Recap: 'Lis, what would cause you to break up with me? I know we never had any problems, in fact we were one of the most hopeful couples on Omega. That's saying something, right?' Shepard silently thought out as he made to leave the comm room.
Now
At the Citadel
After the Councilors logged off, Sparatus called a Council meeting concerning the newest spectre, Ghost a.k.a Shepard. They were now in the private chambers. This was where a majority of the meetings took place concerning matters such as colonization rights and special projects like the Destiny Ascension several years back. Sparatus entered the room first, escorted by 2 turian bodyguards. Each Councilor must have 2 specially trained bodyguards of their own races for several reasons, including a show of commitment, power and confidence. Sparatus' bodyguards are in actuality a Turian Soldier and a Turian Sentinel. Originally Sparatus preferred to have a Turian Havoc Soldier and a Saboteur instead, but they were best used in military operations. Besides a Soldier and a Sentinel were still a lethal combination. As he sat down he noticed that Tevos entered, escorted by her 2 guards, an Asari Huntress and Valkyrie. From what Sparatus had learned, these 2 asari were learning the recently discovered biotic abilities dubbed Dark Channel and Annihilation Field. He snorted at that.
'The asari are holding the best biotic abilities from all the other races.' He thought disgruntled. Then his mandibles twitched into a turian smirk. He remembered seeing Tevos' face when Ghost had showed all of them his Power Strike. He had to admit while he did not like Ghost, he could respect a man who shows no fear and is honest about himself as well as his abilities. Honesty like that, to be able to tell someone in power what you think of them, takes guts. Then Sparatus' smirk turned into a frown. Shepard's blatant disrespect was one of the things he wanted to talk about as well as Ghost's abilities and skills. Sparatus knew Nihlus was right, Ghost was indeed spectre material. Ghost had filled the role in quite fast.
Sparatus then noticed Valern enter escorted by his 2 guards, an Infiltrator and an Engineer. Even though the salarians were very smart, they lacked muscle. A smart person knows a salarian's most dangerous tool is their mind. A smarter person knows better then try to outright attack a salarian, especially one with military training. Sparatus knew these two were probably very dangerous, they could sabotage both his guards easily if they weren't careful. As Valern sat down, he spoke first.
"Sorry I arrived late, I was going through some data." He apologized.
"It's no trouble Valern." Tevos said with Sparatus nodding in agreement. Tevos then looked at Sparatus.
"Is there a reason as to why you called this meeting Sparatus?" Tevos asked. Sparatus nodded before answering as he bidden the guards to leave.
"Yes, I called this meeting to discuss our... newest spectre." Sparatus said. He noticed Valern get much more interested now as Tevos looked to be annoyed.
"If this is about getting him to be ejected from the spectres, it's still no." Tevos said in annoyance. Earlier after Ghost's first report to them, Sparatus tried to use the prothean ruin's destruction to try and have Ghost fired from the spectres. Tevos and Valern were against it for obvious reasons. Tevos wanted Ghost around because he was doing good work: He had managed to save Liara T'Soni, and his actions on Elysium, Akuze and Torfan made it show how his abilities were. Valern was against it because he wanted to study Ghost. Valern and several other salarians knew a human with biotics and intellect like Ghost had was incredibly rare, especially with biotics! Not only that but Valern knew Ghost did not take down all those slavers just by himself. No, he had to have at least one powerful person backing him up. From what STG agents had recently brought to him, he may have found something that might make the Council try to keep Ghost in their sights at the least. When Ghost ended up becoming a spectre, Valern knew that this would probably one the most perfect opportunities he could get to study Ghost.
"I'm done trying to get Ghost out of the spectres. When he was inducted, the Alliance ceased barking about it, or at the very least quieted down. No, I'm here to talk about his attitude and abilities." Sparatus said making his counterparts raise their eyebrows.
"Alright then." Tevos said as she ushered Sparatus to continue.
"Ghost's attitude is not what a spectres should be. He's got little to no respect for authority. It's obvious his focus is not completely on the mission given the fact that the missions we have sent him on involved the destruction of a major prothean ruin and ended saving a colony, risking himself, his team and by extension, the mission itself." Sparatus said. Valern nodded, seeing Sparatus' points.
"Very true Sparatus, very true. However we ourselves said that spectres accomplish the mission no matter the cost. The mission on Therum was to find and acquire Doctor Liara T'Soni to see if she knew anything of Benezia's involvement. Ghost did just that, the cost was the prothean ruin." Valern reasoned out logically. Tevos picked up after him.
"And on Feros, we sent him there to see why the geth were attacking, if Saren was there or had been there, and if so why. Ghost did all that and managed to save the colony too. True he was at risk and the mission as well, but is that not the case with most of our Spectres?" Tevos said finishing any little argument Sparatus had.
"Fine then, you made your point. How about we get to his abilities then shall we?" Sparatus said.
"Anything in particular you wish to talk about?" Tevos asked.
"Yes, his biotic prowess for one. He seemed to have you surprised when we last spoke to him, Tevos." Sparatus said. Tevos hesitated, remembering the report she received before contacting Ghost. In all her years, she had never seen or heard of a move like the power strike. So simple, yet so powerful. Then there was the fact he hadn't taught it to anyone, at least not yet. Something she was happy about. If many more people could use a biotic attack like that, the galaxy would be in more turmoil than it was now. Then there was that form he described.
"I will admit, I was skeptical at first when he had described it, but he obviously hadn't been lying when he showed it. Why, what's wrong?" Tevos asked trying to maintain the cool, wise councilor look.
"It's just the fact that he made a move that none of the asari have even thought of, yet he does not flaunt it about. Not like most humans would anyway. Then there is his training. Usually when we induct someone to become a spectre, we review their training, their service and their history. We have none of that." Sparatus said making Tevos look a little alarmed. No records means no leverage to use or figure out what missions to send him on. Luckily Valern entered the conversation again.
"Actually I have managed to acquire several things the Alliance had sent in on Ghost." Valern said shocking the his counter parts.
"Let's hear it." Both said at the same time. Tevos because she wanted to learn more about who Ghost was and how he became the person he was today. Sparatus because he felt it was best to find out who Ghost truly was, all he knew was the man's name and abilities. Valern nodded and took his omni-tool out and began reading the data.
"Ghost of the Terminus. Name: John Shepard. Personality shows very different aspects: Calm and joking when he is off missions, cold and very observant on missions. Leadership skills are very impressive. Charismatic, understanding, powerful. High intelligence shows fast learning capability, impressive memory process and ability to break down events and find out the cause in-spite of almost no education. Birth place: the human colony of Mindoir. In correlation of his birth date and the slavery attack on Mindoir a few decades back, the data suggests that he was 11 years old at the time. One of the few survivors." Valern said shocking them and himself. He knew for humans it was a young age to lose everything was tragic, especially like that. Tevos was saddened by it, having to hear one lose their family so young. Sparatus merely closed his eyes, knowing it had to be tough for Shepard. Valern then continued.
"He drops off the grid after that until, by his own accounting, he later appears and settles on Omega at 16. A month after that, the Ghost of the Terminus appears and starts going after... slavers and pirates." Valern said before nodding his head. Tevos and Sparatus both nodded along, figuring that Ghost was doing it for revenge.
"After that Ghost makes several attacks on slaver rings and bases for a few years until he suddenly sends a message to the Alliance and later appears on the human colony of Elysium. Oh, there's footage." Valern says before playing it on the projector inside the room. They see Ghost leading everyone into a hospital while gunfire and explosions are going off. Then the footage continues until it shows the reinforcements coming and the camera then zooms in on Ghost jumping into the enemy ranks and starts to maneuver through them, killing all of them with just his omni-blades. They all noticed that Ghost was using tactics like turning the enemies into shields, or grabbing an enemy and making hims shoot his comrades. The footage ends as Ghost suddenly runs in the direction of the docks. The Council stood there for a minute before Valern continued on.
"Afterwards, Shepard is called in for a meeting with several Alliance figures including Admiral Hackett and Captain Anderson. They offer Ghost a job as a Corsair, but he turns it down. He then drops off the grid again until he is seen on Akuze using incredibly powerful biotics as well as his other skills to take on 3 thresher maws." Valern said. He then showed the footage that Ghost had given Anderson all those years ago.
"Did he teach himself when his biotics manifested?" Sparatus asked. Valern merely shrugged.
"It's not really known, it is assumed though." Valern said before Tevos spoke up.
"Actually someone did teach him." Tevos said gaining the turian and salarian's attention.
"Who?" Valern asked quickly thinking if someone taught him, he may be able to send STG Operatives to find out more about Ghost and the extent of his abilities.
"Aria T'Loak." Tevos said shocking them. Aria T'Loak was not known for her teaching methods. She was known for being ruthless, tyrannical and incredibly manipulative.
"Why would she of all people train Ghost?" Valern asked.
"And how do you know this?" Sparatus demanded right after Valern finished talking. Tevos looked at them both before answering.
"Very well, you know how Aria and I talk involving trade, locations and potential criminals that may be entering our space correct?" Tevos asked in a dignified manner. Sparatus and Valern nodded. Out of all of them, Tevos was the only one who could get Aria to listen and talk. Neither knew the reason as to why though.
"Well, one day when we were in talks, she mentioned that she finally found the Ghost of the Terminus. Aria had been trying to find one of the few most disruptive elements in her section of space for some time then, to manipulate and use him." Tevos said before Valern interrupted her.
"This does not explain how Ghost ended up being taught by her." Valern said eager to find out more. Tevos looked at him annoyed causing him to compose himself.
"I was getting to that. Apparently, Ghost had saved one of her most important and trusted agents, escorted them back to Omega and to Aria herself. When she found out who Ghost was she offered him a reward in an attempt to manipulate him. He saw through it immediately and asked her if she could find someone to teach him biotics. Aria decided to do so herself, in order to best figure him out. During the training, Ghost's biotics were shown to be very strong, and when it finished, his biotics were on par with hers. Over the years Ghost kept in touch and rose in her unofficial ranks, becoming her spectre equivalent." Tevos explained. She wouldn't dare tell them the agent that was saved was her's and Aria's daughter. It would be scandalous with how the press would find out and blow it all up. She took the moment to look at her colleagues' expressions. Valern looked like a nerd who had found a new book describing theoretical quantum physics. Sparatus looked a little more cautious almost as if he was considering Ghost to be someone that needed to be locked up.
"That explains the biotics, but not the combat and tech training." Sparatus said. He had a tactical mind when it came to observing things and from what he observed, Shepard was becoming more and more of a potential threat. Perhaps an ally too, but it would be unlikely. Someone who spends time in the company of Aria T'Loak for years is most likely a scoundrel.
"I'm afraid that's all I know about Ghost and his training from Aria." Tevos said shaking her head.
"I believe the combat and tech training came in the time between the Mindoir attack and when he appeared on Omega at 16." Valern said.
"We don't have much on Shepard except his achievements and known training. What about the people connected to him?" Sparatus asked Valern knowing he had STG Operatives running around constantly collecting data on Shepard ever since he found out who he was. Valern typed on his omni-tool.
"Do you want to know about anyone in particular?" Valern asked. Sparatus thought it over before answering, "Start with the ones before he came to Eden Prime." Valern nodded and brought it up. The files showed several people on the projector.
"Most of them we already know of. Ghost seems to have met Captain Anderson and Lieutenant Alenko over the years during Elysium, Akuze, and Torfan. Very minimal though, only a few conversations." Valern said before looking at Tevos and Sparatus.
"Who is the one with no picture?" Tevos asked seeing an unmarked picture file. Valern looked at it before answering.
"That is the one person we are having the most difficulty figuring out. Shepard has been in contact with this person for years now." Valern said selecting the file.
"Why is this one difficult?" Sparatus asked wondering what could keep the salarian STG from finding out. They were probably the best saboteurs, hackers and secret operatives in the galaxy barring the spectres.
"We've found birth records, tax records and various small time business transactions, but what has us, as the humans would say 'stumped', is the fact we have found no picture, fingerprints or audio of any kind of this person. Not even the Shadow Broker has anymore information than this." Valern said looking at the name 'Isaac Clarke' in scrutiny. This person was a very frustrating person to find, in Valern's opinion. They found legitimate businesses the guy owned, but that was it. What Sparatus was curious about was some of the businesses and small companies this 'Isaac' had. A few small time restaurants, several small mining factories digging for palladium, eezo, platinum, iridium; a somewhat small factory that uses said resources to create weapon parts, mechs, mods, armor pieces, and various other things that get shipped out to everyone including the Citadel, Alliance and the private armies. It also creates simple VIs for said mechs. Isaac even contributed to the Omega First Security, keeping them supplied and providing medical care for any of Omega's residents for a relatively small price. None of it was concerned with slavers, so why would Isaac be connected to Shepard?
"What do we know about the people he's connected to now?" Tevos asked. Valern turned the files to the people Shepard was scene acting familiar with. On the files it was his team, Anderson, and... Chun.
"So who are they? Besides Doctor T'Soni." Sparatus asked. Valern turned to Kaidan Alenko's file first.
"Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko, part of the human Biotic Acclimation and Temperance training program, Sentinel, L2 Biotic implants. Personality is calm and level headed in most situations, shows leadership capability when put in charge. First met Ghost on Elysium when Ghost had come to warn them of the impending attack. Later both fought together in the invasion, saving civilians and military personnel alike. Next time he met Ghost was on Torfan although neither spoke or saw each other until the battle was over. Several special commendations awarded from superior officers over his career. Mindset appears to be quite stable in spite of L2 implant side effects. Impressive credentials." Valern said as he read out Kaidan's files. Sparatus nodded at Kaidan's resume, a fine soldier to be sure. Would have made a fine turian if he had been born one. Tevos was neutral mostly towards it. She didn't care much about military records that much. Valern then moved to Ashley Williams' file.
"Gunnery Chief Ashley Madeline Williams, trained in various forms of combat in different areas, Soldier. Personality is somewhat impulsive, but charismatic. Family has been in the Alliance military for quite some time. Psychological evaluations show depression of what happened on Eden Prime. Also shows that she is somewhat distrusting of non-humans. Glowing performance reviews, but despite numerous requests of transfer to a shipboard posting has been denied without explicit reason." Valern said. Both Tevos and Sparatus rose their eyebrows at that, but didn't make any outward comments about it. They both felt that it was more personal to who ever was in charge of approving those requests. Valern turned to the next one.
"Next we have C-Sec Agent, Garrus Vakarian. Grew up on Palaven, trained at 15 like most Turians, became a notable c-sec agent specializing in both combat and tech capabilities. Was in charge of the investigation into Saren. Left c-sec and joined Shepard in the effort of bringing down Saren. Personality is calm and courteous in civil situations, but shows fierce ruthlessness in fighting armed and dangerous opponents. Also has shown potential leadership skills both in the past and present. Father is a retired c-sec agent as well. Has however shown a slight dislike of rules and regulations, but reports show that while he is eager to break them trying to finish things faster, Shepard has tempered it somewhat with patience." Valern read out, nodding. A little rough around the edges but still pretty good. Tevos nodded seeing the somewhat positive influence Shepard has had on Garrus. Sparatus looked somewhat disappointed at Garrus' resume. His abilities weren't in question, but the fact he left c-sec, his post and duty, to join up with someone else. Any indignation was eased since Vakarian left for a much better cause: to deal with an embarrassment to the turian people. Sparatus noticed that Valern moved to the next file, one that made both of them frown.
"Here is Urdnot Wrex, a famed krogan mercenary and bounty hunter. Also one of the last krogan battlemasters. Personality has shown him as a deep thinker surprisingly. Calm, rarely looses his temper. Seems to hold the ancient krogan mindset of courage, honor and strength. From what STG had found out on him, he was also one of the few krogan chiefs who believed it would be best to not pick up arms and instead focus on breeding due to the genophage. Hmmm a strange krogan." Valern said becoming a little more neutral towards Wrex. He had to admit if the krogan had more like Wrex, the genophage may never have been needed. Sparatus was neutral as well, but still didn't really trust Wrex. While he could acknowledge Wrex as an unusual krogan, a deep thinking krogan one who could focus on what matters over violence was a potential threat to be sure. The question was to who though. Tevos looked at Wrex's picture with a raised eyebrow. She had heard of this particular krogan when he became a bounty hunter suddenly. Valern switched over to Tali's file now.
"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, a quarian machinist. Lived on the Migrant Fleet obviously. Is the daughter of Rael'Zorah, a member Admiralty Board. Personality has shown an eagerness to learn, to prove herself and cares very much for her people. Intelligent in most technological mechanics, currently on her pilgrimage as a traditional rite of passage for her people. Has shown able to get along well with Shepard more easily than other members of the crew." Valern said neutrally with a hint of respect. He could respect Tali's engineering skills. Sparatus didn't really care that much. It wasn't the fact that she was a quarian. Oh no, unlike a lot of other people Sparatus didn't bear any prejudice to the quarians, surprisingly. He just didn't see what was noteworthy about her, besides the fact she's the daughter of a quarian admiral. Tevos was a little curious about the pilgrimage but figured she wouldn't get an answer for it here. Valern skipped over Liara T'Soni and Anderson seeing that they already knew or assumed was not important. That was when they got to Chun.
"He isn't part of Shepard's crew." Sparatus said.
"Who is he?" Tevos asked. Valern showed sides of Shepard and the man conversing as they made their way towards Chora's Den.
"That's what STG operatives tried to find out. Shepard contacted this man and casually talked with him. The operatives couldn't hear what they were saying, but they did find out the man had sent some unidentified cargo." Valern said.
"What do you mean by 'tried'?" Sparatus asked catching it. Valern looked down before admitting something.
"I personally sent a salarian spectre accompanied by 2 of STG Operatives, an engineer and an infiltrator. All 3 had followed this person until he came to a dark alley and he suddenly called them out." Valern said shocking both of the other councilors. Someone actually caught 3 highly trained, covert agents tailing them? That shouldn't be possible.
"They walked out to meet them and were about to bring him in for questioning but..." Valern said until he stopped making the councilors worried. He then composed himself and looked at them continuing on.
"The man, Chun, dropped what seemed like a gas grenade right at them. Red mist hissed out and knocking the operatives unconscious. It wasn't until later someone came and saw them in a very shameful position." Valern said with some embarrassment as he turned to another photo showing what Chun did to the Salarian spectre and the 2 STG Operatives. What the 2 councilors saw made their eyes go wide in shock. Tevos covered her mouth with both hands at the picture in front of her. The picture showed the 3 salarians unconscious and unharmed. The position they were all in however, was extremely embarrassing. All 3 were against the wall. The spectre was in the middle and the other 2 were on his sides. The one on the left had his head placed in between the spectre's legs. The one on the right had his face pressed up against the spectre's face made to look as if the 2 were making out while the third was giving the spectre head. If that wasn't bad enough, right above them was 'I love red sand!' written in big bold letters.
The 2 councilors were speechless for a minute before Sparatus broke the silence.
"W-What was in the grenade?" Sparatus said regaining his voice.
"It was a more airborne version of red sand." Valern replied. They could see he was angry at the human who did this.
"What about the cargo he sent to the Normandy?" Sparatus asked trying to bring the conversation back on topic.
"You don't think it was black market merchandise do you?" Tevos asked concerned, finally regaining her voice.
"The Alliance sent us various reports from all personnel including Williams and Alenko. Apparently the cargo was cryogenic technology that was pieced together. The only real illegal thing in it was red sand disguised as a grenade and Shepard disposed of it." Valern replied making Tevos sigh in relief.
"What do we have on this Chun?" Sparatus asked thinking someone like this didn't have the right to be walking around on the Citadel.
"From one of the reports Williams sent towards the Alliance, Shepard didn't name Chun specifically, but did warn against going after him." Valern said.
"What did he say? Surely he doesn't think this petty criminal could be that much trouble to take down." Sparatus said annoyed at Shepard's lack of action on the guy. Valern shook his head as he read the report on his omni-tool.
"This is an excerpt from Williams' report when Shepard was questioned by Vakarian regarding Chun. Vakarian had asked Shepard why he didn't contact C-Sec about this contact of his. Shepard responded by saying he was saving c-sec. Vakarian asked how so. Shepard then explained that the contact was a very dangerous crimelord from Omega and in Shepard's own words described the man as 'madness incarnate'. Vakarian pointed out that it doesn't explain how Shepard was saving c-sec. Shepard replied saying the the contact would have most likely blown up C-Sec HQ, messed up all of the Citadel's traffic, not sure if he meant civilian or trade. Maybe all of it. Shepard also said that the contact wouldn't have stopped there either. The way Shepard spoke was in the same tone he had on Eden Prime. Vakarian then asked why he didn't shoot him. In response Shepard said that as long as no one pisses him off, he isn't a threat." Valern said, reading word for word. He looked up to see Tevos looked frightened and Sparatus looked very uneasy at this new information.
"Perhaps we shouldn't send anyone after him." Tevos suddenly said. Sparatus whipped his head toward her instantly.
"What do you mean?! With this information, we need to act now! If we don't, this Chun character could cause untold amounts of damage!" Sparatus said incensed. Tevos rebounded instantly.
"You heard what Shepard said! Besides this criminal made a mockery of a spectre and 2 STG operatives without trying. If what Shepard said was 100% true, which we should believe to be now, then by arresting Chun we are jeopardizing a lot of people's safety!" Tevos responded with her voice raised making Sparatus shrink back a bit and shocking Valern. Tevos never raised her voice to anyone, she was always the calm one.
"Fine we won't. You've made your point." Sparatus conceded. Then he remembered something.
"Councilor Valern, you said the Alliance sent you reports from the humans in Shepard's crew?" Sparatus asked. Valern nodded.
"Anything in particular pertaining to Ghost?" Sparatus asked once more hoping to see if they can't get more information on Ghost. Valern then looked over the reports.
"A few very interesting ones. Some describe him insulting us, but it also shows that he has a low opinion of the Alliance itself." Valern said making the other 2 raise their eyebrows in mild surprise.
"Really?" Tevos asked.
"Yes, he sees them as inept on the account they couldn't save the colony of Mindoir. Not only that but he doesn't see himself as part of humanity. I also found out something else." Valern said with a look that showed he was more interested in getting Shepard now.
"What?" Sparatus asked seeing Valern's expression. Tevos and Sparatus were both a little worried about there colleague's interest in Shepard.
"The Normandy's medical officer had run some tests on Shepard's blood. What she found out was remarkable. From the results, it shows that Shepard was genetically engineered to be more powerful than a asari matriarch, smarter than my people's best scientists, incredible adaptability, and being able to outfight and heal faster than a krogan." Valern said excited about it. Tevos and Sparatus were both in shock before Tevos spoke up.
"Did Shepard know?" She asked. Valern shook his head.
"No, when the medical officer presented it to him, he appeared to be completely floored saying he had suspicions about it but never really believed it." Valern replied thinking of ways to try and study Shepard without having to put him into a STG base. Valern while interested knew that there was no reason to place Shepard in a lab like that. A good person like him didn't deserve that.
"You seem very pleased by this." Tevos stated with Sparatus nodding along.
"I wish I could meet the person who designed him to be like this! Anyone who change DNA on that level is a true genius!" Valern chirped out. Then he looked at Sparatus seriously before speaking again, his tone equally serious.
"What is it?" Sparatus asked seeing Valern's look.
"It is something that will make you pleased I think. When Ghost was on the Citadel last time, I had an operative tail him. The operative overheard an interesting conversation between Shepard, Ambassador Udina and Captain Anderson. Shepard told them that after he catches Saren... he is going to quit the spectres and go back into the Terminus Systems." Valern said seriously. Both Councilors were shocked at this.
"So Ghost plans on quitting eh? Why after Saren though?" Sparatus asked with more amusement in his voice now. Tevos was still in shock as she still listened to the conversation.
"I don't know. What I do know is that when Captain Anderson asked him Shepard responded by saying that he didn't want to become a spectre, that he knew why we really placed him in the spectres, and that Aria and Spectre Nihlus were right. He needed the resources of a spectre to take on Saren. He also mentioned that when he went back to the Terminus Systems that we and spectre status would only get in the way." Valern said making the both of them raise their eyebrows. What could spectre status impede for Ghost. Tevos then realized that he was probably going back to Omega, back to Liselle.
"The question is, do we stop keeping an eye on him?" Valern asked. Sparatus looked shocked for a minute before his eyes narrowed at the salarian. Tevos looked at Valern with a little suspicion.
"What do you mean? Why would you want to keep an eye on him? There is no need to do so anymore. As I see it, it's better if he quit and left to the Terminus." Sparatus said. He thought as good as Shepard was, he wasn't necessary for the spectres. In his mind all Shepard was a political stunt with an agenda.
"Sparatus, that is unnecessary. I believe we should try to at least keep him on our forces, not just to watch him, but to also have do more good in the galaxy. When he was practically on his own, he managed to cause massive damage to the slaver operations that has plagued us for decades. Think of the good he can do if he's still a spectre! Saving more people than he did then, everyday instead of once a week!" Tevos said believing her own words. She knew while Shepard wasn't the most supportive human for the Council, he was one of the few people who was fair to everyone and believed in cooperation, regardless of race. The galaxy needed more people like him in her opinion. Valern at Sparatus with narrowed eyes as well.
"I also believe that we should at the least try and persuade Ghost into staying a spectre for different reasons." Valern said causing his 2 colleagues to put their attention back on him.
"From what the data I have on this Isaac, Shepard had somehow used this person's resources to actually bring stability to the Terminus," Valern said making Tevos smile a little at it. Valern caught it though and continued, "but that is only the positive thing. He has also brought a loose unity between the Terminus Systems." Sparatus' eyes widened at that which didn't escape Valern's notice.
"Yes, you understand now don't you? Ghost has the potential to be either a great asset or a great liability depending where he is and whose side he is on. You have seen and heard of his skills in combat and tactical appraisal. If he goes and unites the Terminus and they decide to wage war with us, there will be great losses on both sides, especially ours." Valern said knowing it was true. From the reports, Shepard was a great ally and a feared enemy to have. Sparatus thought it over and saw that Valern was right.
With a nod he spoke, "Fine then, we'll try to persuade him to stay. If that fails, we keep a close eye on him. Agreed?" Tevos and Valern nodded there heads. Sparatus got up to leave when Tevos spoke to him.
"Remember you said you would forward Ghost everything we had on Saren." Tevos reminded still sitting down. Sparatus stopped for a minute before he continued out the door, his guards joining up with him. Tevos looked at Valern seeing a contemplative expression on his face.
"What's on your mind Valern?" She asked. Valern looked like he was shocked out of a trance before answering.
"I was just thinking about that form that was mentioned and the way Shepard described it, as well as that Sixth Sense as he likes to call it. The ability to sense bioitc, electricity, even the thorian spores and who knows what else. I think that they might be related. What worries me is that Ghost did not know of any of it until recently." Valern said still thinking it over. Tevos could see the gears turning in his head.
"You suspect that there may be foul play in it?" Tevos asked. Valern shook his head.
"I am not sure. The evidence is still incomplete, but it points towards it. I'd rather not make any rash judgments since Ghost is involved. We all saw what happened last time." Valern said reminding Tevos of when Shepard showed the evidence about Saren. Tevos nodded, wincing a little at the memory.
"There is one thing that does unsettle me." Valern suddenly said. Tevos looked at him silently urging him to continue. Seeing it he spoke.
"Ghost has learned that Benezia is brainwashed of some sort, yes?" Valern said. Tevos nodded solemnly.
"What if he's right about Saren too? If Saren is merely a puppet, then who is the master that got the geth to aid Saren?" Valern asked. Tevos looked down in thought for a moment before answering.
"I'm not sure. All we can do now is aid Ghost in anyway we can, and have faith that he can bring this maddening conspiracy to an end." Tevos said as she left the room. Valern nodded and exited out after her. She was right, all they could was trust in Shepard now.
Back on the Normandy
Shepard had made his way to his room after he disconnected from the Council and waited at the terminal, checking his specialized OSD. He noticed that factory was completed and ready to begin production. Shepard sent the command for what he liked to call 'Iron Man Mech Mark II Project'. Shepard smirked a little at it. Sure he had more advanced projects, but this served as a test for both the factory and the project. For the factory, they had the resources now it was time to see if it could measure up. For the mech it was to see if it could work properly. Despite its appearance of a suit of armor, it wasn't. This thing was a mech that Isaac could control remotely. It was built for sustained flight, with repulsors that helped navigate and mange speed and altitude. Said repulsors also doubled as energy weapons in case of heavy combat.
Shepard then noticed a new email message in his folder. It was from Chun titled 'Salarian's Best.' Shepard looked at it and immediately howled in laughter. What he saw was the same picture the Council saw.
'Just like Chun to go and pull something like that.' Shepard thought still snickering. He then read the message attached to it.
Hey Shepard! Salarians thought they could handle Chun, but Chun to clever for them! If this is the best the salarians can offer than the galaxy is going into toilet. Thanks for the heads up by the way when you left Chora's Den that day. Hope you beat some sense into whoever you fight! Sincerely, Chun
'That was nice of him.' Shepard thought when another new message came through from the turian councilor. Shepard looked into it, but not before having Isaac check it to see if it had a tracking cookie attached. Luckily it didn't.
'So this is all the information on Saren huh?' Shepard thought as he looked over the information.
'Saren followed turian tradition and entered the military at the age of 15. In 2155, he was promoted to active service after only a year of training, though it is unclear whether his unit was involved in any of the battles against human forces during the First Contact War of 2157. In 2159, he became the youngest turian ever accepted into the Spectres. Intelligent, cunning and capable, Saren quickly developed a reputation for ruthless efficiency. Although there were a number of unsettling rumors concerning the brutality of his methods, there was no denying his results. Saren has shown little regard for life. He does not see saving lives as a priority unless the Council deems it necessary, or if there is information to be gathered. He remains the Council's top agent despite his records: Saren may be ruthless and calculating, but he gets results. He follows two principles, the first being: "Never kill anyone without a good reason" and the second: "You can always find a reason to kill someone". One of his reasons for hating humans is the loss of his brother, Desolas Arterius, in the First Contact War. In recent years, Saren has become an outspoken opponent of human expansion. Also involved in the destruction of Temple Palaven.' Shepard read out and that was merely a small summary of Saren's track record. Shepard though was having a hard time.
'A hatred so great that causes one to try and commit genocide doesn't just come from the murder of one's sibling, solely. It would take more than that. But what?' Shepard thought out before he noticed something.
"Isaac can you run a search for Temple Palaven in the spectre database?" Shepard asked.
"Yea hold on... there we go." Isaac said as he brought the information onto the terminal screen. Shepard looked over it found its history to have a somewhat sinister feel as he read it. When he got to the destruction of it he found a list of people who went in before and came out after. What Shepard found strange was the fact that the list included a couple of unknown humans and Saren, Desolas and a few dozen other turians heading in. When the list showed who came out alive, it only had Saren and 1 out of the 3 humans who entered. What would have caused this?
'Saren, your record shows that you were a fierce protector of Council Space. What the hell caused you to be like this?' Shepard thought as he tried to make sense of it. After a minute or 2 he decided to give it a rest until he had more data. With that in mind he shut off the OSD and terminal, preparing to go talk to his crew and see if he could do anything while waiting for his next mission from the Council.
Okay so this was a little depressing. Well I hope you enjoyed it anyway! Please review and also a few things!
1. I've got a poll up and need you guys to vote on it please.
2. If you have any suggestions for the next chapter, that doesn't include the main missions, please write in the review. I always check it everyday.
3. For those of you who are anime fans. Sword Art Online Season 2's first episode is out and is looking good.
Remember to give out any suggestions at all thank you and goodnight!