Slaves of Cerberus

"Yes, thank you," Arthur spoke into his omni-tool. "The credits have already been deposited into your account. A pleasure doing business with you, sir."

Looking up from her desk with a hint of mild annoyance, Cordelia stared down at Arthur in his work area at the bottom of her raised platform. "It's been taken care of, then?"

"Of course, ma'am," Arthur responded, closing out the comm link. "Shall I report to Miss Brooks that her instructions have been carried out?"

It was a simple question, but it elicited a disdainful look from his employer. "Let her wait. We are not her lackeys, Arthur. She and her clone associate serve our purposes just as much as we serve theirs. I will notify Miss Brooks when I feel like it."

"As you say, ma'am," Arthur responded. "Did you require anything else of me?"

There was a long pause from his employer. When Cordelia spoke again, her voice was without its usual cold edge. "Arthur... what is your opinion of our current associates?"

Arthur had his answer prepared for this question. "As in all things, ma'am, I trust in your judgment. If you..."

"No. Not the answer you think I want to hear, Arthur," Cordelia cut him off. "Truthfully, what do you think about Miss Brooks and her companion?"

This, Arthur was unprepared for. Cordelia almost never asked for his candid opinion. Mostly she just ordered him around and occasionally offered the faintest of praise for his work. "I... have difficulty believing they are capable of achieving their goals, ma'am," Arthur finally responded. "Without the resources you have granted them, I severely doubt they would have come as far as they have. Miss Brooks is an intelligent woman, to be sure, but she and her associate are too focused on their... primal urges to effectively run this organization, except as little more than a band of pirates. If you were to ask me for my candid opinion..."

"And I am," Cordelia interjected.

"On their own, these two would have just as much chance of building their own army of Reapers, as they would have to resurrect Cerberus as anything more respectable than a group of hired thugs. They've gotten lucky up to this point, but I imagine their luck would have run out eventually." Pausing, Arthur then added. "But with you supporting their cause, ma'am, I am sure they are capable of great success."

Cordelia considered his words. After years of observing her – first in secret and then as her most trusted adviser – Arthur knew just by looking at the furrow of her brow that his employer was deep in thought.

"Forgive me if I come off as impertinent," Arthur spoke up. "But we have been associated with this Cerberus group for almost eight months now. And have spent vast sums of credits building this organization up to their current state. I am curious as to why you are questioning this alliance now."

He expected her to snap at him. Order him away from her for daring to express his opinion without being prompted. But that was not the response he received. "We're so close now, Arthur," Cordelia said. "Everything is starting to fall into place. And yet... I must admit to being troubled."

"Afraid that Brooks and the clone will ruin your plans?" Arthur asked.

"Them... and Henneman. For whatever reason, he is stalling," Cordelia said. "He presents himself as my loyal confederate, but I know his loyalty only extends as far as the credits I provide him for his research. I have supplied him with all the tools necessary to carry on my father's legacy, and still he insists that he needs more time."

"Perhaps he fears that the credits and resources we have provided will come to an end once he completes the tasks you have assigned to him," Arthur opined.

A rare smile crossed Cordelia's face then. "Perhaps he fears correctly." Just as quickly as it was there, the smile was gone, and Cordelia's face returned to its normal cold, expressionless state. "All I know is that we cannot trust any of them. Not Henneman, and certainly not Brooks and her Shepard clone. We are nothing to them but a means to an end. Just the same as they are to us. And I fully intend to achieve my own ends first. Once that is accomplished... well, let them bring the Illusive Man back if that is what they believe will raise Cerberus from the ashes. Somehow, though, I don't believe he will come back quite as they intend."

Arthur said nothing, not entirely sure what Cordelia was implying with her words. There were very few secrets between them, but apparently Cordelia's plan for Cerberus was one of them.

"But enough idle chatter," Cordelia said, fully back in business mode. "Prepare the financial reports for the current quarter. Be sure to make note of any anomalies so that I might take further action."

"I will get started right away, ma'am," Arthur said, bowing to Cordelia and spinning on his heel to head towards the lift.

Even before he was gone, he could hear Cordelia playing the tape again. The voice of his previous employer filled the large office space: "If you are hearing this message, than I, Henry Lawson, am dead. Strange to consider my own demise, even in the wake of..."