Disclaimer: I don't own Halo or Mass effect franchise.
Author's notes: Thanks everyone for the positive response and reviews to this story. Hope you enjoy it further. Regarding one review about the old races arrival, well there will be a certain build up for that and the other species will definitely fell dumbstruck when they meet them.
Chapter 3: Journey into the mystery
Shepard, Kaiden and Ashley met with the Citadel council and tried to expose Saren, the rogue turian spectre. But it was futile. When all seemed bleak, they overheard a turian C-Sec officer named Garrus arguing with his superior, Executor Pallin. Garrus still believed that Saren was hiding something and he was a traitor. But Pallin was dismissive since no good evidence turned up against him. Also the files related to the Spectres or those dealt by them are highly classified. This became a huge hindrance for the C-Sec officer.
Shepard, Kaiden and Ashley jogged towards Garrus who was leaning towards a wall folding his hands in despondence, pondering on what happened in the last couple days of his investigation.
"If only I had little more time and resources-...*SIGH*" Garrus muttered. That's when he saw Shepard and two other officers beside him walk towards him.
"Commander Shepard?" Garrus said.
"Garrus from C-Sec, I presume" Shepard said.
"Yes, and sorry for what happened with the council. I thought atleast they would hear you out" Garrus said genuinely.
"Its okay. We are hear to talk to you about that case actually" Ashley said.
"There is nothing for me to tell you any more than you already know" Garrus replied.
"Not true. Why don't you walk me through what you have found so far?" Shepard asked curious to know if he can find any clues from the turian's side of the story.
"Well, I tried in vain to directly dig through the C-Sec mainframe to find anything that I can use against Saren. But sadly, that access needed the councilors approval. Then I started to roam the citadel and question a few people in the Presidium and Wards. I suspected there could be a chance of an insider within this station itself helping Saren" Garrus explained.
"That's quite possible. Did you manage to find anyone?" Kaiden asked as this conversation started to get interesting.
"Not then. But C-Sec received an intel about a Quarian in this station looking for the Shadow broker" Garrus said which piqued everyone's interest.
"Quarians in Citadel? I thought they never leave the migrant fleet" Ashley said raising her eyebrow.
"Wait, who is this shadow broker?" Kaiden asked which surprised Garrus.
"Please tell me you're joking! Shadow broker is the galaxy's anonymous information dealer. Buying and selling information to the highest bidder" Garrus said which made Shepard to think deep.
"I think I have heard about that. Captain Anderson once told me about this broker, that he, she or whatever it is, kind of a necessary evil in the galactic politics" Shepard said vaguely recalling the things he had heard.
"True, but the broker doesn't take sides. Some believe that the shadow broker is more than one person. Their job is just to sell and buy information for millions or even billions of credits, that can tip the scales to anyone's favor. Sometimes, its dangerous enough to crash an entire race and its government" Garrus said.
"So what did the Quarian want with the broker anyway?" Ashley asked.
"Not sure. But then it reminded me of a Volus who works for the broker, here in the Citadel's financial district. I was going to meet with him to see if atleast he can help, before we met now" Garrus said.
"So everyone knows this Volus is the broker's agent, like public knowledge?" Shepard asked confused why there wasn't much of a secrecy behind this. This doubt was further cleared by the turian.
"No, only a select few individuals know about his shady work. His name is Barla Von" Garrus said.
"Then what are we waiting for? Lets go talk to this Volus and see if he can help" Kaiden said. Garrus nodded as the four took a ride in the Citadel rapid transit. For once, Shepard was feeling positive about exposing Saren of his crimes. But then, that is only one part of the problem. The other one is the vision he had from the Prothean beacon. He will soon need help from someone to help understand what he just saw and the mysterious planet that showed up.
After a bumpy ride, the four reached the financial district.
"I thought I would have a sweet ride in the air inside the citadel, but its much worse than drifting on the roads back in our colony" Ashley said still reeling from the vertigo she felt.
"Well, it never was peachy from the start. Besides, a few steps from here, to the left, do you see the office? That's where Barla resides" Garrus said.
"Lets move" Shepard said as they walked to the office. The green hologram on the door shifted as the door opened automatically. They saw a Volus sitting on a chair working on a terminal. The 4 walked in as the Volus laid eyes on them.
"Commander Shepard? Its a privilege to have the hero of Eden Prime and Elysium walk into my office. I'm Barla Von, Financial and Auditing advisor to the big corporations in the galaxy" the Volus spoke.
"Well, I also heard you work for the Shadow Broker" Shepard said bluntly and if he could see the Volus's face expression underneath the environmental suit, the volus would be looking deadpanned.
"That was as blunt as a wooden club, commander. Straight to the point I see. Not many in Citadel know about this side of my-...services" the Volus replied.
"Excuse me for my blunt mannerism, but I'm here on a business. I came here to seek your help on-..."
"On proving the Spectre Saren Arterius is a traitor, Interesting" Barla Von said abruptly cutting Shepard off. The four glanced at each other, surprised to see the Volus knew already.
"So do you know about the investigation?" Garrus asked.
"I do, besides I can even point you to the right person who can help" Barla said. Shepard and the others were a bit confused. They expected the agent of Shadow broker to be more grumpy, but he was so relaxed.
"These kind of help, never comes for free. What is the price?" Kaiden asked wondering if the agent might be looking for a favor in exchange.
"True, this usually costs a fortune. But I will do it for free this time, for you Commander" Barla said which stunned the two.
"I dont believe it, Seriously?" Ashley said dismissively.
"Why not? The Shadow broker has the same interests in Saren's case aligned with your own goal of exposing him" Barla said which threw them off the loop even more.
"Wait, what does the Broker have to do directly with Saren? I thought we were here just to seek your help" Shepard asked.
"An odd timing don't you see, commander? Well, a Quarian came to the Citadel saying she has a concrete information about the alliance between Saren and the geth. She is ready to expose it to the council in exchange for the broker's protection from Saren. Her contact was another agent named Fist. She was going to meet with him. Fist promised that he would arrange a meeting with the broker" Barla said.
"So the rumors about a Quarian in the Citadel are indeed true. And she has the most critical piece of information we need to expose Saren" Garrus said feeling relieved that his investigation may not be a waste after all.
"If we can find this quarian, then we can take the evidence she has to the council to prove Saren's treachery" Kaiden said excitingly.
"You said Fist arranging a meeting with the broker? I thought the broker never saw anyone" Shepard said confused, wondering if the broker made an exception.
"Thats the point. Even we agents who are the direct line of contact has never seen the shadow broker. Fist lied to the quarian and he contacted Saren instead. Saren ordered Fist to eliminate the quarian. But the broker didn't take Fist siding with Saren lightly. He was angry and hired a Krogan merc named Wrex to kill him." Barla said which tensed the others.
"Shit! If the quarian is dead, then whatever info she has will be lost forever. We need to find her real quick" Shepard said seeing the implication of this.
"Meet with Wrex, he knows where Fist is holed up. And if you find Fist, you will know where the Quarian is" Barla Von said.
"Then we need to hurry Commander. I will ask the C-Sec office to track Wrex now" Garrus said as he used the comm to contact someone immediately.
"Well, then I believe we are on our way" Shepard said.
"Sure, if Saren is exposed, Shadow Broker will be so pleased. See you later then, Commander" Barla Von said as he waved the group.
Shepard, Ashley and Kaiden went outside and saw Garrus speaking to the C-Sec.
"Well, that went relatively easy. Do you trust this Volus, Commander? I mean this feels good, but giving an information of this importance for free? What if its a trap?" Ashley said voicing her concern.
"Well, its not my first time walking into traps. We will deal with it. Besides, we need to start somewhere right?" Shepard said to which Ashley nodded in approval.
Thats when Garrus returned.
"C-Sec managed to get a pin on Wrex's location. He is in Chora's den. He was asking about Fist to the C-Sec officers but they didn't give it away. So he tracked him down himself" Garrus said.
"Then lets move. We need to get the Quarian's location from Fist before he ends up dead" Shepard said as they once again took the rapid transit vehicle and reached Chora's den.
They walked through the walkway where they got to see vehicles cruising through the curvy mini roads that twist and turn around them. They finally reached Chora's Den, there was an Asari's silhoutte painting on the wall near the door.
As the door opened, they were welcomed to the sight of a typical night club where humans, salarians, turians, krogans were enjoying alien booz, human and asari exotic dancers were around.
"Hah! Thousands of light years away, I am welcomed by the sight of humans shaking their ass, again" Ashley quipped sarcastically.
"Well, C-Sec never gave much thoughts about conducting raids here, but I think that is why this place could be used as hub for illegal activities" Garrus replied.
"Hmm, its not that bad Ash, maybe I can come here by sometime to relax" Kaiden said smirking.
"Yeah sure we all can, once we get our mitts on Saren. I can probably show some of my dance moves too" Shepard said as a jest.
"I hope to god, we dont see that ever happen" Garrus said with a laugh. Thats when they managed to see two krogans to their left on the far side. One was wearing a red armor and the other was wearing a grey one.
"I believe they are the ones. Lets talk to them" Shepard said as they walked towards the krogans.
"You better tell me where Fist is, punk! Or I will blast through your smug face and meet with him myself" the red krogan said.
"You better walk away from this place without causing a scene. Fist is not here and this is a peaceful nightclub" the grey krogan said. He was the club's bouncer.
That's when the 2 krogans were greeted by the sight of 3 humans and a turian.
"I take it you're Wrex" Shepard said.
"Yes and I don't have time for chit-chat" Wrex replied. He looked pretty old and grumpy. They could see the scars on his face, probably from battles.
"I know you are looking for Fist. So are we. We just need to talk to him, before you do whatever it is you wanna do" Shepard said which piqued Wrex's interest and curiosity.
"I was hired to kill him. Only if we can get past through these numb nuts" Wrex said which tensed the krogan bouncer.
"You better let us in pal, or we will get inside Fist's office one way or the other" Garrus said to which the bouncer felt threatened.
"Do you think I'm a fool to let you in knowing your intentions? GUARDS!" the bouncer growled as all of a sudden, multiple gunshots were heard as Fist's security guards started firing at them.
"Damn it! Take cover!" Shepard yelled as the five took covering positions behind the bar desks and tables.
The other civilians were running and screaming for their lives, soon the peaceful nightclub turned into a battle ground.
Shepard fired at three guards, one turian and 2 humans. He used the biotics to send a wave of energy that drained the life out of the Turian as he dropped dead. Then he fired at the remaining guards aiming for their head for quick kill.
Wrex used his shotgun to blast through the guards and his armor took the punishment from the enemies assault rifles.
Ashley and Kaiden managed to kill four human guards as Garrus was using his sniper rifle to take down a couple of enemy snipers who were at the top from a vantage point.
Soon, Fist's guards were completely wiped out. The krogan bouncer was terrified of the bloodbath that unveiled around him as he was on the ground raising his left arm in defensive position hoping not to get killed.
"You're welcome" Wrex said to the bouncer as the five walked towards Fist's office. The door was locked.
"Let me hack the door controls" Garrus said as his omni-tool glowed and the red light turned green. The door opened as they all saw a human.
"Whoa! Stay there!" he said as he aimed his assault rifle and flipped the table to hide behind it.
"We are five and you are just one man. We managed to kill your security detail. No need to play balls with us-...Fist" Ashley said in a threatening tone as the human named Fist realized he had no choice as she was right. He can't do anything to them, so he came out of the hiding spot, surrendering.
"Listen, I don't have much time, so I'll cut to the chase. You were going to help a Quarian meet with the Shadow broker. Where is the Quarian right now?" Shepard asked.
"Lying bastard! No one gets to meet the Shadow broker" Wrex chided Fist angrily.
"Okay okay! I'll tell you everything! Yes, a Quarian came to the citadel claiming she has evidence to prove Saren is working with the geth. I lied to her face about setting up a meeting and informed Saren about it. He asked me to kill her in exchange for a huge payment. So I have asked my men to take care of her in the maintenance depot" Fist told them.
"Well, the Shadow broker ain't happy with you turning your back on" Kaiden said.
"I know, that's why I increased my security detail. But, I guess it was all a waste" Fist said despondently.
"Is there anything else we need to know?" Shepard asked deciding to end the conversation to look for the Quarian.
"No, you will find the Quarian in the maintainance room. Now please let me go!" Fist begged for his life.
"Thank you for your hospitality" Wrex said and
*BAAM*
the krogan fired his shotgun that blasted Fist back to the wall, splattering his blood all over. There was a giant hole in his torso as he laid dead with his eyes open.
"Hmm, the shadow broker will be pleased to hear the job is done" Wrex said to which others gave him a questioning look. They were quite speechless with what they saw, not that they mourn him as he is a shady criminal after all.
"What? No point standing around. Lets go and find that Quarian" Wrex said as he walked outside.
"I will download a copy of all his files from his computer. C-Sec's gonna love this" Garrus said as he downloaded the files in his omni-tool.
Soon the news of the massacre in Chora's den spread all over the citadel.
Once done, the five left the club to head to the maintenance depot. Its not that far from their position. They had to walk a few hallways that leads to the Wards. Then just before that, there was a door. It led to a long narrow pathway. There were lot of sealed boxes.
"Guess, this is the place" Shepard said as the five walked towards the hallway. Then they noticed a quarian and three more persons. A turian and 2 humans precisely. To their left, they saw a keeper which was minding its business not reacting to anything that was happening.
"Where is Fist? He said he would help me meet the shadow broker here" the quarian said. The turian came closer to the quarian and stroked her mask with all the bad intentions. The quarian didn't feel good about this situation.
"Ofcourse we will take you there soon" the turian said to which she swatted his hand away.
"No, this doesn't feel right. The deal is off" She said as she turned around to see 3 humans, a krogan and a turian armed to the teeth. She identified the turian among the 5, as he had a C-Sec armor on him and realized they were the good guys. She immediately threw a smoke grenade and went into hiding. Shepard and the crew managed to take them down real quick with their guns as the guards stood no chance at this kind of fire power.
"Well, you can come out now" Shepard said.
"I could have handled the situation, but thanks for the help" the quarian said bluntly which made Shepard to raise his eyebrow.
"So you are the Quarian who claimed to have strong evidence to prove Saren's treachery?" Kaiden asked.
"Yes, I wanted to give it to the shadow broker in exchange for his protection. But looks like that plan turned awry. By the way, I am Tali, Tali'zorah Nar Rayya" She said.
"I am Commander Shepard of the Systems Alliance. We need you to testify against Saren to the Council. Is it okay, if you walked with us to the human embassy? Our Ambassador will be happy to hear this" Shepard said. Tali took a few moments to ponder. Since the goals are aligned, Tali saw no harm in that.
"Sure, lets go" Tali said to which the others had a sigh of relief.
...
In the embassy
Shepard, Tali, Ashley, Wrex, Kaiden and Garrus reached the human embassy after few minutes of transit ride and walk past the reception office. He and the others walked in through the door as they observed Anderson and Udina in discussion. Udina as soon as he saw Shepard began to berate him without catching a break.
"Shepard! You are not making my life any easier. Starting gun fights in night clubs!? We are already being grilled by the council" Udina spoke. Captain Anderson was there too.
"Well, we just happened to save your butt, Ambassador. We have evidence to prove Saren is working with the geth" Shepard said in an equally castigating tone which took Udina by surprise.
"Tali, show them the proof" Ashley said to which the quarian complied. She walked to the front and turned on the omni-tool.
"So where did you get this evidence?" Anderson asked curiously. He felt that this problem may get solved after all with confidence.
"I was on my pilgrimage, wandering the worlds to find something valuable for my people. That's when I heard rumors of geth presence outside the veil. I tracked them down to a particular planet and tailed a group. One of the unit in the group got separated and I took it down and downloaded all the files from its memory bank. This is what I found among them"
"Eden Prime was a success and we are one step away from finding the conduit" Saren's voice came out.
"And one step closer to finding the Reapers" another woman's voice spoke.
"Reapers?" Anderson asked confused.
"According to the geth, the Reapers are a race of sentient machines. The geth revere them as 'gods' and the pinnacle of synthetic life form. They also assume that these machines wiped out every advanced civilizations 50,000 years ago. Thats why they need Saren as they believe he is their prophet in bringing them back" Tali explained to the others in the hall
"So those are the machines I saw in the vision from the beacon, the Reapers" Shepard said to which others were confused. That's when it struck Shepard and began to put the pieces together as much as possible in his capacity.
"The whole galaxy believes that the Protheans vanished away 50,000 years ago. But the beacon was projecting images of war between organics and the synthetics. Guess the synthetics are none other than the Reapers. This beacon was all about warning on their imminent arrival" Shepard concluded.
"Lets leave that story for a while Shepard as we've got bigger things in our hand. Exposing Saren is our top priority. This should do it. Get ready with this evidence and come to the council tower. I will arrange another meeting" Udina said to which Shepard nodded. Udina left the embassy hall to talk to the councilors.
"That was a wonderful job, Shepard. Finally Saren will be answering for his crimes" Anderson said to which he nodded.
"Lets head back to the citadel tower, captain" Shepard said as everyone made it to the tower where the meeting has already started.
The audio recording played from Tali's omni-tool as the 3 councilors listened to it. They were convinced by the evidence and no longer in denial.
"Well, that is undeniably Saren's voice. He is indeed working with the geth. We will unanimously revoke his Spectre status effective immediately" Councilor Valern said as the 3 councilors entered a few commands in the console together.
"The other voice though, I recognize it. Its Matriarch Benezia. I don't understand how she fell for Saren's ruse" Councilor Tevos said.
"I am more interested on these "Reapers". What are they?" Councilor Sparatus asked.
"They are a race of ancient machines that wiped the Protheans off this galaxy. The beacon showed me visions of that, also a strange planet" Shepard explained.
"This is nonsense! If such a powerful race destroyed the Protheans then why have we not heard about them? Why there are no traces of their presence and most of all...if they are machines, who created them?" Sparatus asked not believing the fairy tales Shepard spewed. Shepard, Ashley and Anderson were visibly irritated by the Turian councilor's cynical response.
"Are you saying that the prothean beacon is a lie? The Reapers are very real. And the geth are using Saren to bring them back!" Shepard aggravated at the council's blatant dismissal.
"Saren won't have access to any of the Spectre resources. He is now a wanted fugitive" Tevos said.
"But he could be anywhere in the galaxy, this will end only with Saren being captured dead or alive" this time Wrex spoke.
"Wrex is right. Saren needs to be pursued as early as possible" Garrus supplemented Wrex. The councilors gave a few seconds to think this through.
"I will go and pursue him. Alliance wont have any problem to navigate through prohibited systems" Shepard said trying to convince the council. Tevos and Valern turn to look at Sparatus. Sparatus understood what their looks were trying to convey and his eyes dilated in anger.
"NO! Humanity is not ready for that. I wont allow it!" Sparatus yelled.
"I warned you about Saren, you didn't listen. Now he's proven guilty. Don't make the same mistake!" Shepard chided the councilors which shook everyone present as Shepard raised his voice against the 3 people that could change the galaxy's fate. There were also other audiences standing and listening to the conversation around them and across the podium.
Sparatus calmed down as he turned to Tevos and Valern and nodded. Then the 3 councilors pressed a few keys in the terminal.
"Commander Shepard, step forward" Tevos said.
"I hereby provide you the status of Special Tactics and Recon and all the resources and privileges that comes with it" Tevos said.
"Spectres are not made, they are born and forged in the fire of service" Valern said.
"Spectres are the council's chief weapon, called upon to make the toughest decisions, they are the first and the last line of defense for this galaxy" Sparatus said.
"You are the first human Spectre, commander. Be proud of that" Tevos said.
"Its an honor councilors. I will make sure Saren face justice for all his crimes" Shepard said firmly.
"Over time, we will call you to update us on the reports of your mission. This council is dismissed" The councilors said as they left the stage.
"Congratulations Shepard, you have made humanity proud" Anderson said with a smile.
"Thank you Captain. I will do my best and not let anyone down" Shepard said with a nod.
"Shepard, we need to get you ready. Talk to the turian C-Sec officer named Chellick. He will provide you with Spectre resources. Also we need to provide you with a ship and a crew. Anderson, come with me to the docks for preparations" Udina said to which Anderson nodded.
"Well, congratulations commander! You did it" Ashley said cheering at him.
"We all did it. Tali, Wrex, Garrus, I will need all the help I can get to bring Saren down. I hope you wouldn't mind joining me" Shepard asked to which they gave a moment to think about it.
"Well, I am on my pilgrimage. Helping you to capture Saren and thus stopping the geth force will be a perfect gift to give it to the migrant fleet" Tali said accepting his offer.
"Well, Hunting Saren across the galaxy sounds like fun. Count me in" Wrex said.
"I worked for C-Sec under all rules and regulations. For once, I get to work with the Spectre to do things our way" Garrus said letting a turian grin.
"Thank you all, I will see you at the docking bay then" Shepard said. Others left the citadel tower while Shepard made his way to C-Sec to meet with officer Chellick. He provided him with top spectre grade hardsuit and weapons. He packed himself and left the C-Sec to reach the docking bay.
Once there, he noticed Ashley, Garrus, Wrex, Tali and Kaiden entering the Normandy through the airlock. Udina and Anderson were discussing something. Shepard walked towards them.
"Ah Shepard, glad you are here. We have your ship and your crew ready" Udina said to which Shepard was confused.
"I'm sorry what?" Shepard asked raising his eyebrows.
"The Normandy. From this day on, this ship is yours to command, Shepard. She is sleek and quiet. A perfect vessel for a Spectre" Anderson said which threw Shepard off the rail.
"Anderson is stepping down from the role of commanding officer of the Normandy, Shepard" Udina added.
"What!? No! I can't do this. You can't cut the Captain off like this from this mission!" Shepard rejected the offer.
"I did this voluntarily Shepard. My time is over. Its your time now. You are the only one capable of fighting and bringing Saren down" Anderson explained. Shepard was still hesitant as he had great respect for his commanding officer, his mentor and his friend.
"I did this because I believe in the hero of Elysium and Eden Prime, son. Get out there and make humanity proud" Anderson said to which Shepard saluted him. Even though he didn't like the way the captain was relieved. He took his words close to heart.
"Before I go, I wanna know if we have any clues on the Saren's location" Shepard asked.
"Since Matriarch Benezia was involved, that reminds me of her daughter, an unparallel-ed expert in Protheans. Her name is Liara, Doctor Liara T'Soni. Word is she gathered a civilian crew in a exploration vessel to Therum in the Artemis Tau cluster. Its worth checking with her to know about Benezia and Saren" Udina said.
"Also Alliance intel has received information that geth activity has been reported in the colony world Feros and Noveria. Saren must be definitely looking there for something. Feros is an old prothean world which is now in ruins. ExoGeni corp spent billions to colonize that planet. As for Noveria, it has a shady background. All galactic business men, women visit there. They dont take lightly to alliance presence. The only person they fear is a Spectre" Anderson explained.
"Thanks for the information. So we have three leads. I will check the nearest one first. I will leave now, sir" Shepard said.
"Sure and in case you need me, I will in the embassies" Anderson said to which Shepard nodded and entered the Normandy.
Once inside and getting past the decontamination procedure, he walked to the cockpit.
"Congratulations on your promotion, though it sucks the alliance threw the captain under the bus like that" Joker said feeling both happy and sad at the same time.
"We are doing this for him. Open the ship wide comm, I wanna broadcast" Shepard said to which Joker readied the channel.
"Go ahead Commander"
"Attention all crew. This is Commander Eric Shepard and I will be your captain of the Normandy from this day on. Captain Anderson has stepped down to present this opportunity to us, we shouldn't let him down. Saren Arterius, the rogue turian and former spectre is on the run with an army of geth somewhere in the galaxy. They are working to annihilate everyone and we are going to stop him. From now on, we do things our way with the council no longer tying our hands. Humanity and other species lives are at stake here, so we are in a race against the time, Shepard out" Shepard said as Joker closed the channel.
"Commander, you sure do know how to talk" Joker said with a smirk.
"Get us out of the Citadel, Joker" Shepard said with a laugh.
"Aye aye sir" Joker replied as he sent commands to release the magnetic docking clamps which let out a huge hissing sound of pressurized air. Normandy's engines hummed in power and slowly moved past the scanning field. Once out, the vessel flew at cruising speed through the nebular cloud away from the citadel station. The ship made its way towards the mass relay. That's when another terminal beeped.
"Hmm, encrypted message coming through from the fifth fleet" Joker said as he opened the console to look at the request.
"Fifth fleet? Patch me through in the comms room" Shepard said to which Joker obliged.
Shepard rushed to the comms room and opened the communication console to reveal an old man in an alliance commanding officer uniform. Shepard instantly identified him.
"Admiral Hackett, Sir!" Shepard said as he saluted him.
"Congratulations on becoming the first human spectre, commander. Captain Anderson sent me all the files, starting from Saren to Eden prime, geth, the beacon, every dirty secret there is yet and I went through them all" Hackett said.
"Thankyou Admiral. But I reckon you didn't call me just to congratulate. You have something on your mind, Sir?" Shepard asked curiously, wondering if the admiral has any intentions on calling him. Hackett acknowledged his smartness in assessing this conversation.
"I do Commander. Perhaps, this is quite disturbing" Hackett said and Shepard could see his facial expression change.
"Is something wrong?" Shepard asked.
"Yes, few weeks ago, a joint human and asari team of paleontologists under chief alliance scientist Dr. Davis uncovered an artifact 250 meters beneath the surface of a moon orbiting a planet named Casbin in the Hong system of Armstrong Nebula" Hackett said.
"So what happened? Is it another prothean artifact?" Shepard asked.
"No Shepard, its not Prothean. The scientists theorize the artifact could be part of a starship based on the analysis of its shape profile. But the material its made of is not even in the list of any of the races in the galaxy, its wholly alien and never seen before. Initial tests conducted on it revealed the material is ten thousand times harder than the hardest synthetic material anyone has ever created in the galaxy" Hackett said. That mustered Shepard's interest and curiosity. A starship material 10,000 times harder than anything ever created?
"Is it possible that it could belong to another race that existed alongside Protheans?" Shepard asked running through all scenarios.
"No Commander, the artifact was still emitting low burst high energy neutrinos which was being constantly absorbed by the soil around it. Based on the radioactive decay rate, the artifact is predicted to be hundreds of millions of years old" Hackett said which made Shepard wide eyed.
"What? Are you suggesting there is a piece of evidence to prove the existence of an advanced civilization in the distant prehistoric times?" Shepard asked leaning forward in anxiety. He wondered, if that artifact could be that of the reapers. But there is not much information on them since the beacon have only shown him these machines fighting the protheans. He naturally assumed the reapers were as old as the Protheans. But in the corner of his consciousness, he knew something didn't feel right.
"I am not suggesting anything right now. But I need your help, especially as a Spectre" Hackett said.
"What do you need, sir?" Shepard asked.
"The scientists found an object within the artifact, encapsulated within a rock. They moved it to the research base for study. 3 days ago, the base communication abruptly went offline, not sure if its a technical issue or an attack by someone else. I need you and your team to investigate it. I hope to god its the former. Those are good people. I have sent the base's coordinates to the Normandy's computer" Hackett said.
"Sure Admiral, I will check that and let you know" Shepard said to which the alliance officer felt relieved.
"Thank you commander, Hackett out"
The comm channel was closed. Shepard was standing still pondering on the discussion he had. This was a huge eye opener. For the first time, they have found something far much older than the Protheans. Could it be the Reapers or some other advanced race that existed eons ago? Shepard knew there is only one way to find out. He had this urge to check that out immediately, but he also has a duty to subdue Saren at the earliest. He decided to balance the missions.
"First we will find and talk to the asari expert Dr. T'Soni and gain any intel on Saren, then we should definitely check that base Hackett mentioned" Shepard thought as he left the comms room.
...
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please let me know in the reviews. Will see you all in the next chapter.