The Citadel: Ambassador Udina's office on the Presidium

"This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the Geth attacked a Turian colony…"

I listened with only half my brain to the debate raging between Udina (who had not been happy to be introduced to Shepard and his ground team; which to my chagrin included me) and the Council via holograms. The rest of my attention was captured by-wonder of wonders-The Presidium.

I could best describe it as standing on the outer inside edge of a hollow doughnut, which made me hungry just thinking about it. A great lake stretched out below, while a simulated sky arched above. The whole place was blazing white and silver, broken by the occasional cherry tree in a small plot of soil.

The whole place was amazing, but underneath all of it was a very, very slight sense of unreality, as if nothing could be this perfect. Something set my teeth on edge, like an undertone that didn't quite jive with the rest of the music. It took me a couple of seconds to shake off the majesty of the place, but I finally figured out why the Citadel unnerved me: the station was a trap. A Reaper trap.

My mind was suddenly filled with the voice of Admiral Ackbar.

All this passed through my head in the minutes it took for the conversation behind me to shift back to include Shepard and his team.

"And I'm still waiting to hear why there is a civilian on your ground team, Commander!"

"He can explain that better than I, Ambassador. Conner? Conner!" I felt Shepard tap me on the shoulder and jumped about a foot in the air (as the gravity was slightly less than I was used to) before turning around and straitening the collar of my jacket.

I had had a chance to take stock of, well; myself after Shepard had left me standing in the Normandy's med bay. After asking for and finding the restroom behind some panels on the crew deck I visited the requisitions officer down in the cargo hold (apparently he doubled as the quartermaster) and received a few changes of uniform. How he figured out my size I didn't know, but he had managed to get me decked out in an Alliance standard uniform, same as most other crew members save for color scheme: pilots' jumpsuits were black accented with dark blue.

The only thing that had come with me from my previous existence had been my underpants, which needed replacing after my dressing-down. I now stood in one of those uniforms and a spare leather waist-length jacket one of the engineers had tossed aside.

I saluted Udina smartly, suppressing the urge to gulp-though I couldn't do a thing about the sweat gathering on my forehead.

"Corporal Conner Donavan, ambassador. Operations liaison between the Eden Prime 212 marine regiment and Alliance special operations."

After hashing out a few ideas with Shepard (mostly me talking; he hadn't exactly been very forthcoming at the time) I had decided to take on the role of an undercover agent stationed at Eden Prime. No idea how, but when Shepard and I presented this to Anderson he accepted it (grudgingly of course).

And had approved my transfer to the Normandy's crew roster. Which somehow didn't make me feel any better.

"Indeed."

Udina-excuse me, Ambassador Udina- scratched his chin pensively, looking me up and down with an unreadable expression. I clenched my teeth and kept my face as neutral as I could, knowing full well how big of a jackass this man would prove to be.

Udina's voice took on a hard edge.

"I think we have more pressing matters at hand, otherwise I would protest you bringing an unarmed civilian on this, Anderson."

Anderson merely crossed his arms behind him. "That was Shepard's call, and I trust his judgment."

"Be that as it may," Udina started pacing angrily. "The Council has already finalized the investigation into Saren's activities and is ready to meet with us for the hearing. Though they were not happy about it,"

I snorted. Udina gave me a scathing look before continuing.

"Saren is one of their best agents, and it's going to be murder to find any kind of evidence to support our accusations." He spared a derisive look at Shepard, who had been watching casually the entire time. "It's probable that they might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres."

Shepard rolled his eyes. "I'm not doing this for a promotion, Udina. I'm doing this to stop Saren."

"Settle down, Commander. You're in enough hot water already."

Udina abruptly turned his back to us and strode over to his desk. Sitting down and starting up a holographic computer screen (causing my eyes to nearly bulge out of my head), he spoke again.

"I assume you lot can find your way to the Citadel Tower. That's where the meeting is taking place. I'll meet you there."

Wait… if he's sitting there, how exactly is he going to beat us to the tower? This had always confused me… but then again teleportation was a rather common phenomena in games, so I didn't think much of it. At the time at least.

Looking around at the hallway outside the office, I noticed an enormous grey alien with a weird contraption on its back walking slowly through the doorway on the right. I recognized the telltale monotone voice of an Elcor from him and from inside the room.

Curious, I peeked my head in and took in my first sighting of a Volus, two Elcor (one behind his/her desk, the other having just entered), and an insect-like Keeper in one corner.

"Do you realize what you're saying," stated the Elcor ambassador to the recently entered fellow. "These allegations are very serious. I can't just-"

"This is serious," the other interjected. "I spoke to the Consort alone, and in confidence. And she betrayed that confidence."

I failed to notice-having been eavesdropping on the organic HK-47s- that the volus ambassador had waddled up to me and was glaring at me. Or at least I think he was; being in an envirosuit made it hard to tell.

Gasp-"Human, you are lost, I think." Gasp-"Your ambassador is next door, in the large office."

"Oh, uh…" I was at a loss for words. Dealing with blatant eavesdropping had never come up before, and besides this was the first time in my life I had ever been addressed by an alien.

"I was just, um, looking around, and… well,"

"There a problem here, Corporal?" Shepard said from behind me. I turned around, relieved to have an escape route, but the Volus cut in before I could say anything.

"Your young friend here was just listening in on a very" Gasp "Private conversation, Earth-clan."

"Was he," Shepard drawled, glancing over at me with a raised eyebrow."

"Chastising remark: Do not be so rude, Din. I'm sure he didn't mean any offense." The Elcor ambassador apparently was on my side, for all the good it would do.

Shepard strode forward and engaged the two ambassadors in conversation while I walked up to the other Elcor (who I remembered going by the name Xeltan).

"I wasn't trying to overhear your conversation. I'm sorry if I seemed rude."

Xeltan shook his head. "Distracted: It is all right. It was not your intention to compromise my authority. Unlike the Asari consort…" He trailed off.

"What do you mean?"

"Frankly: The matter is too sensitive to disclose." I couldn't really read his expression either, obviously. "If you wish to visit her, the consort can be found across the bridge to the East. Her offices are easy enough to spot. Good day human."

What was that about? I wondered. Then I kicked myself (mentally, of course.). Oh right, the whole snafu between Shi'ira and General Orahka.

It didn't take long for Shepard to finish his conversation with Din and Calyn (the Elcor ambassador), and soon the four of us (Kaidan and Ashley had waited outside) were walking down the "street" toward the Citadel Tower access elevator. After having consulted a virtual map and Avina, the local tour guide, that is.

I was still reeling from seeing a virtual intelligence first-hand when Shepard tapped me on the shoulder again.

"So what was that all about, back there?"

"Oh, something about a problem the Elcor diplomat was having with someone called 'The Consort,'" I replied, trying to sound casual. Shepard wasn't buying it, needless to say, and gave me a look that said clearly 'Is this something you know that will impact us?'

I nodded silently, and went back to staring at the scenery.

"I can't believe they ignored all the evidence against Saren!"

Our meeting with the Council had gone predictably obtuse. I slumped against the far wall of the elevator (suppressing the swooshing sensation coursing through me) and stuck my hands into the pockets of my jacket.

"What evidence?" I murmered. Shepard promptly gave me a solid WHAP upside the head.

"Sorry, sorry." I rubbed the back of my head and said ruefully "Why do I get the feeling that's going to be a 'thing' with you?"

Shepard only smirked evilly.

I went back to staring at the elevator wall and tried not to interrupt Ashley and Kaiden as they debated the best way to implicate an erstwhile Turian Spectre. And given how big the Citadel was, the ride down was turning out to be a lengthy one. I glanced back at Shepard.

He seemed… I don't know if pensive is the right word to describe him at any time, but he didn't look as angry as he was when he was ready to kill me. I hoped. He watched his subordinates' argument with a detachment that I envied. He spoke only when we stepped off the elevator and back onto the presidium.

"Anderson gave us two courses of action, and I for one am not inclined to let either one go to waste." He stroked his chin thoughtfully and came to a decision.

"Williams, Alenko. I want you two to go ahead of us and see what you can get out of that Volus merchant the Captain mentioned. Barla Von." Ash and Kaiden nodded. "Donovan and I will head down to this 'Chora's Den.' But first," he turned back to me and grabbed me by the arm as we separated into twos. "We need to get the rookie suited up."

Shepard dragged me over one of the many bridges that littered this part of the presidium and in the general direction of the markets. Something caught my eye about half-way across, and I stopped for a moment to make sense of it.

Though I'd seen a Mass relay often enough in the loading screens, the sculpture that stood before us still took my breath away. The miniature relay stood on its end in the middle of the lake, unmoving. As I edged closer, I started to hear a subtle hum that vibrated in the base of my chest as if a French horn was blowing in my ear.

This, then, was the conduit. The back door onto the Citadel that Saren so ardently sought; and no one but me had any clue.

"Hoi! There'll be time for sight-seeing later, 'Corporal.'" I jumped for the third time that hour, and jogged over to Shepard shaking my head.

"Sorry, Shepard." He slowly turned and gave me a glare that would have put ice into the Illusive Man's soul. "Oh, er… Commander."

Shepard nodded ominously and walked briskly over to the set of kiosks on the Presidium's other side. I gave a mental "Whew," and followed along sheepishly. I hadn't gone three paces when a voice accosted me on the right.

"This one is pleased to see the other. Would it care to observe what this one has to offer?"

I glanced over, intending to respond, but I couldn't see whoever it was that had addressed me. None of the assorted Asari, Turians, or Salarians looked as though they were particularly interested, and the only thing in front of me was a set of curious pink pillars.

Shepard strode up to me and tapped my shoulder. "Look up."

I followed his advice and found myself staring face to… well, body, I suppose with a Hanar. I had completely forgotten.

"Oh, um… thanks, I'll take a look and see if I can't find something." I glance around for a moment or two before finally locating the Hanar's kiosk interface. I scrolled through the selection and decided to concentrate for now on a hard-suit. Names blinked past, some looking highly advanced and protective, but I seriously doubted I could handle anything other than the lightest armor.

Onyx, Hydra, Explorer, Assassin… just then a single label popped out at me. I don't know why, maybe it was just the color scheme, but excellent shielding, adaptive amp interfaces, and reasonable mobility decided me.

"I'll take the set of light Guardian armor." Shepard raised an eyebrow.

"You sure, Donovan? There are better armors on this list."

"I don't want to clean out our budget, sir." I reply. "Besides, I'm going to need all the help I can get figuring my tactics out. I don't want something that's going to weigh me down or overwhelm me with added features."

Shepard glanced at the specs of the armor I had chosen, then activated his omnitool. "It's your choice, Corporal. Any weapon selections yet?"

"Not so far," I mutter, thanking the hanar (I think his name was Dela'minder, or something like that.) "Everything here is high-end complicated stuff. I need something slightly more basic that I can improve over time."

I had given careful consideration into the kind of gun I felt would be most appropriate, and had decided that for now I would focus on just one or two weapons. Starting with a heavy pistol.

But none of the pistols offered by the hanar had struck me as particularly memorable. So I took another look around the marketplace and started to walk off again.

This, apparently, was the well-to-do shopping area. There didn't seem to be anywhere that stocked a basic pistol, or a basic anything for that matter. I was about to give up when my shins collided with something rotund and squishy.

"'Wheeze' Watch where you're going, 'wheeze' Earth-clan."

I looked down at the second Volus I had ever seen, clad in a deep red and brown envirosuit. He picked himself off the floor and glared up at me, nursing what I assumed was the Volus equivalent of a bruised posterior.

"Oh, sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." I said hastily. Not that I would have seen him in time, being so tall to his short.

The little fellow brushed himself off and waved a pudgy, three-digit hand in my general direction. "'Wheeze' No matter, I get that a lot. 'Wheeze' I couldn't help but overhear that you're in the market for 'Wheeze' basic weapons?"

Shepard folded his arms and glared down at the Volus. "What if we are? And may we have your name before you try to sell us anything."

"Oh, 'Wheeze' of course!" The volus proudly drew himself up to his considerable two-and-a-half feet or so. "The name's Nel Jory, purveyor of goods 'Wheeze' not necessarily appealing to the 'Wheeze' general populace."

Shepard grabbed me by the jacket-collar and hauled me to one side, muttering "Black market dealer," out of the corner of his mouth.

"Most likely." I agreed, glancing back at Jory, who to his credit was making an effort to appear as though he wasn't listening in. "But even if most of his stock is glorified varren crap, we could still take a look."

I turned back to the volus merchant and examined his holographic catalogue. As I expected most of the items were grossly over-valued, but before I could write the dealer off as a con artist I noticed something.

"Hey, you still have that M-5 Phalanx in stock?"

"'Wheeze' Eh? The one not in mass 'Wheeze' production yet? Of course. Here, take a 'Wheeze' look."

Now, ordinarily I wouldn't have been inclined to get suckered into anything, but given the versatility of the phalanx and its natural stopping power, I nodded. "That's what I'm looking for."

"Certainly, 'Wheeze' Earth clan." Shepard forked the credits over to Jory's omnitool, and the volus handed me my first weapon. I weighed it in my hand, noting the open modification slots.

"A pleasure 'Wheeze' doing business with 'Wheeze' you, Earth clan."

"And you as well, Jory." I collapsed my new Phalanx and attached it to the magnetic clamps on my right hip. Somehow, even though I was a piss-poor shot, I felt a little better knowing I had a weapon of my own. The responsibilities were another matter entirely…