Under Siege

Shepard ordered the Normandy back to the Citadel, intending to meet with Aria about taking Omega back from Cerberus. Primarch Victus had returned to Palaven, and true to his word, dispatched ships to aid Earth. Moreover, true to his word, Wrex put Krogan boots on the ground on Palaven and Manae. With a common enemy to fight, it seemed that the Krogan and Turians got along just fine.

With that done, he went to visit Miranda, who was recovering in the Med-Bay. She had not told him that she was actually ill enough to be confined to the Med-bay, but when he walked in, Miranda was smiling, Doctor Chakwas giving her a once-over.

"Shepard," Miranda said, her eyes almost squinting from her smile being so big. In fact, she was practically glowing in spite of being in a hospital gown on a table.

"Everything appears normal," Chakwas declared. "Mordin's surgery was successful."

"Surgery?" He raised an eyebrow at this as he ran to Miranda's side. "What happened?"

"My neoplasm," Miranda explained. "Mordin cured it. I can have children now! We can have a family!"

John pulled her close. "Miranda, that's wonderful news!"

"She'll need to stay out of action for a few days, while she recovers," Chakwas declared. "After that, Miranda, you'll be back to business as usual."

"Yes, Ma'am," Miranda said dutifully. "For once, I'm actually glad to be placed on bedrest."

"I'll hold the fort for you while you rest, Mirdanda," John assured. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll even beat the Reapers."

"Wouldn't that be nice," Miranda purred. "Then we'd have nothing to do … except each other."

"Leaving now," Chakwas said, rolling her eyes.

N7

Traynor informed Shepard that there was a vid-call waiting for him. He hoped that it was Anderson, as he was wondering how his friend was faring on the ground on Earth, but instead, it was the Salarian Councilor, Valern.

"Commander," he opened, "there is something we should discuss … if you are finished rewriting history."

"I've made my decision, Councilor," Shepard replied cordially. "There's not much anybody can do about it now."

"Yes," Valern lamented. "We're going to have billions more Krogan in the galaxy."

"Krogan who don't have any problem going to war for an ally," Shepard noted. "Some species could learn a thing or two from the Krogan."

"It's a good thing you saved my life once, Shepard … otherwise …"

"More than once," John corrected. "And otherwise, you'd have no hope against the Reapers, and the galaxy would be harvested—the end. Don't threaten me, Councilor. Better men than you have tried to kill me, and to a man, they're all dead, so let's cut the crap: what do you want?"

Valern was silent for a moment, as though contemplating a rebuttal to Shepard's retort, but thankfully, he got to the point.

"I have concerns about humanity's representative, Councilor Udina."

"You and me both, pal," Shepard replied. "He's spent the past few years being a pain in my ass, and sticking his nose up yours. He's a treacherous snake, and he fit right in with you and the others. Why the sudden concern?"

"My agents have discovered that he's using his authority to move vast sums of money. To what purpose, we're not sure."

"Call C-Sec—I've got a galaxy to save, and you and your colleagues seem disinclined to help."

"I considered that, but they may be compromised. You're a Spectre, and politically neutral, Shepard. Also, this could be a matter of galactic security … ah, let's not speak of it here."

""Fine. I'm heading there anyway. Shepard out."

The one bad thing about vid-chat and modern communications was that there was no receiver to slam down to terminate the call. The only silver lining was that if Udina really was dirty, it would be immensely gratifying to be the one to arrest him.

N7

The commander hoped for a bit of a breather at the station, but it was not to be. Almost as soon as they arrived, there were problems. Nobody answered Joker's hails, and then Thane Krios contacted the Normandy directly, informing Shepard that Cerberus had taken over the station.

Thane was a patient at Huerta Memorial, being in the final stages of Kepral's Syndrome. The dying Drell was staying ahead of Cerberus troops, and remaining hidden, trying his best to aid C-Sec. Shepard just hoped that Thane was not taking any unnecessary risks, as his health was not what it had been during the Collector mission.

Shepard, Edi, and Garrus went in aboard a shuttle. Cortez dropped them off right outside of C-Sec headquarters, and not a moment too soon: Bailey and C-Sec were fighting for their lives against advancing Cerberus troops—fighting and losing.

They hit the ground hot, engaging Cerberus troops right as they leapt from the shuttle. Edi and Garrus both made use of overload, taking out the shields of Cerberus turrets, and incapacitating Cerberus engineers, whom Shepard cut down forthwith. The trio fought their way through the Cerberus force, and finally getting to a wounded Bailey.

"Shepard," Baily called out as they approached. The C-Sec commander was down, a gunshot wound in his gut. Miranda immediately began administering medi-gel. "Shepard, I saw those Cerberus troops on you. I thought you were done for."

Shepard was a little surprised to see Bailey in the fight wearing no body armor. "Bailey, what are you doing here?'

"Getting my ass shot trying to retake headquarters," Bailey explained. "Cerberus took it in the first push. We've gotta kick them out of there. Everyone in C-Sec is flying blind without the network."

"How bad's the situation?" Garrus asked as Shepard helped Bailey up. "Do you know if the councilors are still alive?"

"They split up," Bailey explained. "I'll know more if I can access the network inside."

"Can you get us in?" Shepard asked.

"I'll get the door … if no one interrupts me with a bullet this time."

They were in momentarily, and Bailey immediately got to a terminal. Shepard hoped that the C-Sec commander's wound was not too serious. He suspected that the shot was more of a graze, something medi-gel could easily fix.

"Here we go," Bailey said. "C-Sec network access, courtesy of Cerberus."

"How's that gonna help?" Shepard hoped Bailey had a good answer, given that Cerberus controlled the network.

"Cerberus has control of the main channels, but I can set up a new one," Bailey explained. "Without it, our people have no plan and no chance—hello …"

Shepard walked over to look at whatever Bailey was seeing. "What have you got?"

"A warning from Councilor Valern. He's supposed to be here meeting with the executor. "be on guard: the likelihood of betrayal from within is high." Not a lot else … but if he's inside …"

"Why would the Councilor be meeting with the executor?"

"Usually, it means someone big's about to be prosecuted," Bailey explained. "I guess that someone had Cerberus friends."

That squared with Shepard's recent communication with Valern.

"The councilor mentioned Udina," Garrus interjected. "But that's insane. Does he even have this kind of pull?"

"Well, you know who'd have the answer to that?" Bailey said. "The Councilor."

"The Councilor's in there, surrounded by Cerberus?" Shepard could hardly believe it. "Who put together that security detail?"

"Well, until about an hour ago, this place was as safe as it got," Bailey said defensively. "Nobody expected anything on this scale!" We need to find the Councilor and get him out of here! He has got to know more about who's behind this."

"He could be in the executor's office," Garrus proposed. "It's a fairly defensible position."

"I'm on it," Shepard declared. The time for talking was over.

N7

After getting Bailey in, and getting into contact with Thane, Shepard, Garrus, and Edi set about locating Valern. It was a long, and bloody shootout all the way to the executor's office, and along the way, Shepard was surprised to hear the voice of Kallisah al-Jilani, broadcasting warnings against Cerberus, and trying to help C-Sec coordinate a response. He could not help but smile at her tenacity. However when they finally made it, the executor was dead. Councilor Valern, however, proved to be very much alive.

He was below, in a lobby area below the Executor's Office, and Shepard saw him through a picture window. It seemed the Councilor had cloaked himself, and only just now became visible.

"Found him," Shepard said to Bailey over the com. "He looks unharmed."

"Get him somewhere safe!"

Shepard was about to do just that, when a Cerberus phantom dropped in on Valern … no, not a phantom: though dressed in phantom armor, this one was male. He wore some kind of cybernetic optics mask, and had long hair pulled into a ponytail. He advanced menacingly on the Councilor.

Great, Shepard thought. The councilor's useless at anything except hiding. He shot out the glass, and then jumped down as well, right behind the interloper, prompting him to jump to the other side of Valern, pointing some kind of powered gauntlet at the councilor.

"Don't even think about it," Shepard barked.

"Shepard, he's going to kill us all," Valern warned, his voice barely above a whisper.

"That remains to be seen," Shepard said as he and the assassin circled each other, Valern in the middle.

"I mean Udina," Valern clarified, still whispering. "He's stating a coup. He's got the other councilor, and going now to hand them over to Cerberus."

Edi and Garrus joined them, having taken the stairs. "Three on one, pal," Shepard remarked. "It's over."

"No," the assassin said. "Now it's fun."

That was when Thane appeared, a gun pointed at the assassin's head. It distracted the assassin just long enough for Shepard to trap him in a biotic field, and lift him from the ground, crushing him. He recalled Liara's comment about what she wanted to do with the Shadow Broker, and crushed the assassin further and further, levitating him over an abandoned coffee cup. When Shepard finally released what was left of the assassin, his remains fell into the still partially filled coffee cup, making a splashing sound.

Garrus picked it up, and began stirring it, then took it to a half-full coffee pot, and filled the mug the rest of the way. "You planning to drink this, Shepard?"

The commander shook his head. "Venti Cerber-frappuccino? No thanks."

Edi made a face, while Thane shook his head. Valern looked horrified. To the shock and horror of Thane and Valern, and the mild surprise of Edi, Garrus drank it down, and then made a somewhat satisfied face.

"Flavor's a bit nutty," Garrus remarked. Then he looked at the disgusted Thane and Valern. "What? It would only be cannibalism if Shepard drank it."

Shepard could not help laughing. "Right. Now, let's find the other Councilors!"

N7

Shepard, Garrus, and Edi stepped out of the elevator, guns drawn. The assassin was gone, but the place was still crawling with Cerberus troops, even after Shepard and his squad had killed dozens of them, and they seemed to have infested the elevator shafts. The remaining Councilors, including Udina, were on the shuttle platform, guarded by Ashley Williams. The shuttle on the pad was a smoking wreck. It was the end of the line for them, and it was likely here that Udina intended to make the hand-off, most likely to the assassin that Shepard had already killed.

"Damn it," Ashley exclaimed as she looked at the burning shuttle. "Cerberus hit the shuttle! Everybody back to the elevator." She turned, only to see Shepard, Garrus and Edi as they stepped off the elevator, and closed the door behind them. She lowered her weapon, gasping, "Shepard?"

Udina stood with his hand up, which was weird, given that Shepard was a Spectre, and the other councilors seemed relieved at his arrival. Then it became clear.

"Shepard's blocking our escape," Udina growled. "He's with Cerberus."

Ashley, fool that she was, raised her weapon again, pointing it at Shepard. "Everybody, hang on," she called, looking back at the councilors, interposing herself between them and Shepard. Then she looked at him. "Shepard, what's happening here?"

Shepard lowered his weapon. "You know me better than that, Ash."

"I knew the old Shepard, before Cerberus," she replied, backing up toward the councilors. "Right now, I'm not sure who I'm dealing with."

"We don't have time to negotiate," Shepard declared, still keeping his weapon lowered, and motioning for Garrus and Edi to lower theirs. "You've been fooled, all of you. Udina's behind this attack. Valern confirmed it."

"Please," Udina snorted derisively. "You have no proof. You never do!"

Shepard motioned to the door. "There are Cerberus soldiers in the elevator shaft behind us. If you open that door, they'll try to kill you, and we'll be in the middle of another firefight. Ash, none of the councilors are armed or have shields and armor. They'll be killed."

Tevos, the Asari councilor stepped forward, looking at Ashley. "We've mistrusted Shepard before, and it did not help us."

Udina shook his head. "We don't have time to debate this. We're dead if we stay out here." He went to the terminal. "I'm overriding the lock."

Now, Shepard moved in, gun raised, and trained on Udina. Ashley stood in his path, still pointing her gun at him. Then she said, "I'm going to regret this." She lowered her gun, and turned toward Udina, though she still looked back at Shepard.

"No, you're not," John assured.

"Alright, Skipper." She then marched over and stood between the Turian and Asari Councilors and Udina, pointing her weapon at Udina. "Udina, step away from the console."

"To hell with this!" Udina then activated the door. Tevos went to him, making one last ditch effort to end it peacefully, but he pushed her to the floor, and drew a gun.

"Gun!"

Ashley pointed her weapon at Udina as she shouted, but still was not firing. Shepard, on the other hand, trapped Udina in a stasis field.

"Get the Council back, and cover that door," Shepard barked as Sparatus helped Tevos to her feet. They collectively turned to face whatever was about to come through the door, which was now being cut through.

"The door," shouted Sparatus, pointing at it as it was cut open, but it was Bailey and two C-Sec officers, not Cerberus.

"Bailey?"

"Made it as fast as we could, Shepard," Bailey said, holstering his weapon. Looks like you took care of things."

"Something's not right," Tevos noted. "You said Cerberus was targeting us. Where did their soldiers go?"

"Cerberus was right here, but they beat feet into the Keeper tunnels when they figured out we were coming," Baily explained. "Sorry, Councilor, but I'll say it plain: Shepard just saved the lot of you."

"And you have saved my life twice now, Shepard," Sparatus declared. "I owe you both a personal debt, and one on behalf of Palaven."

"You don't owe me anything, Councilor," Shepard said, resisting the urge to scold the Turian Councilor for his prior dismissal of Shepard's warnings. "Times like these, we all stand together."

"Commander, do you have any idea why the Illusive Man would do this?" Sparatus asked.

"No, but I imagine interrogating Udina will prove enlightening," Shepard replied. "And as a Spectre, I intend to be present."

"Me too," Ashley interjected.

"Garrus, you were C-Sec," Bailey added. "I'd like you there as well."

Garrus nodded. "Of course, Commander Bailey. We'll get to the bottom of it … one way or another."

As Bailey's men took Udina into custody, Ashley stood before Shepard, her eyes downcast, a look of contrition on her face. "I'm sorry, Shepard. I doubted you … my best friend, and I doubted you. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, Ash," he replied. What more could he say? It was over, and Ashley came around quickly enough. "Just glad to see you up and about. Also glad you were there to see Udina get his comeuppance—I know you didn't like him either."

She spat. "I despised him. If you had said to turn it down, I would have told him no to being a Spectre."

"That's about the only thing he did right, Ash. You deserved that."

Ashley hugged him. "Thank you, Skipper. That means a lot. I won't doubt you again."

"Thanks, Ash."

At last, it seemed that some of the old wounds were healed, even in the midst of the Reapers. Now, perhaps, they could all face Cerberus and the Reapers as a united front … and figure out the link between them.