Chapter 2: Citadel I

Shepard put Kaidan down on one of the medical tables. He just stared at the downed major, until Liara spoke up.

"Shepard. Kaidan needs medical attention."

"Yes. I know," Shepard said as he walked out of the med lab.

There was nothing anyone could do until they reached the Citadel, so James reached over and turned on the radio.

An upbeat gangster tune resonated out of the machine. "Sam B got the thing that go bump in the night! Who do you voodoo –"

"Turn that off, James," Shepard commanded, cutting into the sound of the music.

James looked outrage. "But its Sam B! He's the most famous rapper on the Citadel!" James protested.

"Turn it off, Lieutenant. Now."

James muttered something like, "Ain't my fault you lack a musical ear," but turned the radio off anyway.

With nothing else to do, James headed off towards the armory to workout. Shepard stayed where he was, his hands creeping over and finding a candy bar. He unwrapped it without much enthusiasm and shoved it in his mouth, tasting the cheap sugar as it hit his tongue. He heard someone approach from behind; it was Mason.

"So, who exactly are you guys?" Mason asked.

"I'm Commander Shepard of the Alliance," Shepard told him. "Perhaps you have heard of me."

"Nope," said Mason, sitting down. "So what's going on with the universe?"

"Well," Shepard said, joining Mason at the table. "We've got giant bugbots called Reapers, and there's an evil organization called Cerberus, who is trying to take control of the Reapers, and we have to stop them both."

Mason whistled. "That's a pretty tough job you've got there, commander. Sounds like you could use all the help you can get."

"Yeah," said Shepard. Then the idea struck him. "You wouldn't be interested in joining the fight would you?"

Mason examined a glowing blue device on his wrist. "If these Reapers win, the whole galaxy is done for right?"

Shepard nodded.

"Then count me in," Mason said.

"Welcome aboard, Mason," Shepard told him, shaking his hand. "I'll have James show you to your quarters."

Shepard then walked towards the intercom and spoke at it, "James, get back up here. I've got a job for you."

As James brought Mason to his quarters, he filled in the Red Faction soldier about the Citadel, which they would be arriving at in a few hours…

"So that's all you need to know," James finished. "Welcome aboard the Normandy, Mason. Good to have you around."

"So, is there a bar on the Citadel?" Asked Mason.

James grinned. "Heck yeah. We can go grab some drinks there.

"What else is there to do on the Citadel?"

"I was going to look at the games shop," James said happily. "But I have to take Liara with me, because Shepard says I spend way too much time on that place, so she's supposed to tell me when my time's up."

Joker's voice spoke out from the speakers. "We'll be arriving at the Citadel in about half an hour. All crew prepare for arrival."

"Guess that means I've got to go. Catch you around, Mason," James said as he left the Red Faction soldier's quarters.

Shepard watched as the medics wheeled Kaidan through the docking bay towards the hospital. Moments later, he was met by yet another familiar face.

"Captain Bailey," Shepard said with a surprised tone.

"It's Commander Bailey now," Bailey told him.

"Congratulations on the promotion," Shepard told him.

Bailey grinned. "Thanks."

Shepard briefed the new commander on what was going on, and what had happened to Kaidan on Mars. Bailey's face grew grimmer as he listened.

"So, it's come to this," Bailey breathed. "Ah."

Bailey then led Shepard towards the council, because they wanted to see him.

"Good luck in there, Shepard."

The council was as boring as Shepard remembered it to be, except this time they all seemed a little embarrassed and no one would look him in the eye.

"Probably because I was right about everything," Shepard thought smugly.

"Yes, so it must seem that we must all try our best to defeat the Reapers," the salarian councillor said.

"Aha!" Shepard said suddenly, and everyone turned to look at him. "So now you believe in the Reapers, eh?"

"Well, how can we not," the turian councillor snapped. "They're obviously going to destroy all of us if we don't pay attention to them."

"But you believe them now, right? Whatever happened to, 'we have dismissed that claim?'" Shepard asked.

"Ah, eh, er, ah… well in the previous circumstances, we had no choice but to…" the turian councillor began.

"You mean, I was right and you were wrong?" said Shepard. "I told you! I told you, but you wouldn't listen! Oh, we have dismissed that claim! Hahaha!"

Shepard started making finger quotes and began dancing on the spot.

The council allowed two full minutes of satisfaction and dancing before Councillor Udina spoke up. "Yes, you were right, Shepard. However, this is hardly the time for celebration, because if your previous claims about the Reapers were correct, they would still arrive and kill us all."

"But you don't get it," Shepard said. "I was right and you were wrong. And all those times you said I was crazy or a liar… well, who's the crazy one now? Haha!"

Udina made a grumbling noise and Shepard continued his dancing. "Shepard, if you would just stop your shenanigans for a moment, perhaps we can discuss how to stop these Reapers."

Liara, came into the room shortly after the dancing, and tapped her omni-tool, allowing the plans for the prothean device to pop into the air. While she explained the device to the council, and what they might need, Shepard pulled out a candy bar from his pocket and snapped on it, ignoring the looks of distaste from the council members.

"… and this is the only plan we have on stopping the Reapers," finished Liara.

There was a moment of silence as the members of the council thought this over.

"I must admit, this doesn't seem like a reliable plan," the salarian councillor admitted at last. "Perhaps if we were to think this over we can come up with a better, less risky plan."

Shepard tossed the candy bar wrapper at the councillor. "We don't have time!" Shepard said loudly. "Every moment we spend here talking is another moment we give the Reapers time to destroy the things we care about."

The salarian councillor swept it off the table. "Yes, but blindly rushing in isn't the best strategy either."

"It's always worked for me," Shepard commented.

"Well, not everyone is you," countered the turian councillor.

"Yeah you're right," said Shepard. "If you were all me you would have believed me when I told you about the Reapers."

The turian councillor shuffled around on his seat but said nothing.

"Perhaps we should all take a moment to cool down," Udina said. "Shepard, I want to see you in my office."

As Shepard walked towards Udina's office, all his previous experiences with the human councillor began playing in his head.

"Aw, man. This guy is really boring. I better think of some excuse to get out of here as fast as I can," Shepard thought to himself.

The door to the councillor's office hissed open, revealing a rather crossed-looking Udina standing behind his table.

"You wanted to see me, councillor?" Shepard asked apprehensively.

"Yes, Shepard. Your behaviour in today's meeting was… questionable."

Shepard's mind raced as he tried to think of a way out.
"Oh would you look at the time," he said, suddenly glancing at his omni-tool. "I have a top secret mission I promised, uh… Bailey I'd see to. Umm… sorry councillor, but I'm going to have to… catch you later."

"What could possibly be more important than meeting with me?"

"Uhh… Spectre business. Top secret. I'll tell as soon as I have clearance."

Without another word, Shepard ran out of the room, plotting the fastest course to the purgatory bar. Udina watched the commander disappear from the office, then slowly shook his head and sat down.

"I'll never understand that man," the councillor muttered.

Commander Shepard made his way towards the purgatory floor of the Citadel.

"Phew," the commander sighed. "Looks like I made it out."

Shepard decided that he needed a drink, so he headed towards the purgatory bar. He smiled to himself when he neared the entrance, but before he could walk in, a voice from behind called out to him.

"Shepard!"

Shepard turned around, surprised to see that it was the turian councillor who was calling him. "Hello again, Shepard. We might have something that could help you for your fight against the Reapers."

Before Shepard could say anything, the councillor spoke first. "Don't talk about any more of our disbeliefs. We believe you now, so no more accusations and dancing. Palaven's Primarch Fedorian called for a war summit. Now, he's open to extreme solutions, like your plan. We lost contact of him after the Reapers hit Palaven. We don't know if he's still alive, but if he is, the Normandy could perhaps get in there, and get him out."

"So he might be able to help us with Earth?" Shepard asked.

"Yes, well if you do get him out alive, he will be a powerful asset to your plan, and he might get you what you are looking for."

Shepard looked unsure.

"You and your councillor were right. We need to work together. This is the best way to get that. Our intel says that the Primarch is on Menae, Palaven's largest moon. Just get in undetected and get him out."

Shepard thought about it for a moment. This might seem like a good idea, but nothing is ever that easy. Every mission that he went on always had shooting involved.

"Oh, and we have decided to reinstate your Spectre status. You'll probably need it. Good luck."

With that, the councillor made his way back to the elevators.

"That went well," Shepard thought to himself as he walked towards the bar. "I think I'll get a drink and meet some friends before getting on with the mission."

Project Eel – Citadel I