Chapter 1:
It All Comes Crashing Down
The Citadel is free of the chaos and fear that once plagued its halls and many corridors after the devastating attack of Sovereign. Yet, the horrific event still lingers within the minds of the Citadel Council, for, unbeknownst to the public, the Reaper threat remains active.
Blissful laughter and cheer emanate throughout the aura of the Presidium as citizens go about their day. Even though the remnants of Sovereign's attack can still be seen in burn marks and foliage damage, the Keepers have done an impressive job of repairs.
There is a newfound respect among the public for the little creatures; no longer are they seen as pesky and annoying insects of inconvenience.
A Keeper is tending to wall damage just outside the elevator at the top of the Citadel Tower, mending the twisted metal back together with ample precision.
The elevator nearby begins to hum as it carries its passenger up its long, metallic throat ascending to the hub and logistics center of all Council Space.
First Lieutenant Joseph Keller enters the elevator leading up to the glorious Citadel Tower. The jingle of the familiar elevator music chimes on as he straightens out his Alliance uniform. Reaching a slightly trembling hand inside his pocket, he pulls out a cloth to wipe away the sweat trickling down his forehead.
He looks up through deep blue eyes, watching the lights go past him outside the window, and as they begin to blend into a waterfall of streaking color, he closes his eyes deep in thought. A part of him… most of him actually… wishes that today had never taken place.
As a young boy, Joseph Keller always dreamt of joining the glorious Systems Alliance. However, the subject of his dreams had him heroically soaring through the stars in a majestic ship and exploring new, exciting planets; not as a communications officer working in the Citadel's Alliance tower. Yet, linguistics and a knack for technology proved to be a spectacular combination within the eyes of the Alliance, for comm officers were becoming harder to come by.
Therefore, throughout the course of only three short years, Joseph Keller's talent and integrity eventually brought him to where he is today, granted access to the inner circle of highly sensitive and covert operations directed under the prestigious command of Admiral Hackett.
Thus, the swirling orbs of light illuminating the shafts of the many Citadel elevators had to become a necessary replacement to the wondrous spectacle of planets and stars firmly placed upon the mantle of space.
Suddenly, awakening Keller from his thoughts, an announcer's voice chimes on broadcasting various news and political activities emanating throughout Council Space.
Opening his eyes, he looks at his other hand clutching an external data device that contains an "eyes only" communication. Lieutenant Keller has received a flash message intended for Councilor David Anderson directly from Admiral Hackett at Arcturus. He is certainly not looking forward to the response or implications it may bring to humanity, or the entire galaxy even.
Pulling off his cap, he runs his fingers through his thick brown hair. Placing his cap firmly back upon his head, he lets out an irritated sigh. 'Must it go any slower…?'
Finally, the elevator reaches its destination and Lieutenant Keller bursts out, not waiting for the doors to fully open.
Running at full speed down the entrance hall, he is fully focused upon his mission. Unfortunately, Keller does not know there is an unyielding obstruction of a hard working Keeper making repairs to the walls up ahead… a collision is inevitable.
The beautiful fountain slowly comes into sight, emerging from the hallway leading from the elevator. The Keeper suddenly appears in the young marine's path smack dab in the middle of the entrance just as Keller reaches the intersection. The two masses collide, and everything seems to instantly slow down around Keller. Various tools and trinkets that the small, insect like creature were carrying go flying into the air.
The Keeper, as startled as the Alliance marine at their untimely meeting, screeches in surprise. In turn, Lieutenant Keller lets out a startled shout, and the two enter into shocked harmony as they crash hard to the floor.
Startled gasps echo throughout the area as the sounds reach the delicate ears of those nearby. Instantly, the attention of everyone in the area is set upon the scene, perhaps more curious about the reaction of the Keeper than the well-being of the human.
"Holy crap!" ... 'The data!'
Keller desperately scans the floor for the external device. He finally sees it a couple feet in front and protectively snatches it off the ground.
The Keeper struggles back to its feet, muttering unintelligible banter and beeps. Once he realizes what he has run into, the Lieutenant looks over to the Keeper as he hears the strange noises… or... language? "Sss... sorry little guy… I didn't see you there." He rolls over and gets to his knees, noticing that he has completely obliterated the Keeper's tools and supplies that it was carrying to repair the nearby wall.
Keller's deep blue eyes widen at the sight of the irritated Keeper next to him.
'Please… don't blow up…'
He has heard that the Keepers are notorious for exploding when disturbed, and what the lieutenant has just done is, well… a little more than "disruption."
However, this Keeper, thankfully, does not burst into a million pieces. It just keeps muttering its gibberish as it gathers its supplies and continues in its transit toward the damaged wall. Keller could not help but be stupefied by the sight, for he has never heard of a Keeper acting in this manner before. He remains on his knees staring at the creature as it places its tools in proper order upon the ground in front of the soon to be immaculately repaired wall.
The Keeper begins to reach down for what seems to be a laser cutter when the creature stops, its hand mere centimeters from grabbing the tool. It then slowly turns its head toward Lieutenant Keller, perhaps sensing his piercing stare.
Instantly, Keller's blood runs cold and a harsh shiver runs up his back, at the sight of those massive orbs peering straight at him. He recoils in surprise, awakened from his bemusement. Seeing the crowd attentively observing the event nearby, Lieutenant Keller quickly launches himself to his feet.
Seemingly satisfied with the human's response, the small creature turns back to its tools and commences cutting away crumpled metal of the Citadel's damaged wall.
Lieutenant Keller announces to the crowd, "Does anyone know where Councilor David Anderson is?!" The crowd is still stunned and speechless; the only sound in the area is the water dancing out of the fountain in the middle of the walkway and the renewed banging of the Keeper upon the wall.
With a slightly embarrassed but resolved expression upon his face, he continues forward bounding up the steps leading toward the chambers, wanting to get away from the creepy insect creature as fast as possible.
A light blue skinned Asari clad in light guardian armor meets him at the top of the stairs. She seems to notice the memory device clutched within his hand, "I believe I saw Representative Anderson enter his office a few minutes ago, Lieutenant."
Slightly stunned by her beautiful presence, he stops dead in his tracks. "Th..Thank you." He once again attempts to straighten his uniform… "Ma'am."
"I believe his office is that way." She points behind her to her left. Suddenly, a slightly amused expression glints upon her face as she turns back to face the star struck marine. "And perhaps you should be more careful about watching your steps."
"Ah, yes ma'am. I… I will… ma'am." An awkward silence occurs between the two of them for a brief moment as their eyes lock. It is as if her piercing stare is boring a hole straight into Lieutenant Keller's soul. Her wide Asari eyes begin to turn a light onyx color as she remains transfixed upon the young Alliance officer.
Once again, a small line of sweat begins to trickle from Keller's forehead as she now is beginning to make him quite nervous. "I… must be going; I have urgent business… Thank you for your assistance ma'am."
The Asari nods, closing her eyes and opening them with renewed light, she says, "It was no inconvenience human." Lieutenant Keller, returning a nod, then awkwardly continues in the direction that she pointed, alternating between walking and jogging until he is a fair enough distance away from her.
'What a day this has started out to be…'
Glancing back, he sees the Asari paused in deep thought. A concerned and distant look is upon her face, and she no longer seems to be aware of anything around her. Then, she slowly turns to head down the stairs leading toward the elevator. As she turns, Lieutenant Keller then sees a peculiar sight, noticing a spectre grade pistol at her side.
'Focus Joseph. That's a mystery for another day.'
He then bursts into a full out sprint towards Anderson's office, nearly running into an elderly man as he turns back around. "Sss.. sorry, sir!"
David Anderson is silently admiring the view of the Citadel's Ward arms from his office. No matter how many times he has seen the wondrous vista, it has never dulled in captivating the Captain. Its beauty and serenity is a welcome sight in his now more chaotic life as a Council member.
He never fully realized the burden that the three counselors carried until he has come to bear the yoke along with them. The four of them must make decisions that affect not only their own races, but a whole galaxy of multiple civilizations as well. It truly is a difficult task, especially when dealing with the aftermath of the recent attack by Saren.
'It is difficult to tell the people that we are safe when, in actuality, a whole fleet of Reapers still exist somewhere out there.'
Anderson lets out a fatigued sigh and closes his eyes, perhaps praying for the strength and wisdom to carry on. "John, what have you gotten me into?"
A small smirk stretches across his face as he recollects when Commander Shepard recommended him as the human representative to the council. The look upon Ambassador Udina's face was priceless.
A beep from his comm interrupts his reverie and the soft voice of his Asari assistant comes through. "Representative Anderson?"
Anderson then opens his eyes and turns to walk toward his desk. He hesitantly presses the reply button, sensing the unease within her voice. He has come to understand his assistant very well, and knows that whatever she has to say will be the beginning of a bad day. "Yes Nala? What is it?"
"There is a Lieutenant Joseph Keller here wanting to speak with you, sir. He says that his message is directly from Admiral Hackett and that it is urgent."
He pauses a moment before responding. 'Why didn't the Admiral just contact me himself through the communication systems? Unless… oh god.'
"Send him in right away Nala."
"Yes Councilor." The door to David Anderson's office then opens, and a somewhat disheveled and worn-out marine quickly steps through. Anderson steps around his desk, a hand still resting upon its surface.
He has a worried feeling that he already knows the reason for this meeting…
Lieutenant Keller then gallantly introduces himself, standing at attention and saluting. "First Lieutenant Joseph Keller reporting, sir!" Captain Anderson returns the salute.
"At ease, Lieutenant. What news does the Admiral send?"
Lieutenant Keller then somewhat relaxes, but has a troubled and nervous look upon his face. "Sir, Admiral Hacket... he.. he.." He looks down and attempts to gather his emotions, letting out a sigh. His brow furrows and his lips press together as he unclenches his hand, revealing the external data device. "I'm sorry sir."
Anderson sees the device and concern instantly rushes across his face.
He steps closer to the troubled marine, "Lieutenant, what happened?" The Lieutenant then looks up straight into Captain Anderson's eyes.
"There was a distress signal, sir… from the SSV Normandy." Anderson's eyes begin to widen and it feels like his heart has dropped down to his stomach. "We've lost contact with the entire crew… including Commander Shepard, sir." The Lieutenant's words hit David Anderson like a ton of bricks. He immediately recoils with a stunned and conflicted look upon his face. 'Lost contact…'
Lieutenant Keller then holds the device out to Captain Anderson within a slightly trembling hand. "The data on this device contains an 'eyes only' message for you as well, sir."
Anderson takes the device, regarding it with apprehension. "It has been off-line encrypted, sir. The codename is 'Teneo.'"
Anderson quickly glances back to Lieutenant Keller, giving him a nod. He then walks back behind his desk, connecting the device to his computer. His fingers then type in the codeword and the computer comes to life, decoding the message. Standing over the screen, Anderson reads the message with an ever increasing sickening demeanor, the frame of his body getting heavier with every word.
Then, suddenly he shakes his head and leans over, resting both hands upon the surface of his desk.
Anderson closes his eyes, praying harder now for strength to come to him.
He mutters quietly under his breath, "God help us."
To be continued...
*I have since removed the prologue from this story and submitted it as an entirely separate story. I felt that it carried a different tone since it was in a one-shot/first person view.
Hope you all enjoyed! I love any type of review, good or bad; either way, it helps me improve my writing techniques. :)
Here are definitions of some of the military terminology I used:
Flash message - A message received by radiomen or communications officers that takes precedence over any other category of message. The handler's full attention must go to the delivery of this message to its intended receiver.
Off-line encrypted - A message that has been highly encrypted before send off. Messages off-line encrypted are usually highly sensitive; not even the handler knows the contents.
The message can only be decrypted using a specific codeword and/or cryptographic equipment. (In the case of this story, Anderson already had the keying material on his computer due to his
Council member status)