Siege of the Citadel

by steelmongoose

A rookie C-Sec officer, a turian veteran and an asari Spectre are brought together for a mundane task, but when the geth attack the Citadel their goals quickly change to saving as many lives as they can, including their own.

Author's Note: While I posted this story some months after Mass Effect 2 came out, it was written in its entirety prior to the release date, so I am aware of any inconsistencies with the established lore. I did not have the time or inclination for re-writes.

Alex looked at the face staring back at him from the small mirror in his new locker, finding it ridiculous that he could not meet his own gaze. He looked at everything else; the 'jar-head' buzz cut of his sandy-blonde hair that was the last thing he bought before leaving Earth; the long pale scar that ran as sharp as the blade that had inflicted it from his left eyebrow to the missing upper portion of his left ear; the strong jaw and cleft in his chin that his father had given every one of his children. He looked at the new C-Sec uniform that he had been issued, his long-limbed frame standing just under six and a half feet tall and packed with the muscle that three years active service in the Alliance military had given him, still finding the cut and color as alien to him as many of the Citadel's inhabitants. When his green eyes finally met their reflected twins he didn't like what he saw: doubt.

It was a miracle you got accepted at all, his reflection told him, and what are you going to do if you can't cut it in C-Sec? Return to Earth? You are going to make this work because you don't have much of a choice.

Alex blew a long, calming breath out of his nostrils, finding the logic escapable. At least you're not a mercenary, his reflection reminded him before disappearing as the thin metal door closed and automatically locked with an electronic chirp.

About half a dozen other C-Sec officers were in the room, a human and a salarian chatting amiably to one another about something that happened during their shift while the other four were the lizard-like turian, going about their business with efficient movements and speaking in hushed tones, like what they were speaking was for their vestigial ears alone. He had encountered many turians since his arrival on the Citadel and throughout his indoctrination into its security forces--not surprising since they made up over half the force and were responsible for its inception in the first place--but that hadn't warmed him to the scaly aliens. He got the distinct impression that they were all part of some club, and it was a generally accepted fact that anyone not in that club was somehow flawed. Maybe it was only the self-conscious paranoia people felt when around others whose culture was vastly different from their own, the thought that every glance and muttered comment was a joke or insult about you. Judging by the way some of them looked at him, however, shaking their crested heads, it had to be more that his imagination.

More the pity that he was going to be partnered with one.

As Alex's path took him past the human and salarian the human tilted his head back and called out to him.

" Hey rookie, who they got you partnered with? "

Alex paused mid-stride, looking back to the pair, interested to see their reaction when he spoke the name.

" Lieutenant Caldrix. "
Both constables glanced at one another, something resembling pity crossing their faces before they returned their gaze to him.

" Good luck, " the human offered with a doubtful twist of his lips.

" Thanks, " came Alex's flat reply, resuming his reluctant march out of the locker area and into the C-Sec academy's lobby.

As was befitting a shift change in an important nerve center of a city with a population of over 13 million the front lobby was a living mosaic of human and alien bodies crisscrossing the floor, uniformed constables sliding past suit-wearing bureaucrats weaving around civilian visitors. The jumbled murmur of dozens of voices rose and echoed off the high walls while the clear lift tube ferried groups of people to and from the Presidium above, leaving Alex with the task of locating a specific turian he had never seen before and reporting for duty. He scanned the benches along the gently curving walls of the lobby, craning his neck to try and catch a glimpse of a uniformed turian among those seated on the benches that ran much of the lobby's outer walls. He found a likely candidate seated almost directly across from him, the alien reviewing something of mild interest on a data slate resting on his crossed legs. Feeling like he were about to take a plunge into water Alex began to negotiate the crowd, his large frame making it impossible to avoid brushing against multiple people, muttering an apology for each until it almost became a mantra.

While being almost a head taller that most of those around him made it difficult to keep an eye on his destination it did allow him to easily spot the red armored crest bobbing towards him, cutting through the crowd like a shark fin through the ocean. People rippled and parted where it passed, revealing a krogan prisoner escorted by three C-Sec officers, their shock stick in their hands and ready should the large alien try anything. While Alex and the alien would have been able to easily meet eye-to-eye the foot and a half tall hump of muscle and fat perched atop the krogan's shoulders made him appear like a bipedal bull dressed in red armor and being prodded reluctantly along to his pen. Alex followed the cue of those beside him and paused to allow the prisoner and escort pass by, a moment before one of the guards prodded the krogan and grunted 'move it'. Alex could almost see the switch go off in the large alien's brain, an instant later the offending guard was hurling back two meters to land in a tangle of limbs and cries of alarm. The other two officers wasted no time in bringing their crackling batons to bear, one landing a glancing blow across the twisting krogan's arm while the other quickly jabbed him in the ribs.

To anything but a krogan the blows would have stunned the prisoner long enough for other measures to be taken, but instead they seemed to enrage the alien further, swinging his arms shackled with restraints solid-looking enough to hold a docked ship in place like a hammer. Another of the escorts went down, his bid to roll with the impending strike only partially successful, Alex wincing as he swore he could hear ribs crack. The krogan whipped about, growling, scanning the crowd for more attackers or an escape route. Alex's first running stride towards the rampaging alien hadn't even landed before doubts of being able to pull this off entered his mind, the krogan instantly noticing the fast movement and swiveling to face this new attacker squarely. Putting his shoulder down and bellowing a challenge Alex charged directly towards the krogan's broad chest, the sort of brute-force tactic the alien himself would have favored. The krogan braced for the impact and grinned with its square, yellowed teeth, preparing its thick arms for another crushing blow at the foolish human who saw two comrades fall under the same attack and still attempt it himself.

The krogan's arms descended swiftly…and hit nothing as it seemed that Alex had disappeared under the sweep of the arms. The alien's confusion was only momentary, however, as his view of the world suddenly shifted, finding himself hurling backwards towards the floor. Alex had ducked under the blow, coiling his right arm around the krogan's left knee joint and twisted his body clockwise, slamming his back against the alien's knees and letting momentum do the rest. The fall would have blasted the air out of the lungs of a human unprepared for the landing, but the krogan was stunned for only a moment before he began to kick and thrash, Alex tenaciously clinging to the leg, tucking his head down in hopes of avoiding a vicious kick. Shouted demands and stomping feet preceded the krogan suddenly going slack, Alex not releasing his grip until he felt a pat on his shoulder. " We got him, " came a voice close to his head, a human C-Sec officer leaning down and offering his hand. Alex disentangled himself from the krogan's leg and accepted the help up, noticing that a pair of officers had the muzzles of their pistols inches from the krogan's face, likely all the 'convincing' needed to get the alien prisoner to calm down.

" Thanks for the assist, " the officer went on to say, the sentiment echoed with the nods of several other constables on the scene. Alex just nodded his response while straightening out his uniform and calming his breathing, scanning the assembled crowd as they murmured amongst themselves. He caught sight of his new partner just beyond the first row of onlookers, his head cocked slightly to the side as he studied the human, expression on his reptilian features inscrutable. " Clear a path! "a Medi-tech shouted as she and her partner shouldered their way through the crowd, crouching beside the injured escort. Alex watched them go to work, glancing back up only to see that Caldrix had disappeared from his previous spot, a few moments of searching later spotting the turian heading towards the lift. Angling his body and offering another barrage of apologies Alex began to slip through the crowd after him.

He finally caught up when the turian joined the queue waiting for the elevator, the alien offering little more than a curt nod.

" Constable Hunt. In future I expect you present in the lobby no later than nine minutes to the hour to ensure that we are topside by the beginning of our shift, " Caldrix informed him crisply in the deep, resonating tone all turians possessed. Alex goggled, amazed that the turian had brushed off the whole incident with Alex charging a rampaging krogan as irrelevant.

" N-noted…sir, " Alex agreed, running his eyes over the sharp, angular features of his superior, trying to discern his mood.

As far as turians went, Caldrix was much like all Alex had seen; just over six feet tall with slender but powerful arms and legs and an inhumanly narrow waist set above angular hips and below a slightly protruding chest. Alex had never seen a disrobed turian--nor was he particularly interested in doing so—though he assumed the organic, metallic plates that covered their heads continued over their whole body, their very physiology giving the impression of a taciturn and stand-offish race. Like many turians Caldrix bore facial markings, like the war paint worn by human savages in Earth's history or, more contemporarily, like the heat-diffusing strips on the hulls of star ships. His was a dark green color, rectangular brush strokes radiating outwards from the eyes sockets along the brow, temples and narrow cheeks with a thick band running from the forehead to the tip of the alien's blunt nose. Alex had seen only a handful of turians without these markings and that only added to his curiosity regarding their significance to the race as a whole. The only other distinctive feature that marked Caldrix different from any other turian was that Alex had noticed the alien was missing over half of the mandible on the right side of his face, snapped off by something with significant force behind it; a scar to an alien with no pliable skin surface.

Caldrix wore a monocular eye piece over the left of his two violet eyes, a HUD system linked to the tiny computer that made up the rest of the head gear allowing him to store and access pertinent data and case files without needing a console. The uniform was standard of all C-Sec constables, though the 'tin-bars' on his shoulders gleamed brightly and the omni-tool hub set into the uniform's left wrist was certainly more advanced looking than the bare-bones Bluewire I Alex had been issued with his own uniform. When it came to weapons, however, Alexander could spot the differences with glaring clarity. Caldrix was sporting an Armax Arsenal Brawler, lacking modifications, but judging by the lines and the reinforced barrel it was one of the more powerful in the line, probably at least a Mark 7. When Alex had been issued his Elkoss Edge I pistol he had hefted it with a mixture of disdain and resignation, reminding himself he was now part of a civilian peace-keeping force, not military spec-ops. He could barely conceive of any firefight with an Edge as his only slug-thrower; against anybody with mil-spec armor and weapons it would be reduced in usefulness to something that flashed and made noise, a glorified toy meant to keep heads ducking until back-up arrived. His thoughts about applying for the special response division of C-Sec came and went just as quickly. That wasn't why he had come to the Citadel, why he had mustered out of the Systems Alliance.

The lift arrived at the Presidium level with a slight bump and hiss, the clear, thick doors on the elevator sliding up and away and the press of people surging forward, Caldrix and Alex following along and then breaking off to walk side-by-side as they walked along the Presidium concourse. The area itself was as pleasant and elegant as the first time Alex had seen it; architecture marked by smooth, graceful curves well-lit with clear white lights and blended with plenty of natural elements such as grass-covered meridians planted with vibrant deciduous trees and fountains spraying jets of glittering water towards the artificial sky above. It was markedly different from the environment found in the outer wards sitting upon the insides of the massive slab arms of the space station, which were designed with a much more utilitarian eye, the only beauty found there in the gleaming lights that rivaled the stars beyond in number.

As they walked Alex noted one of the squat, green Keepers, the mute custodians of the Citadel, inscrutable and unfailing in their efforts to keep the systems of the massive habitant running smoothly as it carefully trimmed away some dead leaves from a bush with emotionless efficiency. The human didn't have time to wonder what sort of thoughts went on behind those bug-like black eyes as Caldrix had begun to speak, demanding Alex's full attention.

" Most new recruits are given the Presidium as their beat for the first year; its quieter, home mostly to banks, embassies and high-end night clubs. It boasts a thirty-to-one C-Sec constable ratio, the highest on the Citadel, and even during the six hour 'night cycle' it is well-lit and open, making sneaking about and hiding much more difficult, " the turian explained, keeping his eyes forwards as they walked.

" What most C-Sec recruits don't get to appreciate, however, " Caldrix continued, " is that crime still happens here, more than you'd guess, and far more than gets reported. Here, shipments of drugs worth millions of credits are sold, hits are arranged over a business lunch and secrets are revealed, or buried so deep you'll find Prothean artifacts before you find what you're looking for. Here, suits are gang colors, deluxe pent houses are drug dens and a smile can be as threatening as a drawn blade. Rookies get assigned out to the wards after the first year, get to deal with the nitty-gritty of life aboard the Citadel. The best among them come back here, after they learn how and where to look, how to keep a cool head dealing with the public and how to fish for answers while giving nothing back. You still listening? " the turian asked sharply, noticing that Alex's gaze had wandered off to where a squat volus merchant haggled price with a pair of salarian businessmen.

" Yessir, " Alex assented with a quick nod. Caldrix shook his head but seemed placated as they followed the flow of the walkway around a bend and up a shallow ramp.

Caldrix still wasn't sure about this one. It was still too early to tell. You could read service records, psych profiles and interview transcripts but all of that was filtered through the constraints of brevity, personal inflection and social masking. To know someone, you had to observe them directly while they did what they did, watch them while they problem-solved and interacted; that was the person. Time to keep prodding and see what twitched.

" Why do you think I didn't comment on the incident with the krogan? " Caldrix asked, fixing the human beside him with a searching stare. It was a question that made the human consider the thought-process of his superior and then phrase an answer in such a way that it wouldn't get him slapped with insubordination. Alexander clenched his jaw while he thought; something the turian noticed he did a lot, attributing it to first-day jitters but it was still a tell he would have to learn to control over time.

" I assumed you considered it satisfactory behavior not worth mentioning, " he responded carefully.

" On the contrary, I think you acted with admirable speed and selflessness, responding instantly to suppress the danger to your fellow constables and the public. Try again. "

More silence passed, Caldrix noting not for the first time how open and naked the human face seemed, all its muscles easily readable beneath a thin layer of flexible tissue, broadcasting emotion like a vidscreen.

" I don't know, " Alex admitted finally, clearly unhappy with his response.

" I did it, " the turian explained, " because I have come to notice a trend among you humans. You respond too well to praise, and too poorly to criticism. Luck was on your side that he was a young one, I doubt you would have fared so well against a centuries-old veteran. You probably didn't even consider the consequences of your actions prior to acting on them, just forging ahead and hoping everything turns out alright in the end. So like a human. "

Alex stiffened like he had been struck, face and body tense, eyes forced ahead.

" I acted as the situation demanded. There were too many civilians to draw my weapon and get a clear shot. The shock sticks had no effect. Physical force seemed the most prudent measure, " the rookie C-Sec officer countered, the anger in his voice barely contained. Humans were as easy to goad as krogan.

" Did you know that I was the one who vouched for you when your candidacy for C-Sec came up? " Caldrix offered, steering the conversation in another direction, keeping the human off-balance and guessing.

" N-no, that information wasn't available, just that I had been accepted, " Alex admitted, the anger in his voice melting away.

" Why do you suppose that is? "

Alex sighed, growing frustrated with the vague questions.

" I don't know, you thought I had promise? "

" Indeed. Looking at you I see someone who is prepared for any physical confrontation, your actions in the lobby and your military record show that much clearly. What caught my interest, besides how you dropped out of the Alliance military's N7 program after seventeen months citing 'personal reasons' despite excelling in it, was how up to your 4th grade of studies your marks were high, and then steadily dropped to merely satisfactory. We are about motives in C-Sec, to determine guilt and to predict action. I know your past, and I know you are here. I want to find out why, and I want to find out what you are willing to tell someone you just met about it, " the turian explained, offering a nod of greeting to another pair of constables headed in the opposite direction who respectfully returned the gesture.

" I wanted…more, " Alex said after a long pause, his words calm and honest. " My three year tour protecting human colonies showed me enough violence and death to last my whole life, and I was still young. I didn't want to see the galaxy through the scope of a rifle. "

Caldrix tilted his head back, his measure of the human's words telling him there was no subterfuge in what was spoken, just that not all had been spoken.

" You come from a military family, do you not? " the turian mused, already knowing the answer.

" Yes, " Alexander agreed, " my father, brother and sister are all enlisted soldiers. "

" Perhaps I can puzzle out the rest now, then. Your father, a career soldier, determined from the moment his children were conceived that they would follow in his footsteps. Your mother, caring yet weak-willed, conceded it, watching her children put their lives on the line. You were the youngest, her last chance to keep one of her babies out of the line of fire which she did subtly, impressing the will to choose your own paths in life in you, but overtly you obeyed your father. A promising academic future was side-lined by hours of physical training, to the point where you scarcely had time to complete your studies. As you grew older and out of the direct control of your father you began to have doubts, the soft voice of your mother speaking to you from the back of your mind, even still enduring three years of service out of fear of disappointing him and your siblings. You watched the advanced military training you dived into in an effort to convince yourself this was what you wanted turn you further away from what you wanted to be, and so you balked and dropped out. Unable to live in close proximity with those you disappointed you came to the Citadel, hoping to pick up where you left off all those years ago; applying your mind, not just your body to problems, " Caldrix postulated, letting a measure of self-satisfaction flow into his words.

Alexander looked shocked, his brow knit and mouth agape.

" That's it almost to a 'T'. How could have known that just by reading my files? "

" You didn't think that a parent impressing a career choice on his offspring was limited to humans only, did you? " the turian countered, " now you get to ask me a question and figure me out if you can. "

Alex considered this for while, then seizing upon a detail that had been on his mind since he had seen it.

" How did you get that injury on the right side of your face? " the human asked, gesturing to where the mandible would be if it were on his own face.

" Let's say that you weren't the only new recruit who felt like he had something to prove by facing down am escaping krogan, " the turian admitted, looking off across a small lake.

" You made a mistake, something that cost someone their life. You tried to prove to yourself that you would do anything to prevent that from happening again, no matter the cost to you. You carry a powerful, non-regulation gun so that in the event that you do have to draw it, the perp goes down fast. You're Dirty Harry with scales, " Alex theorized, a smile creeping onto his face at his own cleverness.

Caldrix jerked his head back to regard Alex fiercely.

" I am neither dirty nor hairy, human. Close but no prize I'm afraid. "

" Would you tell me even I was correct? " the human countered sourly.

" You may be an open book, human, but you are going to have to work if you want to get inside my head. I'm a tough nut to crack, " the turian promised, returning his eyes forward.

" The krogan didn't think so, " Alex muttered. Caldrix came to an abrupt halt, raising a thick, clawed finger at the human.

" Watch your words, rookie. Humans may get away with snide remarks to their superiors but you are a very long way from home and the rules here are different, and if I have to make sure you smack face-first into each and every one to learn them I'll do it. "

Alex's arms twitched after the rebuke, undoubtedly wanting to strike a more defensive or aggressive posture, but he controlled it, barely. He would learn to close off his body language in time.

" You didn't even notice her, did you? I did. " Caldrix said suddenly, " You can't just shut down everything else and think solely on one topic while you are out here. You are no longer a soldier, keeping your head down and just worrying about getting to the next objective. I expect much more from my officers. "

" What…? " Alex began, perplexed, noting from the corner of his eye that a tall, darkly dressed figure had come to a stop several feet from the pair of them from seemingly out of nowhere.

Caldrix had first noticed the asari when she was a hundred meters out, an ebony-skinned hunting cat gliding amongst the herd animals going about their day-to-day lives. She had made them the instant she exited an extranet café along the concourse, zeroing in with the single-mindedness of a VI guided missile, never taking her eyes off of the pair of them. Clearly she had business with them, and judging by the sleek commando armor she wore and the assault rifle holstered across the small of her back it wouldn't be clean and simple. Caldrix folded his arms loosely and met her golden eyes with a slight tilt of his head, even though she was a mere inch taller than him her presence seemed to extend beyond her physical form. Powerful biotics had that aura about them.

" Lieutentant Tatius Caldrix, I am Spectre Andraellia and I require your professional assistance in tracking down a person of interest, " the asari stated evenly, her eyes flicking over to look at Alex before returning to Caldrix, dismissing the human as unimportant.

The turian took a moment to observe the asari in greater detail now that she was mere feet from him. Her gait as she walked had been different than the usual sultry grace the all-female asari race possessed, and now that she was closer it was clear why. Spectre Andraellia was considerably more muscular than the garden-variety asari, a trait that Caldrix in all his years had not encountered before, the play of muscle in her thighs, arms and broad shoulders clearly visible underneath the dull shine of her black uniform, her face broader and more sharply defined than the softer, aesthetically pleasing lines seen on her sisters.

Her markings were unusual too; broad, jagged-edged yellow-green stripes originating from her jaw line and temples and creeping outwards until they almost met down the middle of her symmetrically perfect face. While her body was constructed of hard lines and sleek muscle it was her voice that relayed most clearly what she was. Asari were excellent negotiators, ambassadors and diplomats, their pleasant, lyrical voices easing tension and slender bodies conveying a sense of non-hostility during tense negotiations. This asari Spectre had a voice like the bark of a shotgun and eyes that seemed to bore right through Caldrix's skull and out the other side. 'Negotiation' was not in her lexicon, unless it was used purely as a euphemism.

" I would be pleased to aid one of the illustrious Spectres in her duties. Please inform me whom it is that you wish found, " the turian offered.

" Technician second-class Vossa, a salarian. He is in possession of data necessary in tracking down a known drug-smuggler wanted in three systems, " her clipped tone telling him that this was all that she was going to give him for information.

" I'll check his work schedule to see what sector…. " Caldrix started with a shrug, but was quickly interrupted by Andraellia.

" I am not a wet-behind-the-ears cadet, Lieutenant Caldrix. Vossa's work schedule has been illegally altered with and his quarters empty. I am enlisting your help because I need someone with unparalleled knowledge of the Presidium's layout so I can get to where he is without making him aware of my presence. Can you do this or will I need to find another more capable officer? "

Caldrix's reaction was a slight jerk of his head and a flutter of his mandibles, the normally unflappable constable taken aback by the Spectre's tone and insinuation. Alex shifted as well, the turian could almost feel the glee in the human's mind as his superior was taken down a notch right in front of him.

" He may have caught wind of your presence here and is currently arranging an escape route by tampering with cargo and crew manifests. I know an out-of-the-way maintenance sub-level where several hackers have been caught before illegally hooking into the Citadel's systems. We'll start there, " Caldrix informed the asari quickly, his tone flat and business-like as he began walking with quick strides, the Spectre and rookie constable fast on his heels.

The walk was tense and silent, the turian eventually leading the other two down a switch-backing pedestrian ramp normally used exclusively by the Keepers, turning their world from one of trees, white light and pedestrians to one of blinking consoles and bundles of pipes and wires all bathed in a harsh red glow. The asari stooped slightly as they entered, Alex having to keep his head tilted to one side to avoid striking it, the corridor designed for the scampering Keepers, not a bipedal life form nearly six and a half feet tall. Their pace didn't lessen, Caldrix taking them back the way they had come before taking a left at a 'T' intersection.

Lilial Andraellia had spent centuries of her life living on the Citadel, but travelling through this conduit reminded her how much of the station was hidden from view, how much those living on the massive space station relied on the enigmatic Keepers to keep everything running smoothly. If and where they slept and ate, if they were immortal or had breeding chambers somewhere deep in the station's core, these were all unanswered questions since her people had discovered the Citadel nearly three millennia ago. While she couldn't help but think about it every time one of them passed her by she had no time for such esoteric concerns; enforcing the council's will was a demanding and often brutal job firmly rooted in reality. As the inner workings of the heart of civilized space passed her by she thought only of Vossa, and how losing the data he had would place the trail she was following in cryostasis while the criminal set up shop in some other system, undoubtedly bragging about how he dodged the council's elite enforcers.

They were an odd pair, the thought came to her. Lilial had pulled up Caldrix's file while her ship's auto-pilot docked with the Citadel, his record above reproach with thirty-five years of service with C-Sec. He had been offered the position of Executor, but turned it down, going to Venari Pallin instead and had turned down all over promotions that would put him behind a desk. After spending some time in the special response, investigation and network divisions he settled in enforcement, in her opinion the least demanding of all the departments but he served in it well. It took all kinds, she supposed, though she was never a fan of wasted potential, the turian seeming to shirk additional responsibility and hold his own career back time and again while those he trained surpassed him in rank. The human, however, was a mild surprise, a rookie constable being shown the ropes. So new, in fact, he hadn't even been listed as Caldrix's partner in the personnel files yet.

Her interactions with humans so far had been brief and professional, even those chance encounters leaving her unimpressed and uninterested in learning more. They performed their duties well enough, and by many accounts their military could hold its own in a fight, but their over-inflated sense of self-worth and entitlement made them come off as sounding like spoiled children trying to catch their parents attention. The human race's pig-headedness showed most tellingly when their sole Spectre defied orders and stole a multi-billion credit starship to pursue a course of action he had been ordered to abandon by the council itself. Such arrogance should be swiftly punished and Lilial wished she were one of those sent in pursuit of the renegade.

She also knew how they viewed her people, so close in physical appearance to their own, pursuing relationships of all varieties with asari like fornicating with attractive aliens was the sole purpose for their space programs in the first place. Even now, Lilial could almost feel the human's eyes on her, probably thinking of some way to strike up a conversation, a fumbling attempt at intimacy with the pretty alien. Lilial wasn't a woman, Lilial was a soldier. Lilial was a Spectre. At 361 years she was well into the stage of her life when many other asari began to find a suitable partner and meld with them, creating an asari offspring. Lilial felt the tug like a weak hand pulling on a loose thread of her mind, but she largely ignored it. She would rather use her skills to save a life than to bring another one into a dark and unstable galaxy. The Spectre heard the human quietly clear his throat behind her and prepared a scathing reply that would hopefully keep him from speaking again while she enlisted his partner's expertise.

" I've never seen a weapon like that, the pattern is vaguely familiar but the mods and power source are foreign to me."

Lilial glanced back, genuinely surprised that his attentions had been slightly higher up her body than she had thought.

" Spectre gear, experimental and heavily modified to my specifications. Everything else about it is classified, " she replied, her tone softer than she had intended and she cursed herself for giving him the impression he could continue talking.

" I almost want a firefight to break out to see that thing in action, " he admitted with light chuckle.

" Sound travels in enclosed spaces, human. Keep talking and I may not wait that long to show you how effective it is, " the asari warned, this time injecting enough venom in her voice to abort any future attempts at idle chatter.

" Yes ma'm, " the rookie constable muttered on the back of a tight sigh.

" We're getting close, " the turian informed them both a short time later, " do you suspect he will be armed? "

" Assume so. He's wanted on espionage charges and knows that people will be gunning for him to keep the pay data he scored on station Sigma-99 from ever seeing the light of day. Fire only if fired upon. I would like him alive to stand trial but in reality it's only his omni-tool I need, " Lilial responded, drawing her heavy assault rifle out, tiny servos extending the stock and body of the trapezoidal weapon out to its proper operational size with a series of clicks. Alexander and Caldrix had their pistols in hand moments later, the turian slowing his pace and adopting a creeping bend to his knees as they approached another intersection. Caldrix crouched low, leaning forward as he peered around the corner in both directions then easing back and nodding back to the two of them, gesturing to the left with a single clawed finger. Holding up his whole hand the turian curled one finger down, followed by another a second later. Lilial tensed, rifle butt nestled as snug and familiar as a baby's head against her shoulder, ready to snap up into a firing position in the blink of an eye. Just as Caldrix's thumb curled to finish the silent countdown a flicker of movement caught her attention to the right side, a long green, chitinous leg sweeping into view followed closely by the Keeper it was attached to.

Caldrix noticed the Keeper only at the last second, cursing as he collided the with the quadrupedal technician, the ensuing clamor more than enough to tip her quarry off. While Caldrix was still trying to disentangle himself from the panicked Keeper Lilial pushed past them both, eyes instantly locking onto the salarian crouched over a console twenty meters down the corridor. His body language was tense, Vossa's large, dark eyes blinking rapidly as he took in the confusion, then a trace of fear visible even from that distance when he saw the Spectre walk into view. His omni-tool glowed on the left arm, a beacon that she had followed over two systems to locate.

" Don't you move, Vossa! You're coming with me, in pieces if necessary, " the asari barked, assault rifle up, a golden eye looking down the sight at the salarian data thief's twin peaked head.

" I'm a dead man if you bring me in, Spectre, you know that! They're not going to let me live know what I know, and they'll come after you next! " Vossa argued, glancing over his shoulder to see if the way was clear.

" I'm warning you Vossa. I can remove the wings of a Thessian dragonfly in flight with this weapon and you're nowhere near as nimble, " Lilial warned. Vossa glanced once more over his shoulder, shaking his head.

" They don't have kinetic barriers and a crime syndicate waiting for them either, " he said before bolting down the hallway.

Lilial fired a short burst, the muzzle of her rifle flashing a brilliant blue-white as the minute particles it fired passed through a mass effect field to greatly increase their mass and acceleration and then through a matrix of cooling lasers to reduce it to nearly zero Kelvin. The rounds struck a shimmering blue barrier a mere foot from the fleeing salarian's body, arcs of frost appearing where each round struck before flaking off in a fine white powder. Lilial's second burst wasn't nearly as accurate, the fleeing alien ducking and weaving before disappearing down an adjoining passageway.

" Come on! " the asari growled before breaking into a run, not caring if the C-Sec officers followed her or not. The Keeper's appearance was nothing but sheer chance, but the Spectre would hold the pair of them responsible if Vossa somehow managed to elude her here in her home territory.

The only sounds heard for the next several minutes was booted feet clanging against metal grating and deep breathing. Several times Vossa appeared ahead of them, his smaller stature and nimble salarian body giving him the advantage in the tight corridors, each time Lilial was unwilling to let him slip farther away from her by slowing and firing. He would have to exit to the Presidium's upper level at some point and there the open spaces and straight-aways would allow her to bring him down however she wished.

" I've tried calling for back up to wait for him topside but there's too much electro-magnetic interference down here. My combat scanner is useless too, " Caldrix confessed, likely frustrated by his gaffe with the Keeper that set the whole chase in motion in the first place.

" Then run faster! " came Lilial's clipped reply, slamming against a wall as she rounded a ninety-degree turn and then sped off again.

For all their sakes, Alex hoped they caught this salarian. He didn't need the kind of heat a Spectre could bring down on him on his first day on the force, but at the moment there wasn't much he could do. His long legs yearned to move faster while his neck ached from having to keep it on an angle to avoid striking his head on the low ceiling. Then it came, a deep rumble that made the solid bulkheads around him shiver like a terrified child, each in his little party slowing as they cast their gaze upwards, trying to puzzle out what had just happened.

" That was big, " Caldrix said between gasps for air, the run most telling on him.

" We won't know anything until we get topside anyways, keep moving, " the asari Spectre reasoned, barely winded, and continued her pursuit. Not half a minute later the alarms began to sound, a grinding whine on a three second interval, oscillating yellow caution lights flicking to life around them.

" Hostile life forms detected in the Presidium. All non-essential personnel evacuate immediately to the shelters indicated on the nearest convenient map. Give way to C-Sec and medi-tech personnel. Hostile life forms detected in the Presidium… " the Citadel's regulatory VI Avina warned in her omnipresent polite, calm tone. The Spectre cursed something Alex's translator couldn't parse, though her tone said enough.

With no other options available to them, they kept running. More distant rumbles coursed through the walls around them, lending a sense of rising urgency to each footfall forward. Alex shifted his grip on his pistol as his hands began to sweat. This wasn't some fringe world colony, this wasn't even an Alliance space station. This was the Citadel, and to attack it was to face the combined might of all the races aboard it. No force Alex knew of could pull that off, even if they had somehow managed to wipe out or disable the substantial council fleet in position around the massive space station. None of it made any sense. He had been in combat many times before, but this was the first time he felt that something much more profound could happen to the galaxy than just him dying. The smell of smoke and the dull roar of many panicking people heralded the appearance of a ramp leading up, Vossa nowhere to be seen. Their pace slowed to a jog, weapons leading the way as they ascended into the chaos above.

Alex gaped when his eyes looked above the ramp guard rails, coming to a shocked pause when the floor of the Presidium was beneath his feet. The tranquil order and beauty that reigned before had been dethroned by fire, screams and destruction. The sounds of weapons fire rose and fell in the distance, screams and explosions echoing off the high Presidium walls. A handful of civilians ran past; fear the universal language among their faces, the data slates and other trappings of their professional lives slipping from uncaring hands as they fled, the attack stripping away all social conventions and leaving only the instinct to survive.

" Damn it! " Caldrix cursed, his left hand up, repeatedly tapping the buttons on his monocular eye piece,

" I was getting a flood of damage and casualty reports from all over the Presidium and then the relay just went dead. Something's jammed or disabled the central communications hub. This is big, " the turian repeated.

" There's Vossa! " the asari shouted, pointing ahead where the salarian was the only figure moving against the flood.

Alex watched the data thief weave and dodge between fleeing people, angling his path to turn down an intersecting hallway when he came to a skidding halt, body rigid with shock. His cries of denial cut shrilly through the ambient cacophony, reaching down to his waist to draw a pistol, the weapon half-way out before a barrage of blue-green streaks struck down his kinetic barrier and then the salarian himself a second later, his slender form collapsing back on his legs. A collective gasp rose from the small group's throats as a pair of grey-green humanoids walked out from beyond the hall, black rifles like beetle carapaces gripped in their thin ebony hands.

" Geth, " Caldrix breathed, as much a statement of realization as incredulity. The alien's odd, hooded heads swiveled around, fixing on the three of them with a single luminescent eye each, both rifles rising in unison to firing positions.

" Get to cover! " the Spectre ordered, bring her own weapon to bear while dropping to a crouch to present a smaller profile. Alex and Caldrix rolled in opposite directions, the turian pressing himself against the wall while Alex dropped prone behind the lip of a tree planter. The asari's long burst sliced cleanly through the geth trooper's kinetic barrier and then its body, the angular torso rocking back as the tiny but lethal projectiles ripped through its metallic torso and sent gouts of milky fluid spraying to the floor. The second geth's shots were absorbed by the Spectre's own kinetic barrier before a hail of fire from all three reduced him to an inert mass on the floor beside his comrade. Alex slowly let out the breath he had been holding. Geth were a ghost story told around the tents to wide-eyed newbies, tales of a race of machines hiding in the Perseus Veil plotting their revenge against the organic-ruled galaxy. Judging by the expressions on both the aliens faces they were thinking along the same lines as he was.

" By the goddess, " Andraellia muttered, rising to her feet, her eyes still on their downed foes.

" We have to find their insertion point and hold them back, we can't have these things running loose on the Citadel, " the turian said, seeming to draw strength from his sense of duty. " We'll link up with other C-Sec constables on the way, they'll be hundreds of them converging on the source of this attack. "

Picking himself up off of the floor Alex joined the other two as they moved to stand over Vossa's corpse, the surprise and fear etched forever on his wide black eyes and thin slash of a mouth. There was no reverence in the asari Spectre's movements as she crouched to retrieve the omni-tool hub from the salarian's blood-soaked outfit, snapping the metal disk free and tucking it away in a small pocket on her form-fitting black armor.

" I've got what I need. Let's meet up with your comrades and see what we can do about pushing the Geth off the station, " Lilial announced, taking point. Caldrix glanced over to Alex, squared his shoulders and followed, flanking the asari. The human looked back one last time at the dead data thief and his slayers, rolling the bitter familiarity of such destruction and death around in his mind. There was no peace for him it seemed, not even here in the very heart of civilized space. Taking in a deep breath of smoke-tinged air Alexander followed his companions down the concourse.

The Spectre set the pace at a light jog, head scanning from side-to-side as she moved, keeping an eye out for possible ambushers or snipers. A trail of tragedy scrolled past them as they moved; a fresh-faced businessman Alex's age collapsed near a public restroom, his dead fingers clutched around the wound from which his life blood had leaked in a lethal torrent; two asari shot from behind laying side-by-side in the long, elegant robes which hindered their flight; a dead turian C-Sec constable slumped over a park bench, the railing near his body scorched and pitted as he attempted to use it as cover; A rapid-transit hover car screaming into view, trailing a thick plume of smoke before spiraling into an apartment block and erupted into a brilliant fireball. There were Geth bodies as well, their strange white blood laying in congealing pools near their broken forms, but compared to the civilian casualties their losses were far too light to draw any sort of consolation from. Caldrix's mind drifted back to a time decades before when he served as a captain in the military, watching as the faces he recognized from tactics seminars and target practice returned from the battlefield torn and screaming, or silent and still. He didn't know which ones he pitied more.

They were soldiers and combat was a dangerous business, Caldrix could accept that; but when he began to walk along the ranks he began to not see faces, just names that might appear on a casualty report on his desk he knew he had to get out, and he did. The turian military wasn't lacking talented and eager officers to pick up where he left off. It was time to go someplace where he could see the same faces day after day and never have to carefully word a letter explaining to a family why their child would not be greeting them at the spaceport. Caldrix considered being so soft-hearted a personal flaw, but he had come to terms with it years ago, throwing his life into keeping the Citadel and those living on it safe. Now the Geth invaders had taken that from him, ripping away the gauzy curtain of routine he had wrapped his perceptions in and revealing the ugly, bloody galaxy for what it was once again.

A patrol of Geth appeared ahead of them over the crest of a ramp, walking away slowly, hooded heads scanning the windows of shops and apartments for any survivors. Two were the white they had seen before, the third a dark red color, a larger weapon in its hands. There was also a pair of drones hovering several meters over the group, adding their heightened perspective to the group. Lilial called a halt with a raised fist and they all went down into a crouch, appraising the situation. Small weapons fire suddenly erupted from somewhere ahead, the Geth immediately increasing their pace to investigate.

" They're going to make trouble for someone, so let's return the favor, hit their rear flank when their attention is focused elsewhere. I'll focus on the Geth themselves, each of you take down a drone and then aid in the mop-up, " Lilial whispered before rising to her feet again in pursuit.

The trio shadowed the Geth patrol until it stopped at a pedestrian underpass, turning smartly to the right and opening fire on whatever battle was already taking place. Caldrix took cover behind a chunk of fallen debris while Alex crouched behind waste receptacle, both drawing beads on one of the two drones. Seconds ticked past and the turian took his eyes off of his target to see what was delaying the asari Spectre from attacking. Her face an intense mask space seemed to twist and darken around her free hand as she prepared to unleash a biotic attack on the unsuspecting Geth, the asari finally releasing it with a forceful push and a grunt.

The effect erupted in the middle of the synthetic aliens, the air shimmering like a heat mirage, the warping of space catching armor plates and twisting them like pliable clay in a potter's hands. The Geth staggered under the assault, quickly responding to the new attackers by responding with a hail of pulse fire. The red Geth pumped the underside of its larger weapon and a rocket fired, streaking past Caldrix's position by mere inches. The lightly armored drone went down after a few well-placed shots, his human partner's inferior weapon still chewing away on the other probe's kinetic barrier. The Spectre's barrier was taking a beating too, the bright blue of the energy shield growing rapidly dimmer as more and more pulses struck it. Thinking quickly Caldrix activated his omni-tool, hoping that the Geth's insolated technology kept them from having ECCM systems that could buffer the positively archaic attack virus he was calling up.

Once activated the turian's glowing omni-tool tight-beamed the virus into the vicinity of the Geth, disrupting their weapon's cooling systems and causing them to red-line with a single shot. Caldrix grinned to himself as the Geth's primitive AI brain tried to sort out why its weapon wouldn't fire before his powerful Brawler punched it out the back of the red Geth's hunched head.

Between the withering fire and the biotic weakening of their frames the remaining Geth didn't last long enough for their weapons to cool down enough to pose a threat, Alexander's tenacious firing finally striking something vital and sent the last probe careening into a wall where it promptly exploded, reducing it to a black smear and a shower of components. The back-and-forth of small-arms fire continued, however, leaving little time to rest or savor the victory as the small squad cautiously rounded the corner of the underpass, weapons raised and senses alert.

Two of the white-armored Geth crouched behind odd barriers made of hexagonal energy fields, larger ones forming the basic structure while several smaller ones filled any gaps that would expose legs or heads to incoming fire. The synthetic soldiers were taking turns firing over the barriers, blasting away at a large metal crate sitting on a nonfunctioning contragrav dolly. A second later a standard pattern assault rifle peeked over the top of the crate and fired back blindly, striking the barriers and little else. An Alliance marine lay in an unmoving heap behind a destroyed extranet terminal, likely the only cover available at the time. The Geth's questioning glance back at the situation behind them was answered with a barrage of gunfire that sent them twitching with multiple impacts before landing in spreading puddles of their own internal fluids.

An uneasy silence followed, broken only by the dull roar of distant fires and the repeating emergency message and klaxon. Some hushed voices speaking quickly reached Caldrix's straining ears and a human marine slowly peeked his head over the top of the badly damaged crate.

" Identify yourselves! " he demanded.

" Constables Caldrix and Hunt, C-Sec. A Spectre is with us as well, " the turian replied as he lowered his weapon and craned his neck to see how many more where hiding back there. More hushed voices followed by a; " We're coming out!"

Three figures stood up slowly, the marine first, scanning the three of them through the scope of his rifle quickly before lowering it and letting out a deep breath of relief. The pair that followed were both dark-skinned, one wearing a blood-smeared but expensive tan suit with light brown trim and cream-colored accents. The lines on his face and slight frosting of white hairs along his temples told the turian he was the eldest of the three, a few seconds of study more and a name came to mind; Udina, a human ambassador Caldrix had seen around the embassies, usually ranting about how unfairly humans were being treated. He moved with fear, not pain which indicated the blood on his clothing was not his own, though the square white bandage on his left jaw spoke of a recent injury.

The second chocolate-skinned human had the bearing and body of a soldier, yet his plain white shirt tucked into dark fatigue pants without a standard-issue belt and the fact his hands were cuffed in front of him said that he was a soldier in transit to a brig aboard an Alliance vessel before all of this happened. Wasn't there an arrest made regarding the rogue human Spectre's escape from the Citadel? An inside man who…all the pieces and names started to fall into place.

" Thanks for the assist, constables…and ma'm, " the marine whose uniform designated him as Corporal Dowds started, " we were in the middle of a transfer from C-Sec's holding cells to the brig of the Montana when the attack happened. We tried to link up with other units but got swept up in the flow of the battle and ended up taking a wrong turn down here, right into a Geth ambush. That's when Sergeant Moore was…killed, giving the better cover to the ambassador and myself, " the marine continued, his voice cracking slightly as he gestured back to the dead body of his comrade behind him.

" The Geth have been killing indiscriminately, all the more reason to put a stop to them, " Caldrix returned, " whatever your mission was before this you now fall under the jurisdiction of Citadel emergency protocols, which means you are now taking orders from myself and Spectre Andraellia. We are meeting up with any other units, C-Sec or otherwise and aiding them in any way possible to halt the Geth advance and reduce civilian casualties. "

" If you could see to getting me out of these cuffs I'll lend you all the help I can give you. This attack means there's a lot more at stake than just the lives of those on the Citadel. Saren has returned and with him, Sovereign, which means the situation the council blinded themselves to is happening, " the prisoner explained with conviction, looking the turian directly in the eyes.

" The council acted on the information it was given, Anderson. The chances of this outcome happening were infinitesimal, " Udina countered, folding his arms defensively across his chest, wincing as if he knew how much like an excuse his words seemed now.

" You mean you could have prevented this?! You all knew and you did nothing? " Dowds screamed at the ambassador, hysteria cracking his voice. " All this death… " he croaked, putting a hand to his helmet and shaking his head like it were all a bad dream he could wake up from.

" Pull yourself together, soldier, " Caldrix snapped, " it's not up to us to assign blame. It's up to us to keep this mess from becoming any worse. You'll get your wish, Anderson. Set him free and grab a weapon. We're headed towards the Presidium tower and the embassies, the highest concentration of Geth seem to be coming from that direction, " the turian explained quickly, looking to Dowds and gesturing his head towards Anderson's cuffed hands. Drawing in a deep, shaky breath the marine nodded and produced a fob which, when run against a sensor strip on the cuffs, sent them tumbling to the floor. Anderson rubbed his wrists to soothe the muscles while walking over and delicately picking up Moore's blood-splattered rifle.

" Ready and able. Give the word, " the dark-skinned man said to Caldrix, checking the weapon's sights and power supply.

" Move… " Caldrix was about to say, but the asari cut him off.

" Belay that. You're not equipped to handle a labor riot, let alone a legion of mechanical killers, " she informed them, sweeping her golden eyes over the rag-tag group critically.

" Then what…? " the turian demanded before Lilial stopped him with a raised hand.

" You'll need better equipment if you're going to do anything more than add to the list of casualties. I know of a place. Follow me, " the Spectre ordered sharply, pushing past Anderson and Dowds and heading down the underpass. Caldrix's mandibles clicked in irritation but he followed, trusting that the Spectre knew what she was doing.

" Dowds, take up the rear, " he muttered, noting Alex falling in close to Anderson, likely drawn to his calm certainty and a sense of camaraderie with his fellow human. It was clear he was still more Alliance marine than C-Sec constable. He had come to the Citadel to put that life behind him, and now in the face of so much death he was slipping back into old patterns.

" Udina's your responsibility, Hunt. Get him to cover when the shooting starts and keep his head down until it's over, " the turian called back, making it clear it was Caldrix's orders he would be following, not a out-of-uniform Alliance officer.

" Sir, yes sir, " the rookie constable responded smartly, standing a little straighter with a determined set to his features with clear orders to follow.

The small group continued to follow the pedestrian underpass, taking a left down a maintenance corridor. A dead turian engineer, his dying slump leaving a brushstroke of his dark blue blood against the wall was the only sign of violence in the sterile, gently curving hall. The asari seemed to be counting something in her head as she traced her hand over the right wall, then paused before a section of it that looked in all ways identical to its neighbors.

" Voice recognition, Andraellia, Lilial. Verify. "

" Spectre Andraellia, Lilial, verified. Please input your pass code and biometric readings now, " a harsh computer-generated voice prompted as a console flipped out of the wall. The rest of the group watched in silence as the Spectre slid her index finger of her left hand into a cylinder while her right punched out a 23 digit alphanumeric code on the keypad. A series of red lights across the top flicked yellow, then green in sequence as it processed and verified the data it was receiving.

" And I can't even remember my mother's maiden name, " Alex muttered with a slow shake of his head, eliciting a grunt of a laugh from Anderson and Dowds. As the last green light lit up a section of the wall a meter wide by two meters depressed and then slid aside, the darkness beyond disappearing as cool blue lights flickered to life within. Lilial jerked her head to the side and stepped through the portal, followed closely by the turian and the humans.

The air of the newly opened room was cool and had a faint chemical smell, no doubt a measure to keep the items within protected from mildew as they spent most of their time in absolute darkness. Every flat surface of the room was actually a frosted luminescent panel rimmed with black metal frames, the items held on clear plastic hooks standing out in sharp contrast to the backlights, making the profiles of each easier to identify. To the right a dozen or so pistols made by half as many manufacturers hung by their trigger guards, every one of them the top weapon each company could field. Assault rifles sat flanked by shotguns and sniper rifles on the largest wall opposite the door, held horizontally by a pair of hooks under the barrel and shoulder stock. The far wall held several sets of combat armor set over clear plastic mannequins shaped like asari, turian and salarian forms while broad drawers containing more of the same neatly wrapped in a clear packaging slid out obediently. The near wall beside Alexander held omnitool hubs, a medigel dispenser and grenade lock boxes, each clearly labeled with quantities and type. The rectangular island in the middle held sloping shelves upon which various weapon and armor modifications were held, each side holding the items most appropriate to the gear they faced.

" Don't stand there gaping, get your kit and let's get moving, " Lilial said, folding her arms and scowling to reinforce the point.

" It's like the El Dorado of weapons. There must be close to a hundred million credits worth of weapons in here! " Alex exclaimed breathlessly.

" Focus, Hunt. Do what the Spectre said. Seconds are lives right now, " Caldrix reminded him, moving around the island and standing before the sniper rifles before selecting one.

The rest burst into movement as well, Dowds walking over to stand before the assault rifles while Anderson and Alex began to peruse the armor selection. Udina remained by the doorway, looking distinctly out of his element.

" Not a lot of heavy armor here, " Alex said over his shoulder, flicking through the touch-screen inventory.

" Asari do no wear the heavy armors. Too restrictive, and do I have to remind you that the very first human Spectre was only admitted twenty days ago. It takes time to refit these armories. " Lilial answered tersely. " Believe it or not, the universe was not designed with humanity in mind. "

" I guess I got told, " Alex grumbled, finally selecting the only set of heavy armor in the inventory, a set of Armax Arsenal Predator-H-X in green digicam.

" You don't mind a rookie like me taking first dibs do you sir? " Alex asked, suddenly remembering Anderson's rank.

" No, no, it's all yours. I haven't seen combat in years and no matter how ergonomic they make these things there's only so much these old bones can handle, " the captain admitted, taking his turn at the dispenser as Alex hauled up the bulky armor and set it on the floor and began to remove it from the packaging.

Alex was half-way through putting on the Predator armor when he noticed Caldrix setting an electronic scope and a kinetic coil, both of top quality, onto a Arsenal Punisher Mark 10. The turian checked the rifle's sight before sliding home a clip of tungsten-7 into the handle, a smart choice considering all targets he would be firing at would be inorganic.

" The Volkov to your left has greater penetration than the Punisher, or did you pass it over because it comes from a human manufacturer? " Alex challenged good-naturedly. The turian was unfazed, collapsing the rifle and setting it aside for the moment.

" I chose the Punisher because I trained with the Mark 7 just before I left the military, Hunt. A familiar weapon in trained hands is far better than the most powerful unfamiliar one…besides, you are wearing armor made by the very same company. "

" Beggar's can't be choosers it seems. Give me a set of Kassa Colossus any day, " the rookie constable grinned, sliding his hands into the gauntlets and giving a twist to lock them into place. The combat exoskeleton built into the suit came online as he did this, Hunt feeling the extra power the suit would grant him as he flexed his fingers. If only the krogan had picked a fight with him wearing a suit of this.

Adjusting the inner pads in the helmet to fit his head Alex set the helmet on his head and with a few experimental shakes of his head began to consider his firearm. Caldrix was slipping into a set of light Ariake Mercenary in red with a black trim while Anderson had selected a suit of Hahne-Kedar Mantis also in green digicam. Dowds eyed much of the hardware but in the end only swapped out his kinetic barrier for a more powerful one, more comfortable with this standard issue equipment than the intimidating array of choices available.

Alex's eyes finally came to rest on a Kassa Armageddon-X shotgun, its sleek lines reminiscent of an assault rifle and belying the power he knew it possessed. While the base model could punch through a standard door and knock a krogan flat on his back the rookie C-Sec officer was not content with base lines when he was standing in the middle of a gun nut's wet dream. Snapping a few releases open Alex removed the barrel and replaced it with a Scram Rail to enhance the weapon's damage even more, then compensated the additional heat that would be generated by the more powerful shots with a bracing of materials he had only ever read about in a military briefing that said that it "looked promising'. Apparently, it was promising enough to find its way into a Spectre weapons cache, and that was good enough for this soldier. Finally, Alex slid the standard ingot of ammunition out and replaced it with the highest grade of Inferno he could find, turning what was originally a lethal spray of metal filings into one laced with elemental fluorine that ignited when exposed to oxygen and would continue to burn whatever it stuck.

" Not the weapon of a C-Sec constable, son. I assume you have some marine training in you, " Anderson noted as Alex locked the catches back into places and cradled the weapon in his arms, ready to move out.

" No, sir. Alliance marines as you said sir. Spent some time in the N7 program but…it just wasn't me,

sir. " Alexander replied, a little shocked that Anderson would take the time to speak to him, falling back into the familiar mantra when addressing an superior.

" A pity. Someone with an eye for weapons and armor like you do would have been quite the asset to the Systems Alliance. I can't say I blame you, though, considering what I've experienced in my years, " the black-skinned captain admitted, his eyes unfocused and shifting, like he was viewing other times and places.

" Never fear, captain. If he survives through this C-Sec will find him a place worthy of his talents, " Caldrix interrupted from behind the two of them, storing his folded-down rifle into the slot of his armor's weapon hub that was over his left shoulder.

A computer's chirp sounded throughout the room , all eyes seeking out the source and finding it with a small computer terminal near the door. Lilial, who had remained silent while the rest equipped themselves walked over instantly, keying in a few commands.

" What is it? " Udina, the closest to this happening, asked.

" Citadel emergency channel. Spectre armories like this one have special encrypted communications hubs like this to contact the council directly. Apparently someone else with top level clearance had made it to one as well, " the asari explained quickly, a final keystroke bringing up a small, blue holographic representation of a turian in a business suit, Caldrix instantly recognizing the tiny image for who it represented, pushing himself forward to stand beside the Spectre.

" Executor Pallin, it is good to see you still alive, " the veteran constable remarked, his tone reserved but his words genuine.

" Not from lack of the geth trying, Lieutenant. What is your status? " the hologram returned, shifting its weight as it waited for a response, the tension in the Executor's scaled body clear even on this tiny representation.

" Besides me and my partner I have met up with a Spectre, two Alliance marines and a human ambassador. Everyone else is dead or fled. "

" A Spectre you say? That will help matters. I am currently situated in a Presidium executive shelter designed for incidents such as this with roughly a thousand civilians. I have about thirty C-Sec officers and several heavily-armed private citizens holding the geth off, but there are complications. "

" What of the council? Are they safe? " Lilial interjected. Pallin nodded.

" Last I heard they are aboard the Destiny Ascension, but the geth have brought a fleet as well as their raiding party here. Communications are down except for these hubs, so I cannot say how safe they remain. It is out of our hands at any rate, " the Executor informed her with a slight shrug.

" What are these complications you mentioned, other than the communications blackout? " Caldrix prompted.

" The geth have somehow siphoned off power to the district, leaving the shelter's doors and automatic defenses offline, turning what was supposed to be an nigh-impregnable safe room into a shooting gallery. We've managed to hold off the geth's advance so far, but we are also pinned down by superior numbers and firepower and so cannot investigate the cause of this power drain ourselves. If we are to have any chance of keeping the civilians safe we need to restore power and close the doors. This is where you and your team come in, lieutenant. "

The hologram paused for a moment, looking off to his left while gesturing to his right.

" Wounded go to the rear. Give his weapon to anyone who can fire it and keep those geth ducking, " the head of C-Sec ordered before turning back to face them.

" It's getting grim, Caldrix. Edge pistols and a uniform are not a deterrent to geth. Scrounge up whatever equipment you can and get to the southern embassy district triple time. I—we're counting on you. "

" Done and done, Executor, leave it to us, " Caldrix assured him before terminating the connection.

" Now the situation is as clear as our duty is. We'll take a maintenance tunnel I know near here and pop up five blocks from the shelter. After some reconnaissance we'll determine the best way to aid the trapped civilians and our beleaguered allies and blow a hole through anything that gets in our way. Questions? " the turian asked, sweeping his gaze over the others.

" Why haven't we started yet? " Alex replied, resting his shotgun on his shoulder with a fierce grin.

" I hate to bring this up but I am not a soldier. What am I to do? " Udina protested, arms crossed while he shifted nervously from foot-to-foot.

" Stay here? " Anderson offered. The asari Spectre shook her head.

" The door will automatically lock twenty minutes after it is opened as a security measure unless another pass code is inputted and I do not have the time to teach it to you. "

" Couldn't you just write it down? " the ambassador asked, exasperated.

" The pass code also involves a retinal scan. Would you like me to leave you an eye as well? "

Udina's shoulders slumped.

" You could have mentioned that sooner. "

" He comes with us. He's still your responsibility, Hunt. Move out. Anderson on rear guard, I'll take

point, " Caldrix listed off, drawing his Brawler pistol and exiting the room.

The service tunnel was accessed by a panel on the floor like the manhole covers on Earth, flipping up at Caldrix's omni-tool's prompting and revealing a set of rungs leading down far below the street level. The sounds and smells of water drifted up from the tunnel below, the floor glistening in the flashing yellow lights. Caldrix went down first, surprised to find he was knee deep in water when his feet hit the floor below.

" There's been some flooding, an explosion must have breached some water pipes and the emergency shut-offs are apparently not responding, " the turian explained loudly as the rest descended, turning on the light from his omni-tool to help push back the gloom.

" Fantastic. With the emergency pumps offline we'll be up to our necks in water before long, " Dowds complained, glowering at the water sloshing around his knees.

" Could be sewage, marine. Count your blessings, " Anderson quipped, the last in their party to climb down the ladder.

The party pushed forward, the distant gush of water and alarm klaxon covering their slogging footsteps, Udina and Caldrix breathing the heaviest after a hundred meters, the latter giving up point to the asari Spectre who powered through the water with her long legs. Alex was grateful that the hexagonal passageway they walked down was a main artery in the Citadel's sub-levels, the high ceilings allow him to walk fully upright and turning a grueling march into a merely uncomfortable one. Lilial stopped suddenly, raising her fist in a signal for the others to do the same. All froze as a dark shape drifted towards them on the current, Caldrix's light showing it to be a human merchant floating face-down. They parted to let the corpse slip past, Alexander wincing as the body's hand brushed against his leg, a chilling reminder of the mayhem that awaited them on the streets above. Having little time to spare as the water passed their knees they pressed on, Alex holstering his shotgun in a slot on the small of his back and helping the puffing ambassador along, Caldrix using the wall for support but was too proud to accept any more help than that.

The rush of water grew louder as they moved, the source of the flooding eventually revealing itself in a meter-long crack in a water line, the ceiling above buckled from a large impact at street level, a roaring sheet of the cool liquid pouring out ceaselessly. The force of water was enough to stagger them as they passed through, ducking their body low and trying to hurry through thigh-deep water. Alex, his armor water-tight took the brunt of the force as he half-dragged, half-carried Udina through it, the ambassador coughing water out of his mouth and his shivering body could be felt even through the rookie's thick armor.

" How much farther? " Alex yelled over the sound of the breach, eyes fixed on Caldrix as the turian hunched over, the water slipping between the scales on his face and dripping off like perspiration would be if he were human.

" Not…far now. A few blocks perhaps, " came the alien's breathless reply, wiping the excess moisture off his face and standing back up, hand still braced against the wall. The Spectre fell in beside the struggling turian, placing her right hand under his armpit to help pull him along. Caldrix shrugged it off but Andraellia persisted, hauling him forcefully along.

The water was over their waists by the time they reached the ladder leading back up to the streets, even the strongest among them exhausted by the ordeal, Udina held upright solely by Alex's assistance and Caldrix wasn't faring much better. Lilial wasted no time ascending the rungs and, punching in a standard access code, flickering orange light filtered down past her body into the tunnel below. The asari, her movements still lithe and fluid despite her fatigue slipped out of sight. The rest remained gasping in the near darkness, waiting for the all clear. Her head appeared in the opening, jerking back in a gesture of summoning then setting a finger to her lips to indicate silence. Caldrix hauled himself up with agonizing slowness for those remaining below, Alex dragging the limp Udina over to the ladder so that he could be next out of the water. At the top Lilial waited until the turian was on the last few rungs before she reached down and indignantly hauled him up the rest of the way by the gun harness on his back.

" Move! " she whispered harshly down to the rest of them, clearly unsettled by the scene above.

Udina was next, pausing twice on his ascent to catch his breath before he too was hauled over the lip of the hole. Dowds went next, followed closely behind by Alex then Anderson, the water almost to their chests by the time they clambered up, streams of it trailing behind them as they left the flooded tunnel behind.

Compared to the cool, dark moisture of the maintenance tunnel they had just left the street level was a hellish landscape of heat and flickering light, ash and embers from the burning vegetation rising up on the thermals like black snowflakes before disappearing into the oily cloud that clung to the ceiling. Running a hand over his visor Alex cleared away clinging droplets of water then took in an involuntary lungful of the smoke-laden air as he spotted why Andraellia had been so insistent they hurry.

" Dragon's teeth, " Dowds hissed, his tone somewhere between awe and horror as the small party looked around them, a small forest of the geth instruments of psychological warfare arrayed up and down the streets like a madman's garden.

Each device was made of a dull grey metal, its design as simple and ugly as its purpose; a tripod base into which a four meter retractable spike was housed. The spike was extended when the body of an organic humanoid was laid across it, piercing through the torso with mechanical efficiency and lifting the body up where it dangled like an insect pinned to an entomologist's board. There the dragon's teeth did their most heinous deed, converting everything organic from the body and turning it into an androgynous blackened carbon shell webbed with glowing blue circuitry; converting the body into a Husk.

" This was about as tactically advantageous as sticking your head into a rail gun's barrel. Why didn't you warn us? " Caldrix demanded of the Spectre in a loud whisper as the group huddled together, their eyes and weapons trained on the impaled bodies of former Citadel residents all around them.

" We didn't have a choice, it was this or drown. I think if we proceed cautiously and stay alert we should be able to clear this and make it to the objective. Nothing's changed, " the asari spat back, rising from her crouch and leading the way with her assault rifle panning left and then right with each alternating step.

She was right they didn't have any other choice. Forming up in a tight circle with Udina in the middle the squad traveled quietly down the promenade, aware that a careless footstep could bring the legion of Husks down upon them in a matter of seconds. Udina walked hunched over and hugging himself, his clothing would dry quickly but for the moment the chilled, soaked suit ailed him, likely unwilling to gaze upon the victims of the dragon's teeth any more than he had as well, their mouths open in silent screams and glowing eyes seeming to fix on whoever was looking at them. It came as some surprise then a moment later when a sneeze, hastily muffled originated from the middle of the group, causing them all to stop dead and look to the ambassador, the back of his index finger still pressed against his nostrils. The metallic rasp of hydraulics reached their ears them coming from behind them at first, then from all around them, the Husks descending towards the street, the blue circuitry showing through their split ebon skin flaring brighter as they began to twitch with a twisted semblance of life.

" Move! " Lilial ordered as the first of the Husks began to drunkenly gain their feet, the group needing no further prompting as they broke into a steady jog, Anderson back-pedaling to cover the rear.

Gunfire erupted seconds later as the asari Spectre began to clear a path through the warped cybernetic marionettes running towards them, arms extended blindly before them and mouths gaping. More shots flared from all sides of the group, Alex's shotgun splitting the bottom half of a still-impaled Husk off before it could reach the ground not three feet from him. Caldrix's Brawler cracked loudly in rapid succession, the Husks jerking from the impact as they continued forward mindlessly, their legs carrying them forward a few more paces even when the head was reduced to a pulpy mass of dark green fluids and necrotic flesh. Anderson's bursts were precise and controlled despite the handicap of running backwards, but each Husk that fell was merely scrambled over by its fellows who continued the mindless pursuit. The time he allowed for the weapon to cool down between bursts grew shorter and shorter as the thermal indicator on his rifle continued to creep up.

" Watch your step! " Lilial yelled over the crackle of flames and discharge of weapons, hoping over the first of many Husk bodies that now lined the street.

You've been off the job too long old man, was the thought that went through Anderson's mind as he stepped over the first sprawling corpse only to trip over the second, reflex taking over as he fell backwards, still firing, curling his back to roll with the impending impact. His weapon red-lined and beeped in alarm a second later as he fed one last desperate burst into the torso of a Husk who seemed ready to leap upon the prone marine, the reanimated menace instead pitching forward to slump over Anderson's legs. One right behind it tumbled backwards as a shotgun blast obliterated its left arm and shoulder, its neighbor soon following as its neck disappeared under a tightly controlled burst from an assault rifle. The captain glanced up to see Hunt and Dowds on either side of him, each seizing a hold of and arm and hauling him to his feet, firing one-handed at the cluster of incoming Husks.

The one stumble was enough for their foes to close the distance, however, the lead Husk, ignoring the thick green blood that leaked from the wound in its belly unleashed a electro-static scream that tore at the edges of the human's range of hearing as its blue circuitry flared brightly, arcs of electricity leaping off of its body and seeking out nearby sources of power, such as the armor the marines all wore. Pain lanced through Alex's body, his muscles seizing as the energy passed through him and into the floor he stood on, his suit's shields failing as the attack stripped away most of the armor's power. He was vaguely aware of someone screaming until he realized it was him. For all its power the attack was over quickly, Alex staggering back a pace, the stink of ozone assaulting his nostrils, Anderson and Dowds having suffered in much the same manner he had, shields down and momentarily disoriented. More Husks ran forward, their bodies beginning to glow brilliantly too, ready to unleash their attack again and again until nothing but them remained standing. They never got the chance.

It was if a giant hand had swatted the lead Husk such was the force that sent it hurling backwards into its fellows, the cybernetic puppet's blank expression unchanged as the biotic attack crushed its torso and sent the half dozen Husks that had been advancing on them just seconds before into a heap of tangled black limbs. The Spectre stood to their right side, her upraised hand still enveloped in a nimbus of dark energy.

" They won't be down for long, move! Move! " she repeated, gesturing to the way they had been travelling while Caldrix and her acted as rear guard, laying down fire while the recovering humans shook off the lingering effects of the shock attack. Husks approached from the front as well, but not as many, two homing in on Alex who had taken up the lead, their blue veins brightening in anticipation of the attack.

" Not going to happen, " the rookie C-Sec constable snarled in defiance, sending the lead Husk tumbling head-over-heels from a shotgun blast, the greenish sludge that filled its body vaporizing into a haze as it flowed around the hot fragments of metal lodged in its body. Alexander swung the butt of his weapon out as he barreled into the second Husk, connecting with the thing's jaw and sending it spiraling lazily to the floor, its head twisted around backwards from the force.

The worst of the dragon's teeth was behind them, Alex keeping their way forward clear while the others backed away at a walking pace, firing the whole time. Their numbers depleted the Husk's heedless charge forward worked to their detriment now, falling easily from the concentrated firepower of four weapons held in trained hands. It was a block later that they paused to catch their breath, a trail of motionless black forms marking their passage.

" Any injuries? " the turian constable asked between breaths, seated with his back against a waste receptacle.

" Just fried some more brains cells and I feel like I've been run over by a Mako. No worse than after a night of shore leave, " Dowds responded, slapping the side of his helmet a few times. Hunt and Anderson answered with a shake of their heads.

" Those…really weren't people once, were they? It's all a geth trick, right? " the corporal asked hesitantly after a strained silence, his smoke-reddened eyes searching the faces of the others.

" They didn't suffer long. There was nothing left of their former lives before the transformation either, so don't let misplaced compassion stay your hand. Put them down before they have a chance to do the same to you, " Andraellia answered flatly, rising to her feet. " We should move out, the Executor is counting on us and time is not our ally. "

The pleading look Udina gave the Spectre was met with one of icy denial, the ambassador pushing himself to his feet with an exhausted sigh, nearing the limits of his endurance.

" It's just not right, " Alex heard Dowds whisper as the small group prepared to move out.

" They'll pay, man. Just hang in there, stay focused on the mission, " Hunt offered, giving the marine a slap on the shoulder. Dowds' distant nod in response was less than reassuring.

Their cautious approach to a ramp-like lowering of the street was rewarded as they spied a group of six geth milling about, unaware of their presence, at least until four of them dropping seconds later under a hail of gunfire. The remaining two fired some shots before fleeing, rounds striking their kinetic barriers as the invaders retreated.

" Run you metal bastards! " Dowds shouted, breaking ahead of the group, translating his anger into long, wild bursts of his rifle as he gave pursuit.

" Something's not right. I have yet to see the geth retreat, " Alex warned as the rest of the group advanced forward at a more cautious pace, scanning the area for threats.

" Corporal Dowds! Don't get separated from your unit! Dowds! " Anderson bellowed to the distant marine, frustration clear in his voice.

A pair of red beams, flickering in the smoky air, swept down from either side of street level, searching for several seconds before locking onto Dowds helmet.

" Dowds! Take cover! " Alexander shouted as loud as he could, his words swallowed by the distance. Caldrix dropped into crouch beside him, sniper rifle unfolding in his hands as he followed the beam back to its source, a long-limbed geth unit clinging to the walls some thirty feet up. The crosshairs wobbled as the turian fought to control his breathing, a missed shot now would only alert the geth sniper to their presence and allow it to reposition itself. Alex's final cry was echoed by several others in the group as a flicker of blue-green energy traveled down the red beams and struck Dowds, reducing his head to a spray of crimson and fragments of helmet, body pitching forward and sliding to a stop on a carpet of his own blood. Caldrix's sniper rifle bucked lightly, the geth sniper to the right jerking wildly then toppling lifeless to the street. The second sniper swiveled its head to regard them with its one glowing eye then leapt off the walls with surprising speed before landing on all fours like a lizard and scrambling nimbly away.

It had been a simple but effective trap. Unsettle intruders with the converted bodies of their own, force them to destroy them, and then give them a chance to take their frustrations out on their hated foe, all culminating in a murderous ambush. Alex kept his eyes on Dowd's back as the group walked by, unwilling to reduce the face he saw in his memory to the pile of bloody slurry it had become. Small arms fire rattled in the distance, a call to duty, a reminder that now was not the time to morn.

Udina all but collapsed as the group took cover behind a large stone planter roughly thirty meters from the firefight, each feeling the weight of what was expected of them when they saw the equine metal head of a geth Armature swaying above the burning trees, its heavy metal footfalls like the sound of coffin nails being driven home for the trapped civilians. Caldrix scanned the area through the scope of his sniper rifle, taking stock of the numbers arrayed against them as each ash-ridden breath continued to scrape a throat already made raw by the physical exertion.

" I count thirty geth of various makes and models, wielding everything from assault rifles to rocket launchers. That quadrupedal war machine there probably doubles their effective numbers, then add in various drones flying around and any snipers we can't see and you end up with some pretty long odds, " the turian assessed hoarsely, coughing lightly into his fist as the smoke overwhelmed him for a moment.

" If we get the shelter's automatic defenses back online those odds will even up, and to do that we need to find where the geth are siphoning away the power, " Andraellia countered, squinting over the edge of the barrier.

" Whatever we plan to do let's do it fast. People are dying and it's not going to get any better waiting for the perfect solution to fall into our laps, " Anderson intoned, crouched and ready to move.

" Those pipes along the wall there, they don't exactly match the general aesthetic of the Citadel do they? " Alex commented distractedly, the others following his gaze to where a trio of ribbed grey pipes snaked along the wall, hastily fastened with metal brackets and globs of solder to the wall.

" Most definitely not, " Caldrix agreed, following the pipes to where they disappeared around a bend and down a side hall. He then suddenly winced, swatting the hub monocular eyepiece set on the side of his head.

" What is it? " The Spectre asked, frowning.

" A burst of static and then the communications hubs came back on, local only it seems…wait, " the turian C-Sec constable replied quickly, then holding up a finger to stop any additional questions as he listened further.

" The human Spectre is back! Shepard is on the Citadel somehow and has restored control to the Citadel's systems. The human 5th fleet is coming to aid in the defense of the Citadel as well. Floods of damage and casualty reports, requests for reinforcements, " Caldrix listed off, tapping through the channels.

" Shepard? Here? How is that possible?! " Udina asked, incredulous, his frown of puzzlement softened by genuine relief.

" Shepard makes it possible, ambassador. If you and the council had had a little more faith in him perhaps all of this could have been avoided, " Anderson replied, the ghost of a smile on his lips as he spoke about the human Spectre. A distant scream snapped them all back to reality and the task at hand.

" Shepard's given us a fighting chance, but we have to help ourselves here and now. I'll follow any orders you want to give, but we must do it now! " the marine captain growled.

" Agreed, " Caldrix assented with a nod. " We'll split up, two will lay down covering fire, the other two will go down that hall and see what they can do about restoring power. I don't know about Anderson, but I'm done with running and my sniper rifle is useless in tight corridors. He and I will draw their fire and lay down some of our own. Hunt and Andraellia will follow the pipes to their source. Agreed? "

" Done. Do not fall behind, human. I will not pause once I have begun, " the asari warned, rising to a crouch and eyeing the path they would take.

" I've never challenged an asari to a foot race before. I hope your kind are not sore losers, " Alex returned with a daredevil grin on his face as he matched her posture. Caldrix and Anderson took up firing positions, drawing beads on geth, the turian's first shot dropping a red-plated soldier and signaling the other pair to start running. The ground shivered beneath their feet a moment later as the Citadel's ward arms began to clamp together, turning the flower-like arrangement into an armored cylinder, preventing any additional geth forces from slipping past the beleaguered Citadel fleet. Dealing with the geth incursion already present was now the sole task of the C-Sec constables and a human Spectre and his tiny squad.

The geth response was clinical and swift, a dozen or so of their own turning around to form a firing line to deal with the new threat, energy pulses interspersed with rockets producing spiraling contrails before they exploded against the concrete barriers in a shower of soil, plant matter and artificial stone. His legs burned from the walk in the flooded tunnel but Alex pushed it aside as his world shrank down to his objective, the soldier at his side, and putting the next foot forward. Pulses smacked angrily against his kinetic barrier, the rookie C-Sec constable not even daring to glance to see how his shielding fared. Geth twitched and fell back in his peripheral field of vision as Caldrix and Anderson's shots wore down the synthetic warrior's own barriers and tore apart the circuitry and armor plating beneath.

They neared the hallway, what would have been just another corridor hours before was now an objective worth risking his life over. Alexander winced as he heard the warning chime telling him that his barrier had finally succumbed to firepower sent against it, the shelter the hallway offered still seeming so far away. Andraellia pulled slightly ahead of him, head utterly still as her body was pushed for one last burst of speed to reach safety. A flash of red light caught Alex's eye then, sparing a glance over as he saw a laser sight track the Spectre's movements from somewhere far to their right. With only a split second to decide Alex prayed that Armax lived up to its reputation and ducked down, slamming his body into the asari's, the mid-stride collision knocking her completely off-balance and sending the two of them sprawling. Alex's left shoulder blade erupted in sudden fire as the sniper struck a glancing blow, the powerful energy pulse ripping a scorched furrow through the armor's thick plating and the flesh beneath it. Alex's attempt to roll with the fall was only partially successful, leading with his right shoulder and ending up flat on his back staring at the ceiling. Andraellia, despite the suddenness of the attack had rolled to a crouch, scowling fiercely at the human beside her.

" Clumsy fool! You could have killed… " she began, then noticing the pained look on the human's face and the small trickle of smoke rising up from the burnt plating.

" Your welcome…? " Alex returned, grunting in pain as the asari rolled him onto his side to check the wound.

" Soft tissue damage only, seven centimeter wound already partially cauterized by the pulse. Hold still, " she listed off, retrieving a disk the size of her palm from a pocket along her thigh and snapped it over the wound. A bluish gel flowed from the ruptured container, oozing over the wound, Andraellia then using her fingers to guide the medi-gel into the crack of the armor as it began to solidify, leeching painkillers, antibiotics and concentrated healing proteins into the exposed flesh. Alex released the breath he had been holding as the burning pain from the wound ebbed with each passing second. More geth pulses scorched the wall near where they hunkered down, the synthetic aliens seeking to angle their shots down the hallway without exposing themselves to the withering fire the turian and human were laying down.

" We have to move, " the asari Spectre urged him, punctuating the point by dropping two geth drones that were homing in on their position.

" I'm good to go, " Alexander responded, climbing to his feet, shotgun raised to a firing position.

The hastily fastened metal pipes on the wall guided them to a ninety-degree turn, the firefight behind them making it impossible to detect the tell-tale noises of geth around the corner. Alex pressed his shoulder against the wall, Andraellia crouching low beside him. Leaning forward they peered around the corner for a brief second, their eyes quickly taking in the odds against them; five geth. Two seemed to be of the garden-variety with their dull grey armor and standard rifles. Another two were off-white, their backs to them as one tapped commands on a holographic display for some sort of device set against the dead-end, the other welding some addition to its base. The last geth gave both human and asari pause, however. At nine feet tall and draped in armor plating colored like freshly spilled blood it towered above its fellows, clearly some sort of commander. Suddenly Alex's armor didn't seem quite as thick as he wished it to be.

" That thing is like a walking tank, " the C-Sec constable muttered as they conferred quietly after their initial glance, " and I'm fresh out of HEAT missiles. Used the last one this morning. "

" Flip remarks do not solve problems, human. We are not getting reinforcements and we cannot ask the geth to wait while we get more powerful weapons. Our plan is thus; I will soften them up and confuse them with a warp, then we blind fire around the corner, possibly getting in some lucky hits. On my signal, you are to go around the corner and beginning firing at the smaller geth. The fewer weapons shooting at us, the better our chances are of surviving this. I will be in front of you in a crouch, use me as cover if you need to as I will use my biotics to supplement my kinetic barrier. I will focus on the commander. Once you have dealt with the fodder switch targets to it and we'll wear him down. Clear? "

" Yes m'am. Loud and clear, m'am. " It was a sound plan, though Alex didn't like how much more risk the Spectre would be taking upon herself with her lighter armor and barriers.

The asari slipped into a state of extreme concentration, her right hand empty and held away from her body, fingers curled as if she tightly clutched a ball. The space around her hand began to shift and writhe like worms under skin, the air thickening and growing dark until it resembled a halo of ashen water vapor. The asari leaned forward and let out a short cry of effort as she released the gathered dark energy, her barrier flashing to life as the geth trained their weapons on the intruder. Ducking back down behind the corner the pulses of energy continued to strike the wall and floor near them, Andraellia waiting for their frequency to subside before yelling " Blind fire, now ! "

Angling his shotgun around the edge he depressed the trigger, the asari mirroring him with her assault rifle. Projectiles ripped through the air as the pair fired in controlled bursts, Alex mentally counting down the seconds between shots to keep the powerful weapon in his hands from overheating. Over the sounds of the geth's return fire Alexander heard the clang of metal falling to the floor, one of the geth struck a lethal blow.

" Retract! Get ready to step out! " the Spectre ordered, withdrawing her weapon and bowing her head as she prepared her next biotic feat. Alex's heart hammered in his chest as he waited for the signal to put himself into the line of fire, still out-numbered two-to-one. His shots would have to be dead on, or the resulting hail of energy pulses fired back would quickly overload the kinetic barrier and rip through the armor and flesh underneath. The asari's kinetic barrier flickered again as if it had been shot, but no projectiles had stuck it. The shimmering blue seemed to grow thicker somehow, more dense before it blinked off once more.

" Three….two…one! " she counted down, slipping around the corner in a tactical crouch, rifle leading the way. Alex followed as close as he dared, already looking down the sights of his shotgun as the adjoining hall came into view. One of the grey geth troopers was already down, the noise Alex had heard from before, but the others were still fully operational and knew exactly from where the attackers would be coming, patiently waiting with pulse rifles trained. The Armageddon shivered in his hands as it unleashed its searing payload at the pair of geth on the left side. The majority of the fragments struck the barrier of the grey trooper, the sand grain-sized projectiles glowed like sparks from a fire, continuing to damage the kinetic barrier until it finally failed, evaporating like thin ice under a blow-torch. The pale geth behind it also was struck, but fewer pellets clung to its shield, remaining up as the projectiles lost their energy and winked out. Seconds slowed to a crawl as Alex waited for the heat indicator on his weapon to drop enough to fire another shot. Their own kinetic barriers were taking a beating as well, but so far held, the geth responding to the assault with frightening detachment and logic, focus-firing on Andraellia to drop the number of opponents facing them as swiftly as possible.

True to her word the asari focused on the large, red geth commander, her chattering assault rifle stitching impact ripples across the synthetic soldier's kinetic barrier with surgical precision, slowing wearing it down. Alex dared another shot, this time the molten-hot metal shards found no resistance as they tore and burned a path through the dark-armored geth's torso until they ruptured something vital and the geth jerked abruptly, sparks and steam made from vaporized conductive fluid issuing from the entry wounds before it pitched forward and onto the floor. The Spectre ceased firing, her gun muzzle dropping down as she prepared another biotic strike, pushing against the geth commander and sending it sliding backwards, disrupting its aim and that of the other pale geth beside it. The large robot went down on one knee in an effort to avoid toppling over completely, surprised by the viciousness of the assault, but it had cost Andraellia as well; Alexander could hear the exhaustion clearly in her cry of focus.

The C-Sec constable fired again, wincing as the heat display rocketed up yet again, nearly red-lining, but the power behind the shot made the extra thermal debt worth it, tearing the last of the geth on the left's kinetic barrier to ethereal shreds and reducing its head to blackened and mangled ruin, the lethally injured alien staggering back a few paces, seemed to rally its sense of balance for a split-second, and then tipped rigidly backwards. Two geth now remained and the odds had just evened out.

" Drop left and roll! " the asari yelled, suddenly rolling off in the opposite direction as the red commander geth regained its feet, its single red eye seeming to blaze even brighter in anger. It was a decision that bordered on the prescient, because as soon as it was stable again the red armored geth launched a rocket from the under barrel portion of its rifle, the explosion detonating roughly in the middle of the hall, slamming both the human and the asari against their respective walls. Alex was belatedly glad that the impact had pushed the air from his body as he was certain that drawing in the searing air that passed over his body would have scorched his lungs. He fought to breath as the warning indicating his kinetic barrier was down shrieked in his ear, fumbling with his weapon to try and aim. His shot went too high, striking where the wall met ceiling and doing nothing but destroying a light fixture, sparks pouring like water from the ruptured panel over both geth without so much as a twitch in response.

Across from him Andraellia seemed to have recovered quicker than he, in a text-book prone firing position and a pair of blue-white bursts from her weapon was all it took to put the last subservient geth down. The Spectre began to roll as she fired, the geth commander's first two retaliatory shots striking nothing but floor, its advanced AI could only be fooled for so long, instantly compensating for speed and angle before landing one shot neatly on the asari's lower torso, the pulse breaking down the last feeble resistance of her biotically augmented barrier and through the thin armor beneath. Her scream echoed through the hall and in Alex's brain as her body snapped into a rigid arch in response to the pain, her rifle falling from her trembling fingers.

" No! " the human bellowed as he rose to his knees, his shotgun roaring its outrage as it sent a tight group of projectiles against the weakened commander's shield, finally tearing it asunder. Alex regained his feet as the second shot left the chamber, the shards ripping through the commander's knee joint, leaving flayed synthetic muscle and torn metal skin in their wake. The geth staggered yet again, dropping down to one knee as it attempted to bring its weapon to bear on the now charging human. Alex ducked under the sweep of the geth's arm, coming to stand at his full height right in front of the injured alien machine, his shotgun rising up and the barrel slamming firmly against the geth's single eye. Time stood frozen for an instant as the human pulled the trigger.

With a flash of yellow-orange light the geth commander's 'face' ceased to exist, molecular fluorine flaring to hellish life as reacted to the air, carried along on the tiny pieces of shrapnel, burning and shredding anything they came into contact with before erupting out the back in plume of scorched metal, sparks and circuitry. The large geth, its arms hanging limp and useless at its sides, its head a hollow, smoking ruin, teetered precariously for a short moment before toppling like a felled tree, the loud ring of metal striking metal echoing in the confined area.

Alex stood over his fallen foe, breathing in a lungful of air that tasted of chemicals and burnt wiring, the fierce battle taking place not twenty meters away reduced to a distant roar as the sheer absurdity of his own survival struck him. He had acted on impulse, his body and training taking over and seeing the task done, the potential consequences be damned. A cry choked with pain coming from behind him shattered his moment of incredulity and he spun to regard the injured Spectre prone on the floor.

Three quick paces took him to her side, collapsing to his knees and setting the shotgun down as he ran his eyes over the ugly injury on the side of her belly. It was the worst of both a burn and a penetration wound, the armor and the skin beneath it blackened by the intense heat of the pulse while enough of her flesh had been vaporized to allow for bleeding, the area glistening with her purplish blood.

" Lie still, " the human ordered tersely, examining the wound with a critical eye, his mind trying to fight down his rising panic. This was a job for a medi-tech, but he wouldn't have the time to wait for one even if there wasn't an intense firefight going on just down the hall.

Remembering the medi-gel and realizing it was his only option he fumbled with the small pocket on the asari's thigh with his gauntleted hands, silently cursing the thick armor before giving them and quick twist to unlock them and then tossing them against the far wall in haste.

" The…power supply. You…have to…destroy it, " Andraellia hissed from between clenched teeth, raising her head up only to gasp in pain and let it fall back down to the floor. Acting in a daze Alex took up his Armageddon rifle and pumped two quick shots into the console at the end of the hall, the super-heated fragments making short work of the machine, the glowing interface flickering off and several sprays of sparks issued from the holes as the shrapnel continued to melt their way through its inner workings.

" Done, " Alex responded flatly, slipping his fingers into the pocket and fishing out the last two medi-gel disks she had.

" Clear…the wound area. Make it easier for the…doctors to get at it, " the asari instructed him, in between gasps. Scowling in concentration Alex gingerly set his fingers to the burnt edges of her outfit and, after encountering some resistance prying it away from her blood-slick skin, lifted it up and began to tear. The tough black material gave away grudgingly, a final burst of effort ripping a sizable rent in it.

" Never thought I'd be tearing your uniform off before the end of the day, " Alex chuckled nervously, grimacing at the contrast between her smooth blue skin and the blackened wound.

" Get…on with it! " she snapped, eyes clenched tight as her nails looked as if they would carve grooves into the metal floor.

Taking up one of the disks Alex broke it easily in half along the groove and let the medicinal sludge flow out and onto the wound. The asari's body jerked and her back arced as the gel touched her injured flesh, groaning with each sharp intake of breath while the gel set about sterilizing and sealing the area. The injury seemed to absorb much of the gel almost immediately, Alex wasting no time in breaking open the second and final disk to aid in healing the wound. The tension in the Spectre's body began to ease, as did her breathing, her eyelids fluttering as she seemed to be slipping into unconsciousness, her features drawn and pale.

" Hey! Stay with me! " the C-Sec rookie called to her, gripping her shoulder firmly and giving a light shake. He didn't have much in the way of medical training, but he'd seen enough combat medics go to work to know shock when he was looking at it. Drawing upon the only knowledge he had Alex kneeled beside the asari's legs and lifted them up onto his lap, helping pool the blood in her upper body. The next part was keeping her conscious.

" Stay awake. Talk to me! "

" Uh…about…what? " she slurred, giving her head a light shake and squinting in concentration.

" Um, why do you look so different from other asari? " Alexander asked, seizing upon the first subject that came to mind. Andraellia let out a tight sigh, her discomfort having little to do with her injury.

" First generation offspring between an asari and another species creates significant phenotypical variations…" she began, pausing to grimace in pain before continuing, " which eventually are subsumed by the dominant asari genes in subsequent generations. "

" Um, I'm just a grunt, m'am. English please? " the former marine asked, sheepishly clearing his throat.

" It means my mother and a non-asari with whom our race has never melded with before had a child, and that child was me. I am different because of this. "

" Ah. So what race did your mother…meld with to produce you? "

" If you must know, a krogan. "

Alexander gaped, his imagination conjuring images of what he knew about the two races and then attempting to….

" So your mother and a krogan… " the human began, his face screwing up in disgust and disbelief, only to be cut short by the indignant protests of the injured alien.

" No, human, she did not do what you your narrow definition of sexual reproduction is making you imagine she did. Asari melding is a dignified and sanitary process by which two beings temporarily become a single, unified whole. My mother saw the korgan rapidly diminishing in numbers and decided to seek out a willing partner to help preserve some of their legendary fortitude and battle prowess. The krogan was a female besides, " Andraellia informed him curtly.

" I didn't mean to offend you, I was just…curious. I…don't suppose I've done a whole lot to change your mind about humans, have I? " Alex stammered, ending his sentence with a sigh.

" One step forward, two back, " came her weary reply, wincing as she propped herself up delicately on her elbows, the color returning to her face.

" Should you be moving? " the C-Sec constable asked, glancing over his shoulder as another explosion sounded from down the hall.

" Remember what I said about passing along krogan resilience? Just don't expect me to run any obstacle courses, " she commented, sliding her legs off of his lap.

Alex stood, the asari regarding the hand he offered her like it was a poisonous reptile before accepting it, swaying as she regained her feet but pushing off any attempts the human made to assist her further.

" Holding hands is enough for the first day, don't you think? I walked in here on my own two feet I'll walk out of here the same way, " the Spectre announced, rifle gripped loosely in her hands and a slight hunch in her back as the pain from the wound flared with each limping step. Silently both cursing and commending her stubbornness the human picked a distance he hoped would be close enough to catch her if she fell but far enough away to respect her wishes and the pair cautiously made their way back to the promenade.

Caldrix flattened himself against the floor, hands shielding the back of his head as another blast from the Armature churned up hundreds of pounds of concrete planter and its contents and sending it back down to the floor with a hailstorm of dirt clods an chunks of stone, a piece of the latter the size of the turian's head landing but inches from where he lay. Udina, laying curled in a fetal ball several meters to Caldrix's left, let out a frightened wail as more debris piled on top of the already half-buried ambassador. Anderson squeezed off a long burst blindly over the lip of the planter, the incoming fire too intense to risk anything but that, as if the geth knew that the tides were turning and they still had a task to complete.

" They should have deactivated the siphoning device by now! " Anderson yelled over the ringing in his ears, taking a minute to spit out some of the grit that had gotten into his mouth.

" Perhaps there was more resistance there than we anticipated. We'll give them a minute more and then we'll run-and-gun our way over there, " the veteran C-Sec officer shouted back, a cold resignation setting in as he spoke those words. They would be cut down by small arms fire before they got five paces, or instantly vaporized by the Armature's main disruptor. There was little choice, however, and while he had never sought death in combat, he had never doubted that if it came down to it he would see his duty through to the end. The look in Anderson's eyes told the turian that he didn't fancy the odds either, giving a single solemn nod in agreement to his plan.

Caldrix silently counted down the seconds, the muscle in his body tensing as he prepared to rise to a crouch, geth pulse blasts cutting away the air scant feet above his head or sizzling as they struck the dirt and stone they hid behind. With twenty seconds left in his count another sound reached his ears, one that he had to shake his head to make sure he was hearing correctly. Another alarm was sounding now, this one distinct and much closer than the general alert sounding over the Citadel's PA system. Daring to peek over the chewed-up edge of the planter Caldrix easily spotted the rotating red lights that had popped out from their recessed holding compartments above the interlocking double doors at the entrance of the emergency shelter. Seconds later two angular sections of the wall hissed outwards, the whirr and clank of machinery behind it barely audible amidst the chaos that swallowed the immediate area. The detached sections of wall then rotated to a horizontal position before slipping free of the wall completely, pulled away by two robotic arms draped in power cables and each terminating in a bulky weapons platform consisting of a 155mm mass accelerator cannon and pair of heavy machine guns slung underneath; this was the shelter's defensive countermeasures. Seconds passed as the pair of arms swept their sensors over the area, the gun muzzles like the beak of a robotic heron looking to pluck a morsel swimming around its legs, a scrambled and distorted image of Avina appearing between the gun arms.

" Intruders detected-d-d-d-d. Lethal forceforceforce has been authorized. St-t-t-tand down or you will be fired upppppon, " the damaged VI warned.

The geth response was uniform and instant; they began firing upon the new threat, the gun arm's kinetic barriers springing to life reflexively. Avina's response was equally swift and calculating, the initial barrage of cannon fire ripping entire squads of geth apart and sending still-twitching synthetic limbs in all directions. Another klaxon sounded, this one warning those near the doors that they would be closing soon. Still laying down covering fire for their comrades the remaining C-Sec forces began to pull, carry or drag their wounded into the shelter, a reprieve they had not been granted since the geth forces boxed them in.

The geth Armature fired its disruptor at the right gun arm, the force of the blast enough to knock the arm backwards, servos whining to compensate and return to its initial firing position. Milliseconds later the list of threats was revised and both arms focused their attention on the Armature, twin cannons firing as one to rip away the combat walker's powerful shields while the machine guns spat blue fire to keep them from recovering while the cannons prepared for another shot. By the time Caldrix had acquired a geth target in his sights and dispatched it with a shot through the side of the head the cannons fired again, this time with half a second difference in their timing, letting the first shot completely disrupt whatever shields it had left and letting the second deliver its full destructive payload to the target unimpeded. The result gladdened the turian's heart, the Armature's armor disappearing in a shower of sparks, its three remaining legs splaying out in a pointless effort to maintain its balance, the geth walker's head, neck and right foreleg reduced to a jagged, crackling ruin by the blast. With a groan of twisting metal the now three-legged automaton toppled forward, its back legs remaining upright for a few seconds more before they too gave out underneath it. What was once a desperate defense had turned into a merciless rout, the geth retreat orderly and logical as only soldiers incapable of fear could make it, yet Caldrix watched as every last one of them was gunned down as they fled, their strange white blood eventually blotting out the walkway they fell upon.

" I'm guessing that means they fixed the power drain, " Anderson commented dryly beside him, cradling his assault rifle in his arms and lobbing a wad of dirt-laced spittle onto the smoking husk of a geth soldier where it landed with a hiss. Through a screen of shattered tree trunks and smoke Alex and Andraellia approached, surveying the massacre and noting the now sealed doors of the emergency shelter, a handful of the most able C-Sec constables remaining outside and taking a well-deserved breather.

" Misson accomplished, sir, " Alexander reported as he came to a stop before the turian and the other human.

" Yes I can see that, Hunt, now wipe that smug grin off of your face," Caldrix responded with a shake of his head, " and next time try and keep your partner from getting shot in the process. "

" I am fine, thank you for your concern, " the Spectre remarked acidly, standing apart from the rest of them, sweeping her eyes over the area.

" While we've done a great thing here, the battle continues on elsewhere. Shepard and a small squad of his comrades are facing incredible odds somewhere in the Presidium and I've never been the sort to sit back and let someone else take all the risks. Your assistance would be appreciated but is not expected, " Anderson explained, checking his weapon one last time and looking up at the hazy outline of the Council tower in the distance.

" I'm not about to let an Alliance military prisoner wander loose on the Presidium, and my partner doesn't have a choice in the matter, " Caldrix replied, shouldering his sniper rifle, " though with all due respect I believe the Spectre in her current condition would be better served rallying the C-Sec forces here. "

" Your suggestion is noted, lieutenant, but I will decide how and where my time is best served, " the asari countered, " and right now that is driving this menace from this station. Lead on. "

A clatter of concrete fragments sent all eyes to where the ambassador climbed shakily to his feet, caked in dirt, a trickle of blood flowing down from a cut at his left temple.

" Is it…over yet? " Udina asked, clearly shell-shocked as he attempted to pat away the soil from his suit.

" For you, yes. Get to the shelter and get Executor Pallin to let you in. They'll take care of you, " Anderson replied. Udina looked to the closed double doors and nodded mutely, shuffling his way through the debris like a man twice his age. Their departure was halted as the ambassador's thin voice reached them from behind.

" You were right Anderson. You and Shepard both. I don't know if that means anything now, after all what's happened, but you were right, " Udina apologized, swallowing hard.

" I does mean something. After this is over you can give your apology to Shepard in person, " Anderson said with a nod.

Returing the nod Udina hugged his body and continued his shuffle back to the emergency shelter, leaving Anderson and the others to continue on their way.

They arrived to see a massive alien ship clutching onto the peak of the Presidium spire like the obsidian fist of an angry god. The four paused in awe for a moment, for the first time suddenly aware of what exactly they faced.
" Soverign, " Anderson whispered, thinking back to that still image he had seen first on Eden Prime, standing in stony silence beside Shepard and the ill-fated Spectre Nihlus as they tried to make sense of this new threat to the galaxy.

" Where he is, Saren cannot be far. If Shepard cannot do it I will gladly blot out that stain on the turian people's face, " Caldrix promised, eyes narrowed and mandibles fluttering in a rare display of anger.

" His deeds over-shadow his work as a Spectre as well. I will…enjoy his fall, " Andraellia intoned, wincing as a shift in her weight caused a ripple of pain to surge out from the raw wound on her belly.

" Then let's stop talking and get going. Shepard's practically alone up there facing off against numbers that would make what we went through look like a training exercise, " Alexander huffed, taking the lead, then stopping when he realized he couldn't hear their footsteps behind him. Turning, he swiftly realized he had come previously close to giving an order to three superiors.

" I mean, I respectfully request that we triple-time it to the tower and reinforce the unit already in the field…sirs, " the human C-Sec constable corrected himself.

" Don't think your evaluation ended the moment the geth arrived on the station, Constable Hunt. If anything, its become even more important. And I will be taking dispositions from these two on your performance after all this is over as well, " Caldrix reminded him, his body language and scaled face as unreadable as ever but a glint of humor flashed in his violet eyes for a moment.

" A good idea as I've ever heard, constable. Lead on, " the black-skinned captain agreed, the three of them falling in behind Alex's swift jog to the base of the tower.

The jagged remnants of a pair of glass doors slid open pointlessly at the small group's approach, beyond a deserted lobby waited for them, the glossy floors strewn with debris and the bodies of both defender and invader. Alex tried to keep his eyes off of the sprawled forms, instead scanning the walls and ceiling for clinging geth snipers. When it became clear they were alone the four of them approached the reception desk, behind which both stairs and four express elevators were situated.

" Stairs? " Alex wondered, glancing up the winding flight.

" Get real, rookie. Its sixty floors up. By the time we climbed that the ground floor would be cleaned up and fully operational again, " the turian snorted, walking over to one of the elevators and pressing the up button.

" The elevators have their own separate power source as well, capable of operating at peak usage for an hour should the tower ever have to be evacuated, like now. Never thought I'd see the day the emergency protcols they drilled into us Spectres would actually be used, " Andraellia mused distantly, watching the progress of the elevator on the digital display above the door.

After a tense wait the high-speed elevator finally came to a stop, the floor smeared with a grisly blend of turian, human and asari blood, the lack of bodies or holes in its glass sides suggested that it had been used to evacuate wounded rather than play a part in a massacre. The four filed in quickly, doors shutting closed behind them, Anderson punching in a floor fifty-seven of sixty, the floor lurching slightly under their feet as they began to ascend the Citadel tower.

" The geth will likely be expecting reinforcements now that their leader has made his appearance. I put us a few floors down in case they wanted to turn this elevator into a glass-walled shooting gallery. We can at least retreat if they engage us in the staircase, " the marine captain reasoned, drawing nods from the rest of them. The only thing to do now was wait.

The view would have stunned Alex any other time, now only giving him a better look at how wide-spread the destruction from the attack was, a funerary shroud of smoke pulled over the Presidium, bled through in places by gouts of orange-yellow fire. Hundreds, if not thousands of lives would end in this attack, and many times that number would have their lives irrevocably changed. The geth never went beyond the Veil; the Citadel was impervious to attack; a Spectre would never turn their back on the council; all of these statements proven lies in the past month. Many of the truisms that the so-called Citadel races built their lives upon were crumbling, casting shadows of doubt on a galaxy they thought they knew. Panic, fear and anger would follow in the wake of this attack, and Alexander couldn't speak for the other races, but he knew humanity didn't make its best decisions when in that state of mind.

Fifty floors flew by in almost as many seconds, the elevator beginning to slow when the glass compartment suddenly came to a juddering, squealing halt, tossing its unprepared occupants against the walls or to the floor.

" Looks like the geth found the back-up generators and disabled them, " Caldrix muttered, giving his head a shake before using the safety rail to pull himself to his feet.

" The safety mechanism engaged, something that operates even in the absence of a power source. Still, we're vulnerable in here and of no use to anyone. Let's get those doors open, " Andraellia said from between her clenched teeth, her voice harsh with pain and skin slick with perspiration as she picked herself up, ignoring the silent exchange of concerned looks amongst the other three.

Flipping back a panel on wall beside the doors Anderson folded out a crank handle and began to turn it, the doors slowly starting to part, revealing unsettling silence beyond, dimly lit by yellow emergency lights. Caldrix, having switched his sniper rifle out for his trusty pistol shone the light from his omni-tool through the opening to cut through the gloom, Alex and Andreallia joining him in training their weapons on the hall beyond, searching the gloom for the distinctive spotlight eye of geth soldiers. Once the opening was wide enough Alex slipped through, crouched low and taking up a position to one side of the door while the turian followed closely behind and covered the other side.

" Stairs are to the left, " the Spectre whispered once the doors were fully open, taking her place at the rear of their small squad sub-divided into two groups, a pair on each side of the hall.

Caldrix's light revealed that this floor escaped the level of destruction seen many floors below in the lobby, like it was passed over in favor of more critical objectives.

" This place doesn't seem to have seen a lot of action, " Alex commented quietly on the fact, taking care to step over the fragments of a dropped ceramic cup and dried remnants of its contents.

" No sense wasting time hunting and killing civilians when the heavily defended top floor awaits you and time is not on your side. If you control the only way in or out you can always eliminate them later. Saren likely took a hand-picked squad of elites up to the council chambers to secure it while he accessed the Citadel's computers, " the asari replied, the muzzle of her assault rifle pointed at the ceiling, looking for explosive traps or sensors that may have been scattered about to slow a floor-by-floor sweep for intruders.

" Shepard must have dealt a serious blow to Saren's efforts by now if we can communicate with the fleet but that doesn't mean that we're out of danger just yet, " Anderson added, eyes remaining on the sight of one of Sovereign's metallic cephalopod-like limbs visible through an office window.

Further down the hall office furniture had been dragged from nearby rooms and assembled into a crude barricade, Caldrix's light sweeping over the polished metal and wooden desks and chairs, revealing no movement or signs of having received incoming fire. A beam similar to the turian's flicked on then from beyond the barricade, all eyes suddenly forward.

" Hold your fire, we're survivors, " a male voice, called out from behind the barrier, a figure detaching itself from the jumble of shapes. Caldrix's light revealed it to be a human C-Sec constable, the jacket missing from his uniform and the undershirt stained with sweat, grime and dried blood. An Edge I was held in his right hand, wisely dangling from a finger on the trigger guard.

" Report your situation, constable, " the turian prompted, lowering his pistol and light, the rest of the squad lowering their weapons as well, but remaining wary.

" My partner and I were in the tower when the attack happened. We began evacuating civilians but when it became clear that sending them to a lobby would be putting them in the line of fire we instead put them in a large conference room and set up this barricade to hold our position until we were relieved, " the man explained as his aforementioned partner and half a dozen other people, several of which were medi-techs, rose to their feet as well.

" Did you see the human Spectre Shepard? Did he pass through here? " Anderson prompted, eyeing the staircase just to the man's right.

" No sir. We lost power nearly an hour ago and it's been touch-and-go since then. We've been monitoring the stairwell and nothing has come up or down. The sounds of gunfire and explosions from above have reached us through there, but with the fifty-some civilians who need to be protected we didn't move to engage. If he's up there it wasn't by the stairs, " the constable responded, running his hand wearily over his shorn brown hair.

" You did good, constable. Unfortunately, we're not staying, we're heading up to see if we can lend the Spectre a hand. Unless there any seriously injured amongst the civilians I'd like to bring a few of the medi-techs with me in case Shepard or any in his party need their skills, " the turian lieutenant replied, fixing the other constable with a searching gaze.

" No, nothing more serious than a sprained wrist thankfully. Jones, Harkam, you're with the lieutenant now, " the human ordered, looking back to the two medi-techs in question and gesturing with his head to the newly arrived party.

" Hunt and I will take the lead, medi-techs to the middle, Andraellia and Anderson protecting the rear. I hope you both had a good rest while waiting here, because we've got a lot of stairs and little time. Move out! "

Four flights later and the group continued to ascend unopposed, the occasional pause to check for threats yielding nothing but eerie silence and the sound of their labored breathing. A fifty-six Caldrix raised an open palm to stop them again, only this time his other hand cupped his eye piece, head tilted as he listened. The building shivered violently, throwing them off balance for a moment as the turian relayed what he was hearing.

" The 5th fleet and the remnants of the Citadel defense fleet are on their way. Sovereign must be making a run for it. Come on, this is almost over! " he urged them, dashing up the stairs once again.

Alexander nudged open the stairwell door with the barrel of his Armageddon shotgun, stepping into the hazy air of the sixtieth floor, tasting charcoal in his mouth and the smoke stinging his eyes. The group filed out silently, alert and weapons up, the empty closeness of the stairs a false blanket of security to be shed immediately once they were clear of them. With a series of hand gestures Caldrix ordered Alex to the other side of the walkway that would take them all the way to the council meeting platform, then directing the two medi-techs to follow several meters behind, once again the asari Spectre and the marine captain bringing up the rear. Seconds dragged into minutes as they padded cautiously along, the light tapping of their boot heels on the floor and the muted crackle of dying flames the extent of the noise in the area. It came as a shock, then, as a rapid succession of rumbling detonations sounded like thunder all around them, chasing itself along the high ceiling.

" The fleet's begun its bombardment, " Caldrix noted quietly, head tilted upward. The group had barely begun to proceed forward again when the floor jumped and tottered wildly beneath their feet as twisting metal screamed and concrete roared from somewhere up ahead, each sent stumbling against railings or collapsing to the floor as the top of the tower was shaken like a toy in an uncaring child's hand.

" Sound off, " the turian lieutenant demanded as he pushed himself to a kneeling position, glancing behind him as the rest of the squad recovered from the fall.

" Good here, " Alex called out, his arm still wrapped around the railing that had kept him from slamming into the floor.

" Fine, " Anderson grunted, up on one knee, squinting into the distance to try and pierce the veil of smoke to see how badly damaged the tower was.

Andraellia's reply was a strained groan as she slowly, painfully sat up, clutching her abdomen, her breath coming in tight, harsh gasps.

" You should lie back down ma'm, you'll open the wound again and medi-gel is only for emergency use in the absence of real medical care, " one of the medi-techs advised, sliding over to her on his hands and knees, pushing his kit before him and snapping the catches open.

" Bandage it. I've got a job to do, " the Spectre hissed, straightening her back and trying to even out her breathing to avoid hyperventilating.

" Ma'm, that wound needs proper medical attention…. "

" Bandages! " Andraellia snapped, setting her jaw and closing her eyes, laying her assault rifle down beside her.

" Jones, do as she says. The rest of you follow me, we're going ahead to see what the hell just

happened, " Caldrix ordered, getting to his feet, adjusting the eye piece fastened to the side of his scaled head and setting off at a light jog.

The smoke grew thicker and took on the gritty taste of concrete ground to dust. A single geth trooper stood in their path, its movements uncoordinated and mind on par with the most rudimentary VI's as it had no others to share processing power with. A short, expertly placed burst from Anderson sent it pitching over backwards, ending the paltry threat it posed. Alex got the sense that single headlight eye stared at him as he ran past, the body twitching spasmodically as it died. What thoughts went through an alien machine's binary mind in its final moments? It was not a line of thought Alex was comfortable with, even if he had the time to luxuriate on it at present.

Dark shapes laying at odds angles loomed out of the smoke ahead of them, several meters more revealing them to be some of the massive girders that supported the structure of the walls and ceiling. Curtains of wires swayed like jungle vines on the hot, rising air while pebble-sized chunks of concrete popped and crunched underfoot. They were near the rounded atrium where the council held its meetings, fountains choked with debris and ash, monuments lying broken under black metal beams, the calming serenity the place must have evoked in those waiting to meet with the three most powerful beings in Citadel-controlled space uttered crushed beneath the uncaring tread of a rogue Spectre and his robot minions.

Then, they all saw it; one of Sovereign's black limbs lay like a toppled obelisk, towering above the destruction, a fitting grave marker for both it and Saren.

" I don't see any movement, captain. If Shepard was in the area when the fleet blew Sovereign to pieces… " Caldrix said, trailing off, his line of thought leading to an obvious conclusion.

" We'll tear this place apart if we have too, lieutenant…even if it is only to retrieve a body. The galaxy owes Shepard that much at least, " the black-skinned captain replied, tight-lipped, eyes scouring the gloom for the tiniest indication that something still lived in that jumbled pyre.

" Harkam and I will take the left side, you two take the right. Don't touch any rubble unless you're sure it isn't holding something else up. Lieutenant, try to call some search teams up here. "

" There's spot fires and collapsed buildings all over the Presidium, captain, not to mention pockets of geth resistance. Even if I do make the call it could be hours… "

" Make the call, damn it! We let him down before, I will not stand over his corpse knowing that there was something I could have done when he needed us for once! "

" Understood, captain, " Caldrix agreed in a low voice and a sharp nod, hand rising up to open a channel on his communicator, " all C-Sec units receiving this transmission I have priority one search and rescue targets on the sixtieth floor of the Presidium tower, require assistance at best possible speed. I repeat, I have priority one targets… " the turian said as he began to move down the right walkway framing a rock garden a floor below, its glass canopy shattered by the Reaper's severed limb. Alex gave a sympathetic look to Anderson's back as he and the medi-tech quickly walked along the left promenade. It was clear the human Spectre meant a great deal to him. Hell, the captain was willing to not only end his military career by assaulting a diplomat; he risked a firing squad for high treason had Shepard's gambit failed. He hoped for all their sakes the Spectre remained alive.

Long minutes of fruitless searching yielded nothing, Alexander hazarding putting his shotgun away as Caldrix and he used their omni-tools to peer under collapsed slabs of building material and twisted girders, searching for what they hoped they wouldn't find.

"Captain Anderson we've found them, they're in here! "

These words, spoken loudly by Harkam, carried through the thick air reaching the two constables. Turian and human looked to one another and began to jog back over, to where the medi-tech's light shifted wildly and then disappeared altogether as he ducked under some large chunks of debris. They reached the mid-point to see Andraellia limping along, her torso wound tightly with gauze already smudged grey by the foul air and floating ash, Jones walking mindfully beside her. The asari Spectre eased herself into a bench, grunting lightly as she settled her weight.

" So it seems…we've found Shepard's team, " she said on the back of a held breath. The four watched as a pair of figures walked stiff-limbed and bow-backed from under the rubble, their armor smudged and battered by the battles they must have faced to reach this point. An exchange between the captain and the two of them, a turian and an asari, ensued, followed by a look back to where the Reaper's limb lay like the discarded husk of a dead beast.

A long moment pregnant with tension passed, Alex able to see the captain's face fall even under the visor of his helmet. It seemed that for all that Shepard had been able to accomplish Sovereign had managed to take the human Spectre with him…wait! Alexander took as step forward and squinted as the other shifted as well, peering intently into the distance as some flicker of movement passed between shadowy columns of debris. There now, darting amongst the rubble, jogging despite the injury that caused him to favor his left side, a human approached his two team members, Anderson and the medi-tech waited him. There, despite all the galaxy had thrown at him, walked the savior of the galaxy. Pride filled Alexander's chest to not only share a room with him at the moment of his triumph, but to share a species. He glanced to Caldrix, the turian's beak-like mouth moving as he spoke words meant only for himself, a slow shaking of his head betraying his incredulity.

" Rash, " Andraellia said from beside Alex as she looked upon the reunion, her words more disapproving than her tone.

" Impetuous, no respect for the rules, " the turian on the other side of him, nodding.

" Headstrong, using violence and desperate gambits to bridge the gaps in understanding rather than

logic, " the asari continued.

" Still…he got the job done. Sloppy at times and not worthy of repeating, but we can work on that, " Caldrix stated finally, crossing his arms.

Alex fumed. How dare they condescend to not only the greatest hero of this generation of humanity, but to the one whom did what all of them, for their millennia of advanced civilization, could not?Pressing his lips into a thin line Alexander swiveled to face his superior officer, words of rebuke ready to burst forth…only to find the turian was already looking at him…as was, with a quick glance back, the asari Spectre.

" I told you your review didn't end just because a race not seen in two hundred years decided to invade the heart of civilized space. You passed, Hunt, but just barely, " Caldrix said, tilting his head to the side and shrugging his shoulders slightly, " I wonder what your second day in C-Sec will be like. "

Alex swallowed his rage hard, reeling.

" Uh, t-thanks I guess…sir. Heh, " the human said, turning back to the asari, " I don't suppose I could hold onto this? " he asked, patting the Armageddon pattern shotgun at the small of his back. To his surprise she nodded her head.

" Sure, human…the next time the geth invade it's all yours. " the Spectre smirked, drawing a dry bark of a laugh from the turian lieutenant behind him.

" Come on, Hunt, we've got a lot of work ahead of us still. If street-to-street fighting doesn't take your measure as a C-Sec constable then hours and hours of directing traffic and typing reports will, " Caldrix chuckled, slapping the human hard on the shoulder and walking past. Alexander took one last moment to look to where Shepard shook hands with Anderson, flanked by his asari and turian companions. Two races that hadn't even heard of the third sixty years ago were now his closest comrades. The future may have grown darker and more uncertain with the discovery of the Reapers, but it seemed even those frightening beings would have to contend with the unified power of the Citadel races, with people like Shepard leading the way.

"Hunt! "

" Coming sir! " the former marine replied hastily, jogging to catch up with his superior.