Subject Nine

Chapter 1

2174 CE

"Why don't you start from the beginning, perhaps it will help you remember," the woman sitting across from him with a data pad in her slim fingers suggested, the black and glossy uniform that she wore hugging the contours of her body.

He sat there as the vessel was enroute to an unknown destination, a thermal blanket draped over his shoulders while he shoveled down his fifth food ration trying unsuccessfully to satiate his hunger. He nodded his head in response, taking another ration from the container sitting beside him as he attempted to recall the memories of his past. The seventeen year old tilted his head back, closing his eyes while he continued to chew on the unsavory bar, and slowly but surely he began to recount how it all started.

His biological mother, she died after giving birth to him, complications from exposure to element zero. However, it didn't take long for him to find a new home. A scientist, Celeste Esposito, became his legal guardian only a month after his birth, and from that moment on he was known as Dante Esposito. She had several offers from many different companies for her expertise, but a particular manifesto had circulated on the news that immediately grabbed her attention. It spoke to her in more way than one, perhaps now more than ever after she had adopted a brand new baby boy. An individual referred to only as the Illusive Man, warned that an alien attempt at human genocide was inevitable. He had called for an army, a Cerberus to guard against invasion through the Charon relay. Celeste had lost both her parents and her brother in the First Contact War earlier that year, all of whom had been officers in the Systems Alliance. She disregarded all job offers and sought out this Illusive Man, eventually making contact with him and becoming the first of many to join this new organization called Cerberus.

After his third birthday, Celeste had been assigned as the lead scientist for a new project. They had packed up their things and moved to the newly built Teltin facility on Pragia. The Illusive Man had tasked her with improving the biotic potential in humans. While Dante had certainly been exposed to elemental zero in-utero, no biotic capability had been observed yet, as such the most his mother did with him was nothing more than mental exercises. The same was true with half of the other children who lived at the facility. All of them had been sent there by their parents, and most had been orphaned for the same reason he had been. The children in which biotic abilities had been observed were constantly tested, both physically and mentally, but Celeste had made sure that everyone there was well taken care of, which the children had appreciated immensely. The environment at the facility was very positive and with each new day came new discovery, which made the scientists all the more excited.

However, with most good things there was always a catch. There was always a downside, a caveat, when something sounded too good to be true. A scientist who worked under Celeste, an unpleasant man whom everyone referred to simply as Angersol, always managed to take the joy out of the room whenever he was around. It had infuriated Angersol beyond belief that he had to work under Celeste. After being blacklisted by the scientific community on Earth, the only job he could get was working for Cerberus, and at the time the Illusive Man couldn't be as selective as he wanted about who he hired. Though with Celeste leading the project and all the other scientists involved, their expertise more than made up for Angersol's inadequacies.

By the time Dante was eight years old, there was an increasing number of children who were sent to the facility either due to mere elemental zero exposure or inclinations of biotic manifestation. They were making steady progress and Celeste was submitting weekly written reports to the Illusive Man on any and all developments. It wasn't until a little girl by the name of Jacqueline arrived that everything at the facility changed. The scientists had long since discovered a way to measure biotic potential in children, whether or not biotic capabilities would manifest was anyone's guess, but Jacqueline's potential was the highest they had ever recorded. This of course created a new wave of excitement for everyone.

In the meantime, Angersol was becoming less useful with each passing year. As Cerberus continued to grow, the influx of better scientists whom the Illusive Man didn't initially have the benefit of, meant that Angersol could finally be replaced. After accessing Celeste's terminal, Angersol managed to read a message from the Illusive Man which had said as much. Already bitter and angry at his situation, the idea of getting fired again was the last straw. For weeks, Angersol tried to think of some way to change his luck and after watching a news report on batarian slavers he concocted a plan.

It only took a month after Jacqueline's arrival for Angersol to enact his plan. He had managed to get in contact with a group of batarian slavers. He would sabotage the facility's power grid at the exact moment that the slavers would arrive at Teltin. Dante would never forget that day, not for the rest of his life, for it was on that fateful day that he lost his mother, Celeste. The batarians raided the compound, killing all the scientists save for Angersol. All of the children were locked in their rooms, and Angersol took over the project. After reading through Celeste's previous reports to the Illusive Man, it wasn't difficult for him to fake them, in order to give Cerberus the impression that all was well.

The atmosphere of the facility went from positive and fun, to torturous and painful. Dante was on the receiving end of some especially painful and agonizing experiments, in all likelihood due to the fact that he was Celeste's son, and Angersol had years of bitterness towards her to take out on him. Apparently, Angersol planned on creating the most powerful human biotics possible that he would then sell to the batarians as slaves, and with mind control chips implanted in their brains it would make both Angersol and the batarians wealthy beyond measure. Perhaps their saving grace was the fact that until the children were ready to be sold, the mind control chips wouldn't be implanted, because it could interfere with the results of the experiments.

Angersol's diamond in the rough was Jacqueline, now referred to only as Subject Zero. Angersol had given similar designations to all of the children, either to make the project as impersonal as possible, or perhaps to degrade the children by denying them their true names. Dante had been known as Subject Nine, and often the most dangerous and risky of experiments were always tested on him before Angersol applied them to Subject Zero. In addition, the environmental controls for each subject's room was always in a state of flux; one day it would be unbearably hot and the next it would be unbearably cold. There were days that Dante would be restrained by his wrists, forced to remain standing, while his feet were submerged in cold water. Sleep deprived and with aches all over his body, he would be forced to fight Subject Zero who was always filled with narcotics to encourage her aggressiveness. Dante, whose biotic capabilities were initially nonexistent, was forced to fight intelligently if he didn't want to be killed. After his biotics manifested themselves, fighting Subject Zero was slightly less difficult, but even if he had the benefit of being healthy and getting a full night's rest, her power was still marginally stronger than his, so he was still required to fight with the utmost caution.

As the years passed by, the experiments became increasingly sadistic and dangerous. Perhaps Angersol was going further and further over the edge, perhaps the stress and pressure of batarians looking over his shoulder was finally getting to him, Dante couldn't say with much certainty. By the time Subject Zero had reached puberty, Angersol was forcing the two of them to have sex on a daily basis after they both would fight in the pit, in order to measure its effects on biotics. Dante's room would be filled with gas to knock him unconscious and he would wake up on a metal bed, with both his wrists and ankles in metal restraints, filled to the gill with sexual stimulants. Subject Zero would be in the same room with him, unrestrained, and also pumped full of sexual stimulants. She, in all likelihood, had far higher doses to minimize the chance of her killing him, given his defenseless state. It was during one of these sessions in which Dante was able to speak with her, as Angersol had accidentally given her a lower dosage than usual. Her coherency allowed them to whisper to one another and subsequently plan an escape. After they finished, the room was filled with the same gas that knocked them out in their rooms, and after holding their breath for as long as they could to try and minimize the amount of gas they inhaled, a pair of batarians entered the room to take them back to their prison cells. While they were both briefly knocked out from taking in a small amount of the gas, they were able to wake up earlier than usual and easily managed to kill their escorts.

Unfortunately, since their rooms were on opposite ends of the compound, they had to fend for themselves until they could find one another and free the other children. It was during this time that Subject Zero had gotten lost in her own anger, rage, and fear and started indiscriminately killing everyone in sight. By the time Dante had reached her she attacked him without hesitation. The arrival of more batarians grabbed her attention and after killing them she ran away, ignoring Dante who was calling for her to stop. Dante managed to access a terminal and send a message to Cerberus, but he was unsure if it had gone through because it was destroyed almost immediately after he hit send; several bullet holes were left in the smoking and sparking terminal. Angersol stood at the other end of the room, pistol in hand, with a murderous look on his face, spitting and yelling about how Dante had ruined his plans. Dante didn't spend much time listening after that, his barrier absorbed all the bullets fired from Angersol's pistol until it overheated and Dante caved his skull in with a biotically enhanced punch. Dante had proceeded to free all of the other children in the facility and ushered them into a single room, locking it behind him as he defended his position against wave after wave of batarian slavers.

"And that's when you found me, Miranda," Dante said, finishing his eighth food ration, a pile of wrappers in the container where the rations had once been.

The operative nodded solemnly in response as she finished writing out her report, "We will be docking within five minutes."

Dante simply rested his head against the chair he was sitting in, eyes closed as he tried to fight off sleep. Although his hunger was quelled for the moment, he couldn't remember the last time he had bathed, or had a full night's rest, in an actual bed, and he was hoping it wouldn't be long until he could enjoy both. He felt the large vessel shake lightly as it docked, the clamps attaching to the ship as Miranda motioned for him. She offered him a shoulder, but he politely declined, deciding to walk under his own power despite how weak he felt. He ignored the eyes that followed him as he walked through the ship. After exiting the ship he noticed they were on a space station, and it was massive, but unusually vacant. He would have expected far more people on a station of this size, but he didn't give it any further thought as Miranda led him through a series of doors and elevators.

When they arrived at their destination, Dante was amazed by the sight. They walked into an immaculately clean room that was bare save for the semi-transparent computer screens and single chair in front of them. The most amazing thing about the room was the view; just beyond the screens was what appeared to be a red supergiant, but beyond that Dante had no idea where they were. After a moment, Dante finally realized that there was a person sitting in the lone chair, seemingly looking at the screens in front of him. They continued walking forward until Miranda was standing beside the man, with Dante standing behind her.

"Sir," she greeted.

"Thank you Operative Lawson, you may go," the man replied, to which she gave a curt nod before exiting the massive room.

The man with greying hair and a seemingly expensive suit took a drag from his cigarette and released a slow breath before speaking, "I'm relieved to see that you and the other children are safe."

Dante wasn't exactly sure how to respond so he simply nodded his head, unsure if the man could see the gesture in his peripheral vision.

"I owe you an apology, Mr. Esposito. I failed to recognize that something was amiss at Teltin and I failed to secure you and the other children's safe release. I am truly sorry for what occurred," the man said, now looking straight at Dante, his steely blue eyes looked prosthetic but Dante didn't dwell on that thought for long.

"Why…" he said with a pause, "why didn't Cerberus do anything?" he questioned.

The man took another drag from his cigarette, "We did, Mr. Esposito."

Rather than elaborate, the man pressed several keys and a new screen came to life directly in front of them and a video began to play.

The face of Dr. Angersol appeared and judging by the look on his face he was both angry and scared, "You will release the children into Cerberus custody, Dr. Angersol," Dante could hear the man sitting beside him say in the recording.

Dr. Angersol's initial reaction was anger, but judging by how the demand was said, fear began to trickle over his features, "Illusive Man," Angersol spat, attempting to put on a brave front but failing quite miserably. "I'm not releasing anyone unless the sum of one hundred million credits is transferred to the following account!"

There was silence on the other end, but Dante could hear the faint sound of the Illusive Man smoking on a cigarette, "I do not negotiate with traitors, Dr. Angersol. You have forty eight hours to release the children."

Panic flicked across Angersol's face before he attempted to cover it up, "If Cerberus tries anything I'll kill them!"

"Forty eight hours, Dr. Angersol, not a minute more," the Illusive Man replied, the transmission cut before Angersol could respond.

"This took place precisely one day ago," the Illusive Man stated.

"Why did it take you so long to do anything? Why did you give him so much time? You could have stopped him before…" Dante questioned, voice trailing off into silence as he thought about the death of his mother.

The Illusive Man closed his eyes and took a drag from his cigarette. "My mistake cost the lives of every scientist we had at Teltin. They were wonderful people who shared my beliefs. I was responsible for their well-being and it is because of my mistake that cost them their lives," he replied before pausing, looking up in thought. "Your mother was the very first person to join my organization and I will never forgive myself for what I allowed to happen…but I can assure you, I will never make that mistake again."

Dante could hear the regret and anger in the man's words, it was obvious he cared about his mother and the other scientists assigned to the project. Dante could just imagine his mother telling him that the only ones responsible for what happened was Angersol and the batarians, both of whom had paid the consequences. Dante closed his eyes and let out a sigh and with it a little bit of his anger and bitterness left too.

When he opened his eyes he could see that the Illusive Man was looking up at him, waiting patiently for Dante to regain his bearings. "As for why we gave Dr. Angersol so much time, we contacted the batarians with whom Dr. Angersol was collaborating with and offered them more credits than they would have made selling you and the others as slaves, half up front and the remainder after all of you were safely returned," the Illusive Man replied, taking another drag on his cigarette.

"That explains why Angersol was so worried that day," Dante mused silently.

"And then we had received the message you had sent and I immediately dispatched the team I had assembled," the Illusive Man continued.

Dante nodded in understanding, "Are the other kids alright?" he asked.

"Physically they will recover, mentally it will take time. They will be returned to their parents after our doctors have cleared them," the Illusive Man replied, putting out his cigarette in the ash tray on the arm of his chair.

"What about me?" Dante asked.

The Illusive Man stood from his chair and turned to face Dante directly, "We will take you anywhere you want to go, should you wish to leave."

Dante looked down, his eyes landing on the Illusive Man's expensive looking shoes, wracking his already abused brain as he tried to decide what to do. His thoughts drifted to his mother, how much he missed her, how much he hated what happened to her, it left him with mixed feelings towards the organization she was happily employed by. The only thing he had left of her was Cerberus, and by all accounts they never intended for anything to happen to her.

"And if I wish to stay?" Dante asked, looking back up and meeting the Illusive Man's eyes.

He smiled softly, "Then we would welcome you."

Dante found himself mirroring the Illusive Man's smile, finding it contagious, before he extended his hand, "Well then, when do I start?"

The Illusive Man chuckled softly before grabbing Dante's hand and shaking it.