Kaidan scanned his report before saving it, and leaned back in his chair. He glanced over at the empty bunk above his. It still hadn't quite sunk in. A simple shakedown cruise and an easy covert pickup, and now Jenkins was dead.

He looked down at the report again. And he'd gotten to close to a Prothean beacon. The ship's XO, an N7 who had gotten his nickname by executing unarmed prisoners, was in the medical bay in who knew what kind of shape. The 'Butcher of Torfan'. Frankly, he wasn't sure how much trouble he was in at the moment. Angering a guy who scared the shit out of Batarians wasn't exactly a smart thing to do.

Might as well head down to the medical bay to see just how bad things were going to get.

#

His head was swimming. The sensation was more seasick than pleasant. Carefully, he opened his eyes, only to be rewarded with a vague blur. Michael blinked to clear it.

"Doctor? Doctor Chakwas? I think he's waking up." It took him a moment to recognize Alenko's voice. Slowly, the medical bay was coming into focus. He sat up. His head felt like it was about to fall off.

Doctor Chakwas walked into view. "You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?"

"Like the morning after shore leave." He rubbed his forehead. It was fading. "How long was I out?"

"About fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon, I think."

"It's my fault." He glanced over his shoulder to see Alenko looking like a man reporting to his own funeral. "I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached. You had to push me out of the way."

The memories were starting to return. "You had no way to know what would happen." Frankly, he still wasn't sure what had happened. Alenko gave him a nervous smile.

"Actually, we don't even know if that's what set it off." Dr. Chakwas moved so she could peer into his eyes. "Unfortunately, we'll never get the chance to find out."

Alenko walked over to join them. "The beacon exploded. A system overload, maybe. The blast knocked you cold. Williams and I had to carry you back here to the ship."

"Appreciate it." He nodded to Alenko.

"Physically, you're fine." Doctor Chakwas set her scanner down. "But I detected some unusual brain activity. Abnormal beta waves." She folded her arms. "I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming."

"I saw -" The images that had flashed had been nightmarish. Worse than usual, and certainly more alien. "I'm not sure what I saw. Death. Destruction. Nothing's really clear."

"Hmmm. I better add this to my report. It may -" She cut off at the sound of the door opening. "Oh, Captain Anderson."

"How's our XO holding up, Doctor?" Anderson walked up to where he was sitting on the hospital bed.

"All the readings look normal. I'd say the commander's going to be fine." Doctor Chakwas nodded.

"Glad to hear it. Shepard, I need to speak with you." Anderson looked around the sickbay. "In private."

"Aye, aye, Captain." Alenko saluted. "I'll be in the mess if you need me." Doctor Chakwas followed him out.

Anderson looked him over. "Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you're okay?"

"Might have finally found the one thing in the galaxy that hits harder than Admiral Hackett, sir." Michael stood up. The dizzy feeling had gone, and was slowly being replaced by anger. Jenkins had been killed down there. "I don't like soldiers dying under my command."

"Jenkins wasn't your fault." Anderson immediately shook his head. "You did a good job, Shepard."

In a good job, everyone made it home. He sighed, then frowned. "Did we leave Chief Williams back on Eden Prime?"

"I figured we could use a soldier like her. She's been reassigned to the Normandy." Anderson was watching him for a reaction.

The real question is what was a soldier like her doing someplace like Eden Prime? Williams could have kept up with Bai. "Williams is a good soldier. She deserves it."

"Lieutenant Alenko agrees with you. That's why I added her to our crew." Anderson nodded.

He looked down, then shook his head and clenched his fists. "Intel dropped the ball, sir. We had no idea what we were walking into down there. That's why things went to hell."

"The geth haven't been outside the Veil in two centuries, Commander." Anderson held up a hand. "Nobody could have predicted this."

Michael took a few deep breaths. They helped. A little. "You said you needed to see me in private, Captain?" He'd been sent to pick up a beacon, and had apparently ended up destroying the thing. And a council Spectre was dead. Somebody's ass was going to get chewed for this.

"I won't lie to you, Shepard." The captain dropped the formality. "Things look bad. The beacon was destroyed and geth are invading. The Council's going to want answers."

"The Council can kiss my ass." A geth invasion wasn't something even he could pull off. Probably. "I won't let them blame me for losing the beacon. I didn't do anything wrong."

"I'll stand behind you and your report, Shepard." Anderson nodded. "You're a damn hero in my books. That's not why I'm here. It's Saren, that other turian." Anderson turned around, and paced a few steps. "Saren's a Spectre, one of the best. A living legend. But if he's working with the geth, it means he's gone rogue. A rogue Spectre's trouble. Saren's dangerous. And he hates humans."

Well, this human was perfectly willing to hate him right back. "Why?"

"He thinks we're growing too fast, taking over the galaxy. A lot of aliens think that way. Most of them don't do anything about it." Anderson turned back towards him. "But Saren has allied himself with the geth. I don't know how. I don't know why. I only know it had something to do with that beacon." He frowned. "You were there just before the beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after?"

Nothing that didn't sound crazy. If it had been anyone other than Anderson asking, he might have denied it completely. But Anderson usually called him on the bullshit. "Just before I lost consciousness, I had some kind of vision."

"A vision? A vision of what?" Anderson started pacing again.

Michael leaned against the hospital bed. "I saw synthetics. Geth, maybe. Slaughtering people. Butchering them."

"We need to report this to the Council, Shepard."

He banged his fists into the sides of the hospital bed. "They'll think I'm crazy." And they might not be wrong.

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it." Anderson faced him, staring him in the eye. "But I know Saren. I know his reputation, his politics. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war." He approached, leaning on the hospital bed just a couple feet from Michael. "He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of geth at his command. And he won't stop until he's wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy."

Sounded like a problem he could solve with a good scope. Anderson might not care for wetwork, but it would solve the problem. "I'll find some way to take him down."

From the look on Anderson's face, he'd caught on to what Michael was thinking. He shook his head. "It's not that easy. He's a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That's why we need the Council on our side."

Michael sighed. After four years, Anderson was still trying to teach him diplomacy. The man really was an incorrigible optimist. "When have they ever done anything for humanity?"

"If we expose Saren as a traitor, the Council will revoke his Spectre status." Anderson tapped his fist against his palm. "I'll contact the ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He'll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel." He took a deep breath, then shrugged his formality back on. "We should be getting close. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us in to dock."

"Yes, sir."

#

Alenko was leaning on the wall next to the mess table. He looked up when Michael left the infirmary, and immediately straightened up. He still looked apprehensive. "Commander. I'm glad to see you're okay. Losing Jenkins was hard on the crew. And I'm glad we didn't lose you, too."

Michael nodded. Jenkins and Alenko had been friends. "Things were pretty rough down there."

"Yeah, you never get used to seeing dead civilians. Doesn't seem right, somehow." Alenko shook his head. "But at least you stopped Saren from wiping out the whole colony."

"I couldn't have done it without you." He'd only worked with a couple biotics, but they hadn't been able to manage half of what Alenko had been tossing around. And they'd followed orders for shit.

"We're marines. We stick together." Alenko gave a brief smile before his face fell again. "I'm just sorry we lost Jenkins."

"Yeah..." If he'd had any hint of the geth at all... He'd been watching for pirates and mines. Snipers, not drones. "I wish I could've done something to save him."

"I was there." Alenko nodded. "You did everything right. It was just bad luck." He sighed. "It's been a hell of a shakedown cruise. Our first mission ends with one Spectre killing another. The Citadel Council's not going to be happy about that. Probably use it to lever more concessions out of the Alliance."

He smirked. "You've got a good grasp of the situation." He looked Alenko over. "You a career man?"

"Yeah. A lot of biotics are." Alenko shrugged. "We're not restricted, but we sure don't go undocumented. May as well get a paycheck for it." He twitched a shoulder. "Besides, my father served. Made him proud when I enlisted. Eventually." He hesitated. "But is that why you're here? Because of your family?"

"I'm here because Admiral Hackett is a surprisingly fast runner." Michael saw a confused look in Alenko's eyes, and decided not to elaborate. The LT was just starting to lose the nervous look around the eyes.

Alenko looked around briefly, then lowered his voice a bit. "Word is we're headed for the Citadel, sir. Can you tell me why?"

He briefly considered just saying Alenko would find out soon enough. But the guy'd had his back and carried him out. That counted for a lot. "The captain hopes the Ambassador can get an audience with the Council. Tell them what Saren's been up to."

"Makes sense. They'd probably like to know he's not working for them anymore." Alenko straightened to a more military stance. "Whatever happens, we'll be ready, Commander."

Michael nodded before continuing on.

#

He watched Shepard head over to check on Chief Williams. Given the guy's reputation, he'd expected... Kaidan frowned to himself. To get yelled at, at the very least. Not for the guy to be actually nice about the whole thing. According to Jenkins, Shepard had at least one court martial for breaking the arm of an MP. Or had it been a superior officer? He'd have to ask... Damn. He needed to write a letter to Jenkins' family.

#

"I'm glad you're okay, Commander. The crew could use some good news after what happened to Jenkins." Chief Williams spoke up as soon as she saw him.

"Jenkins was a valuable part of this crew." He'd only talked to the kid a couple times. Eager and enthusiastic, the kind who'd make a good soldier. If they made it.

"Part of me feels guilty over what happened. If Jenkins was still alive, I might not be here."

Doubtful. Anderson didn't waste talent or skill. Which was probably the only reason he still had a job. "You're a good soldier, Williams. You belong on the Normandy."

Her smile was bright. "Thanks, Commander. I appreciate that."

"Things were pretty rough down there." She'd lost her whole squad. "Are you okay?"

"I've seen friends die before. Comes with being a marine. But to see my whole unit wiped out..." She looked down. "And you never get used to seeing dead civilians. But things would have been a lot worse if you hadn't shown up."

"We couldn't have done it without you, Williams."

She lifted her head. "Thanks, Commander. I have to admit, I was a little worried about being assigned to the Normandy. It's nice when someone makes you feel welcome."

He'd seen her in a fight. She was brave, tough, skilled, and just a tiny bit crazy. "I think you're going to fit in here just fine, Williams."

"Thanks, Commander."

#

Williams and Alenko came up to the cockpit as they headed into the Citadel. From the looks on their faces, he doubted either had ever been before. Not that he was overly familiar with the place. Last time had been when Anderson had loaned him back to Hackett for a run on a makeshift warlord out in Hawking Eta. Hackett hadn't let him out of his sight the whole time they were on the station. He'd claimed it was because he was worried Michael was going to steal the place. Michael had pointed out it would take a team of at least twenty. Somehow, learning he'd actually thought about it enough to have a rough plan hadn't reassured Hackett all that much. Besides, the last time he'd stolen a space station had been because Hackett had asked him to. Sort of.

Anderson ordered Williams and Alenko to join them as they left the Normandy and made their way to the embassies. Having to walk through C-Sec to get there made him a little nervous. Even out in space, a cop was a cop.

They arrived to find Ambassador Udina deep in argument with the council. "This is an outrage. The Council would step in if the geth attacked a turian colony."

The Salarian Councilor's voice held more than a small amount of condescension. "The turians don't found colonies on the borders of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador."

At least the Asari tried to sound soothing when she proved to be completely useless. "Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse."

Ambassador Udina lowered his head belligerently. "What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre. I demand action."

"You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador." The Turian councilor shook his head.

"Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren." The Asari councilor's voice was firm. "We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing. Not before." She reached forward to touch something out of sight, and the holographic representations of the councilors vanished.

Udina turned towards them. "Captain Anderson. I see you brought half your crew with you."

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime. In case you had questions."

"I have the mission reports." Irritation dripped from every one of Udina's words. "I assume they're accurate?"

"They are." Anderson nodded. "Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience."

"They were not happy about it. Saren's their top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason." Udina gave Anderson an accusatory look.

"I'm not going to sit on my ass just because the Council doesn't want to do anything." Michael could feel his blood starting to heat. Fucking politicians never changed. Let their own do what they want, and to hell with those who suffered for it. "If they won't stop Saren, I will."

"Settle down, Commander." Udina glared at him. "You've already done more than enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres." He shook his head. "The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove you could get the job done. Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed."

They couldn't be serious about the Spectre thing, could they? Anderson immediately stepped forward, holding up a hand. "That's Saren's fault, not his."

"Then we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations." Udina gestured sharply. "Otherwise the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres." Udina jerked his head. "Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing." He looked back at Michael. "Shepard - you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in." Udina walked away.

Anderson shot Michael a look before following. He knew that look. Behave yourself, try not to set anything on fire, and don't steal the silverware.

Williams watched Udina leave. "And that's why I hate politicians."

"Right." He smoothly pocketed an old-fashioned letter opener and headed out of the embassy.

#

The Council chambers were the usual overwrote political affair. Grudgingly and with a gun to his head, he might admit the trees were kind of pretty. Whole place smelled like cleaning solution. Two turians were arguing at the top of the stairs. One wore a C-Sec uniform. The one in civilian clothes didn't need the uniform.

"Saren's hiding something. Give me more time. Stall them." The one in uniform was all but shaking his fist.

"Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous." The other one, the boss one, shook his head. The mandibles clacked slightly. "Your investigation is over." He waved a hand as he walked away. Ah. That kind of cop. Great.

The uniform started to walk away, and noticed them coming up the stairs. "Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."

Best to figure out all the players. "Who were you just talking to?"

Vakarian sent a glare in the direction of the disappearing guy. "That was Executor Pallin, head of Citadel Security. My boss. He'll be presenting my findings on Saren to the Council."

That was fast. Clearly too fast. Hell, first time he'd been arrested, it had taken them two days to even figure out who he was. "Come across anything I should know about?

"Saren's a Spectre." Vakarian folded his arms. "Most of his activities are classified. I couldn't find anything solid." He shook his head angrily. "But I know he's up to something. Like you humans say, I feel it in my gut."

He was about to ask Vakarian some more questions when Alenko tapped his arm. "I think the Council's ready for us, Commander."

"Good luck, Shepard." Vakarian stepped aside to let them pass. "Maybe they'll listen to you."

And maybe the next planet they surveyed would have flying pigs.

#

Anderson was waiting for them. "The hearing's already started. Come on."

They followed him up the stairs. Michael felt a moment of annoyance when he realized Saren was only present in holographic form. Though at least now he had a vague idea of what the guy looked like. Pretty much just like every other turian he'd met. Udina was arguing with the councilors. And losing. Pretty much as expected.

The Council dismissed the dockworker's testimony. Might have been because the man was a smuggler, but he felt it was more likely it was because the guy was human. At least on the salarian's end. The turian seemed like he was simply backing his home team. It was a bit harder to get a read on the asari.

"I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre. And a friend." Saren's hologram glared down at them.

"That just let you catch him off guard."

"Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me." Saren unfolded his arms. "And this must be your protege, Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed."

Oh. Was it time for his line already? Maybe he should have read the script. It was growing clear that the Council had made up their minds before the hearing had started. "You're the one who destroyed the beacon. Then you tried to cover it up."

"Shift the blame to cover your own failures, just like Captain Anderson. He's taught you well." He was pretty sure the turian was smirking. "But what can you expect from a human?"

Michael clenched his fists. Anderson wasn't to blame for any of this shit. "You can expect me to kill you next time we meet."

"Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard. You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Spectres."

Udina immediately leapt back into the fray. "He has no right to say that. That's not his decision."

The asari councilor turned and looked up at Saren. "Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting."

Saren waved dismissively. "This meeting has no purpose. The humans are wasting your time, Councilor. And mine."

"You can't hide behind the Council forever." Michael might have said something else, but Anderson stepped forward.

"There is still one outstanding issue: Commander Shepard's vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon."

"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now? How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?"

"I agree." The turian councilor shifted his weight. "Our judgment must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation."

"Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?" The salarian councilor blinked his large eyes.

That tossing in a grenade and then going for beer would have done more good than attending the meeting? "You've made your decision. I won't waste my breath."

A couple small glanced were exchanged by the councilors, but they didn't bother to discuss anything. Which just proved his point. The asari councilor spoke. "The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied."

"I'm glad to see justice was served." Saren's hologram vanished.

"This meeting is adjourned."

#

Udina immediately began chewing them out. "It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain. You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives."

Anderson rolled his eyes, and turned towards Michael. "I know Saren. He's working with the geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race." He gestured. "Every colony we have is at risk. Every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn't safe."

"We need to deal with Saren ourselves." Finding out his location was going to be the hard part.

"As a Spectre, he's virtually untouchable. We need to find some way to expose him." Udina tapped his chin.

Alenko spoke up. "What about Garrus, that C-Sec investigator? We saw him arguing with the executor."

Williams nodded. "That's right. He was asking for more time to finish his report. Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren."

Worth a try. "Any idea where we could find him?"

"I have a contact in C-Sec who can help us track Garrus down. His name is Harken."

"Forget it." Anderson shook his head at Udina. "They suspended Harkin last month. Drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with that loser."

"You won't have to." Udina folded his arms and glared at Anderson. "I don't want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this."

Michael straightened. "You can't just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation."

"The ambassador's right." Anderson held up a hand. "I need to step aside."

"I need to take care of some business." Udina nodded. "Captain, meet me in my office later."

He brushed by Udina as the man walked away before turning his attention back to Anderson. Anderson sighed. "Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den. It's a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards."

"Maybe there's another way to find evidence against Saren." Playing cop wasn't exactly one of his specialties.

"You should talk to Barla Von. Over in the financial district. Rumor has it he's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"The Shadow Broker?" Williams raised an eyebrow.

"An information dealer. Buys and sells secrets to the highest bidder. I've heard Barla Von's one of the top representatives." Anderson clasped his hands behind his back. "He might know something about Saren. But his information won't come cheap."

"I should go." Michael nodded to Anderson. Anderson returned the nod, and Michael started heading out of the council chambers. He casually tossed Udina's cufflink into one of the fountains before heading to the transportation terminal.