Chapter 6

Target: Citadel Conspiracy

"Spectre Ventius. You're progress thus far has been promising. You have successfully taken down a section of the Omega mercenaries, a salarian doctor conducting illegal business, a slave trade organization on Illium, and batarian pirates. There is currently a situation we need you to deal with. We believe there may be an attempt to oust us from the Citadel Council. We are unsure as to who may be behind this conspiracy, so we need you to investigate." The Turian councilor said to Ventius.

"Yes councilors. It will be done." Ventius nodded and began to leave the Citadel Tower.

His first destination was the Citadel Embassies. There he could find out if any of the political representatives was behind this conspiracy.

"Welcome to the Citadel Embassies. Here we have the offices of the diplomats, the C-Sec office, the Spectre office, the Earth Councilor's office, and the office suite." A voice was saying.

It was an Avina terminal. A VI who gives information on shops and local features. Not much use to him.

He ignored her and proceeded to the Spectre office terminal.

On the terminal was a message from a Turian diplomat, requesting his presence in the office suite.

"Welcome Spectre. I hear you have been selected for a mission by the council regarding a conspiracy to oust them from their positions. I apologize. Where are my manners? I am Primarch Gelor Gemnar. Now, I may have a lead for you. A volus named Barla Von may have information regarding the conspiracy. He deals in finance. Barla Von's real area of expertise, however, is the information trade. Here are 500 credits. You will have to buy the information from him. Good luck Spectre." The Primarch said as he showed Ventius out of the office suite.

Ventius took the elevator down to the Presidium to meet with Barla Von.

"Barla Von?" Ventius asked a volus standing behind the Elkoss Combine Arsenal Supplies shop counter.

"Yes, what can I help you with today?" the volus asked him.

Ventius handed him the credits.

"Everything you know about the conspiracy to oust the Citadel Council." Ventius said just as he handed him the credits.

Barla Von quickly pocketed the credits and stood up straight.

"Just as I was saying. A salarian Dalatrass has been speaking out against the Citadel Council and some of their decisions. You may want to start there." Barla Von said to Ventius.

Ventius returned to the Citadel Embassies and entered the salarian offices.

"Excuse me. How dare you barge in here uninvited?!" the Dalatrass was shouting at Ventius.

"Shut your mouth! Why are you conspiring to oust the Citadel Council?" Ventius angrily asked the Dalatrass.

"Oust the Council? How could I possibly oust the Council? I have no pull in the politics here. And no one will openly support me. Not even behind the scenes. You should be looking at Primarch Gemnar. He is more likely to try and oust the Council than I am." The Dalatrass said in his defense.

"What makes you say that?" Ventius asked the Dalatrass.

"Primarch Gemnar has more political pull. He has the backing. People like him and will support him. Other diplomats will support him if he asks or wills it. Did he send you after me? The nerve. He knows he is behind it. He needs a scapegoat. Someone else to throw the blame on and to take the fall if his plans fail." The Dalatrass was saying furiously.

"I will investigate the Primarch. However, I will still need to place you under arrest for treason." Ventius said as he went to handcuff the Dalatrass.

"Treason?! How dare you?! What treason have I committed?!" the Dalatrass was angrily shouting.

"Every word that comes out of your mouth that defies the Citadel Council and their decisions is treason. More so the crimes of sedition and l'ese majest'e. Come with me Dalatrass." Ventius said as he led the Dalatrass out of the salarian embassy and into the C-Sec office.

"Well what do we have here?" the C-Sec captain asked.

"The Dalatrass is under arrest for sedition and l'ese majest'e." Ventius said as he handed the Dalatrass over to the C-Sec officers.

"Understood Spectre." The captain said as he led the Dalatrass away, while Ventius left the office.

The Primarch would answer for his lies and his betrayal of the council.

"Primarch…" Ventius was saying as he entered the embassy, finding the Primarch lying dead in his office.

Who killed him? Was it someone sent by the Council because they knew it was him? Or was he innocent? Did the real conspirators send someone to kill him because he began asking questions?

Ventius called it in to C-Sec and they sent over officers to begin the crime scene sweep and clean-up after an investigation.

Ventius returned to the Presidium and stormed over to Barla Von, slamming him up against the wall behind him.

"Who else knew about the Primarch investigating the conspiracy? Who came to you?" Ventius angrily asked him.

"Umm….umm….an Elcor diplomat. Letzan. He is in the Elcor/Volus embassy." Barla Von nervously told him.

Ventius let him go and stormed off towards the Elcor embassy.

"Letzan!" Ventius shouted as he entered.

"Frightened Tone: Why are you shouting at me? What have I done wrong?" Letzan asked.

"Primarch Gemnar is dead and all evidence points to your involvement." Ventius responded.

"Confused Tone: Primarch Gemnar is dead? How would I kill him? We Elcor are not a violent people. We prefer stability over anything else. We are content with our position in the galaxy. Any evidence that says I was involved is incorrect. Who sent you to seek out the Primarch?" Letzan asked, confused about his suspected involvement.

Ventius thought about the elcor's question and knew who he had to speak with.

He rushed off back to the embassy floor and stormed into the C-Sec office.

"I need to speak with the Dalatrass. Immediately!" Ventius said to the captain.

"All right Spectre. We will set up an interrogation room for you." The Captain said as he led Ventius to the interrogation room, where the Dalatrass.

"You had the Primarch killed. He was innocent wasn't he?" Ventius asked the Dalatrass.

"Yes. He was innocent. He needed to be eliminated. He was getting in the way of progress." The Dalatrass said, with a menacing smirk.

"What progress would that be?" Ventius asked the Dalatrass.

"Things must change. They always do. That is the nature of things. The Council must change with the times. They continue to preach good-will and unity, but really work to bring down the established order. They are playing you Spectre. When you have outlived your usefulness, they will have you removed, permanently. They need you now, to do their dirty work. Yes, the people you are killing for them are wholly evil, but their intentions behind these killings are not genuine. Their true intentions behind them are to remove the competition. That is why we work to bring them down. Help us Spectre. Save the galaxy before they can destroy it. Once they are gone, we can set up a working government. One that will benefit the galaxy. That is why I speak out against them and their decisions. They seek to destroy the very fabrics of the galaxy through political means and back-alley dealings. They are using the Spectres as mercenaries for their own gain. The longer they are in power, the more damage they will do. We can still reverse the damage they have already caused. Get me out of here and I can help you." The Dalatrass explained to Ventius.

Ventius began to think about the Dalatrass' words.

What if the Council was doing as he said? Causing harm to the galaxy?

"Captain. May I have a word with you?" Ventius said as he motioned for the two of them to exit the room.

"What do you think about what the Dalatrass said in there?" Ventius asked him.

"I think it's a load of crap. That is coming from a job standpoint. If my job wouldn't be on the line, I believe some of what he is saying. The Council has made some questionable decisions as of late. Maybe they are planning something. But I won't be the one to find out." The captain replied.

"We keep the Dalatrass locked up as to not draw suspicion. If what he says ends up being true, we need the Council to think we don't know about everything. Do not, under any circumstances, tell the Dalatrass about our plan. He will blurt everything out, throwing the Council on our trail. I will continue to do as they say and when I find evidence of their actions, I will relay it to you." Ventius explained to the captain.

The Captain nodded as Ventius left the room and returned to the Council Tower.

"So, what have you found out Spectre Ventius?" the Turian councilor asked him.

"Primarch Gemnar was killed. We believe he may have been behind it." Ventius lied to him.

He needed someone to take the fall, at least until he could uncover whatever the Council was doing.

"Primarch Gemnar?! That is….I cannot believe it. I would have surely thought it was Dalatrass Umnar." The Turian councilor said, shocked by this false revelation.

"Well, you've done an excellent job. Your next assignment is on Tuchanka. Good luck Spectre Ventius." The Asari councilor said to Ventius.

He bowed his head and made for the spaceport.

I will find out what the Council is up to, and I will bring them down.