Once we were docked, Anderson had insisted that Williams stop at the Alliance embassy first for a psychological evaluation. As if it had needed to be said, he had wanted to make sure that the events she endured on Eden Prime had not affected her emotional well-being. And after a lot of heated discussion, she eventually had given in and headed there with Shepard who still had yet to file her own report on the mission too.

That psychotic biotic...

Her accusations on the Normandy had literally almost ended me up in some Alliance prison never to see the light of day again. In fact, had she convinced everyone that I'd been the one to kill Nihlus, they would never even have known about fucking Saren. Powell, dah bastahd, didn't even mention his name to my recollection, and the galaxy would've just fallen like that to the Reapers within the year.

I tried my hardest not to have a breakdown at the thought.

I was just a single variable. One guy who happened to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. The really wrong time. And I had already almost single-handedly caused the end of galactic civilization because I was such a bad liar.

I mean holy shit. The butterfly effect is fucking real as shit.

I remembered like 50% of the conversation that happened in the med bay. There had definitely not been a scene in the game where half the Normandy crew was in it, and there definitely wasn't a scene where they were all standing by watching a witch trial take place. The very thought rattled me to my core. I had decided to take the gambit and played my hand. With the Shadow Broker in this universe being the literal illumanati, would he already know about my lie to them? Could I expect a reprisal for my bluff within the week? Did the lie even cover my ass?

Just thinking about the Yahg caused me to shudder.

Not to mention that knowing what happens in this universe doesn't even matter if just being here has already screwed up the timeline so much...

I just had to thank whatever force that sent me here for at least giving me the skill tree. I have to admit, I accidentally put all my points into the talent and committed before I had realized what I done-

Definitely not going to make a mistake like that again...if I can help it...

-but it looked like it had worked out. I know for a fact I couldn't hold a poker face even if my life depended on it, but I had done that, on top of smoothly BS'ing my way into everyone's hearts.

Obviously due in no short part to dumping all my points in 'persuasion' ...

In Mass Effect 1, I had always been guilty of putting all my available points into the earliest available paragon or renegade slots, maxing them as soon as I could. Although it was an accident at the time...it looked like old habits die hard.

I snapped to attention as Anderson finished talking to the Alliance representative and motioned for me and Kaidan to follow him into the Presidium.

And. It. Was. Breathtaking.

The simulated clouds and sky floating above seemed extremely real, and in fact, if I hadn't known better, I would've thought that we were just outside in between two really really really tall, really really really wide 22nd century buildings. Both of which just so happened to span the length of a small city. Or nation.

Haha, yeah, I would never guess that I was currently in a giant ring floating in the middle of space...that's also supposed to double as the catalyst for the destruction of all organic life in the Galaxy-

I shivered at just the thought.

The catalyst. Ew.

I put that tidbit at the back of my head as I decided to focus on the present. The fake rays of sun still felt warm on my skin, and the sound of the Presidium's fountains I found were extremely calming. The only break in this serene atmosphere were the conversations of the Elcor, Hanar, Asari, and Turians we passed that made the entire area sound like an international food court. In all honesty, the entire thing was surreal.

But I tried my hardest to not let the awesomeness of what I saw affect me. I was an agent of the Shadow Broker. If I had never seen the Citadel in person before, or another alien being for that fact, I would obviously be a phony. But alas, it was futile, as my mouth still hung agape regardless as my eyes took in the sights around us. As Kaidan and Anderson talked about the mission, the Council, and various other things I had no interest in, I just soaked in the experience.

Definitely better than Eden Prime.

Most of the aliens had been too far away for me to really marvel at, but we did happen to pass really close to a really short Volus-

Although I guess all Volus are really short...

-in a completely brown exosuit that was talking into his headpiece. I could hear their iconic *kssshhh* in between the foreign sounds coming out of his mouth.

Although something seemed a little off.

But Kaidan interrupted any inkling of suspicion as he pointed out where Shepard and Williams were waiting for us. We all soon reconvened in the front of the embassy suites, with everyone exchanging some words, Shepard giving me a glare that I imagined would give a Krogan pause, and Anderson indicating that the Ambassador was still waiting for us. Marching past the lobby together, the receptionist there gave us a polite nod and sang us some kind of weird melody as we passed.

...Hm...I GUESS that sounded nice...

I just couldn't put a finger on it but now I knew something was definitely off. I wondered if part of it was just being tired from being robbed of sleep from the previous night. I actually had no idea if my body got its rest or not after the skill tree had popped up.

I mean that thing could've been a sleep deprived hallucination...

I sighed.

Just like the rest of this.

I was still contemplating the idea when we entered Udina's room, where the man was currently shouting at some holograms.

"This is an OUTRAGE! The Council would step in if the Geth attacked a TURIAN colony!"

Wow he's animated.

I frowned as I heard croaking coming from what I deemed to be the Salarian councilman's hologram. Now I noticed what was wrong.

I don't have a translator.

It was hard for me to keep track of the discussion as I could only hear a quarter of it. Not that I would have really listened anyways I realized. I imagined I would soon grow tired of hearing the quartet and their constant misgivings about Shepard's actions. If I ended up sticking around with Shepard that is.

Do I realllllly still want to be on the Normandy after what just happened...?

Shepard was abrasive, intimidating, and hostile. Although mostly just towards me.

That's not true. She apparently treated Williams pretty badly too before they ran into me.

But that only strengthened my resolve.

I've come this far. This psychopath is obviously going to cut a bloody swath through whomever she meets.

The way she had just attacked me without provocation on the Normandy proved it. And I rubbed my back while doing so. The bruises from when she had tossed me around were still fresh. And then my eyes popped open as a thought came across my mind.

SHIT, she would totally kill Wrex on Virmire...Or only if I wasn't there to stop her.

The idea of the galaxy having one less Urdnot dropped my spirits. I also realized that without me, one of the two people in this room was destined to die there too. Definitely not going to let that happen.

Although Williams was kind of unpleasant toward me. Not as much as Shepard was of course but still...NO.

I resigned myself to my fate. I WAS going to be on the Normandy after this trial. And I WAS going to give them my help whether Shepard wanted it or not. What else would I even do anyways?

Chill at Chora's den. Afterlife. Bide my time until whatever hallucinogens I took wore off...

Which might take awhile at the current rate this dream has lasted.

"-half your crew with you."

I turned my attention back to reality. The reality I was in anyways.

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

Alenko and Williams shot each other a glance while they hung their arms over the office's balcony.

"I have the mission reports. I assume they're accurate?"

God, I always had kind of glazed over him when he was on the screen but the dude's voice in real life-

No. Not real life. Get a hold of yourself.

-was a lot more aggravating then I remembered.

Anderson and Udina continued their dialogue as I decided to join the two token human soldiers on the ledge overseeing the Presidium. I heard Shepard mention the word "ass" behind me. Staring at the view below, my curiosity got the best of me, and I decided to hock a loogie over the edge to see how long it took for it to fall. Alenko caught me in the act. And in turn, he just looked at me funny. I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly at him and decided to return my gaze back to the Presidium's lake as I thought about my next move.

Aside from joining the crew, I still need to figure out how to use my omni-tool. I mean, I could find that data pad in Chakwas' desk if I got back on the Normandy...when I would get back on the Normandy. Come on. And on top of that though, OH MY GOD. Now I need a translator. I won't be able to converse with any of the kooky aliens I came across without it. Which is like 70% of the people here.

"-meet us at the Citadel Tower. Top level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in."

"Wait," I spoke next, already regretting opening my mouth.

"...Is this our witness for the trial?" Udina asked turning to Anderson.

"Yup," I replied for him. Shepard and her band of misfits eyed me in response, but I ignored their stares. "How will I know when it's my turn to give my testimony?"

Udina looked at me like I was stupid. "You'll be directly asked for your account by the councilors sometime during the trial."

I brought up my concerns. "Yeaaah, I won't know when I'm asked because I think my translator actually broke. All I heard were croaks and what sounded like a dog yodeling when you were talking to them just now."

"Great," Udina said pinching his nose.

"What do you use for a translator?"

Anderson's question took me off guard.

Oh shit. Was it earpieces? Some other unseen technology on one's person? Wait. Wasn't there something in the codex about skin implants? ...I don't think I have those...or I hope not at least. And if I don't, I'm pret-ty sure I don't want one so...that really only leaves-

"My omni-tool," I started. "I've actually been messing around with it since we left Eden Prime...but I think a Geth overload caused it to go screwy."

Another lie. I'll have to make sure not to mention that around Joker since I told him a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT STORY oh jesus-

"Here, let me take a look at it," said Kaidan, holding out his hand.

"...It looks like you have the situation under control. Don't be late. Anderson!"

The Ambassador and Anderson walked out of the room leaving us by ourselves.

"And that's why I hate politicians."

After acknowledging her comment, it took Kaidan a couple seconds to pull my tool up, and then by clicking just a few buttons and waving his omni-tool over mine, BOOM, he had fixed it. Just like that. Something chirped in my ear several times as it seemed to correct itself.

"That should do it. It looks like a part of your fabricator and the auditory synchronization application were missing, so I just fabricated them with my own omni-tool. It should work just fine now."

"Uh...thanks man," I sighed, shutting off my omni-tool. "If you hadn't noticed, tech isn't exactly my strong suit."

"So, what now Commander?"

Shepard looked at Alenko. "I'd rather just head to the Citadel Tower and get this over with."

We left the room, with me leading the way of course. It was more Shepard's decision than mine, still believing I might make a run for it or foolishly try to stab them in the back. Thankfully, Kaidan decided to break the ice, interrupting our silent descent.

"So Williams, Commander, how were your debriefings?"

"Boring," Shepard muttered.

Kaidan looked at Williams in turn. "The debrief wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. To be honest, the shrink actually kind of helped. Asked me a couple questions, how I was feeling and all that garbage, and then let me on my way," she replied. Alarms automatically went off in my head.

Ashley? Debrief about Prime? Shrink? Why does this feel like a red flag? I guess the whole thing does sound familiar...like I've seen it somewhere before...

GASP.

I whipped around to face her, "Williams! What was the name of your shrink?!"

She raised an eyebrow at me. "Uh, why do you care? And why does it matter?"

Everyone had stopped their descent down the stairwell.

I asked her again, "Was her name Captain Tatum?"

The Chief just continued to stare at me. "How do you know the shrink was a she?"

Shepard turned to stare at Alenko. "He was in our sight the entire time. He never left our side," he assured her.

I ignored them and repeated my question to Williams. "Was her name Captain Tatum?"

Ashley was about to say something along the lines of "Kiss my ass" before Shepard interrupted us.

"Answer his question," Shepard said.

What the-how wa...did she just she help me?

Williams had a look of bewilderment I believe was for the same reason. Then she reluctantly said "No...I think her name was Captain Channing."

Ohhhhh. It was Channing...not Tatum.

I thankfully didn't smile with my mix-up.

"Dammit," I just managed to mouth before turning around.

I could feel Shepard's eyes burning into the back of my skull. "Spit it out. Why were you curious about who debriefed her?"

It really hadn't mattered but...think fast, think fast, think-Bingo.

"Did your shrink have reddish-orange hair, dark skin?"

"...Yeah...how'd you-"

"Then it's the same person. Captain Channing and Tatum are just some of her covers."

And so were Rasa, Hope Lilium, and Maya Brooks. Shepard's Judas in the Citadel DLC.

"You're telling me someone impersonated her shrink," Shepard next asked incredulously.

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm telling you. Williams, what exactly did you tell her?"

She glanced at Shepard and Kaidan before answering. "...I just told her about what happened to me on Prime. The Geth. Being one of the only ones to make it out alive...I..." Her eyes begin to widen with the implication of what I was saying. "...I might have mentioned the beacon..."

Shepard's face contorted in anger. "You What?"

Williams went on the defensive. "I wasn't sure if it was classified information or not. It was destroyed and I thought she was with the Alliance!"

"It doesn't matter," I interjected, hoping to nip this fight in the bud. "She's long gone by now and like you said, the beacon's destroyed. It doesn't help them to know about it."

Shepard rolled her eyes. "Them? Is this going to be another 'Shadow Broker'?"

"Not even close."

Actually though...

I decided to correct myself. "Scratch that. The man she works for is pretty much par for the course on knowing what's what."

"And the man she works for is...?"

I crossed my arms and just stared back at Shepard.

Alright so what do I want to tell you? How much do I need to? Oh shit. What if it affected the events of ME2?...Ah Fuck It.

"He's only known as 'The Illusive Man' as he's so...elusive. I can tell you that much fewer people know about him than the Shadow Broker. He's equally as mysterious though. No one knows who he is or where he came from. We only know that he heads a group known as Cerberus. And I couldn't really tell you much more than that," I lied.

"So...what? Should we go looking for her?" Kaidan asked.

"Like he said, she's already long gone. There's not much else we can do." Shepard turned back around, facing down the stairs. "But how did you know that that woman would be here? Interview Williams in person?"

"Oh, uh...I got a tip. And it kind of slipped my mind until just now," I replied sheepishly, rubbing my neck.

"Great. Helpful. And after that waste of time, we're probably late now. Come on."

While walking through the lobby, the receptionist happily told us on the way out to "Have a nice day!"

Translator officially worked.

But we were apparently imitating rude people as we ignored her and continued to march out of the embassy. And we kept walking until Shepard spotted the nearest 'rapid transit station'. As Shepard called the sky car, AVINA materialized out of some sort of holo-emitter next to her feet.

"Hello I-"

"I'm not interested."

"Our records indicate this is your first time on the Citadel. A brief orientation session is customary. Please allow me to do my job."

This is Shepard's FIRST time here?

"I'll pass."

The poor VI looked dejected at Shepard's answer, deciding to at least recite the rest of her spiel before powering down. I had never known that this was Shepard's first visit to the Citadel. If she was impressed or enamored by the views at all, she definitely didn't show it.

Alenko decided to ask again. "So Commander, are you sure you want to head straight to the tower?"

"Yeah. It's not like there's anything else to do around here."

What. This is the fucking CITADEL. What do you mean there's 'nothing to do'?!

I restrained myself from acting out.

God, Shepard, you're the worst.

We all hopped into the skycar as it finally arrived, with Shepard claiming the coveted passenger seat for herself. That left the rest of us to squeeze into the back,where I was decidedly wedged in the middle.

Huh. They don't trust me enough to give me a window seat yet. Hopefully that changes with time.

I hate the middle seat.

It took about seven minutes, give or take, for our ride to reach the top of the tower from where we had originally left. Upon arriving at our destination, the car landed on a small pad that had a door leading to the elevators of the Citadel Tower. Shepard made sure to shove me forward as I got out of the car and begin to walk.

"I'm watching you," she didn't fail to whisper too. "Just try something. Make my day."

What the...that was the cheesiest thing I must have ever heard in my entire life. Shepard...you're definitely the worst. I just got ear cancer from that my god.

Deciding to ignore her, we took the elevator several floors up before we reached the highest it would take us. Then we took the last flights of stairs that led the rest of the way to the Council Chambers. We eventually reached the tippy top after a LOT of climbing, and I mean a lot, as I was almost drowsed in sweat, as we finally entered the room where decisions concerning the galaxy were made.

What immediately brightened my mood was the sight ahead of us, where a clearing containing two Turians in a heated discussion were.

One had a light blue tattoo relatively similar to Nihlus' covering his face. He was wearing the weird Turian tunic that's neckline was like...ten times the diameter of their actual neck. It actually reminded me of the fashion those citizens from the Capitol of the Hunger Games wore. Absurdity aside, it did have quite the interesting pattern on it at least. Across from Executor Pallin though stood a clearly younger Turian, who opposed to Pallin's face paint, had just a single blue horizontal line tattooed under his eyes. He was wearing C-Sec's notorious blue and black color scheme, and although the armor's neck line was similar to the executor's, it seemed much less ridiculous. And I could only think one thing when I saw him.

Ooooooh shit!

As we came closer, I could hear Vakarian adamantly protesting the dismissal of his case.

"Stall them!"

"Stall the Council?" Pallin scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous! Your investigation is over, Garrus."

And as the Executor then exited stage left, Garrus turned to face our motley group, signature visor coming into plain view. And it actually looked kind of cheap. Like someone took a cleaver to the middle of someone's sun glasses and painted the lens blue.

...I should totally get one.

A helmet was still high on my list of things to grab. Apparently, that's where marines got their HUD as well as the protection for their noggins. Or at least that's what the site I kept accessing on the extranet said, back when I was still trying to pull up the time on the Normandy. A Heads Up Display apparently kept track of your radar, your ammo supply, your shields, and how close your gun was to overheating.

And really, a HUD would be hella nice. If I could see the ammo I have left rather than counting every time I shoot, I would be soooooo happy.

The helmets I saw the three of these guys wearing back on Prime were pretty clunky though. Not exactly something I would care to wear everywhere. The visor Garrus had was probably a lot more convenient to have on you. And it'd probably go for less since it wasn't a large chunk of metal too.

"Well good luck Shepard, maybe they'll listen to you."

Ah shit, did I just miss- I zoned. Oh my god. Focus man. You CAN NOT day dream during this trial. Shit's too important.

I regretfully let him pass us without a word, and then, hopped ahead of the group before Shepard had the opportunity to shove me forward again. I still had some dignity left at this point despite the circumstances. As we walked around the large fountain in front of us next, I had to admit, the center of galactic civilization was pretty swanky.

Which it should be since these guys have been living in the place for like, what? The last 1000 years?

Trees resembling sea ferns were spread throughout the main floor of the tower, with small little patches of greenery and boulders present too.

Oh, nice little rock gardens for that Zen atmosphere? I guess even aliens are fans of feng shui huh? ...who am I talking to.

In fact, we quickly found ourselves having to maneuver around the topiary and other accouterments, which was already hard enough without having to dodge all the alien dignitaries and politicos in our way too. Shepard finally let me fall behind her as all the obstacles started to plague us, and left me as I was as we finally approached the set of stairs leading to the final area of the Council Chamber. Once again, Kaidan decided to break our silence.

"This is it. The very heart of the Citadel. The pinnacle of galactic power. Kind of makes your head spin if you think about it too much." I was inclined to agree with him. Shit was pretty heavy. But after no one humored him out loud, he decided to continue. "And you sure have to climb a lot of stairs to reach the Council. Think that's supposed to be symbolic of their importance?"

Ashley apparently disagreed. "I bet all these staircases aren't just for show. They make for good defensive positions if this place is ever attacked."

Oh my god that foreshadowing.

I have to admit, every time I revisit this game, there was always something new that I had missed.

Dude, come on, Fo-

"-cus," Shepard told them. "We're almost there."

We climbed a second set of stairs where we now found Anderson already waiting for us.

"The hearing's already started. Come on."

Shepard just glared back at me like being late was my fault before following Anderson in.

Oh...right. I guess it kinda was.

Ascending the chamber steps, neither the large rift in the floor nor the Council in front of us was what drew my attention first. Nor was it Udina, who was furiously debating our position. It was none other than the hologram that was a couple stories tall, being projected to the left of it all.

The description I had given the Normandy crew of Saren did him no justice. The dude just looked pure fucking evil. The cybernetic arm on his-

Ha, it was his left!

-shoulder looked like he had ripped a Geth in half and stuck it onto his torso. But the actual operation behind it was much more complex, as the intricate tubes and hoses poking out of it wired all across his body. I could tell that they even went all the way into the back of his skull. It just made him look that much more like the synthetics that currently followed him. And with it already being silver, his face rife with cybernetic implants really just made it look that much more robotic. In fact, I found that he resembled the Terminator after it had just had half its face blown clear off. And if the Terminator in this scenario had also been Turian. Metal bars were seemingly fused with his mandibles; parts of his fringe had slivers of metal sunken into them; And his eyes...

Though it was a hologram, I could still tell they were soulless. Husk-like. Tiny little slits that peered at you with malice. Within them were so many divots and dark lines that not one hint was left that they might have even once been organic. My attention was only drawn away from the projection as the Asari councilor mentioned his name.

"-indicate Saren was involved in any way." She seemed very calm in contrast to Udina's heated words.

"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason either," the Turian added as if his neighbor had not just said that.

And I never quite got that. They closed Vakarian's case before we had even arrived at the Citadel.

I mean, it took us like less than a day to get here from Eden Prime. And what, was he the only agent assigned to the case too? Just one random agent chosen to investigate a Spectre? They obviously filed this as a joke-

"Two eyewitnesses saw him kill Nihlus in COLD BLOOD!" Udina spat next, apparently trying win our case through sheer volume of sound.

"We read the Eden Prime reports Ambassador," the Salarian councilor coldly replied next. "The testimony of a traumatized dockworker and shocked marine are hardly compelling proof."

He did have a point there.

Although when the hell had I become a marine?

I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Udina was now staring at me annoyed.

Ooh, right, my testimony.

In Phoenix Wright fashion, I pointed an accusing finger at Saren. "There's no doubt that he's the one who killed Nihlus! Nihlus let his guard down once he saw him and then Saren put a BULLET through the back of his head!"

After that riveting and passionate display...they didn't seem impressed. And I felt a shiver creep up my spine as Saren's attention turned to me. You could clearly hear the twisted superiority he thought he had in his voice as he spoke. And though he was addressing the entire room, his eyes told a different story.

"I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre. And a friend."

And as his flanged voice echoed across the chamber, I couldn't help but shrink back. It was more accurate to describe the sound coming from his mouth as what I could only refer to as venom. Venom laced with blatant malice and hatred. Blatant malice and hatred served with a side of insane xenophobia and indoctrination.

I mean Jesus, he sounds AND looks like a psychopath. For Christ sake, he's doesn't even have face tattoos. That's like the Turian equivalent of an all around scumbag isn't it? How can you all think this dude is innocent of anything?!

"That just let you catch him off guard!" Anderson countered.

"Captain Anderson." Saren let the word hang in the air as if it were an insult. "You always seem to be involved when Humanity makes false charges against me." He now turned his attention toward Shepard. "And you must be his protégé, the one who let the beacon get destroyed."

I hadn't paid attention to her with all the accusations being thrown around, but now that I had, she currently seemed to be frothing at the mouth.

"The mission to Eden Prime was top secret! The only way you could've known about the beacon is if you had been there!"

Okay Shepard. Then Saren goes-

"With Nihlus gone, his files passed to me. I read the Eden Prime report. I was unimpressed."

It's about time for my witty comeback.

"Funny, I was about to say the same about your ship."

Saren gave me a look, but I couldn't place its intent, as his face was unreadable with those dead, robotic eyes.

"Pardon?"

"The dreadnought that we all saw on Eden Prime." Even though the looks I got from the Humans almost discouraged me, I carried on. "If you looked at the reports, you would've seen the video that I assume was included with it," I said to the Council. "It looked nothing like the Geth designs we came across there. It's design was totally alien. We should be asking right now where their alien dreadnought came from and where Saren found it!"

They just stared blankly at me, making me feel like I was a lunatic. Which was still on the table to be fair.

"We are here for Saren's trial, not for speculating on the Geth's technological advancements," the Turian councilor pointed out.

Oops, that was true. Lost my train of thought there.

"Typical, shifting the topic to something else once they realized their accusations held no ground. But what could you expect...from Humans."

The sinister-ness of Saren's voice caught me off guard, derailing my next topic of assault. I had forgotten what I had planned to say next. And Shepard was boiling with anger at this point, whether about my off topic point or Saren's remark, I couldn't say. Most likely both.

"You can expect me to kill you the next time we meet," she decided to blatantly threaten him, her voice rife with murderous intent.

And Saren brushed aside her threat like it had just come from a child with a tantrum. Which was also valid. "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!"

That remark now got Udina going. "He has noooOoO RIGHT TO SAY THAT! THAT'S NOT. HIS. DECISION!"

The Asari councilor decided to give us this concession. "Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting," she told Saren.

"This meeting has no purpose," Saren retorted. "The Humans are wasting your time, councilor. And mine."

"You can't hide behind the Council forever!" Shepard shouted at him.

"And there is still one outstanding issue," Anderson added.

Oh dear, here it comes.

"The vision that Commander Shepard and Marauder Shield received. They 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?" Saren almost seemed to say this laughing...if Turians could.

Although that comment was true. Oh so true.

I still hadn't understood why Anderson brought it up. It almost derailed our argument as much as my unintentional tangent did.

"I agree. Our judgment must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and baseless speculation." Even though it made sense, the Turian councilor still just came across as a dick.

"Do you have anything else to add Commander Shepard?" the Salarian councilor asked.

Shepard just gave them her signature glare. "You made your decision, I won't waste my breath."

And so, the Council ruled their verdict.

And after hearing it, the gang was less than pleased.

Saren didn't fail to gloat over us like the Bond villain he was after their ruling either. "I'm glad to see justice was served."

His hologram flickered out.

"This meeting is adjourned."

With that, we turned back toward the steps, defeated, and descended down the pathway we had came. I noticed Udina taking a moment, staring blankly into space where he stood, before snapping out of his trance and following us down at our rear. And once he reached the bottom, I soon learned why. He wasted not time in lambasting Anderson and I.

"It was a mistake bringing you...and him-" He motioned rudely to me. "-into that hearing, Captain. You and Saren have too much history. That made the council question our motives. And his random tangent about that Geth ship didn't help us either."

I regretted mentioning it too.

Anderson simply replied, "I know Saren. He's working with the Geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race!" He was technically correct. Although he wouldn't just stop there. "Every colony we have is at risk. Every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn't safe."

And with that, I remembered why I had brought the 'Geth ship' up. To bring attention to the true threat. To Sovereign. If I could reveal it was a Reaper early, convince everyone they were coming, convince them that a sentient race of starships billions of years old bent on harvesting all life in the Galaxy would be here at the end of the 2186...maybe we could better prepare for their arrival. But that all relied on them focusing on it instead of Saren though.

So, to facilitate this, I ended up just adding, "And with that dreadnought the Geth had on Eden Prime, there's no way that conventional weaponry could stop them!"

Nice.

"Tell me about this history between you and Saren," Shepard questioned, completely disregarding my statement.

That surprised me however as I didn't think she would have cared enough to ask. She didn't exactly seem like the empathetic or curious type. More the shoot first, then shoot some more, and then label the dead guilty kind of type.

"I worked with him on a mission a long time ago. Things went bad. Real bad."

You can read all about it in my latest novel penned by Drew Karpyshyn. Available on the nearest terminal near you!

I chuckled to myself as I was too witty for my own good. Technically, the novel was like half a decade old now with a handful of sequels. Back in the REAL world anyway.

"We shouldn't talk about this here. But I know what he's like. And he has to be stopped."

Shepard was as adamant as ever that we still didn't need the Council. "We need to deal with Saren ourselves."

Sigh.

Although her intent on destroying Saren made me realize something.

...I should stick to the game's script. Don't deviate. If I try to push things on them, it'd probably backfire and result in a scenario like the one that happened earlier. No bueno. Knowledge of the future doesn't really help either if I end up changing it too, does it? Focus on busting Saren now and I can see what I can do later. Good plan, me.

Then I also realized that at the end of this conversation, I was outtie unless I thought of something.

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

"What about Garrus, the C-Sec investigator?" Kaidan brainstormed. "We saw him arguing with the executor."

"That's right," Ashley chimed in.

I tuned her out as I tried to fumble for a plan. Anderson will mention they can find him through Harkin, but he won't like it. So he'll suggest-

Aha!

I came up with my plan right as Shepard finished her racist little comment.

"He's a Turian. I don't want him on our side."

Oh what the fuck.

I hadn't noticed that Shepard was as racist as shit on top of being a violent dickhead.

Was it racist though? Or speciest?

Udina spoke next, and being the voice of reason baffled me even more. "Not all Turians are like Saren. If he can help, we need to find him."

...man this is fucked. But we better. We are most definitely not defeating Saren and the Geth without the Archangel of Omega.

...you still need to work out on how it's going to be 'we'.

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

Oh shit, this is it.

Anderson voiced his opinions for why they shouldn't waste their time on him. Then Udina rebutted him.

"You won't have to. 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."

Oh wait. Guess it comes later.

I could actually hear Shepard gritting her teeth now with how Udina had just addressed Anderson.

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

"No Shepard. The ambassador's right. I need to step aside."

Shepard's jaw seemed to drop when the man agreed with Udina. The Ambassador then concluded his business.

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

Our group waited for Udina to walk out of earshot before we continued.

"Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den. It's a dingy little club in the lower part of the Wards," Anderson informed us.

"I thought he was a drunken loser," Shepard replied.

"Couldn't hurt to go talk to him. Just be careful. I wouldn't call him reliable."

"Are you sure there's no other sources we can go to for evidence?"

ALRIGHT, here's my chance!

"Actuallllly," I interjected before Anderson could speak.

Then Shepard cut me off while staring knives at me. "Why are you still here. The trial's over."

The comment kind of hurt. Brought a tear to my eye. But I composed myself before responding despite this.

"Like I said earlier, that bastard Saren can't get away with what he's done. I want to help you take him down." I crossed my arms and leaned against a beam behind me. "And I know someone who might just be able to help."

"I doubt it," Shepard muttered.

I just frowned at her in response. She really didn't trust me did she?

"Barla Von. He knows everything that goes on in the Presidium, if not the entire Citadel."

Anderson supported my claim. "I had heard a rumor he worked for the Shadow Broker. Apparently he's one of his top representatives."

"One of his most public representatives," I corrected.

Anderson went on. "He might know something about Saren. But his information won't come cheap."

And that's where I come in.

"As a fellow agent, I might be able to get a deal on what he's offering," I said smugly. "I'll go to him and see what he might have for us."

They didn't need to know that the information they were looking for was already free. And that I already knew it. And that-

"Alenko, I want you to go with him. Make sure he doesn't try anything. If he is working with Saren..."

I stopped her before she could finish. "I'm not." I met her stare head on before continuing. "But if it makes you feel any better, fine. I'd be glad to have the lieutenant tag along. I'm not hiding anything." I subsequently swore like a sailor in my head after I had said it. If I actually claimed to work for the Broker in front of Barla, that was a sure fire way to expose my story for the weak lie that it was. I wasn't even planning on actually SEEING the guy.

"Then I guess while they talk to him, we can go find Harkin at Chora's Den Commander," Ashley said.

Anderson seemed to approve of our plan.

"It sounds like you all have everything sorted out, so I'll be heading to the Ambassador's office. You can find me there if you need me."

He paused to look at Shepard once more before taking his leave.

"Good luck Commander."

Author's Notes:

Big dump. Chapter 6 and hopefully the last edits for every chapter before it.

(2016 Edit: It wasn't.)

(2016 V2 Edit: Apparently nexbe isn't a word.)

Next time: Barla Von's On, Harkin's harking up the wrong tree, and enter Team Normandy.

Catch you next time on Mass Effective: A Hero Made!