've got more self-control than you give me credit for, buddy," he said, but then shrugged. "Just to be on the safe side, though, I suppose I could stay down here for now. Maybe find us a base of operations to work from while we search for those devices."

"Finding those devices... that's gonna be the tricky part. Do we have any leads at all?" Len asked Kolyat. "Even the slightest hint of where one of them might be installed? I mean, we're talking about looking for needles in about fifty or so haystacks. Would be nice to at least know which stack would be a good start."

Kolyat folded his arms into his robes. "I... do not know. Gianna saw one of the devices, but I was not with her then. So I could not tell you where we-"

"An access hatch at the far end of Kima district, nearest to the spaceport," said a voice from behind them. They all turned to see Gianna stepping into the supply room, adjusting her Eclipse armor. "Pretty sure I can find it again, although we'll have to pass through Blue Suns territory. Might have to stick to the shadows to keep me out of sight."

The three of them stared at her, slightly stunned. Finally, Len spoke up. "That's a good start, yeah. If you can get me to the device, I should be able to disable it like I did the other one."

"Hey, Len, come with me a second," Bray said. "Now that it's not going anywhere, we should raid the shuttle for anything useful. Rations, extra thermal clips... got a feeling we're going to have to make do with whatever we've got on hand for a while."

Bray and Len stepped out of the storage area back into the shuttle bay, leaving Gianna alone with Kolyat. The robed drell shifted awkwardly. "I am glad that..."

"Just make me one promise," Gianna interrupted him gruffly. "Before I change my mind. No matter what happens, no matter what you have to do... you never let them take me. Even if you have to shoot me yourself, you do what you have to do." Kolyat looked uncomfortable at Gianna's last sentence, so she pressed him. "Swear to me, Kolyat, or I'm taking that shuttle."

"I... I swear, under the sight of all the gods, and on the spirit of my father, that I will not let them take you," Kolyat finally said, bowing his head solemnly as he spoke the words.

Gianna pressed a hand to her forehead. "I know I'm going to end up regretting this." Sighing, she waved a hand towards the door out of the storage area. "Come on, pal. Let's see if Balak left us anything good in that ride of his. If he's got any levo-booze, I call first dibs."

"At your command," Kolyat replied, following behind Gianna as the two of them headed out into the shuttle bay.
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Slaves of Cerberus