All sorts of information was stored on Gillian’s data jewel. That included a very disturbing holo that Anderson and Kahlee hoped would shake the Council out of its complacency. The air at the center of the chamber shimmered, a picture took shape, and Grayson began to scream. His body was naked, he had been strapped to some sort of framework, and his skin had a grayish tint. Open incisions could be seen on his legs. And as he screamed, thin snakelike cables could be seen entering his body, apparently of their own volition.

  As the camera zoomed out, people wearing lab coats could be seen. “No!” Grayson said, as his eyes flicked from face to face. “For the love of god stop them. I’ll do anything … Anything you want. Don’t let them do this to me.”

  But rather than stop the process the onlookers took notes as the cable things squirmed under the surface of Grayson’s skin, dimly seen lights appeared under his epidermis, and the cords in his neck stood out. “Kill meeeee,” Grayson whimpered. “Please kill me,” but no one did.

  “We’ve seen enough,” the turian Council member put in crossly. “Kill the holo. All right, Admiral … What’s the purpose of this display? Thanks to you the Council is already familiar with the way in which Grayson was abused. I fail to see how the holo sheds any light on the situation.”

  Anderson was angry and struggling to control it. His jaw clenched and unclenched. “Have any of you ever seen anything similar? Or even heard of something like what they did to Grayson? I don’t think so. Ask yourselves … Where did this technology come from? And where could it lead?”

  “To Cerberus,” the asari said reasonably. “You were part of the raid on the Cerberus space station where the experiments took place, as I recall, and saw firsthand what had been taking place there. Somehow, by a means unknown, Cerberus has acquired technology we aren’t familiar with. But that doesn’t mean the Reapers were involved.”

  Kahlee took a step forward and spoke for the first time. “When Gillian Grayson died she gave us the device on which that holo was stored and she said something that could be very important. She said that ‘They’re building an army.’ Think about that. Think about what an army of Graysons could do.”

  “What could they do?” the turian demanded contemptuously.

  “Grayson single-handedly took over a space station,” Anderson reminded them.

  “Which was lightly defended,” the salarian observed. “Thank you both … But unless you have hard proof of a connection between Grayson and the Reapers, I suggest that we bring this discussion to a close.”

  Kahlee started to speak, realized that none of the Council members were willing to listen, and turned to Anderson. “He’s right. This discussion is over. Let’s go home.”

  ON THE PLANET EDEN PRIME

  The sun filtered down through the trees to create pools of gold on the ground. The air was warm, colorful insects flitted from place to place, and birds could be heard calling to each other in the foliage above. It was called the Forest of Remembrance, and it was made up of thousands upon thousands of leafy trees, each planted to honor the memory of a person who had passed on. So having been unable to hold memorial services for Hendel, Nick, or Gillian on Omega, Kahlee and Anderson had traveled to Eden Prime.

  There was plenty of room in the sun-splashed glade. So Anderson dug three holes. They were spaced so that the mature trees could not only grow tall and strong, but offer each other protection during the coming rainy season, when the winds would whip the forest into a frenzy of thrashing branches. Once Anderson was done Kahlee placed each sapling, covered its roots with rich black soil, and watered them in. “There,” she said, as she stood. “They were troubled people, but each was trying to do something good, even if they went about it in self-destructive ways. I’ll miss them.”

  Anderson nodded. “Well said. Come on … It’s a two-mile walk back to the hotel.”

  The sun had just started to dip below Eden Prime’s western horizon as Kahlee went out to join Anderson on the balcony. The hotel was located on the twenty-third floor of the pyramid-shaped “Amazon” arcology that was located near the center of a thousand square miles of virgin rain forest. There was nothing but an undulating carpet of green for as far as the eye could see. “It’s beautiful,” she said, as David put an arm around her shoulders. “Especially after Omega.”

  “So you’re glad we came?”

  “Very. We needed this.”

  “I agree. But there’s still work to be done.”

  “You mean the ‘army’ that Gillian referred to?”

  “Yes.”

  “Maybe Gillian was wrong.”

  “Mythra Zon might know, but she got away.”

  Kahlee nodded. “Maybe we can find her.”

  “But not tonight.”

  “No,” Kahlee said, as the sun disappeared. “Not tonight.”

  For my dearest Marjorie

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  First a salute to Drew Karpyshyn for the excellent novels that preceded this one and made Mass Effect: Deception possible.

  Plus many thanks to Casey Hudson, Mac Walters, and Tricia Pasternak for their advice and guidance.

 

 

  William C. Dietz, Deception

 

 

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