"Commander, we're getting a message from the Fifth Fleet," said Joker. "I'm packing it through now."

Hackett voice was heard. "Commander, it's good to see you in the arena. We've got a situation that requires your expertise. A group of fanatical biotics have kidnapped the chairman of the Parliament Subcommittee on Transhuman Studies. Their freighter sustained damage and is dead in space. Get in there and take them down."

"What are the biotics asking for?" Shepard asked.

"They're L2 biotics, and most them are suffering major side-effects from the implants. The chairman's subcommittee recently denied a request for reparations to L2 biotics. Apparently, they'd like the chairman to reconsider."

"Understood Admiral," Shepard nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

"I appreciate you taking the time, Commander. I'm sending you last known coordinates of the freighter. Good luck. Fifth Fleet out."

"Alenko, Williams and Garrus, meet me at the airlock," said Shepard over the comms. "Joker make a course for those coordinates."

"Aye, aye, sir," said Joker.

They soon found the freighter and bordered it, just like the Admiral had said it had taken a beating and its engines were down. They managed to board the freighter without any issues, but the moment the biotics saw them they attacked and it didn't help that they had placed explosives around the place.

Shepard knew there was only a matter of time before they kill the hostage so he ordered his companions to open fire on the quickly press their advantage with a cargo bay.

Soon they managed to reach the compartment and found other biotics, one them had a pistol pointing at the back of a man's head. Judging by the way he was dressed, Shepard assumed that he was the chairman.

"See how it is?" said the biotic leader to his followers. "You write a letter, and everyone ignores you. Force is the only thing people appreciate. So how about I kill Chairman Burns and finish this charade?"

"Please! I was trying to help you people!" Burns begged.

"Let's not do anything we're all going to regret," said Shepard calmly as the others had their rifles at the ready.

"Why not? What have we got to lose?" said the biotic leader. "Since the chairman here decided that we didn't get reparations, we've got nothing left to live for!"

"But I change my mind!" Burns whimpered. "Seeing y-you all, it's c-clear that youall d-deserve…"

"You had your chance!" The biotic leader spat. "Some L2s are nearly crippled from side effects of the implants, but you voted against reparations!"

"Think about this," said Shepard with his best diplomatic voice. "Burns is the one man that can help you!"

"Yes! If you release me, I can take another look at the reparations request!" said Burns.

The biotic leader didn't look convinced. "What, we're supposed to trust you?"

"I'm an L2, like you," said Kaidan. "Trust me. The commander can make sure that Burns follows through."

The biotic leader narrowed his eyes. "Sure, you promised us freedom and say everything will be fine, but as soon as we surrender, you'll double-cross us!"

"I'm not promising to let you go," said Shepard, he didn't have the authority to do that even if he was a Spectre. "All I'm saying is that Burns will take another look." He then looked down the chairman. "Right, Burns?"

"Absolutely," Burns nodded. "I had no idea the L2 biotics were this desperate. If I had known…" He then looked up at the biotic leader. "The reputations will come. For whatever it's worth, I promise that."

The biotic leader considered carefully and then lowered his rifle. "You're right. I don't want to die. Maybe something will happen this time. We surrender."

Burns then got to his feet. "Thank you, Commander. I thought I was dead when they took me. I'll see to it that the reparations discussions is reopened. I didn't know they were so desperate."

"A Fifth Fleet cruiser will be by shortly to pick you the prisoners up," said Shepard.

"You should become a diplomat," said Kaidan.

"What's that old saying, 'The pen is mightier than the sword'?" Shepard smiled.

Ten minutes later they were fly out of the system on the Normandy and Hackett had made contact with them again.

"Thank you for dealing with the hostage situation, Commander," said Hackett. "Chairman Burns was quite impressive by the way you resolve the situation peacefully."

"All they really wanted was the reparations, sir," said Shepard. "And I figured that Chairman Burns had a slight change of heart by the means they approached him, sir."

"Your assistance above and beyond the call of duty have been noted, Commander. Fifth Fleet out."

Shepard found Garrus tinkling with the mako mostly calibrating the weapon systems. He leaned against the mako and watched him at work. He began to wonder why the turian joined C-Sec in the first place if he hated red tape.

"Why did you want to be a C-Sec Officer in the first place?" Shepard asked.

Garrus thought for a moment and looked at him. "Hm. That's a good question. There were several reasons, I guess."

"Like what?"

"Probably the same as most officers. I wanted a fight injustice, wanted to help people. I guess my father had something to do with it, too. He was C-Sec. One of the best." He then looked at the ceiling as if he was reliving a pleasant memory. "I grew up hearing about his accomplishments or seeing his picture on the vids after a big arrest. He's taking my resignation pretty hard."

"That's tough," Shepard nodded, he can only imagine what his father would have thought it was still alive today. "But you would think he'd be impressed you're going after Saren."

Garrus shook his head. "My father's a C-Sec man by the bone. 'Do things right, or don't do them at all,' he says. He things I'm being too rash. Too impulsive. He's worried I'll become just like Saren."

Shepard frowned, he found that hard to believe. For one thing Garrus actually liked humans and judging by the rumours he had heard of Saren he wasn't as brutal as him.

"He actually talked me out of becoming a Spectre when I was younger. For the same reason," Garrus continued.

Shepard's eyes widened. "You are asked to become a Spectre?"

"Well, I was targeted as a possible Spectre candidate. Me and about a thousand other turian military recruits. I could receive special training, but my father didn't like it. He despises Spectres. He hates the idea of someone having unlimited power with no accountability. He wouldn't like you, Commander. No offence."

Shepard then went to talk to Wrex and discover that he had actually met Saren before. He mentioned that the Saren recruited some mercs to raid a few ships. On one massive cargo freighter and while he was looking around bodies for extra credits he met him.

Wrex wasn't sure what he wanted with the ship, because as far as he saw there was nothing of value. He had a bad feeling about Saren and left before he got paid and as it turned out his instincts were right for every merc turned up dead a week later.

"Commander, incoming signal from Fifth Fleet HQ on the Citadel," said Joker.

"Commander Shepard," said Hackett's voice. "Something uncomfortable has just come up. In the First Contact War we fired a lot of espionage probes into turian space. We've just received a 'mission complete' burst from one of them."

"Where's it been in the meantime?" Shepard asked.

"No idea. Lost in transit. These probes were built in a hurry after first contact."

"What makes this uncomfortable?"

"When these probes were launched, we didn't have any idea who we were fighting. We didn't want to risk aliens examining our technology. The probe has a demo nuke built in. A 20-kilton tactical fusion warhead. About equal to the bomb dropped on Hiroshima back in the 20th. If someone finds the probe, tampers with it—you don't need me to finish, Commander."

Shepard nodded. "I understand this must be handled. But I don't have anyone trying to deal with this sort of thing, sir."

Shepard only had a little experience when it came to disarming bombs and that was only during training. He supposed that Kaidan and Garrus would be able to assist on this matter, but it wasn't a guarantee.

"I know," said Hackett. "I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important. These probes having classified for 26 years. The Council would call fusion-bombs booby traps 'dangerous and irresponsible.' The Alliance would face censure if they found this probe."

And it would ruin the chance to take a seat on the Council. "I'm asking you because the Normandy can get on-site quickly and quietly. It's in the Voyager Cluster."

Shepard shook his head. "It's in the Voyager Cluster? That's the opposite end of Alliance from turian space. How did it get there?"

"I don't know," said Hackett in a troubled voice. "It's possible someone recovered it safely imported there. It's also possible it got very badly lost. It could have been wandering the relay network since the war."

"We'll get on it immediately Admiral. And we'll be discreet."

"I appreciate that, Commander," said Hackett. "Good luck. Fifth Fleet out."

"Alenko, Garrus and Wrex get prepped for drop," said Shepard over the comm. "Joker get to the Voyager Cluster."

"Aye, aye, sir," said Joker.

They soon reached the Voyager Cluster and landed on the planet Agebinium on the mako.

"So we're looking for an old Alliance probe," said Garrus.

"An Alliance probe with a built-in nuke in it," said Shepard. "Somehow it found itself in the Voyager Cluster instead of in turian space. It is also very sensitive to tampering so we have to disarm it very carefully."

"Or else we get blown up," said Wrex.

"Preferably we avoid that," said Shepard.

They followed the signal of the probe and found some sort of mining site. There are great all-round the place which indicated that the probe had been taken by someone.

"Mineshaft," said Kaidan. "That's the source of the signal."

"Suspicious," said Garrus.

"I agree," said Kaidan. "The thing didn't crash. Someone moved it here."

"They may not know what they have," said Shepard as the approach the mineshaft. "Let's find it before they set it off."

They soon entered the mineshaft and found the place completely deserted with did not bode well. They kept pressing forwards deeper into the mineshaft and then they found themselves in a chamber and found the probe in there.

Shepard was about to move to disarm it when the door shut behind them.

"That was a detonator, Commander," said Kaidan.

Suddenly the hologram of a turian appeared and he smirked. "Shepard. At last."

"Have we met?" Shepard asked.

The turian narrowed his eyes. "You don't remember me. No matter. I remember you. I never forgot anyone I've fought."

Everyone looked to Shepard in confusion and he shed their bewilderment as well. He had never met this man in his entire life let alone fought with him.

"My name is Elnos Haliat," said the turian. "I doubt you know it. Who do you think runs the Terminus Clans, Shepard? Hm? Thousands of pirates, slavers, criminals of every stripe?"

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "You assume I give a damn. That's cute."

"The strongest leads," Elnos glared. "The one who kills the most men. Seizes the most ships. Pillages the most colonies. Three years ago, I was strongest. I use my influence to assemble a fleet. We would drive your kind out of the Verge."

Shepard's eyes widened. "You're the one behind the attack on Elysium!"

"I was a motivator. The instigator. The one who promised glory and riches for sacking the largest human colony in the cluster." He then glared at Shepard. "The one blamed when it failed. Failed because of you. Your damnable holding action."

Shepard narrowed his eyes. "You'll see me again, Haliat. Count on it."

Elnos chuckled. "I rather doubt that. Goodbye, Shepard."

The hologram faded and the bomb began the countdown.

"What do we do now, Commander?" Kaidan asked.

"We've got to remain calm and defuse this bomb," said Shepard calmly. "Then we look for another way out."

Shepard quickly rushed over towards the bomb and possibly the fastest person to disarm a nuke in known history. He managed to cut the last wire with one second to spare.

"That was too close," said Shepard wiping his brow. "Now let's deal with Haliat and get the hell off this planet.

They managed to find a another way out of the mineshaft and found themselves on a mountain sledge. They could still get the signal from the mako and thankfully it wasn't too far away.

In fact it was actually just over the ledge, Shepard pulled out his sniper rifle and looked through the scope. There he could see Elnos and many more pirates, there was also no lookouts, clearly he didn't expect them to disarm the bomb.

"Garrus, take up a position here with a sniper rifle, the rest of us will deal with them head-on," said Shepard.

Shepard, Kaidan and Wrex followed him down the cliff, while Garrus set up his sniper rifle. They managed to make their way down the cliff without being spotted and hid behind a few crates and that's when Shepard gave Garrus the signal.

Garrus fired a slug and she blew the head off a sniper and Shepard hand the others began to open fire. The pirates were completely taken by surprise as they were hit from two sides. Eventually only Elnos remain standing in his eyes widened when he saw Shepard aiming his pistol.

"Impossible!" he said. He then quickly reached for his pistol, but Shepard was far too fast for him and fired a couple of slugs into his chest.

Shepard then reached for his radio. "Joker, we need to pick up."

"Aye, aye, Commander," said Joker.

After Shepard sent his report to Admiral Hackett Shepard had a nice talk with Joker, discovering that Joker had brittle bone disease which meant that he had a walk carefully even if he was wearing crutches and leg places. Even discover the source of his nickname came from one of his instructors who kept on bugging him about why he never smiled.

Navigator Pressley also agreed with Ashley about the non-human personnel. However, he felt that they should be handling it on their own. Shepard on the other hand believed that having allies was the greatest strength not a weakness.

They then began searching around through other systems and other planets. They managed to discover a few new metals and gases. There were also able to locate Prothean discs, some Asari Matriarch inscriptions and some old turian insignias.

Shepard made his way down to the mess and found Tali looking a lot happier than she had a few days ago.

"Good to see you smiling again," said Shepard. "So to speak."

"I'm sleeping much better now. I guess I'm getting used to how quiet your ship is." She followed him to the table and sat down across from him. "I still think a lot about my Pilgrimage, though. I know Saren's our top priority. But with all the worlds we go to, I was hoping to find something to bring back to the flotilla."

"We've still got a long way to go. You'll find something to take back," Shepard assured.

"Yes, but it cannot just be some derelict ship my people can use for salvage. It has to be more than that. There's a lot expected of me."

"What's so special about you?" He blinked.

She shrugged. "It's my father. He's the senior member of the Admiralty Board. He's one of only five people who can overrule the decisions of the Conclave for the good of the Migrant Fleet." She folded her arms. "My father is responsible for the lives of seventeen million people—our entire race is in his hands. And I'm his only child."

"So are you some kind of heir to the quarian throne or something?" He took another drink of coffee.

"No, it doesn't work that way. My father's position isn't hereditary. I'll probably never serve on the Admiralty Board myself." She leaned back in the chair. "Officially, I'm just the same as any other citizen. But it doesn't work that way in practice. People have always treated me differently because of who my father is."

"Special privileges and the like?" He tried not to taste the food.

Tali nodded. "I probably had it easier than most growing up. But it's not all good. People like my father have enemies. And they're not above using me to get to him."

"It must be tough on you."

"My people place a high value on family and ancestry," Tali explained. "There's an unspoken exception that I'll live up to my father's example." She spread her hands. "Everyone's waiting for me to do something great on my Pilgrimage. Something that will forever change our lives for the better. If I don't, it's like I failed. And that reflects badly on both me and my father."

"The work you're doing here is more important than anything any quarian has ever done before." He set the plate aside and refilled his coffee.

"Yes…" She sighed. "I know. But you have to understand quarian culture. We're a very insular society. The events beyond the flotilla don't matter much to the average citizen. Our greatest dream is that one day, we'll return to our homeworld and drive out the geth. But even if we stop Saren, that's not going to happen. There's still millions of geth behind the Veil. Until they're gone, our exile will continue."

"What would you need to bring back to make everyone happy?"

She drew a pattern on the table with her finger as she considered the question. "Something that would help us better understand the geth. They've changed significantly since the exile; they've continued to evolve. We've done our best to study them, but it's not easy. They're very reclusive. Until recently, they never went beyond the borders of the Veil. And the geth we run into now are under Saren's control. We'd need to find geth operating on their own. Independently." She looked up at him. "But I don't want this to get in the way of our mission, Shepard. First, we stop Saren. Then I'll worry about my own problems."

They soon entered into the Armstrong Nebula no sooner had the entered that they got a message from Arcturus.

"Message coming through from the brass at Arcturus," said Joker. "Patching it through."

"Normandy?" said Hackett's voice. "Admiral Hackett here. We're getting reports warning of a marked increase in geth activity in the Skyllian Verge. Surveillance drones have indicated geth outposts on four different planets in the Armstrong Cluster. We need someone to take them out."

"We're right on it Admiral," Shepard assured.

"Finding Saren is still your top priority. But you've got experience fighting the geth. You're the logical choice to take out these outposts. We're transmitting the locations of all known geth outposts in the Armstrong Cluster to the Normandy. Admiral Hackett out."

They soon began taking out these geth outposts and there were certainly well fortified. They had turrets installed and colossal, but the mako prove more than capable of handling these installations.

One time though actually attacked by a geth dropship, but using some slick manoeuvres Shepard was able to avoid being blasted by it and managed to bring it down.

"I can't believe you took down a geth dropship with a tank," said Tail in amazement.

"Neither can I," said Shepard.

"That's almost the last of the outposts, Commander," said Ashley.

"Then we better not stop," said Shepard.

The next planet they visited, they were nearly eaten by a thresher maw, which apparently already destroyed a squadron of geth before they arrived. Wrex took great joy of taking down the beast when it fell to the ground with a massive thump and it took even less time wiping out the outpost.

"Just one more outpost left," said Garrus.

On the last planet they found a geth base and at first they thought it was deserted, but soon they were attacked by the same husks that they found on Eden Prime and geth troopers. Fortunately, Tail proved to be quite inept with dealing with geth and managed to get some of them to shoot at one another.

When they managed to eliminate the hostiles they found themselves surrounded and quickly made their way over to the mako. Using the mako's main canon they were able to wipe out the entire platoon.

"Strange," said Garrus as he looked at one of the geth bodies. "I expected one of these outposts to be the main base of operations for this incursion."

"Hold on," said Tail as she began to hack a receiver. "This receiver's picking up some kind of transmission. Based on the signal strength, I'd say it's coming from inside this star cluster."

"It must be a message from the primary geth base," said Garrus. "We can use the signal to lock onto its location and take them out!"

"Good work, Tali. Get us the target." Shepard nodded to Tali.

"Yes, Commander."

They soon found the geth base and Shepard was able to download some data from the terminal before it was wiped out.

"We just received your report." Hackett's voice came over the communication unit. "Looks like this geth incursion was bigger than we thought. They were probably preparing for a major offensive in the system. We're increasing patrols in the Armstrong cluster to make sure they can't establish another foothold in the region. Nice job, Shepard. You saved a lot of human lives on this mission. Hackett out."

Tali ambushed him before he was all the day down the stairs. "Shepard, I need to talk to you. It's important."

He shrugged, and led her into his office. "Is something wrong?"

She took a deep breath, causing her mask to make a slight whistling sound. "You know the data you took from those geth control nodes? The information you uploaded to Alliance control? I want a copy of it."

Shepard then understood why she approached him. "You want to bring this data back to the Migrant Fleet."

"Those files have information that could be vital to our efforts to understand the geth," she said in a slightly desperate voice. "It could be the key to helping us reclaim our homeworld!"

Shepard began copying the data over. "It'll take years to decipher and analyze the data."

"Maybe even decades. But it's worth the time. This information will give us new insight into how the geth have changed and evolved over the past centuries."

"Here you go." He took the OSDs out of the system, and then started to offer them to her.

"My people—" She looked down at the disks. "I owe you a great debt. One I can never repay. The only thing I can offer in return is what you already have: my solemn promise to stay with you until Saren and his geth armies are defeated."

Shepard smiled. "I never wanted anything more."

"Thank you, Shepard."