Mass Effect: The Fugue

A/N: I would like to thank you so much for reading, favoriting, following and especially reviewing this story. I am glad that you all like it or at least find something about this story interesting and worth reading. It means a lot to me. I am sorry if the story has somewhat of a slow build up during these first few chapters. It should pick up as Shepard and the crew hit more action and Lance becomes more acclimatized to his surroundings. I promise.


It wasn't so much the heat that got to him but also how dry the air was here. Lance licked his lips, testing a deep crack with his tongue. It didn't seem to be healing as quickly as he'd have liked it to. He carefully pulled off a thick layer of dead skin with his fingers reopening the wound. At least it didn't hurt when he talked anymore. He could take the metallic flavor of blood in his mouth. A hand slapped him on the shoulder, not hard enough to hurt, but with enough force to nearly knock him over. He looked over to see Solomon with his thick unshaven beard, which was a perfect description of his body; thick, dark and imposing. He was the only Samoan in the group and stood out from everyone else, but everyone respected him. No only because he could bench press a truck but because he wa the first guy you'd want to take with you in a fight, everyone called him "Sledge."

"Don't pick at that," Sledge told him. "It's gonna make it worse."

"It's the damn weather," said Lance licking his lips again.

"You check out the spook?" asked Mouse coming over to them. Mouse was about as tall and lanky as you could get. Even though he nearly towered over everyone, including Solomon, he had the ferocity of a dormouse.

They looked over to see an Indian man in deep conversation with their leader, nicknamed "Boss." They called everyone new to the war zone spooks, because generally they looked scared shitless as soon as they heard the whiz or pop of a gunshot.

"He's from DARPA," replied Lance. "Neuroscience I think."

"The heck is a brain doctor doing in this place?" asked Mouse.

"Don't know, don't care," replied Lance. "Boss says we gotta transport the principle to Tic-Tock. We transport him to Tic-Tock."

"Tic-Tock" was the name everyone had given the fire base outside of Tikrit. It was no wonder Boss was bringing more guys than usual. Tikrit was a damn fortress, a literal fort made from stone, concrete and reinforced steel rebar. It's location allowed a strategic advantage of controlling the Tigris river, making it an ideal location for insurgents.

"Hope he brought some diapers," muttered Mouse.

"Spook going to Tic-Tock? He's gonna need a colostomy bag," corrected Sledge.

"Saddle up," called out Boss. "Grab your beans and bullets!"

It was the call to grab your gear and extra ammo. After grabbing their neccisary supplies, nine private contractors along with the principle loaded up into three armored trucks waiting outside. Lance jumped in the driver seat next to "Abi," an interpreter.

"Utah 4 move out," ordered Boss over the radio.

"Utah 4 moving out," replied the first truck. It slowly pulled up to the gate and made its way through the obstacle course of barricades with Utah 5 and then Utah 7, Lance's truck following close behind. It was a slow drive along the dusty road. Lance looked into his side view mirror, watching the safety of the base disappear.

Lance opened his eyes trying to remember where he was or just how long he'd been there. Going through everything in his head. The ungodly dry heat had turned into a cool seventy degrees. The shaggy dirt covered sandbag lined concrete walls had become pristine metal. He was back on the Presidium, in the human Ambassador's office.

For an office it was quite spacious albeit a bit exposed for his tastes. The back of the room opened up to a large balcony that overlooked the Presidium. Even with the privacy trees in place, anyone above could see right into the office. Commander Shepard had left him something called a "credit chit" or something. It was about the same thickness of a credit card, but half the size. It was transparent orange and only seemed to have one discernible symbol on it, an arrow forming a square around three coins, etched into its center. It resembled a decorative keychain more than something of monetary value. Although he was fed on the Normandy, it seemed like ages ago. Lance figured he'd get something to eat, but first he'd have to figure out how to use this thing.

Outside in the waiting area sat a receptionist at the front desk. Though she resembled something akin to a human, she was anything but. Her skin was an aqua blue, like a the kind of blue you'd see in a shallow swimming pool. Instead of hair, it had several tentacle like growths sprouting from the top and back of her head which swept back into a point. Lance slowly walked up to her desk until he was nearly in front of it, but she continued to type away furiously at the computer like device. He cleared his throat to get her attention.

"Um…" said Lance trying to figure out how to talk to this alien. She seemed like she would be of assistance but he just didn't know how to communicate with her. He held up the Commander's credit chit. "How do I use?"

"You can use the chit at any terminal to make purchases. Just place it on the terminal and the proper amount will be deducted from it," she said in perfect English.

"You speak English?" He asked relieved but also a little foolish for trying to pantomime his question.

"I am still learning it, the subtleties of the language are quite hard to master," said the alien smiling at him. "I am surprised you humans can communicate with it. It really is one of the hardest languages in the galaxy. And trust me, I speak Vol."

"Is there a way to access the amount of money that is on here?" asked Lance.

"There is a bank on the other side, I am sure they can help you there. It is next to the open market," she replied courteously to him. "Is there anything else that I can help you with?"

"No that's all," replied Lance. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, have a pleasant day," she said continuing with her work. "You can always asked Avina if you have any more general questions."

Lance followed her hand gesture to the holographic alien which looked remarkably similar to the alien standing in front of him. He supposed it was the alien's way of telling him to leave her the hell alone. Lance didn't seem to care much for this "Avina" hologram as its eyes followed him everywhere he went. Even though it smiled and stood patiently waiting for him to approach, he avoided her gaze until he was a good distance away. He glanced over his shoulder and nearly jumped out of his skin when the nearly walked right into the hologram again.

"Hello Mr. 'Visitor 1847-2.' I am Avina your personal tour guide to the Citadel. Records indicated Mr. 'Visitor 1847-2,' that this is your first visit to the Citadel. Would you like a tour of the area?" asked the hologram staring unblinkingly at him.

"No thank you," he quickly replied getting away as fast as he could.

"Please enjoy the rest of your day Mr. 'Visitor 1847-2,'" she replied with a smile. "If you have and more questions-."

Lance was already gone, not wanting to hear the rest of her prerecorded speech.

It was a short walk over the bridge that crossed over the large water reservoir which looked more like a lake than anything. Somehow it didn't surprise him to see trash floating in the water. Bottles and cigarettes created a disgusting brownish film along the water's edge. It was hard not to imagine something else more sinister things within the depths. Large monolithic monuments were erected in the water creating a focal point for people to held distract from the filth floating around them.

Lance stood at the front door of The First Bank of the Citadel. A holographic display of a green circle surrounded by a green rectangle flowed in the middle of the door. He remembered seeing this symbol on the doors before but most of them seemed to open themselves before he got too close. Lance cautiously put his hand up to it and watching it pass through before disappearing all together. The doors opened with a small chime revealing a rather bleak interior with only a single alien being the most interesting thing in the room. It stood behind a desk at the far side of the room, it was short and round alien completely encased in a space suit with a mask that revealed almost nothing about its face. It's twin growling eyes blinked up at him. If it hadn't looked like a walrus standing on two legs Lance would have though it looked rather sinister. Lance wasn't even sure if it was alive and not some animatronic robot, though he highly doubted it as there were several holographic blue alien guides scattered around the Presidium, desperately waiting for someone to approach them.

"Welcome Mr. Hunter," said the alien between breaths as if it had asthma.

"You speak English?" Lance blurted out.

"I don't speak English. But my suit's translator is able to let you hear everything I say," breathed the alien. "In English."

Lance cautiously walking towards him. Before he could stop himself and regret having been so rude, it just sort of tumbled out of his mouth. "What are you?"

"I am a volus," said the alien proudly. "One of the founding races of the Citadel."

Regretting his previous question, Lance decided to choose something more relevant. "How do you know my name?"

"You have been monitored ever since you set foot on this station. You see my name is Barla Von and I am an agent of the Shadowbroker. And he has taken an interest in you."

Lance felt very uncomfortable and slowly began to back away from the alien. He looked around and noticed several cameras pointed in his direction.

"Although my employer has taken an interest in you. You are worth very little to him."

"If it's money you want-."

"Hardly. My employer sees no value in money. It is only a means to obtain true currency. Information. My employer has a proposition for you, he has a… problem he wishes for you to address."

"Why should I help you?"

"The Shadowbroker is willing to offer you information in exchange. Information that will help your Commander Shepard in her case against Saren."

"How did you know that?"

"As I said before. The Shadowbroker is very well informed. Take care of the problem and the data is yours."

Lance stared at the little alien who stood no more than chest high. He thought for a moment, not only to allow this alien to catch its breath but also to weigh his own options.

"I'll do it," said Lance looking up at the cameras, positive that someone was watching from behind them.

"Excellent," said the alien taking a deep breath. "Meet with a bounty hunter named Wrex at this location. Here are the details."

"What does he look like?" asked Lance taking a piece of paper from the volus. He was surprised that paper even existed in this world.

"You will know when you see him. Good day," said the alien waddling back to his desk.

Taking his sign to leave Lance turned around and looked over the paper. It was directions to a place which Lance had no idea where it was. And he wasn't sure asking the receptionist back at the embassy was such a good idea either. After memorizing the directions he shoved it in his pocket and headed towards the nearest elevator. This couldn't all have been by happenstance could it?

If the Presidium was the clean exquisitely decorated frosting on the cake, then the Lower Wards were the gooey center. There were no fake sky overhead nor freshly painted exteriors or bright lights. This was the true nature of the station. After cutting through a back alley way he found himself in a small corridor where a mountain of an alien stood leaning against the wall. As he got closer he noticed majority of its height came from the large hump on its back. It wore crimson armor making an already intimidating alien appear downright nightmarish.

He could barely get a good look at the alien in the dim light. Noticing three distinct deep scars running down its face, which seemed even deeper in the shadows. It grunted at him in a language he couldn't hope to replicate with his mouth. It sounded guttural almost violent with every note.

"Wrex?" asked Lance almost positive this was the alien.

It took a step forward and shoved a large hand into his gut, taking the wind out of him. When it's hand retracted it left behind a pistol almost as large as his entire forearm. In the alien's other hand was a small earwig device. Hesitating at first that the divide might be a trap he carefully inspected it. Wrex pointed to the side of his head with one of its three fingers.

Figuring that if this alien wanted him dead all it would have to do is sit on him, he carefully shoved it into his right ear. Almost immediately it booted up.

"You make like you've never seen a krogan before," growled the alien motioning down the corridor.

"No I haven't," said Lance honestly.

"Just one word of advice kid," said Wrex taking a step forward. "Don't get in my way."

"Right," said Lance.

"You know how to use that?"

"I'll figure it out. Just where's the safety?"

Wrex let out a laugh which made Lance's insides rumble. Wrex held up a finger and flexed it like pulling a trigger. "This is your safety. Let's go."

Taking his word for it he followed Wrex down the corridor to a sign that flashed from a strange alien script to the words "Chora's Den" along with an aliens in neon stylized lights, reclining in the nude. Two bouncers, one human the other turian, stood outside the door looking positively bored. The presence of Lance and Wrex quickly drew their attention. As if they had been waiting for them to show up, the bouncers opened fire.

Without hesitating Wrex charge forward like a rhino on a stampede and crushed a human bouncer into the wall. From 20 meters back Lance could hear the sickening crunch of bone that was once resembled the shape of a human. Wrex who had a shotgun out in a flash quickly dispatched the other bouncer, the turian. Hearing the commotion outside armed humans and aliens came pouring out the door. The area had quickly turned into an ugly shoot out. Lance dove towards the nearest cover he could find as rounds from an assault rifle rang out. For Wrex's large size he move remarkably quick, running from target to target, gunning them down with his shotgun or simply ramming them over. A few times Lance though he saw Wrex glow blue and throw an invisible ball, catching anyone unfortunate

Lance noticing a turian standing out in the open squeezed off a round only to find bullet hitting some kind of protective shielding around it. The turian drew its focus away from Wrex and started sending rounds his way. Lance stuck his gun up and began to take pot shots at the turian until his gun seized up. A port on the side slid open and blast of hot air shot out the side. On the inside of the gun Lance could see a set of red heat coils which glowed angrily at him. The turian taking the chance quickly closed the distance and was nearly on top of him. Wrex, seeing a target out in the open quickly pinned the turian against the wall and unloaded his shotgun until the turian didn't have a head anymore.

"Damn turians," said Wrex spitting on the ground. Lance noticed Wrex was injured and bleeding in several places, his already worn armor looked like it had received several new bullet holes and blood nearly covered his face. Lance was positive that the blood wasn't entirely his own.

"This is suicide," yelled Lance up at Wrex.

"This fun," corrected Wrex who had an obvious smile on his face despite the numerous wounds he had received.

A bloodlust roar echoed from within the club as another krogan came charging out of it like a freight train. It knocked over its own comrades as it made a beeline for Wrex. Who responded with an equally murderous roar and charged forward. The force of the two large aliens colliding sounded like a bomb going off. It was the meeting of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object. The two krogan began to wrestle each other, forgetting about the others taking shots at them.

"Lance what the hell is going on?" asked Sarah sliding into cover next to him.

"Long story," said Lance taking out a gunner trying to get a shot on Wrex.

Ashley and Kaidan systematically moved up from cover to cover sending bullets down range at their attackers. Kaidan drew a force of biotic energy into a ball in his hand and threw it at a pair of attackers. They both dodged the attack but quickly began to get sucked up into the air as the energy began to act like a vortex. One grenade throw later and the two attackers were no more. Noticing a turian slowly creeping up on cover Lance began to take aim, thankful the turian hadn't noticed them.

Sarah quickly yanked the gun down. "He's with us."

The turian took shots at the krogan battling Wrex but it simply shrugged off the shots. This only seemed to get Wrex even angrier as he grabbed the krogan by the collar and gave it a head butt before kicking it away. The krogan wobbled around on its legs before its eyes rolled to the back of its head, falling over dead. Ashley dispatched the last attacker and the area fell still again.

"Lance what the hell are you doing here?" demanded Ashley.

"They started it," said Lance pointing to the dead bodies all around them.

"And we sure as hell finished it," said Wrex with a look of satisfaction on his face.

"Come on we've no time for this," interrupted Garrus quickly making for the club. "We can talk about who should be grateful later. Right now we need to get to Fist."

Inside the club the ragtag team began to spread out with weapons drawn. Wrex threw aside an overturned table to find several strippers had used it as cover. Lance was surprised to him let them all go with their lives. From the short time he spent with him, Lance had pegged him as a take-no-prisoners type.

The once most of the club had been combed over they proceeded to the back room. Inside a pair of workers had barricaded themselves in with weapons drawn but hesitated to shoot back. Before Wrex could get a shot off, Sarah stepped in front blocking his shot.

"You should get out of here," she told them.

"Yeah we're gone," they said quickly climbing over the boxes and crates and sprinting for the exit.

"Would have been easier to let me kill them," said Wrex sounding a little disappointed.

They in turn climbed over the crates, checking nooks and crannies to make sure no one was lying in wait for them. The only room left was the manager's office where their target waited for them.

As soon as the doors opened a hail of gunfire from twin machine gun turrets answered them. A lone man cowered in the corner unloading his shotgun in their direction. Garrus queued up his omnitool and fired off a small projectile at the turrets causing a small electrical discharge, interrupting the firing sequence. Multiple rounds were loaded into the barrel before the turrets could fire them off, clogging the barrel. When it did try to fire off their rounds, they exploded violently, shaking the entire room. Fist quickly threw aside his gun and slowly came out of cover.

"Don't shoot, I give up," he cried holding up his hands.

Wrex charged in and grabbed the man by the throat.

"Wrex we need him alive," said Garrus.

"I'm getting paid to kill him," growled Wrex. "And I don't leave jobs half done."

"Let him go Wrex," said Sarah. "You can have him after we're done."

"Wrex," said Lance. "He's got intel I need, that's part of my deal with the broker."

"Five minutes," said Wrex dropping him into a heap on the floor. "And then he's mine."

Fist coughed and gulped down as much air as he could. Sarah squatted down to talk to him. "Tell us where the quarian is."

He looked up at the krogan towering over him. "Speak," growled Wrex shoving his shotgun into his face.

"She's not here. She wanted to meet with the Shadowbroker himself, so I set a trap for her. She's meeting Saren's men in an alley behind the markets here on the ward. It's happening right now. It's the truth I swear. Just don't kill me."

Wrex pulled the trigger, turning him into a stain on the floor.

"Drop the gun!" "Drop it!" yelled Ashley and Kaidan with weapons trained on the krogan.

"My job's done," said Wrex pushing past them and towards the exit.

"You're with CSec, you're just going to let him go?" asked Ashley confronting Garrus.

"If you want to arrest him, be my guest," Garrus told her.

"What's done is done," said Sarah shaking her head. "We've got other problems to deal with. We've got to find that quarian."

"I think I know the location," said Garrus running towards the exit with the others in tow.

"How will we know which alley?" asked Lance following the others.

"You're still pretty new to the Citadel aren't you? We just have to look for the one with a quarian in it," said Garrus. Lance still had no idea what he was talking about but just followed along hoping Garrus knew what to look for.

After passing through several alley they finally came upon the correct one.

"There," said Garrus in a hushed tone. "That's got to be her."

Lance got his first look at a quarian. She like many other aliens here stood on two legs except her feet ended in two pointed toes and legs bent in the wrong angel, like the hind legs of a dog. Even though it appeared to be female, her hips seemed much wider than a humans and her hands only had three fingers on them. Lance began to wonder if they were related to turians so how as they seemed to share similar traits, although he couldn't make out her face, as she was wearing some kind of helmet under a hood.

The quarian was talking with a turian who appeared much unfriendlier than Garrus, which could be due to the white and black tattoo like skull on his face. They watch as the turian felt her up, but the she retaliated back and slapped his hand away. "The deal's off."

The turian being clearly upset raised his hand ready to strike her when he noticed Garrus and the others. Two slender aliens emerged from the shadows weapons drawn. Using the confusion the quarian dropped a grenade at he their feet before diving off into cover. The explosion sent the two aliens flying backwards, becoming easy targets. They scambled as quickly as they could, barely getting a few shots off before the hail of gun fire ended their futile struggle.

Seeing his comrades on the floor the turian pointed a pistol at the quarian knowing he'd die anyway if the quarian regardless. Kaidan acted as quick as he could, charging his biotics but his amp could conjure up energy so quickly.

Garrus without reacting tackled the turian to the ground. The two flailed about trying to get the upper hand on each other. Garrus drew the knife from his boot and slid it across the mercenaries' throat. He let out a gurgle before falling still, life had left his eyes. Garrus rolled off of the corpse and stared up at the ceiling for a moment.

"Are you alright?" asked the quarian crawling over to him.

"I should be asking you that," replied Garrus as he got to his feet. He looked down as his bloody hands and wiped them on his uniform and helping the quarian to her feet.

"Nothing life threatening, just a few bumps but I'll be okay," she said accepting the help. "Thank you for saving me."

"Your welcome Ms…" began Garrus.

"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," she piped up.

"Lance you okay?" asked Ashley helping him up.

"Yeah," replied Lance shaking feeling into his arm. Ashley looked over at his shoulder which was bleeding profusely.

"Commander, Lance is hit," she called out.

"Better have that wound checked out," replied Sarah looking over his right arm. "When did you get hit?"

"I don't remember," answered Lance. "Everything happened so quickly."

"Here, let me see," said Tali. She extracted a tube and carefully opened the top to reveal a yellow gel like liquid. It stung at first but quickly began to cool, numbing his entire arm. As soon as the gel hit his wound it began to mix with his blood and began to froth. "Just leave that on until it fully sets."

"There's a clinic nearby," said Garrus.

"Dr. Michel's?" asked Sarah.

Garrus nodded they followed him still a little more than edgy considering they've been through more than a few firefights on the first day on the Citadel. Which Garrus was more than happy to remind them of.

"Your first day on the Citadel Commander," said Garrus. "You saved a doctor from a hostage situation, waged an all out war on the Lower Wards and saved a quarian from an execution sentence."

"What's your point?" asked Kaidan bringing up the rear.

"Nothing, just fascinated. You must have set some kind of a record," grinned Garrus. "Imagine if you spent a week here or even a month."

"Think of the collateral damage," said Lance.

"Good point," replied Garrus.

"Don't forget yesterday," Kaidan brought up.

"Oh yeah there's that whole attack on Eden Prime," nodded Garrus.

"Wait you were there," said Tali stopping in her tracks.

"The Commander must've taken down over a hundred geth," said Kaidan.

"And diffused a bomb," added Ashley.

"Four bombs," corrected Kaidan.

"Keelah," said Tali finding a loss for words before quickly catching up to them.

They arrived at a small clinic just outside the market. Big enough to provide proper medical treatment but also small enough to not attract too much attention. As soon as the doors slid open the familiar sterile smell wafted out to greet them. Although it was small and mostly barren, the large window in the back offered a panoramic view of a small sitting garden just behind it.

"Hello Dr. Michel," called out Garrus. A redheaded woman with matching green eyes poked her head cautiously around the corner.

"I am so glad you are okay," said Dr. Michel, with a hint of a French accent, when she saw Tali and the others walk in.

"Everything alright here doc?" asked Ashley understandably cautious.

"Yes it has been very quiet after you took care of those thugs," she said. "The CSec came by to take a report and remove the bodies."

"Oh," said Garrus taking up post by the door.

"Doctor, one of my squad was injured, do you think you could check up on him?" asked Sarah motioning to Lance.

"But of course," said Dr. Michel leading him to one of the examination beds. "What seems to be the problem?"

"Gunshot wound to my right arm," said Lance very bluntly. He wasn't sure how she'd react but she didn't seem all that surprised.

"Well the medi-gel has repaired the damaged tissue, there may be some slight scarring," she said inspecting his arm. "Let's run a diagnostic to check for any infections and broken bones."

"British Columbia?" asked Lance as she began to fiddle with some machinery nearby.

"Pardon?"

"Your accent," said Lance.

"Oh no," she said. "I have never been to Earth. Please lay still."

"I see," said Lance as he lay down on the table, staring up at the bright white lights.

"I am from Arcturus Station," said Dr. Michel pulling a large arc shaped device over the entirety of the bed. "There are many languages spoken there still. Though English is the common language of course, though not my first language."

"You speak it beautifully," said Lance.

"Merci," she said with a smile.

The machine powered on casting a blue wall of light over him. With a few more button presses the machine passed over his entire body several times before powering down. Lance hoisted himself up on his elbows to see a holographic image of his entire body appear. With a few motions of her hand she zoomed into the problem area on his arm.

"There appears to be a minor infection," she replied. "Nothing to worry about. Oh that is odd."

"What's odd?" asked Sarah looking at the hologram. Lance feeling his little holographic self exposed tried to hide his embarrassment.

"There are no Omnitool or translator chips," said Dr. Michel to the Commander.

"Is that a problem?" asked Lance.

"It is no problem," said Dr. Michel smiling at him. "It is just odd that for a soldier, these would have been installed right away."

"He's not exactly a soldier doctor," correct Sarah. "Though I'm curious. How are you able to understand aliens?"

"With this," said Lance pulling out the small earwig to show to them.

"I haven't seen one of these in ages," said Dr. Michel inspecting the translator. "I wasn't sure they still made these."

"They don't," said Sarah taking the earwig from Lance.

"Wrex gave it to me," replied Lance.

"It's probably nothing," said Sarah pocketing the translator.

"How am I supposed to hear what anyone is saying?" asked Lance, not wanting to feel left out again.

"Do you have a translator chip doctor?" asked Sarah.

"Of course," she said removing a small needle like gun from a cabinet.

"You're not going to stick that in my brain are you?" asked Lance recoiling slightly away.

"Don't be silly," she said with a smile. "It is just a simple injection."

She gently pushed his head to turn to his left. With her fingers she gently felt around his ear to find the gap between the mandible and cranium. Once she found what she was looking for, a slight pinprick informed him the job was done. She placed the needle gun on the counter and dabbed a bit of the same yellow gel on the puncture wound.

"There we are," replied Dr. Michel.

"Does it work?" asked Lance running his finger over the rice sized lump behind his ear.

"Bosh'tet," muttered Tali.

"I don't think it's working," replied Lance.

"Citadel Security! Drop your weapons," cried out a turian storming the clinic with a rifle drawn. Several more officers, both human and alien entered the clinic. The officers rounded them all up and lined them all up against the wall.

"Ridgefield? Lamont?" asked Garrus.

"Garrus," said a human officer approaching him. Lance could make out the name Ridgefield on his name tape. But the others continued to keep their weapons trained on their targets. "The Executor wants to see you. All of you."

"What for?" asked Garrus watching as officers retrieved weapons from everyone.

"I don't know, maybe the trail of bodies you left behind," said the turian officer.

"They started that fight, it was self defense," defended Garrus.

"Sorry Garrus, it's out of my hands," said Lamont showing his palms. "We're here to take you in. Executor Pallin wants a word with you."

They were loaded into several police cars and quickly sped along their way. The three police cars sped along the Presidium flying quicker than any of the other cars. It was a short ride until they reached a familiar location outside the embassies. Once they touched down several more CSec officers were waiting for them.

"Garrus, be careful in there," said Lamont. Ridgefield, sitting next to him, leaned over and gave the turian a quick salute before taking off again.

Even though through the metal walls, Lance and the others could hear the shouting perfectly clear from the hallway. It wasn't going well.

"But it was an act of self defense," defended Garrus.

"Shooting up half the Ward is not self defense," said the Executor. "It is an act of war."

"They would have killed her and you know damn well we did the right thing."

"As an officer of the law, I expect you to be above reproach-."

"That quarian has information that can indict Saren-."

A loud thump informed them that the Executor had slammed his fist on his desk.

"Spirits, Garrus. Don't you ever listen to orders? I explicitly told you you were off the case."

"Spirits be damned. If we waited and did everything by the book, Saren would be halfway across the galaxy, and we'd still have no evidence against him."

There was a long pause of silence.

"I'm putting you on suspension."

"Fine," said Garrus. A thunk of metal sounded from within the room.

"I'm not asking for your resignation. I am asking you to follow orders. Despite your recklessness and clear abandon of authority, you are a fine officer just like your father. Spirits, Garrus, what would he think if he saw you now?"

"I don't give a damn what my father thinks. If sitting in an office doing paperwork all day means criminals walk free, then I say screw the damn desk."

The doors opened and Garrus stormed out past everyone with saying a word to them. Even though Lance was still new to the whole alien thing, it was obvious that Garrus was extremely agitated. He nearly walked straight into Ambassador Udina who had to quickly jump to the side. He completely ignored Sarah and the others and headed straight into the Executor's office. Captain Anderson lagging behind the Ambassador motioned for them to enter the office.

"All out gun fight on the Wards, this is the center galactic civilization Shepard, not the Wild West," said Udina not even bothering to face her. "As if your Spectre candidacy wasn't already in jeopardy."

"We didn't start that fight," defended Sarah.

"But you ended it," said the Executor clearly showing a distaste for humans. "In the last three hours, I've had my men trying to clean up that mess your kind call an 'investigation.'"

"We saved that quarian from Saren and his men," said Sarah practically shouting. "She has data that proves Saren's guilt."

"Where is this data?" asked Udina skeptically.

"She's currently being held in protective custody," said the Executor. "The data in question is being analyzed for validity. Even if that data is authentic there is still the matter in which it was obtained." His beady eyes were fixed on Sarah like a raptor eyeing his next meal.

The air was thick with the tension between them, even breathing was difficult. Lance took a step forward opening his mouth to speak, but Sarah beat him to it. She began to exclaim that she was responsible however...

"I take full responsibility," chimed in Anderson stepping forward. "I was the one who told them to track down any leads regarding Saren."

"This is a serious crime Anderson," said Udina shrewdly. "You would face a court martial."

"Any actions of a subordinate is reflected upon its commanding officer," said Anderson. "I am responsible."

"Captain," pleaded Sarah.

"I will request an emergency hearing with the Council," said the Executor queuing up his computer. "I trust that you won't cause any more damage until then? My men will escort you to the Tower."

As they made for the door the Executor called out to Sarah.

"You are a very lucky woman Commander. But if you put another toe out of line I will personally see to it that you never set foot on the Citadel again and Captain Anderson won't be there to save you."

Sarah was lost in her own thoughts during the elevator ride up the Citadel Tower. It was probably a full ten seconds before she registered that the doors were already open. Lance had expected the Tower to be dead and bland, the same dull white that painted the rest of the Presidium, but this couldn't be further from that. Rows of cherry blossom trees in full bloom filled the room, along with rocks patches of grass and soft water features. It was as if everything had been constructed around this zen garden. Lance wondered if it was cherry blossom season back on Earth, but he doubted it, he wasn't even sure these tree knew what season it was, being so far away from home.

Their escort of CSec officers had taken up posts surrounding them causing many delegates to look on with curiosity. Udina had already gone ahead and was in speaking to the Council on Shepard's behalf. It wasn't long before Tali had joined the others. Although they were reunited, none of them felt like talking. They had all gotten the Captain in very serious trouble.

"Commander, the Council would like to speak with you," said one of the CSec officers. "You too miss."

Tali and Shepard made their way up the stairs to the Audience Chamber. Tali was quite nervous and kept fidgeting with her suit to make herself seem more presentable. She kept muttering to herself which made Udina continually glance over at her.

The Asari councilor addressed them. "Commander we understand that you have obtained information regarding Saren that may indict his involvement in the attack on Eden Prime?"

"Yes Councilor," said Shepard as respectfully as she could at that moment. "Ms. Nar Rayya here is to present that information."

"Hello Councilors, I am Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. It is an honor to be allowed up here-."

"Yes yes, if you would present the information if you please," said the salarian councilor impatiently.

"Right sorry," said Tali. If she was embarrassed no one could exactly tell beneath the helmet. She queued up her omnitool and began to play the audio recording.

"... Eden Prime was a major victory. It has brought us one step closer to finding the conduit," said Saren.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers," answered a female voice.

The Councilors mulled over the information. It was some time before any of them spoke. "This information has been authenticated for validity?" asked the salarian councilor.

"Executor Pallin has forwarded me the analysis, it is valid," said the turian councilor in disbelief. "There is no denying it. Saren was involved in the Eden Prime attack."

"How did you come about this data?" asked the salarian councilor.

"I was on my pilgrimage. It is a sort of right of passage that…" sensing the councilors were getting a little impatient she went straight to the point. "There were rumors that geth had been sighted outside the Perseus Veil. We managed to track a small group to an uncharted planet. There we subdued one and removed its memory core before it could wipe the data we managed to extract this data."

"There were others that came across this data as well?" asked Sarah curiously.

"I am... the only one left," said Tali quietly hanging her head low.

"Thank you Ms. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya," said the asari councilor. "This evidence clearly proves that Saren is working with the geth and attacked Eden Prime to obtain the information on the prothean beacon."

"His Spectre status will be revoked immediately," said the turian councilor.

"Then he should be brought in and put on trial for his crimes," demanded Udina.

"Scans indicate that Saren is somewhere in the Attican Traverse near the Terminus Systems. Well beyond Citadel Jurisdiction," said the salarian.

"Then send your fleet in! He must pay for his crimes against humanity!" yelled Udina.

"We will not risk open war with the Terminus Systems nor spend the resources sending a fleet on the hunt one rogue Spectre and for the sake of a few human colonies," said the turian. "His resources and authorization as a Spectre will be revoked, what more do you want?"

"If you won't send your fleet in, then send me," said Sarah stepping forward. "One ship won't start a war. And we can hunt down and bring him in for justice."

"It is a sound plan," said the asari much to the disapproval of the turian councilor.

"The least we can do is provide her with the necessary resources so she can track down the rogue agent," replied the salarian councilor.

"The way she obtained the information is completely reckless," said the turian. "Shooting up half of a ward to get it. No, she is too reckless."

"That makes her more than qualified," said the asari.

Being overridden by the others, the turian councilor caved in.

"Commander Sarah Shepard please step forward," the asari councilor instructed her. "Place your right hand on the terminal."

She did as she instructed as the councilors each confirmed their biometric authorization on their terminals.

"Commander it is by the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and authority of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel," recited the asari councilor.

"It is your duty to carry out the will of the Council, and the Council alone. You would become it's right hand, instruments of our will. A sword to execute our orders and a shield to defend them," stated the salarian councilor.

"Spectres are the embodiment of courage, honor and justice. All actions of a Spectre are above reproach and authorized without question," said the turian councilor. "Your orders are absolute, the means in which you accomplish them are your own."

"Do you accept the responsibilities that have been presented to you Commander Sarah Shepard?" asked the asari councilor.

"I do."

The terminal under Sarah's hand sprung to life and recorded all of her biometric data.

"Then from this day forward you are a Spectre of the Council," replied the asari councilor. "As your first task of a Spectre, you are to track down the rogue agent Saren and bring him into face justice."

"Where should I begin?" asked Sarah.

"That other voice," said the asari. "I recognize it as Matriarch Benezia. A very powerful asari on the last stage of her life. She has many resources and connections, she will make a great and terrible ally for Saren. I would suggest tracking down her daughter, to see if she has any information on her whereabouts."

"Maybe she knows something about these 'reapers,'" stated Sarah.

"They are nothing more than a myth," said the salarian waving it off. "Nothing more than a ruse to get cooperation from the geth."

"What about this 'conduit?'" asked the turian. "There has to be more to this."

"Find out what you can about the 'conduit,'" agreed the asari. "But your primary mission is to track down Saren."

"If that is all," said the turian ready to dismiss her.

"Councilors, about Captain Anderson," said Sarah.

"Find Saren and then we will consider dropping the charges," replied the salarian.

"You have your mission," said turian. "See that it gets done."

With that Sarah and the others were dismissed. It was a quiet ride back to the embassies. Udina hadn't spoken a word which seemed unusual considering that humanity got its first Spectre and the first step towards being officially recognized by the rest of the council worlds.

"I heard the news, congratulations Commander," Anderson greeting them as they stepped out of the cars.

"You have a lot of work to do Shepard," said Udina finally speaking up. "If you are going after Saren in the Traverse, you'll need a ship."

"She can use the Normandy," said Anderson sounding reluctant at first but quickly shook it off. "She's the fastest ship in the galaxy."

"Are you sure about this Captain?" asked Sarah hesitating.

"A ship like that is no good being locked up here," said Anderson firmly, not taking no for an answer. "And you're going to need every advantage you can get if you're going to take down Saren. You know the crew, they'll listen to you. You may be a Spectre but I'm still your CO and that's an order."

"Yessir, thank you sir," replied Sarah. "I'll take good care of her Captain."

"She's your ship now Commander," responded Anderson.

"Shepard you may be a Spectre but you've been a human even longer, I trust you will keep humanity's best interests in mind," remarked Udina. "Come along Anderson."

It was an awkward walk back to the terminal. No one really seemed to know how to talk to Sarah anymore as she had become the new CO of the Normandy and the first human Spectre on top of that.

"Should I stay here Commander?" asked Lance breaking the uneasy silence inside the elevator.

"If Saren found out about this 'conduit' from the prothean beacon, then whatever he found out about it could be inside your head," replied Sarah. "Besides, where are you gonna stay?"

"Maybe Capt. Anderson..."

"The Captain has a lot to deal with right now."

"And you don't?"

"Call it woman's intuition but that vision of yours is probably the key."

"Um... Captain Shepard?" asked Tali in a voice barely louder than a whisper.

"It's Commander, Tali," corrected Sarah.

"But you are the new captain of the ship," she said. "In my culture, because we all live on the flotilla, once you take command of the ship, you become the Captain. Regardless of your rank. Sorry, I'm droning on again. Anyway do you mind if I tag along? The geth drive my people from our homeworld of Rannoch and haven't been seen outside of the Veil, so I would like to know why."

"Sure we could use an extra hand," replied Sarah.

"I'll try not to get in the way. Because of the flotilla I have some experience in engineering and could help around the ship-."

"It's fine Tali, it won't be a problem."

"And you don't have to worry about feeding me. Not like I could eat it anyway because if I ingest food that isn't dextro based because I could get an allergic reaction-."

"Tali," said Sarah putting a hand on her shoulder. "It's fine."

"Thanks," said Tali breathing a sigh of relief. "Sorry, it's kind of a defense mechanism that I have when I'm nervous. I talk a lot so people can understand the emotions that I am feeling because of the mask… Right. Maybe later."

Lance was curious about everything that she had just said but thought better of it or else Ashley might strangle him for getting Tali worked up again.

"Commander," called out a familiar voice. "I heard the news congratulations."

"Thank you," replied Sarah shaking Garrus' hand.

"I also heard you're going after Saren," said in a hushed tone. "I want to come with."

"What about CSec?"

"You heard what happened. If I stay with them all I'd be doing is sitting on my hands, please let me see this one through," pleaded Garrus. "I am tired of getting blocked left and right by bureaucracy and rules. I want to get things done my way for a change."

"If you're coming along we do things the right way," replied Sarah sternly.

"I wasn't… yes Commander," said Garrus.

The group seemed to be getting larger by the second, as soon as they hit the Alliance docks an all too familiar krogan was waiting for them.

"Here's your cut kid," said Wrex tossing Lance a credit chit.

"But my deal was for the information," said Lance trying to hand it back but was completely ignored.

"Word has it you're going after big game," growled Wrex to Sarah.

"What of it?" asked Sarah cautiously.

"I like big game," answered Wrex. "The fights you attract are better than this dump." He turned to Garrus. "Besides I might be able to knock off a few more turians from the galaxy. To make up for the genophage."

"That was a long time ago Wrex," replied Garrus, but the krogan wasn't listening.

"Can we trust him?" asked Ashley. "I mean he's a krogan."

"He may be krogan but he's actually one of the more level headed ones," said Garrus shaking his head. "We can trust him."

They all stood outside the ship admiring the Normandy still in dock. Even Wrex seemed to have taken in interest in her.

"Now there's a ship," said Garrus looking over her curves. "Turian and human engineering."

"She's one of the best ships in the galaxy," said Sarah.

"No use hanging around here," said Wrex heading for the airlock.

"This is going to be one hell of a ride," said Lance under his breath.