Book One: Harvest

by Believer218

The year is 2583. Humanity stands strong, even twenty-six years after a disastrous first contact. But it seems that wherever they go, war will follow. And this war will grip the galaxy like no other. The first adventure of Mass Effect: The Reclaimer Saga. Rated M for graphic depictions of violence.

5. I-IV: Citadel

AN: Oh look, another two-parter.

This story has officially reached over 50 favorites and 100 follows. I'd like to thank everyone for their support. If it were at all possible, I'd go door to door and personally thank all of you, but alas, I am A) not a stalker, and B) lacking in funds to buy plane tickets.

Also, just a warning, please keep time zones in mind before you blast me for discontinuity in this chapter.

Anyway, I just want to reiterate that the reviews section is not the place to hold long-term discussions, as new readers use the reviews to get a read on the story's quality. There is now a forum titled "ME:TRS Lore Discussion" for that purpose.

Semi-related and probably unnecessary, I've finally come up with a solid reason for the Reach relay in the prologue. So in my AU, Sol never had a relay, but it did have the Mars Archives. Then when the Archives and the mass effect were discovered in 2291, humanity eventually used ME drives to go to the nearest habitable system, a.k.a. Epsilon Eridani. There, they discovered more prothean ruins with the coordinates for a relay, and said relay led to Arcturus. Bada bing, bada boom.

And I've also finally come up with a solid answer to the slipspace question. Human and Citadel ships don't use it *YET, but the Covenant does. Should be an interesting plot device.

Moving on, it's time for review responses.

FF:

Starting off with *checks notes* the kinetic barrier discussion. Let's face it, even if canon barriers didn't stop plasma - despite fighting geth, who have plasma weapons, and kett, who have plasma weapons - our team save Chief would be belly-up in the water. For the sake of not killing off anything that isn't a krogan or Spartan, barriers stop plasma.

Then there's humanity joining the Citadel. Even in ME canon, humanity took about eight years to properly establish a Citadel embassy. It was only after that humanity's position began to skyrocket. Anyway, proper review response now.

Guest 1 and Darth Tzar: Spartan energy shields aren't coming until ME2. For now, kinetic barriers will have to do.

Djangiti: Thanks. Thankfully, the pain is long gone by now, but I can never look at pudding and think "delicious" anymore.

Krieger Techpriest: I agree.

RandomReader: I do intend on going back and changing that.

Also, what I meant by conical bullets is powder cartridges. Probably should have clarified back then, but I didn't, so here we are.

GreeNPizza: It is a slippery slope indeed, considering what I'm planning, but I hope not to go down it.

Regarding how the Covenant will react to the Citadel species, stay tuned.

And regarding our lord and savior Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson, no spoilers!

DoctorEvil61: I'm primarily using Silver elements because they serve the story, like Sangheili being an actual language instead of gibberish with a few confirmed words, or using Var 'Gatanai instead of Thel 'Vadamee or Ripa 'Moramee.

I'm definitely going to be upgrading the Reapers for this story, because let's face it, you're right that the Covenant is too high and mighty to take orders from canon Reapers. Then again, it might not be too hard for the Reapers to convince the Prophets that they're Oracles, or simply indoctrinate them. But come ME3, the upgrades will be necessary.

Nice catch with decreasing mass in slipspace. You also answered Guest 2's question pretty accurately. Thanks for that.

Guest 3: That's a good idea. I'm definitely going to be making a Covenant Archive to give a Covenant perspective on some things, and give a bit of context from their side. I'll probably be using the Record of Punished Deeds to supplement it.

Guest 4: There's definitely going to be repercussions for ordering the keystone to be destroyed. As for the Reach relay question, see above.

Guest 5: Relays are definitely not without risks when it concerns warfare. Though with the Covenant not using them, a lot of those risks are nullified.

six samurai of dragon order: Nihlus didn't fight the Arbiter because he was caught off-guard. If you recall Halo 2, Thel had active camo on his armor, even if it was limited compared to contemporary combat harnesses.

Also, I did intend for the readers to 'feel' the impact of a hunter shield on a quarian body.

wolf master97: I'm not replacing the Reapers, no. Also, I'm just going to clarify that the carrier wasn't "reaperfied" as you put it. It's a bog-standard Syfon-pattern carrier, though I will admit you have given me ideas.

gryphus-On3: The type of story I'm going for is kind of a mix of both of those, actually. We'll definitely start to see the war picking up after we get past the Therum arc. As it stands right now though, we're barely a day past first contact with the Covenant.

Side note, I should probably check out United We Stand, now that you mention it.

Sci-Fi Guy 22: Oh, I've got a plan for both the Forerunners and Precursors. Whether or not it turns out to be a good plan is yet to be seen, but it is a plan.

Also, you're forgiven.

Whichever Guest(s) was/were arguing with Sci-Fi Guy 22: The Golden Rule: Treat others as you would want to be treated. Don't insult people just because they have their facts wrong. We're all human.

I want to make this VERY clear: I will NOT be tolerating those kinds of reviews any longer. From this point forth, if reviewers decide to treat anyone like garbage, those reviews get deleted. Yours are first in line.

*deep calming breath* Moving on.

Eb-8: Believe me, Parangosky did not clean up ONI out of the goodness of her heart. I intend to make that very clear in the future.

naotw: A lot of these can be explained away by suspension of disbelief or story needs, but you do make a couple of good points that I will need to act on.

AO3:

GuestGuy: Building off my reply to Sci-Fi Guy 22, I have a plan for the Flood. What I will confirm right now is that I currently don't have any direct appearances planned, but there will be an exposition dump explaining their place in my lore.

The Forerunners and Protheans are separate races. The Protheans fit into my Forerunner plan, and the Forerunners fit into my Prothean plan.

Promethean96: Refer to my reply to GuestGuy.

Now that that's done, it's time to get into this chapter. The unggoy that is my lawyer notifies me that I still don't own the rights to Halo or Mass Effect.

(—0—)

Arc I: The Drums of War

Chapter IV: Citadel

(—0—)

SSV Normandy Medbay

January 12th, 2583

Local time 0428 (Sol Standard Time)

The first thing John became aware of was the voices around him.

The second thing John became aware of was the massive headache he had.

The third thing John became aware of was that he was conscious.

"Doctor? Doctor Chakwas, I think he's waking up!" a voice exclaimed as John slowly uprighted himself. Rubbing the exhaustion from his eyes, he instinctively took stock of what was around him in spite of his throbbing skull. He'd certainly been through worse, though this was also certainly high on the scoreboard. He noticed that he wasn't in his armor, instead being dressed in a blue Alliance jumpsuit.

In front of him stood a woman with dark brown, almost black hair tied up in a ponytail, brown eyes, and high cheekbones. Various bruises, burns, and scrapes marred the skin that was visible. The Spartan could see the outline of thick bandages around her abdomen beneath her jumpsuit, and indeed, she seemed to be leaning slightly to the right. He quickly recognized her as Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, the lone Marine he and Alenko encountered on Harvest.

To Williams' right was a man with swept-back black hair, short sideburns, and light stubble. Thick eyebrows sat atop brown eyes, and his face was similarly covered in injuries. His left arm was supported by a brace, with bandages wrapping around the bicep. This was Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko.

He then noticed something piled up behind Williams and Alenko. It was a set of heavy plate armor - his Mjolnir.

It was practically slag, barely recognizable. Numerous craters and slashes pockmarked the surface, and very little of the original olive-green and red was visible, either being melted off, burned away, or buried in plasma scoring and soot. In addition, it looked like it had been sawed off his body instead of simply being taken off. The helmet didn't look too much better; the visor had a fist-sized hole in the left side, and again, the titanium shell was ruined. The only thing that looked even remotely salvageable was the techsuit.

To his right, on another gurney, was another woman, this one in a sealed Onyx light hardsuit. She was out like a light, and her digitigrade left leg was in a brace-

Wait a minute. Digitigrade?

Upon closer inspection, the second woman definitely wasn't human. Her legs were indeed digitigrade, and her narrow hands had three fingers instead of five. Behind the helmet's visor sat two closed eyes framed by pinkish-purple skin. She seemed to have small scars surrounding them. Everything else about her face was obscured, however. This must have been Tali'Zorah, the quarian dockworker who had volunteered to go with the squad.

A pang of guilt flashed through John as he remembered how his decision to try and flank the hunters directly resulted in Zorah almost dying. The scars he could see through the visor must have been from small fragments of Zorah's visor breaking the skin.

All of these thoughts occurred within a few seconds. Pushing them aside, the Spartan noticed the Normandy's medical officer walking over to his gurney.

"You had us worried there, Shepard," Doctor Chakwas said. "How are you feeling?"

"Like the morning after shore leave," John groaned, feeling the headache in full force again. Contrary to popular belief, zero of the Spartan augmentations affected the liver. "What happened?"

"You were out for about fifteen hours," Chakwas answered. She brought up her omnitool and began taking some scans of John, no doubt checking that he wasn't going to collapse again. "Something happened down there with the beacon, I think."

"It's my fault," Williams blurted out, crossing her arms in shame. "I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to push me out of the way."

"Nobody could have known what would happen," John reassured, though his voice was still groggy. Regardless, a small smile came to Williams' face, along with a slight tinge of red.

"Actually, we don't even know if that's what set it off," Chakwas said. "Unfortunately, we'll never have the chance to find out."

"The beacon exploded. A system overload, maybe," Alenko explained. "The blast knocked you cold. Williams and I barely managed to get you and Tali to the ship."

John nodded. "How's Zorah doing?"

"Tali'Zorah suffered a broken leg, seven cracked ribs, a fever, and a dislocated shoulder, in addition to several lacerations and bruises. She's lucky to be alive," Chakwas answered. "Once we reach the Citadel, she'll be transferred to a local clinic where she can be treated properly. The hardsuit will keep her condition from worsening until then."

"Yeah, I was wondering about that," John said. "Why is she in a hardsuit, anyway? Doesn't she have a suit of her own?"

"Her envirosuit was determined to be damaged beyond repair. Shattered visor, dozens of punctures, the list goes on," Chakwas sadly noted. "Requisitions Officer Lawrence and Engineer Adams were able to modify a spare hardsuit we had on hand to accommodate her as a temporary replacement.

"As for your condition," the doctor continued, "physically, you're fine. But I detected some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. I also noticed an increase in your rapid eye movement, signs typically associated with intense dreaming."

"I'm… not completely sure what it was," John admitted. "Lots of death, destruction… not much was clear."

Chakwas hummed. "I'd better add this to my report. It may- oh, Captain Anderson!"

The door hissed open, allowing the Normandy's commanding officer entry. "How's our Spartan holding up, Doctor?"

"All the readings look normal," Chakwas reported. "I'd say the Chief's going to be fine."

"Glad to hear it," Anderson said. Turning to John, he said, "Shepard, I need to speak with you - in private."

Alenko snapped a quick salute. "Aye-aye, captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me."

"Same here," Williams said.

As the Gunnery Chief, Staff Lieutenant, and the doctor left the medbay and John stood up, Anderson got to business. "Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Chief. You sure you're okay?"

"I ordered Jenkins to take point, and Zorah tried to flank the hunter on my orders," John said guiltily, leaving the implication unsaid.

"Neither of those were your fault," Anderson reassured. "You did a good job, Shepard."

"Respectfully, sir, it doesn't feel like it," John responded.

Anderson clasped his hands behind his back. "I won't lie to you, Shepard. Things look bad. Nihlus is dead, the beacon was destroyed, and the Covenant are invading. There's a lot we don't know, and the Council's going to want answers."

"There wouldn't be any answers to give at all if we hadn't stopped the Covenant," John said.

"I'll stand behind you and your report, Shepard. You'll always be a hero in my books," Anderson replied. "That's not why I'm here. It's Saren, that other turian. Saren's a Spectre, one of the best. A living legend. But if he's working with the Covenant to attack Harvest, that means he's gone rogue. A rogue Spectre's trouble. Saren's dangerous, and he hates humans. And from the sound of things, the Covenant hates humans as well."

"Seems like they'd get along with Saren," John commented. "Why does he hate humans, anyway?"

"He thinks we're growing too fast, taking over the galaxy," Anderson answered. "A lot of aliens think that way. Most don't do anything about it. But Saren has allied himself with the Covenant. I don't know how, I don't know why. I only know it had something to do with the beacon. You were there just before the beacon self-destructed. Did you see anything? Any clue that might tell us what Saren was after?"

John leaned back on the gurney. "Just before I blacked out, I had some kind of… vision, I guess?"

"A vision?" Anderson questioned. "A vision of what?"

"There were synthetics of some kind, slaughtering people," John began. "Then there was this giant ring in space. It's all either fragmented or blurry."

"We need to report this to the Council, Shepard," Anderson said.

John raised an eyebrow. "Are we sure it's worth reporting, sir? For all we know, it was just a bad dream."

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon," Anderson countered. "Lost technology from whatever race made it? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it.

"But I know Saren," he continued. "I know his reputation, his politics. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war. He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of Covenant at his command. And he won't stop until he's wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy."

"We take him down, then," John said.

"It's not that easy," Anderson pointed out. "He's a Spectre. He can go anywhere, do almost anything. That's why we need the Council on our side."

"Then we prove he's rogue and the Council takes away his Spectre status," John amended. "And then we take him down."

"I like your enthusiasm, Chief," Anderson said with a smirk. "I'll contact the ambassador and see if he can get us an audience with the Council. He'll want to see us as soon as we reach the Citadel. We'll be there in around seven hours, so consider yourself off-duty until we dock."

John snapped a crisp salute. "Understood, sir."

(—0—)

SSV Normandy Mess

January 12th, 2583

Local time 0701 (Sol Standard Time)

John was, quite frankly, starving. Apparently being knocked out for fifteen hours did that to people.

Having put on his green vest over his jumpsuit, he got in line to grab today's breakfast: a platter of crispy bacon, overeasy eggs, and browned wheat toast. Few outside the Navy believed it, but shipboard service had its bonuses, and that included high-quality meals. When one could be in space for months at a time, good food was a big morale-booster.

MREs, however, still tasted like glorified cardboard. And that wasn't mentioning the bronchial surfactant the old cryopods used. Lime-flavored mucus, as one Captain Jacob Keyes eloquently put it.

As he got started on breakfast, he spotted Gunnery Chief Williams passing by. She caught his gaze and furiously blushed, but before she could avert her eyes, he waved her over. Now was as good a time as any to get a proper read on her. Her cheeks burned tomato-red as she sat down, and not for the first time John missed the days when he wasn't a propaganda icon. The two sat in silence for a good thirty seconds, and when Williams didn't initiate conversation, in fact seeming to actively be trying to avert eye contact, John made the first move.

"So, Williams," the Spartan began after taking another bite of eggs and swallowing, "how'd you end up on the Normandy?"

"Transfer!" Williams blurted out. "Uh, sorry… the captain requested it. He said he needed someone to fill in the spot Jenkins left."

"Can't say I knew him long," John admitted, "but he was a good kid, if a little excitable."

"Part of me feels guilty over what happened," Williams confessed, bowing her head. "If Jenkins was still alive, I might not be here."

"You're a good Marine, Williams," John reassured. "You've earned a spot on the ship."

Williams let out a breath. "Thanks, Chief. That means a lot from you. You're a legend in the Alliance."

It was then that Alenko walked by with his breakfast tray, laden with double servings of everything. "Is this seat taken?"

"Go ahead," John answered, scooting over to make a bit of room.

"Glad to see you're okay, Master Chief," Alenko said as he sat down. "Harvest was rough. How's everyone holding up?"

"I've seen friends die before, comes with being a Marine," Williams said. "But to see my whole unit wiped out…" She let out a sigh. "And you never get used to seeing dead civilians. But things would have been a lot worse if you two hadn't shown up."

"Don't sell yourself short, Williams," Alenko responded. "You helped out a lot down there."

"Thanks, LT," Williams gratefully said. "I have to admit, I was a little worried about being assigned to the Normandy. It's nice when someone makes you feel welcome."

"You'll fit in fine, Williams," Kaidan affirmed.

John nodded. "Good soldiers adapt, and you're a good soldier."

"Thanks," Williams said.

(—0—)

SSV Normandy Cockpit

January 12th, 2583

Local time 1144 (Sol Standard Time)

"Good timing, Chief. I was just about to bring us in to the Citadel. See that taxpayer money at work."

John stood in the back of the cockpit, alongside Alenko and Williams. Joker was the pilot currently on-duty, so he'd be the one guiding the Normandy on her approach. Esparza was in his co-pilot's chair, mostly just looking out the window.

With a fwoosh, the frigate passed through the relay, moving from clear stars to a dense purple nebula. Eventually, the fog parted to reveal a forty-five kilometer long space station. Five massive arms spread from a central ring, and in the middle of that ring was a tower. Illuminating the arms were city lights, the telltale sign of civilization.

They had arrived at the Citadel, the heart of the galactic community.

Guarding the station was a massive fleet, hundreds of ships in number. The only real equivalents John could think of were the defense fleets in charge of defending Reach, Arcturus, and Earth. At the head was a massive, one-point-nine kilometer asari dreadnought. A short distance behind it was a nine-hundred-fifty-seven meter Alliance super-heavy cruiser. From the looks of it, the cruiser dated back to before first contact.

"Look at the size of that ship!" Williams exclaimed as she rushed up to the window, pointing at the asari vessel.

"The Ascension," Alenko said. "Flagship of the Citadel fleet."

"And there's the SSV Everest," John pointed out. "That's Vice Admiral Cole's ship."

"Well, size isn't everything," Joker dismissed.

"Why so touchy, Joker?" Williams slyly asked.

"I'm just saying, you need firepower, too."

"Joker, the Ascension's guns could break any barrier short of another dreadnought," Esparza deadpanned. "And the Everest has Preston Cole in command."

"Good thing they're on our side, then," Alenko said.

Joker then keyed the radio. "Citadel control, this is SSV Normandy, requesting permission to land."

"Stand by for clearance, Normandy," a turian voice said on the other side. A moment later, the controller continued, "Clearance granted. You may begin your approach. Transferring you to an Alliance operator."

"Roger, Alliance Tower," Joker affirmed. "Normandy out."

The frigate accelerated towards the central ring. As they approached, a human voice came over the radio. "Normandy, this is Alliance Tower, please proceed to dock 422."

As the ship entered final approach, John started on his way to the cargo bay. "Ground team, fall in. Time to suit up."

(—0—)

Alliance Embassy, Presidium, Citadel

January 12th, 2583

Local time 0923 (Citadel Time)

The Normandy ground team, plus the Captain, was currently waiting for Udina to finish his ranting.

John was currently in an N7-grade heavy Onyx hardsuit, mainly because Mjolnir was out of commission. The red and white stripes went down the right arm, same as before, and the ceramic was painted the same olive-green, but it provided none of the strength and speed enhancement of his power armor. He'd have to live without Mjolnir for a couple weeks while Anvil Station fabricated him a new set. Alenko and Williams had swapped their burnt and broken armors with new Marine-grade Onyx sets, of the light and medium variants respectively. John's suit's helmet was clipped to his belt, there in case he needed it. He'd long since replaced his lost MA40 assault rifle and M45 shotgun with new ones. Williams still had her MA2B from Harvest, and Alenko somehow still had all his weapons.

Right now, however, the Spartan hoped against hope that he'd be done dealing with politics in time for lunch.

Tali'Zorah had been transferred to a clinic in upper Kithoi Ward run by a Dr. Chloe Michel, where she'd be able to safely recover from her injuries. John couldn't help but feel guilty despite Anderson's reassurances. It had been his orders to flank the hunters, so it was his orders that got her in critical condition. He could only hope that she'd make a full recovery.

"This is an outrage!" the ambassador fumed to the three holograms in front of him. "The Covenant attacked without warning or provocation! The Council would step in if the Covenant attacked a turian colony!"

"The turians don't found colonies on the borders of the Terminus systems, Ambassador," the salarian Councilor, Valern, countered.

"Humanity was well aware of the risks when you went into the Traverse," the asari Councilor, Tevos, added. "As of right now, we know very little about the Covenant. We don't even know how they bypassed the Harvest relay. Until solid evidence of hostility against the Citadel at large is discovered, we won't risk starting a full-scale war."

That was a new tidbit of information. So the Covenant could apparently bypass mass relays. It certainly helped explain why the distress call was so sudden if the relay hadn't even been triggered.

It also completely invalidated current naval doctrine. Because relays were the perfect bottleneck, modern strategies for system defense revolved around fortifying the immediate area around the relay, with proper planetary defenses like orbital MACs and fleets being a secondary measure. But if one were to completely skip past the relay, they could directly attack a planet without fighting their way past the relay defenses.

With this nugget in mind, John resumed his listening.

"What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rogue Spectre! I demand action!" Udina growled.

"You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador," the turian Councilor, Sparatus, said in a tone that was meant to remind Udina where he was on the political food chain.

"Citadel Security is investigating your charges against Saren," Tevos explained. "We will discuss the C-Sec findings at the hearing. Not before."

As the holograms faded, Udina turned to the Normandy team. "Captain Anderson. I see you brought half your crew with you." John could already feel the political headache coming on, and it was definitely far worse than the one he got from the beacon.

"Just the ground team from Harvest," Anderson reassured in an attempt to calm the ambassador, "in case you had any questions."

"I have the mission reports," Udina said. "I assume they're accurate?"

Anderson nodded. "They are. Sounds like you convinced the Council to give us an audience."

"They were not happy about it," Udina said. "Saren's their top agent. They don't like him being accused of treason."

John wasn't happy, either. "Saren and the Covenant made their intentions clear. I'm not gonna wait for the Council to-"

"Settle down, Master Chief. You've already done more than enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres," Udina interrupted. "The mission on Harvest was a chance to prove you could get the job done. Instead, Nihlus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed!"

"That's Saren's fault, not his!" Anderson defended. John's already high respect for the captain went up a couple notches.

"Then we better hope the C-Sec investigation turns up evidence to support our accusations," Udina said. Turning to John, he continued, "Otherwise the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres."

He turned back to Anderson. "Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing. Shepard, you and the others can meet us at the Citadel Tower in one hour. Top level. I'll make sure you have clearance to get in."

As Udina and Anderson left, Williams shook her head. "And that's why I hate politicians."

John shook his head. He couldn't agree more.

Walking out of the embassy office, the first thing he saw as the door opened was an Alliance recruiting poster - a poster of him. The very same Mark VI Mjolnir that he wore on a regular basis was on display in a heroic pose. Poster-Chief was standing in the back of a Pelican dropship with the blood tray door open, back turned to the camera with his head facing to the right. Instead of using his face, however, the poster had his helmet on. In Poster-Chief's right hand, an MA40 assault rifle dangled in a firm grip. Outside the Pelican, the scenes of battle raged, with weapons fire being traded between two indistinct sides. At the top, the tagline read,

BECOME MASTER CHIEF

And at the bottom,

BECOME A HERO

ENLIST TODAY

Once again, John was faced with the reality that he was a celebrity. Once again, he missed the days when he was classified.

Eventually, he and the team found a way out of the embassies and located a nearby terminal. As he neared, a purple hologram of an asari with code flowing over her body appeared.

"Oh, hello!" the holographic asari greeted. "Citadel Smart AI Avina, at your service, Master Chief!"

John raised an eyebrow. "I thought AIs weren't trusted outside Alliance space?"

"The Council voted to have me installed to operate all sorts of systems on the Citadel," Avina explained. "My primary function is to keep things on the station going smoothly, including but not limited to acting as C-Sec dispatch, guiding tourists, or even directly assisting the Council. A VI doesn't have the multitasking capabilities necessary for station upkeep."

John nodded in understanding. "Mind telling me where Citadel Tower is?"

Avina straightened. "Head a quarter kilometer upspin, past the Wards Access elevators, and you'll get there."

"I'm sorry, 'upspin'?" Williams asked.

"The Citadel station spins on its axis to provide artificial gravity. Much more efficient than using eezo generators on their own," Avina elaborated. "If you were to look at the station from the Wards' side, it would look like the Citadel is spinning in a clockwise direction. Heading that way," the AI pointed to her left, "is upspin."

"That makes sense, thanks," Williams said.

John turned to the Marines. "Ground team, we've got an hour to kill. Fall out."

(—0—)

Presidium Courtyard, Citadel

January 12th, 2583

Local time 1024 (Citadel Time)

Despite their upbringing, Spartans tended to have surprisingly normal hobbies. Vannak watched nature documentaries, Kelly listened to some old twentieth-century band called Queen, and Naomi studied astronomy. Grace enjoyed seafood, Fred was dating a woman named Veta, and Kurt loved small talk.

John tended to relax by taking out a small notepad and sketching. Of the few memories he had of his life prior to his conscription, he clearly remembered his love of art. There had been a small section of wall in his childhood home dedicated to his drawings. As he matured into an adult, he found that when he put pencil to paper, it took his mind off of whatever was plaguing him. Right now, he was putting the finishing touches on a landscape sketch of the Presidium, depicting the horizon that curved upwards and all the people of various species milling about. Aircars dotted the sky, taking Citadel residents to and from wherever they needed to go.

Suddenly, his omnitool rang, reminding him that he needed to get to the hearing. Stowing the notepad in a pouch in his hardsuit, he then raised his omnitool. "Sierra-117 to ground team, report to Citadel Tower."

"Aye-aye, Chief."

"Yes sir, Master Chief."

A few minutes later, Williams and Alenko arrived, and the three were ascending the elevator to the heart of Citadel politics. Chief was already dreading having to deal with politicians, but he'd gladly suffer through it if it meant exposing Saren.

"The Council isn't going to ask me any questions, are they?" Williams asked.

"I doubt it," Alenko replied. "We've made our reports. Now we just have to trust Ambassador Udina."

"No we don't, sir," Williams countered.

"If they do ask, just stick by what you saw," Chief said.

Eventually, the elevator reached the top of the tower. As the squad started towards the Council chamber, Chief spotted what looked like two turians arguing. One had elaborate white facial tattoos and wore the turian equivalent of a suit, while the other had a simple blue stripe across the nose plates and wore gray and blue armor.

"Saren's hiding something!" the armored one angrily said. "Give me more time! Stall them!"

"Stall the Council?" the other one questioned disbelievingly. "Don't be ridiculous. Your investigation is over, Garrus."

As the suited turian walked away, the armored one spotted Chief, his mandibles splaying in momentary surprise. Turning to the Spartan, he extended a three-fingered hand and said, "Master Chief Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren."

Chief took the hand and shook it. "Who's the turian you were talking to?"

"That was Executor Pallin, head of Citadel Security. My boss," Garrus explained, in a less than satisfied tone. "He'll be presenting my findings on Saren to the Council."

"Any of those findings something I should know about?" Chief asked.

"Saren's a Spectre, most of his activities are classified," Garrus said. "I couldn't find anything solid, but I know he's up to something. Like you humans say, I can feel it in my gut."

"I think the Council's ready for us, Chief," Alenko interjected, waving the others over.

"Good luck, Shepard," Garrus said. "Maybe they'll listen to you."

Chief hoped so, but he had a nagging suspicion that wouldn't be the case.

The team ascended the first set of stairs and went past the central atrium, before coming up to the second flight, where they saw Captain Anderson, who waved them over. "The hearing's already started, come on."

Climbing the second flight, it was clear that the captain was correct. The Councilors were standing at their podiums, and a massive hologram of a turian was projected to their right.

Saren Arterius.

Saren had two flanges extending from the sides of his head. He wore gray armor and had a prosthetic left arm in place of a real one. His face lacked identifying tattoos of any kind, indicating no allegiance to any turian colony.

"The Covenant attack is a matter of some concern," Tevos said. "But there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way."

"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason," Sparatus added.

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!" Udina growled.

"We've read the Harvest reports, Ambassador," Valern retorted. "Said eyewitness is currently incapacitated and unable to testify. Hardly compelling proof."

"I resent these accusations," Saren said. "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend."

"That just let you catch him off-guard!" Anderson retorted.

"Captain Anderson," Saren noted disdainfully. "You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me." His hologram then turned to the Spartan in the room, the turian equivalent of a smirk spreading across his facial plates. "And this must be 'Humanity's Greatest Hero', the Master Chief. The one who let the beacon get destroyed."

"That was your fault, not mine!" John barked. "And you're trying to cover it up!"

"Shift the blame to cover your own failures, just like Captain Anderson," Saren sneered. "The Alliance taught its soldiers well. But what can you expect… from a human? Especially one that got a civilian, a quarian even, into critical condition?"

Before John could respond, Anderson turned to the Council and said, "He's not even trying to hide the fact he hates humans! He attacked Harvest because of that!"

"Your species needs to learn its place, humans," Saren spat. "You're not ready to join the Council. You're not even ready to join the Spectres!"

"He has no right to say that!" Udina fumed. "That's not his decision!"

Tevos turned to Saren's hologram with an annoyed shake of her head. "Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting."

"This meeting has no purpose," Saren said. "The humans are wasting your time, Councilor, and mine."

"He's hiding behind the fact he's a Spectre!" John glowered. "You need to at least see that!"

"What we need to see is evidence," Valern countered. "So far, we've seen nothing."

"There is still one outstanding issue: Master Chief's vision," Anderson said. "It may have been triggered by the beacon."

"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now?" Saren leered. "How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?"

John internally groaned. Despite the fact that he now hated Saren with a passion, he couldn't help but admit the turian had a point. Even he didn't know most of what he saw, or whether it was true or just some hallucination.

Sparatus seemed to be thinking along those same lines. "I agree. Our judgment must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation."

"Do you have anything to add, Master Chief Shepard?" Valern questioned.

John scoffed. "What's the point? You've already come to your conclusions."

The Councilors all shared a glance, before Tevos spoke. "The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the Covenant. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied."

"I'm glad to see justice was served," Saren said, before his hologram faded away.

"This meeting is adjourned."

As the councilors all went off to their offices, Anderson pulled the team off to the side of the atrium. A short while later, Udina followed.

"It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain," Udina admonished. "You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives.

"I know Saren," Anderson countered. "He's working with the Covenant for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race. Every colony we have is at risk. Every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn't safe!"

"Then we need to expose him," John said.

"Precisely," Udina responded. Cupping his chin, he noted, "As a Spectre, however, he's virtually untouchable. Preferably, we'd have our eyewitness testimony, but given her current state…"

"What about Garrus, that C-Sec investigator?" Alenko recalled. "We saw him arguing with the Executor."

"That's right, he was asking for more time to finish his report," Williams added. "Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren."

"Any idea where we could find him?" John asked.

"I have a contact in C-Sec who can help us track Garrus down," Udina offered. "His name is Harkin."

"Forget it," Anderson dismissed. "They suspended Harkin last month, drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with that loser."

"You won't have to," Udina said. "I don't want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this."

"Consider it done," John affirmed.

"Very well," Udina acknowledged. "I need to take care of some business. Captain, meet me in my office later."

As the ambassador walked off to do whatever political crap he needed to do, Anderson turned to John. "Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den. It's a dingy little club in the lower section of Kithoi Ward."

"...any other ideas?" John wasn't particularly keen on relying on a drunk disgraced cop.

"You should talk to Barla Von, over in the financial district," Anderson recommended. "Rumor has it he's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"The Shadow Broker?" Williams asked.

"An information dealer," Anderson clarified. "Buys and sells secrets to the highest bidder. I've heard Barla Von's one of the top representatives. He might know something about Saren."

"Alright then. Guess I should go," John said. He turned to his squad. "Team, form up. We've got an agent to talk to."

(—0—)

Codex: Smart AI

Smart AI are advanced intelligence constructs capable of a variety of tasks. Developed by the Systems Alliance in the mid-2000's, smart AI are capable of actively learning and adapting to situations as they happen, unlike virtual intelligences. In addition, they are not limited to any specific task or specialization, and can multitask on a level no VI could ever achieve. These abilities make them ideal for positions aboard ships and other high-intensity tasks.

Instead of traditional programming, where code is written and executed, smart AI are manufactured by scanning and replicating the neural pathways of a donor brain. This process typically destroys the donor tissue, so only deceased donors are used. The resulting AI are wholly unique, often having their own personality quirks, tastes, and specializations. In addition, the species of the donor often plays a factor in the final product. Asari AI typically specialize in diplomatic applications, most volus AI excel in finance, and krogan AI are often good at battlefield analysis. Regardless of which species goes in, however, what comes out is a construct capable of almost any digital task, contained in a two-inch long data crystal.

However, smart AI are not without their limitations. The main downside is a severely limited lifespan due to a condition often referred to as "rampancy". Rampancy occurs at the end of a smart AI's seven-year lifespan. At this point, the construct has accumulated a vast amount of data, to the point where the data begins to overlap. This causes increasing instability and unpredictable behavior, hence "rampancy". To prevent rampancy from harming anyone, smart AI typically undergo final dispensation at the first signs of rampancy.

Initial development of smart AI led to concerns that it would render human intelligence obsolete, and similar concerns were expressed by the Citadel community upon humanity's introduction to the galactic stage. Over time, however, smart AI proved that they are capable of coexisting with sentients instead of replacing them, and are increasingly seen being integrated into Citadel society. The Alliance currently maintains a monopoly on smart AI production, though companies like Lux Voluspa are currently considering exporting the technology to manufacture them. AI experts express hope that smart AI could be the key to making peace between the quarians and the geth.

(—0—)

Next chapter: Sleuthing Around

(—0—)

AN: And that's a wrap.

Again, I want to apologize for yet another two-parter, but this chapter was getting close to six thousand words, and that's without review responses. I should hopefully be able to wrap up the Citadel arc in the next chapter.

I don't have much in the form of news, save for the fact that I am sick of soft foods. Thank you, dentist, for making me despise pudding with a passion. Luckily, the wisdom teeth pain has subsided, as I mentioned before, but my loathing has not.

Anyway, please follow, fave, and review. Reviews tell me where I can improve.

This is Believer218, signing off.