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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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All around the door separating the public and restricted area of Adamanthea Station, the research staff of the station and their family members waited with eager anticipation. It had been some time since the Normandy had arrived, but no one dared to leave. No one wanted to miss the moment where she finally arrived.

A hush went through the crowd as the door finally opened, only for mild sounds of disappointment to be heard as Brooks stepped through the door. She looked at the crowd of people with a mischievous grin. "What? Were you expecting someone else?"

The crowd murmured to each other. Jeannie stepped away from her mother Nuria and hesitantly asked. "Is... is Commander Shepard gonna come over and see us, Miss Brooks?"

Stepping over to the child, Brooks crouched down and tousled her hair. "Well, I dunno. She's pretty busy getting things set up in her new room, after all. But I tell you what. If you promise to be really good, and not pester her too much, I'll see if I can convince her to come say hello. Okay? You promise?"

Jeannie quickly nodded her head, excitement beaming on her face. "I promise."

Standing up straight, Brooks turned back to the closed door to the restricted area. Giving it a knock, she called out. "Okay! You can come out now."

The door slid open, and a cheer rang out among the crowd as Commander Shepard walked into the hallway. Smiling proudly, and dressed in a cleanly-pressed Cerberus uniform.

"It's her!" Itamura practically screamed into Brynn's ear, while shaking her so hard that she worried her teeth might fly out. "It's really her!"

"Yes, Dr. Itamura," Brynn calmly said, while removing his hands from her slightly-bruised shoulders. "I can see that."

Standing in front of the crowd, Shepard grinned, seeming to bask in the cheers and adulation from the crowd. After a few more seconds of applause, Shepard finally raised her hands, signaling for the crowd to quiet down. Once the volume had dimmed down to a manageable level, Shepard raised her voice to speak.

"To the men and women of Cerberus," Shepard said, and a shiver went through Brynn at the power in her voice. "All of you are here because you believe in one thing: that humanity has the knowledge, the resources, and the determination to rebuild what the Reapers attempted to destroy. You're here because you care about the sanctity of life, and in the ability for our race to survive whatever fate decides to throw at us. And unlike what everyone out there is probably saying about us, you're not here because you hate aliens, or believe them inferior to humans. You're here because you want what's best for all of us. Not just humanity, but for every living being. These are the things I believe in, and I hope you all believe in them as well."

A cheer came up from the crowd, Shepard waiting for it to subside before continuing. "From what I've been told by Miss Brooks here, there's still a lot of work to be done. But by the time we're finished here, I strongly believe that we will demonstrate to the entire galaxy that Cerberus isn't an organization of hate. It hasn't been irrevocably tainted by the horrific actions committed under the influence of the Reapers. It is still an organization worthy to be the protectors and guardians of the human race. And together with all of you, I believe that nothing is impossible. So, let me thank Miss Brooks here, as well as all of you, for giving me the opportunity to be a part of this grand undertaking. I only hope I can live up to all of your expectations."

Fresh cheers rang out through the crowd, as Shepard stepped forward to smile and shake hands with the people lining the halls. Itamura was quick to dash away from Brynn and jump forward in the crowd to frantically take Shepard's hand and nearly rip it off in his excitement to greet her. Brynn had the feeling that the esteemed biochemist was resisting the urge to wrap Shepard in a hug as she watched him excitedly speak to the smiling human hero.

Brynn, meanwhile, patiently waited for Shepard to approach her through the crowd. Once the red-headed woman was near, Brynn stepped forward and gave her a warm smile. "Commander Shepard," she said, reaching out to take Shepard's hand and give it a shake. "So good to see you again. Have to say that I'm a bit surprised to see you here. I mean, considering your impressions of Cerberus from the last time we met."

She expected to Shepard to laugh and make a joke. Or perhaps express her regrets for all the Cerberus personnel who didn't make it off of Gellix alive. But instead, what she got from Shepard was... absolutely nothing. Shepard stared at her blankly, not a trace of recognition on her face.

After a few awkward moments, Brooks suddenly approached Shepard from the other side. "You'll forgive Shepard, Dr. Cole. She's had a long flight with a lot of things on her mind." Turning to Shepard, Brooks rested a hand on her shoulder. "But I'm sure she remembers you, Brynn. And the mission you and she undertook on Gellix to rescue your fellow scientists from the Illusive Man's insanity. Right, Shepard?"

Shepard hesitated for a second more, then suddenly smiled and nodded at Brynn. "Of course. I'm sorry, Dr. Cole. As Maya said, it's been a long flight. But yes, what happened on Gellix was a tragedy. And one that I'm certain this new incarnation of Cerberus will not repeat. With good people like you and I guiding it, I'm sure that you'll never be put into such a terrible situation again."

"I believe that as well, Shepard," Brynn said. "Thank you so much for joining us here."

Releasing Brynn's hand, Shepard moved her way down the line, more of the occupants of Ada Station rushing forward to get the privilege of shaking the hand of a hero.

Brynn tried her best to get back into the spirit of the celebration, but in her mind she still saw that look. Shepard had been through a lot during the war, and perhaps Brynn was placing too much importance on her interactions with such a storied figure in human history. But still... Brynn didn't buy Brooks's "long flight" story for a second.

Shepard hadn't remembered Brynn. At all. Even after Brooks had told her about their shared past, there was still that look of confusion in Shepard's eyes.

Brynn's thought process was interrupted by the excited shrieks of children. She thought at first that it was more kids getting a glimpse of Shepard, but then she saw the door to the restricted area was open again, and a familiar blond-haired woman was stepping into the public area.

"Auntie Morgan! Auntie Morgan!" Nuria's four children cried out as they rushed at the muscular security chief. Grinning widely, Morgan crouched down and extended her arms, gathering up all four of the kids in a massive hug.

"Aw, I missed you little brats too!" Morgan said affectionately, patting them on the backs before straightening back up. "I hope you all were good boys and girls while I was gone." She smirked and added. "I mean, I might have gotten you something while I was gone, but I'd hate to give a gift to a couple of naughty little kids."

"We were good! Honest!" Sarah said quickly, staring daggers at Jeannie and Tristan. No doubt warning them to keep quiet about their previous argument.

Morgan clucked her tongue. "I dunno. Should probably leave it up to your mom." Morgan gave an inquisitive glance to Nuria. "How about it? Do they deserve this super awesome gift I brought for them?"

Nuria joined in on Morgan's game, staring down at her children and looking uncertain. "I'm not sure. I can't say they've been good the whole time you've been gone."

Turning away from Morgan, the four children clasped their hands. "Please, mom!" Mya said. "Please tell her we can have it. We'll be better from now on, I swear."

"Yeah, we'll be good!" the kids chorused. "Please, let us have it!"

"Okay, okay," Nuria said with a laugh. "Go ahead and give it to them, Morgan."

The children turned to Morgan, who pulled something out from her back pocket and held it out to the group of kids. Tristan was quick to snatch it out of her hands, and unwrapped it with wide eyes. "Awesome!" he exclaimed. "The new Power Blasters game! Nobody else on the station even has a copy!"

"Yeah, shame you won't be able to play online with all of our extranet connection issues," Morgan said. "But I'm sure you can still have fun with it."

Tristan and the girls immediately started to fight over who got to play first, but Nuria quickly raised her voice. "What do you say, kids?"

"Thank you, Auntie Morgan," the children all quickly said, before resuming their argument.

Laughing to herself, Nuria turned to Morgan and smiled. "Thank you. They get so depressed cooped up on this station sometimes. I know they really appreciate you bringing back things like this."

"They're good kids," Morgan said. "Least I could do for them."

Nuria glanced over at Brynn for a second, an odd look on her face, before looking back at Morgan. "If you don't mind, maybe you could come pay us a visit later. I always have trouble setting up those game systems of theirs, and you seem to know how to work those things way better than I do. You could stay for dinner too if you want. I'm trying out a new recipe and I'd love to see what you think."

"Uh... okay, sure," Morgan said, looking strangely uncomfortable. "I've got some stuff to handle back in the restricted area, but I swing by in about three hours if that's okay."

"I'll look forward to it," Nuria said. Brynn looked between the two of them, trying to figure out what had caused the sudden tense feeling in the air.

But then the door to the restricted area opened once more. And when she saw who was on the other side of it, any other concerns immediately fell away.

As Brynn rushed forward, Morgan crouched down next to Nuria's children. "Better avert your eyes, kids," she said with a smile. "Mushy stuff incoming."

She reached him, and fell into his arms. "Welcome back," Brynn said, pressing her face into the warmth of his chest. "I missed you, Ruben."

"And I missed you," Henneman said, before leaning down to press his lips to hers.
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Slaves of Cerberus