'Good going Echo, lets scar a poor girl for life and reduce the amount of trust she will ever have in you to zero' glancing over at Shepard and co. it's easy to see how angry each of them are, well all except Wrex but he doesn't count. By count there are two assault rifles, one pistol, one shotgun and one sniper rifle pointed directly at my head. But in this situation I had to create a scenario where I held a bargaining chip, when I previously focused to look for any possible survivors or perhaps just someone who was spying I caught something. I felt five different forms of presence and that just couldn't be right, Wrex is a Krogan that is one presence, Tali is a Quarian and that makes two, with Garrus we got three and then there is Ashley, Kaidan and Shepard whom is human, that is four different species meaning I should be feeling four forms of presence, closing my eyes once more I bring all my focus on the last presence. My eyes shoot open and I almost stumble backwards, when I focused on the last presence it manifested itself in my mind as a giant pillar of light, the only problem? That pillar of light was standing directly on top of Shepard meaning that somehow Shepard isn't completely human. Staring at her I try to find anything that would be pointing to a non-human origin or alteration but I see nothing.

"I won't ask again, lower that weapon!"

Looking over the rest I can see that all of them are ready to shoot but as my eyes land on Garrus I can clearly see it on him "confusion", poor guy is probably wondering why I would even attempt something like this after saving a counselor.

"My apologies Commander Shepard, but that will certainly not be happening. Your own weapons however would do much more for this conversation if they were placed on your backs, if one bullet gets fired then this Quarian will no longer have a head and you will lose your chance to get Saren"

Glancing over at Tali I can see she is trying to move away from the blade ever so slowly, I press the blade a little closer to her neck.

"Not the best of ideas Tali, your suit is especially weak around the neck"

She stopped moving instantly, I feel terrible for doing this but there is no helping it. A small sound inside my helmet alerts me that a call is incoming 'Who the hell…?' answering the call I notice some movement in the corner of my vision, Garrus mouth is moving.

"What the hell are you doing?!"

He is whispering so the others won't hear him, but given that Shepard is looking ready to kill me I don't think he has to be worried about that. I turn off the sound from my helmet before answering.

"Garrus listen closely" I see his eyes open as he looks straight at me before nodding "Good, one I am done talking I am going to start talking to Shepard, once I mention you jump into the conversation and follow my lead"

Garrus nods before setting his eye back down to his scope. Glancing over Shepard and the crew one more time I take in everyone's positions, should it come down to a firefight I can take them down with relative ease as long as I don't go for Wrex.

"It seems we find ourselves in a bit of a stand still Commander. What do you say to putting down our weapons and talking this over like rational individuals?"

The surprise in Shepards face is evident; she looks to be contemplating my idea when Ashley decides to voice her opinion that it is a bad idea.

"Don't trust him Commander, I know his type they won't lay down their weapons unless it's to grab a knife and stab you in the back"

I feel a small tick in the back of my mind 'How many decades has it been since the last time I felt annoyed?' glancing at Shepard I can see that she is ready to order them to fire rather then put down their weapons, so I act first. I remove my blade from Tali's throat and twirl it around two times before putting it back in its scabbard and looking over at Ashley.

"There we go Miss Williams; I have put away my weapon."

The look on her face is priceless. Not two seconds later did Tali bolt over to Shepard and ran behind the group for protection. When Shepard had ensured that Tali were okay and that I hadn't accidently ruptured her suit 'Like I would make a mistake like that…', as she turned around towards me and put her weapon away she took a few steps towards me.

"Let's try this one more time. Who are you and why did you "Save" the Quarian?"

I took a few steps forward to meet her and put my hand forward for her to shake, she simply looks at it before staring at my face with a look that practically yells "are you stupid?"

"I can assure you Commander that I wish for nothing more but to shake your hand, and I will answer none of your questions until you manage a proper greeting"

She looked deeply offended that I would even dare to request that hand shake, but she grabs my hand and shakes it twice before letting go and crossing her arms over her chest.

"Now answer my question"

"I saved the Quarian because she has information I need. I held her hostage because I would not risk you getting the information first and potentially getting to Saren before me" Shepard raised her eyebrow before waving her hand outwards in a "and…?" gesture. "And you can call me Echo if you need to call me anything"

Nodding at me she actually breaks the smallest of smiles, but it disappears as soon as it arrived.

"What do you want with Saren?"

"I am sorry Commander, but I do not trust you enough to disclose that information"

I almost glared at Garrus from the inside of my helmet once I finished that sentence, hoping that he would get my drift. He perked up after a few seconds and put his sniper away before stepping down next to Shepard.

"Would you trust me with that information Echo?"

I was smiling inside my helmet, it seems Garrus understood what I wanted from him but Shepard on the other hand looked confused beyond all measure.

"You know him Garrus?"

I let out a low chuckle that thanks to the filter in the helmet sounded more like an evil maniac's chuckle rather than a sincere one.

"Mr. Vakarian and I" Garrus sent a glare my way for using his last name again "My apologies, Garrus and I worked together some months ago when the Turian councilor was kidnapped"

This made Garrus smile and give me an appreciative nod for using his name, but it sent Shepard into an even more confused state as she looked back and forth between me and Garrus, trying to figure out which one of us to ask the next question.

"Can we trust him?"

The question apparently ended up with Garrus.

"Just don't let him out of your sight Shepard, besides that I wouldn't mind having him watch my back"

"And since Garrus here seems to trust you Commander I shall as well. I am after Saren Arterius due to his recent attack on Eden Prime, if I am correct that is also your reason for chasing him?"

Shepard nodded but her stern gaze never left me.

"What is your interest in the attack on Eden Prime? You are not Alliance and my best guess would be that you aren't human either"

Garrus looked at me with a questioning gaze; I had told him back then that I wished for that fact to be kept secret between us.

"I have no actual interest in the attack on the colony itself" this drew a killing glare from Ashley "I only have interest in the ship he attacked with"

Shepard seemed to turn the information for a few seconds before nodding silently to herself.

"Wait here, I need to make a call"

She stepped away and left me with Garrus

"What is your angle on this Echo?"

Knowing the others were out of earshot I disabled my distorter.

"I can't tell you everything yet Garrus, but for now just know that there is something much bigger than Saren out there and I need Shepards help to fight it"

Garrus nodded solemnly before turning to his side where a shaking Tali was making her way towards us, I enabled my distorter as she got within hearing range.

"I don't know whatever to thank you for saving me or shoot you for holding me hostage"

I must admit that caught me a bit by surprise, I had expected her to react quite a bit differently than that but first things first. Sitting down in Seiza I bowed deeply in front of Tali.

"I must offer my deepest apologies Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, what I did was without honor but I couldn't risk the information you have slipping from my grasp"

If I was able to see Tali's face I am quite sure it would be one of surprise, Garrus certainly looked surprised. Shepard chose this time to return to us and she looked as confused as everyone else. Tali knelt in front of me and put a hand on my shoulder, I could hear the smile in her voice.

"You would never have killed me, would you?"

I shook my head

"No, I will not kill innocent people and certainly not someone so young"

"You knew this all along Garrus?"

Shepard had turned towards Garrus and was giving him a very familiar stare, that stare appears in the games a few too many times and now Garrus is facing it for the first time. He started scratching the back of his head and tried to look everywhere else but at Shepard.

"Well… perhaps? After all he did let a C-Sec officer go despite that meaning he lost his bargaining chip, so I figured he was doing it again?"

Shepard grunted once and nodded before turning her glare on me, now had I not lived for over three hundred years I think I might actually have taken a step back when she looked at me.

"I called some of the higher ups, they want to meet you and hear any information you have on Saren's ship"

"I see… where are we meeting Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson?"

Shepard looked ready to pull her gun on me once more when I said that, 'I wonder for how long I can keep this up before I have to tell her everything, or get myself shot' I stood for a few seconds waiting for Shepard to decide what to do, I grew bored of waiting.

"Your higher ups can only be so many people Shepard, in terms of Military it is most likely a Captain or an Admiral and since the attack was on a colony and you are here to seek assistance from the council that makes it a political matter as well, thus we have the resident idiot also called Ambassador Udina. As for how I knew it was Anderson? You flew in on the Normandy which is currently under the command of Captain Anderson"

As the words leave my mouth it clicks in my brain, this is a game… or at least it used to be one. Here I am standing alongside a group of individuals that I once looked at through a screen and nothing more, and the events that are going to take place are all inside my mind. I could list of each and every one of these individuals in front of me and give you a full rundown of who they are, yet I can't be sure that that is truly who they are anymore. A wave of what best be described as a mix of nausea and extreme anger washes over my entire being, in a span of perhaps five seconds I have gone from wishing my stomach was no longer a part of my body to wanting to kill the next person who even looks at me funny. I take a few quick glances around the group once more, Wrex is looking bored as all hell and seems more like he wishes to be asleep then standing around here, Ashley looks pissed which is likely from my comment about not caring about the attack on the colony, Kaidan is tapping away at his omni-tool probably trying to find some information about either me or something related to Saren, both Garrus and Tali is talking with Shepard about something. Leaning my head back I retreat into my head to think things over, this is something I have taken up in the past few years; call it a coping mechanism for killing thousands of people.

'After three hundred years I have moved on to somewhere new… now I stand in a dirty alley with six living legends, how would I not have reacted all those years ago had I come here first? I can almost see myself stepping out into the world of Mass Effect green as grass and with no sense of purpose. I would have been dead within the day'

I couldn't tell whatever I had been standing there for five minutes or five hours, once I go into my head I lose almost all perception of time and often I would rely on someone close by to wake me back up, this time around that wake up consisted of Shepard first snapping her fingers in front of my face, which did wake me up mind you, and following since I didn't react she thought it feasible to try and wake me with a punch. I must admit I did look over her when she moved into the punch, she has a solid stance and good form, had I been just about any other person that punch would surely have connected simply due to the speed and precision that the strike held, however when the punch came close enough I simply lifted my arm and moved the incoming fist away with my forearm sending Shepard tumbling behind me.

"Firm stance and good form Shepard but next time, do check that I am awake before you attempt to strike me"

I could hear Wrex's roaring laughter coming from behind us, but at the same time the unmistakable sound of two weapons being drawn were also present, I'll give you two guesses two whom drew their weapons. I didn't even bother to turn around to look at the two paranoid humans, rather I just extended my hand to Shepard to help her back up, I was slightly surprised when she reached over and grabbed it without restraint.

"Well… you didn't react when we spoke to you, so I figured I needed to do something to wake you"

"Indeed? Perhaps next time you could try tapping my shoulder instead?"

She gave me a grin while nodding thanks for the helping hand.

"Where is the fun in that?"

I had to shake my head at that, never before have I met someone like that even the most unserious tricksters among the Tenno wouldn't dare to attempt punching someone awake.

"Well in the future I would appreciate that your "fun" came in a different form then attempting to strike me"

Shepard gave a low chuckle and patted me a few times on the shoulder.

"I'll think about it. Now let's get going Udina isn't known for his patience"

As everyone fell in behind Shepard I decide to walk up next to Garrus, for some company if for nothing else. The walk from the wards to the presidium is a somewhat short one, however from our location in the wards to the embassies without shuttle? Pretty long. It's funny how a rather long walk can give you time to look at things you didn't bother seeing before, for myself that meant I was now finally witnessing the Citadel rather than simply moving around in it. I see families mostly everywhere we go, parents whom are happily walking with their children whom a smiling and laughing while simply being alive… a shame it will all come crashing down in a few months. I felt someone grab my shoulder and when I turned it was Garrus, he was purposely slowing us down so we came out of earshot of the others.

"You were right" I turned my head towards his and looked at him "About the Blue Suns, something didn't add up"

"I see… go on"

I saw Garrus hands tighten and even heard a small snarl coming from him

"They weren't Blue Suns"

This time it was me who stopped us, I had to be a hundred percent sure that the others couldn't hear us.

"Elaborate"

We started walking again but our pace was so slow that we only barely held up with the rest.

"When we looked through the warehouse we found nothing but when I duck a little deeper I found something, a salarian weapons and armor manufacturer down in the wards called Treck was commissioned for twenty-five pieces of armor bearing Blue Suns colors. Get this, he was paid the entire amount on an untraceable credit chit and the person who paid him was a human"

I feel into silence as we walked, something didn't seem right about this. 'Why go through all the trouble to kidnap a counselor and then take him to what was a relatively unsecure warehouse?' we kept walking while I kept pondering and the Embassies were getting closer by the minute.

"What about the kidnapping itself? How was that done?"

"That's the thing that took us by surprise" My eyebrows went up at this, I figured an abduction wasn't a terribly rare sight on the Citadel "It was too perfect they were in and out in thirty seconds, five people and all five are human is our best guess, utilizing every blind spot the camera's had and the guards were knocked out within seconds of spotting the attackers, no one had time to react before the councilor was already in the shuttle and on his way to that warehouse"

'Thirty seconds? That requires training and planning on a level that the Blue Suns definitely doesn't have' I didn't have any trouble figuring out that someone else was behind it, but what was nagging me was the fact that the first part of the plan, the abduction, was so perfectly executed yet the confinement and subsequent securing of the councilor was a piss poor job at best in contrast to the first part… something was very off about this.

"A setup…" suddenly a light went up in my mind as the idea started planting, Garrus was also looking at me with a questioning look begging me to elaborate "It was made to look like the Blue Suns, but why would anyone want to blame the Blue Suns for this? I can't see anyone profiting from it"

Garrus mouth opened and closed a few times like he wanted to say something but whatever it was it kept dying at his tongue, I couldn't exactly say much afterwards either my mind was already working on figuring out why the hell you would want to set up the Suns for this it just didn't make sense and it hate when things doesn't make sense! Suddenly I was stopped in my tracks when a turian arm stopped my pace abruptly

"…the twenty guys in the warehouse"

Did he figure something out?

"What about them?"

"The abduction was perfect, but the holding of him was sloppy at best…"

"I am aware, what does this have to do with the twenty guys in the warehouse?"

"But that is it Echo! There was only twenty guys in the warehouse and there was twenty-five armors commissioned, what about the five that took the councilor!?"

Suddenly it all fell into place inside my head 'Twenty-five pieces of armor… five for the trained ones… twenty for the cannon fodder…' I looked over at Garrus and apparently we had the same thought.

"Diversion!"

"The twenty guys in the warehouse was only there to allow the remaining five to get away undetected!"

I nodded my agreement, but there was something else.

"But why would they leave behind twenty of their people just to let five escape?"

Garrus seemed to be mulling it over, I looked up and the embassies were now clearly visible not too much longer before we would arrive.

"…Because they weren't their men"

"You think they hired them?"

"It makes sense doesn't it? I mean if they wanted a proper diversion to escape with I don't think they would have too much trouble with finding twenty willing people to guard one person, but that still leaves us with why they would do that and why that one person had to be the councilor"

I let it roam inside my mind for a few seconds before the answer almost sprang at me, it was just like those bad heist movies and the like that I watched back on earth all those years ago…

"C-Sec response time… They were testing how quickly you could mobilize"

Garrus face lit up in surprise and horror, he looked directly where he believed my eyes were and I could almost see the anger in his eyes

"Testing for something bigger?"

"Possibly… contact Pallin and get on this, I need to have a word with Shepard this could get out of hand quickly"

Garrus nodded and started making the call while I sped up and headed towards Shepard, it didn't take more than a few seconds to catch up due to my excessive training, as I reached Shepard I grabbed her shoulder and stopped us all right outside the embassy building.

"Shepard, we have a problem"

Her eyes shot open immediately and gave me gesture to go on.

"Garrus and I just held a longer conversation regarding the kidnapping of the councilor a few months ago, some information was revealed for both of us and we now believe that kidnapping was only practice for something bigger. I plan on brining this forward to the council at next given chance"

Shepard seemed to mull things over for a few seconds before nodding to herself.

"We are likely going to present the evidence from Tali as soon as we are done with Udina, you could present it there afterwards"

I nodded and Shepard turned and walked through the door, I waited next to it until Garrus reached me once again he was apparently done with is call.

"C-Sec is on it he is going to push for an audience with the council, but he doesn't wish to rush it as to not incite panic"

"Good. Shepard just told me that we are going to be presenting the evidence from Tali after we dealt with Udina, once that has been done I will present our findings so I need you there to back up the story"

Garrus nodded and we both walked inside the embassy and up towards Udina's office, how I rue my severe lack of patience…

As Garrus and I approached the office of Udina I could already hear the beginning of his rant.

"…Chora's Den? Do you know how many" At this point Garrus and I walked into his office and this seemed to trigger Udina's sight since he apparently noticed the rest of us present in the room with him "What is this Shepard, a Quarian, Turian, Krogan and I don't know what to call that thing there next to the turian. You better have a damn good reason for this Shepard!"

If Shepard actually had a good reason for this then I didn't let her voice it, Udina had barely finished speaking before I had placed my hand around his throat and lifted the poor excuse for a human off the ground, I didn't even bother hiding the contempt in my voice

"Ambassador Udina in my long life I have met only a select few individuals who can anger me merely by speaking, you have now gotten yourself onto that very short list and you are also currently the only living person still on it so choose your following words carefully"

I released my grip around Udina's throat and let him fall flat on his ass, when I turned I once more found weapons pointed in my general direction, though this time it was only Ashley and Kaidan who had drawn their weapons the others didn't seem to mind my actions, hell Shepard was sporting the smallest of smiles. When Udina finally got his ass of the ground Shepard stepped in front of me and pushed me back towards Garrus as she started to speak.

"Why I am here Udina? Well I am here to make your day" Shepard turned and gestured for Tali to come over and stand beside her "She has information linking Saren to the Geth"

The look on Udina's face couldn't be described as skeptical; he looked like he had been told a lie so big that it could have trouble fitting in the Citadel.

"Really? Maybe you better start at the beginning miss…?"

Tali seemed a little insulted at his tone, too bad she isn't going to shoot him for it…

"My name is Tali, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya"

"We don't see many qurians here, why did you leave the flotilla?"

"I was on my pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood"

"What does this pilgrimage entail?"

'Oh we are not doing this…'

"The Quarian Pilgrimage is in simple terms when a Quarian leaves the flotilla and search the galaxy for something to bring back as pilgrimage gift and thus get accepted onto a ship in the flotilla and is thus considered an adult"

Almost everyone turned towards me, some with questioning looks in their eyes while others seemed more interested in the fact that I knew something like that.

"You know about our pilgrimage?"

"I do, let's leave it at that"

Tali gave me a nod but I have a feeling she is going to be approaching me in the future to learn more. Eventually we got around to listening to the recording Tali managed to scavenge.

"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the conduit. And one step closer to the return of the reapers"

"Reapers…"

"Who the hell are the Reapers?"

I glanced over at Shepard and I felt angry for once, almost furious when I thought of the Reapers I truly feel hatred for this monstrosity that the Leviathans decided to create, after three hundred years you come to despise beings like that, the ones that think they can play god…

"The Reapers is a hyper advanced machine race which was last seen in our galaxy fifty thousand years ago, when they hunted the Protheans to extinction"

As the words left my mouth I started walking towards the door, I have no intentions of staying here for another minute. When the door opened Shepard apparently came out of whatever daze she was in.

"Hey! Where do you think you are going?"

"I will be right outside the door Shepard"

I didn't stick around for her reply I simply walked outside and stood next to the door and waited for them to finish and head towards the Citadel Tower. 'Reapers… I hope I can control myself when we come around to showing it to the council…' a few minutes went by before the door opened and Udina and Anderson stepped out and started heading off, presumably to go prepare the council. When Shepard came out she stopped and turned towards me a small smile still on her lips.

"Care to explain why you left?"

"I didn't wish to listen to Udina for a minute longer"

"I gathered as much after you almost chocked him to death, nice threat by the way"

I glanced at Shepard from inside my helmet, she is apparently under the illusion that that was a casual threat and not a solemn promise that I would happily fulfill.

"That was no threat, had he once more spoken against other races I would have killed him"

Shepard's eyes practically flew open before she started laughing, when I didn't return her laugh or in any way show that I was only joking her expression returned to a hardened and angry one.

"As much as I would enjoy seeing Udina get what he deserves, we need him"

I simply shrugged and nodded in the direction of the exit, as Shepard started to walk away we all fell in behind her once more, that is at least until we reached the elevator where we stopped so Shepard could address us all.

"Right… Kaidan and Echo I want you two to come with me to the council, Ashley can you show the rest team back to the Normandy?"

Ashley saluted and gave the usual "Yes Ma'am" before they got a chance to head off however I spoke up.

"Garrus is coming with us Shepard, when I have to present my case I need Garrus there to back it up"

Shepard nodded an okay and then the rest of the team was on their way to the Normandy. The remaining four of us jumped in a shuttle and sped towards the citadel tower.

Inside the shuttle there was what could best be described as a loud silence as it was clear all three of them had a few questions they would like to get off their chest…

"Ask your questions, just don't expect an answer"

Three sets of eyes fell on me and clearly they were happy that I had been the one to break the ice, which meant that they didn't have to risk anything by asking me after all.

"How old are you? You said to Udina that "in your long life" so you are getting up in the years?"

Of course it is Kaidan who asks about age of all people… might as well get this over with quickly.

"I turned 354 a couple of months ago by my calculations"

You could have heard a pin drop inside the shuttle when I said my age and unsurprisingly all three passengers reacted differently, Kaidan went completely silent and just looked at me like I was some freak, Shepard looked deep in thought as well as scanning me up and down with her eyes, Garrus however had a more predictable reaction

"How the hell can you look like you do and be 354?! You said you were human, I know you guys don't turn more than a 150 these days and when you do you sure as hell don't like you do!"

"Wait you've seen him without his helmet?"

"Yeah!"

Shepard and Garrus went off on a tangent while Kaidan still seemed to be coping with my age, I merely leaned back in my seat with a small smile playing on my lips, it had been quite a few years since I tricked someone into changing the subject. It held its own brand of humor to listen to Garrus and Shepard discuss my looks or rather lack of said discussion, Garrus kept refusing to say what I looked like claiming that I had wished for it to stay a secret and didn't wish to reveal something so private, I just think he forgot what I looked like the second Shepard asked. When we finally reached the Citadel tower the discussion between Garrus and Shepard had worn off but Kaidan still hadn't spoken a word didn't bother me much though, never liked the guy, as all four of us got off the shuttle and headed towards the council chamber Kaidan decided to rejoin the land of the living as he walked up next to me and with a tone that was less than friendly made his opinion known.

"If you really are 354 years old then there is no way you are a human, so what the hell are you?"

The coincidence that him and Garrus actually asked me the same thing with the same wording wasn't lost on me, didn't change the fact that I didn't really want to answer so I simply shrugged before I spoke.

"Does it truly matter? On my best days I am indeed human"

Kaidan raised an eyebrow at that and without missing a beat he asked the obvious question.

"And on your worst days?"

"Pray you never have to find out"

With that I sped up and walked up next to Shepard, deciding I would rather have her silent company than speak further with Kaidan. When we reached the council chambers Anderson was there waiting for us and he showed us into the chamber so we just managed to hear the end of the recording

"…return of the reapers"

"You wanted proof, there it is"

I just managed to contain a snort mostly due to the sheer stupidity behind the evidence itself, an audio tape is apparently enough in the future to prove someone is guilty.

"Indeed, but isn't it possible that this recording could be fabricated?"

Now I know I didn't say a word but I didn't really need to, apparently the Salarian Councilor actually has a functioning brain in his head. When I looked over at Shepard and the others their reaction was no surprise they all looked angry beyond belief that he would even suggest something like that.

"No it isn't, so far no one has successfully copied the sub-harmonics of a turian and I have spent enough time with Saren Arterius to know his, this is definitely him. Based on this evidence Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes"

This earned a few nods all around and a smile from Garrus he finally nailed Saren which I guess made his day. I looked at Tevos and waited for her to speak up about Benezia, but after standing in relative silence for a good fifteen seconds I felt something was off, looking over Tevos her body language betrayed her she was nervous and holding something back.

"Councilor Tevos aren't you forgetting something?"

It wasn't really asked as a question as much as said as a statement and Tevos reacted instantly by looking both confused and scared, she was definitely hiding something.

"I suggest you speak quickly or I will and I won't paint a pretty picture"

This got her tongue to loosen up oh so quickly.

"… The other voice is Matriarch Benezia"

This got Shepard's attention she stepped forward and addressed the councilor

"Who is she?"

The grimace on Tevos face was quite evident she clearly didn't wish to speak of this, but one look over in my direction and she started speaking once more.

"First you must understand that Matriarchs are Asari who have entered the final stage of their lives they are revered for their wisdom and experience, they serve as guides and mentors to my people. Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic who had many followers, she will make a formidable ally to Saren"

A lot of information I was already aware off but was news to everyone else present at this hearing, next we got the Salarian councilor asking about the reapers…

"I am more interested in the Reapers, what do you know about them?"

Yep there we go and queue Andersons very platonic and boring explanation that he got from Tali…

"Only what was extracted from the geth's memory core. The reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans. Then they vanished"

'Not as much vanished as simply hauled ass back to dark space…'

"The geth believe the Reapers are gods and Saren is the prophet of their return"

"We Think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back. Saren's searching for it, that's why he attacked Eden Prime"

That is of course both correct and wrong at the same time, indeed he is looking for the conduit but it sure as hell isn't bringing the Reapers back…

"Do we even know what this Conduit is?"

"Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers, that is bad enough"

The more that was said the more I could see Sparatus losing his patience, but in all fairness had I been standing in his position I would have thought this conversation to be just as insane.

"Listen to what you're saying! Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible, it has to be. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we've found no trace of their existence? If they were real, we'd have found something!"

I find myself in the odd position of agreeing with Sparatus on what he is saying, despite my knowledge that we are standing in one giant proof of the Reapers but they don't need to know that just yet.

"I tried to warn you about Saren and you refused to face the truth, don't make the same mistake again"

Had my face not been covered I am quite sure I would have been rubbing my eyes right now 'I never were good with politics'

"This is different; you proved Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree he's using the geth to search for the Conduit, but we don't really know why"

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth Commander, a convenient lie to cover Saren's true purpose. A legend he is using to bend the geth to his will"

And here comes the part I always loathed the part where Shepard just sounds ever so slightly insane simply because she had a vision.

"Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers wiped out all galactic civilization. If Saren finds the Conduit it will happen again!"

If I had my speakers on I am quite sure that my sigh would have been heard all the way up to the balcony.

"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life; he no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre. The council has stripped him of his position"

'Not going to stop him sadly…' I leaned back against the railing and stared up at the balconies, an assortment of just about every species was gathered up there, we draw quite the crowd.

"That is not good enough! You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse, send your fleet in!" Udina yelled in a rather annoying fashion

"A fleet cannot track down one man" was the Salarian councilors dead pan reply.

"A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region, keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies"

I finally got off the railing and walked up next to Udina and turned him around so he was facing me

"Or that could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems"

This earned quite a few glances from around the room, mostly because I had stolen a line from Sparatus but perhaps also because I actually interrupted our dear ambassador. Sparatus actually made the classic cough to bring attention back to him.

"Yes it could and we won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies"

"Every time humanity asks for help you ignore us!"

'Here we go…' glancing between Shepard and Udina I felt slightly sick to my stomach I really didn't like it when the two agreed much less when it was about "defending" humanity to the council.

"Shepard's right, I'm sick of this council and its ant-human bull…"

The gasps from the crowd were comical I wonder how they would react if we all just started swearing…

"Ambassador! There is another solution, a way to stop Saren that does not require fleets or armies"

"No! It's too soon; humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres"

I shook my head and decided to use what little leeway I had with Sparatus to smooth things along.

"Sparatus" the turian in question looked at me, so did the rest of the room for that matter "Humanity might not be ready but it's our best shot, if it helps with the council's decision I will join Shepard in her hunt for Saren as a freelance agent. With me along that should add some assurance for you?"

Now I have explained before how Shepard has that "look" she gives someone when she is displeased, I think she came up with a new look just for me when I said this because I sure as hell could feel her stare through my helmet and I was very close to turning around and staring back but I felt like if I did I would have done something I would later regret. Sparatus looked a little concerned at first but as the idea was allowed to rummage around his mind he eventually seemed to accept it and nodded to the rest of the council, they then proceeded to press their buttons to confirm that Shepard was being made a spectre or whatever it is they did.

"Commander Shepard step forward"

I took a few steps back as Shepard approached and didn't miss the angry stare she gave me as she passed. Leaning against the railing I looked up to the balconies once more, there was indeed more people now than before. Still without the epic music this really isn't that impressive.

"It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel"

"Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle: those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file"

"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will"

"Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold"

"You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species"

I will admit that standing here in person to listen to this does add a tad bit of epic to the whole situation this is after all a historic event.

"I am honored Councilor" Shepard gave a court bow.

"We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren. He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him"

"Any idea where to find him?"

"Any relevant files will be forwarded to ambassador Udina"

"This meeting of the council is adjourned"

This is where I got to step in I guess

"Not quite yet Councilor"

I ignored the looks from around me and instead focused on Garrus, he nodded and stepped forward realizing that I wanted him to present it rather than myself, he did discover most of it after all.

"We have bad news regarding your kidnapping Councilor Sparatus"

This raised an eyebrow (scale?) from the turian councilor as well as the two others.

"Go on"

Garrus nodded and turned around to me for confirmation one final time, I nodded as well.

"Following the kidnapping and safe return of the councilor, Echo told me that when I returned to C-Sec that I should start looking into the kidnapping itself it just didn't make sense for the Blue Suns to conduct this sort of operation out of the blue there was no notable Blue Suns activity up until the kidnapping. When I started digging I eventually found that an arms manufacturer down in the wards had been requisitioned to make 25 armors that carried Blue Suns colors, this led me and Echo to come to the conclusion that it was only made to look like the Blue Suns" Everyone was hanging on Garrus every word, fearing the conclusion he was coming to "When I looked through the security vid from your home councilor I noticed that the initial attack which was your kidnapping was too perfect for Blue Suns mercenaries, when I presented this idea to Echo we both came to the same conclusion, your holding in the warehouse was simply meant as a diversion so the five that attacked and took you could get away"

I stepped forward and put my hand on Garrus shoulder signaling him that I would take the last part in hope that it would have more impact coming from Sparatus "savior"

"When Garrus informed me about the attack in your home Sparatus I too didn't think this sounded like Blue Suns, they simply don't have the training for that sort of operation, the other thing that let us to believe that your holding was simply a diversion was due to the sloppy way you were being held, the warehouse itself was in an open area and wasn't protected all that well I infiltrated it with ease and secured the councilor before anyone knew I was there, the rest you all know from the report. All of this led us to one point Councilors, we fear that the kidnapping and subsequent holding of Sparatus was done to test the response time of C-Sec in preparation for a bigger attack"

The silence was… alarming. The first sign that someone was alive was a very quiet sound that unless you had hyper improved senses and a helmet with sound amplifier's like myself could hear. The sound was silent footsteps moving through the crowd; someone had certainly decided to leave as soon as I finished speaking or perhaps even during my speech since my own voice would have slurred the sound of their steps too much for me to hear. I closed my eyes and did something I rarely ever do and something I also loathe doing, I went fully into my mind and focused only on my detection ability. I hate doing this for a number of reasons but the most important one is because it leaves me completely vulnerable to outside sources I have no control over my physical body and if I have to cancel my concentration to move, it will take at least two seconds to do which is more than enough to get me killed if the attacker is skilled enough.

What I felt was disturbing to say the least… I figured that it was only one person sneaking away, but it was four individuals moving in complete synchronization while only making the sound of one individual. The very idea that there would be someone here in this universe capable of doing the silent step is impressive, mind you that even Thane should have problems doing this technique as it was designed and created for the singular purpose of removing any and all sound made by your steps and Thane is certainly close but even his steps I would be able to hear. For there to be potentially four people in this universe capable of using the silent step at such a level is disturbing what makes it disturbing however is not that they can do it… it's the fact that the Silent Step was created by the Tenno…

"Echo!"

A rather loud noise brought me back out from my mind and in the process losing track of the four individuals as they were moving out of my range. When I came to the first thing I did was reach out to the point that was slightly lower than the sounds origin and close the wind pipe of whatever unfortunate individual just yelled at me. When my eyes decided to follow my actions I noticed the individual I was choking was Shepard, I let go and dropped her back down on her feet.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!"

My glance turned towards the other obviously loud person in our little gathering, Kaidan apparently had a few problems with the way I handled Shepard. With a voice that must have sounded as flat as cardboard I replied.

"I suffer from several mentality issues, one of which is extreme reactions to people ripping me out of my own mind when I am in deep thought as was just demonstrated on the Commander"

I wasn't exactly lying I do suffer from a few mental issues, live for a few hundred years and you are bound to pick up a few. Looking up at the council members it was easy to see that they were disturbed by the sight that just befell them; I turned around and faced Shepard once more.

"My apologies Shepard, I am aware that earlier today I told you that next time simply try and call my name I forgot to mention that if I don't answer then don't yell louder, simply either shake me or wait for me to come out of it by myself"

Shepard did something akin to a growl before she turned towards the council, I turned and looked up towards them and gave them a nod.

"Right… As we just said Echo, we will be investigating this matter thoroughly. We will contact you if our investigation finds anything, until then we wish you luck in your hunt for Saren"

I nodded and gave a small bow before turning and walking out the council chambers. Outside I waited around for a minute or so, just long enough for Anderson and Udina to finish their congratulations to Shepard. After a few more minutes I started tapping on my leg with three of my fingers, producing the rhythm of a song I had burned into my mind, it was surprising the say the least when I realized that strumming a few notes of one of my favorite songs on my legs had an almost therapeutic effect on my relatively low patience. When the sound of footsteps announced the arrival of the remaining individuals I turned just in time to have a very angry looking Shepard in front of me.

"What the hell was all that about?!"

Shepard as practically fuming, had this been a cartoon I am positive that there would have been steam coming out of her ears.

"You need to be a bit more specific"

That seemed to put her right on the edge and I knew instantly that my next words needed to be chosen carefully or she would jump over said edge.

"I mean about adding yourself to my mission without consulting me first, or even asking permission for that matter!"

'She sounds almost… whiny…' I knew that Shepard wasn't actually whining and that she was simply angry that I had added myself to her team without permission.

"We share a mutual goal to stop Saren, you to stop Saren himself and me to make sure that his ship is destroyed. I simply found it in both our best interest if I accompanied you"

Luckily this seemed to deflate her just enough for her not to explode.

"Fine… well since I am apparently stuck with you is there anything I should know?"

"There is one thing we need to arrange. I have my personal ship currently on the Citadel and I need it with me since it holds the tools I need to fix any potential damage to my armor. Whatever ship you are granted I need to take some space in the hangar for my ship"

I glanced over at Udina to see his reaction he didn't exactly sport any special facial expression and simply looked like he was thinking it over, then again I already know what ship Shepard is getting after all.

"Before I let any foreign ship anywhere near my own I will need to see it and judge for myself whatever it can be of any use or is a potential threat"

I nodded

"Of course Commander"

Udina apparently saw his time to cut in.

"This is all good Commander, myself and Anderson will go prepare what you will need while you go inspect his ship. We will call you when we have your ship ready for you"

"Understood. The rest of you will accompany Kaidan back to the Normandy where you will wait for further instructions"

This made the rest of the team give their usual salutes, gestures and vocal confirmations of the order. Shepard then turned on me and made a wave with her hand gesturing towards the path towards the nearest transport terminal.

"Let's go"

I just went into my normal pace and walked over towards the terminal, I did however not stop when I reached said terminal. I have gotten used to walking everywhere over the last three hundred years and now I can barely take a transport anywhere without feeling uncomfortable, don't misunderstand I can easily sit in one for a short ride like the one we took to get here, but for anything longer I will get increasingly annoyed. When I passed the Terminal I turned around to see Shepard standing at the terminal calling a shuttle.

"I live in the presidium Commander, the walk is not that far"

The look on Shepards face was interesting, all in one expression she managed to nail down angry, frustrated, confused and also she had a look in her eyes that said "are you stupid?", it really was quite an impressive look.

"You do realize depending on where in the Presidium you live that could take us anywhere from 5-60 minutes right?"

"I am aware and the problem is?"

"The problem is I don't have time to spend on a leisure stroll with you, so get over here and let's get going"

I sighed inwardly and walked back towards the terminal and waited patiently for the shuttle to arrive. When said shuttle finally arrived we both climbed in and when it asked for a destination Shepard did a regular "go on" gesture with her hand.

"Apartment block A on level 23"

As the shuttle took off I turned and saw Shepard's surprised expression.

"You do know that is one of the most high end apartment blocks in the Presidium right?" I nodded "What the hell do you do for a living?"

"That is not currently information you need to know Shepard"

She put on a small scowl and returned to looking out the window, I just leaned back my head and closed my eyes and for the first time in quite a while I let my mind wander wherever it wanted to go. It was a comfortable feeling to be honest, you know not really thinking for once, when I was with the Tenno I was constantly on guard and every second of every day was spent in preparation for a seconds reaction, you never relaxed… you never got the chance. I felt the small bump as the shuttle landed at the nearest terminal to the apartments. The walk from the terminal to the apartments themselves was only a rough minute or so given that I could see the building as soon as we stepped out of the shuttle, when we stepped inside the building a few heads turned towards us but to my own amusement and perhaps Shepards surprise they stared a great deal more at her then at me. As the elevator doors closed Shepard let out a small breath and leaned against the wall of the elevator.

"I am not good with crowds…"

"I didn't ask"

"Civilian crowds"

I nodded my head once and let silence remain my answer. 'Spend your childhood with only military people around and then enlist when you hit eighteen and spend additional years surrounded by only more military and eventually you won't be able to deal with civilian crowds anymore' I didn't expect Shepard to suffer from such a rare quirk but knowing her service history and childhood it shouldn't really come as a surprise to anyone that once she is placed in a crowd consisting of ninety percent civilians that she feels slightly out of place. The elevator dings announcing our arrival on the top floor, when we step out of the elevator all there is too see up here is the door to the apartment and the two plants next to said door, the doors themselves open upon my approach recognizing the key code on my omni-tool allow us access to my rather "extravagant" apartment, truth be told I haven't really checked out the rooms besides the bedroom, kitchen, bathroom and living room. I hear Shepard whistle as we walk through the apartment towards the stairs leading to the roof.

"This place really is high end. So what are we here for? Shouldn't we be heading down towards the docks?"

I shook my head as I opened the door to the roof and stepped aside letting Shepard walk first

"Who ever said my ship was down at the docks?"

Shepard lifted an eyebrow at that but walked up the stairs none the less. When we entered the seemingly empty roof she turned around and looked at me with a rather bored expression on her face.

"Is this some kind of bad jo…" *Slam*"FUCK!"

Rather than waiting for an explanation from me Shepard decided to just start walking around the roof which in turn then led to her walking head first into my cloaked ship. I stepped up next to her and offered a hand which she took while mumbling a few interesting swear words.

"Perhaps next time you will wait for me to explain before wandering aimlessly around?"

She just grumbled some more and crossed her arms over her chest and glared at me. In response I opened the communications to Eva inside my ship and asked her to disable the cloak and open the door, as the cloak started to dissipate and the door opening I walked up and started into the ship but I stopped at the door to turn around and look at Shepard, open mouth, distant look, slightly hunched over… yep she lost it.

"Shepard"

Oddly enough that seemed to be all she needed to get shaken out of her little phase. When she looked up at me I gestured for her to follow me inside, her footsteps confirmed that she did. I walked over and disabled Eva's speakers so only I could hear her, figured Shepard wouldn't take too kindly to a Semi-AI onboard a ship.

"It's very compact isn't it?"

I let out a small chuckle as I stepped over to my armor locker and took off my helmet and placing it inside, when I finally turned to Shepard the expression on her face was beyond priceless, I may not see the humor in many things anymore but I still appreciate a dumbstruck look every so often.

"Indeed it is. It was designed to be piloted by one person after all; my version is even smaller than the original since I only have the bridge and the engineering compartment which resulted in the ship being roughly the size of two makos"

I had turned my head and looked around the small ship while I was talking; it really isn't much bigger than two makos in here. The bridge itself fills one side of the ship and the engineering compartment fills the other side and my bed is inside the engineering compartment while the "bathroom" is in the closed off corner of the bridge.

"What the hell happened to your skin?!"

I turned towards Shepard who was standing there with a ridiculed look on her face, her hands where in the air as well like she was making a point rather than asking me a question.

"I had extensive modification to my entire DNA structure following a deadly incident and turned 354 years old, that tends to change some things"

'Well that was that out of the way, let's see if she believes it' it took a few moments for Shepard to process what I had just told her but to me it didn't matter much that she knew, eventually I was going to tell her anyway so why not get it over and done with as soon as possible? As for the whole "this world is a video game" talk… I will deal with that when I think she won't shove me out the nearest airlock when I tell her.

Before Shepard managed to answer her omni-tool beeped indicating that she had received a message, when she had read it she let out a loud sigh and rubbed her eyes tiredly.

"I need to go meet Udina and Anderson about my new ship; I will contact you with the details when I have them, until then get ready to depart at a moment's notice" I nodded but as I was about to answer Shepard spoke again "And when you get on my ship we are continuing this talk, am I clear?"

I gave a small nod and then Shepard turned and walked out of the ship, when she was out and I was sure she was far enough away I turned Eva's speakers back on.

"Got all that Eva?"

"I did Operator Echo, preparing for departure"

I walked out of the ship and headed down towards the landlord's office, I had to inform him that I would be leaving.

A/N: Alright people I think there is something I need to tell you all, over the last two weeks I have been getting a few messages and reviews that voiced their confusing over the rather "short" kidnapping of the council by the Blue Suns, well in this chapter I revealed that it was in fact not the blue suns and that leads me to point: Don't take anything I write for face value, I write that the Eclipse suddenly took over half of Ilium? Expect it to instead have been super AI husk or something along those lines, don't ever trust what I write. With me trusting what I am writing is like asking to get hit over the head with a newspaper, it's not a very good idea. That aside some things will of course be just what I write they are, but when it comes down to something like the kidnapping if I only spend like half a chapter on said kidnapping I can inform you that it certainly has a reason behind it and that the event itself was merely a setup for something else down the line.

Long ass Author note I know, see you all next time.

PS: If you don't know what "Seiza" is then look it up on Google, it's a traditional style of sitting in Japan.