John, Citadel

"Grounded," Garrus grunted. "How can those idiots not take this seriously. With what we've seen-"

"Yeah," Wrex cut Garrus off with a wave of a hand. "The problem is we've seen it. We don't have any proof of it."

"Didn't the footage from Tali's visor help?" Liara asked, confused. "They saw the recordings we showed them!"

Tali stood to the side, holding her arms together. "Yes, but my helmet's display isn't designed for that kind of recording, so the quality was terrible. It..it wasn't hard to discredit. And...I'm sorry...I just wasn't close enough to Saren to get any audio...It's my fault…" Tali hung her head, shaking slightly.

"Enough," John said quietly. "Enough. We're grounded. Tali, it's not your fault. It's mine. I should have found a way to convince them."

"Shepard, It's nobody's fault," Garrus said. "It's the Council's fault for being morons. And Udina's for being...Udina. I honestly can't think of anything worse than that at the moment."

"Det kazuat…" Tali muttered under her breath.

Wrex chuckled even as Shepard frowned slightly. "What was that?" he asked. "My translator didn't catch that."

"Oh! Um...didn't think you'd hear me…." Tali trailed off, her hands wringing. "It's...nothing..just, um..just a quarian...thing. Doesn't translate."

"Uh huh," John nodded, clearly not convinced. "Any input?" he asked, turning to Wrex.

"Oh, no," Wrex shook his head. "I'm not getting into that one."

"Well, alright then," John sighed. "I'll just assume what Tali said was terrible and that I agree with what ever it was."

"Commander Shepard!?" a voice rang out across the presidium lawn. "Oh wow, I'm your biggest fan!"

Garrus, Citadel, Presidium Commons

This might be the best day of my life, Garrus thought. As it was his face hurt from the grin on his face. The subject of his glee was the blonde human. He was an inch or two shorted than Shepard was. He was a little on the softer side, probably had an office job. But the best part was his eyes, or more specifically, the hero worship in those eyes.

"Oh wow!" the human exclaimed, running up on Shepard and violently shaking his hand. "I'm your biggest fan!"

Shepard, for his part just stood stunned. His eyes were wide and his body was rigid. Garrus wasn't sure if he was going to run or hit the man. Probably run, Garrus thought with glee.

"Um...Yes, thanks?" Shepard nodded after a moment. "Can I help you with...something?"

"Oh! Sorry!" the man exclaimed dropping Shepard's hand and stepping back. "My name's Conrad Verner! Like I said, I'm your biggest fan! I'm the president of the 'Commander Shepard, The Galaxy's Greatest Human Spectre' fanclub!"

Garrus didn't think his grin could get any wider. Apparently he was wrong. "Spirits, thank you for this blessing…" he muttered, before turning to Conrad. "How many people are in this...club?" He asked.

"Oh..well…" Conrad seemed to deflate slightly as he looked to the side. "Right now, I'm the only member…"

"Commander Shepard is the only human Spectre," Tali added, sounding confused. "Isn't he?"

"Yes!" Conrad puffed back up. "Commander, I was thinking, what if you made me a Spectre too!"

The team all went silent, staring at Conrad. Everybody seemed to be shocked.

Wrex began to laugh, breaking the silence, as Garrus tried to shush the krogan, laugh, and speak at the same time. "No..um..Conrad…*snerk* so what is it you heh, want to become a Spectre for?" There is no way this isn't going to be amazing.

"Well, Conrad grinned looking at Shepard's team. "I figured we could team up!"

"Team up?" Shepard deadpanned, staring at Conrad.

"Yeah!" Conrad nodded his head so hard Garrus was wondering if it would pop off. Did humans do that? "We could go around the galaxy together! You know, righting wrongs! Arresting bad guys! Getting the ladies…" Conrad's voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. "If you know what I mean…" He punctuated his remark by jabbing Shepard in the ribs a couple of times with his elbow.

"The only way it would have been possible to make this moment better, would be to have some way of recording it," Garrus laughed. "You know, for...posterity!"

Shooting the turian a glare that could melt steel, Shepard turned to the awe struck Conrad. "Look, Conrad," he began. "I'm not the one who appoints Spectres...But..I'll tell you what…" He said quickly as Conrad's face fell. Garrus was pretty sure the pudgy human was going to cry. "I'll, um, I'll put in a good word for you with the Council…"

Tears did flow now. Tears of joy, of happiness. Flinging himself onto Shepard, he caught the Commander it a great hug. "Oh, thank you!" he exclaimed, letting go and activating his omnitool. "I'll send you my extranet address! Contact me when they approve it!"

"Right…" Shepard nodded. "I'll be sure to do that…" Garrus nearly squeaked trying to keep himself from laughing as he watched Shepard delete the address as soon as it arrived.

"Well, I am sure you have to go save the galaxy, but can I get a picture before I go?" Conrad stared like a puppy begging for scraps.

Shepard stared for a moment before giving a curt nod. "Fine, let's get it over with…"

Tali, Citadel, Lower Wards

Tali walked a step behind Shepard, with her hands clasped together as they walked through Zakira Ward. It wasn't the best place down below, but it was decent enough for her to get the usual dirty looks and whispered comments. Those, she was used to, but it was that Shepard was receiving them by her just being near him, that was what hurt her.

"Um…" she began. "Shepard? Maybe I should go and wait someplace else?"

She wasn't sure what she expected from the Commander, but him stopping in the middle of the path and spinning around, wasn't it.

Unable to stop herself, Tali bumped into his chest. With a squeak, she scrambled back, only to have a hand drop onto her shoulder, holding her closer than she was used to. As Tali looked up into his face, Shepard was looking down at her, frowning. Oh, Tali, she thought. What did you do?!

"Tali, I'm sorry," he apologized. "I didn't mean to force you to come with me. I didn't even think about what you planned to do." His expression was bitter, and it hurt Tali's heart to see it.

"No, Shepard," she assured him. "I kinda wanted to come down here to the Wards anyway. I wanted to see if I could find anything useful, you know, for our mission."

Shepard looked pained as his hand dropped away from her shoulder. She was unable to suppress a small feeling of disappointment when it did. "No, Tali, I meant on this whole crazy mission," he began. "I took you, a kid just out of the Fleet for the first time, and drug you into this mess with Saren, and geth, hell, we even had to deal with rachni, of all the damned things." As he spoke his tone grew more and more bitter, and his expression darkened.

"You have your Pilgrimage Gift," he told her, unable to look her in the visor. For the first time, she realized. He had always looked her right in the eyes when he spoke to her. At first it had made her uncomfortable, but now that he wasn't doing it, she found it painful.

"No," she said firmly, before grabbing his hand and looking around. Seeing an aily, she half drug Shepard into it before whirling on him angrily. "No, Shepard. You don't get to throw me away so easily." her voice was quietly angry. "I'm the one that asked you to let me come with you. Me! It was my decision! I wanted to help you fight the geth! I wanted to help take down Saren!"

Shepard's face was a complicated mix of emotions as he looked down at her. "But-"

"I'm not done," she almost snarled. "You have helped me with my Gift. It's true, and it means so much to me, more that you would ever understand. But I want to help you. I want to be on your crew for as long as you'll let me."

"I...of course, Tali," Shepard's head dropped, defeated. "I want you on my crew. You're the best engineer I have ever seen. I'd be lost without you…" Slowly he lifted his head to look her in the eye. "I'm afraid. I'm afraid I will have to make the choice whether or not to leave you to die, like I had to do with Kaiden. I...I don't think I could make that decision."

"You won't have to," Tali said finally. "We are going to find a way to go after Saren. We will stop him and become heros. Then I kidnap you and take you to my Evil Lair. I'm your Overlord, remember?"

Shepard chuckled then, even as he sniffed. "Allright, I had forgotten that…"

Inhaling a deep breath, Shepard looked at her again, some of the life back in him. Glancing down to where she still held his hand, he smiled slightly. "I almost forgot…" he said. "Give me your omnitool."

Following his gaze, Tali's face burned, as once again, she was happy her visor was opaque. Quickly dropping his hand she unhooked the bracelet that was the projector for her omnitool. She was a little self conscious of it as she handed it to him. Her tool was larger and more bulky than the ones they had now. In fact, this particular one dated to before the war with the geth, three hundred years ago. The internals, of course, had been repaired, replaced or modified many times over the years, but still…

Pulling a brand new omnitool from a pouch of his armor, Shepard tapped it to her older model and waited for a few moments. Blinking, it took Tali a moment to realize he was transferring the data from her tool to the one he has pulled out.

"Shepard? What are you-" she began, but was cut off as Shepard grabbed her wrist and clicked the new tool into place.

"I picked this up for you the last time we were here, but I didn't get the chance to give it to you. I had to use my Spectre authority, but I got it before it's to be released in about six months." He looked down, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "I modified it to match your combat profile, and transferred your data to it just now."

"I...Shepard," Tali looked back and forth from the new omnitool and the Commander. "I can't accept this!"

Shepard raised an eyebrow at her and smirk. "Consider it wages for services rendered on this mission. Besides, Every edge in the fight against the geth, right?"

Tali looked at him for a long moment, processing his words, before hitting him on the arm. Hard.

"Ow!" he exclaimed clutching his right bicep. "What was that for."

"For being an ass!" she exclaimed. "And...thank you."

"Some thanks," he muttered, as he clicked her old omnitool onto his right wrist.

"Shepard?" he asked confused. "What are you doing with my old tool? Yours is far better than that one."

A smirk spread across his face as he shook his 'new' tool at her. "Well, now I have two of them. I can relegate some of the lower priority programs to yours. That way, I will be able to upgrade the power used be my tech armor, as well as load the omniblade."

"Well," Tali said shaking her head. "I got something for you the last time we were on station too…" Reaching behind her she pulled the Carnifex hand cannon from its hard point. Its-"

"Drop the gun, quarian," A voice demanded from the mouth of the ally. "You're under arrest for robbery!"

"Keelah…" she muttered. "Just when it starts getting good…."

Ashley, Citadel, The Seedy Tavern

She sat nursing her drink. Her...she had no idea how many she had at this point. She was nicely as drunk as she could get without throwing up, and it was her plan to stay that way for as long as humanly possible.

That some of a bitch, Ashley could honestly say that she wasn't sure whom she hated more, Shepard or Kaiden. Who...I hated more. Whom? Who? Fuck it, I hate them both.

But she knew who she really hated. Shepard did what he had to do, he made a horrible call. One Ashley was sure she could never have made. And Kaiden...she didn't realize he...that she…

With a growl, Ashley downed her drink and waved the asari waitress over for another. It was one of the redeeming features of this place. Nobody gave a shit, as to how much you drank. Nobody cut you off when you 'had enough'. Ashley was glad Captain Shepard told her about this place.

As the waitress delivered the drink with a small smile and nod, Ashley couldn't help but feel...irritated. It wasn't fair to the woman, she didn't do anything. She just reminded her of Liara. I mean, she...Ashley frowned. Well, I guess she is far skinnier, in fact she looks kinda gaunt. Blue! No...completely different shade. No facial markings.

Dropping her head on the table Ashley grunted. She couldn't even be angry at an asri properly. It wasn't Liara's fault anyway. Ashley had gone to Kaiden out of anger, originally. She used him. She liked him, sure, he was a sweet guy but...But, what? You stupid bitch….

"But I liked him!" she exclaimed as she sat up and downing her drink. She sat there for a moment before realizing she had yelled. Slowly, her head turned to survey the room. Nobody looked at her. Nobody paused their conversations. Nobody cared. I am really happy the Cap suggested here….

There was a crash that caused Ashley to glance over to one of the nearby tables. A salarian with an eyepatch was grabbing at that asari waitress, causing the woman to drop the drink off her tray.

Standing, Ashley walked over to the small rukus, and standing next to the asari, silently.

"The hell you want?" the salarian demanded.

Ashley narrowed her eyes as she turned to the asari, and smiling took the round tray from the woman's hands. Then, still smiling, she turned and swung it as hard as she could into the salarian's face.

Oh,yes, she thought even as the salarian's companions stood snarling. I am really, really glad Cap suggested here….

Captain David Anderson, Citadel, Flux Bar

I'm getting too old for this shit, Anderson thought wryly.

He sat in one of the darker booths of the bar, as far from the crowd as he could get, but still see the door. He took a drink from his beer as he considered what had led up to this moment.

He had been a top graduate from N7 school. He had distinctions from the First Contact War. Hell, he had even been up to be the first human Spectre. If it hadn't been for Saren, he would have been.

Saren...the thought brought a sneer to his face. The bastard intends to destroy all sentient life in the galaxy and the Council still won't do anything to stop him!

Taking another drink, Anderson frowned at the table. Udina was blocking them as well. Probably out of spite though….

"Anderson."

"Shepard," Anderson gestured to the seat opposite him.

As the boy… No, I suppose he is a man now. Hannah has a right to be proud of him. As the Commander, sat, Tali moved into the booth next to him. Heh, they don't even realize the other feels the same….

"Let's talk about how to get you on your way," Anderson grinned, leaning forward.

Later, Human Embassy

"Captain Anderson," Udina huffed. "I told you before. The Normandy stays here. We will be needing it when Saren get's here."

"I know, Donnel," Anderson nodded as he approached the ambassador. "I know you won't be letting Shepard take the Normandy anywhere."

Blinking, Udina nodded. "Good, I'm glad you have come around. Shepard is a loose cannon. Probably unstable from his exposure to the Prothean artifact. In fact, I am filing the paperwork to have him locked up until his mental health can be established. Now-"

Udina was interrupted by a fist cracking into his jaw, knocking the man cold.

As he slumped to the floor, Anderson looked at his fist and smiled. "That felt even better than I thought it would," he chuckled to himself. Stepping over Udina's unconscious body, Anderson brought up the Ambassador's controls, releasing the lockdown on the Normandy.

"Reading all green, Captain," Shepard commed in. "We might have time if you want to come with us."

Laughing Anderson simply shook his head. "Get out of here Shepard. You are playing a young man's game now. Just give Saren a couple extra shots, for me."

"Aye, aye, Captain."

Quarian Lexicon

Det kazuat: Term of curse, considered especially crude. Literal Translation: Living sack of excrement. The Otquer, a large predatory lizard, will pass its meal neatly wrapped in a membranous tissue. Inside the sack, the enzymes used to break down the meat of the prey while still in the lizard continue to act as a stimulant keeping the indigestible brain synapses of its last meal still working until the sun dries the sack out.