19/4 2183
Med-bay, SSV Normandy.
A sharp light blinded Mads the moment he opened his eyes. He shut his eyes to avoid any further irritating, but could feel that his entire body was sore from the whole ordeal. His mind began to race to figure out what had happened, but before he would dwell too much into that thinking, he opened his eyes once again to see where he was.
He noticed that the lights were blinding him, but as he turned his attention to the rest of the room, he quickly realized just where he was. He was back on the Normandy, the Med bay to be exact. Even though he had established where he was, he couldn't shake the feeling of being disorientated. Mads groaned as he rubbed his temples. This seemed to alert Chakwas to the fact that he was alive.
"Commander, please lie still." Chakwas requested as she checked the his vitals. Mads did as she said.
"How long?" Mads asked after a few moments of silence.
"About 20 hours." Chakwas replied.
"God damn it." Mads muttered as he leaned back into the bed. Chakwas continued to monitor him for any side effects. She asked a few questions, where he is, who he is, and so on. His memory seemed fine, except that those images that had been burned into it.
"Tell me commander, what happened?" Chakwas asked.
"Ashley tried to approach the beacon, but it seemed to… Pull her?" He wasn't sure if anything he was about to say would make any sense what so ever. "I jumped in and managed to get her out, but the beacon grabbed me instead." Mads took a deep breath. "It showed me something. It looked like… Like Machines killed organic beings, maybe humans, I'm not sure." Mads explained.
"Hmmm, we need to monitor this. Prothean technology is highly unpredictable. How are you feeling?" Chakwas asked.
"I feel like I got mind fucked, doc. This vision is burned into my mind." Mads replied. Chakwas hummed and began to do some more monitoring.
"Good to see you again, commander." Kaminski said. He was on the bed beside Mads. He had a large bandage over the side of his neck. He was eating some soup.
"Kaminski, you didn't turn." Mads joked, Kaminski just gave him a cold stare. '
"Chakwas said the Medi-gel was applied fast enough for there to be no lasting damage. We can probably even fix the scars in due time. But… We were worried for you. Ashley most of all." Kaminski explained.
"I could imagine… Where is she now?" Mads asked.
"In the mess, I believe, most of the team is there, and -" Kaminski was cut off by the sound of the door opening. Captain Anderson himself stepped in.
"Kaminski, how are you feeling?" Anderson asked.
"I'm doing better captain." He quickly replied.
"Good. Dr. Chakwas, how is our commander looking?" Anderson turned around and asked.
"His vitals seem okay, and he appears stable. I do believe he will make a full recovery." Chakwas listed from the data pad.
"Great, can he come with me?" Anderson then asked. She nodded. Anderson gestured for Mads to follow him. Mads let out a semi loud groan as he got out of bed, but he made his way to Anderson's quarters.
Anderson sat down, and mentioned for Mads to do the same. Just as Mads had planted himself in the seat, Anderson spoke up. "This is not looking good."
"No shit. Two dead marines-" Mads started, but was interrupted.
"Three dead." Anderson corrected.
"Shit… Thompson didn't make it?" Mads asked.
"No, he died when the rescue team showed up. But Newfeld is in good shape. We have recovered Jenkins' and Smith's bodies as well." Anderson explained.
"Fuck-" Mads hug his head low. "-Three dead marines and a dead Spectre. Poor souls..." Mads remarked. "By the way, what the fuck happened? GETH? Are you fucking shitting me? We walked straight in to a death trap!" Mads ranted.
"We didn't know." Anderson swiftly replied. Mads wanted nothing more than to continue yelling, but deep down he knew Anderson was right. "The death you suffered was tragic to say the least, but you did your best. There are still 12 marines, and a new one, standing out there." Anderson was trying to comfort Mads, but nothing would help him.
"Nihlus mentioned Saren." Mads changed subject to avoid talking any more about his own failures.
"Yes, Ashley and Kaiden mentioned that. If this is true, than this is even bigger than we thought. Saren is one of the best spectres out there, the go-to guy for the council for any job. If he is leading an army of Geth, we are in trouble." Anderson replied. He showed Mads a picture of Saren on his Data pad.
"That's the fucker I fought and shot alright." Mads said.
"We will discuss this at the council meeting. We are flying toward the citadel now. Hopefully we will be there within 30 minutes. I want you, and all the other marines to be there." Anderson ordered.
"Yes sir… And about the beacon-" Mads took a deep breath. "-When it grabbed on to me… It gave me some sort of vision. It looked like machines killed organics, or something like that..." Mads explained.
Anderson hummed. "Yes, we would need to look into that. For now, top priority must be getting the shovel under Saren." Anderson said.
"I'll bury that Turian fuck 6 feet under." Mads snapped.
"Commander, calm yourself. I need you rational and sane right now. We have to do this the right way." Anderson swiftly lectured Mads. It didn't settle Mads' urge to turn the Normandy around and fly straight out into space to find the fucker himself.
"Go up and see how close we are to reaching the citadel." Anderson ordered. Mads saluted Anderson and took his leave. It didn't stop him from muttering curses under his breath as he left.
Citadel
Once they had gone through all the necessary docking procedures, they were finally allowed off the vessel. The citadel was as it always was, busy. But, there was a distinct feeling of tension boiling. C-sec officers seemed a little more on edge than usual, docking was harder than it used to be. There were a lot of different factors weighing in.
Even the embassy seemed a little chaotic, but he had never seen it before, so that might have been the usual business. When they walked into the office of ambassador Udina, he was already in a meeting with the council. From what Mads could hear, it wasn't going to well. They were throwing words around and pointing fingers. Mads, Anderson and the rest of the marines that had been deployed to Eden prime waited patiently for Udina to wrap it up.
"Bunch of self righteous jackasses." Udina muttered as the meeting call ended and the holograms disappeared.
"Ambassador. I see you got an audience with the council." Anderson greeted.
"More like an uphill battle." Udina replied as he sighed. "And what's this? Did you bring the entire Normandy into my office?" Udina asked, probably feeling offended that they had brought the dirt in.
"These were the marines deployed to Eden Prime. They can all verify the reports you received." Anderson answered, standing straight in military fashion.
"Let's hope it helps smooth over the council. But we are not doing so hot. C-sec is looking into our allegations, and as far as I'm concerned, they haven't stumbled upon any piece of golden evidence." Udina remarked.
"13 witnesses and the dying word of a council spectre gotta count for something." Mads jumped in and said.
"If this was any other suspect, then maybe, but Saren is their top dog." Udina replied as he rubbed his temples.
"I'll kill the fucker myself if I have to." Mads bluntly remarked.
"You need to calm down commander. You have done enough damage, haven't you?" Udina snapped.
"So the bitch should just walk free? Fuck that!" Mads quickly fired back.
"Captain, get your XO under control." Udina ordered. Anderson quickly put an arm around Mads and whispered something that seemed to do the trick. As the tension began to fade away, they began to act civilized again.
"We have a formal meeting with the council in 2 hours. I want everyone in this room there, we need everything we can get our hands on." Udina ordered. Everyone nodded in agreement.
Time passed, and before they knew it, it was time to meet and discuss the Saren case with the council. The walk there was short, since the embassy wasn't too far away from the council chamber. They took the elevator to the very top, where they stood ready to begin the trial. Mads took his place at the very front alongside Udina and Anderson. The Asari councilor began the meeting with listing the accused and the accuser.
Saren didn't even have the guts to show up in person. Appearing as a hologram instead. It was probably for the best, since Mads would probably have shot him on the spot. He had lost three marines and had been humiliated by the Turian Spectre. Not to mention all the dead people that had died on the colony that day. Mads knew it was him the moment he saw the hologram appear, Nihlus had been dead right.
"The C-sec investigation has turned up no leads. Does the accuser have any evidence to bring to the table?" Councilor Tevos asked. Saren looked highly impatient, like a man that thought his time was begin wasted.
Just wait and see Mads bitterly thought, and was highly tempted to say it out aloud.
"I personally fought Saren on Eden prime. And as I'm standing here now, I can clearly verify that it was indeed Saren. I have 13 marines that can back my word up, but if that isn't enough-" Mads began, and typed a few commands into his omni-tool, which played Nihlus' dying words. The councilors looked at each others, seeing this as pretty rock solid evidence.
"Nihlus was most likely bleeding out at this point, he was talking crazy….. Or maybe Commander Romanov here put the words in Nihlus' mouth-" Saren said.
"What do you mean, Saren?" The Turian councilor asked.
"Captain Anderson hates me, ever since he failed his own mission and blamed it on me. It is clear to me, that Commander Romanov has been taught this hatred by his master, like an obedient dog." Saren explained.
"I shot you in the arm! Would you care to explain the healing wound in your left bicep?" Mads asked, feeling pretty confident, but the smug look on Saren's face told him otherwise.
"As the council knows-" Saren looked over at the councilors. "-I was on a highly dangerous classified recon mission."
"What recon mission?" Anderson asked in disbelief.
"Saren was assigned a reconnaissance mission to Asari space. He was supposed to… Look into an Asari cult known as The light of the goddess, by all accounts, he was there when the attack on Eden Prime happened." Tevos explained hesitantly.
"And what proof is there of that?" Udina asked.
"Councilors, I would like to call in a witness that can verify where I was, and how I got this wound." Saren requested. The Turian councilor was quick to allow it. It didn't take long for another hologram to appear. It was an Asari, an older one by the looks of it.
"Matriarch Benezia." The Asari councilor greeted, and she looked a bit surprised at her appearance.
"Councilors." Benezia replied.
"Matriarch Benezia, can you explain where Saren Arterius was on the 18th of April." The Turian councilor asked.
"Saren Arterius was with me on Operation Goddess. He has been with the Asari task force since the 2nd of April." Benezia answered, her tone and face was straight. Hard to see through.
"Can you clear up how Saren Arterius was wounded in his left arm?" The Salarian councilor then asked.
"Saren was shot by an accidental discharge of a cultist's weapon. The culprit has been arrested, I can forward the information and report to the council, but I believe you already have it." Benezia explained. The councilors all looked through their files to validate the claim.
"It is clear to me that this is a waste of time. This is nothing more than a showcase of human incompetence, of which Commander Romanov and his crew is a prime example. Nihlus' death is most likely linked to a failure to spot the danger by Commander Romanov. I would suggest that you pull him from the Spectre list of candidates." Saren remarked.
"You motherfucker! This has nothing to do with my candidacy to the Spectres!" Mads snapped.
"The commander is right. The purpose of this meeting is not to discuss if Commander Romanov is fit for the Spectres or not." The Asari councilor clarified.
"Does it really matter?" Saren asked. No one answered his question.
"In light of the evidence from both sides, this council is ready to give a final verdict." The Salarian councilor said. All the councilors voted on their terminals. It took a few moments for the results to be given.
"This council does not find Saren guilty of the charges. He is free to continue his mission with his spectre rights." The Asari councilor read.
"Motherfucker!" Mads cursed. "You think you are gonna walk free, huh? ENJOY IT WHILE IT LASTS YOU TURIAN PRICK!" Mads yelled.
"This meeting has officially reached it's conclusion." The Asari councilor said. No further comment was given. They were given the cue to leave, and Mads had to work really hard not to show his anger any more in that moment. Anderson dismissed all of the marines back to the Normandy.
Udina held his head in his hands as the marines left. He was deep in thought over what he should next. Anderson was shifting on his feet. It was annoyingly quiet in there, while Mads was pacing around. "Are you gonna say anything?" Mads asked with a hint of boiling anger.
"Well, that's….. That's that" Anderson said as he pulled on his shoulders.
"That's that? That's what you have to say? How come with we just got fucked BIG TIME?" Mads then asked.
"Well, Saren has connections and I do believe-" Udina started.
"You shut your fucking mouth." Mads ordered, which came blunt enough to make Udina shut up solely based on the fact that he did not expect such an reaction.
"You never told me you and Saren had history together." Mads pointed his finger at Anderson.
"I did not see the relevance." Anderson swiftly replied.
"Relevance? The fucker just used that as an argument against us! And an Asari cult, a highly respected Matriarch? How deep does this rabbit hole run?" Mads asked.
"Saren has resources. He has deep trust with the council." Udina replied. Mads rolled his eyes.
"What aren't you telling me Anderson?" Mads asked, his tone a bit softer.
"A long time ago, I too was considered for the Spectres. Saren was my supervisor. There was a mission to a planet, and during this mission, Saren was looking for something while I attempted a rescue attempt. Saren destroyed an element zero refinery on the planet, and killed a lot of people. He managed to shift the blame onto me. He hates humans with a passion, which I suspect comes from the first contact war." Anderson explained, with underline of sorrow in his voice.
"Great, fucking great." Mads replied, as he took another lap at pacing around.
"Anderson, your history with Saren probably costed us the trial. If there is going to be any other investigation, I want you to stay clear of it." Udina ordered. Anderson quickly nodded. "Romanov, I want you to-" Udina didn't have time to finish his request before he was cut off.
"Fuck you Udina, and fuck your suit too. If you need me, I'll be down in the lower wards, most likely drinking my brains out." Mads snapped, and promptly left the scene. Leaving both Anderson and Udina dumbfounded.
Mads kept his word. He went to one of the cheapest bars down in the wards. Which was filled to the brim with shady people all around. He quickly took a seat at the counter, and ordered a glass of Vodka. While he wanted to go on a rampage, he realized that it wouldn't help in the slightest. Nothing really would. They had hit a brick wall. At least there was enough to observe in the bar itself. A big angry Krogan was arguing with another Krogan, who seemed to be a bouncer. Mads made a mental note of this for some reason, but none-the-less went back to his drink.
"Hey handsome, want a little….. Private dance?" Mads had barely noticed the Asari dancer that had walked up to him.
"Get lost." Mads simply replied. She looked mighty offended by his decline, and probably by the choice of words. He had someone tsk tsk from beside him. As Mads turned around to see who it was, it was a Turian in a C-sec armor.
"Is that how you treat women?" The Turian asked with a very cocky tone.
"And who the fuck are you supposed to be?" Mads asked back.
"Name is Garrus Vakarian, and I do believe we can help each other." the Turian said as he took a swing of his wine.
"That a fact? I'm listing." Mads replied, ten times more interested now.
"There are more layers to uncover, and I do believe I might have a lead, but I need some back up. You see, if there is one thing C-sec is good at, it's putting up red tape. I might have taken a look at some… Classified files, that are above my pay grade." Garrus explained, taking another sip of his drink.
"I'm all ears." Mads said.
"You know who runs this place?" Garrus asked.
"Some douche bag probably." Mads answered as he downed his drink and ordered another one.
"Yup, but as a matter of fact, his nickname is Fist. It's a well known fact in the underworld that he is an operative for the shadow broker." Garrus continued.
"Go on." Mads said.
"There are rumors going around, rumors that C-sec has been listing to, that Fist has found a Quarian with some very credible evidence on Saren. Problem is, I don't know where the Quarian is currently, but I know the Quarian was treated at the clinic just around the corner." Garrus finished.
Mads downed his drink and put the glass on the counter. He then took out his magnum and checked the chamber. 6 rounds to go. "Alright Garrus Vakarian. Let's see how good your lead is." Mads said as he put his magnum back in the leather holster.
"I knew you would be interested." Garrus said as he finished his wine and got up from his chair.