This chapter was really fun to write! And, in other unrelated news, I'm finally going to be playing ME1. I'm about to go and check on the download. It's been taking like a day to get on my PS3 so I hope it works. :(

xoxo

THR

EDIT: So decided to be a butt last night and crash so nobody could submit stories...oh well.

Chapter 23

Your name was Commander Shepard and you had just pressed the button that activated vid comm access between you and Admiral Steven Hackett.

The sun was setting outside but you couldn't see it. You were trapped in a windowless room. It wouldn't have been so bad considering the history you had with it. This room held remnants of conversations that you preferred to not relive.

It reminded you of how you let yourself fall victim to an organization with an agenda that consisted of anything but amiability.

Although you had made it out and reached your goal in the end, you could never forgive yourself for working with Cerberus. You knew that you had made more than one questionable decision in your career. Your ruthless reputation made you prone to making decisions that were not the most ideal. People questioned your morals constantly. You were capable of getting jobs done that way.

Lacking morals helped you make the decisions that you did. It wasn't like you didn't have a compass to guide your ethics; this compass of yours was just deeper inside of your body than other people. Your conscience was merely quieter than others, as well. It would speak when it was necessary.

Admiral Hackett had to be aware of your Cerberus relations. You had severed all ties with the organization, but they had rebuilt you. It would have been rash of you to be ungrateful for their efforts, which you weren't. Even though they remade the Normandy and retrieved your friends for you, their reputation as a business would still remain tainted in your mind.

This was a contradictory opinion, and you didn't tell anybody about your feelings about them. For all you knew, Hackett may not trust you entirely anymore because of Cerberus. Maybe he thought that they had implanted a goddamn chip in your brain.

If he felt like this, you were determined to tell him that the only kind of chip in your body was an L2. There wasn't anything he had to worry about.

You wanted to stop doubting your favorite admiral's opinion about you. He was a trustworthy man and you could say that he was one of the few people that you aspired to be one day.

"Shepard, is that you?"

You looked up and beamed at the man in front of you. You gave him a respectable salute which he waved off.

"Admiral, it's great to hear your voice again. EDI told me that you'd like to see me in person?"

Hackett crossed his arms and leaned against what looked like a desk chair. You couldn't see the environment around him, but it looked promising.

"If that's possible." he replied. "I'm based in Vancouver right now and I'd like to see you face to face. It's nothing mandatory, of course. I'd like to check on your condition. I've also got a few special visitors that wish to meet with you again."

You furrowed your brows. Did "reviewing your condition" really mean that he didn't trust you? This couldn't be the case.

Instead of focusing on the negative, you continued to keep a content expression and address his other comment.

"Visitors? Are we talking dignitaries or ambassadors?"

Admiral Hackett chuckled before composing himself and uncrossing his arms.

"I'm afraid not. These visitors are a little closer to home than you're expecting."

His last sentence puzzled you. What did he mean by that? Perhaps it was an old Normandy crew member. Your first thought was Thane, but you quickly disregarded it.

"Speaking of close to home, I was wondering if I could ask a favor."

The admiral stroked his chin and nodded.

"Considering the danger of this mission, I was considering putting in a request for a partner. Is that possible?"

"This is strictly and Alliance-Spectre based mission. We've teamed up with the Citadel on this. If possible, we could attempt to get you another Spectre to share the responsibilities, although—"

"I want Garrus Vakarian as my partner for Arrival."

You watched as Hackett paused for a long moment. He didn't say anything at first, which was alarming to say the least.

"Mr. Vakarian…he's a rogue Turian C-Sec agent, isn't he?"

You didn't want to say yes, but you nodded anyway. Hackett nodded back and the whole environment became edgy.

"He went rogue for his own purposes. He's got the best shot in the galaxy and he's—"

"He's your romantic partner, is he not?"

You froze at his statement.

How did he know?

You wrung your hands when you felt them start to get clammy. The room's darkness was closing in around you. You loved Garrus dearly, but why did you not want anyone else to know about him? Was he a precious secret that you wanted to keep for security or an embarrassment that you wanted to hide?

No.

You love this man.

It was nothing more than stupid embarrassment.

You took a gulp of air and ignored the pressuring environment around you. You were breaking out into a cold sweat and you tried to pretend like it didn't matter.

"Yes, he is. I'm pretty damn proud of it, too. I assure you that it won't impact the mission in any way that isn't positive. We work well as a team. He also assisted me in defeating the Collectors."

Hackett sighed and rubbed his forehead. You couldn't read him and you were praying that he was about to tell you yes.

"We'll have to discuss this at Vancouver when you arrive. This is the Alliance, not Cerberus. I'll send you a shuttle shortly. Commander, I'd like to make sure you know that this isn't a personal matter. We can discuss it further upon your arrival. Hackett out."

You pressed the button to turn off the vid comm and slammed your fists down on the console.

"God fucking damn it!"

Your hands collided with the metal, which initially didn't hurt. It took a few seconds for the pain of the hit to set in, but you figured that you deserved it. You had fucked up this time.

You figured that you were making a big deal out of nothing. You tried to tell yourself that but it didn't seem to be working.

You had let Garrus down yet again. He would be stranded alone while you were on a mission in the Terminus System. God only knew how dangerous it would be to mess around with Batarians.

The guilt you felt was unnecessary. You didn't know this, though.

Your name was Commander Shepard, and you were going to have to tell Garrus that you wouldn't be able to make it to dinner.

Your name was Admiral Steven Hackett and you had had enough.

Watching Commander Shepard get grilled by the Turian councilor had been brutal. You had exerted all of your energy to not raise your voice.

Hearing the damn Asari in front of you preach about proper summit rules had been agonizing. Your knuckles had turned white from clenching your fists. The room had gotten cold, and it wasn't from the temperature.

Hearing everyone on the Council argue over the most pointless things had drawn the line for you. Using the most stable demeanor that you could muster, you stood up and cleared your throat. When the diplomats and councilors refused to listen, you used the voice you normally reserved for talking to new grunts that lacked the capability to shut up.

"Excuse me!" you bellowed. Your voice resonated throughout the room and bounced off of the glass interior. Everyone broke into complete silence and you couldn't help feeling proud.

"Before all of you begin to continue to make this meeting difficult, I'd like to restore some order. I understand the logistics behind your reasoning to imprison Shepard, but why would you do it in such a way?"

Shepard looked up at you with a confused glare. She was in the dark once again.

She didn't know the real reason behind her second imprisonment yet.

In fact, out of everyone in the entire room, she was the only one that didn't know.

In your opinion, she should be the single one that should know.

The Salarian councilor, who had remained mostly quiet throughout the meeting, finally said something intelligent.

"Do you intend to tell this woman the real cause of this drama? If not, I'd highly recommend escorting her back to her cell."

You looked down at Shepard again, who was staring you down with her sullen, bloodshot eyes. Whether or not she was ready, you were about to tell her the real story about everything.

Your name was Admiral Steven Hackett, and what you were about to say was not pretty.

Your name was Joker Moreau and you had your hands pressed together in your lap, which was rather difficult to do with your arm in a sling.

You hadn't been this quiet since you had been working on EDI's files alone in your apartment. These moments were much tenser, though.

You sneaked a glance at Garrus, who had used his omni-tool to route the video feed to Shepard's TV. It was easier to watch now, which also meant that his emotions were more intense.

He watched with a careful eye as his girlfriend was put in the hot seat. If you had been in the same position as him you wouldn't know what to do. You wanted to say that you would be right by EDI's side.

You paused at your last thought.

Had you really just referred to EDI as your girlfriend?

You dismissed the thought. It was pathetic of you to think that.

She wasn't a robot in any way other than her physical features.

Your focus was soon back on Garrus and his overwhelming support for Liz. The conversation in Udina's former office had nothing to do with the two dead Turians anymore.

It was the analysis of Shepard's imprisonment.

As you listened to Admiral Hackett speak you began to feel more animosity for the Council. You had feared the worst, but this was far less than that.

It was downright scandalous.

Garrus was sitting on the edge of his seat. Every so often one of his mandibles would twitch in anger. In a normal situation you would be laughing at it. This situation, however, was no laughing matter.

"There's no way that it should have happened like this." he growled. "We need to get this exposed!"

You listened to the words that the Turian next to you uttered.

Expose it.

It didn't take long for you to get an idea.

It was an idea that terrified you more than entering the Omega 4 Relay. Its consequences were deep and never ending. If executed, it could mean the end of you.

If it meant the end, it would also mean that Shepard would be at least somewhat liberated.

"I'm going to call EDI and tell her to broadcast this on the Citadel news streams." you announced. "It's a hellish plan but I can't think of anything else that could get the word out."

Garrus turned to you in shock. His jaw was practically open and he didn't say anything at first.

"Joker," he said, his voice raw. "That's the most irrational plan I've ever heard of. I say we do it."

You stood up in disbelief, which hurt your legs to an extent. Garrus was one of the most logical people you ever met. He thought through things and was overly regimented. He was anything but spontaneous. Your idea, although impractical, posed an opportunity that was crazy, outlandish but also brilliant. You had the capability to expose the whole Citadel to Shepard's struggles. They could know the real reason why the Council was holding back.

"You're sure that you're not kidding, right? I mean, I know it's crazy, but—"

"If it means justice for Shepard, I'm in. I'm not letting the Council getting away with stabbing her in the back one more time. I love her, goddamn it. She's not going to go through this alone. She's going to have the whole Citadel fighting with her. And when I'm rotting in jail for doing something this stupid, I'll have a smile on my face the entire time."

You put your finger up to your ear to activate your communications with EDI.

"There's no turning back. Are you just saying all of this to be gutsy?"

Your question made him pound his hand on the firm white couch.

"Contact EDI and do it!" he ordered. "Do it for Shepard and I'll take the blame!"

Garrus had never been so straightforward and hostile towards you. You were aware that he wasn't entirely fond of you, but his fervor for Shepard was apparent. You didn't take his antipathy offensively.

All you did was issue an order yourself.

"EDI," you called, your voice shaky. "Do you have the capabilities to broadcast this feed into the Citadel's television stations?"

There wasn't a response at first. The both of you held your breath in anticipation.

"I'll try my best." a mechanical voice replied.

Your name was Joker Moreau and you were hoping that you wouldn't regret this decision.

You were a man who was visiting the Citadel, but your name wasn't important yet.

You were keeping your usual seat at Apollo's Café warm. In front of you was a breakfast plate consisting of bacon, eggs, and an unscrupulous bottle of imported German lager. The Presidium was gorgeous in the morning, hence why you made a point of visiting the Commons to have breakfast when you visited. This place brought back memories that once plagued you. Over the past year you had changed your feelings towards these recollections, though. Remembrances that once haunted you had turned into pleasant dreams that you longed to relive.

You had been a special solider in the Reaper War. You were a Sentential as well as a solider of valor for the Alliance.

You had also earned the privilege of serving on the Normandy SR-2 during that time.

Your life had changed dramatically since then. You didn't tote guns or stun people with your biotic talents anymore. Instead of blasting across the galaxy, you kept a nice home in Vancouver away from the bustle of real life. Your parents, who had insisted on purchasing you an apartment for all of your contributions during the war, were safe and sound. You visited with them on a regular basis and even went through a few flings with some Earth girls.

Who knew biotics could be used to woo the ladies?

You sipped on your pint generously while crunching on a piece of your bacon. The news was playing in front of you as well.

Much to your distaste, not a lot of interesting events were happening on the Citadel. The reason why you had chosen to visit now was unknown to you. Vancouver was your true home, but you saw nothing wrong with visiting the infamous spaceship every now and then. You liked to see the rebuilding process in person and you had the miniscule hope that you might run into someone from your Normandy days. You didn't quite care about whom you met. You just wanted to know that at least some of them were safe and that you could reminisce again. Telling the same stories to women back home could only get so entertaining.

As the male newscaster droned on about the newest Blasto movie, you saw a blip on the screen. It looked like a brief second of static, which you shrugged off.

You continued to listen in a nonchalant way until it happened again.

This process repeated for a good minute. The static got longer and longer each time and began to form a picture after thirty seconds.

From what you could piece together, it looked like an interference.

Eventually, this static turned into a full on station hack.

You analyzed the video stream that was going on in front of you and looked on in shock.

It looked almost as if there was a large summit taking place in the former human councilor's office.

It also looked like Commander Shepard was sitting in on it.

You shook your head. There was no way that was her. With a reluctant squint, you couldn't say no.

That was your commander.

Beside her were Bailey and Hackett. They were honorable men as well, and you couldn't help getting up and moving forward to listen to the feed's audio like everyone else was.

You pushed through the small crowd that had developed in front of the broadcast screen.

"The Batarians wouldn't forgive us for Shepard's destruction of their people and their relay! Stopping the Reapers wasn't enough and they wouldn't stand for just having her cooped up on Vancouver before the war officially started. They came and threatened us afterwards when we got ahead on rebuilding the Citadel. 'Make her face the consequences or we'll get everyone in Terminus to undo the restoration to your useless shithole of a ship!' That's an exact quote! How were we supposed to make any other sacrifice?! Shepard was wrong no matter what Hackett ordered her to do!"

Your name was Kaiden Alenko, and as you watched the Turian councilor speak, you didn't want to know what was going on around you.

Everyone else gasped, and you felt like it was up to you to put together the pieces of this complicated puzzle.

PS: If you don't know the plot for the Arrival DLC, it might be a good time to learn.