Citadel March 4, 2183

The citadel docks were usually a busy place. They were a swarm of activity in the form of engineers, C-sec, and customs agents working around each other. Shouting and the buzzing of welders, the laughter of ship crews coming in breathing the first breaths of citadel air.

The Normandy's docking was a contrast to that. The slick gunmetal grey of the ship would have stood out anywhere, but it was even more apparent on the empty C-sec academy dock. The landing that was reserved for criminals and diplomatic disasters waiting to happen.

Shepard had lodged the ship into the second column the moment she'd boarded.

She huffed a short laugh. It was definitely a mistake to make her a Spectre, and the council knew it. The Alliance probably did too, though it didn't seem to slow their decision to give her the Normandy.

While Shepard wasn't proud of forcing Anderson into an early retirement, she understood their reasoning. The Normandy was the best they could offer their first Spectre. More than that, she was already familiar with the crew and the Normandy's systems.

Still, it was a bittersweet feeling.

She let her hand raise towards the ship, leaning forward over the railing as if it could close the impossible distance between them.

"Shepard," Anderson spoke behind her.

She sighed, pulling back. "Captain."

"You have regrets." He stated. She could hear the scowl in his voice when he spoke.

"Regrets… maybe. But that's not exactly it, this time," she cast a look back at him. "Sorry about your early retirement, by the way. I'd have protested if the Normandy wasn't exactly what I needed for this mission."

Anderson laughed, settling against the railing beside her. "I don't blame you for that kid. The order came in over both our heads."

"I could have refused it."

"And here I thought you'd stopped being difficult on purpose." Anderson sighed.

"Old habits," she offered him a small smile. But in all seriousness, I was thinking about what caused Arturius to go off the rails before you came. Both of them."

"Both…" Anderson shook his head. "You looked into his service history."

She shot him an incredulous look.

"Of course you did. Before or after the trial?"

"You're giving me too much credit, Anderson. I'm good, but I'm not a magician." She ran a hand through her hair. "I requested the files after the last council meeting, from both the Alliance and the council with my shiny new clearance."

"So you can follow the law."

"Occasionally, it's faster."

"Occasionally." He repeated flatly. "I don't suppose you'll ever change."

Shepard offered him a smile leaning against the railing. "Well, it's not really illegal now that I have the council's permission to break the law as I please."

"I should have expected as much. I hate to admit it, but Udina is right about one thing. You're going to give the galaxy a run for its money."

"You're not wrong. Though if you want my opinion, Udina is enough of a galactic nuisance on his own." She blew a stray strand of hair out of her face. "The man brought a shovel to our first meeting. Then he started digging."

"Ah, Udina is certainly…" Anderson grimaced.

"A hot-headed, arrogant, self-centred, son of a bitch with a nasty habit of looking down on anyone who doesn't immediately submit to his self-aggrandizing nonsense." She turned to face the Normandy. "Udina doesn't understand the stakes. And I doubt he even cares beyond his own self-interests. Why would he? It's not like the council cares either."

"I have a feeling none of us truly understand the stakes. Except you." Anderson paused. "You held back on your report. You didn't mention Sovereign at the meeting either."

"Because it doesn't exist."

"We-"

"Technically."

"Shepard."

"It's an AI." She admitted. "The message from the beacon on Eden Prime was nonsense for the most part. But I gathered that it was an AI. Sovereign is the first of many."

Anderson's eyes widened as he processed her words. "Then…"

"Saren's a pawn in a far bigger game."

"The council-"

"Will know as soon as I have concrete proof." She cut him off. "Being branded as crazy now will make it harder to convince them when we have proof later. It'll be fine. I was planning to ask Nihlus for help. I owe him an explanation, and he owes me a favour."

Shepard pulled away from the railing, letting a strange silence fill the space between them for a moment.

"I should go," she ran a hand through her hair. "Hospital matters, updating the crew roster, you know."

"I know." Anderson agreed. "You know I have your back, Shepard. Take care of yourself."

Shepard let herself look past Anderson, taking in the Normandy for a final time before turning towards the c-sec academy.

The hospital, when Shepard reached it, was busy as it always was. It was filled with the bustle of nurses, doctors, and the steady stream of patients coming and going. After all, Huerta Memorial was one of the best on the Citadel.

She wasn't sure what she'd been expecting, but being waved through security without a fuss wasn't one of them. She wasn't expecting Nilus to be awake either.

He was quiet when she entered the room, taking a moment to assess her, the same way he had the first time they'd met.

"Shepard," Nihlus stated from the bed. "I figured you'd show up eventually."

"Am I really that predictable?" She offered him a smile as she shut the door behind her and crossed the room.

"I've read your file."

She snorted. "Right."

"I was injured on your mission," Nihlus looked away from her to the datapad in his hand.

"Yeah, yeah. I check up on people. You got a detail wrong, though."

He looked back at her.

"It was your mission too," she settled into a chair beside him. "I'm sure you know the details of my new assignment by now."

"The one to deal with Saren, yes. I was briefed."

"Well, I figured you'd want to know the details they didn't tell you. The ones I left off my prior report." She leaned back in her seat. "That is if you're interested in helping me hunt down the man who shot you."

Nihlus's eyes widened for a moment before he schooled his expression into his usual poker face. "I'm listening."

Shepard stared up at the ceiling. "The beacon was damaged when we reached it, but it was still active. It showed me a fragmented message, a war between AI and organics, to be exact. AI that looked suspiciously like Sovereign. If I had to guess, the message is supposed to be a warning that it will happen again. Benezia called them Reapers when we found evidence on Saren, you know, aside from your corrupted video."

Nihlus twitched, ignoring her half-hearted jab. "You expect a war."

"I expect an extinction. Which is why I want proof of it," she looked towards him. "You know as well as I do that the council won't accept anything but hard evidence to act on my suspicions. They won't act until the Reapers are on their doorstep and by then it'll be too late. The fact of the matter is that they don't trust me."

"You have yet to earn it." Nihlus agreed.

"I'm a known pain in the ass. It'll take a few years for that." Shepard sighed. "Unfortunately, we don't have a few years to wait. If Sovereign is a Reaper and the beacon's information is accurate, the war has already started. It probably started years ago."

"And what makes you say that?" Nihlus narrowed his eyes.

"Shanix."

"Sha-"

"That's all I can really say on that unless you're interested in accepting my request." She cut him off.

Nihlus scowled. "Before I give you an answer, where did you learn of Sovereign, Shepard? It's been bothering me since Eden Prime."

"There were whispers of it in the Verge."

"Whispers?"

"Whispers. I doubt it'll be easy to confirm, though. Saren has a habit of tying up his loose ends with bullets."

"And the dragon's teeth, and Saren's involvement?" He pressed.

"That information is buried in the Alliance network. Documentation on the end of the first contact war. Shanix and the first humans on Palaven. I can forward them to you if you keep quiet about my involvement in obtaining them." She paused. "Though, if you want to know more, Pallevan's archives may have more answers for you."

Nihlus was quiet for a moment before he spoke again, considering her words. "Why me, is there no one in the Alliance-?"

"You saw what happened on Eden Prime. You know what Sovereign and Saren are capable of," Shepard cut him off. "I've read Saren's file. His service history is mostly predictable until about a year ago when it took a hard left. If you don't believe me about a war coming, fine. Look into why Saren changed. You were close to him once, right?"

She stood up, not waiting for his reply, before making her way to the door.

"I'll forward you what I know. You know how to contact me," She paused, her hand on the door. "And for what it's worth, I'm glad you survived, Nihlus."

Normandy March 4, 2183

There was an email waiting for her when she got back to the Normandy — six words from Nihlus.

I'll see what I can find.