Chapter 10: Suspicious Activity

The walk from the human embassy to the main headquarters of Citadel Security was entirely too long for Shepard's comfort. As soon as the group had stepped foot on the busy thoroughfare, the crowds had parted like the Red Sea. Nearly everywhere he could see, one or more aliens was pointing at them, staring at them, whispering about them, or some combination of the three. Yet none would meet his gaze. What the hell was going on here?

The situation never changed as they moved either. Almost every alien they came across hushed instantly and moved to the side of the path. When a batarian mother practically threw her two children into the nearest building upon catching sight of them, Shepard could take no more. "Nihlus," he called, getting the turian's attention. He waved a hand at the crowd, many of whom visibly flinched at the motion. "What is this?" he asked, honest confusion suffusing his voice. He could understand the staring, even if he didn't like it. There weren't that many humans outside of Coalition Space. But why were they all so afraid?

"Uh..." Nihlus looked at the commander in surprise then looked decidedly uncomfortable. A beat passed and it became clear he was scrambling for a way to phrase his next words diplomatically. Shepard scowled and sighed heavily.

"Look, you're not going to offend me. Just say it."

"Well," the Spectre began sheepishly. "Your organization has something of a reputation. One your people have done little to dissuade." Shepard's scowl shifted into an annoyed frown. That was true enough. "Just be grateful they cannot recognize you personally Commander, or it will be much worse."

Shepard flinched at that reminder. Damnit, he was never going to escape that. Still, he had to know. "How much worse?"

Nihlus glanced around at the assembled crowd, looking for eavesdroppers. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper. "I assume you have heard of the Nika Riots?"

"Oh," Shepard paled rapidly as the name conjured up memories of the riot in ancient Constantinople that had seen over 30,000 people dead. That would be bad. "Really?" he asked, quietly, a slight hint of desperation in his tone.

"I was exaggerating somewhat," Nihlus admitted quietly, a calm sort of seriousness in his voice. Then his mandibles flexed into a rough approximation of a smile as he continued. "C-SEC would stop it before the death toll could reach four digits."

The humans were silent for a long moment. "I can't tell if you're joking or not," Williams said what Shepard was thinking. Her voice took on an undertone of nervous tension. "And I don't like it."

"Relax Chief," Alenko's voice came over the squad's comm then. When he continued, Shepard was glad the man decided to make it a private conversation. "These people are curious and nervous, not scared. I don't think they've ever seen XCOM personnel in full kit before."

At the same time, Nihlus answered Williams. "Apologies," he said, mandibles flaring into a grin. "I was attempting to be humorous." He sobered abruptly, all trace of amusement gone. "In all seriousness, none of you should visit level 14 of the Zakera Ward. That is where most of the batarian refugees are living. They would not welcome humans. You especially, Commander." Shepard nodded. That was to be expected. Nihlus continued as soon as he did. "You will not incite a riot here, however. Most of these people are simply curious. Few humans visit the Citadel. Even fewer traverse it heavily armed. Pay it no further mind."

Shepard glanced sidelong at Alenko, who nodded discretely. "That, that's good," he said, some of the tension leaking out of him. He cast a look at the now openly eavesdropping pedestrians. "Let's just get out of here."

"As you say, Commander," Nihlus said and resumed the walk to C-SEC headquarters.

Upon stepping out of the elevator and into the headquarters of C-SEC, Shepard let out a low, impressed whistle. The building was truly massive. Shepard stood at the top of a small flight of steps that led down into a busy, vaguely triangular atrium. Another elevator shaft flanked by a pair of stairwells lined the opposite, wider wall of the triangle. Uniformed aliens of all description moved through the room, their footsteps echoing up towards the ceiling dozens, if not hundreds, of meters overhead. Railed walkways lined the walls as far as he could see, even more aliens rushing along the paths and disappearing into doorways. The chaotic mix sent a surge of nostalgia rushing through Shepard; it reminded him strongly of the Legetho.

Of course, that's when they ruined it. Ten officers in heavy armor burst out of the bustle and trained their weapons on the humans, drawing the attention of the entire room and slamming all activity to a halt. Shepard sighed as he and his squad raised their hands in the, somehow, nearly-universal gesture of surrender. Perfect. "Can I help you, officers?" he said calmly, pointedly ignoring the guns and shifting his stare between them as he looked for their leader.

"Drop your weapons!" One of the officers, a turian and presumably the one Shepard was looking for, ordered.

"Sorry officer," he said in a carefully conciliatory tone. He really didn't want a fight here. "But we can't do that. Operational security concerns, I'm afraid."

"You," the officer started to say, but was cut off as Nihlus stepped forward.

"Captain," the Spectre said with a hint of reproach. "It is fine. They are with me." When the officer glanced at him questioningly, he continued. "Nihlus Kryik, Council Spectre. This group is operating under my authority."

The officer glared at the other turian as his men relaxed their weapons. "Wonderful," he said scathingly. "You mean to tell me I've got the spirits-cursed Carnifex running around with Spectre protection?" Shepard scowled heavily at the alien's use of his title. Even more so when the silence of the building suddenly took on an undercurrent of tension. Faint whispers drifted down to his ears, and though he could understand little of it, he knew with certainty what they spoke of.

"Look, Captain," Shepard said, carefully keeping his hands raised, even as Williams and Alenko lowered theirs. The tension spiked abruptly as he spoke, but swiftly drained away as he continued without moving. "I have no intention of causing trouble. We're just here looking for someone. As soon as we find them, I will be out of your hair."

Nihlus sent the commander an inscrutable look. "You do realize turians do not have hair, do you not Commander?" Williams started choking on air.

Alenko's voice was incredulous when he asked, "Nihlus, are you trying to make another joke?"

Shepard blinked and his hands lowered absently in his surprise. If a c-psi of all people couldn't read the turian, well, Shepard wasn't sure what to think about that. He blinked again when Nihlus answered, his voice somewhat confused. "No, I wanted to make sure it was not a translation error."

"Oh," Shepard said, feeling no small amount of confusion himself. "It's not. It's a figure of speech. It means we'll stop bothering him." Nihlus made a small sound of comprehension and nodded. Shepard shook his head and forced himself to focus on the more important topics. He turned back to the visibly bemused captain. "Uhh, anyway, as I was saying," he said, trying to get back on topic. His voice picked up strength as he continued. "We have no intention of causing trouble, and we'll be gone as soon as we can." He bowed slightly to the turian. "We're hunting a rogue Spectre, so I can't honestly promise we won't cause you problems, but you have my word that I will do everything in my considerable power to minimize collateral damage."

The captain looked startled at that, and another round of whispers broke out among the audience. A brief moment passed until the turian recovered and scoffed. "The Carnifex? Minimal collateral damage? Hah! I'll believe that when I see it." He chuckled bitterly with a shake of his head. "Bah, there's nothing I can do about it anyway." He turned to walk off. "Just know this. If you pull your usual stunts in my district, Spectre backing or not, you will be spending the rest of your unnatural life in a cell."

And on that mildly ominous note, the captain and his team left abruptly, barking orders at the still-frozen audience that sent them scurrying back to whatever task they should have been doing.

"I think he liked me," Shepard said as soon as the turian was out of earshot. Both Williams and Alenko turned incredulous stares at him while Rex barked an agreement. Shepard chuckled and pat the dog's head. "At least someone agrees with me."

"I would hate to see how the people who dislike you react to you, Commander," Nihlus said seriously. He waited a beat then said, "Come, Chellick's office is this way."

Shepard gestured for Nihlus to lead the way and the humans fell in behind him as he walked off. A few minutes and flights of stairs later, Nihlus stopped before a small door on the fourth-level walkway around the antechamber. Beside the door was a small plaque engraved with the words 'Tonn Chellick, Detective'. Well, at least they'd found the right place.

Nihlus activated the door and led the way in as it slid open. The squad trailed behind him to take up positions before the desk at the far end of the mid-sized office. A turian with blue-white facepaint along the lower edge of his mandibles looked up from his paperwork and said, "Ah, greetings. Emissary Udina said you would be coming by. You're looking for Vakarian, right?"

"Yes," Shepard said, taken aback by, and thankful for, the turian's rush to the point. "You know where he is?"

"I do," Chellick responded without preamble. "He is currently investigating a lead over at the med-clinic in the Zakera Ward. He didn't say what it was, only that it's time-sensitive. If you want to catch him, I'd hurry."

Well that was certainly attention grabbing. "Right, thanks," Shepard said with a nod. He turned to his squad. "You heard the man. Nihlus, lead the way. Double-time."

For once, Shepard was grateful the citizenry of the Citadel was so unused to seeing XCOM around. Aliens practically threw themselves out of the squad's path as they barreled through. Nihlus would periodically shout a warning, but to Shepard it seemed entirely unnecessary. No one on the street could possibly miss the bootfalls of three humans in full titan armor. Weighing in at almost 200 kilograms each, every step they took rang through the relatively tight walkways of the Zakera Ward like the beating of a gong. It was almost enough to cover the indignant voices that chased their backs. Alenko gave brief apologies when he could, but the rest resolutely ignored it, determined to catch up with Vakarian before his lead vanished.

Suddenly, Nihlus threw out a hand and skittered to a stop. Shepard tried to stop before plowing into the turian, but Rex, accompanied by the sharp whine of Vahlenite claws against whatever the Citadel used for flooring, nudged him from behind and sent him toppling forward. Nihlus spun out of his path without even looking and the commander went tumbling ass over teakettle. He slammed to a hard stop on his back, the sudden flare of pain along his spine telling him in no uncertain terms that he would be carrying an impressive bruise in a few hours. He craned his head to shoot a look at Nihlus and opened his mouth to complain but froze at the focused look on the Spectre's face.

"What is it?" he asked as he climbed to his feet, tension leaking into his body.

"The clinic is right there," Nihlus answered, pointing out a large metal door decorated with a collection of symbols Shepard couldn't identify a few blocks down the street. "But those doors are never closed. And the streets are empty." Shepard looked around in surprise at that. He hadn't even noticed. "Something is wrong." The spectre pinned Shepard with a look. "We need to be careful here. I fear Saren is attempting to cover his trail. Commander, assemble your team for insertion through the door and give me five minutes to get into position. On my signal, clear the room."

Shepard opened his mouth to protest, but the spectre vanished before he could get the second word out. He let out an explosive breath then muttered, "Yes sir, Spectre sir. Can I polish your boots while I'm at it?"

"Orders, Commander?" Alenko cut in before he could start building up steam. Shepard shook his head and let his umbrage go. Nihlus was used to being the top dog. He'd adjust eventually. Or Shepard would piledrive him. Either way worked, really.

"Right," Shepard turned to the lieutenant. "We'll do what he said. Rex, you're the bullet sponge, so you get to lead the way." Rex chuffed at him and nodded. "And remember, all of you, this is a clinic. Odds are good there's sick and wounded civvies inside. Check your fire and don't pull the trigger unless you're sure. Got it?"

His squad acknowledged the order, so he led them slowly and carefully over to the clinic's front door. He searched around for the activation switch and settled in to wait the last minute of Nihlus' requested five. Finally, the turian's voice came over the comm. "In position." A beat later, he continued, his voice tinged with a hint of relief. "Saren may not be involved after all, this looks like a robbery. I count five hostiles and the doctor, no patients. Go when ready."

Shepard nodded, despite Nihlus not being able to see it, and said, "On three. One. Two. Three!"

As he began the final word, Shepard thumbed the door's switch, instantly retracting the metal door. By the time he finished the word, the door was completely open and Rex was charging through the space it had once occupied. The inhabitants of the room, four turians, a krogan and a female batarian, all whirled to face the intruders. The batarian, the clinic's doctor judging by the fact she was the only one not wearing some kind of armor, took one look at the humans and shrieked loudly as she threw herself away from the door and straight into one of the turians, sending both tumbling to the floor.

"Drop your weapons!" Shepard barked, the humans each covering a different turian while Rex growled dangerously at the krogan. The turians froze uncertainly, but the Krogan charged at the door with a bellowing roar. Rex met his charge with an answering bark and angry snarl. Moments before the two were to collide, Rex danced to the side and his jaws lashed out in a vicious bite, tearing a chunk the size of a basketball from the krogan's leg. The overgrown lizard's warcry changed to a bellow of pain and the leg collapsed, dragging him to his knees. Rex catapulted into his back, sending the krogan sprawling on his front.

Five hundred kilograms of angry robot landed on the krogan's hump, smashing through its armor and pulping the flesh underneath with a bloody squelch. The krogan roared again, a mix of pain, humiliation, and white hot rage lending strength to its voice. One enormous, three-fingered hand was placed on the ground and the lizard heaved. Rex went flying as the krogan flipped over onto its back. At the same time, the still-standing turians seemed to realize their predicament and opened fire on Rex, the humans in the doorway, and everything in their general vicinity.

Plasma lanced out in answer, and three of the turians died instantly as flesh boiled away from bone. An instant later, the krogan was back on its feet and charging straight at Rex. The dog growled, a low, vibrating sound that reached deep into Shepard's bones, and answered with his own charging leap. The two slammed together with a mighty clash. Vahlenite claws tore into the krogan's chest armor and meaty fists pounded the dog's armored skin as they wrestled. Finally, Rex twisted out of the krogan's grasp and his maw lashed out. A sickening crunch echoed around the room and the lizard collapsed on its back, nearly the entire front half of his skull simply gone.

Rex climbed off the corpse, bits and pieces of scaly flesh and yellow blood dropping from his jaws, and turned to glare at the last turian. The last of the thugs had returned to his feet and grabbed the doctor in a death grip, one wildly shaking hand holding a gun to her head. "B-b-b-b-back!" he shouted shakily. "G-get away or I blow this bitch's head open!"

Shepard waved a hand at his squad, who slowly and carefully lowered their weapons. "You don't want to do that," he said, carefully affecting a tone of urbane reasonability. Damnit, where was Nihlus when he was needed? "You really don't want to do that."

"O-oh yea?" the thug said, his panic making his voice high and shrill. "And why not? It's not like this can get any worse!"

Shepard froze as an idea, a horrible, wonderful idea occurred to him. Maybe that title could actually do some good for once. "I wouldn't be so sure of that," he said aloud, still carefully maintaining his 'I know what I'm doing and you should listen to me' facade. "I heard the Carnifex of Khar'shan is on the Citadel today." The thug froze, animal panic overtaking any sense of reason. The batarian doctor gave out a low, terrified moan. Her form visibly shaking in her captor's grasp. "He doesn't take well to kidnappers or hostage takers. Believe me."

"B-bullshit!" the turian spit out a long moment of indecision later. "He's a myth! Something you spirits-cursed humans cooked up!"

Williams chuckled darkly while Rex chuffed a low snort, their derision of that sentiment clear. "Really?" Shepard asked, then checked to ensure Alenko and Williams were covering him. He reached for his helmet once he was sure, quickly pulling it off. When he got his first breath of the Citadel's air, he asked, "You sure about that?" The thug began to quiver and made low, feeble sounds deep in his throat. He recognized the commander then. Shepard pasted a wide, vicious, insane grin onto his lips. A brief thought brought a stream of psionic light flaring around his upraised hand. "Now... why don't you let her go?"

The turian released the doctor like she had the plague and bolted for the back door like the hounds of hell were chasing him. A pair of gunshots rang out and he collapsed to the floor in a growing puddle of blue blood. The humans whirled to face their origin as a pair of new turians entered the scene from opposite sides of the room, only to relax when they recognized one of them as Nihlus and the other as wearing the C-SEC uniform.

As the pair approached, Shepard slipped his helmet back on and turned to the doctor. "Are you alright, ma'am?" She stared at him in abject shock. He cocked his head slightly. "What?"

"Y-you saved me?" she half said, half asked. When he nodded, she started giggling uncontrollably. Shepard felt his eyebrow climb as she started gasping for breath, half-formed mutters escaping from her. All he could make out were the words 'Carnifex' and 'saved' repeated over and over again. He sent a helpless look at Williams, who shrugged in return.

Alenko stepped forward and said, "Let me calm her down, Commander. It looks like you're needed over there." He pointed at the turians, who were talking in low tones off to the side. Shepard nodded and walked over to the pair.

Nihlus noticed his approach instantly and broke out of his conversation with the other turian. "Good job, Commander," he said, sincere respect in his tone. "You handled the situation well. Your resolution of the hostage situation was inspired." Shepard just nodded. He was unsure how he felt about that particular tactic himself, but it had certainly worked. Nihlus then waved a taloned hand at the new turian. "This is Garrus Vakarian, one of the C-SEC detectives assigned to the investigation into Saren. We were just discussing the case."

"I see," Shepard said, turning to examine Vakarian. He stood roughly the same height as Nihlus, but where Nihlus' skin was a dark red, Garrus' was a mottled grey and white color. Dark blue swathes of facepaint swept back from under his eyes, all the way along his upper mandibles and tracing the back half of his lower mandibles. "Lieutenant-Commander John Shepard," he said as he extended his hand. The turian returned his regard with a gaze somewhere between excited and intrigued and uncertainly grasped his forearm. Shepard returned the gesture with a sheepish grin and shook. Close enough.

"Good to meet you, Commander," Garrus said eagerly. "Your reputation precedes you. I'm looking forward to working with you."

Someone on the Citadel actually liked his reputation? There's a first time for everything, Shepard thought amusedly. "Same," he replied, trying to keep his amusement out of his voice. "Do you have anything on Saren?"

"You bet," Garrus answered instantly. "I heard some rumors about a quarian with intel on Saren and the Geth. I'm not sure what it is, but Saren sent a hit squad after her, so it has to be good. I had just tracked her to this clinic when our friends here showed up." He waved a hand at the scattered corpses. "Good thing you arrived when you did, Commander. Much longer and the good doctor would be dead."

Shepard nodded, grateful for the timing as well. "Let's go see what the doctor has to say then," he said, and the trio made their way over where a currently helmet-less Alenko had calmed her down and got her sitting on one of the beds. When they drew near, he coughed gently.

The woman looked up and jumped in surprise. She shot a panicked look at Alenko, who smiled and gently said, "Relax. You're safe now. My friends here," he drew her attention to Garrus in particular. She followed his directions and seemed to slump in place upon seeing the C-SEC uniform. "Just need some questions answered. Can you do that?"

She nodded jerkily. "Y-yes." She looked back up at the turians and Shepard, her gaze lingering on the C-SEC badge on Garrus' chest. "What do you need to know?"

Nihlus and Shepard looked at each other, nodded, and pushed the officer forward, silently telling him to ask the questions. Garrus coughed gently and spoke. "According to my information, a young quarian girl was seen coming out of this clinic late last night. Do you have any information on where she may have gone?"

The doctor tensed, all four eyes wide. She glanced at Shepard before shooting a scared look at Alenko, of all people. She started at the lieutenant for a brief moment and Shepard could have sworn he saw an infinitesimally small nod from the man. She looked away abruptly. Shepard followed her gaze to one of the charred turian bodies on the floor. She drew in a shuddering breath and said in a scared voice, "If I tell you, they'll kill me." She turned a desperate stare on Garrus and finished in a rush. "That's why these thugs were here! To keep me quiet! Get me witness protection and I'll tell you everything!"

"Done," Garrus said without a second's thought. "Now, where did she go? And how do these goons fit into it?"

"The quarian, she wouldn't give me her name, has information on Saren. He's hunting her," she started shakily. "That's how she got hurt. She's trying to sell the information to the Shadow Broker in return for protection. I sent her to Fist, then these thugs came in and threatened to kill me if I told you."

"Who's Fist?" Shepard asked.

Garrus answered him. "Fist is a human that moved onto the Citadel a few years back, looking for work outside of the Coalition. He was a minor psionic talent trying to make a credit. You know the drill. His record was clean so we let him." Shepard nodded. That story wasn't terribly rare since contact. Citadel Space paid good money for those with psionic talents. "Then the Shadow Broker got their claws in him. There's no proof of course, but he quickly established himself in the underworld as the Broker's point of contact in the Zakera Ward."

"And now he's trying to kill doctors," Shepard said. "But why?"

"Because he has betrayed the Shadow Broker," Nihlus answered calmly. All eyes snapped over to him. "The Broker put out a contract for Fist's elimination a few hours ago," he explained. "It is likely Fist has joined Saren, or whoever was truly behind Eden Prime, and is trying to eliminate the trail."

"Damn," Shepard bit out angrily. "Where can we find him?"

"He owns a bar called Chora's Den here in the wards. It's about twenty minutes away from the clinic," Garrus answered.

"Lead the way," Shepard ordered. "We don't have time to waste."

The run to Chora's Den was uneventful. The area around the large building, however, was anything but. Twisted remains of half a dozen guards, two turians, three batarians, and one in too many pieces to easily identify, were strewn all over the path leading into the bar. Blood painted the broken door, which had been twisted almost entirely out of its mooring. Garish neon lighting shown from the advertisements overhead, turning the gore into a multicolored sludge that was almost painful to look at. The sound of ongoing combat echoed from within the building, the fierce roar of a powerful shotgun supported by the staccato rhythm of assault rifles caressing their ears.

"By the spirits," Garrus whispered softly as they approached. "What happened here?"

"The Shadow Broker's assassin has arrived," Nihlus said dispassionately, voice sure. "Come. Time is of the essence." The Spectre suited action to words and shot through the gaping entryway.

The rest of the group followed quickly into the bar-cum-charnel-house. Bodies were strewn behind overturned tables, the bar, and even on the dancers' stage. Blood and viscera ran in thick streams over nearly every horizontal surface Shepard could see. He stepped forward carefully, his footing unsteady on the bloodslicked tile, trying to catch up with the turian Spectre.

Nihlus had shot ahead, bracing himself against the wall beside something that might once have been a doorway. The bent and twisted steel plate embedded in the opposite wall only reinforced that conclusion. Shepard swiftly made his way to join Nihlus on the opposite side of the opening, the rest of the crew settling into firing positions behind them. More bloody corpses lay shattered and broken through the hallway beyond, until the path made a sharp turn, hiding the far end from their sight.

"Alenko, what's going on in there?" he called out.

A pulse of psionic energy flowed from the c-psi and he reported, "Past the hall is a small office. Three targets, two krogan and a human, probably Fist. The krogan are fighting and the human is trying to get away."

"Useful ability," Nihlus commented idly, his tone almost impressed. At the same time, Shepard flicked a hand sign out and surged through the opening, the humans right on his heels. The turians, caught flat-footed by virtue of not knowing the signals, were only an instant behind them.

"Yea, no shit," Shepard said hurriedly. As they reached the bend, he barked, "We can't let Fist get away. I'll handle the krogan, the rest of you make sure Fist doesn't go anywhere."

Various acknowledgements came back the same second Shepard rounded the corner and blitzed into the room, a psionic corona filling the air with eerie purple light. The room had been trashed. The probably once impressive desk had been flipped on its side and thrown against the wall hard enough to shatter. Decorations, paintings, and small pieces of furniture were strewn all around the room in various stages of disarray. A lone human dug through the shattered remnants of the desk, clearly looking for something and only adding to the mess. To top off the scene, huge dents, some over a foot deep and thrice that wide, had been pounded into the walls.

Shepard's attention was more taken by the pair of krogan in the middle of the room however. One of them, wearing red armor and a bright red crest crisscrossed with vibrant scars, held his bloodied and beaten opponent in a hold vaguely reminiscent of a human headlock, his offhand gripping the rim of his victim's crest. An enormous shotgun lay on the floor at his feet.

Moments before Shepard came through the door, the red krogan loosed a low, undulating cry and pulled. Shepard watched in horrified fascination as the beaten krogan's crest was torn off in a geyser of orange blood. The victor let his enemy's body fall, then carefully, almost gently, set the bony crest on its chest.

Then he was struck from the side by a psionic punch that bodily picked him up and slammed him into the wall multiple meters behind him. He bellowed angrily as Shepard finished his charge into the room, the rest of the squad trailing in behind him. Shepard slid to a stop a few meters away from the krogan in a flare of psionic light, while the others took up positions around Fist.

"Hah!" the thug shouted in triumph. "You'll have to do better than that Urdnot!" He started to stand up, only for the butt of a plasma rifle to clock him, sending him sprawling.

"Freeze!" Williams barked, aiming the business end of the rifle at him this time.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?!" he shouted indignantly. "I'll have your badge you in-" He cut himself off mid-rant, his eyes going wide. "XCOM," he whispered as he realized, probably for the first time in years, that he was out of his depth.

The krogan chuckled lowly. "Figures," he said a few moments later in a voice that sounded like he regularly gargled with gravel. He tried to pry himself off of the wall, but a brief flare of psionics pushed him right back. The krogan turned a baleful glare on the commander. His eyes widened in surprise before a predatory grin split his lips. Before he could speak though, Nihlus stepped up beside Shepard and captured the krogan's attention. "Kryik," he said with a relaxed nod.

"Wrex," Nihlus returned the gesture. "This man has information we require. You can go when we're done."

Shepard's psionics slipped slightly in surprise, allowing the krogan to settle fully on the ground before he could re-establish his grip. "Nihlus? You know this guy?"

"Yes, Shepard. I have worked with him in the past," the Spectre said. "His name is Urdnot Wrex, and he is a mercenary of some repute. He has proven himself a useful ally to me."

Shepard sent a pointed look at the trashed office and the dead krogan in the middle of the room. "So it would seem." He pushed the krogan against the wall again and glared at him. "Stay put or I will be forced to hurt you."

Wrex gave him a toothy grin. "Give it your best shot, Carnifex. You may just make for a half-decent fight."

Shepard scowled, but did not rise to the bait. He shook his head and dismissed the krogan, confident he could stop Wrex before he could do any real damage. He walked up to Fist instead, crouched down in front of him and asked, "Where's the quarian?"

"What quarian?" Fist asked, in a surprisingly convincing tone of confusion. Shepard shot a look at Alenko, who shook his head.

"We don't have time for this," he muttered. He sighed heavily. "Let's establish some ground rules for this discussion. Rule number one: You won't lie to me." Fist started sputtering protests and insisting his innocence, but Shepard talked right over it. At the same time, one of Fist's hands was pulled out from under him in a cloud of purple light. "Rule number two: If rule number one is followed, I won't do this." Abruptly, one of his fingers bent backwards, the top of it meeting the back of his hand.

Fist started screaming in agony while Shepard looked on impassively, carefully trying to hide his distaste. After a few entirely too long seconds, shock settled in and the man slowly quieted. When he looked back up, fear filled his eyes. "Now, where is the quarian?"

"S-she came to me this morning," he stuttered out. His voice gained strength as he continued. "The stupid bitch thought she could get a face-to-face with the Shadow Broker." He chuckled bitterly. "No one gets a face-to-face with the Shadow Broker. Not even me." A demented grin touched his features. "But she didn't know that. I told her I'd set a meeting up, but when she shows up, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her."

Shepard leaned in and growled dangerously, purple light flaring in his eyes. "Where and when?" Fist cowered from the renewed aggression, whatever courage telling his story had given him evaporating instantly.

"Twenty minutes from now! A back alley in the wards!" Fist practically shouted. "Two blocks ringward of the markets!"

"I know the place Commander," Garrus stepped in then. He shot a disgusted look at Fist. "But we need to hurry. We'll barely make it if we leave now."

"Right." Shepard's fist lashed out and sent the criminal into unconsciousness. Turning to the rest of the group, he said, "Let's go."

As he turned away, a shotgun roared and Fist's body burst like a wet sack, painting the wall behind it crimson. Shepard whirled to face the source of the shot, only to find Wrex in the process of holstering his weapon. The krogan stared down the barrels of five rifles, at least one of which capable of incinerating him in an instant, and the most powerful currently living d-psi in existence without the slightest hint of concern. "I'm coming with you."

Shepard's faculties came screeching to a halt. "What? No, wait, what the fuck was that?!"

"I accepted a contract to kill Fist," he said, utterly calm despite the squad's increasing agitation. "I don't leave jobs half done." The slightest of smiles touched his lips. "And that was my last one, so I'm coming with you."

"You just murdered a captive in cold blood," Shepard bit out angrily. "Why the fuck would I let you?!"

"Why?" Wrex asked in return. "Why not?! The Carnifex of Khar'shan is out hunting for Saren Arterius and his army of Geth." A bloodthirsty grin spread across his face. "A storm is coming Shepard, and you will be right in the middle of it. You need all the help you can get. And I might even get a good fight out of it."

Nihlus stepped up to the commander. "Commander, I have worked with him extensively. Wrex is a valuable ally, and he will honor his word. I recommend you bring him along." Well wasn't that just spectacular. The Spectre trusts him so the murderous lizard is all good.

Shepard stopped himself before he could really start and took a deep breath. The meditation techniques he had practiced earlier sliding to the forefront of his mind and helping him calm down. He activated the human squad's private comm and asked, "Alenko?"

"They think they're telling the truth, Commander," he replied. "Beyond that, I'm really not sure."

"Wonderful," Shepard said curtly. He stewed on it for a brief moment, before abruptly remembering that if he wanted to save the quarian, he didn't have time to waste. To the rest of the room, he said "We don't have time to argue. We need to get to that alley ten minutes ago. Garrus, lead the way." He turned to stare Wrex straight in the krogan's massive eye and continued, as threateningly as he could, "Follow along if you want, but if you cause problems, I will tear you apart."

Wrex smiled, a wide, dangerous grin full of blocky teeth. "I thought you wanted to save the quarian. Better get moving then, Carnifex." Shepard made a wordless noise of frustration and turned away, following a visibly concerned Garrus out of Chora's Den.

"He's late" a young, female quarian muttered angrily under her breath. The girl paced impatiently through the alleyway Fist had directed her to, eyes roaming constantly for threats. The Shadow Broker was supposed to have arrived five minutes ago. What was he playing at? She didn't have time for this! Her shoulders shook in repressed emotion. Keelah, what did she get herself into?

The sudden clatter of footsteps sounded from behind her, nearly sending her into a panic. She spun around immediately, her momentum nearly sending her crashing to the floor. Two turians flanked by a trio of armored salarians stood in what she could have sworn was empty space not twenty seconds before, conveniently blocking the only way out of the alleyway. One hand drifted to the shotgun holstered in the small of her back as one of the turians stepped forward.

"Do you have the evidence?" he said smoothly, stepping directly into her personal space without a second thought.

"What? Where's the Shadow Broker?" she asked. "Where's Fist?"

The turian's talon slid along her helmet and caressed her body, sending shivers of disgust roaring through her veins. "They'll be here," he said with a leer. Over his shoulders, she could catch glimpses of the salarians slowly and carefully pulling out weapons. A sudden, sick certainty formed in her chest. There wasn't going to be a meeting with the Shadow Broker. "Where's the-" His talon grabbed her chest and her hand lashed out, batting away the offending limb.

"No way, you sick bosh'tet!" she spat. She started trying to back away. "The deal's off." The turian shot her a look that was equal parts furious and sick glee and she knew she was going to die here. Keelah, why did this keep happening to her? Had she displeased the ancestors somehow?

Her eyes darted to the salarians, who now weren't even attempting to hide their weapons. She could feel her legs tremble even as she started to take cautious steps back. The turian who had stayed back voiced a low sadistic chuckle. "Saren sends his regards, Quarian," he called. Oh. Oh Keelah. Wasn't an incinerator enough to deal with these bosh'tets?!

Images flashed behind her eyes, people and places she would never see again. The Migrant Fleet, Auntie Raan, Father. The last stayed firmly in her mind and she could practically hear him yelling at her for being scared here. There's only five of them after all. The sheer absurdity of the thought broke through her fear, giving just enough room for the stubborn will her father had equally praised and condemned. She was not going to die in a back alley like some Vorcha whore!

The fact that her hands were shaking hard enough that her gun was making an audible clanking noise against her back had no bearing on that decision. Oh Keelah she really was gon- Wait, that wasn't entirely from her, she realized a second later. Her attackers seemed to realize it at the same instant she did. The turian near her turned to the mouth of the alley to see what it was and she saw her chance. The hand on her gun whipped around and the shotgun roared, straight into the bosh'tet's side.

He let out a vicious cry and stumbled back, even as his kinetic barrier absorbed the worst of it. Her free hand swiped a mine from her belt and launched it at the group near the mouth of the alley as she threw herself away from him. The mine exploded a second later, disrupting all four of her other attackers' shields.

The turian caught his footing and whipped out his own gun, a pistol whose barrel seemed to take up the entire alley to the young quarian. His finger tightened on the trigger but a streak of purple slammed into his side and tore his arm, and a third of his chest, from his torso, sending the limb, with the weapon still clutched in its grasp, skittering deeper into the alleyway. The turian collapsed like a deactivated Geth before her shocked gaze. What on Rannoch was that?

Her query was answered as a krogan and some kind of robotic varren pulled her attention away from the bloody corpse. The duo charged into the alley screaming incoherent war cries. The krogan's shotgun, to hers what a dreadnought was to a frigate, filled the alley with an echoing roar that tore the upper torso of its shieldless, salarian target into finger-sized pieces. The varren was no less effective, a sickly green bolt of something she had never seen before spearing the surviving turian and disintegrating his entire chest. The now separated arms fell to the ground beside the collapsing lower body, steam wafting in heavy sheets from all three pieces. An instant later, two more bursts of the same sickly green flew in and utterly destroyed the last two salarians.

And just like that, the entire squad of assassins was dead. She could only stare in abject shock as their place was swiftly taken by her rescuers. In addition to the krogan and the robot, there were two turians, an asari in a full-body suit of armor of a type she could not recognize and two other aliens she had never seen before, both wearing armor eerily reminiscent of the asari's. One of the new aliens stepped forward, and her shotgun immediately came to bear on him, bringing him up short. She felt a brief jolt of pride in the fact that the weapon was held steady despite the tremors running through her body. The alien swung its enormous white and sickly green rifle over its shoulder and held out a hand to the side.

When the people behind it put their weapons away, she could not find the words to describe her relief. Then the alien spoke. "I'm Lieutenant-Commander John Shepard, XCOM. What's your name?"

She started, letting her weapon point at the ground. XCOM? So that's what humans look like. A small, silly grin graced her hidden lips. Keenah totally would've lost that bet. A second later the human coughed gently, tearing her from her thoughts. "What? Oh, right," she said sheepishly. "My name is Tali, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya. Thank you, for saving my life."

"You're welcome," he said easily. "Were you hurt in the fight?"

"No," she breathed heavily. "Thanks to your arrival." She paused suddenly as something occurred to her. "Not to sound ungrateful, but why did you arrive?"

"We have been searching for you," one of the turians stepped up beside Commander Shepard then. The human's head turned to the turian's and she, thanks to years of being forced to read body language through full enviro-suits, could tell he was glaring. Wait... Commander Shepard? Why was that name so familiar? The turian's voice interrupted her thoughts a second later. "Nihlus Kryik, Council Spectre," he said by way of introduction. "We have reason to believe you have information regarding the current whereabouts or objectives of Saren Arterius." Tali's eyes went wide. A Spectre! Praise the ancestors! Surely a Spectre could protect her from Saren.

"Y-yes!" she stuttered out. She tried, and partially succeeded, to calm herself down. "I do, but here is not the place to share it." She tilted her helmet at the still-cooling corpses. "It's not safe."

Nihlus attempted to speak, but silenced himself awkwardly as Shepard stepped before him. "Right. We'll go to the human embassy and discuss it there." He turned to the Spectre. "Nihlus, the Council will want to hear this. Do you mind informing them and getting them to phone into the embassy?"

"As you wish, Commander." Nihlus' mandibles pulled together into a frown, but he turned and disappeared onto the street. Shepard turned back to Tali, his body language relaxing for the first time since she'd first seen him.

"Come on, we'll keep you safe." His helmet tilted and she was sure he wore a grin underneath. "I promise." And she believed him.

"Ah, Commander Shepard, welcome back." Emissary Udina said as the group, minus Nihlus, walked into the embassy. The emissary turned away from his conversation with Captain Anderson. "I trust your... activities in the wards proved useful?" A brow rose sharply as he beheld the group's alien contingent. "And that your companions are here for a reason?"

"Yes, to both," Shepard answered. He gestured at Garrus and Wrex. "These two assisted in the investigation." He pointed at Tali. "And she has information on Saren and the Geth."

Udina's gaze moved to the quarian. "Interesting. We don't see many quarians around here," he mused aloud. "How did you come across it?"

"I was on my Pilgrimage," she answered quickly. "My rite of passage into adulthood."

"Pilgrimage?" Udina interrupted, his gaze sharp. "That is the first I've heard of it. What does it entail?"

"It is a tradition among my people. When we reach maturity, we are sent out into the galaxy to search for something, anything, that could aid the Migrant Fleet. When we find it, we bring it back to the Fleet to prove our worth."

"I see," Udina said absently. "Now, pl-" A gentle chime sounded out, interrupting the emissary. The emissary looked surprised for a moment, but mumbled an apology as he turned to the beeping terminal. "That's the Council's line. Excuse me."

He tapped a swift sequence onto a screen on his arm and holographic representations of all three Councillors and Nihlus appeared atop the terminal. "Emissary," Councillor Tevos said, no hint of her earlier umbrage in her face or tone. "Nihlus has informed us that you have found information on Saren."

"Yes Councillor," Udina confirmed. "We were just about to hear it." He gestured Tali forward. The girl stepped up, and Shepard decided to follow along, coming to a stop beside her as she addressed the Council.

"As I was saying," she began, clearly nervous. Shepard chuckled under his breath. She could stare down an alleyway full of assassins without issue, but put her in front of politicians and she starts shaking. "I was on my Pilgrimage. During my travels, I heard reports of Geth activity. They hadn't been seen outside the Perseus Veil since they drove my people into exile, so I got curious. I tracked a group of Geth to an uncharted world and waited for one to separate from its allies. Then I ambushed it and removed its memory core."

"Impossible," Councillor Valern interrupted. "The Geth wipe their memory cores when they are defeated." The other Councillors nodded, though Nihlus stayed silent.

"Our studies of the Geth defeated on Eden Prime confirm as much," Captain Anderson agreed. "How did you get anything?"

"My people created the Geth," Tali responded, sounding insulted, though Shepard couldn't tell if it was at the insinuation that she was lying or that she wasn't capable of it. "If you know what you're doing, and get a little lucky, small caches of data can be saved. Most of the data was lost, but I was able to salvage this sequence from its audio banks." She tapped her omnitool and a recording began to play.

"Eden Prime was a costly victory." Shepard's hands curled into fists. He recognized that voice. "But the beacon brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."

"The Conduit?" Shepard wondered aloud. He turned a look on the salarian Councillor as he continued. "Does anyone have any idea what that is?"

"Unsure," Valern responded. His eyes darted around the room in the salarian gesture for heavy thought. "Could be any of several things. Or something completely new."

Anderson scowled. "The Conduit has something to do with the beacon," he argued. "It's probably some kind of Prothean technology. But what?"

The Councillors descended into worried whispers, and Shepard could hear Alenko and Williams speculating behind him. "Um," Tali interrupted. "The recording was not finished."

Everyone in the room turned back to stare at her, and she seemed to shrink in on herself for a brief instant. A moment later, she rallied and brandished her omnitool.

"Eden Prime was a costly victory. But the beacon brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." Saren's voice played again. A beat passed, then a brand new voice came out.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers." The new voice was feminine, and carried a hint of ancient wisdom few could match. Who the hell was that? And what in god's name are the Reapers?

"I don't recognize that second voice," Udina commented absently, clearly pondering the new information. "Nor do I recognize that term, 'Reapers'."

"According to the memory core," Tali explained. "The Reapers are a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago. The Geth believe that they hunted the Protheans to extinction then they vanished."

Shepard froze at that and trained his full attention on the quarian. Could these Reapers be the Ethereals' ancient enemy?

Tali continued, unmindful of the present humans' sudden focus on her. "The Geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of synthetic life. The Geth believe they are out there, somewhere, waiting for the appointed time to cleanse the galaxy of all sapient organic life. And that Saren is the prophet that will bring them back."

The humans present traded uneasy glances. "That is... unsettling news," Udina finally voiced what they were all thinking. He turned a determined gaze back to the Council. "Saren is a far greater threat than I had feared. At the end of the Ethereal War, we received a warning of a new, far more dangerous foe. These 'Reapers' sound very likely to be exactly that."

"You cannot be serious," Councillor Tevos said dismissively. "The Reapers are a myth, Emissary."

"Agreed," Sparatus concurred. "There is no evidence of their existence. If they had truly wiped out the Protheans, we would have found something by now."

"That is possible," Udina admitted grudgingly. He clearly wasn't prepared to let it go that easily though. "It bears further investigation, however. Artificial Intelligences are not inclined to baseless religion."

"Even if it were true," Sparatus countered, his tone making his disdain for the idea clear. "The Reapers returning would not be in Saren's interests. What possible reason would an organic want to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? We should focus on the Conduit."

"And that brings us full circle," Captain Anderson interrupted before it could descend into an argument. "What is the Conduit?"

"Doesn't matter," Wrex spoke for the first time since leaving Chora's Den. "Saren wants it, that means we can't let him have it."

"He's right," Shepard said, drawing the room's attention away from the krogan. "Whatever Saren wants with the Conduit, people will die if he gets his hands on it." He panned his gaze around the room. "I won't let that happen."

Wrex chuckled in honest mirth as the aliens in the room adopted looks of varying degrees of surprise and disbelief. "Commander Shepard is correct," Anderson agreed. "We have to find him. We know his goal. What else do we have?"

"I recognized that second voice," Councillor Tevos offered reluctantly. Shepard looked at her in surprise. He hadn't expected her to help at all, after her display in the Council chamber. "That was Matriarch Benezia."

"Who's she?" Shepard asked, the name unfamiliar.

"She is a matriarch, one of the eldest of my people," Tevos explained. "She is a powerful biotic, and she has many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren."

Udina looked up from the display on his arm then. "And she is our first lead to finding him," he announced, scowling fiercely. Shepard turned to look at him inquisitively. "I thought I recognized her name, so I ran a search on our databases. She has a daughter, Liara T'soni, who specializes in Prothean relics. She was asked to participate in an XCOM-funded Prothean research dig on the planet Therum in the Traverse."

"I will not allow you to drag her into this," Tevos interrupted angrily. "Her mother has fallen in with Saren, that is unfortunate, but she will not be held accountable." Valern and Sparatus moved beside her to wordlessly demonstrate their support.

"Peace, Councillors," Udina said, hands raised in the traditional gesture of surrender. "You did not let me finish. The protection team at the dig site reported the appearance of a Geth task force less than twenty minutes ago and has fallen silent. I believe Saren is looking to either silence or recruit her."

Sparatus nodded. "That would make sense." He turned to Nihlus. "Get to Therum and retrieve T'soni. She may know something."

"Yes Councillor," Nihlus said with a salute. He turned to Shepard. "I will meet you at your ship, Commander." Shepard nodded and the turian disappeared from the hologram.

"Commander," Councillor Tevos grabbed Shepard's attention. "We will be investigating Saren further. Any information we uncover relevant to the search for the Conduit will be forwarded to Nihlus."

"Thank you, Councillors," Shepard said with a bow. The holograms winked out, and he turned to leave. Tali stepped into his path, a determined set to her shoulders.

"Take me with you, Commander." Shepard had to give her credit for her audacity at least. "You saw me in the alley, you know what I can do."

"What?" he asked, taken aback by the request. "No, no way. I'm not bringing a kid into the battlefield. It's too dangerous."

"Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy," she countered. "If he succeeds, nowhere is safe." Her faceplate pointed right at him and he felt a piercing glare, the likes of which he hadn't seen for thirteen years. "I've spent the last day dealing with Saren's assassins, and I know the Geth better than anyone. I can help, Commander," she finished empathically.

A sudden flash of a small, eight year old girl suddenly overlapped with the quarian before his eyes. A low, slightly sad laugh bubbled out of him at the flash of memory. The quarian tilted her head, clearly baffled by his brief laughing fit. He shook his head. This girl wouldn't end the same way. He'd make sure of it.

"Fine, you can come," he conceded. "But you will follow orders. Understand?"

"Yes, Commander," she chirped happily. "Thank you."

He shook his head, pointedly ignoring the way both Wrex and Rex were laughing at him. Captain Anderson caught his gaze with a pointed gesture. He responded with a curious look, but nodded. "Head to the Normandy, all of you," he ordered. "I need to talk to the Captain."

The squad filtered out quickly, until only Udina, Anderson, and Shepard remained. "Commander," Anderson began the discussion. "You are being given overall command of the Normandy. Pressly has been given the captaincy, and ordered to defer to you for all non-combat operational directives."

"What?" Shepard asked, surprised. "Why? What about you?"

Anderson's lips cocked up into a slight smile. "My skills will be put to better use with the Geth offensive, and you need to be able to call the shots if you're going to find Saren." He stepped up and placed a hand on the commander's shoulder. "Son, you're a great soldier, and I believe you will prove yourself an equally capable leader. We, I am trusting the Normandy to you because I believe you are the best, the only person for this job."

That vote of confidence left Shepard both stunned and elated. He had never expected that kind of trust in him. If he was brutally honest with himself, he didn't deserve it. He never had. What on Earth made them think he did?

"Captain, I-" he began, swallowing the lump in his throat. He needed to know. "I'm honored, but, but why?"

Anderson stared intently through the commander's visor, straight into his eyes. Something, some indefinable emotion, roiled deep in the captain's gaze, searing Shepard straight down to his soul. "I've been keeping an eye on you for a long time, Commander. Ever since Khar'shan. You've made mistakes. Lord knows, some of them have been atrocious," he began calmly. The fire in his gaze froze Shepard in place, consuming his entire world until nothing remained but the captain's voice and that deep, blazing flame. "But you have always accepted them. What's more, you have learned from them. You have no idea how rare that is. You are a good man Commander, as well as a good soldier. It's time you had a chance to prove it, to yourself as well as the rest of the galaxy."

Shepard couldn't speak, could barely breath. The sheer conviction with which the captain spoke left no doubt in Shepard's mind that the man spoke the truth. He honestly believed it. And some part of Shepard, a small part he had believed long dead, wanted to believe it too. Determination swelled in his breast. He had forgotten what it felt like to have someone believing in him. Maybe, just maybe, he really could meet the captain's expectations. He swore then and there that he would do everything he could to do exactly that. "I, Thank you, Captain," he said finally, in a voice thick with emotion. "Th-"

"Touching. Utterly irrelevant, but touching," Udina's voice, dripping with sarcasm and no small amount of scorn, cut into the conversation. The sound was like a slap to Shepard, utterly destroying the mood of solemn dignity Anderson's impassioned speech had created. When the emissary continued, it only got worse. "Commander, I allowed your appointment because you have proven yourself capable of achieving results when operating under heavy restrictions. Nothing more. You get one chance. Don't prove me wrong."

Shepard scowled fiercely and Anderson leveled an angry glare on the man. "I won't, Emissary." You ass, he didn't say aloud. "Is there anything else?"

"One thing," Udina said, blithely ignoring Anderson's glare. "I will be starting an investigation into these 'Reapers'. If they really are the enemy the Ethereals sought to battle, we need to be prepared. Anything you find about them as you hunt for Saren would be appreciated."

Shepard scowled, fighting against the incredibly strong urge to be petty with the bureaucrat. A glance at Anderson, and a memory of the captain's speech, was enough for him to still the words inching towards his tongue. "I will sir," he said after the brief internal struggle. He looked between the two, ending on the still-visibly-fuming Anderson. "Anything else?"

"Just one," the captain said. "Find Saren. Find the son of a bitch, and kill him."