Chapter 8: The Citadel
A few things to establish. One, Wrex was killed back on Virmire. I'm sorry. But like I said before, this is based off of one of the first playthroughs of the game. I wasn't as smart as I am now, and unfortunately I was forced to pay a heavy price for my stupidity. One which I never had to pay again.
Two, the Indoctrination theory is in no way cannon. I've always felt prejudice towards the theory, and I don't like what it does to the rest of the Mass Effect series. Thankfully there have been multiple rumors surrounding the idea that we will be getting an entirely different ending in the remastered collection. I am more than sure it will add a new layer to the lore.
And the last thing, Shepard decided to rewrite the Geth during Legion's loyalty mission in ME2. That and everything else are all things you should have already been notified of all the way back in the first Chapter of the Story. Sorry for not paying attention.
Getting the chance to see Jack again, especially in her new position with Grissom Academy, was rather comforting for Shepard. She knew that everyone else present when the Normandy still belonged to Cerberus also took their own separate path while she was being locked away from the Batarians.
Which is of course the reason as to why she had serious doubts she would ever get the opportunity to speak with most of them again. That and the current Reaper invasion doesn't just give people the time to catch up with their old friends.
Speaking of which, she was apparently going to get the chance to catch up with one more friend. Thane, the greatest assassin in the whole Galaxy. He was currently in the Huerta Memorial Hospital, the same one that Kaidan was being treated in.
Apparently Thane's disease, Kepral's Syndrome, had gotten much worse not long after the destruction on the Collector Base. Maybe Kaidan and Thane got the chance to finally introduce themselves in a more proper setting? They didn't get a good opportunity back on Horizon.
Speaking of Kaidan, the Commander was also notified that the Major came to a full awakening shortly after she departed from the Citadel. There were also a few other things that managed to acquire the decent part of her attention. She would have to get them finished soon though.
The summit between Primarch Victus, Wreav, the Salarian Dalatrass, and the Commander herself would have to take place soon. Unfortunately the Asari made it very clear they would not be attending the summit. They were more focused on protecting their own borders. It upset Shepard, but in the end she really couldn't blame them for looking after themselves at a time like this.
One person who seemed to be a little too eager to get back to the Citadel was Captain Ella. Especially when she heard the Unreliable was receiving several upgrades from the Alliance without asking for permission first. Good thing SAM's security mode was off. Otherwise there would be a lot of melted Engineers to clean up. That was how the Captain put it anyway. She also agreed to run a few errands for Shepard to make things easier on her.
While she went off with Garrus, EDI, and Joker, who all wanted to accompany the Captain so they could see the Unreliable in person, Shepard went straight to the Huerta Memorial Hospital. There have only been three Drell in the Galaxy to receive the honor of meeting Shepard. Thane, Kolyat, and Feron.
Since so few have caught her eye, spotting Thane was easy. He was standing in front of the open view of the Presidium, seemingly striking at it with his fists. In its own way it was comedic to watch. Not to the point where she would burst out laughing of course.
After giving him a few more seconds to finish fighting whatever imaginary creature had been dreamed up, Shepard tapped Thane on his shoulder to get his attention. He looked surprisingly healthy. Which made the Normandy's Captain smile.
Thane also appeared to be mildly surprised at the sight of an old friend. ''Commander Shepard.'' He said with that one of a kind voice that was usually the last thing people would hear when faced with him. ''When I heard Earth was under attack I tried to get several calls through. None of them made it.''
It made sense that any calls to Shepard had been blocked off. She was out trying to save the Galaxy. Admiral Hackett and the rest of the Alliance needed her to stay focused on the mission at all times. Still, would have been nice to hear his voice sooner. ''Good to see you too, Thane. You look good, if you don't mind my saying.'' She said before taking a seat in one of the provided chairs.
Taking the seat next to the Commander, Thane explained his current condition. ''Not at all. My disease kills slowly. With enough care I am able to delay it for several years. Of course I have already gathered any extra time. Now I exercise because it pleases me. What are you doing here?''
Of course, the other reason Shepard was here. The other friend she was going to make sure was in an all right condition. ''Visiting my friend, Kaidan. Back on Mars things didn't go too well for him. You met him one time, back on Horizon with Grunt when we were fighting the Collectors.''
It was already made clear that Thane could remember every little moment, aside from his birth, that occurred in his life. He had no trouble at all remembering Kaidan. He even revealed spotting him being treated for his serious injuries. ''Yes, I remember. He is now in intensive care. We spoke not long before your return. Your enemies may try to finish him off here. I will remain here waiting for them.''
A generous, but also unnecessary offer. Cerberus would never be stupid enough to plan any kind of attack on the Citadel, or even just a small Hospital. Still, Shepard thanked Thane properly for his generous promise. They ended up speaking on a few more topics. The most notable of them was on Thane's son, Kolyat.
Eventually they parted ways once more. As soon as Thane stood up, the imaginary fighting continued. Shepard had to speed walk away to hide her laughter from Thane. She felt kind of bad. Kaidan's room hadn't changed, though there was someone else in it.
Opening the door revealed Councilor Udina. ''I'd like an answer, Major.'' Udina said to an injured Kaidan. Shepard hid herself from Udina's eyes so she could witness what the two men were currently discussing. ''The Galaxy needs Soldiers like you, now more than ever.''
Kaidan sat himself up, obviously still in quite a bit of time. Above all else the man still looked like hammered shit. Even moving a little probably brought him immense pain. And what offer was Udina putting on the table? ''I'll get back to you as soon as I have one, Councilor.''
Udina looked a little dissapointed with Kaidan's response. After nodding, Humanity's representative left the Hospital room and returned to his office, not even acknowledging Shepard's existence on his way out. Still an asshole then? Guess some things can never change.
The man who took a serious beating on Mars then greeted Shepard. ''Hey, Shepard.'' He said, looking a lot better than the last time they talked. Even though Shepard was the only one speaking. ''You just missed snack time. You know what, that's probably a good thing. Appreciate you coming by.''
Maria sat herself in the chair situated next to Kaidan's bed. ''Of course I came.'' She said before asking about the context of his previous conversation with Udina. ''What did Udina want?'' Shepard's memory then answered the question for her. ''Oh, was it about you and the Spectres?''
The Major nodded then repositioned himself once more. Either that bed was inhumanly uncomfortable, or his injuries were still too tough to bear. ''Yeah, can't stop thinking about it. That's a lot of responsibility to have on my shoulders. I need to be sure before I make a decision.''
He released a sigh and rubbed his face with his hands. ''I'm so ready to get out of here, Shepard. You can't tell, but they tied me to this bed with medical red tape. The Doctor says I should be fine to leave, but then she always comes back with another test to run.''
Shepard gave him a pat on the shoulder, carefully just in case. ''I'm glad you asked me to come over. With everything that's been going on... Well, it's good to see you're doing okay. To think, another Soldier almost died on my watch. Don't think I could live with that. Not after Ashley, or even Wrex.''
Shaking his head, Kaidan reassured his superior that neither of those deaths were in any way her fault. ''Them dying wasn't your fault. Wrex let his emotions take control. Ash had no choice but to shoot him. But she did have one when she detonated that nuke. I would have done the same thing in her position.''
The two Alliance Soldiers just stared blankly at the floor and ceiling. Then Kaidan brought up something that was on his mind when they first encountered Cerberus on Mars. Hell, back when they saw each other on Horizon for the first time in two years.
''I need you to be straight with me on this.'' He said, acquiring Shepard's full attention. ''After what happened back on Mars with Liara and Cerberus, and I guess I should say Horizon. You and me, we're good right? Cause I know some of the things I said were a little-''
''You're still my brother, Kaidan.'' Shepard cut him off in a reassuring voice. ''Going through Ash's death together like we did. That created a bond not broken so easily. Having you back on the Normandy, that was great. Hope to see you on it again soon.''
Seeing old Soldiers, old friends reconnect with one another is a rather heartwarming sight to be witness to, is it not? While Shepard continued to speak with Kaidan on subjects, one having to do with the time the Major encountered the Vorcha Mafia in a casino, the Captain was showing off her prized ship.
Hangar space was no longer something the Citadel could be charitable with. Which is why no one was even remotely happy to see an unmarked vessel, especially one without any weapons, parked in a position that could be used for more useful ships.
But it couldn't be moved, not unless whoever was doing said moving wanted to be greeted by the Captain of the Unreliable. The same Captain who unlike Shepard was never able to save the Galaxy, but did manage to bring peace to almost all of Halcyon, through words or force.
Three Engineers and a particular C-Sec Officer are currently dealing with her. Luckily no violence has broken out, yet. ''No, those are mine!'' The Captain shouted as a few Officers hauled off her weapons stored in crates. ''Do whatever you want, but don't take away my guns, please.''
The C-Sec Officer in charge ordered his men to continue confiscating the weaponry. The Turian male was the same one that Ella had encountered when she arrived at the Citadel for the first time. He was nothing to worry about back then, but somehow this guy now had the nerve to steal weapons she spent forever collecting.
He wasn't hiding the fact that this was payback for the insults and violence pushed on C-Sec. ''Sorry, but until I get word from Command to hand them back, you won't be seeing these weapons anytime soon. If it was up to me we would take your ship too. But the more I look at it, the more I realize we would gain nothing from it.''
Wow, that was a low blow. In an odd display, the Captain fell to her knees. It went against her code, but desperate times tend to call for desperate measures. The Captain began to beg for the Officer to show her even the smallest amount of compassion.
''Please, I need each and everyone of those.'' She said, speaking like a little girl asking for her toys back. The Officer didn't even bother to acknowledge her begging. Instead just continued to give orders out to his men. ''What am I supposed to fight the Reapers with, my hands?''
Garrus, who was standing beside EDI and Joker, decided to step in and try to resolve the problem. He didn't truly believe the Captain needed all of those firearms, but at the same time the Turian Sniper understood not wanting to depart from a weapon. Especially when against your own will.
Walking over to the other Turian, Garrus coughed to gather his attention. ''Excuse me.'' He said, earning both the Officer and Captain's attention at once. ''You realize she's currently serving aboard the Normandy, right? Last I recall, it's the same ship under the command of Commander Shepard, the first Human Spectre. What do you think she would say if she saw you in the middle of confiscating weaponry that could be used to fight the Council's enemies? I have a few ideas, none of them end well, for you and the rest of these good men that is.''
In awe, the Officer contemplated what his next action should be. All the while, the Captain was watching the whole scene, hoping things would go in the direction of her favor. Finally the Officer gave one final order to his men. ''Put it all back in the ship.'' He said, causing all of them to grown or sigh. ''I guess you make a decent point. It's just that she started a lot of trouble for us, and I don't... ah, just forget about it.''
Once everything was back to the way it should be, the Officer, with an upset look across his face, left with the rest of his men. ''Here, let me help you up.'' Garrus offered. It would prove to be pointless. The Captain was already off the floor with her arms wrapped around Garrus.
He was shocked. Not because she was hugging him, but because of the incredible speed at which she reached him. It almost seemed supernatural. ''Thanks for that, new best friend.'' She said, Garrus unable to tell whether it was embellishment or not. ''Now come on, let's take the Unreliable for a test drive. Got to see what they did to her.''
War Asset Updated, the Unreliable. Engineers spent quite a lot of time and resources, but they managed to make the Unreliable a little more... reliable. Now outfitted with two cannons, one on top of the ship and the other on the bottom, it packs quite the punch.
''Actually...' Garrus said. Dealing with the Officers almost made him forget Shepard had asked him to investigate while she visited Kaidan in the Hospital. ''The Commander wanted me to check out some Salarian up in the Embassy. He's another Spectre who's trying to fight the Reapers.''
Ella was certain everyone was now in a fight against the Reapers. She would have preferred flying around in the Unreliable together rather than conversation with some random Spectre. However Garrus had just saved all of the weapons she holds dear, the least she could do is accompany him.
With a smile, the Captain offered to tag along. ''Hey, why don't we go together?'' Half the reason she wanted to go was to actually aid a Spectre who could apparently aid back in fighting the Reapers. As for the other, she wanted a chance to get to know the Turian.