X. Citadel Council

He was the biggest of them, so of course Commander Shepard had him carry the strange geth who had saved their lives.

Jorge grunted with the effort of holding the geth in one arm, while trying to keep his shots at least somewhat accurate with the thundering minigun on the other. He jumped into the shuttle first, dropped the battered geth, and laid down covering fire for the Commander and Krios.

The reptilian assassin had just gotten aboard when the Reaper ship - though somehow the Reaper was the ship - began to shake and list. Its mass effect core had finally given out entirely, and the Commander was still running.

She jumped. She wasn't going to make it. The gravity effects from the defunct mass effect generator were sickening, but Jorge leaned out as far as he could, vertigo making him want to curl up into a ball instead.

The tips of her fingers touched his, and then he was holding on to her hand for dear life, and hauling her in, and she was next to him.

"Let's go," she ordered, but she left her arm entwined with his.

Jacob hated it. That geth had become first in a long list of things waiting to go wrong - from working with aliens who had every reason to hate Cerberus, to whatever Miranda and the Illusive Man were planning regarding the big man.

The Spartan was on that list, too. A man from another universe - how the hell could you trust someone like that? He had no reason to fall in line behind the Commander, but he did anyway. They got his help way too easily; in Jacob's experience, when the world gave you what you wanted, there was bound to be a catch.

The worst part of the Spartan situation was that Jacob really liked the big guy. He was military, born and bred, and he understood discipline, obedience, doing whatever it took to finish the job. He seemed loyal to the Commander - hell, everyone (except maybe Shepard) could tell he'd gone a little soft on her... but there was always a but.

Jacob wondered what he would do, if he found himself stuck in another universe. He knew one thing - he wouldn't just settle in like everything was hunky-dory. The Spartan was planning something. Jacob would be, if it was him.

The hatch slid open behind him.

"It hasn't risen from the dead and tried to eat you, has it?"

"You never know, Commander. It might only be pretending to be knocked out."

Shepard squeezed his shoulder as she walked over to the control pad in the of isolation cell. "I don't think geth have that much imagination."

"I can't believe you're just going to wake that thing up."

She glanced at the pistol on his hip. "You're armed, aren't you?"

"Always."

The isolation field disappeared. The thing twitched, its single eye winking on. It gave a series of clicks, sending additional chills up Jacob's spine, and then it sat up.

Anderson's office was large and comfortable, but with most of Shepard's team gathered for the meeting, it seemed cramped. Anderson himself was the only Councilor physically present, but that didn't matter. Anyone would have felt uneasy under the holographic gaze of the three high Councilors.

"We humored your stories about living starships that want to kill us all, but now you want us to believe this wild tale about a man from an alternate universe?" the turian Councilor scoffed. "I begin to wonder if Saren was the only Spectre to have broken under the strain."

Shepard knew this had been a bad idea. First there had been the IFF tags, and EDI had insisted the ship couldn't be moved while the installation took place. Their only firepower in spitting distance was their Kodiak shuttle, where Legion and Jack waited.

And now- this was about what she had expected from the Council. There was Anderson, yes, but he remained the only Councilor who still trusted her judgment. She hoped he trusted her judgment; their last meeting hadn't gone the way she'd intended.

"Dr. Solus," Anderson put in, "I'd like to hear your thoughts on all this. Do you believe Shepard's sanity has been compromised?"

"Ah, yes, the equally mad - biologist? Spy? War criminal? Your friends have so much to recommend them, Commander," the turian sneered.

Finally one of the other Councilors spoke. "Wait," the salarian insisted. "Mordin Solus is a trusted agent of my people's government. His testimony could be enlightening."

Mordin pulled up his omnitool data, showing it on a fourth hologram projector. "This is the readout from the Normandy's sensors at the time of the event." He toggled his omnitool again, and a new graph appeared. "And this is the energy signature from a crystal discovered in a Prothean ruin on Feros."

"They're identical," the turian complained.

"A stunning grasp of the obvious, sir. Now this," he went on as the image changed again, "is a series of pictures taken at the site where the crystal was discovered."

The carved images shifted and progressed, drawing uneasy mutterings from everyone.

"What is this supposed to prove?"

"The Protheans were not originally from this universe."

Their Spartan had not moved in the past few minutes. Now Shepard watched him remove his helmet, his expression guarded, as the images played through again.

"And is this your opinion alone?" the salarian Councilor asked. From the looks the other two Councilors were giving both him and Anderson, Shepard guessed that this was a coordinated - and well hidden - plan.

Mordin gestured again, and the hologram projector showed the image of Liara Tsoni. She smiled wickedly at Mordin, who gave a shrug. Beside Shepard, Samara stirred and said something under her breath.

"Based on Mordin's readings, and my own extensive research of Prothean history and artifacts, I concur. This crystal pyramid, while dissimilar to previously discovered Prothean technology, is still of obvious Prothean manufacture. I would also speculate that it may have had religious significance, since what records we've discovered were stored within pyramidal monuments."

The asari Councilor shook her head. "You are asking us to believe the word of a child, Doctor."

Samara stepped forward. "Say what you mean, Councilor. We are asking you to believe the word of a pureblood."

The asari's skin flushed a deeper indigo, but she said nothing.

Liara's image stared, stricken. The justicar moved next to her an smiled gently. "I am so sorry that we have never met. Child of my heart, do not judge your mother too harshly. She was an extraordinary woman, before shame drove her to Saren."

The hologram disappeared. Samara bowed her head a moment, then faced the Councilors again. "You will not accept the word of a 'child.' Perhaps you will accept that of a justicar. I vouch for the accuracy of the information presented here."

The asari Councilor hesitated, then nodded. The salarian did likewise, giving Mordin a smile.

Finally, scowling, the turian gave in. "Very well. Your 'Spartan' is a man from another dimension, and you can hop back and forth with a wish and a charm. What good will that do us? If those images are accurate, and those things are waiting on the other side..."

"With respect, sir, if they ever existed, they don't anymore," Jorge said. "Our galaxy is well explored as your own, and - "

"A moment, please," Mordin interrupted. Jorge looked at him and shrugged. "The Protheans did flee from another universe and arrive in our own. Never left again - found it impossible. They fled from one terror to another, and eventually perished."

Jorge's face went abruptly blank, but Shepard had learned to read him, and now she saw agony in every line of his armored stance.

"If the Protheans had the technology to hop from one universe to another, then why didn't they go back?" the asari Councilor asked.

"The physics of this reality prevented it. One-way trip. Biologically fascinating! They - and you, Jorge - survived... given what we know of other transfers. Culturally - a disaster, once the Reapers came."

Jorge replaced his helmet.

"I am sorry, Jorge," Mordin finished sadly.

The Councilors stood silently for a moment, clearly uncomfortable. Then the turian cleared his throat. "Again, what does this gain us?"

Mordin's changeable temper turned again as he smiled suddenly. "Bait."

"Let us be clear, Dr. Solus," the asari said. "The Council cannot in any way give aid or assistance to a mission based on the... best guesses of a group like Cerberus - not even with the support of a justicar."

"We appreciate being apprised of your actions, of course," the turian purred. "But why come to us with this information at all?"

"I insisted, sir," Jorge admitted. Shepard wondered if he still thought it was a good idea.

"How noble of you."

"If that is all, then?" the asari said, obviously eager to end the meeting.

"Not quite all," Anderson said. "There is one more pertinent bit of information."

Mordin rubbed his hands together nervously. "Yes. Have been working with Miranda and Dr. Chakwas on a procedure to replicate the results of the Spartan program."

"Mordin!" Jorge and Miranda snapped at the same time. They stared at each other in confusion, then looked at Mordin again.

"My apologies," he said, unapologetically. "Too important for ego or loyalty. Have learned much from the human genome - so much variation, for one small species! Applications possible for many other races. Exact replication impossible, should find technological equivalencies... Threats! Krogans - geth - Reapers - too many threats to discount. Need Spartans. Need hope!"

"No, absolutely not!" the turian shouted. "Turning people into - that giant armored thing, into robots to fight your wars for you! It cannot be allowed!"

"Isn't that what the geth did to your people?" the asari pointed out. "Made them into mindless husks to serve their ends?"

"With respect," Miranda said, stepping up next to Shepard, "Cerberus has already been successful once. Commander Shepard is no mindless husk. She is very vocal - and sometimes physical - about her disagreements with Cerberus. But she gets the job done. No husk could measure up."

Shepard remembered killing a group of the creatures inside a Cerberus facility, years ago in her previous life. She wondered if Miranda had been personally involved in that experiment.

"No one who's gotten to know our giant could ever confuse him with a mindless husk!" Everyone turned to look at Tali, who almost disappeared next to Jorge.

"With what we've learned with the assistance of my colleague - " Miranda glared at Mordin - "we will be able to successfully replicate equivalent procedures, turning volunteers into a much stronger and more efficient fighting force than exists anywhere else in the galaxy."

The turian's mandibles flared as he showed his teeth. "So we finally see Cerberus' real plan. We should have wiped your kind out when we first met you." His holographic presence vanished.

"This is a grave miscalculation from Cerberus - and from humanity, Councilor Anderson. The rest of the galaxy will not sit by while your people build up a super army."

"Then don't sit by," Anderson replied. "Send volunteers. Or build up your own forces, as I'm sure Palaven will be doing. At least that way you'll be in better shape when the Reapers get here."

She stared at Anderson, shook her head, and cut her own connection. Shepard's team started yelling, asking Anderson to explain what the Council was doing, arguing with Miranda, wondering aloud if Mordin knew what he was doing.

Finally, they noticed that one Councilor had remained. "Do you trust Cerberus, Commander Shepard? Do you agree with their goals?"

"No," she answered honestly. "But I'm not doing this for them."

The salarian smiled. "How can my people help?"