Arcturus Station:

Shepard walked through the second deck of the Normandy until she reached one of the rooms. She knocked on the door and waited for a response.

"Enter" came the voice and the new Spectre assigned to the Normandy, Jondum Bau. Shepard entered and saw the Salarian sitting in the room which he had made for himself. Since he was a Spectre, he had been given his own room and he seemed to have set the room up so he could prepare for anything. It reminded Shepard of her original room before she had been made the commander of the Normandy and now she had the larger captain's quarters which had belonged to Anderson before. Bau was the only new person who had come onto the Normandy who had his own room. Tali, Garrus and Wrex had to make space in the ship's barracks and some of the crew were a bit uncomfortable with these Citadel Crew but found them fun to chat with. Tali had left the barracks and made a space for herself down on the Engineering deck. She said that she had slept rough on ships and didn't mind sleeping on the cold deck. Wrex and Garrus enjoyed sharing stories of battles with the Normandy's crew.

Bau turned around and looked at Shepard "Commander Shepard" he greeted "Is there anything I can help with?"

"I thought I should get to know you better since we'll be working together." Shepard responded

Bau smiled "I don't mind talking about myself" he stated "It's nice to be able to speak my mind."

"Well what do you think of this mission?" Shepard asked "You've known Saren longer than me, how do you feel about having to take down someone who you've fought alongside before."

Bau sighed "Actually, Saren and I have never fought alongside each other" he stated "Most Spectres tend to work alone. As for taken down Saren, I say it's about time."

That caught Shepard by surprise "You don't think much of Saren?" she questioned

Bau snorted "Saren is a disgrace to the Turians and to the Spectres. The council only protected him because he always got results even if his methods were unnecessary. He causes Civilian deaths when they can be avoided and doesn't care about them afterwards. Spectres sometimes have to do things dirty but Saren goes too far sometimes. I remember one mission where a group of Citadel separatists on the planet Batonn took over a place known as Scrim Island. They were led by extremist Batarians who wanted to force the council start forcing to give them more say and stop Republic expansion. Saren was sent it with a council fleet to put pressure on the Batarians. But the Batarians had recently stolen one of the Republic's shield generators that prevented us from sending in the troops to retake the island. Saren was sent in to bring down the shield generator but there was a massive explosion that destroyed the main part of the island, killing the Batarian leadership and most of their forces but also killing many civilians."

"How many civilians were killed?" Sheppard asked

"The numbers were unknown" Bau replied "But they outnumbered the enemy by far. Saren claimed that one of the Batarian leaders decided to destroy the base as a message but we don't know the truth. The council had an inquiry into what happened but nothing was found although they did suspect Saren was involved with this but they had no proof and he had done his mission. But many Spectres didn't trust Saren after that, incidents like that only make the Spectres look bad."

"That's some story" Shepard stated

"And that's just one story about Saren" Bau admitted "I've also heard stories of how he destroyed whole buildings full of civilians just to take out one target. This attack on Eden Prime was the excuse that the Council needed to strip Saren of his Spectre status."

"Unfortunately, many of the Senators don't see it like that." Shepard admitted "Many of the Senators don't like the Citadel Council so it's best that you stay with me when we arrive on Arcturus Station."

Bau looked at Shepard "I'm curious about this Senate that the Republic has?" he stated "How does it work?"

"Well, every major colony elects a representative from their planet and that gives the planet a voice in law making in the government." Shepard replied "Since many colonies have mixed races, we have a mix of different races in the Senate."

"And how does a colony get the right to have a seat on the Senate?" Bau asked

Shepard sighed "I can't really give the best answer for that because I'm not a politician" she replied "But the colony has to be able to sustain itself, have a large population and also be able to build a small fleet that can defend itself until a Republic fleet can arrive. With the massive populations that the Republic species has, it allowed many colonies to grow fast."

"Just out of curiosity, what about species that are not part of the Republic" Bau asked

"Actually, there are quite a large number of people from races outside the Republic which settle on our colonies and it is allowed although they are not granted Republic Citizenship until they've lived and worked with the Republic for five years." Shepard responded "And I'm not just talking about Citadel Races, there are a number of species from the Terminus systems that have settled in the Republic. These species are not classed as Republic species because their home planets are not in Republic space that tends to be how a species becomes an official Republic species. I'll show you some of these races when we get to Arcturus."

"So what will happen when we get to Arcturus Station?" Bau requested

"Well most of the Crew will be allowed to do what they want for a while until we get our orders." Shepard replied "But some of our crew such as Garrus, Wrex and Tali will not be allowed in parts of the station since they're guests on this ship, not Republic soldiers. In fact, I have to get you a special code cylinder that we'll get when we land that will allow you into the central dome where the Republic HQ is as well as the Senate. Only me, you and Kaidan will be allowed into the Senate, Ashley will be allowed into the Republic military area but she isn't a high enough rank to go into the Senate. There you will see why Chancellor Mothma is concerned about what happened at Eden Prime."

"Well, I'm looking forward to see how the Republic rules" Bau stated

It was then that Joker was heard over the radio "Commander, we're approaching Arcturus Station, you better come up to the Bridge."

"Alright Joker, I'm on my way" Shepard said through her radio

"I'll join you" Bau stated "I'll like to see what the Station looks like" and then the two of them left the room.

Bau and Shepard made it to the bridge where the blue vortex of Lightspeed went around them. "We're approaching Arcturus Station Commander" Luke stated

"Exiting Lightspeed in three, two, one…" Joker stated and then he pulled the lever and the Normandy came out of lightspeed and back to normal space travelling speed.

Arcturus Station was in front of them. The massive station, which was the headquarters of the Republic, was not as big as the Citadel but it was still impressive. There was a large sphere that was surrounded by a large ring and it looked almost like a planet. Bau could see several hangers which were used by the Republic military and defence towers surrounding the station.

"I see that Arcturus Station looks like a battle station" Bau claimed

"We always have a few Republic Fleets here" Shepard claimed "But the Station has to have a means of righting against incoming fighters."

"That is something that the Citadel doesn't have" Bau stated "There's no defence towers on the Citadel, just the defensive fleet."

"And we always have two fleets stationed here" Luke added and he pointed out of the window where several ships were moving around. One was a large Resurgence Class Star Destroyer which was a Dreadnought "That's the RSV Kilimanjaro, flagship of the Fifth Fleet commanded by Admiral Hackett."

"My mother is the EO on that ship" Shepard claimed

Bau then saw a large ship that was not a Star Destroyer. It was 1200 meters long and looked like it had thick armour so it was a Dreadnought as it also had large cannons on the side. But it had a long stick coming out from the bottom and unlike Star Destroyers, it was a round shape instead of the dagger shape "What ship is that?" he asked

Joker looked at the ship in question "That's the RSV Profundity, the flagship of the Third Fleet. That's a Mon Calamari ship build from the ruins of an abandoned city on Mon Cala. The ship is commander by a Mon Calamari Admiral known as Raddus, one of the best Mon Calamari in service."

Bau had a questioned "Does the Republic Navy had a fleet admiral to oversee all the navies?" he asked

"We normally do" Shepard replied "Fleet Admiral Jon Grissom was the Fleet Admiral for many years but he retired a few years ago to settle on Elysium. Now the Republic is having problems choosing a new Fleet Admiral. There are worries that the Republic is too human, many of our senior Officers are human and that has raised worry in the Senate that the navy is too human."

"Not all the Admirals are human" Luke stated "Raddus is a Mon Calamari and Admiral Thrawn of the Seventh Fleet is a Chiss and one of the best Admirals in the navy."

Joker chucked "Thrawn would have become Fleet Admiral but he doesn't like politics and the politicians aren't too fond of him. His tactics are risky and anything could go wrong but he's proven them wrong many times and the politicians have been humiliated."

"I'll see people like him" Bau stated "Some leaders like getting results instead of glory. That's what makes good leaders."

Joker smiled "Well we're preparing to dock." He activated the com. "This is RSV Normandy to Arcturus Control, we're requesting a landing dock."

After a few moments, the reply came "Copy Normandy" a voice came "Report to Dock 25, we're received information about your arrival and a team will meet your captain when you land."

"Understood control" Joker stated

Shepard looked at Bau "Well we better get ready for docking." She stated and then she left and Bau followed her.

...

Later the Normandy was attached to Arcturus Station and a bridge connected the Station to the Air lock. Shepard dressed into her Commander Armour and she gathered the rest of her team which included Ashley, Kaidan, Garrus, Wrex and Tali. They soon left the Normandy and they were greeted by a group of soldiers in blue armour. These were the Senate Guards, the soldiers who guarded Arcturus Station and the Republic's version of C-Sec. The leader of them removed his blue helmet to reveal a head with thick blond hair.

"Welcome to Arcturus Station" he greeted "I'm Captain Argyus and I've been sent to escort you to the Senate Chambers." He looked at Tali, Wrex and Garrus "Although I regret to inform you that some of your team members will not be allowed inside because they're not Republic military or politicians."

Shepard looked at Tali, Wrex and Garrus "I'm sorry you three" she said "But that's the law here. But there's plenty of stuff to do around here while you wait. I've given you all Republic communicators which will let you know that I need to meet you again. If it beeps then meet us at the SDF War Memorial, you'll find its location on any map here of the station. Enjoy yourselves while you're here." She then looked at Wrex "And Wrex, try not to cause trouble here, don't get angry because people stare at you, most people on this station have never seen a Krogan before and when they have, it's often been bad." She then looked at Tali "Most people have never seen a Quarian before either so don't hold it against you."

"I won't" Tali stated "I think I'll have a bit of fun while I'm here, we Quarians never get the chance to do that."

"Well I like to hear a good war story" Wrex stated "I'll go see if I can find anyone who can tell me those."

"I'll go with you" Garrus added "I like war stories as well."

The three of them then left to do their own thing leaving Shepard along with Ashley, Kaidan and Bau. Captain Argyus looked at Bau "Well now that you're here, I was ordered to deliver this to our Spectre Guest" he handed Bau a code cylinder "This code cylinder will allow you to get into the Senate's chambers but you must all hand over your weapons before you enter. Weapons are forbidden in the Senate no matter who they are."

"Understood" Bau stated "This is your place so it's your rules. It's a good job that I'm not one of those Spectres who believes I have absolute authority."

"Well that's good to hear" Argyus claimed "Now we must get going, the Senate is starting to gather for their meeting."

Captain Argyus led Shepard and her group through into one of the monorails that took them from the Outer Ring of the Station towards the Centre Sphere where the Senate was held. Ashley had left them when they entered the Sphere since she was not high enough of a rank to enter the Senate. Captain Argyus led the remaining three to the Senate Chambers where they handed their code Cylinders to the guard standing watch and they handed their weapons to the guards. The guard eyed Bau with suspicious but they let him into the Senate Chambers where the Senators of the Republic had gathered.

The Senate Chambers was a large open area that served as the meeting point for the Senators. All around the room were small repulsorpods where the Senators along with representatives would sit. This pods were designed to move around so that their voice could be heard across the room and get closer to the Chancellor. Each pod also had microphones and translators so that when someone who spoke a different language spoke up, what they said could be understood. In the Centre of the room was a large Podium where the Chancellor of the Republic would sit during the meetings.

Shepard and her team were sat high in the chamber and watched as the other senators took their seas. Some seats were empty since they would be used for future colonies. Bau was amazed at how many people represented the Senate and saw many species that did not live in Citadel Space. When all the Senators had gathered, a woman stood on the centre podium and stood up. This woman had short blond hair and wore a white robe. This was Chancellor Mon Mothma, the elected Chancellor of the Republic. She was a strong supporter of good relationships with the Citadel and opposed military build-up and had once tried to pass a military restriction act but it had been rejected by the Senate due to the ongoing problems with the Batarians and the fear of security. This failed act had made enemies for Chancellor Mon Mothma as some felt like she was too pro Citadel and there were many Senators who were very opposed to the Citadel.

"I now call for this meeting of the Senate to begin" Mothma called and thanks to the microphones, Shepard's group could hear it even though they were very far away. "We are here to discuss the recent attack on Eden Prime and how we should respond."

"Well we already know several things!" one senator snapped "This attack was led by one of those Citadel Spectres which shows that they were involved in this attack."

"We have information that this Spectre has gone rogue and was not acting on the Citadel's orders." A female Senator spoke up; this one had long black hair and wore fancy robes which showed how important she was "We mustn't rush to conclusions unless we'll enter an endless war."

"Our military is strong" another Senator spoke up "We don't have to overthrow the Citadel, just send a message that we are not to be pushed around."

"And how would that look to our colonies" a male senator with black hair spoke up "Many people settle on new planets to start a new life, they don't want war."

Then a pod with an older man started to move around. The man had greying hair with a bald forehead and he wore a dark grey military uniform "I've seen what life is like on the Outer colonies" the man stated "I personally don't want to start a great war but I value security in the Republic and we cannot do that if the Citadel keep trying to make us accept our laws. They have to understand that the Republic is not part of the Citadel and we have different laws. And besides, we seem to be the ones who keep a strong grip on our laws when the Citadel allowed the Batarians to keep enslaving people despite it being against the Citadel Law." The people of the Senate clamped for this man which showed that he was very popular among the Senators.

Mon Mothma spoke up "The attack on Eden Prime is not the only think we have to discuss in this meeting." She stated "Our allies in the Terminus systems have reported strange sightings of insect Aliens that no one has ever seen. The Bothan Spies are trying to gather more information to see if these Aliens are a threat since they seem to be interested in our Colonies."

The same older man from before spoke up "I can start by increasing the military in our outer colonies in case these Aliens get any ideas but we may need to have a full fleet ready for deployment if it is needed."

Mothma looked at the man "If we mobilize our full force it would look like we are preparing for war and increase tensions even more" she claimed "Admiral Thrawn and the Seventh Fleet are already investigating the Geth activity but we can't have more military ships closer to the border with the Citadel in case we provoke them into attacking us."

As the meeting went on, Shepard, Kaidan and Bau watched from their pod and Bau could see why Chancellor Mon Mothma was worried, she seemed to have many Senators who disagreed with her peaceful ideas with the Citadel and she could see many of the Senators here were anti-Citadel.

...

Meanwhile back in the Civilian area, Tali had made her way into a large Arcade. Tali could see many people, mainly children, were playing different games, some involved shooting while others were some kind of slot machine. Tali had heard of these games on the Citadel but many of these she had never seen before. There also was a range of different games; some of these were originally created over 200 years ago. Tali didn't have any money herself to use but she had fun watching the other children play.

One child suddenly came up to her "Why do you wear that helmet?" the boy asked "I don't want to be rude but I've never seen an Alien wear a helmet all the time, most take them off."

Tali was unable to resist a chuckle, Shepard had told her that many people had never met a Quarian before "I am a Quarian" she told the child "My immune system is very weak compared to yours, what you would call a simple cold would be fatal to me so these special suits protect us."

"At school we are taught about the different races of the Republic and a bit about the Citadel" the child added "But we're never been taught anything about the Quarians."

Tali sighed "I'm not really that surprised" she stated "Many people view the Quarians as vermin since we don't have a home planet after we lost ours to a race of robots known as the Geth. We have travelled the galaxy in our fleet trying to survive."

"That must be an adventure" the child stated

Tali sighed "You may think it's fun but believe me, it is not. Every day I have to live with the thought that any day there could be an outbreak of illness that could destroy most of our population or we may have unfriendly contact with someone. There may be millions of Quarians on the migrate Fleet but we are unable to live a normal life or have fun like you do. Every day we have to work to keep our ships together and find the resources to survive."

Then Tali heard the boy's parents call him and the boy left her after saying goodbye leaving Tali alone, it felt good to share the life of the Quarians with someone and maybe this would get the plight of the Quarians to be questioned in the Senate and maybe they could get Republic support.

...

In another part of Arcturus Station, Garrus and Wrex had travelled together into a large museum known as the Republic War museum. This museum showed the history of the Republic military in the short period of history they had existed. The museum was on three floors with the ground floor showing the ground vehicles and soldiers, the first floor showed the fighters while the top floor was about the warships.

On the ground floor, Wrex and Garrus looked at the weapons of the Republic which were held behind glass cases and even had old weapons from Earth before space travel. But it was the large military vehicles which caught their eye. Garrus stared at an old All Terrain Assault Vehicle or ATAT. Garrus had heard stories from Turian soldiers about 4 legged walking tanks which were very difficult to take out due to their thick armour. There was also a smaller All Terrain Scout Vehicle or ATST which was smaller, faster and just as well armoured as well as an All Terrain Attack Pods or ATAP which was a 3 legged pod walker used for long range artillery strikes, an All Terrain Recon Transport or ATRT which was a small 2 legged walker used for scouts and were very fast, a 74-Z speeder bike, an All Terrain Open Transport or ATOT which was an eight legged troop transport and finally, a HAVw A6 Juggernaut or better known as a turbo tank which was a very heavily armoured 6 wheeled tank. There was also a Mako tank which Garrus had seen in the Normandy's hanger. Both Garrus and Wrex were amazed at these military vehicles and Garrus could see why they terrified the Turian soldiers in the Shanxi War since some of them got decimated as they had no air support.

The second floor was just as interesting. Both Wrex and Garrus had never really since fighters be used in battles, only for air cover but the Republic made use of fighters as there were many different types such as Fighters or Bombers. The museum had many different starfighters A Wing which was a fast interceptor fighter used for dogfights, the popular X-Wing which had wings in the shape of an X, these were the most common starfighter and were used mainly as escorts for bombers as they weren't as fast as A-Wings. The ARC 170 was an older fighter that was used as a fighter in the older days when the Republic was new but they had been replaced by the X-Wings. There was also a U-Wing which was a small troop transport to transport small crews from larger ships onto planets. For bombers, there was an old V-Wing which like the ARC 170, this was no longer used and had been replaced by the Y-Wing bomber which was shaped like a Y. There was even a very old Jackal fighter which was from Earth before the Republic had been created.

While looking at the fighters, Wrex looked very interested "These Starfighters could do some serious damage in battles" he stated "The Republic sure knows how to build military machines. After the Krogan Rebellions, we weren't allowed a fleet."

Garru looked at the fighters as well "Some Turians I've talked to underestimated the power of these fighters." He stated "During the Shanxi War, the Turian fleet was attacked by these fighters and the Turians didn't believe they were a threat. They were wrong, one Dreadnought got disabled by the fighters and was then crippled by fire from a cruiser. It had to retreat from the battle. The walkers we saw before also put fear due to their size and their armour. With no air cover, the soldiers were unable to fight back against these walkers."

"There is still more on the next floor" Wrex stated "Now this might have some good things about space battles since they're about the Republic's navy. I would like to see how the Republic did in space battles."

The two of them then headed up to the next floor.

Back in the centre Sphere, the Senate meeting had ended and Shepard, Bau and Kaidan were leaving the Senate building.

"I can see why your Chancellor is worried" Bau stated "She seems to have a lot of opposition."

Kaidan looked at him "Many Senators don't trust the Citadel and that's due to what they've head. They see the Council as only support themselves and not serving the needs of the minor species such as the Volus, that's why the Volus and Elcor have starting forming stronger relations with the council. They believe that we're a better option."

"They believe that because the Republic is known to aid the species they discover" Shepard stated "To become a Republic Species, your home planet must be able to defend itself and be in Republic territory. The Bothans you heard about earlier are non-classed as a Republic species because their home planet of Bothawui is located in the Terminus systems but they help the Republic and are our spies in those areas. They give us warnings about incoming Slaver attacks and have been very useful to us."

Bau looked at Shepard "So there are many species in the Republic which are not represented?" he questioned "The Citadel has hardly ever made contact with other species."

"Because your relay laws forbid the activation of Mass Relays, it's left large parts of the galaxy unexplored" Shepard stated "In the Republic, many wealthy people like to have their names in the history books so they fund mapping missions to discover new species. That older man you saw in the Senate is Governor Wilhuff Tarkin. He's the most powerful man in the Senate, he controls a large amount of territory from his home planet of Eriadu and he owns the largest private military in the Republic. His family is very rich due to the number of mining industries they control and Tarkin funds many mapping missions in the outer areas of the Republic. Because of his power, the Chancellor has to keep him loyal."

"Is he a danger to the Senate?" Bau asked

Shepard sighed "Not quite" she stated "He believes that humans are superior but respects other species if they remain loyal to the Republic and work together. He will strike down hard at rebellion but will reward loyalty. He is also very against the Citadel and hates Slavers. The territory he controls is at the outer parts of the Republic which is why he's a governor and not a Senator. The Republic doesn't have much central control over those territories which is why people like Tarkin work hard in those areas to keep Slavers out as well as pirates. There are quite a number of species that are in Tarkin's area and he helps fund them to build up their military to become Republic Species, he believes that it will help defend the Republic from raiders from the Terminus Systems."

Bau had a thought "He did seem to be very against the Chancellor." He stated

"People like Tarkin don't like the idea of forming better relations with the Citadel" Kaidan stated "They fear that it would result in the Republic being controlled which they don't like. Mothma has some support from Senator Amidala of Naboo and Senator Organa of Alderaan. They're both strong supporters of peace and they control some of the largest colonies in the Republic so they have a lot of respect but it doesn't stop the anti-Citadel feelings."

Shepard sighed "We really should go back to the Alliance so we can get our orders for hunting Saren" She stated

"Agreed" Bau stated and the three of them left towards the Republic Navy headquarters.

...

The team made it to the Republic Military headquarters which was also inside the large sphere. They found Ashley waiting for them in a seating area "Admiral Hackett is going to give us our orders" she stated "But Rear Admiral Kahoku is also with him as he had a mission for us as well."

"Well we better not keep them waiting." Shepard stated and they entered the officer where two human males stood in full military uniform and they had admiral badges showing that they were important military personal. One was older and had wrinkles on his face and a thin grey beard, this was Admiral Steven Hackett, the commanding officer of the Fifth Fleet and a personal friend of Shepard's mother since they both commanded the same ship. The other man was younger but still middle ages and had a shaved face, this was Rear Admiral Kahoku, he had been in command of the Cruiser RSV Tiger which was one of the leading ships during the Skyllian Blitz where he had gained a large amount of respect from his men.

"Commander Shepard" Hackett greeted as he shook Shepard's hand "It's good to see you again, your mother is constantly asking about how you are."

"Well she's acting like all mothers would" Shepard stated "So you have my orders to help hunt down Saren?"

Hackett sighed "We don't know where Saren has gone but we have a few leads." He stated "The Geth are making a move again on Republic Territory and they have established outposts in the Armstrong Nebula. Admiral Thrawn and the Seventh Fleet have been sent to take them out. But that might just be a staging ground."

"Are there any other leads?" Shepard asked

Kohoku spoke up "There is one last lead and it might be the one you have to go to first" he stated "The other woman from that voice recording is Matriarch Benezia, she had a daughter called Liara. She's a Prothean researcher and she might have some idea to what Saren and Benezia are doing. She is also currently in Republic territory studying Prothean ruins on the planet Therum."

"So I guess that's where we'll be going first." Shepard stated

Kohoku had something else to say "There is one favour I must ask of you since you'll be going into the Artemis Tau systems" he stated "A group of scouts I sent to that system have gone missing and I'm hoping if you can find them if you can."

"I can't make any promises but if I do what I can to find them" Shepard stated

"Well you have your mission Shepard" Hackett stated "And we've already assigned your new crew members along with several Officers to the Normandy, they'll be waiting to hear the mission when you get back."

"I'll set off as soon as I can" Shepard stated

"Good luck Shepard" Hackett stated

Shepard along with Bau, Kaidan and Ashley left the room after that "Well we should inform Wrex, Tali and Garrus that we need to be going back to the Normandy now."

"I'm sending them a message now" Shepard stated "They should be at the memorial when we get there when we get back."

"Let's get going them." Kaidan stated and the four of them started their trip to the memorial.

...

The memorial that Shepard was talking about was just outside the Republic War Museum so it didn't take long for Wrex and Garrus to get there since they had been in the museum. Tali had joined them a while afterwards and they waited for Shepard to arrive. Luckily, there was a bar nearby so Wrex was able to grab a few drinks while they waited.

"So what' this memorial about?" Wrex asked the other two.

Garrus looked at the memorial which was a large wall with many named carved in. "This memorial is a list of names so maybe it's a list of people who've died in some kind of major accident."

Tali looked at the wall "There are too many names to be just a small accident." She claimed "It has to have been because of a war."

"It is" came a voice and the three of them turned to see the Normandy's pilot Luke walk up to them "I was allowed off the Normandy so I could see my mother."

"So what is this memorial about?" Wrex asked

"It's dedicated to those who died in one of the human's major wars" Luke stated "About fifty years ago, humanity wasn't that united and two factions emerged, Earth and Mars and a brutal war broke out between them since Mars was a military state. In the end, Earth won and Mars was defeated and was forced to reconnect with Earth. The leaders known as the Settlement Defence Front were all killed though a few managed to escape and are believed to be those who founded the Human separatist group known as Cerberus. All these names are the names of marines who died in the war. This was once at the Humanity's Alliance headquarters on Earth but after the founding of the Republic, it was moved here. Some of these names became famous for what they did" he pointed to one name "Nick Reyes is the Hero of the War; he ended the War at the cost of his life when he destroyed their major shipyard on Mars. That's why there's also a statue of him nearby" he pointed to a statue of a human nearby. Then Luke sighed "My father was a member of the Republic navy and he fought in the Shanxi War where he became a well respected leader. When he was a child, he grew up on Mars and saw firsthand how the Front dealt with people. He lived little better than a slave along with his mother and so he swore that he would never allow things like that to happen. He joined the navy so he could do something to help the galaxy and was one of the most vocal against the Batarians due to their ideas on slavery. During his time in the navy, she met my mother Padme Amidala, she's the senator of Naboo and a well respected politician."

"So your mother is a senator and your father is a soldier" Garrus stated

"That's right" Luke stated "But despite their differences, my parents loved each other. But like my parents, me and my sister follow different paths."

"I didn't know you had a sister" Tali stated

"My sister Leia is following the footsteps of my mother in politics to become a Senator one day." Luke admitted "We still liked to hear stories of my father but it's been hard without him."

Garrus realised that something must have happened to Luke's father "What happened?" he asked

Luke sighed "My father was General Anakin Skywalker, he was one of the best leaders in the army had was one to lead charges with his soldiers, he led the ground reinforcements at Shanxi and would later fight against the Batarians. But about ten years ago during the Verge War, he was sent away by Chancellor Sheev Palpatine on an important mission and never returned. We haven't heard anything from him and Palpatine vanished himself after he finished his term as Chancellor. Mothma hasn't been able to get anything either."

"I'm sorry to hear that" Tali stated "I've lost a parent as well only it was my mother. Quarians have weak immune systems which is why we wear these environmental suits but we're not immune completely. When I was a young child, an outbreak killed everyone on board one of the Quarian ships including my mother. I was raised by my father and an old friend of his."

Luke sighed "I always have hope that maybe my father is still alive somewhere and I might find out just what happened to him." He stated "But anyway, it seems that our commander is here."

Shepard then arrived with Kaidan, Bau and Ashley "Well crew, we have our mission orders. You've had a short relax here but now we need to get serious. Since we're all here, I'm going to tell you our mission so I don't have to call two meetings since I'll also have to do this with my Officers. We have several leads on Saren on several worlds but our first mission will be to located Dr Liara T'soni, she's the daughter of Matriarch Benezia, the other voice in that recording Tali had. She has been located on the Planet Therum so that's where we're heading."

"Well I can't wait for a fight" Wrex stated

"It'll be good to take Saren down after what he did" Garrus stated

Bau looked at Shepard "So we're all going back to the Normandy now?" he questioned

Shepard nodded "We are" she stated and then the whole group headed back to the Normandy to prepare for their mission.

...

Soon they were all back on the Normandy and saw that the rest of the crew were on board. During the mission to Eden Prime and the Citadel, the Normandy had only been running on a skeleton crew of humans, now the crew included Twi'leks, Togrutas, Rodians, Chiss and a few Wookies for heavy lifting in the Cargo hold. Shepard would meet the Officers later but first she had to make sure that all of the crew assigned were on board so she went over to Navigator Pressly.

"Pressly, are all of the crew here now?" she asked

Pressly looked at his data pad "All of our assigned crew are on board Commander" he stated as he looked at Shepard "It will be nice to see this ship running with all her crew."

"I'll tell Joker and Luke to set a course for our first destination" Shepard stated as she left Pressly alone who carried on his duties.

Shepard soon made it back to the bridge where Luke and Joker were waiting "It's time we started our Hunt for Saren." She told them.

"Finally" Joker stated "Now we can see some action again."

"Be careful what you wish for" Luke stated and he activated the radio "Arcturus, RSV Normandy is now leaving the Citadel for mission."

"Copy Normandy" Arcturus docking command stated over the radio "Releasing Normandy now, and good luck on your mission."

"Will do" Joker replied and then the magnetic clamps holding the Normandy released and Joker reversed the Normandy backwards and then the Normandy started moving away from Arcturus Station and Joker looked at Shepard "So where to Commander?" he asked

"Set a course for the planet Therum in the Artemis Tau cluster" Shepard replied "We have to find an Asari Doctor who may have information on Saren."

"Plotting a course now" Luke stated as he began setting the course on the Navi computer "It will take a few jumps to get there but we should be arriving in about 16 hours."

"That will give me time to get to know the new additions to the crew" Shepard responded.

"Coordinates set" Luke stated "Leaving Arcturus in three, two, one" then Normandy blasted into lightspeed and left Arcturus system to start the Hunt for Saren.

Chapter end:
Notes: Sorry this chapter took a while but I had my exams to work on but the good news is that my exams are now over so I have all the time I want to write so I will try and get as much done as I can before I start my next year in University. I would also like to thank Stormspartan21 for his idea on the Bothans which I brought into the story. I also plan to bring in the Geonsians and Trandoshans such as Bossk but they won't appear until the Mass Effect 2 storyline. And for SpiderTerran, some of the species he suggested have already been brought in but I can bring some more in after I get some more information on them so I may rewrite the timeline to bring them in. I can't bring every Star Wars species into the story because there will be too many. Also, I need some ideas for new companions from the Star Wars race for Shepard's team. Bau will be a Salarian companion and I plan to bring in a Batarian Companion in a few chapters time. I am working on a chapter of Dragon X and Rise of the Divines so it may be some time before I update again but it will allow some new ideas to be suggested.