I don't own Halo or Mass Effect.

It had been a long week for Nihlus. With the doctor refusing to let him leave the infirmary, all the Spectre had to occupy himself was write his after-action report for the Council and ponder its contents. He had sent a communiqué to the Council informing them that he had an urgent matter to speak of, but did not wish to discuss it over the ship's communications array for fear of interception. There were so many things that made no sense: Why was Saren working with the geth? What was the giant black ship, and where did it come from? What was on that prothean beacon that Saren wanted so badly he was willing to turn rogue and annihilate an entire colony to obtain it?

Though the headache had passed, the information downloaded into his mind made no more sense now than it did then. It was still just a jumbled mess, a random assortment of ear-piercing noises and brief glimpses of things passing by too quickly to comprehend. It was maddening, and the sooner that he could either make sense of it, or be rid of it entirely, the happier he would be.

Tali and Sidonis had fared fairly well. After confiscating their weapons, the two were allowed around non-classified areas of the Beacon, though always with a guard escort. Since the only non-classified areas of the ship were the infirmary, mess hall, and bunks, they too quickly grew bored, and spent the majority of their time keeping him company. Sidonis would jabber on about whatever came to mind while Tali would sit and quietly fiddle with her omni-tool. When pressed, she said that she was reconstructing some data that she had recovered from the geth she fought on Choraxis Prime. She further explained that though the mechs automatically wiped their memory cores upon termination, if one was fast or lucky enough – and here she swelled a bit with pride – then one could salvage a few scraps here and there. Most of what she had was junk data, too fragmented and corrupted to be of any use, but she had found an audio file embedded in the noise and was reconstructing it bit by bit.

Nihlus was finally released from the infirmary in time to witness the Beacon's final jump. He approached the helm and watched as they approached the mass relay. The ship was enveloped by the relay's energy and hurtled forward to their destination. Instead of the infinite emptiness of space, the Beacon of Unity was welcomed with a thick, impenetrable cloud of space gas and dust, the crew's vision obscured with a brilliant purple glow. The pilot followed the pre-determined coordinates before him to maneuver through the clouds. Within minutes, the thick purple clouds parted to reveal their destination: the Citadel.

An artifact from the long-extinct protheans, the Citadel was a massive space station that functioned as both a city and the center of galactic government. It was simple in design, five arms, each reaching nearly 45 kilometers in length, surrounding a central ring. Over 13 million people lived on the station, the majority of whom resided in the Wards located in the arms, while the wealthy and the seat of government resided in the Presidium inside the central ring. Hundreds of ships flitted about the Citadel like bees buzzing around their hive.

"Home sweet home," General Victus said as he came up beside Nihlus. Ordering the pilot to open a channel, he declared, "Citadel, this is General Victus aboard the Beacon of Unity requesting permission to land."

"Acknowledged, Beacon of Unity, you may berth at dock thirty-four-C," a cool female voice responded.

"This is Spectre Nihlus Kryik," Nihlus said before the channel could be closed, "requesting a C-Sec escort for myself and two VIPs for an immediate Council session."

"Copy that, Spectre. C-Sec has been notified and will be awaiting you at your dock," the operator replied.

Citadel Security Services, or C-Sec for short, is the organization that enforces law and order across the Citadel. It is a prestigious organization, with applicants usually requiring several years of exemplary service in the military or planetary police force in order to be considered. The Spectres and C-Sec often clashed, with C-Sec feeling that the Spectres were dangerous for not being bound by the law, while the Spectres felt constrained by C-Sec's adherence to rules and protocol. Nihlus himself had chafed under the organization's red tape in the past, but this was the best way to quickly and safely escort Tali and Sidonis to the Council.

The Beacon of Unity nimbly weaved its way through the void until it reached its designated berth. As the ship slowly slid into position, large electromagnets lowered and clamped onto its sides, holding it in place. Once the docking was complete, Nihlus, Sidonis, and Tali stepped into the airlock and waited through the tedious but necessary decontamination procedure before being released to the world. The outer doors slid open to reveal an asari with white facial markings and a turian with a range finder over one eye, both sporting the blue-and-silver uniforms of C-Sec.

"Spectre Nihlus Kryik?" the asari asked. At Nihlus' nod, she continued, "I'm Detective Nassura and this is Detective Vakarian. Per your request, we'll be escorting you and your associates to the Council Chambers."

"I appreciate your help on this matter, Detective," Nihlus said as he shook Detective Nassura's hand.

"Pleasure to help, Spectre," the asari replied. "Vakarian, you take the quarian, Spectre Kryik and his associate will be riding with me," she continued, pointing to Tali and Sidonis.

"Yes, ma'am," Vakarian said with a nod. Turning to Tali he added, "Come with me, Miss." Though Tali looked uneasy at separating from her companions, she nonetheless followed the turian to his skycar, where a female turian awaited them. Tali climbed in the back seat while Vakarian went to the passenger's seat. The doors and canopy snapped shut with a hiss and the wedge-shaped vehicle took to the air, lights flashing and sirens whooping; the second car soon followed. Tali looked back and noticed the second car turn away while her car kept moving on.

"Where are they going?" she asked, trying not to let her nervousness show.

"Standard procedure," Vakarian explained as they weaved through traffic. "When there are multiple witnesses or VIPs being escorted, we take separate routes so that they're not taken out all at once." Tali reluctantly accepted the explanation. The female turian shifted in her seat so that she could look back at the passengers.

"So, what have you got that's so important you got a fast track to the Council?" she asked, casting a doubtful look Tali's way. The quarian narrowed her eyes at the C-Sec officer, but responded nonetheless.

"We have information on the attack on Choraxis Prime," the quarian explained tersely.

"You were there?" Vakarian asked in surprise. "I heard about that. I'm so sorry," he continued, pity weighing on his voice. "I can't even begin to imagine how that must have been."

"Thank you," Tali said, touched by the sincerity in the turian's voice. "It was horrible, but with this data, we can stop the person responsible for it all. Their deaths wouldn't have been in vain."

"I hear you," Vakarian agreed. "Scum like that don't even deserve a trial. Just hunt them down and put them down like the mad var—" He stopped when he looked at the dashboard screen displaying the view behind them. A skycar was trailing several dozen meters behind them. Someone leaned out of the window, holding a large and powerful-looking sniper rifle. "Look out!" he partner shouted.

His partner tried to swerve away, but it was too late; a thunderous boom rang through the air and the now-headless driver slumped forward, violet blood splattered around a thumb-wide hole in the windshield. The car went spinning out of control; Vakarian tried to shove the decapitated corpse aside and regain control over the vehicle. Spotting an open parking complex, Vakarian swerved into it, bringing the vehicle to a rough, skidding stop.

Vakarian's vision was faint and wobbly as his body reeled from the forced landing. His face felt warm and wet, and an experimental touch revealed a sticky, dark-blue residue on his fingers – blood. With a disoriented groan, he turned to find his partner slumped limply in her seat, blood dripping from her head.

"Are you all right?" Vakarian rasped out as he tried to unbuckle himself. When his restraints refused to unlock, he reached down and extracted a small knife from his pocket and sliced through them.

"I'm-I'm fine," she stammered out, but her form showed otherwise. Crimson blood trickled from between her fingers as she clutched her arm, and a large crack bisected her visor. A second car set down at the far end of the parking structure and opened to reveal several men toting guns, all of which were currently being pointed at them.

"Get down!" Vakarian cried out as he ducked down, Tali following suit. The gunmen opened fire, the air around the skycar flaring blue as the rounds impacted harmlessly against its kinetic barriers, barriers that were quickly stripped away as the sniper punched a new hole into the car with a deafening blast. "We're going to have to stay as low as possible," Vakarian said as he pressed a button that opened the door facing away from the shooters, "We're not going anywhere until that sniper's gone." The C-Sec officer crawled out and drew his pistol, returning fire at the assailants. Tali managed to pull herself out and hide behind the fallen vehicle. "This is Detective Garrus Vakarian; I am under attack by multiple armed assailants!" Vakarian shouted as he continued to trade shots with his would-be assassins. "I have an officer down and a quarian VIP that needs immediate medical attention. Send backup and EMTs to my position immediately." He took aim and fired, striking one unlucky attacker trying to flank him between the eyes. As he ducked down to avoid a sniper shot that left a fist-sized hole in the wall behind him, the officer grimly thought, Four more to go.

Nihlus rapped his talons against his thigh anxiously as the C-Sec officer weaved through traffic. The faster he and his companions reached the Council, the sooner he could inform them of Saren's treachery and start a manhunt against the traitorous Spectre.

He noticed the car containing Tali take a different route than them, and ignored Sidonis' inquiry about it; he was already familiar with C-Sec's transportation protocols. As they approached an intersection, Nihlus suddenly felt uneasy, a sixth sense honed by a lifetime of combat alerting him that something was amiss. He looked to both sides and saw nothing amiss, but when he looked behind him he saw a skycar with a turian hanging out of its passenger side window, pointing what looked to be an anti-materiel rifle at them.

"Get down!" he shouted out as he pulled Sidonis down, shielding him with his own body. Just as with Tali's escort, the shot ripped through the car and killed the driver, sending the vehicle spiraling out of control until it crashed into a nearby building. When Nihlus shook away the stars from his vision, he saw Detective Nassura slumped over the steering wheel with a sizable hole through her upper body, while her partner was slumped over, unconscious or dead. "Are you alright?" he asked the turian beneath him.

"Yeah," Sidonis confirmed with a pained groan. "What in the spirits' name was that?" he asked. His answer quickly came in the form of another car landing nearby, where four armed occupants climbed out.

"Check to make sure they're dead," barked out the apparent leader, a black-skinned turian with his face painted to resemble a skull. One of the other thugs cautiously approached the fallen vehicle, shotgun at the ready. He crept around the car to see Nihlus through the broken window, slumped over with blood dripping down his face. When he came close, Nihlus suddenly sprung to life, grabbing the thug by the wrist and yanking forward, smashing his face against the edge of the car. As the mercenary was stunned, Nihlus wrested the shotgun from his hands and blew him away with a shot to the torso. "Shit, get him!" the leader shouted as the remaining mercenaries opened fire on the police car.

Nihlus instinctively ducked down to avoid the gunfire that hammered against the car's now-recharged shields. Taking the opportunity to escape, Nihlus shoved the car door open and crawled out. Reaching into the backseat, the Spectre grabbed Sidonis' collar pulled him out, just barely avoiding a shot from the sniper. Passing his pilfered weapon to the other turian, he drew his own shotgun and armed a Carnage shot. He quickly stood up and fired at the group before ducking back down. The would-be assassins all scattered away from the crimson blast that splashed against the ground. Standing up, the two turians quickly drew a bead on the distracted mercenaries and opened up with their shotguns, blood spraying in the air as they fell. Three were killed in swift order, but the sniper recovered enough to return fire, causing Nihlus to duck down or risk getting obliterated. The skull-faced turian fell with a cry as Sidonis took advantage of his diverted attention and clipped him in the arm. The Spectre marched over to the fallen mercenary, who writhed on the ground in pain as he clutched his bleeding arm.

"Who sent you?" Nihlus demanded as he stood over the fallen thug. "Why were you trying to kill me?"

"I ain't telling you shit," the mercenary hissed out as he tried to stem the bleeding from his arm. Nihlus brought his foot down on the wounded limb, making the mercenary scream in agony.

"Who sent you?" Nihlus asked again, raising his voice to be heard over his victim's cries.

"Fuck you!" the mercenary spat out as he tried to get out from under the Spectre's foot. Nihlus removed his foot, prompting the mercenary to breathe a sigh of relief, until the Spectre pressed the muzzle of his shotgun against his thigh and placed his finger on the trigger.

"You have three seconds to tell me what I want to know, or you lose this leg," he said harshly, his eyes as sharp as two pieces of flint. "One…two…thr—"

"All right!" the thug cried out desperately, "I'll talk!" Nodding in satisfaction, Nihlus removed his shotgun from its position and waited with his arms crossed. "It was Fist!" the mercenary said. "Fist heard that there was a quarian that knew things she shouldn't have, so she needed to be shut up. We were supposed to kill her and anyone she was with."

"And where can I find this Fist?" Nihlus asked as he uncrossed his arms.

"He runs Chora's Den down in the Wards," the skull-faced thug said. "I swear that's all I know!" he pleaded. Having extracted all the information he could out of his prisoner, Nihlus pressed down on the fallen turian's throat with his foot, choking him into unconsciousness. He approached Sidonis who was waiting nearby.

"The man we're looking for is Fist, he runs Chora's Den in the Wards," Nihlus explained. "Do you know where that is?" he asked, receiving a negative headshake in response.

"I've heard of it, but I don't know how to get there," Sidonis said. A voice emerging from the C-Sec car's radio caught their attention.

"This is Detective Garrus Vakarian; I am under attack by multiple armed assailants!" the voice shouted, the cracking of gunfire clear in the background. "I have an officer down and a quarian VIP that needs immediate medical attention. Send backup and EMTs to my position immediately!" The message was punctuated by an especially loud bang and subsequent curse from Vakarian. Nihlus extricated Detective Nassura's mangled corpse and grabbed the radio.

"Detective Vakarian, this is Spectre Nihlus Kryik, what's your position?" he inquired.

"In a parking structure near Sixth and Malora," Vakarian answered. "I'm pinned down and this damn sniper's been chewing away my cover bit by bit. I need backup now!"

Gesturing Sidonis to remove the passenger from his seat, Nihlus replied, "Hold tight Detective, we'll be there in five minutes." Once Sidonis had pulled the body out and laid it on the ground, the two turians jumped into the battered cruiser and raced to reach Tali and Vakarian in time. Despite its battered state, the police cruiser bobbed and weaved through traffic as nimbly as if it had been fresh from the assembly line. As they approached the address that Vakarian had provided, Nihlus could hear the staccato cracks of gunfire emanating from a parking structure. He carefully lowered the vehicle so that he was lined up with the majority of the shooters oblivious to their impending demise. Nihlus pointed out the sniper to Sidonis and raised the passenger door. The former colony guard carefully lined up his shot and pulled the trigger, blood spurting from the sniper's chest. At the same time Nihlus gunned the accelerator; he killed the engine as soon as he was completely in the structure so that when he struck the remaining shooters, they were swept up and ground underneath the vehicle. The skycar skidded to a stop against the second police cruiser, making a loud clunk as it knocked against its obliterated twin. Nihlus and Sidonis immediately jumped out and ran to find their quarian acquaintance and her guardian. They found them both slumped behind the destroyed cruiser, exhausted.

"I'm fine," Vakarian insisted, "but she's been shot. The paramedics should be here any minute. Do you know who did this?" he asked as he pulled himself to his feet.

"I interrogated one of the shooters, he said they were ordered by someone named Fist," Nihlus explained. Vakarian's cheek flaps flared in surprise. "He owns a club named Chora's Den. Do you know him?"

"Yeah, I know him," Vakarian said with a scowl. "I know where we can find him too." He cast a worried glance down at Tali, prompting Sidonis to step forward.

"I know some first aid," he declared, "I can keep Tali stable until the paramedics get here." Satisfied that Sidonis volunteered to attend to Tali in his absence, Vakarian started towards the front of his car. Realizing the sorry state of his vehicle, he then dashed to the one that Nihlus and Sidonis had rode in on and opened a compartment in the back. He pulled out a large red bag of emergency medical supplies and tossed it to Sidonis, who immediately began fussing over the wounded and drug-addled quarian before him. Vakarian also pulled out a sleek silver assault rifle that he clipped onto his back.

"Get in," he ordered Nihlus as he climbed into the driver's seat. The Spectre complied, but he had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at a C-Sec officer ordering him around. Vakarian powered the cruiser up and they rushed off, siren blaring. "Fist!" he shouted incredulously as the blasted towards his destination. "I can't believe that Fist is behind this!"

"Why, who's Fist?" Nihlus asked as he inspected his shotgun.

"Just some lowlife," Vakarian said with a dismissive shrug, "always on our radar, but always something more important than him to worry about. We've suspected that he's an agent of the Shadow Broker, but that's what doesn't make sense about all this." He veered to dodge a car, ignoring the driver's indignant honking. "If the Shadow Broker wanted to put a hit on someone, he wouldn't do something this loud and this expensive, and Fist doesn't have enough to bankroll this himself."

"What do you mean?" Nihlus prompted.

"That sniper that was shooting at me, and I'm guessing you too?" At the Spectre's nod, Vakarian continued, "If I'm right, then the guns they were using were M-97 Widows, anti-materiel rifles developed by the quarians near the end of the Geth War; very powerful, very rare, and very expensive. Just one of those rifles is worth more than Chora's Den, and unless the shooter was either a krogan or wearing custom-made, specialized body armor, then they would have needed to have been heavily modified so that they didn't break the shooters' shoulders on the first shot." Vakarian glanced to his side and saw Nihlus giving him an inquisitive look. "What?" the C-Sec officer said defensively. "The gunshot has a very distinctive report; if you know it, you can recognize it a mile away. Plus, the shot punched through two bulletproof-glass windows and a police-grade kinetic barrier in one shot, and that's the only non-vehicle-mounted weapon that I know of capable of pulling that off. Trust me, it's an M-97 – if it's not, I'll eat my badge."

"That's…rather impressive, Detective," Nihlus said after a moment's consideration.

"I know my sniper rifles," Vakarian said with a shrug as he brought the cruiser down near a rundown alleyway. "We're still a few blocks away, but this way Fist won't hear us coming," he explained as they exited the vehicle.

The two turians stalked through the streets, Vakarian in front with Nihlus behind, both with their weapons drawn and ready. Neither spoke, the military training that both had undergone being enough for the two to communicate without words. As they approached the end of an alley, Vakarian abruptly brought up his hand to stop them. His radar showed an unknown approaching them. Vakarian gestured forward near his head, then waved his hand at Nihlus before pointing forward again near his waist: I go high, you go low. Nihlus nodded and Vakarian began the countdown.

Close hand, open full hand – 3…

Close hand, open, thumb still curled in – 2…

Close hand, raise a single digit – 1…

Close hand, release, and clench fist – go!

The two turians rushed forward, weapons drawn. "Freeze!" Vakarian hissed loudly before finding himself peering down the barrel of a shotgun being grasped by a crimson claw. He traced the arm to find his assailant to be a large, heavily armored krogan clad in bloody-red armor. The reptilian alien had ruby eyes and a large head crest as bright as fire; a series of ugly gashes were scarred across the bony cap and went down to mar the krogan's pale yellow skin.

"Hello, C-Sec," the krogan greeted in a deep rumble, "didn't expect to see you here."

"Ugh," Vakarian groaned as he lowered his weapon and beckoned Nihlus to do the same. "Damn it Wrex, what are you doing here?" he demanded to the krogan.

"What, I can't take a casual stroll through the armpit of the Citadel if I feel like it?" Wrex asked in response, feigning indignation.

"Not when you were warned yesterday to keep away from the owner of a certain club down the street, no," Vakarian deadpanned. Wrex rolled his eyes and gave an annoyed huff.

"Fine," he groaned, "I'm here on a job. Fist was caught in bed with people he shouldn't have," the krogan explained. "I've been hired by certain interested parties to express displeasure on their behalf." Vakarian gave the krogan a suspicious glare.

"And how exactly are you going to express this displeasure?" the law officer inquired, "and from whom?"

"Divorce papers," Wrex said with a toothy grin devoid of innocence and humor, "and I'm not at liberty to say who my employers are. Professional courtesy, you see." Vakarian opened his mouth to comment further when Nihlus stepped in.

"We happen to have business with Fist as well, so how about a deal?" the dark-skinned turian offered. "We team up, catch Fist together, the officer and I get first crack at him, then we walk away and leave you two alone, what do you say?" Wrex narrowed his eyes and stomped forward; Nihlus, to his credit, did not seem the least bit intimidated, even though the krogan dwarfed him by nearly two feet.

"And how do I know that this won't bite me in the ass later?" Wrex asked suspiciously. Nihlus' black eyes glared strongly into crimson.

"You have my word as a Spectre." Wrex narrowed his eyes further at Nihlus, who narrowed his eyes in return. They were glaring so intensely that Vakarian was worried that they might start shooting each other right there, when Wrex suddenly straightened up and shrugged.

"Eh sure, whatever," he grunted. "I'm getting paid either way, let's go," he said as he began to trudge off towards Chora's Den, Nihlus following behind. Vakarian was partly confused by what just happened, and partly annoyed and outraged that Nihlus had essentially promised to leave Fist in Wrex's hands rather than allowing him to arrest the cop-killing son of a bitch. But there was a time to rage – later. For now, he would follow the Spectre and the mercenary krogan that he was more acquainted with than he liked. And if he tuned into the news tomorrow to find that Fist was suddenly one head shorter…

…Well, he supposed he could live with that.

The trio came up to the infamous Chora's Den to find its sign off and its door sealed shut.

"It's too early for them to be setting up, so there's probably just some security inside," Vakarian said as they stacked up on the door. He looked the door over with a critical eye. "It looks too thick to break down, and I'm not an expert at hacking locks, so unless one of you is, we've got a problem."

"Don't worry about it, C-Sec," Wrex said as he reached into a compartment on his leg, "I'll just use my ole skeleton key," he continued as he pulled out a two-inch-square brick of clay-like substance with an electronic device embedded into it.

"…You just happen to be carrying a Mark-Twelve Breaching Charge which, by the way, is illegal for civilians to own?" Vakarian asked flatly.

"You don't?" he heard two voices answer. He turned to look behind him and saw Nihlus holding up an identical brick.

"Is there a back entrance to this place?" Nihlus asked before Vakarian could comment further. The C-Sec officer nodded in affirmation. "Here's the plan then: you two will breach here and provide a diversion while I sneak in round back and grab Fist." Before either of his companions could comment or protest, the Spectre ran off to circle around the building.

"Well, looks like we're on distraction duty," Vakarian noted dryly.

"It's not so bad," Wrex replied with a chuckle. "Live a little, C-Sec."

"I live just fine, thank you," Vakarian deadpanned. "And for your information, I actually had several people try to kill me just this morning."

"Oh?" Wrex said, interested. "How'd that work out for you?" The turian tilted his head as he pretended to ponder the question.

"Well, my car's wrecked, my partner's dead, and I almost lost the VIP I was escorting," he recited, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

"So, pretty shitty day then," Wrex said succinctly.

"A little, yeah." Wrex displayed a toothy, predatory grin as he started tossing the breaching charge in his hand.

"Feel like killing some bad guys then?" he asked.

"Ye—" Vakarian began, but paused when he realized just what he was about to agree to. With an annoyed glare, he said, "Just plant the damn charges, Wrex." The krogan rolled his eyes in exasperation and planted two charges, one at head level and one near his waist.

"I'm in position," Nihlus' voice crackled in Vakarian's ear. "Ready to breach on your go."

"Understood," Vakarian responded while gesturing for Wrex to prepare to breach. The krogan nodded and activated his omni-tool, a finger poised over the detonation command. "Breaching in five…four…three…two…one…now." Wrex detonated the charges, blowing the doors inward with a deafening blast and the two charged in.

Time seemed to flow in slow motion as they stormed in, adrenaline rushing through Vakarian's veins. Several men already were lying on the floor, writhing in pain or still as death. One turian still standing shook off his disorientation and drew his weapon, but the seasoned officer quickly took aim and pulled the trigger.

Bang! The turian lurched back as the shot impacted his shoulder.

Bang! A stumble as a second shot hit him center mass.

Bang! The enemy dropped down, dead.

Another turian lying on the ground drew his pistol and fired, but the round struck harmlessly against Vakarian's kinetic barriers. A shot neatly placed between his eyes silenced him forever. In his battle haze, Vakarian could only faintly hear the thundering roar of Wrex's scattergun.

Vakarian was knocked out of his reverie by a shotgun blast smashing into him courtesy of an asari hiding behind the bar, nearly taking out his shields completely. He dove behind an overturned table for cover, barely dodging another blast that surely would have pulped his chest had it hit. Before the C-Sec officer had a chance to recover, he found himself and the table he was currently hiding behind suddenly lifting into the air, surrounded by a blue aura. The table flew aside to reveal the asari bartender shrouded in an identical aura. She raised her weapon to blow Vakarian away, but before she could pull the trigger her head suddenly exploded in a violet mist, causing him to fall to the floor as the biotic trap he was in expired along with its caster. The asari's death could be traced back to the smoking shotgun in Wrex's hand.

Wrex's attention was focused on the screaming krogan that served as the club's bouncer charging towards him. A rampaging krogan plowing into someone delivered damage comparable to being hit by a speeding car, and the sight was treated with much the same trepidation. But there were two things that spelled this krogan's doom:

One – The crimson-clad krogan was much stronger and more skilled than the whelp barreling towards him now, for Wrex was not an ordinary krogan, but a Battlemaster, an elite warrior that refined his skills through centuries of bloodshed, outliving even most asari in the most brutal of environments.

Two – As a Battlemaster, Wrex also had the rare privilege of being one of the few krogan in existence that possessed biotic powers.

Lips curled in amusement, Wrex enveloped himself in a glowing blue aura before rushing forward in a violet blur, smashing into the younger krogan and shoving him into the far wall, leaving a sizeable dent in the metal. Wrex pulled his fist back and viciously slugged his opponent in the jaw, quickly followed by a backhand that knocked teeth loose. He followed by reeling his head back and snapping it forward, smashing his head into the other krogan's, hairline fractures spreading all across the reptilian alien's crest. As the bouncer reeled from the impact, Wrex shoved his shotgun into his opponent's mouth and pulled the trigger, splattering the wall with orange blood and brain matter.

The club was silent. Half a dozen enemies lied dead; those who survived the initial assault wisely decided to flee lest they share their coworkers' fate. Wrex shook off the gore dripping from his weapon and shouldered it.

"Well, that was fun," he said with a smirk. "Shall we check up on your Spectre buddy?" he asked as he started heading to the back offices.

"He's not my buddy," Vakarian muttered as he pulled himself and dashed to catch up with the krogan.

"Five…four…three…two…one…now."

Nihlus activated the detonator of his own block of explosives, blasting open the back door to Chora's Den as Vakarian and Wrex breached the front. The Spectre stormed into the club two find two workers upright but dazed. Nihlus quickly dispatched the both of them with his shotgun before he walked up to Fist's office, barricaded by a locked door. The Spectre did not want to use more explosives to take this door down for fear of accidentally killing his target, so a more delicate approach was needed. Nihlus activated his omni-tool and began to hack the door lock, lines of code scrolling by on his screen. While the turian did not consider himself to be an expert hacker, the security protocols on this door were fairly simple, and easily buckled under his attacks. The door's holographic display turned green and slid open, welcoming Nihlus to gunfire. The shots were so weak that each impact barely drained his shields. He activated an Overload protocol to disable the assailant's gun before rushing over and knocking it out of his hand.

"P-Please don't kill me!" Fist cried out fearfully. Nihlus looked down, unimpressed by the simpering, cowering salarian before him. He grabbed Fist by the front of his shirt and roughly shoved him into the wall.

"Who do your work for?" Nihlus demanded forcefully.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about!" Fist quivered back. Nihlus pressed the muzzle of his recently-fired shotgun against the salarian's arm. Fist screamed in agony as the scorching-hot metal seared an ugly ring into his skin.

"Don't play dumb with me!" Nihlus snarled. "I know that you couldn't have afforded those special guns on your own, so someone gave them to you. Now tell me who!" He raised his gun, poised to burn Fist's other arm, when the criminal broke.

"His name is Saren!" he cried out desperately. "He's a Spectre. He gave me those guns and a shitload of credits to take out you and some quarian chick; said that she knew something that she shouldn't. I don't know why he wanted you dead and I didn't ask. Please, that's all I know…" he sobbed pitifully. Nihlus dropped his prisoner to the floor, who then curled up into a blubbering ball. He had suspected that his former mentor was behind the assassination attempt, but something seemed strange. It sounded like Tali had important information beyond being a witness to the massacre at Choraxis Prime. What information did she have that Saren wanted silenced to badly?

"Did you get anything?" Nihlus heard Vakarian ask from behind him. He turned to see the C-Sec officer and the krogan standing in the doorway.

"Yeah," the Spectre confirmed as he stowed away his weapon. "I got everything I need." Turning to Wrex, he added, "He's all yours."

"Pleasure workin' with you," he grunted in return. "Later, C-Sec," he bid Vakarian as the two turians departed, leaving him alone with Fist. "Now Fist, you've been a bad boy," he said menacingly as he approached the quivering salarian. "The Shadow Broker doesn't like it when his agents cheat on him, so I'm here to express his displeasure with you."

"Please, I'll give you anything…" Fist pleaded desperately as he shied away from the massive krogan. Wrex sat down on the desk, the furniture creaking ominously under his weight but ultimately holding, and set aside his shotgun.

"Oh, I'm sure you will," he said as he drew out a long, wicked-looking knife that gleamed in the dim lighting. "You can start by telling me everything you know about Saren Arterius…."

The attempted assassination and subsequent retaliation left Nihlus woefully late for his meeting with the Council, and took nearly two days before he could be granted another audience. This was a rare privilege, as most people would have to wait months to reschedule if they missed an appointment with the Council, but as a Spectre, his emergencies took priority. Still, not even the elite commandos could completely bypass the seas of bureaucracy, hence the wait.

During that time, he, Vakarian, and Sidonis had taken turns watching over the bedridden Tali in case Saren tried another assassination attempt. The quarian's suit had flooded her system with antibiotics the moment its seal was breached, but it could not stave off infection entirely. That, combined with blood loss and stress from the firefight left her incredibly weak; she spent the majority of the past two days unconscious.

Out of boredom, Nihlus looked up the military records of both Sidonis and Vakarian. Lantar Sidonis' record showed that he had above-average medical skills, especially for one who was not trained as a dedicated medic, but was otherwise a fairly average soldier. The file for one Garrus Vakarian, however, was much more interesting. In addition to having some of the highest marks in sniping in the past 15 years, he was certified in the calibration and maintenance of several heavy weapons, including the M35 IFV's main cannon and the spinal cannon for a Cruiser-class ship. His sterling credentials were marred by several citations for insubordination and reckless behavior, often taking unnecessary risks to achieve his objectives, sometimes against the orders of his superiors.

Finally he met with the Council in their offices, a venue more secure than a holo-communication or meeting in the public atrium. Directly across from Nihlus sat the asari representative Tevos; to her left sat the salarian Valern and to her right was the turian Sparatus.

"Spectre Kryik, I am pleased to see that you're doing well after that incident the other day," Councilor Tevos said in a serious, yet pleasant tone befitting her status as an asari matron. "You said that you had some important information regarding the attack on Choraxis Prime?" she prompted.

"Yes," Nihlus responded with a nod. "I know who was responsible for the attack: Saren Arterius." Years of political experience (centuries, in Councilor Tevos' case) allowed the galactic leaders to take the news with the barest hint of surprise.

"That is a very grave accusation, Kryik," said Councilor Valern, "do you have any proof of this?" Nihlus gritted his teeth in frustration; he had not been doubted since before he had joined the Spectres.

"He was leading the geth forces on Choraxis Prime, and tried to kill me when we encountered each other," he ground out, his voice level but his tone harsher than propriety demanded. "I am a Spectre, my word should be sufficient."

"And normally, it would be," Councilor Sparatus placated his fellow turian, "but when the accused is another Spectre, and a senior one as well, we must be certain. Do you have any evidence to support your claim?" he asked. Nihlus nodded and recounted what he had learned from Fist's interrogation.

"It is a shame that we cannot corroborate your information, since the news reported Fist's untimely death yesterday," Councilor Valern lamented. "Do you have anything else to provide?"

"…Not yet, Councilor," Nihlus admitted reluctantly. Councilor Tevos' eyebrow rose slightly at his response.

"'Yet,' Spectre Kryik?" she inquired. "Do you expect to be receiving new information in the future?"

"According to Fist, one of the reasons for the attack was that Saren believed that the quarian girl that had accompanied me held information that he did not want revealed," Nihlus explained.

"A quarian?" Councilor Sparatus scoffed dubiously. "And how can we trust that any 'evidence' that she provides is genuine?" he asked, using his talons to mime air quotes around "evidence."

"If it is electronic in nature, then it can be easily authenticated by our own experts," Councilor Tevos retorted. "I recommend that we reserve judgment on this matter until we have reviewed whatever evidence that Spectre Kryik's quarian accomplice may provide."

"I agree," said Councilor Valern. Turning to Nihlus, he said, "Bring us this evidence and we will revisit this issue, Spectre Kryik. Until then, this matter is adjourned." Steeling his expression to hide his disappointment and frustration, Nihlus stood up and bowed his head.

"I understand. Thank you for your time, Councilors," he said calmly before quietly departing. Stepping out onto the street, Nihlus hailed a taxi to take him to the hospital. While the skycar zipped in and out of traffic, the Spectre silently fumed. The entire purpose of the Spectre Corps was to protect the galaxy without being delayed by the hassle of red tape, but now when he came with knowledge of the mastermind behind a near-total extermination of a colony, he was stonewalled like a common cop! The Spectre continued to brood as he entered the hospital towards the quarantine wing.

Due to their weakened, nearly non-existent immune systems, the rare case of a quarian patient on the Citadel had to be handled with all the care and delicacy of a plague carrier. Each patient had their own sterile room. Anyone and anything that was to be taken into the room had to step into an adjoining decontamination chamber similar to those on starships and personnel had to be wearing hermetically sealed suits so as to not introduce any contaminants from their own bodies.

Nihlus came up to Tali's room to find Sidonis standing by an observation window.

"You're just in time," the colony guard said when he saw the Spectre approach, "she just woke up," he continued as he pointed to the window. Nihlus stepped up to the window to see a hazmat suit-clad asari fussing over Tali, who had removed her suit in favor of a standard-issue hospital gown. Except for her hands and legs, which were shaped more like a turian's, Tali – and quarian women in general – looked remarkably like gray-skinned asari, except for a head adorned with hair instead of tentacle-like crests. Tali's long, ebony locks currently hung limply around her face. When she saw Nihlus and Sidonis she gave a weak wave in greeting. While Sidonis waved back, Nihlus activated the wall-mounted communicator.

"How is she, Doctor?" he asked. The asari finished the inspection of one of the many medical devices currently attached to the bedridden quarian and approached her own communicator.

"She's doing quite well," she replied. "Assuming no further complications, I estimate she should be recovered enough to be discharged in a week." In the background, Nihlus could faintly hear Tali cheer in the distinct tone of one who was excited, but lacked the energy to express true enthusiasm.

"Is she well enough to speak to?" Nihlus asked. "She has information that I need." The asari turned and cast a worried look at Tali before reluctantly nodding.

"She is, but I wouldn't recommend more than a few minutes," the doctor said, "she still needs plenty of rest." Ignoring Tali's protests that she was fine, the doctor added, "Give me a few minutes and I'll help you suit up."

The doctor checked on a few more things before she exited the sterile room and helped seal Nihlus into his own suit, sealing up the hard-to-reach places and ensuring that there were no leaks. Satisfied that he was safely contained, the duo stepped into the decontamination chamber. The room filled with disinfecting mist while a laser scanned over their bodies, seeking out and sterilizing any stray microbes.

"I'll stay here so you can have some privacy," the doctor said; she was aware of how Spectres operated. "But I'll be monitoring Miss Zorah's vitals, and if I feel that she's becoming too distressed, I don't care if you are a Spectre, I will have you removed, am I clear?" she asked, leveling a hard stare at Nihlus.

"Crystal." As a Spectre, Nihlus technically had the authority to override any orders or protests made by the doctor, but after learning early in his career just how protective of their patients an irate doctor could be, he decided that it was easier for him to just comply with the doctor's wishes. Finally the decontamination procedure concluded and the doors slid open, allowing him entry into the patient room.

"How did the meeting with the Council go?" Tali asked as Nihlus approached the communicator and inputted some commands, making the observation window frost into opaqueness. The turian sighed and pulled up a chair to sit down on.

"Not as well as I'd hoped," he said simply, refusing to elaborate. "The man who orchestrated the attack on us – Fist – he said that you were targeted because you had information. What did he mean by that?" he asked. The quarian girl frowned in confusion.

"I don't know anything about an infor…. Oh Tali, you stupid bosh'tet," she groaned as she slapped her forehead.

"What? What is it?" Nihlus demanded. Tali sighed and shifted in her bed.

"Normally when a geth is destroyed, its memory banks are wiped clean," she began to explain. "However, I found out that if I was fast and lucky enough, I could salvage some data. They were scraps, fragments of fragments, but as I kept collecting them, I noticed that some of them seemed to be connected, so I started to put them back together. That must have been the information that Fist was referring to."

"What is it? I need that information!" Nihlus declared.

"I don't know, I wasn't finished reconstructing it," Tali answered with a shake of her head. "All I know is that it's an audio file. If I had my omni-tool, I could finish it." Nodding in satisfaction, Nihlus immediately got up and pressed his finger to the intercom.

"Sidonis, I need you to find Miss Zorah's effects and bring me her omni-tool ASAP," he ordered. The other turian acknowledged the order and quickly departed. He evidently had no trouble obtaining the device, for a few minutes later, Nihlus heard the outer airlock door slide open, followed by the muffled voice of Sidonis explaining the situation to the doctor waiting inside. The doo slid closed, followed by the hiss of the decontamination procedures starting anew. Minutes later, the inner door opened to allow entrance to the doctor, omni-tool in hand. A thin, delicate-looking device, a silver box two fingers in size with flexible bands on either end barely the width of a finger, it was a computer capable of performing dozens of unique features and storing hundreds of terabytes of information. Nihlus took the device with a nod of thanks and handed it to its owner, who strapped it onto her arm and activated it, an orange holographic gauntlet encapsulating her forearm. A screen popped into existence and hundreds of lines of code streamed down the display, faster than Nihlus' eyes could follow; yet, the quarian seemed to have no trouble reading it.

"How long 'til you can get it done?" the Spectre asked as Tali painstakingly reassembled the fragmented bits of code.

"I don't know, tomorrow maybe?" Tali replied distractedly as she continued to fiddle with her omni-tool. Nihlus had hoped that he could get that information sooner, but there was little point in pressuring the quarian girl, especially with her doctor right outside.

"Let me know as soon as you're finished," he said before leaving the room, pausing to render the observation window transparent once more. Once Nihlus had exited the room and removed himself from his biohazard suit, he stood vigilant by the door. This information would need to be brought to the Council's attention as soon as possible, and he was willing to wait all night for it if necessary.

His patience was soon rewarded; Tali slaved diligently over the code and finished assembling the file that night. After going through the tedious process of suiting up and going through decontamination, Nihlus stood by the bedridden quarian's side.

"Play it," he ordered. Tali nodded and pressed a button on her omni-tool, activating the newly-reconstructed audio file. The sound crackled slightly, but the voices were clear as day.

"…How would we find this Conduit?" inquired a strong, authoritative female voice that Nihlus did not recognize. "I doubt that information as to its whereabouts would just be lying around, or else it would have been found by now."

"That is true," replied a male voice, one that Nihlus was familiar with: Desolas Arterius, a former general who had disappeared some years before after he was discovered spearheading genetic experiments that crossed the line of illegality into utter heinousness. "The only place where information on the Conduit would be found would be on an intact prothean beacon. The difficult part would be locating such a rare and valuable artifact."

"Perhaps not as difficult as you think, brother," spoke Saren's guttural drawl. "I've heard chatter of an intact beacon that has just been unearthed on Choraxis Prime. If we move fast, we can secure it before Citadel forces arrive."

"An excellent find, Saren," Desolas congratulated his brother. "It seems that fate is smiling upon us."

"Indeed," said the female speaker with less enthusiasm, "though I cannot help but wonder how exactly you plan on securing the beacon undetected. This ship is not the most common or inconspicuous of designs, after all," she continued dryly.

"With our new geth allies, it would be a simple matter to annihilate the colony," the traitorous Spectre replied matter-of-factly. "Its destruction would conceal any evidence of our involvement, and if necessary we can destroy the beacon so that no one else can access its information."

"We'll set course for Choraxis Prime immediately," Desolas decreed. "With this beacon, we will find ourselves one step closer to the Conduit…"

"…One step closer to the return of the Reapers…" the female continued.

"…And one step closer to ascension," Saren finished. With the file concluded, Tali's omni-tool blinked out of existence. Nihlus frowned as he pondered the new information. He only knew General Desolas by reputation, but he suspected that even in disgrace the wanted turian had considerable resources, considering how he had managed to evade capture thus far. He also wondered what would compel Saren to betray the Council and align with his mad brother, for he doubted that his strong-willed mentor would turn against everything that he swore an oath to protect simply out of fraternal loyalty. There were so many other questions too: Who was the woman? What was the Conduit? Who – or what – were these Reapers that they spoke of? What did they mean by "ascension?" So many questions, but none of them could be answered until he captured at least one of them.

Nihlus took a copy of the file and immediately made his way to the Spectre headquarters near the Citadel embassies in the Presidium. The central hub for all Spectre operations, it is one of the most secure locations in the entire Citadel, except for possibly a few top-secret locations meant to contain the Council in the event of an attack.

One of the Spectre HQ's most powerful resources was an enormous database that catalogued the majority of the citizens in Citadel space by a variety of parameters including facial, genetic, and most importantly in this case, vocal. By analyzing the voices of the Arterius brothers on the recording and comparing to archived recordings of their speech, Nihlus was able to confirm their identities with 99.96% accuracy. Unfortunately, he could not confirm the identity of the woman, for he had no idea where to start his search, and with millions of women living on the Citadel alone, it would be virtually impossible to find a match through brute force. Still, two out of three matches made Nihlus confident in presenting this evidence to the Council, and placed a call to Councilor Valern. As a salarian, he naturally needed less sleep than most other races in the galaxy, and had a reputation for working late into the night, so was the most easily reached councilor on short notice.

"Ah, Spectre Kryik," the lizard-like councilor greeted in surprise, "to what do I owe the pleasure for this late-night call?" he asked.

"Sir, I have proof that Saren Arterius was behind the attack on Choraxis Prime," Nihlus reported urgently.

"So soon?" Councilor Valern exclaimed in surprise. "Very well, I'll wake up the other councilors and we will review this evidence of yours." Within half an hour, Councilors Tevos and Sparatus appeared as well; unlike their salarian counterpart, who looked as rested and refreshed as he did when they met that morning, the turian and asari representatives were in a more weary state. Councilor Sparatus' clothes were mismatched and wrinkled, like they had been thrown on without much care or thought, and constantly struggled to stifle a yawn. Councilor Tevos, normally as cool and impassive as a still lake, cut a considerably less impressive figure in a bathrobe with bleary, half-lidded eyes and a large mug of brewing tea in one hand.

"Damn it, Kryik, this better be good," Sparatus grumbled tiredly.

"I assure you, Councilor, this won't be a waste of your time," Nihlus said. "Councilors, I present to you unassailable proof that Saren Arterius was behind the attack on Choraxis Prime." Without fanfare or flourish, he played the recording, the voices echoing throughout the room. Once the playback ended, the three councilors sat in stunned silence.

"Well…" said Councilor Valern, the first to regain his composure, "that was…most disconcerting."

"Indeed," Councilor Tevos agreed as she absentmindedly sipped her tea.

"I have already confirmed that the two men are Saren and his brother, General Desolas," Nihlus continued. "However, I do not know who the woman on the recording is."

"Unfortunately, I do," Tevos admitted grimly. "She is an asari matriarch named Benezia, but why would she throw in her lot with a rogue Spectre and a wanted fugitive?"

"I don't know, but I do know that a matriarch, with all the power and resources that entails, allied with one of our most decorated Spectres and a disgraced general with a penchant for cruel experiments does not fill me with hope," declared Councilor Sparatus, now wide awake. "I move that we strip Saren Arterius of all his power and privileges of being a Spectre, and send Kryik here to apprehend him and his co-conspirators."

"Agreed," Tevos and Valern said simultaneously.

"I will also try to freeze Matriarch Benezia's assets, but my influence over the other matriarchs is not absolute, so that may be more difficult," Councilor Tevos continued before taking a sip of her tea and releasing a heavy sigh. "Unfortunately, without knowing where they are, apprehending them will be difficult," she pointed out. "The only potential lead that I can think of would be Matriarch Benezia's daughter, Doctor Liara T'soni. She is an archaeologist that specializes in prothean artifacts. If you find her, you may get a clue as to where her mother is, as well as what this 'Conduit' or these 'Reapers' might be," she further suggested.

"I thank you for your swift decision, Councilors," Nihlus said with a bow of appreciation. After a moment's thought, he continued, "I also request permission to bring the quarian girl with me."

"What?!" Councilor Sparatus exclaimed in outrage, a not entirely unexpected reaction. "You're seriously asking to bring a quarian onto our most advanced, most heavily classified ship?" Sidonis, Tali, and Vakarian had all proven their worth to Nihlus, but while he could bring the two turians aboard with little difficulty, bringing Tali onboard might be more difficult.

"I understand your hesitance, Councilor," Nihlus assured his racial representative. The quarians had a reputation for being thieves and spies, especially where new technology was concerned. "Despite being a civilian, she has proven herself to be capable on the battlefield, and she was instrumental in providing this evidence," he explained. "Furthermore, I am likely to encounter geth in my pursuit of Saren and his cohorts, and who better to help me combat the geth than one of their creators?" The councilors considered his argument, though Councilor Sparatus continued to seethe in outrage.

"I agree with your logic, Spectre, so I approve your request," Councilor Tevos decreed.

"And I as well," Councilor Valern concurred. Seeing that he was outnumbered, Councilor Sparatus reluctantly nodded his assent as well.

"Though note that you will be responsible for her," the turian councilor pointed out aggressively. "If any of the technology on the Beacon is later found in the hands of the quarians or, spirits forbid, the Terminus Systems, then it will be on your head, understand?" he snarled.

"I understand, Councilor," Nihlus said with a bow. "I will take full responsibility for Miss Zorah's actions onboard the Beacon of Unity."

"Then you have your mission, Spectre," Councilor Tevos said. "For now, go home and rest; it will take a few days before we can locate Doctor T'soni's whereabouts. Once she has been found your task will be to bring her into custody and ascertain her allegiances. Good luck, Spectre, and may the Goddess bless you on your journey."

The other day, it occurred to me that I don't really need to hang onto the chapters on SpaceBattles as long as I do, so from now on, new chapters will be posted here a few weeks after I post them there.

Next chapter will return to the human side of things.

Don't forget to leave a review.