A heavy acid rain fell on the yellow corn-fields, spreading on as far as her eyes could see. The sky was soaked in a sickeningly greenish light and the earth was covered in slime sticking to her boots. As the ground began to tremble, Shepard knew what was about to come. She tightened her grip around her assault rifle, trying to keep her hands from trembling. That foul thing would be upon her, its horrid mouth stretched wide open, ready to swallow her whole like it had done with the rest of her unit. Gavin, Pollok, Manderly, Jones, Martinoff, Wyatt… all dead, being digested by that nightmare below her. Normally it should burst out of the ground by now, but this time was everything was different. The sky was cracking up, orange and red light filling the air above her. In the distance she could make out the silhouette of something incredibly big and incredibly pissed off.
Shepard hated to admit it but Chief Williams with her paranoid and racist ways had been slightly right about the Council. They weren't even remotely inclined to believe that one of their own was responsible for a Geth attack on a human colony, although they weren't lost completely to reason. Somehow, Shepard wasn't even sure how she actually did it, she had convinced them to send the Normandy on a covert mission to investigate the recurring Geth attacks. Even now as they stood at the elevator doors heading for the Presidium she still couldn't believe what just had happened. Earth's Ambassador Udina's voice sounded far away as the realization finally struck her. She, Commander Ria Shepard, had just become the first human Spectre in history! The right hand of the Citadel Council, keeping the peace and order in a galaxy where peace and order weren't the topmost priority. When the Asari Councilor had uttered the words, making her take the vows to protect the Citadel and the Council with her own life and at any cost, she first thought it was just a ruse. As she realized there were no hidden cameras and that the surprised yet unnerved expression on Udina's face was genuine she recited the words they told her. There was no ostentatious ceremony, just an exchange of data on the Councilor's omni-tools and a warrant that Shepard was now enabled to do anything that lay in her power as a Council Spectre, which appeared to be very much. No pressure there, guys! She thought to herself as the elevator doors finally opened. Buried deeply in thoughts the sudden thud against her head brought her back to the present. "Damn it, what was that? Solid metal?!" she growled, laying her hand on the bump on her forehead, which was swelling up rapidly. "By the spirits, I am so sorry." the voice, rich with sub-vocals she didn't understand, sounded some way above her head. The Turian towered in front of her, his mandibles flaring and his blue eyes locked on hers. His skin had the color of silver and a blue stripe was painted across his face, matching the color of his eyes. "Well I guess it was some sort of metal after all…Thulium if I recall correctly?" Shepard answered grinning at her own clumsiness. Laughter came out of the Turian's mouth: "Yes, we do have amounts of it in our skin. Still I am sorry, I haven't seen you down there… err I don't mean you're small... not for humans at least, I think." He stammered, seemingly embarrassed. Beside her Williams stirred: "I would be careful what you say…Turian. You're talking to Commander Shepard, a Council Spectre!" Oh god no…. Shepard thought fighting the urge to smack the woman's stupid head against the wall. Although the look on the Turian's face was more than priceless. "I err…commander! I had no idea there even was a human Spectre!" he replied apologetic. "There wasn't until like five minutes ago." Shepard answered smirking. "So no offence taken…Officer?" she added, examining his blue Citadel-Security uniform and badge. "Garrus Vakarian, ma'am. I am with C-sec and currently investigating a case concerning one of your fellow Spectres… if one could even call this an investigation, it's more like a dance on hot coals." He replied grimly, saluting her. "Well I am not yet familiar with my colleagues as such…" Shepard answered, while Udina and Anderson were excusing themselves to the Embassy. "You still may have heard of this one: Saren Arterius. Does his name ring a bell?"
After Officer Vakarian had told them about how he had several leads on Saren violating Council law he had to excuse himself to make it to an appointment with the Turian councilor. With a wink at Shepard he had bid them farewell, reassuring her that the bump was already getting smaller. An easy-going Turian… what's next? A friendly Krogan? Shepard thought while heading to the Embassies, the lieutenant and the chief following her closely. "If that C-Sec officer really has some news about Saren we should meet up with him later." Kaiden stated pensive. "You're right. I will tell Anderson we might have some good news for a change." She replied as they kept on walking through the Presidium. It was almost squeaky clean and nothing like the space-stations Shepard was used to. However she still felt safer and better here than on any planet she had been so far. The first time she had set foot on Earth was when she was about seven years old and her mother, now a System Alliance Admiral, had taken her to London for an assignment. It had been utmost terrifying. Shepard remembered how afraid she had been as she looked into the open blue sky, scared to death to be sucked into it. She could live with the buzzing of insects all around her, they even were quiet funny especially the ants, but what finished her off was the wind and the strange sound it made when it brushed against her ears. The thought alone made her shudder. No, joining the Alliance and spending her life on star-ships was definitely the best choice she had made. Even though her N7 assignments always took her to different and dangerous planets, exploring them was fun and knowing that she could always return to her ship, her home, gave her the strength to overcome any disaster…even Akuze.
As the three of them entered the human Embassy Anderson and Udina were having a heated argument. "Her becoming a Spectre is the best thing that could have happened to the Alliance! There is no one better suited for this task!" Captain Anderson yelled, actually yelled at the Ambassador, whose head was colored in dark-red. "She's your protégé, of course you think that, Anderson! Be that as it may, it would have been far better if humanity finally had been offered a seat in the Council! This Spectre position is just insulting!" Udina spat out infuriated. "Damn it Udina you have been itching for the Council seat for quite some time now. Just let it go." Anderson replied unnerved. Watching the two grown men glare at each other like little children made Shepard unbearably uncomfortable. Coughing softly she remarked: "I apologize for intruding, but we do have some news concerning our primary objective: Saren and his Geth."
The Ambassador wasn't convinced with Shepard's plan to contact the Turian Officer, although Anderson gave her leave to go and find him. First things first Shepard thought as the three of them exited the Embassies. She turned around to face the Gunnery Chief, who was visibly uncomfortable with her surroundings. "Chief Williams." She called, putting on her military face. "I expect you to return to the Normandy immediately to ensure that they are ready for departure. If Joker gives you a hard time you have my permission to kick his ass. Of course not physically or he might not recover from it in time!" she lied. "But, Commander, I thought we were about to search for the Turian, what if you need backup?" the woman replied irritated. With that racist mouth of yours you're far from being any kind of helpful backup. More like neon sign telling them to please shoot us in the head. "Don't worry about it. We're on the Citadel, what could possibly go wrong?"
Murphy's law could be summed up by simply saying: Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. A lesson Shepard had already learned too often but still ignored every time she went on a mission. Her Assault Rifle loaded and at the ready she sneaked into the little clinic in the Wards, Kaiden closely following behind her. They had heard the gunfire from outside and thus they knew what they had to expect. Rolling quickly behind a counter and out of the line of view, Shepard took in a quick impression of the situation. A young woman with short brown hair was held hostage by a mercenary dressed in red armor. She was pleading for her life, trying to wriggle out of his grip, in vain. God how she hated hostage situations, Shepard remarked grinding her teeth. Nodding towards Kaiden, who crouched down beside her she went out of cover, aiming the rifle at the kidnappers head. "If you put down that pistol nice and easy, maybe we'll talk about me letting you live." She hissed menacingly. The captor was taken by surprised, aiming the pistol now directly at Shepard. All of a sudden a shot was fired and the captor dropped dead beside the screaming woman, a huge wound gaping in his head. Another shot, from a different gun was fired at Shepard, missing her by a few inches. Jumping over to the terrified woman she brought them both into cover, trying to figure out what was actually happening. On the far end of the room she could see the head of another man dressed in red peering from behind a toppled crate. A wave of fury washed over her as she let her biotics flow through her body. With a wave of her hand she threw the man against the wall behind him, making him pass out immediately. A familiar laugh sounded through the clinic as she helped the hostage to her trembling feet. "Nice work Commander Shepard, he didn't even see that coming!" the Turian stated striding towards her, slinging his sniper rifle over the shoulder. Her eyes were narrowing to slits as it dawned on her: "Was that you shooting the captor?" she asked infuriated. "Yes, Commander you gave me a clear shot." He replied, sounding almost proud. With a few steps she came to halt in front of him, glaring into his blue, alien eyes. "Damn it Vakarian, what were you thinking? You could have shot the hostage! I thought you were here to save her! Are all Turians that reckless?" she growled at him. The look he gave her closely resembled the human equivalent of puzzled. "Well, err, I had a clear shot, so I took it." He replied. "Oh that is so reassuring. Excuse me for not knowing that you are apparently the best shot on the whole damned Citadel!" she yelled. In the corner Shepard heard the other mercenary stirring. "And you stay down!" she growled, sending another biotic wave towards him, making him pass out again. The blue-eyed Turian was measuring her every move closely and the closeness made Shepard suddenly feel very uncomfortable. Taking a step back she pursed her lips: "So are you going to tell me what you're doing here? I mean aside from risking the Doctor's life." She asked him. The short-haired woman approached her from the side laying a calming hand on her arm: "Garrus here was actually trying to safe my life. He has been my contact in C-sec for quite some time now." She explained, her voice laden with a French accent. "He and I may have some different views on how a rescue mission looks like…it seems." Shepard replied unimpressed, eyes still fixed on the Turian "On another matter: why did you need rescuing Dr….?" she added, turning her head towards the woman. "Michel. A pleasure, Commander. And thank you for intervening. Those mercenaries were after me for some time now. They're working for Fist, the owner of Chora's Den." The medic explained slowly. This did ring no bell at all, so Shepard kept on staring at the lifeless body to her feet. "It's a nightclub here in the Wards. I have positive Intel that Fist has been closely associated with Saren during his time on the Citadel and Dr. Michel here has given me some pointers." Garrus Vakarian stated. The news took her by surprise. There really was a lead to the corrupt Turian here on the Citadel. "Well, what are we waiting for?" she asked, nodding towards Kaiden and the exit. "Wait Commander! I have been after Saren for some time now and I know my way around the Citadel. The Wards and Chora's Den in particular are no place for a female. Let me go instead." The Turian said.
Shortly after, the three of them arrived in front of the night-club. The booming bass filled Kaiden's ears making his head throb in complaint. A great place for someone with migraines... He thought, trying to ignore the pain building up in his head. He was amazed that Shepard had still allowed the Turian to tag along, even after his comment about her… femininity. "I must admit I though Turian women were head-strong… But this...Are all your females like this, Lieutenant?" he murmured, when they were out of Shepard's ear-shot. "No not all of them, but Shepard certainly is." Kaiden whispered back. "Interesting…" Vakarian replied, his mandibles flaring. "Hey no loitering back there!" the Commander hissed over her shoulder. Kaiden was still amazed what kind of effect her voice could have on people. Even though the Turian wasn't part of the crew he stood up straight, hurrying to her side together with Kaiden himself. A brown lock had tangled itself out of the knot on the back of her head and she brushed it out of her face, while still eying the entrance to the night-club. "Alright we need some sort of plan. The problem is we don't know what we might face inside, or do we?" she asked the Turian in particular. "Well we might just face strippers and drunken patrons, but there could also be a horde of mercenaries just waiting for us to make a wrong move." Vakarian replied, shrugging his shoulders. "So either way it's gonna be fun. I'd call that a win-win situation!" she stated, grinning from ear to ear.
Her right hand resting on her weapon's hilt, Shepard entered the night-club, expecting the worst. A feeling of disappointment was spreading in her gut as she recognized that this was just your normal everyday night-club, similar to the ones on Earth, well besides the half-naked Asari dancing in every free corner. "This is…nice…" Kaiden's voice sounded behind her, uncertain. Shaking her head she took another step into the club. "Stripper's quarters are over there honey." A booming voice sounded a feet above her head. "Come again?!" she growled, ready to bash in the head belonging to the voice. The scarred Krogan was towering in front of her, eying her suspiciously with his crimson eyes. He wore heavy armor like all Krogan Shepard had seen so far and it had the same color the mercenaries' armor had had in the clinic. "Ah you're no Asari… Well nobody wants to see a naked female human, that much is true. My bad…" He replied unimpressed. "Now if you will excuse me…" he added trying to push his massive body past Shepard. Getting a hold of his arm, Shepard drew herself up to full height in front of him blocking his exit. "Hang on there, pal. I think we two need to have a little chat about your Boss… Mr. Fist?" she stated, her voice a menacing grumble. Did you just threaten a Krogan? He's far over 7 feet tall and weighs at least 180 pounds. Even your new Turian friend won't stand a chance against his charge… To her surprise the Krogan simply burst out in booming laughter. "If you came for Fist, he's already dead. We do have about 30 seconds until his men find him and maybe 10 seconds more until they figure out I did it; although I won't stay around that long. I need to find the little Quarian with the data-pad, before Saren's men get to her first. The Shadowbroker needs the Intel." And with those words he pushed Shepard to the side making his way out of the club. Not a moment too soon, for Shepard could hear the screams and shouts emerging from within as she followed the running Krogan. "Wait! Who the hell is the Shadowbroker?" she shouted after him, before the bullets began to rain down upon them.
During the ensuing fight against the mercenaries, Shepard had to admit that the Krogan and the Turian were both ruthless and skilled fighters much more than the human biotic on her team. Kaiden still seemed to be almost afraid to put his biotic powers to use unlike the Krogan, who used them to their full extent, throwing his enemies through the air like they were mere ragdolls. All of a sudden she felt an arm tightening itself around her throat making it almost impossible to move or breath. "Shepard!" Kaiden shouted out in fear. The mercenary strangling her wore no helmet…his mistake. With all her strength she smashed her head backwards hearing the crack of then man's nose loud and clear followed by his muffled curses. The last things he saw and heard before he flew uncontrollably through the corridors was her body drenched in a blueish light as her biotics flared up furiously and the Krogan's booming voice shouting: "Impressive!"
As the last mercenary dropped dead to the floor, Shepard turned her attention to the Krogan, who ejected the used thermal clip from his shotgun. "Alright let's find that Quarian. If there is any Intel about Saren or his Geth I'll need it more than that Shadowbroker of yours!" she stated, glaring at him. "Well and who are you exactly to think you have the right on this Intel?" the Krogan asked unnerved. "I am Commander Shepard, System Alliance Officer and Citadel Spectre and it would be very unwise to stand in my way, Mr. ... ?" she replied, advancing through the narrow corridors in the direction the Krogan had been heading. "Wrex, Urdnot Wrex." He replied and added grinning: "You have some balls, Shepard. You, I like!"
The corridors were poorly lit and empty, except the occasional bug-like creature scurrying past them in silence. "Those things give me the creeps!" Kaiden whispered, shuddering. "I've been working in C-Sec for several years now and I'm still not used to them." The Turian replied. "Hush! I can hear someone talking ahead of us. Let's sneak up to them quietly." Shepard commanded, looking at the Krogan in particular, who rolled his red eyes. Hiding behind a metal crate, Shepard silently asked the Turian for his rifle, gesturing to its scope. Most reluctantly he handed it to her with such an air of graveness; she had to suppress a wave of laughter building up in her throat. Through the scope she could see a Turian and two Salarians talking to a female Quarian and by what Shepard could read from their body-language they were threatening her. The Quarian however stood still, seemingly unimpressed by their threats. Her right hand was gesturing towards the two Salarians while her left hand seemed to be fumbling at her belt. "Shield your eyes!" Shepard hissed to her allies as she realized what the Quarian was about to do. The flash-bang grenade hit the floor in front of the mercenaries, making them stagger blindly backwards, while the Quarian jumped into cover. However the fight was far from over. Flinging the sniper rifle back into Vakarian's waiting claws, Shepard rushed out of cover her own gun ablaze. The three mercenaries didn't know what hit them as the bullets came raining down upon them.
After the last shot was fired, Shepard turned her attention to the female Quarian. She had fought well with her old but working pistol and her omni-tool which she had used to overload her enemies' weapons. "Thank you for helping me with this thugs. I couldn't have done it on my own." She said, her voice ringing as she talked. "No problem. In fact this whole rescue mission wasn't as selfless as you might think." Shepard explained slowly. "My Krogan friend here told me you had vital information about Saren and the Geth?" Behind her helmet the Quarian's eyes seemed to flare up. "Yes that's true. I was about to sell the information to the Shadowbroker, although I think your Alliance can make more use of it. I've been hearing talks about Geth attacks on human colonies." Nodding gravely, Shepard replied: "That's true. And I am positive Saren is in league with the Geth, although I don't have enough to prove it, not yet at least…" Beside her, the Turian seemed to be getting restless. "Whatever we do, we need to leave before C-Sec is swarming the place!" Vakarian stated, slinging his rifle over his shoulder. "What?! Can't you just tell your colleagues that those thugs have attacked us?" "Well, they're not exactly my colleagues any more…" Vakarian replied ruefully. Hearing the sirens approaching, Shepard rolled her eyes, sighing: "Great, just great…Let's get out of here people." She commanded, leading them to the nearest exit.
On their way to the human Embassy, Garrus Vakarian told her that he had quit the service right after they had met at the Citadel Tower's elevators. His talk with the Turian Councilor had ended in him telling the diplomat how incompetent he was and that the Council was just a bunch of hypocrites and protecting Saren so their own asses wouldn't be put on the line. Shepard decided she liked the Turian, even though he had lied to her at first. As the five of them entered the human embassy the looks following them were priceless. We do make an odd entourage for unused eyes… Shepard thought, suppressing a grin. A human stood guard in front of Ambassador Udina's office eying them suspiciously. Following his glance, Shepard explained: "They're with me, we're here to see Captain Anderson and the Ambassador." Furrowing his brow at the three aliens the guard asked with an uncertain smile: "You're joking, right?" Taking another step forward, Shepard's face was only inches away from his: "Do I look like I'm joking?" The metal door behind him slid open and the face of Udina appeared, visibly unnerved. "Shepard, I thought I heard your charming voice. Why don't you come in so we'll avoid another fight on the Citadel? Anderson is already waiting." He said sarcastically.
The Quarian's recording was gold. Captain Anderson recognized Saren's voice right away, ordering the Geth to attack Eden Prime in search for the Prothean artifact, which he called beacon. However something else got Shepard's attention. There was also a female voice, nobody could identify, on the recording talking about Reaper's and Sovereign. While Anderson and Udina were having a heated discussion, Shepard sat on the chair listening to the recording over and over again. "What the hell is a Reaper? And who is Sovereign?" she murmured to herself. It still didn't make any sense to her. Somehow she thought that it had something to do with the unknown star-ship from the emergency-transmission they had received from Eden Prime, but this was just a hunch. "Shepard, Udina and I have come to some sort of conclusion." Anderson told her. "You will take the Normandy to Therum, where you'll meet up with an expert on Prothean technology: Dr. Liara T'Soni. She knows everything there is to know about the Protheans and we'll need her expertise if we want to solve this puzzle. There might be more behind the visions you had after interacting with the artifact!" he explained earning a surprised look from Udina. "What visions?" he asked the captain. "Not your concern. Shepard, I leave the Normandy in your capable hands. Bring her back in one piece once this mission is over." Slowly her captains words were sinking in. "You can't be serious, Captain. The Normandy is yours, as is the crew." Shepard blurted out in disbelieve. "Was. Now you need her more than I do. What is a Spectre without a ship, after all?" he explained with a weak smile. He doesn't like this at all, but he has no choice. Shepard thought to herself. "I don't know what to say…thank you Anderson." She muttered as Udina ushered them out of his office.
"So, you're about to haunt down Saren, I assume?" Vakarian asked her as they exited the Embassies. "That's the idea, I think." Shepard answered, still trying to get a hold of the idea that she was now in command of the most advanced star-ship in the Alliance. "Great, I will join you. If I may?" the Turian stated. Snapping out of her thoughts, Shepard fixed him with her eyes: "On one condition: You do what I tell you to do. You're part of a team now and not some lone ranger gunning his way through the galaxy without considering the costs. Are we clear?" she asked, making it sound more like a statement than a question. "Yes ma'am!" the Turian replied saluting her. "Alright: first order: do not ma'am me. Understood?" she barked, suppressing a smile. "If a Turian is joining your crew maybe you'll need a Krogan to keep him in line?" Wrex implied his crimson eyes gleaming. "I have been after Saren and this intel for some time now. The Shadowbroker can wait. I am curious in how this mission of yours works out." He explained. Having such a skilled warrior on her team sounded most pleasing to Shepard, so she replied nodding: "Good to have you on board, Urdnot Wrex!" Behind her she could hear the young Quarian, named Tali, cough plainly audible. "I have heard stories about the Normandy. It's the one and only human-turian project and its stealth drive technology is said to be most impressive…" she muttered meekly. Shepard couldn't hold back the laughter as she saw the puzzled look on Kaiden's face. "You're in Tali. Without you we wouldn't even know where to start our hunt."