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Slaves of Cerberus	By : NakedOwlMan Category: +M through R > Mass Effect Views: 138212 -:- 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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If things had seemed grim in the mess hall after Ontarom, it was nothing compared to the heavy atmosphere that had settled over the room now. The off-duty crewmembers ate and drank silently, each of them thinking about the friendly, optimistic thief that had once shared a ship with them. And that all of them knew was now the prisoner of the enemy.

Jacob hadn't made any announcement about Kasumi's capture, of course. But it was only a matter of time before the shocking development had filtered down to the rank and file of the Orpheus crew. The defeat at Ontarom had been a sobering experience, but at the very least it had not taken one of their own. But now, someone they had known, shared a ship with, was in the hands of Cerberus. And they had been the ones to put here there.

Leaning forward onto his table, Garrus picked at the dextro-rations in front of him. "You know, most of my people hate this stuff," he remarked to his companion at the table. "But I have to admit, after a few months of having nothing but this pre-processed garbage to eat, I think I ended up developing a taste for it. Right about now, though... can't help but remember how disgusting it really is."

"We shouldn't have done it," Tali said, looking forlorn behind her breathing mask. "It was too big a risk for her to take."

"It was the right call," Garrus said, sounding a bit uncertain himself. "If we hadn't sent Kasumi in, we'd have had no idea where the Normandy was now. They might have her, but now we have their last location. We'll make sure she doesn't stay Cerberus's prisoner for long."

Tali stared at Garrus, despair and frustration in her voice. "But how? Even if they're still there when we arrive, this ship will never stand a chance against it! For all we know the Normandy's just sitting and waiting for us to arrive, so they can blow us out of space the second we come out of the relay."

Garrus nodded, letting out a pained sigh. "Times like these, I try to think about what Shepard would do. Hell, she took down an entire race of evil AIs the size of skyscrapers, and walked away smiling. She'd laugh at odds like these."

"I know," Tali said, fiddling with the straw in her glass. "Back on Rannoch, all those people back there looking up to me like some sort of hero. But I could never even compare to Shepard in the end." She glanced over at the vidscreen nearby, the galactic news finally breaking away from the constant coverage of Shepard's "defection" to Cerberus with some salacious piece about a smutty sex tape that had been posted online. "I can't even imagine what's happening to her. Shepard, Liara, Miranda, Kasumi... what's happening to all of them."

"I can," said someone nearby. Garrus and Tali looked up to see Riggs approaching their table. The human marine stared down at them with his cold, expressionless eyes. "I can imagine it quite well, actually. I saw it first-hand, after all."

Garrus narrowed his eyes at the marine. "Yes, we're quite aware of your past, Private Riggs. But I don't think we need all the bloody details of what you did."

"Bloody?" Riggs observed, casually strolling over to stand by the two aliens' table. "Hardly. Cerberus didn't like to do damage to its captives. Waste of good resources, after all. But painful? Oh, yes. The indoctrination went a lot quicker, you see, when we used pain to break down the victim's defenses. On its own, it could take days to break a man into serving us. But with a little... applied force, we could have him begging to put on a Cerberus uniform in hours."

"Please," Tali said, turning to face Riggs with a plaintive look. "I don't want to hear any more."

Riggs stared at Tali dispassionately. "Yes, it is a difficult thing to think about, isn't it? All of your friends tied up and screaming, wave after wave of pain being forced through their bodies? I still remember when it was done to me. By the end, I would have welcomed a bullet. Anything to make the suffering stop. There was one device, I remember, that you could attach to the base of someone's spine and activate every pain sensor in your nervous system, all at once. It was like your whole body was..."

"Enough!" Garrus exclaimed, everyone in the mess hall turning to the sound of his raised voice as he rose out of his chair and stood up in front of Riggs. "How about taking your colorful stories somewhere else, okay? We're already torn up about this enough. We don't need your help."

Riggs stared Garrus in the eyes and smirked slightly. "I will say this: at least Miss Goto is a human. Can't imagine what they're doing to Dr. T'Soni over there. If it's anything like what we used to do with the aliens we captured, I can't imagine there will be much of her left by..."

Garrus gave him a shove. The human marine stumbled back into the center of the mess hall, but quickly regained his footing. Across the mess hall, people began to stand and watch the unfolding events. Nervous glances went around the room, marines and crew members knowing they should step in, but nobody having the guts to be the one who got between the frightening marine and scar-faced turian.

"I'll give you one more chance," Garrus said, his tone low and threatening. "Turn around and walk away, right now. If you say just one more word..." Garrus left the warning hanging in the air, but clenched his taloned fingers to show his intentions.

His eyes cold and unblinking, Riggs stood up straight. The crew in the mess hall had started to crowd around by the time Riggs opened his mouth again.

"Give it your best shot, birdy."

* * *

Vega heard it as soon as he entered the gym. The repetitive thump of gloved hands against a heavy bag. His eyes followed the sound to see Rooker at the corner of the room, pounding fist after fist into the large canvas sack in front of her. Her eyes were locked on the heavy bag, and she didn't seem to even notice Vega's entrance as she angrily threw hook shots.

He moved quietly into the room, trying his best not to let her notice his presence. He caught a glimpse of her face as he moved around, and the expression there was like nothing he had ever seen from the normally stern and reserved XO. As she threw hard punches into the heavy bag, she wore an expression of anger and pain, gritting her teeth with every strike.

"Dammit," Vega heard Rooker muttering, barely audible under the steady thump of her fist against canvas. As Vega watched silently, Rooker's steady, measured blows to the heavy bag got faster and faster. Soon, Rooker was wildly punching at the bag, letting out anguished cries with every wild blow, until her strength finally gave out. With her arms hanging limply at her side, Rooker leaned her head forward against the heavy bag and gasped for breath. For a moment, Vega was sure that he heard her let out a few sobs.

Just as he was about ready to leave and give the XO her privacy, Rooker turned around. Seeing Vega standing there, she let out a surprised gasp. "You... how long have you been there?" she asked him.

"Not long, chica," Vega said. "But I guess long enough."

Her face turning red, either from the exertion or embarrassment, Rooker looked down at the floor. "I'm sorry you had to see me like this. This sort of behavior is unbecoming of an Alliance officer. Sacrifices like these happen all the time, and I should be..."

"Hey, now," Vega said, taking tentative steps in her direction. "Just because you're Alliance doesn't mean you ain't still human, you know? You ain't got nothing to be ashamed about."

"I just... feel like I'm responsible, you know?" Rooker said. "Like Kasumi being captured is all my fault. If I hadn't let that Phantom..."

Vega immediately shook his head. "No, no way. Don't blame yourself for this at all, you hear me? What happened down on Ontarom wasn't anybody's fault. Not yours, not Jacob's. If you want to hate somebody, don't hate yourself. Hate those Cerberus bastards who forced us into this situation in the first place."

"I do hate them," Rooker said. "More than you can possibly imagine." Finally averting her eyes from the floor, she looked up at Vega with a forlorn expression. "Has Jacob told you about where I was before joining the Orpheus crew?"

Vega thought. "Nah, can't say I've ever thought to ask him. Guess I just assumed you were part of the battle back on Earth."

A pained expression crossed Rooker's face. "I'm afraid not. Back in '85, around the time Shepard was brought back to life, I was separated from my unit during an operation. Turns out that a rogue Cerberus cell was operating in the area, and I ended up as one of their test subjects. They held me for an entire year, up until the Reapers arrived."

"Mierda," Vega cursed. "A whole damn year? Dammit, I still remember how everybody was acting like Cerberus were a big bunch of heroes for bringing back Shepard. And while everybody was kissing their asses, they had you in some cell somewhere?"

Rooker nodded. "People like to say that Cerberus turned into some evil organization, that the Reapers got ahold of the Illusive Man and turned him into the monster he died as. But I know damn well that they were always a bunch of sick bastards." She rubbed at one of her arms, as if tracing a scar that was no longer there. "But I did get out. Escaped when the Reapers arrived and everything went to hell. Got back to Earth after the war was over and found out the Alliance had declared me AWOL. But they were quick to change their minds on that one when they found out where I'd been. Offered me a nice pension and an early retirement, but I told them I wanted back on active duty as soon as possible. And I asked them to classify any record of my captivity. As far as the Alliance was concerned, I was on an 'undisclosed assignment' for that year."

Vega gave her a quizzical look. "Why would you tell them to do that? Shit, if that had happened to me, I would have wanted everyone to know about what had happened. So any of the bastards who had done it to me could be tracked down and put in front of a goddamn firing squad."

"They were all dead, James," Rooker said, the barest trace of a smile crossing her face. "Believe me, there was no one left alive to punish at that point. And the last thing I wanted was to come back to the Alliance and have everybody see me as some... victim. I told myself I'd never make a mistake like that again. Never let myself get blindsided, taken by surprise." She ran a hand through her dark hair and sighed. "And now look at me. Not only breaking my vow, but letting Cerberus pull one over on me again." Pivoting around, she swung and delivered another angry blow to the heavy bag. "I'm pathetic," she muttered, her back to Vega as she slumped her shoulders.

"Hey, listen to me," Vega said, moving to stand behind her and laying a hand gently on her back. "I've known Jacob for a few years now. He's a good guy. A smart guy, a whole lot smarter than me. He wouldn't have chosen you as his XO if he didn't think you were worth it." He swallowed, a shadow crossing his face. "Operations go bad sometimes. Believe me, I've been there. You can spend the rest of your life cursing yourself, thinking about how you could have done it differently. But that ain't gonna accomplish nothing except driving yourself loco."

"I know. But I just..." Rooker paused. Turning to face Vega, she reached down her hand to the bottom hem of the tank top she wore and drew it slightly up. Her other hand brushed against the pale line that still remained on her torso. "I still feel it at night. That woman's sword inside of me. In my dreams, the rest of you don't save me in time. I feel my blood draining out on the rocks and it's like... it's like my life just spilling out of me." She shuddered.

"Well, that ain't gonna happen again," Vega said, grabbing her by the shoulders. "I ain't gonna let it. You've got my sangre in you now, and if Cerberus wants to spill it again, they're gonna have to go through me first. From now on, we're partners in this, chica. You watch my back, and I'll watch yours. And with us fighting together, Cerberus won't stand a damn chance. And I'll be right by your side when you take that bitch's sword back and jam it down her throat."

Despite herself, Rooker felt a smile coming to her face. "Giving speeches like that... was that part of Shepard's N7 training?" she asked, as she pulled her shirt back down to cover the scar on her rippled torso.

"Nah, I always left those sorts of things to her," Vega said with a sheepish grin. "She was always good at coming up with the words to get you motivated, make you want to fight harder. Unfortunately I usually give speeches just about as well as I flirt."

"You're not that bad," Rooker said. "Just a little overbearing. A little too eager. Sometimes a girl wants a guy to be a little more... subtle, you know?"

Vega responded by moving in closer to her, slowly, until they were just inches away. "Well, I tell you what, chica," Vega said softly, the hands he had on her shoulders sliding slowly down her bare arms. "You just tell me when I ain't being subtle enough for you, and I'll stop. Okay?"

He half-expected her to roll her eyes. Slap his hands away and shut down like she always had before. But Rooker said nothing. Simply looked him deep in the eyes as his hands moved down and reached hers. Gripped them for just a split-second, only to find themselves on her hips. He could hear her heavy breaths, and wasn't sure if it was from the raging blows she had thrown against the heavy bag earlier, or something else.

"James," Rooker said, as he slid his hands around her back and pulled her in close. "I need to tell you..."

"Uh, sorry to interrupt the... workout," said a voice from the gym entrance. Vega and Rooker turned to see Joker standing at the open door. "But I think you better get to the mess hall before somebody gets killed."

Rooker rapidly stepped back from Vega. "We're on our way," she said to Joker. Turning to Vega, she stammered. "Uh... we should..."

"Yeah, I getcha," Vega said. "We'll finish this discussion later." As the two of them stepped out of the gym and made their way to the mess hall, Vega cursed Joker in his head. Why did that man have such a unique gift for ruining the moment?

Trailing behind him, Rooker tried her best to hide the haunted look on her face. The story about her time in the clutches of Cerberus. She hadn't planned to tell Vega about that. At that moment of weakness, though, it had just slipped out.

It wasn't the fact that she had told him that worried her, though. It was that, despite what she had been feeling for Vega at that moment, she had still found it so disturbingly easy to lie right to his face.

* * *

Spitting blood onto the floor, Riggs sneered at Garrus. "That the best you got, turian? No wonder you needed the krogan to bail your asses out during the Reaper war."

With narrowed eyes, Garrus stepped forward and through another hard punch at Riggs's face. Standing around the two brawling men, the crew of the Orpheus watched silently. A few of them let out cheers as Garrus's fist found Riggs's chin again, but a glare from the intimidating marine quickly squelched any encouragement from the crowd.

"Garrus, stop," Tali said, working her way through the crowd and grabbing Garrus by the arm. "We shouldn't be fighting each other. We're in this together."

"Yeah, listen to the quarian," Riggs said with a sneer. "After all, her people are experts at running away from a fight. Remind me again how many hundreds of years you people spent hiding from a bunch of tin cans?"

Giving Riggs a fearsome glare, Tali released her grip on Garrus's arm. "Never mind. Kick his ass," she instructed Garrus.

Just as Garrus delivered an underhand shot to Riggs's gut, Vega and Rooker forced themselves through the crowd and between the two of them. Vega reached Garrus first, pushing him back while Rooker made her way in front of the bloodied Riggs. "What the hell are you people doing?" Rooker yelled out to the crowd, all of them quickly dispersing at the sound of Rooker's angry tone. "You're supposed to be goddamn Alliance, not a bunch of kids on the playground!"

"Garrus, what happened?" Vega said. "What'd he do?"

"What I did, sir, was give your comrades here a wake-up call," Riggs said. "Ever since they've shown up, all I've heard from these people is 'I wonder what Shepard would do. If Shepard was here, she'd figure out how to beat Cerberus.' Well, she's not. This, right here, is up to you, not her. And now more than ever, you people need to get that drilled in your head."

Garrus gave Riggs a doubtful look. "And you did that how? By taunting me and Tali about our friends being tortured?"

"I'm just giving you the facts, Garrus," Riggs said, blood trickling down his nose as he stared defiantly at the turian. "Because if you think me talking about what's happening to Shepard and your other friends is bad, just imagine what is being done to them right now, at this moment. These past three years, all you people have been sitting around thinking that the war was over. The fighting was over. But that's just it: the war never ended. Cerberus may have been bruised, they may have been beaten. But now they're back, and you can be sure that they didn't sit around these past three years sitting around and reminiscing about the good old days. They spent it getting ready for the next fight. And if you're not ready for that war, not ready to fight with everything you've got, then you're going to lose."

"You're not telling me anything I didn't already know, Private Riggs," Garrus said.

"I don't just want you to know it," Riggs said. "I want you to feel it. You and all your comrades, I want you angry. I want you to hate Cerberus more than anything. More than the Reapers, more than any enemy you've ever faced in the past. Because if the Cerberus we're fighting against now are anything like the one I served in, than they are nothing less than complete monsters. Creatures with no hearts, no souls, who will stop at nothing to get what they want. And you can't just want to defeat them. You have to want to kill them. Kill every last one of them, make them an example so bloody and painful that every last human in this galaxy is afraid to even think the name Cerberus. So from now on, I don't want to hear you, or any of your friends talk about Shepard again, unless it's about how you plan to slaughter anyone who gets in your way while you're trying to save her."

Rooker stared at Riggs coldly. "Regardless of whatever message you were trying to send, Private Riggs, starting fights with your comrades is not an acceptable way of doing it."

Riggs scoffed. "Maybe. Anyway, probably doesn't mean a damn thing in the end. Chances are the Normandy is going to rip us to shreds before we even fire a shot. Wasting my damn time."

As Riggs turned and walked away, Rooker called after him. "Private, stop! I didn't dismiss you!"

"Then relieve me of duty," Riggs called back, continuing to walk without looking back. "Lock me in the brig, toss me out the airlock, do whatever you want. I'll be down in the lower decks when you decide what punishment suits me best."

Rooker started to call out again, but Riggs was already out of the mess hall door.

Vega, meanwhile, was picking up a chair from the floor and setting it down on its legs for Garrus. "You okay?" he asked. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"No, I... he never threw a single punch," Garrus said, staring at the door that Riggs had exited through. "He just stood there and took it."

* * *

After the recent news, Cortez had immediately headed into the shuttle bay. Nothing took his mind off horrible events like immersing himself in some thorough maintenance work. Checking engine outputs and clearing out minor fuel line obstructions kept him from dwelling on the image of the Normandy's shuttle being flown away, with Kasumi hidden inside and heading toward an uncertain fate.

But soon the dry feeling in his throat had been impossible to ignore, and he interrupted his diagnostics to head for the mess hall for a drink. On the way, he saw several crew members rapidly walking in the opposite direction, seeming strangely in a hurry to get somewhere. Odd.

Once he was nearly to the mess hall, he spotted another man coming from the opposite way. Riggs, staring down at the floor as he stomped his way down the hallway. As he got closer, Cortez caught a glimpse of red running down the marine's face, and stopped in his tracks. "What happened?" he asked Riggs as he approached. When the marine didn't acknowledge him, Cortez caught him by the arm when he came within reach.

Riggs jolted at Cortez's touch, turning to face Cortez as he stopped in his tracks. Cortez gasped at what he saw: Riggs's face was bruised and swollen. Blood ran from one of his nostrils, and another trickle was coming out from the corner of his mouth.

"Riggs, what..." Cortez started to ask.

"Nothing," Riggs muttered, sniffing and wiping at his cheeks. "It's nothing. Just... I'm busy." Turning back around, he nearly sprinted away from Cortez.

Cortez watched him go, the image of Riggs's face still vivid in his mind long after the marine had left. The blood and bruises had been the first thing that had caught Cortez's attention, but it wasn't the thing he remembered most of all.

It was the glistening wet trails he had seen dripping down Riggs's cheeks. Not blood, but tears.
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Slaves of Cerberus