36 – New Cerberus (1)

After enjoying the view for a few hours, Samael had time to breathe and think about himself for a change. He was alone, well, he had RR and EDI on his side, but the AIs were mostly quiet unless they wanted him to answer something for them.

It gave him enough space and time, so his mind automatically went down a path he just thought about after he remembered it from the conversation with the Illusive Man.

The Ardat-Yakshi, the 'defective' Asari. They had the power to wipe out the personality AND the memories of the person, as their powers were more focused on the destruction/death part. The other Asari, while in theory, could also do that, it was close to impossible, as their conscience didn't let them do what the Ardat - Yakshi does.

Samael wasn't a dumb person, far from it, most would say he was above the rest, so he connected the dots his mind refused to before, as he had never thought about the 'unodocrination' process in this cycle.

And when he did, it was almost like something clicked in his head, saying, ' That's it!'.

' I know I probably passed through this process... Ever since I arrived at the galaxy, maybe even before that, since my birth, I noticed something changed in me compared to other cycles. I started to act differently than normal, almost like something had intervened with my personality.'

The conversation with Natasha, Jack's mother, came to mind. Instead of thinking about what to say, he just told her what he was thinking, regardless of the consequences.

There's also the way he fights when cornered. When he starts to lose the fight, Samael goes into an animalist-like state, something he has no control over. It never bothered him before because he thought it was normal, as he was trained by Wrex across various cycles.

But he was also trained by other people. So, the normal he thought was normal wasn't normal at all. It was a sign of something deeper within his mind, slipping away from his grasp the more he tried to comprehend.

When he thought of the process to use on the Illusive Man, it assured Samael of something.

' I'm not dumb... I know I had my memories wiped out. The problem is how many times and why...'

That begs the question: why does he just remember certain cycles and not the rest? What or who was capable of doing that to him?

Samael then tried to remember how many cycles he had before, and the answer was that he didn't know. This information didn't bother him before, as it somewhat made sense for him to only remember some parts or some cycles, his mind was probably blocking some parts because they were irrelevant or painful for him to remember.

But after the conversation with the Illusive Man and the information about the Ardat - Yakshi returning to the spotlight of his thoughts, Samael connected the dots immediately.

He had memories of exactly nine cycles, but now he was even doubting his own mind, which was broken but healed after some time.

' If this last cycle of mine had already happened before, and out of grief, I wiped my memories because of it...'

To be honest, he was afraid of what he would find out or what would happen to him if he forced his mind to really think about it all. 

Shaking these thoughts away, Samael tried his best to think of other things. He didn't like to think about where his mind would go if he continued to think about the subject.

He knew he would have to deal with what he thought was his broken-but-healed mind, but the time wasn't now. He didn't have the means to do that, nor did he know if others had the means. It was a problem for the future.

' I'll deal with this when and if I can.'

Then, to take his mind off of this subject, Samael decided to call another one of his teachers. Mordin Solus.

Mordin was one of those responsible for making the Genophage and was plagued with guilt for the rest of his life. In the games, he had sacrificed himself to ensure the cure would be used on the Krogan population, giving them a chance to rebuild their forces and, in the process, fight the Reapers.

But Samael didn't want his friend to die for no reason and would help him deal with his guilt, just like he did in other cycles.

Samael made a few taps in his omni tool, and a call was being made.

Seconds later, a familiar voice comes through, '' Yes?''

'' I'm talking with Doctor Mordin Solus?''

'' Yes. May I ask who you are?'' 

'' You might not believe me right away, but have you heard of LD?''

'' Who hasn't in the past few years?''

Samael was glad he created this company, as it helped him so many times in this cycle. '' Well, my name is Samael, and... I'm its creator, and I have a deal for you.''

He had revealed himself to the Council, which had connections with the Shadow Broker. So, by now, a lot of other people would already know about him, and in the first place, he wasn't exactly hiding his identity. He just wasn't going around telling other people, like now.

'' Oh? What deal?'' Mordin's voice had a mix of curiosity and perplexity. He had no idea what LD wanted with him but was interested in what this so-called LD's creator would say. If it was really him, something Mordin doubted a little, but he decided to listen anyway.

'' This can't leave this conversation. I trust you in that regard.'' Samael said in a serious voice.

'' My mouth is sealed, yes.''

Samael took a breath and said, '' LD is working on the genophage cure. We are close, and we wanted to invite you for help.''

There was a long pause in the call. It was to be expected, as Mordin was a Salarian and one of the people who made the Genophage. This was way earlier than in the original timeline, so his mind might not be the same.

But the Salarian responded soon after, ''... Why me?''

'' LD knows your involvement with the Genophage... and your regret over it. We are offering something few people could give you.''

'' What would that be?''

'' A chance to do things right, a second chance, redemption.''

Only Mordin's ragged breath came through the call. He was struggling quite a bit with what he had just learned. He knew that if he reported it to his superiors, LD was going to suffer a lot of backlash because of it.

The Salarians don't treat their enemies with grace, the Krogan being an example of that. If they learned that LD was making the cure for the Genophage ... he didn't even want to think about the consequences.

' There would be a war...'

But, regardless of everything, Mordin was tempted. There are very few regrets he had, and his role in making the Genopahge was the biggest of them. The chance to fix that was amazing.

It took some time and a few struggles with his mind until Mordin came to a decision.

'' How do we meet?''

Samael smiled widely. '' Our main base is on Earth, but we are relocating soon. But, in the meantime, I'll send some people to give you a ride to our facilities, the ones in which we are studying/making the cure. Also, regarding the cure, we have some ideas on how to go about it, but your perspective will help a lot.''

'' Can you send me the data on what you accomplished so far?'' Mordin's voice wasn't filled with conviction, as he knew LD would most likely not trust him with that information. Hell, he still didn't even know if the person on the other side of the line was really the creator of LD.

After all, their call right now wasn't with holograms, so he could only hear the voice of Samael.

To his surprise, however, Samael simply said, '' Sure.'' 

A few moments later, a few TB of data flowed into Mordin's Omni tool. He could not believe that, and as he read the data, he was even more disbelieving. LD was closer to the cure than he thought.

' Amazing...'

Just a few more adjustments here and there, and it would be done.

'' Thank you for the trust.'' Mordin was already thinking of ways to improve the cure and help relieve his guilty conscience.

''Don't need to mention it. I hope to see you soon, and it was a pleasure talking with you.''

'' Likewise.''

The call then ended, and Samael smiled, seeing that his friend, even in different cycles, had the same or almost the same personality.

' Now I have to send him to my team.'

Remember that Samael 'recruited' very special people who he knew were intelligent and would be great in the future and made them work on... certain projects that were 'exquisite', to say the least. The Cure of the Genophage was one of them, alongside nanomachines, a MECH way bigger than normal, etc.

Most of these projects were in the early stages of study, but thanks to Samael's information from other cycles, they had a path to follow, so the speed at which these projects progressed was great. In a few years, Samael knew that they would have results on several fronts. But until then, he had to wait.

While he could create the Cure for the Genophage right away, he gave it to his team on Earth, 70% done, to see if they could improve it. Now that Mordin has entered the fray, they will be able to achieve 100% soon, maybe even improve it.

Samael would also send the complete formula of the serum to Mordin to see if this version of him could find problems or even improve it. It was unlikely, as the serum was the result of several cycles of study, but it was worth a try. Also, the serum was exclusive to Samael, so only Mordin and maybe Tali could look at it and study it.

While Samael was thinking that, his omni-tool vibrated, meaning someone was calling him. This time, it was a hologram call from a number he didn't recognize at first glance.

His feelings and memories did stir up a bit, but he had no idea why. Very few people had his numbers, so Samael accepted the call, only to be utterly shocked by who it was.

It was a Quarian. As she had a mask, he could not see her face, but he could recognize her even among millions of Quarians.

' Tali...'

Memories of Tali and his love life came flooding in, and Samael was almost overcome with emotions. While she was the last to enter 'his' harem in the first cycles, she wasn't the least loved.

On the contrary, if push comes to shove and things don't happen in the way he wanted regarding the harem, Samael was pretty sure he would choose Tali over Shepard and Liara.

'' Hello.'' The young Quarian offered her greeting, '' My name is Tali, and I was 'recruited' by one of your people a few days ago. He said to give you a call when I was ready to join your crew. Well, I'm ready now.''

By this point in time, Tali had already studied the Geth in the area she was in for long enough and was ready to meet her new crew and family. Also, Quarians had the tradition of having their ship name as a surname, and she was looking forward to the one she would receive.

Only if she knew the ship, the crew had no name yet...

Tali noticed the man was staring at her with a strange gaze, one she had never seen before,'' Uhhh, hello?''

That seemed to bring Samael out of his stupor, '' Oh, sorry. I was distracted for a moment. My name is Samael.''

''I heard about you and your skills, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. Very few people in the galaxy have your potential, so that's why I wanted you to join me, so you could reach your full potential without having to worry about anything else. I know how the galaxy treats the Quarians, so I knew I had to help a gem.''

Tali winched a little when he mentioned the quarian treatment, but she still said, '' Thank you, as I said before, I'm ready to join you as a crewmate... I will be honest, I never thought my captain would be so young.''

'' What matters is the skill, not how you look.''

Tali herself nodded at that statement, as she was the living proof of that.

'' Where are you? I will send someone to pick you up right now.''

Tali then passed her location to Samael. It was just then she realized she, in her stupor, didn't even ask who was her new captain and who he worked for.

If he was a villain or a bandit, she would reject the offer and go hiding if necessary.

'' By the way, I never asked. Who do you work for?''

Samael looked puzzled, '' He didn't tell you?'' He was talking about the vendor who contacted Tali first. By the way, he made sure to reward the man handsomely. Like 1 million credits handsomely.

Tali shook her head and said, '' No. He just said his boss found my skills good and wanted to recruit me, nothing more.''

Samaeel sighed, but answered her, '' Well, I'm the creator and owner of LD. In my crew right now, we have a living Prothean, a Krogan Warlord, though he is just hired for a week, me, and a few other good people. You will not regret joining us.''

This time, it was Tali who was too shocked to speak. She could not believe her luck if that were true.

'' Oh, it's normal if you don't believe me right away, but I guarantee you it's true. The people who will go get you will most likely be using our standard uniform and symbol.''

If you ask what symbol LD had, it was simple. It was the letter LD on their uniform, just that, nothing more. But, in recent years, just seeing that symbol sent chills down the spines of others.

Some even tried to impersonate LD personnel, but their fate wasn't good.

Samael found the confused Tali cuter than normal.

'' ... Okay.''

Samael knew she was too shocked and would take some time for her to recover, so although he still wanted to hear her voice, he would give her space and time to recover.

'' Well, that was it. You're a fine addition to my crew, and I guarantee you will not regret joining us. See you soon.''

'' ... Bye.''

The call then ended, and Samael thought about his first interaction with a loved one. He thought it was a good one, and he would not lie, seeing Tali after so many years, was amazing.

' Now, only Liara and Shepard left. I will meet Liara when I leave here, but Shepard... I don't know when our paths will cross.'

Samael could have forced the situation, to meet her sooner, but he decided against it.

' Let fate take its course.'

After the call to Mordin and the call from Tali, Samael asked RR, '' How is the expedition on Illos going?''

Remember, the AI was here in a drone 'body' while also there in Illos with her android body. She was giving Samael updates on the mission, but as he was on call for some time, she didn't do it.

RR's voice sounded a little happy, '' We have found a few pods with living Protheans inside. Also, there's a VI there called Vigil, who said he had data on the Reapers. He is transmitting it to us as I speak...I also asked him to allow us to transfer his core to our ship, but he refused, saying that he would stay at the base until he ran out of energy or was destroyed".'

Vigil was giving all the information he had and could to RR, per Javik's request. All so that they could prepare better for the Reapers. But the VI close to an AI was loyal to a fault and decided to stay on Illos.

Samael thought it was a shame, as Vigil would make a good addition to his crew, but you can't have everything. '' Good. Also, make sure to explain everything to EDI. Yo- we are family now, so don't hold back on anything.''

'' Leave it to me.''

Samael then went back to the chair and sat down. Tomorrow he would deal with the ugly side of Cerberus, and then he would take over the place.

He would make sure Cerberus would be used for one and only goal: to ensure the WHOLE galaxy would prosper, not just humanity.

Samael's mood lifted as he thought about what the Illusive Man would think about that.

By the way, the Illusive Man was tied up and drugged in the small ship Samael used to arrive at Cerberus main base, with no way to escape or even wake up.

A DAY LATER

Everyone who had participated in certain projects of Cerberus received the same message, telling them to go to the main base in a day. 

No one understood why, but they had to follow orders. A hundred or so people arrived at the main base at the same time and started to joke around, asking about the results of their research.

'' I heard a few test subjects escaped a base some time ago. Killed all guards and employers.'' One of the people there, a scientist who specifically was in charge of seeing the effect of what happens if you push the human body and mind to the limit, commented with his colleagues.

'' I heard it too. It's scary to think about that, as it could happen to us too.'' This one was making a pheromone to agitate Thresher Maws into attacking people who were just passing by.

'' I went ahead and made sure the test subjects I'm working on couldn't do that. I doubled security on the base and.. euthanized a few rebellious ones.'' One of the other scientists chimed in, smiling sadistically as he said what he said.

'' OHHH, good thinking.''

While they were chatting away, they continued walking around the base, going toward the main office, noticing there were very few guards. They didn't think much of it and, after some time, arrived at the main office. Upon entering, all of them were amazed by the view and the huge table in the middle of the office.

'' Well, it seems we arrived. I'll go to my assigned seat. I don't know what this meeting is for, but good luck!''

No one knew why the meeting was called, but they thought it was a reward of some kind. While Cerberus wasn't that powerful anymore, it still had money. A lot of money.

And they were the backbone of the company, working for the true purpose of Cerberus.

Bring humanity to the top of the galaxy, regardless of the cost or what they need to do. They didn't mind dirtying their hands, and that was exactly why the Illusive Man hired them.

'' Good luck to you too.'' The other scientists nodded at each other and went to their chairs.

Soon after, everyone was seated and waiting for the Illusive Man to arrive. By the way, they knew him personally, as he was the one who recruited them in person. All for the great good of humanity.

It is safe to say that all those inside the office were monsters of the highest caliber. They all had crimes under their names, but Cerberus made sure those who knew were silenced, gaining the loyalty of those monsters, and making them work for the group.

As time passed and there was no signal from the boss, they continued talking.

A few minutes later, the office door opened, and an unknown man entered. He was dressed in plain clothes and, for some reason, had two drones following him.

After everyone looked at the door and saw it was just a young man and not their boss, they continued talking. Never in a million years would they have thought it was an intruder, as they were in the most important and secure base of all the others Cerberus owned.

Only a madman would invade Cerberus main base, walk up to the boss's room, and sit on his chair. 

And that was exactly what was happening.

Samael sat on the chair and coughed a little to call everyone's attention to him.

COUGH

It worked, and only now have they realized the situation was weird, as no one but the Illusive Man was allowed to sit on that chair.

Samael started speaking, '' Good day to you all. I'm sure you're all surprised to see someone else and not your boss sitting here, but I'll be honest with you, Cerberus recently had ... a change of head.''

Immediately, alarm spread into the minds of everyone there, as they noticed the situation wasn't looking good. Some even got up and tried the door but to no avail. It didn't budge one bit.

''Don't bother; you can't escape the room.'' Samael was surrounded by 100 or so people, but he was calm. Of course, those 100 people weren't trained soldiers, but still, it was a huge number, even for Samael to face them head on.

Lucky for him, he was armed, but they didn't need to know that for now.

Sensing the weirdness of it all, everyone was still quiet but got up and tried to approach Samael.

'' Again, don't bother. EDI, do your job.''

BANG BANG BANG

A few shots later from one of the drones close to Samael were enough to make everyone stop in their tracks, eyeing the drones with newfound fear and dread.

Some of the scientists heard what Samael said and shouted in a hurry,'' EDI?! The AI Cerberus made!? How!? Why did you betray us?''

EDI drone stayed quiet while aiming the guns at the scientists.

'' We, LD, can be very ... persuasive if we want. Also, don't bother trying to call anyone, as just a few minutes ago, the base suddenly received a vacation notice and all personnel had left. That's why I was a little late to our meeting.''

When they heard it was LD who was behind this... attack, it all made sense to them. They were being attacked and, most likely, lost. It clicked on the heads of the scientists here, explaining why there were very few personnel around the base. It was the job of the man in front of them and their biggest enemy, LD.

The situation wasn't looking good for scientists.

Samael had prepared very well for this meeting. He didn't want a single thread of the old Cerberus regime to be left behind when he took control of the company.

Today would mark the very end of the old Cerberus, while also marking its rebirth as a whole new group.