A/N 30 March 2012: Thanks to GoogleFloobs for thetaing! Check out his story The Butcher! It's well-written, interesting, and VERY different :D

Disclaimer: Mass Effect is copyright of Bioware. Ci-Ci is mine.

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Thank you for reading. Enjoy!

4 May 2183—SSV Normandy SR-1, Alliance Docks, Market Ward, the Citadel, Serpent Nebula

Corinthia examined her newest wound in the mirror. While the scars from Elysium were slowly starting to fade, this new one never would. The injury had gone through muscle into her bone, so she would have a permanent dent just above her left temple. Dr. Chakwas had put something on it to keep in the blood, if it started bleeding, and to keep the skin together as it healed, but it still twinged whenever Corinthia moved or made an expression.

She didn't like it. Why couldn't she just look like everyone else? No scars, no goofy grin, nothing? Maybe she could get plastic surgery. There were some good places on the Citadel for that kind of thing.

Shepard knocked on the door. Though the crew all slept in pods lining the crew deck, they had a common area at the back with bathrooms and a common area to get into and out of uniform. Corinthia was in the latter, making faces at herself in the mirror as she tried to figure out how to best conceal the newest addition to her battle scars.

"A bit of makeup and no one will ever know," he said. "Not that you ever wear it."

She squeaked, jumped, and rounded on him. "Shepard! You scared me! Please, don't do that to me right now. My head's still pounding..."

"Yeah, mine, too."

"So, you never told me what it is you saw."

"You don't want to know."

"Oh... Alright." She smoothed her hair down over her scars, completely concealing her eyes since her bangs reached down to her chin. "Great, now I really can't see."

"You're a soldier, Ci-Ci. You're allowed to look edgy."

"You look dangerous, Shepard. I've got a stupid grin and can't even look intimidating if I try."

"Not true."

"Well, you I can yell at and most people listen to me because they're afraid you're going to show up and yell at them instead."

Shepard chuckled. "You can get pretty scary when you're angry. You got me to apologize once, and I'm pretty damn sure you're the only person I've ever done that to."

She blushed and smiled bashfully. "You did, didn't you? I can put that on my resume, then: 'Skills: I can scare Commander Shepard into an apology, but only after a massive argument of morality'. I can see that going over well and getting me a job as C-Sec."

"You'd be a terrible security guard."

"I'm an even worse soldier."

"Not really. You just should've been a..."

"An artist?"

"I was going to say a hacker, but we can go with — Wait, what did you say?"

She laughed. "I've told you before that I love painting and sculpting and all that stuff, didn't I?"

"Maybe... When?"

"I dunno... After Akuze, maybe."

"Then I probably wasn't listening. I was still only catching every other word at that point in our relationship."

"And I was still hanging on your every word."

"You still do."

"Only because you've got a sexy voice."

He raised an eyebrow, his heart racing. She'd complimented him before. Hell, she'd even called him attractive before, but now that he wanted to hear that she liked him... He was overreacting, he was sure, but he was still satisfied to hear her say it.

"That's a new one from you," he murmured.

"So maybe I'm comfortable saying it. I'm a flock of seagulls, you've got this grizzly growl..." She smiled evilly.

Shepard shook his head. "You could seduce someone if you wanted to and you know it. Playing innocent won't help, but I think you could manage, with some practice and a tight dress."

She laughed shortly.

"What?" Shepard asked, curious.

"Me in a dress. That'd be the day..."

"You've worn them before, haven't you?"

"Like when I was in school..."

"It could happen again."

"It'd take you begging me on bended knee with lots of chocolate, roses, and some kind of serenade. Wait, not roses... Lilies, I think."

"Two of the three I can handle, but a serenade? You know I can't sing."

"No, I don't. I've never heard you try. C'mon, give it a shot."

"Do you want me to break every glass surface in the ship?"

"It can't be that bad."

"No," Shepard ordered firmly. "The only way I'll sing is if —"

Behind them, Alenko coughed. "Commanders, Anderson just called. He says that we're supposed to meet in the human Embassies."

"That's our cue," Shepard murmured gratefully. Anything artistic on his part was out of the question. He couldn't dance, either, and he doubted that he could ever get dragged into it by anyone or anything.

Corinthia finished adjusting her hair so that her scars were mostly hidden. "Yeah, that's our cue." As she stepped towards the door, flailed her arms as she spun back around. "Forgot my jacket. Might be useful to be in full dress uniform, you know?"

Shepard nodded. Although he was pretty sure he knew what the Council was going to say, he was going to make a damn good impression. If that meant a dress uniform, he'd do it — which really meant he, Alenko, Williams, and Corinthia would dress up, too, because Shepard was not going to be the only one.

"Williams is on the bridge, Commander," Alenko murmured. "You have time to read her report?"

"Mostly," Shepard muttered. It hadn't been very flattering. Although it praised his skills, she'd called him out for how ruthlessly he'd gone after Corinthia to get her back, without regard to survivors or anyone else. Shepard was used to this kind of review from his peers (and it wasn't like he cared what Williams thought of him), but since everything surrounding Eden Prime had gone from bad to worse, a "bad review" was one more thing that he didn't want or need.

"I wouldn't worry too much about it, Commander. She's pretty shaken up by everything that happened. She still hasn't figured out that you have a good side."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Good side? Where the hell did you hear that?"

"Ci-Ci."

"Yeah, she'd say that..."

"Is it not true?"

"It's irrelevant what my 'sides' are. That whole mission was a goddamn nightmare and no one's going to care that I'm capable of a smirk if Ci-Ci pushes me hard enough."

"With all due respect, sir, I think you're overreacting. There wasn't anything else we could've done down there and you know it. At least you got Ci-Ci out of there alive."

"You can say that. The Brass sure as hell won't." Corinthia was a good soldier, but in light of a Prothean artifact, she — like everything else — was expendable in the Council's and Alliance's eyes. Given the same situation, Shepard would still have done the same thing: give them the finger and save Ci-Ci.

"It's good to see you back, Ci-Ci," Alenko said, smiling and patting her shoulder. "How you feeling?"

"I should probably get a quick answer to that one, but, uhm..." Corinthia thought for a long moment. "Drummy."

"Drummy?"

"My head's pounding, I can feel echoes, and... uh, yeah. I feel like a kettle drum or something, so that's why I say 'drummy'."

"Huh."

Shepard shook his head. "Only you, Ci-Ci, would think of that."

"It's true, though," she protested.

"Can't you say something normal? Like 'fine, but my head's killing me'?"

She frowned sarcastically. "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, right. As if you're even capable of normality."

"Thank you, dear." She stuck out her tongue at him for good measure.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Shepard sneered.

Alenko snickered. The fact that the Commander was even capable of saying "sweetheart" was nothing short of hilarious. It was like him saying, "cute", "fluffy", "cuddly", or "shiny".

"Your top button's undone," Corinthia observed, reaching for the one at Shepard's collar.

He waved her off. "I'll get it later."

"Comfort first?"

"You know I hate these monkey suits."

"But you look so good..." she whined.

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, well, you'd say that."

"So'd any other female on the crew."

"Not that I'd care."

"I know you do."

"Maybe before, but not anymore." He couldn't remember if he'd told her flat-out that he was done with one-night-stands, but he was and she needed to know.

"Wait, I'm confused..."

"Then stay that way."

She snorted huffily. "Fine."

"Fine." Shepard could only wonder if she got the point. Frankly, he doubted it, but her signals were as mixed as ever... He was just starting to notice them.

Williams saluted as they approached. "Commander. Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, ma'am," she introduced.

Corinthia saluted back, grinning and holding out her hand for a proper handshake. "LC Ci-Ci," she answered. "At ease, Williams. Call me 'Ci-Ci'. I never did get that ma'am thing."

"Aye, aye, ma — Ci-Ci," Williams replied, a little unnerved.

"So, you helped drag our sorry hides off of Eden Prime?" Corinthia asked casually.

"Yes..."

"Awesome. Thanks. Wouldn't want to have ended up eaten by the geth or those zombie things. Nasty way to go, zombies."

Williams looked at Shepard in shock. There was no way it was the same woman. The one Williams had heard on the radio sounded like a seasoned soldier, although perhaps guilty of insubordination, but certainly someone able to handle the geth assault. Corinthia must've suffered more head trauma than Dr. Chakwas let on...

Shepard smirked. He always relished seeing people's first reactions to Corinthia (as she tended to never, ever give an expected greeting or first conversation). "Something to say, Chief?"

"Just... surprised, sir," Williams muttered. He'd go ape-shit to save her?

Corinthia clapped Williams on the shoulder. "Well, since you haven't heard about my quirks, the best advice I can give is to just play along. I'm here to balance him out." Corinthia pointed an accusing finger at Shepard. "The man's got no people skills whatsoever. Well, that's not true, but you get the idea."

"Oh, I have a pretty good one," Williams replied lowly.

"That sounds like there's a story behind that."

"Permission to tell it?"

"Just go ahead. I can almost guarantee that I've heard and/or seen worse."

Shepard groaned and moved ahead of them. He wasn't in the mood to hear stories about his own short-comings, even if Corinthia had a way of twisting them into sounding like "awesomely amazing" things.

"Maybe she needs a few more days in medical," Alenko murmured.

Shepard shook his head. "Unfortunately, she's perfectly fine. You just haven't seen her making new friends."

"And you have?"

"Obviously. At least this time she isn't hacking the Alliance just to know what to talk to someone about."

"She did that? Huh. Doesn't sound like her."

"You have no idea, Alenko."

"Understood, Commander."

"...but then he gave me Xerxes and everything went smoothly from there," Corinthia finished.

"Xerxes?" Williams asked.

"Yeah. It's a mini-nuke launcher. Honestly, I'm not even sure how the batarians got their claws on them, but they did. Only good part of the Blitz, if you ask me. Blowing things up is fun."

"And you got a Star of Terra for that, didn't you?"

"Yup."

"And survived Akuze?"

"Yuh-huh."

"And Torfan?"

"Blame the tough guy for that one, but yes," Corinthia answered, jerking a thumb towards Shepard.

"So how did you get cornered down there?"

Corinthia blushed slightly. "A combination of stupidity and bad luck... and maybe a bit of Sheppiness."

"Uh... Sheppiness?"

"Being like Shepard. Anyway, our goal was to get the beacon. So, since our little turian friend was going to take it with him, I downloaded it. Damn thing drained my hard-suit and took up all of my omni-tool's functionality. I'm TOTALLY getting it upgraded as soon as I have a moment. But that beacon was my only cover — and probably the smartest I could get — and Saren's a good-ish shot. So, head wound, unconsciousness, and 85% of a beacon that he didn't even bother to take with him."

"But it did blow up."

"Yep. So far, I'm winning the 'at least something went right' competition."

Shepard stepped between them. "Ci-Ci, be quiet. Now." His nerves were on edge and, as great as it was to see her back to herself, he didn't have the patience for her antics. Maybe after they met with the Council they could go out and unwind, but until then, they were going to be the soldiers they were.

"Huh? Why?"

"Because I'll confine you to quarters if you don't." He pulled her closer and whispered, "I don't need you screwing this up."

She opened her mouth to protest ("Give me one moment when I actually have"), half of a sound coming out before she clamped her lips together and saluted smartly.

Williams raised her eyebrows and looked at Alenko curiously.

"I'll explain later," Alenko whispered.

Williams already suspected plenty. She'd had a couple boyfriends, but not one of them would've acted anything like Shepard had. Corinthia clearly had no idea what was going through his head or she was more adept at hiding it than Shepard was, in a weird way. The way the Commander looked at Corinthia was... Williams didn't know how to describe it. On Eden Prime, he'd looked like some kind of devil or demon, but with Corinthia around, he looked calmer, almost... normal.

Then again, considering how Corinthia tended to be so random, there was probably no way that Corinthia even knew what was going through Shepard's head. Not that anyone could. His expression hadn't changed, so far as Williams had seen, other than to sneer or frown in contempt.

Joker strained his neck to see them. "Ci-Ci? That you? I thought I heard you cackling."

"Joker." Corinthia answered, looking at Shepard to see if he was going to snap at her again for speaking. "Get a good view of that ship?"

"What? That massive squid thing that was bigger than, like, I don't know... an arm of the Citadel?"

"Cthulu, yes."

"Uh... What?"

"Oh, nevermind. Did you track it?"

"Couldn't. I was too busy avoiding the geth and saving your asses."

"Eh, well, it was worth a shot. But, thanks." She patted him lightly on the shoulder.

"I'd better get a medal or something for this."

"I'll find you a badge while I'm out. 'Best damn pilot in the Fleet'."

"Great. And make sure it says 'handsome' in there somewhere, too. I think I deserve that."

Shepard snorted. "I think I'll add, 'biggest mouth' to it, too."

"Hey, well, no one else can do what I can, so I think I'm allowed," Joker muttered.

Corinthia snickered. "That's what she said."

Human Embassies, Presidium, Citadel

Anderson really, really, really disliked Donnel Udina, the human Ambassador to the Citadel. The man was a greasy politician to the core, pro-human in all the wrong ways (albeit in all the right ones as well), and didn't have the patience for the Council's methods of action.

But Anderson had no choice in the matter. He was stuck with Udina as a representative, which unfortunately meant that Shepard would be put on edge. Udina liked the idea of Shepard, especially as a Spectre, but the Commander himself... Udina wanted nothing to do with him. Anyone that acted independently or somewhat for the greater good rather than humanity made the Ambassador sneer in disgust.

Udina sat behind his desk, fingers steepled and glaring at Anderson. He had dark skin, graying hair, and a snake-like, sallow face. His brow furrowed in apprehension and his lips rarely did anything but frown.

"You've caused quite the mess, Captain," Udina hissed.

"You know perfectly well that I had no control over that situation," Anderson replied gruffly.

"Shepard and Corinthia had better have the evidence we need."

"They won't let you down."

"I've read his report, not to mention his file when we put him up for the Spectres..." Udina trailed off dramatically as he got to his feet. "He isn't the kind of man we want standing before the Council right now."

"Shepard may not like authority, but he knows how to play to them," Anderson replied. Although Shepard had never ignored orders in a way that compromised the Alliance (including Torfan), he was known to not show respect to officers he thought incompetent. "He understands that what happened down there was serious. He doesn't accept failure."

"Good, because in all likelihood we're going to have to fix this," Udina muttered. "I don't want him here when the Council calls. I want to debrief him myself."

"He's bringing his team from Eden Prime with him. He won't be alone."

"Then I'll debrief them, too, Anderson," Udina snapped, as if it were obvious.

Anderson gritted his teeth. He was a soldier to the core, a man who would rather be on the front lines than the side. Dealing with politics made him sick.

The holovid station beeped, indicating an incoming call.

Udina took a deep breath. "If they come, stall them."

Corinthia watched the levels of the Presidium fly by as they took the elevator to the Embassies. The Presidium looked like a utopia, with beautiful blue sky (fake, of course), green gardens, colorful flowers, and massive bodies of water. Only the richest of the rich could afford somewhere here, not to mention the politicians and lobbyists that needed to stay close to the Council. It was truly the heart of galactic civilization.

"It's so weird being home..." Corinthia murmured.

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Home?"

"Yeah. I grew up here, remember?"

"Not really."

"Salarian school."

"Oh, right. I'm kind of focused on other stuff right now," he muttered.

"My apartment's over there," she continued, pointing. "Well, sorta. It's in the Market Ward. At least, it should still be. I mean, I haven't been there in ages..."

Shepard sighed. "Is that a hint that we're going to have to drop by there later?"

"If you don't mind..."

"We'll see."

Williams crossed her arms. Unlike the others, she didn't have dress blues (since her assignment wasn't the Normandy), so she was feeling more like an outsider than ever. "Are we all invited or are you and the Commander going to have some kind of rendezvous?"

Corinthia laughed before Shepard could snap a cruel remark.

"Rendezvous?" Corinthia repeated. "Are you kidding me? The place is probably a mess, for one thing, and, besides, y'all are coming, too."

Alenko raised his eyebrows. "So it's a group thing."

"Yep," Corinthia answered, winking. "Party's on me. We got off Eden Prime alive, so we're having drinks. At Flux or something, because no way do you want to stay at my place."

"Why not?" Shepard murmured. "Embarrassing?"

"Well, I mean, it's kinda covered in my... stuff."

"Stuff? Clothes? All those dresses you don't wear?"

"Well, probably, but I'm kinda talking about... art," she finished bashfully.

Shepard snorted. He still couldn't imagine her as an artist, even if her eccentricity seemed to go along perfectly with it, not to mention that she spent too much time on her omni-tool to be good at anything else.

Williams cocked her head to one side. "Like what? Painting and drawing?"

"Mostly. I sculpt, too, although that was mostly to annoy the salarians. They don't get art at all. Well, they do more than turians, but a human artist is a pet project to them. See how long it takes for me to get the nostrils right, all that stuff..." Corinthia wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Urgh. They took all the inspiration right out of me."

"Wait... Salarians?"

"Yep. Salarian school. Don't ask how I survived, they're still testing their hypotheses for a journal of some kind."

Williams laughed. "That would explain a lot."

"It explains everything," Alenko murmured. "Fast talker, fast thinker... Just doesn't explain how she's friends with the Commander."

"Don't ask," Shepard growled. "I don't even know why."

"It's my grin," Corinthia answered playfully. "Charmed his socks off."

"And his pants," Williams added under her breath.

"Only after we jumped into a pool, but that was on purpose and he took them off himself. My smile hasn't quite reached its full de-robing potential," Corinthia replied, her tone suggesting that she hadn't understood Williams insinuation.

Shepard frowned and glared at Williams. "We're friends. It's against my will, but we're friends," he told her sternly, adding a look that ordered her to drop the subject.

"Aye, aye, skip," Williams answered, saluting.

"Skip? Why didn't I think of that..." Corinthia pouted.

Shepard groaned. It was going to be a long day.

The elevator finally stopped. Shepard stepped out first, grateful to have a moment. Alenko was right behind him. The lieutenant looked around before muttering, "You know, I see why a lot of women don't sign up. Get two of them together and they'll talk nonstop..."

"Tell me about it," Shepard growled.

"Want me to separate them?"

"I'll just dose with medi-gel if they give me a migraine. And if that doesn't help, there's always other things... Like red sand."

"Yeah, but that'd make it worse. You'd be able to see what was in Ci-Ci's head."

"Good point, Alenko. I'm sure I can think of a way to subdue her." Shepard had a few in mind, but since they were... romantic, he doubted that they'd be acceptable forms of repression and would, in all likelihood, make her squeak, giggle, and talk all the more.

"I'll let you know if I come up with anything, sir. The crew's sanity depends on it."

"Hell, yeah."

Corinthia took a deep breath. She didn't like the Citadel. It had a lot of bad memories associated with it, though she kept them to herself. The worst of them she hadn't even told Shepard, and he was her best friend. Then again, he hadn't wanted to know. Any time something came up, he changed the subject.

Shepard murmured for the others to go ahead before putting a hand on her shoulder. "You alright, Cassie?"

"Hm? Oh, just... It hasn't changed in God knows how long, and this is where... Nothing. Don't worry about me. Let's get this over with."

Shepard grabbed her hand. "You can't be distracted in there."

"If I dwell on anything out here, I will be."

He released her, although he didn't want to. He understood that she could only smile so much before she had a meltdown. Eden Prime, though not nearly as dramatic as the "three" (as she called the Blitz, Akuze, and Torfan), should have been enough to shake her, especially since she'd been hurt.

Before he could say anything else, she had moved past him and was on her way to the Embassy.

"Nice try there, Commander," Williams snickered.

"We're not together," Shepard hissed.

"With all due respect, Commander, it doesn't look like it," Alenko added.

"Why is it that whenever anyone says, 'with all due respect', they really mean 'kiss my ass'?" Williams mused.

"Maybe when you say it," Alenko retorted.

"Or everyone except you," Shepard finished. "You're too nice, Alenko."

"Yeah, well, what can I say? I'm a nice guy."

Corinthia whistled sharply. "You guys coming or what?"

Udina was just finishing his argument with the Councilors when they entered the Embassy. Anderson didn't even make an effort to stop them since the Captain rather wanted to piss off Udina.

"Without definitive proof of Saren's or the geth's presence on Eden Prime, the Council cannot act," Tevos, the asari, said curtly.

"This is a human problem," Councilor Sparatus, the turian, continued before Udina could interrupt.

"The salarians agree," Valern finished. "The geth have not been seen outside the Perseus Veil in centuries. They have no reason to act now."

"You were warned of colonizing the Traverse," Tevos added. "We can offer no protection for what has occurred. If Saren has indeed gone rogue, where is the proof? He is a Spectre."

"But — " Udina tried to start.

"The Council has already ordered an investigation into the matter. We will discuss C-Sec findings at the hearing and not before," Tevos finished harshly.

They cut the transmission before Udina could protest.

So, the Ambassador rounded on Shepard. "This is all your fault, Commander."

Shepard clenched a fist and, with great effort, swallowed his retort. He already hated the Ambassador.

Corinthia stepped forward. "Like hell it is, Udina."

Shepard didn't know if he wanted to applaud her or drag her back into ranks.

She opened her omni-tool and showed him a hologram of the beacon. "I recovered the majority of the data from the artifact. Unfortunately, my records of the events on Eden Prime were deleted, but if you want evidence of Saren being a bastard, look at this." She brushed aside her bangs to show him the wound. "It's not enough to be an act of war, but something's going on. Saren didn't even take the beacon. So far as we know, he just... used it."

Udina frowned and stared her down. "Comman — "

Corinthia gritted her teeth and ignored him. "Listen, Eden Prime was lost before we got there. We had no idea the geth were even around until we were twenty minutes out, and even then we didn't know what we were up against. Williams here barely made it out alive, not to mention myself. We were told our priority was the beacon. I got as much of it as I could, so what's the problem?"

"The problem is you haven't given me any proof," Udina snapped. "And why am I talking to you? You weren't in command of the mission."

"I was there. I'm the one that saw Saren."

"I suggest you stand down, Commander."

Corinthia opened her mouth to argue, but Shepard stepped in front of her. "So the Council chewed you out, but you don't have to take that out on her. We were surprised, like we were on Akuze. Things like this don't happen without a reason. It's obvious the Council doesn't care what actually happened down there. They think this is a human problem, so they want to keep it that way. Any pushing on our side will sound like war."

"That's a more neutral stance than I expected from you, Commander," Udina murmured.

"I know how politics work: they don't. I'm a soldier. We all are. We had our orders. We executed them. There were unknown elements that played in and it didn't turn out like we'd planned. So what? We have most of the beacon, thanks to Ci-Ci, so you should be thanking her because she just saved your ass."

"Care to explain, Commander."

"You're the politician. You figure it out." Shepard stomped outside.

Williams and Alenko exchanged glances before going out themselves. Corinthia remained behind.

"Something to add, Corinthia?" Udina hissed.

She took a deep breath. "This matter's about to be a diplomatic nightmare. I know C-Sec better than to think that they found a thing, but I promise you that Shepard and I will find something. We don't accept defeat."

"Just get out."

Corinthia did, releasing a slow breath. "So... I think I made that worse."

"It wasn't good to begin with," Shepard muttered.

Anderson joined them. "Ci-Ci, you could've shown a little more restraint in there."

"No need, sir. As if I need to be hesitant around a politician and pick my words."

"Udina's on our side. It may not be obvious, but he is," Anderson continued. "But that doesn't mean I don't want to punch that man myself."

"Yeah..." Corinthia ran her fingers through her hair. "So I guess we dressed up for nothing, huh?"

"Not quite. It's good news that you saved most of the beacon. That will help us immensely. And are you sure that you don't have any evidence of Saren's presence or him attacking you?"

"Positive. I triple checked. The Prothean data isn't... normal. It was hard coded for some other kind of... I don't know how to describe it." She shook her head and rubbed her eyes. "Anyway, getting something to translate it would be... well, illegal, but there are ways — I'll just be quiet now." She smiled innocently and stepped closer to Shepard.

Anderson raised an eyebrow. "Careful, Ci-Ci. This is important for humanity."

"Understood, sir."

"The hearing's in the Council Tower. Udina has already given you the proper clearance. We'll meet you there." Anderson saluted them and left.

Williams shook her head. "I hate politicians."

"Agreed," Shepard muttered.

"And we get to go deal with more," Corinthia added with sarcastic cheerfulness. "Yay! This is going to just as much fun as... uh... the Blitz. Let's go with the Blitz."

Shepard pulled Corinthia aside. "Think you can find out what C-Sec knows?"

"Between now and the hearing?" she asked. "Probably, but I wouldn't be able to figure out who's hiding what, either."

"Damn it..."

"Don't worry so much. It's not your fault and they know it. They're just annoyed with Udina."

"And you pissed him off, too."

"Less than you would've."

"It's just good to know that not everyone likes you."

"Huh? Why's that a good thing?"

Shepard gulped back his thoughts (which mostly had to do with perfection, as little sense as that made). "Forget I said anything. Let's go."

The elevator ride to the top floor of the Council Tower was long. Worse, they were playing elevator music. At Shepard's glance, Corinthia put her omni-tool against the main panel, briefly switching the music to Mozart before shutting it off entirely.

"I hate elevators," Williams muttered. "It's like being stuck in Purgatory."

Corinthia nodded and continued to fiddle around on her omni-tool. Unlike Shepard's relatively benign tick of cracking his knuckles, hers was developing programs to do irrelevant things (automatically turn on lights when she entered a room, open doors when she approached, make mechs dance to certain songs, etc.).

Corinthia's omni-tool beeped, buzzed, and started to fade out. Corinthia punched it and hit herself. She squeaked in pain and shook out her arm. "Stupid little… When I'm through…"

"Calm down," Shepard warned. "Getting frustrated with a piece of technology isn't going to help us out."

"I know, I know." She waved a hand dismissively and shut down her omni-tool. "There, it's put away. I was just checking again to see if I had footage of Saren and the geth and then I found… Oh, it's hopeless. I'm just going to have to start having three hardsuit computers."

The elevator doors opened with a pressurized hiss. The Council Chambers were large and vast, but felt dark despite the ample lighting and exotic plants from all the Council planets. A fountain bubbled before them. It was serene and presumptuous, just like the Council, and, to Shepard, looked completely fake. Like politics.

Corinthia took a deep breath. "Well, here we go… Again."

Williams raised her eyebrows. "Have you been here before?"

"Yeah," Corinthia answered. "It's been a while, but, yeah. Udina was using me as an example of human ingenuity, blah blah blah, in an attempt to get humanity a seat on the Council. He'd given me these lines to say about how much humanity had to offer and I botched them and said what I really thought: that humanity didn't deserve a place and hadn't added enough yet to galactic civilization."

"Uh, I'm pretty sure that's more than botched, Ci-Ci," Alenko said.

"No wonder why he was extra pissed at you," Shepard muttered.

Corinthia shrugged. "Well, it was the truth and I still think that it applies. Udina's got blind ambition and that isn't what humanity needs."

"So what do they need?" Alenko asked.

"Patience." Corinthia glanced up at the dais, where the three Councilors waited. "They may listen to me, since I'm not exactly human—Okay, that came out wrong. I'm not normal."

Williams snickered. "We already knew that."

Corinthia grinned. "Well, you'll see soon enough."

Just outside the elevator, two turians were arguing.

"Just give me some more time," one of them was saying. He had grey skin, blue eyes, and a blue stripe across his nose and cheekbones. "I can find the evidence I need."

"You've already had enough time," the other said. He had white facial tattoos similar to Nihlus's. "I've already presented your findings to the Council."

"But sir!"

"That will be all." The white-marked turian stalked off, leaving the other to growl angrily. He spotted Shepard and came over.

"Commander Shepard?" he asked. "Garrus Vakarian, C-Sec. I was in charge of the investigation into Saren."

"Heya, Garrus," Corinthia greeted, grinning.

"Ci-Ci?" Garrus asked. He chuckled. "I thought I recognized your style on Eden Prime, and then in a few other places."

Corinthia blushed faintly. "It was necessary..."

Shepard crossed his arms. "You told me you were too good to get caught."

"Oh, she is," Garrus asserted quickly. "But when certain turian detectives get information they need that they couldn't get access too without breaking two hundred and twenty-seven regs, it's either the Shadow Broker or her, and the Shadow Broker doesn't add little smiling symbols to his messages."

Corinthia's cheeks reddened even more. "Hey, well, I was mostly subtle, right?"

"Oh, no doubt about it," Garrus replied, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Just don't do it again, or I'll have to press charges. Take me twenty years to get the evidence to do it, but I would."

She hugged the turian affectionately. "Thanks. I owe you."

He patted her back awkwardly. "I know. I'll probably be cashing in on that before too long. Like how to get that bastard Saren."

"Was the intel useful, at least?"

"It convinced me, but it wasn't enough to convince him." Garrus jerked a thumb after the other turian. "Next time pretend to be a Shadow Broker agent. It'll go over better."

"But that would be lying."

"It would cover your tracks completely."

"Hey, you can't trace anything to me and you know it."

"I know. I tried, once. That song it led me to was terrible, even if it was catchy."

Corinthia grinned. "Ah, good ol' Rick Astley… Glad you liked it, Garrus."

Shepard looked at Corinthia. "I think you'd better start explaining why you had your arms around a turian," he growled jealously.

She released Garrus. "I've had a couple brushes with C-Sec for various reasons. Garrus is just about the only officer who tries to do the right thing."

Shepard raised an eyebrow, feeling a little insulted. "So why didn't you ask me for help?"

"Didn't want to get you involved." She patted his arm. "I'll ask you next time, okay?" she added softly. "This was before Torfan, so before we were… well, you know… I'll just ask you next time. Promise." She smiled reassuringly.

Shepard locked eyes menacingly with Garrus. The turian smirked. "Don't worry, Commander. I won't get in your way."

Alenko coughed. "Commander, the Council is waiting for us."

Garrus stepped aside. "Of course. It was good to meet you Commander, and good to see you again, Ci-Ci."

"You too, Garrus. I'll see you around, alright?"

Garrus left. Shepard grabbed Corinthia's arm. "What was that about?"

"He's an old friend. It wasn't about anything." She gulped. Shepard had entered intimidation mode and she didn't like it. "Why're you so worked up? Garrus is a friend. I have other ones besides you, you know. I just spend the most time with you. But, if you want, I'll tell you all about it later, I promise."

Shepard relaxed. He innately knew that he had just experienced jealousy, but he was more concerned with the fact that Corinthia had just shown affection to someone other than himself. Now, though, was not the time to dwell on it, so he dismissed his emotions. He had work to do.

The Council stood at the very end of the tower, up several sets of stairs and through nearly a hundred politicians. Captain Anderson waited just outside the Council's area.

"The hearing's already started," he told them impatiently. "Come on."

Shepard and Corinthia followed him immediately, Alenko and Williams a little farther behind. The Councilors stood on an isolated platform, separated from the rest of the room by a sunken garden. One of the balconies held a holo projector which showed Saren. He looked down at Shepard, Anderson, and Corinthia menacingly.

Udina was already at the petitioner station, arguing. He glared particularly viciously at Corinthia. Their argument earlier hadn't helped.

"The Council sees no evidence of treason," Sparatus said. "Though the geth have attacked, this is not a matter of current concern."

"What is, though, is that the beacon was destroyed," Valern continued.

"You have Commander Shepard to thank for that," Saren growled.

Shepard gritted his teeth. "I had no control over that! Don't shift the blame. Besides, Ci-Ci recovered most of the data from it. It isn't completely lost."

Saren laughed. "You really are Captain Anderson's protégé, putting the blame onto the innocent party."

"Saren killed Nihlus," Udina pressed. "We have an eyewitness."

"Nihlus was a fellow Spectre and a friend," Saren answered defensively. "Why should I?"

"The account of a frightened dock worker is hardly compelling evidence," Valern observed.

Udina tried to stop Corinthia, but she had already stepped forward. "He wasn't the only eyewitness."

The Councilors exchanged looks. "We saw no such statement," Tevos said.

Corinthia glared at Udina. "I only regained consciousness two hours ago and I haven't had time to complete one. Will you hear it now?"

The Councilors nodded.

Corinthia took a deep breath. "I was on the ground with Nihlus. I detected another turian present and Nihlus went to investigate. I watched as Saren shot Nihlus in the back. From there, I proceeded to secure the beacon. I thought that the geth were there to either take it or destroy it, so I downloaded the data onto my omni-tool." She held it up to show the Council. "Within moments of my starting that, Saren arrived. I took cover behind the beacon, began a download of the data, and he shot me in the temple." She showed them the wound. "I regained consciousness aboard the Normandy. There was no sign of brain damage, at least anything out of the ordinary."

Saren snorted. "You aren't going to believe this girl, are you? She's a poster child for humanity."

"She also stated that humanity was anything but ready for a seat on the Council," Sparatus said angrily.

"She has also served with the STG on various assignments, despite being a member of the Alliance, and excelled at one of our best schools here on the Citadel," Valern continued.

"No witness can have such a clear testimony after such mental trauma," Saren muttered.

"Her account is not proof enough," Tevos said. "Do you have any physical evidence?"

"Other than the data disk I made from the Prothean artifact, no," Corinthia replied sadly. "I'll gladly submit everything to the Council for analysis, as I had planned anyway considering what kinds of data I've got."

Udina wanted to hit Corinthia. She was supposed to give the data to him, not the Council.

The Councilors exchanged glances. The asari spoke. "The Council finds insufficient proof against Saren on the count of treason. Ambassador Udina, your petition is dismissed. Commander Corinthia, you are to accompany us."

Udina gritted his teeth and glared at Corinthia. "Now you've gone and done it."

Corinthia narrowed her eyes. "I haven't even gotten started." She turned to Shepard. "I'll catch up with you later. I'll see what I can do to help our cause, but I can't make any promises."

"Just don't do anything stupid," he said.

She winked. "Don't worry about me. I've got this."