Lombax Effect—Chapter 6

Citadel, Widow System

"So, you're saying that humans were the latest species to experience interstellar travel?"

"That's right, Ratchet," Shepard said to the Lombax whilst walking through the Presidium. The Commander was talking about humanity and their place in the galaxy as they headed their way to the embassies. "We also try to gain the most advanced technology we can use to help better our relationships with the other races. There's still a few we haven't encountered, mostly because we haven't travelled to every system within the galaxy, but that's another story. Some humans are still on Earth while others are living in colonies or spaceships."

"Wow, that's amazing. So where were you from before, Commander?"

"I grew up at a colony called Mindoir. Life wasn't always easy, but we worked very hard at our jobs, and kids even helped out their parents whenever they could. To me, it was like paradise... until it got hit by slavers..." Garnet's pace slowed down, head hanging and looking down at the pristine white ground. She quickly looked back up, steeling herself from any worries that were occupying her mind. "I've been with the Alliance for eleven years, and I'm actually surprised I get to meet some people from a different galaxy—even if humans are still different from other races."

Ratchet sported a light smirk. "Hey, not many races like Lombaxes or Markazians have tails or long ears, or even four fingers like you guys do."

"That's true," Shepard said in agreement. "To be honest, I don't know how I would've lived my life if I had two missing fingers."

"This is an outrage!" a voice shouted from a distance. Everyone stopped in their tracks and tried to listen to where the voice came from. "The Council would step in if the Geth attacked a turian colony!"

"That must be the ambassador," Captain Anderson said. "Shepard, Alenko, Williams, Apogee, I think you better come with me. We need to see him, and he's got our report."

"What about us, Captain?" Ratchet asked. "Talwyn said there could be someone else involved in that Eden Prime incident. You gotta let me and Clank come along, too."

"He's right, Captain," Shepard said. "If they know anything about anyone who was working with Saren, they have to stay with us. Besides, these two Servicemen are part of our team now."

"But we do not have the necessary knowledge of this Citadel, or even directions to where the Council can be found." Clank added. "We must be allowed to follow Commander Shepard."

Anderson thought about this, his gaze switching from Ratchet, to Shepard, and then to Clank, and then repeated that pattern for a few more seconds. "Alright," he finally said. "Ratchet and Clank can come along. We will need all the help we can get to confirm our reports before seeing the Council."

They all continued their walk and met a dark-skinned man with gray hair wearing a white suit. Anderson was in front along with Shepard and the humans, and the others at the side. The man turned around to see the seven, a frown on his face. From his features, he would not be the kind of man who would take jokes for a living.

"That's Ambassador Udina," Kaidan whispered to Ratchet.

"Got it," the Lombax whispered back, not daring to face him so as to avoid trouble.

"Captain Anderson," the ambassador addressed. "I see you brought half the crew with you."

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime, along with our recent passengers," Anderson replied, "in case you had any questions."

"I have the mission reports. I assume they're accurate?"

"They are." The Captain noticed three metallic pedestals behind Udina. "Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience."

Udina shook his head, folding his arms against his chest. "They were not happy about it. Saren's their top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason."

Shepard stepped, her expression combating Udina's serious visage. "Saren's a threat to every human colony out there! He needs to be stopped. The Council has to listen to us!"

"Settle down, Commander," Udina said to her. "You've already done more than enough to jeopardise your candidacy for the Spectres."

"Hey, you can't talk to the Commander like that!" Ratchet called out, defending Shepard. "She did her best out there with Talwyn, Kaidan and Ashley. And Saren wasn't alone!"

"It's OK, Serviceman," Shepard said calmly. "You don't need to defend me on that."

"I'm still not pleased with this," Udina continued with his glare removed from Ratchet and back to the Commander. "The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove you could get the job done. Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed!"

"That's Saren's fault, not hers!" Anderson said sternly.

"Then we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations. Otherwise, the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres." The ambassador turned to the Captain. "Captain, I want to do over a few things before the hearing. Shepard, you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower, top level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in."

Anderson and Udina then walked off, leaving the other six alone.

"And that's why I hate politicians," Ashley commented once the two men were out of earshot.

"Why is that, Chief Williams?" Clank asked.

"Let me put it this way. You ever met someone who was all talk and no action, and that guy thinks he's on top of the world or something?"

"Actually, yeah, we have," Ratchet answered. "That same guy also happened to be an amateur hero who always took credit for our achievements."

"It's that Qwark guy, right?" the gunnery chief asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Who else? That ambassador almost seemed like a more serious and uptight version of Qwark."

"I'm guessing Qwark wasn't a very good politician himself?" Shepard asked.

"It's a bit complicated," Talwyn said. "Remember when I said that he's our galaxy's president? Someone else was supposed to be galactic president of the Polaris Galaxy, but then Qwark suddenly came around the same time and took his place. And that's just one of several stupid things he's already done. Another one would be when he was working as a double agent and ended up siding along the enemy instead of us. Qwark can be a lot of trouble, but we usually just deal with it. Lots of people have tried to make him change his ways, and so far there's isn't a lot of changes we've seen."

"Well, if we ever do come across this Qwark person, Ensign, then I'll have to put him to work," the Commander said. "And if he doesn't listen, I'll let Ash do the talking."

Talwyn looked over to Ashley and asked, "You're good with reasoning with people, Chief?"

"The Commander can be a softie sometimes. Whatever I say could almost set people on fire."

The six continued their conversation on their way to the Citadel Tower—with the help of the embassy receptionist and a VI tour guide named Avina—each person within the group giving out their view on politics, despite their dislike for it. They all took in the sites of the Presidium, gazing at the magnificent fountains and the Mass Relay monument along the way. There had also been a shop where weapons and armour could be purchased with the use of credits, although the three crew members from the Polaris Galaxy will have to get used to the fact that the Milky Way's currency is very different to their use of bolts as money.

At the Citadel Tower...

"The Council isn't going to ask me any questions, are they?" Ashley asked as she and everyone were riding the elevator up the Citadel Tower.

"I doubt it," Kaidan answered. "We've made our reports. Now we just have to trust Ambassador Udina."

"No, we don't, sir." Ashley said, her tone hinting a dislike to, most likely, the human ambassador who would support their views on the Eden Prime attack.

"Let's just hope the meeting goes well," Ratchet said. "I mean, what kind of a guy is Saren like anyway?"

Before anyone could answer the Lombax, the elevator doors opened. The top of the Citadel Tower held a wondrous atmosphere with bright rose-coloured trees against the dim copper lighting. A few people were walking in their own directions, possibly those who worked with the Council and managed security and tower maintenance. All were looking in awe as they stepped out of the elevator.

But as they did, they came across two turians—both male—and they were possibly talking about something very serious. Whatever it was, there were small chances that they could be related to what Shepard and her team had gone through before their trip to the Citadel.

"Give me more time. Stall them," said the gray turian in the black and blue outfit. His tone, even with the secondary note sounding in his voice, seemed determined but also insistent.

"Stall the Council? Don't be ridiculous," said the second turian, this one with a dark face with white stripes running down, wearing a black and red outfit almost similar to the other one's outfit. Although sincere, this one was talking like he could take a case too seriously for it to seem like a joke. "Your investigation is over, Garrus." He then left, passing through the group of humans and aliens with a possible frown on his monochrome face.

Ratchet gazed over to the black-and-white faced turian, thinking something didn't go very well for him and the other turian. He turned back as Shepard approached the turian in the black and blue uniform.

The turian looked over to the woman. "Commander Shepard?" Shepard nodded, noticing the turian's change of tone to a lighter greeting. "Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."

They all noticed this, but the Lombax stepped forward, eyes wide open as he saw Garrus. "Wow, really? You know something about Saren?" Ratchet asked.

"Yeah, I could tell there was something suspicious about him when I found out he was on Eden Prime recently," Garrus answered, his small blue eyes widened slightly when he saw Ratchet. "That why I led the investigation, to see if there were any clues to his suspicious activities."

"Who were you just talking to?" Shepard asked.

"That was Executor Pallin, head of Citadel Security. My boss..." Garrus answered, mildly annoyed from his last conversation with the turian who had left. "He'll be presenting my findings on Saren to the Council."

"Were you able to find some useful information, Mr. Vakarian?" Clank asked.

If Garrus was surprised by the fact that Shepard and her team had a synthetic with them, he didn't show it. "Saren's a Spectre. Most of his activities are classified. I couldn't find anything solid, but I know he's up to something." His gaze turned back up to Shepard. "Like you humans say, 'I feel it in my gut'."

"I think the Council's ready for us, Commander," Kaidan said, pointing up to where the Council would be standing upstairs.

Shepard nodded to her lieutenant, motioning for him and the others to follow her.

"Good luck, Shepard," Garrus said as she walked passed. "Maybe they'll listen to you."

I hope so, too, She thought. Maybe they will listen to what I have to say. She didn't say this aloud, but she would admit that Officer Vakarian had the right idea about what was going on right now, even with the crisis Saren committed.

"Just how dangerous is Saren, Commander?" Ratchet said, coming up by her side as she started walking up the stairs. "I mean, I've met a lot of despicable people before, but..." He saw Garnet turning her gaze to the Lombax, an eyebrow raised. "But, I'm just saying. What happened with Saren, anyway? What made him throw an attack at that colony earlier?"

They were already up one flight of stairs and Shepard guided her team around the fountain, stepping onto the second set of stairs where she could see Captain Anderson at the top. "From what Captain Anderson's told me, Saren hates humans. The Eden Prime attack may have been an act of war, and maybe he was trying to prove his point with that."

"That can't be all," Ratchet said. "Talwyn mentioned a sort of beacon. Why was he after that?"

"I'm not sure. Maybe he's got a better idea of what that vision I got was trying to point out. I still can't figure out what it's telling me..."

Before the two, or anyone else, could say another word, they were up the second flight of stairs, seeing Captain Anderson waiting for them.

"The hearing's already started. Come on."

The captain quickly walked up the last flight of stairs to the chamber where three people stood at three pedestals at the other side. The Citadel Council was present with—from left to right—a turian, an asari and a salarian waiting for Shepard and the other six to come up. To the far left, was a huge hologram of a turian—his own image immediately hinted a menacing look to the visitors from Polaris.

"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern, but there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way," the purple-toned asari in the centre said; her light tone held discretion and authority.

On the asari's right, the turian looked to the human ambassador near Anderson. "The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason."

Clank looked up to Ratchet, the plates around his eyes showing a hint of worry. "It seems that Officer Vakarian could not offer his report."

Ratchet nodded. "Yeah, seems like it. I kinda feel sorry for him, even though we don't know him very much."

Udina was losing his patience. "An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood."

"We've read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador," the hooded salarian on the asari's left said. "The testimony of one traumatised dockworker is hardly compelling proof."

Talwyn was listening from the back, shaking her head in disbelief. "Guys," she said towards Ratchet and Clank. "This is getting ridiculous. It's like they don't believe a single bit about what happened."

The Markazian couldn't say much more as the holographic turian—Saren—spoke. "I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend."

"That just let you catch him off guard," Anderson said, frowning upon Saren.

To almost everyone's dismay, Saren was not showing a single piece of admittance. "Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me." The turian Spectre's gaze turned slightly. "And this must be your protégé, Commander Shepard—the one who let the beacon get destroyed."

Shepard stared at Saren, unimpressed by the turian's arrogant accusation against her. That bastard... "The mission on Eden Prime was top-secret," she said, her stare still on Saren as she sent bits of her anger out against him. "The only way you could know about the beacon was if you were there."

"With Nihlus gone, his files passed on to me." If the evil turian Spectre hadn't flinched, it would mean that he was pretending to act innocent. "I read the Eden Prime reports. I was unimpressed." After turning to the Council, he added, "But what can you expect from a human?"

Shepard, her anger heightened, stepped forward near the Council's place in the chamber. "Saren despises humanity. That's why he attacked Eden Prime!"

"Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard," Saren said, his voice tainted with some of his own hatred. "You're not ready to join the Council—you're not even ready to join the Spectres."

"He has no right to say that!" Ambassador Udina called out. "That's not his decision!"

"Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting," the asari councillor said, doing her best to keep the situation calm between both sides of the argument.

"This meeting has no purpose," Saren said, his tone unchanged. "The humans are wasting your time, Councillor. And mine."

"That's not true!"

Shepard, Anderson, Udina, the Council and Saren looked around. Ratchet and Talwyn came up near the human commander. Talwyn was first to speak. "Humanity isn't wasting their time. I was there with Commander Shepard, and we made sure the beacon was safe from the Geth!"

"She's right," Ratchet joined in, staring at the hologram of Saren. "How can you even say that? What have we ever done to you to make you hate humans?" He could see that Saren was already frowning upon the Lombax.

Shepard, surprised by how the two supported her, stepped up again to have her say. "Ensign Apogee and Serviceman Ratchet are right, Councillors. Saren is hiding his position as a Spectre. You need to open your eyes!"

"What we need is evidence," the salarian councillor said. "So far, we've seen nothing."

Captain Anderson thought quickly through this tough trial, eventually having an idea in his head. "There is still one outstanding issue—Commander Shepard's vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon."

All six on the Normandy party, apart from the captain and ambassador, nodded in agreement. But their hope soon dropped. "Are we allowing dreams into evidence now?" Saren said in his usual attitude. "How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?"

"Innocence, my ass," Ashley muttered quietly at the back with Kaidan.

"I agree," the turian councillor said, apparently showing something that made the others think that he was on the rogue Spectre's side. "Our judgement must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and ruthless speculations."

Talwyn looked to Shepard, seeing a deep frown upon the commander's pale face.

"Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?" the salarian councillor coolly asked.

The Council doesn't believe me and Saren's not admitting to what his done as if he's on stage at a Shakespeare showcase, Shepard thought to herself in suppressed anger. Feeling defeated, even when she didn't believe there would be support on her end from the beginning, she made one final comment to the Council, "You've made your decision. I won't waste my breath."

The asari and turian councillors turn to each other, exchanging opposing glances, but then faced the eight at the other side of the chamber.

The asari councillor addressed them. "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."

Udina was already clenching his hands into fists as he dropped his head, facing the ground.

"I'm glad justice was served," Saren said, his hologram disconnecting. This part of the meeting was finished.