Drew Karpyshyn - Retribution

He got up from the chair so Kahlee could sit down, then stood over her shoulder as she began to flip through the data. Anderson came over to stand by her other shoulder, showing his support.

“See this chart here,” she said, touching one of the screens so that it expanded and moved to the forefront of the display. “This is the kind of thing we track on kids recently fitted with biotic amplifiers.”

“What does that mean?” Anderson asked.

“It confirms the theory that Cerberus implanted Grayson with something. Possibly some kind of experimental cybernetics.”

She continued to glance over the data, then stopped when she recognized something else, the cold chill of an old memory creeping down her spine.

“I’ve seen this before, too,” she said softly. “Advanced AI research. The same kind of thing Dr. Qian was working on back at Sidon.”

“Are you sure?” Anderson wanted to know.

“I’m sure.”

“This must have something to do with the Reapers,” Anderson said.

Unfamiliar with the name, Kahlee asked, “Who are the Reapers?”

Anderson hesitated, as if he was gathering his thoughts. Or maybe wondering how much he could say.

“They’re a species of massive, hyperintelligent starships trapped in the void of dark space. They wiped out the Protheans fifty thousand years ago. Now they’re looking for a way to return so they can wipe out all intelligent organic life again.”

Kahlee blinked in surprise. “I’ve never heard anything remotely like that before in my life.”

“I know how crazy it sounds,” Anderson admitted. “But it’s true. When Saren led the geth army against the Citadel, they weren’t following him. They were answering to the Reapers. Saren was just an agent under his control.”

“Saren Arterius was a traitor,” Sato interjected, his voice sharp and bitter. “Don’t try to excuse his actions with some crazy story.”

Kahlee knew Saren was a sore point for the turians. Though he was once revered as a hero of his people, his betrayal had made him a source of shame for the species. But Anderson had no love for him, either. He had no reason to mention this unless he believed it.

“If this is true,” she said, still trying to wrap her head around the idea, “then why haven’t I ever heard of it before? It should have been all over the vids.”

“The Council suppressed the story. They said there was no real evidence, and they didn’t want to cause mass panic. But I worked with Commander Shepard. I saw the uncensored reports. The Reapers are real.”

“It’s still a hell of a leap to trace this all back to Qian,” Kahlee noted.

“You told me Qian had become obsessed with some kind of ancient, hyperadvanced AI technology. I

think he found something connected to the Reapers. Saren must have gotten his hands on it during our mission to Camala.”

“Okay. But I still don’t see the connection with Cerberus.”

“A few months ago, Cerberus learned the Collectors were abducting humans from remote colonies in the Terminus Systems so they could conduct horrific experiments on them.

“Cerberus stopped the Collectors, and they discovered they were working for the Reapers … just like Saren!”

“How do you know all this?” Sato demanded.

“I’ve seen the mission reports,” Anderson assured them. “I’ve talked to people who were there. I’m not making this up.

“Cerberus must have recovered some of the Reaper technology from the Collectors. That’s what they were doing here — experimenting on Grayson the same way the Collectors were experimenting on the colonists!”

“This is ridiculous!” the tech declared, and the general murmur from the turian scientists in the room seemed to support him.

“Look at the files,” Anderson insisted. “You’ll see I’m right.”

Everyone turned to Kahlee, waiting for her opinion on the matter. She wasn’t going to condemn

Anderson’s theory, but she wasn’t ready to support it yet. Not without further evidence either way.

“The files will tell us the truth,” she reminded them. “But whatever Cerberus was up to here, we need to figure it out.”

Kai Leng wasn’t worried about being recognized as he made his way through the twisting thoroughfares of Omega. The last time he had been here his appearance had been carefully altered. This time, as per the Illusive Man’s instructions, he wasn’t wearing a disguise.

Still, he was wary. Though he appeared calm on the surface, his senses had entered a state of hyperawareness. It was always a good idea to be on the lookout for trouble when visiting Omega. The lawless station was overrun with mercenaries and criminals; every encounter had the potential to suddenly erupt into violence.

Kai Leng glared at a pair of batarians approaching him, his eyes burning into them, sizing them up as potential threats. The four-eyed freaks noticed him staring. He could see a moment of indecision in their eyes: was this a threat worth confronting, or one they should just walk away from? In the end they made the right choice and crossed over to the other side of the street.

When the Illusive Man had first told him of his latest assignment, Kai Leng had expressed his skepticism.

“I don’t think Aria T’Loak is a fan of Cerberus.”

“She’s a businesswoman,” the Illusive Man had assured him. “At the very least she’ll listen to our offer.”

“And if she refuses?”

“We’re not looking for a fight,” the Illusive Man had reminded him. “We’re trying to form a partnership.

“I need someone I can trust for this mission,” he’d continued. “Just say and do everything exactly like I told you and it will all work out.”

Kai Leng rounded the corner and came in sight of Afterlife. As was typical, the line to get in stretched down the block before disappearing around the corner. He had no intention of waiting in the queue, however.

Marching up to the krogan bouncer at the entrance, he declared, “I need to see Aria T’Loak.”

“Name?” the krogan asked, ready to relay it to someone inside for confirmation that he was expected.

“I’m not on the list,” Kai Leng admitted.

“Then you don’t get in.”

A pair of thousand-credit chips suddenly appeared in the assassin’s hand. He reached over and pressed them into the krogan’s massive palm.

“You can’t bribe your way into Afterlife,” the krogan declared with a deep laugh, extending his hand to return the credits to Kai Leng.

“Tell her I have information about a man named Paul Grayson,” Kai Leng insisted, refusing to take the money back. “She might know him as Paul Johnson,” he added.

The krogan’s eyes narrowed to thin slits, but he did reach up to activate the transmitter built into the collar of his suit.

“Relay a message to Aria,” he said to someone inside the club. “Some human here to see her about

Paul Grayson. Or maybe it’s Paul Johnson. He’s not on the list.”

There was about thirty seconds of silence as they waited for a response. Then the krogan’s eyes went wide as he heard the orders coming from the other end.

“Yeah. Right. I’ll send him right in.”

He turned back to the waiting human. “Aria’s sending someone to meet you. Head inside to the claim check.”

Once again he offered the credits back to Kai Leng.

“Keep them,” he told the bouncer, following the Illusive Man’s orders to try and make a favorable impression.

The krogan shook his massive head. “Aria says you’re to be comped for everything tonight. Including door fees.”

Kai Leng took the credits back and slipped them into his pocket, then made his way down a short hall to the claim check. In addition to the two armed krogan and the pair of whorish asari behind the counter whom he’d seen here on a previous visit, a batarian was waiting at the checkpoint to greet him.