The Citadel
The messenger scurried down the packed halls of the human embassy in the Presidium, heading for Ambassador Udina's office. The small parcel he carried blinked red with its urgency, spurring him on to greater efforts. He finally reached the balcony outside the office, and he paused to straighten his uniform before pressing the buzzer next to the sliding glass doors. After a small delay, Udina came to the door, his usual scowl on his face. The man was in his late forties or early fifties, his hair showing gray in its receding hair line. The messenger held out the parcel for Udina to see, "An urgent message has come for you from transmissions, sir." Udina took the package without handing the messenger a tip, and closed the doors. His office was small but spacious, and neatly kept. White carpet cautioned the floor, while light blue paint decorated the walls. His desk was off to the side, near a rectangular window showing the residential gardens far below the Presidium. It was smooth alienite, and made of all one piece, having a smooth top and then curving gracefully downward to form two legs. A computer sat on the flat surface, as well as a few data pads.
Udina sighed and sank into his cautioned whit chair behind his desk, and opened the parcel. Did his work ever stop, he thought, as he unraveled the packaging. Ever since he had taken a council seat, the work was endless. He unwrapped the small brown package, inside was a small wrapped object, with a small card underneath it. He pulled out the card and read the small print scribbled across its glossy surface: It is done. Here is the the artifact—YU. Donnel Udina looked at the mysterious package with new scrutiny. His finger hovered over the wrapped lump, but a small beep at his computer captured his attention. He touched the orange computer screen, the message blinked urgent. He sighed, placing the recorder of to the side for later, and opened up the message. His eyes slowly scanned the dull formal greetings and sentences that always graced the first paragraph but as he progressed further into the brief message, his eye read at a frantic pace, soaking up the information.
Quickly he pressed the comm that lay next to his computer, "Janis, call an emergency meeting of the council immediately, this is urgent!" he dashed from his chair and out of his office, not waiting for her reply.
I
The council room was in uproar, voices filled the room with disbelief and concern. Spartecies clicked his mandibles in distaste, he had always disliked loud noise. Next to him, and to his left, the asari Velatrace stroked her head crests, deep in thought, how she could think with such noise was beyond him. On his left Councilor Udina stood, and raised his hands for silence. Spartecies shook his head at Udina's expression of satisfaction as the crowd obeyed his command and quieted down. He was getting to power hungry for Spartecies taste.
"There is no solid evidence that has been presented that confirms the existence of a reaper." Udina spoke. "They were eradicated by Commander Shepard and the galaxy's armies ten years ago, they are completely gone. There is no need for worry, everything is fine." Spartecies could see some of the people's heads nodding in the crowd, drinking in every word. Trianna, the salarian council member stood up as well, standing from her seat on the farthest left of the long table where the four of them sat.
"Do we not learn from our mistakes?" The question split the air like a whip uncoiling for the first time, its snap resounding through the vast room. Every ear was trained onto her next words as she continued. "Udina, you sound exactly as we sounded fourteen years ago, when Commander Shepard stood before us demanding us to believe in a legend. A tall tale, we said, a story. There wasn't enough evidence to support his claims, we turned away. And it almost eradicated us all. Do not be so quick as to disbelieve the impossible, for we have come to understand that it is possible." Udina stood outraged, shamed in front of the embassies and other council members.
More outraged voices filled the room as the embassies broke out in uproar, once again set into argument with one another. Spartacies leaned back in his chair, trying not to cringe. Above his head Trianna and Udina shouted insults at each other. Spartecies watched as their poor witness, a young man, hunched himself over in a corner from the noise, Spartacies didn't blame him.
With a sudden movement Valatrice unfolded herself from her seat and stood, addressing the whole room. The noise quickly dissipated as the well-respected councilor stood. "There isn't enough evidence to support this claim of a rouge reaper traveling in space, but there isn't any evidence supporting that there isn't either, as members of this council, Trianna, Udina, Spartacies and I will discuss this matter. Rest assured that you are all in good hands, council dismissed." Her voice held the weight of someone used to having her wishes met, and she was not disappointed. Soon, the room was empty except for the four council. Beside the turian, Udina sat down with an angry huff.
Leaning down to the comm in front of her seat Valatrice spoke quietly into its speaker. "Carstle." Valatrice called her secretary, "file a release for Shepard in his holding cell in C-sec. See to it that he is brought up here."
"Yes ma'am." Came the curt reply. Valatrice sighed, and sat back down, rubbing her temples. "Come forward, Corwin." The young man returned to his place, front and center. "Tell us exactly what you saw, again please." The man sighed and pulled out a data pack from his weapons pack on his back.
"I bring before the council all the accumulative research that the station I was serving on has discovered. I hesitated to mention it due to the embassies presence. But now I give it to you to do what you will with it." He handed to Valatrice the data pad, which she placed to one side. Spartecies caught Udina looking at the data pad next to him with interest; his hand twitched, like he wanted to pick it up.
"Tell us again, how the station was destroyed, and how you alone escaped the destruction of your station?" Trianna asked.
"Out of nowhere, a reaper ship blasted into our orbit path and boarded our station. Our warning systems never picked up anything, they just appeared! The intruders were all yargh, as far as I could tell. How they have reaper tech, I don't know. But they killed everyone and destroyed everything, it was a massacre! I assume that they were after our research, and so did my commander. It was he that ordered me to abandon my squad to retrieve the data pad, and to get it into your hands, even at the cost of mine own life. As soon as I had left my squad, they were ambushed and killed. I alone traveled and retrieved the data pad, which had all of the stations research recorded into it. Then I fought my way to an escape pod and ejected out of the station before it exploded. I logged into FTL travel before the other ship could follow, in so doing I lost them. Then I just lived in the pod for a week while it set a course for the citadel, and now I am here. I am surprised that you haven't heard of the research stations destruction until now." He stood there nervously, in the at-ease position.
"Where was the station?" Spartecies inquired.
"On the ridge of the Terminus galaxy, orbiting the planet Need. It was a station that was researching a mass relay's energy conduction. It was also home to two-hundred civilians as well as the one-hundred person staff and the fifty-five officers in charge of the security. I was one of the latter." He paused, and then continued, "My wife and daughter were killed." The soldier looked at the floor, not meeting anyone's eyes.
"Thank you, Officer Corwin, you have been much help." Valatrice answered. She picked up the data pad and handed it to an assistant "Get that to Research, see what they can make of it." The assistant nodded and got up.
"Why don't we take a look at it first—just to make sure it is what he says—I could do it if you like?" Udina offered. Valatrice gave him a withering look.
"You know as well as I do all their fancy scientist gibberish will mean nothing to us, we will have the experts' analyze this and tell us what it means." Udina sat back into his chair, openly put out. The assistant ran out, almost running into into Captain Bailey, who was holding Commander Shepard by the arm, in a kind of restraint hold. Bailey obviously looked uncomfortable treating the hero of the galaxy like a criminal, he had a grimace on his face. Spartacies nodded to him, and Captain Bailey returned the nod, they had worked together on several missions before Spartecies was a politician and Bailey a C-sec officer.
Captain Bailey led Shepard into the council room, and placed him before the remaining councilors. Udina scowled at Shepard, clearly displeased with seeing his least favorite person on the Citadel. Commander Jacob Shepard was the Alliance's greatest accomplishment and also their greatest disgrace that they had ever known, as well as the first human Spectre ever to be instated. With only a small crew of trusted officers and friends, Commander Shepard had single-handedly saved the galaxy from the reaper threat ten years ago. He alone had activated the Crucible, a prothean inspired defense system and had destroyed the enemy fleet, almost dying in the process. Now, ten years later, with no galaxy to save, Shepard had fallen into deep alcohol abuse and violent tendencies, brought on by deep scarring from the war. Just the other night he had almost killed a man in a bar because he accidentally spilled his drink on him, which was why he had been undergoing his hangover in a C-sec cell instead of at his apartment.
Just turned thirty-four, this young man had experienced much more combat than any of the aged admirals that populated the top offices of the human military force, the Alliance. Well-muscled and fit from combat, he had semi-short caramel blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. Right now, he was wearing a dark shirt and pants to match, that had dark splatters of blood on the collar from his previously bleeding nose. He had deep bags under his eyes and his hair was unkempt from restless sleep. Despite his unruly appearance, the Spectre stood tall and proud in front of the council.
"Shepard," Valatrice nodded, "may I introduce you to Lieutenant Corwin, recently promoted to Captain." Corwin looked up at the council with shock. Shepard nodded to Corwin, but did not smile or shake his hand.
"Why did you call me up here?" Shepard's strong voice echoed through the many seats that circled around the councils table. "Don't think that I need your help, because I won take it. I thought I had made it clear last time we met that I don't need any therapy." He looked mostly at Valatrice while he said this, glaring. Valatrice sighed, not trying to hide her annoyance with Shepard's behavior.
"We did not call you here to bicker with you, Shepard, we all know your views perfectly well." Trianna picked up where Valatrice had left off.
"You are here because of your personal knowledge of the reapers. Can you identify this ship as one of them?" Shepard's omni-tool activated around his arm as a picture Corwin had took was streamed into its display screen. The picture was dark and fuzzy, and the large hulk of a ship too difficult to make out. Shepard shook his head and returned his gaze to the three councilors seated slightly above him.
"I can't tell, the picture quality is very low. My best guess is a giant space bunny with floppy ears and a carrot in its mouth." He sniggered. Beside him Captain Bailey rolled his eyes. Things would never change with this guy, Bailey thought.
"I see that we are in need of a further investigation," Valatrice said, ignoring Shepard sarcastic comment, "We will put together a team to go." All the councilors stood from their seats.
"Good!" Shepard praised, "I was just starting to get sick of this place! When should I lift off with the Normandy?" he asked. All the councilors looked at one another, and broke down into laughter, clearly enjoying Shepard's confused expression.
"You think after the last ten years of taking your arrogant behavior we are just going to let you fly off on an important mission?" Udina sputtered between gasps for fresh air. "No way Shepard, you are grounded, we are taking the Normandy away." He continued.
"What?!" Shepard asked, disbelieving, "you can't! She's my heart and soul!" His wild eyes took in the four councilors. Valatrice straightened from her bent over position.
"Last night was the last straw, Shepard, we are suspending your status as Spectre until further notice. You are going to be sent to Thessia, to train the new N7 prerequisites at the ICT Academy, which will do you some good. Captain Corwin will accompany you, acting as your assistant and also, our informant on your behavior. We need the old Shepard back, we cannot afford to lose him." Jacob was shocked, they were taking his wings away? How could they! They couldn't do that! His spirit rose in fury, and her opened his mouth to object, but Valatrice's pitying expression stopped him. She pitied him? That was one thing he did not want.
"As the council wishes." Was his forced reply, taking the form of the formal Spectre address. Turning he exited their room, fury boiling just beneath a carefully controlled surface.