We walk around the citadel and talk to some interesting people. Shepard asked what the keepers were doing to a c-sec employee and he didn't have any answers. We visited some shops and tried to find armor that fit me, but nothing did. We even tried a turian outfit on me but it would compress my waist. It saddened me as I rocked that thing. My favorite part was talking about the information broker and the information game. The shadowbroker, that was the one who developed a clever scheme to sell sensitive information to opposing governments. This forced them to use his services or else run being left behind by a government willing to pay. Normally I hate people who do not make their money without producing something of value, although it was really clever and takes money away from the governments, so I let it slide.
We stopped to look at the miniature mass relay display when Shepard received a bleep coming from his inner left elbow. He opened his omni tool and said we had to go to the embassy. They found a lead.
We walk over to the embassy and meet with Udina in his office. He explained to us that a human doctor treated a female quarian who may have evidence against Saren.
"What is a quarian? Kaiden asked.
"They are the ones who wear full body suits. I really do not know much about them as my work focuses my attention on council races" Udina admits.
"The little ones?" Ashley asked.
"No, those are volus. Quarians look human except the hands and feet look turian" I explain.
"You know them?" Shepard eyes me.
"I never met one before but know what they look like" I say.
"Why see a human Doctor?" Shepard asks.
"She was panicking and did not trust council races. A human was the best choice she had" the doctor is at this location. Udina opens a map on his omnitool and points out where.
We leave and head over there. I do not have a weapon. Currently concealed carry is legal in citadel space but the idea of a civilian having a weapon while meeting the council may leave a sour taste in their mouths. I can probably use someone's pistol when the fighting starts. I try to keep my cool as I do not want to alert the others to danger. They think we are only going to interview the doc. I keep my eyes open for any surprises such as any of the shadowbroker's men keeping an eye on the scene.
We reach the hallway leading to the doctor's office. I wait for a moment when the three soldiers I am with spring into action. Ashley looks back and gives me a look to stay behind. I crouch and hug against the wall. I slowly advance and stay out of sight. The firefight took longer than expected.
"Hey easy. Let the doctor go" I hear Garrus say. I turn the corner and his arms are raised.
"Shut up. Get back!" the last remaining criminal rests his gun against the doctor's temple.
"Please I do not know where she went. I just gave her treatment. The medication I gave her made for humans made her loopy and all she told me was she had evidence against a turian spectre. Then she ran away when she realized what she told me" the doctor is crying.
"Then you are going to help me find her" he says and presses the barrel into a skin.
A hostage situation in a small space is very bad. The wrong move could kill the hostage. Either we do the Hollywood method and get him to let her go or trick him.
"Shepard. Give me a grenade" I whisper.
"Are you crazy. The shrapnel will kill everyone." He whispers back.
"Not if it doesn't blow up" I state. He looks at me cautiously.
"Do you trust me or not?" I ask.
He thinks for a moment and slowly hands me a grenade. I examine the metal casing and find no screws holding it together. It snaps together. I do not know alot about devices but know this is controlled by a timer and it somehow glides through the air. If I can remove the explosive material, then it will be a dud. It will give us an opportunity to take him out when he panics. I open the hockey puck like device and find a square plastic wrapped brick with one wire going into the bag. The device would send a spark that would light the material. Goodbye murder brick, hello dummy for the dummy. I snap the grenade close and show the explosive material in my hand. His eyes light up and grabs it out of my hand.
The gunman keeps moving left to right to not give the would-be shooters a good angle. Shepard grips the grenade hard. When the criminal is focusing on Garrus, Shepard throws the grenade. The criminal is panicked, he throws the doc and leaps for cover.
"It's a fake. Surrender now?" Shepard barks.
The criminal was tricked. He let go of his only bargaining chip. He starts to raise his gun when a shot from a certain alien sniper sends him to sleep. Garrus walks over, kneels down and offers his three digits to the doctor.
"Are you alright?" He asks the doctor. She is blushing hard. If Garrus knew what that meant I wonder how he would react. Ashley sees this too and makes a slight pouty face in disgust.
"I am ok now. Thank you all for saving me. How can I ever repay you?" the doctor asks.
"We are looking for a quarian who has evidence against a spectre" Shepard said.
"You too huh" Garrus said. "I was investigating the murder of her friend. A witness at the scene mentioned he overheard them talking about a recording of Saren betraying the council. Unfortunately for the both of them that place had a lot of ears and even more bullets. I do not know how she ran away and lived" Garrus explains.
"She is panicked and looking for protection" Kaiden replies. "Where would she go if she needed protection from non-council races?"
"I had some shady people, humans come to me when they needed off the book treatment, and I heard them mention the owner of Chora's den provides protection for a fee. They double crossed him and were sent my way after he had some fun" she looks away. "If I were her, I would go there."
"Do you know anything about this person?" Shepard asks Garrus.
"Fisk. real shady type. All he cares about is money. If she goes to him, he will sell her out to the highest bidder. She is heading to danger" Garrus replies. "We have no time to follow me."
We head to the nightclub and run into Saren's trigger-happy morons. Kaiden gives me his pistol. Garrus uses his rifle to take out the person on top of the bar. Shepard and Ashley go left while the three of us go right. It was very easy to remove the humans but the krogan took more bullets. Thankfully Kaiden's biotics froze the behemoth. Garrus and I unload into him and take him down. The two in the storage area were smart and fled. Then we came face to face with fist, and hopefully fist to fist.
"I know when I am beat. Maybe we can work out a deal" the nightclub owner offers.
"A quarian came to you for protection. Where is she?" Shepard asks.
"Oh her. She came to me looking for protection. She had some valuable pieces on her. I heard the rumor she had evidence against someone real high up. I told her to meet my guys and the shadowbroker at a confidential location. What she doesn't know is I am going to take her recording away from her and leave her to the varren" he explains with a sick smirk.
"Why didn't you take it from her yourself when you had the chance?" Ashley asked.
"It is bad for business if people come to me and I betray them. I need plausible deniability. If word got out I sell people's protection to the highest bidder, I would lose a revenue stream" he said.
"Where is she?!" Shepard yells.
"Not sure. I forgot. What are you going to do?" he asks.
"Shepard alliance personnel have authority to manage human crimes on citadel locations. I will not say anything" Garrus explains.
When I played the game for the first time, I killed fist. It is different doing it in person. I wonder what he will do. His eyes look unsure. He looks at Kaiden and knows his friend also knows he wants to kill her. Shepard looks at Ashley. She wants this. He looks at me.
"Do not indulge this habit often" I warn.
"Hey wait a minute. I think my memory is coming back" Fist claims. His hand lowers behind the desk. Shepard sees this and instinctively shoots him. He looks shocked he murdered him. Was it purely instinct or did a small part of him take the opportunity to kill him? He does not seem to enjoy this. I never really understood why some people enjoyed the feeling of taking a life. It seemed wasteful to me. It happens but I try to avoid it. I am not sure the fear of myself losing it kept me from never becoming a murderer or if it simply isn't my nature. I hope this isn't a renegade Shepard.
"She can't be far. We need to find her now" Shepard orders. Everyone leaves immediately and I am amazed how quick they react. I know what is happening, so I act quickly but these guys are on a different level. We made our way through several alleys and could not find Tali. She was not in her ingame position. An alteration in this universe. We come up the stairs and hear her voice. There she is. We crouch down and listen.
"Where is the shadow broker. Where is fist?" She asks.
"Oh… they will be here soon" a male voice said.
We peek over the stairs and watch. I get my pistol ready. I am to the left of everyone.
"I am aiming left" I whisper. I observe the conversation. Tali starts to turn. She does not see us when she tosses a grenade and ducks behind a crate. I am the first to leap into action and kill a salarian on the left. Someone kills the one on the right but the turian also manages to get to cover. He is behind four crates. Two stacked on top of two. I run to the crate Tali is behind. I aim so that as soon as he peaks out, he is dead. He knows this too.
"Give up, you are outnumbered" Shepard says.
"Fat chance of that happening. If I fail the shadowbroker there is no where I could hide '' He yells from cover.
"You should focus on the threat in front of you right now" Shepard says.
"I have every intention to live. However, you will only kill me. The stories I heard about what the shadow broker does to those who failed him would pull your fringe off" he replies.
I need to get him out of cover. I tried shooting the metal behind him to scare him out, but it was no use.
"Nice try"
Ok he is going to make me work for it.
"Someone get ready to take a shot. I'm flushing him out" I yell.
"Oh yeah?"
"Do not be stupid *********" Shepard yells.
"He won't even see me" I ran to the front of the crates. I throw my gun to the middle of the floor. I hear someone ask what I am doing. I get low and start to push the crates. They are really heavy. Do not work harder than you have to. It's physics. I just need enough energy to get them moving and to maintain momentum. I take a few steps back and sprint into the crates with my shoulder. They move.
"What the? Oh no you don't" He starts to push back. I keep pushing. I focus hard on straightening my legs then my arms. I push as hard as I can and lean forwards. This is a test of physical strength. No tricks. Thankfully I enjoy the feeling of exercise. I won the contest. He leaps out of cover to avoid being squished. Someone kills him. I take a moment to stand up and enjoy a cooling breath. I walk over to Tali?"
"Are you alright. Are you injured?" I ask. I meet those white eyes of her mask.
"I-I am fine" the lights in her mouthpiece blink.
I grab her hand and lift her off the ground. She points her pistol at me. The crew came to join us. I throw my hands in the air.
"Why does everytime I help a woman she pulls a gun on me?" I jokingly ask. I feel Tali gives me a strange look. I ignore her and walk towards the bodies.
"Who are you?" Tali points her gun to Shepard and demands answers.
"My name is commander Shepard. These are my friends. We are alliance military and Garrus works for C-sec" he explains.
"Who is that guy?" Tali asks about me.
"We… do not really know yet. He is on our side. ********* what are you doing?"
I drag the bodies behind the crates. I clean up messes. I raise my pistols to their lifeless skulls. "Double tapping" I shoot the heads of the criminals. And because of infinite bullets, I am not wasting anything.
"I think they are dead" Ashley replies.
"They are now" I shot one more time.
"Ignore him. Saren attacked one of our colonies. We need your evidence to go after him" Shepard says.
"Why should I trust you? The last human betrayed me and you have one of Saren's race with you" Tali said.
"Not all humans are bad. Afterall Doctor Michelle helped you and she didn't even know you" Garrus said.
I try to find a mop to clean up the alien colored blood stains. Messes can compound into bigger problems. Always best to take care of them now. I do not know how long this conversation will last.
"You know her?" Tali asks. She starts to lower her pistol.
"Yeah he saved her life. You can trust us" Kaiden replies.
Tali thinks for a moment. She holsters her gun.
"Ok I am trusting you. We need to go somewhere quiet" Tali said.
Cleaning time is over. Time to head out I walk over. Tali and Garrus give me quizzical looks.
"I am sorry for pointing my gun at you" Tali says in a soft voice.
"Heh, you didn't hurt me, so it is good" I reply.
"No it's not. You were trying to help me and I almost killed you" she replies.
"Do not flatter yourself. You can make it up later if you feel that badly about it" I reply.
We headed to the ambassador's office and greeted the politician.
"Shepard what is this?" A quarian and turian. What are you up to?" He asks.
"Garrus helped us saved the doctor you told us to investigate, and you can ask her yourself" Shepard said.
"Alright I'll play along. What is your name miss?" Udina asks the quarian.
"My name is Tali'Zorah nar Rayya" She asks.
"Long name" I say.
"You can call me Tali. While on my pilgrimage I came across the geth and found a memory core. My people created the geth hundreds of years ago. If you are quick, you can download the memory before it self-destructs and I found this" Tali plays the audio file.
It is Saren discussing his plans with Liara's mother. Incriminating evidence. Tali explains what the reapers are. I nod my head like this is the first time I am hearing this.
"You did good work Shepard. I will call another emergency meeting and forward this to the council. They will not be pleased with me abusing my ambassadorial rights, but they need to hear this. Please leave I calls to make" Udina said.
We exit his office and Shepard calls Anderson. He will want to be there.
"He seemed nice" Tali comments.
"What makes you think that?" I ask. A nice politician. I have been to many places and never met one.
"He was the first to ask me my name?" Tali said.
"First human?" Ashley asks.
"First anyone since I left home" Tali said. This seems to shock and sadden Ashley. Garrus catches this.
"Quarians have a less than desirable status on the citadel. They have a reputation as thieves, but this is due to their culture being communal and not using money. Ones embarking on their pilgrimage often go to stores and take what they need off the shelves forgetting they need to pay. I had a lot of run ins with angry store owners in my rookie days" Garrus explains.
"No money? How does that even work?" Ashley asks.
"The geth drove us from our homeworld. We live in ships and have to use what we can to survive. We have no choice" Tali explains.
"Do your people accept donations?" I ask.
"Thank you but the point of our pilgrimage is for us to bring resources back to the fleet. We have to prove ourselves. We are not supposed to take handouts" Tali replied.
Ashley looks flustered. This is her first time feeling compassion for an alien. I hope this opens her up to the idea that aliens are not different from us. Oh how I wished that was true. Human nature isn't human nature. It is soul nature is soul nature. I will try to ease her into being comfortable around aliens.
"Anderson is coming. He will meet us here soon. He sounds happy. We will wait here until it is safe and then visit the council" Shepard notifies us all.
"Who is Anderson?" Tali asked.
"He is our superior officer. One of the best men you will ever meet" Kiaden replies.
"I am standing right here" I reply.
"Yes, even you" Kaiden said.
Time has passed and Anderson arrives. He has an energy in his step. He spreads his arms and hugs Shepard. "I knew you could do it" he said. Udina exits his office and notifies us the council is steaming but is agreeing to meet with us.
We rush over to the council and present the evidence.
"He was our most trusted spectre! How could he do that?" the turian councilor yells.
"In light of recent evidence we revoke Saren's status and will press charges" the asari says.
"That is it? Saren has attacked a human colony and now threatens galactic stability, and you do the bare minimum. Send a fleet and go after this son of a bitch!" Udina raises his fist in the air demanding action.
"A fleet would send Saren into hiding and risk war with the terminus system. Our hands are tied at the moment" the salarian says.
"Well…" the asari comments,
The turian looks at her. "No. they are not ready."
"Maybe but it is the best option we have" the asari says.
"What is this?" Udina asks.
The asari looks at the salarian who nods. She looks back towards her turian colleague. He looks away and shrugs. "You guys will outvote me anyway. Commander Shepard please step forward. You actions at Elsyium showed you have the potential to be something far greater. It is a unanimous decision to make you a spectre. Be honored human"
The asari steps forward. A crowd gathers. "Spectres are the right hands of the council's will. It is a symbol of our faith towards you. Spectres are an idea. To uphold galactic justice"
The salarin says "Spectres work in secret. They work towards preserving peace for all. This is an enormous responsibility. Are you prepared to go after one of the most dangerous individuals in this galaxy?"
Shepard steps forward. "Saren has attacked our colony, threatened our hope for humanity, now he threatens all life in the galaxy. I will stop him. There is nowhere he can hide" his eyes contain a fire I have not seen in a long time. The same look I had when I wanted to leave my original reality. A fire that burns any obstacles in his path. He will do it and so much more.
"Congratulations Commander Shepard. You have the responsibilities and privileges of a spectre. You may meet the material handler at C-sec for spectre weapons and armor. You are now immune to all laws. Be careful how you proceed. Are there any questions?" the asari asks.
No one says a word.
"Do we call him spectre Shepard now?" I ask.
"Spectre is a status not a rank. You may call him whatever you wish" the asari says.
"When you say all laws, you are exaggerating right? What can't he do?" I probe.
"There are no laws that will be enforced upon commander Shepard, however as you seen betrayal of the council will be punished severely" the asari warns.
A light bulbs goes off in my head. I slowly turn my head towards Shepard and give a mischievous smile. "Shepard, we can commit crimes and get away with it. What should we do first? Jaywalking? Streaking? Rob a bank?" I joke.
"We are going to regret this" the turian covers his eyes and looks down.
"You bet your rear you do" I yell.
"I take the responsibility seriously and will only do what I believe is necessary for the mission, despite some influences" Shepard attempts to stare at me seriously but a smirk cracks through his face.
"Thank you commander. I do not believe you will let us down. May I speak to ********* before you depart?" the asari wants to see me? Uh oh.
"I didn't do it!" I yell.
"What didn't you do?" She asks.
"Whatever it is I didn't do it and am not accepting responsibility" I reply.
She walks over to me. My intuition tells me to meet her so I do. She looks at me.
"Are you a biotic? You feel like one but also not" she asks.
"No I am not. I do not for sure what is happening, but I feel strange around asari. This never has happened to me before" I reply.
She glances with me a look that says she does not believe me. "I will be keeping an eye on you" she says and turns around. I walk back to the group.
"What was that about?" Garrus asks.
"I think I have a fan" I reply.
"You really are a weird one" Kaiden comments.
Garrus shows us the way to C-sec and asks to be apart of the crew to take down Saren. His years of investigation Saren was too much to pass so Shepard agrees. Tali wanted to come with us for protection and to offer her talents regarding the geth. We meet Wrex in C-Sec lobby. I love Wrex. I loved the warrior cultures. They focus on self improvement of the body and keep each other in check. Although they can be rigid and and push themselves farther then they should be to achieve a false image of strength. Real strength is not how much you can do but what you are willing to do. To push past your fears. While I respect warrior cultures, I do recognize some are bad where they take over weaker countries while others just want an adrenaline rush. The latter are fun.
"You the one who killed Fist?" Wrex asks.
"Maybe. Why do you care?" Shepard asks.
Everyone is on edge. Their hands above their pistols. I do it too just to mimic them. It felt right in the moment.
"Want me to take him?" I ask Shepard.
"Don't even try it human" Wrex warns.
"Do not *********" Shepard warns. I ignore him. I step forward and look Wrex in the eye.
"You speak like you aren't a quadless pyjak. You don't seem like a whelp. What clan are you from?"
Wrex looks at me with surprise. "Clan urdnot" he states.
"That is next to clan nakmor right?" I ask.
"Yeah how did you know?" Wrex looks puzzled. Probably wondering how a human is speaking to him as if he was a krogan himself.
"I heard about Nacmor Drack. Very old. Loves his granddaughter" I said.
"I never met him myself. I am here to let you know I was hired to kill fist then you got to him first. I transferred the money into your account" Wrex talks to Shepard.
Everyone is stunned. Both by me standing up to a krogan and said krogan doing something most people would not do.
"I saw you are going after Saren. He is bad news. I want to take him down. I lived for hundreds of years, and he is the vilest person I have ever met. He needs to die" Wrex explains.
Shepard is debating hard. He does not know if it is a good idea to bring this hulking monstrosity onboard and Wrex. The gears in his head are turning.
"Please dude invite him on. A krogan might be the last chance to test my strength against something that will be a challenge. I'll keep him in line if he steps out. Pretty please. I'll do your laundry except the crusty sock" I plead.
"Oh dude, why did you have to go there?" Kaiden turns around in disgust.
Garrus is trying to suppress his laughter, yet his mandibles are flopping all over the place. Tali doesn't understand what I am talking about. Ashley is pretending to not have heard it. Shepard is returning his mind to the task at hand. He thinks, I already took ********* in. Maybe Wrex will be an asset. I do not have the luxury to be choosy who I bring to fight Saren. It is a huge risk. Good thing I am great at gambling.
Shepard steps close to Wrex and says "you follow my orders to the letter. I will not threaten to throw you out for insubordination. This is the most dangerous mission of my life and I can not let my people down. If you do anything and I mean anything to jeopardize this, I will have ********* have his fun" Shepard looks at me. "Stop being excited, you are strong but not Krogan strong" Shepard said.
"Wanna bet?"