The Investigation

I could hear voices around me but nothing was clear enough for me to make out what was being said. I opened my eyes but could only see blurry lights and distorted faces. A wet cloth was placed on my forehead and the slight cold seemed to revitalise my senses a little. Blinking several times to try and get my eyes to focus, I slowly raised myself up and realised where I was. I was back on the Normandy and in the medical bay, being attended to by the highly knowledgeable and skilled Dr Chakwas. She was going over some readings on her computer, which I was wired up to, while Ashley dabbed my head with the cloth. When she realised that I was awake she quickly handed me a glass of water which I threw down my throat.

"Thanks," I said hoarsely, "what happened?"

"The beacon… I must have activated it or something. You had to push me out of the way. I'm sorry I should've known better Commander."

"It's ok Ash. You couldn't have known."

"Thanks, Scott."

"How long was I out Doctor?"

"Fifteen hours and thirty-four minutes," Chakwas answered in her very posh English accent. "Physically you seem fine. But while you were unconscious, I detected an extreme amount of rapid eye movement. Do you remember having any vivid dreams or even just hearing things?"

"You could say that. I… I don't know…"

Captain Anderson came through the door, looking concerned and anxious as always.

"How's our XO holding up Doctor?"

"He'll be fine, just needs some rest."

"That's good news. I hate to force you out of your office but I would like to have a chat with the Commander… in private."

"Of course, Captain. I'll add Scott's visions to my report to the Council," Dr Chakwas said politely as she strolled out of the room.

Ashley stood to attention and saluted the Captain before leaving. Once she was gone the Captain waited a few more seconds before turning back to me,

"Scott. This is bad. The Geth have come out of the Perseus Veil for the first time in three hundred years and they head straight for Eden Prime. Nihlus is dead and the beacon was destroyed."

"Destroyed? How?"

"When it… did whatever it did to you, it must have overloaded, shorted out and fell to pieces."

"Dammit. What about the colony? We saved them at least, didn't we?"

"Yeah, damn fine work on the nuke Commander."

"Credit goes to Kaidan for that one Sir."

"Noted. The Council's going to want answers Scott."

"I did nothing wrong. It's Saren and his Geth army that the Council should be looking into. It was Saren that killed, no, murdered Nihlus."

The Captain began pacing back and forward slowly,

"I know that, Scott. You're a damn hero in my books. But Saren's involvement has me… unsettled to say the least. He's the best Spectre the Council has, but he's also extremely anti-Human."

I leaned back against the bed I had been lying on, feeling very weary and tired all of a sudden. How could a crap situation get even worse that quickly?

"He could have found anything in that beacon," Anderson continued, "Prothean technology, like a weapon. I know Saren; he wouldn't think twice about wiping Humanity off the face of the galaxy!"

"I won't let that happen Sir," I said immediately, "I moved too slow to catch him. But I'll get him!"

"I would love nothing better than to hunt that bastard down. But we're still soldiers, and soldiers follow orders. We need to go to the Citadel and report to the Council. If we can convince them that Saren has gone rogue then maybe they'll move to take him down. Or at least they could give us the resources we need to go after him ourselves."

"Would they do that for us?" I asked, full of scepticism.

"They have to! Saren is easily capable of committing genocide against our species: The Council could never allow it."

I could hear the anger and fear in David's voice, but knew he would never let it show like this in front of any other member of the crew. David and I trusted each other as soldiers who had both come through extreme circumstances and survived.

"Doctor Chakwas told me you had some kind of vision. What did you see?"

I shook my head, knowing that I had little to no information that would be of any use to us.

"I saw… I don't know what I saw. Synthetics, Geth maybe, slaughtering people. Butchering them. Entire worlds consumed by fire."

Captain Anderson studied me for a moment, not sure what to make of what I had told him.

"We need to tell this to the Council."

I could not hide my exasperation,

"What are we gonna tell them Sir? I had a bad dream?"

"We're going to give them every reason we possibly can to believe us. If they believe what you saw, even in the slightest, they'll have to take action!"

On that he was right. However, my hopes for the Council believing me were slim to none; and so were David's.

The Captain returned to his duties and I, despite insisting that I was ok, was sent to my cabin by Doctor Chakwas. The Normandy was already well under way to the Citadel when I was sent to rest, but there were still another five hours to kill. I managed to take a nap and clean myself up, but when I tried to sleep the visions burned through my head again and I woke up panicking and shaking. With sleep eluding me I decided to go out and join the crew members in the mess hall. A few of the men and women were sitting at the dining table and as I passed, they all offered me congratulations, condolences about Private Jenkins and many asked how I was doing. I gave as minimal information as possible and focused on talking about Jenkins. He had been a practical joker and was a best friend to many members of the crew; he would be missed by all. As I sat with my shipmates, I noticed Ashley standing on the other side of the room with Kaidan. They seemed to be chatting merrily and I excused myself from the table to go over to them.

Kaidan saw me moving over and said,

"Ashley's officially been posted to the Normandy. She's one of the crew now Commander."

I shook her hand and gave her a smile,

"Welcome aboard Gunnery Sergeant. The Normandy needs good soldiers like you."

She seemed a little embarrassed at first but that soon made way for pride,

"Thank you, Sir. It's an honour… but I feel like I wouldn't have been posted here if Private Jenkins hadn't been killed."

There was truth in what she said; the Normandy had set out with a full compliment at the very beginning of this mission, and now Ashley was simply being slotted into the newly made space. However, there were better reasons for her joining the crew,

"Ashley, you were chosen because of what you did down there. The Captain, with a bit of praise from me perhaps, saw what you were capable of. There were other soldiers still on Eden Prime when we left. You were the one to be chosen."

Kaidan nodded enthusiastically in agreement and Ashley seemed to be comforted by it.

I spent the remainder of the journey sitting with them, laughing, contemplating, remembering and sharing some little stories from our lives. Ashley knew about my accomplishments on Elysium against the Batarians and asked me about it. I told her that Kaidan had also been there and she then moved on to him for his tales, of which I was glad. After a couple of hours had passed Joker's voice came sounding across the ship intercom,

"Preparing to dock at the Citadel. All personnel report to stations."

Ashley and Kaidan made to go to their allocated areas; Kaidan in charge of the crew deck and Ashley down in the hold in charge of the armoury, but I told them to come with me up to the bridge instead. Once at the bridge we looked out of the windows, and Ashley seemed to become like an excited schoolgirl again,

"Look at the size of that ship!"

I had been looking at the immense space station that was the Citadel, but at Ashley's comment my attention was drawn to the enormous Asari Dreadnought that the Normandy was just passing under.

"The Destiny Ascension: Flagship of the Citadel Fleet," Kaidan said.

"Its guns could rip through anything in the Alliance Fleet," Ashley pointed out.

"Good thing it's on our side then."

"Well size isn't everything," Joker put in quickly.

"Why so touchy Joker?" Ashley immediately responded.

"I'm just saying; you need firepower too."

"It's not the size of the ship, it's the motion of the ocean. Right Joker?" I grinned at him. We all chuckled while Joker guided the Normandy casually towards the Alliance docking bay on the Presidium. Captain Anderson gathered Kaidan, Ashley and I to go with him to meet with the Human Ambassador; Donnell Udina. A car had been sent to receive us and take us straight to the embassies without hesitation; the urgency of the matter highly apparent.

The Presidium was clean and quiet, bright and peaceful. There were people of every race strolling around, blissfully going about their daily business. Couples stood together on the bridges spanning the lake, holding each other and talking their sweet talk to each other. Just below the balcony where I was standing there was a Human man and an Asari laughing and joking about some pencil-pusher boss who thought he was the be all and end all. It was almost the perfect scene of civilisation at its best. I thought it was a shame that the Citadel so readily provided everyone that dwelt upon it with the illusion that the entire galaxy lived under the same peace and tranquillity as they did. The four of us were all silent, waiting in Udina's office for him to come back. His young Asari assistant had told us to make ourselves at home, but there was very little to actually do that with. A single desk with a computer on it and a couple of chairs were all that occupied the large room, leaving it feeling rather empty and certainly not homely.

I was standing with my eyes closed listening to the sounds of the Presidium when Udina arrived.

"Anderson, good you made it. I see you brought half your crew with you."

"Only the ground team that saw what happened on Eden Prime first-hand Ambassador," David replied courteously.

"The Council has agreed to meet us to review their findings. The mission report you sent from Eden Prime was given to C-Sec to investigate, let's hope they found something that will help us."

The trip up to the Council chambers was tense. Udina was fuming at something he refused to disclose, Anderson was reserved and thoughtful. Kaidan, Ashley and I were worried about how this meeting was going to go. Saren was the Council's top Spectre agent and we were accusing him of treason and allying himself with the Geth; they were not likely to take our accusations lightly.

The elevator opened up to a grand chamber that stretched almost three hundred metres out ahead of us. After a short walk I was approached by a Turian C-Sec officer who wished to talk,

"Commander Gardner? I'm Garrus Vakarian, I was in charge of the investigation into Saren."

"Nice to meet you Garrus. Did you find anything?"

"Nothing solid, sorry. Spectres are… difficult to track and outside information on them is unreliable at best. I just wanted you to know that I believe your report and that Saren was behind the attack. Someone needs to take him down! Good luck with the Council. Hopefully they'll listen to you."

"Thanks, Garrus, I'll need it."

Two separate sets of stairs gradually took us to where a little garden was set below a glass floor. Above this floor was a large platform with three consoles set up upon them. Behind the consoles stood the Council; representatives of the chief species in the galaxy. The Turian, Asari and Salarian Councillors were waiting for us to arrive when a shape began to beam in to the left of the platform. Suddenly there was a beamed image of another Turian standing there, looking disgruntled and annoyed. The Turian Councillor turned to the image and spoke,

"Saren. Thank you for joining us. Now that everyone is present, we can begin this meeting."

"Meeting?" Saren spat, "this is just another attempt by the honourable Captain Anderson to cause trouble for me."

"Tell that to the traumatised people of Eden Prime," David replied, barely containing his anger.

"And this must be your protégé; Commander Gardner. You think he has what it takes to be a Spectre? Humans are not ready."

"He has no right to say that!" Udina fired up, "that's not his decision."

The Asari Councillor held up a hand for silence,

"Gardner's candidacy for the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting."

"Very well," Saren backed down.

The Salarian Councillor began the proceedings,

"You bring the charge of treason against Saren. You claim he has allied with the Geth and assaulted the Human colony of Eden Prime. Have you any proof?"

"I was there," I said calmly, "I saw the bodies of the people that died there. I fought against the Geth and a witness hiding at the transport hub saw Saren kill Nihlus in cold blood."

"I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre and a friend," Saren said stiffly.

"That just let you catch him off guard," Anderson said.

"The account of one traumatised dock worker is hardly compelling evidence," The Asari stated.

"You'll look down on a person because they're not of the "correct" social status? How pleasingly elitist of you," I growled at them. "What about my account? What about Lieutenant Alenko's? Gunnery Sergeant Williams'? I'm sure I could gather the few soldiers that survived the attack here to say the same."

"We believe you're claim that the Geth were involved; there is no way we can deny that from what we've seen and heard. A full investigation will be launched to discern why they would do any such thing. But this is about Saren's supposed involvement; of which you are yet to provide any evidence."

"Saren led the Geth to get the Prothean Beacon, and then he planted an improvised nuclear weapon to wipe out the colony. To wipe out any evidence they had been there at all."

Saren cocked his head a little and sported a broad grin, by Turian standards,

"And why, Commander, would the Geth follow me? They are not known for being friendly to organics. All attempts to establish a line of communication with them over the last three centuries have failed."

He had us. There was no answer that we could give. Our silence was enough to convince the Council that we had nothing more to give. However, Captain Anderson decided to have one last crack at convicting Saren,

"There's still one outstanding issue: Scott's visions. Maybe the beacon showed him Saren and his Geth slaughtering the colonists."

Saren laughed,

"Are we allowing dreams now as evidence? How can I defend myself against this kind of accusation?"

The Turian Councillor nodded in agreement,

"He's right. Our judgements must be based of facts, not wild imaginings and speculation."

David sank back a little; we were out of time.

"Have you anything more to say?" the Salarian asked.

"You have made your decision, Councillors. We won't waste our breath," Udina said grimly.

The meeting came to an end with Saren's smug voice ringing out mockingly,

"I'm glad to see that justice was served."

Saren disappeared, the Council turned and walked away, leaving five very despondent Humans standing there, feeling very lonely and abandoned. Together we ventured down the first set of stairs and turned off to a quiet corner. Seated in silence we all mulled over the complete waste of time that had been this meeting. We had achieved nothing; in fact, I was sure that we had just solidified Saren's position. But I was far from giving up; I knew that we were right, and I knew that there had to be some way to prove ourselves. As I told myself that I was not giving up I was reminded of Garrus, and right then I knew what had to be done.

"We carry on the investigation ourselves. That C-Sec officer, Garrus, he was looking into Saren as well. He may have leads we can follow, places to go and people to speak to. When he spoke to me, I got the feeling he was inclined to believe us, maybe he would be willing to help."

Udina seemed to perk up a little at the idea,

"I have a contact in C-Sec. The name's Harkin. He could tell you where to find Garrus."

"Forget it," Anderson said, "the guy's a loser. He got fired from C-Sec a few weeks back: Drinking on the job."

"Never-the-less," argued Udina, "he'll know how to help Gardner, to help us."

"Fair enough," David turned to me, "if I know Harkin he's probably down in Chora's Den getting blind drunk and drooling over the Asari dancers."

"Seriously?" Ashley put in, "a million light-years from Earth… and we're still going to end up in a strip club?"

"Maybe we should hurry then," Kaidan joked, and received a sharp look from Ashley in response.

Captain Anderson and Udina went back to the Human embassy while Kaidan, Ashley and I made our way off of the Presidium and down into the Wards where Chora's Den was located. Through market districts and car shows and thick crowds of people from all species we walked. The streets were alive and exciting, the civilians seemed happy and care-free. The Citadel really was a marvel of the galaxy. Throughout the rest of the galaxy there could sometimes exist an element of animosity between some of the alien races: The Krogan hated the Turians and Salarians for the Genophage which defeated them in the Krogan Rebellions almost 1500 years ago. Humans and Turians could sometimes be a bit resentful towards each other after the short but brutal First Contact War. The Volus were not too happy with Humanity's rapid progress in galactic politics; many reckoned that Humanity was next in line for a seat on the Council after less than thirty years after coming into contact with aliens, whereas the Volus were still waiting after nearly a thousand. However, here on the Citadel these issues seem to be less of an issue as all races lived quite peacefully together in one huge multi-cultural society.

However, there were always less than desirable aspects in every society; that aspect in this part of the wards was Chora's Den. As we walked through the doors into the club, I could tell that this place was far from a higher end gentleman's club and more of a sleazy backroom full of lowlifes with nothing going for them in life. The circular bar was located in the centre of the room with tables and dancing poles around the outskirts. Asari girls were spinning and grinding up and down the poles while men of a variety of species sat in trances and dream-like states. Ashley laughed in pity at them, and I had to agree with her.

"We're looking for a drunken sleaze-ball in here? There's dozens of them," Kaidan exclaimed.

"He's a Human. That should narrow it down a bit."

The sad fact was that it did not narrow it down by much. There were a few Turians here, a Salarian there and a Krogan sitting at the bar; but most of the crowd were Humans boozing and cheering the dancers on. The Asari were definitely beautiful to look at, as almost all of them were, but these guys were acting like animals.

"Makes you wish you belonged to another Species sometimes," I said. We had a laugh and went to sit at one of the tables, from where we began to check all the faces of the people in the room. Udina had raced off with Anderson before I could ask for any further details about Harkin; like what he looked like for a start.

My sniper eyes soon spotted a likely candidate, however. A man with a short haircut and an observant look on his face sat alone at a table around the other side of the bar. There were several empty glasses in front of him and another half full one waiting to be downed. The possible Harkin was looking around as well and his eyes met mine. Most of the time when people think they are being watched they show signs of discomfort; they might shift on their seat or redirect their gaze somewhere else and focus really hard. Not this guy. He played it cool and continued to look around as if he had not noticed me. One had to be trained and experienced in order to pull that off successful. I nudged Ashley on the arm and pointed Harkin out,

"That's our guy. Cool, calm, collected. Knows how to act when under observation, definitely got experience in it anyway."

"Let's go then."

Ashley and Kaidan went around one side of the bar towards Harkin while I went the other; getting in between him and the door. Each of us pulled up a seat at his table and I broke the ice,

"Hi there. I'm Scott, this is Kaidan and Ashley. Are you Harkin?"

"I don't care who you are. And so what if I am Harkin?"

Anderson was definitely right about him being a dick anyway.

"We know you still keep tabs on some of your old C-Sec colleagues. I was hoping you could help us find a Turian officer; Garrus Vakarian."

His eyes became narrow and suspicious at the name,

"Garrus? What d'you want with him?"

"Do you know where he is?"

Harkin snapped his fingers and pointed at me as if having some huge epiphany,

"You're part of Anderson's crew aren't you. Still after Saren's blood, is he? I could tell you where Garrus is, but I want you to tell me something first."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Did Anderson tell you his big secret? The reason he hates Saren so much?"

"Nope. Now where's Garrus?" I was getting slightly impatient now.

"Ah but don't you see? It's all related. Brave Captain Anderson was once being considered to be a Spectre. But he blew his first mission with Saren so badly they kicked him out. Anderson tried to shift the blame onto Saren to cover his back, and he's still doing it twenty years later."

I was not sure I could believe a man like this, but he sounded so sincere and confident that it caught my attention. However, that was the past,

"Whether that's true or not; it was twenty years ago. I'm investigating the here and now. Now," I kept my voice calm but dark, "tell me where Garrus is before my friends and I begin to lose our patience."

Harkin looked at each of the solemn faces that were focused on him in turn and knew that he was not getting out of this one any other way.

"Alright, fine. He was investigating the claims on Saren, but when he didn't turn anything up the investigation was ended. But that hot-headed idiot has taken it upon himself to keep up the chase. Not like he'll get anywhere."

"Ok," I said, "you've told me what he's doing. Where. Is. He?"

"Last I heard he was sniffing around some little medical clinic a few blocks from here. If anything, Garrus is persistent, chances that he's still around are good."

"There, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" I flicked a credit chit in his direction as I stood to leave, "have a drink on me."

He held the chit up and shouted, "That I will. That I will." He belched loudly and unashamedly while we turned away before he shouted,

"Your friend's got the most lovely ass!"

Ashley turned round and belted him right across the mouth, and when she came back to us, she had the biggest grin on her face,

"That felt good."

We made to leave the club when something caught my eye; aside from the topless Asari shaking her body to the beat of the music. At the very back of the club there was a corridor where I presumed the owner of the club resided; and in the entrance to that corridor were two hulking Krogan who seemed to be worryingly close to butting heads.

"Wait a minute guys," I said, "I want to check this out."

I strolled over to where the confrontation was taking place just in time to hear the Krogan Bouncer give another warning,

"Back off Wrex! Fist isn't coming out."

The other, larger Krogan smirked and closed in until he was almost nose to nose with the bouncer,

"Then you can tell Fist that no matter where he hides, I will find him… and I will kill him."

"You take one more step towards that door and you're dead. There's more than just me keeping an eye on you!"

That seemed to do the trick. The one named Wrex slowly decided that he would rather not take that chance and he turned to leave,

"I'll be back," he said, seething with anger. He walked towards the door and shoved me out of his way as he left,

"Out of my way Human; I have no quarrel with you."

"So? Anything important?" Kaidan asked.

"No," I shook my head, "just some bounty hunter here for his target; a guy named Fist."

"What kind of douche-bag name is that to give yourself?" Ashley laughed. We left Chora's Den in a hurry and followed the streets along to the clinic Harkin had told us about. It took us at least half an hour to get there even at our accelerated pace. Even as the building came into view, I saw a Turian in C-Sec uniform rush into the building, a pistol in hand.

"Let's go!" I barked, breaking into a run. Kaidan, Ashley and I drew our own pistols and burst into the clinic. There were men holding a doctor hostage while Garrus stood opposing them on the other side of the room. When we entered the clinic the thugs' attention switched to us momentarily. That was when Garrus fired the first round. The bullet struck the man holding the doctor in the head and he dropped like a brick. The other three were startled and hesitated for a moment, but when they finally raised their weapons they were gunned down by Garrus, Kaidan, Ashley and myself.

Garrus moved over to where the young woman had hidden behind a desk,

"Nice work Commander! Gave me the chance I needed."

"Do you always try to hurt civilians?" I asked rather curtly.

"What? I didn't mean to… I mean I needed to take the shot. Doctor Michelle are you alright?"

The young Human woman stood up a little shaken, the blood of Garrus' victim spattered across her face and shoulder.

"I think so… they were going to hurt me." Tears started running down her cheeks, some mixing with the blood as it tumbled down and dripped from her jaw. I approached the woman and rested a reassuring hand on her shoulder,

"Hey, it's ok. They're gone now. I need to know why they were after you. Who do they work for?"

"They wanted to shut me up, stop me telling anyone about the Quarian."

"A Quarian? What was so important about this Quarian?"

"She came here a few days ago, she was scared. She'd been shot in the arm and I helped her. She wanted to know how she could get in contact with the Shadow Broker; said she wanted to trade some information about some Spectre for protection."

"A Spectre? Was it Saren?" I asked.

"Yes. About Saren and the Geth or something like that."

"Doctor, d'you know where she would be right now by any chance?"

"I put her in contact with one of the Shadow Broker's agents, a man named Fist."

Kaidan, Ashley and I all looked at each other while Garrus updated the doctor,

"Fist doesn't work for the Shadow Broker anymore; he answers to Saren."

"He betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's a crazy move!" Kaidan added. I made a move towards the door,

"C'mon guys; we're going to pay Chora's Den another visit. You coming Garrus?"

"You bet I am."

"Wait," Kaidan said, "What if we find that Krogan who was looking for Fist, the bounty hunter."

"Who, Wrex? Good idea."

Garrus chuckled a little,

"Wrex. A regular visitor to C-Sec, not that it's voluntary. We'll probably find him at the Academy, we bring him in every time he comes to the Citadel. He's usually here to kill someone."

"Might just be what we need to threaten information out of Fist," I said hopefully. It felt good to have a lead and to be making progress. If we could find the Quarian and get her information then we could prove Saren's treason to the Council and have him dealt with. The others knew this as well and were right on my heels as I turned for the C-Sec Academy.

We all managed to fit in Garrus' car and pull up outside the Academy; the C-Sec headquarters for this entire sector of the Wards. Just as Garrus had assured me, there was the same Krogan, dressed hump to toe in heavy armour, that I had seen causing trouble at Chora's Den. Wrex was surrounded by five armed C-Sec officers but showed nothing more than contempt for them,

"Witnesses saw you making threats at Fist's bar. We've told you before to stay away from there," an officer told the massive Krogan.

"I don't take orders from you," Wrex responded darkly.

"Don't force me to arrest you Wrex!"

A deep, mocking laugh came from the Krogan,

"I'd like to see you try, Human."

That was when Wrex noticed the four of us standing watching him, our expressions a mixture of amusement and concern. He brushed aside the C-Sec officers as if they were children and marched over to us, stopping right in front of me.

"I know you Human. What is your business with me?"

"My name's Commander Gardner. We're going after Fist as well, wondered if you wanted to come along."

Wrex looked me over for a moment,

"Gardner… I know that name. We're both warriors Gardner, out of respect I'll give you a warning. Fist is mine!"

"Agreed," I nodded, "but I need information from him first, then you can… complete your contract."

Wrex considered my proposal and then held out a hand which I shook warmly.

"My people say; seek the enemy of your enemy and you shall find a friend. Lead the way Gardner."

"My people have a similar saying. Let's get this done," I grinned back at him.

Garrus told the other C-Sec officers that he was taking Wrex away to another area of the wards, to keep him away from Chora's Den. I got the feeling that this whole Saren business was frustrating Garrus' feelings about C-Sec and its procedures on this kind of issue. He knew that Saren was trouble and was outraged that C-Sec had not allowed him to prove our enemy's guilt. Now, however, that we were making progress in catching up to him, Garrus was willing to go against those that kept him restrained. I was not complaining, as long as we did not end up fighting the Citadel Police, I was ok with sneaking around them to achieve our goal. Garrus led us by the quickest route back to Chora's Den on foot; Wrex would not have made fitting into his car very easy. When we arrived, I could already tell that something was wrong. Usually there were at least a few people hanging around outside and laughing drunkenly with each other, discussing which of the dancers they would do first or talking drunk philosophy. This time, however, there was no one. I could still hear music blasting from the inside but the windows had been blacked out and the door sealed tight.

"I think Fist knows about his men failing at the clinic," Garrus said, "he'll be ready for us."

"Then let's not disappoint him," Wrex chuckled.

The door was electronically locked, but as it happened Garrus was a bit of a tech expert and his Omni-tool had the door fling open within a few seconds. I checked down the corridor to where the bar was situated; the music pounded on my ear drums but I could see that there was nobody in the club, or if there were then they did not want to be seen. I drew my pistol and turned to everyone,

"We treat this as a military raid. You know the drill; vigilance and a quick trigger finger!"

My team of three Humans, a Turian and a Krogan stacked up at the door and I went into the club first. With my Phalanx raised I scanned the small section of the room that I could see, a shadow flitted across the bar for a mere second; but I made out the silhouette of a handgun quite clearly.

We all activated our shields and made our move. We blitzed the entrance, laying down heavy suppressive fire with our pistols as we each made our way to cover. Wrex's shotgun blew an overturned table apart along with the hired gun hiding behind it. The Krogan bellowed out in joy as he picked up another of the tables and launched it at another guard, crushing him into the floor before he received a shotgun blast to the skull. A guard made a bold move and tried to cut around to our side, but I gunned him down before he had set two steps out of cover. Ashley and Kaidan worked in tandem to move around the perimeter of the bar, each covering the other as they advanced and forced the guards to retreat. Garrus and I were picking them off whenever they showed themselves, and Wrex was just tearing the place apart. I saw that there was method to the carnage, honed over what must have been hundreds of years of a Krogan's long life-span.

With Garrus and I sniping everything that moved, Kaidan and Ashley working around the flank and Wrex seized control of the bar in the middle; the meagre resistance put up by these poorly trained grunts quickly crumbled. The few that were left ran over to the corridor that presumable led to where Fist was hiding. As we advanced to catch up to them, I heard the guards banging on the door and pleading with Fist,

"Open up! They're fucking killing us out here! Let. Us. In!"

When no answer came and the door remained closed, the men turned to run away if they could, but ended up staring right down the barrels of our guns. I spoke openly with them,

"Drop your guns on the ground where I can see them, and you'll walk out of here alive. Fist is our target, not you."

Five guns clattered to the floor and, true to my word, I let them leave.

"That's it," Garrus said, "all that's left now is Fist."

"He had a Krogan bouncer when we were here last," Kaidan put in, "I haven't seen him yet so he might be in there."

"Damn it," Ashley muttered.

"I'll handle that puny pet of Fist's! Maybe you can make Fist squeal before I get to him, hmm?" Wrex said with a definite enthusiasm. Krogan did love a good fight.

Garrus hacked the door and it flew open. A massive form came charging out of the door and bowled me over without any difficulty. My back hit the wall and I saw Garrus being knocked down as well. Then the room shook as Wrex threw himself into the Krogan bouncer. They punched and hacked and head-butted each other like wild animals. Wrex was forced back into the wall, which buckled under the huge force of two eight-hundred-pound Krogan slamming into it. Each of us onlookers tried to line up shots but the Krogan were moving too fast and too ferociously as they tried to tear each other apart.

"Go Gardner!" Wrex roared as his knee connected with the bouncer's face, "get Fist."

We raced through the door into a small lounge area with a couple of deep-set couches and a huge vid-screen. At the back of the room was a desk with a series of high-end computers on it, and underneath the desk I could see the feet of a man hiding behind the front panel.

"Not the best hiding place Fist," I called out.

"Not bullet proof either," Garrus added harshly.

The man started to shuffle out from under the desk and stood up to face us. He knew he was beaten, and as a single shot rang out from where Wrex and the bouncer had been fighting back in the bar, he slouched back in the chair.

"You're running out of time, Fist," Garrus stated.

"What do you want?" Fist asked.

"Information," I started. "A Quarian came to you asking about the Shadow Broker. I want to know where she is."

"The Quarian? That's what all this is about?"

"Where is she?" I now had my pistol aimed at his chest.

"I… I told her that I'd set up a meeting with the Shadow Broker. She'll be on her way there now."

"That's crap," Wrex muttered as he entered the room, shotgun trained on Fist, "nobody ever meets the Shadow Broker. Even I was hired through an agent."

Now my gun was right on Fist's neck,

"Final time. Where is she?"

"There's an alley that runs behind the main market square. When she gets there, it'll be Saren's men waiting for her. She's due to meet him there about now."

"Shit," I said, "let's go. Wrex, do what you need to do and catch us up."

"With pleasure," he grinned as he recharged his shotgun.

Garrus led us to the market square as fast as he could go, up a set of stairs and through another door. The alley was lit up with only a dull red glow and there was a perpetual hum of power generators. Through the alley and past a few of the Keepers we ran, desperately keeping an eye out for any signs of trouble. We slowed our pace slightly when I pointed out a particularly shadowy turn-off from the alley. I stopped at the corner and took a peak round; there was definitely a Quarian woman standing about halfway along looking very uneasy. There was nobody else that I could see and the Quarian was looking around as if expecting someone.

"She has no idea what's coming," Kaidan said quietly.

"Let's go help her before…"

Figures moved out of the shadows all around the Quarian. A Turian walked slowly up to her, moving with calculated steps much like a predatory animal.

"Hey there little girl. Have you got the data you promised me?"

"Where's the Shadow Broker?" the Quarian responded bravely.

The Turian smirked,

"I'm afraid he can't join us. Just hand over what you've got and we'll disappear."

The Quarian had to slap away the Turian's wandering hand,

"No way," she said, sounding suddenly afraid, "the deal's off."

The Turian stepped away and waved a hand. At the signal four Salarians closed in and drew their handguns. I signalled my own team forward and I took the first shot. The bullet struck one of the assassins right in the head and the others panicked.

The Quarian ducked away and ran towards us, though she was still unsure if we were there to help her. With Kaidan, Ashley, Garrus and Wrex covering me I dashed over to the Quarian and put my arm around her before getting her down behind some cover,

"Just stay there, we'll keep you safe."

Three of the Salarians were dead and the other lay on the floor bleeding out fast. The Turian cowered behind a crate while my team closed in. Finally, he decided that he would rather die fighting, but as he stepped out gunshots blared out from right beside me. The Quarian nailed Saren's man twice in the chest and once in the gut and he keeled over in a heap on the ground. When it was clear that there were no more threats to deal with, I turned to the Quarian. She was staring at me, as if still unsure of what to think.

"It's ok," I said, "we're here to help you."

"Why?" she asked.

"You have information on Saren? And the Geth?"

"Y…Yes."

"We're trying to prove Saren's guilt to the Council and we need your help. We can offer you anything you want for it."

I realised that I may have come over a little cold, asking for pretty much the same thing as the assassins had. I stood up and offered her a hand up,

"I'm Commander Scott Gardner, Alliance Navy."

She seemed to relax a little and she took my hand. Behind her mask I could just make out her eyes checking me over. Once she was up she said,

"Thank you, you saved me."

She had been frightened by the experience, not to mention having been shot only a few days before.

"What's going on?" she said.

"Fist set you up. He works for Saren now, and the Shadow Broker never meets anyone in person."

She shook her head in despair,

"It's been nothing but trouble since I came to the Citadel."

"I heard you'd been shot, are you ok?"

She looked around at me, her eyes fixed on mine,

"I will be now," her tone was soft and gentle, "I'm Tali. Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya."

We made all haste to get away from the scene of the shoot-out and further away from Chora's Den. It took an hour or more to get back up the Presidium, and another hour after that to reach the Human Embassy. The news about the shootings in the Wards had spread and I noticed that some people were going around looking rather jumpy and afraid. C-Sec sirens whizzed past us towards Chora's Den. I was also worried that we would arouse suspicion just by being in the group we were in; three Human soldiers accompanied by a Turian C-Sec officer, a Krogan mercenary and a Quarian. Curious glances were thrown our way, but thankfully everyone decided that it was not their business.

I could already hear Udina's voice raised and furious as the door opened for us and we funnelled into the office. Anderson was sitting exhausted in one of the chairs and Udina was strolling around aimlessly, venting off his frustration. When we entered, he rounded on us immediately with all the rage of a furious Krogan,

"You're not making my life easy Gardner! Fire-fights in the wards, an all-out assault on Chora's Den! Do you know how many…" his eyes wandered to Tali. "Who's this? We don't see many Quarians on the Citadel."

"This is Tali'Zorah. She has proof of Saren's involvement with the Geth."

"Truly?" Udina suddenly became intrigued rather than irate, "perhaps you could start at the beginning, Miss Zorah."

Tali looked at me and I gave her a reassuring smile. As she walked towards Udina I noticed the damaged section of her envirosuit on her arm. She had made the repairs to her suit but there was still evidence of the blast damage. However, I had seen her in action now and knew she could handle herself.

"When I heard news reports about Geth beyond the Veil I grew curious," Tali started, "I went searching and eventually encountered a patrol on an unchartered world."

"What were you doing away from the Migrant Fleet?" Udina asked.

"Tali would've been on her Pilgrimage, Ambassador," I told him. "A Quarian rite of passage to adulthood so to speak."

Tali looked at me,

"You… know about the pilgrimage?"

I nodded with a smile, "I've looked into other species. Was something of a hobby for a while."

Tali nodded and turned back to Anderson and the Ambassador,

"I managed to disable one of the Geth and retrieve its memory core. It was mostly wiped clean but I found something in its audio banks."

"How?" David asked, "I thought the Geth wiped everything when they were taken out."

"My people created the Geth," Tali responded a little timidly, "if you're quick enough, and good enough, you can stop them before they wipe everything."

She turned on her Omni tool and found the file that she was looking for and held it out for us all to hear the recording.

"Eden Prime was a major victory," a sinister voice rang out, "we're one step closer to finding the Conduit."

"That's Saren's voice, without a doubt!" Anderson said in a burst of excited anger. Tali pushed a few more buttons on her Omni tool,

"Wait, there was more."

"Eden Prime was a major victory. We're one step closer to finding the Conduit."

Now an equally sinister female voice was heard,

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."

At the mention of "Reapers" my head exploded with pain for a mere second, but it was enough to shake me up.

"You alright Commander?" Garrus asked.

Death, destruction, organics being torn to pieces, the screams of a million souls as they were exterminated. Images from the beacon flashed like lightning through my mind again.

"I… I feel like I know that name; Reapers."

"Never heard of any such thing before," Udina said. He looked to the others, seeing if any of them knew any better. However, he came up empty as the rest of them remained muted.

Tali searched around on her Omni tool a little more while the rest processed what they had already heard and I massaged my pulsing head.

"Got it," she suddenly exclaimed, "the Reapers were a race of sentient machines that apparently existed fifty thousand years ago. They… went to war with the Protheans and hunted them to extinction."

We were all silent. That had shocked all of us; what little we knew about the Protheans suggested that they were the all-powerful, ruling species back in their time before they seemed to disappear. Now we had a possible explanation why.

"The Geth believe they are the ultimate form of synthetic life," Tali explained slowly, scanning through the information she had from her disabled Geth. "They think that the Conduit is the key to their return and Saren is leading them in their search for it."

"Why on earth would Saren want to bring back a race of machines that can annihilate us all?" Kaidan asked.

"It doesn't matter," Anderson returned us to the immediate issue, "we have the proof we need to convict Saren! We stop him and we stop these Reapers returning as well."

"I'll tell the Council we're coming back," Udina announced victoriously.

The Council were back on their platform as Saren's voice rang out in the chamber,

"Eden Prime was a major victory. We're one step closer to finding the Conduit."

Then the female accomplices' voice,

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."

My head throbbed a little again, but nowhere near as bad as before. I looked back up at the Council as they discussed among themselves the validity of our evidence. Ambassador Udina decided he was tired of waiting and he stepped forward and pointed an accusing finger at the three Councillors,

"You wanted proof? There it is!"

The discussion stopped and the Councillors stood still, staring at Udina and I in turn. They each returned to their own computer panels and the Turian eventually said what we were all waiting to hear,

"This evidence is irrefutable, Commander Gardner. Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and made a fugitive immediately."

"As for the other voice," the Asari added, slowly as if shocked, "Matriarch Benezia. A powerful biotic and influential Asari. If… if she is in league with Saren then they could have access to our own governments."

"Another reason to strip Saren of his Spectre powers."

Udina, however, was not placated so easily,

"That's not good enough! You know Saren is hiding in the Attican Traverse, send your fleet in."

"A fleet cannot track down a single man," the Salarian Councillor retorted.

"Nor would we risk full scale war with the Terminus Systems," the Asari added.

"Not for the sake of a few Human colonies at least," the Turian added malevolently. Hearing that boiled my blood a little,

"Any time Humanity asks for help you reject us. Saren is a danger to everyone, not just Humanity, if he brings the Reapers back. He needs to be caught!"

"And just what do we know about these "Reapers"? If they are as old as you say, why has nothing about them ever been discovered; no ruins, no technology, no proof."

I was growing tired of these politicians, but I had to remain calm and professional,

"I've seen them. When I touched the beacon on Eden Prime it showed me the Reapers slaughtering an organic civilisation. They are real; and if Saren finds this Conduit, we'll all be dead."

My newly formed team stood up behind me and voiced their support, but it was still not enough. The Salarian Councillor spoke over us,

"You have proved that Saren is indeed a traitor and we have taken the adequate measures. But this Reaper business is simply a lot of nonsense. There is no proof that any such race ever existed and no proof to support that they were responsible for the Protheans' extinction."

To my horror the other two Councillors nodded as he said this and showed no signs that they were prepared to believe what we were telling them. Udina stepped in,

"Real or no, the Reapers are not a concern. It's Saren we should be focusing on. He needs to be brought in before any more Human settlements are attacked. I'm sick of this Council and its anti-Human bull-"

The Asari raised a hand to stop Udina, her voice calm and confident,

"There is another option for dealing with Saren; one that does not require fleets or armies."

"Absolutely not," the Turian said immediately as he caught her meaning, "Humanity is not ready for such a responsibility."

Captain Anderson stepped up and spoke over them,

"Commander Gardner would make the perfect Spectre. He could go into the Traverse and arrest Saren without causing any diplomatic crisis and Udina gets his Human Spectre; everyone is happy."

I could not believe what I was hearing. I had known I was being considered for a Spectre since Nihlus had told me, but now that there was a high chance of it actually happening, I was in a state of surprise. Looking back at my team, they all heartily showed their approval and I felt far easier about the whole issue.

"Commander Scott Gardner of the Alliance Navy, please step forward," said Tevos, the Asari Councillor. A proud nod from Anderson finally made me understand that I could do this. The Councillors each put in to their consoles that I was now raised to the rank of Spectre and the Asari began the initiation,

"Commander. Spectres are the right hand of the Council; carrying out our will and given everything that they require to do so."

The Salarian was next,

"Spectres are chosen because they are far beyond that of the standard rank and file; they are forged from the fires of war and battle."

A crowd had gathered on the balconies overlooking the Council platform while the Turian continued,

"This responsibility is given only to those who have earned the purest of trust from their peers and those that they serve under. May you serve proudly and justly."

I stood to attention and saluted the Council,

"I'll give it my very best. It's an honour, Councillors."

"Bring Saren to justice, Commander. Good luck."

Those were the final words from the Turian as the meeting came to an end. We all walked down the stairs and gathered around one of the little garden patches before the conversation started in earnest.

"Congratulations Commander! You deserve it," Anderson said happily. Kaidan slapped me one the shoulder with a broad grin on his face,

"I knew that when Humanity got its first Spectre it had to be you! Nice job buddy."

"Thanks Kaidan, you'll not be far behind mate!"

Ashley, Garrus, Wrex and Tali congratulated me as well before Udina came to me saying,

"We'll need to get to work straight away. You'll need a ship, a crew, supplies…"

Anderson now spoke up,

"I actually have some thoughts on that Ambassador. We could discuss it in your office."

"Very well. Commander Gardner, I'll send word to you when we have a plan. Good day."

Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson briskly walked off and left the rest of us in our ecstatic mood.

"The ambassador didn't even thank you. Humanity gaining a Spectre is a huge step for your species," Tali said. I shrugged,

"He's a politician. Plus, he'll have a lot to deal with right now."

Garrus shook my hand and told me,

"You should get down to the C-Sec Academy again and head into the requisition office; you'll have access to the Spectre stores!"

While Kaidan, Ashley and I headed to the academy, Wrex, Garrus and Tali went their own ways to gather a few things before they were to meet up with us again. I had invited all of them to join me on my mission against Saren, and was well within my authority as a Spectre to take them with me if they chose to accept. All three of them had accepted; Garrus was determined to get after Saren, Wrex was looking forward to a hell of a fire fight, and Tali was over the moon with joy when I asked her as well.

The requisition office was like any other armament and armour shop, except it was exclusively for the officers of C-Sec and other armed forces granted by the Council; like the Spectres. I walked through a chamber filled to the brim with weapons of all models and types: Avenger and Vindicator assault rifles, Revenant machine guns, Tempest and Shurikan sub-machine guns. There were Mantis, Viper and Raptor sniper rifles as well as a huge number of heavy pistols including the Phalanx, Predator and Carnifex. Dozens of other, lower quality models were on show as well, but my eyes were drawn to the far side of the store. One sign hung above the doorway into a backroom.

"Restricted."

As I approached the doorway a scanner lit up and the guard on duty moved as if to block me. Instead, when the scanner blinked green and the guard stopped to give me a confused look,

"Spectre status authorised," the scanner VI said. A smile spread across the Turian guard's face,

"A Human Spectre? I'd heard about that. Congratulations Commander, I'll open up the rare stores for you."

"Thanks."

"I'm afraid your comrades will have to remain here, Commander."

Kaidan laughed,

"Ah, the special treatment begins already,"

"Big celebrity now Scott, enjoy it," Ashley joked.

"Well, you bust your ass enough and this is what you get," I replied sarcastically.

"Ooh, I'll remember that next time I'm hauling your ass out of the fire. Or, you know, disabling nuclear bombs for you."

"I'm sure you will Kaidan. I'll meet you guys soon."

As I went into the Spectre armoury Ashley called out,

"Hey, you think we could get some gear? And put it on a tab under your name?"

If the arsenal in the main section of the store had been impressive; the Spectre sector was incredible. I felt like a child in a toy shop at Christmas time. There were models that I had never seen before, weapons that I had only heard about in specialist meetings and briefings. The one that caught my eye the most, however, was the gleaming form of an XM98 Widow anti-material rifle. A sniper rifle of beautiful and elegant design; powerful enough to punch clean through several organics in a row as well as almost any building material. Light armoured vehicles and heavy mechs were easy prey for it, and when I held it in my hands it just felt right. I took for my assault rifle the heavy hitting M96 Mattock, a semi-automatic battle rifle that was accurate out to far further than most equivalent weapons and up close would knock an enemy to the ground with ease. The final addition to my arsenal was the XM77 Paladin heavy pistol, light and compact but with a lethal shot to anything in close proximity.

Feeling good about my weapons I strolled around the armour section. All the top makes were there; Rosenkov Materials, Ariake Technologies, Hadne-Kadar and all the rest. I selected the best pieces that suited my fighting style; medium protection with only minimal limitations to my manoeuvrability. It was also important that it was not too bulky, I had had a bad experience becoming trapped on a mission once before due to a hefty, chunky set. Cobalt blue in colour with white detailing, I was drawn to it by my Scottish heritage and when trying the suit on it seemed to mould to my shape, fitting snugly and comfortably. The suit possessed reinforced plating and heavy, expensive, shields.

Adrenaline boosters were equipped for when I needed an extra kick during combat along with recoil dampeners built into the arms and core section of the armour to reduce the effect of recoil from my weapons. The Omni tool I chose was top of the line, and not available anywhere else in the galaxy. With it I could hack almost any system and bypass any kind of powered security measures. If I knew how to hack advanced systems, that is. Perhaps Tali could teach me some tricks since that seemed to be her main skillset. Now I knew why they were only available for the people the Council trusted as Spectres, and why Saren could disappear wherever he desired and still have all the information he needed from anywhere in the Milky Way.

At the thought of Saren, I suddenly realised that I was wasting precious time here and decided that it was high time I left to meet Anderson. If I could have Captain Anderson along with me as well that would be a great bonus, but he was tied to the Normandy. Nothing I could do would tear him from that ship. Kaidan and Ashley followed me back out of the store, new equipment included, and we headed for the Presidium. However, as we went, I got a call from Anderson and he told me to meet him at the Normandy's dock, and that he had important news to give me. I sent a message to Garrus, Wrex and Tali that that was where we would be, I wanted solid squad-mates on my side and I had seen them all perform. I was impressed by all of them.

Walking along the gangway alongside the Normandy I found Captain Anderson and Udina waiting for me, Udina looking pleased and Anderson serious.

"Captain, you said you had important news for me?"

"Yes," David started, "we've been discussing possible leads with the Council and some covert agents. We have some for you. There have been sightings of Geth reported around our colony on Feros and on Noveria. No contact as of yet, but enough to warrant suspicion."

"There is also one more," Udina came in, "Matriarch Benezia has a daughter, an archaeologist called Liara T'Soni who was last known to be on a Prothean dig site on Therum. We have nothing to indicate that she is working with her mother, but either way she could provide vital Intel. Other than that, we don't have anything else to go on."

"Thanks for the help. I'll do my best not to let you down. What about a ship?"

David waved a hand towards the Normandy behind him,

"You're looking at it, Gardner. You're a Spectre on an important mission, you need the best ship. That's the Normandy. Besides, you already know the crew and its stealth systems will prove invaluable if you manage to find Saren and sneak up on him."

I could not speak, for a moment I thought this was all a huge joke,

"You're giving me… the Normandy?"

Anderson nodded and gave me a smile,

"You're more than capable of running her by yourself, and it's time I stepped down, especially from this investigation."

I saw a flash of remembrance flash across his face as he spoke,

"What's the history between you and Saren? Harkin said that you'd served with him when… when you were being considered for the Spectres."

"I don't know how he would know that, but it doesn't matter now. It's true. I was being considered and Saren was the one evaluating me, or so I thought. On our first mission he damn near killed every civilian in a town trying to find our target, then he blamed me for it; said I had alerted the enemy and the civilian deaths were as a result of that."

Anderson stopped for breath and shook his head in misery,

"He enjoys it, Scott. He enjoys the killing, enjoys watching people die, no matter who they are. If he does have some plan for Humanity, or for these Reapers, then we are all in trouble. That's why you get the Normandy, I'll only accept you having the best."

"It's an honour Sir," I said to David, "I'll take care of her for you."

"Much appreciated."

Hearing footsteps behind me I turned to see Tali approaching, she gazed at me but decided it was better not to interrupt our discussion and so waited patiently by the guardrail, looking over the Normandy with fascination.

"Just remember," Udina said, "you were a Human before you were a Spectre, represent us well out there, Commander Gardner."

"I'll do my best not to make your job any harder," I said respectfully.

"Glad to hear it. If you have anything else to say the Captain will hear you out, I have places to be. Good luck Gardner."

He walked off without a backwards glance and disappeared through a doorway at the same time that Garrus and Wrex appeared.

"I'm glad to see the aliens coming along with you Scott," Anderson said, "bringing the strengths and knowledge of more species will make you all the more lethal in hunting Saren down. Find him fast Commander, and I won't waste any tears if you kill him fast either. Good luck out there Scott, keep in touch!"

"Will do Sir. I'll get him for you."

We shook hands and he walked towards the door. He turned back for a moment,

"There's no one else that could have done this Gardner, no one. Make me proud."