-3-

Citadel Station

"They're a bunch of self concerned jackasses Shepard!"

So stood the opinion of Donnel Udina, humanity's representative on the Citadel Council and by this point in the war the de facto leader of the Systems Alliance. While that might have sounded good on paper, the fulfilling of a long ambition even, the reality was a bitter and frustrating situation that only served to make the brusque and bad tempered politician even more so.

He stormed past Commander Shepard with a cloud of thunderous fury hanging over him and glared out of his office balcony, the almost legendary military officer remaining calm beside him and trying to project a relaxed air which in truth he did not feel either.

"We may have a spot on the Council but humanity will always be considered second rate."

It was a long held belief Udina harboured that despite incredible achievements, despite innovation and growth all but unmatched in the galaxy the other powers still looked down on Earth and her children. His frustrations working with the council had only reinforced that view over the years and today was the cruel vindication of his belief. Earth stood alone in it's time of greatest need and their so called friends and allies did nothing.

"They're still blind." Shepard agreed reluctantly.

"They're scared." Udina looked over the still peaceful scene beyond his office. "And they are looking out for themselves."

Shepard wasn't expecting a miracle. He didn't think the great powers of the galaxy would just mobilise every fleet and swarm toward Earth in a mighty crusade, indeed if they did it might only end in disaster. But he did have a plan, the data his friend Liara T'Soni had recovered during her time on Mars and that they had snatched together from under the noses of their enemies at great cost in blood offered a small tangible hope to grasp for. The Prothean superweapon known now as the Crucible.

It wasn't exactly clear how it worked but it was going to require massive resources, Earth alone probably couldn't do it but listening to Udina unfortunately they might have to.

"I'll keep working on it." Udina exhaled tiredly. "Gather what resources I can, call in favours, but with the way things are now I can't promise anything soon."

"I understand."

Shepard was starting to feel his weariness catch up with him, with the Council briefed and his team either safe or receiving the best hospital treatment available it was time to recover and prepare for whatever else got thrown at him. He ran a hand over his cropped hair, his uniform fatigues still stained with dirt and blood reeking of smoke and burning. Earth had fallen, he had been stood right there, he watched it happen and he had been powerless to stop it, to save lives, to turn back the Reaper tide. For all that he had done, all he had sacrificed and bled for he was still just one man standing in front of the tsunami.

"Earth has made some friends, created some goodwill, I will use that." Udina dropped in behind his desk, angry but focused mirroring Shepard's feelings. "I'll institute a draft on our colonies, make sure this Prothean weapon of yours has whatever it needs, whatever we can give it. We are not out of this war Commander, I swear it."

"Any news from Earth?"

"There is constant news from Earth, none of it good." He recited bitterly. "The Reapers destroyed anything we could have used, Nuclear missile silos, major bases, they walked through our defences in minutes."

"Admiral Hackett told me about that." Shepard recalled. "Hundreds of ships gone, Arcturus station destroyed, our entire defence routed."

Arcturus Station located one jump from Earth had been a massive five kilometre long starbases which had been the centre of Alliance Government, home to the Parliament and Prime Minister in addition to Alliance Naval Command. It had also guarded the relay link to Earth, any invader heading for the home of humanity would need to traverse Arcturus, consequently the region was heavily fortified and home to three full fleets of warships.

It had barely slowed the Reapers down. Admiral Steven Hackett, the Alliance's senior officer, had commanded the fleets engaged there and had withdrawn with nearly fifty percent casualties and very little to show for it. The station and fixed defences had not survived.

"I know... I knew," Udina corrected himself, "most of the members of Parliament on a first name basis, needed a second VI just to keep up with their birthdays. All gone"

He fixed Shepard with hard eyes.

"I have more power than any human in history and you have seen exactly how little that counts for."

"I should go." Shepard resolved, both of them were going to be incredibly busy.

"Very well, I'll be here if you ever need me." Udina accepted. "If you find anything that could help us out there inform me immediately."

"I will."

Shepard headed for the door, hearing a signal come through for Udina as he left but paying it no attention, they each had their battles to fight now.

"Wait, Shepard!" Udina called after him. "This is for you, Commander Bailey."

"Bailey?" Shepard paused. Bailey was head of Citadel Security responsible for guarding and policing the station. A competent and pragmatic man he was hard nosed but got his work done, even the Turians had grown to respect him.

"There's a ship docking, doesn't match any records but they are asking for you by name."

"Me?"

"You're famous remember?" Udina scoffed slightly. "Bailey's going to send them up to your office, whoever they are they might have something worth listening to."

"Tell him I'll be waiting."

There was no denying the space station was impressive, it's multi mile long panels radiating out like massive angular petals lined with cities containing millions of souls. It had no domes or glass panels like human designed space colonies from home, not that any had survived the Gamilas War, the atmosphere presumably held in place by energy shields or other advanced technology.

"I wonder who built it?" Devlin peered out through the flight deck windows of the Seagull as it made it's approach, a nebula behind the station an explosion of colour that further served to make this massive construct visually overwhelming.

"Whoever it was must have plenty of industry." Lieutenant Cadiz glanced up from her instrument panel. "Or a hell of a lot of time on their hands."

In addition to the station there were multiple ships around them, a vast range of designs and sizes from small pleasure craft to mile long transports and warships. The tumult of the war creeping into the galaxy may have brought this many ships here but in all likelihood this place would always have been hectic and busy.

"We have landing permission Captain, we'll be touching down in a minute or so."

"Alright Lieutenant, I'll get the others ready." He tapped her shoulder. "Try not to hit anything."

Devlin headed back into the cargo cabin behind the flight deck, in this instance configured for passenger transport. It was a long way from luxurious, or even comfortable for that matter, but it got them from point to point fast and in reasonable safety. The Artemisia was holding station a few hundred miles away just outside the station perimeter holding a neutral posture with her weapons on standby and fighter wings crewed and ready to drop. So far there had been no obvious hostile activity and traffic control seemed to be content with letting them land. They had even known who this Commander Shepard was.

Still, that was no reason to be reckless. While most ships in the area seemed too busy to notice one more ship among the throng the longer they lingered the more attention they were likely to draw, something he was not thrilled about.

Devlin was going to be representing the Seventh fleet while Admiral Brand continued with his primary duty of getting his forces back up to full readiness and locating a way home. This wasn't exactly what Devlin had expected, he was no explorer or diplomat, but neither was anyone else in the fleet. In the end he'd have to make it up as he went along and try not to start a war.

He hadn't been sent alone though, in the seat beside Devlin as he sat down and fastened his seatbealt was his escort, Major George Hayes of the UN Special Forces Command. He had been among the units deployed on the Enterprise alongside a battalion of Marines planning some boarding mission exercises when things had gone wrong. He had fair hair and sharp eyes with a thin beard and lined face, the look of a man with several lifetime's of experience crammed into his few years. He carried a sidearm and wore an olive green duty uniform finished with a yellow scarf at his neck which seemed to be in vogue with army units for some reason. Devlin couldn't really complain, his uniform also included a white scarf which frequently annoyed him.

Hayes wore several badges on his uniform including unit markings for a long range recon unit. That suggested he was a survival expert, the sort of man sent alone deep into enemy territory and expect to live for months while observing the movements of enemy forces before marking them for strikes. An extremely harsh and lonely career path.

Sat opposite however was probably the least expected person Devlin could imagine. While he represented Admiral Brand the Gamilan fleet had also decided to send someone, in this case though the fleet commander herself had elected to join them. Colonel Ilin Meredia, commanding officer of the Super Dreadnought Fenrir and the 21st Heavy Response Division of the Great Gamilas Imperial Navy looked every bit as flamboyant as her title suggested. She was tall and slim with tousled shoulder length blonde hair which looked rather messy and unkempt in a way, she wore the standard dark green and black uniform jacket of the Gamilas military but then began to drift away from regulations. She wore white trousers and tall black boots, she had a black cloak hung over her shoulders with a red interior lining and at her side hung both a long gold plated energy pistol and a sword. To top off and cement the frankly piratical look she wore yet another scarf in human style, in this case red, and crowned everything with an eyepatch worn over her left eye. Devlin noted she also had a long scar from brow to jaw on that left side passing under the patch and suggesting it wasn't just cosmetic.

She was a pirate. Or at least she fell into what a pirate should look like with swashbuckling clothing and weapons combined with a casual confident attitude. When Devlin had met her she had smiled constantly, joked with him and generally been highly enthusiastic and friendly, definitely not what he had expected of a fleet commander. Yet he'd also noted her attendant officers had been uncomfortable seeing her go, a hint that while she may have an oddly forthright personality she wasn't some sort of fop or fool, her staff did seem to genuinely respect her. Very curious.

Like Devlin Meredia had also brought an escort, a relatively short female Gamilan officer who was dressed in thankfully plain and unremarkable Gamilas gear. She had short red hair in more of a pixie cut and looked as hard and expressionless as Major Hayes. Devlin had no idea what her unit badges meant but based on the cold air surrounding her she knew her business.

"I am looking forward to this." Meredia beamed a wide smile. "Visiting new places like this, a huge alien construct never seen by Gamilan eyes. It's exciting."

"It'll make a good story, but I'd rather we just get it done and get home." Devlin answered. "Gatlantis forces are getting much too close for comfort, we need to be ready for when they move on Earth."

"We have time yet, the war is young, it isn't going anywhere." Meredia reassured him. "We should savour what we see today, it will never happen again. Even if we come back after Gatlantis is beaten we won't have this same moment of wonder, this same awe. Keep that feeling Captain, wonder makes us alive."

It was strange to hear that from a Gamilas fleet commander, especially one senior enough to be commanding a Dreadnought.

"Interesting outlook."

"You're wondering why an old warrior like me can still take joy in things after a career seeing war, death and destruction?" Meredia guessed. "It's because of those things I still feel joy at life, not in spite of them. To see how fleeting life is, how fickle and random death can be, you learn to appreciate everything."

She smiled wider.

"Plus I started out in the Explorer Divisions, my whole ambition was to push out the border between known and unknown, find new and interesting things. Wars tend to have a way of getting in the way of that but even so sometimes you still stumble on something fantastic."

"Like today?"

"Like today Captain."

She seemed likeable enough, but she was still a Gamilan, a member of the species that had killed two thirds of human kind. That wasn't ever going to change, Devlin would be polite because he had orders to be and because one day they'd make good meat shields against Gatlantis. But that was all. He noted the other Gamilas officer watching him, her eyes empty and cold reminding him that in the end the Gamilas Empire was a military expansionist nation. Maybe it had reformed and set that aside, maybe not, but there were still plenty of people in its ranks who had no problem killing millions of civilians. Devlin wasn't trusting or naïve enough to forget that and if one day he had to train the Artemisia's guns on a Gamilas fleet he'd do it. No matter how cheerful the enemy commander was.

The Seagull tilted and shifted course, the transport craft slowing and dropping down through an artificial gravity field with a mild moment of nausea. An instant later it touched down with a slight bump and began to power down.

"Here we are then." Meredia rubbed her hands together. "I will let you take the lead Captain."

"I can, but as senior officer here I thought you may wish to?"

"I'll observe, but it seems the people we will meet are human. They may not be the same humans you know but you should at least have something in common. It's logical you try to gain us an advantage through common experience."

Devlin had to admit as he undid his seatbelt that she made a good point.

"Alright then Colonel, I'll take the lead. We better go and see what's waiting for us."

Devlin stepped out onto the deck, a series of clean metal landing platforms most of which were occupied by small craft. Their arrival had apparently received little attention, the unknown transport just a small oddity quickly ignored in the growing crisis. Walking purposefully toward them were a trio of people in blue uniforms, two of them human and unremarkable, but the third was a tall spindly alien with a somewhat Avian appearance. He could hear Meredia laughing in gentle glee at the prospect of meeting an entirely new species.

"Welcome to the Citadel." The lead human greeted them with a harsh but not hostile voice. "I'm Commander Armando Bailey, head of Citadel Security. I'll take you up to see Commander Shepard in the diplomatic section. If you'll follow me we'll fast track you through."

That was the extent of their greeting. Both Bailey and his two escorts gave them a brief but systematic assessment to weigh them up, noting their uniforms, weapons and military bearing. They took a little longer as their gaze lingered on the Gamilans, the blue skinned people perhaps a rarity in this part of the galaxy. The group were lead away from the gathering crowd edging to get in through normal customs channels and taken instead through a security door and along to the local C-Sec office, a blue toned glass and steel structure which seemed to reflect most of the simple but functional architecture.

"I'm going to need you to surrender your weapons before we go further." Bailey turned to them matter of factly. "Only C-Sec carries after this point."

"No." The Gamilan bodyguard replied bluntly. "We have only your word for that."

"Then you can wait here." Bailey said with a huff having zero time for debate. "Law is the same for everyone."

"You ask my Colonel to surrender her weapons? Do you know what battles she has fought with them, how much blood, how much..."

"As you were Captain." Meredia took a step forward, a brief wave of her hand silencing her escort. "The Commander is right, we should not put ourselves above others."

"And if it's a trick?"

"If it's a trick the Fenrir will burn this place top to bottom, and I am sure nobody wishes to risk that."

Meredia confidently unclasped the twin belts holding her weapons and placed them down on the nearest table.

"We cannot proceed without trust." She stated simply. "Though I advise not meddling with them, the pistol fires anti-protons, the power pack will level everything in forty metres if mishandled."

"I guarantee we won't treat your property poorly." Bailey promised.

"If the Colonel wishes it I will comply."

The second Gamilan, Captain Henna Bless reluctantly followed suit. If the Gamilans were disarming then it would look churlish for fellow humans to argue the point so Devlin and Hayes also turned in their sidearms.

"Thank you." Bailey kept an even expression but sounded relieved the tension had been bypassed. "Do you have any ID's to scan?"

"No, just our dogtags." Devlin said.

"Having a problem with your Omnitools?"

"Our what's?"

Bailey looked at them with a question but decided not to ask it.

"You can just put your hand on that pad there, it'll scan your DNA and keep you in the station register while you are here."

"Fair enough."

"After that we'll go see Shepard."

It was a tight squeeze in the skycar for the five of them but any discomfort was quickly forgotten and replaced by wonder at the view passing them by outside. The dense cityscapes, industrial regions and habitation districts flashed by one after the other, each one duplicated on the other great arms of the station, each a starfield of light and movement. Hundreds of vehicles buzzed back and forth on their own errands and far below the tiny shapes of people could sometimes be seen, small specks against the station.

"This place is huge." Devlin peered out of the windows. "Did you build it?"

"Earth? Nah." Bailey chuckled. "Theory is the Protheans did tens of thousands of years ago, but who knows for sure. Some say it's far older."

"Who are the Protheans?"

"One of the older alien species, long extinct by now." Bailey answered. "Don't they teach that in school any more?"

"My school was a little different to most you'd find."

"Well they're long gone but left a lot of ruins and tech archives behind. The one we found on Mars kick started our Stellar age and expansion into the stars. Pretty handy."

"How many people live here?" Meredia asked.

"Thirteen million, it varies." Bailey kept it vague. "Lot of people just passing through, it's a major trade and business hub not to mention tourists. Though less of that these days, expecting a lot of refugees though."

"Must be hard work keeping order." Devlin considered, still captivated by the scenery as they moved toward the Presidium district.

"It is, we have the population of a decent sized city, lot of races, lot of cultures, it can be a minefield." Bailey nodded. "The location makes it good for smuggling and organised crime too, not many boring days in this job."

"And now you have a war to worry about."

"Looks like."

"We saw they hit Earth." Devlin softened his voice. "Any word?"

"Just that the fight is still going, we're not going to just roll over."

"Good."

"Latest news says they've hit Palaven hard too, The Turian fleet is giving them hell but couldn't stop them invading their homeworld."

"The Turians had the strongest fleet in the galaxy didn't they?" Meredia recalled some notes from the Extranet.

"That's right, didn't make much difference."

"Sounds like it's going to be a hell of a fight for everyone then." Devlin remarked.

Bailey swung the car round as it reached it's stop, the landing system putting them down neatly in a precise parking spot not far from the diplomatic section. He popped the canopy and led them out into the brightly lit interior the whole region beautifully landscaped with trees, gardens and lakes.

"Just up this way." He led them on. "It's a little busier here than usual but You'll find Commander Shepard in his office just here. You know him?"

"Only by name." Devlin commented. "He was recommended to us."

"Well he's a solid soldier and a good guy, just be aware he's got a hell of a lot on his plate right now."

"Got it."

"Alright, good luck with whatever you need. My office is just down here if you need more."

With a nod Bailey departed leaving the delegation standing outside Shepard's Spectre Office staring at the door.

"Let's see what this guy's all about then." Devlin raised up and tapped the intercom.

"Come in." A voice answered, the door unlocking and sliding open to reveal a fairly darkly lit room festooned with consoles, data terminals and further back weapons. Both Hayes and Bless gave it an approving look over, especially the assortment of unfamiliar but still recognisable guns. At the heart of the room was a single man with close cut dark hair, steely blue eyes and the hardened expression of someone who had seen more battles than most others could imagine.

"John Shepard." He extended his hand. "Commander in the Systems Alliance Fleet and Council Spectre."

"Matthew Devlin, Captain of the Earth Federation ship Artemisia." He took the hand in a solid grip. "This is Colonel Ilin Meredia and our back up Major George Hayes and Captain Henna Bless."

"Welcome." Shepard shook each hand in turn, pausing at the two blue skinned females. "Sorry, but I don't think I've ever seen anyone's skin turn shades of blue? Which colony are you from?"

"We're not Commander, we're a different species." Meredia smiled. "We come from a planet called Gamilas out in the Greater Magellanic cloud you call it. Beyond the edge of the galaxy about a hundred and fifty thousand light years away."

"I had no idea anyone could travel out that far, this is the first I've heard of this." Shepard frowned in mild suspicion. "When did you arrive here?"

"This morning." Meredia answered. "There is a lot we have to talk about if you are willing to hear it."

"Of course." Shepard seemed to have perked up. "Contact with a race from beyond the Galactic rim is incredible, especially if you have anything that could help us here. You must have seen the Reapers, heard about the war."

"We have." Devlin took over. "I've compiled a report on our situation, I think it'll be easier if you read it first and then we talk."

"I can do that."

"I understand you've had a rough couple of days and you must need rest, but this is something we'd like to move on with." Devlin handed over the pad.

"Don't worry, I can sleep when I'm dead."

Shepard read the entire thing three times just to be certain, his guests waiting patiently and quietly for him to get his mind around the impossible concepts.

"It took me a while to accept it too." Devlin offered helpfully. "I still don't understand it, I'm just going to say space magic."

"So you have an actual artificial planet? And that caused all this?"

"Yes, that's right."

"You can call it a lesson in not meddling in technology we don't understand." Meredia exhaled.

"And you have a fleet of ships with you?"

"We do." Devlin nodded. "But I can't give details, not this early into our meeting. Sorry Commander but you understand OpSec."

"Yeah, we haven't established real trust yet." Shepard nodded. "I don't know what to say, I can understand it is possible, and I haven't seen your race before," he nodded to the Gamilans. "But this is still hard to take in."

"Right there with you." Devlin related. "We don't plan to announce ourselves or draw attention, our goal is to get home before our own homeworld is invaded and possibly destroyed. Our situation is pretty similar to yours."

"With respect my Earth is already fighting for it's life." Shepard reminded.

"By now ours could be too." Devlin answered. "We need to get home but we don't know how long it will take. There's a chance that while we are stuck here we may come under attack by the Reapers."

"It seems they aren't picky about who they kill." Meredia added.

"If you have starships and the ability to create AI technology they'll come for you." Shepard confirmed. "You are targets too."

"That is why my commanding officer authorised us to make contact with your government." Devlin laid out. "We'd like as much data as you have on the Reapers so if they show up on Lyonesse we can give them a warm welcome."

"I have no objection sharing what we have, the Reapers are enemies of all of us." Shepard agreed. "Unfortunately what we have isn't much. We know their goals, their ideology and motives, we know a little about their tactics and strategy from where they have attacked already, but hard technical data on their ships, their numbers and deployments? We don't know."

"That bad?"

"That bad." Shepard exhaled. "This war is a few days old and we've already lost Earth and Arcturus, Palaven is collapsing, the Batarians are history. We have Reaper units spotted everywhere raiding key locations or scouting for targets and our response is anything but united."

"Sorry to hear that Commander."

A chime at the door suddenly interrupted them drawing Shepard's attention.

"I wasn't expecting anyone else. Give me a minute."

He stood and walked to the door, opening it to reveal one of the avian aliens with a tattooed face waiting for him. Turians if memory served. Shepard invited him in and began to speak quietly.

"This war isn't off to a good start." Meredia brought up while Shepard was busy. "They were caught by surprise, their enemy effectively eliminated their main command and military centres before they could mobilise."

"They must have had excellent intel to do that in the first hour or so." Devlin considered.

"Also it seems nobody has visited my region of space." Meredia mused. "There could be a Gamilas out here as there is an Earth."

"Could be, though I've never heard of any of these other aliens. Turians, Asari, Quarians."

"Nor have we, virtually all sentient life can trace its origins to the Akerians, hence our very similar DNA." Meredia nodded. "These aliens seem genuinely, well, alien."

With a hiss the door to the office opened again allowing the avian alien to depart, Shepard returning to stand with the other visitors, his face thoughtful.

"Hope that wasn't more bad news Commander?" Devlin asked.

"Maybe not." He looked to his guests. "That was the Turian Councillor, this morning I tried to convince the Council to press their governments on helping Earth and got nowhere. Now though he's asking me to go to Palaven and extract their leader, the Primarch of the Turian Hierarchy."

"Palaven is under attack though?"

"It is, this is going to be a high risk mission." Shepard confirmed. "But if I can get the Primarch out of there he'll owe Earth a favour, it's not much but it's the first step in creating an alliance."

"So you are going in?"

"I am." Shepard nodded. "And I want you to go with me."

There was a long moment of silence.

"Huh?"

"You brought a ship right? A warship from what I understand?"

"Well yes but we haven't faced these Reapers, and from what I hear they just annihilated half your navy and smashed through the home defences of the biggest military in the galaxy."

"All true, but I'm not asking you to fight." Shepard quickly clarified. "I'll be going in the Normandy but I could use some support just in case. There's no other ships available, you have the only warship in twenty sectors that isn't deployed or fighting for its life."

"I hate to say it Commander but this isn't our fight." Devlin responded. "If I could I'd help you out, but I have to consider my mission, my home. Risking the Artemisia could cost us a major asset critical in the war with Gatlantis."

"But you also have orders to deliver hard data on the Reapers, data we don't have right now. If you follow me to Palaven you'll get to see the Reapers up close, scan them, observe them first hand. You won't find any other way to get the information you need."

"He has a point." Meredia considered.

"Not just their ships but their ground units too." Shepard added. "Chances are my team will have to fight it's way to the target, if you had some support to offer, some combat specialists, I'd make sure they got home safe. At least as safe as any of us."

"You're asking me to put my ship and my people into harms way for your mission Commander."

"I'll be honest Captain, this is a tough assignment and I want to make sure I have every possible resource available to win. Right now you have a warship and trained soldiers available, there's no way I can just ignore that. This is a request, you can say no, you can back out, I'm not going to blackmail or pressure you. But I am asking for your help to give this mission a better chance of success and give my home an ally it absolutely needs."

Devlin narrowed his eyes before exhaling a sigh and chuckling.

"You know how to pitch a bloody terrible idea Commander."

"Made a career out of it." Shepard half smiled. "Are you in? You'll get what you need, I get what I need, and most importantly Earth and Palaven get something too."

"Fine." Devlin held out a hand. "I have orders to gather data, this will do it. But we're only there as observers and my orders are to withdraw if there is a threat to my command"

"Understood, you made the right choice." Shepard shook his hand again. "I'll set up a joint mission, when can you go?"

"Any time."

"Then give me two hours to pull my team together and make sure the Normandy has enough supplies. I'll contact you on this frequency."

He handed back the data pad with his contact details on.

"We'll be ready."

"I look forward to seeing what your people can do." Shepard smiled in anticipation. "Alternate universe or whatever we have a common enemy. I'll see you up there."