Deep in the recesses of a geth assault ship, Rang was setting a charge near a geth drive core as Prudii was watching the area. "Honest opinion, me and Nyona, what do you think?" Prudii didn't even entertain the thought for an instant. "Oh, come on, seriously? I mean, end of the known galaxy here, and that uptight bitch, and most asari who know anything about survival, will have the unfortunate misfortune of living though most of this war, before the Reapers eventually find them and wipe them out. And with how long it must be for her now, I can't imagine she'd be too picky about who lands in her spaceport anytime soon, so long as they don't decide to deposit their cargo."

Prudii fell back down as a lone geth platform entered the area. Prudii watched the geth using the recon droids, "Like you'd have a chance otherwise."

Prudii sniped the geth as the duo ran for the fighter bay. Rang had a detonator in hand and activated it once they jumped down the opening, "Fine, but don't expect me to help you with your relationship problems then." They quickly entered the awaiting gunship as the geth ship exploded.

Shepard and Garrus were flanking the door to the Executor's office now as Mandalore covered the bottom of the stairs and James opened it. The trio moved in to secure the room only to be greeted by corpses. "Bailey, looks like thy got the executor and two salarian bodyguards."

"Damn. All right, keep searching. If you don't see the Councilor's body, don't count him out yet."

Mandalore was just joining them, though Garrus was looking out the window to something that caught his eye. As Shepard moved to look, one of the chairs started to move, and the culprit was the Councilor himself, using a tactical cloak to remain hidden thus far. "Found him. He looks unharmed."

"Get him somewhere safe!"

Shepard signaled James and Garrus to get down there, though a mysterious stranger had also spotted the salarian. This unknown human in black jumped in front of the Council member, slowly moving toward him. Shepard and Mandalore saw this and Shepard shot out the glass, jumping down to stop him. Mandalore was covering with his DC-17m sniper rifle. The stranger displayed his agility, jumping over the Councilor and hiding behind him, pointing his open hand at the salarian as a ball of energy started to build up in his palm. Shepard moved closer, "Don't even think about it."

Valern was now a wall between the two, as they continued to shift between the sides of the council member. Valern though started to whisper, "Shepard. He's going to kill us all."

"That remains to be seen."

"I mean Udina. He's' staging a coup. He's got the other Councilors now—to hand over to Cerberus."

Garrus and James rushed in, flanking Shepard, "Four on one, pal. It's over."

"No. Now it's fun."

Before he could do anything, the stranger heard the distinct sounds of a pistol forming. He turned to find Thane pointing the gun to his head, though this human was quick, batting the pistol back before it fire as the two assassins were now in hand to hand combat. Suddenly Major Kirrahe deactivated his tactical cloak, guiding the Councilor behind him and Shepard.

The assassin got a few good punches before throwing Krios over his shoulders. Thane was quick to recover, grabbing his pistol in the roll and firing at the assassin, though he had disappeared using his own tactical cloak. No one knew where he was as they tried to find him. Thane looked right, though his instincts knew it was left. He waited for the assassin to reappear before trying to get him with his pistol. The assassin was fast, using the table for cover to close the gap as he tried to decapitate Thane with a sword. Krios ducked, though he used his pistol to refract the sword's arc, losing the pistol from his hand. The assassin used this, as Thane got back up, the assassin had his back to him and tried to slice downward with his left arm. Thane easily dodged the slash, kicking the human in the gut followed by a roundhouse to the face and as the assassin was on his knees Thane blasted him with his biotics.

Krios grabbed the pistol and popped the overheated thermal clip as the assassin quickly got himself back up onto his feet and grabbed his blade. Krios opened fire on the assassin as the two ran to meet, though suddenly a clocked figure dropped down from above as an unseen energy pushed the two of them apart. Mandalore was the only one to raise his weapon, calling out, "It's over, assassin! Leave if you value your life."

James looked up to Mandalore, "Are you kidding me? Keep that pointed at his head."

The assassin looked to the cloaked figure, looking to see what was beneath the hood. When he saw the rather distinguished visor, he smiled, "I've always wanted a Mandalorian helmet. I'll have to remember to mount your head on my wall before then."

Mandalore kept his rifle in hand, though he no longer had it ready to shot, "It's your funeral. Shepard, tell your people to back off." Shepard, Garrus and Thane knew what this one could do, it was James and Kirrahe who were in for a show.

This new Mandalorian remained motionless, allowing the assassin time to assess his situation and devise an attack. He ran up to the hooded Mandalorian, faking a slash from his right, before jumping up and preparing a slice across the neck. The Mandalorian didn't even flinch when he performed his flank, the Mandalorian didn't even move, allowing the assassin to jump into the air before taking a few steps forward to avoid the blade's arc. At first the assassin assumed this to be some kind of fluke or Mandalorian mind game and he wasn't planning on falling for it.

The assassin rushed at the unknown Mandalorian again, this time with every intention of stabbing through the bastard. Mere inches from actually piercing through the cloak, the Mandalorian jumped up and landed at the original spot when the Mandalorian first appeared. This time the Mandalorian pulled out a cylinder device from the belt and speaking with the assassin, "I have seen enough," her voice was commanding as she waited for the assassin to turn back, "Though you have rigorously trained your body, have an understanding of the blade, especially with single handed combat knives, you however have shown me you are an amateur with the sword." The assassin tried to strike at the Mandalorian again, though now the Mandalorian was easily dodging each of his slashes, and continued to speak, "You hold no discipline with the weapon. Your preferred style is that of a gun, hence the weapon in the palm of your hand. For the more advanced swordsmen techniques, you are using computers to assist in muscle controls, the very reason for the extensive implantation in the arms, legs and body." This seemed to be angering the assassin now, though the Mandalorian jumped onto the table, jumping over every attempt the assassin tried at her. "And one last thing," jumping back down, "you are incorrect in calling me a Mandalorian, though my armor does originate from their culture," activating the device in hand as a blade of black light appeared, "I am a Jedi. And this will be your last chance, surrender."

Cerberus had little intel on this Jedi, beyond the fact that it appeared alongside the Mandalorians at the time of the Horizon harvest prevention. Instead, the assassin rushed at the Jedi, eager to prove the Jedi was not a threat, though he wasn't going to let it become one. The assassin rushed in low, firing the weapon in the palm of his hand. But the shot was deflected by the blade of light, as the Jedi now moved, albeit a walk in compared to the assassin's sprint. The Jedi twirled, using the flailing clock to distract the assassin as he tried to stab the Jedi. The blade had completely missed other than the cloak itself, but the Jedi did not, the blade of light severed the assassin's blade arm at the shoulder with such easy that the contact point at both ends were still molten.

Without his deadliest weapon, the assassin retreated toward the skycars below. Mandalore quickly adjusted his sight, shooting the assassin in his right leg as he jumped down to the ramp. Shepard followed him though the assassin jumped off the edge, riding on top of a waiting skycar and flew off.

While Shepard gave chase, Mandalore jumped out the window and turned to Kirrahe, handing the STG Major a datapad. He quickly scanned though the information and was slightly shocked, "That would mean…"

"I'm counting on you to make the proper arrangements." He then walked up to the Jedi, "General, could you protect the Councilor until C-Sec can send a protection force?"

She bowed to him, "I will be honored. Now save the others and end this assault." As Mandalore and the others gave chase, she turned to Thane, "I sense you are in pain. Your lungs…"

"Do not worry about it. We should focus on keeping the Councilor safe."

She now had a hand on Thane's chest, "To overcome my people's natural aggression, my master taught me by move water. I believe I could do something to provide some relief. Now I must ask, is your people's anatomy similar to humans, organ placement wise?"

"Relatively identical. Though if you are referring to my respiratory system, then yes, they are built in a similar fashion."

The Jedi was now focused on his lungs as he could feel something being pulled out of him. "I will only take small amounts, but do hold your breath until you feel the water in your mouth. You may swallow or open it to allow me to remove it." Thane opened his mouth as a ball of water was floating in the air now before being sent over to the nearby plants.

Valern and Kirrahe were in complete shock, "What kind of a biotic are you?"

"That was not what you refer to as biotics. It was the Force, the very power within all, though many are simply deaf to its calling."

Shepard's team chased after the assassin as they tried to prevent him from fleeing or attempt to kill the other Councilors. They took one of the C-Sec patrol cars to follow.

"I've got a fix on the Council's position. I'm sending it to your car."

"Good work, Bailey. We're almost there."

Something suddenly landed on the hood of the skycar. It was one of the Cerberus Phantoms, and she had her blade ready to attack. Shepard fired on her, but the Phantom ran to the back of the car.

Mandalore threw out his hand, "Shotgun!" James handed it off, as Mandalore opened the door, relying on his magnetic boots to keep him stable. Mandalore used his ACP Repeater against her first, but the Cerberus flunky created a biotic barrier that stopped all of the shots. She then rammed her sword into the car's engine, causing it to loose altitude. Another skycar came close to the Phantom as the door opened to reveal the assassin from before flying it. Mandalore pulled out the shotgun, blasting the Phantom in the back before she could get in with the assassin. The assassin pulled away as the Phantom's body was flung off and Shepard tried to give something of a controlled landing and Mandalore quickly strapped in for impact.

The team was alright, though the crash was a bit of a dozy. "Shepard? My instruments say your car stopped."

"I'm on foot now. Any luck contacting the Council?"

"Negative. Their guards are dead. But we've still got vital signs on the Council's transponders."

"Where are they going?"

"The shuttle pad above Shalmar Plaza. Udina's with them. If he can get them in range of that assassin, this is all over."

Mandalore stopped them, "I'm getting a report from Bev. He says they're being herded to a dead end. We need to move."

Beviin had reached the shuttle pads and no one insight. The carnage was far worse than what he had imagined. The destroyed shuttle was all over the place preventing a new shuttle to land and the fires prevented anyone from throwing the wreckage out of the way. This was the perfect time to set himself up in the upper levels for a better view of the area. Bev could see this one dark area that Prudii would have called a modest perch. The only difficulty might be getting to the perch, but Bev was confident that he could reach it without leaving any kind of mark or disturbance that would expose his presence. With some time to spare before either Cerberus or the Council arrived, now all he had to do was be patient and wait with his DC-17m sniper ready.

Continuing on one of the maintenance walkways, James took this moment of peace to ask Mandalore a question, "So why do your smoke grenades work against Cerberus, but they seem to see though their own."

"After the invasion of Grissom Academy, my second took a few of their helmets and found that answer. They have special thermal settings that help them find targets. He devised a countermeasure that specifically designed to completely disrupt their equipment. Give him enough time with any piece of tech, and the proper safety precautions, he'll find a way to use or destroy it."

Jumping into the next area an Atlas was deployed as an engineer joined it. The team ran to cover as Mandalore focused on the engineer and Shepard got in contact with Bailey, "I'm at Shalmar Plaza. Where's the Council?"

"In an elevator. They're trying to get to the shuttle dock. Someone's following them. A one armed fella?"

"Great."

Once the engineer was eliminated, Mandalore had a new grenade in hand, tossing it the Atlas. It was another EMP grenade that disabled it long enough for them to wail on it. Hitting something sensitive in the cockpit, the pilot accidently initiated the mech's self-destruct sequence. A Cerberus shuttle tried to deploy reinforcements in the area but a C-Sec gunship arrived to give chase. Since the recapture of the central communication hub, defenses around the Citadel have improved considerable.

"Got a ride for you, Shepard. Grab an elevator!"

Heading to the closest ones, the team carefully moved in, though they found the assassin, still walking as he was surrounded by five Phantoms. Shepard tried to stop the, but the doors closed. James was now working to open the door, though he was having a bit of difficulty with getting his fingers into the gap. Mandalore jammed his vibroblade into the small opening, using the blade's vibrations to shake things up until Mandalore was able to get one side open as James pulled the other.

Shepard jumped in first as the others quickly joined him. "Okay, I'm in the shaft."

"Hang on, this'll be a fast climb."

Bailey wasn't kidding, as the acceleration was far more than what the elevators ever did and it continued to gain more speed. "Tell me that assassin hasn't reached the Council."

"He's trying, but I'm making his elevator stop on every floor."

"Nice."

Everyone kept their eyes open for the elevator, though it was Mandalore's HUD that found him first. "Look at those sparks."

"I found our friend."

"Kill his elevator! There's a power conduit beneath it!"

Garrus shot up the left power conduit as Shepard destroyed the other. James joked, "Going down!"

Bailey noticed a new elevator heading up, "Incoming Phantoms!"

The Phantom was hiding behind one of the power conduit before trying to jump elevators. Garrus and James prevented that, destroying the elevator's conduits before the Phantom had the chance. "Guess that was their stop."

"Shepard! Bad news."

"Is there any other kind?"

"That hit man jumped to another elevator, and he's overridden my controls. He's on his way up. I can't stop him."

"I'll handle it."

Garrus and James were keeping an eye on the two sides before Garrus spotted them. "Here they come!"

The elevator was above them as Bailey tried to match their speed. Mandalore quickly destroyed one of the power conduits as Shepard broke the other and the immediate stop sent three of the goons flying. "Done, you bastard!"

"Shepard?"

They were now approaching a new elevator, and they could guess who was in it. "I see them. Jump!"

Once the elevator was now matched in speed, Shepard jumped onto the elevator first. A shot came from inside the elevator as Shepard just narrowly avoided the shot. He rolled away as three more followed his movements. The elevator eventually came to a halt, and it was after getting their footing, did Mandalore kick the grade open. "She's still a deadly shot."

They watched as the three Councilors rushed to the landing pad with Williams running after them and finding the wreckage, "Damn it, Cerberus hit the shuttle! Everybody back to the elevator." As Ashley turned around, she found Shepard, Garrus, James and Mandalore blocking their path with Garrus disabling the door controls to lock it down. Everyone had their weapons aimed Udina, though Ashley misinterpreted it. "Shepard?"

Udina though tried to use this, "Shepard's blocking our escape! He's with Cerberus!"

Ashley moved between the Council and Shepard, "Everybody hang on! Shepard, Mandalore, what's happening?"

Mandalore turned to Shepard, lowering his weapon, "I've got this." Shepard nodded to Mandalore, keeping his weapon lowered as James and Garrus did the same while Mandalore stepped closer to Ashley, "Ash, come on now, you know us. You know me. The Mandalorians have always destroyed anything Cerberus, and don't tell me our joint operations mean nothing."

Ashley seemed to weaver now, knowing who he was, but she just couldn't believe what was happening. "Mandalore…I don't know…everything that's going on right now…"

"Trust me," offering his hand to her. She looked like she wanted to, she really did, but she was holding herself back. "Cuun aru'e te aruetii, Udina. Kaysh gaanu."

Mandalore allowed Williams the time to remember the few words he taught her of Mando'a, and he taught her most of these words. When she remembered his words hit hard, her eyes widened as they looked back to the Council behind her, though she did not move her head to keep her decision hidden. She closed her eyes, and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry about this," Williams looked like she was going to point her pistol at Mandalore as he in returned had his weapon at the ready, though the two of them turned on Udina, "Udina, surrender."

Udina moved to the nearby console to override the doors, "We're dead if we don't open those doors."

"Udina, step away from the console, now."

With everyone aiming their weapons on him, Udina did something drastic, grabbing hold of Councilor Tevos and putting a pistol to her head. "Stand down! I'm opening those doors!" Udina moved back to the console as he tried to juggle the gun, Tevos and pressing buttons on the console. Before he could get three more strokes onto the console a shot destroyed the pistol in Udina's hand. A second shot was fired and hit Udina's right shoulder, forcing him to release Councilor Tevos. Once she was clear, a third and fourth shots were aimed at Udina's legs, rendering the traitor completely immobile.

From the upper level a familiar armor walked out of the shadows, "Target neutralized. Repeat, target had been rendered immobile."

Mandalore didn't even look up, "Looks like you got in on the action before we saved the galaxy."

"Couldn't let you have all of the shots, sir." Bev was now securing the former councilor in restrains as he did the minimum about of medical attention required to let Udina walk.

Shepard took charge now, "Get the Council back and cover that door! Don't let Cerberus through."

Unfortunately before anyone could do that, someone was welding through the lock at a rather fast rate. Bev though shouted, "Wait! They're not Cerberus!"

Shepard trusted Bev's intel, lowering his weapon as the door opened with a pistol in his face, but at least it had a friendlier face behind it, "Bailey?"

The C-Sec commander and a few others C-Sec officers lowered their weapons, "Made it as fast as we could, Shepard. Looks like you, uh, took care of things."

Shepard turned to Bev, "What happened to Cerberus."

He had a finger to the side of his helmet, getting that answer. "Cerberus is in full retreat. They're using the keeper tunnels and a few other areas for their escape, but we're venting the sections we can with only Cerberus operatives as casualties."

On one of the retreating Cerberus ships, the assassin was being tended to as he contacted the Illusive Man, "Yes."

He muscled through the pain as they applied the medi-gel to his leg and shoulder, "Things didn't go as planned. The Council's still in control of the Citadel and Udina's captured."

"Udina is expendable, and he doesn't know anything that will compromise our operations."

"Now what?"

"There are other plans in motion. I'll fill you in when you return. It was fortunate you survived your encounter with the Jedi, Leng. It'll prove valuable information, and we'll get you fitted with your new arm soon."

"It won't happen again."

"Hmm. We'll see," sounding rather unconvinced.

A/N: I've been meaning to add that scene with Prudii and Rang sooner, but this felt good enough. Now Mandalore has another traitor he's going to deal with, violently.

Mandalorian Translation:

Cuun aru'e te aruetii(koon ah-ROO-ay teh AH-roo-eh-TEESH)- Our enemy is the traitor

Kaysh gaanu(kaysh gah-NOO)- He's a tool