Author's Note:

I apologize for the delay in the update, but this chapter took a while to reconstruct. I struggled a little with this chapter, and how the dialogue flowed between characters. I made a few cuts, and while I aim to get longer chapters up soon, I didn't want to sacrifice the clarity of the chapter by drawing a few scenes out. Still, I'm satisfied with it for now. Again, as I'm heavily involved in college right now (and writing a second story in tandem), there may be a delay in each chapter's release. I always update my profile, however, so you can check for progress on either one there. Thank you for your patience!

This chapter was last modified 10/23/12, improving upon character development and expanding scenes. I've been wanting to get the next chapter released, but writer's block and college haven't been helping. I hope to have it up soon; just a little longer now!


Chapter 4: Rise of a Spectre

Ambassador Udina huffed as the door to his office opened, only guessing as to who the probable arrival would be. "You're not making life easy for me, Shepard. Firefights in the wards, an all-out assault on Chora's Den?" he turned, finger raised towards the man accusingly, "Do you know how many—"

A comical look of confusion crossed his face as the ambassador noticed the aliens Shepard now had in his company. "You seem to be gathering quite the entourage. What are you up to, Shepard?"

"Making your day, Ambassador, and picking up some friends along the way." He gestured to the quarian. "She has information that links Saren to the geth."

Captain Anderson and the human ambassador shared a look of surprise, from which Udina quickly recovered. "Really? Well, maybe you'd better start at the beginning, ah, miss…?"

The quarian nodded. "My name is Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."

"We don't see too many quarians here on the Citadel. Why did you leave the Flotilla?"

"I was on my Pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood." Her explanation held a synthetic sound to it as her voice filtered through her mask, the opaque blue-violet glass, obscuring all but the silver gleam of her eyes. She wore a similarly violet cloth with a green enviro-suit, the cloth forming a hood that covered her helmet.

"I've never heard of a 'Pilgrimage' before," Shepard commented, "What is it?"

"The Pilgrimage is a tradition among my people," she continued, now turning towards him. "When we reach maturity, we leave our parent ships and our people behind. We search the galaxy alone, only returning to the Flotilla once we have discovered something of value to our people, proving ourselves worthy of adulthood."

"Bet it doesn't compare to The Rite," Wrex rumbled, but allowed the conversation to proceed.

"We could always use resources for the ships, like food or fuel, but we often try to find useful technology, or even knowledge that could make life easier for us on the Flotilla." she said. It sounds fairly rehearsed, Shepard thought. She must get asked about it a lot.

Nodding, Shepard motioned for her to continue. "So, what did you find?"

"During my travels I began hearing reports of geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. Curious, I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit, then disabled it and removed its memory core."

"Impressive, but I thought that the geth fried their memory cores when they were destroyed. Some kind of defense mechanism?" Captain Anderson asked.

"My people created the geth," she said, with what Shepard swore was a hint of sadness. "With some speed, care, and a little luck, small caches of data can sometimes be saved. Most of the geth's data core was wiped clean, but I managed to salvage something from its audio banks."

She looked down to her omni-tool, its holographic display appearing as her three-fingered hand moved in a flash before the interface.

"Eden Prime was a major victory," an all too familiar voice sprung from the device. "The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."

Various noises of surprise where heard from the group, with Captain Anderson now almost elated. "That's Saren's voice. This proves he was involved in the attack!"

"He said Eden Prime brought him one step closer to finding 'the Conduit.'" Shepard mused, "Any idea what that means?"

"The Conduit must have something to do with the beacon," Anderson thought aloud. "Maybe it's some kind of prothean technology… like a weapon."

"Wait, there's more. Saren wasn't working alone," Tali said, adjusting the audio file on her arm.

"Eden Prime was a major victory," Saren's voice repeated. "The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers," a deep female's voice replied, sending a shiver down Shepard's spine. His head began to swim at the mention of the word. Reapers. Where have I heard of them before?

"I don't recognize the other voice, the one talking about 'Reapers'." Udina said with a frown, oblivious to Shepard's discomfort.

"That woman seemed to wants to bring them back, whatever they are." Shepard said, rubbing his neck. "Are they some kind of alien?

"According to the geth's memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago," Tali continued. "The Reapers hunted the protheans to extinction, and then they vanished… or at least, that's what the geth believe."

Udina crossed his arms with a frown. "Sounds a little far-fetched."

A jolt ran through Shepard's body as a flash of the vision appeared in his mind, forcing him to shut his eyes as he stumbled forward.

The fires burned through the sky, thick smoke choking his vision as the machinations tore into the line. They just keep coming, he thought with despair, swinging his overheated particle rifle as a club to just keep the corrupted machines off of him. Aeerte had fallen, its defenses destroyed and their ships disabled. No hope was in sight as a sea of soulless eyes swarmed towards them, striking dread into his very being—

"Commander, are you all right?" Garrus asked, with some hesitation.

His eyes shot open as he was brought back to the present, sweat pouring from him as he supported himself with his hands on his knees. What was that? Was that the message from the beacon? His thoughts were barely coherent as he tried to collect himself. The others had stopped their conversation, looking at him with some concern.

He shook his head, trying to will the images away. "I'm fine," he lied. "The vision from the beacon on Eden Prime…I think I understand it now. I saw the protheans being wiped out by the Reapers!"

Tali seemed taken aback. "Wait, so the beacon that everyone has been talking about… you were there?" she asked, her body language clearly showing surprise.

Shepard nodded. "Williams and Alenko were on the ground with me. I was the one that used the beacon… for what good it did. What the Reapers were doing, though... I don't know how to describe it, and I don't want to."

"Keelah, I didn't know. I cannot imagine what you saw. From what you are saying, it must have been terrible." She turned back to face the rest of those in the room, slightly shaken by his revelation. He felt a pang of grief at her distress, having been responsible for telling the story. Terrible doesn't begin to describe it, he thought wearily, but she certainly is perceptive. Up until now, no one really spoken about his discomfort in seeing it.

"The geth revere the Reapers as gods," Tali continued. "The pinnacle of non-organic life. And they seem to believe Saren knows how to bring them back."

"The Council is just going to love this." Udina groaned.

"If what the beacon showed me was true, then the Reapers are a threat to every species in Citadel space," Shepard said with conviction. "We have to tell them!"

"And no matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files might be enough to prove that Saren's a traitor!" Anderson agreed.

Udina seemed to consider their arguments, finally nodding his head as well. "The captain is right. We need to present this to the Council right away."

"Hold on, what about the quarian?" Wrex asked.

"My name is Tali!" she bristled, turning towards Shepard, who nodded in return.

"She's coming with us. Without her, we would've been back where we started."

"Agreed," Anderson echoed. "You all have helped to get us this far, and you should be present for the hearing."

"Anderson and I will go ahead to get things ready with the Council. Take a moment to collect yourselves, then meet us in the Tower. We have a traitor to bring to light," Ambassador Udina said with a satisfied smile, the first Shepard had seen the politician give. This is going to be good.


The elevator ride was starting to get more crowded by this point, and their company earned more than a few double takes from passerby. The odd mix of aliens strode confidently through the tower, Shepard feeling more at ease than he had on his last shore leave. Passing the reflecting pool, the group managed to walk through unimpeded by security and purposefully walked up the last flight of steps before the Council Chambers. Captain Anderson was waiting for them with a smile.

He waved for them to follow. "Come on, Udina has just started presenting the evidence," he said, as the echoes of the Council's discussion drifted down to them. Walking forward to the platform, Udina's voice could be heard once again, although on a far more subdued level. Suddenly, Tali's recording filled the air. Shepard couldn't help a smirk at the dawning of realization that was appearing on the councilors' faces.

"Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit," Saren's voice said again.

"And one step closer to finding the Reapers," the second voice repeated.

The human ambassador pointed towards the councilors as they gaped at what they heard. "You wanted proof? There it is."

Surprisingly, it was the turian who regained his voice first. "This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador. Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status immediately, and we will make every effort to bring him to justice for his crimes," Sparatus said seriously.

"I recognize that other voice, the one speaking with Saren. She is Matriarch Benezia, a powerful biotic with great influence among the asari. She will make a formidable ally for Saren." Councilor Tevos added in shock.

Figures, Shepard thought grimly, drawing on some of his historical knowledge. The Council's top agent has a respected and influential advisor at his side.

"What I'm more interested in is what the Matriarch spoke of, these Reapers." Councilor Valern cut in, the salarian's eyes focused in thought. "What do you know about them?"

Captain Anderson cleared his throat. "Only what was extracted from the geth's memory core, I'm afraid. The Reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the protheans, then vanished from the galaxy."

"The geth believe that the Reapers are gods, and that Saren will bring them back," Shepard added.

"We think that the Conduit is the key to bringing them back," Anderson continued. "Saren is searching for it, and attacking Eden Prime to get to the beacon might have told him where to find it."

"Do we even know what this 'Conduit' is?" the salarian asked, troubled.

"Saren thinks that it can bring back the Reapers. I'd say that's bad enough." Shepard said.

"Now just a minute, listen to what you're saying!" the turian councilor said angrily. "Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy as we know it? What purpose would that serve him? It's impossible. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? Why haven't we found any trace of their existence?"

Sparatus just shook his head at the folly of it. "If they were real we would have found something."

"Councilors, I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to see the truth. Don't make the same mistake here as well." Shepard said, angered that they might try to ignore them once more.

"This is different," Tevos began. "You proved Saren has betrayed this Council. We all agree that he's using the geth to search for the Conduit, but we don't really know why or even if this Conduit exists."

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander," Valern agreed. "A convenient lie for Saren to manipulate the geth to bend to his will."

"I've seen the destruction that the Reapers can cause from the beacon," Shepard said heatedly. "Fifty thousand years ago they wiped out the protheans. If Saren finds the Conduit, it will happen again."

"We cannot know that to be true, Commander. And Saren has been stripped of his status as a Spectre; he no longer has the rights or resources that he used to, and he is a rogue agent on the run for his life. He'll be caught soon enough."

"That's it?" Udina fumed. "That is not good enough! You know that he's hiding in the Traverse. Send your fleet in!" he demanded, clenching his fist for emphasis.

Valern gave him a pensive stare. "A fleet cannot track down one man."

"A fleet would act as a preventative measure and secure the entire region. It would keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies!"

"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems! We won't have the Council species dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies."

"The Council species?" Udina asked incredulously. "Do you mean to tell me that our lives do not matter as much as yours? I am sick of this Council and its anti-human bulls—"

"Ambassador, please." The asari raised her hands as a gesture of peace. "There is a way to hunt Saren without involving fleets or armies."

The turian councilor's mandibles flicked in surprise. "You cannot mean… no, no it's too soon! Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres."

Holy hell, Shepard thought. This is it! "You don't have to risk a war with the Terminus Systems, and the Ambassador gets his human Spectre. Everyone's happy." he said coolly, trying his best to hide his excitement.

The three alien council members looked to each other, weighing their decision. Nodding in agreement, the three councilors brought up their omni-tools, casting their vote on the small vid-screen before them.

Councilor Tevos addressed him, staring at him intently.

"Commander John Shepard, do you swear to become a servant of justice, to carry out the will of this Council, and to defend the galaxy and its citizens?"

Shepard became aware of the growing audience in the Council Chambers, dozens of spectators now present from the floors above and beyond the platforms.

With a nod from Anderson, Shepard looked back to the Council, smiling inwardly. Here we go. "I do."

"John Shepard, step forward."


"Can't say I'm surprised that the bastard didn't thank you," Wrex said as they descended down into the C-Sec academy, the odd team nearly filling the elevator car by themselves.

"The Ambassador probably has a lot on his plate," Alenko voiced. "He did just have the first human Spectre inducted by the Council to track down a rogue agent."

"I'm not sure I agree with the "race card" that your ambassador pulled, but it got results," Garrus added.

Wrex looked the turian over with a scowl.

"The "race card" is only used when the claim is varren shit, turian. The evidence was there. Besides, you can't say they aren't racist. The Council has avoided advancing the human embassy for the last two decades, while the volus and elcor had their embassies grow each year."

Shepard raised his eyebrows in surprise. A krogan bounty hunter with a political mind was certainly not a common occurrence, especially when his points actually made sense.

"Yes, but with good reason. The Council was trying to prevent those who actually were anti-human from having a reason to start targeting their ambassadors," Garrus attempted to explain, Shepard frowned at the statement. That seems a little too much like the "official story."

"You don't actually believe that crock, do you?" Williams scoffed. "The Council was holding humanity back because they were scared of our growth. We became successful too fast for them, and they tried to keep us down for it."

The elevator stopped at the ground floor for the C-Sec Academy. After the hearing had concluded, Shepard had been appointed as a full Council Spectre. As such, he was granted access to a ship, crew, and supplies that he would need to go hunting for Saren in the Attican Traverse. As the headquarters for Citadel Security also lead through customs and the docks, he wanted to get the team some gear before they left. Although he still didn't know what ship he would be provided or with whom he would be traveling with. Best not to think too much about it now.

The conversation continued between the various members of the team until they approached the C-Sec Spectre Requisitions Office, the main supplier for the officers and Council Spectres. A single turian sat behind a desk in front of them, a kiosk nearby.

The requisitions officer looked up. "Greetings, is there something I can do for you?"

"I'm Commander Shepard, of the Alliance. My crew and I are going to be in need of supplies, and we've been granted access to the Spectres private stock."

"Really? Ah, that's right! You're the first human Spectre… the vids were all over the news! Please, have a look at my kiosk, I'm sure I have something to suit you." Pressing a button, the C-Sec officer opened up the kiosk display, a previously hidden gun rack sliding out from the wall.

"Nice." Ashley breathed as the rest of the team looking the various guns over. The officer tensed somewhat at the sight of Wrex, but ultimately seemed indifferent to the rest of the members of the squad.

"These are all top of the line, the best that anyone can purchase with Spectre authority. Their quality warrants a certain price, however." The officer explained, gesturing to the value of the assault rifle Shepard was holding. His eyes bulged at cost, causing him to set it back down with a cough.

"Two-hundred thousand credits is a little steep for me." he said, rubbing his neck awkwardly. "Do you have anything less expensive?"

"Nothing Spectre grade is below ten thousand, I'm afraid, but we do have several… hang on." The turian paused, looking at his omni-tool. "That doesn't… all right. Interesting."

The turian glanced back up to him, almost disbelieving. "I've just received an order placement for supplies for you, authorized by a Captain David Anderson. It seems that you have a benefactor, Commander. We'll have the shipment moved to bay B-1 within the hour."

"Anderson? I… uh, thanks for the information." Thoroughly confused, Shepard turned to make his exit, the rest of his followers with similar expressions of surprise.

"Thank you, Commander. Please, do come again." The officer answered cordially, closing the weapon racks as he and the group left.

The odd collection of aliens walked into the lobby of the C-Sec headquarters, standing before the elevator to the docks. After a moment of just looking at each other, Chief Williams spoke up.

"Well, I guess this is where we part ways, right? Docking bay B-1 is where the Normandy was docked before."

"Anderson probably wants to see us off before we leave." Shepard thought aloud. "Maybe he's arranged a ship for us."

"Technically just you, Commander," Garrus said. "You're the Council Spectre, not us. But this doesn't have to be where we part ways. I want to join you in taking down Saren."

"As would I," Wrex said with a toothy grin. "I've already gotten some gear out of this, and it's been a while since I've had had a real fight. Taking down Saren would be one."

Shepard looked between the two of them, a hardened bounty hunter and a C-Sec officer. They certainly handled themselves well in the firefights earlier, he thought and was about to speak when Tali stepped forward.

"If you would have me, I would like to join you as well," she said meekly, her hands fidgeting in front of her.

Alenko raised an eyebrow at her. "You did well getting us the data, but this might be a little out of your league."

"You saw me in the alley, Commander. You know what I can do. Let me come with you," she asked again, almost pleading.

"I thought you were on your Pilgrimage?" Shepard asked.

"The Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?"

Shepard walked over to her then, leaving only a few feet of space between them as he looked her in the gleam of her eyes through her faceplate. "Listen carefully," he began. "Saren's men aren't all going to be like those we saw in that alley. He has assassins and trained soldiers at his disposal, and as you said, poses a very real danger to everyone in the galaxy. If we pursue him, there's a chance that we won't make it back. With that being said, do you still want to join me?"

Tali seemed to consider this for a moment, before nodding her head decisively. "Yes, I do. My Pilgrimage can wait."

Shepard nodded in approval. "Welcome aboard, Tali, Wrex, Garrus. I'll take all the help I can get."

"Thanks. You won't regret this," she said, sounding both relieved and excited. Garrus nodded and Wrex grunted an affirmative.

"Let's head to the docks, see what the captain has in store for us."

"Great, more elevator rides. Honestly, is there a way we can travel here that doesn't sitting in a box car?" Ashley asked irritably as they entered the main elevator.

"Cabs can't fly to the docks due to safety procedures and risks of hijacking, hence why C-Sec has security checkpoints before each docking bay," Garrus explained. "And there's only a breathable atmosphere on the outer ward arms to seven meters, and even then just barely. Unless you want to use an exosuit, there isn't any other way to get to the docks."

"Well, Tali is ready for it," Ashley commented, drawing attention to the quarian's environmental suit. "Why are you wearing that suit, anyways? It's pretty comfortable here without one."

"Quarians have weakened immune systems from the time we've spent isolated on the Flotilla, and unclean air exposures can be deadly if we get an infection. These suits protect us and keep us alive by sealing off foreign contaminants."

"Hang on, you could get sick from any air exposure?" Alenko asked. "Does that mean that you're always wearing it?"

Tali nodded, although she sounded less cheerful than before. "We wear them even among family. The only time we can remove them is in a clean room environment, and we have long waiting lists for the rooms on the Flotilla. Ever since the geth drove us from our homeworld three hundred years ago, the ships our ancestors left on and their sterile environments prevented us from having any real exposure to bacteria and viruses. Until the Council lets us colonize a new world, we will likely remain on them."

Garrus crossed his arms. "The quarians released a dangerous enemy upon the galaxy when they created the geth. It was a foolish mistake, and the people of Eden Prime have paid for it. I hope your people are properly contrite, Tali."

"As the turians are contrite for releasing the Genophage upon the krogan?" Tali replied bitterly, her hands curling into fists.

Shepard blinked at the sudden tension that Garrus had brought up. It was true that the geth had attacked Eden Prime, but Tali wasn't to blame for that, now. And Garrus seemed to be oblivious to the large, dangerous krogan occupant behind him whose eyes had suddenly narrowed to slits.

"You're assuming that sterilizing the krogan was a mistake." Garrus continued before Shepard could stop him. Oh, damn—

Eight hundred pounds of krogan slammed Garrus into the elevator window, fractures appearing in the safety glass.

"Try saying that to my face, turian." Wrex growled dangerously, one hand at Garrus' throat. Clearly, the C-Sec officer hadn't thought his last response through and was attempting to avoid looking the krogan in the eyes. "Go ahead. I dare you."

"Enough. Both of you," Shepard cut in as he moved to place himself between them. "Arguing about the past isn't going to help us stop Saren. Neither of you were responsible for the Genophage, and we can't know how things could have been different now when dealing with the geth. If you're coming with me, you're going to have to work together as a team. Do we understand each other?"

The two aliens glowered at each other for a moment, before Garrus finally nodded and moved to the space opposite of Wrex in the elevator car. Wrex just gave another grumble, but said nothing more.

The elevator began to slow, coming to a stop not fifteen seconds after the confrontation that took place.

"Perfect timing," Ashley commented sarcastically under her breath. Shepard silently agreed. If we had only gotten here a little earlier…

Shepard and his new team were greeted by the sight of Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina conversing on the joining platform next to the SR1 Normandy. Well, I guess this is it, Shepard thought.

Turning to greet them, Udina stood with his hands behind his back. "Commander Shepard. Is this the team you've assembled to come with you on your mission?" he asked, frowning slightly at Tali and Wrex. "Alliance ships are generally only crewed by humans, Shepard. The crew may not be too keen on aliens being aboard."

"With all due respect, Ambassador, I understand." he replied. He understood that there were prejudices against nonhumans in the Alliance, although being raised on a ship all your life did help to bring perspective of the other races on the worlds they visited. He focused on the latter part of Udina's statement.

"You mentioned a crew. You were able to get one of the Alliance ships for us, then? Where is it docked?"

A smile crept onto the human ambassador's face. "You're looking at it."

Shepard had been prepared for many things, but this certainly hadn't been one of them. Staunch surprise defined the group's features as the ambassador's words sank in.

"You're kidding," Shepard said bluntly. "The Normandy is Captain Anderson's ship."

"Which is why Captain Anderson has agreed to step down from his position as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours, now."

This is moving pretty fast, he thought. Why would Anderson just step down? What's going on behind this?

Shepard gave the captain a look of utter shock. "Sir? I've never been in charge of a ship before. I'm a Commander of infantry on the ground, I don't think—"

"Commander, you're still a part of the Alliance, but you're also a Spectre now, and Spectres only need to answer to the Council. As such, you've been granted command of a vessel, and I want you to have the Normandy. She's quick, quiet, and you already know the crew; she's a perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, John," Anderson replied.

"This isn't right. It feels like I'm stealing the ship from you," Shepard protested.

"Please, it's time for me to step down," Anderson said with his hands raised. "I already told you that I once had an assignment with Saren. The Council had me up for the Spectres twenty years ago. He made sure I didn't get into the Spectres, but he couldn't stop you. Now you have the chance to make up for my mistakes," He finished, extending his hand to him.

Shepard gladly shook his hand, an almost apologetic smile on his face. "I won't let you down, sir."

"We don't know where Saren's gone, but we know what he's looking for; the Conduit. He has the geth scouring the Traverse for clues to its whereabouts. If you can find clues as to its existence, maybe you can find it before he does."

"What about the Reapers?" Shepard asked, "They are the real threat."

"I'm with the Council on this one, Shepard," Udina said with a frown. "I'm not sure that they even exist."

"But if they do exist," Anderson amended, "Then the Conduit is the key to bringing them back. Stop Saren from getting to it, and we stop the Reapers from returning."

Shepard nodded firmly. "I'll stop them."

"We had a shipment of arms and armor delivered to the Normandy, a little more advanced than the standard Alliance military provisions," Udina continued. "We've also found a lead on Saren. Matriarch Benezia, the other voice in the recording, has a daughter, a scientist who specializes in the protheans and their technologies. We don't know if she's involved, but it might be a good idea to try and find her, find out what she knows. Her name is Dr. Liara T'soni. She was reportedly exploring an archeological dig site on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemis Tau cluster."

"Then that's we'll head to," Shepard agreed. "Anything else I should know?"

"If any geth are spotted in a system, Saren has them there for a reason. We'll keep you notified of any sightings." Udina stepped forward, getting closer to the Spectre. "But know this Commander; though you are now a Council Spectre, you are still a human. Your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole. If you mess up, I get stuck cleaning things up."

"I'll try not to make things harder on you, Ambassador."

"Good. Now, you have your ship, supplies, a crew, and a ground team. I'd say that you're ready." Udina gestured to the Normandy's airlock. "Your mission awaits."

As if on cue, the band of followers Shepard had accumulated walked as one unit to the Normandy

"Keelah, this ship is beautiful!" Tali said, awestruck. "The design is different than any other ship I've seen."

"It's from a joint military cooperation between the Alliance and the Hierarchy," Garrus replied. "A prototype that would improve…"

Shepard tuned out their conversation as he walked forward solemnly. It all felt surreal; Eden Prime, becoming a Spectre, and now becoming the 'captain' of the Normandy, tasked with bringing down one of the most dangerous individuals in the galaxy. And I don't even have the rank, he thought bitterly. How will the crew see me taking Anderson's place?

Shepard stole one last glance to the dock as the doors to the airlock opened, seeing Captain Anderson and Udina still standing on the platform. Udina made no motion, but Anderson walked toward the rail and gave him a crisp salute, one which Shepard returned with a sad smile.

"Good luck, Commander." Anderson called out. "Make us proud."