Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The simulated sun hung on the Presidium’s horizon like a lover reluctant to leave as orange, yellow, pink, and blue bled into the artificial sky above. The early morning sunlight, emitted from the sky, shone through the large windows of the Citadel-Security Headquarters. The air was cool and comfortable as turian, salarian, human, and asari members of C-Sec milled about. Some were in small groups, whispering amongst themselves, some moved to and from their offices, while others still escorted people to and from cells. C-Sec Officer Garrus Vakarian carried a steaming cup of turian coffee in hand as he walked to his desk.

            Yet another day of processing paperwork, Garrus thought glumly.

            Halfway to his office, he heard a familiar voice behind him.

            “Vakarian, do you have a minute?”

            Reluctantly, Garrus turned to find Executor Pallin behind him. The conversation around the space ceased, as everyone’s ears perked up to listen.

            No doubt looking for idle gossip to share later, thought Garrus.

            “Of course, sir,” he replied.

Garrus followed Executor Pallin to his office, and the Executor nodded at the door.

“Could you close that, please?” he said.

“Of course, sir,” said Garrus, who closed the door.

            “Officer Vakarian, you’re one of our most senior members,” the Executor said. “Which is why I need you to investigate a Spectre.”

            Spirits, I’m fucked, Garrus thought.

            Spectres, also known as Special Tactics and Reconnaissance, were the Citadel Council’s right hand. They answered to no one save the Council, and for all intents and purposes, were considered above the law.

            If Garrus could’ve raised his brows, he would have. His eyes widened in shock. “A Spectre, sir?”

            “Yes, that’s correct,” Executor Pallin replied. “Apparently, there was an incident on a Spectre who was apparently present: Saren Arterius – he’s one of ours.”

            Spirits, a turian Spectre, thought Garrus. Who did I piss off this time?

            “But sir, Spectres are-“ he began.

            Pallin held up a hand and Garrus stopped speaking.

            “I know,” Executor Pallin said with a sigh. “And if I had anyone else I trusted with this assignment, I would give it to them.”

            Garrus nodded. “Understood, sir. How soon do I need to finalize this report?”

            “The council is meeting with Saren, along with some Alliance soldiers who were present at the colony, the day after tomorrow,” Executor Pallin replied. “Which means I’ll need the report at the latest, by the end of the day, tomorrow afternoon.”

            “Sir, that’s not enough time to conduct a thorough investigation,” Garrus replied.

            What exactly does the Council expect me to find, he thought, his mind turning like so many gears in a machine.

            “Just get it done, Vakarian,” the Executor replied. Garrus could tell by his tone that he was done discussing it. “The sooner you finish this report, the sooner you can resume your usual duties and we can all wash our hands of this.” Shaking his head, he let out a dejected sigh. “It’s not our job to investigate the actions of a Spectre.”

            Then why am I supposedly scrutinizing this one, thought Garrus. What has he done to make the Council question his status?

            “I’ll get it done, sir.”

            “Good to hear,” said Executor Pallin. “And when you’re done, forward the report directly to me. The Council will want to read it before they meet with Spectre Aurterius.”

            Garrus nodded. “Understood.”

            “Good. If there are no other questions, you’re dismissed,” said the Executor.

            Garrus turned and left the Executor’s office. As he walked to his office, he felt the eyes of his colleagues from all across the room focused squarely on him, but he soon ignored them.

            Spirits, this is going to be a long day, he thought.

            Lieutenant Commander Jean Eliza Shepard walked through the Presidium with Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams the following afternoon. The Presidium’s simulated sunlight shone brightly and there was a light breeze that rustled through Jean’s low bun. Species from across the Milky Way, minus batarians, roamed the clean and spacious area.

            This place is beautiful, thought Jean. I wouldn’t mind spending more time here, provided it wasn’t a work-related visit.

            “This place is so massive,” Kaidan remarked.

            “For a place built by aliens, it sure is impressive,” Ashley agreed.

            I never know how I should interpret those kinds of comments, Jean thought.

            However, she kept silent as the trio approached a nearby skycar. A purple salarian leaned against the vehicle.

            “Are you the driver?” Jean inquired.

            “That depends on who’s asking,” the salarian replied, his expression one of disinterest.

            “I’m Lieutenant Commander Shepard, this is Lieutenant Alenko” – she indicated to Kaidan, and then to Ashley – “and this is Gunnery Chief Williams. We’re with the Systems Alliance and we’re looking to reach the Citadel Tower.”

            “We have a meeting with the Council,” Kaidan supplied.

            The salarian’s dark eyes widened. “Oh, of course. In that case, hop in and I’ll get you a ride. But first, you’ll have to interact with that kiosk. To initiate payment, you see. Let me know if you have any questions.”

            “Thanks,” Jean replied.

            She turned to the metallic kiosk beside the skycar, opened her omni-tool, and typed out a specific amount to pay the salarian. Satisfied, she sent it to the kiosk and the purple salarian opened his omni-tool to double-check that the payment had gone through.

            “Thank you very much,” he said. He then turned and opened the driver’s side door. “Let’s go.”

            Jean turned back to Ashley and Kaidan. “Let’s go you two.”

            “Yes Ma’am,” they replied in unison.

            Hopefully, we’re not late to the hearing, thought Jean.

            Garrus Vakarian had spent much of the past two days investigating Saren Arterius. He’d consumed countless cups of coffee since Executor Pallin had first assigned the case yet he hadn’t managed to scratch the surface of Saren’s activities.

            Because he’s a Spectre, Garrus thought glumly as he made his way to the Citadel Tower.

            He had received a message from Executor Pallin an hour ago, requesting that they meet in the Citadel Tower. According to his message, Pallin was to present Garrus’s evidence that he had collected over the past couple of days during the meeting.

            Why do I have a feeling this is just going to be, as the humans call it, a circus, he thought.

            By the time he reached the area near where the Council met, Executor Pallin was already waiting for him.

            Spirits, he’s quick, thought Garrus.

            “My apologies if I kept you waiting, sir,” he said by way of greeting.

            “I just arrived myself,” Executor Pallin responded. “Do you have the data?”

            Garrus raised his left arm, brought up his omni-tool, and sent the data to his boss.

            “That’s everything I have,” he replied. “Such as it is.”

            The Executor’s eyes hungrily scanned the lines of text.

            “Good work, Garrus. I’ll take this to the Council right away,” he said.

            Does he really not care about following procedure for this, Garrus thought. That doesn’t make sense.

            Just as he was about to turn away, Garrus spoke up.

            “Saren’s hiding something! Give me more time, stall them.”

            Garrus saw three humans walk toward them out of the corner of his eye. One was a redheaded woman wearing dark armor with an ‘N7’ on the chest, another was a male who also sported dark armor, and the third was a dark-haired woman with pink and white armor.

            “Stall the Council? Don’t be ridiculous! Your investigation is over, Garrus,” Executor Pallin replied.

            The Executor promptly turned and walked away, while Garrus shifted his attention to the trio of humans.

            “I was informed there would be a Commander Shepard here, is that correct?” he said.

            “That would be me,” the redheaded woman replied.

            Garrus nodded once. “Commander Shepard, Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the C-Sec investigation into Saren.”

            “Who were you just talking to?” Commander Shepard asked.

            “That was Executor Pallin, head of Citadel Security and my boss. He’ll be presenting my findings on Saren to the Council,” Garrus replied.

            “Come across anything I should know about?” Shepard inquired.

            Straight to the point, Garrus thought. I can appreciate that.

            He crossed his arms. “Saren’s a Spectre, which means that most of his activities are classified. I couldn’t find anything solid. But I know he’s up to something. Like you humans say, I can feel it in my gut.”

            “I think the Council is ready for us, Commander,” the dark-haired male human supplied.

            “Good luck, Shepard. Maybe they’ll listen to you,” said Garrus.

            Although I very much doubt it, he thought as he moved to one side and watched the three humans walk upstairs toward the meeting.

            Garrus turned and began to walk down the stairs.

            There must be something else I can do, thought Garrus.

            He recalled the investigation’s notes in his mind. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he stopped, and brought up his omni-tool. He perused through the data he had collected during his investigation over the past couple of days until he found what he was looking for.

            “Perfect,” he murmured. “If I hurry, I should be able to catch Doctor Michel.”

            Immediately, he resumed walking, faster this time, as he made his way to the elevator. While he might not have been able to officially continue the investigation, that had never stopped him before.

            After her brief conversation with Garrus Vakarian, Commander Shepard and her officers continued on their way to the meeting. When they neared the top step, they found Captain Anderson waiting for them.

            Shit, hopefully, we’re not late, Jean thought.

            “There you are, Shepard. The meeting’s already started, come on,” said Captain Anderson.

            Well, there goes that hope, thought Jean.

            Captain Anderson led Jean, Kaidan, and Ashley to the Council meeting where Ambassador Udina stood on a platform facing the asari Councilor Tevos, turian Councilor Sparatus, and salarian Councilor Valern. On a raised platform in the corner to the left of the Council was an orange hologram of Saren Arterius.

            You bastard, thought Jean as she moved to stand beside Captain Anderson and behind Ambassador Udina. One way or another, I’ll make sure you get what’s coming to you.

            “The geth attack is a matter of some concern, but there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way,” said Councilor Tevos.

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

            “An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood,” Ambassador Udina said.

            That has to count for something, Jean thought.

            “We’ve read the Eden Prime report, Ambassador. The testimony of one traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof,” Councilor Valern replied coolly.

            Of course, not, thought Jean.

            “I resent these accusations. Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend,” came the voice of Saren from the hologram, speaking for the first time since Jean’s arrival.

            “That just let you catch him off guard,” Captain Anderson added.

            Jean watched as Saren shifted his attention to the human captain and scrutinized him.

            “Captain Anderson; you always seem to be involved whenever humanity makes false charges against me. And this must be your protégé, Commander Shepard, the one who let the beacon get destroyed,” Saren replied.

            Smug bastard, Jean thought.

            “The mission to Eden Prime was top secret, which means the only way you could’ve known about the beacon was if you were there,” she pointed out.

            “With Nihlus gone, his files passed on to me. I read the Eden Prime report. I was unimpressed. But what can you expect from a human?” Saren answered.

            Rage rose up inside Jean and she did her best, albeit not as good as she could have, to tamp it down.

            “Saren despises humanity, that’s why he attacked Eden Prime!” she shouted, pointing directly at the turian Spectre.

            “Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard. You’re not ready to join the council. You’re not even ready to join the Spectres!” Saren added with a pleased smirk.

            “He has no right to say that! That’s not his decision!” Udina said, leaning forward and nearly falling over.

            “Shepard’s admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting,” Councilor Tevos said, toward Saren.

            “This meeting has no purpose. The humans are wasting your time, Councilor. And, mine,” the turian Spectre shot back, waving away in the direction the humans as if they were pesky flies.

            Fuck this shit, thought Jean.

            “Saren’s hiding behind his position as a Spectre, you need to open your eyes!” she said, speaking directly to the Council.

            “What we really need is evidence; and so far, we’ve seen nothing,” Councilor Valern replied dryly.

            “There’s still one outstanding issue: Commander Shepard’s vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon,” Captain Anderson pointed out.

            Fuck, now the council definitely thinks we’re batshit crazy, Jean thought.

            She didn’t see any of the councilor’s expressions change, but she did feel a sense of incredulity between the three.

            “Are we allowing dreams into evidence now? How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?” Saren asked, once more waving his hand dismissively in the vague direction of the humans.

            “I agree. Our judgment must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation,” Councilor Sparatus concurred.

            “Do you have anything else to add?” Councilor Valern added, staring toward the human delegation.

            “You’ve made your decision, I won’t waste my breath,” Jean replied.

            She watched as Sparatus and Tevos turned to one another and shared a look. Sparatus shook his head and Tevos nodded.

            “The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Saren and the geth. Ambassador, your petition to have him disbarred from the Spectres is denied,” said Councilor Tevos.

            This was all for nothing, thought Jean.

            “I’m glad to see justice was served,” Saren said, with a satisfied smirk.

            You keep smirking, asshole, Jean thought. But I promise you, I will take you down.

            Saren’s holographic image dissipated and Councilor Tevos turned her focus onto the humans.

            “This meeting is adjourned,” she said conclusively.

            Feeling defeated, Ambassador Udina, Captain Anderson, Jean, Kaidan, and Ashley all turned and walked away. They reconvened a short distance from the raised platform and Jean could practically see the smoke coming from Udina’s ears.

            “It was a mistake bringing you into that hearing, Captain. You and Saren have too much history. It made the Council question our motives,” said Ambassador Udina as he turned to focus on Anderson.

            “I know Saren. He’s working with the geth for one reason: to exterminate the entire human race. Every colony we have is at risk, and every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn’t safe,” Captain Anderson responded.

            While this is painful, the ambassador is right, thought Jean.

            “Tell me about this history between you and Saren,” she said, shifting her focus to Captain Anderson.

            “I worked with him on a mission a long time ago. Things went bad, real bad. We shouldn’t talk about this here. But I know what he’s like and he has to be stopped,” the captain answered.

            “What’s our next step?” Jean asked.

            “As a Spectre, he’s virtually untouchable. We need to find some way to expose him,” Ambassador Udina responded as he stroked his chin in thought.

            “What about Garrus, that C-Sec investigator? We saw him arguing with the executor,” Kaidan suggested.

            “That’s right! He was asking for more time to finish his report. Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren,” Ashley added.

            Well, it’s a start, Jean thought.

            “Any idea where we could find him?” she inquired.

            “I have a contact in C-Sec who can help us track down Saren. His name is Harkin,” Ambassador Udina volunteered.

            “Forget it, they suspended Harkin last month, for drinking on the job. I won’t waste my time with that loser,” Captain Anderson retorted.

            “You won’t have to,” said Ambassador Udina, as he turned to the captain. “I don’t want the Council using your past history with Saren as an excuse to ignore anything we turn up. Shepard will handle this.”

            Ugh, I fucking hate politics, thought Jean.

            “You can’t just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation,” she said, her patience running thin.

            “As much as I don’t like it, the ambassador is right. I need to step aside,” Captain Anderson said.

            “I need to take care of some business,” said Ambassador Udina. He turned away from Jean and looked back toward Captain Anderson. “Captain, meet me in my office later.”

            “Of course,” Captain Anderson replied.

            Ambassador Udina nodded before he turned and walked away.

            “Harkin’s probably getting drunk in Chora’s Den. It’s a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards,” Captain Anderson supplied.

            “Maybe there’s another way to find evidence against Saren,” Jean said.

            “You could talk to Barla Von, over in the financial district. Rumor has it he’s an agent for the Shadow Broker,” Captain Anderson offered.

            “The Shadow Broker?” Ashley asked with a raised brow.

            “An information dealer who buys and sells secrets to the highest bidder,” Anderson replied. “I’ve heard Barla Von’s one of the top representatives. He might know something about Saren. But his information won’t come cheap.”

            Well, it sounds like it’s time for me to get to work, thought Jean.

            “I should go,” she said.

            “Good luck, Shepard. I’ll be over in the ambassador's office later if you need anything else,” Captain Anderson replied.

            The Captain turned and walked away while Jean led Kaidan and Ashley downstairs. Jean noticed most of the spectators who had hoped to catch a glimpse of the Council in session had cleared out and wondered where they’d gone.

            This place is enormous, she thought. I guess they could be anywhere.

            In her peripheral vision, Jean noticed there was an Alliance officer with a silver mustache and goatee talking to the orange omni-tool on his wrist. As Jean, Kaidan, and Ashley grew closer, he stopped and turned to face them.

“Congratulations on becoming the first human Spectre, Commander. I’m certain you’ll be up to the challenge,” said the Alliance officer.

The admiral extended his hand, and Jean shook it.

“I appreciate that,” she replied.

“My name is Admiral Kahoku. It’s about time the Alliance got one of our own in with the Spectres. We need people like you to deal with our, problems,” Admiral Kahoku said with a heavy sigh.

“Is something wrong, Admiral?” Jean asked.

“I’m getting stonewalled by bureaucratic assholes. Nothing new,” Admiral Kahoku replied. “Then again, maybe you can help me. One of my recon teams was investigating some strange activity out in the Traverse. We lost contact yesterday and now I can’t get any clearance to check it out – suddenly, it’s a restricted area.  But that’s where you come in, as a Spectre, you can go anywhere and investigate anything – you can find out why my team dropped out of contact.”

This does sound odd, thought Jean.

“I’ll find them, Admiral,” she said.

“I greatly appreciate it, Commander. I was running out of options. I’m going to stay here and see if I can find anything else out through official channels, although I won’t hold my breath.”

“Do you know where your men last were?” Jean asked.

“Yes, they were Artemis Tau cluster,” Admiral Kahoku responded.

“All right, I’ll contact you as soon as I know more,” Jean said with a nod. “Where can I find you?”

“I’ll remain on the Citadel for the time being,” Admiral Kahoku answered. “You can find me right here most days.”

“We’ll make sure your men are found, sir,” Kaidan reassured him.

“Thank you again, I appreciate it,” said Admiral Kahoku.

Jean, Kaidan, and Ashley turned and walked in the opposite direction.

The three approached the elevators, and the doors opened. All three entered the elevator and Jean pressed the down button. In her peripheral vision, she saw Ashley cross her arms.

“Why do I have a bad feeling about whatever happened to Admiral Kahoku’s soldiers?” Ashley asked.

“You and me both, Chief,” said Kaidan.

“I agree, there’s something fishy about all this,” Jean mused. “Either way, we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Just then, the doors opened the trio were back in the Presidium. They made their way to the Financial District, with Jean quickly finding Barla Von’s office. When they entered the lobby, a human woman was sitting at a large desk. She looked up at the three of them and smiled as they approached her desk.

“Hello, my name is Irina Baye, secretary to Mister Von,” said the blonde woman. “How may I help you?”

“I’m Commander Shepard with the Alliance Navy, and I was wondering if I could speak with Barla Von?”

“One moment, please,” Ms. Baye replied. She brought up her omni-tool, typed very quickly, and pulled up a holoscreen with a volus. “Sir, there’s a Commander Shepard—”

“Let them in,” Barla Von replied. As he spoke, it sounded like his suit was sucking in a breath. “I have been wondering when this Earth-Clan would pay me a visit.”

            He’s been expecting me, thought Jean. That’s a bit unnerving.

            “Understood, sir,” Ms. Baye said. She turned off her screen and looked back up at the Alliance soldiers. “Mr. Von says he’s ready for you. He’s just through the door behind me.”

            “Thank you,” Jean replied as she led Kaidan and Ashley past her desk.

            “No problem,” Ms. Baye responded.

            Jean, Kaidan, and Ashley walked through the door and into Barla Von’s office. The interior was decently sized with windows on the far wall and an elongated desk just in front of the windows. The brown and white-suited Volus looked at the trio of humans just as the door closed.

            “Commander Shepard, it is a great honor to welcome the Hero of the Blitz,” said Barla Von by way of greeting.

            “I’m sorry, I’m afraid you’ve got me at a disadvantage here,” Jean replied with a raised brow. “Have we met?”

            “Forgive me, Earth-Clan. My name is Barla Von. My job makes it necessary for me to keep informed. I am a financial advisor to many important clients here on the Citadel. When someone as important as yourself arrives on the station, I take notice,” Barla Von responded.

            “I heard you work for the Shadow Broker,” said Jean. “Do you have any information on Saren?”

            “You’re very blunt Shepard,” Barla Von said, as his suit made a suctioning sound when he took a breath. “But you’re right. I am an agent for the Shadow Broker. And I do know something about Saren.”

            “I hear your information can be expensive,” Jean continued.

            “Normally, this information would cost a small fortune, but these are exceptional circumstances. So, I’m going to give it to you for free,” Barla Von replied.

            “What’s the catch?” Ashley inquired with a raised brow as she put a hand on her hip.

            “There is no catch. The Shadow Broker is quite upset with Saren right now,” said Barla Von. “They used to do a lot of business together, until Saren turned on him.”

            Ouch, Jean thought. Then again, not surprising I suppose.

            “Saren has turned on a lot of people lately,” she said.

            “I don’t know the details, but the Shadow Broker hired a freelancer to deal with it. A krogan mercenary,” Barla Von said.

            “That’s not much to go on,” Jean replied with a raised brow.

            “I just told you that the most famous Spectre in the galaxy betrayed the Shadow Broker. Quite a bargain, considering the price,” Barla Von retorted. “Speak with the krogan if you want to learn more. I heard he was paying a visit to Citadel Security. If you hurry, you can catch him before he leaves the Academy.”

            Looks like that’s where we’re headed, thought Jean.

            She nodded. “In that case, I should go.”

            “Goodbye, Commander, and good luck,” said Barla Von.

            “Thanks,” Jean said.

            She turned and led Kaidan and Ashley out of the volus’s office.

            “Have a good day,” Ms. Baye said.

            “You too,” Jean replied.

            After leaving the Citadel Tower and arriving back on the Presidium, Garrus took a skycar to the lower wards and made his way to Dr. Michel’s clinic. He quickly drew his sniper rifle as he entered, taking note of the five thugs surrounding Dr. Michel. He lowered himself into a crouching position before one of them could have spotted him.

            Hopefully, I can take out these thugs quickly, Garrus thought.

            In his peripheral vision, he saw Commander Shepard along with a dark-haired human male and a krogan wearing red armor enter the clinic.

            Interesting, Garrus thought. Since when have humans worked with krogan outside of mercenary groups?

He pushed such thoughts aside as he slowly crept around the counter, doing his best to remain silent.

            “I didn’t tell anyone, I swear,” Dr. Michel cried.

            “That was smart doc. Now if Garrus comes around, you stay smart and keep your mouth shut or we’ll-Who are you?” the thug leader asked and Garrus knew he’d spotted Commander Shepard and her crew.

            From his vantage point, Garrus saw the two Alliance soldiers and krogan raise their firearms, aiming at the thugs across the counter. He took the opportunity to aim his sniper rifle at the brunet thug leader.

            You have four guns pointed you at, thought Garrus. It would be smart to surrender now, but something tells me you’re not going to.

            “Let her go,” Commander Shepard instructed.

            Before the thug leader could respond, Garrus fired his rifle and shot the thug leader in the forehead.

            As the humans would say, bullseye, he thought.

            After their meeting with Barla Von, Jean, Kaidan, and Ashley made their way to Citadel Security Academy in the Lower Wards. They took a skycar, and by the time they arrived, the three found a large krogan wearing red armor speaking with a human C-Sec Officer. The human officer was tense, with his brows furrowed and a frown on his face.

            Oh boy, Jean thought. This looks like a fight waiting to happen.

            “Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist’s bar. Stay away from him,” the human C-Sec Officer ordered.

            “I don’t take orders from you,” the krogan replied, close enough to be touching the officer now.

            “This is your only warning, Wrex,” the C-Sec Officer added.

            Is that supposed to deter him, thought Jean as she watched warily. Because if so, I don’t think it’s working.

            “You should warn, Fist,” Wrex replied. “I will kill him.”

            “You want me to arrest you?” the C-Sec Officer asked, his voice tense and gruff.

            “I want you to try,” Wrex answered with a laugh.

            Wrex turned and walked away from the human C-Sec Officer.

            “Go on, get out of here,” the officer said, waving away the krogan as if he had won this argument.

            Jean was going to step back, but Wrex walked right toward the trio. He stopped close to Jean and she drew herself up to her full height.

            “Do I know you, human?” Wrex asked. If krogan could’ve raised a brow, he would have.

            Now or never, Jean thought.

            “My name’s Commander Shepard and I could use your help,” she replied.

            Wrex’s eyes widened in realization. “Commander Shepard? I’ve heard a lot about you. We’re both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect, I’ll give you a fair warning. I’m going to kill Fist.”

            “I’m going after Fist myself,” Jean said. “Why don’t we work together?”

            Wrex looked her up and down before he nodded. “All right, I’m in.”

            “Welcome aboard, Wrex,” said Jean, relieved she hadn’t had to fight him.

            “Commander, what about that C-Sec Officer, Garrus Vakarian?” Kaidan inquired.

            He makes a good point, thought Jean. That C-Sec Officer would be a good ally to have with us.

            “Last I heard, he was in a nearby clinic here,” Wrex said. “If we hurry, we might be able to catch him.”

            Jean nodded before she turned to look at Kaidan and Ashley. “Chief Williams, go ahead and return to the Normandy. Lieutenant Alenko, Wrex, and I will handle this.”

            She could see Ashley’s brows rise at the order, but she didn’t argue like Jean expected. Instead, Ashely nodded and gave Jean a salute.

            “Understood, Commander.”

Chapter Text

In the tiny clinic in the lower wards, Garrus’ shot hit its intended target.

“Ah!” Dr. Michel cried out.

            As the thug leader fell to the ground, Dr. Michel ran toward the far corner of the room near the door while the other thugs fought Commander Shepard, the other human officer, Wrex, and Garrus. Garrus holstered his rifle and drew his pistol, firing at the four remaining thugs. Luckily, with the five of them, they made short work of Dr. Michel’s would-be attackers.

            That went faster than I thought, Garrus thought.

            Once the fighting was done, he holstered his weapon and shifted his focus to Commander Shepard.

“Perfect timing, Shepard. Gave me a clear shot at that bastard,” he said, as elation filled him.

However, Shepard didn’t seem to share his feelings.

            “What were you thinking? You could’ve hit the hostage,” Commander Shepard replied.

            Spirits, thought Garrus.

            “There was no time to think I was just--,” he began, searching for the right words. He then looked at Dr. Michel, who had left her corner. “Doctor Michel, are you hurt?”

            “No, I’m okay, thanks to you. All of you,” Dr. Michel answered, rubbing the back of her head.

            “I know those men threatened you but if you tell us who they work for, we can protect you,” said Shepard, as she too turned to the doctor.

            “They work for Fist. They wanted to shut me up, keep me from telling Garrus about the quarian,” Dr. Michel replied.

            “Does this have anything to do with the investigation into Saren?” Commander Shepard asked, turning her focus back to Garrus.

            “I think it might,” Garrus answered. “Dr. Michel, tell us what happened.”

            “A few days ago, a quarian came to my office. She’d been shot, but wouldn’t tell me who did it. I could tell she was scared, probably on the run,” Dr. Michel replied as she wrung her hands. “She asked me about the Shadow Broker. She wanted to trade information in exchange for a safe place to hide.”

            That’s odd, we don’t see many quarians on the Citadel, Garrus thought.

            “Then what?” Commander Shepard asked.

            “I put her in contact with Fist, he’s an agent of the Shadow Broker,” said Dr. Michel.

            “Not anymore. Now he works for Saren, and the Shadow Broker isn’t too happy about it,” Garrus interjected.

            “Fist betrayed the Shadow Broker?” Dr. Michel asked incredulously. “That’s stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite the offer.” She mused on this with her brows furrowed as she rubbed her chin in thought.

            “That quarian must have something Saren wants. Something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get,” said Garrus.

            “She must have something that proves he’s a traitor. Did the quarian mention anything about Saren? Or the geth?” Commander Shepard inquired.

            “She did! The information she was going to trade. She said it had something to do with the geth,” Dr. Michel replied.

            Spirits, of course, Garrus thought.

            “She must be able to link Saren to the geth. There’s no way the Council can ignore this,” he said.

            “Sounds like it’s time we paid Fist a visit,” said Shepard.

            If Shepard is going after Fist and Saren, it looks like our goals are aligned, thought Garrus. This is my chance to see how things are done outside of C-Sec without all the red tape and regulations.

            “This is your show, Shepard. But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do,” he said. “I’m coming with you!”

            “You’re a turian. Why do you hate Saren so much?” Shepard asked with a raised brow.

            Garrus sighed. “I couldn’t find the proof I needed in my investigation but I knew what was really going on. Saren is a traitor to the Council and a disgrace to my people.”

            Commander Shepard seemed to consider this a moment, before nodding. “In that case, welcome aboard, Garrus.”

            She extended her hand toward him, and he took and shook it.

            Finally, someone who’s not afraid to get things done, Garrus thought.

            After talking with Dr. Michel and sending Lieutenant Alenko back to the Normandy, Jean took Wrex and Garrus with her to Chora’s Den. As they reached the walkways leading to the bar, the silence deafened Jean.

            “Looks like it’s shut down,” Wrex observed.

            “Agreed,” she said. “I don’t like it.”

            As the trio reached the doorway to the dive bar, the door opened and Jean, Wrex, and Garrus were immediately pelted with gunfire. All three moved to either side of the doorway for cover and readied their weapons.

            “Looks like they were expecting us,” said Garrus.

            “Fist isn’t as much of an idiot as I thought,” Wrex replied. “Either way, we wait until their weapons are almost overloaded.”

            “And then we go in shooting,” Jean finished and Wrex nodded.

            As soon as there was a break in the gunfire, Jean, Wrex, and Garrus rushed through the door. Jean raised her left hand and sent a biotic shockwave to the assailants on the left side of the room.

            “C-Sec always turned a blind eye to what was going on here, I think Fist paid someone off,” Garrus remarked, as he shot at an attacker on a circular platform above the bar.

            Wrex too used his biotics to send some human attackers flying, slamming them against a nearby wall. Before they could recover, he followed up by shooting them with his shotgun.

            I didn’t realize krogan could be biotic, thought Jean as she took down two additional human attackers. I wonder how common that is?

            However, she didn’t have time to contemplate this as a dark-armored krogan charged right at her. Jean raised her shotgun to fire at the approaching krogan, yet before she pulled the trigger, Garrus shot the mercenary and Wrex followed up by sending the enemy krogan flying.

            “Bye-bye,” Wrex said with a predatory smirk.

            “Let’s keep moving,” Jean said.

            Garrus and Wrex followed her into a short hallway, where two warehouse workers aimed their guns at the trio.

            “Stop right there, don’t come any closer,” said the first warehouse worker.

            “Warehouse workers? All the real guards must be dead,” Garrus mused.

            “Stay back or we’ll shoot,” the second worker, threatened.

            “This would be a good time to find somewhere else to work,” Jean advised.

            The two workers seemed to take this to heart, as they shared an uncertain look with one another.

            “Yeah, you’re right. That’s a good idea,” said the warehouse worker as both slowly lowered their guns.

            “Yeah, I never liked Fist anyway,” added the first.

            Both holstered their weapons and walked out of the bar. Before they were even out of earshot, Wrex spoke.

            “It would’ve been quicker to just kill them.”

            “Regardless, shooting people isn’t always the answer,” Garrus quickly piped up. “But, I never would’ve thought to talk them down.

            “Just as you said, shooting people isn’t always the answer,” Jean agreed. “Come on, let’s not keep Fist waiting.”

            She led them through the door and into Fist’s lair. The interior room was larger than the hallway, with three stairs leading to a seating area and an elongated desk. On the walls on either side of the desk were turrets and behind the desk stood a man with dark hair and armor, who carried an assault rifle.

“Why do I have to do everything myself?” Fist asked in exasperation. “Time to die, assholes.”

Jean, Wrex, and Garrus remained behind cover as they initially focused their weapons on the turrets, even as Fist repeatedly fired at them. Once the turrets had exploded, Jean looked at Wrex.

“We’ll both use shockwave,” she said. “Garrus, you focus your fire on Fist to catch him off guard.”

A predatory grin spread across the krogan’s face. “I like the way you think, Shepard.”

“Ready whenever you are, Shepard,” said Garrus.

Jean slowly peered over the edge of the wall to catch a glimpse of Fist aiming his gun directly at her. Before he could get off a shot, she snuck back behind the wall and looked at Wrex and Garrus.

“Now!” Jean said.

The three of them stepped out from behind the wall and Garrus fired a warning shot at Fist, while Jean and Wrex lifted their hands and sent biotic shockwaves at Fist, who let out a grunt as he landed on the ground, with his weapon landing beside him, out of reach.

Finally, Jean thought.

She lowered her weapon and Wrex and Garrus followed her upstairs. The trio surrounded Fist, who lay on the ground as he held up his hands in surrender.

            “Wait, don’t kill me, I surrender,” he said, shaking.

            Jean pulled out a gun and aimed it at Fist.

            “Where’s the quarian?” she asked.

            “She’s not here, I don’t know where she is. That’s the truth,” Fist replied, his words tumbling out all at once.

            “He’s no use to you now. Let me kill him,” Wrex said, edging closer to Fist with his weapon raised.

            Jean watched Fist’s eyes widen. “Wait, wait! I don’t know where the quarian is, but I know where you can find her. The quarian isn’t here, said she’d only deal with the Shadow Broker himself.”

            Jean partially looked at Wrex, who raised a brow.

            “Face to face? Impossible! Even I was hired through an agent,” said the krogan.

            Jean lowered her gun and Fist slowly stood up. He kept his hands raised in surrender.

            “Nobody meets the Shadow Broker, even I don’t know his true identity. But she didn’t know that. I told her I would set a meeting up. But when she shows up, it’ll be Saren’s men waiting for her,” Fist replied.

            “Give the location, now,” Jean ordered, feeling her impatience rise to the surface.

            “Here in the wards. The back alley by the markets,” Fist answered. “She’s supposed to meet them right now, you can make it if you hurry.”

            In her peripheral vision and before she could stop it, Jean saw Wrex shoot Fist. He grunted as he fell to the ground, unmoving. Jean then took a step back and partly turned to look at Wrex.

            “What are you doing?” Garrus asked.

            “The Shadow Broker paid me to kill him. I don’t leave jobs half done,” Wrex replied matter-of-factly.

            “We don’t shoot unarmed prisoners,” Jean admonished.

            “How many people died because of him? He brought this on himself. Besides, we have more pressing concerns,” Wrex said as if that settled the matter.

            “As much as I hate to say it, he’s right, that quarian’s dead if we don’t go now,” Garrus added.

            Jean searched the room and found an OSD on the desk. While she wasn’t sure what it had been used for, she grabbed it and slid it into her armor for safe keeping. She turned and walked back toward the door.

            “Let’s go,” she commanded.

            Garrus kept his sniper rifle at the ready as he followed Commander Shepard out of Fist’s office. Before reaching the bar, he noticed additional forces in Chora’s Den, where they had cleaned up as they had first made their way to meet with Fist.

            “Is that more of Fist’s forces?” he asked.

            “Looks like it,” Wrex answered with a lupine smirk.

            “Let’s take ’em down,” said Commander Shepard.

            When they reached the doorway that led to Chora’s Den, Shepard stopped and raised her left hand. She sent a biotic shockwave while Garrus aimed his sniper rifle at a human attacker on the circular cover over the bar. Looking through his scope, he fired at the human’s head and they and their weapon fell onto the ground. In his peripheral vision, Garrus saw Wrex send two salarians flying against a nearby wall with a powerful biotic charge of his own.

            Spirits, there are a lot of men here, Garrus thought as the final human fell. It’s still odd that there are so many.

            “Looks like they’re all dead,” Shepard said. “We should keep moving.”

            “Right behind you,” Garrus replied.

            The trio hurried around all the dead bodies and out of Chora’s Den, eventually arriving in a back alley. Garrus immediately spotted the quarian in her purple body suit along with two armed salarians and one turian, all wearing black and white armor as they surrounded the quarian.

            Saren’s men, Garrus thought. And the quarian has no idea.

            “Where’s the Shadow Broker? Where’s Fist?” the quarian asked her tone on edge.

            The white-faced turian assassin brushed his hand against and down the quarian’s arm.

            “They’ll be here,” the white-faced turian replied. “Where’s the evidence?”

            The quarian shook her head. “Not until I see the Shadow Broker.”

            The turian laughed. “Not gonna happen.”

            The quarian slapped his hand away. “No way, the deal’s off.”

            The salarians began to raise their weapons, as though preparing to fire. Before they could shoot, the quarian threw a grenade she had concealed in her hand, which reached the salarians and exploded.

            “Take them down,” Jean instructed.

            She lifted her left hand and sent a biotic shockwave at the two salarians, while Garrus raised his sniper rifle and took aim at the white-faced turian. He quickly pulled the trigger and hit the turian in the face before he could react, sending his opponent and weapon to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wrex fire his shotgun at one of the salarians while Shepard fired at the other finishing them both off.

            These are all quick fights, thought Garrus as he holstered his sniper rifle. I wonder if that’s a commentary on our opponents or us?

            Shepard holstered her shotgun and walked downstairs toward the quarian.

            “Fist set me up, I knew I couldn’t trust him,” the quarian exclaimed.

            “Were you hurt in the fight?” Shepard asked, her voice full of concern.

            “I know how to look after myself. Not that I don’t appreciate the help,” the quarian replied. “Who are you?”

            “My name’s Commander Shepard, I’m looking for evidence that proves Saren’s a traitor,” Shepard said.

            “Then I have a chance to repay you for saving my life. But not here. We need to go somewhere safe,” said the quarian.

            “We could take her to the human embassy,” Garrus offered. “Your ambassador will want to see this anyway.”

            “We’ll take a skycar,” Shepard said.

            While the fit was tight, the four of them managed to fit into a skycar and drive to the Human Embassy. During the ride, more out of habit than anything else, from his years of C-Sec training, Garrus thought over all the laws they’d broken in the short time since he had met the Commander and joined her crew.

            Spirits, it doesn’t matter, he thought. Because after today, I won’t have to deal with C-Sec’s bullshit.

            When they reached the Human Embassy, Shepard walked quickly toward a woman sitting at an elongated desk.

            “Come on, it’s this way,” said Shepard.

            She led them to the right of the desk and up a set of stairs. They walked through a door with more stairs where a gray-haired human and a dark-haired human, both males, were talking to one another. They both turned to face Shepard with the gray-haired male frowning in Shepard’s direction.

            The older human is Ambassador Udina, thought Garrus. But who’s the younger human man?

            Beyond the humans was a promenade with a view of the rest of the Pesidium.

            I don’t think I’ve ever been up here, Garrus thought. This is nice.

“You’re not making my life easy, Shepard. Firefights in the wards? An all-out assault on Chora’s Den,” Ambassador Udina began by way of greeting. “Do you know how many—"

            Ambassador Udina’s gaze moved beyond Shepard to Wrex, Garrus, and the quarian.

            “Who’s this? A quarian?” the ambassador asked, his eyes growing wide. “What are you up to, Shepard?”

            “Making your day, ambassador. She has information linking Saren to the geth,” Shepard replied.

            She handled that more diplomatically than I would have, Garrus thought.

            “Really? Maybe you better start at the beginning, Miss…” the ambassador said, searching for a name.

            “My name is Tali. Tali’Zorah nar Rayya,” the purple-suited quarian replied.

            “We don’t see many quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?” Ambassador Udina said.

            “I was on my Pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood,” Tali replied.

            “What’s that?” Shepard asked.

            “It is a tradition among my people. When we reach maturity, we leave the ships of our parents and people behind. Alone, we search the stars, only returning to the flotilla once we have discovered something of value,” said Tali. “In this way, we prove ourselves worthy of adulthood. Throughout Pilgrimage, we prove that we will contribute to the community, rather than being a burden on our limited resources.”

            “Tell us what you found that links Saren to the geth,” Shepard prompted.

            “During my travels, I began hearing reports of geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the veil. I was curious,” Tali responded. “I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then, I disabled and removed its memory core.”

            Hmmm, interesting, thought Garrus. She would be a useful member of the crew.

            “I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some kind of defense mechanism?” Anderson ventured.

            “My people created the geth. If you’re quick, careful, and lucky, small caches of data can sometimes be saved. Most of the core was wiped clean. But I salvaged something from its audio banks,” Tali continued.

            She brought up her omni-tool and began to type. When she was finished, an audio log began playing.

            “Eden Prime was a major victory. The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit.”

“That’s Saren’s voice. This proves he was involved in the attack,” Anderson exclaimed.

“Wait, there’s more. Saren wasn’t working alone,” said Tali.

She brought up and typed on her omni-tool again and the audio resumed playing.

“And one step closer to the return of the Reapers.”

            “I don’t recognize that voice. The one talking about the Reapers,” said Ambassador Udina.

            “Are Reapers some kind of new alien species?” Shepard inquired.

            “According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago,” Tali replied matter-of-factly. “The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then they vanished. At least, that’s what the geth believe.”

            She added the last part quickly as if to reassure her audience that it probably wasn’t true.

            “Sounds a little far-fetched,” said Ambassador Udina.

            “The vision on Eden Prime – I understand it now,” Shepard said. “I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the reapers.”

            “The geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring the reapers back,” Tali answered.

            Spirits, this is terrible, Garrus thought.

            “The Council is just going to love this,” Ambassador Udina remarked.

            As much as it pains me, for once, I agree with the politician, thought Garrus.

            “The Reapers are a threat to every species in Citadel space. We have to tell them,” Shepard insisted.

            “No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove that Saren’s a traitor,” Anderson interjected.

            “The captain’s right,” said Udina. “We need to present this to the Council right away.”

            “What about the quarian?” Wrex asked, jabbing a meaty thumb at Tali.

            “My name is Tali,” said Tali indignantly. She turned to Shepard. “You saw me in the alley, Commander, you know what I can do. Let me come with you.”

            While neither Garrus, nor anyone else, could see her expression the pleading in her voice was clear.

            She’s not wrong, Garrus thought.

            “What about your Pilgrimage?” Shepard asked with a raised brow.

            “The Pilgrimage proves we are willing to risk ourselves for the greater good,” Tali replied. “What does it say about me if I turn my back on this? Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy, my Pilgrimage can wait.”

            “I’ll take all the help I can get,” said Shepard.

            Tali then moved to stand closer to the Commander. “Thanks, you won’t regret this.”

            “Captain Anderson and I will go ahead and get things ready with the Council. Take a few minutes to collect yourself, then meet us in the Tower,” said Ambassador Udina.

            After Jean met with Ambassador Udina, she sent their newest r5ecruit, Tali, back to the Normandy while Wrex and Garrus followed her out of the Human Embassy and into a skycar as they headed to meet the Council once more. While the fit wasn’t as tight as before, Jean still had to squish herself against the door as they rode to the Citadel Tower.

            The last time I was here, I argued with the Council that Saren was a traitor, she thought. It seems weird to return so soon.

            Once the skycar reached the Citadel Tower, the three of them stepped out and Jean led Garrus and Wrex through the immaculate corridor, past the fountain, and toward the stairs. By the time they arrived, Anderson was already waiting for them.’

            Damn, that was quick, thought Jean.

            “Come on, Udina’s presenting the quarian’s evidence to the Council,” said Anderson.

            Jean, Wrex, and Garrus followed Anderson to the same raised platform as before. And just like last time, Wrex and Garrus hung back while Anderson and Jean walked forward to stand behind Udina. When Ambassador Udina had finished presenting his evidence, he pointed at the holographic image of the three councilors.

            “You wanted proof, there it is,” said Ambassador Udina.

            “This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador. Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes,” Councilor Sparatus said.

            Councilor Tevos’ brows furrowed. “I recognize the other voice speaking with Saren. Matriarch Benezia.”

            “Who’s she?” Jean asked.

            “Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic, and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren,” Tevos replied.

            “I’m more interested in the Reapers. What do you know about them?” Councilor Valern asked.

            “Only what was extracted from the geth’s memory core,” Anderson replied. “The Reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans and then they vanished.”

            “The geth believe the Reapers are gods. And Saren is the prophet for their return,” Jean added.

            Now that they understand that Saren is a traitor, we have to make them realize the Reapers are a threat, too, she thought.

            “We think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back. Saren’s searching for it and that’s why he attacked Eden Prime,” Anderson added.

            “Do we even know what this Conduit is?” Councilor Valern inquired.

            “Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers, that’s bad enough,” Jean responded.

            “Listen to what you’re saying,” Councilor Sparatus interjected. “Saren wants to bring back machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? That’s impossible. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we’ve never found traces of their existence? If they were real, we’d have found something.”

            This information scares him, thought Jean, as she watched the councilor’s eyes.

            “I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to see the truth,” she said, feeling exasperation rise to the surface. “Don’t make the same mistake again.”

            “This is different. You proved Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree he’s using the geth to search for the Conduit, but we don’t really know why,” Councilor Tevos responded coolly.

            “The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander,” Councilor Valern added. “A convenient lie to cover Saren’s true purpose. A legend he is using to bend the geth to his will.”

            “Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers wiped out all galactic civilization. If Saren finds the Conduit, it will happen again,” said Jean.

            “Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life. He no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre. The Council has stripped him of his position,” Councilor Sparatus responded.

            “That isn’t good enough! You know he’s hiding somewhere in the Traverse, send your fleet in,” Ambassador Udina exclaimed.

            “A fleet cannot track down one man,” Councilor Valern pointed out

            “A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region. Keep the geth from attacking anymore of our colonies,” said Ambassador Udina.

            “Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems! We won’t be dragged into another intergalactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies,” Councilor Sparatus shot back.

            This is ridiculous, Jean thought. If they know Saren’s traitor yet they don’t want to take more substantive action to stop him, what’s the point?

            “Every time humanity asks for help, you ignore us,” she said.

            “Shepard’s right. I’m sick of this Council and its-” Ambassador Udina added.

            “There is another solution. A way to stop Saren that doesn’t require fleets or armies,” Councilor Tevos said.

            “No, it’s too soon! Humanity isn’t ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres,” Councilor Sparatus replied.

            “You don’t have to send a fleet into the Traverse, and the Ambassador gets his human Spectre. Everybody’s happy,” Jean said.

            Councilor Sparatus and Tevos turned to one another and shared a look. Reluctantly, Sparatus nodded and brought up his omni-tool, which in turn caused three pedestals to rise out of the ground in front of each councilor. All three voted, and when they were done, the pedestals disappeared, and Councilor Tevos looked at Jean.

            “Commander Shepard, please step forward,” Councilor Tevos instructed.

            Jean looked at Captain Anderson, who nodded. She stepped forward while Ambassador Udina moved back to stand beside Anderson. At that moment, Jean noticed the numerous spectators who had materialized out of thin air.

            Where the hell did they come from, she thought as her heart threatened to burst from her chest.

            “It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel,” Councilor Tevos began.

            “Spectres aren’t trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file,” Councilor Valern continued.

            “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,” said Councilor Tevos.

            “Spectres bear a great burden. They are the protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold,” Councilor Sparatus added.

            “You are the first human Spectre, Commander. This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species,” Councilor Tevos finished.

            “I’m honored, Councilors,” Jean said with a nod and bow.

            “We’re sending you into the Traverse after Saren,” Councilor Valern continued. “He’s a fugitive from justice, so you’re authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him.”

            “I’ll find him,” Jean reassured them as if they really needed it.

            “We know you will,” Councilor Tevos said with a nod. “This meeting of the Council is adjourned.”

            Spirits, I’ve never seen a Spectre appointed before, let alone worked with one, Garrus thought.

            He watched the entire ceremony in silence beside Wrex, who appeared nonplussed.

            “The first human Spectre,” Garrus breathed as he watched the Council’s holographic display flicker out. “There’s something special about seeing that.”

            “Huh, maybe,” Wrex answered with a shrug as Anderson shook the Commander’s hand. “But when this is all said and done, that ambassador will have no problem throwing Shepard out the airlock when it suits himself.”

            Garrus shifted his gaze back to the humans as Ambassador Udina was in the middle of going on about how Commander Shepard needed her own ship, crew, and supplies.

            I hate to admit it, but he’s right, thought Garrus.

            “You’ll also get access to special equipment and training now.  If you go down to C-Sec Academy and speak with the Spectre requisitions officer, they should be able to give you whatever you need. Provided you have the credits,” Captain Anderson added.

            “Captain Anderson, come with me,” Ambassador Udina said as he looked at the Captain. “I’ll need your help to set all of this up.”

            Captain Anderson nodded. “I understand.” He turned to the Commander. “We’ll talk later, Commander.”

            “Of course, sir,” Shepard replied.

            Garrus and Wrex stepped to one side as Ambassdor Udina, who paid them no attention whatsoever, and Captain Anderson walked downstairs and out of sight. As Commander Shepard approached them, Garrus and Wrex turned to her.

            “Hmph, bastard didn’t even thank you,” said Wrex.

            Shepard took it in stride and merely shrugged. “Until I find Saren, I haven’t done anything yet. Come on.”

            “Right behind you, Shepard,” Garrus replied.

            The trio walked down the corridor and to the elevator. The three stepped in, with Shepard standing in front of Garrus and Wrex as the doors closed.

            “So, tell me, who’d win in a fight between you and Shepard, turian?” Wrex asked, as the elevator began to descend.

            Garrus raised a brow and looked at the krogan. “The question smacks of impertinence. Commander Shepard is a Spectre with a distinguished service record.”

            “So was Saren. Think about it,” Wrex coaxed.

            Why is he asking this question, thought Garrus.

            Fortunately, the elevator reached its destination and the doors opened.

            Thank the Spirits, Garrus thought as the trio walked toward the nearest set of stairs.

            While Wrex didn’t directly speak to him, Garrus felt the krogan’s gaze focus on him. Garrus ignored the feeling as they crossed a bridge and just as they reached the entrance to the Lower Wards Wrex spoke again.

            “Well, I suppose that answers that question,” Wrex murmured.

            Garrus cast a sideways glance at the krogan. “Why do you say that?”

            “Well, you won’t even answer my question for one,” Wrex replied. “And for another, if Shepard can take down a shit load of pie-slinging batarians, then she’s more than a match for you.”

            Garrus sighed and rolled his eyes. “Is this really all because I wouldn’t answer your question?”

            At the moment, a predatory grin spread across the krogan’s face but before Garrus had the chance to respond, Commander Shepard interrupted their conversation.

            “Does anyone know who that is?” she murmured, half turning to them as she nodded in the direction of a dark-haired human woman who was waving at her.

            “No,” Garrus replied at the same time Wrex said, “No idea.”

            “Right,” Shepard said, stretching out the word. “You two stay here, I’ll go talk to her.”

            Garrus nodded and watched as Shepard walked up to the woman. Apparently, her name was Emily Wong and she was a reporter looking for information on Fist. As it turned out, the OSD Shepard had collected from Fist’s office was exactly what Emily had been looking for. Emily paid Shepard for the OSD, and Shepard returned to Garrus and Wrex.

            “All right, let’s get going,” said Commander Shepard. “We’ve no time to lose.”

            “Right behind you, Commander,” Garrus answered.

            Commander Shepard, Garrus, and Wrex turned and walked down a nearby set of stairs leading to C-Sec Academy. Through the elevator inside C-Sec Academy, the trio could return to the Normandy.

            “Commander, humor me, who do you think would win in a fight between you and Garrus?” Wrex asked with a smirk.

            Garrus folded his arms over his chest and rolled his eyes. Despite this, he listened to the Commander’s response.

            “Depends. Does he get a sniper rifle?”

            “Opponents are allowed any and all weapons and abilities they use in life,” Wrex answered. “Including biotics.”

            Garrus watched as Commander Shepard’s brows knitted together and a thoughtful frown formed on her face. “I’ll need to consider this. Can I get back to you?”

            “Of course,” Wrex replied. “At least you’re considering the question, unlike someone we know.”

            “Whine all you want, Wrex, I won’t change my mind on that answer,” said Garrus.

            “Maybe not today, but someday you will,” Wrex said.

            Just then, the elevator doors opened and the trio found Ambassador Udina talking with Captain Anderson near the Normandy. As Commander Shepard, Garrus, and Wrex approached, both stopped and turned to face newly-appointed Spectre.

            “I’ve got big news for you, Shepard. Captain Anderson is stepping down as commanding officer of the Normandy. The ship is yours,” said the ambassador.

            “She’s quick, quiet, and you know the crew. Perfect ship for a Spectre. Treat her well, commander,” Captain Anderson added.

            “I’ll take good care of her, sir,” Commander Shepard replied.

            “I know you will, Commander,” said Anderson.

            “I have a question for you, Captain,” Commander Shepard said. “What really happened all those years ago with Saren? Come clean with me, Captain. You owe me that much.”

            “I was in your shoes twenty years ago, Shepard. They were considering me for the Spectres,” Anderson replied.

            “What happened?” Commander Shepard asked.

            “I failed. I couldn’t make the cut. It’s not something I’m proud of. Ask me later and I’ll tell you the whole story. For now, all you need to know is I was sent on a mission with Saren, and he made sure the Council rejected me,” Anderson answered with a heavy sigh. “I had my shot. It came and went. Now, you have a chance to make up for my mistakes.”

            “I won’t let you down, sir,” said Commander Shepard. “Do we have any leads on Saren?”

            “Saren’s gone, don’t even try to find him. But we know he’s after the Conduit. He’s got his geth scouring the Traverse looking for clues,” Anderson responded.

            “We had reports of geth in the Feros system shortly before our colony dropped out of contact. And there have been sightings around Noveria,” Ambassador Udina added.

            And here I was thinking they didn’t have any information about Saren’s whereabouts, thought Garrus. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.

            “If you can find out what Saren was after on Feros and Noveria, maybe you can find out where the Conduit is before he does,” said Anderson.

            “I don’t know, I think the Reapers are the real threat,” Commander Shepard said.

            “I’m with the Council on this one, Shepard. I’m not sure they even exist,” Ambassador Udina interjected.

            Of course, he does, Garrus thought. So long as he looks good in the eyes of the Council.

            “But if they do exist, the Conduit’s the key to bringing them back. Stop Saren from getting the Conduit and we stop the reapers from returning,” Anderson said.

            “I’ll stop him,” Shepard reassured them. As if they needed it.

            “I almost forgot to mention, we have one more lead. Matriarch Benezia, the other voice on the recording? She has a daughter, a scientist who specializes in the Protheans. We don’t know if she’s involved, but it might be a good idea to try and find her and see what she knows,” Ambassador Udina added. “Her name is Doctor Liara T’Soni. We have reports that she was exploring an archeological dig on one of the uncharted worlds in the Artemis Tau Cluster.”

            That was fast, thought Garrus. How was the ambassador able to gather this much information in the time it took for us to get here?

            “Sounds like we should head for the Artemis Tau cluster, then,” said Commander Shepard.

            “It’s your decision, Commander. You’re a Spectre now. You don’t answer to us,” Anderson reminded her.

            “But your actions still reflect on humanity as a whole,” Ambassador Udina said. “If you make a mess, I get stuck cleaning it up.”

            “I’ll try not to make things any harder on you, Ambassador,” said Commander Shepard, much to Garrus’ surprise.

            It is the ambassdor’s job to clean up messes, anyway, he thought.  But then again, maybe she’s just trying to appease him?

            “Glad to hear it, Commander. Remember: you were a human long before you were a Spectre,” Ambassador Udina replied. “I have a meeting to get to. Captain Anderson can answer any additional questions you might have.”

            Ambassador Udina turned and walked toward the elevator and Garrus and Wrex stepped out of his way. While Garrus was feeling eager to reach the ship, Commander Shepard remained to speak with Anderson.

            “How are you holding up, Captain?” she asked.

            “Honestly? This isn’t how I pictured my career coming to an end,” Anderson responded, shaking his head. “Pushing papers really isn’t my thing. But you’re the one who can stop Saren. I believe in you, Shepard. If that means I have to step aside, so be it.”

            “Tell me everything about what happened between you and Saren twenty years ago,” Shepard requested, cutting to the heart of the matter.

            I’ll give her this, she knows how to cut through the bullshit when she needs to, thought Garrus. I admire that about her.

“I worked with him on a mission close to twenty years ago now. Ambassador Goyle was our representative here at the Citadel. Like Udina, she wanted to get a human into the Spectres and she chose me. The Council sent Saren to keep an eye on me and evaluate my performance. Just like they sent Nihlus to keep tabs on you,” Anderson answered. “We had intel on a rogue scientist being funded by batarian interests. He was trying to set up a facility to develop illegal AI technology out in the Verge. Alliance Intel had done all the work, but the Council wanted a Spectre involved. We compromised: I was assigned to help Saren in his investigation. We tracked the scientist to a refining facility on Camala. He was hidden away somewhere inside, protected by an army of batarian mercenaries. The plan was simple: sneak into the plant, capture the scientist, and sneak back out. Quick, quiet, and a minimum of bloodshed.”

“I’m guessing things didn’t do as planned?” Shepard asked.

“Saren and I split up to cover more ground. Then, about halfway through the mission, there was a massive explosion at the refinery core. Officially, it was ruled as an accident. But I think Saren detonated it on purpose to draw off the enemy guards,” said Anderson.

“How many casualties?” Shepard inquired.

“The explosion tore the refinery to shreds. The whole place was on fire. Black chemical clouds poured out into the atmosphere. Nobody inside survived,” Anderson answered and Garrus felt a wave of nausea inside his stomach.

Spirits, he thought. If the Turian Hierarchy found out…

            Garrus listened with rapt attention as Anderson continued his story.

“There was a camp for the workers and their families nearby. Between the fire and toxic fumes, the final death count was over 500. Mostly civilians. Saren didn’t care. The target was eliminated, mission accomplished. And I ended up taking the blame. That ended all talk of me joining the Spectre.”

“Saren caused the explosion. How did he pin it on you?” Shepard asked.

“In his report, Saren accused me of blowing his cover. He said it was my fault the guards were ready for us. He claimed that’s why it turned into a massacre. Saren’s report was all the Council needed to kill my chances of becoming a Spectre,” said Anderson.

“Don’t blame yourself, Captain,” Shepard said.

“I don’t, I blame Saren. I think he wanted things to go badly,” Anderson replied. “He was looking for an excuse to blow that refinery. Maybe he just likes the violence. Maybe he was just trying to make me look bad to keep humans out of Spectres. If so, he pulled it off.”

He sounds resigned, thought Garrus. But then again, this was a number of years ago.

“Why’d you let him get away with it?” Shepard asked.

“Who do you think the Council was going to listen to? Me or their best agent? I had a bad feeling about him from the start. I should’ve been more careful. Maybe I could have stopped things before they got out of hand,” Anderson responded.

“It does us no good to live in the past. Right now, the only thing I care about is stopping Saren,” said Shepard as one of her hands made a fist, which pounded into the palm of her other hand.

“You’re right, Commander,” Anderson agreed. “It’s no good living in the past.”

“Thank you again, Captain but I should go,” Commander Shepard said.

“Of course, Shepard,” Anderson said as he took a step back. “But if you ever need anything, I’ll be in touch.”

“Thank you, sir, I appreciate that,” Shepard replied.

Jean gave Anderson one final salute, and he returned the gesture.

I promise, Anderson, I’ll make you proud, she thought.

When she was done, she turned toward the docking door of the Normandy.

“Come on, guys, let’s go,” she said to Garrus and Wrex. “Time to introduce you to the Normandy.”

She led Garrus and Wrex through the doors and into a decontamination chamber.

“We have to stay here first before we can proceed into the ship,” Jean said, before quickly adding. “Sorry, I guess you both already knew that.”

God, I feel like such an idiot, she thought.

Decontamination in progress, please do not move, said the ship’s VI.

A white light appeared and began scanning the trio.

“Wow, fancy,” Wrex remarked. “Most ships I’ve been on don’t have this.”

“She’s a prototype, state-of-the-art stealth ship,” Jean replied. “She has all kinds of cool toys.”

“Decontamination is finished. Welcome back Commander Shepard and welcome krogan and turian.”

“Ah, it does this with all new guests,” Jean said as the doors leading to the Normandy’s bridge finally opened. “We’ll input your data later. For now, go ahead and get comfortable and we’ll meet in a bit.”

“Understood, Commander,” Garrus replied at the same time Wrex said, “Sounds good.”

Jean entered the ship and stood to one side as Garrus and Wrex filed past. She noticed the odd looks the crew shared at the two new, alien crewmembers, but otherwise, they didn’t make any remarks.

Well, that’s something I guess, thought Jean.

She walked up to the cockpit and toward Joker, who looked up at her as she grew closer.

“I heard what happened to Captain Anderson. Survives a hundred battles, and then gets taken down by backroom politics,” said Joker by way of greeting. “Just watch your back, Commander. Things go bad on this mission, you’re next on the chopping block.”

He’s not wrong, Jean thought. If I step out of line in any way, this position can be taken from me just as easily as it was given.

“Captain Anderson should be the one in charge. It’s like I’m stealing the ship from him,” she said, and it was true.

“Yeah, the Captain got screwed. But, it’s not like you could’ve stopped it. No one’s blaming you. Everyone on this ship’s behind you, Commander. One hundred percent. Intercom’s open if you’ve got something to say to the crew,” said Joker.

Jean moved close enough to Joker to stand beside him and pressed the intercom button.

I need to keep them informed but I don’t want to lie to them, she thought.

“This is Commander Shepard speaking. We have our orders: find Saren before he finds the Conduit. I won’t lie to you, crew,” Jean began, speaking as loud and clear as she could. “This mission isn’t going to be easy. For too long, our species has stood apart from the others. Now, it’s time for us to step up and do our part for the rest of the galaxy! It’s time to show everyone what humans are made of! Our enemy knows we’re coming. When we go into the Traverse, Saren’s followers will be waiting for us. But we’ll be ready for them, too. Humanity needs to do this. Not just for our own sake, but for the sake of every other species in Citadel Space. Saren must be stopped, and I promise you all that we will stop him!”

Jean removed her hand from the intercom button and Joker shifted in his seat to look up at her.

“Well said, Commander. Captain Anderson would be proud,” he said.

“The Captain gave up everything so I could have this chance. We can’t fail,” Jean said as she turned and walked toward the Combat Information Center. “Joker, take us to the Artemis Tau cluster.”

“Aye, aye, Commander,” Joker replied.

Chapter Text

As soon as Garrus stepped foot on the Normandy, he couldn’t help but stare in wonder at the clean, sleek corridor and the circular Combat Information Center, the beating heart of the vessel and a bustling hub of activity; he had never seen any ship quite like it. Alliance soldiers moved to and from the CIC as they saw to their duties. It was clear Shepard ran a tight, efficient ship.

Spirits, this place is amazing, he thought. Then again, the Commander did say it was a prototype.

“Come on, Vakarian, keep moving,” Wrex urged from behind. “I want to see what their bunk situation looks like.”

“Right, sorry,” Garrus said, as he began walking faster.

Just as he reached the back stairs, Commander Shepard began her speech. He and Wrex stopped to listen and even though he wasn’t human, her words filled him with a sense of pride and determination.

She’s certainly good at inspiring people, thought Garrus. She would make an excellent turian officer.

Once the speech was over, Garrus watched as the Alliance soldiers returned to work with renewed vigor as Commander Shepard walked toward the CIC.

“You boys fitting in, okay?” Commander Shepard asked as she grew closer.

Garrus opened his mouth to reply, but Wrex beat him to it.

“We’re fine, we don’t need anyone holding our hands, right Vakarian?” Wrex said, lightly elbowing Garrus’s shoulder.

He gave a grunt and nodded. “We’ll be just fine, Commander. We’ll let you know if we need anything.”

“Good,” said Shepard. “We’re headed to the Artemis Tau cluster to find Doctor Liara T’Soni and before we get there, we’ll have a short debriefing. Until then, you’re free to do whatever. Bunks and restrooms are on deck two.”

“Thank you, Commander,” Garrus answered while Wrex rolled his eyes and grumbled beside him.

The pair walked downstairs to the second deck, which led to an area with tables, chairs, and kitchen cabinetry.

“She said deck two, didn’t she?” Garrus whispered to Wrex, as he leaned closer to the krogan.

“Yep,” the krogan replied.

Garrus searched the room and looked beyond to find a medium hallway where cryopods hung from the walls.

“I don’t see any bunks,” he murmured.

“Me either,” Wrex answered. “Might as well keep looking.”

The two took a tentative step into the mess hall. As soon as they entered, things went quiet as the humans present either looked at them as though they had never seen a turian or krogan before, or pretended not to look, as if they weren’t even there.

“All right, everyone, that’s enough,” said Staff Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko. “Back to work, let’s go.”

Just like that, the other soldiers did as they were asked by their superior officer and dispersed as they returned to their duties. Garrus focused on the officer as he approached them.

“Garrus, Wrex, good to see you guys,” Kaidan said with a nod. “Let me show you to the bunks.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Garrus replied.

“Not a problem,” Kaidan answered. “Right this way.”

Garrus and Wrex followed Kaidan through the mess and past the tables where some Alliance soldiers sat and down a hallway to the right. When Kaidan arrived at a door, he knocked.

“Anyone home?” he asked. When he received no response, he brought up his omni-tool and began typing. Once he was done, the door opened to reveal rows of bunk beds. “These are the sleeping quarters, everyone has one footlocker at the end of the bed.”

Kaidan moved to one side as Garrus and Wrex stepped into the room.

“I have some reports I need to write and file but if you need anything else, let me know,” said Kaidan.

“Thank you again, Lieutenant,” Garrus said.

Kaidan nodded and left the room. Once the door had closed, Garrus turned to Wrex.

“You’re not going to thank him?” Garrus asked, as he searched for a bunk and footlocker that weren’t already taken.

Wrex snorted. “Why should I? He’s doing his job, just as we’re here to do ours. And you would do well to remember that the only reason we’re here is because the Commander says so.”

Garrus nodded but didn’t reply.

He’s right, but that doesn’t mean we can’t show the crew some courtesy while we’re here, he thought. We are representatives of our species, whether we like it or not. The least we can do is treat them with respect.

Once Garrus and Wrex left, heading for deck two, Jean made her way to the raised platform at the head of the CIC. She slowly walked toward it, reminding herself that she did belong here.

You’re the leader now, she thought.

Jean climbed atop the platform and nearly fell off before she grabbed the railing.

“There are steps, Commander,” Navigator Pressly said. “For the platform.”

Jean looked down and found that there were, indeed, steps leading up to the platform. She pulled herself upright before focusing on her XO again.

“Thank you, Navigator Pressly, I’ll keep that in mind,” Jean said with a nod.

“Of course, Commander, happy to help,” Navigator Pressly replied.

Just then, Jean heard Joker’s voice over the intercom.

“We’re ready to go through the relay on your order, Commander.”

Shit, I’m the one responsible for giving these orders now, thought Jean.

“Whenever you’re ready, Joker, let’s punch it,” she instructed.

“Aye, aye, Commander,” Joker replied.

Despite how many times she’d gone through a relay, Jean held onto the railing as the Normandy traversed through the relay. She watched as the crew dutifully executed the jump as the ship hurtled through space.

It never gets old seeing the flash of light and feeling how fast the Normandy moves through the relays, she thought. Still, I’d not like to be sent flying against a nearby wall.

As if reading her thoughts, Joker’s voice came on over the intercom again.

“Relay cleared, Commander.”

Jean released her grip on the railing and straightened her posture. “Nice work, everyone. Next stop, the Artemis Tau cluster.” She descended the stairs and walked toward Navigator Pressly. “Can you hold down the fort for a minute?”

“Of course, Commander,” Navigator Pressly answered with a nod. “You can count on me.”

“Thanks,” Jean said.

She turned and walked past the wall, and toward the door the dual marines were guarding.

“I’ll just be a minute,” she said.

“Of course, Commander,” said the one on the right as both gave a clear, crisp salute.

“Thanks,” Jean replied.

She entered the turquoise-lit comm rooms, with the pathway leading to a circular platform with several chairs on either side and three consoles near the front.

“The last time I was here, Nihlus was still alive and we were on our way to Eden Prime,” she murmured as she reached the center platform. “How things change in so little time.”

Jean walked to the center console and brought up her omni-tool, typing as fast as her fingers would allow.

“Greetings, Commander Shepard and welcome back. How may I assist you today?” the ship’s VI responded.

“Connect me to the SSV Kilimanjaro, if you can,” said Jean.

“Very good, Commander. Connecting now,” the VI replied.

“SSV Kilimanjaro, this is XO Shepard speaking,” Hanna Shepard replied.

Damn, it’s been so long since I’ve heard her voice, Jean thought.

“Hey Mom, it’s me,” she replied.

“Jean, sweetheart, good to hear from you,” her mother replied. “I heard about you becoming the first human Spectre, congratulations, honey. I know you’ll make the Alliance proud.”

“Thanks, Mom,” said Jean. “How’s your posting been lately?”

“We’ve been pretty quiet so far,” her mom said. “But you know how postings can go. Quiet one minute, and loud the next.”

“I do,” Jean agreed. “Have you heard from Dad lately?”

Along with Jean’s mother, Hannah, Jean’s father, Grant served in the military. Jean and her younger brother, Matthew, had followed in their footsteps.

“Your father’s doing well,” Hannah answered. “He’s been considering retirement again.”

Although her mother couldn’t see her, Jean raised a brow. “I thought he had been thinking about that for a while now?”

“Yes, but this time it’s more serious,” her mother said. “His lower back is hurting him again and the ship’s doctor said he might not be able to serve much longer.”

“Does he know what he plans to do once he retires?” Jean asked.

“No idea, he’s still weighing his options. But, I’ll keep you updated on the situation.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it,” said Jean. “Have you heard from Matthew?”

Her mother sighed. “Not for some time, no. The last I spoke with him, he was working on some engineering project or other, I’m not entirely sure. You know how he gets when he’s working on a project.”

It’s as if that’s all he can focus on, thought Jean.

“I do,” she said. “Do you know if he’s accepting calls at this time?”

“I don’t,” her mother replied and Jean heard a beeping on the other end. “I’m sorry, honey, I have to go. Congratulations again on becoming a Spectre, and keep up the great work.”

“Thanks,” Jean said, as her mom cut the comm line. “Do I want to try calling Matthew?” She brought up her omni-tool again and the ship’s VI responded accordingly. “Can you connect to the SSV Leipzig.”

“Very good, Commander. Connecting now,” the VI replied.

Jean waited as the line rang and after the fifth ring, she disconnected. “Maybe I’ll just send an email instead,” she murmured.

She brought up her omni-tool and searched for Matthew’s email. She began typing a long, drawn-out correspondence: asking him how he was doing, about his recent project, telling him about becoming a Spectre, and everything in between. When it was sufficiently novel-length, she sent it.

“Maybe next time you should answer the damn comm,” Jean murmured. With a sigh, she closed her omni-tool and turned back toward the door that led to the CIC. “Time to get back to work.”

            Several hours later, the Normandy arrived in the Artemis Tau cluster and headed for the Sparta system; the desert-planet Edolus was the location of their first mission. Garrus stood beside Kaidan in the Normandy’s storage area, on the lowest deck, as Commander Shepard opened the hatch to the Mako.

            Our first mission together, Garrus thought. Then again, that was on the Citadel. But this, feels bigger now that Shepard’s a Spectre.

            “Commander, do you need some help?” Kaidan asked as Shepard continued struggling with the hatch.

            Just then, she opened it. “No thanks, I’m good. Let’s hop in, everyone.” Garrus and Kaidan followed her instructions while Commander Shepard put a hand to the comm link in her ear. “What’s our ETA from the drop zone, Joker?”

            Joker’s voice crackled through the comm links in all of their ears at that moment. “ETA is two minutes, ma’am.”

            Shepard stepped back as Garrus slid through the compact, human-sized hole, squeezing his arms together until his feet finally touched the floor. Numerous screens lit up the interior with four chairs closely packed together.

            Judging by the lack of space, the Alliance clearly never thought a turian would get into one of these, thought Garrus as he sat down in one of the chairs.

            “You might have to squish yourself in a bit,” Kaidan advised as he sat in one of the chairs opposite Garrus, clearly more comfortable than Garrus in such a confined compartment.

            “Good to know,” Garrus remarked as Commander Shepard slipped through the hole and closed the hatch.

            She moved to the driver’s seat, pressed some buttons, and an image of the Normandy’s storage area appeared on camera. Garrus noticed Gunnery Chief Williams and Wrex were both absent from their stations.

            “Ground team, we are at the rendezvous site,” Joker’s voice crackled through the comm links again.

            Garrus’ heart raced in his chest as the Normandy lowered herself closer to the planet’s surface. He heard the Normandy’s hatch open and Commander Shepard grabbed the steering wheel.

            “You boys might want to hang onto something, it’s going to be a bumpy ride,” she advised.

            Garrus was about to object, but when he felt the Mako speed down the ramp, he followed her instructions and braced himself for their landing. In his peripheral vision, he saw Kaidan do the same.  Commander Shepard drove them onto the planet, with its red, rocky ground and yellow sun.

            Well, that’s an interesting contrast, Garrus thought.

            “Remember, we’re here to find Admiral Kahoku’s missing men,” Commander Shepard reminded them. “He said this was their last known location.”

            Kaidan began typing at his station’s console and brought up a blue screen, a map of the planet, with a red line that kept moving.

            “It looks like the signal is still being transmitted,” he said. “And it’s coming from the east; I’ll send the coordinates to your console, Commander.”

            Shepard nodded. “Good work, Staff Lieutenant.”

            Kaidan nodded and Shepard drove to the coordinates Kaidan had provided her with, all the while, Garrus was once again clinging to the console edges.

            Spirits, I can’t wait until we’re back on the Normandy, he thought.

            As Jean followed the signal across Edolus, dark yellow clouds blocked the sun. The wind blew occasionally, but not enough to knock them off course. Ever since the initial landing, Kaidan and Garrus had been quiet.

            We have to be getting close, Jean thought.

            “Staff Lieutenant, how close are we to finding the source of the signal?” she asked.

            “We’re less than a kilometer away; I would say we’re only a couple of minutes away at most,” Kaidan replied.

            “Let’s hope so,” Jean said with a sigh.

            Just then, the unremarkable rocky terrain that had been their only view since landing leveled out, and ahead of them there was instead a flat, circular plain. Jean noticed in the middle of it an upside-down Grizzly, but saw no bodies.

            “This is where the signal originates from,” Kaidan told her.

            “This place seems pretty damned quiet,” she said. “Might as well go in for a closer look.”

            Jean drove the Mako closer to the center of the area and came to an abrupt stop as the ground around them began violently shaking. Her heart raced in her chest and she reversed the Mako as an enormous bug creature rose from the ground. The beast had two sets of blue slits on either side of its head, two huge pincers on either side of its head, and a large blue tongue which it used to spit a big green ball at the Mako.

            “A Thresher Maw,” Garrus breathed.

            “I don’t mean to be a backseat driver, Commander, but you may want to avoid whatever the Thresher Maw just sent at us,” Kaidan remarked.

            Jean grunted as she turned the steering wheel, “I’m working on it, Kaidan.”

            She stomped on the accelerator and swerved the steering wheel, driving uphill, just barely avoiding whatever the hell the green ball was. As the creature bellowed, once again shaking the ground, Jean stopped and pressed a button. This engaged the Mako’s weapons systems, aiming its main cannon and mounted machine gun, aiming them directly at the Thresher Maw’s mouth. With another press of a button, several eezo rounds were fired at the giant bug.

            The Thresher Maw cried out in pain as the rounds hit the bug; Jean’s thumb never left the button for very long, firing a continuous barrage straight at the creature.

            “You should try out the explosive ammo,” Kaidan advised. “That might do more damage, Commander.”

            “Good thinking, Staff Lieutenant,” Jean said.

            She switched to pressing another button, loading the explosive rounds, and this time, a huge burst of eezo hit the Thresher Maw on its blue tongue. The creature wailed loudly before burrowing beneath the ground again. Jean resumed driving, albeit, at a slower pace this time as the Thresher Maw pursued them, under the surface.

            I have to wait until it surfaces again before I start shooting, she thought.

            “Everyone, hold on,” she shouted.

            Just as the Thresher Maw surfaced near them again, Jean pressed a button and sent another round of explosive ammunition at the giant bug. The creature screeched in pain as its body flailed about and Jean pressed another button, this time sending wave after wave of eezo rounds at the creature.

            “Take that, you piece of shit,” she said.

            The Thresher Maw cried out in pain one final time before it landed on the ground nearby with a thud. In her peripheral vision, Jean noticed Kaidan and Garrus gripping the console by their seats with white knuckles. All three waited in silence for a moment until the ground stopped shaking and they knew no more Thresher Maws were waiting for them.

            “Nice work, Commander,” Kaidan and Garrus said in unison. They shared a confused look, before immediately looking away.

            “Thanks,” Jean sighed.

            She steered the Mako to the left of the deceased giant worm’s body as best she could. She, Kaidan, and Garrus braced themselves for the bump that was the descent and upon closer inspection through the driver’s viewing port, saw the mangled remains of the marines lying outside.

            God, they were lured here with no clue of what awaited them, Jean thought. How awful.

            “That’s Admiral Kahoku’s men,” Kaidan remarked.

            “Is that tiny device the signal that lured them here?” Garrus asked, gesturing ahead toward a small, black box in the middle of the corpses.

            “Looks like it,” Jean replied, focusing on the small radio-like machine, indicated by Garrus.. She reached up and opened the Mako’s entrance hatch. “I’ll be right back.”

            “Commander, what are you doing?” Kaidan asked.

            “Making sure no one else makes this same mistake,” Jean answered.

She rose from her seat and slithered through the hatch and onto the roof of the Mako. She hopped off the Mako and walked toward the radio-like device. Jean withdrew her shotgun from its holster, grabbed it with both hands, and aimed it at the machine. She pulled the trigger twice in quick succession, which caused the apparatus to spark and explode into countless tiny pieces.

            “We’re done here,” Jean said, holstering her shotgun and putting a finger to her earpiece. “Joker, we’ve completed our mission and are ready for extraction. What’s your ETA?”

            “We’ll be there in five minutes, Commander,” Joker replied.

            “Good. It shouldn’t be too hard to find us, just look for the giant, dead bug,” said Jean.

            “Noted, Ma’am.”

            Garrus watched from within the cramped confines of the Mako as Commander Shepard shot the device and it exploded into several pieces.

            “Is she usually upset about things like this?” he asked, watching as Commander Shepard spoke into her commlink.

            “About stuff like this? Oh yeah,” Kaidan replied. “She gets real pissed whenever anything bad happens to Alliance soldiers.”

            Is that, admiration in his voice? Garrus thought.

            He was about to ask when the hatch opened and Commander Shepard reentered the Mako.

            “Joker says the Normandy’s ETA is about five minutes,” she said. “When the Normandy arrives, the ramp will descend and we’ll drive up into the storage area.”

            “Understood,” Garrus nodded.

            The trio waited silently in the cramped Mako and Garrus was thankful when the Normandy finally appeared and landed close to their location. Commander Shepard urged the Mako forward just as the Normandy’s ramp fell toward them.

            “This might be a bit bumpy,” she said, as she accelerated up the ramp.

            Garrus and Kaidan once again clung to the console as the Mako rode up the ramp and into the storage area. Once the Mako was in place again, the ramp closed and the Normandy rose into the sky.

            “Right, let’s get the heck out of here,” Commander Shepard said. She reached up and opened the hatch and Garrus was never more grateful for fresh air in his life. “We’re heading for Therum next, we need to find Doctor T’Soni; I’ll see you two in the briefing later, once we get closer to the planet.”

            “Of course, Commander,” Kaidan and Garrus answered in unison.

            That’s the second time that’s happened, thought Garrus.

            He shared a knowing look with Kaidan as Commander Shepard slithered out through the hatch and onto the roof of the Mako once more. Garrus shook his head and pushed such thoughts from his mind as Kaidan exited the Mako ahead of him.

            After Jean had a shower following their mission on Edolus’ surface and had ordered the Normandy to head for the Knossos system, she dressed in her usual N7 armor and went to the comm room, where Wrex and Garrus were already waiting for their briefing as they closed in on Therum – their next mission.

            Shit, I have to be better about arriving on time, she thought. I’m the leader now, I need to set a better example.

            “Sorry to keep you waiting,” Jean said by way of greeting. “Thank you both for being on time.”

            Wrex nodded while Garrus adjusted in his seat.

            “It’s not a problem, Commander,” Garrus reassured her.

            Jean nodded and folded her hands behind her back. “Right, so our mission is to get in, get Doctor T’Soni, and get out. Joker will drop us off roughly twenty klicks from the ruins where the doctor was reportedly last sighted, on some kind of archeological dig. Since we don’t know what we’ll be facing once we get down there, I want you both to be on your guard. Do either of you have any questions?”

            “No, ma’am,” Garrus said, shaking his head.

            “Nope, sounds good,” Wrex agreed. “Let’s go get this doctor.”

            Jean nodded. “All right, let’s head down to the storage area. We’ll take the Mako onto Therum.”

            She led Wrex and Garrus out of the comm room and to the elevator.

            This will save us more time, she thought as she pressed the down button.

            As the elevator doors opened, Jean entered first, followed by Garrus and Wrex. She pressed a button and the door closed again.

            “Does this thing go down all the way?” Wrex asked.

            “What do you mean?” said Jean.

            “Does it go all the way down to the storage space?” Wrex replied.

            “Oh, yes,” she answered.

            “Then what the hell do you have stairs for?” Wrex inquired.

            A question I once asked Captain Anderson, thought Jean as they descended the elevator.

            She shrugged. “Honestly, I couldn’t tell you.”

            “I imagine it would make traveling easier, although more crowded,” Garrus remarked as the doors opened again in the storage area.

            Jean spotted Ashley bent over her usual work desk, taking apart and cleaning some assault rifles.

            She’s certainly been working hard since she got here, Jean thought.

            “Good work on those weapons, Chief Williams,” she said.

            Ashley glanced up at Jean, fully turned, and saluted her. “Thank you, Ma’am. Have we reached Therum yet?”

            “We have,” Jean answered. “We’ll be planetside in about—”

            “ETA is two minutes, Commander,” Joker replied over the intercom.

            Ashley quickly grabbed a nearby towel and wiped her hands. “In that case, I’ll head upstairs to the messdeck. Best of luck, ma’am.”

            “Thanks,” said Jean.

            Ashley began walking to the elevator while Jean, Wrex, and Garrus made their way to the Mako. Once they reached the enormous vehicle, Jean climbed on top and reached for the hatch door.

            “Just as a heads up, you may have to hold your arms closer together,” Garrus advised, looking at Wrex as Jean pulled on the hatch with all her strength. “It can be quite crowded.”

            “Heh, good to know,” Wrex replied. As Jean continued struggling, Wrex turned to her with a raised brow. “Need any help there?”

            “No, I’ve almost,” Jean grunted, finally removing the top of the hatch as she landed on top of the Mako with a soft thud. “Got it,” she finished, before slowly standing up. “Joker, are we at the drop site?”

            “We’re close,” Joker answered.

            “All right, everyone, pile in,” Jean instructed, before she slid through the hatch and into the Mako.

Chapter Text

Garrus and Wrex followed Commander Shepard into the Mako, with Wrex just barely making it through the human-sized hatch.

            “The next time they make one of those, they should design it with krogan in mind,” Wrex grumbled.

            “I’ll tell the manufacturers that,” Shepard replied, as she pulled the hatch closed and secured it. “Joker?”

            “Opening the ramp now, Commander,” Joker’s voice crackled in their comm links.

            Garrus watched on the Mako’s external camera feed as the Normandy ramp opened ahead of them and the dark skies and volcanic atmosphere of Therum came into view.

            “You boys might want to hold on tight,” Shepard advised, grabbing the steering wheel. “This is going to be a bit bumpy.”

            Not needing to be told twice, and with memories of their last mission in the Mako still fresh in his mind, Garrus gripped the console while Wrex simply leaned back in his seat.

            “I’ll be fine,” the krogan replied nonchalantly.

            Commander Shepard drove the Mako down the ramp and onto the rocky terrain of Therum.

            Spirits, Garrus thought. Why is this not a vehicle I would wish upon my worst enemy?

            On the camera feed, he watched the Normandy ramp ascend as the ship soared into the air and out of sight.

“Commander, I’m picking up some really strange readings. Like, off the damn charts. It looks like it’s coming from an underground complex a few klicks away from the drop zone,” Joker observed through their comm links.

“Could be whatever else is in the ruins,” Wrex replied.

“Either way, we’ll find out soon enough,” said Commander Shepard. “Thanks for the warning, Joker.”

            Garrus kept one hand on the console at all times as Commander Shepard drove the Mako across Therum, which, luckily for them, made driving smoother. Garrus kept an eye on his console for any hostiles before eventually spotting an insect-shaped metallic ship flying overhead that dropped two Geth Armatures.

            “I wonder if those strange readings correspond with the geth,” Garrus mused.

            “Could be,” said Commander Shepard.

            She pressed a button, priming the Mako’s weapons system, sending a powerful explosive shot from the cannon atop at the nearest Geth Armature, which began sparking from the attack. Garrus watched as she pressed another button, which sent eezo rounds from the mounted machine guns at both machines.

            I wish there was some way for us to help her, thought Garrus. It feels awkward just sitting here and watching her fight on her own.

            As if reading his thoughts, Wrex piped up. “Are there any other weapons for this thing?”

            Garrus watched on the camera feeds as the first Geth Armature exploded, while Shepard continued firing at the second.

            “No,” she grunted just as the second sparked and blew up into a million tiny pieces. “It’s one of the drawbacks of the Mako.”

            “Amongst many,” Wrex grumbled as Commander Shepard resumed driving again.

            “Hey, just be grateful we haven’t landed in that lava yet,” Shepard replied and Garrus shuddered. “The previous generation of vehicles, the Grizzly, used to drive like a grease pig on wheels.”
            While I’m not entirely sure what that is, I guess I’ll take her word for it, he thought.

            Commander Shepard drove the Mako forward before she finally reached a set of three geth turrets. As they grew closer, all three immediately focused on the Mako and fired at them.

            “Son of a bitch," Shepard swore as she pressed another button. "You boys might want to grab that console."

            Garrus followed her instructions as Commander Shepard pressed another button and the Mako suddenly rose several feet into the air. While they could avoid the turret’s aimed fire, outmaneuvering their aiming protocols, Garrus still felt his lunch rise in his throat.

            Spirits, please keep my food where it belongs, he thought in silent prayer.

            With a solid thud, making the entire vehicle rumble, Wrex let out a dismissive grunt.

            "Well, that was interesting," he said. "But only a fool punches a nathak in the mouth. We should sneak around and pull its tail."

            What is a nathak anyway, thought Garrus.

            “Agreed,” Shepard replied, and drove the Mako down the path to the right.

            The short trail led to another turret, which Commander Shepard easily disposed of. She drove a little further and encountered several geth who shot at the Mako. Shepard returned fire and made quick work of the geth. As the Mako continued onwards, they soon arrived at a small complex, originally thought to be some sort of research station, which according to the Mako’s scanners, had been commandeered by a small geth unit.

            "Let's get out and look around," said Commander Shepard as she reached up and opened the hatch again.

            Once the Commander left the Mako, Garrus and Wrex followed close behind. Garrus hung behind the two of them, choosing to carry his sniper rifle, looking through his scope and shooting any geth before they could attack first. The three moved from building to building, clearing out the remaining geth. In the final building, they found the controls to openo a gate that blocked their path to the ruins. As they opened it, three turrets were revealed behind it.

            “Shit,” Shepard swore, as the turrets focused on the three of them. “Duck,” she instructed, and Garrus and Wrex followed her command.

            “We should inch back to the Mako,” Garrus said over the deafening sound of three turret’s gunfire. “We’ll at least have superior firepower.”

            “I agree with the turian,” Wrex echoed.

            “Then let’s go,” Shepard acquiesced.

            The trio crept out of the building and hurried back to the Mako, with Wrex easily opening the Mako’s heavy hatch. Once all three were inside, Commander Shepard didn’t even wait until the hatch was closed before she fired explosive eezo ammunition at the first turret. Sparks flew and the turret exploded, raining tiny pieces in the surrounding area as Shepard turned to the turret on the left and fired until that turret was destroyed by the Mako’s powerful armaments.

            I’ll say this about Commander Shepard, she can certainly be ruthless when she wants to, Garrus thought.

            He watched her take down the final turret before she reached up, closed, and secured the hatch.

            “Let’s get to those ruins,” she said.

            Commander Shepard drove the Mako through the gates and down the path. A short distance away, they reached an open area with two more Geth Armatures.

            “Spirits, how many of those do they have?” Garrus murmured.

            He hadn’t meant to say it aloud, but the geth seemed to have an endless supply of those machines for reinforcements. He watched as Commander Shepard pressed a button and fired a round of eezo explosives at the closest Armature.

            “It doesn’t matter, we’re going to take them all out,” Shepard replied.

            She fired smaller rounds of eezo ammunition from the Mako’s machine guns at both Geth Armatures and the first one soon crumpled into a heap on the ground. She set her jaw as she focused on the other Geth Armature, which eventually joined its companion in a pile on the ground.

            “Does that ever make your hand tired?” Garrus asked as Shepard nonchalantly resumed driving, as though nothing had happened.

            “Does what?” asked Shepard, without turning to look at him.

            “Pressing all those buttons,” he answered.

            “It can,” said Shepard. “But I don’t really have any other choice.”

            Garrus nodded and the Mako fell into silence as they kept going. Not long later, their path was blocked as a geth dropship released two additional Geth Armatures in front of the Mako.

            “You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Garrus groaned as the Mako grinded to a halt.

            “Look on the bright side, you’re not the one who has to fight them,” Shepard remarked.

            She began by firing eezo explosives at the closest large machine and followed up with eezo rounds. Much like their previous encounter, the first Armature crumpled as it succumbed to the Mako’s superior firepower, whilst the second continued to fire at them.

            “You two might want to hang on,” Shepard advised.

            Garrus grabbed hold of the console with his other hand as Commander Shepard pressed a button to active the thrusters and the Mako rose in the air, out of the line of the Armature’s fire. Once again, Garrus noticed that Wrex and Shepard didn’t react much to this development.

            I suppose Shepard is used to this kind of ride, he thought once they landed back on the ground.

            As soon as the Mako hit the ground, Commander Shepard resumed repeatedly firing at the remaining Geth Armature, finishing it off with an eezo explosive round. She drove on ahead as the machine crumpled to the ground.

            Once they crested a hill, Garrus spotted on his console even more geth reinforcements and an emplaced turret.

            “The geth have certainly made their presence here known,” he remarked as Commander Shepard mowed down the singular geth units.

            “You think?” Wrex replied.

            “It seems there are a lot more of them around here than we’ve seen so far,” Garrus replied. “Whoever this Doctor T’Soni is, she must have or know something that Saren wants.”

            “She is Matriarch Benezia’s daughter,” Shepard grunted as she sent a round of explosive ammunition at the Geth Armature. “But you’re right, there’s something more to this Doctor T’Soni. Either way, we’ll figure it out soon enough – once we’re clear of these geth.”

            Fortunately, Commander Shepard made quick work of the geth turret and she resumed driving the Mako. The vehicle continued until they reached a tunnel, with Garrus scanning his console for anymore geth nearby.

            Looks clear so far, Garrus thought.

            As they emerged from said tunnel, he noticed three geth and singular turret just outside. Once again, he watched as Commander Shepard easily took them down. The Mako drove over the geth corpses and into another tunnel, where more geth awaited them inside.

            Spirits, I feel like I’ve already seen enough geth to last a lifetime, thought Garrus. And we haven’t even reached the ruins yet.

            He observed as Commander Shepard easily mowed down the geth in the tunnel before she resumed driving. However, as soon as they reached the edge of the tunnel, there were more geth. Again, Shepard took them down and kept driving. Garrus glanced ahead and noticed two huge piles of rocks on either side of a small, square hole.

            “Looks like we’ll have to leave the Mako here,” said Commander Shepard.

            Thank the Spirits, Garrus thought, feeling sore from the rough ride.

            As Shepard reached for the hatch, Wrex spoke up.

            “I’ll get it, Shepard.”

            Shepard turned as much as she could to look at the krogan. “Are you sure?”

            “Yep,” Wrex replied.

            Commander Shepard then sat back down and Wrex reached up and opened the hatch with one hand. Garrus was instantly hit by the immense heat of the lava nearby and the stench of sulfur

relished the fresh air as Commander Shepard slid through the hatch first, with Garrus and Wrex following close behind. All three removed their respective weapons, for Garrus it was his sniper rifle, as they slid through the crack in the wall.

            “Joker, we’ve left the Mako just outside the ruins,” said Commander Shepard to her commlink. “Could you pick it up?”

            “Aye, aye, Commander,” Joker replied.

            Garrus noticed two more geth rush toward them as the trio inched into the ruins. He aimed his sniper rifle at one’s headlamp and fired while Wrex sent the other one flying away from them with his biotics. The three slowly moved forward and as the second geth picked itself up off the ground, Commander Shepard finished it with her shotgun.

            “Let’s keep moving,” she said.

            The trio kept their weapons ready as they crept to the next area, where there were more geth seemingly waiting for them. Garrus hid behind a nearby rock and looked through the scope of his sniper rifle at the geth sniper hidden a nearby tower.

            You’re mine, he thought.

            Before it had a chance to spot them, he fired twice in quick succession and the geth fell and dropped its weapon. In his peripheral vision, Garrus watched Commander Shepard and Wrex make quick work of the two geth in their immediate area with their biotics.

            Garrus cautiously peered around the enormous rock and searched their surroundings. When geth began firing at them from above, Garrus hid back behind his rock. He noticed Wrex sent them flying with his biotics while Commander Shepard hid behind a nearby rock.

            “We have to move uphill together,” she said.

            Garrus nodded. “Right behind you, Commander.”

            “Ready whenever you are,” Wrex replied.

            Garrus stepped out from behind his rock just as Commander Shepard did the same. He and Wrex followed Shepard uphill as both geth recovered. Using his sniper rifle, Garrus looked through the scope and took aim at a geth stationed at the top of another tower, which was shooting at Shepard and Wrex. After two more quick shots from his rifle, it fell. As he aimed out of his scope, he saw Wrex and Commander Shepard finish the other two geth for good.

            “Thanks, Garrus,” Commander Shepard said with a nod.

            “No problem, Commander,” Garrus replied.

            Garrus and Wrex continued following Commander Shepard uphill to a mining entrance on the right with a rectangular platform above connected to a walkway leading to another platform on the left. Coming from the platform on the left were numerous lights, which were off.

            This looks like the perfect place to be ambushed, thought Garrus.

            As they grew closer, he noticed the numerous equipment containers, sniper tower, and an old rusted Grizzly. He immediately spotted one geth crawling beneath the platform, raised his sniper rifle, and fired twice in quick succession.

            “Take that, geth bastard,” Garrus murmured, as he watched it fall lifelessly to the ground.

            However, before the others had time to react, a Geth Dropship flew overhead, dropping an Armature in their path, blocking their entrance to the mine. As it landed, it released a round from its Pulse cannon directly at them.

            Shit, another geth armature, Jean thought.

            “Everyone, get to cover,” she shouted before she raced behind one of the metallic containers on the right. In her peripheral vision, she saw Garrus hide behind the container on the far left, while Wrex stood behind the one in the center. All three avoided the shot from its cannon, but as Jean peaked around the corner of the container, she counted several geth approaching their position.

            “What are our orders, Commander?” Garrus asked, over the noise of the geth firing at them.

            Jean grunted as a force hit the metallic container, most likely, another shot from the Armature’s cannon.

            Her thoughts turned to coming up with a plan. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a geth crawl along the underside of the platform. Before she could lift her assault rifle, she watched Garrus shoot it several times in quick succession, causing it to land on the ground beside the other.

            “Right now, focus on the geth that come to us,” Jean ordered. “Then, we’ll work our way closer to the Armature. Do not engage it in battle head-on.”

            “Understood, Commander,” Garrus nodded while a lupine grin formed on Wrex’s face.

            “What if we have an idea on how to deal with the Armature?” he asked.

            Jean grunted as another cannon round hit the metallic container that was providing them cover. Before the Armature could shoot again, Garrus aimed his sniper rifle at an incoming geth, firing quickly to take it down.

            “One thing at a time, Wrex,” she said.

            Jean adjusted her grip on her assault rifle and lifted her left hand as biotic energy crackled around it. She waited until a geth grew close enough to her before she sent it flying against the nearby rocks wherein either Garrus or Wrex would shoot it until it stopped moving. However, Jean remained behind the container as the Armature continued sending round after round of cannon fire at her.

            “Garrus, can you dampen this damned thing for five seconds?” she shouted.

            “I’ll see what I can do, Commander,” Garrus answered.

            From her vantage point, she watched as the turian sharpshooter left his cover and aimed his sniper rifle at the Geth Armature. Jean’s eyes widened and her heart threatened to burst from her chest as he swiftly fired, before sliding back behind the crate. She was about to say something when Garrus brought up his omni-tool but instead let out a grunt as the Armature sent another shot from its cannon at the crate, which surprisingly didn’t break.

            It’s a good thing these crates are quite sturdy, thought Jean.

            She adjusted her grip on her assault rifle again, holding it with both hands now, as she watched Garrus pop out from behind the crate and aim his omni-tool at the Geth Armature.

            “Good night,” he said.

            Slowly, Jean peered out from behind her create and watched as the Geth Armature folded in on itself.

            “I managed to temporarily disable it, but it will be back online soon,” Garrus said.

            “Then let’s give it everything we’ve got,” she replied.

            Jean fully popped out from behind the crate at the same time as Garrus and Wrex, firing repeatedly at the machine before it fully crumpled to the ground. Just as she was about to praise Garrus for his work, a lone geth appeared from behind the rusted Grizzly. Before Jean could react, Garrus shot the machine again until it landed on the ground beside the armature.

            “Nice shot,” said Jean, turning to look over her shoulder at the turian.

            Garrus nodded, “Thanks.”

            “If you two are done making googly eyes at each other, we have a scientist to save,” Wrex said before he turned and strode toward and up the ramp.

            I was just praising him, Jean thought. Why is Wrex being such a smartass?

            She felt her cheeks grow warm as she and Garrus immediately looked away from one another and followed the krogan up the ramp and through the circular door and into the mine. Once they entered the spherical tunnel, Jean took point and kept her assault rifle ready.

            “Stay alert for more geth, you two,” she said. “Something tells me that we’re not alone in here.”

            As if proving her point, Jean spotted two geth units patrolling on the walkway below as she stepped onto the first platform. As one of the geth saw them and began creeping toward them, she hurried to the right and fired twice in quick succession. The machine fell and out of the corner of her eye, she watched Garrus fire three times at the other geth on the walkway below.

            “One less to worry about,” said Garrus.

            Jean lowered her assault rifle as they came upon an area with sterile white tiles.

            This looks like a bathroom floor back on Earth, she thought.

            “Protheans sure do make things homey,” Wrex remarked.

            “To be perfectly honest, I’ve never been in a Prothean ruin before,” said Garrus. “Except the Citadel, of course.”

            When Jean reached the elevator, there were large square windows on all four sides and the lower part of the door rose to allow them entrance. She stepped inside and waited for Garrus and Wrex to join her before reaching for the console on the wall and pressing the down button. The three rode the elevator down and Jean led Garrus and Wrex across the platform. When they approached the next elevator, three geth drones rose to greet them. Two approached them to attack. Jean lifted her hand and sent one flying with her biotics, while Garrus swiftly shot another.

            “Damn those things are annoying,” she remarked.

            As if on cue, the third drone flew toward them and Wrex fired at it twice in quick succession, sending it to the ground with the others.

            “Thanks,” she said, as they continued walking to the elevator.

            “No problem,” said Wrex.

            Once again, the elevator door rose and the three stepped in and rode it down to the next floor. However, shortly before it reached the next level, sparks began to fly around the elevator shaft as it ground to a halt.

            “Looks like we jump to the next floor,” she said.

            “Eh, it’s not too far,” Wrex replied.

            Jean walked to the door in two short strides, looking down through the short distance to the partial platforms on the ground level below.

            “Uh, hello? Could somebody please help me,” came a woman’s voice. “Can you hear me out there? I’m trapped, I need help!”

            Jean turned and walked in the direction she heard the voice to find an asari wearing a green and white outfit enclosed behind some kind of barrier. The asari held her arms out to either side, suspended in the air. She met the description of precisely the asari they were there to find.

            “Doctor Liara T’Soni, I presume?” Jean replied.

            “Thank the Goddess! I did not think anyone would come looking for me. Listen: this thing I am in is a Prothean security device. I cannot move, so I need you to get me out of it. All right?” said Liara.

            “How did you end up in there?” Jean asked with a raised brow.

            “I was exploring the ruins when the geth showed up, so I hid in here. Can you believe it? Geth, beyond the Veil! I activated the tower’s defenses. I knew the barrier curtains would keep them out,” Liara replied, her blue eyes wide. “When I turned it on, I must have hit something I wasn’t supposed to. I was trapped in here. Please, you must get me out.”

            “We’ll find some way to get you out,” Jean replied.

            “There is a control in here that should deactivate this thing. You’ll have to find some way past the barrier curtain. That’s the tricky part: the defenses cannot be shut off from the outside. I don’t know how you’ll get in here,” Liara answered. “But please, be careful. There is a krogan with the geth. They have been trying different ways to get past the barrier.”

            Why am I not surprised that Saren’s already here, Garrus thought as he and Wrex followed Commander Shepard down the ramp as they began their search for the controls to free Doctor T’Soni. He lifted his sniper rifle, and looked through the scope, swiftly scouting the area and counting the number of geth in the cavern before them.

            “I count at least five more geth and one turret, next to that old mining laser,” Garrus said. He moved his scope to the geth turret and fired several times in quick succession. Once the turret exploded, he lowered his sniper rifle. “Correction: Just five geth.”

            “That will make our work easier,” Commander Shepard said, nodding. She lowered her assault rifle as she partially turned to Garrus and Wrex. “We need to reach that mining laser: Garrus, can you dampen some of the geth as they get closer?”

            Garrus nodded. “Consider it done.”

            “Wrex, you can send a shockwave to any who are left standing?” Commander Shepard continued. “Then we’ll pick them off.”

            “Sounds like a plan,” Wrex replied.

            Commander Shepard turned away from them and inched down the stairs, with Garrus and Wrex following close behind. As soon as Garrus caught sight of two geth, he adjusted his grip on his sniper rifle and lifted his omni-tool, initiating a dampening program, targeted specifically at the two geth.

            “Nighty night,” he said, as they fell to the ground.

            Wrex followed up by shooting at both geth on the ground as Commander Shepard carefully crept forward. She raised her assault rifle while Garrus raised his sniper rifle and looked through his scope.

            “Three more geth are hiding in back,” he said before he shot one of their headlamps. “Two more.”

            As the two remaining geth raised their rifles and crept forward, they fired at Commander Shepard, Garrus, and Wrex.

            “Spread out,” the Commander instructed.

            She ran to the right, while Wrex ran to the left and Garrus stayed behind. He lowered his sniper rifle and aimed his omni-tool at the geth, attempting to dampen both, but neither stayed still long enough for him to do so. However, Wrex fired repeatedly at one geth with his shotgun, while Commander Shepard did the same with her assault rifle, taking them both out as they reached the laser.

            “Good work, you two,” she said, before turning to the mining laser on the left side of the cavern. “Let’s see if we can’t blast a hole through this damned barrier.”

            Garrus slid his sniper rifle into place on his back as he walked toward where Commander Shepard and Wrex stood. He stood beside the krogan as Shepard grabbed the control for the mining laser and studied it.

            “Would you like help with that, Commander?” Garrus asked.

            “No, thanks, I’ve got it,” said Shepard.

            Just as Garrus opened his mouth to protest, he heard a beep before he watched the mining laser activate, emitting a powerful beam from the end of the device, piercing a hole straight into the ground and through the solid rock at their feet. Those who didn’t already have their weapons holstered did so and the three of them descended into the hole leading directly to an elevator with a green console. Shepard approached the console, input a series of commands, and the trio rode the elevator up to Liara’s level.

            The Commander does quite well for someone who’s not a technology expert, thought Garrus.

            The elevator stopped when it reached Dr T’Soni’s floor and Commander Shepard walked toward the asari archaeologist.

            “How…, how did you get in here? I didn’t think there was any way past the barrier!” said Liara, as she half-turned her head toward Shepard.

            “It doesn’t matter, we have to get you out of here before more geth arrive,” Commander Shepard replied.

            “Yes, you’re right. I’ve seen enough of them to last a lifetime,” Liara said. “The button on the console to the right should shut down this containment field.”

            Commander Shepard moved to follow Liara’s instructions, typed on the console, and the forcefield surrounding Liara vanished. The asari grunted as she landed on the ground and dusted off her shoulders.

            “Any ideas on how to get out of this place?” Garrus asked.

            “This elevator should take us out of here,” Liara replied.

            Garrus and Wrex moved out of the way and followed Liara and Commander Shepard back to the elevator. Once everyone was standing on the platform, Liara began typing on the console and soon, the elevator rose.

            “I---I still cannot believe all this. Why would the geth come after me?” said Liara. “Do you think Benezia’s involved?”

            It’s interesting that she doesn’t call Benezia her mother, Garrus thought.

            “Saren’s looking for the Conduit and you’re a Prothean expert. He probably wants you to help him find it,” he said by way of explanation.

            “The Conduit? But I don’t know—” Liara began.

            Before Liara could finish speaking, she was interrupted as she ground elevator began to shake around them.

            “What the hell was that?” asked Garrus.

            “These ruins aren’t stable. That mining laser must’ve triggered a seismic event,” Liara replied. “We have to hurry. This whole place is caving in.”

            Garrus watched Commander Shepard put a finger to the commlink in her ear. “Joker! Get the Normandy airborne and lock in on my signal. On the double, mister!”

            “Aye aye, Commander. We’re on our way, ETA is eight minutes,” Joker’s voice crackled.

            “If I die in here, I’ll kill him,” said Wrex.

            The elevator ascended and stopped at the top level where a gray-armored krogan with several geth by his side waited for them. The krogan approached the group with his shotgun at the ready. Garrus, Wrex, and Commander Shepard drew their own weapons and when Garrus raised his sniper rifle, the Commander raised a hand and Garrus lowered it again.

            “Surrender. Or don’t. That would be more fun,” said the Krogan Battlemaster with a predatory grin.

            “In case you didn’t notice, this place is falling apart,” Commander Shepard replied.

            “Exhilarating, isn’t it? Thanks for getting rid of those energy fields for us,” the krogan said. “Now, hand the doctor over.”

            “Whatever it is you want, you’re not getting it from me,” Liara said.

            “She’ll stay with us, thanks,” Commander Shepard answered.

            “Not an option,” the krogan said, shaking his head. “Saren wants her. And he always gets what he wants.” He turned to look at the geth. “Kill them. Spare the asari if you can. If not, it doesn’t matter.”

            “Take out the krogan first,” Commander Shepard shouted.

            Garrus readied his rifle once more aimed it at the krogan’s forehead, and fired twice in quick succession. As soon as he took his shots, the geth began firing in retaliation at the four of them. Garrus moved to one of the nearby pillars for cover. As Commander Shepard and Wrex used a combination of their biotics and weapons to take down the krogan who led the geth. He fell swiftly to the ground after the assault by both Commander Shepard and Wrex, however, just as it looked like their reptilian opponent was about to get back up, Garrus aimed the scope of his sniper rifle at him and fired twice in quick succession again.

            Thank the Spirits, he thought as he watched the krogan stop moving.

            Quickly, Garrus moved his scope to one of the nearby geth and fired twice at its headlamp. The machine let out a mechanical squeal as it fell to the ground and before long, the geth had all been defeated.

            “Let’s get going,” Commander Shepard said.

            Garrus holstered his sniper rifle and followed Commander Shepard, Wrex, and Dr. T’Soni to the edge of the platform as the cavern around them continued shaking. The blue energy barrier, similar to the security force field that had trapped the doctor, was still in place, preventing them from leaving.

            “What are we supposed to do?” Dr. T’Soni asked.

            As the cavern around them began to shake, the barrier fell and the four of them ran down the tunnel as the quakes grew worse. Garrus ran as fast as his legs could carry him as large rocks began falling from the ceiling.

            “Move! Move! Move!” Commander Shepard shouted.

            Wrex, Garrus, and Liara ran faster with Garrus’ lungs burning by the time he reached the entrance to the mine where they’d fought numerous geth earlier. As he looked beyond the entrance to the mine, Garrus noticed the Normandy was already waiting for them.

            Thank the Spirits, thought Garrus in silent prayer.

            Twenty minutes later, with everyone safely on board as the Normandy left Therum, Commander Jean Shepard stood in the comm room with Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams, Lieutenant Commander Kaidan Alenko, Wrex, Garrus, Tali, and Doctor Liara T’Soni. Wrex, Garrus, Tali, and Liara sat on one side of the room while Kaidan and Ashley sat on the other with Jean standing in between them.

            “Too close, Commander. Ten more seconds and we would’ve been swimming in molten sulphur. The Normandy isn’t equipped to land in exploding volcanoes. They tend to fry our sensors and melt our hull, just for future reference,” said Joker over the Normandy’s intercom.

            “We almost died out there and your pilot is making jokes?” said Liara.

            “Joker pulled our asses out of there. I think he’s earned the right to a few bad jokes,” Jean replied.

            “I see. It must be a human thing,” Liara said, not entirely convinced. “I don’t have a lot of experience dealing with your species, Commander. But I am grateful to you. You saved my life back there, and not just from the volcano. Those geth would’ve killed me or dragged me off to Saren.”

            “What specifically did Saren want with you?” Kaidan asked. “Do you know something about the Conduit?”

            “Only that it was somehow connected to the Prothean extinction. That is my real area of expertise,” Liara replied, as she adjusted her position in her seat. “I have spent the past fifty years trying to figure out what happened to them.”

            That sounds like a long time, Jean thought.

            “How old are you, exactly?” she asked with a raised brow.

            “I hate to admit it, but I’m only 106,” Liara answered.

            “Damn! I hope I look that good when I’m your age,” Ashley remarked.

            “A century may seem like a long time to a short-lived species like yours. But among the asari, I’m barely considered more than a child. That is why my research has not received the attention it deserves,” said Liara. “Because of my youth, other asari scholars tend to dismiss my theories about what happened to the Protheans.”

            “I’ve got my own theory about why the Protheans disappeared,” Jean interjected.

            “With all due respect, Commander, I have heard every theory out there,” Liara replied, looking at Jean. “The problem is finding evidence to support them. The Protheans left remarkably little behind. It is almost as if someone did not want the mystery solved. It’s like someone came along after the Protheans were gone and cleansed the galaxy of clues. But here is the incredible part: according to my findings, the Protheans were not the first galactic civilization to mysteriously vanish. This cycle began long before them.”

            “Where’d you come up with this theory?” Jean inquired as she crossed her arms. “I thought there wasn’t any evidence?”

            Liara sat straighter in her seat as everyone kept their gazes on her. “I have been working on this for fifty years. I have tracked down every scrap of truth and shred of evidence. Eventually, subtle patterns start to emerge. Patterns that hint at the truth. It is difficult to explain to someone else. I cannot point to one specific thing to prove my case. It is more of a feeling derived from a half-century of dedicated research. But, I know I’m right. And eventually, I will be able to prove it. There were other civilizations before the Protheans. This cycle has repeated itself many times over.”

            “If the Protheans weren’t the first, then who was?” Jean asked.

            “I don’t know,” Liara replied, shaking her head. “There is barely any evidence on the Protheans. Even less on who came before them. I cannot prove my theory but I know I am right! The galaxy is built on a cycle of extinction. Each time a great civilization rises up, it is suddenly and violently cast down. Only ruins survive. The Protheans rose up from a single world until their empire spanned the entire galaxy. Yet even they climbed to the top on the remains of those who came before. Their greatest achievements – the mass relays and the Citadel – are based on the technology of those who came before them. And then, like all the other forgotten civilizations throughout galactic history, the Protheans disappeared. I have dedicated my life to figuring out why.”

            Hmm, that’s an interesting theory that the Protheans didn’t create the mass relays, Jean thought. I wonder what other aspects of life in the Milky Way aren’t actually true?

            “They were wiped out by a race of sentient machines known as the Reapers,” she answered.

            “The --- the Reapers? But I have never heard of -- How do you know this?” Liara stammered, simultaneously shocked and impressed. “What evidence do you have?”

            “There was a damaged Prothean beacon on Eden Prime. It burned a vision into my brain. I’m still trying to sort out what it all means,” Jean replied.

            “Visions? Yes, that makes sense,” said Liara, nodding. Her brows scrunched together in thought. “The beacons were designed to transmit information directly into the mind of the user. Finding one that works is extremely rare. No wonder the geth attacked Eden Prime. The chance to acquire a working beacon – even a badly damaged one – is worth almost any risk. However, the beacons were only programmed to interact with Prothean physiology. Whatever information you received would have been confusing, and unclear. I am, amazed you were able to make sense of it at all. A lesser mind would have been utterly destroyed by the process. You must be remarkably strong-willed, Commander.”

            She suddenly sounds, very impressed now she knows about my visions, thought Jean.

            “This isn’t helping us find Saren, or the Conduit,” Ashley interjected, shaking her head.

            “Of course, you are right. I am sorry,” Liara said, clearing her throat as she sat back in her seat. “My scientific curiosity got the better of me. Unfortunately, I do not have any information that could help you find the Conduit or Saren.”

            She doesn’t seem the type to lie about something like this, Jean thought.

            “I don’t know why Saren wanted you out of the picture but I think we’ll be a lot better off if we bring you with us,” she said.

            “Thank you, Commander. Saren might come after me again. I cannot think of anywhere safer than here on your ship. And my knowledge of the Protheans might be useful later on,” Liara replied.

            “And her biotics will come in handy when the fighting starts,” Wrex added.

            “Good to have you on the team, Liara,” said Jean.

            “Thank you, Commander. I am very gratef – whoa,” Liara exclaimed as she put a hand to her forehead. “I am afraid I am feeling a bit light-headed.”

            “When was the last time you ate? Or slept? Doctor Chakwas should take a look at you,” Kaidan suggested.

            “It is probably just mental exhaustion, coupled with the shock of discovering the Protheans’ true fate. I think I just need some time to process all this,” Liara replied. “Still, it could not hurt to be examined by a medical professional. It will give me the chance to think things over. Are we finished here, Commander?”

            “We can talk again after you’ve seen the doctor,” Jean said, before looking at the rest of her crew. “The rest of you dismissed.”

            Everyone stood up and left the room single file.

            “Mission reports are filed, Commander. Do you want me to patch you through to the Council?” Joker asked over the intercom.

            I really don’t need their scrutiny right now, thought Jean. Still, it might be good to update them regarding the mission.

            “Patch them through, Joker,” she said.

            “Setting up the link now, Commander,” Joker responded.

            Jean stood at attention as an orange holographic image of Councilors Tevos, Sparatus, and Valern appeared in front of her.

            “We’ve received your report, Commander. I understand Doctor T’Soni is on the Normandy,” Councilor Tevos began.

            “I assume you’re taking the necessary security precautions?” Sparatus asked.

            “Liara has agreed to work with us and give us any knowledge she has regarding the Protheans and Saren’s interest in them,” Jean answered. “When we found her, the geth were trying to kill her.”

            “Benezia would never allow Saren to kill her daughter,” Councilor Tevos replied, shaking her head.

            “Maybe, she doesn’t know,” Valern interrupted, as he looked at the asari.

            “Or maybe we don’t know her as well as we thought,” said Sparatus. “After all, we never expected she could become a traitor.”

            “At least the mission was a success,” said Councilor Valern, deftly shifting the conversation away from Matriarch Benezia’s daughter.

            “Apart from the utter destruction of a major Prothean ruin,” Councilor Sparatus said before he turned to focus on Jean. “Was that really necessary, Shepard?”

            Why is this guy always riding my ass whenever I so much as sneeze wrong, Jean thought.

            “The geth were crawling all over those ruins and as it was, we were lucky to make it out alive,” she answered.

            “Of course, Commander. The mission must take priority,” Councilor Valern said with a nod.

            “Good luck, Commander. Remember: we’re all counting on you,” Councilor Tevos added and the connection ended.

            “Thank God,” Jean murmured.

Chapter Text

After being dismissed following the debriefing, as the Normandy had set a course for the Citadel, Garrus headed to the bathroom and took a nice, long hot shower. The warm water felt good against his carapace and soothed his aching muscles.

            I haven’t done anything that strenuous since my early days at C-Sec, he thought, as he grabbed a towel and dried off. Fortunately, no other crew members came in whilst he was in the bathroom, but he hurriedly dressed anyway, just in case someone barged in. On a military ship, one never knows.

Once he was done, Garrus went to the mess deck for a well-earned meal. His stomach growled as he rode the elevator up to the second floor, and numerous other Alliance personnel were already seated and eating. Some of them still looked at him as the turian approached and sought a place to sit. When he noticed Lieutenant Commander Kaidan Alenko seated near the back, Garrus stopped.

“Is this seat taken?” he asked, nodding to the chair across from Kaidan.

“Not at all,” Kaidan replied amiably, and Garrus sat down.

“Thanks,” Garrus replied.

“No problem,” Kaidan answered. “It’s always taken me a while to adjust to a new ship.”

“It does,” Garrus agreed as he removed the dextro-paste ration from his utility belt and slowly opened it. “Given how many ships I’ve been on, I guess it still surprises me.”

“I know what you mean,” Kaidan agreed. “So, when was the last time you were on a ship?”

Garrus put the paste container on the table and his eyes moved to the ceiling in thought. “Spirits, it’s been a few years. All turians begin boot camp at the age of fifteen.”

“Wow, that’s quite young,” Kaidan remarked.

Garrus nodded. “To humans, I suppose but for turians, it’s expected. But to answer your question, it’s been two years since I was last on a military ship.”

“Oh okay, so not that long,” Kaidan answered. “What was your most interesting time aboard a ship?”

“Well, there was this one time, on the final part of my last tour,” Garrus began and Kaidan listened with rapt attention.

I’d almost forgotten how nice it is to just relax with colleagues, thought Garrus.

            After her conversation with the Citadel Council, Jean went to her quarters to write up her report of the mission on Therum. As she sipped her coffee, after finishing her report, she heard a buzz over the intercom as someone was outside her door.

            “Who is it?” she called, turning to face the door.

            Lieutenant Commander Kaidan Alenko entered and saluted her. “Ma’am, I apologize for the interrupt; do you have some time to talk? I understand you said you wanted a report regarding the crew’s morale. I am ready to deliver it, if now is an appropriate time.”

            Shit, that’s right, Jean thought as she stood up. I did ask for that.

            “Of course, Lieutenant, have a seat,” she said, gesturing to the nearby circular table. Kaidan moved and took a seat and Jean took the chair across from him before she folded her hands. “How are the crew doing?”

            “Well, they know about the stonewalling you’ve had from the Council,” Kaidan began.

            “They deserve to know what we’re up against,” Jean replied.

            Captain Anderson was always honest with us, at least, whenever he could be, she thought. I always appreciated that. It’s only right I do the same, now I’m in command.

            “They’re on your side. They’re pissed about the resistance we’re getting, especially from our own side,” answered Kaidan. He paused for a moment as he rubbed his forehead. “Sorry—I’ll have a better handle on all this when my head stops hurting. Another L2 flare-up.”

            That’s right, I remember Doctor Chakwas mentioned that he had L-2 implants, thought Jean.

            “Anything I can do?” she asked.

            “No, Commander, it’ll settle down,” he reassured her, shaking his head. “It’s rough sometimes, but they spike higher than a lot of L-3s. Except for you, of course. Besides, I’ve faired a lot better than some after Conatix was through.”

            For the next couple of minutes, Jean asked questions about Conatix and its ties to early human biotics, while Kaidan spoke of his experience at Biotic Acclimation and Temperance Training, or BaAt, as he called it.

            Damn, it sounds like Kaidan has been through a lot, Jean thought, filled with admiration for what Kaidan went through.

            “Anyway, this is ancient stuff I walked this off a long time ago. I should get back to my duties, Commander. We’re here to make history, not re-hash it,” he said.

            “You’re fine, Lieutenant,” she reassured him.

            “Regardless, you requested a report on the crew’s morale and I went off on a tangent,” he answered. “It won’t happen again, Commander.”

            “I wouldn’t have asked if I wasn’t interested,” said Jean. “Either way, thank you. You’re dismissed.”

            “Commander,” Kaidan said, giving her a salute, which Jean returned before she watched him walk out the door.

            He’s a damned fine soldier, she thought.

            After he finished his lunch in the mess, Garrus grabbed his sniper rifle and went to the training range on the port side of the second deck of the Normandy. By the time he arrived, Wrex was already waiting for him with his shotgun propped against the wall.

            “Bout time you showed up,” the old krogan grumbled. “You ready, Vakarian?”

            Garrus nodded. “First one to shoot all thirty targets wins.”

            Wrex picked up his shotgun and examined it before he aimed it toward the targets. “May the best shooter win.”

            Garrus sucked in a breath as he adjusted his grip on his sniper rifle and looked through the scope.

            “VI, start the simulation,” said Garrus.

            “Beginning simulation now,” the female VI voice replied.

            Garrus watched through his scope as the wall at the end of the target range slid open and numerous targets floated toward them in various directions. Garrus spotted the first one and fired while to his right, he heard the familiar discharge of the krogan’s shotgun.

            No pressure, Vakarian, just a little friendly competition, Garrus thought.

After Jean finished her report, she sent it to Admiral Hackett. Having spent so long writing the report, including every single detail of their mission on Therum and the rescue of Doctor T’Sini, she had completely neglected meal time in the mess. She wanted to rectify the growing hunger pains in her stomach and left her cabin, heading for the mess deck, yet by the time she reached it, it was empty.

Damn, she thought. Did I scare them off or did everyone just finish eating really fast?

Jean walked to the fridge, grabbed a bottle of water and a ration pocket and slowly unwrapped it. Her stomach growled loudly, reminding her of the last time she’d eaten as she put the ration in the microwave to heat it up.

“Hello, Commander,” said a familiar voice from behind.

Jean nearly jumped as she turned around, finding Doctor Chakwas had joined her in the mess hall.

“Dr. Chakwas,” Jean responded.

“I’m sorry, did I startle you?” Dr. Chakwas said. “Now that our new assari has had a full medical, I figured now was as good a time as any to grab something to eat.”

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve seen this place so empty,” Jean agreed. The microwave beeped and she turned around, removing her rations packet.

“It is quite impressive,” said Dr. Chakwas, walking toward the fridge. “Although it does make one wonder where the rest of the crew has got to.”

“I would like to say at their stations, but since we’re not on a mission right now, something tells me probably not,” Jean chuckled. “Speaking of our newest crewmember, how’s Doctor T’Soni doing?”

“I’d say she’s going to be fine,” Dr. Chakwas replied, grabbing a ration packet. “She’s not sustained any injuries from her time in the ruins, so I advised her to drink some fluids and get some rest.”

Jean nodded. “Good.” She made a show of looking around the mess hall. “Do you know where she went after that?”

“She’s decided to settle herself in the laboratory, through the door at the end of the medbay,” Dr. Chakwas answered.

“Thanks again, Doctor Chakwas,” said Jean, sitting down in the nearest chair.

“You’re welcome, Shepard,” she replied, putting her rations packet in the microwave. “By the way, since we’re going to be working so close together, I should really introduce myself properly. My name is Karin.”

“Thank you, Doctor, I mean, Karin, for trusting me,” Jean said. “Mine’s Jean.”

“You’ve more than earned it, Jean. Anderson spoke highly of you before you were assigned here,” Dr. Chakwas replied, taking a seat beside Jean once her ration packet had heated up.

Jean tucked into her rations with gusto, which was more enthusiastic than she usually had for the standard-issue Alliance rations. Once she was done, she threw away the remainder of the packet, said goodbye to Dr. Chakwas, and went to check on Dr. T’Soni, who was typing on a holokeyboard when Jean entered the room.

“Hello Doctor T’Soni,” Jean said. “Is this a bad time?”

“Not at all,” Liara said, shaking her head. The holokeyboard disappeared and she fully turned to face Jean as she stood up. “Are you coming to check on me, Commander?”

“I am,” Jean nodded. “You look much better. How are you feeling?”

“Dr. Chakwas assures me I’m going to be fine,” Liara replied. “I was impressed with her knowledge of asari physiology.”

“You’re in good hands; Dr. Chakwas knows what she’s doing,” said Jean.

“I never properly thanked you for saving me from the geth, Commander,” Liara said, wringing her hands anxiously. “If you hadn’t shown up…”

Jean gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “I’m just glad we got there in time.”

“So am I,” Liara agreed. “I know you took a chance bringing me aboard this ship. I have seen the way your crew looks at me. They do not trust me. But I am not like Benezia. I will do whatever I can to help you stop Saren, I promise.”

“Don’t worry, Liara. I trust you. I know you won’t let me down,” Jean reassured her.

“It means a lot to hear you say that, Commander. Thank you,” said Liara.

“Tell me about yourself, Liara,” Jean said.

Liara’s gaze darted around the room as she began wringing her hands again. “Me? I am afraid I’m not very interesting, Commander. I spend most of my time on remote digs, unearthing mundane items buried in long-forgotten Prothean ruins.”

“You must enjoy something about it,” Jean prodded gently.

“I love my work. Seeking out history’s lost secrets has a special appeal for me. You were actually touched by working Prothean technology! That is why I find you so fascinating, Commander,” Liara replied, beaming.

“Sounds like you want to dissect me in a lab somewhere,” Jean joked.

“What? No! I did not mean to insinuate—Ah, I never meant to offend you, Shepard. I only meant that you would be an interesting specimen for in-depth study. No—that’s even worse!” Liara said, her face growing purple as her eyes widened.

Jean gave her what she hoped was a reassuring smile. “Calm down, Liara. I was only joking.”

Relief, followed closely by embarrassment, crossed Liara’s face. “Joking? Oh, by the Goddess! How could I be so dense?” She released a heavy sigh and facepalmed. “You must think I am a complete and utter fool. Now you know why I prefer to spend my time in the field with data disks and computers. I always seem to say something embarrassing around other people. Please, just pretend this conversation never happened.”

“You’re fine,” Jean reassured her.

“Commander, we’re about to approach the relay,” Joker’s voice crackled over the PA system.

“Go through, Joker,” Jean responded, before shifting her attention back to Liara. “I should go.”

“Of course, thank you again, Commander,” Liara said.

            At this point in time, Garrus and Wrex had gathered quite a small crowd around them for their little competition. The scores above their heads read 239 apiece, and Garrus could feel the tension was thick enough to cut with a knife. The final target was located in the rear of the firing range, briefly appearing above ground and in view for only a few seconds before dropping below again.

            “Heh, think you can beat my score, Vakarian?” Wrex taunted with a chuckle.

            Garrus laughed in response. “I know I can.”

            He lifted his sniper rifle just as Wrex did the same with his shotgun. Just as quickly as it appeared, the target sunk below the ground once more before either could take a shot.

            “What the hell?” Wrex asked.

            Garrus lowered his sniper rifle, as Wrex did the same with his shotgun, and both turned to find Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko sitting before the range control console.

            “Apologies, gentleman,” said Kaidan. “The shooting range will be down for maintenance.”

            Garrus nodded. “Understood.”

            Garrus and Wrex left the shooting range and walked to the elevator.

            “Heh, I guess we’ll never really know, will we, Vakarian?” Wrex asked with a wicked smirk.

            “I suppose not,” Garrus agreed.

            Both entered the elevator, although it was a tight fit. Once they reached the lower deck, both returned their weapons to the armory. As Wrex walked to his usual spot in the corner, opposite the Mako, Garrus spotted Commander Shepard conversing with the ship’s requisition officer, overhearing her desire for some new weapons, outside of the Alliance’s standard issue equpiment.

            Spirits, what do I say to her, Garrus thought.

            He tried thinking of something to say, some way to begin the conversation. He didn’t often have Commander Shepard to himself, and he wanted to make the most of it.

            “Oh, hey Garrus,” she said, turning to him with a smile.

“Thanks again for bringing me onboard, Commander. I knew working with a Spectre would be better than life at C-Sec,” Garrus replied.

“Have you worked with a Spectre before?” she inquired.

            “No, but I know what they’re like,” he said. “Spectres make their own rules. You’re free to handle things your way. At C-Sec, you’re buried by rules. The damn bureaucrats are always on your back.”

            “For the most part, the rules are there for a reason,” she said.

            Damn, this conversation isn’t going how I’d hoped, Garrus thought as his heart threatened to burst from his chest. Then again, I’m not entirely sure how I’d hoped it would go.

            “Maybe,” he answered with a non-committal shrug. “But sometimes, it feels like the rules are only there to stop me from doing my work. If I’m trying to take down a suspect, it shouldn’t matter how I do it, as long as I do it. But, C-Sec wants it done their way; protocol and procedure come first. That’s why I left.”

            Commander Shepard raised a brow as she appraised him. “So, you just quit because you didn’t like the way they did things?”

            “There’s more to it than that. It didn’t start out bad, but as I rose in the ranks, I got saddled with more and more red tape. C-Sec’s handling of Saren was typical. I hate leaving but I just couldn’t take it anymore,” Garrus said.

            Commander Shepard was silent as she studied him and Garrus resisted the urge to shudder under her steely gaze. Instead, he kept his ramrod straight posture. He knew from working in C-Sec that his perspective was different from her own, serving in a human military, but from her reaction, he almost thought he’d offended her, and considered saying something to that affect, but as usual, she surprised him.

            “I hope you made the right choice; I’d hate for you to regret it later,” Commander Shepard said, perfectly respectful of his views.

            Now Garrus folded his hands together in front of himself. “Well, that’s sort of why I teamed up with you. It’s a chance for me to get off the Citadel, see how things are done outside of C-Sec. Either way, I plan to make the most of this. And without C-Sec Headquarters looking over my shoulder, well maybe, I can get the job done my way for a change.”

            “If getting the job done means endangering innocent people, then no,” she said immediately, shaking her head defiantly at the idea of putting civilians at risk.

            “I didn’t mean to—Understood, Commander,” he said, releasing a heavy sigh. “Thanks again for allowing me, and the others, to be here.”

            “If you help against Saren, you’re an ally,” she replied. “It doesn’t get much simpler than that.”

            Shepard smiled at him as she turned and headed for the elevator, and he wasn’t sure if it was meant to be reassuring, or just a polite goodbye. Yet, Garrus couldn’t help but think about that smile as he walked back to his station by the Mako.

            After her conversation with Garrus, Jean went to her cabin, finally having the time to catch some sleep. She was able to sleep a few hours before being woken by the sound of Joker’s voice over the PA system.

            “We’ve just entered Citadel space, ma’am.”

            “I’ll be on the bridge in less than ten minutes,” she replied, rubbing sleep from her tired eyes.

            “Aye aye Ma’am.”

            Jean hurriedly put on her dress blues, followed by her armor. Going into her tiny bathroom, she splashed some water on her face and stared at herself in the mirror.

            “You can do this,” she murmured to herself. “It’s just the entire galaxy relying on you. No pressure, right?”

            With a sigh, she turned away from the mirror and left her cabin. Some of the on-duty Alliance personnel gave respectful nods toward her as she walked to the elevator, and Jean nodded at them in turn. Just as she reached the elevator, the doors opened and more personnel walked out.

            “Ma’am,” they said, nodding at her.

            “As you were,” Jean replied.

            She rode the elevator to the first deck, and headed through the CIC and into the cockpit. Through the front window, she saw the Citadel shining before them. Joker glanced at Jean over his shoulder.

            “Alliance personnel just informed me it’s safe to dock,” he said. “Want to watch the magic at work?”

            “Sure,” Jean answered.

            She kept a firm grip on Joker’s chair as she watched him gracefully maneuver around other ships, before finally reaching the Alliance docking bay. Smoothly, he moved the Normandy into place.

            “Nicely done,” said Jean with a grin.

            “And that’s why they pay me the big bucks,” Joker remarked.

            Jean rolled her eyes. “Right.” She stretched out the word for as long as possible, before putting a finger to the commlink in her ear. “Gunnery Chief Williams and Garrus Vakarian, suit up.”

            She waited near the airlock for Ashley and Garrus, before leading them off the Normandy’s bridge and onto the Citadel docking bay. Jean’s heart pounded in her chest as a middle-aged officer with graying stubble stood before them.

            “Ten-hut,” Ashley said, bringing her hand to her brow in a crisp salute as she stood to attention.

            “At ease. Rear Admiral Mikhailovich, Fifth Fleet,” Rear Admiral Mikhailovich replied.

            In her peripheral vision, Jean noticed Ashley’s stance relax.

            “We weren’t told to expect you, sir,” Jean replied, feeling her anxiety rise like steam from boiling water. “Otherwise, I would have prepared a formal greeting.”

            If Admiral Mikhailovich knew this, he didn’t seem to acknowledge or care about it.

            “I command the 63^rd Scout Flotilla. You and the Normandy were slated for my unit after shakedown. Then the Council got their paws…Claws, tentacles, whatever. They got them on our ship. And you,” Admiral Mikhailovich said, waving his hand dismissively.

            Jean stood up straighter, if that was even possible. “I still serve the Alliance, sir. As a Spectre, I can advance our interests to the Council.”

            Admiral Mikhailovich’s brows scrunched together as an annoyed frown formed on his face.  “Hmph. You still know what color your blood is, Commander? I don’t begrudge the politicians’ decision to throw you to the Council. It’s an…opportunity. However, I do begrudge this overdesigned piece of tin, though.”

            “The Normandy is a fine ship, sir. She’s served us well so far,” Jean replied diplomatically.

            “It’s a gimmick, Commander. Useless in a stand-up fight. This experiment diverted billions from our appropriations bills. For the same price, we could’ve had a heavy cruiser. But no, we had to make nice to the turians. Throw money at co-developed boondoggle. I’m here to make an inspection, Commander. The Normandy is an Alliance warship. I intend to see she’s up to snuff,” said Admiral Mikhailovich.

            “We’d be honored to show her to you, Admiral,” Jean said, nodding.

            “I’ll just bet,” Admiral Mikhailovich replied, not sounding very pleased at all. He walked toward and past Jean. “Wait here, I won’t be long.”

            Despite her desire to leave, Jean stood with her crew members on the dock as they waited for Admiral Mikhailovich to finish his inspection. It felt like forever when he finally did return, his face just as scrunched up as before.

            “Commander, I’m not happy,” Admiral Mikhailovich said, shaking his head.

            “I’m sorry to hear that, sir. Is there anything specific you take issue with?” Jean answered, doing her best to maintain composure.

            “Who designed that CIC? Putting the commander aft of everyone else is inefficient. What if he needs to discuss with the operators toward the bow?” Admiral Mikhailovich questioned.

            “It’s a modified turian style; they prefer commanders looking over their subordinates, rather than in the middle of them. We wanted to see how effectively they can command with that setup,” Jean answered, giving the same explanation that Anderson had given her when she’d first asked.

            “Hmm, a reasonable goal, I suppose,” Admiral Mikhailovich responded, rubbing his stubbled chin in thought. “But they should have studied that in a lab rather than on a front-line warship. I had to shake my head at the drive core of yours. 120 billion credits of element zero to make this thing able to move without giving itself away. You realize we could make drive cores for 12,000 fighters with that money? What good is it to hide for a few hours anyway? It’s useless.”

            Again, Jean did her best to respond diplomatically. “We can loiter in an enemy system and monitor traffic, or drop infiltration teams on enemy worlds. The Normandy can be more effective than the salarian STG.”

            Admiral Mikhailovich released a sigh. “Perhaps, but that’s not the job of a proper warship. We’re supposed to find and kill the enemy fleet, not count how many times their garrison goes to the bathroom. And we need to talk about your crew, Commander. Krogan? Asari? Turians? What are you thinking, Commander? You can’t allow alien nationals free access to Alliance equipment!”

            As if one of them isn’t standing right here, Jean thought, resisting the urge to berate him.

            “Between Saren and the geth, we have enough enemies out here. Treating other species with suspicion and distrust won’t win hearts and minds,” she answered.

            “That assumes the hearts and minds are worth winning and that hasn’t been proven yet. Do you have anything else to say, Commander? Any other justifications for the state of this vessel?” Admiral Mikhailovich inquired.

            “I think the Normandy is a good ship, sir,” said Jean. “Even if you disagree, you have to see that her joint construction and multiracial crew make the Alliance look better.”

            She studied his face and watched his irritated expression turn into one of contemplation.

            “Your job is to look good, Commander; the Alliance Navy’s is to win wars. While I’m not convinced the Normandy isn’t a waste of taxpayer money. But I am convinced that you believe otherwise. And that you’ll use it to the best of its ability. I’ll be submitting a report to the Joint Military Council. It will not be as negative as I’d planned. Good hunting, Commander Shepard. Make us proud,” Admiral Mikhailovich said, nodding before he turned and walked away.

            “Thank God that’s over,” Ashley muttered as Admiral Mikhailovich disappeared in the elevator.

            “I’ll say,” Jean added.

            The trio began walking toward the elevator.

            “You handled that much better than I would have, Shepard,” Garrus added.

            Jean turned to face Garrus and Ashley, folding her arms over her chest.

            “Sometimes, it’s as much about how you handle bureaucrats like that,” she said, nodding her head at where Admiral Mikhailovich was, “than it is about handling obstacles on the battlefield.”

            Just then, the elevator doors opened and the three stepped inside. They rode in silence down to Citadel Security Headquarters, where, as soon as they stepped out of the elevator, a woman with a camera droned waited for them, blocking their path, and immediately stepping toward Jean.

            “Commander Shepard, Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani for Westerlund News. Do you have a moment to spare for an interview?”

Chapter Text

It’s her, Garrus thought, warily eying the human reporter. He’d heard and seen enough of this woman’s stories to know who she was, and not in a good way. Unfortunately, Commander Shepard had apparently not and she nodded at Ashley and Garrus to move away as she faced the reporter. Reluctantly, both did so.

“What would you like to know?” Commander Shepard asked, folding her arms behind her back.

Spirits, this is going to end badly one way or another, thought Garrus.

            “You’ve been given a unique position to represent our race,” Khalisah began. “People want to get a sense of how you’ll do that.”

            She brought up her omni-tool, which summoned her camera drone from nearby. As the camera focused squarely on Commander Shepard, a small light turned on, illuminating her face as the recording began.

            “Humans have been trying to get the respect of the galactic community for 26 years. With that in mind, what are your feelings on being the first human Spectre?” Khalisah asked abruptly.

            “The Spectres represent the best of every species in the galaxy. To be asked to join them is an honor,” Commander Shepard answered.

            “Some have said your appointment is the Council ‘throwing humans a bone.’ Have you encountered any situations where the Council asked you to place its needs before the needs of Earth?” Khaliah asked.

            Garrus noticed other civilians stopping and staring at the interview in his peripheral vision. Once they realized who was interviewing Commander Shepard, they scurried away like children wanting to avoid being caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

            “The Council is concerned with the needs of the whole galactic community. We’re part of that community now. Our needs are on their agenda, but we’re one of many,” said Commander Shepard.

            “You really do believe that, don’t you?” Khalisah inquired, and Commander Shepard nodded. “You’ve been given command of an advanced human warship for your missions. Is there anything you’d like to say about it?”

            I wonder what Gunnery Chief Williams thinks about this, Garrus thought.

            He shot a sideways glance at Ashley, who stood just as ramrod-straight as her commanding officer giving the interview. Her expression was unreadable, and Garrus returned his attention to Commander Shepard.

            “Actually, the Normandy was co-developed by human and turian engineers. Its design incorporates many innovations. All of which are classified, I’m afraid,” Commander Shepard responded.

            “So, the turians have knowledge of the Normandy that is being kept from the Alliance public?” Khalisah prodded, making Garrus’ blood boil at the impudence of her line of questioning. “Do you think it was appropriate to hand Earth’s most advanced warship over to the Citadel?”

            Commander Shepard raised a brow. “I wasn’t aware it had been ‘handed over’ to anyone. I’m in command, and last I checked, I’m human. Same goes for my crew.”

            “Human, yes. But you do work for the Citadel now, Commander,” said Khalisah, with an accusing tone. “One last question, Commander. Rumors back home say that you’re tracking a ‘rogue Spectre’ named Saren. Do you have any comment on that?”

            Garrus bit the inside of his cheek to prevent himself from saying anything that might make Commander Shepard look bad. Still, he felt his anger rise to the surface like steam from a morning cup of coffee.

            “I’m afraid I can’t comment on whatever my current assignment may or may not be,” Commander Shepard answered diplomatically.

            “Don’t worry, we’ll find out. The eyes of Earth are upon you. Don’t let us down,” said Khalisah. She brought up her omni-tool again, and the light on her camera drone deactivated. “Thank you for your time, Commander.”

            Commander Shepard nodded. “My pleasure.” She turned to Ashley and Garrus. “Let’s get going.”

            “Right behind you, Commander,” Garrus said.

            He and Ashley followed Commander Shepard to the nearest elevator, not sparing a glance at the reporter behind them.

            The farther away from her we get, the better I’ll feel, he thought.

            As Jean, Ashley, and Garrus descended the elevator, Jean felt herself relax.

            Thank goodness that’s over, she thought.

            While she hadn’t wanted to be rude to Khalisah, and risk demonizing her own species against her and her mission, she could sense as the interview continued, it had seemed that Khalisah’s line of questioning was certainly trying to head in that direction, as though the interviewer had wanted her to slip, or to say something to discredit herself. But she had managed to keep her cool, and it was over. For now. With that in mind, she released a tired sigh as she massaged her temples.

            “Ma’am, where are we going?” Ashley suddenly asked, interrupting her train of thought.

            “To speak with Admiral Kahoku,” Jean answered.

            Just then, the elevator doors opened and the trio entered the Citadel Tower. Jean and her companions made a beeline for Admiral Kahoku, who stood before the same console where she’d initially met him.

“No, I’m waiting to speak with one of the Councilor’s assistants,” Admiral Kahoku said, before turning his attention to Jean. “Commander, any word on my missing men?”

            “I’m not sure how to tell you this, Admiral. Your men were killed by a thresher maw,” Jean replied.

            Admiral Kahoku’s eyes widened. “A…. - a thresher maw? That’s not…my men wouldn’t just stumble into a thresher nest! Not the entire unit!”

            Jean’s heart sank, even as she continued. “Somebody lured them there with an Alliance distress beacon. They placed it perfectly so they’d land right beside the thresher maw nest.”

            She watched as surprise turned to anger on his face. “Damn it! I had a bad feeling about this ever since my team disappeared. An Alliance beacon used as bait, my unit wiped out…and nobody seems to know anything about it! Commander, I appreciate what you did. Now, I need to do my part. The families of those marines deserve to know why they died.”

            “Is there anything more I can do?” Jean inquired.

            “Not right now, Shepard,” he said, shaking his head. “But I’ll let you know as soon as I find something out.”

            “Of course,” she replied. “Best of luck, Admiral.”

            “Thank you, Commander. I’ll need it,” he said, turning back to the console.

            Jean looked over her shoulder at Ashley and Garrus. “Come on, let’s go.”

            With a heavy heart, she led Ashley and Garrus back down the corridor and toward the elevator. With each step she took, her heart went out to Admiral Kahoku, his men, and their families.

            I wish we could’ve done more for his men, thought Jean.

            After a few hours of chasing after rogue AIs, scanning all the Keepers, and other miscellaneous quests across the Citadel, Commander Shepard and her companions had stopped on the Presidium to grab a bite to eat. While Garrus had long since finished his dextro-paste, as he waited for Commander Shepard and Lieutenant Williams to finish, he stood on the bridge closet to the entrance to the Lower Wards and gazed across the lake.

            Spirits, it’s been so long since I’ve been up here, he thought. I’d almost forgotten what it was like.

            “This place is so large, how am I ever going to find it?” a turian grumbled by Garrus’ side.

            Garrus turned his gaze to find a turian C-Sec officer looking confusedly down at his omni-tool. While Garrus couldn’t see what was on the officer’s screen, he had a good feeling he knew. Pushing off the bridge railing, Garrus walked toward the officer.

            “Need some help?” he asked.

            “No, I’m fine I just-“ the officer began, before looking up from his omni-tool screen. His eyes widened upon seeing Garrus. “Officer Vakarian, sir?” The turian brought his fist to his brow in a crisp salute.

            “At ease, officer,” Garrus replied, and the turian relaxed his stance. “What seems to be the problem?”

            “I’d heard there was a disturbance in the Embassy Lounge,” the turian officer responded. “But I don’t know where that is and I’ve been searching for the past thirty minutes.”

            “It can be easy to get turned around in a place like this,” Garrus agreed. “What you want to do is cross this bridge going that way,” he said, pointing to the opposite side of the bridge, “walk into the past the reception area, take the left stairs, walk past the Executor’s office, and you’re there.” He looked back at the turian officer. “Any questions?”

            The other turian shook his head. “No, thank you.”

            “No problem,” Garrus replied, watching turian walk away.

            “What was that about?” Commander Shepard asked, walking toward Garrus.

            “Some new C-Sec officer was lost, so I was helping him find where he needed to go,” Garrus answered.

            “That was kind of you,” said Commander Shepard, as a genuine smile spread across her face.

            A warmth filled Garrus at the sight, but he pushed the joy at seeing it back down, before it could show across his face.

            He gave a nonchalant shrug. “As I told him, it can be hard to navigate the Presidium if you’ve never been here before.”

            “That’s true,” she agreed. “On an unrelated note, Lieutenant Williams and I have finished lunch, so we’re ready to return to the Normandy. Is there anything else you want to do while we’re here?”

            “No, I’m ready to leave as soon as you are,” he said, following Commander Shepard back across the other side of the bridge.

            In a way, Jean felt relieved to be back on the Normandy. At least that way, she wouldn’t have to deal with any more irritating reporters, rogue AIs, friendship disputes, or anything else that could happen on the Citadel.

            “The Commander is onboard. XO Pressly stands relieved,” said the ship’s AI as they passed through the Normandy’s airlock and into the ship.

            “Hey, Commander, Admiral Hackett called while you were away,” Joker called from the cockpit.

            Jean’s heart threatened to burst from her chest. “What? Why didn’t you tell me?”

            “I told him you were on the Citadel refueling and that you would be back soon,” Joker replied. When Jean crossed her arms over her chest, he added, “He said it was an urgent message and that he would only speak to you.”

            Jean deflated with a sigh. That was something Admiral Hackett would do.

            “Very well, I’ll take his message in the communications room,” Jean said.

            “Aye, aye, Commander,” said Joker.

            Jean hurried through the CIC and into the communications room, locking the door behind her. As she sent out a call to Admiral Hackett, she patiently stood at attention before the projectors, waiting for him to answer. When Admiral Hackett’s orange hologram image appeared, she brought her fist to her brow in a crisp salute.

            “Sir,” she said.

            “At ease, soldier,” Admiral Hackett instructed, and Jean let her hands drop to her sides. “I apologize for the interruption, Commander, but I wanted to let you know that Ms. Al-Jilani’s story on you just aired. She shouldn’t have ambushed you like that. But you handled her pretty well.”

            Well, that was fast. Still, it’s good to hear that people aren’t speaking poorly of Alliance personnel, Jean thought as relief flooded through her like an enormous wave.

            “We had differences of opinion, sir. I hope she at least believed my sincerity,” she said.

            “You handled yourself pretty well, Commander. She came across like a raving idiot,” Admiral Hackett responded, releasing a heavy sigh. “I’m sorry, this won’t happen again, Commander. We have a press corps so personnel don’t have to deal with her kind of B.S. Just wanted to let you know what the response was back home. Hackett, out.”

            Jean left the communication room, entered the CIC, and stood on the platform. She brought up her omni-tool and spoke through the intercom system.

            “Joker, chart a course for Feros,” she commanded.

            “Aye, aye, Commander,” Joker replied.

Chapter Text

As the Normandy departed from the docking bay, Garrus was relieved to finally be leaving the Citadel once more. It meant they had resumed the hunt for Saren, or at the very least, he hoped so.

            I never realized how many people on the Citadel require assistance, he thought.

            Still, Garrus supposed he couldn’t fault them for it. He knew from his own experience with the force, C-Sec were often so busy handling the day-to-day fires that they didn’t have time to deal with everyone’s problems. As he contemplated the plight of the everyday civilians on the station, he found his thoughts interrupted by the Normandy’s intercom.

            “I need Garrus and Doctor T’Soni to report to the comm room for the pre-mission briefing,” said Commander Shepard’s voice over the intercom.

            “Oooh, twice in a row, Vakarian,” Wrex murmured.

            Garrus rolled his eyes. “Don’t try to tell me she doesn’t take you out on missions, Urdnot.”

            “She does, but not as often as you,” Wrex replied.

            Garrus began making his way to the elevator. When the doors opened, he kept his back to the krogan, who had gone back to minding his own business. Once the doors closed again, he turned the opposite way.

            What is Wrex trying to tease me about, anyway, Garrus thought, folding his arms over his chest. It’s not as if we’ve spoken together or been seen together much outside these missions. The Commander is a busy woman. She doesn’t have time for romantic liaison. No…that can’t be what Wrex is implying. We’ve not exactly been working together long. She’d never…would she?

            Pushing the thoughts from his mind, he instead turned his focus to the mission ahead. If he recalled correctly, they were headed to Feros next. He tried remembering what he could about the small, human colony, built on the ruins of an old Prothean city, that had been the reported location of recent geth sightings. It sounded as good a place as any to continue the search for clues as to Saren’s activities.

            Just then, the elevator doors opened and Garrus hurried his way upstairs to the comm room. By the time he got there, Dr. T’Soni and Commander Shepard were already present.

            “Apologies for keeping you both waiting,” he said as he entered.

            “You are fine, we have not been waiting long,” Dr. T’Soni said, shaking her head.

            “Liara’s right, you’re fine, Garrus,” Commander Shepard reassured him. “Alright, let’s get started. She brought up a holokeyboard and began typing. Soon, a hologram image of buildings piercing the sky appeared. “Apparently, this colony on Feros is run by ExoGeni.”

            It was all coming back to him now.

            “ExoGeni is a human colony specializing in planetary exploration and colonization,” Garrus supplied. “But, given what happened to the other colony we found—” He shuddered, unable to finish the thought.

            All those people, turned into husks, he thought.

            Dr. T’Soni raised a brow, shifting her gaze to Commander Shepard. “I am confused.”

            “Supposedly, there was an ExoGeni colony where everyone had disappeared,” said Commander Shepard. “After some investigation, we learned all the colonists had unearthed some alien device and been transformed into husks.”

            “By the Goddess,” Liara swore, placing a hand over her mouth.

            “We should keep that information tucked away for later, but for now, we don’t know much about Zhu’s Hope,” Commander Shepard said, turning the conversation back to their mission. “All we know is that they’ve requested help and are fighting the geth.” Garrus and Dr. T’Soni nodded at the same time. “Since we don’t know what, aside from geth, we’ll be dealing with, we remain alert, got it?”

            “Yes, ma’am,” Garrus said at the same time Dr. T’Soni nodded.

            Commander Shepard replied. “Any questions?”

            “Will we be taking the Mako, Ma’am?” Garrus inquired.

            Because if so, this is going to be a rough ride, he thought but didn’t say aloud.

            “No, the paths we’ll be traversing are too narrow,” said Commander Shepard. “Any other questions?”

            “I do not think so,” Dr. T’Soni replied and Garrus shook his head.

            “Good,” said Commander Shepard. “Joker?”

            “We’ve landed on Feros,” Joker replied.

            “In that case, gear up and meet me in the hold,” Commander Shepard said. “I’ll see you both in a few minutes.”

            After the briefing, Jean headed to her locker on the second deck to gear up for the mission. After gearing up, her heart hammered in her chest as she made her way up the stairs to the Command Deck.

            There are so many unknowns, she thought as she walked through the CIC. But then again, I’ve dealt with unknowns before.

            Jean double-checked her weapons as she stood by the airlock, waiting for the others to arrive. A few minutes later, Garrus and T’Soni appeared, fully geared with their armor and weapons.

            “Let’s go,” said Jean.

            As the trio entered the chamber, the VI scanned them.

            “Depressurizing chamber for planetside exploration. Commander Shepard and party offboard. XO Pressly, has the deck,” said the VI.

            Once the depressurization had finished, the door whooshed open and Jean led her comrades onto a walkway. There were rails on either side of the walkway and stacks of crates against the rails. Briefly, Jean glanced over the railing and saw nothing but clouds.

            She turned to face Garrus and Dr. T’Soni. “This place looks like it’s quite high up, so we’ll have to be careful not to get too close to the edges, alright?” she said.

            “Understood,” Garrus replied while Dr. T’Soni nodded.

            Jean turned forward, facing again, and walked two steps, only for a dark-haired man with bloodshot eyes to barrel into them.

            “Are you alright?” Jean asked, gripping his arm firmly to keep him upright.

            The man removed his arm from her grip. “Yes, I’m fine. We saw your ship.  Fai Dan wants to speak with you immediately.”

“Thank you, what’s your name?” Jean asked.

“I’m David,” the man replied.

            The hair on the back of Jean’s neck stood up. “Who’s Fai Dan?”

            “He’s our leader,” David replied, as if that explained things. “He needs your help to prepare for the geth; they’re making another push. Please, up the stairs past the freighter.”

            Just then, Jean heard the familiar sound of geth and lifted her right hand, which glowed with blue biotic energy. Dr. T’Soni did the same while Garrus drew his sniper rifle.

            “David-“ Jean called out, but it was too late. The geth shot him in the back and he landed face-first on the ground. “Shit!” Briefly, she glanced at Dr. T’Soni. “Together.”

            Dr. T’Soni nodded, and both women sent biotic shockwaves at the incoming geth simultaneously. What geth weren’t knocked over by the shockwave, were taken down by Garrus’ sniper rifle.

            “We move slowly,” Jean instructed, and Dr. T’Soni and Garrus nodded.

            Jean drew her assault rifle as the trio crept ahead to a bend near some more crates that covered their advance, where there were more geth waiting. This time, there were only three. On her signal, Jean shot her assault rifle, while Garrus used his sniper rifle against the second, and Dr. T’Soni used her biotics to throw the last geth against a nearby wall.

            “That seems to be the last of them for now,” Jean said. “We need to keep moving.”

            “Understood,” Garrus said while Dr. T’Soni nodded.

            Jean led her companions down the path, out of the docking bay, and up a set of stairs, where two geth stalkers awaited them. Jean set her jaw as she lowered her assault rifle, lifting one hand crackling with blue biotic energy.

            “By the Goddess, these things move quickly,” Dr. T’Soni remarked.

            “They do,” Garrus agreed, raising and aiming his sniper rifle at the nearest geth stalker. He fired two shots in quick succession, and both times, he hit his target.

            Unable to help herself, impressed by the turian’s accuracy, Jean whistled as the geth stalker landed on the ground beside them.

            “One less to worry about,” Garrus remarked.

            “Can you do that with the other one?” Jean asked.

            “I’ll do my best, Commander,” he replied.

            Jean hid behind one of the large pillars and instructed Dr. T’Soni to do the same as Garrus looked through the scope of his sniper rifle.

            “Commander, whatever you do, don’t move,” he said.

            Electing to ignore this, Jean turned just in time to find a geth stalker on the ceiling to her left. Again, Garrus shot the enemy twice in quick succession and it went down before it could attack.

            “Nice shootin’, Tex,” Jean remarked.

            If turians could have, Garrus would have raised a brow. “Who’s Tex?”

            “It’s just an expression,” Jean said, shaking her head with a smile. “We should keep our weapons readied, and keep moving.”

            “Yes, ma’am,” Garrus replied while Dr. T’Soni nodded.

            The three inched up the stairs, glancing occasionally at the crumbling ceiling. When they reached the top of the stairs, they turned down the corridor to the left and immediately encountered three colonists – a woman and two men – with their weapons raised as they stood behind metallic barricades. The woman lowered her gun.

            “You’re the newcomers, right?” she said.

            Jean nodded. “That’s correct.”

            The woman turned to the others. “Lower your weapons.” They did so, and the woman returned to focus on Jean and her comrades. “Greta Reynolds, the head of security for this colony.”

            “I’m Commander Shepard,” Jean said. “And this is Liara,” – she gestured to Liara – “and Garrus,” – she gestured to Garrus –” I was told to speak with Fai Dan.”

            Greta Reynolds nodded. “Yes, he’s over there,” she pointed beyond the metallic construct.

            “Thanks,” Jean replied.

            She and her crew walked past the barricades into the colony, around the metallic prefab, and across a platform. Behind the metallic prefab and near a second doorway stood a man with short, dark hair beside a dark-haired woman. Both turned to Jean and her companions as they approached.

            “I was told to speak with Fai Dan,” said Jean by way of greeting.

             “That would be me,” the dark-haired man replied. “Commander, I’m glad they finally sent somebody to help.”

            “You’re a bit late, aren’t you?” the woman asked.

            “Arcelia!” Fai Dan scolded with a heavy sigh. “Sorry, Commander, everyone’s on edge since.”

            Just then, Jean heard the familiar mechanical whirring sound.

            “Watch out! We’ve got geth in the tower,” Arcelia shouted, drawing her gun from its holster.

            “Protect the heart of the colony,” Fai Dan commanded, as he did the same.

            Jean and her comrades readied their weapons as they rushed past the barricades and toward the geth. Using her biotics, Liara opened a small, black hole near two geth. Both geth were sucked together and Garrus finished them off with this sniper rifle. Slowly, Jean moved forward, and her allies followed her. She inched upstairs, with one hand holding her rifle and the other crackling with blue biotic energy. Once she reached the top and turned right, she sent a biotic shockwave at the two geth present.

            Garrus followed up by firing twice in quick succession, making short work of them. As Jean and her companions crept down the corridor, they were met with more opposing gunfire. Liara fired at them with her shotgun this time and took down the geth.

            “Nice one,” Garrus remarked.

            “Good job, Liara,” said Jean. “Now, let’s keep moving.”

            “Yes, ma’am,” Garrus replied.

            The trio inched up another set of stairs before entering a larger room.

            “There are certainly a lot of geth here,” Liara noted quietly.

            Jean nodded. “Yes, there are.”

            As Jean and her crew crept around the corner, she spotted two geth nearby. She looked at Garrus and nodded, and Garrus peered through his scope before firing twice quickly. Both geth fell to the ground. However, just as they inched further into the room, Jean and her allies were hit with gunfire.

            “Take cover,” Jean shouted.

            The trio pressed themselves against the wall as the geth continually fired at them. Garrus raised his sniper rifle and carefully peered around the corner, taking out both geth with two shots.

            “One less to worry about,” Garrus remarked with a smirk.

            “Nice job, let’s keep moving,” Jean said.

            As Jean and her crew fully entered the circular corridor, they crept toward an opening when two more geth popped out.

            “Garrus, dampen them,” Jean shouted.

            “On it,” Garrus replied.

            Jean and Liara dove out of reach of the geth’s weapons while Garrus aimed his omni-tool at the pair of geth.

            “Say goodnight.”

            Sparks fizzled between the geth and Liara finished one off with a biotic shockwave, while Jean fired at the other.

            “Two down, only a million more to go,” Jean muttered.

            As they resumed moving again, Jean spotted two geth drones zooming above. With her left hand, she aimed a biotic shockwave at one.

            “Damn,” she murmured as it missed.

            “Let me take care of them,” said Garrus.

            Aiming his sniper rifle, he took out both geth drones in two hits. Both landed on the ground with the other fallen geth.

            “How many more geth are there?” Liara asked.

            “Not sure,” Jean panted. “Probably a lot.”

            Near the other side of the room, Jean and her companions ran into two geth shock troops along with a single geth soldier. All three geth unit trained their weapons on Jean and her team.

            “Search for cover, now,” Jean shouted.

            All three rushed up the steps and behind one of the numerous barricades as the three geth fired at them.

            “I’m almost out of juice,” Jean said.

            “I’m not,” said Liara.

            “Commander, I have an idea,” Garrus ventured.

            “Let’s hear it,” Jean replied.

            “Liara will distract the geth with her biotics, then while they’re immobilized, you and I leave the cover and neutralize them with our rifles,” Garrus said.

            Jean nodded. “Let’s do it.”

            Once the geth stopped firing, Jean looked at Liara and nodded. Liara sent a biotic shockwave, and Jean and Garrus followed up by shooting two of the three geth with their rifles.

            “What about the third one?” Liara asked as the second geth shock trooper stood up.

            Once again, Garrus shot the geth with his sniper rifle.

            “One less to worry about,” he remarked.

            Jean chuckled. “Alright, Tex, let’s sweep this area for more geth and then return to the colonists of Zhu’s Hope.”

            “Yes, Commander,” Liara replied at the same time Garrus said, “Yes, ma’am.”

            Garrus and Liara followed Shepard back to Zhu’s Hope. Fai Dan and Arcelia lowered their weapons as Shepard and her squadmates approached.

            “The tower’s secure, thanks to you, Commander,” said Fai Dan.

            “I’m just glad everyone made it through okay,” Shepard replied.

            “They may have been slow, but they’ll be back. They always come back,” Arcelia added.

            She’s right, the geth won’t just quit, Garrus thought reluctantly.

            “Tell me what the geth want, why are they attacking you?” Shepard asked.

            “We don’t know what they’re after,” Fai Dan said, shaking his head. “Their main base is at the ExoGeni Headquarters. A good place to start looking if you want answers.”

            “The skyway leads directly to ExoGeni Headquarters, you can’t miss it,” Arcelia said, pointing the way.

            “Of course, there’s an army of geth between here and there,” Fai Dan added.

            “I didn’t expect this would be easy,” said Shepard.

            “Then, maybe I can get this colony operational again,” Fai Dan said, sighing heavily.

            “What do you need done to get this place back on its feet?” Shepard inquired.

            “We need those geth destroyed,” Arcelia interjected.

            “Arcelia’s right, there are still geth in the tunnels. We also have more mundane problems like food, water, and power. I’m not sure where we stand on those matters, you should talk to the people overseeing them,” Fai Dan replied.

            “And who would that be?” Shepard asked.

Before continuing on their mission and heading to the ExoGeni Headquarters, Jean wanted to ensure the colony’s problems were solved. Alongside Liara and Garrus, they all headed to the tunnels beneath the colony and dispatched the alpha varren to allow the colonists to safely hunt for good; found some spare power cells from a heavily damaged Alliance Grizzly IFV, to power the colony; and activated the water valves that the geth had disabled, to restore the flow of water back into the colony.

Having solve the mundane problems that the colonists had been facing, and with the gratitude of the colonists, it was then time to head to the elevator that led to the skyway which provided them a direct route to the ExoGeni Headquarters. Just as the door opened, the colonists were attacked by geth drones.

“Take’em down,” Jean commanded.

She and Garrus fired at the geth drones and took them out. Meanwhile, Liara used her biotics to throw one to the ground. The two colonists shot at the geth drone on the ground.

“We’ve got this covered, Commander,” said one of the armed colonists.

“Yeah, go on,” said the other. “Your pilot just dropped off that armored vehicle of yours.”

            “Let’s go,” said Jean.

She led Garrus and Liara down the ramp and toward the Mako. Jean climbed on top of the armored vehicle and, with great effort, opened the hatch.

“Garrus, I want you to keep a lookout in case we’re attacked again,” she said.

Garrus nodded. “Understood, ma’am.”

Jean climbed in first, squeezing into her seat as Liara followed close behind.

“There really is not a lot of space here, is there?” Liara said.

“Nope,” Jean agreed.

She saw Garrus slide inside in her peripheral vision before pulling the hatch closed.

“Everyone, hang onto your seats ‘cause this is going to be tight,” Jean instructed.

She drove the Mako forward, occasionally looking through the scope of the overhead turret. As they reached the doors, they opened and Jean steered the Mako onto the skyway as another insect-shaped geth ship flew by, depositing two geth armatures.

As Jean drove, she heard a voice on the radio but couldn’t make out what it was saying. With the hand that wasn’t driving, she fired the Mako’s gun at the nearest geth armature. She grunted with each bump the Mako rode over, yet somehow maintained her concentration.

“Got’em,” she said when the geth armature exploded before her.

Shifting the gun scope to the second geth armature, Jean fired at the geth armature. As it shot back at the Mako, Jean pressed another button which activated the Mako’s boosters and sent the vehicle into the air.

“Shepard, a little warning next time, please,” Liara screamed.

They avoided the geth’s eezo ammunition, and Jean resumed firing. Another joined the woman’s voice on the radio, a deeper voice.

“She’s my daughter, I’ll wait as long as I have to,” said a woman.

The further they moved down the skyway, the more geth they encountered. Jean fired at another geth armature, watching it explode out of the corner of her eye. As she drove past the ruined geth armature, Jean shifted her focus to the geth troops firing at the Mako.

“Given the amount of geth that are here, it makes you wonder what they’re after,” Garrus murmured.

“Agreed,” said Jean.

She easily flattened the three geth and stopped when they reached an opening to an alcove.

“Everyone, climb out,” said Jean.

            Garrus followed Commander Shepard and Liara out of the Mako and through the alcove where two more geth hid. Just as they trained their guns on Garrus, Shepard, and Liara, Garrus raised his omni-tool and aimed it at them.

            “Say goodnight,” he said.

            Electricity sparked between the two stunned geth, and Shepard quickly shot both of them.

            “Nice work, everyone, let’s keep going,” said Shepard.

            The trio climbed out of the alcove and back into the cramped Mako. Garrus gripped his seat again as Shepard resumed driving along the skyway.

            “We got movement, some kind of vehicle. Not one of the geth,” came the earlier woman’s voice over the radio.

            “They’ve got us on visuals, we must be close,” Liara said, craning to look at Shepard in the cramped space.

            “Forget them, we need to deal with the geth,” Garrus insisted.

            Shepard stopped the Mako. “We should at least see who they are and if they’re hostile.”

            “Understood,” Garrus acquiesced and Liara nodded.

            Once Jean and the rest of her crew had left the Mako, they slowly walked down the ramp toward a large alcove. Beyond some makeshift barricades, she saw a group of people, some wearing armor and others not. Two people stood closest to the barricades and turned to Jean and her allies as they approached.

            “That’s close enough,” the man screeched.

            “Relax, Jeong, they’re obviously not geth,” the woman chided.

            “Get back, Juliana.” Jeong shot back, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at Jean. “Who are you? What do you want?”

            Patience, he’s just a civilian, Jean thought.

            “I’m Commander Shepard,” she replied. “I’m here to remove your geth problem.”

            “You see?” Juliana said, looking at Jeong. “You worry too much.”

            “And you trust too easily, Juliana,” said Jeong.

            “I’m just glad to see a friendly face. I thought we were the only humans left on this planet,” Juliana said, fully turning to Jean now.

            “Fai Dan and some of the members of Zhu’s Hope are still alive,” Jean said, jabbing her thumb behind her.

            Juliana leveled a glare at Jeong. “I thought you said they were all dead?”

            “I said they were probably all dead,” Jeong amended.

            “They’re surviving, but the geth really hit them hard,” Garrus interjected.

            “We know what that’s like. Those damned synthetics are relentless,” said Juliana.

            “I’ll do whatever I can to keep them away from you, but I need some information,” Jean said.

            “What kind of information?” Jeong asked with a raised brow.

            He’s going to be fun to deal with, thought Jean.

            Juliana rolled her eyes. “Ignore him; the geth are up in the ExoGeni Headquarters, just a bit further along the skyway.”

            “Those headquarters are private property, soldier. Remove the geth and nothing else,” Jeong added.

            Jean resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “I’m not interested in your company’s secrets.”

            Just as she turned to leave, Juliana reached forward.

            “Commander, before you go,” Juliana said. Jean stopped and turned to her. “My daughter, Lizbeth, she’s missing.”

            Jeong scoffed. “They shouldn’t waste time poking around. We can do a proper accounting of our casualties after the geth are gone.”

            “That’s my daughter you’re talking about,” Juliana insisted, her voice cracking on the word daughter. “She’s still alive, I know it.”

            “Where’s your daughter, Juliana?” Jean inquired.

            “She was working in the ExoGeni building when the attacks came,” Juliana replied, pointing in the direction of the building.

            “Oh, yeah, there were several places she could hide. For a short time,” Jeong added.

            “If she’s in there, I’ll get her out,” said Jean.

            “Thank you, Commander,” Juliana replied.

            “Do you know what the geth are after?” asked Jean.

            Juliana shook her head. “I have no idea. We certainly haven’t found anything of use. Something ExoGeni is keen to remind us of.” She shot a withering look at Jeong.

            “We need to recoup our expenses. There’s nothing personal,” Jeong answered.

            “Stay bunkered down until I find out what the geth are after,” Jean ordered.

            “Of course. And please, remember my daughter,” Juliana added.

            Jean nodded, turned, and led her friends back up the ramp.

Chapter Text

After finishing their briefing with the ExoGeni scientists, Garrus and Liara followed Commander Shepard back up the ramp and into the cramped confines of the Mako. Garrus held firmly onto the seat in anticipation of a rough ride as Shepard drove up further, before finally reaching the top level of the skyway.

            Finally, thought Garrus.

            However, his relief was short-lived as the Mako encountered a geth armature blocking the way forward. As the Mako approached, the armature began to take aim with its primary cannon.

            “Shepard, we’re not going to-“ Liara began.

            Before Liara could finish her sentence, Shepard pressed a button on her console, and as the geth armature fired a biotic bubble at the Mako, a protective shield surrounded the vehicle. The armature’s rocket hit the shield, which absorbed the impact, and Shepard began to return fire back at it.

            Liara shared a look with Garrus, who shrugged as much as he could in the enclosed space. He watched on the external camera feed as the geth armature exploded while another geth trooper began firing at the Mako.

            “You’d think they would learn after a while that this vehicle can fight back,” he remarked.

            “You would think,” said Shepard.

            After a burst of eezo rounds from the Mako’s cannon, the geth fell to the ground beside the armature’s wreck, and just as Garrus thought Shepard was about to resume driving, she instead kept the vehicle at a dead stop.

            “Commander?” Garrus inquired.

            “There are more geth in that alcove ahead of us,” Shepard replied. “Let’s clear them out.”

            The three climbed out of the Mako, unholstered their weapons, and carefully entered the alcove. Through the scope of his sniper rifle, Garrus spotted one geth on the right, and one on the left.

            “Divide and conquer?” he suggested quietly.

            Shepard nodded. “Good idea.”

            Garrus turned to the right and as the geth aimed its gun at him, he fired twice in quick succession.

            “One less to worry about,” he said as the geth fell to the ground.

            “If I didn’t know you any better, I’d say that was your catchphrase,” Shepard remarked, as the other geth landed on the ground.

            “Something like that,” he replied with a smirk.

            “We should keep going to ExoGeni headquarters,” Liara reminded them.

            “Of course. Let’s get moving; we’ve got a mission to complete,” said Shepard.

            After re-entering the Mako, Jean resumed driving along the skyway, firing at any geth resistance as she went. Toward the end of the road, there were a few geth troops and another armature blocking the way forward.

            “Goddess, how many of these do the geth have?” Liara asked.

            “Too many,” Garrus replied.

            Jean fired an eezo round at the geth armature from the Mako’s cannon, sending it to the ground along with the other geth. She slowed the Mako as they approached the ExoGeni building, where a giant geth ship had attached itself.

            “That’s an enormous ship,” Liara remarked.

            Just as Jean was about to respond, she spotted rifle scopes through a doorway up ahead.

            “More geth incoming,” she said.

            She pressed a button and the Mako’s shield activated just as the geth began to fire at them. Jean looked through the Mako’s turret scope and pressed another button, returning fire on the geth.

            “The geth have moved rather quickly,” said Liara.

            “They must want something from the ExoGeni systems,” Garrus mused. “Why else would they bother with all this?”

Jean watched as both geth went down and searched the scope for more before unbuckling her seatbelt when she saw all looked clear.

            “It’s time to continue on foot,” she said.

            “Yes, Ma’am,” Garrus replied at the same time Liara nodded.

            The three climbed out of the Mako and removed their weapons from their holsters as they approached the doorway leading out of the garage and into the headquarters.

            “We don’t know what kind of situation we’ll be dealing with,” Jean whispered.

            Keeping her assault rifle trained on the ground, she crept through the opening first. She heard a mechanical squeal and raised her rifle, looking for the geth. As they inched along the left side of the room, Jean found the source of the sound.

            “I’ll take care of it, Commander,” said Garrus.

            Jean and Liara stepped out of the way as Garrus fired his sniper rifle at the geth’s head twice in quick succession, sending it to the ground. Jean led her comrades up the steps and past the rubble.

            “Let’s sweep the room starting from the left, and make our way to the right,” she said.

            “Understood,” Garrus replied at the same time Liara said, “Okay.”

            Jean walked faster, with her eyes darting back and forth, taking note of a large pile of rubble on the right. Walking past it, she saw a blue forcefield blocking a doorway.

            “Well, that’s annoying,” she muttered.

            Turning around, Jean led her allies away from the blocked door and down a smaller ramp. She and her team swept through the rest of the room and found nothing else.

            “Looks like there’s nowhere to go but down,” said Garrus, nodding at the oval-shaped hole beside the large pile of debris.

            “How far down is it?” Liara asked.

            Jean quickly surveyed the height of the drop, and satisfied that it was safe, she sat on the ground and lowered herself into the hole.

            “Not far,” she replied.

            Garrus and Liara easily descended into the hole, inching along the debris-filled corridor. The short hall emptied into a much larger cavern, and Jean paused as she approached a dead varren. Jean’s gaze and rifle snapped up as a gun, held by a young woman with short, dark hair, suddenly fired, thankfully missing her.

            “I’m so sorry,” the young woman panted, hesitantly walking toward them. “I thought you were geth, or one of those varren.”

            Jean holstered her weapon, and her companions did the same.

            “You’re safe now. But-why were you here in the first place?” Jean asked.

            “It’s my own fault. Everyone else was running, and I stayed to back up data. Next thing I knew, the geth ship latched on and the power went out. I was trapped. I tried to get out, but the way was blocked,” the woman replied.

            “We’ll get you out as soon as we find out what the geth are after,” Jean reassured her.

            “It’s not the geth; it’s the energy field they put up,” she said. “They don’t want anyone else getting access to the-“

            “I’m not here for any company secrets,” said Jean. “I’m here for the geth, it’s very important I find out what they’re after.”

            “I don’t know for certain, but I’m guessing they’re here for the Thorian,” the woman replied.

            “Thorian?” said Liara with a raised brow. “I have never heard of such a thing.”

            “It’s an indigenous life-form. ExoGeni was studying it,” the woman supplied.

            “What else can you tell me? Do you know where I can find this Thorian?” Jean asked.

            “I-I might be able to, but not with those geth crawling around everywhere. Look, we need to get out of here, past that field,” the woman said.

            “Do you know how we can shut it down?” Jean inquired.

            “No, not exactly,” the woman said, shaking her head. “But I think the geth ship is powering it. I’ve noticed the geth laying power cables everywhere. You can follow those cables, but there’s geth all over the place.”

            “Who are you?” Jean asked.

            “I’m Lizbeth Baynham, I’m just a research assistant for ExoGeni, I came here with my mother. I don’t even know if she made it out alive,” Lizbeth answered, hanging her head.

            “She’s with some others from the colony, she’s safe for now,” Jean reassured her. “I’m Commander Shepard, and these are my companions, Liara and Garrus,” she said, gesturing to each in turn.

            “Hello,” Lizbeth said, nodding in Liara and Garrus’ direction before turning back to Jean. “My mother’s alive? Oh, thank God! I thought I was the only one left.”

            “Let’s not celebrate too soon, there are still the geth to deal with,” Jean reminded her. “Tell me what you know about the Thorian.”

            Lizbeth’s face scrunched up in thought. “I really don’t know that much about it: I think it’s some kind of plant being. I know it’s very old, thousands of years even.”

            “Why do you think the geth would be interested in the Thorian?” Jean asked.

            Lizbeth shrugged. “It’s just a plant, I don’t know why the geth would care. ExoGeni was studying it, but I don’t think they found anything special.”

            Either way, we’re about to find out, Jean thought.

            “You stay put, I’ll go up and open some doors,” she said, removing her assault rifle again.

            Lizbeth pulled something out of her lab suit pocket and handed it to Jean. “Here, take my ID. This should take you past any locked doors. Good luck with that field.”

            Jean and her crew walked past Lizbeth, only to encounter a group of varren rushing toward them.

            “Pick a target and take it down,” Jean ordered.

            The three of them aimed their weapons at the varren, killing one before moving on to the next. By the time they were finished, a small pile of varren corpses lay at their feet.

            “Everyone, stay sharp,” Jean instructed. “We don’t know what other surprises this place has in store for us.”

            “Understood,” Garrus said while Liara nodded.

            The trio waded through the ankle-deep water and piles of debris to a door on the other side of the room. Walking through the door led to a darkened hallway. Jean turned on the flashlight on her assault rifle, as Garrus and Liara did the same with their weapons. More wreckage lined this corridor, which led to a set of stairs.

            “Stupid machine! Access encrypted file!” raged a krogan’s voice from up the stairs as Jean and her companions began climbing them. “No, I don’t want to review protocol.”

            After creeping up a second staircase, Jean and her crew encountered the krogan interacting with a VI hologram.

            “I am unable to comply. Please contact your supervisor.”

            Great, just what we need. A pissed off krogan, Garrus thought.

            “Damn it. Tell me what I want or I’ll blast your virtual ass into actual dust!” the krogan growled.

            The VI continued. “Please contact your supervisor for a level 4 security exemption or make an appointment with--”

            “Stupid machine!” the krogan seethed.

            “If there is nothing else, please step aside. There is a queue forming behind you for the use of this console,” the VI requested.

            As the krogan removed his shotgun from its holster, Shepard raised her fist as it crackled with biotic energy.

            “Together, Liara,” she said.

            As Shepard and Liara released their biotic energy and sent the krogan flying across the room, Garrus looked through his scope and followed up by shooting the krogan multiple times. With a grunt of effort, the krogan picked himself up, and Garrus, Shepard, and Liara fired their weapons at him. He charged toward them, shouting, but a final shockwave from Liara stopped him and sent him through the air, and to the opposite wall once more. He landed on the ground with a loud thud, dropping his shotgun nearby.

            “Is he dead?” Garrus asked.

            “Only one way to find out,” Shepard replied.

            She walked toward the still krogan and Liara shared a concerned look with Garrus.

            “Shepard, be careful,” Liara advised.

            Tentatively, Shepard nudged the motionless krogan’s body with the butt of her rifle. When he didn’t move, she pushed him harder.

            “He’s dead,” said Shepard, looking back at Garrus and Liara. “Let’s try interacting with that console and see what information it can give us.”

            Garrus lowered his rifle but didn’t holster it. He had no idea if and when more enemies would emerge. Jean also lowered her weapon as she approached the console.

            “ExoGeni Corporation reminds all staff that the discharging of weapons while on company property is strictly forbidden,” the VI intoned. “Welcome back, Research Assistant Elizbeth Baynham. What can I do for you?”

            “What information was the laser user attempting to access?” Shepard inquired.

            “A moment, fetching data,” the VI replied. “The previous user was attempting to access details on the study of Subject Species 37, the Thorian.”

            If Garrus could’ve raised a brow, he would have. Why did the krogan want or need access to that information?

            “Tell me everything you told the krogan,” said Shepard.

            “I was unable to provide the previous user with any relevant data. Aside from lacking proper access, there has been no new data available on Species 37. All sensors monitoring the observation post at Zhu’s Hope have been inactive for several cycles,” said the VI.

            “What does Zhu’s Hope have to do with the Thorian?” Shepard asked.

            “Species 37 is located within the substructure of the Zhu’s Hope outpost,” the VI answered.

            “Tell me everything you know about the Thorian,” said Shepard.

            “The Thorian is a simple plant life form that exhibits a sentient behavior uncommon with other flora. Through dispersion and the eventual inhalation of spores, it can infect and control other organisms, including humans. The Zhu’s Hope control group has yielded interesting results. Before sensors went offline, almost 85 percent of all test subjects were infected,” the VI explained.

            “Are you saying ExoGeni knew its people were getting infected?” asked Shepard.

            A cold shiver ran down Garrus’ spine at the thought of any company doing something like this. While he had seen this and much worse during his time with C-Sec, it was still disconcerting.

            “It was deemed necessary to assess the true potential of Species 37,” the VI replied.

            “That explains the colonist's strange behavior,” Liara interjected.

            “You should contact Joker,” Garrus suggested.

            “Joker, come in, Joker! Dammit! That field’s blocking us,” said Shepard.

            “We must find a way around the field and get back to Zhu’s Hope,” Liara said.

            “VI, what can you tell me about the geth ship and the field it’s generating?” Shepard asked.

            “I have limited data on the geth, they have effectively blocked all sensors within the facility. I have detected unusual power fluctuations but am unable to determine the source” the VI replied.

            “Who’s in charge here? Who organized the research?” inquired Shepard.

            “All local decisions about local resource analysis and acquisition are made by on-site management, deferring to the board of directors only when seasonal quotas are missed or exceeded. Individual employee records are confidential,” said the VI.

            “Tell me about the Thorian?” Shepard asked.

            “Species 37 was discovered several weeks ago when a small team was infected with spores while examining ruins near the Zhu’s Hope outpost. The outpost was quarantined immediately, and study of the infection began. Within 21 days, 58 percent of the colonists exhibited altered behavior. Within 28 days, 85 percent,” said the VI.

            “What’s the size of this thing?” asked Shepard.

            “The Thorian appears to be a diffused creature. Its cognitive abilities are centered in large nerve bundles, but it receives data from kilometers of meandering tendrils. We have discovered bundles of approximately one meter in diameter, but these seem insufficient to coordinate the massive sensory potential it possesses. It may simply process such stimulation slowly, or perhaps there is a nerve cluster of a greater magnitude we have not yet encountered,” the VI answered.

            “Is it intelligent? Can I reason with it?” Shepard inquired.

            “The Thorian does not exhibit the focused behavior of a predator. The release of spores is an act of survival, not aggression. It does trigger advanced behaviors in the humans it enslaves, but we have yet to discover whether it recognizes—or is capable of recognizing--humans as more than tools. It is sufficiently alien as to defy classification at this time,” said the VI.

            “Do you know how the creature controls its slaves?” asked Shepard.

            “The will subversion manifests as intense pain if directives are ignored. The effect is severe enough that subjects are soon conditioned against even minor thoughts of rebellion. Observation suggests the Thorian views its thralls in a utilitarian way. Care is apparently taken to avoid injuring them, much as a craftsman avoids damaging his tools. As long as no action is taken against the creature’s objectives, the subjects are free to pantomime a normal existence until specifically tasked with something,” the VI replied.

            That’s a chilling thought, Garrus thought as he listened.

            “Where’s the center of this thing?” Shepard asked.

            “The Thorian is present as a weave of tendrils across much of the lower surface of Feros. Observation of enslaved subjects suggests there may be key clusters that are tended by thralls. Unfortunately, direct observation of Species 37 is limited or non-existent,” said the VI

            “Please access my personal files,” Shepard requested.

            “Elizabeth Baynham, Research Assistant, Bio Medical Division. Security Level 4, exemption. You are currently under probation due to disagreements with management over established company policy. These sanctions may be lifted if your next evaluation is more agreeable,” the VI answered.

            “What triggered the probation?” asked Shepard.

            “You were marked as ‘combative’ about the operations of the Zhu’s Hope project, specifically, regarding the handling of the infected colonists. As a result, you were tasked with monitoring the safety of the colonists for the duration of the observation,” responded the VI.

            “Thanks for the information. I should go,” said Shepard.

            “Going to standby mode,” the VI said, before turning off.

            Spirits, we’re in for it now, thought Garrus.