Chapter 4 - Chapter 4, The Citadel

Chapter 4. Now we get introduced to Garrus and Wrex. We also meet Shepard's own Helldiver mentor in this chapter.

Happy reading.

Chapter 4

The Citadel

Saren sat in his command chair, thinking to himself. He wasn't alone though. In the room with him was the Terror Geth, who had now been repaired from the damaged he had sustained from the Helldiver. They were then joined as Saren's second in command, an Asari came walking up to them. She was an Asari Matriarch, an Asari that had entered the final stages of their lives, so she was very old. She was clad in a black dress with a black crown like head dress. The Matriarch cleared her throat and spoke.

"We identified the ship that touched down on Eden Prime. The Normandy. A human Alliance vessel. It was under the command of Captain Anderson. They managed to save the colony." She said.

"And the beacon?" asked Saren.

"One of the humans may have used it." The Matriarch replied.

Upon hearing this, the whole room seemed to glow red and Saren started to roar in frustration and anger. He flung things across the room. Both the Terror Geth and the Matriarch merely stood where they were. Saren's rage didn't frighten them, this had not been the first time and they had defiantly had worse. Saren stormed up to the Matriarch and seized her. As he looked at her though, face to face, he seemed to calm down. He slowly released his grip on the Matriarch.

"This human must be eliminated." Saren said coldly.

The Matriarch nodded and smiled evilly. Saren turned to the Terror Geth who nodded in response and emitted a deep, evil, metallic growl of excitement.

"What do you mean there's nothing you can do?" Ashley asked as she and Dr. Chakwas looked over the frozen body of their commander. They were in the med bay of the Normandy. Kaiden and Ashley had carried the frozen Helldiver into the Med bay where he had since stayed in the exact same position. Heart monitors seemed to confirm that Austin was still alive inside the suit, but clearly not conscious. Plus they could still hear the suit's heavy metallic breathing.

"His suit is in lockdown mode. There's nothing we can do but wait until he regains consciousness." Dr. Chakwas replied.

"What do you mean lockdown?" Ashley asked.

"When a Helldiver's armour goes into lockdown mode, the whole thing freezes up and becomes surrounded by some kind of invisible field that's completely impossible to penetrate. It prevents the suit from being removed by any enemies." said Dr. Chakwas.

"Can't we just turn it off?" Ashley asked.

"No. All of his suit's systems are locked down as well. All we can do is monitor what the suit is doing. For now though Shepard's life signs look stable and his suit is saying that there aren't any injuries. So he's perfectly safe in that thing."

"What triggered the lockdown?"

"If you say it happened after the beacon exploded than the commander must have fallen unconscious. That's probably what triggered it. The suit constantly monitors its user's life signs. If the heart rate drops to low and the user loses consciousness then it locks everything down in order to protect its master."

Ashley was slightly surprised by the Doctor's extensive knowledge of Helldivers.

"What happens if the user dies?" Ashley asked nervously.

"If the heart flat lines for too long the suit first attempts to revive the user. If all its attempts fail then the suit vaporises itself." Chakwas replied.

"What?!" Ashley replied, alarmed.

"The Arkanes can't afford for their technology to fall into the wrong hands."

"How is it you know so much about them Doctor? You're an Alliance medical doctor. Not a Helldiver medic."

"I was originally stationed on Arkadia a few years ago. At that time they had a lot of wounded and they were in need of a lot of doctors. During that time I learned a lot about Helldivers and I also met the Commander."

"So is there really nothing we can do."

"I'm afraid not Mrs Williams. All we can do is waiting and let the suit take care of him until he regains consciousness.

Austin slowly woke up and became aware of his surroundings. He was still inside his suit, he felt rather uncomfortable. Then he became aware that he couldn't move so he'd probably been lying in the same position for a long time. At the moment his suit's computer was asleep so he had to wake it up. His head was throbbing and he was finding it hard to focus. He could hear muffled voice outside of his helmet.

"Activate." He managed to say painfully.

There were a number of beeps and whirs and the familiar warming up sound as his suit reactivated. "System restarting. Please wait…" His suits computer said. "Lockdown mode currently engaged. Scanning all primary systems."

The familiar process of his running its diagnostics began running. His suits' optical feed then came back online and he could hear again. From the looks of things he was in a med bay. Then he heard two familiar voices.

"Hold on. Something's happening; his heart rate just went up. He might be coming around." He heard Dr. Chakwas say as she moved over to the monitors.

"Suit scans complete. No damage detected. Life support status 100%. All systems reactivated. Disengaging Lockdown mode." The suit said.

"He's moving." said Ashley. The suit flashed white again as the shield and the lockdown deactivated. Austin's suit went limp and collapsed into a more comfortable lying down position. "Lockdown mode deactivated. Clear to proceed." It was a few moments before Austin tried to move. His whole body ached due to its stiffness. That was the one disadvantage of the Lockdown, it always ended up leaving its users with stiff joints due to the lack of movements. Finally Austin's vision cleared he slowly started to sit up.

"Doctor Chakwas. I think he's waking up." He heard Ashley say.

As Austin sat up he attempted to rub his still throbbing head. However his mind was still so confused that he forgot that he still had his helmet on. As he looked up he saw Dr. Chakwas staring back at him.

"You had us worried there, Shepard. How are you feeling?" she asked.

Austin coughed to clear his dry throat before he spoke. "Minor throbbing and my whole body feels stiff, but nothing serious. How long was I out?" he groaned.

"About fifteen hours. Something happened down there with the beacon, I think." Chakwas answered.

"It's my fault. I must have triggered some kind of security field when I approached it. You had to haul me out of the way." said Ashley.

Austin sighed. He wanted to berate Ashley for that, but at the same time he knew it wasn't her fault. Still, he didn't feel like saying that either. Technically if she'd kept her distance, it wouldn't' have happened

In the end, he decided to just move on from the subject.

"What happened to the beacon?" he asked.

"The beacon exploded. A system overload, maybe. The blast must've knocked you cold and then your suit completely froze up. The Lieutenant and I carried you back to the ship." said Ashley.

Austin lifted his hands to his head and removed his helmet. He coughed again before Ashley handed him some water.

On Eden Prime, Ashley hadn't got a single look at Austin's face. Now though she had a clear look at him.

For a soldier he had surprisingly long brown hair. Given however that Helldivers didn't have the same sort of restrictions when it came to hair, it made sense that he was allowed to have it that long. The hair was pretty much let down without anything tying it back, so it did frame his face a little bit, but only on the sides. It was parted down the left of his head, with either sides facing away from each other so that they hung down from either side of his face. Fairly lengthy, but short enough to not be falt or prove impractical. Facial hair wise, he had a very noticeable beard. His neck and everythign below his jawline however was cleanly shaven. The beard was very shortly, but neatly, trimmed, so it almost looked more like a stubble rather than a fully grown long beard.

Despite the appearance being something one wouldn't' expect from a soldier, it did actually work well for him. Ashley found it hard to deny that it did actually make him look a bit dashing or like the sort of man who often used charm and had a way with women. His dark brown eyes had a hard but gentle look to them. The most noticeable feature about him though where his scars. He only had a few but they were all noticeable, even at long range. There was a small one on his left cheek that extended just below his mouth, another two small ones across his nose and on his forehead. A rather long one ran up the right side of his neck and finally, the most noticeable, a long but deep scar across his right eye. A bit of the middle portion of his right eyebrow was missing because of the scar. There was also the smallest sign of an acid burns right next to his left eye and on his chin. Even without his helmet, it was clear he had a British accent.

Austin then started typing into his omni tool.

"So, any damage my suit didn't detect, Doc?" he asked.

"Physically, you're fine. But I did detect some unusual brain activity, abnormal beta waves. Your suit also showed an increase in you rapid eye movement, sign typically associated with intense dreaming." Chakwas replied.

Austin typed again at his omni tool; a holographic image came up in front of his face. It showed what he had seen before the beacon had exploded. It still didn't make any sense though; it was a just brief, but disturbing flashes and images.

"I saw—I'm not sure what I saw. Death. Destruction. None of it makes sense." Austin replied, rubbing his eyes.

"Hmmm. I better add this to my report. It may…" said Chakwas before Captain Anderson suddenly entered the med bay.

"How's he holding up, Doctor?" he asked.

"All the readings look normal. I'd say the Commander's going to be fine." Chakwas replied as Austin put hsi helemt back on.

"Glad to hear it." said Anderson. "Shepard, I need to speak with you – in private."

"Aye, aye, captain. I'll be in the mess if you need me." said Ashley as she saluted and walked out with Chakwas. As she walked out she nodded to Austin who nodded back.

"Sounds like that beacon hit you pretty hard, Commander. You sure you're okay?" Anderson asked.

"I've had worse." Austin replied casually with a shrug sadly. "Though I'm sorry about Jenkins."

"Jenkins wasn't your fault. You did a good job, Shepard." said Anderson.

"How come Chief Williams is on board? She wasn't part of the Normandy crew last time I checked." Austin asked.

"I figured we could use a soldier like her. She's been reassigned to the Normandy. She should prove a valuable asset." said Anderson.

"You said you had something important to talk to me about?" Austin asked.

"I won't lie to you, Shepard. Things look bad. Nihilus is dead. The beacon was destroyed and Geth are invading. The Citadel Council's going to want answers." Anderson replied.

"Well then we simply tell them what happened. I didn't do anything wrong, Captain." Austin replied sternly.

"I'll stand by you and your report, Shepard. You're a dammed hero in my books. That's not why I'm here. It's Saren, that other Turian. Saren's a spectre, one of the best. A living legend, but if he's working with the Geth, it means he's gone rouge. A rouge spectre's trouble. Saren's dangerous and he hates humans." said Anderson.

"Why?" Austin asked.

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

"I saw something. I don't know what though. All I could see was all these images and flashes. They looked like synthetics. Geth, maybe. Slaughtering people. Butchering them." Austin replied.

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

"Forget it Anderson! They'll just think I'm crazy. I have a reputation to keep and I'm not losing it over a bloody vision!" Austin said back angrily.

"We don't know what information was stored in that beacon. Lost Prothean technology? Blueprints for some ancient weapon of mass destruction? Whatever it was, Saren took it. But I know Saren. I know his reputation, his politics. He believes humans are a blight on the galaxy. This attack was an act of war! He has the secrets from the beacon. He has an army of Geth at his command. And he won't stop until he's wiped humanity from the face of the galaxy!" said Anderson.

"With all due respect, Anderson I think that's a bit of an overreaction." Austin replied.

"Maybe. But we can't ignore Saren's involvement in this. We should be getting close to The Citadel. Head up to the bridge and tell Joker to bring us into dock." said Anderson as he walked off.

Since they were already near the Citadel, Austin saw no point in removing his armour. As he walked out of the med bay he found Ash leaning against a nearby wall.

"Glad you're okay, Commander. The crew could use some good news after what happened to Jenkins." She said.

"A shame. He had a lot of potential." said Austin.

"Part of me feels guilty over what happened. If Jenkins was still alive, I might not be here." said Ashley.

"It is what it is." Austin simply shrugged.

"I guess you're right." said Ashely.

"It was pretty rough down there. You okay?" Austin asked supportingly.

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

"True, but it still could've gone better. Not what I would call mission acomplished." said Austin.

"You still saved a lot of lives, Commander."

"True. I suppose there is a bright side to look on." Austin admited. "Anyway, I need to go speak with Joker." said Austin as he left for the bridge.

The crew was more silent than they had been previously. The loss of Jenkins had been very hard for them. As Austin approached the bridge Joker noticed him.

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

As the Normandy cleared the Mass Relay all that could be seen out of the windows were bright clouds. Eventually though the clouds cleared to reveal the massive space station they were heading to. The Citadel. The massive space station wasn't complex looking. Really was just a massive ring with five long arms extending from it. The sheer size of it though was amazing. As the Normandy moved in closer the fleets and star ships became visible. One in particular ship stood out from the rest. The massive Asari dreadnought, the Destiny Ascension.

Ashley and Kaiden soon joined Austin on the bridge. Ashley walked up to the window and stared out at the fleets.

"Look at the size of that ship!" She said.

"The Ascension. Flagship of the Citadel fleet." Kaiden replied.

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

"Why so touchy, Joker?" asked Ashley.

"I'm just saying you need firepower, too." Joker responded as the Normandy flew past the dreadnought.

"Look at that monster! Its main gun could rip through the barriers of any ship in the Alliance fleet" said Ashley.

"Good thing it's on our side then." Kaiden responded.

"This is an outrage! The Council would step in if the Geth attacked a Turian colony!"

They were in the Presidium part of the Citadel. Austin, Ashley, Kaiden and Captain Anderson where waiting for the humanities representative on the Citadel, Ambassador Udina to finish talking with the Citadel Council. The Ambassador was stood in front of three holographic projections of each member on the council. A Turian, an Asari and a Salarian. They did not look happy.

"The Turians don't found colonies on the borders of the Terminus Systems, Ambassador." said the Salarian councillor.

"Humanity was well aware of the risks before you went into the Traverse." said the Asari councillor.

"What about Saren? You can't just ignore a rouge Spectre. I demand action!" Ambassador Udina shouted.

"You don't get to make demands of the Council, Ambassador." The Turian councillor said angrily.

"Citadel security is investigating your charges against Saren. We will discuss the C-sec findings at the hearing. Not before." Said the Asari Councillor before the holograms disappeared. Ambassador Udina walked up to the three soldiers and the Captain.

"Captain Anderson. I see you brought half your crew with you." said Udina.

"Just the ground team from Eden Prime. In case you had any questions." Anderson replied.

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

Austin really didn't like Udina's attitude. The only thing that he'd seen compare with that sort of thing was a Batarian. Still, it wasn't enough for him to say "Shut up!". It took a lot to make Austin angry. But he still wished the Ambassador would lighten up. If the whole human race knew they were being represented by this idiot they'd be humiliated.

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

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

"Of course they wouldn't." said Austin annoyingly. "Still, what do you expect? Spectres are always trouble. I've worked with a few before. They always abuse the power that they're given. Think the stars shine out of their asses."

"Settle down, Commander. You've…"

"You watch your attitude with me, Ambassador!" Austin responded angrily. "Because if you don't I can easily just break your jaw to shut you up. The Arkane Council don't like Helldivers being held back by politics. They're just a waste of time. So don't you tell me to settle down!"

"Well I wouldn't recommend it. You've already done enough to jeopardize your candidacy for the Spectres. The mission on Eden Prime was a chance to prove you could get the job done. Instead, Nihilus ended up dead and the beacon was destroyed!" said Udina.

"Don't try to make it sound as if it's my fault!" Austin shouted as he leaned in close to Udina.

"Then we better hope the C-sec investigation turns up useful evidence to support our accusations. Otherwise the Council might use this as an excuse to keep you out of the Spectres. Come with me, Captain. I want to go over a few things before the hearing." Said Udina as he and Anderson left the embassy room.

"And that's why I hate politicians." said Ashley.

As they exited the elevator they found themselves in the Citadel Tower. The room was enormous. In front of them were two Turians arguing. One of them appeared to be part of C-sec agent since he was wearing the traditional black and blue Turian armour that all Citadel Security agents had. He had a visor over his left eye and blue facial tattoos. The other Turian, Austin knew. This Turian was Executor Pallin, head of Citadel Security and most likely the other Turian's boss.

"Saren's hiding something! Give me more time. Stall them." said the C-sec Turian.

"Stall the Council?" asked the Pallin. "Don't be ridiculous! You're investigation is over, Garrus."

The Executor walked off. The C-sec Turian, Garrus turned to face Austin and the others and walked up to them.

"Commander Shepard? Garrus Vakarian. I was the officer in charge of the investigation into Saren." He said.

"Sounds like you really want to bring him down." said Austin.

"I don't trust him. Something about him rubs me the wrong way. But he's a Spectre; everything he touches is classified. I can't find any hard evidence." said Garrus.

"I think the Council's ready for us, Commander." said Kaiden.

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

"I doubt it." Austin replied. "To them I'm just a soldier who fights for a race who operates in both Council space and the Terminus Systems. They'll just see me as someone who's about to start a war."

When they got to the stairs leading to the Council stands, Captain Anderson was waiting for them. To everyone's surprise however there was also another Helldiver. Unlike Austin though this one was vastly different, he was an Arkane Helldiver. His armour had the same helmet design that all Helldivers had. Once again though there were some additions. In particular there were two large horns attached to the helmet. He had a large white mane attached to his back and shoulders. In addition he had several ammo canisters strapped to his armour and a large Katana on his back. Overall he had a warlord type of look to him.

"Commander Shepard. Good to finally see you again, boy." He said.

"General Zartrack!" said Austin as he saluted. "This is unexpected. I didn't expect to see you here."

"At ease, Shepard." said Zartrack and Austin relaxed.

"So what brings you here, sir?" Austin asked.

"The Arkane Council sent me." Zartrack replied. "They've read the mission reports from Eden Prime. I'm here to just make sure that the Citadel Council doesn't try to blame my best student for any of this. Also the Arkane's are not happy that the Alliance lied to them and kept your Spectre candidacy a secret." Zartrack turned to Anderson as he said the last bit.

"The Alliance brass was worried that the Arkanes would refuse to let Shepard join. Humanity needs this." Anderson replied defensively.

"Don't think that you know their minds, Captain!" Zartrack replied angrily. "They would've welcomed something like this. Shepard may still be with the Alliance, Captain, but that does not mean you can simply take him away from the Helldivers without them knowing about it. The Commander is one of their best soldiers. You can guarantee that the Alliance brass will be hearing from the Arkane Council after this!"

"Alenko, Williams, this is General Zartrack, my former Helldiver mentor and fencing master. General, this Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko and Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams." said Austin.

The other two saluted the Helldiver General who saluted back at them.

"Anyway, the hearing's already started. Come on." said Anderson.

Udina was already addressing the council. Towering over the council to their left was a large orange hologram of Saren.

"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern. But there is nothing to indicate Saren was involved in any way." said the Asari councillor.

"The investigation by Citadel Security turned up no evidence to support your charge of treason." said the Turian councillor.

"Of course they wouldn't." said Zartrack sarcastically. "What do you expect when you make anything they touch classified to C-sec and don't keep an eye on them?"

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihilus in cold blood!" said Udina.

"We've read the Eden Prime reports, Ambassador. The testimony of one traumatized dock worker is hardly compelling proof." said the Salarian councillor.

"I resent these accusations." said Saren. "Nihilus was a fellow Spectre. And a friend."

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

"Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me. And this must be your protégé, Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon get destroyed." said Saren.

"Don't try to blame this on him, Spectre." Said Zartrack angrily with his arms crossed. "Besides, the mission to Eden Prime was top secret. The only way you could know about that beacon was if you were there!"

"With Nihilus 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 indicated to the council.

"If you're trying to insult me, Saren you're not doing a very good job of it. I've met Hanar that are more insulting than you. Besides, we all know you hate humanity. That's why you attacked Eden Prime. You think because you're a damn Spectre you can get away with whatever the hell you want!" Austin replied defensively.

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

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

"Shepard's admission into the Spectres is not the purpose of this meeting." said the Asari councillor.

"This meeting has no purpose." Saren replied. "The humans are wasting your time, Councillor. And mine."

"Yes that's right. Just hide behind the council like a fucking, Turian coward. You Spectres are all the same. And you councillors should open your damn eyes!" said Zartrack.

"What we need is evidence. So far, we have seen nothing." said the Salarian councillor.

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

Austin face palmed and groaned in frustration. "You stupid, bloody, idiot!" he mumbled under his breath so that the Captain wouldn't hear him.

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

"I agree. Our judgement must be based on facts and evidence, not wild imaginings and reckless speculation." replied the Turian councillor.

"Do you have anything else to add, Commander Shepard?" asked the Salarian Councillor.

"You've made your decision. I won't waste my breath. It's obvious you won't listen." Austin replied.

All three of councillors shook their heads at each other and then turned back to the humans and Helldivers.

"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 the Asari councillor.

"I'm glad to see justice was served." Said Saren coldly before his hologram vanished.

"This meeting is adjourned." said the Asari Councillor.

Everyone departed, save Udina who lingered behind before then following, clearly sulking.

"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 Udina annoyingly.

"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. Every world we control is in danger. Even Earth isn't safe." said Anderson.

"That's enough, Captain!" said Zartrack. "The Ambassador's right. You're taking this way too personally. You need to calm down."

"Regardless though, we can't let Saren get away with attacking one of our colonies, especially if he's with the Geth." said Austin.

"As a Spectre, he's virtually untouchable. We need to find some way to expose him." said Udina.

"What about Garrus, that C-sec investigator? We saw him arguing with the executor." suggested Kaiden.

"That's right! He was asking for more time to finish his report. Seems like he was close to finding something on Saren." Ashley replied.

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

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

"Forget it. They suspended Harkin last month. Drinking on the job. I won't waste my time with that loser." said Anderson angrily.

"That's not your choice to make, Captain!" said Zartrack.

"General Zartrack is right, Captain. Anyway, you won't have to. 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." said Udina.

"Woah, that's a bit harsh, Ambassador. You can't just cut Captain Anderson out of this investigation." said Austin.

"No, the Ambassador's right. I need to step aside." Anderson replied.

"I need to take care of some business. Captain, meet me in my office later." said Udina as he walked off.

"Harkin's probably getting drunk at Chora's Den. It's a dingy little club in the lower section of the wards." said Anderson.

"Garrus might not be the only lead. Maybe there's another way to find evidence against Saren." Austin suggested.

"You should talk to Barla Von. Over in the financial district. Rumour has it he's an agent for the Shadow Broker." said Anderson.

"The Shadow Broker?" Ashley asked.

"An information dealer. Buys and sells secrets to the highest bidder." Zartrack replied. "I've heard Barla Von's one of his top representatives. He might know something about Saren. But his information won't come cheap. I'll also contact our own information broker, Sparkle. See if she can find anything. She's the second best info broker in the galaxy. She's bound to have some information on Saren."

"Good idea, General." Anderson replied. He then turned back to Austin. "Good luck, Shepard. I'll be over in the ambassador's office if you need anything else."

Anderson walked off leaving the two Alliance soldiers and Helldivers. Austin turned to Zartrack.

"Good luck, Shepard. My job here is done. If Sparkle finds anything useful I'll let you know. Good to see you again old friend." said Zartrack.

"Good to see you again as well, sir." Austin replied as the two Helldivers shook hands.

Zartrack then left as well leaving the three soldiers alone.

"We'll deal with this, Harkin first." Austin said.

Chora's den wasn't what Austin had expected. As soon as he and his companions entered they were greeted by sight of several Asari, and human strippers. Austin couldn't help but stare at the Asari a bit; fortunately his helmet prevented his friends from seeing. It was no secret that he fancied Asari more than humans but in a place like this it was best not to let that interest show.

"I see why this place is so popular. It's got quite the, uh, feel." said Kaiden, trying hard to ignore the dancers. Ashley noticed his staring.

"Hey, Lieutenant, put your tongue back in your mouth before you trip on it." She said. "Honestly. A million light years from where humanity began and we walk into a bar filled with men drooling over half-naked women shaking their asses on a stage. I can't decide whether that's funny or sad."

"What? You don't think they're here because of the food." Kaiden asked.

Austin then spotted Harkin. Before they reached him however they came across two Krogan arguing. One was dressed formally; the other was clad in battle armour.

"Back off, Wrex! Fist told us to take you down if you showed up!" said the Patron angrily.

"What are you waiting for? I'm standing right here." Said the other Krogan named Wrex. "This is Fist's only chance. If he's smart, he'll take it."

"He's not coming out, Wrex! End of story!" said the Patron.

"This story is just beginning." said Wrex coldly. "Out of my way humans, I have no quarrel with you." He said as he pushed past the soldiers.

"What was that all about?" asked Kaiden.

"Who knows? Let's just try not to get caught in the middle." said Ashley.

As Wrex left Chora's Den, the soldiers headed over to Harkin.

"Alliance military. Hmph. I coulda been a marine you know. Instead I joined the goddammed Citadel Security. Biggest mistake of my life." said Harkin, clearly a bit drunk.

"I'm looking for a C-sec officer. A Turian named Garrus. Where is he?" Austin asked forcefully.

"Garrus? Ha! You must be one of Captain Anderson's crew. Poor bastards still trying to bring Saren down? I know where Garrus is, but you gotta tell me something. Did the Captain let you in on his big secret?" Harkin asked.

Austin lost his patience and grabbed Harkin by the neck and started to squeeze very hard, fortunately no one seemed to notice or care.

"Perhaps you didn't hear me right, Harkin. Where's Garrus? Tell me! Or my helmet is gonna be the last face you ever see!"

Harkin chocked and struggled to breathe as Austin's mechanical grip tightened around his wind pipe.

"Dr. Michel's office…. Clinic in the wards… Other side of the wards!" he choked up before Austin released his grip.

"Thanks." He said evilly. "I better not see you again, because if I do you'll be in a wheelchair next time, and quit the drinking. You're a fucking mess."

The three soldiers left Harkin as he chocked for air and headed out of the club. Their next stop, the wards.

As they neared Dr. Michel's office they could hear commotion inside. When the door opened they saw Garrus hiding in cover. Dr. Michel was being harassed by several thugs.

"I didn't tell anyone. I swear!" She said.

"That was smart, Doc.", said the lead Thug. "Now if Garrus comes round you stay smart or we'll…" he was interrupted though when he saw Austin. He grabbed the doctor and pointed his gun at the Helldiver. "Who are you?!"

"Let her go!" Austin yelled as he unholstered his Assault rifle. Garrus took this chance, popped out of cover and fired. The shot hit the thug square in the head and missed Dr. Michel, who ran to hide. One thug threw a grenade at Austin but he was clever. He caught the grenade with a lightning reflex and threw it back. The grenade exploded, killing the other two thugs in the process.

"Perfect timing, Shepard." said Garrus. "Gave me a clear shot at that bastard."

"That was a good, Garrus, but it was risky. You almost hit the hostage." Austin replied. He turned back to Dr. Michel. "You okay?"

"I'm fine. Thanks to you. All of you." Dr. Michel replied.

"I know those men threatened you. But if you tell us who they work for, we can protect you." Austin said reassuringly.

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

"What Quarian?" asked Austin.

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

"Where is she now?" Austin asked.

"I put her in contact with Fist. He's an agent for the Shadow Broker."

"Not anymore." said Garrus. "Now he works for Saren and The Shadow Broker isn't too happy about it."

"Fist betrayed The Shadow Broker? That's stupid, even for him. Saren must have made him quite the offer." said Dr. Michel.

"That Quarian must have something Saren wants, something worth crossing the Shadow Broker to get." said Garrus.

"What else can you tell me about this, Quarian?" Austin asked.

"I'm not sure. Like I said, she wanted to trade information for a place to hide. She didn't… Wait a minute… Geth! Her information had something to do with the Geth." said Dr. Michel.

"She must be able to link Saren to the Geth. There's no way the Council can ignore this!" said Garrus.

"Then I think it's time we paid Fist a visit." said Austin.

"This is your show, Shepard. But I want to bring Saren down as much as you do. I'm coming with you!" said Garrus.

"You're a Turian. Why do you want to bring down one of your own?" Austin asked.

"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!" Garrus replied. That was more than enough to convince Austin.

"Well then, when you put it that way. Welcome aboard, Garrus." Austin shook his hand in confirmation.

"You know we aren't the only one after Fist. The Shadow Broker hired a Krogan bounty hunter named Wrex to take him out."

"Yeah. We saw him in the bar." said Ashley.

"A Krogan might come in handy." Austin replied.

"Last I heard he was at the C-sec academy."

"What's he doing there?" asked Kaiden.

"Fist accused him of making threats. We brought Wrex in for a little talk. If you hurry you can catch him at the academy before he leaves." Garrus replied.

"We'd better get moving then." said Austin.

As Austin, Ashley and Garrus exited the elevator they spotted who they were looking for. Wrex was currently being detained by some C-sec guards. Back in the bar Austin hadn't bothered to get a proper look at the Krogan. Now though he was surprised. Wrex had several battle scars on his crest and face. From the looks of things he estimated that Wrex was fairly old.

"Witnesses saw you making threats in Fist's bar. Stay away from him." said the C-sec guard.

"I don't take orders from you." said Wrex. There was no hint of fear in his voice. In fact Wrex looked as though he was ready to gun everyone down in this room. He reminded Austin a lot of Kraan.

"This is your only warning, Wrex."

"You should warn Fist. I will kill him."

"You want me to arrest you?"

"I want you to try." Wrex laughed. He then noticed the group and pushed the officer out of the way.

"Do I know you, Helldiver?" Wrex asked.

"Commander Austin Shepard of the Helldivers. I'm going after Fist. I thought you might want to come along." Austin replied.

"Ah. Shepard. Commander Shepard. I've heard a lot about you. We're both warriors, Shepard. Out of respect I'll give you a fair warning." Wrex said as he inched his face closer to Austin's helmet. "I'm going to kill Fist."

"Fist knows you're coming. We'll have a better chance if we all work together." said Garrus. Wrex nodded slightly.

"My people have a saying. Seek the enemy of your enemy and you will find a friend."

"Sounds like you and I are going to get along just fine, Wrex. Welcome aboard." said Austin as he and Wrex shook hands.

"Let's go then. I hate to keep Fist waiting." said Wrex.

As always General Zartrack is based off of another Helldiver design on Deviantart. This one is called Helldiver Zatoichi. Simply look for that if it's hard to picture.

Next chapter should be up within the next few days. Keep those reviews coming. They're what keeps me going.