Mass Vexations 3

by Herr Wozzeck

We kicked the Collectors' asses. But now, we have the Reapers coming, threatening galactic extinction. Good thing we have the crew of the Normandy to try and stop it. And I'm in it to the end. Self-insert, sequel to MV2, various pairings.

26. Chapter 25

A/N: Welcome back guys.

Sorry for the small delay, guys. It's a bit of a complicated story, but... well, for those of you who have chatted with me recently, you'll know this, but for the rest of you: I recently started grad school. Yep, I am now in grad school. So my update rate has been slowed while navigating around the ups and downs of going to grad school. And not just that: I've had to do a lot of adjustments. New school, new city, new environment, and the fact that I now have to pay my own rent. Crazy, crazy times are had for that.

However, that's really only one reason I've been with the delay. The other reason? I'm actually working on extensive rewrites of the Sur'Kesh/Tuchanka arc at the moment. I'll have those rewrites posted to the story eventually, but for now they're nowhere near finished. I hope to get them finished around the time that the Arrival Arc comes around, so keep your eyes out for the announcement that the new Sur'Kesh/Tuchanka chapters are posted. I'd like to extend my thanks to ValentineDiverseOptics once again for being a huge help in the process, and for supplying quite a few great ideas for the rewrite of those chapters. You know, by actually telling me what was wrong with that arc and supplying actual ideas for how a rewrite might work, unlike a certain other person I asked (*glares at He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named*).

But yeah. This chapter... hoo boy, there will be revelations galore throughout this chapter. For now, we have a bunch of questions:

What happened to the Aurigos? How does Tidoses tie in to all these events? What's up with the turian councillor? Why has Isaac been seeing Nicole? Why is Shepard on trial in the first place? How does it all relate to the Reapers?

These questions, and more, will get answered in today's chapter. So let's get going with that, shall we?

---

Chapter 25: B Story: Innocent

"Will, you've got a call waiting for you!"

"Which line, and who is it?"

"Line one, Will. And it looks like it's Councillor Tevos."

"Tevos? Why's she calling me?"

"Who knows? I'd answer it if I were you."

Tevos is calling me? Now why on Earth would she do... Never mind. If she's calling me now, it must be important.

I sit back at my desk, quickly hitting the accept call button on my office's terminal. "Will Moskas," I say. "How can I help you?"

"Good, I called the right place." Yes, that definitely sounds like Councillor Tevos all right. "I was worried about that. Your secretary was good about alleviating my fears."

I nod, leaning forward. "Councillor Tevos," I say. "Why are you calling me? Wasn't it dangerous to call me?"

"In an hour, it won't exactly make a difference," says the Councillor. "Our Spectre has carried out her orders."

Her Spectre has...?

...

"You mean..." I say. "We have our evidence?"

"Yes," says the Councillor. "The crew of the Normandy has come willingly, and there is a sizable body of witnesses that can testify to the fact that the crew of the Normandy fought against Cerberus on Kahje."

"Yeah, I heard about the events on Kahje," I comment. "My husband almost lost it when he found out that a Kepral's cure was almost completely deleted in that commotion." I shake my head. "Speaking of that, actually, the media refuses to talk about the state of the cure."

"It is safe," says Tevos. "The original copy was deleted, but the back-up was safe."

I sigh in relief. "Well, Nadeire is going to be very relieved to hear that," I say. "You said the Normandy's crew is coming."

"They will be docking within an hour," says Tevos. "I will be meeting them with a squad of C-Sec officers at our disposal."

I frown. "Wouldn't it work against you to greet them with someone who could arrest them?" I ask.

"That is not why the C-Sec officers will be there, I can assure you," she replies. "They will be there to make certain that one of our Councillors doesn't attempt anything." She pauses for a few seconds, and I find myself drumming my fingers against my desk before she speaks again. "My Spectre reported a finding on the Normandy that indicates that someone... else may be guilty of high treason."

"Really?" I ask. "Who?"

"I dare not say it over this call, and the Spectre said that she couldn't risk telling me on an unsecure comm channel anyway," says Tevos. "But... I have reason to believe all will be revealed at the trial. Either way... you are Shepard's defense lawyer. As her lawyer, you should probably come to the Normandy when it docks. You will want to speak with our Spectre and possibly to some of the crew members of the Normandy."

I nod. "All right," I say. "Where are they docking?"

"At Docking Bay D24," she says. "It is quite a ways away from where your office is, so I would go to the dock as quickly as you can."

"Of course," I say. "Thank you, Councillor."

"May the Goddess be with you," says the Councillor.

And with this, the conversation ends. I nod, quickly grabbing my datapad with the relevant information on this case and walking outside of my office. I look over to Lalia as she sits there.

"Lalia, I'm going to go to the docking bay," I say. "Apparently, the Councillors' little gambit paid off."

"Good," says the asari as she leans back. "You want me to come with, or...?"

"No, that won't be necessary," I say. "Thank you, though." I cross my arms. "Any idea how far Docking Bay D24 is?"

Lalia simply shakes her head. "Clear on the other side of the Citadel, Will," she says. "You should probably get going now if you hope to get over there in time."

I nod. "All right," I say. "Call Bailey, and have him let Shepard know what's going on."

"I think the asari Councillor is already taking care of that," says Lalia. "I think, anyway. You should get going."

"I should," I say. "If we don't take this directly to the courtroom, I'll be back after I meet with the crew of the Normandy."

"Of course," says Lalia. "Stay safe, Will."

"You too, Lalia."

Having said this, I turn to the entrance of my office. I walk out of the office slowly, and proceed to make my way to the rapid transit terminal.

---

I get to docking bay D24 just in time to notice that a rather large crowd has amassed in the docking bay. I see a bunch of C-Sec officers attempting to keep people back with a police line. I blink at the size of the crowd, noticing that it takes up quite a bit of space in this docking bay. Huh, this is pretty big, apparently. I should've expected that, I guess...

I make my way through the crowd, getting to the police line at the edge. I look beyond it to see that Councillors Tevos and Valern are both standing close to a door with a group of four C-Sec officers. They look... nervous, from the way Valern is casting glances around the area. I turn to a turian C-Sec officer suddenly, noticing that he is getting close and gesturing with his talons.

"Stay behind the line, please," he says. "We need plenty of space here."

I nod. "I know the Councillors," I say. "They asked me to come."

"I shall be the judge of that," says the officer. "For now, though, you stay behind the line."

It's then that Valern turns to look at my direction. I know the exact moment that he catches sight of me, and he quickly walks over to where I am. Tevos turns, also seeing me there.

"Mr. Moskas, you're just in time," says the salarian Councillor as he approaches the police line. "I was beginning to think you would not make it."

"Well, here I am," I say. "I trust everything is in order?"

"It will be eventually," says the Councillor. He then turns his attention to the C-Sec officer I was speaking to. "Let him through, officer."

The officer nods, and steps to the side. I walk through the police line, and begin walking with Valern as he leads me to Tevos. "So your Spectre was succesful," I comment.

"Yes," says Valern. "We were able to negotiate the terms of their arrival onto the Citadel. The crew of the Normandy is not to be arrested. Which will probably be a good thing, as the size of the Normandy's crew seems to have swelled a bit since we last met."

I frown. "Really?" I ask.

"Yes," says Tevos. It's only then that I notice that I am now standing next to the asari Councillor. "Our Spectre mentioned that she would be with more people than we saw last. There is even a certain chieftain of the krogan with them."

"We can't risk arresting him, or we anger the krogan," adds Valern. "But... there is plenty that is interesting about the crew that I have heard."

"Is there?" I ask.

"Yes," says Valern. "We will see to it that the appropriate steps are taken. For now, the entire crew wishes to sit in on the trial."

I nod. "Which means our next session will be soon," I say. "When did you call the next trial date?"

"Later today," says Valern. "According to our Spectre, we could not wait. Shepard is being escorted to the courtroom as we speak. If everything happens well... this will be the last day of the trial."

I nod. "And it can finally be over," I comment. "That's good. With all of this testimony, do you think...?"

"I should hope that the charges will be dropped, if not outright dismissed," says Tevos. "That is what we hope, at least. After this, we can turn our attention to truly important things."

"Such as...?" I ask.

Valern nods. "The STG team we sent to Rannoch recovered various pieces of the Reaper that fell there," he says. "They have done some experiments, but if what our experiments have shown is correct..." He pauses, shaking his head.

"I don't want to believe it myself," says Tevos. "I mean... who could think of something like that? A species of sentient starships bent on destroying all life..." She shakes her head. "I do not want it to exist, and yet..." She pauses, and I can see her bite her lower lip. "The STG says that the theoretical composition of Sovereign and the composition of the Reaper on Rannoch almost exactly match the information that Shepard's crew acquired when they were on the other side of the Omega 4 Relay."

"We are uncertain about what this means in relation to where the Reapers came from," says Valern. "We do not know whether the Collectors created them or the geth created them, or if it is as Shepard suggests and they have existed for many billions of years before us. That is irrelevant. What is relevant, is that two ships that appeared in very different parts of the galaxy fit under the same ship design recovered from a place that only one ship has ever returned from. This cannot be a coincidence."

"And you have reason to believe there are more of them," I say.

"Precisely," says Valern. "We know not how many Reapers there are, but... We have been blind."

"And we cannot afford to brush Shepard to the side anymore," Tevos adds. "We have refused to listen to Shepard in the past. That mistake nearly cost us our lives, and it cost many other people their lives as well. We would be wise to take her word for it, especially now that there is proof that there is some truth to what she says. How much truth is contained in what she says remains to be seen, but we cannot afford to deny her the benefit of the doubt anymore." She sighs. "I have already contacted the matriarchs on Thessia. We have not made it public yet, but my people's military is beginning to mobilize. Valern has also asked the salarian fleets to begin mobilizing for war as well."

"And then there is the matter of the genophage," says Valern. "If I know one of the people that is on the Normandy's crew, he has probably gone to work on curing the genophage."

I frown. "What?" I ask. "I... I thought that was just a rumor!"

"It was not," says Tevos. "Our Spectre confirmed it herself. But... it may be to our advantage."

"Getting the krogan to become our allies would be easy if we offered them a cure for the genophage," says Valern. "I approach it with a small amount of trepidation, as we could have a second Krogan Rebellions, but I believe that curing the genophage may give them hope..." He rolls his eyes. "Dalatrass Linron was more than a little upset when I told her this. But at the end of the day, we are facing our greatest enemies yet. We need as many allies as we can amass."

"There is not much more that we can do at present," says Tevos. "When this trial ends, we will be able to openly do much more."

I nod. "So I see..." I say. I... could this be true? I... I feel a terrible feeling swell in my chest. No... This couldn't be true, right? That we could be harvested by a power that is much greater? It just doesn't seem real... I don't know if...

Damn it. This is not good at all. I don't know how the Councillors would take Shepard seriously, but... Damn it. This is so hard to believe, and yet if it is true...

My thoughts are interrupted when the C-Sec officers give a salute. I notice this, and then turn to the direction they're facing.

...

My...

I see an asari Spectre walk forward, and I notice that Staff Commander Alenko is following her. The C-Sec officers part slightly, and she nods to the Councillors as they turn to greet her. Behind this Spectre, I can see a rather odd assortment of people there. It looks like a rather large group, to be honest, and not all of them look all that happy. I...

I step forward, but am stopped by Councillor Tevos. I immediately watch as a turian with blue face-markings and a human woman with black hair step forward. I look to the rest of the group, quickly glancing at them before turning my attention back to the two people that have walked forward.

"Councillors," says the human woman, an Australian accent making itself apparent. "We were told we wouldn't be arrested."

"These C-Sec officers are not under orders to arrest you," says Valern. "If they were, there would be more than four of them."

The woman looks up to the officers and nods. "Point taken," she says.

"At least we don't have to worry too much about our Spectre having lied to us or anything," says the turian as he looks at the asari Spectre. "You also said that Shepard would be at the courtroom by the time we arrived here."

"She is," says Tevos. "We are providing a fully armed escort to the courthouse." She then gestures to me. "I'm sure you have heard about Shepard's defense lawyer."

"Will Moskas," says the woman. "We have heard quite a lot about how you have defended our Commander. From all of us on the Normandy's crew, we wish to thank you for your aid." With this, she extends a hand out for me to shake.

"With all due respect, ma'am, the pleasure is mine," I reply, taking her hand and shaking it. "It has been an honor to defend Commander Shepard in this case. And now with the crew here, we can help Shepard even more, miss...?"

"Lawson. Miranda Lawson." The woman nods, gesturing to the turian. "And this is Garrus Vakarian. We have both been in charge of the Normandy since the Commander's arrest."

The turian nods, extending a hand out to me. "Good to meet you," he says.

I shake his hand as well, giving him a warm smile. "Good to meet you too," I say. "Now... I believe we have a trial to get to."

"Yes, we do," says Miranda. "I trust there are things we need to be brought to speed on?"

"Yes," I reply. "If you will come with me, I can fill you in on the defense so far."

"Of course," says Miranda. She then turns to the asari Spectre. "Councillors?"

"The escort is ready," says Valern.

"Then I think we're done here," says Garrus. "Let's get this over with."

I hear several sounds of agreement from the remaining crew of the Normandy and from the Councillors. With this, Tevos nods to the C-Sec officers, who then walk by our side as C-Sec begins making the crowd part to let us through.

---

As soon as our escort gets to the courtroom, we are allowed out. I look up to see a pair of C-Sec officers turn their attention to us. I notice that Bailey is in front of them, and then I notice that Shepard is also standing there. As I step out of the vehicle I'm in, I walk towards the Commander, looking back to see Alanya, Miranda, Garrus, and the two Councillors following me. Shepard turns and looks at me before noticing Miranda and Garrus there as well.

"Miranda?" Shepard asks, turning towards the black-haired woman. "I... I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"Neither were we," says Miranda. "But... it turns out that the Council decided to help you."

The Commander blinks, and looks right back at Tevos and Valern. "Then it's just as Will told me..."

"It is indeed as Will told you," says Tevos. "I do not know if Udina has, and I am certain that Sparatus has not." She looks around briefly, and turns back to Shepard. "Your crew made a very... fascinating find."

"There was a Reaper on Rannoch," says Garrus.

Shepard frowns. "A Reaper on the quarian homeworld?" she asks. "Why wasn't the quarian race indoctrinated?"

"We found it in a huge hole that was dug into the ground," says Miranda. "By all appearances, it had been buried there many years ago. The quarians had begun an excavation of the site, but it was abandoned. Many thousands of years later, Cerberus decided to finish what those quarians started."

"And then we fought and killed it," Garrus adds.

Valern nods. "I was alerted to the presence of this dead Reaper by a message sent from the Shadow Broker," he adds. "We can discuss the results later, but for now, let us say that is has changed my mind and Tevos' mind." He pauses briefly, and I watch as the Commander's face shifts to a very surprised one. "We did not tell Sparatus of this, but-"

"All right, Councillors! What kind of shit are you trying to pull over us?"

I jolt upon hearing the first syllables of a turian yell. When we all turn to my right, we see Councillor Sparatus standing right there. He looks very angry, with a non-amused Udina standing a couple of feet behind him. Sparatus looks at us dangerously, glancing at Shepard for a brief period of time before turning to Tevos and Valern.

Wait...

Did Sparatus just swear?

He speaks again. "You coordinated all this without us knowing about it," states the turian Councillor.

"I must admit, this is very underhanded of you," says Udina. "I never would have expected you to do this. Anderson may have done something like this, but not you, Tevos." He shakes his head. "Whatever possessed you to do that?"

"A few things that changed," says Tevos calmly. "Save your anger, Sparatus. It is not warranted in this situation, nor is it welcome."

"You changed the orders of a Spectre without asking Udina and I what we thought, and you helped the defense rather than the prosecution with those orders!" says Sparatus, raising his voice. "You worked behind our backs! I think my anger is pretty spirits-damned warranted!"

"Yes," says Udina. "You acted without our knowledge, which is also suspect. I would think you were trying to make us look like fools."

"Perhaps," says Miranda. "Knowing you two, however, I believe there would have been a deadlock on that decision where nothing could be done." She holds her hands behind her backs. "You are angry about them working behind your back. Fair enough. But I may point out that if not for the actions of the Councillors who changed Alanya Sorshis' orders, then the hanar's progress on the cure for Kepral's Syndrome would have been lost completely."

I notice that Udina is rubbing his chin in thought as soon as Miranda finishes saying her piece. He holds this for a few seconds, and then nods. "Yes, I suppose that is true," he adds. "It did end up working towards the good of the galaxy."

Sparatus turns on Udina almost immediately. "You... you can't be serious!" says the turian Councillor.

"I am, Sparatus," says Udina as he brings his hand down. "I do not like this situation any more than you do, but given what transpired on Kahje I am more inclined to forgive them this once." He then turns to Tevos and Valern. "But I expect you to be up front with me about everything from now on."

Valern nods. "Certainly, Councillor Udina," says the salarian. He then turns his attention to Sparatus. "We are aware, of course, that this creates a conflict of interests. In the interest of keeping the trial going, I have taken the trouble to remove myself and Councillor Tevos from the prosecution."

"I hope you did," says Sparatus, who is barely controlling his anger. "This is tantamount to treason on its own. I hope you understand that." He turns around. "I need to go inform Paellix of these events."

The turian Councillor then turns around and walks away from us. He walks right past Udina, shoving the human Councillor out of the way. Udina looks a little confused at this, blinking in shock as Sparatus stalks off towards the courthouse. We watch him walk away for a few seconds, and we remain absolutely silent.

A few seconds pass before we all cast a glance at each other. It's only then that I release a breath I did not realize I was holding, and it's also only then that I realize that my hair is standing on end.

I shake my head, looking at the others as Bailey comes forward. "Well, I didn't think you could piss off the turian Councillor any more about Shepard, but there you have it," says Bailey. He turns to the Councillors "Will you need more C-Sec officers?"

"No," says Tevos. "If the Normandy's crew wanted to harm anyone, they would have done so by now, I am certain."

Bailey crosses his arms and gives Tevos a knowing look. "I dunno about whether they'd hurt anyone at all, but I'm not in a position to argue," he says. He then turns his attention to me ever so briefly, and gives me a brief nod. "Good to see you again, Will."

"Same here, Bailey," I say. "Now, Commander... The Spectre will-"

"Where's Thane?"

I blink in surprise, looking at the Commander's concerned expression. She looks around to the rest of us, and... Wait, that is correct. I thought there would be a drell among the crew.

"Where... Where's Thane?" she asks, and for the first time I hear the Commander's voice fluctuate with worry. "I see the rest of the crew there, but... Thane should be here. I don't..." She then looks to Miranda and Garrus. "What happened?"

I look over to Miranda and Garrus to see that they suddenly look just a little uncomfortable. I frown, looking at the two of them as Miranda suddenly chews on her lower lip.

"And why isn't Art standing with you?" the Commander adds. "I thought I gave him the order with which the three of you assumed control of the Normandy."

Garrus and Miranda both look down. "Art..." Miranda begins. "He took himself off the Normandy's chain of command. It's... it is a complicated story."

"And as for Thane..." says Garrus. "I..." He sighs, looking at Shepard with a saddened expression on his face. "I don't know how to put this..."

"I got him killed, C-commander."

With this, we all turn to look at a young human with long brown hair. His brown eyes are looking down at the floor, and his black and orange armor sort of stands out from the rest. He looks extremely glum, and is not looking directly at the Commander. He glances away from the proceedings, and I notice that it looks like he had just walked by us when he spoke.

"Art?" asks Shepard. "I... What are you talking about?"

"I..." The young man closes his eyes, and it's only then that I notice the residue of undried tears that rests on his face. "I made a bad call, Commander. On Kahje. And... Thane's dead, Commander. He... He was stabbed by the Illusive Man's best operative. And there were decisions I made that directly led to that. I..." He pauses, letting out a deep breath. It's only then that I notice how... hollow his voice sounds. "He's dead. I'm sorry, Jocelyn. I'm so sorry..."

He turns away, unable to look at Shepard. I look back at her, and notice that the tears are beginning to form in her eyes. "No..." she whispers. "That can't be... He can't..." She shakes her head, looking at Art. "He wouldn't..."

But Miranda simply shakes her head. I then watch as Garrus produces an item from his blue armor. "The hanar looked on his body for anything... personal when they prepared his body to be... 'given to the deep', they called it," says Garrus. I then watch as he holds out a ring. "This was in his jacket."

I lean forward. No... no way...

"That's a drell wedding ring!" I comment almost immediately. "My... my husband has something similar. Why would-?"

"It was Irikah's wedding ring..."

I glance back to Shepard, who walks closer to Garrus. I notice her pulling raising her hands, and I look at the restraints on them as she moves forward. She takes the ring gently from Garrus' fingers, and looks at the ring in her palms.

"This... belonged to his first wife," Shepard explains. "She... She showed him the world outside of his assassinations... And she made him into a better man." Shepard shakes her head. "I was the only person he told about this. He kept Irikah's wedding ring with him. He said it was a part of her that he kept with him. He had lost sight of it before meeting me, but..."

She stands back, holding the ring in her hands. I can see her fight the tears that are threatening to spill from her eyes, and she simply looks at the others.

"I... Thank you for telling me," she says. "I..." She straightens up. "I can't mourn him now," she says, even as she sniffles. "We have a trial to end. And I need to stay strong. For Thane's sake." She pauses, and looks me directly in the eye. "There will be time to mourn him later. We should get going."

I nod. "We should," I say. "Come on. I will debrief you on what will happen."

I then walk with the Commander, Miranda and Garrus following close behind. I begin updating Shepard on the proceedings that will occur in today's hearing.

---

"The defense calls Spectre Alanya Sorshis to the stand."

I look out at the courtroom again, noticing its composition as Alanya takes the stand. I see Shepard's crew sitting in place behind the defense, and I watch as they all look at Alanya. Some have differing levels of interest, with a few looking indifferent and others looking very invested in the proceedings. Either way... I must admit, it is a very colorful bunch. I look further back to the rest of the courtroom, noting the prevalence of reporters before looking back to the prosecution's side of the courtroom. Now it is simply Udina and Sparatus that sit at the prosecution's table, with a rather angry-looking Paellix glaring at the Council where they sit by the Normandy's crew. I glance at them all again, right before I turn to Alanya and see her sit down.

I nod, walking back up to Alanya Sorshis. She sits in the stand, and I watch as the plaintiff swears her in silently. This takes a minute or so, but when he is finished the plaintiff walks away quietly. With this done, I walk up to the Spectre.

"Spectre Alanya," I begin. "I was not... expecting you to speak for the defense today." I then gesture to the prosecution. "I also notice that half of the Council has evacuated the prosecution's table."

I hear a few chuckles from the crowd when I point this out. "You could say that," says Alanya. "I was sent on orders of the Council to arrest the Normandy's crew on Kahje, thanks to a lead given to them from an anonymous source. However, while on route to Kahje, I was contacted by Councillor Tevos, and was told that my orders had changed." She gestures out to the sitting area. "I think you can see the results of these orders for yourselves."

I nod, glancing out at the Normandy's crew again. "I do indeed," I comment. "What, precisely, did they change your orders to?"

Alanya nods. "The two Councillors asked me to observe the crew of the Normandy first," she begins. "If they proved to be hostile, I was to arrest them. In the event that they were seen fighting with Cerberus, I was to help them and bring them back to the Citadel."

"And what did you see?" I ask.

"I... It is a complicated story," says Alanya. "But to make it simple, they were fighting Cerberus." She shakes her head. "They sought to delete a possible cure for Kepral's Syndrome. I saw the crew of the Normandy fight to make sure it did not happen." She leans forward. "I was also assigned a squad of asari commandos. They found that Cerberus was also staging an attack on the Normandy itself."

I hear murmurs from the courtroom. Well, this is good. "And obviously, here we are," I comment.

"Yes," says Alanya.

I nod. "No more questions, your honor."

With this, I walk back to the table where my notes are scattered, and I take my seat by Shepard. I glance at her briefly to see that she has a stoic expression on her face. Well, on the outside, anyway. But when I glance to her eyes, I notice that her expression is blank. It looks... empty, almost. And I find that she is unresponsive to the fact that I have just sat down.

She... She must be going through a lot right now. It's not easy hearing about the loss of any loved one, and yet to see that heaped on her so suddenly...

I slowly lay a hand on her arm, gently tapping her. She glances over to me, and nods appreciatively. I only give her a small smile, before slowly taking my hand away from her arm. I hold my smile for a few seconds longer, though, looking at her as warmly as I can.

The display seems to have the desired effect, for she then looks back up, and I notice that she is at least looking at the trial without breaking into tears now.

"So, your orders were changed." I look back to Paellix right as he steps up to the witness stand. "When did you receive word of these changes of orders?"

"When I was about... halfway to Kahje," Alanya replies. "I already had my resources in place. I had a unit of asari commandos assigned to me before, and they knew nothing about Councillor Tevos' plans."

"I guess they didn't," says Paellix. "You say Cerberus attempted to delete the Kepral's cure. How close were they?"

"The copy the hanar had on hand was deleted," says Alanya. "We were very fortunate that I saw three of the Normandy's ground crew defending the hanar scientists on the facility, as well as the back-up of the cure. If not for them, we would have lost the cure entirely."

I notice Paellix scowl. "And how dedicated was their effort to save this cure?" Paellix asks.

Alanya pauses, and then looks at the Commander briefly. I... Oh... I see...

I watch Shepard nod silently, and say nothing as Alanya turns back to Paellix. I simply scoot closer to Shepard, and hold her hand under the table so she knows I'm here.

"One of the crew members of the Normandy lost his life during the attempt," says Alanya. "He was... a drell. He used to serve the hanar faithfully. He was also suffering from the very syndrome that the hanar were attempting to cure." She pauses, looking at the ground briefly. She looks down there, and then looks at Paellix again. "And he was one of the Normandy's most well-regarded crew members. The Normandy is lesser with his loss, and the fact that his life was taken away during this attempt to save this cure should tell you everything about how dedicated their efforts to save it was."

Paellix shakes his head, but I can tell that he's resisting the urge to scowl. "I see," he says, pausing. I see him stand there for a few seconds, before nodding and looking to the judge. "No more questions, your honor." He then silently walks back to his place at the prosecution's table, silently taking his seat and looking back at the judge.

I nod. It seems that Paellix has not lost his turian honor yet. That's good to know, really. And it makes me glad that he at least remembers that someone lost his life there.

I stand up, letting go of Shepard's hand. She does not turn away from me when I do, even as I walk up to the witness stand.

"The defense would like to call one last witness to the stand, your honor," I say.

"Acknowledged," says the judge.

I nod, turning to the gallery. I then glance at the crew of the Normandy, and nod to all of them.

"The defense calls Miranda Lawson to the stand."

The black-haired woman stands up, and walks over to the witness stand. Almost immediately, I see that everybody's attention is fixed on her. I nod, looking at Miranda as she takes a seat and is sworn in. It takes a relatively short amount of time to swear her in, but she maintains a neutral expression the whole time. I glance over at Paellix, who gives a rather displeased expression as the plaintiff finishes swearing Miranda in.

As soon as she is sworn in, I turn to her. "Miranda Lawson," I begin. "I think we can all tell that you are a part of the Normandy's crew."

"That is correct," says Miranda.

"How, exactly, did you get involved with the Normandy?"

She nods. "I was the head of the Lazarus Project," she begins. "It was a Cerberus initiative in which I was tasked with bringing Commander Shepard back from the dead." I hear several gasps from the gallery as she says this. "And before I am accused of inventing this, I can prove it."

With this, she opens her omni-tool, and then I hear a ping from mine. I frown, glancing down at my omni-tool. I open the omni-tool tentatively, and see that it is downloading some files.

"Those are some of the files I saved from the Lazarus Project," says Miranda. "They contain all manner of documents, scientist's logs, and statistics on how we brought Shepard back from the dead."

I frown, looking at Miranda. "Are you sure you want to give this to us?" I ask.

I look back at Miranda to see a brief flash of insecurity. However, when I blink, she has assumed her normal disposition, and she simply glances out at the courtroom. "I don't really care," she says. "In the end, this is about my Commander. If I have to leak a few classified documents to help my Commander, that is a risk I am willing to take."

I nod. "I see," I say. "I'll... uh... store this for later use," I comment. "In the meantime, I believe we should get back to the subject at hand." I then walk back to Miranda. "You say that the Lazarus Project was a Cerberus initiative. I assume you recovered Shepard in... whatever circumstance she was in. Dead, alive, it doesn't really matter." I gesture to the Commander as she turns her attention to Miranda. "And of course, she knew nothing about Cerberus, correct?"

Miranda glances up at the ceiling of the courtroom. "To my understanding, she did not immediately find out that the Lazarus Project was a Cerberus initiative," she says. "And she was not very pleased when she found out." Miranda shakes her head. "I can tell you with a great amount of certainty that the Commander did not trust Cerberus at any point in her dealings with them, to the point of outright telling the Illusive Man that she wanted nothing to do with him after the completion of our objective."

I lean forward. "And how you would understand this?" I ask.

"I was her XO," Miranda replies. "I must say, it was not without reason: the Illusive Man was not exactly the most up-front person to deal with. He had ordered many bugs and listening devices planted on the Normandy, he withheld information at various points in our mission, and the way his true intentions came out was... not pleasant." She shifts to the side. "I ended up resigning from Cerberus when Shepard left them. I can attest to the fact that several crew members did so as well."

"I see..." I glance back at the judge before looking again. "Now, one of our previous witnesses testified to the fact that the mission's findings pointed at the fact that humanity was in danger."

"Yes," says Miranda. "If the Collectors had been left unchecked, they would have taken more humans, and our colonies would not be safe." She then glances around. "And the Alliance did very little to help, if anything. I cannot say that the Illusive Man's motives were purely for the good of humanity as that would be a lie, but I can tell you that if we had not taken any action the problem of the lost colonies in the Terminus systems would have become worse than it ultimately did."

"Very well then," I say. "No more questions, your honor."

With this, I take my seat next to the Commander. Paellix stands up, and I notice that he is not happy with this turn of events. He stalks up to the witness stand, and glares at Miranda with a glare I have never seen him give my other witnesses.

"Miranda Lawson," he says. "Cerberus operative." The turian shakes his head. "How do we know you are not still a part of Cerberus?"

She frowns. "I take it you didn't look at the Normandy when she came back to the Citadel," she comments. "We had the Normandy refitted by a third party on Illium after the completion of our objective. There were many repairs that needed to be performed on the ship, but our third party was also kind enough to paint out the Cerberus emblems on the ship." She leans forward. "And I just gave the defense lawyer some files on the Lazarus Project, a few files of which contain data the Illusive Man would not like the world to see." She pauses, looking nervously at the gallery. "There are other things, but I dare not mention them here."

"Really?" asks Paellix. He shakes his head. "And I guess you won't tell me even if I ask."

"No," says Miranda.

The turian growls unpleasantly, but before I can say anything he turns his attention back to Miranda. "Fine," he says. "I'll drop it." He then walks right up to the witness box. "You say you acquired Shepard's body. How?"

"Shepard's body was given to us by a very close associate of hers," Miranda says. "She very nearly did not acquire Shepard's body. You see... it was also an item of interest to the Shadow Broker."

I hear more gasps from the gallery behind me, and I lean forward. "From how I understand the situation, the Shadow Broker was in league with the Collectors shortly after Shepard's death," Miranda continues. "The Shadow Broker did not ultimately acquire Shepard's body, but if he had I trust the body would have gone directly to the Collectors."

Paellix frowns, and I notice his talons clench in frustration. But he simply shakes his head again, walking towards my table and turning back to face Miranda. "So someone snatched it right from Alchera," he says. "How do we know Cerberus did not orchestrate the Collectors' attack?"

At this, Miranda leans back, taken aback by this assertion. She is not alone in this, for I hear half the gallery give some variation on a confused grunt. "I beg your pardon," says Miranda, clearly sounding a little offended. "How could you come up with a conclusion like that?"

I look back at Miranda, suddenly realizing that she has asked Paellix a question rather than answering. Oh no, this won't be good...

Before I can say anything else, Paellix slams his datapad onto my desk. I jolt, too shocked to say anything at the extremely sudden movement. I find myself leaning back in the chair as Paellix gives Miranda a death glare.

"I am the one asking the questions, lady," says Paellix in barely restrained fury. "Answer my question."

"I don't know what you expect me to say to something so blatantly insane," says Miranda. "It would be generous to call it even a question."

"Would it?" he asks.

"Paellix, stand down," I hear the judge say.

The turian completely ignores the judge as he walks up to the witness box. "I know how these things work. Someone vanishes, and then they return suddenly with more sinister intentions. And then they cover it up by saying they were dead or something." He walks towards Miranda, pointing a talon in her face. "Spending a year dead is a popular tax dodge, as they say. Maybe it's also a popular way to recruit people to Cerberus!"

"Paellix!" says the judge sternly.

Again, he ignores her. "I know how your types of people work, Miss Lawson," he continues, his voice steadily getting louder. "I know how you sit there, scheming to make people vanish and then make them reappear at an opportune time! And I will tell you right now, that I will not sit here quietly and let you or your friends trivialize the disappearances of all the turian soldiers, and I will not let you trivialize the disappearance of my daughter on the Aurigos!"

By the time he has mentioned this he is shouting at the top of his lungs. "I know how this works, lady!" he shouts. "And I-"

He is promptly interrupted by the judge slamming the gavel. The turian snaps his head towards the judge as she hits the gavel at least three more times.

"Paellix Mirani!" shouts the judge.

After this, all is silent in the courtroom. Paellix looks back to Miranda, and then back to the judge. The judge gives Paellix one of the coldest, most infuriated glares I have ever seen anyone give to another sentient being. Just looking at it sends shivers down my spine, and I am not on the receiving end of it. She then lays the gavel down. I quickly glance to the prosecution's table, seeing that Udina is looking down at the table in serious thought while Sparatus looks absolutely flabberghasted.

"Paellix Mirani," the judge continues. "You have made a mockery of this case. Badgering a Justicar was bad enough, but then there was... whatever that was. That conduct is unwelcome from a prosecutor such as yourself, and to make such broad leaps in logic actually works against whatever case you have."

"But you can't seriously-"

"I care not how your personal feelings figure into this trial," the judge continues. "Your personal opinions have no place in the courtroom, especially in a trial that is not about your daughter. It is now clear that your personal feelings were getting in the way of your better judgment in this trial."

She then shakes her head. "Thus, by the powers vested in me, I declare this trial a mistrial." She glares at Paellix. "Paellix Mirani's misconduct is not welcome here, Sparatus."

I blink, looking at Shepard before turning my attention back to the judge. "Well... I can't say I wasn't expecting that, but..." I whisper.

"What?" asks Sparatus as he jumps to his feet. "That... You can't be serious, your honor!"

"I am," says the judge. "If you and Udina wish to continue pressing charges against the Commander, you will need a new prosecutor."

"This is an outrage!" says Sparatus.

I stand up. "With all due respect, Councillor, the judge is fully within her rights to declare this a mistrial," I say. "I have never seen anyone rant like that in a courtroom before, and I can tell you from experience that such ranting is a mockery of due process. I also believe that allowing your personal opinions get in the way of your case is a sign that there is something deeper happening."

"Mr. Moskas is correct," says the judge. "We will have to retry Commander Shepard on the charges of treason."

Udina looks at Sparatus, and shakes his head as the turian Councillor remains completely silent.

"Now... if there are any objections, I will hear them now," says the judge.

Sparatus immediately opens his mouth. "This is an outrage!" he shouts. "I will have your job for this, woman!"

Udina frowns, standing up as well. "Not if the rest of the Council will say anything about it," he says. "You threaten that judge with her job for something that is well within her rights as the judge of this case. I thought you were more sensible than this, Sparatus."

"Indeed." I look to the gallery to see that Tevos and Valern are all walking towards Udina. "I believe that this case has also presented enough evidence to prove that Shepard did not betray the Council or the Alliance as we initially thought," Tevos adds.

"You believe that even without seeing the data on this 'Lazarus Project'?" Udina asks.

"Yes," says Valern. "If it were up to me, I would drop charges."

"As would I," says Tevos.

"You recused yourself from the prosecution!" says Sparatus. "And even if you had Udina drop charges for you, you can't do that! You have no power to make us drop this case."

"They don't?"

I turn back to the witness stand, looking at Miranda as she leans forward. I frown, looking at her. "Miss Lawson?" I ask.

"You're damn right they don't," says Sparatus.

Miranda simply leans back. "Maybe they don't," she says. "But let's pull our concentration to another point." She shifts subtly, and gives Sparatus a blank stare. "You are one to talk, Sparatus. About treason, anyhow. You wish to charge the Commander with treason, and yet... we have uncovered something during our travels that could negate any ground you hold to continue prosecuting against Shepard."

I look at Sparatus, noticing that he is leaning towards Miranda. He still leans towards Miranda threateningly, but I notice that there's an edge of desperation to the way he looks at her. "What are you talking about?" the turian Councillor asks.

I suddenly hear the door to the courtroom open behind me. I look behind me to see a female turian in Spectre-grade armor with green facial markings. I frown, watching the newcomer as she simply stands there. I hear a few gasps from turians in the gallery, and I almost immediately notice that some of the C-Sec officers that I can see from where I am are staring in awe.

"Funny," says this mysterious stranger. "I thought you'd know, Sparatus."

I stand up, watching her as she walks down the gallery. The entire courtroom's attention is fixed on this mysterious turian stranger as she walks down the gallery, and I even hear Shepard stand up right next to me. In fact, the entire courtroom stands up, and I can hear some soft murmuring of confusion. When she gets to the front, she looks at Sparatus briefly, and it's then that I notice that Sparatus now looks absolutely horrified by what he sees. Huh...? I turn my attention back to this woman as she turns her attention to the space in front of her.

She then nods. "Hello, father," she says. "I... It's a long story..."

"T... Tidoses?" asks Paellix.

I glance at the former prosecutor of Shepard's case, noticing the look of shock that has taken the place of the near non-stop fury he had felt barely a few minutes before. I then glance back to the turian woman in front of us, and notice that she is crossing her arms.

"Yes, it's me," she says.

Paellix looks on in shock. "I... Tidoses..."

I barely have any time to process what happens when Paellix crosses the short distance to his daughter. I only know he's in front of her when he's pulled her into the tightest hug I have ever seen any sentient being give another, and when I see him start heaving the way turians do when they attempt to cry. I see Tidoses simply stand there, not reacting to the hug for a few seconds before tentatively raising her arms around her father. They hold this for about half a minute before I see Paellix take a step or two back.

"I... I thought you were dead..." says Paellix. "You and Xarnax..."

Tidoses nods solemnly. "I thought I was too," she admits. "But... I got damn lucky. At the end of the day..." Tidoses glances back to the crew of the Normandy. "The only reason I'm still standing here is because they helped me."

Paellix follows her gaze. He looks at the Normandy's crew rather intently, and I see him give a confused glance. "W... these people?" asks Paellix. "They...?"

"It's a long story," says Tidoses. "They rescued me on Omega." She then glances at Sparatus before turning to Paellix. "What did Sparatus tell you?"

"He... he told me that you and everyone on the Aurigos was most likely dead," says Paellix. "But... you're standing here... and... I just..."

Tidoses nods. "I know," she says. "But that's not important right now. We'll have plenty of time to catch up later. Right now, I have a duty to fulfill to the Council and the galaxy as a whole." She then lays a reassuring hand on Paellix's shoulder before stepping back. "What is important..." She glances at Sparatus again. "What's important is that your dearly beloved friend Sparatus is the one who's really guilty of treason here."

"W-what?" Sparatus asks. "D-don't be ridiculous! That would just be... I-!"

"Can it, Councillor," says Tidoses as she steps forward. "Or did you think I wouldn't catch wind of what was really happening?"

Tidoses then steps towards Tevos and Valern, and opens her omni-tool. "I'm sure you know that the Aurigos was on a tour of various turian military bases," she says. "And you know that it vanished somewhere in the Minos Wasteland."

I frown. "Wait, you know the exact system it vanished?" I ask.

"We did not disclose this," says Valern. "It was not information that was completely relevant to the outside."

Hm... I might beg to differ...

Before I can voice my doubt, though, Tidoses shakes her head. "Sparatus was behind it all," says Tidoses. "He kept to himself in his quarters throughout much of the tour, and allowed nobody to enter his quarters unless he invited them in. And everyone who was invited up there..." She shakes her head. "They stopped acting like themselves pretty soon afterwards." She shakes her head. "Most of the ship's top staff was called there, including the ship's captain. This happened throughout the entire tour, and it just got stranger and more uncomfortable as they began to behave in ways that they would not behave normally."

She shakes her head. "I finally had to enter there to see what happened." She then opens a file on her omni-tool. "And when I did... well, I saw these strange objects arranged around the room. It was almost like he had built a shrine to something that had no name. There were all these designs..."

"You defied the orders of a superior?" asks Paellix.

"It was that or vanish along with the rest of the Aurigos, as I later found out," says Tidoses. "When I was snooping around in there... I felt uncomfortable. But before I could leave, Sparatus returned. And when he did... well, I heard this."

I then watch as she begins playing what I assume is some kind of audio file. Almost immediately, I hear the sound of slightly heavy breathing in front of a recording device, and a low hum seems to fill the room. I look to her in shock, and then watch as I hear something shift.

"No... It's too soon," I hear from the audio. "We have to trigger it when the timing is just right!" It's... it's Councillor Sparatus, but what...?

"Your delays are intolerable." W... what? I don't recognize that voice... it sounds very deep, and really kind of threatening. "You have friends in unexpected places. They will help you attain your goal after you return from the edge of the galaxy. You must vanish after you leave Invictus."

There is a brief pause. "No... you're right. You're always right." There are a few footsteps, and I glance at Sparatus to see that he is absolutely horrified. "This ship does need to vanish. You will need more soldiers for your army when you come to lift us up to our great destiny."

"Give the order as soon as you speak on Invictus," says the unfamiliar voice. "Your captain and many of his most loyal crew are loyal to you... and me... And if my other servants fail to harvest the human colonies and then Earth, we will descend on the galaxy together."

"For you are the harbinger of our destiny," says Sparatus.

There is a brief pause. "I did not tell you to bring someone here today," says the mysterious voice.

"Shit!" I hear a female voice swear and I hear some heavy footsteps.

"There is someone here!" I hear Sparatus shout. "I ordered them not t-"

And then, the audio cuts out completely.

Tidoses shakes her head. "I was lucky enough to escape from Sparatus' quarters before he could discover who I was," she continues. "But I knew he would find out eventually. So as soon as we had docked on Invictus, I told my closest friend on the Aurigos, and we basically stole the nearest shuttle and high-tailed it out of there." She shakes her head. "I intended to go to the Citadel immediately to tell the rest of the Council, but I made the mistake of letting him drive." She shakes her head. "I should've remembered that he was one of the people who had been invited up to Sparatus' cabin, but... well, desperation makes your thinking wonky, and I was sure that somewhere inside of him he was still himself. He tried to kill me, but..." She shakes her head. "I think you know what happened. But by then, it was too late: by the time I figured out what was happening, we were already stranded in the middle of the Terminus systems with barely enough fuel to keep the electronics running. And when I sent out a distress signal, it was a group of batarian slavers who responded."

I notice the horrified expression that graces Paellix's face, but before he can comment on this Tidoses points at Sparatus. "I have no idea what kind of shit he was pulling, but I know that Councillor Sparatus was doing some crazy shit there!" Tidoses says.

"I... I don't understand," says Udina. "He has no motivation, so why would he do that?"

"Because he's a servant of the Reapers."

I turn to look at Shepard, watching as she stands up. "I recognize that voice," she says. "That voice spoke through the Collectors on Horizon and many other places. And it was coincidentally the same voice that spoke to me on the Collector base as well. I know that voice."

I hear Udina facepalm. "More about these 'Reapers', Commander?" he asks in dismay. "I believe we dismissed that claim."

"Actually, that claim may not be as dismissed as you think," says Valern. "We can discuss this later, Udina. But there are other things that need to be attended fi-"

"You... You actually believe that?" asks Sparatus.

"It doesn't matter," says Shepard. "I know how the Reapers work, and I can tell you what I think happened. You acquired a Reaper artifact somehow, and it slowly indoctrinated you so you began serving their will. This is the same thing that happened to Saren." She leans forward. "There is no use denying it, Councillor. I can guarantee that even if you escape the Council, I will know the truth."

The turian Councillor stands in the middle of the courtroom, looking at Shepard and everyone else in the room in shock. He stands there, seeming to come to a realization.

Sparatus then frowns, turning towards Tidoses.

"I think you have gone insane, Spectre," he says. "She lies!"

"Then why did she produce an audio recording of you?" asks Tevos. "That is extremely difficult to fake, and it is not technology that a Spectre would have."

"And how do you explain the other voice?" asks Valern. "And further, if she should choose to lie, why choose that lie?"

"Further, I can vouch for her," says Miranda. "We acquired information that she was being sold as a slave on Omega. We managed to rescue her from the slavers. She was in surprisingly good condition, but we found records of her being on this ship."

"Records that we have right... here." I then turn to the crew, noticing that there is a young woman I noticed that has just stood up. "I swiped these files directly from the slaver ship's archives while searching for her, and they can verify that Tidoses was held by batarian slavers."

"And even imagining that, there is still the disappearance of the Aurigos," I add. "How do you explain that?"

"Now that I think about it... it is more than a little odd that you reappeared in an escape pod clear on the other end of the galaxy," says Udina. "And how come you were the only person who escaped the Aurigos...?"

"Something doesn't add up, Sparatus," says Tevos. "I believe you know that better than anyone."

The turian Councillor looks at the rest of the room, even as people in the gallery start murmuring about this turn of events. Sparatus glances around under the gaze of everyone in the courtroom.

"So tell us, Councillor," says Tidoses. "How do you explain all of that?"

And almost instantly, something changes in the Councillor's demeanor. He no longer looks terrified, but rather as if he is about to kill someone. I notice the change almost immediately, and feel a cold chill run down my spine as he stares Tidoses straight in the eye.

"I don't plan on explaining it," says the Councillor. "This is absolutely ludicrous." He shakes his head, looking back as his hand begins moving around. "But maybe you are right in one thing: he should have killed you on that shuttle." I then see the turian give a wicked smile. "I think that now I can maybe take care of that."

I suddenly see the turian Councillor grab something. As soon as he does, Sparatus plants his feet differently, and I watch as he lets out a loud roar. The man brings an object forward, and-

"No!"

I hear this shout come from one of the Normandy's crew members from where he sits in the galley. I then turn around, and watch as the middle-aged looking man in strange armor I have never seen before stands up. He holds his hand out, and I see something blue shoot out from it. I turn my attention to the turian Councillor as-

Whoah! Why's he suddenly bathed in a blue light? And why... why is he moving so slowly? This motion can't be natural, it just...

...

Oh my God...

"He's got a gun!" I shout.

Almost immediately, I hear screams from everyone in the gallery. I suddenly see everyone turn their attention to the slowed turian Councillor as he aims the gun at Tidoses. Of course, with the slowed movements, it feels more surreal than it should. I mean... is that really...?

I suddenly pause when a different blue light shines over the turian Councillor. I recognize this as the more familiar blue light of a biotic stasis field. I pause, seeing the turian Councillor stand completely still. I glance behind me to see a young asari glowing biotically amidst where the Normandy's crew is sitting in the gallery. I blink in surprise, watching as the old-looking krogan sitting next to her smiles in approval. The asari's eyes are screwed shut in concentration, and I...

Wow, is this really...?

I hear a loud thud come from the direction of the turian Councillor. Immediately when I turn my head, I see Sparatus writhing on the floor. He's scrambling for the firearm that has landed about two feet away from him, but I can see immediately that the combined weight of Paellix, Udina, and the plaintiff is making it difficult for Sparatus to move forward. They all press their weight in, and I hear the footsteps of the C-Sec officers as they rush over to the downed turian Councillor.

"You're not putting a single bullet in my daughter, you son of a bitch!" shouts Paellix.

"Get off!" Sparatus shouts. "You cannot stop the arrival! It is futile to resist!"

"Says the one currently resisting arrest," Valern points out. "C-Sec, arrest Councillor Sparatus."

"This is an outrage!" shouts the turian Councillor. "I will have your heads for this!"

"I don't think so," one of the C-Sec officers comments. "Councillor Sparatus, you are under arrest for brandishing a weapon in..."

I turn back to Shepard as the C-Sec officers begin charging Velarn. "How did he get that in here?" I ask.

"I have no idea," says Shepard. "But either way, this is an indication that something isn't right with Councillor Velarn."

I nod. "Yes, it definitely is," I say. "But..." I turn around to look at the Commander. "God, this is just... how did it come to this?"

Shepard shakes her head. "I don't know," she says. "I think I have an idea, but... I'd need to know for sure."

I blink. "What do you mean?" I ask.

"We need to know what Sparatus is hiding," says Shepard. "Something caused that. It didn't just come out of a void. And if Tidoses' audio said anything, it's that this had been planned by Sparatus. We need to know what he was hiding."

"I guess..." I bite my lower lip. "I have to say, Shepard, I think now I'm beginning to see that I've bit off a little more than I can chew."

Shepard scoffs at this. "Welcome to the story of my life."

"Indeed," says Valern. I then turn, watching as Valern and Tevos walk up to us. "I couldn't help but overhear what you just mentioned."

"And there is actually something interesting you should know," says Tevos. "Sparatus... he was explicitly mentioned on Saren's will."

I frown. "Wait, Sparatus received part of his estate?"

"Yes," says Valern. "And Sparatus stopped receiving visitors in his home on the Presidium soon after he received the things that the Arterius estate willed to him."

"And why mention this now?" asks Shepard.

"Because you stated that this is what happened to Saren," says Tevos. "I'll be plain with you, Commander. We need to investigate Sparatus' apartment. We may find the answers we are looking for there."

She nods. "And you think you might need my expertise?"

"If this is in fact the work of the Reapers, then yes," says Valern. "In fact, it would be good if the crew of the Normandy would come as well."

I frown. "Wait, you're not calling in C-Sec on this?" I ask.

"They have not exactly had experiences with the Reapers," says Valern.

"Still, I'd think you would bring along some C-Sec officers or something," I comment.

"There will be C-Sec officers in the escort to Sparatus' apartment, no doubt," says Tevos. "But inside..." The asari Councillor shrugs. "Think of this as a test of how trustworthy Shepard's crew is. We will be in a vulnerable position. That is perhaps the best way to prove their innocence to the rest of the galaxy."

I frown, but nod. Yes... that makes sense. Put themselves in a situation where supposed traitors can hurt them, and if they get out alive... "Still, it seems a little weird that you're just taking their word for it," I reply.

"Perhaps," says Tevos. "Perhaps. Commander, would you be willing to help us look through Sparatus' apartment as a test to see if our faith in you is well-placed?"

Shepard nods. "Whatever you need, Councillors," she says. "We'll be at your service."

I nod. I glance over at Sparatus as he is hoisted to his feet by the C-Sec officers that have arrested him. He is led out of the courtroom, and... You know. It's all very odd. There is Sparatus, and Miranda and the others say he is guilty of treason. But...

This is confusing. I can still barely believe the bit about the Aurigos, but... why? Why would he do something like that? And if this Reaper explanation Shepard has is correct...

I look directly at the Councillors. "I'm coming too."

The two Councillors and Shepard look at me. "Will?" asks Shepard. "Are you sure you should be doing that?"

"I'm in a place where I've already heard more about this situation than most," I say. "I... have to admit, I'm mostly just curious by this point."

Valern shrugs. "He has done well by us thus far," he says. "I believe we can trust him to not say anything about this. We go to Sparatus' apartment in five minutes." He nods. "Now, if you'll excuse me, we need to inform the crew of the Normandy of this."

And with this, the two Councillors walk away. I glance back at Shepard, noticing that she is looking just a touch bemused by this turn of events.

"I... I think this is going to be interesting," I comment.

"Oh, you have no idea," says the Commander. "If we find what I think we will find there..."

---

I stand slightly behind the Commander, looking over her shoulder. Sparatus' apartment definitely doesn't look as luxurious as I might think from the outside, at least as far as doors go. I mean... it's a standard door with a red panel signifying that it's locked. And really, it's in a rather odd place on the Presidium, considering that this place somehow does not look as great as the rest of it.

My attention then turns to the two people that are standing by the door, giving it a brief look-over. One of them is a young woman who covers her head with a hood, and the other turns out to have been Shepard's younger brother. I believe, anyhow. There is certainly some resemblance, but I pay no attention. I glance at Tevos, Valern, and Udina from where they stand amidst the assorted people on the Normandy's crew before turning back to the others.

"Yep, just as I thought," says the young woman. "The encryption here got upgraded."

"But you can get through it?" asks Valern.

"I could do it in my sleep," replies the young woman as she opens her omni-tool. "Just gimme a couple seconds with this... and..."

The door panel turns green almost immediately.

"There we go," the younger Shepard sibling says. He then reaches over and opens the door. "Now... I think we have to know what to expect here."

"Yes," says Jocelyn as she steps forward. "If there is Reaper tech in here, we can't stay too long. Indoctrination is subtle: you don't realize that your free will has been taken away until it is too late. So we need to find it and get the hell out."

"Right..." says Tevos. "I have to admit, Commander, this is a little scary for us."

The Commander shakes her head. "We just need to be quick, and with my crew here we will be out of here fast," she says. "Move out."

With this, Shepard walks right into the apartment. I follow her almost immediately, and then everyone else follows suit. I look around the apartment, noticing that it's actually not very ornate for a Councillor. This is... well, humbling, really. I look around the admittedly large apartment, looking to the Councillors and nodding towards them.

"Spread out," says the Commander. "We're probably not going to find anything here. Start looking elsewhere."

Jocelyn moves away, and I follow her very shortly after. She walks to what I assume is the kitchen as everyone else fans out. She looks around, and leans forward to open a few cupboards here and there. I follow her eyes, turning down and seeing nothing down there. I shake my head, breaking off from her side and walking further into the apartment. I see the crew spread out, with some checking around. I notice the three Councillors that are left are simply standing in the center of the room, looking around nervously as they wait for whatever comes next.

I shake my head, suddenly noticing the man in strange armor is gripping his head. He stumbles forward, and I see the young human man in the bunch go towards him.

"Isaac?" he asks. "Is everything-?"

I watch as the older man points at something. The young man's gaze follows where the other person is pointing. I lean forward, noticing...

Why is he pointing towards the wall?

I tap Shepard's shoulder, and I hear her turn to look at this. I glance back at her after a few seconds to find that she is just as confused as I. Right as we turn our attention back to the two humans over there, however, I notice that one of the women who stood up at the trial comes forward. Madison, I think her name was. She looks at the wall, frowns, and inspects the wall.

I look back to the Commander, and shrug. "I'm not sure what it is," I comment. "Do you think the Councillor would've put in a false wall here?"

"I don't think so," she says.

"Yeah..." I comment. "Logistically, it would be-"

I suddenly hear a loud squeal of metal from directly behind me. I cover my ears as the sound travels around, cringing as I'm sure most everyone else here is. I turn back to look behind me to see that the woman has-

...

Yes, that was definitely a false wall.

The loud squealing sound dies out, and then I look as Madison and the other two men step back in shock from the dark opening that has been revealed. It's dark, but... there's something about the eerie blue light that emanates from the doorway. It's a blue light, but it's strangely not very bright, and it means I can't see whatever is causing it from this vantage point.

Nervously, I take a step forward. I feel my blood freeze in my veins, but I can't help it. I just... I feel like I have to see what is in this hidden compartment. I just...

Before I know what has happened, I'm standing at the front of the crew of the Normandy as they crowd around in front of the opening. Shepard is standing in front of me to my left, and she's staring in a mix of shock and anger.

And I...

What the hell is this thing?

There is some kind of... small object on a stand in there. It looks like a shard of a much larger object, something that has broken away. It gives off an unsettling blue light that does not illuminate the darkness. I lean forward...

"What is that?" I hear Valern ask.

"This..." Shepard leans forward, looking at the strange object. "Someone shine a light on it."

I see that Madison is on this, shining a light on the object. I then see that the object is made of a bizarre metal that is shiny yet also one of the blackest things I have ever seen in my life. I glance at Shepard before looking at the object.

"What is that?"

"That..." I turn to see as Garrus steps closer. "I don't know what it is. But it doesn't look nice."

"It looks... Reapery," the young man in front of us mentions. "I don't know, but it just... How did this get here?"

"This must have been willed to him from the estate of Saren Arterius," says Tevos. We all turn to look at the asari Councillor as she steps forward. "Valern, Anderson, Sparatus and I were at the reading of Saren's will. The will mentioned that Saren willed several artifacts of then-unknown origin to Sparatus. The will said they came from the remains of Temple Palaven, but this does not look like anything of turian design."

Garrus frowns. "Temple Palaven?" he asks. "I thought that place was completely demolished?"

"It was," I hear Tidoses mention. "And they cleaned it up immediately. There's no way something like this could have come from that ruin."

"Then that explains why Sparatus looked a little concerned," says Valern. "I guess he must have suspected it. But in the end, he couldn't refuse a gift from Saren."

I frown, looking back at the object. "And that would mean..." Shepard shakes her head as she says this. "That would mean that he would have been indoctrinated by this thing slowly."

I look at the others. "You do realize that this whole indoctrination thing sounds implausible, right?" I ask. "I mean, machines that can control people's minds? That's..."

"Hey, guys!" We all turn around, seeing that the hooded woman... Kasumi? Yes, Kasumi is standing in front of a private terminal. "I think I've found something here!"

I look directly at her as she turns to us. She beckons us to come closer, and then we all walk around her. "Kasumi?" asks Shepard.

"I started looking through his private terminal," she says. "You never know what kind of dirt you can find on there. Anyway, I started looking through his e-mail history and other things." She shakes her head, and points directly at the screen. "You are not going to believe what I found."

I then lean forward, squinting and reading the e-mail that Kasumi has apparently opened. Okay... Let's see... what does this thing say?

"To: Khalisah Bint-Sinan al-Jilani, Emily Wong, Diana Allers, Xerxes Garkaran, Lovinia T'Yulga, Salgesh Horovath, and 37 others

CC:

To everyone,

I have information on what Commander Shepard has truly been up to. It would be the scoop of the century, and you would be paid quite handsomely to cover it.

Attached to this e-mail, you will find several classified files that I have acquired. All of these files pertain to Commander Shepard and her true whereabouts. It turns out she's a traitor to the Council. I believe this is something the people should know, and that the Council should be made aware would be completely unacceptable.

Report this: they deserve to know the truth about our former Savior of the Galaxy, and how she is truly a slimy figure. I am to remain anonymous, and you are not to disclose the exact nature of how you came across these files, even despite Council investigation.

-S"

I frown, looking up from the e-mail. "Wait, hold on, there-"

"That's not all," says Kasumi. "This is from a different e-mail account. The only e-mails on this account are correspondences with all the reporters tagged here."

"And it doesn't look like the e-mail he would use for official Council business," says Tevos. "That way, Sparatus would remain anonymous."

"That's bullshit," says a young female voice behind me. When I look behind me, I see the heavily tattooed woman step forward. "You can't tell me those bimbos would sit there and not say 'what the fuck is this asshole saying'."

"No," says Tevos. "We did have a probe into how this information was released."

I frown. "You probed into this?" I ask.

"How come we never heard of this?" asks Shepard.

"We kept it quiet because we did not want the people to panic," says Valern. "We also said nothing because the results only seemed to confuse us more."

"We brought a couple of these reporters into a C-Sec office to be questioned," says Tevos. "When they were asked, every reporter told us was that they could not say anything."

"On what cause?" asks Shepard.

"Many of them said that they were afraid for loved ones," says Tevos. "The C-Sec officers on hand mentioned that they were all speaking as if they had been threatened, so threats to the lives of themselves and love ones was one thing we suspected as being a motivation. And indeed, one of the reporters showed us his message history and confirmed it himself." I hear her step forward. "But we still had no idea why this information was leaked."

"Did you ask for help to find out why?" asks Shepard.

"Yes," says Valern. "We used those e-mails as a starting point. But try as we might, we could not pinpoint where the e-mails were coming from. We originally surmised that the Shadow Broker was actually behind it, but we could find no evidence to support that." He looks at the terminal in front of him. "And to think that Sparatus was the one responsible for this..."

"Let us not forget he also distributed classified Council files to the public," says Miranda.

"But why?" asks Tevos. "Why would he do this?"

A brief silence takes hold of the room as soon as the asari Councillor asks this. We all look at each other nervously, and I find I can barely supply anything even resembling a theory.

"Hold on," I hear the young man say again. God, what was his name again...? "We've got the glowy thing over in that hidden closet. And Isaac led us to it with... Well..." He turns his attention to the older man in unusual armor, and I notice that he has grabbed his head and is mumbling to himself. "He tends to have... attacks when this kind of thing happens."

"Attacks?" asks Valern. "What... kinds of attacks?"

He shrugs. "Nervous attacks," he replies. "It would take a while to explain. But he also had a nervous attack when we were on Rannoch."

"And you were close to a Reaper there," says Garrus.

"Could it be that these attacks are linked to indoctrination?" asks Miranda.

"I... I don't know, but..." Isaac grunts again. "I think it could be... My head's killing me... Agh..." I hear him mumble a few things after that.

I open my mouth to ask Isaac what he just said when Garrus speaks. "And if that's what really happened..." he says.

My question immediately dies on my lips as I look at Garrus. I... Maybe I shouldn't ask. It's not relevant to the conversation, anyway. But... if what Garrus postulates is true...

I glance around the, looking at everyone as a different question comes to my mind. "Do you think the indoctrination had something to do with this?" I ask. "I mean... If it's true that Sovereign wasn't a geth ship, then you could say that whatever is behind that object over there was actually afraid of Shepard after Sovereign."

Shepard nods. "We also ruined some of the Reapers' plans beyond the Omega 4 Relay," she adds.

The young man steps forward. "You've messed with the Reapers a lot," he comments. "You've always been there to ruin their plans, and you have an uncanny ability to rally people behind a unified cause."

"Yeah," says Albert from where he stands on my right. We all turn to him. "The crew of the Normandy proves that. There we all were from different backgrounds with rivalries going around, and yet you unified us and brought us together."

"Then that means..." The young... Art! That was his name! "That means that Sparatus was planning on getting Shepard out of the way!"

"And the rest of the Normandy's crew," I comment. "The arrest warrant went out for all of you, not just the Commander."

"Which would make sense, because we also knew the truth about the Reapers," Miranda adds. "And wasn't there a point in the trial when the prosecution called someone to the stand who denied the existence of the Reapers?"

I then look at Shepard. "He wanted to bury any evidence of the Reapers, and get the only people who could rally the galaxy against the Reapers out of the picture," says Shepard. "That... That was why he leaked my affiliation with Cerberus. He was trying to force your hand in a way that you could act to get us out of the picture."

"If the public had not spoken out, and if the Alliance had not placed additional pressure on everyone to convict Shepard..." says Valern. "Which means that if Sparatus was attempting to force an outcome, he very nearly succeeded."

There is another silence that fills the apartment. I glance at everyone around me, and I look back to the Commander. She looks like she is quite angry at this point, as I see that her fists are clenched. She simply shakes her head.

"This is..."

"I believe this is enough to convict Sparatus on treason," says Valern. "We have our evidence that the Reapers exist and that Sparatus was probably under their influence, and even if we cannot convict him on that there is the fact that he actively worked to undermine the work of a Spectre in a way that duped multiple ." He shakes his head. "This... this is still rather difficult to believe."

I nod. "You can say that again," I say. "This is still difficult for me to believe."

"And for the rest of us," Shepard says. "But... we finally have some answers." She looks to Tidoses. "And we also know why the Aurigos vanished."

Valern nods. "We need to consult with Udina," says Valern. "It will take some time. For now..." He nods to Tevos. "Send in a C-Sec team to do a sweep of the apartment. They may find something else of note."

Shepard nods. "And we need to get out of here," she says. "Unless your idea of helping the galaxy involves getting indoctrinated..."

"I doubt that is the case, Commander," says Valern. "Let us be off, then."

With this, everyone murmurs, and we begin exiting the apartment.

---

At least an hour later, we are all standing outside of Sparatus' apartment. There are C-Sec officers taking statements from some people on the crew of the Normandy A police line has formed some distance away from the apartment, and I see many, many bystanders looking on. The crew of the Normandy is scattered about, with Garrus and Miranda both standing to the side with the human woman I did not recognize. I glance briefly at Paellix where he's busy catching up with Tidoses before turning my attention elsewhere. My eyes fall on the batarian member of the crew. It... it actually really surprises me that a batarian would willingly join the crew of the Normandy, and from the way he is talking to the large Alliance marine that he has taken to the crew.

I glance over to Shepard where she stands next to me. "I see the Normandy still has a penchant for attracting the strangest types of people," she comments.

"It certainly seems that way," I comment, glancing over to where a male quarian is conversing freely with a young human woman. "And it seems rather large, too."

"I'm sure they'll have quite a few stories to tell," she says. "Do you think this will be the end of this trial?"

"Probably," I say. "Tevos and Valern withdrew from the prosecution because of what they did to get your crew's testimony to me, and now that Sparatus is under arrest, I doubt he will be in a position to press charges. And as for Udina... I don't think he'll press charges. He's an opportunist, but I think he knows that this ship has essentially left the port."

"I think so too," says Shepard. "And I'm sure he knows it just as much as the rest of us."

I nod in reply, looking out to where the rest of the crew is. "So... when you get released, I'm assuming you're going back into action?"

"Yes," Shepard replies. "The Reapers are coming. It's inevitable. But now it's more important than ever that I get going. Sitting behind bars is not a good way to prepare people for when the Reapers finally come."

"No rest for the wicked?" I ask.

"No rest for the wicked," Shepard replies.

I shake my head, glancing down at the ground and chuckling before turning back to look at the Commander. "You know, it's funny," I comment. "If you had told me when this trial started that I would've ended up meeting the Council personally, I would have laughed at you."

"I wouldn't have blamed you," says Shepard. "And yet here we are."

I nod, smiling. I then look up, seeing Valern, Tevos, and Udina walking up to Shepard and I. I straighten myself out, looking at the three Councillors as they approach.

"Councillors," I say. "Has a decision been reached?"

"Yes," says Udina. "I can't exactly say I was expecting anything like this, Shepard."

"Neither did I, Udina," says Shepard. "What did you decide?"

Valern nods. "First, we need to deal with the matter of the charges of treason that were laid against you," says Valern. "We have reviewed the files on the Lazarus Project. It was all very fascinating, I have to say. I don't know if the science is accurate, but it at least indicates that you had no control over when you entered Cerberus... 'employ'."

Shepard nods. "Well, it's better than nothing," she says.

"We will ask the STG to review the files on the Lazarus Project," says Tevos. "Hopefully, they can reach a conclusion we cannot from a simple look."

I nod. "And what of the Commander's charges?"

"Well, actually, we must discuss charges against the crew of the Normandy first," says Tevos.

"Why?" asks Shepard.

"Technically, Commander, they should be under arrest for resisting arrest and breaking into an STG base," says Udina. "Well, in addition to treason."

Shepard glances at the rest of the crew. "Then why hasn't C-Sec rushed in to arrest them?" she asks.

Tevos shakes her head. "We did not think it necessary," she replies. "After all, there are many factors. If they had not resisted arrest, then we would never have found out about Sparatus' treason. And without that..." She nods at Shepard. "We would never have verified the existence of the Reapers."

"They showed me the data on the Reapers," says Udina. "I... I can barely believe you and Anderson were right all along."

"Indeed," says Valern. "Because of this and other things your crew has done in your absence, we've decided to overlook their transgressions."

Shepard leans forward. "So they're safe."

Valern nods. "The salarian dalatrass won't be pleased to hear that, but at the end of the day they are working towards the safety of the galaxy." He then crosses his arms. "And then there is you."

Tevos turns to me. "Mr. Moskas, I believe you have done quite a bit to show the world that Shepard was innocent of the charges we levelled against her."

I raise my hands. "With all due respect, Councillors, I just stood in a courtroom and asked questions," I reply.

"But they were good questions," says Valern as he turns the attention back to Shepard. "I think it is apparent enough to everyone that you were not guilty of treason." He nods. "Therefore, I believe it would be good to say that we wish to drop the charges against you."

I look at the Council. "Meaning that you'll prevent a retrial on these grounds," I say.

"A retrial won't be necessary," says Tevos. "You have proved your innocence, Commander. And as the asari Councillor, I will also fully reinstate your Spectre status."

I look at the Commander, and I notice that she is looking quite happy for the first time in a few days. "I... That's excellent news, Councillor," she says. "That means I can go back to fighting the Reapers."

"Which reminds us," Valern mentions. "I believe Mr. Moskas has updated you on some things relating to looking into our evidence of the Reapers' existence?"

"Yes," says Shepard.

"Good." Tevos gives a rare smile. "We wanted to update you on that. We have already briefed Mr. Moskas on this, so... we wanted to tell you personally. Now would be the best time, though I think we should probably confer with your XO as well."

Shepard nods. "Very well then," she says as she walks towards them. She looks back at me. "I'll be back, Will."

I smile. "Take your time."

With this, the three Councillors and Commander Shepard walk over a short distance. They approach Miranda where she has been conversing with Garrus and Madison. I watch as the group begin talking, and I lean back against the wall, giving a soft smile in the Commander's direction.

Well... I was able to help Commander Shepard. This will be something that people will be talking about for quite some time. I can scarcely believe it myself, but... Well, there she is.

I sigh, crossing my arms in front of me as I look at the commander talk to the Councillors. Even from this distance, I can see her expression getting happier somehow. It's not really obvious, but from this distance I can pick up on various cues. The way her eyes shine, the way she starts moving just a little more animatedly...

I look down at the ground again, blinking as I suddenly lose track of how happy I should feel. I... I don't know what to think about the Reapers. On the one hand, Shepard says they exist, but... to be honest, a part of me does not want the Reapers to be real. A sentient race that kills everyone every fifty thousand years? How do we even defeat such a thing? And how could such a thing even exist?

I feel a cold shiver travel down my spine as I think about this. And... what reason could these things possibly have for doing what they do? I just... I don't know.

I look back up at Shepard, however, right as I see her adopt a more serious expression. Whatever the Reapers are... I'm confident that the Commander will be able to help us all pull through. It is exactly how it was mentioned in Sparatus' apartment: she is a sort of symbol for us all. If anyone can rally us together to fight the Reapers, it's her.

And in my own way... I helped her get through this.

I smile at this realization, glancing back at Shepard. And for one single, immeasurable moment, everything feels right in this galaxy.