What did you do today in ME?

Owen Shepard:

Went back to the Citadel to see what was up with Udina. When we got there, there was no response from the docking bay. Joker tried the emergency channel and got through to, of all people, Thane. He said Cerberus were everywhere and that he'd gotten separated from Kaidan, who needed to protect the Council. Cortez dropped me, James and Garrus into a hot zone. Cerberus troops everywhere. Once they were taken care of we tended to Bailey, who'd taken a shot to the gut.

Got Bailey inside, slapped some medi-gel on him and let him get to a terminal. Cerberus had control over the main channels but Bailey was able to set up a secondary channel so we could communicate. One thing Bailey did find was a message from Council Valern - the salarian - saying that the possibility of betrayal from within was likely. He was supposed t meet with the executor, something that only happened when someone high up was about to be arrested. Had to be Udina he was talking about. Shit. Kaidan was protecting him. That could end up being problematic given that Kaidan periodically still distrusted me. Nothing for it but to move ahead.

I heard from Thane. He sounds like hell. I knew he was in bad shape when I saw him at Huerta. All this activity had to be wearing him down. I don't know where he was, and I doubted an open channel was going to be a way to tell me, but I headed to the executor's office. It was a defensible place and likely that Valern was there. Not my favorite person but, I have to admit, he still trusted me enough to bring me in on information suggesting Udina was dirty.

Had to admit I got more and more pissed as I went along. Cerberus was very thorough. I hadn't seen a single C-Sec officer alive. Cerberus killed them all and I couldn't even figure out their endgame. I wonder if TIM was going to deny this like he had Benning?

No immediate sign of Valern near the office so we headed up the stairs. Maybe he was holed up inside. I much preferred a grateful Councilor to one that was dead. Besides, finding a new Council in the middle of a war was going to be even more disastrous. What we found was a dead executor and two dead salarian bodyguards. From the window we saw Valern disable his stealth. Can't imagine why since it made him a sitting duck. As if one cue, an assassin leaped down and attacked. We were there in seconds but the assassin seemed to think it was fun. That is, until Thane showed up and put a gun to his head. Weary as he was, Thane put up a hell of a fight, knocking that asshole on his back. Unfortunately, he gutted Thane with a sword, though my friend wasn't dead just yet.


The assassin ran. Guess he knew he was outclassed. A skycar chase ensued. While en route, Bailey let us know that the Councilors were being taken to a shuttle bay on the Presidium and sent me their location. We headed that way but the assassin leaped onto our skycar and did some damage, causing it to crash. We got out and fought through more troopers. Saw some new ones, biotics. I thought about the datapad I'd found at Grissom saying Rodriguez was a high priority target. This would have been her fate.

Cerberus was making the same old tired announcements like they had on Grissom, saying the people would not be harmed. That didn't stop them from gunning down everyone they saw. We had to follow the assassin and his cronies up an elevator. Fortunately, Bailey was taking control, making it stop at every floor. We did catch up to the elevator the Council was using and leaped on top of it. Kaidan fired up at us, and I couldn't blame him, but I also couldn't shoot back.

We open the fire hatch and dropped down. Didn't know if there were enemies in so had our guns drawn. Kaidan didn't know what to think but he also didn't fire. I told Garrus and James to stand down. It was the only way to earn trust. I told them Udina was behind this. Tevos finally FINALLY acknowledged that mistrusting me in the past had been a mistake. Udina acted as though I hadn't made my accusation and went to open the door. I said Cerberus was right behind me and would come in. It was only after Udina shoved Tevos to the ground a pulled a gun on her that Kaidan acted. I could have fired myself but I didn't want to be accused of making sure he couldn't talk. Kaidan did it instead. I could tell he wasn't happy about it but he did what had to be done. Then the door was opened and through it came Bailey and others from C-Sec. He told them that if I hadn't shown that Cerberus would have killed them. Even Sparatus acknowledged he owed me for saving his life and helping Palaven. I felt like the universe just turned upside down. I just want it noted that Faith chose Anderson for Councilor and he never would have betrayed us under any circumstances.


Bailey told me Thane was in surgery but there were complications. He suggested if I wanted to see Thane I'd better go now. If you had asked me two years ago if I would ever consider an assassin to be a true friend, I'd have laughed in your face. Now I was feeling emotional about losing another friend. I'd known it was coming since we first met but to see him take a serious hit in a fight made it worse. Maybe it was better this way. He wouldn't want to die in bed but instead as a warrior. Valern called Thane a hero. High praise.

I went to Huerta. A doctor told me Thane was in his final moments. I went into the room. Kolyat was there. Thane started saying a prayer but couldn't finished. Kolyat continued but asked if I'd like to join. I said yet and he pulled out a prayer book. It was a prayer of salvation and I wondered by he asked for it given that his last act was heroic. Kolyat told me that prayer was for me, not him. Even at the end of his life he was thinking of others. I was going to miss him.


Helped out a few people around the Citadel and got leads on tech that could help with the Crucible. Finally headed back to the Normandy only to find Kaidan waiting in the boarding tunnel. He still believed I would have shot him if he hadn't backed down, even though I'd told me squad to stand down. Trust was hard with this guy. I told I'd never have shot him, not for any reason. He did mention being in an armed standoff with someone he loved was difficult. I was glad to know he still felt that way about me. Finally, he said the real reason he was there. Hackett had offered him a position but he said he'd turn it down if he could join me on the Normandy. As if I'd have it any other way. Also got a nice look at the "biotic booty" on his way to the Normandy.


Back on the Normandy I had a conference call with Anderson and Hackett. Both were surprised about Udina. Anderson knew the assassin and said he was named Kai Leng. There's was also an unexpected side effect of the failed coup. The asari and salarians threw in their full support, both in the war effort and with work on the Crucible. Glad I didn't have to compromise my own morals to make it happen. Instead, I showed them that my way worked. The Crucible was also about 50% complete. They now believed that it was release some kind of energy that would destroy the Reapers but didn't know how it would work. It was believed the missing Catalyst, something the Protheans had never found, would direct that energy. Now we just had to find it.

Talked to EDI. She realized the Reapers weren't as infallible as they seemed since one was taken out by a worm. The biggest motherfucking worm anyone ever saw, but still a worm. She also wondered about her purpose since she figured passing on our genes was what organic life was about. (This, according to Tali, was a question by the geth that led to the Morning War.) I told her there was more to us than that. EDI checked her files and, just like that, decided to alter her processing power to give priority to duty, altruism and love. I couldn't help but wonder if the quarians had done this with the geth would there have ever been a war with them? Would they have never sided with the Reapers when offered the power to survive? Not worth spending too much time thinking about it but I'm glad to know EDI is on our side.


Other things I did. Found Garrus in front of the memorial wall, looking at the names of those we lost, some that we knew and others from the original Normandy. Then talked to Kaidan. His father was MIA and presumed dead and...there's a good chance he's a husk but I'd never say anything. He's worried about his mother being alone on Earth. Traynor wanted to play chess so we did that. She kicked my ass. Twice. Chess is not like the battlefield. Then I had an interview with Diana Allers. The gist of it was that I needed to let people know that humanity was nowhere near down for the count, despite having lost our councilor, the Alliance parliament and prime minister. People would rise and we'd have to stay alive to make it happen. Then twenty questions from viewers, but nothing I couldn't handle. She flirted me but I gently rebuffed her and she pretended like she hadn't meant to. Finally, James came to talk. Someone forwarded him for an N7 commendation dated the same day the Reapers attacked. He wasn't sure he'd wanted it since the last time he had command a lot of people died. That had been a choice he made: get valuable intel or save people. According to his superiors he made the right decision. No need to question it. I'd pegged him as a cut above the rest right from the start, told him he should accept the commendation, assuming we all survived.

Went to Noveria to take out a Cerberus base. I should mention Kaidan was probably going with me anywhere I could take him. Decided against Liara because, according to one of Faith's latter, this is where her mother died. Don't want to bring back unwanted memories. EDI would be good for this mission. I saw a datapad saying something about integration being successful. I wonder if this wasn't a case of Cerberus turning ordinary people into those monstrous things we saw on Mars.

Message from Kaidan said he wanted to have dinner at Apollo's Cafe on the Citadel. I, uh, thought that was something important. I know there's a war on but having someone in my life - someone reliable and dependable who always be at my side - that wasn't something I could pass up. I mean, if that's what was on his mind. It was. And just like that, we were back together. It'd been a long time since we were able to spend time together. I'd missed him. Had his picture on my desk the whole time I was with Cerberus. Now it was real. With that out of the way a lot of tension went away. Felt like I could finally focus. Whatever happened, I knew I had someone to love and love me in return.