AN: Alright, following feedback, plus thinking of all the effort it would take, I decided not to bother naming the chapters (numbers do fine I think). Massive thanks for the feedback, I'd been tearing my hair out for weeks over that. :)
If Shepard had thought that the Citadel looked imposing on approach then it was nothing compared to when they actually docked. They were guided to the Alliance Docking Area, a section of the arms specifically for Alliance military traffic. They were the only ship there at the time and, as soon as they had passed through the dock, they found themselves swamped. The Citadel was unlike anything she had ever seen before, towering buildings stretching up so high that even when she craned her neck she could barely see their tops and when she looked down into the darkness she could hardly see the ground, thronging aliens and long lines of hover cars passing in neatly ordered rows.
It was one of these cars that they got into; she was accompanied by Captain Anderson, Kaidan and Ashley as they zoomed over the ward and towards the Presidium, the great ring that formed the centre of the Citadel, the true hub of galactic politics and society. It was the home of the Citadel Council, the beings who dictated policy for a full two thirds of the galaxy's sentient beings and of the embassies, every species considered powerful enough to have a say on those policies. It was here that they were heading, to the embassy of the Human Alliance, for a meeting with the Ambassador himself.
The journey to the embassy was completed in silence. Ashley had never been to the Citadel either so she and Shepard were like a pair of gawping children, taken in by everything they saw. In comparison, Kaidan and Anderson sat in sombre, if respectful silence. The only words passing amongst the crew being; 'did you see that?' or 'what was that thing?' as they wound their way around the buildings with the swirling rainbow of gases that formed the nebula above them as a background.
In comparison to the dark and noisy Wards, the Presidium seemed a much quieter and more sedate location. An artificially blue sky was dotted with a few specially placed clouds that reflected down on the great lakes. To either side of the lakes were long, pearl-white buildings and walkways dashed with green lawns and quite opulent beds of colourful flowers, curvy and appealing to the eye.
The Human Embassy was nestled between that of the turians and that of the elcor and volus. The entrance was protected by a pair of human Marines, who snapped to attention as the party passed through, while there were more inside. In comparison to the rest of the Citadel, which was a rainbow mix of aliens from all over Citadel Space and beyond, the Embassy contained almost exclusively humans, strange in itself after the metropolitan mix beyond. Anderson approached the front desk, bypassing the queue without so much as a word to those waiting. Some tutted, others sighed or muttered but most seemed to appreciate the gravitas of the Officer and stayed quiet. The Receptionist, a young, pale blonde, looked up as he approached and smiled in welcome.
"Captain Anderson. Ambassador Udina will see you straight away." She spoke before Anderson had even managed to open his mouth, nodding to the stairs positioned to the right of their desk. Shepard watched as the Captain nodded his thanks and headed straight for the stairs, receiving yet more salutes from guards as he went. Like a group of puppies, the trio followed. They had left their armour on the ship, choosing instead to wear their casual uniforms. Their only arms were the pistols at their sides. Shepard felt the nerves building as they climbed up towards the Ambassador's Office. This was it.
The door opened as they approached, a sign that the Dignitary was expecting them. His room was the largest they had seen yet, with room for a table and chairs at one end, a suite of furniture at the other clustered around a blank screen and an expansive oak desk in the middle, again with room for three chairs in front of it. Along with the bookcases, filled with human and alien literature and a quite extensive complex of files. It was well lit, thanks in part to the expansive bay windows behind his desk which led out onto a balcony laced with more flowerbeds and thin green vines. The balcony, indeed the windows, offered a panoramic view of the entire Presidium, soothing to the point that Shepard could have just sat and watched for hours.
At least she could have, if not for the man who rose from the desk.
"Ambassador Udina." Anderson offered a bow of his head in greeting as he approached the desk. Shepard, feeling distinctly out of place, fell into the old routines and took up position on his shoulder; his second and protection. She felt, more than saw, Ashley and Kaidan take up further positions on her shoulders. She almost felt like a guard detail.
"Captain Anderson." the Ambassador's voice was low and harsh. He was the smallest in the room, even more than Ashley while he gave the distinct impression of a man who had never thrown nor taken a punch in his life. He was thin and balding, his face withered with age and stress but it was his eyes that Shepard took most note of. They were sharp and alert, running over each of them in turn, always aware of their surroundings. Shepard didn't like him. He seemed to emanate a sense of untrustworthiness and deceit.
"I see you've brought half your crew with you." He sneered. Shepard stiffened to attention and resisted the urge to glower at him. It had not been a joke.
"Just the ground team from Eden Prime Ambassador." If Anderson had picked up on anything, he did not show it. His voice was straight and no nonsense, as if he was talking to any other member of his crew, "This is Staff Lieutenant Alenko, Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams and-"
"-Commander Shepard." Udina interrupted. Shepard turned her gaze to him, surprised, to find that he was boring right into her eyes. She held the gaze, blue eyes on dark. She got the sense as if under the scope of a sniper, training his weapon on her, deciding whether or not to pull the trigger, "At last we meet. It is an honour." He offered a nod of the head.
Disarmed by the sudden change in tack, she fixed a smile to her face and returned the gesture,
"Likewise, Ambassador."
"I have the mission reports Captain. I assume they're accurate." Udina turned back to Anderson so suddenly that Shepard wondered if he had just forgotten her existence, his brow furrowed. At the same time, she felt a prick of irritation.
Why the hell wouldn't they be accurate?
"They are." Anderson replied immediately.
Udina sighed, the first overt concession of emotion he had displayed since they had entered the room, "then we have a problem."
"Did you get us a meeting with the Council, Ambassador?" Anderson got straight to the point, frowning himself in turn.
A moment of silence, Udina hesitated.
"I lodged a formal protest with the Council over the lack of protection or assistance from their forces in the area and also discreetly made contact with Citadel Security over the conduct of a Spectre member..."
"You didn't ask for a meeting." Shepard couldn't stop herself bursting out as she realised just what the Ambassador was saying. This time she couldn't stop herself glaring at him, the memories of the burnt out Marines and civilians of Eden Prime surging into her conscious mind.
"Ambassador?" Anderson had kept calm but she could sense the sharp edge to his voice, the warning that sent the shiver down the spine of many a soldier.
"Of course I didn't." Udina growled, meeting the harsh stares of the entire team without so much as a flicker of discomfort. "Saren is the Council's top agent and has been for over twenty years. That's without going onto his influence with the turian hierarchy. Look at the charges; mass murder? Attacking a Citadel colony? Murdering a fellow Spectre? This is the Citadel! You can't just charge in, throwing around accusations, especially with this," he snatched up a datapad from his desk and waved it in front of them, "you've got nothing."
"An eye-witness..." Shepard began but immediately found herself cut off again by the irate Ambassador.
"-an traumatised smuggler, Commander, is not going to blow this case open." He virtually snarled at her ignorance, "and given your previous history with Saren, Captain, we'd be lucky if any hearing lasted ten minutes!" He slapped the report down again with a loud crack.
A moment of silence ensued.
"You do believe us, Ambassador?" Shepard took a deep breath, watching the man carefully.
"Oh yes," He exhaled, although the conviction in his voice did not extend to his eyes, "but we have to be subtle with this. We have to be careful. Your Spectre candidacy is hanging by a thread as it is, Shepard. Nihlus was supposed to give a final recommendation but with him dead, things are still up in the air."
"To hell with the Spectres!" She hissed, "Saren has to be punished!"
"He will, Shepard." Anderson placed a hand on her shoulder, turning to look into her eyes and immediately she understood; not the time or place.
Turning back to Udina, the Captain frowned,
"Is there anything we can do to assist in the meantime?"
"Not you Captain," Udina shook his head, "I don't want the Council using your relationship with Saren to dismiss any evidence we find. Shepard on the other hand," he looked thoughtful, "yes. I think something can be arranged."
"You can't just cut the Captain out of this," Shepard protested, glancing between her two Superiors.
"I can and I am." Udina folded his arms. Debate over.
"He's right Shepard," Anderson sighed in resignation, a sign of defeat that she had very rarely seen from the Officer, "You'll do much better without my help."
Before the redhead could protest further, Udina cut across her, speaking with fresh enthusiasm, the foul-tempered exchange of just moments ago already forgotten,
"C-Sec are investigating covertly but we'll need more than that. We need the Shadow Broker. Barla Von is an Agent of his down in the Financial District. You had better start there."
"The Shadow Broker?" Shepard folded her arms over her chest with an unhappy frown. Everyone knew who the Shadow Broker was; ironic because no one knew his true identity, or hers, of even theirs. The Shadow Broker was the font of illicit knowledge, bought or stolen, he had enough compromising intelligence to bring down every government and powerful individual in the galaxy. However, what he did was sell it to rivals or enemies, forcing them in turn to do the same to avoid losing the advantage. It was a never-ending game, a battle in which there was no winner, no one but the Shadow Broker. Shepard felt distinctly uneasy when she thought of the Shadow Broker. He was a dangerous operator, to whom the law was nothing more than an inconvenience to be bypassed. In this case though, she might not have a choice.
"Alright, I'll go talk to Barla Von." Shepard sighed, running a hand through her hair. Udina nodded.
"Excellent. While you are away, Anderson and I will review what we have so far, try to put as favourable and unbiased a spin on it as we can. We'll need to take Saren down in one fell swoop. Anything less and we put everything at risk."
Shepard nodded to show she understood and, with a quick signal to both Kaidan and Ashley, left the room. As she headed down the stairs, she bit her lip, realising that she had suddenly been thrown into a world where words were weapons, where every subtle move was judged and were blackmail and extortion were the norm. The dark and murky world of subterfuge, betrayal and lies.
This is going to be fun...