July 27, 2184CE

There was a padd waiting for him on his bunk.

N school had been a breeze, even if he had been older than most of the instructors. As an N5, in 'training' to be an N6, he was now being deployed in various real combat situations. Batarian pirates, specifically. With new, human colonies going up in the Terminus systems, colonies not under the aegis of the Systems Alliance, slaver raids were up, colonies going dark with no trace of their colonists to be found. Still, even if these colonies had renounced their Alliance ties, the Alliance had no intention of simply abandoning them. Running black ops against Batarian pirates, mercenaries, and occasionally undercover Batarian military was one of the campaigns being run to try to take some of the pressure off of the colonies. Something that could disrupt their plans, prevent the colony disappearances that were starting to happening.

The most recent mission, from which he was coming back, had successfully cleaned out a raider's base of operations and destroyed a small time slaver ring. A good mission. Open and shut. He'd already been debriefed, he was headed back to Earth for R&R (a new and novel concept, that) prior to prep for the next mission.

Which brought him to the padd waiting on his bunk.

Frowning, Jorge stooped and picked up the padd, activating it with a brush of a thumb. The black screen flared to life with a loading logo for a second before a video came onto the screen.

The screen remained dark around the edges, but in the center of the screen a giant sun backlit a single seated man. He looked to be older than Jorge, with styled back brown hair just starting to grey at the temples, but he was nontheless well preserved for what Jorge guessed his age was. Seated with one leg crossed over the other, he was well dressed, composed, and relaxed. A lit cigarette rested idly in his right hand, which he flicked once before he spoke.

"Lieutenant Junior Grade Jorge Kadar," he began. "I am sorry this conversation took so long to get to this point. I normally do not contact candidates personally, but for you and a few others, a more personal touch is required."

Candidates?

"I am the Illusive Man..."

Jorge's hand tightened on the pad. He could hear it groan under his fingers.

"... leader of Cerberus. And while I know you may have objections to me and my organization, I implore you to hear me out."

Jorge's thoughts raced as the man on screen paused to take a drag on his cigarette. He should immediately turn this over to Alliance Intelligence. As a part of Shepard's crew he'd encountered several operations that had resulted in dead colonists, or dead soldiers, or both that had been traced back to the shadowy organization. But, the dog was many headed; and like the hydra of legend, cut off one head, and two more take its place. He'd help shut down a Cerberus research site not a month ago, with every indication that it was not alone.

And now he had a video from the leader of the organization itself?

A moment's thought more and he decided to let the video finish before turning it over to Alliance Intelligence.

"I'm glad you've decided to hear me out," the Man said, letting out a puff of smoke. His left hand came up, engaging a haptic, and the lower half of the screen became a separate video.

"I'm sure you recognize this footage," the Man continued. "First responder helmet camera footage of the Terminus colony Independence."

Jorge knew it well. He had been one of those first responders.

"Officially, the disappearance of the colony was blamed on slavers, and the matter closed. I don't believe that and neither do you. The abduction was too quick, too neat. There are no signs of battle, there were no survivors or people who managed to hide away. All video footage during the incident was corrupted, even the off-site backups, even personal recording devices. This was no slaver raid."

Jorge nodded absentmindedly. He'd expressed similar concerns in his report on the matter.

"And this is not the only one," as another haptic was brushed. A second and third window popped up on the lower half of the padd, showing two different colonies in identical states.

"Sanctuary Point. Stavros. Both show the same pattern. Both attributed to piracy or slavers, for lack of other evidence."

Another puff on the cigarette.

"When the Council brushed off claims that Sovereign was a heretofore unknown genocidal intelligence known as a Reaper, that was the end of the matter officially. Even Councillor Anderson's vehement dissention of the proclamation did not change perceptions. But we both know that what they cannot accept is true. The Reapers are out there. Waiting. There is no hard evidence yet, but I fear that these disappearances are their doing, the start of their next attempt to start the cull of humanity and the galaxy."

Jorge frowned. It wasn't something he had considered, but now that he thought about it, it was a possibility. Sovereign had gone down with a helluva fight, and had utilized proxies prior to its final confrontation to carry out its will. Perhaps there were still some servants left? Or perhaps there was another Reaper out there, in the shadows, pulling the strings this time?

Or perhaps this was all a wild goose chase. And what did any of this have to do with him? Why was he a candidate?

"Humanity can't hope to stand against this if I am right. We need a leader. We need a hero."

So you want me to join Cerberus and be that hero, eh?

"We need Shepard."

Jorge blinked. A flicker of a smile came on the face, though it was expertly disguised in an instant as a puff on the cigarette. Suspicions began forming in his mind, even as he shook his head and spoke for the first time.

"Shepard is KIA," he said, mostly for himself.

"Shepard may be KIA," the Man continued fluidly, as though the recording had read his mind. "But you of all people should know that KIA does not necessarily mean they have been confirmed as killed. The Alliance never found a body because Cerberus worked and sacrificed to prevent it from falling into the wrong hands. And when we obtained her body, we set to work immediately on resuscitating humanity's hero."

A touch, and a screen popped up again. Vital signs. A heartbeat. A continuous medical scan, showing a human with numerous broken bones and several implants.

No, that was impossible…

"Shepard lives, or at least she will when Cerberus completes its work. And when she takes that first step off the operating table, she will need guidance. She will need purpose. But most of all, she will need loyal friends by her side. I have no doubt that she will not trust Cerberus, even if we are right. Even if we are the only ones who believe her and are willing to help her. That is why we need you, Jorge. I need people on her team that she can trust implicitly, unaffiliated with Cerberus or our cause, so that she will be fully focused upon the threat at hand rather than wondering whether I am going to stab her in the back. You, Jorge. She will need you."

The Man's head tilted back, another puff of the cigarette.

"I have no intention of trying to coerce you. I am merely asking for your help. Cerberus, Humanity… Commander Shepard, all need your strength, Jorge. If you accept, simply tender your resignation with the Alliance, and travel to the Citadel. My agents will make all the necessary arrangements to bring you in from there. From there, you will be put to work; there is much that can be done in preparation prior to Shepard's revival."

His speech over, Jorge was free to think. It was a compelling story, and he had no doubt that Cerberus had crafted this narrative specifically for him- hell, he had seen the Illusive Man! Alliance Intelligence would kill for something as simple as a black and white photo and he had a whole video! A sobering thought. In the end, it all came down to one question.

Was he willing to join a terrorist organization for Commander Shepard?

And as he asked himself that, he knew his answer. Cerberus was not the Office of Naval Intelligence. They were not subject to the rules of the Alliance, of humanity. They were an organization apart, and though they claimed to work in humanity's best interest they did not answer to humanity.

And who was to say the body they had in their possession was Shepard? Was that heartbeat, those biosigns, hers, or some poor fool, or even simply made up for show? And what would he be doing in the meantime? How would he know if Shepard woke up, or would they simply keep him away on missions, doing Cerberus dirty work on vague promises of resurrecting Shepard?

"No," Jorge said, shaking his head as he looked up. "No."

"Unfortunate," came the Illusive Man's voice from the padd.

Mi a fene?!

"Is that your final answer?" the figure of the Illusive Man stood. It wasn't a recording, it was a live feed all along! How the…?

"Yes. I do not believe you," Jorge replied. His poker face was on, but 'flustered' did not begin to describe his internal emotions.

"Shame," the Illusive Man replied. "Still, my offer stands. Tender your resignation if you agree, and we will take care of the rest."

The feed cut out.

Jorge stared, dumbfounded, at the once again blank padd. After a few moments, he regained his wits enough to set it down and call up his omni tool, searching for contact information for Alliance Intel-

The padd burst into flames on his bed. Jorge swore in hungarian as he quickly used his sheets to put it out. He was still batting at it when his omni chimed, indicating an open line to his AI contact.

Jorge sighed.

-[]-

Apologies everyone, I'm not sure what happened the first time I posted this.