Chapter 4
"Shift the blame to cover your own failures, just like Captain Anderson. He's taught you well." The voice of Saren Arterius rang out through the Council Chamber, emanating from the larger-than-life holographic projection of the turian Spectre. "What can you expect . . . from a human?" The Spectre continued, sharing a look with the turian councilor.
"Saren despises humanity. That's why he attacked Eden Prime!" Shepard countered.
"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!" Saren spat.
"He has no right to say that!" Udina said, spitting with fury. "That's not his decision!"
"Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting." The asari councilor cut in, trying to defuse the situation.
"This meeting has no purpose." Saren sneered. "The humans are wasting your time, Councilor. And mine."
"Saren's hiding behind his position as a Spectre." Shepard tried to make the Council see the truth. "You need to open your eyes."
"What we need, is evidence." The salarian councilor spoke this time. "So far we've seen nothing."
"There's still one outstanding issue. Commander Shepard's vision." Now it was Captain Anderson's turn to appeal to the Council. "It may have been triggered by the beacon."
"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now?" Saren put special emphasis on the word "dreams." "How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?"
"I agree." The turian councilor spoke up to support his Spectre. "Our judgment must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculations."
"Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?" The salarian picked up where the turian had left off.
"You've made your decision." Shepard answered, anger leaking into his voice. "I won't waste my breath."
The three alien members of the Council looked at one another, coming to a decision. Then the asari councilor spoke. "The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren, and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied."
"I'm glad to see justice was served." Saren said smugly, before his holograph winked out of existence.
"This meeting is adjourned." The asari councilor announced.
Anderson, Shepard, Alenko, and Williams all walked slowly away from the Council. Udina, however, didn't move. He just stood there, staring at the ground, looking absolutely crestfallen.
I hate that turian motherfucker. Shepard thought vehemently, ignoring whatever argument Udina and Anderson were having. I hate those motherfuckers on the Council too. Oh, he's a Spectre, he wouldn't do anything wrong, we all love him and wanna have his fucking babies. Human witnesses aren't worth shit to us, because you're all a bunch of ignorant malcontents. Turians are perfect and amazing and never do anything wrong, ever. Then how did Nihlus end up dead?! Shepard continued to rage internally, wishing he could go back and really give the Council a piece of his mind. I didn't know turians suffered from naturally occurring, sudden-onset bullet in the fucking brain syndrome. How come that disease didn't affect more of the goddamn bastards at Shanxi then? Then maybe my parents would still be alive. Fucking cock-juggling thundercunts. One of these days, they're gonna pull their heads outta their asses and find themselves in a world of fucking trouble, all because of captain dickweed! Aka their most perfect and holy Spectre, Saren motherfucking Arterius.
Coming back from his internal haranguing of the Council, Shepard got some much-needed information from Captain Anderson.
Ok, so we've got something we can be doing, thank god. I'd probably go on a murderous rampage if I had to go back to the ship and wait for something to happen. I wanna find that Garrus guy first, and then hit up the information broker, Barla Bon or whatever his name was. Hopefully Ash or Kaidan was paying more attention than I was and actually remembers this guy's name.
As they headed for the nearest rapid transport station, Ashley pointed out a salarian doing something to one of the Citadel's keepers. As he noticed the approach of the three, armed, humans, the salarian quickly stood up and stepped away from the keeper. "Um, yes. Is there something you want?" He asked nervously.
"Why are you so interested in the keepers?" Shepard asked, the words coming out more angrily than he had intended.
"Keepers? I'm not interested in the keep-" The salarian was interrupted by Ashley.
"Don't get coy with me, I know what I saw."
"I . . . uh . . . I'm not so sure I should be talking to you about this." The salarian stammered.
"Just tell me what you're doing." Shepard tried to sound reassuring. "I'm not here to get you into trouble."
"Ok, I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you. I've developed a tool that scans the keepers." The salarian explained. "So far, I've had mixed results. I find it difficult to get near the creatures."
"Why were you being so secretive about it, though?" Shepard asked.
"Well, technically we're not supposed to disturb the keepers. I do not think my scanning really disturbs them, but I do not know that the authorities would agree. I'd like to do it more openly, but it's not really worth getting arrested over." The salarian shrugged, thinking that the humans would share his reasoning.
"I could help you out. I'm not worried about the authorities." Actually, I wouldn't mind sticking it to the authorities in any way I can. Shepard was still fuming from the Council's earlier protection of Saren.
"I don't even know who you are." The salarian pointed out.
"I'm Commander Shepard, with the Alliance military."
"Oh, ok. I suppose I could use the help. I'm Chorban." The salarian acquiesced. "Here, you'll need the scanner. Just get close and activate it. All data will automatically be uploaded to my database, and I'll send a few credits to you for each unique scan."
"I should get going then." Shepard replied, then turned and walked quickly away before the salarian could provide an in-depth explanation of how the scanner worked.
"So this is the sleazy I smelled getting off that taxi." Shepard remarked to Ashley as the two of them, and Kaidan, walked into Chora's Den.
"That's funny, Commander." Ashley replied. "I thought it was those two dirt bags who tried to kill us when we got out of the taxi."
"Rookie mistake." Shepard laughed. "Assassins always smell like money and sleazy. This place is pure, unadulterated, sleaze."
All three of the members of the Alliance laughed together, and started scanning the crowd for someone who matched the description of Harkin given to them by Captain Anderson. As they were making their way through the club, they saw two krogan arguing. As they got closer, one krogan, apparently named "Wrex," was threatening someone named Fist. Fist was apparently hiding from the angry, scary-looking krogan with long scars running down the right side of his face. I'd probably be hiding from that beast too. Shepard thought to himself. He looks like he'd be hard to take down in a fight.
After the heavily armed and armored Wrex walked away, Kaidan asked the other two humans, "What was that about?"
"Who cares?" Ashley said dismissively. "Long as we don't get in the middle of it."
Amen to that. Shepard silently agreed. Just then, he spotted someone who looked a lot like this "Harkin" they were trying to find. Hmmm. Bald, shrewish, smelling heavily of alcohol, dressed in C-Sec attire. I think we have a winner.
After listening to the man ramble on about how hard it was working in Citadel Security, and how Alliance marines had it so easy, Shepard finally got some useful information out of the misbegotten drunk. So Garrus should be near the med clinic. If he's not there, maybe this Dr. Michel chick will have seen him. Having come to a decision about where to go, Shepard let his team lead the way to the med clinic, while his thoughts turned to what Harkin had said about the Captain of the SSV Normandy. I wonder if Harkin was telling the truth about Anderson. Was he really a Spectre? If he was, what did he do that was bad enough to get kicked out? And why wouldn't he tell me, if he was trying to get me into the Spectres? Didn't he think I would wanna know about a previous human Spectre, who apparently didn't last long? I've gotta ask him about it next time I see him, or it'll drive me fucking crazy.
As they walked into the med clinic, Shepard saw the turian C-Sec detective crouching low behind a half-wall, looking further into the clinic. Pulling his pistol from his hip, Shepard saw why. Great. Some thugs threatening a nurse. Pretty nurse, too. Unless that's Dr. Michel. In which case, they're threatening a pretty doctor. It seems no day in the life of Spike is complete without killing something, be it a machine, a person, or a relationship. I guess that's what I get for being so badass.
As Shepard and his team advanced, the leader of the thugs pulled the doctor in front of him, obviously intending to use her as a human shield. Oh great. Some precision shooting instead of lunch. Why can't anything ever be easy? Shepard shook his head and lined up his shot.
Before he could take it, though, the thug's head exploded in a shower of blood and brains. What the hell? Shepard started to think, and then noticed the turian standing erect, aiming a pistol at where the thug used to be standing. Not bad. Shepard thought grudgingly. That detective's a pretty good shot. And pretty smart, too. Used my entrance as an opportunity to get the drop on the baddies. Kudos, Mr. Vakarian.
As the other thugs scrambled to find cover, Shepard and his team advanced into the room. Shepard calmly started putting bullets into the heads of whatever bad guys were left. Not bothering to use cover, he moved methodically through the room. These guys don't have much in the way of shields. Three shots and I'm hitting flesh. Not much armor, either. Fucking amateurs. He checked his suit's HUD. They haven't even made it through my shields yet. Pathetic. After the last thug had been dropped, Shepard holstered his pistol and motioned for his team to stand down.
"Commander Shepard." Garrus said as Shepard moved closer. "Your entrance was perfectly timed. Gave me the chance to take that guy down."
He seems enthusiastic, at least. Shepard thought to himself. Let's see if he's got anything going for him besides enthusiasm. "What were you thinking? You could've hit the hostage!" Shepard demanded.
"I- I'm sorry, Commander. I was just taking advantage- Are you okay, Dr. Michel?" The turian stammered.
So. Not confident, then. At least he has good instincts.
"No, I'm okay. Thanks to you. All of you." Dr. Michel sounded a little breathless, but otherwise unharmed.
"I know those men threatened you." Shepard said, calmly. "But if you tell us what they wanted, we can protect you."
"They work for Fist." The doctor explained. "They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian."
A quarian? I've never met one of them before. This shitty day might be getting better soon. "What quarian?"
"A few days ago, a quarian came by my office." Dr. Michel began. "She'd been shot but she wouldn't tell me who did it. She asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide."
This Shadow Broker guy again. I really need to go have a chat with that finance guy, what did Kaidan say his name was? Von? Yeah, Barla Von. He and I definitely need to have a little chat. "Where is she now?" He pressed.
"I put here in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."
Another Shadow Broker crony on the Citadel. Christ. How many of them are there?
"Not anymore." Garrus piped up. "He betrayed the Shadow Broker. Now he's working for Saren."
"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even for him." The doctor sounded incredulous.
"That quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get." Garrus stated the facts with a satisfied smile.
Kinda obvious, but I appreciate the guy for putting everything out there, making sure everybody's on the same page. He might be another turian that I can actually stand, bringing the race's grand total up to two. Well, one, if you figure Nihlus is dead now. Huzzah for the turians, I suppose. But I should really be focusing on the quarian. "What else can you tell me about the quarian?"
"I don't really know much more than what I told you. She didn't say much." The doctor paused, thinking back to the incident. "Wait! Geth! She said it had something to do with the geth!"
"She must be able to link Saren to the geth. There's no way the Council can ignore this!" Garrus exclaimed, pounding his fist into his hand.
"Time we paid Fist a visit." Shepard said coldly.
"This is your show, Shepard." Garrus admitted. "But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you!"
I shoulda expected that. Shepard thought, mentally smacking himself in the face with his hand. Better make sure he's serious, though. "You're a turian. Why do you want to bring him down?"
"I couldn't find the proof I needed in my investigation. But I knew what was really going on. Saren's a traitor to the Council, and a disgrace to my people!" Garrus was emphatic, shaking his head in anger.
Good enough for me. "Welcome aboard, Garrus." Shepard said, holding out his hand.
Garrus took it and shook, with what passed for a turian grin on his face. "You know, we aren't the only ones going after Fist. The Shadow Broker hired a krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him down."
"Yeah, we saw him in the bar." Ashley commented.
A krogan bounty hunter? Probably couldn't hurt. That guy looked like a tank with legs. I bet he can absorb a lot of damage. I say yes! Let's go get us a krogan! "A krogan might come in handy." Shepard said aloud.
"Last I heard he was in C-Sec Academy." Garrus told Shepard.
"What's he doing there?" Kaidan asked.
"Fist accused him of making threats. If you hurry, you can probably still catch him there." Garrus said, smiling.
Ha ha ha, I bet Fist accused him of making threats. Probably hoping C-Sec will kick the angry krogan off the station before said krogan gets a new human throw rug. "Alright, let's move out. Kaidan, you're relieved. If I need you, I'll send a message to your omni-tool."
"Are you sure, Commander?" Kaidan asked, glancing anxiously at Ashley, and then Garrus.
"It'll be fine, Kaidan." Shepard said with a nod. "Garrus, Ashley, let's move out!"