The roar of gunfire filled the dark spaces and hot pink neon highlighting of Chora's Den. Armed figures at the bar and elsewhere poured fire into the space of the opened door.

Robert imagined Shepard would step back and let Lucy do the honors of getting in. Instead he watched, and felt, the energy gather around Shepard. In a flash of biotic power Shepard rocketed forward to slam into the bartender. The Human male's gun fell loose from the impact. Shepard brought the butt of her shotgun and slapped it into his face. The bartender screamed in tandem with the cracking sound of his nose being broken.

Lucy and Wrex went in next. Wrex's shotgun came out and barked. A merc went down. Lucy's blade of shining sapphire light came alive with an electronic snap and hiss. The lightsaber became a blur from the speed at which she was moving it, intercepting shots. Robert came up behind her and opened fire. Pulse shots struck a Turian merc several times in the chest, sending her down. Robert's next shot hit another Human male while Lucy, ready to use any opening she found, threw a bolt of invisible force that sent an enemy gunner flying into a wall.

A gunman came up from their left. A blast of blood and brain matter put an end to him. Robert felt a bit of appreciation at Garrus for his aim, even if he regretted the death. Kaidan fired a series of shots as well, sending another of the mercs back to cover.

Shepard was finished with the bartender. Next was a gunman standing on the platform above the bar area, on what looked to be a dancer stage. Shepard's arm flung out and biotic energy flew out. It struck the gunman directly. Instead of causing him to fall back, however, the force pulled him off the stage. He hit the ground in front of Shepard, who kicked him in the face and knocked him unconscious.

Again Wrex's shotgun roared, and again a merc fell. Kaidan and Garrus fired repeated pistol shots from the cover of one of the tables. Their suppressive fire forced another pair of the mercs into cover. Robert's shot, with his aim aided directly by his abilities and training, struck one of them, putting him down.

There was another burst of biotic power and light. Shepard was charging again, this time clearing the bar and slamming into one of the mercs moving out of cover. The impact threw her foe into the wall with enough force to knock him out. She pivoted on one foot and fired a shotgun blast point-blank into a second opponent, killing him instantly.

This bold attack might have exposed Shepard to too much danger, so far ahead of allies, but Lucy was quick to come to her aid. Her lightsaber cut right through the rifle of her first foe, then lopped the arms off a second to disarm them. Robert fired a shot that hit a remaining merc in the forehead. Lucy, freed from attack in that corner, turned and sent a wave of invisible force at the mercs still behind cover and exchanging shots with Garrus and Kaidan. They cried out in the second before they slammed into the wall. Robert tracked their movement and fired a couple of stun bolts that took them out of the fight as well.

For a moment it seemed the last merc was down. But now the door behind them opened again, and more armed men appeared. Everyone took cover from the resulting gunfire. "Fist must have called in every favor he has," Garrus called out. "He's going to run!"

Robert and Shepard shared a look. "Lucy, can you stay and help Alenko and Vakarian?" he asked her.

Lucy nodded. "Yeah. We'll keep them off your back."

"Good," said Shepard. She nodded to Wrex. "Let's go introduce ourselves to Fist."

The Destiny Ascension was a beautiful ship, Julia thought. The coloring reminded her a little of the Orsala, the religious caste-crewed Minbari War Cruiser she had visited briefly during the Tira crisis. But there was a utilitarian element to the Destiny Ascension's internal design that the religious Minbari lacked, a case of form with function instead of just one or the other that the Asari had worked to perfect in their designs.

Matriarch Lidanya's tour was not over-long. Her ship was much larger than the Aurora, and Julia knew from experience that a day-long tour wouldn't be enough to see everything of potential interest on her ship. The same applied here. Yet the lavender-complexioned Asari, with her face markings of brilliant pinkish-red, clearly had pride in her command. Given her ship was one of the largest and most advanced starships in the Multiverse, this pride was understandable. Indeed, the tour ran long enough that Julia and Meridina would be having another pilot fly their shuttle back while they beamed directly to the Presidium for necessary meetings involving Ambassador Atama.

"I hope you have enjoyed your tour, Captain, Commander," said Lidanya.

"It has been quite the experience, Matriarch," Meridina assured her. "We are grateful for the chance."

"If you have the opportunity, Matriarch, I would love to reciprocate," Julia added.

"I will get back to you on that." There was a warmth in the Asari's voice that made her sound closer to Julia's age, surprising since she was, from Julia's perspective and that of Julia's Earth, old enough that she could have traveled with Christopher Columbus or even Marco Polo. "In these past two years, my people have been blessed by the opportunities your Alliance has given us. Our maidens who once had only a galaxy to explore now range the Multiverse, and alien species we might not have imagined are now visiting Thessia."

"I would like to visit one day myself," said Julia. "Your homeworld has a reputation in the Alliance for beauty."

"We have worked hard to keep Thessia a garden for the benefit of the galaxy." Lidanya led them onto the control bridge, where other Asari officers in uniform were conducting standard operations. "Personally, I would love to visit Gersal and Doreia and Alakis. Or one of your Earths that has not been turned into a planet of mega-cities."

"Ah." Julia nodded. She'd seen images of M4P2 Earth, and how so much of the planet's surface was now marred by megacities to support a massive population not yet dispersing to the colonies. "A diplomatic tour of the Ascension would work wonders for relations, I would think."

"It is an idea," Lidanya agreed. She looked at them carefully. "My people have many varied opinions on matters, Captain, Commander. But for the most part, we always value diplomacy and good relations with other species. It is my personal fear that once the war with the Reich ends, the Allied Systems' relations with the Citadel will start to decline."

"I've worried about the same," Julia admitted.

"It is natural, I suppose," Lidanya lamented. "Your Alliance is too powerful to be admitted as an equal to the Council or to be held strictly to its decisions. Even more than the Terminus Systems or the Batarians, you are a potential threat to the Citadel's system of interstellar law and order. And that might make some people treat you as an actual threat when they shouldn't."

"The Alliance has enough space to expand to in other universes, so there is little prospect of tensions over regions of influence," opined Meridina. "But it would be foolish to overlook the simple fear that can arise from old certainties being swept away. This I can say from harsh experience."

Lidanya nodded. "The attack on your Senate last year. Yes."

"Matriarch, whatever the Council feels about the Alliance, what do your people feel about us?" Julia asked. "The Council was founded in part by the Asari, after all, and it embodies Asari principles of negotiation and collective security. I can see your people being afraid that the Alliance will undermine your creation."

"There are those who agree with the anti-Alliance faction among the Turians," Lidanya said. "But from the debates on the extranet, and the votes, I think it's clear most Asari are willing to give the Allied Systems the benefit of the doubt for right now. You've signed the Treaty of Farixen, after all, and worked with the Council on many issues."

"Hopefully that view will prevail among the Salarians and Turians as well."

After Meridina's remark Julia checked the time on her omnitool. "We'd better get over to the Presidium," she said. "Ambassador Atama is expecting us."

"The transporter room is this way," said Lidanya. "We adapted it from a secondary meeting room on this deck…"

The pair of mercs guarding the entrance to the rear storage areas were ready when Robert, Shepard, and Wrex came. It just didn't do them any good.

The three of them moved like a single mind even without the aid of Robert's ability to connect their minds. Wrex drew their fire and Shepard knocked them down with a biotic shockwave. Robert got both with shots from his pulse pistol before they could get back up.

They approached the door. Robert already sensed what was on the other side. "Don't shoot," he urged as soon as the door opened.

Wrex and Shepard still had their shotguns up, although they heeded his request.

There were armed beings on the other side. But they weren't fighters, not with the terror and fear Robert felt within them. They were the dancers, the waitresses, the workers. All had mass effect sidearms of some kind or another and, he suspected, most had little idea how to point them right. Only a few actually tried.

"Stop! Stop or we'll shoot!"

Robert felt hesitation in Wrex, but just hesitation. He'd pull the trigger soon if the guns didn't go down. It was Shepard who actually lowered her gun slightly. "We're not here to hurt you," she said. "We're here for Fist."

"Mister Fist is our boss, he gave us jobs we needed," a Human man answered. "We're not going to just let you hurt him."

"We're here to get questions answered, not hurt him," Shepard insisted. Robert sensed the skepticism in the others and was certain Shepard knew about it too. "Fist is just using you. He's willing to let you die if he can get away."

For a moment it seemed like one would protest, but he didn't. Robert could sense they were turning it over in their minds. Sure, he'd given some of them jobs, even let them earn extra on the side. But he wasn't out here, was he? He was in his office, putting stuff together to run.

That same consideration was on Robert's mind. They had to act now to catch him. He wondered about pressing his will against their will, mental manipulation as Meridina often did. He'd tried it a few times, even if he disliked the idea of violating minds…

"Listen, there's a firefight going on behind us," Shepard said. "So just stay here and stay down, I don't want any of you getting hurt."

"Wh-why should we trust you?" another asked.

"Because if we wanted to hurt you, you'd be dead already," Wrex remarked.

All eyes turned to the Krogan. Given the flicker of fear Robert felt, there was no doubt about how right he was. A moment later the weapons were all lowered.

"Thank you." With that simple response, Shepard moved through the parting workers. None dared to stop her. They didn't try Wrex either. Robert went through them with no issues, not even a hint of hostility. Relief seemed to be their primary emotion. Relief… and realization that Fist had intended for them to be his human shields.

They found the far door labeled "Office". A quick scan verified the life form within. He nodded to the others, who did a countdown before opening the door. They walked in without problems. Across the way from them was another door, still unopen, leading to rear access ways. To the left was the main office, with a section of wall hiding them for the moment from sight.

Normal sight, anyway.

Within moments all three were ready to turn the corner. Wrex started and immediately pulled back.

The gun turrets opened up a few moments later.

Julia entered Ambassador Atama's office, where Udina and Anderson were already seated at a table near Atama's desk. "Ambassadors. Captain."

"Come in, Captain," said the Dorei man. He gestured to another seat. "I am pleased you have made it. This way the report on our discussion will be more readily provided to the President."

"Oh?" Julia accepted the seat. "What is it?"

"The Geth attack and the prospect of a rogue Spectre directing them has ramifications for our security," Udina replied. "For starters, it is unlikely the Systems Alliance can provide the agreed upon units for your military's push on Earth in the S4W8 universe."

Julia didn't allow a frown to form on her face, but she knew her look was at least pensive. "That's going to require a lot of changes to our plans, I'm sure. While I'm not familiar with the particulars, Admiral Maran's made it clear we'll need every unit we can get if we want to take Earth before the Reich can recover."

"That's understandable, Captain, and we're not making this decision lightly, I assure you," said Udina. "But we have to care for our colonies too."

"There's no telling where Saren will attack next," Anderson said. "Or how. Millions of lives could be lost if the Geth hit a big colony like Elysium. Or even Earth itself…"

"Would the Geth have a fleet large enough to manage such an attack?" Even as Julia asked that question she realized the answer; nobody knew. The Geth were, to everyone else, one big unknown. Even the Quarians only had slight inklings of their capabilities. Given the centuries since the Morning War, the Geth could have built up quite the fleet with the resources of the solar systems beyond the Perseus Veil.

And since they don't require food or atmosphere or any kind of amenity that our ships have, even our most spartan ones… any ships they do have will be enormously capable.

That somber calculation was still in Julia's mind when the tones came over the omnitools of the two Ambassadors. Each excused themselves and walked away.

"I wish I could have been there," Anderson said.

"Hrm?"

"At Epsilon Indi. Or any of the other battles that supported Maran's main effort," said Anderson. "I heard Sixth Fleet was involved…"

"Yes. At Epsilon Eridani, fighting alongside our Eighth Fleet and the League of Democratic Worlds' Second Fleet. It was one of the larger flank battles, from what Arik - Captain Shaham on the Enterprise - said. Your ships helped them hold the system."

"And now we'll have to pull them out to deal with Saren." Anderson smacked his fist on the table. "Damn. And when we're so close to taking Earth."

Julia had no reply to that, given how right he was. Saren's timing was horrendous, not that he cared she was sure. "He struck me as reflexively anti-Human during his brief visit to the Aurora last year," she noted.

"He despises us," Anderson said. "He's always been upset that the Council stepped in and restrained the Turian military after Shanxi. He thinks we should have been reduced to a protectorate of the Hierarchy."

Julia considered asking about Shanxi, the site of the First Contact War between Humanity and the Turian Hierarchy, but she was prevented by the return of the Ambassadors. "I suppose we each got the same message?" Udina asked Atama.

Atama frowned and nodded. "Yes. This will be quite difficult for our efforts."

"What?"

Udina looked to her and Anderson. "Captain Dale and Commander Shepard have been identified as part of a firefight currently happening in the Wards, at a bar called Chora's Den. Now we have to run interference with C-Sec until we find out what's going on."

"I'm certain the Commander has good reason for whatever she's doing."

"If she and Robert are both involved, this may be linked to the Saren investigation," Julia pointed out.

"And for their sakes, I hope it is," Udina said. "And I hope they get us the smoking gun we need. Otherwise they may be the ones who end up in a cell instead of Saren."

The turret fire was quickly joined by a barking gun. Robert was able to glance just long enough to see the man huddled at the desk behind cover. He pulled back before one of the turrets opened up again. Sparks flew from where the sand grain-sized rounds, propelled by mass effect fields to deadly velocities, were striking and slowly decaying the material.

"Do you think your abilities can handle the turrets for us?" asked Shepard.

"I can try," he offered. "Give me a moment." When he saw Shepard nod, Robert lowered himself to one knee and concentrated. He reached within himself and felt out for the turrets. He could sense them, bits of metal and ceramics, and worked on getting them to turn.

Using these powers was, as always, reliant on a tricky frame of mind. He had to think of it happening, imagine it, but not force it in his mind. His will, connected to the universe, was causing it, but not so much from active thought and willpower as it was a general sense that this is what is happening. The turrets were twisting. There was no doubt that this is what they should be doing, there could be no doubt, for doubting it was happening meant it would not. The connection required certainty.

The weapons fire changed direction as the turrets turned away from the entranceway to the office. A cry of frustration and surprise came from the desk. Fist was frantically trying to take control of his guns back.

Shepard and Wrex sprung into action. Wrex went for the turrets. His shotgun boomed repeatedly from his shots, each a direct hit on the guns until they broke down from the damage. Shepard, meanwhile, threw a bolt of biotic force that blew Fist into the air and toward them. He let out a curse as he hit the ground. Shepard and Wrex covered him with their firearms immediately. Shepard kicked his gun away from his hand. "Alright, Fist," she said, "start talking."

"I got nothin' to say to you," he insisted.

Robert followed them into the office. It was furnished, certainly, but dark and very impersonal. "Where's the Quarian?" he asked. "The one you're betraying to Saren?"

"I pay good protection," the man protested. "When C-Sec gets here…"

"When C-Sec gets here, they'll find a fellow officer pinned down and under fire," Sheppard finished for him. "So I wouldn't count on whoever you've been bribing to help. Especially when everyone's finding out you turned on the Shadow Broker."

"Let me kill him," said Wrex. "He's not going to cooperate anyway."

Fist's face went white. Robert sensed his terror and said, "Cooperate and you live."

For a moment Fist was weighing his options. Robert sensed the calculation of whether or not he could evade any reprisal by Saren, the need to run, losing everything he'd built in his years on the Citadel, versus the certainty of the very big shotgun in Wrex's hands. Finally he sighed. "She wanted a personal meeting with the Shadow Broker."

"That doesn't happen," Wrex said. "The Broker doesn't do personal meetings."

"She doesn't know that. I told her I'd set it up. But Saren's men will be the ones she runs into." Fist activated his omnitool and tapped several keys. "Here. These are the coordinates. The meet's going down in a few minutes."

Robert and Shepard received the coordinates from Fist through their omnitools. "That's not far from here," Shepard said. "It's the back alley connecting to the lift to the Presidium. If we hurry we can make it."

"Is he telling the truth?" asked Wrex.

Robert nodded. "He is. I can sense it."

"Good."

The moment Wrex said that word Robert sensed his intent and cursed himself for not paying more attention to the Krogan. He raised a hand toward Wrex to intervene, but before he could act Wrex's shotgun thundered. Fist's head exploded in a mess of blood and gray matter that splattered the back wall.

Robert's other hand shot up. His pulse pistol now pointed at Wrex's head. Wrex, in turn, swiveled toward him with his shotgun ready. "I told you I'd kill him," said the Krogan.

"That was unnecessary!" Robert shouted. "You didn't have to!"

"The galaxy's a better place without him." Wrex's red eyes met Robert's without flinching. "I fulfill my contracts, Human."

"You didn't on Tira," Robert retorted.

"The Shadow Broker didn't ask me to stand back and watch infants being murdered. He's not that stupid."

"Both of you, stand down!" Shepard shouted, standing between them. It was her eyes, blazing emeralds that seemed to come straight from Robert's visions, that now locked on his own. "Captain, we don't have time for this. That Quarian's going to get killed if we don't move."

There was no arguing the point. Robert knew she was right. He lowered his weapon, but the frown didn't leave his face. "Right," he agreed. "I'm following your lead, Commander."

"Still with you, Commander," Wrex said. "I'm seeing this through to the end."

Shepard led them out of the office and back to the bar. The sound of gunfire had them ready for a fight. This proved premature when it ended just as they emerged. Lucy's lightsaber buzzed in the air from where she was holding it on a merc clutching the stump of his lost arm with his surviving hand. Nearby Garrus and Kaidan were standing from cover. "How did it go?" Kaidan asked.

"The Quarian's in danger," said Shepard. "We've got to keep going."

"Go on ahead, all of you," said Garrus. "C-Sec should be here soon. I'll handle them."

He was answered with a nod. The five ran on into the Ward.

The sight of the Citadel's great wards dominated the dock terminal window. The officers of the Koenig command crew stared out at the sight, the glistening jewels of lights from the high rise structures of the Wards and the large ships. The Aurora was plainly visible, as was the Destiny Ascension, both representing differing, but elegant, starship aesthetics. Will marveled at the difference from the more utilitarian designs of the Colonies of Kobol.

"I'm glad we got to visit this time," said Apley. "It's quite a sight."

"Yeah." Magda leaned against the railing. Beyond was open space between the deck and the window, with more docking terminals below. The edge of a Turian transport docked to the Citadel was visible just outside and below them. "A good way to make up for the leave time we lost. I can't believe we missed the parade this year."

"I wish I could have seen it," said Will. The Koenig had been detached from the Aurora the night before the New Liberty Colony's 5th Anniversary Parade, her presence needed with the allied fleet in the attack on the Reich colony Gottschee-of-the-Stars, a preliminary to Maran's main attack at Epsilon Indi and the various supporting actions.

"They were using a Koenig float this year," remarked Lt. Karen Derbely, the Chief Engineer. "And we didn't even get to sit on it. So unfair."

"Well, there's always next year," Apley pointed out.

Will nodded. He wondered if he would even be on the Koenig the following year. If Commander Carrey ever returned to active duty, Admiral Maran would probably be predisposed to returning him to his command. And Will, honestly, could not fault him for wanting to be back, as much as he enjoyed the honor of sitting in Carrey's chair.

"Gottschee was quite a fight," Apley said. He looked to Will. "And for your first in command, pretty epic."

"Yes it was," Will agreed. "I thank the Lords we came through it okay. What would they have said about me if the Koenig was lost in my first combat mission as her CO?" He smiled thinly. "'Over-his-head Colonial officer gets original Facility ship destroyed in first battle'."

"There wasn't a chance of that, Will," Magda insisted. "I know Zack left big shoes to fill, but he was a rookie starting out too."

"Actually, as blasphemous as it is to say it, you're better than he was starting out," Apley remarked.

"True," Sherlily added.

"Blasphemy!" Magda shrieked playfully. "I can't believe you're saying that!" Even as she spoke, Will's cheeks turned red.

"Sad but true," Derbely agreed. "Of course, you Facility types don't want to hear it, but you were pretty rough starting out. Why else do you think Command assigned us to the Koenig?"

Magda glowered toward her, still playful in her look… but perhaps not quite as much as before. "Hopefully I'll improve just as Commander Carrey did," Will said, recognizing that some old delicate feelings were being prodded. "Whatever his skills starting out, he's become a legend in the attacker community for a reason."

"Well, unless you're one of the really hardass types," Sherlily noted. "Some of them still see him as an amateur. You hear instead about Imra on the Heerman, Tasker on the Upholder…"

"To hell with those elitist jerks," grumbled Derbely. "We can outfly them all!"

"That we can," Will agreed, smiling, and thankful yet again for the opportunity this command provided him. He thought briefly on what might come in his future, if there would be other commands, bigger ones. If he might one day command a Battlestar or an equivalent in the Alliance fleet.

One day, perhaps. But for now, he was commanding the Koenig, and that was more than enough for him.

The five ran as quickly as they could through the dim halls of the internal sections of the Ward. The light around them turned red as they approached the back alley Fist had identified. Robert sensed the life forms ahead. Fist hadn't betrayed them. It made Urdnot Wrex's execution of the man all the more galling.

But that was for later concerns. Right now, they had to save the Quarian. Robert recognized the style of environmental suit as he and Shepard finished ascending a walkway, giving them a direct view of several figures in combat suits watching the Quarian. One approached her.

"Where's the Shadow Broker?" the Quarian asked, her voice possessing an electronic timbre from her suit. Despite said timbre, or perhaps because of it, Robert found he recognized the voice.

"Where's the data?" asked the assassin.

Before the Quarian could reply, Robert called out to her by the name he remembered. "Tali'Zorah, look out! It's a trap!" It was an instinctive reaction, a need to warn her before Saren's men could get closer to her.

Of course, this led to guns being pulled. Lucy and Shepard leveled looks of some irritation at Robert.

It was the only reaction they had time to give before the blast filled the alley.