Councillor Udina, it has a nice ring to it, Donnel thought to himself. He was in a gloating type of mood, especially since the news of Commander Shepard's arrest after what was being referred to as the Bahak incident. Though the details were sketchy on exactly how and why it happened, what happened was pretty easy to determine. Commander Shepard was sent in on a covert mission by Admiral Hackett himself, details highly classified, and it all ended with the relay destroyed and the Commander handing themselves over for arrest. The Alliance had placed her in 'protective custody' ever since, mostly to stop the batarians declaring all-out war.

But something had been happening recently. Batarian systems had been going suspiciously quiet of late. Not the usual quiet, where comm. buoy pings would use the lag to determine military build-up. This quiet wasn't because the military channels were taking up the traffic. This quiet was the kind of quiet when there wasn't any traffic at all. Not that Udina cared much about batarian with their constant need to attack along humanity's borders, but still, it was troubling.

Udina was about to get up again when a call came through on his private terminal frequency. This was unusual in itself, because he had given this frequency to no-one except his bodyguards and PA, and the signature wasn't any of them. His hand hesitated over the button that would call in the incoming call as a threat, but decided to open the channel first. If someone had gone through all the trouble to call him like this, it would be rude, not to mention bad sense, not to answer it, at least at first.

Once opened, the small screen on his desk showed a background of a dying star, against which the silhouette of a man in a chair could be seen. The only illumination of the mysterious figure itself were the blue irises of his artificial eyes and the burning end of his cigarette, painting his shadowy face in eerie tones.
"Councillor Udina, congratulations on your recent promotion."
"I'm sorry, you have me at a disadvantage here I'm afraid."
"To be expected. I gave up my name long ago. But we do have a mutual acquaintance in Commander Shepard." Udina's calm face became a grimace.
"Hardly one I would call friendly," he said acidly.

"True, the Commander does tend to put allegiance to the Alliance over more intelligent and pragmatic career moves."
"You'll get no argument from me. So, what shall I call you, and why have you called me?"
"I have been called many names: traitor, butcher, madman. You may call me the Illusive Man."
"So you're with Cerberus."
"Yes, and don't be too quick to jump to conclusions Councillor. Cerberus stands for humanity first. Why, we were the ones who dealt with those missing colonies recently, even had Commander Shepard working that particular case. Sadly, the Commander did not fully share our goals, and we parted ways shortly before the Bahak incident."
"Don't be offended if I don't take you merely at your word," Udina sneered.
"I would be offended if you didn't, but now to the reason I have called you today. As humanity's councillor, you have an unequal position to leverage humanity's place in the galaxy. And as someone who takes human advancement close to heart, I would be a useful ally in the coming years. And I reward my allies well."

"If you think this is merely about credits, you are off your mark," Udina said dismissively.
"You and I both know Councillor that credits are merely the lubrication, the pathway to what humanity really needs. Leadership, leverage, prestige, power! These are the things that are waiting for you if you accept my offer." Udina caressed his chin, deep in thought. It was true that even though he was on the Council, the other three often dismissed him in ways they had never dismissed Anderson. He had no respect from them, a fact he was bitterly reminded of every few hours as he heard the turian Councillor's smug, condescending tone.

"Fine, assuming I go along with this offer, what do you get out of it?"
"Friendship with a powerful figure in humanity's face to the galaxy isn't to be underestimated. And a favour here or there will hardly be seen in a bad light if done correctly. I'm offering you respect Udina, and the way to get it. All I'm asking for in return is that you listen to me when I ask for favours, and not dismiss them out of hand because of who I am. Besides, aren't you tired of living like a pauper when you should be living like a prince?"

Udina sat silently for a moment, before subtly nodding his head.
"You have a deal." The Illusive man took a deep puff of his cigarette, the light illuminating his smiling face for a moment.
"Excellent. A pleasure doing business with you. One of my agents will contact you shortly to arrange the details of your new accounts. Good day." As the line closed, Udina thought about all the things he had been denied for so long, simply because he couldn't afford it.

"Councillor, good to hear from you." The Illusive Man's calls never varied in place, but now that their business partnership had been going on for a while, he had allowed Udina a more enlightened view when they talked.
"Illusive Man, apologies that I took so long returning your call." Udina smiled greedily, for he had certainly been enjoying the benefits of the Illusive Man's business since their first call. First the luxury apartment, then the looks on the Council's faces as he deftly outmanoeuvred them in negotiations using Cerberus intel.

"Apologies are unnecessary my friend. Unfortunately, I have some bad news to relay."
"What is it this time?" Udina asked.
"I have to inform you that as much as we may dislike Commander Shepard personally, they were right about one thing. The Reapers are coming." Udina barely contained his scoff.
"Look, Shepard is insane, Sovereign was an isolated threat. There is no evidence the Reapers exist."
"But there is Councillor, I have it here. One of my Cerberus vessels was able to take this footage from an espionage mission into batarian space." A second window opened on Udina's terminal, showing footage of a gigantic Reaper, before it cut out to static. "This ship was destroyed, but not before it could confirm the Reaper threat. I have plans already in motion to deal with this, but there is only so much Cerberus can do alone. They will come to Earth eventually."
"The Council won't lift a finger to help us."
"Not willingly, not at first," the Illusive Man replied cryptically.
"Oh?"

"I have a plan in motion that will ensure us the Council will cooperate. But it will take time. I will need your help in this Donnel."
"If Earth needs it, then consider it done."
"I had a feeling you might say that," the Illusive Man replied, a smile on his face. "Expect a bonus in your next package." Udina's smile grew to match his partner's at the mention of a bonus.

When the call finally came, and Udina was not happy. The Reapers had hit Earth hard, obliterating dreadnaughts like twigs and forcing the Alliance back to a ground war. The Council, as he predicted, hadn't even spared a thought to their newest members, claiming the need to protect their own homeworlds. When the possibility of naming another human Spectre came up, the Illusive Man had suggested the member of Shepard's crew that had been injured on Mars.
"Use your influence. Play on their distrust of Shepard's involvement with Cerberus. Get them on your side. Then, when our plan is in motion, they won't be able to question you."

It had been easier said than done, given that Shepard's distaste for the human Councillor had apparently rubbed off on their crew as well, even if they were already predisposed to distrust Shepard. It took work to convince them to take the Spectre posting as well, but Udina had managed both in the end. Once the Spectre induction had been completed, the message of a missed call from the Illusive Man was waiting for him.

"Udina, the time has come. The salarian Councillor has been investigating your finances recently. He may or may not know anything, but we have to move before suspicious become actions. I have a flotilla of ships en route to the Citadel, unmarked. I need you to provide them docking clearance at these locations, and then once that's done, get your newest Spectre and take the Council, minus the salarian, to these locations. A shuttle will be there to take you all to a secure location, where we will be able to... persuade the Council to give you command of the Citadel fleets to retake Earth."
"This won't be easy, or cheap."
"As I've said before Donnel, credits come and go, but respect lasts forever. Don't you want to be remembered as the man who, when humanity needed a leader, stepped up and became the hero we needed and deserved?"

The glint in Udina's eyes of future glory blinded him to the potential hazards in getting there. He authorised everything the Illusive Man requested quickly, already seeing his name in the history books.

"If you let him open that door, Cerberus assassins will be waiting," Commander Shepard said to their former crewmate, who had pulled a gun on them. Udina used this Council authority to override the door locks, Cerberus assassins precisely what he was hoping to find. While the two human Spectres bickered about who was loyal to whom and Cerberus ties, Udina was almost done with the locks. Then the asari Councillor decided she believed Shepard, and put a hand on his arm to stop him. Udina snarled and shoved her away, pulling his pistol out from its concealed holster and pointing it at the akimbo asari. He only needed one other Councillor alive to assume command, after all, and he had always hated the cool superiority of the asari. His finger was squeezing the trigger and he heard a shot, but not from his own gun. He looked further down at the hole in his chest leaking blood.

Bbefore he collapsed, his final thought before his life ended was how he was going to be a hero.