Nihlus had followed Saren like a shadow from the city center to the cargo ship without being detected, as far as he knew. His heartbeat pounded with every step knowing the deeper they ventured into the chaos, the further his love traveled from redemption. How many orphans was Saren creating today despite his own past experience? The constant banging in the distance from Shepard's inevitable discovery gave Nihlus the opportunity he needed to eliminate Saren's Geth bodyguards in peace. Unfortunately, despite his rapid takedowns of the Geth nearby, Saren appeared to be interacting with the Prothean beacon in some unknown fashion. The Turian's body was levitating a few inches above the ground while he was also surrounded by the eerie green glow emanating from the device. By the time he killed the last Geth in the immediate area Saren touched the ground again seemingly calm and collected.

Nihlus rushed forward pressing the barrel of his pistol against the man's head, "Don't move or I'll pull the trigger."

"Nihlus, is that any way to treat an old friend?" Saren asked coldly as though the two of them had no history together whatsoever.

Nihlus took a step backwards to give some space between them, "What are you doing here? Have your personal grudges against Humanity really brought you to this?"

Saren scowled at him with true venom in his heart, "You know what they took from me. How can you possibly stand there and still say I just have a grudge?"

In the midst of all the bloodshed on Eden Prime, it was easy for him to simplify Saren's pain even when that wasn't totally fair. Extremist Humans had experimented on his brother illegally after the Relay 314 Incident had concluded until he died. Saren had been the one to find the body when he was just a young boy ruining any chance he had at a completely normal life afterwards. That said, he had a successful career in the SPECTREs as well as a foster family who loved him. A loving relationship that lasted over a decade yet, Saren still couldn't bring himself to move on from his grief. Seeing Saren's depressed almost broken facial expression made Nihlus realize a gentle approach was more likely to avoid bloodshed than a rougher one. Perhaps he was the only person in the galaxy that could reach him before even more lives were lost.

Nihlus gulped softly knowing he had one chance to do this right, "I'm sorry about what happened to you, you know I am. Desolas deserved justice that he may never have... That doesn't make what you're doing here right though. The Turian I fell in love with never killed innocent civilians to feel good."

"Do you truly believe this is mere senseless murder without purpose? Have you forgotten that I am a SPECTRE?! Sworn to protect the galaxy!" Saren shouted with the same righteous determination he displayed during their last discussion on the Citadel.

Nihlus threw his arms wide motioning to the destruction all around them, "If this isn't the act of a terrorist that we are usually tasked with stopping I don't know what is. Saren, help me understand what it is you're really here for."

Saren turned to look at the Prothean beacon as though he was worshipping a deity, "I'm saving the galaxy... With the help of the Protheans."

Since landing on Eden Prime, Nihlus had chosen to believe Saren was here simply for a vendetta. To lash out at any Human in reach in order to make them feel the pain he went through on Shanxi all those years ago. In spite of the Quarian informant on the Citadel speaking about a grand conspiracy, Nihlus opted for simple racism being the true motivation behind the attack. Sadly, the way Saren talked about the beacon made Nihlus realize he legitimately thought something terrible was coming for them. That he along with the Geth were the only things standing between the galaxy and the apocalypse. The actual legitimacy of such a threat didn't matter as long as Saren genuinely believed it to be accurate. Convincing his soulmate to stand down just went from difficult to almost impossible given how stubborn he was. Any conversation they had now was just Nihlus building up the courage necessary to pull the trigger to put him down. Regardless of a threat to the galaxy, SPECTREs didn't have the authority to wipe out every man, woman, and child in a colony.

Nihlus took a deep breath with the understanding he was talking to someone who snapped before his eyes, "Saren, that Prothean beacon is fifty thousand years old. There is nothing of value inside of it that could possibly justify all the people you've killed today."

Saren hardly reacted when confronted with such a hard fact, "If you've seen what I've seen you wouldn't mourn these pathetic parasites. The fate of our people is at stake and so sacrifices will have to be made."

"Tell me what's going on, if there is a galactic threat let me help you deal with it. We can take the beacon to the Council, and they'll give us all the resources we need." Nihlus told him just to stall his own responsibility in putting Saren down.

The ship started slowly moving forward as Saren's gaze zipped past Nihlus' shoulder, "I see you went ahead with your plan then.."

Nihlus was confused with the sudden change in topic deciding to follow the glance over his shoulder to see what he was talking about. Jack Shepard had arrived with two members of his team and was closing on them fast. Seeing as Shepard was the whole reason for their fight on the Citadel, it shouldn't be a surprise Saren was still upset by the possibility of the Human becoming a SPECTRE. However, Shepard's arrival was just the opportunity that had opened him up to an attack from his opportunistic mentor. Before he could process anything, a hand had grabbed his wrist to twist it forcefully. He used his free hand to try to punch Saren but a biotic blast sent him flying backward a few feet. The concussive force sent him on his ass at the edge of the train car. He had been too naïve in assuming Saren wouldn't try to hurt him only to pay the price for that now. Nihlus' pistol landed in Saren's hand having merely flown straight up in the air from the biotic attack. Saren broke the pistol like it was a child's plaything, throwing it over the edge of the moving train before Nihlus could even get back on his feet. Without the element of surprise this was going to be a messy battle that he was afraid he might not win.

_o0o0o0o_

Jack ran as fast as he could towards the exchange seeing how it had become physical. If you could call a biotic blast across the face completely physical that is. Despite being exhausted from participating in his own personal marathon sprint just a few moments ago to avoid the horde of undead colonists, adrenaline was pushing all three of them to get to Nihlus' cargo car. The Turian attacking Nihlus had to be the leader of the Geth, Jack could feel it in his gut. Even though the last time he listened to his gut led to disaster on Torfan, he told himself this time would be different. Rushing forward into danger to save a SPECTRE was a lot different than recklessly jumping to death to save Kal. They started raising their weapons towards the unknown Turian as they moved into formation flanking Nihlus. Their enemy was wearing a dark gray set of armor that matched the Turian's carapace while his eyes were a cold blue as if he had no emotion whatsoever.

Just as Ashley was about to pull the trigger Nihlus got back up onto his feet holding up a hand, "He's mine, just make sure he doesn't think about leaving."

Even though Nihlus just gave that warning the Turian pivoted on one foot, "I'm giving you this one chance Nihlus because we've known each other a long time. However, if you try and stop me again with your... student, I will kill you both." He said the word 'student' like it was giving him a bad taste in his mouth.

The Alliance had always chosen to believe that the racism problem between Turians and Humans disappeared during the Blitz. In stark contrast to the devastation dealt out on both sides of the First Contact War, the Hierarchy had subtly supplied Humanity with all sorts of weapons to deal with the Batarians. As the saying went the enemy of my enemy is a friend, right? Boy had this Turian shattered that assumption for decades to come hadn't he? What the Alliance had clearly failed to realize was that the Turians were not a monolith. Their relationship was still fresh not even a generation away from the first conflict, and scars clearly still lingered. Although he might not be Human, Jack could see the same trauma he was dealing with in the Turians broken, lifeless gaze. He shuddered at the possibility that he could become as horrible and jaded as this terrorist if he stayed in the Alliance Navy. War could change the very best people if they weren't careful.

Jack lowered his weapon in a desperate attempt to bring the situation to a peaceful resolution, "Whatever you think of me, of us as a people, you have to admit this genocide you've committed won't get you what you want right? The Blitz should've taught you that targeting a vulnerable opponent while they're down only brings people together. At this rate Humanity will have a seat on the Council just to halt the instability of the Traverse."

"It's no use Shepard, his racist arrogance has led him down this path. A path he clearly doesn't desire to turn away from." Nihlus declared bitterly as his muscles tensed in preparation for another fight.

The mysterious Turian's expression appeared to legitimately sadden when looking at Nihlus, "Only because you won't listen to me long enough to explain I am right in this."

Nihlus pulled out a shotgun Jack forgot he had packed away in his armor before shouting, "Enough of the vague rationalizations for genocide! Surrender or I will pull this trigger!"

The Turian paused for a moment before starting to walk again, "I don't believe you have the guts to do that."

Nihlus pulled the trigger but to Jack's astonishment, the Turian was still standing where he had been seconds earlier. At first, he was convinced that the shotgun misfired as not even a healthy Krogan could take a point-blank blast to the spine. As the seconds passed however, Jack began to understand something else was going on here. The Turian's hand was glowing with dark blue whisps of energy highlighting the fact he had just used biotic energy, and the bullets that should have been in his back were instead floating in midair. Jack had no idea how the Turian had been able to stop something going as fast as a shotgun blast with biotics. He was sure Asari, which were born with the power, could perform such a feat but since every other species had to use implants to augment their power, he didn't think that could be done. Deflecting projectiles away from oneself like he had done in the main street against the talking Geth was a lot different than actually catching the bullets like he was seeing. Unfortunately for the four of them, he could tell Nihlus was just as surprised as him because the Turian just stood there as if in awe.

The apparent Geth leader sighed as if he was about to lecture a small child for making a mess in the kitchen, "I'm very disappointed in you Nihlus."

Without another word the Turian opened his closed, glowing palm causing the shotgun shells that had been floating harmlessly in the air to zip back towards Nihlus at the same speed. The SPECTRE hadn't been expecting the attack, thus his own bullets hit him dead center in the chest knocking him flat on the ground. It all happened so quickly that Jack could only watch in fear. By sending them with the ground team, Captain Anderson had endorsed Nihlus' fighting capabilities to be sufficient enough to bring the beacon back safely. What chance did they have at getting the job done when a SPECTRE had been just made to look like a fool? The Turians' attacker just kept walking away from them not even looking back to see what had become of Nihlus. The gesture felt awfully cold considering that the two of them made it clear that they cared for each other at one point in the past. Before they could even think about going after him, he jumped to the next train car only to use his biotics to disconnect them from the moving train.

Ashley started looking through her assault rifles scope to take a shot, but Jack immediately lowered her weapon, "No, don't! If he can do that again the bullets could hit the beacon or worse, us."

She was about to reply when Kaidan spoke up kneeling next to Nihlus' body, "Commander it's Nihlus, I don't think he's gonna make it."

Jack looked away from the escaping Turian deciding now wasn't the time for a pursuit, instead looked down at Nihlus. Upon first glance he immediately agreed with Kaidan's prognosis, the shells had landed in lucky spots around the SPECTRE's chest armor. Bursts of blue blood were splashing everywhere they shouldn't be. The sight was similar to Kal's naked, beaten, bruised, and oddly colored form he had discovered on Torfan. If Jack hadn't panicked in the city about splitting up, Nihlus could still be alive right now. Similarly, if he hadn't allowed his fear of losing Kal cloud his judgement many people would still be alive. Nihlus' terrified dying expression was the purest representation of the fact that Jack just wasn't ready for this kind of responsibility again. Although his heart and his mind made him more Human, they were also his fatal flaw when it came to a battle. After standing there stuck in the Torfan tower for a few more seconds, Jack realized he was wasting valuable time he could be using to get information from Nihlus. Even if he was planning on resigning as soon as they were safe, that didn't mean the mission was over now.

He knew Nihlus didn't have much time left as he asked, "Did you know who that was? I need anything you can tell me."

Nihlus was coughing up blood struggling to speak, "Ssss... it... Sssaa..." After he realized that was going nowhere, the Turian handed Jack a data spike.

Watching someone die was nothing new for Shepard, Akuze, Elysium, Mindoir, Torfan, the entire Blitz had been covered in death. He had even done his fair share of the killing just to get back at the bastard Batarians. However, somehow the innocent slaves who died throughout the war didn't have the same level of emotion stretched across their faces as Nihlus did right now. Perhaps Jack had just become accustomed to watching them die thus projected his own numbness to it onto them yet, this was different. Nihlus was clearly afraid of death, desperately clawing at his armor to apply pressure to the many wounds he sustained. While he only knew Mandaria as a reference, he could see the terror in Nihlus' eyes at the realization this was it. Had Kal ever thought like this during his Batarian captivity? Did his mother feel as hopeless watching the Torfan defense cannon charging up from her ship? Jack was tempted to put Nihlus out of his misery, yet he couldn't make himself do it. All he could do was be here in the SPECTREs last moments.

Jack nodded understanding that was the best Nihlus could do right now, "We're gonna get him, I promise. Thank you."

Ashley's voice barely registered to him as though it was coming from a great distance despite standing right next to him, "Looks like the beacon remained active during the struggle. I'm gonna make sure nothing was too damaged before we think about loading this on the Normandy."

Noticing something was wrong with him Kaidan started to stand up, "I'll contact Joker to tell him we have the package and need a pickup."

Jack bowed his head in acknowledgement all while squeezing Nihlus' free hand, "Just make sure it's a quick conversation. I don't want any Geth to track us for the extraction."

Nihlus gripped his shoulder tightly to get his attention, "Tr...ssppplltt...Garr...ughhhllpptt..."

Jack had no pleasure in whipping coughed up blue blood off of his visor, "Don't try to talk, it will just fill your lungs faster. The Normandy is on its way and Doctor Chakwas will take good care of you."

Nihlus shook his head giving Jack a determined glare, "Rust Airus...Trut G..."

Anything useful was lost in the maze of coughs, until he heard Ashley scream, "Commander!"

Turning around he saw the problem; Ashley had wandered too close to the Prothean beacon getting pulled towards it by the devices green glow. Jack privately wondered when the Gunnery Chief would quit being a pain in his ass today as he rushed towards her not even thinking about the consequences. A moment later he grabbed her using all of his strength to throw her backwards towards Kaidan as the beacon's energy decided to target him. Instantly he started hearing a loud buzzing that drowned out all other sound. Then the world just seemed to disappear, as he was staring at a large microchip surrounded by darkness. The chip itself appeared to be from long before he was born yet it still had enough recognizable features as to be associated with an omni tool's processor. Even when he closed his eyes the image was still there like it was being burned into his brain itself. The images changed quickly going from the chip that was bleeding an orange goo to quick flashes of moving pictures. Jack's first thought was to compare the images to the first films Humans invented in the 1900's. Black and white choppy flashing scenes that hardly made any sense when placed outside of its original sequence. While the images flashed too fast to get details, Jack got the general theme was suffering alongside mass death.

The next set of images slowed down again allowing him to see what was happening. At first, he saw a brightly burning star similar to the one found in the Sol system. As his view of the star system expanded, he saw that the area indeed looked a lot like Sol with nine planets. Even the asteroid belt could be spotted in the middle of the system. Then the vision flew to one of the planets that had a single moon floating around it but unfortunately, the planet itself was covered in shadow so Jack couldn't tell if it was really Earth or not. Suddenly, he saw a ship at the center of the shadow quickly realizing it was the same one he saw in the Eden Prime distress call. Although he had only seen the shrimp esque vessel through video before, looking at it now made him feel as though it was aware of him. Getting a closer look, Jack could see that it had red spheres for eyes that chilled him to the core. It moved on its four legs like an elephant heading straight for him leaping off of the shadowy planet. Just when he thought the ship was about to reach him to crush him with its massive fingers, he heard a loud bang, followed by the world going dark all around him.

When you were incapacitated time usually went very quickly yet in this instance, Jack could tell he had been out of it for a while now. As he started to regain his awareness Jack had a massive headache as if he had been a partying twenty-one-year-old on his birthday. Even before opening his eyes, he noticed he had a dry mouth from not drinking anything. After a few moments, he opened his eyes instantly regretting doing so from the brightness of the lights. Was someone trying to blind him so he couldn't participate in another ground mission? Jokes on them since he didn't want any part of the Alliance Navy going forward. Unfortunately, judging by the color of the ceiling he was back in the Normandy, but he didn't think he had been in this particular room before. However, the hard slab of metal that supposedly counted as his bed was an indication that he was in the med bay.

As he sat up from the bed, he heard Ashley say from somewhere behind him, "Doctor, Doctor Chakwas I think he's waking up!"

Jack turned around to see he was in a disturbingly crowded med bay. Yet another reminder of the hell that was Torfan, at least this mission had a smaller body count. As well as the fact that he wasn't dealing with a broken heart in the midst of the medical chaos. To his right Kaidan was sitting on a bed shirtless with a large bandage on his wounded shoulder. Jack felt as though he should apologize to Kaidan for freezing which caused that injury yet, it also didn't feel appropriate to do so in a room full of strangers. When they had some privacy Kaidan would have the opportunity to vent to him about everything that had gone wrong. On the other side of the room, Ashley was pacing back and forth like a nervous parent. He understood she must be feeling a similar guilt for running off to capture Jenkins' killer instead of staying with the squad. Before he resigned from the ship, he was going to have to tell her to quit beating herself up over it. Otherwise, she was going to be consumed with guilt probably ending up in a position similar to his own.

Before she could say hello, Doctor Chakwas entered the room with a cheery smile, "Commander it's good to see your awake, we were worried you had suffered more injuries than I could handle on the Normandy. So tell me, how are you feeling?"

He rubbed his temples for a moment with a sigh, "Like I just woke up from a long shore leave. What happened on Eden Prime after I... touched the beacon?"

Ashley spoke up now nervously playing with her hands, "It's my fault sir, once you threw me away from that thing you started having a seizure so I did the only thing I could do and shot at it. Next thing I know, it exploded, and you fell on your head... If I hadn't interacted with the beacon in the first place, we wouldn't be in this situation now."

Jack had to balance his anger at a failed mission with the desire to get her to let go a little, "You had no idea what it was going to do but, that's kind of the point Williams. You're a soldier not a scientist, remember that next time."

The awkward silence made the Doctor feel like she had to cut in, "Actually we don't know if Gunnery Chief Williams' actions is what set the beacon off. When we got you back here, I was detecting a large amount of beta waves usually associated with dreaming. In large amounts they could've caused the beacon to destroy itself."

Jack laughed when she mentioned dreaming, "I wouldn't call it a dream but, I did see something."

She tapped her shoulder about to ask him another question when they heard the door open, "Oh Captain Anderson, I'm happy to report that the Commander is in good physical condition and ready for duty."

The older man was obviously preoccupied when he answered, "That's good to hear Doctor, will you give us a few minutes alone? I need to get a debrief from Shepard before we reach the next Mass Relay."

He hadn't expected disciplinary action on Anderson's part quite so soon, yet he supposed he should've seen it coming. A SPECTRE was dead, one Alliance recruit was dead as well as another injured and to top it all off the beacon was destroyed. There was no way to sugar coat this as anything other than a cluster fuck of a failure. Especially considering this whole mission was supposed to be his try out for a SPECTRE nomination. Jack hadn't purposely sabotaged the mission but, having screwed up so royally almost guaranteed the Council would pass him over for another more qualified candidate. Despite knowing Eden Prime would do a number to the Alliance's reputation in the short term, Jack was somewhat relieved the mission was a dumpster fire. The lack of extra scrutiny on his character would protect himself as well as Kal going forward. Whether or not that was selfish on his part, it was the only thing Jack truly cared about in the moment.

Ashley saluted the Captain before taking Kaidan by the good arm, "Understood, we'll be in the mess if you need anything from us."

Chakwas stared back at Jack from the door to the bay, "I'll still need to run a few scans when the debrief is over Commander. Don't forget it."

"I would like to formally resign from my post sir. I failed and I have no excuse for it sir." Jack declared taking the initiative to cut this meeting as short as possible as soon as the door closed.

David had a stern expression on his face while folding his arms, "Denied, now tell me what happened down there from your perspective. Kaidan and Ashley's accounts of the mission vary considerably."

A single word had thrown Jack's entire world upside down with how simple it was. No debate, no asking if he was sure about this, hell Anderson hadn't done the stereotypical thing and suggest he take a few months off to clear his head. Had David been asleep at the helm of the Normandy throughout the entire mission? Where did he think Nihlus and Jenkins were right now if not in a body bag? Maybe David was purposely playing ignorant so he wouldn't have to fill out a few more bits of paperwork. It wouldn't be the first time an Alliance official let him get away with murder to protect their own advancement up the chain of command. Though the Captain had a stellar reputation among the Alliance Brass, Jack was forced to wonder how much of it had actually been earned. There was just no other way to explain why David wouldn't throw him to a court martial immediately.

Jack was boiling with frustration at the denial not caring about Ashley or Kaidan for the moment, "Sir, with all due respect I don't think you have a full grasp on just how badly I performed on the field today. I had two flashbacks to my mission on Torfan in the middle of a battle. One of which directly resulted in Lieutenant Alenko's shoulder injury. To put it plainly, I don't think I am capable of doing something like that again."

David didn't make him feel any better with his answer, "Son, we all have missions that haunt us. Shanxi for me, Torfan for you, and yes for some of the crew out there right now Eden Prime will be their nightmare. Yet I keep going because I know Humanity still needs me to climb through the muck of war, so they don't have to. I'm sorry but I'm going to have to ask you to do the same at least for a little longer."

"Why?" Jack had to ask even though he had a feeling he knew the answer.

David started to pace around the room getting comfortable with his surroundings, "Do you know how long we've been trying to get a Turian to nominate a Human for the SPECTREs?" When Jack merely shrugged, he continued, "Since before you were born son. Getting a Human in the ranks of the SPECTREs is the first step to becoming a full member of the Council. To be allied with the three most powerful militaries in the known galaxy. Do you know how many lives could've been saved if the Turians just bombed Khar'Shan at the beginning of the Blitz?"

Jack crossed one leg over the other refusing to look up at him, "You act as though I'm the only Human in the entire galaxy that could possibly do the job. Just lie and tell the Council Nihlus was looking at someone else."

Anderson rounded on him practically glaring at him now, "Name one person you think would be better at the job and I might consider accepting your resignation."

Jack tossed out the first name he could think of in the moment, "Kaidan Alenko. He showed a tremendous amount of professionalism today dealing with my lapses in judgement. He might be young, but I think he could handle it."

David shook his head almost instantly, "Alenko's L2 biotic implant goes haywire often enough to make the Council nervous. No one in the Alliance wants to be embarrassed because our first SPECTRE died of a headache. Anyone else you have in mind?"

Jack gave the idea a little more thought this time, "What about Alec Ryder? Experienced N7 from the First Contact War, gets the job done most of the time."

Anderson actually snorted in amusement at that suggestion, "The man who goes on drunken rants whenever he has an issue with an alien? I don't think we'd be making as many friends as we would if we nominated you. You led the only multiracial task force in the entire Blitz for God's sake."

"I didn't say I agree with his moral stances but-" Jack began trying to explain why Ryder would be the better choice on paper.

David cut him off sounding exhausted for the first time, "I won't lie to you Shepard, the Joint Chiefs have already had this argument for months off and on. You were always one of our lower tier candidates because of some of your concerns. I don't envy anyone who's been forced to see the things you have. Unfortunately for all of us, Nihlus wanted to pick you and ultimately, we all agreed since Nihlus was doing us a favor. So, I suppose you have a choice to make. I'll accept your resignation if you're willing to look me in the eye and tell me your ready to risk another Blitz on our own."

It shouldn't have been a massive shock for Jack that he wasn't the Alliance's first choice as SPECTRE. Not only did he have enough baggage to fill an entire star system, but rumors also had to be swirling about his love interests in the upper halls of government. Still, someone in the Brass actually telling him he was a low tier option on their list stung just a little. He had sacrificed so much of his life as well as his family to protect Humanity just to learn they saw him for the trash he knew deep down. However, the honesty made him understand why Anderson initially turned down the resignation so quickly. For all his faults, Jack was the only person that could take the next step in guaranteeing galactic peace for generations to come. Resigning now, especially when a rogue Turian attacked a colony felt like a cruel joke to innocent civilians living across the Traverse.

He took a deep breath while staring down at the floor, "I don't know if I can be the man, you all need me to be right now but, I'll try. The people of Eden Prime deserve that much."

David offered a tender smile gently placing a hand on his shoulder, "I know it's hard son... Hannah would be proud of you. Now, give me a report soldier."

Jack refocused his attention on what he thought went wrong with the mission, "First of all, whoever gave you the information about that beacon wanted to screw the Alliance over big time. Not only was there a Geth attack but ExoGeni employees were shooting at us."

David put his hands up in the air to let Jack know he understood the frustration, "I agree with you but, AIA couldn't have possibly predicted anything that went on down there. It's not every day that Human miners start shooting at you and the Geth haven't been seen away from the Quarian homeworld in three hundred years."

Jack knew that the Captain was right but, he was still upset, this wasn't the first time that the AIA looked like they were out to get him, "Well their leader has them convinced that attacking Eden Prime was somehow helping organic life according to one that could talk."

He could tell that statement caught Anderson off guard because he pondered for a moment, "It has to do with something about that beacon, did you see anything? Anything at all when you were taken by it?"

Jack decided to tell him the truth hoping it didn't make him sound crazier to the Alliance Brass then he already was, "I saw a vision, there was pain and suffering. Captain I think I saw that Geth ship from the distress call on Earth."

The Captain folded his arms taking a very serious tone, "Shepard we have to report this to the Council."

In response Jack had a hard time not laughing, "What are we going to tell them Anderson? That I had a bad dream and that makes everything about the mission ok?"

The man shook his head impatiently at Shepard, "We have no idea what was on that beacon Commander, what if it was some sort of weapon? In any case, I'm putting it in the report I send to Udina. I want you to try and get some rest before we reach the Citadel."