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[Bluenose]

Voice 1 “Well, what about Shepard?”

Voice 2 “Earthborn. No mention of her family, though.”

V1, doubtfully. “She lost most of her unit on Torfan. Is that the sort of person we want defending the galaxy?”

V3, positively. “She got the job done. That’s the only sort of person who can defend the galaxy.”

V2, thoughtfully. “The rest of her military record is excellent. But there are those stories about her involvement with gangs before she enlisted.”

V3, placating. “It would be a surprise if she hadn’t got stories about her, after growing up on the streets. Most people only know these areas from the extranet.”

V1, impressed. “Deals well with the unexpected. And she got on well with the Salarians when her team bumped into an STG on a recent operation.”

V2, as if he can’t quite believe himself. “Are we seriously proposing the Butcher of Torfan is the best humanity has to offer the Spectres?”

V1, frustrated. “We wanted Benitez, after Elysium. But we started pushing for it, got that Turian interested, and then he went and crippled himself in that stupid paragliding accident. So we can either back off or push someone else. And Shepard is an outstanding candidate in most ways.”

V3, reminiscing. “”I’m not sure some of the alien races wouldn’t consider her a stronger candidate. There was a discussion among the junior officers when we were building the Normandy, about who they’d like to serve under. Some of the Turians got involved, and a lot of them preferred Shepard.”

V1, as if he’s convinced. “She’s calm under pressure. She kept her cool in the press conference after Torfan. And she’s popular with her troops, even after Torfan. A lot of them apply to serve under her command again.”

V2, accepting the situation. “I’ll make the call.”



Cue dramatic music, some woman in black combat armour with a set of weapons on her back stomping through a starship without quite managing to trample on people, and a voiceover.

Space. The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Normandy. It’s five year mission: to explore strange new worlds?

Something doesn’t sound right here.

It was the dawn of the third age of mankind, ten years after the Earth-Minbari War.

Not that either.

In the year 2148, explorers on Mars discovered the remains of an ancient space faring civilisation. In the decades that followed, these mysterious artefacts revealed startling new technologies, enabling travel to the farthest stars. The basis for this incredible technology was a force that controlled the very fabric of space and time. They called it the greatest discovery in human history. The civilisations of the galaxy call it?

Edited by Bluenose, 24 March 2010 - 03:11 AM.

[Bluenose]

On the Normandy, Part 1

As I reach the cockpit the Normandy has just passed through the Arcturus Prime Mass Relay, and our pilot is running down the checklist of systems.

“Thrusters, check. Navigation, check. Internal emissions sink engaged. All systems onlne. Drift, just under 1500k.”

“1500 is good. Your captain will be pleased.” A rather large alien comments, before leaving the bridge into the main section of the ship.

After a few seconds, Joker shakes his head and announces to the world at large, “I hate that guy.”

“Nihlus paid you a compliment, so you hate him.” The other human in the co-pilots seat sounds rather bemused.

“Remember to zip up your jumpsuit on the way out of the bathroom, that’s good. I just jumped us half way across the galaxy and hit a target the size of a pinhead, that’s incredible. Besides, Spectres are trouble. I don’t like having them aboard. Call me paranoid” Joker doesn’t seem to be mollified.

“You’re paranoid. The Council helped fund this project, they have a right to send someone to keep an eye on it.”

“Yeah, that is the official story, but only an idiot believes the official story.” I’m beginning to suspect that Joker has a serious case of paranoia.

“They don’t send Spectres on shakedown runs.” I interject myself into the conversation, and give away that I’m also feeling paranoid. And since it’s my first decision in the game, it’s worth noticing.

Before our conversation can continue, we’re interrupted by Captain Anderson on the intercom, who wants to know the ship’s status. Joker informs him that everything is going well and also that he might want to brace himself for the arrival of Nihlus. This might not have been a great career move, as apparently Nihlus is already there. The Captain also wants Joker to send me down to the briefing room, and signs off. Joker asks if I heard that, and as I’m leaving I comment that the captain seems annoyed. Joker doesn’t agree that there was anything unusual, as the captain always sounds like that when they’re talking. After which Mister Sarcastic in seat two comes up with the line, “I can’t imagine why.”

I head back into the main part of the ship down a corridor lined with work stations, to a central area where there are rather more crew standing around a large holographic display of the galaxy.

One, Navigator Pressley, is talking over the intercom, and sounds rather stressed that we have a Turian (the large alien) Spectre on board. The person he’s talking to, who sounds mellow enough to be taking drugs, tells him to relax rather than give himself an ulcer. Once they’re done, I talk to Pressley. He’s another person who is wondering what’s really going on, since we not only have the Spectre on board (and Pressley says he doesn’t like Turians and hasn’t since his family fought in the First Contact War) but we have Captain Anderson too and Anderson qualifies as a hero. Also, since the ship is supposedly on a simple shake-down run it’s odd that we have a full crew. I allow that he has a point, and say that I’ll speak to the Captain about it. Though I suppose it might be something I have to keep secret.

Just outside the briefing room I interrupt another conversation, this one between Doctor Chakwas (an older lady) and Corporal Richard Leeroy Jenkins. The Corporal is rather enthusiastic about having a Spectre around, since he thinks they’re absolutely awesome and wants to see one in action, an attitude the Doctor attributes to watching too many spy-vids. I ask Jenkins why the ship might be on the way to Eden Prime, since that is where he’s from, and he can’t think of a good reason. Eden Prime is apparently a quiet planet, and he enlisted in search of action. The Doctor hopes that he isn’t serious, since action usually means more work for her. I suggest he’s young and doesn’t need to go looking for trouble, and he comments that I’ve proved myself on Torfan. The subject turns to Nihlus, and the Doctor says he has hardly spoken two words to anyone but the captain. Jenkins starts talking about Spectres again, explaining how they’re elite agents who answer only to the Council and worth a platoon of ordinary troops. When I ask about humans in the Spectres, Chakwas says they’re normally only recruited from the Council races. Jenkins has another opinion. He thinks I’d make a good Spectre, since they’re expected to achieve their objectives by any means necessary and regardless of the casualties just as I did on Torfan. I’m beginning to think I should have smacked him down harder when he started to talk about wanting action.

When I reach the briefing room, Nihlus is there.

“Ah, Commander, I’m glad you got here first. It will give us a chance to talk.” His mandibles flare slightly as he says this. I wait for him to explain what he’s after. “I’m interested in this world we’re going to, Eden Prime. I’ve heard it’s quite beautiful.”

While I know a little about it from Jenkins, Eden Prime is pretty much a mystery to me. And I don’t see why I should explain that to Nihlus. “I’m a marine, not some tourist on vacation.” Though that comes out sounding more petulant than I wanted. Though I think it’s possible Nihlus isn’t familiar with human tones of voice.

“It’s more than a tourist destination, though, isn’t it Shepard? Eden Prime has become something of a symbol for your people. A perfect little world on the edge of the Traverse. A sign that humanity can not only establish colonies across the galaxy but also protect them. But how safe is it really?”

I’m not sure what he’s trying to do here, but it’s starting to annoy me. I settle for a reasonably polite response, “Do you know something?”

He ignores my question and continues, “Humanity is new to space, and the galaxy can be a very dangerous place. Is the Alliance truly ready for this?”

Before I can say something I might regret, Captain Anderson comes up behind me. “I think it’s about time we told the Commander what’s really going on.”

With a nod of his head, Nihlus signals his agreement. “This is more than a simple shakedown run, Shepard.”

“I don’t think that’s news to anyone on board.” I can’t help interrupting.

“The Normandy is making a covert pickup on Eden Prime. That’s why we wanted a ship with the new stealth systems.” Anderson explains further.

“Captain, with respect, if I’m your executive officer I need to know what the ships mission is.” I can’t keep a note of petulance out of my voice, and Anderson picks up on it.

“This comes down from the top, Commander. Need to know basis only.” He doesn’t sound happy, though whether that’s because of the orders or what I said is hard to tell.

“Of course, Captain. I assume that I now have that need-to-know?”
“You do, Commander. The Normandy will be picking up a functioning Prothean beacon that a group of farmers found on the edge of the settlement.”

For a moment, my mouth gapes open. “The Protheans have been extinct for 50,000 years, Captain. It’s still working after all that time?”

“It is. The Prothean cache we found on Mars advanced our technology two hundred years in one leap. A functioning beacon could hold all sorts of technology. Weapon systems, medical data, new power sources, the possibilities are endless.”

“That’s why I’m here, Shepard.” Nihlus interjects himself into the conversation. “Obviously, this goes beyond mere human interests. All galactic civilisations base their technology on Prothean achievements. The Mass Relays, ship drives and weapons, shields, even Biotics. I’m representing the Council in this matter.”

“And we need the Council’s aid,” Anderson adds, “because they have more familiarity with Prothean technology than we do.”

“So that explains why there’s a Spectre here. And I assume I’m being told because I’m expected to command the team on the ground.”

“That’s part of it.” Rather unexpectedly it’s Nihlus who continues. “I’m here for the beacon, but I’m also here to observe you, Commander.”

“Captain, I’m Alliance special forces. I don’t answer to the Spectres.” I appeal to Captain Anderson, though it’s more out of shock than anything else.

“Nihlus isn’t assessing your competence as a Marine.” Anderson’s tone is placatory. “He’s looking at you as a Spectre candidate.”

“I’ll not just be observing how you deal with this mission, Shepard. Eden Prime is just the first of several missions we’ll perform together.” Nihlus also sonds as if he’s trying to persuade me.

“Why would a Turian want a human in the Spectres?” My mind is still racing around frantically, trying to work out what’s happening.

“Spectres are elite operatives, Shepard.” Nihlus sounds as if he’s lecturing me. “The Council can never find enough people who can do the work. I’ve studied your records, the mission reports. Torfan was a grim business, but you got the job done. I don’t care that you’re human. I only care that you can do the job.”

To give myself time to think, I turn to Captain Anderson. “Is there anything more I need to know about this mission, Sir?”

“Get groundside, and secure the beacon for pickup Commander. The Normandy will stand by to pick up..."

Joker interrupts us over the intercom. “Captain, we’ve got a problem.”

“What is it, Joker?”

“Transmission coming in from Eden Prime, sir. You need to see this.” Although Joker may be a jerk some of the time, now he sounds fully professional. The view-screen behind us comes to life with a signal. Human troops are under heavy fire from an unidentified enemy, taking casualties and calling for support. In less than a minute, the signal stops. Joker comes over the intercom again.

“Signal stops there, Captain. No more transmissions.”

“Rewind to 38.5 and hold.” This time I catch it too, as in the background of the shot we see a giant metal claw, sparking with energy, reaching out of the sky towards the ground. Anderson looks over at me. “Assemble your ground team and meet me in the cargo bay in ten minutes. This mission just got a whole lot more interesting.”
 




Codex Entries
The Citadel Council
The Council is an executive committee composed of representatives from the Asari Republics, the Turian Hierarchy, and the Salarian Union. Though they have no official power over the independent governments of the other species, the Council’s decisions carry great weight throughout the galax. No single Council race is strong enough to defy the other two, and they have a vested interest in compromise and cooperation.
Each of the Council species has general characteristics associated with the various aspects of governing the galaxy. The asari are typically seen as diplomats and mediators. The salarians gather intelligence and information. The turians provide the bulk of the military and peacekeeping forces.
Any species granted an embassy on the Citadel is considered an associate member, bound by the accords of the Citadel Conventions. Associate members may bring issues to the attention of the Council through their ambassadors, though they have no input on the decision. The human Systems Alliance became an associate member of the Citadel in 2165.

Spectres
Spectres are agents from the Office of Special Tactics and Reconnaissance and answer only to the Citadel Council. They are elite military operatives, granted the authority to deal with threats to peace and stability in whatever way they deem necessary.
They operate independently or in groups of two or three. Some are empathetic peacekeepers, resolving disputes through diplomacy. Others are cold-blooded assassins, ruthlessly dispatching problem individuals. All get the job done, one way or another, often operating outside of the bounds of galactic law.
The Spectres were founded after the salarians joined the Council. For many years, they operated in secrecy, as back-room "problem solvers". Only after the Krogan Rebellions did their activities become publicized. Assignment of a Spectre is less contentious than military deployment, but makes it clear that the Council is concerned about a situation.

Systems Alliance Timeline
2069 - Armstrong Outpost at Shackleton Crater becomes the first human settlement on Luna. It is formally founded on July 24, the 100th anniversary of the first lunar landing.
2103 - Lowell City in Eos Chasma becomes the first human settlement on Mars.
2137 - Eldfell-Ashland Energy Corporation demonstrates helium-3 fuel extraction from the atmosphere of Saturn.
2142 - Construction of Gagarin Station (Jump Zero) begins beyond the orbit of Pluto.
2148 - Prospectors discover the Prothean ruins at Promethei Planum on Mars.
2149 - Translation of Prothean data leads humans to the Charon mass relay. Systems Alliance founded to coordinate exploration and colonization of extra-solar worlds.
2151 - A shipping accident at Singapore International Spaceport exposes downwind communities to containers of dust-form element zero. Alliance begins construction of Arcturus Station.
2152 - Roughly 30% of the children born in Singapore after element zero exposure suffer from cancerous growths. Systems Alliance begins settlement of Earth's first extra-solar colony world, the planet Demeter.
2154 - Commander Shepard born.
2155 - Systems Alliance occupies completed portions of Arcturus Station as a headquarters.
2156 - Some children of Singapore exhibit minor telekinetic abilities.
2157 - Turians encounter human explorers; First Contact War. Occupation and liberation of the human colony of Shanxi.
2158 - Humans learn potential of biotics. An international effort to track element zero exposures begin. Roughly 10% of exposed children show some sign of biotic ability.
2160 - Systems Alliance Parliament formed.
2165 - Humans establish embassy on Citadel.
2170 - Batarian slavers attack the Alliance colony Mindoir.
2176 - Skyllian Blitz- Pirates and slavers attacked Elysium, the human capital in the Skyllian Verge.
2177 - Thresher maws devour the Alliance colony of Akuze.
2178 - In retaliation for the Skyllian Blitz, an Alliance fleet wipes out an army of slavers on the moon of Torfan.
2183 - Current date.

Edited by Bluenose, 25 March 2010 - 07:23 AM.
title was patently wrong

[Bluenose]

Part 2

On Eden Prime

As the Normandy descends into the atmosphere of Eden Prime, I wait in the cargo bay with my team. I have Corporal Jenkins who?s obviously enjoying his chance to prove himself, and Mister Sarcastic from the cockpit, who is actually Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko. Captain Anderson is there giving us last minute instructions, and Nihlus also turns up intending to scout ahead rather than accompany us. As Nihlus steps off the loading ramp over drop zone one Anderson, shouting over the noise of the engines, tells us we?re the muscle on this operation. I promise to back up Nihlus as best we can, and we drop at drop zone two.

On the ground we shake out into a manoeuvre formation. Jenkins is an ordinary soldier without any special abilities. He?s also rather a muscular hunk and still quite young and brash, reminding me quite a lot of the Anomen Delryn model from the 2160 Baldur?s Gate VR remake. Alenko is slighter and darker and has both biotic powers and technical skills, while being less skilled with weapons. We move out with me in the lead, Jenkins and Alenko flanking and behind.

Personally I can?t see the famous beauty of Eden Prime, though that might be due to landing in an area of scrubland near the outskirts of the settlement. Alenko comments on the animals we see floating near a pond, which look like a more solid version of jellyfish though they are over land. Jenkins tells us the colonists have given them the imaginative name of gas-bags, and claims they?re harmless. Since I suspect they electrolyse water to get hydrogen so they can float through the air, I refrain from causing an explosion by shooting any.

We head down a track towards the settlement, passing a charred corpse along the way. I rather suspect we landed at the end of the local equivalent to Lover?s Lane, though it doesn?t seem worth asking Jenkins about it. As we move further on away from the pond, we reach the end of a small valley. I halt, moving into cover, and waving Jenkins forward. As he heads for a section of rocks three airborne drones fly up and shoot at him, and he screams and collapses ? all in a cutscene, which is an annoying way to kill characters.

They?re annoying targets, small and nimblee, but I?m able to drop one with my assault rifle. Alenko does better, using his tech skills to make one explode and throwing the other half way down the valley with his biotics. As it tries to return we take it in a crossfire and blow the c*** out of it. I move over towards Jenkins, but Alenko gets their first.

?He?s dead, Commander.? Alenko sounds sadder than normal. ?Ripped right through his shields, he never had a chance.? Oddly, they didn?t rip right through our shields and kill us instantly. I?m pretty certain Jenkins should have been wearing a red shirt for this mission.

We need to move on though, so I tell Alenko, ?Get his medigel and grenades, and mark the location of the body for later recovery.? I have a feeling from his rather subdued, ?Aye, Aye, Commander.? that he?d rather prefer me to show more sympathy.

Further on we engage three more of the drones, which I assume are some sort of scout vehicle for an enemy we haven?t yet seen. With the advantage of cover, practice, and shields that actually work we destroy them easily. Nihlus contacts us over the comms to say that the situation looks serious and there are a lot of dead bodies around.

We climb out of the valley onto a ridge, destroying a few more drones as we go. As we descend again, we notice something happening. A female soldier is running from two more of the drones, until one hit shoots in the middle of her back. It appears she also has proper armour, since although she drops to the floor it only spurs her to roll over and shoot both of them with a pistol. At which point she suddenly notices two humanoid robots with flashlights for heads. They hold a struggling colonist, and place him over a circular pedestal before a spike extends upwards and impales him. She gets up and runs towards us as the robots notice her, and ducks behind some rocks as cover. This takes place in another cutscene, so no interruptions are possible.

I send Alenko down the slope to take cover in the same rocks as the woman, and dash out to the left to outflank the robots. Although they deploy some sort of free-standing hexagonal energy shield to protect them from fire, it only covers one direction. I?m firing from a direction it doesn?t cover, and it also appears that it doesn?t protect them from Alenko?s biotic and tech skills. They go down, even before we disable both the shields. And then the soldier approaches me.

?Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212th, ma?am.? She introduces herself, sounding quite stressed.

?Are you injured, Chief?? I try not to start as Alenko interrupts. To give her credit, Williams seems surprised that he?s interjected into our conversation.

?No, Sir. No physical injuries. Some stress and fatigue but I?m fully combat capable.?

?Commander Zoe Shepard, SSV Normandy. Give me a situation report, Chief.? I?d really like someone who was present during the attack to tell me how this started.

?Yes, ma?am.? She starts to gather her thoughts. ?We were patrolling the area around the dig sit. Command was worried about intruders at the dig site. A ship descended from orbit and started jamming our communications. We engaged a group of those drones and destroyed them, and I ordered a return to the dig site. On the way we ran into an ambush from these synthetics,? and she gestures at the two destroyed creatures. ?I ordered my squad to pull back, but I think I?m the only one who made it.?

I interrupt her, trying to stop her worrying that she failed. ?It wasn?t your fault, Williams. There was nothing more you could have done.? I?m not sure she believes me, though as I wasn?t there I can?t be sure what I?m saying is true.

Yes, ma?am. Since then I?ve been on the run, trying to avoid their patrols and get back to the dig. The site is just through this valley here, on the next ridge. The 232nd should be dug in there, perhaps we gave them a chance to hold out.? She sounds a little more hopeful. ?And ma?am, I think I know what we?re fighting. I think these are Geth.?

Alenko has been listening intently, and now he interjects. ?Geth haven?t been seen outside the Veil in three hundred years. Why are they here now?? I think he sounds more surprised than disbelieving, and Williams shrugs.

?For the Beacon, I guess.?

?All right, Williams. We?re here for the Beacon. I want you with us, you know the area and the situation. Move out.? I try to sound confident, although I?m a little worried we don?t know the strength of the enemy and they have an idea of our position.

?Yes, ma?am.? This seems to be Williams? favourite phrase. Although I also here her mutter, ?It?s time for some payback.? Which it is.

As we move on, Nihlus updates us. ?Shepard, there?s a lot of synthetics in the area. Not much activity around the dig site. There?s a small rail terminal up ahead, I?m going to investigate that. I?ll keep you informed.?

We come over the ridge and see the dig site. There are a few Geth around it, but they don?t prove difficult to shoot down as they don?t seem to react well to people outflanking their shield positions. Unfortunately the Beacon we?re looking for isn?t there. Williams suggests we head up the slope to the camp, in the hope that someone can tell us what happened to it. I check out a supply crate, grabbing some tungsten ammunition which should be more effective against synthetics and a couple of sniper rifles.

Outside some buildings which Williams identifies as being used by the scientists who were part of the dig team there are some more of those pedestals the Geth like to impale people on. This time, three of them are used. The bodies on them are black, though they seem to glow blue in places. And then, rather horrifically, the spikes descend and the bodies step off and attempt to attack us. I make the mistake of not shooting soon enough, and the first closes in and explodes in a burst of electricity which takes down our shields and nearly drops Alenko. Rather than let the others close, Alenko shoves one away with his biotics. He and Williams shoot that one down. I use my shotgun to blast another off its feet and promptly smash its head in with my shotgun butt.

We investigate the first building, finding no survivors but replenishing our medigel and grenade supplies and recovering some weapon mods. The second building is locked, and I have Alenko hack the lock while Williams and I keep watch. Once it?s open, we go inside and find the two surviving scientists.

Doctor Warren tells us that the Beacon had been sent to the monorail station earlier that day. She and her assistant Manuel had remained behind to clear up the site. When the Geth attacked the local marine contingent held them off long enough for the scientists to lock themselves in the building and they hadn?t been bothered since, although they were worried the Geth might come back. She hasn?t any idea what else is happening. Throughout this Manuel has kept up a steady stream of apocalyptic pronouncements about how we?ve begun the countdown to the doom of humanity. Finally, when I ask Warren whether she?d seen any Turians, and she says there aren?t any on Eden Prime, Manuel interrupts one more time.

?He was here before the attack. He bears the mark of the beast, ??

?Manuel, that?s enough!? Warren interrupts him, then turns to us. ?I?m sorry. Manuel has a brilliant mind, but he?s also been under a lot of stress.?

?It?s not possible anyway,? Alenko adds. ?Nihlus was with us on the Normandy when the attack started.?

Manuel doesn?t want to stop. ?Prophet of the Apocalypse. Servant of the Enemy. Lord of our Destruction.?

?Say goodnight, Manuel.? I interrupt his rambling.

?I cannot be silenced.? He protests. ?My voice must be ? Oof!?

As he collapses from my punch, Warren?s shriek of, ?Oh my God, what have you done,? rather drowns out Alenko?s comment, ?That might have been a little extreme, Commander?. I catch him before he can hit the floor and drop him on a bunk, then turn on the Doctor.

?It was only a matter of time before he did something stupid, or dangerous. It?s better for him to sleep it off.?

?Yes, I suppose so,? She sighs. ?It will give a chance for his meds to kick in.?

We move out, towards the monorail station just over the next ridge. When another cutscene interrupts us.



Codex entries:
The Geth
The geth are a race of networked artificial intelligences that reside beyond the Perseus Veil. The geth were created sometime around 1900 CE by the quarians, as laborers and tools of war. When the geth became sentient and began to question their masters, the quarians attempted to exterminate them. The geth won the resulting war, and reduced the quarians to a race of nomads.

The history of the geth's creation and evolution serves as a warning to the rest of the galaxy of the potential dangers of artificial intelligence and to the legally enforced, systematic repression of artificial intelligences throughout galactic society.

Best size estimates on the geth fleet range from 5,000 to 10,000 ships with unknown armament.

Eden Prime
Eden Prime is a human colony founded on the borders of the Terminus Systems. Known for its pristine, Earth-like greenery and suitability for sustaining life, it has become a kind of symbol for humanity's ability to create functioning colonies in an interstellar community. Eden Prime is known for being a beautiful paradise for all species. Most long time colonists are in the agriculture business.

Edited by Bluenose, 26 March 2010 - 07:07 AM.

[Bluenose]

Interlude 1
Eden Prime, cutscene at the station

Nihlus, shotgun in hand, creeps past some crates at the edge of the station. In the open, another armoured figure paces around the platform. As the figure turns away Nihlus rounds the corner, weapon raised. Then he slowly lowers it.

?Saren?? Nihlus sounds surprised.

As the figure turns, it?s another Turian, this one lacking face paint, clad in light grey armour. ?Nihlus.?

?This isn?t your mission, Saren. What are you doing here, Saren?.? Nihlus sounds annoyed.

Saren walks over and puts a hand on his shoulder. ?The Council thought you could do with some help on this one, old friend.? He moves on so he?s behind Nihlus, who carries on looking down the platform.

?I wasn?t expecting to find the Geth here.? Nihlus is clearly worried ?The situation?s bad.?

?Don?t worry.? Saren raises his pistol and points it at the back of Nihlus? head. ?I have everything under control.?

[Bluenose]

Part 3

Eden Prime

We're climbing the ridge above the station when a single gunshot rings out. Hurrying forward I look for cover to duck behind, before forgetting the station and for that matter the need for cover. Beyond the main colony buildings a ship is taking off. An impossible ship, one that can't exist and can't be taking off - except that I can see it. Behind me, I can hear Alenko and Williams talking.

"What is that thing? I've never seen anything like it!"

"It's massive. I've never seen a ship that big."

The ship is huge, much larger than the colonies skyscrapers, black, and basically cylindrical with a base that looks like a giant hand. Some sort of energy flickers around the whole body, and as it lifts parts of the ground which it took off from fall away and are burnt up in a plume of energy. I'm certain I look like an idiot staring after it, the one consolation being that everyone else must too. It isn't until a bullet splatters against my shields that reality returns me to the present.

I duck behind cover, noticing that Alenko and Williams have also reacted. Down at the station, two Geth troopers are firing at us. While a can't see any of the husks that they create, I can see several of the tripod pedestals that create them. At this range the Geth fire is fairly random, but switching to my sniper rifle I manage to detonate a power cell which destroys both Geth. Before switching to shotgun I notice there's a body on the platform. With Alenko able to throw husks away from us with his biotics, the three that charge us aren't a problem.

Before we head down to the station, I decide to investigate the shed at the top of the slope. I've already found gear better than Alliance special forces military issue in one building, so I'm not letting this chance go by. This time though when Alenko hacks the lock someone inside speaks to us, "Everybody stay calm out there. We're coming out, we're not armed."

Two men and a woman, all human, come out of the building, their hands raised almost as if they think they should be surrendering. The leader introduces himself. "I'm Cole. This is Judith, and Blake. Glad to see some friendly troops."

Judith interrupts, sounding nervous. "Is it safe? Are they gone?"

I settle for the truth. "We've killed all the Geth in the immediate area." Then I turn to the leader. "Can you tell us about the attack? The sequence of events as you remember them."

Cole thinks for a moment. "We were working down in the Hollow," he gestures vaguely to an area past the station, "when we a shadow crossed overus. It was that ship, that big one. We ran up here to hide. Some of the others went the other way. They must be dead now."

"You don't know that." Judith interrupts, fiercely. "They could have found somewhere to hide like we did."

Cole waves that away. "We were inside before the robots." "Geth", Alenko interrupts. "Before the Geth landed. But we could see outside, and they just moved in and killed everyone they found. I doubt if anyone's alive down at the station."

"Tell them about the noise, Cole." Judith interrupts, again.

"Yeah. There was this noise the ship made as it descended, only not a real noise, more like it was in your head, if you know what I mean."

I can't imagine what it could be, but I ask, "Some sort of jamming signal, maybe?"

"Perhaps. Made it hard to think."

"We have to move, check out the station." I start to turn away, when Blake speaks for the first time.

"Hey, Cole, why don't we tell her about the stuff."

Mister Cole sounds suitably annoyed as I turn back to them. "Geez, Blake, you've got to learn when to shut up."

"Is there something you want to tell me about, Mister Cole." I can't keep the amusement from my voice.

"Yeah, well." He sounds pretty annoyed but also defeated. "It might be that some guy I know down at the station pays me a little extra to store things for him. Things that somehow went missing from the freight storage down there. Here, Blake, get the stuff since you wanted to give it to them."

"So that's why you ran up the slope when the geth attacked. You were checking on your loot." Alenko sounds annoyed, though I find the situation quite funny.

Williams also sounds pretty angry about the situation. "Who's your contact at the station. What's his name?"

Cole protests. "Hey, he's not a bad guy. I don't want to get him in any trouble."

"It would be a shame." I start inspecting my shotgun, checking the trigger mechanism. "We might leave, and then the Geth could come back and shoot this place up anyway."

Cole seems to understand my point. "All right, I get the picture. His name's Powell. Like I said, he's not a bad guy."

Just then, Blake returns with a very nice pistol and I decide to move out. "You take care of yourselves now. Though I shouldn't think you'll have many problems."

We approach the station, climbing up the ramp where two destroyed Geth still spark at us. On the platform, there's a body that I immediately recognise. As does Lieutenant Obvious, who also has to comment, "Commander, it's Nihlus." Though I suppose he might have been informing Williams.

Before we can inspect the body, Williams warns us, "Commander, there's something moving behind those crates." We level out guns in that direction, and move out to flank. Then I tell whoever it is, "Come out, and keep your hands where we can see them."

A weasel-faced little man pops his head up from behind the nearest crate, and then stands up with his hands out in front of him - in a position where he could easily be handcuffed, which he takes up with the ease of plenty of practice. "I'm Powell. Are you sure it's safe?"

This is the smuggler I've heard about. "There's nothing actually shooting at us, and the ship has withdrawn. I can't guarantee it's safe, but we're much better targets. Now, tell me what happened here."

"You mean the Geth attack, or the rest? First thing was that ship coming down, with that horrible noise that woke me up. Then the Geth attacked the station and killed everyone else, then that other Turian arrived and the Geth mostly left, then your friend arrived and the other Turian shot him, and then he left and you arrived. If I hadn't been dehind the crates they'd have shot me too." Cole sounds pretty upset, but before I can ask him about something he said Alenko interrupts.

"Were you behind the crates before the attack started?" In response to Powell's nod he continues, "What were you doing there?"

Powell looks even shiftier. "Sometimes I need a little rest before I finish my shift. I go behind the crates so I can take a nap without the foreman seeing me."

Williams sounds disgusted. "You survived because you're lazy! I can't believe this guy."

Powell looks like he might collapse. "I don't really want to think about it. If I'd been out there with the rest... I think I need to lie down."

"Powell." I snap out the command, and he looks at me. "You said there was another Turian here, and it was him who shot Nihlus. Not the Geth."

"Yeah. Your friend seemed to know him, called him Saren. He seemed to relax around him. His back was turned, and the other Turian just shot him in the back of the head. If he'd seen me... Oh God, I don't want to think about it."

"Aren't you Cole's contact at the station, Powell?" I take some pleasure in making him blanch even more.

Then he rallies a little. "What does it matter now? Everyone's dead."

"Smuggle any weapons?" I'm wondering if we can pick up some more nice gear.

He looks nervously at Williams, who's in the local marine gear rather than my and Alenko's raider equipment. "There's a crate of grenades that got, ah, mislaid."

Williams is still seething, I think. "You greedy bastard. Those were for us to defend you with."

"But, no-one was ever going to attack Eden Prime. We're just farmers here. Here, take them." I cough, and gesture suggestively with my shotgun. "And there's this." He shoves something else into my hands. "It's some sort of prototype, might be worth a lot to you, I don't know. I've got to go." He slips away behind the crates, looking as if he finds us, or perhaps just me and Williams, as scary as the Geth.

Alenko looks after him, seeming a little disgusted himself. ?I hope he?s learnt his lesson from this.?

I can?t resist. ?The only thing he might learn from this is that hard work might pay off in the long run, but laziness means you?re less likely to be killed by the Geth.? While Alenko looks mildly offended, I hear Williams snigger quietly behind me. ?Let?s move, people.?

The prototype gear turns out to be a grenade adapter, that turns normal grenades in shaped-charge ante-armour weapons. This does prove useful as we move onto the next bit of the station. While the normal Geth are still easy enough to kill, two are much more formidable. They're larger, with better protection and heavier weapons, as I find when we puts a close range shot straight through my shields and armour. Although Alenko destroys that one, tossing it off the platform and onto the live rail, the other is beyond the range of his biotics. We use cover to work our way down the platform, engaging it and the Geth troopers, until I get close enough to pop my head up and throw a modified grenade smack into it's chest. The explosion is quite satisfying. Shortly afterwards, I finish off the last Geth trooper by running up to it, knocking it down, and putting a shotgun blast into it's chest. After which, we're able to get on a freight platform and follow the tracks to the main station where I expect to finally find the Beacon.

[Bluenose]

Interlude Two

Saren walks across an open area. Approaching a Geth he gives it an order, "Set the explosives. Destroy this whole colony. Leave no evidence of our presence." I assume the Geth beeping at him was some sort of acknowledgement. Then he moves on.

On the edge of the area there's a tall obelisk-like structure, which seems to be emitting a glowing green gas. I think we can assume this is the Beacon. Saren approaches it, seems to steel himself, and then the Beacon glows a little brighter and Saren is lifted of his feet, back arched, and arms back behind him. It's almost as if it's a form of worship.

As that scene ends, we get another. A Geth is putting the finishing touches to a large cylinder, which I assume is one of the explosive charges which is supposed to destroy the colony. It looks up, as the freight platform pulls into the station with us on board.

[Bluenose]

Part 4

Eden Prime

We step off the train right next to the first of the bombs. I disarm it - Alenko is more technical, but I know how to make things go boom and occasionally how to stop them - and check the timer. We've four minutes left to deal with the other three that are on the circuit. Since the one I just dealt with is in the fifteen kiloton range, I don't fancy taking cover and waiting out the explosion.

I'm not sure I understand the layout of monorail stations on Eden Prime. This one has a short platform down be our track, with stairs leading up to a pair of much longer platforms. Impractical for passengers unless all trains have only one carriage, and for freight it means having to lower things from a higher level. This doesn't mean there aren't crates on the upper level. Though the existence of a fence at the edge of the platform would seem to make it even more awkward to get things on or off.

It's still fortunate for us, though, that there's all this cover on the platforms. As we claim the stairs, the Geth on one platform start to shoot at us. We make a dash for the opposite platform, and a rather ineffective firefight starts between two sides that are both in cover. Then I notice a problem. The remaining bombs are all on the opposite platform. And to get at them, we'll have to cross one of the bridges and clear the Geth off.

Three minutes remaining. One of the bigger Geth is at the end of one bridge. Alenko throws it to the floor with his biotics. As I dash across Williams sprays the opposite platform with her assault rifle. Just as the Geth starts to rise it take a shotgun blast into the chest and I follow up by smashing it's head with the butt. Alenko shoots down the other Geth at this end of the platform, before I start dealing with another of the demolition charges.

Two minutes remaining. Geth snipers at the far end of the platform have Alenko and I pinned down. More Geth are trying to close on us. When Alenko pops his head up to throw them around, he?s drilled by two snipers and has to duck back behind a crate to recharge his shields, while I decide to use some medi-gel to keep him upright. It does give me an opening though, and I rush the nearest Geth while the snipers wait for their rifles to cool down. Shotguns and melee aren?t exactly a speciality of the normal Geth, and three of them have a miserable time practicing the skills with me. I can see the third bomb, but moving to it will put me right into the snipers? line of fire. My preferred solution is for Williams to move further along the opposite platform so she?s flanking the Geth, but before she can complete this Alenko pokes his head up again and promptly gets drilled by both snipers. Thank you, Lieutenant, your sacrifice is appreciated. I duck across the open space, and disarm the bomb while also using it as cover.

One minute left. Williams starts firing on the snipers from their right. As they turn to engage her, I duck and weave between the crates. One tries to shoot at me, but only hits a crate. It?s too late for that Geth, as I can see the whites of its optical processors. Two shotgun blasts take care of it, and I rush the other and kick it into the open where Williams shoots it down. A quick dash takes us down onto another short platform, where the last bomb turns out not to be. No need to panic, thirty seconds left, and I dash back up the stairs and find the last bomb. One quick disarming attempt later, and that?s one colony saved ? no charge.

I do wonder where the beacon is, but then I notice it on another storage platform beyond the station. It shares this with a couple of Geth, and three Husks. We kill those, and I wander over towards a few containers to see what they might hold. It?s surprising how a peaceful farming colony has so much equipment that?s no only useful but better than the gear the Alliance issues to special forces troops. This time my appetite for loot is quelled a little by the sight beyond this platform. It appears to be where that ship landed, and the ground has melted where it came down ? literally, I think, given how it looks almost like lava and a road has twisted and disintegrated at the edge of the area.

I call up the Normandy and start making arrangements for the beacon to be recovered. Behind me I can hear Alenko and Williams conversing in quite hushed tones.

?This is amazing. Actual working Prothean technology. Unbelievable!? Yes, Mister Alenko, I?m sure it is.

?It wasn?t doing anything like that when they dug it up.? And that is a problem for us because?

?Something must have activated it.? Which I?m sure makes it safe to approach, or maybe not.

?Roger, Normandy. Standing by.? I finish my conversation and turn back towards the beacon. Williams is walking towards me, while Alenko is moving towards is. I?m just about to tell him to leave it be when the green energy around it flares up. Alenko starts to struggle as it touches him and pulls him closer towards the beacon. I?m not sure that this is the smartest thing I could do, but I push past Williams and dash over to Alenko, grabbing him and throwing him outside the area of the field. Whereupon it grabs me, lifts me off the ground and as I hang in the air helpless shunts a really neat vision into my mind. Metal claws and jaws slash at organic beings, explosions destroy cities, and screams fill the air. I haven't felt this strange since the shore leave when we visited an Asari dancing club to celebrate my birthday and I drank seven bottles of something green. It appears that I pass out, and the beacon explodes, leaving me unconscious on the platform with two rather worried marines looking at me.

[Bluenose]

Interlude Three

The large ship that we saw taking off from Eden Prime is now flying through space, in an oddly nose-down posture. We switch to a shot inside, all dark surfaces and dim lighting. In a fairly gratuitous ass-shot, the camera follows a pair of hips as they sway away from the camera. Then the view swings around and rises, so we get an even more gratuitous view of the woman?s cleavage. When the view finally pans back to take in her face, she?s wearing a black leather skullcap with straps across her cheeks and down her nose until the only parts of her face not covered are her eyes and mouth. She speaks to a figure facing away from her in a chair. ?We identified the vessel that arrived on Eden Prime. It was a human Alliance vessel. The Normandy. Commanded by Captain Anderson. They saved the colony.?

The camera pans round till we can see Saren. ?And the Beacon??

Dominatrix lady sounds a little reluctant to reply. ?One of the humans may have activated it.?

Saren gets up, furious, with the lights turning red to suit his temper. He roars a couple of times, throwing some furniture around. Then he approaches Dominatrix lady and grabs her by the chin. ?That human must be destroyed.?

[Bluenose]

Part 5

Back on the Normandy

I start to stir on a bed that I don?t recognise. Then a voice that I do react saying, ?Doctor Chakwas, I think she?s waking up.? It appears Lieutenant Alenko still likes to state the obvious.

Doctor Chakwas has a good bedside manner. ?You had us all worried for a moment there Commander.? She helps me sit up, and bustles around me a bit before she asks me the obvious question. ?How are you feeling??

I tell her the truth, ?A mild headache, slight nausea, and an ache in my lower left ribs.? Somewhat hesitantly I ask her, ?What happened??

?Something the Beacon did before it exploded, it seems.? Chakwas tries to sound encouraging.

?I must have got too close to the Beacon.? Alenko manages to sound unhappy and defensive about it. ?Somehow I triggered it.?

?You weren?t to know what would happen. Don?t blame yourself.? I sound more tired than reassuring, but Alenko perks up.

?When you threw me away from it whatever it was doing affected you. You were caught in something. When the Beacon exploded you were left unconscious. We, Williams and I, got the Normandy down and got you to the medbay.?

?How long was I out??

?About fourteen hours.? Chakwas re-enters the conversation. ?I noticed some unusual brain activity, and an increase in Rapid Eye Movement. Almost as if you were dreaming?? She makes this a question rather than a statement.

I think back to the last thing I had in my head before waking up. ?More like a nightmare.?

?Really.? Chakwas sounds interested. ?Of what??

?Synthetics. Geth, I suppose. Slaughtering people.?

?Hmmm. I?ll add that to my report. I might want to keep you for observation?? Suddenly Chakwas focuses on someone behind me. ?Captain Anderson.?

?How?s our XO holding up, Doctor?? Anderson sounds particularly avuncular today.

?The readings look normal. I?d say the Commander is going to be fine..?

?Good. I?d like to have a word with you, Commander.? His eyes sweep past me ?In private.?

Alenko salutes as he and Chakwas leave, and I?m left alone with Captain Anderson.

He sighs. ?I won?t hide it from you, Commander. Nihlus is dead, the Beacon is destroyed, and Geth are invading. The Council is going to want answers.?

?Screw the Council. The Geth would have wiped out the colony if we hadn't been there."

"I know that. You're a damned hero in my book. But the Council will want to know what happened to one of their Spectres. And then there's Saren." For a moment I can't remember who he's talking about, till I remember he's reportedly the person who shot Nihlus. "He's a Spectre, one of the best. A living legend. But he hates humans. And now he's got an army of Geth following him. He's a threat to every human colony in the Traverse and beyond. And the Council won't want to hear he's a traitor."

"So what do you want me to do, Captain?" Anderson's record deserves my respect, more than I'd give most commanders.

"For now, nothing more than we are doing. We're heading for the Citadel, where the ambassador and I will report to the Council. They might want to speak to you, too. Whatever else happens, do nothing that can jeopardise your candidacy for the Spectres."

"With respect, Captain, I don't care about becoming a Spectre. And I don't think I'm exactly the best candidate the Alliance could put forward." Frustration makes my tone sharper than I should perhaps use.

"Why don't you think you're the top candidate, Shepard?" Anderson sounds curious. "Do you doubt your ability?"

"Sir! No, Sir!" That's the sort of question than leads to careers ending, and I like what I do.

"Cut the cadet nonsense, Shepard." Anderson orders me with a wry grin. "What's the real reason?"

"I... don't enjoy the sort of attention the press gave me after Torfan. The 'first human Spectre' will get loads of it. And honestly, the way I do things means a lot of that attention won't reflect well on humanity." I hold a hand up to ward off the protest I see in Anderson's eyes. "I'm not ashamed of the things I do, Captain. They're necessary. But that doesn't mean I don't understand that what I do is horrible, and I don't think the Alliance will benefit by shining a light on my more ruthless decisions - because the press will want to publicise them."

"We took that into account, Commander. Do you remember what Nihlus said about Torfan, how you got the job done? That's pretty much the general consensus among most races, apart from the Batarians and some humans. And it's just the sort of thing the Council wants in it's Spectres."

"And if I don't want to be a Spectre?"

"Humanity needs this, Shepard. We have two problems at the moment. Some members of all the alien races who think we're growing too fast, behaving too aggressively. And some humans, who think the Council is deliberately stifling our potential and want to break away on our own. Getting a human Spectre says to people that humanity is being taken seriously, that the council respects us. We need this, and we've put a lot of effort into your candidacy. Don't disappoint us."

"I'll do whatever you need, Captain." Even if I don't like it, I add in my head.

"Right." Anderson searches my face. almost as if he heard my thoughts. "We'll be arriving at the Citadel tomorrow. In the meantime, do as Doctor Chakwas requested and stay here. I'll let the crew know that you can't spend long with them if any want to visit. Williams certainly will."

"Williams is on board. Good. She's a good soldier, did well on Eden Prime."

"So Alenko said. That's why I arranged her transfer. Now, rest." He points me towards my bunk, waiting till I lie down before he leaves.

I lie down, wishing I could get to sleep. Doctor Chakwas bustles around quietly, setting up some monitoring equipment but wise enough to her patient's mood not to talk to me. I suspect I do nap, because next time I open my eyes Gunnery Chief Williams is there. She smiles when she sees me looking at her.

"Commander. I'm glad to see you awake."

Right, commander time. "How are you, Williams? Eden Prime was tough for you, losing the rest of your unit."

"I've seen people die before, Commander. It comes with being a soldier. But never my whole unit. And you never get used to seeing dead civilians. I just wanted to thank you for giving me a chance to fight back. And for the chance to serve on the Normandy." Williams seems really grateful, speaking in a rather rushed manner. I suddenly wonder if she's been told not to take too long with me.

"That last wasn't anything to do with me, Williams. That was Captain Anderson and Lieutenant Alenko. I was unconscious at the time. Not that I object." I add the last hastily seeing Williams' face. "Without you we'd never have beaten the Geth, and there'd be nothing left of Eden Prime but a radioactive crater."

"Thanks Commander. I admit I was a bit worried about this transfer, but you're making me feel welcome."

"You're a good soldier, Williams." For some reason I yawn. "You deserve the post." I yawn again.

Williams confirms my earlier suspicions. "Sorry Commander. I was told not to tier you. I'll let the crew know. They'll be glad you're alive." Before she can leave the room, I'm asleep with my head on the pillow.

[Bluenose]

Part 6

On the Citadel

It seems like I'm not the only person interested in the Citadel, as when I get up to the bridge the following day Alenko and Williams are also there. Though it's Joker who notices me first.

"Good timing, Commander. We're just about to hit the Citadel relay." He sounds quite chipper this morning.

Leaving the Citadel mass relay the first thing I notice is how foggy it is outside. Then I realise that in space, there is no fog. From my schooldays I vaguely recall being told that the Citadel is surrounded by an artificial nebula, which we must be passing through. Although we get one sighting of the Citadel from within the nebula, a view from above where it looks vaguely like a fat cigar, though technically it is a torus with five arms. On close approach, it?s apparent how large the Citadel is. We fly past the Destiny Ascension, the Asari dreadnought that?s generally considered the largest ship in the galaxy, although the one that took off from Eden Prime seemed to be larger. Joker is quite dismissive claiming size isn?t enough and you need firepower too, though the others point out that the Ascension?s primary mass drivers could punch through the shields of any alliance vessel. Even so, it?s dwarfed within the Citadel, which is 45km long and 12km in diameter.

After docking, we?re taken to the human embassy. The ambassador is in the middle of a hologrammatic conversation with the Council when we arrive. I?m not convinced that his style, both hectoring and demanding, is the right way to approach the representatives of the three most powerful races in the galaxy, but I?m not a diplomat. He isn?t able to secure a promise that the Council will deploy forces to help defend human colonies, and they put off his demand for action against Saren by claiming there is an ongoing investigation and the matter should be left to the meeting later today.

Once he?s done with his conversation, he turns to us. Since he couldn?t get his way with the Council he decides to take it out on us, snapping at Captain Anderson for bringing half his crew with him, at all of us as he thinks we don?t need to be here if our reports were accurate, and at me personally for jeopardising my potential Spectre appointment although he doesn?t want to explain whether things would be better if I?d allowed Eden Prime to be destroyed. He tells us that he and Anderson will go to the Citadel Tower and we are to make our own way to the top floor. As he leaves, Williams comments, ?And that?s why I hate politicians.?

After hacking into a blinking terminal in the office, which advises us off a distress call recently received by the Alliance, we head out. Outside, I investigate an Avina Virtual Intelligence terminal which acts as a tourist guide. We get a brief overview of this area, which is the Presidium, and which contains most of the government and financial buildings on the Citadel. They do have a very nice lake and Ashley Williams wonders whether people ever drown in it. Alenko seems more impressed by the size, and walking along the inside of one arm of the station with the other arms curling around making a ring above us is a unique experience.

Fortunately there are plenty of signs in this area directing us where to go. Another Avina terminal explains that the bug-like creature Ashley asks me about is a Keeper, who act as caretakers performing maintenance around the Citadel, and were doing so even before the Asari came across it. Interfering with them is a crime. She/It also tells us about the Relay Monument, an old Prothean statue just outside the tower which apparently is a popular subject for academic debate. Kaiden apparently thinks it?s humming at him, which I can?t pick up. There?s an elevator on the outside of the tower which we can take up it.

On the elevators, conversation one of many:
Williams: ?We won?t have to speak to the Council, will we sir?
Alenko: ?I shouldn?t think so. They have our reports. We just have to trust Ambassador Udina to do a good of presenting them.?
Williams: ?No, we really don?t. Sir.?

Inside the tower, we come across two Turians arguing. One is demanding more time, so he can finish his investigation, and asks for ?them? to be stalled. The other says that stalling the Council is out of the question, and the investigation is over. When they?re done, the second stalks off and the first turns to me.

?Commander Shepard. I?m Garrus Vakarian. I was C-Sec?s investigating officer in the Saren case.? As little as I can recognise Turian voice-tone, he sounds frustrated.

?That was your superior, I assume.? I gesture in the direction the other Turian went.

?Executor Pallin, my boss. Head of C-Sec. He?s under pressure to shut the investigation down.?

?Sounds like you really want to bring Saren down.? I?m surprised that another Turian dislikes the Turian Spectre, though I perhaps shouldn?t be.

?He?s dirty. I?m sure of it. But he?s a Spectre. Everything he touches is classified. If only he?d give me more time. I?ve still got leads to follow up.?

Before I can continue, Alenko interrupts us. ?Commander, I think they?re ready for us now.?

?Good luck, Shepard. I hope they listen to you.? Officer Vakarian takes his leave as we head towards the top of the tower.

One fountain (?That fountain is nice. Very soothing.? I?m happy for you, Mister Alenko) and several flights of stairs (?They?d form decent defensive positions if the building was ever attacked.? Planning something, Williams?) later, we reach Captain Anderson, who tells us the meeting has already started. Once we get to it, it?s apparent that it?s not going too well for our side. Saren is attending by holo-communicator, and has taken the opportunity to make several unpleasant remarks to Ambassador Udina who hasn?t kept his temper too well. Saren takes the opportunity of our arrival to make a personal attack on Captain Anderson, who he apparently knows, and then transfers his attention to me.

?And this is your protégé, Commander Shepard. I read you Eden Prime reports, and was not impressed. Though what can you expect from a human??

While that?s a rhetorical question and I wouldn?t react if the meeting was going better, I can?t make things worse. So I tell Saren the truth in the most polite tone I can manage. ?You can expect me to shoot you next time we meet.?

After this, the meeting takes a downturn. While the Council rejects Saren?s claim that this accusation shows humanity isn?t ready to join the Spectres, the Salarian councillor points out that the only evidence of Saren?s presence comes from one traumatised dock-worker. They reject the human accusation that he?s a traitor, and adjourn.

Afterwards, Udina takes us down the stairs for a short discussion. He claims it was a mistake to bring Captain Anderson into the meeting, since his history with Saren made the Council suspicious. He does want us to carry on investigating Saren, in the hope we can come up with better evidence. Alenko suggests we find Officer Vakarian, and Udina points us in the direction of Harkin, a human C-Sec officer. When Anderson expresses distaste, Udina says he?s taking Anderson off the investigation anyway I protest, but Anderson agrees that anything coming from him will look suspicious. Udina leaves, giving Anderson a chance to tell us more.

I ask Anderson more about Harkin. Apparently, he was the first human officer in C-Sec, and over the years the embassy protected him from several disciplinary problems, since he was noted for roughing up suspects, taking bribes, and both alcohol and drug abuse while on duty. The fear was that his dismissal would damage humanity?s reputation. With more human officers now in C-Sec, the Embassy stopped supporting him. He?s now suspended. I make a mental note that Udina is happy to drop people who aren?t any use to him.

I also ask Anderson about his previous contact with Saren. Apparently at one time the two worked together against a terrorist group. In the course of the mission Saren set off a chain of explosives in a refinery, killing the workers as well as eliminating the enemy leader. Anderson then makes a claim about Saren which confuses me. ?He?d kill a thousand people to stop a war.?

?Well, so would I.? I feel forced to admit the truth.

Anderson sounds frustrated with my reply. ?I know how the world works. Sometimes you have to make sacrifices, but only if there?s no alternative. Saren doesn?t look for alternatives. He likes the violence, the killing.? I have to hope that my admission hasn?t left Anderson thinking the same of me.

Once we?ve finished our little ethical discussion, Anderson points me in the direction of Chora?s Den, a club in one of the lower Wards of the Citadel. He leaves, and I set off with my little band back out of the building. On the way, we interrupt a Salarian who?s doing something to one of the Keepers. With a little persuasion, which doesn?t even involve shooting him, he admits that he?s scanning the Keepers as part of a project to find out more about them, since so little is known. I agree to help him out, and he hands over his scanner along with the location to send any data and a promise to pay us for every one we scan. Since there are several around, I spend a few minutes wandering around scanning for a few credits. Hiring myself out for money doesn?t make me a whore, I hope.

Citadel elevators, more talk
Williams: ?I can?t believe the Council didn?t believe our evidence about Saren.?
Alenko: ?Saren?s their top agent. It?s no wonder they chose to believe his word over ours. It?s just politics, Chief.?
Williams: ?See, that?s why I hate politics.?

[Bluenose]

Part 7

On the Citadel - From the Top to the Bottom

With a little more time to look around, the Presidium looks very much like other government districts I've been in. There's a lot more effort put into the aesthetics than you'd find in most parts of a city, and certainly the Citadel qualifies as a city even if it is in space. The centrepiece is of course the lake, which extends the length of the Presidium ring. Although they aren't present in this particular section, further along the ring the lake is lined with greenery which I assume to be parks. There are also a number of statues, not just the Prothean relay statue which Alenko still claims is humming loud enough to make his teeth vibrate. There's a large statue of a Krogan, which apparently is commemorative of their role in one historical war, and which the Council refused to have torn down even when they revolted against Council authority. That's found on the opposite side of the lake, though the large number of bridges makes it easy to cross back and forth.

Eventually I start paying attention to the signs, which are plentiful and apparently display their information in the language of the person looking at them - I presume since most people carry omni-tools for communication purposes the signs react to the presence of these, which makes me wonder whether mugging is a problem. It seems that crossing the lake was a bad idea, since the Wards entry is on the same side as the Council's chambers.

As we're following the signs, a jellyfish comes over and speaks to us. "Greetings, humans." The tone of it's translator is very polite. "This one wishes to know if you seek the wisdom of the Enkindlers. If this one is not interrupting, this one would tell you of them."

I've dealt with missionaries before, and reply as politely, "I apologise, but we have an appointment we must not be late for."

As we walk away it responds rather plaintively, "This one hopes to see you at a more convenient time."

On the elevator down to the Wards,

Williams asks, "What was that?"
"What was what?"
"That jellyfish thing."
"That, Chief, was a Hanar." Kaiden sounds like he's about to start a lecture. "They're an aquatic race, though they breathe air like most other species. I can't imagine how much technology they need to move around normally on land."
"I can't tell the difference between the aliens and the animals." Williams sounds disgruntled.
"The animals don't try to convert you to their religion."

In the Wards, there's a lot more traffic than on the Presidium, both vehicular and personal. In some ways the Wards seem like bing inside on the lower levels of a big city, down at street level, where the buildings are vertical with streets between them. Yet the difference is apparent once you look out of a window, as the rest of the Ward stretches out before us and a steady stream of traffic passes by. Looking out, Kaiden comes up with a brilliant reaction to the majesty of the view. "Big place."

"Is that your professional opinion, Sir?" It appears that I've found myself with a team of snarky wisecrackers, and will need to establish some role other than straight woman quickly if I don't want to be pigeon-holed.

"Laugh it up, Chief." Alenko attempts to sound reproving, but the humour is apparent in his voice.

"It’s the biggest deep-space station I've ever seen." Alenko admits, impressed. "It makes the Alliance's Jump Zero seem like a portaloo.”

“And yet with all this space they don’t seem to be able to find space for humanity.” Ashley sounds cynical.

“I don’t think they’re that used to introducing new species.” I tell her. “They’ve been pretty conservative about exploration.”

“When you put it that way, ma’am, I suppose there’s reason for them to be cautious about us.” Alenko puts in.

“It’s funny, though. If you believe the old vids, we’ve got everything they want. Oceans, beautiful women, this emotion we call love…” I don’t know if I can do the warrior-poet conversational role, but I’m already outnumbered in snarkiness.

“Well when you put it that way there’s no reason they shouldn’t like you. Us. Humanity. Ma’am”

“You don’t take much shore leave, do you, L.T.” I think that makes the score Ashley 1, Kaiden 0.

We’re moving on through the Wards, I'm hailed by a female voice. "Commander Shepard, over here." Looking around I notice a rather pretty, vaguely asian woman wearing a sleeveless black dress that lacks material around the breast and abdomen area. If she's a streetwalker I'll have to say no.

As it turns out, she's an investigative journalist looking into organised crime on the Citadel. I'm not sure who I'll have to kill, but when she suggests she knows I'll be good at finding important information because I handled myself well in the press conferences after Torfan I agree to give her anything useful I come across.

Incidental conversations, in the Market
Human customer: "I need to return this. It hasn't worked right since I bought it."
Turian stall keeper. "I don't think you bought it here. I don't sell this model."
Human: "I know it was you! I remember your face."
Turian: "Really. Most humans can't tell one Turian from another."
Human: "Look, are you taking it back or not."
Turian: "Do you have your proof of purchase."
Human: "What? No! I don't think you ever gave me one."
Turian: "Can't help you then."
Human. "But. but."
Turian: "Can't help you."

"Oh my god, is that really you." A human man interrupts me. "It is. You're Commander Shepard, hero of Eden Prime. I am so pleased to meet you."

I'm confused, since I don't recognise the man. "And you are?"

"Oh. I'm Conrad. Conrad Verner. I'm a fan. One of your biggest fans." He sounds really smug as he says it. "I heard you killed nearly a hundred Geth on Eden Prime."

"I was a little too busy to stop and count, I'm afraid." But I'm pretty sure I didn't encounter that many.

An idea seems to strike him. "Could you sign an autograph for me?"

This is turning into one of my oddest conversations ever, but I don't have any objection. After I return the autograph to him he looks very pleased. "I'll show this to my wife. She'll be so pleased." Presumably, that some other woman is bearing the brunt of your stalkerish tendencies.

Eventually, we descend to the lowest part of the Ward, where Chora's Den is established. Even in the hallway outside you can hear music coming from it. The sign outside is a neon silhouette of a reclining woman sipping a drink. While I'm looking at it, and for the entrance, two Turians decide to take advantage of my distraction and open fire with assault rifles. While an annoyance, there's enough cover around that the fight quickly becomes a matter of both sides poking their heads up and letting off a few shots before ducking again. It could have gone on for a while, except Alenko pulls a new biotic trick out. One moment everything is normal, and then one of the Turians suddenly starts rising off the ground, arms waving helplessly. Williams and I shoot him repeatedly, and when he suddenly drops to the floor there's no sign that he rises again. I glance at Alenko, who's leaning against the wall grey-faced. "Biotic lift." He tries to grin, but it's strained. "I've never been strong enough to do something that size before. Guess practice helps." With one Turian down, we outflank the other and he falls in a hail of assault rifle fire. Surprisingly, we don't get interrupted by Citadel Security. Perhaps they're busy investigating rogue Spectres. Or maybe Chora's Den is the designated shoot-out spot.

Inside, the first thing that strikes me about Chora's Den, apart from the loud music, is the blue Asari backside that's waving about in front of anyone who goes inside. Behind me I hear Williams whisper to Alenko, "Get your tongue back in your mouth, Lieutenant. You're making a puddle on the carpet." The room is circular, with a circular bar in the middle, and a platform above the bar for the dancers - who's costume might even be considered modest, since while it's skin tight it is a full-body suit, if there weren't parts strategically cut away to show cleavage and the thongs that are all the dancers wear beneath. Noticeably, apart from the dancers on the central stage there are others performing at some tables round the outside.

We work our way through the crowd, clockwise through the bar. I finally see someone who matches the pictures of Harkin, but as we move towards him two hulking Krogan step out of a passage. "Leave, Wrex," The one who's wearing an approximation to the staff uniform tells the other.

"This is Fist's only chance to come out and talk to me. If he won't come, well..." The one who I assume is Wrex is larger, with a red forehead compared to the brown the other sports.

"Then we'll deal with you, Wrex. Don't make it a fight." The other seems to be half pleading.

"I'll see you later." As Wrex turns to leave he almost bumps into me and gruffly suggests, "Out of the way human. I have no quarrel with you." As he pushes by, Alenko quietly ponders, "I wonder what that was about." Williams rolls her eyes and suggests, "Let's hope we never find out."

Approaching Harkin, his eyes rove up and down my body in a way that tells me plenty about his character. "Well, aren't you a sight. If there were more who looked like you, perhaps I'd have joined the marines instead of C-Sec." He pats the chair next to him. "Why don't you sit that body down and we'll see what happens from there." He's lucky, because my pistol is holstered.

"Mr Harkin?" I make it a question, though I know the answer and his nod only confirms it. "I'm told you might be able to tell me where to find Garrus Vakarian."

"Vakarian. Why?" At first puzzled, a light seems to come on in his eyes. "You're part of Anderson's crew. Tell you what, I'll tell you where Vakarian is if you tell me something. Has Anderson let you in on his little dirty secret?"

"I'm sure Captain Anderson has many secrets, but I'm not aware of any 'dirty' ones."
"Anderson used to be a Spectre. Screwed it up so badly the Council dumped him. Course, they and the Alliance covered it up. Wouldn't want to look fallible. He ever tell you about that?" Harkin almost leers as he passes on his information.

"No, he never said anything about it." I'd really prefer not to be having this conversation, and starts imagining Harkin hanging by his ankles from a meat hook while I beat some decency into him.

"Yeah, well, you ask him about it some time. I bet he's too proud to lie, all about 'military honour' and trusting your own people as he is. He'd be cut loose just like anyone else, once he's served his purpose."

"I dare say. And Officer Vakarian?"

"He'll be snooping around near that medical centre, on the upper level. The one Doctor Michel runs. I reckon he's got a thing for her." He looks me up and down again and adds, "I'll bet he could get a thing for you, too. That I'd like to watch."

As I stand to leave I manage to keep my town pleasant. "I'd like to congratulate you, Mister Harkin. You've managed to be so unpleasant that the Butcher of Torfan wants to scrub herself raw just because she sat near you."

As we leave the club, the others following hastily as I storm away, I hear Williams ask, "Why wouldn't the Captain tell us he used to be a Spectre."

After a moment, and before I can gather my thoughts, Alenko replies. "It probably isn't true. Harkin's an ass. There's no reason to believe anything he says."

"Though," I can't help making my point. "Given the way rumours spread, it's equally possible some garbled version of the Captain's mission with Saren got back here, and it's just the sort of thing people like Harkin want to believe. I think I will ask him though. Now, let's find move. I'm in the mood to shoot something."

Edited by Bluenose, 01 April 2010 - 09:58 AM.
I apparently can't count

[Bluenose]

Part 8

On the Citadel - Meet the Aliens

After checking my Omni-tool I hasten away from Chora?s Den down a passage behind the markets, with Alenko and Williams hurrying after me. For some reason, I feel a sense of urgency about this route means we?ll avoid several staircases and most of the crowds. Since the clinic is at the far end of the sector past the markets and the plaza, this route should be quicker. Since we avoid encountering anything but a Keeper, it probably was.

At the clinic, we walk straight into a dangerous situation. While Officer Vakarian is present, he's creeping along low to the ground towards the reception counter. Beyond that, in the working area, a woman in a white count who I assume to be Doctor Michel is being threatened by an armed man, while several others stand around looking as nasty as they can. Unfortunately, while I hear Doctor Michel denying that she'd told anyone, I don't get to hear what it was she hadn't told anyone about until after the man with the gun notices us.

His immediate reaction is to grab Doctor Michel round the throat and pull her towards him, while levelling his gun at us and demanding, "Who the hell are you?" It's with considerable pleasure that I draw his and his companions attention by drawing my own gun and making a demand in turn, "Let her go." While they watch me, Garrus works his way round the counter and shoots the hostage taker in the head from the side. As the other thugs look round in confusion, the Doctor ducks into the corner past Garrus and I take advantage of the situation to introduce one to the advantages of using a shotgun at close quarters. Not the he'll take advantage of that knowledge.

The shoot-out that follows is my first in a medical clinic, and hopefully my last. Though wwe are able to take advantage of the environment, as with the last two thugs holed up behind some equipment at the end of the room, I shoot the fire extinguisher and give them a choice of coming out in the open or choking on the chemicals. They actually choose to stay in the chemicals, and in the end I shrug and throw in a grenade, which might not have been the most tactful thing to do in front of the clinic's owner.

Afterwards Vakarian sounds enthusiastic. "Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a perfect shot at that bastard."

"It was still a tough shot to make. And I can't take much credit for the timing."

"Sometimes you get lucky." His attention turns away from me for a moment. "Doctor Michel, are you hurt?"

"No." She sounds French, and her voice strengthens as she speaks. "No, thanks to you, I am fine."

"Who were those men." Although I was looking for Vakarian, and he's here, I feel an obligation to help the woman who's life I helped put at risk.

"They were some of Fist's men. They wanted to know about the Quarian."

"A Quarian?" Apart from them being creators of the Geth and now refugees from their creation, and living on a fleet of starships, I knew little of Quarians.

"Yes." Doctor Michel is quick to explain. "A few days ago a Quarian came in here looking for treatment. She'd been shot. She wouldn't tell me who by, but she wanted to know how to contact the Shadow Broker. She had information she wanted to trade in exchange for a safe place to hide. I sent her on to Fist. He works for the Shadow Broker."

"Not any more. Now he works for Saren." Vakarian interrupts.

"Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even for him." Doctor Michel sounds incredulous.

"So what information did she have? Something about Saren, or the Geth?" Perhaps something that helps us deal with Saren.

"She said something about Geth data. But I know no more than that."

"Shepard." Vakarian interrupts again. "This is your show, but I want you to take me along with you. I want to take down Saren."

"You're a Turian." Alenko sounds distrustful. "Why do you want to bring down Saren?"

"I couldn't prove it before, but I know I'm right. Saren's a traitor to the Council, and a disgrace to the Turian people." Vakarian sounds both angry and defensive about his motives.

"All right." Before Alenko can say any more I make my decision. "Glad to have you on the team, Officer Vakarian."

"Please, call me Garrus. Officer Vakarian is my father."

"Alright, Garrus." If that's what he wants. "It looks like we'll be paying Fist a visit."

"Before you go, there's one more thing you should know. The Shadow Broker hired a Korgan mercenary to deal with Fist." Garrus mentions.

"Wrex? We saw him at the club." Williams interjects.

"A Krogan could be useful." I'm thinking aloud. "Do you know where he went?"

Garrus is able to inform us. "He's at the C-Sec Academy, the headquarters. He was accused of making threats, and we took him in for a few words. If we hurry he might still be there."

"Right." I look around for a moment. "Williams, stay here in case any more thugs come by. Help Doctor Michel clear up the mess. Sorry about this, Doctor."

As Williams salutes, Doctor Michel protests slightly, "I can manage myself, Commander." Since I'm already on my way out the door, I decide to ignore her.

As we leave, Alenko asks me, "Who's this Shadow Broker." Before I can answer, Garrus explains.

"He's an information dealer. Operates throughout the galaxy. He always seems to have the information you need, if you're able to meet his price. Governments deal with him, but it nevers seems to get them ahead. Only, not dealing with him is a good way to fall behind. So everyone pays him, and everything stays more or less the same. Also, I'm saying he, but no-one really knows whether it's a man or a woman, or even whether it's just one person."

With Garrus and Alenko in tow, I make my way to the Academy. There, we find Wrex surrounded by three C-Sec officers. He seems thoroughly unimpressed, suggesting when one threatens to arrest hm that he'd like to see them try. When he notices me, he brushes past them as if they're inconsequential. Once I've introduced myself, we agree after a little prompting from Garrus that it's most sensible to go after Fist together. I am entirely indifferent to Wrex's warning that he means to kill Fist, since someone who sends their thugs after Doctors and who works for Saren isn't on my list of people I want to keep alive. Though I am amused that Wrex teaches me the Krogan saying, 'Find the enemy of your enemy, and you will have a friend.' I've heard something like that before. I send Alenko, despite his protests, back to the Embassy. I've already been in two gunfights today, with a third likely. I rather suspect the ambassador would like some warning about this.

When we return to Chora's Den, the music has stopped and the doors are closed. It's pretty apparent that we're expected, although Garrus does feel a need to say it out loud. When we open the doors, the staff including the bartenders though no dancers open fire on us from positions around the room. I'm pleased, as that makes it self-defence. We engage them with assault rifles and grenades, working methodically through the room. Even the Krogan bouncer goes down, though he then gets up again and rushes me. Wrex tackles him and knocks him to the floor, where he finishes him off with a shotgun. The only guard who proves a problem is the one one the platform above the bar where the dancers perform, and he gets pushed off biotically.

Through a door in the back of the bar, we encounter two last opponents, who aim pistols at us and attempt to threaten us into leaving. Garrus identifies them as warehouse workers, and suggests Fist is getting desperate. I sigh slightly. "We just came through a room full of guards to get here. What do you think we'll do to you?" They prove not quite as stupid as some opponents, leaving with the comment, "Fist isn't paying us enough for this."

When we finally reach Fist's room, he yells something about dealing with us himself. Although in this case he means having two automatic machine guns deal with us, while he fires a few pistol shots from behind cover. Wrex destroys one, twisting it into ruin with a biotic Warp. Garrus shuts the other down the other's target acquisition with his Omni-tool, allowing me to pump enough rifle fire to take it's shields down and wreck it. After which, Fist throws his pistol down.

"That's enough!" He drops to the ground, sounding desperate to surrender. "I give up."

Standing over him, I draw my pistol. "If you tell me where you sent the quarian, I might not have to shoot you in the knees."

"I don't know where she us." For a moment, I can't believe he's stupid enough to lie. Then Wrex interrupts.

"Let me shoot him, he's useless."

"Wait. I don't know where she is, but I know where she's going. She thinks she's going to have a meeting with the Shadow Broker, face to face."

"Face to face. Impossible. Even I was contacted by communicator." Wrex has a high opinion of himself. Fist continues.

"Yeah, but she didn't know that. Insisted on meeting in person."

Before he can say any more, I pull him up and shove my pistol into his face. "You son of a bitch. Where's the meeting?"

"In the alley behind the markets. If you hurry, you might be in time to meet her."

Before Fist can say any more, Wrex interrupts. "The Shadow Broker says goodbye, Fist." His shotgun blasts Fist's chest apart, splattering my armour with blood and other things.

"What the hell was that for?" Garrus sounds outraged.

"I was paid to kill him, not leave the job half done." Wrex explains, not at all apologetically.

"He deserved it," I tell them, "but could you at least have given me enough warning to get out of the splatter range."

"Sorry, Shepard." Wrex this time has the grace to sound as if he means it.

As we're leaving, I notice a bag containing a set of data storage modules. With Fist's criminal activities, they should satisfy that journalist. Picking them up, we head for the exit. Where we find another group of Fist's thugs holding the main bar. So we'll have to fight our way out past them before we can even make for the alley to save the quarian. On a timer.

This might be difficult.

[Bluenose]

Part 9

On the Citadel - Concerning quarians, ambassadors, and Spectres

So, we?re stuck in the doorway. Any attempt to move out is dangerous, because even if we have cover from one direction, the guards in the other can still shoot at us. Fortunately there?s a solution, and it?s called Garrus. He?s able to use his Omni-tool to shut down one group?s electronics, including their weapons, for a short period. While they hesitate, Wrex and I rush the group firing on us from the other side behind a grenade. Shotguns at close range drop them, after which we work our way round the bar and start engaging the other guards from behind. Although two turn to try to deal with us, once they do they?re in the same position we were, exposed to fire from one direction even while they?re covered from the other. It isn?t long before we?re out the door, heading for the same alley I?ve been using as a short cut.

And we?re just in time to see a female figure in the full-body suits quarians wear being accosted by a turian. When she realises that he isn?t the person she wants to see, she attempts to back out of the meeting. Which is his cue to call out two more thugs. The quarian is more prepared than I feared, as she tosses a flash grenade down and ducks into cover. While the thugs recover, we move in.

The pair of thugs the turian had in reserve fall quickly, out in the open as they are. The turian though is able to duck into cover against one wall of the passage, behind a rubbish bin. Which I?ve ducked into cover the other side of. At least the quarian isn?t visible from here for him to shoot! This is an awkward predicament for both of us, since retreating is out of the question and popping up to shoot will make you just as vulnerable. It gets worse for me, when one of my companions decides that they?d like to keep the turian?s head down and starts firing at the bin - which since I?m pressed against the side they?re firing from is not exactly good for my shields. In this position there?s only one solution. Cheat. I do something that?s very rarely part of my repertoire of tricks and use my biotic ability. The turian gets pushed away from his cover, and promptly learns again why standing in the open in the middle of a fire fight is rarely a good idea.

As the turian falls, the quarian woman comes out of her shelter. ?Fist set me up. I knew I shouldn?t have trusted him.? She sounds very young, though that could be merely an unfamiliar accent.

?Are you all right?? Already I feel protective of her.

?Yes. Though if you hadn?t turned up?? She looks around at us, suddenly seeming to realise the incongruity of a human, turian and krogan working together. ?Who are you people??

I immediately try to reassure her. ?I?m Commander Shepard, with the Systems Alliance. And I think you might be able to solve one of my problems.?

?You mean my data from the Geth. Of course. But, not here. Is there somewhere safe we can go??

?How about your embassy, Shepard.? Garrus makes the sensible suggestion. ?Your ambassador will want to hear this anyway.?

?Makes sense. If you?ll come with us, Miss, ah??

?I?m Tali.?

?All right. Come with us, Tali, and we?ll try to keep you alive.?

While we travel back to the Embassy, I become even more convinced that Tali is young, though also very bright. She keeps up string of chatter, about the unusual habits of the species she?s encountered. How as a result of helping a salarian with a problematic vehicle, she was owed a transport-favour by an entirely different salarian family as a result of negotiations for a reproduction contract. Just why the elcor precede every statement by announcing the emotional state they are in as they make it - apparently, among themselves elcor emotional state is readily apparent from the posture and scent they give off, so with alien species their translators announce the emotional state they?re using in advance of any statement. That hanar refer to themselves as ?this one? because telling your real name to anyone is a sign of personal intimacy, and even telling someone their use-name is usually a sign of willingness to enter into a deal of some sort. I do notice she?s careful not to say much about herself or the quarian people, and despite a couple of subtle prompts she doesn?t tell me what she thinks of humans.

When we eventually reach the embassy, Ambassador Udina is just finishing a comms call and looks flushed and angry. ?Shepard. Do you know how much trouble you?ve caused me? Fire fights in the Wards, an all out assault on Chora?s Den. I hope you?ve got a good explanation for?? Mid rant he seems to notice my company, and starts to sound rather more puzzled than angry. ?What?s this? A turian, a krogan, and a quarian. What?s this about, Shepard??

?If you?d let me explain rather than jumping down my throat, I?d have told you. Ambassador. The quarian has information about Saren?s dealings with the Geth.?

?I see. I apologise, Shepard. This business with Saren has me on edge.? Over my muttered ?Sorry, me too? the ambassador turns to Tali. ?Perhaps you?d better start at the beginning, Miss.?

?My name is Tali. Tali?zorah nar Rayya. I am on my Pilgrimage.? She certainly sounds as if she knows how to act on formal occasions.

?Pilgrimage. What?s that?? Captain Anderson sounds interested.

?When a quarian is coming of age, they are sent away from the Fleet on their Pilgrimage. It teaches us self-reliance, and proves we can be valuable members of society. You are only allowed to return when you have something of value to bring to the Fleet.?

?Something of value. Such as??

?All sorts of things are possible. Locations of usable resources, possible trade agreements, important data, even equipment or money sometimes.?

?And they send you off to do this alone.? It sounds irresponsible to me that the quarians do this to people who aren?t much more than children. ?Isn?t that dangerous??

?I can look after myself.? Tali seems insulted, before she deflates a little. ?It can be. It very nearly was for me, if you hadn?t turned up, Commander. But we are taught to defend ourselves before they send us out. Yet every year there are some quarians who leave on their Pilgrimage and are never heard from again.?

?I see.? Udina sounds mildly annoyed. ?But getting back to Saren and the Geth.? He prompts us to remember the subject.

?As I said, I was on my Pilgrimage, and I heard rumours of the Geth. Since they drove my people out three hundred years ago they had not been seen beyond the Perseus Veil. I was curious. I tracked a Geth patrol to a remote planet, and waited until one of them became separated. Once it did, I disabled it, moved in, and recovered it?s memory core.?

?I thought Geth wiped their memory core when they were destroyed.? Captain Anderson sounds surprised.

?My people created the Geth. We know more about them than anyone else. If you?re quick and careful, you can recover some of the data.? Tali starts tapping in commands on her Omni-tool, and then a voice I recognise speaks from it.

?Eden Prime was it major victory. It brings us one step closer to finding the Conduit.?

?That?s Saren?s voice.? Anderson sounds elated. ?We?ve got him.?

?Wait, there?s more.? Tali restarts the recording.

?Eden Prime was it major victory. It brings us one step closer to finding the Conduit.?
?And one step closer to the return of the Reapers.? The second voice is female.

?I don?t recognise that second voice.? Ambassador Udina looks round at a set of blank faces.

?But we?ve got Saren anyway.? Anderson is still pleased.

?So does anyone have any idea what the Conduit is?? I?m more interested in the practicalities of what is going on than any personal feud.

?Perhaps it?s some sort of Prothean technology. Like a weapon.? Anderson starts to consider the possibilities. ?Something he could use against humans.?

?And the Reapers?? Udina seems to be thinking too.

?According to the Geth data,? Tali informs us, ?They were a hyper-advanced machine race that exterminated the Protheans 50,000 years ago, and then vanished. The Geth regard them as gods.?

?And Saren is their Prophet.? I remember the words of the scientist on Eden Prime.

?The Council is going to love this.? Udina doesn?t sound as if he wants to explain everything.

?So we don?t tell them. What we have is enough to show Saren is a traitor, and it?s not as if we really know much that?s concrete about either the Conduit or the Reapers.?

?Anderson, come with me. I?ll set up an emergency meeting. Shepard, take a few minutes to prepare and meet us at the Council Chambers.? Udina decides on the obvious course of action. Looking down at my blood-splattered armour, it does seem like a sensible idea to clean up.

While I?m washing my face in the Ambassador?s ready room, Alenko walks in on me. ?Commander. If you knew you were walking into such a fight you shouldn?t have sent me away. You needed more firepower, more biotics for such a fight.?

?I didn?t expect it to be as serious.? My voice sounds defensive, before I add,. ?And anyway, I?m used to working with teams of three people. N7, remember.?

?But you must have led larger times in the line forces, Ma?am.?

?No. Switched to special forces before I even made Corporal. So I never had that chance.? I finish wiping myself down. ?You?d better come with me. Williams too, if she?s back from the clinic. We?re got a presentation before the Council, and I think Udina would want it humans-only.?

?She?s here, ma?am. We?ll get ready.?

On the elevators.
Williams: ?I can?t wait to see the Council?s face when they realise we were right about Saren.?
Alenko: ?Sounds like you really don?t like them.?
Williams: ?Watching politicians finding ways to explain why they?re right even when they?re wrong is always fun.?

As we arrive with Captain Anderson, Ambassador Udina is playing Tali?s recording again. ?You wanted proof that Saren has gone rogue. There it is.?

The turian councillor looks as if he wants to spit. ?You are correct, ambassador. This is evidence that proves your case.?

The asari sounds more contemplative. ?I recognise the other voice on that recording. Matriarch Benezia. An asari matriarch with many followers. She will make a powerful ally for Saren.

?I?m more interested in what they were talking about.? The salarian councillor asks. ?What do we know of the Conduit. Or the Reapers.?

?About the Conduit, only that Saren is looking for it.? Anderson admits our ignorance. Then he continues, ?As for the Reapers, the Geth believe they are gods. And Commander Shepard received a vision from the Beacon that suggests they did wipe out the Protheans. Perhaps Saren believes the Conduit is the key to bringing them back.?

?Listen to yourself.? The turian scoffs at the idea. ?You?re suggesting Saren wants to bring back a species that wiped out all intelligent life in the galaxy.?

?You ignored us before.?

?That was different.? the asari interrupts the argument. ?You presented us evidence about Saren?s crimes. But we don?t know anything plausible about his goals. Rest assured, Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and made to answer for his crimes.?

?That?s not enough.? Udina starts to sound hectoring again. ?A Council fleet could protect human colonies in the Traverse from his Geth.?

?Or it could start a war with the Terminus systems. We have to consider everyone?s interests.? The asari is quick to stop an argument.

?Send me.? It?s the only way for me to go after Saren.

?No.? The turian protests, as he immediately realises what I mean. ?It?s too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibility of becoming Spectres.?

?The ambassador gets his human Spectre, you don?t have to send a fleet into the Traverse. Everyone wins.? I point out the obvious. On the platform, the asari and salarian councillors have a silent exchange, and then both turn to stare at the turian. With a tiny nod, he acknowledges his defeat. Together, they start typing on their displays. On the balconies overlooking the chambers, interested spectators start appearing.

?Commander Shepard, come forward.? Anderson gives me a nod as the asari speaks.

?It is the decision of this Council that you be granted all the powers and responsibilities of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel.?

?Spectres are an ideal, a symbol. The embodiment of courage, determination and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council instruments of our will.?

?Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file.?

?Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last lines of defence. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold.?

?We?re sending you into the Traverse, Commander. You are to bring down Saren and his allies, by any means necessary.?

?You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species.?

?Thank you, Councillors.? As I speak, I can?t help thinking, What have I got myself into now.

[Bluenose]

Part 10

On the Citadel - And we?re off

The first person to respond when the meeting is over is Captain Anderson. Extending a hand, he greets me, ?Congratulations, Spectre Shepard.? As I shake his hand, it really hits home, I?m not just an Alliance marine any more. Over ten years of my life has been made irrelevant in a few minutes, or at least in the time since the Alliance decided they wanted me as a Spectre for political reasons.

?We?ve got a lot of work to do, Shepard.? Ambassador Udina continues in his normal harsh tones. ?You?ll need a ship, a crew, supplies and more. I will see you on the Alliance docking ring. Anderson, come with me. We have things to arrange.?

As the ambassador strides away, Captain Anderson hurriedly advises me to check out the supply centre at C-Sec, as they have special equipment available for Spectres. He follows the ambassador, in a hurry. As we make out way away from the Council Chambers, Williams comments rather cynically, ?Did you notice, Commander? The ambassador didn?t even thank you.? Mulling it over, she?s right. But then, what should we expect from a politician.

It?s when we get back to the C-Sec Academy that I get another surprise. Garrus, Wrex and Tali are waiting there for me. And when I ask, they all want to come after Saren with me. When I asl why, they?ve all got different reasons.

Garrus is the simplest. He wants to take Saren down, because Saren is a traitor to the Council and to the turian people. When I ask if he can as a C-Sec officer he admits to being on terminal leave, having resigned his post despite the Executor?s attempt to persuade him otherwise.

Tali wants to come along too. I suspect some of it is out of a sense of gratitude, some because she thinks it might be an adventure, and some because it?s very likely we?ll clash with Geth. Her argument though is that the Pilgrimage is supposed to instil a sense of responsibility in quarians so that they are willing to consider the needs of others as well as their own. And she quite validly points out that what we?re doing is an enormous service to everyone in the galaxy, and therefore turning away from it would indicate she doesn?t in fact feel that sense of responsibility to others.

Wrex is perhaps the most interesting. I point out that I?m not even sure I have the money to pay him, and he says that doesn?t matter. He isn?t in fact in need of money and doesn?t take jobs because of it. For a moment I?m confused, then I realise what his motivation is. When I suggest it?s the challenge he seeks, he acknowledges this and also that I realised this. After which, he says that the clash between the first human spectre and a renegade spectre allied with Geth is the most challenging place for him to be at the moment.

Of course, I accept all three. While they head up the elevator, I check out the C-Sec stores. Unfortunately, any gear checked out has to be paid for, admittedly at cost price. While the special spectre equipment outclasses anything I?ve seen before from any manufacturer, it?s also far outside my current budget. We do manage to pick up some useful equipment, nearly all in the form of pistols that are better than the standard issue Alliance weapons that we?ve been using.

Once we?re up the elevator, Udina and Anderson are waiting for us outside the Normandy. There, Udina gives me another shock. ?The Normandy?s yours, Commander. Captain Anderson has stepped down.?

?What? That?s not fair to the Captain.? My protest is instinctive, and quite loud.

?The ambassador?s right.? Anderson is his normal, calm self. ?It?s time for me to step away from this. The Normandy?s perfect for you, as well. It?s small, fast, stealthy and long-ranged, and you know the crew. A perfect fit for a spectre.?

?It?s still an Alliance vessel, but it?s assigned to you for as long as you need it. You?ll also have full control over crew assignments, as far as that?s possible.? Udina clarifies the legal and financial position for me. I?m pleased I won?t be paying the bills myself.

?We have some leads, from our own intelligence and things the Council have passed on.? Anderson is quick to continue. ?While there?s nothing specific on Saren, Geth ships have been sighted in the vicinity of Feros and Noveria. There?s also a sighting from the Armstrong Nebula that might need following up.?

?We?ve also got something from Councillor Tevos. She knew Matriarch Benezia, so she?s passed on her personal impressions of her. Also, it appears that the matriarch has a daughter, a Doctor Liara T?Soni. She?s an archaeologist specialising in the Protheans. At the moment, she?s at a dig site somewhere in the Artemis Tau cluster.?

?Both Benezia?s daughter and an expert on the Protheans? That sounds convenient. Rather too convenient, in fact.?

?It?s up to you how you do things, Shepard. You?re a spectre now. You don?t answer to us.?

?But remember, whatever you do still reflects on humanity. You?re still a human, even if you are a spectre now. You make a mess, and I?ll be stuck clearing it up.?

?I?ll try not to make things harder for you, Ambassador.? While I understand his point, I also can?t help tweaking at his self-importance. ?If there are any witnesses to what I do, I?ll ensure they end up dead.? I think he might have taken me entirely seriously, from the wary look he gives me.

Since they haven?t any more information for me that isn?t in the available files, we say goodbye and I make my way onto the Normandy. Aboard I head up to the bridge to give Joker his instructions. There, he greets me.

?Hell of a way for Captain Anderson to get beached, Commander. Most decorated soldier in Alliance history, and he goes down to political manoeuvring.?

?I feel like I?m stealing the Normandy from him.?

?Hey, no-one?s blaming you, Commander. Yeah, the captain got screwed but it wasn?t your fault.? For a moment Joker looks embarrassed about his emotional reaction. ?Intercoms there, if you want to speak to the crew.?

?I need to be honest with them.? I mutter to myself, before leaning down towards the intercom without any idea what I want to say. The words will just have to come. I press the intercom for a ship wide broadcast.

?This is Commander Shepard speaking. We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the Conduit. Wherever he searches, we will be there. We will hunt him to the very ends of the galaxy and we will bring him down. I won?t lie to you, crew. This mission isn?t going to be easy. For too long our species has stood apart. Now it?s time for us to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy. Time to show them what humans are made of! The fate of an entire galaxy is at stake. We will stop Saren, no matter what the cost!?

?Great speech, Commander.? Joker sounds more serious than usual. ?The Captain would be proud.?

?He gave up a lot so I could have this chance. Let?s make sure he?s got something to be proud of when we?re finished.? As I walk off the bridge, I can hear Joker reply, "Yes, Ma'am."

[Bluenose]

Part 11

Hades Gamma cluster - side questing for XP and profit

While I?ve got three locations that need investigating in the search for Saren, as yet I?m not going to go charging off to find them. There?s an opportunity to do a few other things first, to work out the kinks in our teamwork and discover the capabilities of each of the crew. So instead of rushing off to investigate a corporate research world which doesn?t like spectres (Noveria), or a world with a small human colony in the ruins of a Prothean world-city, or even searching through the planets of the Artemis Tau cluster for one archaeologist, I decide to go looking for a couple of other things I?ve got in my list of possible tasks.

This team building exercise takes us to the Hades Gamma cluster of worlds. We?re looking for a couple of things. One is a research team which went missing on the planet Antaeus, but the other and my first priority is a hostage situation in the Farinata system. Apparently ?biotic extremists? have kidnapped the chairman of an Alliance parliamentary committee which is looking into the question of compensating biotics who?ve been adversely affected by their implants. Considering how Lieutenant Alenko suffers occasionally crippling migraines and frequent nose-bleeds from his, and these are regarded as mild symptoms, I?m personally confident the ?extremists? have a point in protesting about the lack of compensation.

As well, biotics is not normal for humans. All cases found have been due to exposure to element zero in the womb. There have been rumours for years that several of the cases of exposure have been caused deliberately, particularly the incident where a freighter with a load of eezo exploded on final approach to Singapore spaceport. The number of similar incidents suggests that someone is doing it deliberately to increase Earth?s pool of biotic talent. Since exposure can cause cancer, disabilities, and sometimes mutations it?s not really a surprise that there are some very angry biotics around.

As it happens, the merchant vessel in question is easy enough to find once we reach Farinata. It?s floating around in the outer system with it?s transponder telling us that the MSV Ontario is here. There isn?t even an attempt to manoeuvre away when we take the Normandy close, though given the disparity in engine power that would be futile. What?s more of a shock is that when I board with Wrex and Tali there isn?t a reception committee for us. In fact, until we reach the main hold we don?t see any signs of people being on board.

Of course, once we do notice them and they notice us a full scale fight breaks out. Their tactic, if you can call it that, appears to consist of rushing towards us shooting their shotguns and letting off biotic pushes. Since we?re waiting for them behind some rather heavy cargo containers, able to take them in a crossfire as soon as they move close enough. In fact, if it wasn?t for Tali and I getting knocked over by one of those biotic pushes I?m not sure we?d have received any injuries. As it is, we move out just a little too soon and the last biotic standing manages to get off some effective shots before Wrex kills him.

With the last of these biotics down, we head forward toward the bridge of the ship. Which is where I realise just how stupidly these people are acting, since it?s completely unmanned. At least that explains the failure to react to our boarding attempt, as they presumably didn?t know we were coming. Unfortunately that means we have to find the chairman elsewhere.

The first room we check leaving the bridge holds the person we seek. Along with the surviving biotics, who have him kneeling at gun point on the floor. Their leader speaks as we enter. ?See. This is what it takes to get attention for our cause.?

?Put the guns down.? I?ll give them a chance to surrender, before trying anything else.

?Why should we? It seems pointing guns at people is the only way to get them to take us seriously.?

?I?m Zoe Shepard. I?ve a reputation. If you don?t surrender, I?ll live down to it.?

?The butcher of Torfan.? One of the biotics in the background whispers it, almost as a prayer for protection.

?Listen to her.? Chairman Burns sounds desperate. ?She?s giving you a chance to survive this.?

?No doubt you want to live. Perhaps you should have thought about that when you voted against the reparations for L2 biotics on your committee.?

?I didn?t realise how desperate you were. Or how bad your plight was. Let me free, and I?ll re-open the discussions. I?ll see that you get what you deserve.? Although the chairman still sounds scared, he also puts just enough conviction into his voice to make it sound plausible.

The bald leader of the biotics considers things for a moment. ?All right. I didn?t really want to die.? He lowers his pistol. ?What happens now??

?I?ll get a cruiser from fifth fleet out here. You will get a fair trial. That?s the best I can promise. You?ll spend time in jail, but you won?t be dead.?

?Thank you, Commander. I won?t forget this.? Now that the chairman isn?t in immediate fear of his life, he sounds quite pleasant. ?I won?t forget my promises here, either. They say it?s a learning experience, facing death. Well, I?ve learnt something.?

It actually takes two days before the Melbourne can arrive and take my prisoners and the chairman off my hands. In that time, Doctor Chakwas proves to be as good as her reputation suggests she should be. Three of the six biotics we shot in the hold will survive, despite their injuries. Once they are away, I get a personal call from Admiral Hackett, Fifth Fleet?s commanding officer, to congratulate me on the operation. During which he also suggests he may have other little missions for me if I should be in an area when he needs someone competent.

Once we?re done with this, I take the Normandy to Antaeus. This time we?re looking for something on a planetary surface, which means we get to drive around in the Mako. Six wheeled, well armoured, armed with a machine gun and heavy cannon, and with thrusters that if they don?t let it fly at least give it a significant boost off the ground, the Mako is one of my favourite toys. Of course, I?m a little biased owing to my liking for performing acrobatic manoeuvres such as barrel rolls and Immelman turns with it. That?s the sort of fun you can have with powerful engines, slopes, and cliffs.

This time, I land with Garrus and Lieutenant Alenko. Although we identified several possible sites for the research base from orbit, we couldn?t identify which one was which. So I head for each in turn, finding a destroyed turian escape pod with an identity medallion from their Unification wars in the first. These apparently sell well to collectors. On our way to the second, we take the opportunity to check out some mineral deposits, which is also a profitable endeavour as the Systems Alliance has a standing reward scheme for reporting mineral deposits suitable for extraction.

The research base turns out to be at the second site we examine. It?s also empty of life, although the researchers do seem to have left a quantity of equipment lying around for passing spectres to appropriate. Such generosity should certainly not be left unappreciated, and it isn?t. That does though leave the question of where everyone has gone, and we attempt to solve this by heading off to the nearby mine where the researchers appear to have found something.

When we go inside, it turns out that what they found had turned them into husks, or space zombies as they could aptly be called. According to Garrus, this sort of machine cultist outbreak isn?t unknown. Which rather suggests that the Geth didn?t in fact invent them, if they?ve been found in places where the Geth haven?t been seen.

The fight proves to be quite tough. There?s enough husks that we can?t shoot them down one at a time, or even engage them on an individual basis. For a moment it seems like we?re going to be overrun, as our shields are down with several still closing in, until I decide on a rather desperate charge right through the mob as they?re trying to come through a narrow tunnel. This knocks most of them down, and a combination of throwing a grenade into the middle of the group and some rather brutal assault rifle fire means that the only two to get up can be shot down without any casualties on our part.

The second group of enemies proves less difficult, even if they do come as a surprise. Over on the far side of the cavern, there are two passages sealed with doors. As we approach, they open and more husks spill out. This time we?ve got a lot more room to manoeuvre and we retreat across the cavern, engaging the husks with our weapons and with both biotic pushes and tech mines from Garrus. None of the husks get close enough to damage us.

In the chamber at the back, we find the source of the husks. As expected it?s the same sort of spike-pedestal that the Geth used on Eden Prime. However, on Eden Prime people were forced onto them. In this case, I can only imagine people chose to do it to themselves. Though I can?t imagine a reason why. Still, we?re able to inform Binary Helix of the fate of their missing research team.

With a couple of successful missions under our belts, I direct Joker to take the Normandy to the Artemis Tau cluster. I have a date, and keeping Doctor T?soni waiting isn?t part of the script.

[Bluenose]

Part 12

Therum; land of lava and rocks

When we reach the Artemis Tau cluster, we start checking planets for evidence of prothean ruins. It?s while we?re scanning Edolus that Joker tells me there?s an Alliance distress call coming in from the surface. So I take a team down in the Mako to investigate it. On the ground we wander around a bit finding a few more mineral locations, until we?re on a ridge overlooking the site of the distress beacon. From there, I can see a marine vehicle settled on the ground, with several corpses around it. I drive the Mako down towards it, when there?s a rumble in the ground and the head of one of the galaxy?s most dangerous predators, a thresher maw, comes out of the ground. We have quite a shoot out, as the maw spits it?s acid at the Mako and we fire back with our cannon and machine guns, dodging as much as possible. Eventually there?s a thunderous crash as the top of the maw collapses on the ground. Which is a good thing, because the Mako is smoking pretty badly and probably couldn?t take much more damage. Dismounting, Tali and Williams do what they can for the Mako while I investigate the casualties. As it turns out, they were here by Admiral Kahoku on a mission to investigate an Alliance distress signal. Once I check the beacon, it?s been here some time. Someone must have put it here to lure Alliance soldiers into a place they could be attacked by the Thresher Maw. I put a stop to that, by destroying the beacon. We return to the Normandy, while I make a note to inform Admiral Kahoku what happened.

In conversation:
I look speculatively at the krogan. ?So, Wrex, what?s your story??
?Story? I don?t have a story. If you want stories, talk to the Quarian.?
?Come on, Wrex. Krorgan live for hundreds of years. In that time surely you must have seen things you can tell me about.?
?Well, there was that one time the turians almost wiped out my species.? His tone is very dry. ?That was fun.?
?Wasn?t that a salarian plague? That?s what I understood.?
?The salarians developed the genophage, the turians used it. And we let it kill us.?
?I thought it affected your birth rate, rather than actually killing krogan directly.?
?It does. Sort of. It means ninety-nine out of every hundred krogan are stillborn. And no-one wants to do a thing about it.?
?Aren?t your own scientists trying to do something about it?? I can?t keep astonishment out of my voice.
By contrast Wrex sounds despairing. ?Have you ever heard of a krogan scientist? We?d rather be paid to fight other people?s enemies than be stuck in a lab. But it?s not the genophage that?s killing us. It?s our own behaviour. Every year, more and more krogan leave Tuchanka and never goes back.?
?Plenty of people from other species leave their home planets.?
?Yes, but they?re going as settlers, as colonists. We go as mercenaries, and we don?t go intending to create families. I gave up on the krogan a long time ago.?
?I hope something changes for your people, Wrex. Talk to you later.?
?Shepard.?

Eventually we find a location which has some prothean ruins, on the small colony world of Therum. The ruin itself is in an area of rough basaltic hills and surface lava flows. Landing the Mako in a confined area like that isn?t regarded as possible, but fortunately the colony had set up some sort of extraction operation on the hill the ruins are under, and there?s a reasonably safe road up to it. So Joker lands the Mako at the colony end of that road, and we drive off towards the ruins and our date with Doctor T?soni.

We don?t get very far before a Geth drop-ship flies over us, and drops two heavy armatures in our path. While Wrex mans the main gun and Tali handles the electronics and shields, I manoeuvre the Mako around so that we aren?t taking too much fire. Even so, we take some damage from their rockets and guns, and they each take several hits from the main gun to destroy. Further along there?s another Geth position, this one with a heavy wall blocking the path between two cliffs, defended by heavy turrets and a mix of Geth some with anti-tank rockets. For some reason though they haven?t blocked the side passage around the wall as strongly, with only one turret - I suspect that they hadn?t finished it, though most robots aren?t lazy. We blast through there, destroying the turret and then engaging all the Geth on foot until the area is clear. We do something similar to two other geth positions, including destroying one more armature.

Eventually though we reach a point where we can?t take the Mako any further. At least, the gap in the rocks is narrow and my attempt to use the Mako?s jump-jets to get over it fails. If I was willing to spend the time trying, it might turn out to be possible to force the Mako through the gap anyway. Instead, we go on by foot. That leads to a rather nasty fight, where we?re stuck in a narrow gap with Geth snipers and rocket troopers on a patch of higher ground in front of us, but with some sniping and careful use of cover we get past them. It?s as we?re climbing on the higher ground, and can see the entrance to the caves the ruin is apparently in, that we get a bigger problem. Another drop-ship flies over, dropping a mix of Geth soldiers similar to ones we?ve just destroyed, along with another armature. Which we haven?t got the Mako to help with.

Again, cover and manoeuvre is the key to success. I direct Tali and Wrex into cover, and duck behind some myself. Those Geth that come forward we shoot down as best we can without exposing ourselves to the armature. Once they?re down, I take careful not of the armature?s weapons. It fires a machine gun which it isn?t a good idea to be in the way of, and a heavier blast which it really isn?t a good idea to be in the way of. Fortunately, while it?s preparing the second it isn?t firing the first. With careful timing, I?m able to poke my head out and shoot it a few times in that space of time. It takes a while, but eventually the shields fail on the armature and after even longer, it crumbles to the ground destroyed.

Inside, it looks like a section of natural caves. There are some rather narrow wooden walkways, with what look like repurposed mining cars serving as lifts between the levels. We destroy a few Geth on these, one by the expedient of shoving it off the walkway and letting it fall to the ground far below. Lower down, we see our first sign evidence on what I take to be prothean architecture, although it?s sealed off behind some sort of force field.

It?s not until we?re descending to the lowest level of the mine that we find Doctor T?Soni. As the mining car fails, and we have to climb out and drop to the ground, a rather plaintive voice calls out to us, ?Hello. Is anybody there? I seem to be trapped.?

Once we?re on the ground securely, I can see who?s speaking. In a section of prothean ruin cut off by yet another force field is an asari. I?d say she looked young, but given asari life spans she could easily be many times my age. She?s not just behind a force field, she?s also within some sort of force bubble that?s holding her suspended off the ground with her arms and legs spread apart. When she sees us, she calls out again. ?Can you hear me? I.. I need help. I need you to get me out of here.?

?Doctor Liara T?Soni?? I ask, although I?m pretty certain I know the answer. I start wondering how she feels about being rescued by a human, a krogan, and a quarian. ?How did you get stuck in there??

?Yes, that is my name. As for how I got trapped, that is a little embarrassing. When the Geth arrived, I tried to activate the force fields to keep them away. I? I must have hit the wrong, or something. Please, you have to help me.?

?Your mother is in league with Saren. Who?s side are you on?? I know the question sounds harsh, but it needs asking.

?What? I am not my mother.? She sounds quite offended. ?I don?t know no idea why she?d have dealings this Saren.?

?So have you any idea how we can get you out of there?? Tali asks, sensibly.

?I don?t know. You will have to find a way to get around the force field.? After a moment of calm, she adds urgently, ?Be careful. It is not just Geth out there. There is a krogan with them. They come by every few hours to try another way of breaking through the force field.?

Making our way down onto the cavern floor, we encounter and destroy a few more Geth. Although we can recover some supplies from various containers, there doesn?t seem to be any way past the barrier. Then my eye falls on a mining laser. It?s already pointed at a section of rock beneath the force field. Let?s see what happens when we switch it on and stand back.

The result of my little experiment is a gaping hole in the floor, which leads to a passage under the force field. Rather smugly, I take my team through it. On the other side, we?re inside the prothean ruin and are able to come up behind Doctor T?Soni. She tries to turn to see who it is, but only her head moves. Still, she sounds pleased and surprised when she realises who it is. ?How did you get past the barrier??

?We blew a hole in the floor with a mining laser.? I tell her, rather casually, as I look around the area.

?Oh. Yes, that would work.? She sounds surprised that we came up with a solution so easily. ?Quickly, let me out of here so we can leave.?

?Are you sure, Commander? We really don?t know whose side she?s on,? Tali asks me.

?I am not on anyone?s side.? Doctor T?Soni sounds almost as if she?s going to cry. ?I have not spoken to my mother for years. I don?t know what she?s doing.?

?Well, I trust her,? I lie, moving over to a console on the left. Doctor T?Soni directs me to the right buttons to press, and the bubble that?s holding her gives way letting her fall to the floor. I help her up.

?I still don?t understand what?s happening here. Why do Saren or my mother want me??

?You?re a prothean expert,? Tali points out. ?Saren is looking for the Conduit. He probably expects you to help.?

?The Conduit? I.. I don?t know what that is.? As the doctor speaks, the floor shakes and there?s a rumble below us.

?What was that??

?These ruins are not stable.? The doctor sounds scared. ?Your mining laser probably set off a seismic event.?

?How do we get out of here?? Wrex, ever practical asks.

?There is an elevator at the back of the room. It should take us to the surface.? As Doctor T?Soni explains, and we get moving, I contact Joker. ?Joker, lock in on my signal and get the Normandy here. Now, Mister.?

?Aye, aye, Commander. ETA four minutes,? he responds quickly.

Tali comments, ?That?s cutting it a bit tight.? Wrex adds, ?If I die in here, I?ll kill him.? We pile onto the elevator and set it moving upwards.

When the elevator stops at the top level, we have a reception committee of several Geth and the krogan we were warned about. He speaks first. ?Thanks for getting rid of the force field for us. Now hand the doctor over.? I look across at T?Soni, who looks scared. Then I look at my team.

?We haven?t got time for this idiot. Kill them.? As the krogan ducks for cover, and we open up on the Geth, two krogan voices comment more or less in unison, ?I like your style.?

The Geth fall pretty quickly, especially with one of them turning on the others as a result of Tali?s hacking. The krogan though is holed up in cover near the entrance. We can?t really get good shots at him, and as long as we remain in cover he can?t at us. Since we?re on a timer, I decide to draw him out, and make a dash for some another position. As he fires on me, Tali decides to uses her technical skill to shut down his weapon. That seems to describe him, and he comes out of cover and rushes us hoping to defeat us at melee range. We back pedal away from him, shooting as we go, and eventually he falls.

Immediately afterwards we make a mad dash for the surface. The walls are shaking, and parts of the walkways have collapsed. Fortunately we?re able, with a little encouragement, to make it outside. Joker has the Normandy hovering nearby, and we escape before the structure can disappear into a pool of lava.

[Bluenose]

Part 13

The Normandy - reasons to dislike turians, part two

Once the Normandy is away from Therum, we have a debriefing session. Doctor T?Soni starts us off, asking if we really know why Saren wanted her, and if we?re sure that her mother is involved. We conclude that his interest in her is because she?s an expert on the protheans, who she?s spent fifty years studying. When Williams asks, she admits being ?only 106?. Ashley comments that she hopes she looks as good when she?s that old, and Doctor T?Soni suggests that while it?s a significant age for a short-lived species, to other asari she isn?t much more than a child.

As it turns out, Doctor T?Soni is primarily an expert in the end of the prothean age. She believes that she has evidence that there?s a cycle, in which civilisations rise, spread through the galaxy, and then disappear, although she lacks evidence for this. The protheans were merely the most recent species this happened to. She sounds quite angry when I tell her that I/we think they were exterminated by a race of machines, demanding to know how I know. I tell her about my vision from the prothean beacon and our geth data, and she becomes intrigued. Apparently the beacons were designed for direct mind-to-mind contact, so it?s plausible that sort of information would be on there. And since it?s designed for prothean minds, it isn?t a surprise that I find it so confusing. She?s surprised I got any usable information from it at all, suggesting I must be ?remarkably strong-willed?. For a moment she?s looking at me as I imagine scientists look at lab animals, which oddly enough makes me think more of her. Then she starts to feel faint, and Alenko suggests that as she might have been some time without sleeping or drinking trapped in her bubble it might be worth sending her to see Doctor Chakwas. Although she protests, slightly, it seems like a good idea. Before we split up, I say that we?ll keep Doctor T?Soni on board, which surprisingly sparks Wrex into saying it?s a good idea because her biotics will be useful in a fight. Doctor T?Soni seems quite pleased, saying she can?t imagine anywhere she could be with Saren and his geth after her than on my ship.

When the debriefing breaks up, Joker asks me over the intercom if I want to talk to the Council now that they?ve seen the basic mission report. I agree to, and he sets up a link to them.

The asari starts off, ?Commander. We?ve read your initial reports from Therum. I see you?ve got Doctor T?Soni on board.?

?I hope you?re taking the necessary precautions with her.? The turian comes in immediately, hostile in tone as usual.

?I?m aware of the possibility that she?s an agent for Saren, Councillor.? I like to be ruder, but these are my bosses now. ?Someone who?s an expert on the protheans, when I?m doing something that appears to involve prothean technology. And who?s the daughter of an ally of the person I?m hunting. And who was found ?trapped?, yet could be released quickly by us when another group couldn?t get to her. It could all be a remarkable coincidence, of course.?

?You appear to understand the situation well enough, Commander.? The salarian sounds impressed.

?Though Doctor T?Soni has been studying the protheans most of her life,? the asari adds, ?since before Saren was a Spectre certainly. It is possible she?s exactly as she seems.?

?Another thing, Shepard.? Again, the turian sounds hostile. ?Was it really necessary to destroy an irreplaceable prothean ruin??

?That ruin was crawling with geth, Councillor!? I let my annoyance show. ?We did well to get out alive.?

?Of course, Commander.? The salarian is conciliatory. For a moment I wonder if they?re actually playing Good Cop-Bad Cop with me. ?The mission must come first.?

With that, they sign off, promising to keep me informed if they receive any more information I need.

Conversations:
Garrus: ?It?s nice working with you, Commander. A real change from working with C-Sec. Though I knew working with a Spectre would be different.?
I?m curious. ?Had you worked with a Spectre before, Garrus??
?No, but I was a Spectre candidate.? As I look surprised, he adds, ?Me, and a couple of hundred other turian military cadets. Though I went into C-Sec instead.?
?How was it working for C-Sec??
?Frustrating. It wasn?t enough to take down the criminals, you had to fill out the paperwork afterwards.?
?You left because you don?t like paperwork.? I?m pretty sceptical about this idea.
?That, and all the rules and regulations. It shouldn?t matter how I take a criminal down, as long as I get the job done. That?s why I wanted to work with you, Commander. As a Spectre, you?re allowed to ignore the rules to get the job done.? He sound decidedly enthusiastic.
?Sometimes you need someone who can go outside the rules to get things done.? I?m forced to agree with him.
?Exactly. That?s why I?m so looking forward to working with you, to see how you do things. So far, it?s been good.?
?Thanks for the compliment, Garrus.?
?No problem, Commander.?

[Bluenose]

Part 14

The Normandy – conversation hour.

While we head back to the Citadel I make some rounds on the ship. Half of my team lurk down in the cargo hold, for reasons that aren’t entirely clear. That’s also where I find my logistics officer, who will buy and sell equipment off me. His explanation is that he has to buy licences and equipment himself and has to make his money back somehow. It’s not a cheap way to get equipment. Annoyingly, while I get an increase in the amount people pay me for things because I’m so intimidating, charming people get the same percentage decrease in the price they pay for things. I benefit less because the starting values are higher when buying things.

While in the hold, I have a chat with Chief Williams. She’s got some doubts about Doctor T’Soni, specifically about her relationship with her mother. The Chief explains that she finds it hard to believe people would really not have a good relationship with their parents, although when she remembers my childhood in an orphanage she gets rather apologetic. With regard to Doctor T’Soni I say that we need to keep an eye on her. We then get onto the subject of Williams’ family and apparently she’s very close to her mother and three sisters, though her father is dead. She’s from a family with a long military tradition, so joining the Alliance was second nature for her. This is her first time on ship duty and she’s looking forward to it.

Down in engineering I talk to my chief engineer, Commander Adams. He’s a veteran of Alliance service, having served on nearly every class of warship. The Normandy is in his opinion one of the best ships he’s served on, and she won’t let me down. He also mentions how Tali hangs around in engineering a lot, and I tell him I’ll move her on if she’s a problem. Which she isn’t being incredibly bright, willing to learn, and helpful. He’d like it if all his engineers were that useful.

After talking to Adams, I have a chat with Tali. Her first comment is how amazing the Normandy is and how she didn’t realise Alliance vessels were so advanced. I explain that it’s a prototype, not a typical Alliance ship. As the conversation continues she tells me about the quarian flotilla and how it’s vessels have to be maintained constantly, with some of them being more than three hundred years old. I find quarian government structure confusing, since there seems to be a mix of authority. There’s the Admiralty Board, nominally in charge of the flotilla, which Tali’s father is part of; there’s the Assembly of ship captains, which makes most day-to-day decisions; and each ship elects both a captain to serve on the Assembly and has some form of elected council that advises the captain. Apparently while the Assembly makes most decisions the Flotilla is still nominally under martial law and the Admiralty Board can overrule them, after which all Board members have to resign. It’s hard even for quarians to explain who answers to whom, and this isn’t made easier by the quarian love of building consensus about decisions and the fact that judicial functions are shared between ship captains and the admiralty.

One deck up in the elevator, and I look for Lieutenant Alenko to have a chat with him. The camera angle as I approach him makes a serious effort to linger on the swagger in my hips, which suggests the Lieutenant is someone I’m allowed to be seriously unprofessional with. Unfortunately for him, he’s got a voice which reminds me of someone else, and I don’t have a Dark Lady of the Sith dominatrix costume in my wardrobe. At least, not yet.

As it turns out, Carth Alenko is extremely well adjusted. While many L2 biotics have serious problems from their implants, he merely suffers from occasional headaches. He does seem worried about the mission. He suggests the Council might have thrown me to the wolves, and I should be careful about trusting them. I’m careful about trusting anyone, but I thank Kaiden for his concern.

Finally, I wander across to what used to be a storeroom behind the medical bay to talk to Doctor T’Soni. The easiest way to start is to ask her if she’s feeling better, and she tells me that Doctor Chakwas assured her that she’d be fine. She’s very impressed by Chakwas’ skill, and I assure her that my Doctor is the best in the fleet.

We then get onto a more serious conversation T’Soni still wonders if we’re sure about her mothers involvement, but she assures me that she will do whatever is necessary if and when we encounter her mother. We start talking about the asari, and the first thing she decides to tell me about her species concerns their reputation for promiscuity. Apparently it’s undeserved, since asari don’t consider it wrong for young Maidens to have lots of sex with different species, including humans nudge nudge wink wink if you know what I’m hinting at. So my two most recent conversations with her have involved her claiming other asari don’t see her as much more than a child; and a discussion of asari attitudes to sex. A more sensitive person might be slightly put off by this, but I suspect a lot of the asari dancers I’ve seen are maidens and I’ve not been bothered about their age – although the blue backsides waving in our faces did get slightly distracting.



After a couple of days of flight we reach the Citadel. I take Tali and Ashley ashore with me, intending to sell of some of our recovered gear and hoping to but some better equipment, particularly a more protective environment suit for Tali whose vulnerability to enemy fire isn’t something I like to see. I’ll also find Admrial Kahoku, to inform him of the fate of his marines. It’s while we’re passing by the human embassy that someone calls out to me.

Investigating, it’s a Mister Samesh Bhatia. His wife Nirali Bhatia was in the 212th marines on Eden Prime. This leads to an interjection from Ashley, who was a senior NCO in the same unit, and an exchange of pleasantries. Mr Bhatia is upset because the Alliance refuses to release his wife’s body for a proper burial, which disgusts me. Mister Bhatia has been dealing with Clerk Bosker, who’s currently in the embassy lounge up the stairs.

Full of righteous zeal, I head upstairs to speak to the Clerk. He’s impressed to see me. Apparently my activities have been the subject of a ‘quite a briefing’ among the diplomatic corps. It turns out things aren’t quite as simple as that. Apparently Nirali was killed in an unusual way. I suggest it doesn’t matter to Mister Bhatia how his wife’s body was defaced, but apparently this isn’t the problem. The Alliance couldn’t identify the weapons used, and is holding the body to conduct tests on it in the hope of developing better protection against geth weaponry. While I can understand this desire, I point out to the clerk that it’s against the things the Alliance stands for, and suggest that if he won’t release the body I’ll go and get it myself. He tells me that the body isn’t actually on the Citadel. My suggestion that if he's had a briefing about me he knows how far I'd go to get something I want persuades him to release the body. I'm sure pushing him back against the wall with one arm while waving a pistol in his face had nothing to do with it.

When I return to Samesh, he’s not happy but at least he has some closure. While he talks to Ashley about his wife, I consider that I’ve done something good today. I can’t stop all the little tragedies that happen every day, but I can make damn sure that some aren’t made worse. While the Bhatias will never open a restaurant together, at least Samesh can open one in memory of his wife.

Elevator conversations continued:
Ashley: I’ve heard some humans are angry at the Quarians after the attack on Eden Prime. After all, you created the Geth.
Tali: The Geth killed billions and forced us from our homeworld. Most Quarians believe we have paid properly for our mistake.
Ashley: Hopefully having you with us fighting Saren will change people’s minds.

While we’re in the lower markets looking for better armour, I get another interruption. This time, it’s Conrad Verner again. Clearly, he likes me. He really, really likes me. In a stalkeresque way. And he thinks Torfan was great, and wishes he could have been there killing batarians with the great Commander Shepard. This time, he wants a holograph of me. Standing, with a pistol in my hand, aiming at someone in the distance. Once he has it, he tells me he’s going to have it blown up to display in his living room where it will impress his wife.


Finally, we finish our shopping. I head back to the Normandy, before noticing that in passing I’d nearly finished the small task of scanning all the keepers I could find on the Citadel, and that I still hadn’t talked to Kahoku. Out again, only this time I take Doctor T’Soni and Lieutenant Alenko with me.

Edited by Bluenose, 13 April 2010 - 12:36 PM.

[Bluenose]

Part 15

The Citadel - Three admirals and two reporters

Leaving the Normandy, I get interrupted. There?s an Alliance military officer waiting on the dock outside, who introduces himself as Rear Admiral Mikhailovitch. He quickly picks up on the fact that I have no idea why he?s here and tells me that the Normandy was going to be assigned to his 63rd Scout Flotilla once it finished it?s trials, until it was assigned to my command and to use his exact words, ?the council got their hands, claws , paws, tentacles, whatever, on it?. He wants to know if I remember what colour my blood is.

I tell him that from recent experience I know that it?s red and no matter what I?m still a human officer, and that having a human in the Spectres is an opportunity to advance human interests. It sounds like he agrees, although he refers to me being ?thrown to the Council? in a rather sarcastic manner, and he doesn?t resent the loss of a good officer in those circumstances. What he does resent is the cost of the Normandy, and he refers to my beautiful ship as an ?overpriced boondoggle?. I protest claiming the Normandy has saved our lives a dozen times and he catches the exaggeration quite easily. He?s come to perform an inspection, and leaves me to wait dockside while he goes aboard.

When he comes out, he declares he is not happy. Rather sarcastically I suggest that is probably a common situation, which prompts him to tell me to watch my language in case it gets me into trouble. Then he starts up with the criticisms that I?m convinced he had before he ever saw the Normandy.

Firstly, he claims the Normandy is overpriced. For the same price the Alliance could have built a heavy cruiser or 1200 fighters. The stealth system is a particular concern, since in his view ?warships are meant to find and destroy the enemy rather than count the number of times their garrison goes to the bathroom?. I point out that unimaginative officers criticised the earliest tanks, aircraft and submarines for having no military value. He claims that could be taken two ways, but accepts there may be more point than he considered.

Then he gets on to the subject of the CiC, which is behind the Bridge and Weapons controls rather than in the middle of them as is the normal Alliance way. I tell him that this is a turian concept, which the designers wanted to experiment with, and that I can hardly be expected to rip it out and rearrange everything. He appears to think I should try, in case I need to talk to some of the crew in action. This is annoying enough for me to point out that I have a professional crew who understand not to tie up communications during combat, and that if necessary I?ve got a voice some drill instructors would be proud of. He accepts that there?s no way to change it, and that it won?t become standard where recruits could learn bad habits.

His last complaint concerns my crew. He?s upset by the presence of, ?Asari? Turians? Quarians!? Krogan!?!? on my ship. I dismiss his arguments, fall back on the traditional right of Alliance ship captains to decide who they have on board. While he doesn?t like this, he wouldn?t dream of overriding my decisions in this matter.

Finally, he gives me a chance to express my opinions. I gather my thoughts, and tell him how I feel. Regardless of his opinion of who I?ve chosen as crew, or what the Normandy is being asked to do, it?s the ship and crew he should be evaluating. In that respect, the Normandy has done everything asked of her, and the crew have performed superbly in difficult and changing circumstances. Criticising the ship for political reasons would be grossly unfair.

The admiral is honest enough to say he doesn?t agree with all my points, and to admit that he came with the intention of writing a hostile report. He?s also fair enough to say that given my defence of the Normandy, that report will be a lot less negative than he originally intended. Finally he wishes me good hunting and says he hopes I?ll make humanity proud out here. I end up rather liking him for his honesty and bluntness.

Elevator conversations:
Liara: Lieutenant? In the last few fights, your biotics seemed to pack more punch. Is it practice, or are you actually getting stronger?
Kaidan: I've always held back a little when I used my powers on living targets. Fear of hurting someone, I guess.
Kaidan: After what I saw on Eden Prime, I'm not holding back any more. Not against the Geth, not against anyone.

When we enter C-Sec, I?m almost immediately ambushed. Unfortunately it?s not an ambush I can deal with by breaking out the guns. Instead it?s a much more dangerous one, involving a female reported called Khalisah bint Sinan al-Jilani of Westerlund News. As I feared, becoming a Spectre has made me a public figure in a way that I don?t like, and she?s hear to interview me. Unless I walk away, and let her put her own spin on events.

Since it seems like the better option, I let her talk to me. She opens up by asking whether the Council appointing me as a Spectre is just a matter of throwing humanity a bone. I tell her that it?s an honour and privilege, and that I?m proud to be humanity?s first Spectre. She then asks how often the Council had asked me to act against human interests, rather suggesting that her agenda isn?t one I agree with. I tell her that the Council isn?t that stupid.

She also asks if the Normandy, the most advanced ship in the Alliance fleet, should have been handed over to the Council. I tell her the truth, that it?s not just an Alliance ship as the turian fleet was also involved in her construction, although I can?t tell her anything about the advancements for security reasons. Which she manages to twist into a claim that ?the turians? have knowledge of the Normandy which isn?t available to humanity. Which is obviously only partly true, as outside restricted military circles the Normandy still is under a security blanket. I?m rather tempted by the opportunity to punch her, although I resist it.

At the end, she asks me about the rumour that I?m chasing after a rogue Spectre involved in the destruction of Eden Prime. That?s a question I?m not prepared to answer, though after I tell her this she claims that she will find out no matter what I say.



After checking in at the embassy, where Udina tells me the Council was a little upset about the destruction on Therum, I find out that Admiral Kahoku can be found in the Council Chambers. I head up there to speak to him, when I find a reporter I like rather more than al-Jilani hanging around. I?d already heard a news report talking about Emily Wong?s report on organised crime on the citadel, and I think she?s gone up in the world since I gave her Fist?s data and now wears a much more complete dress (obviously a pay rise means you can afford more fabric). She would like me to plant a bug in the citadel?s traffic control centre. She wants to obtain evidence that they?re seriously overworked, and if she can hopes that will mean more people will be employed and safety will be improved. Once I have her assurance that she won?t be listening for anything other than safety violations and that the bug can?t interfere with anything I agree to try it.



I look for and find Admiral Kahoku nearby. He?s shocked when I tell him his marines were killed by a thresher maw, claiming they wouldn?t have been so stupid as to land near a nest. When I tell him it wasn?t their fault, since they were lured there by a false distress call, he gets angrier. While he has to inform the next of kin as his top priority, he will be investigating who could have planted the beacon, and we agree that he?ll pass the information on to me when he finds out so I can take any appropriate action - which means killing people. With that done, I set off back to the Normandy via the lower wards and C-Sec.

Overhear in the Wards:
Turian stall keeper: ?This isn?t a proof of purchase.?
Human customer: ?No, it?s a bank statement. It shows that I bought something from you and when I bought it.
?Well, than you for buying from me, but this isn?t proof that you purchased that item here.?
?But I didn?t but anything else here!?
?How do I know that? If you don?t have the proof of purchase, I can?t help you.
?But??
?Sorry.?

Once I?m in C-sec, I find a location for Emily?s bug easily enough. She?s happy enough when I tell her, saying it?s already letting her find out things, and she?s happy to pay me from her budget for the help. That lets me leave for the Normandy. There, I?m just as pleased to hear from Admiral Hackett. Apparently Miss al-Jilani?s interview with me aired, and people think I made her look rather foolish in it. He says it shouldn?t happen again, as that?s why the Alliance has press officers. I leave the Citadel in a good mood.

[Bluenose]

Part 16

On the Normandy - Enter the Devil Dogs

While on the Citadel a Mister Garoth spoke to me, asking me to investigate the fate of his brother. His brother was captain of a small freighter, the Majesty, which had gone missing somewhere in the Horse Head Nebula. It could have been either an accident or piracy, neither of which is good news. While not directly related to my job, finding it seemed like a useful exercise.

We found the Majesty adrift in the Strenuus system. Unfortunately for whoever left it drifting, they weren?t careful enough about concealing their ion trail which leads us to the planet Yavin. I took the Mako and a landing team of Doctor T?Soni and Tali down to the planet. I?ve found that this is the best mix I can put together, since it combines the Doctor?s excellent biotics, Tali?s remarkable tech skills, and my toughness and firepower. The major weakness is that both of them are quite vulnerable to damage, since neither wear can wear more than light armour and they don?t have the powerful defences that Ashley, Wrex, and I possess.

On the planet we find an abandoned mining camp, and I take their data on local mineral deposits to investigate for the Alliance. While investigating these, we discover (or get discovered by) another Thresher Maw. It erupts out of the ground, making a serious effort to eat the Mako, or at least to spit enough stomach acid onto it to dissolve it. Sadly for the native wildlife, the Mako is tough and mobile and we weave around avoiding damage as much as possible and slowly whittling away at the Maw until it dies. That?s two thresher maws now, and surely a reputation as the galaxy?s greatest big game hunter can?t be far off. Unless you?re expected to kill them on foot. Thresher Maws eat tanks, so perhaps that wouldn?t be entirely sensible.

I?ll try it with the next one.

Still, we?ve business here, and we eventually find a building protected by turrets and defensive towers with snipers in them. We engage the turrets from long range, retreating behind ridges as necessary for the Mako?s shields to recover. Once they?re destroyed, I gun the engine and move towards the towers, knocking them down like a set of skittles. I?m amused to note that some of the snipers crawl out of the wreckage, and promptly drive over them a few times in the Mako until they stop shooting. Inside the base, we kill a group of human and krogan mercenaries with little trouble. Some try to rush us, which is never a good idea. A couple stay at distance trying to snipe, and find out why that?s a bad idea when there?s a biotic able to lift them into the air around. We also find the Majesty?s captain, but unfortunately he?s already dead. Next time we?re on the Citadel, I will have to tell his brother, but for now we can return his corpse to the Normandy for storage in the morgue.

Back on the Normandy, I receive a transmission. ?Shepard, this is Admiral Kahoku. I found out who set that trap for my men. The ones killed by the thresher maw. It was an Alliance black-ops group called Cerberus. They dropped out of contact with Alliance officials about three months ago. They?re out of control, Shepard. They?ve gone completely rogue, conducting experiments to try to create some sort of super-soldiers. They?ve got a research base on Binthu in the Yangtse system.? He draws a deep breath. ?You?ll have to deal with them yourself. They?re on to me now. I expect this to be the last time you hear me alive. I?ll try not to give them your name. Good luck, Shepard, and good hunting.?

For obvious reasons, Binthu becomes our next destination. It?s apparent from orbit that there are three research bases, and I drive the Mako to the nearest one as soon as we land. It?s located near a prothean structure, which Doctor T?Soni asks me to investigate when we?re finished.

Inside the main room has a central area enclosed by force fields, with Cerberus guards walking around the outside. There are five, with two seeking to get to close range to use their biotics, one hanging back as a sniper, and two others using their technical skills in support. We take advantage of their spreading out to engage the two biotic commandos, and despite being thrown around a bit they discover the hard way that getting to close range against someone with heavier armour and weapons is a bad idea. With the others, I wait until the sniper has fired and then rush forward, taking advantage of the slow rate of fire of a sniper rifle and the limited firepower of the engineers. Beating them to death with a shotgun makes me feel very macho. Or would, if they weren?t half dead from what Liara and Tali were doing to them. Once we get a chance to look around, there?s a great selection of gear in containers around the room. While some of it may be better sold, quite a bit upgrades our current equipment.

Inside the walls of the force cage there?s a creature that I presume is one of Cerberus? attempts at a super-soldier. I don?t recognise it, but it?s an insect-like creature that?s taller than me, multiple legs and very nasty looking front pincers. Liara thinks it?s a Rachni, but we have to wonder about that. Rachni have been extinct as far as anyone knows for over a millennium. When we release the force fields it immediately attempts to kill us, without success. Whether that?s because Cerberus managed to teach it to recognise their enemies, or they?re just homicidal, is impossible to know. Though since they kept it in a cage I?m inclined to doubt it liked them.

The second base is much the same as the first, with a very similar layout and the same sort of guards. They aren?t even alert and waiting for us. Don?t these people talk to each other? I should be grateful, but the incompetence annoys me. In that state of annoyance, I decide to show them the dangers of low alertness, and pull out my sniper rifle. The first notice they get of our presence is when one of them gets shot and poisoned, and before they can react a second gets the same result. I?d left out the two commandos from this, and they predictably come chasing after me right into an ambush I?d set up with Tali and Liara. Two dead commandos, and two of the others nearly dead, doesn?t leave much more than mopping up. Again, there?s some nice loot to be had. This set of super-soldiers are humanoids of some sort, that shamble towards us projectile vomiting green goo. I thought husks were the closest thing to space-zombies, but these are even more so. No-one has any idea what they are or where they come from, so at least we aren?t encountering extinct species.

At least, not until we get to the third base. Which still isn?t on alert. Where the Cerberus guards still fight and die the same way. And where the creatures this time are smaller and faster insects, that try to rush towards us. Spraying the area with assault rifle fire kills them before any can get close enough to bite a foot off, assuming that?s what they actually do. Personally I suspect kamikaze bugs in this case.

What is a lot more disappointing is that here we find the body of Admiral Kahoku. There are marks on his wrists suggesting he was restrained, injection sites which may indicate chemical interrogation, and he was left in the cage with the bugs. Which appear to have left him alone. A Cerberus computer does help us. These research bases were reporting to another site, somewhere in the Columbia system. That?s where we?ll head next. And this time, if they aren?t ready for us I?ll do something about it.