Chapter 2: Trial and Escape
This is Citadel News Net I'm Emily Wong, Alliance strike teams have recovered Former commander Shepard who is said to have been lost in the Traverse and is getting treatment on the station. Unconfirmed reports say that at least one marine was killed in the operation and a spectre was deployed. Citadel News will keep covering this breaking story.
"The council sure knows how to cover up a story." Shepard said bitterly in his cell.
He'd actually been in a holding cell for three months. Three meals a day, an hour to watch the vids and a daily visit from a C-sec interrogator, who took his job a little too personally and ask questions like, "What do you know about Cerberus! "How and when where you going to attack the Citadel!", "and where is the rest of your crew!" Often followed by a kick or punch to the ribs.
"Oh there's my favorite turian now come to ask more silly questions?" Shepard joked as the interrogator walked in to the cramped cell.
"I have no time for your games human!" he shouted pushing Shepard against the wall his arm pushing against his throat.
"Looks like we're gonna be here awhile because I don't know a damn thing!"
The turian growled with anger and went in to kick Shepard. Shepard caught the leg and swept the other one and sent the turian falling on his face. "Alright now let's see you try that again!" Shepard goaded. "I'm going to kill you human!" The turian barked charging at Shepard. The turian swung, Shepard weaved out of the way grabbing the turian's arm and swinging him into the wall behind him.
"I think that's enough officer you should leave." The turian picked himself up and looked over at the cells entrance. "You damn Spectres" he mumbled as he stormed out of Shepard's cell.
"Well that was fun" the spectre chuckled "I have to say Shepard I'm a bit of a fan, not the name a charity after you kind,but a fan." The spectre looked at Shepard and gave him an icy stare. "That was pretty clever launching those escape pods while the rest of your crew left in that shuttle."
Shepard stared down the spectre she was an asari, but not just any asari, the same asari who killed Jacob. "I've defiantly got nothing to say to you!"
"Well it should it could help you at your trial."
"You killed a member of my crew and the council expects me to cooperate with you!"
"I kill lots of people your friend shouldn't have involved himself." The asari said coldly "you and I are a lot alike."
"We're nothing alike you are a murderer I kill when there is no other choice"
"Did Finch that unarmed man you killed in a crowd of civilians two years ago leave you with no choice?" The asari spectre said smirking at Shepard "What about those five colonists on Faros that nobody talks about because the colony survived or Balak who you let bleed to death?"
"Finch was an extortionist and Balak tried to destroy Terra Nova, I make no apologies!" Shepard shouted at the asari
"Fine don't answer the question but that doesn't change the fact you and me are exactly the same I am just more honest about it." The spectre said adamantly "You should try it, it's very liberating."
"Why are you here?" Shepard said glaring at the spectre. "The council doesn't really want to charge you with anything."
"So what do they want?"
"Confirmation that your connection with Cerberus is over"
"I've told them I was never working with them and the only reason I had any thing to do with them is because they were the only ones doing anything about the reapers!"
"Ah yes reapers... that's another thing, they want you to renounce them as a myth."
"If you agree to these terms your spectre status will be given back and you will only be given missions in council space under supervision of council authorities."
"If they think I'll except they are all out of their damn minds"
"That's what I thought when they told me that." The asari smiled a cold smile at Shepard and turned around to walk out of Shepard's cell.
"So what happens now?"
"You wait for your trial tomorrow."
"Wait!" Shepard shouted "who are you?"
"I am Raina…Raina Howlit"
Shepard couldn't sleep that night, as far as he was concerned the council had already sentenced him. He was also worried about his crew did they escape ok, had they been captured? Something else bothered him, was Raina Howlit the asari spectre right? Was he just lying to himself? "Rise and Shine Shepard!" a voice called out. Shepard looked up from his bunk and saw captain Bailey of Zakhera ward greeting him. "Get any sleep?" Bailey asked putting shackles on Shepard.
"Non worth mentioning" shepard yawned.
"I've got a message for you."
"What would that be?" Bailey leaned in and gave Shepard a punch to the gut. As Shepard doubled forward Bailey whispered "Some friends of yours want you out kid." Bailey then passed Shepard the keys to his shackles. "You'll know what to do with those when the time comes."
"Thank Bailey you're a real pal." Shepard grunted clenching the keys in his hands.
"Don't mention it now get up were going to the council chamber." Shepard had not been to the council chambers in years the last time he saw it the place was a wreck. They made their way to a C-sec squad car that was waiting for them. The car took off now on its way to the presidium tower. "Who wanted me free?" Shepard thought more than likely Udina wanted him locked up with the key thrown away, Anderson couldn't do anything with a three to one split in the council and Cerberus wanted nothing to do with him. So the only "Friends of his" would be Tali and Garrus coming to get him. But that was only wishful thinking, there would be C-sec all over the presidium, the citadel fleet would shoot them down before they even got any where. "We're here" a voice over the C-sec officers intercom said.
"This meeting of the council is has been brought into session to discuss the charges against former spectre commander Shepard." The asari councilor started as she usually does.
"Lets review you service history" said the salarian councilor "You are from Earth but no record of any family is known."
"I don't have one." Shepard said angrily at the councilor annoyed at the tedious task of going through his past.
"You held off an enemy raid on the colony of Elysium during the Skyillian Blitz single handidly." The turian councilor said "and as a spectre you stopped the geth from destroying the Citadel." Anderson added
"Don't forget the part when I saved all of you." Shepard said glaring at the council looking at them with contempt.
"Shepard you are charged with treason and conspiracy to attack the Citadel space." Councilor Anderson declared with what sounded like regret. Shepard stared at the council thinking "this is the council I sacrificed human lives for, the council I saved. "Was it worth it?" he wondered.
"The charge of treason is brought upon you for your activities with the human terrorist group Cerberus, an enemy of this council."
"I was working with them because they were the only ones investigating the missing colonies in the Terminus Systems and because of me no more will be attacked!"
"and what exactly was taking these colonies?" the salarian councilor questioned
"The collectors where taking colonists and melting them down into genetic material in order to make a reaper."
"A likely story given your obsession with the myth and the collectors are just as much a myth as the reapers!" The turian councilor taking a shot at Shepard. "You're morbid interpetation of what happened to the colonists just goes to show how unstable you are."
"Alliance outposts also sighted you going into geth space and weeks later a large number of their ships where seen entering the Perseus Veil."
"When I was recruiting my team I found a geth working alone, it spoke to me."
"You expect us to believe that you spoke to a geth!" The turian councilor disbelievingly shouted at Shepard.
Shepard ignored the councilor and continued."I brought the geth onto my ship and it explained to me that it belonged to a different faction of geth that doesn't want to destroy organics like Saren's geth. I allowed it to join my crew and named it Legion."
"You let a geth on to your ship and you named it!" The turian councilor exhales now trying to catch his breath "are you out of your mind!"
"That's enough let Shepard finish" Anderson shouted at the turian
"Soon after I let Legion on to my ship it told me about a geth station controlled by what he called heretic geth or Saren's geth that don't share the same goals as Legion's geth. Shepard looked at the council "why am I wasting my time" he thought to himself, but he continued. "They were creating a virus to rewrite Legion's geth and turn them over to their way of thinking and attack organics.
"How do you know this geth wasn't manipulating you." The asari councilor cut in
Shepard ignored her "We fought our way through the station and I had to make a choice, either destroy the station killing all the geth connected to it or rewrite them to join Legion's geth" Shepard stared at the council thinking what he had to say next would certainly seal his already decided fate."I rewrote them."
The council even councilor Anderson who seemed to have his back the entire trial looked at Shepard in shock."Shepard your actions have put this galaxy at risk. You not only join Cerberus an enemy of this council but you strengthen the geth to help you combat some nonexistent threat!" the turian councilor yelled
"You are potentially the most dangerous threat to the council since Saren." The salerian councilor accused
"We actually believe that Cerberus had you recruit the geth to launch an attack the citadel."
"That's it I can't listen to this anymore!" Anderson shouted at his fellow council members "We all owe Shepard our lives; we need to be helping him not putting him on trial!"
"Anderson we can talk about this outburst later" the asari councilor said sternly glaring at him.
"This whole trial is a waste of time is a waste of time you've all ready made a decision get it over with!" Shepard barked at the council
"Is the council ready to make a verdict" The asari councilor asked
Anderson stepped up and hesitantly read Shepard his sentence."We find Shepard…Guilty of treason." Not able to look at Shepard Anderson continued "You will be transported to Arcturus Station and face the maximum sentence of death."
"This meeting of the council is…"
The councilor was interrupted by a loud humming noise that was getting closer to the Citadel tower. Shepard knew the sound well it was the shuttle. Shepard looked over at to C-sec officers who brought him to the council chamber he noticed their shields went down; Shepard heard a shot then just as fast the C-sec officer to his right went down. Remembering the key captain Bailey gave him, he unlocked his shackles and looked over to the panicking officer to his left and rapped his chains around the officer's neck tightly until he passed out. Tali and Garrus came into sight as they came running up from the lower levels of the chamber. There was a crash behind him; it was the shuttle crashing through the towers walls.
"Come on Shepard we don't have a lot of time" Garrus shouted over the commotion
The shuttle had landed and as it landed a voice that was very familiar to Shepard yelled"Get in here Skipper we've gotta get out of here!" It was Ashley Williams, Shepard ran to the Shuttle with Tali and Garrus covering him. "Joker get the ship ready to meet us above Zakhera ward!" Ashley shouted over her comm. unit
"Tali how long will that communications block you set up last."
"Thirty minutes Ashley but all the same we should hurry"
"Garrus can we trust Chelick to keep C-sec away from the factory district and keep them from giving the Normandy to much trouble?"
"I know him besides he owes Shepard his job as executor and will try to keep as many ships away as possible?"
"C-sec on Zakhera ward might already know that somethings up and will be on high alert!" Shepard exclaimed
"Bailey's sending all squads to the Presidium, so all we've got to do is get to the Normandy."Ashley said in a cool confidence
Shepard was impressed Ashley, Garrus and Tali had thought of everything. Tali used her tech skills to jam C-sec communications, Garrus used his connections in C-sec to get executor Chelick to clear a path for the Normandy's escape and Ashley was leading this mission smooth as ice. "All right we're here Garrus fly the shuttle around to keep any attention from us, meet the rest of us on the lower level of the district."
As they walked out of the shuttle Shepard asked "So we're on foot from here." "yeah" Ashley responded "We just need to…" The team stopped with an asari with her biotics flared stood in front of them; it was Raina Howlit the spectre that captured Shepard. "I think it's impressive that a human, a turian, and a Quarian exile managed to make fools out of C-sec and the council." The group fired at the spectre but couldn't even get through her barrier. "Fight if you must but your escape ends now!" The spectre lifted all of them bioticly, she sent them all flying into a wall; she tossed Shepard over the railing to the lower level of the district and jumped down after him.
Ashley picked herself up and ran to the railing were the asari and Shepard fell, she couldn't see them."Damn it!" she grunted
Shepard could see Raina falling after him he didn't have a biotic amp so his biotic ability was extremely weakened. But he had to try something; he managed to focus just enough to pull him self to the next railing sending him flying over it and landing hard on the ground below. "That was close" shepard exhaled
"Now that was impressive" Raina said standing behind Shepard with a gun directly pointed on the back of his head.
"How did you get here that fast?"
"What can I say I'm the best at what I do."
"What happens now?"
"Oh Shepard we are well past the talking part." Raina said grinning at Shepard "Turn around!" She ordered "It's funny I usually like this part of the job." She had a disappointed look on her face almost like she didn't like what would happen next "I really would like to kill you at you prime…I'll get over it"
"You're sick you know that." Shepard snapped staring the asari down
"This galaxy we live in is savage no matter how you dress it up the only way to survive is to be worse."
"Take you for example, Balak's autopsy showed multiple wounds none of which fatal you tortured him and he bled to death or more recently the colony of Franklin were you let hundreds die in order to save an Alliance space port."
Shepard unable to hold in his anger at the asari throwing accusations at him "I'm nothing like you!"
"Wrong Shepard you are exactly like me!" Raina shouted back "Which is why I don't want to kill you but like I said I'll get over it."
Shepard looked past Raina for just a moment and saw Ashley and Tali running out of the service elevator. Raina noticing this turned around, Shepard taking advantage of the distraction knocked the gun out of her hand and slammed her into a crate with the strongest biotic throw he could manage with out an amp. Shepard quickly grabbed her gun firing three shots into the spectre, each ripping into her armor.
Shepard walked over to the asari with the intent on killing her when he heard Ashley." Shepard we need to go now!" Shepard looked at the asari, she was holding her side with blood spilling between her fingers. "Go ahead do it." She coughed spitting up blood "Finish me off what are you waiting for."
"The shuttle is here we need to leave!" Ashley said pulling Shepard arm. Shepard threw the gun away and ran to the shuttle with Ashley. Raina could not move, it was hard to breath and her vision was fading in and out. Two bullets went through her another one felt like it was lodged in a rib, she was losing blood fast. Raina looked up the shuttle was flying away, she watched until it was no longer in her sight.
End
AN/ The end of chapter 2 hoped you all like it. Please review, tell me what I'm doing wrong/right. Let me know all comments are welcome.
