Chapter Text
Chapter Twenty-One
The Past is History
Natasha left the Elcor-Volus embassy, the door hissing shut behind her, and headed down the hall to Ambassador Udina's office. Her expert gaze swept over her surroundings, taking stock of all who were present. Several Humans lounged around the room. Some mingled at a table set on the far left, while others relaxed in chairs to her right. The centerpiece of the room, the ambassador's large desk, sat empty. Clearly Udina hadn't yet arrived. Captain Anderson stood at the rear of the office, leaning dejectedly against the railing of the balcony which overlooked the Presidium.
The sound of the door closing behind her drew the captain's attention. He turned his head to glance in her direction and beckoned to her with a wave of his hand. She hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to expect. She crossed the room at his urging, ignoring any stares from the other visitors as she approached.
"Glad you made it, Shepard. We should talk," Anderson said to her as she reached him. He stooped back down onto the railing. She followed his lead, leaning down beside him and watching the slow-moving groups walking along the pedways below.
"Oof, you sound so serious. Should I be worried?" she asked, only half joking. Anderson chuckled softly and smiled at her, his eyes quickly searching her face before he turned away. A light breeze, manufactured by the Citadel's environmental controls to simulate outdoor conditions, blew by them. He let out a heavy sigh as he adjusted his position on the railing.
"How much did Kris ever tell you about the First Contact War?"
Natasha stopped to think for a moment, shaking her head slowly as nothing came to mind. "Don't think he ever did." Despite his ever-growing collection of photos and willingness to reminisce about the past, he'd never mentioned any of the things he'd seen and done during those few months of war with the Turians. Natasha, at the age of three, had been too young at the time to remember anything about it. Anderson hummed and nodded his head, as if he'd expected that answer.
"It may have been short, compared to most wars we know of in Human history, but it was just as harrowing to experience. We lost 623 soldiers, mostly in the first skirmish and the initial conflict on Shanxi. I don't know the exact numbers for the Turians' losses, but they were slightly more than ours when all was said and done. It wasn't the best introduction to the galactic community," Anderson began. His voice sounded distant as his gaze remained focused on the Presidium pedways below. "I was a fresh N7 graduate, only a first lieutenant when it happened. Everything was... chaotic, for a time, as Humanity tried to settle in among the Citadel races. About eight years after First Contact, that's when I met Saren."
His tone was somber, as if he was reliving the events of the past as he spoke. Natasha nodded her head understandingly, though the captain didn't see the gesture. She realized the point he was likely trying to make with this conversation. He wanted to let her know what to expect as she continued this mission against one of the Citadel's top agents.
"Mmm, I was wondering if you were ever going to tell me about this. Udina implied there was... missing information when we brought in Tali's evidence against Saren."
"You Shepards were living out on Arcturus. Meanwhile, I was the XO of the SSV Hastings. We were doing our usual patrol through the Traverse when we got a distress call from the Alliance's research facility on Sidon. Intel was limited, as everything about the place was highly classified. My team hit the ground and investigated anyway."
Natasha huffed as the similarities of their experiences became obvious. "Sounds a lot like what happened to us at Eden Prime, Captain." He nodded his head solemnly. She realized he'd likely made that connection weeks ago, as events began to unfold and more information was uncovered.
"Saren also ended up investigating the attack. He was the obvious choice after spending so much time out in the Traverse. Of course, I had no clue we were searching for the same person. She'd disappeared from the facility just before the attack had begun, which made her the prime suspect. Kahlee Sanders."
Natasha's interest was officially piqued. Kahlee had been one of the researchers working on Grissom Academy when she'd been an instructor for the Project. Truthfully, it had been many years since she'd thought about her. She'd treasured her time at the Academy. The students were so talented, and she'd bonded with one student in particular who had become her protege during their time together. But she'd tried her hardest to put all of that behind her after she'd resigned her position in the aftermath of the Blitz. She couldn't bring herself to return to work at a place that orbited above Elysium.
"Even in those days, Saren was notorious among the Spectres. He was the youngest Turian ever inducted into their ranks, only 20 years old. And he always got results. I was sure he was going to kill me, more than once. We kept running into each other during our respective investigations and were eventually forced to work together. He was supposed to evaluate me as a potential Spectre candidate."
Anderson's voice had pulled her back from her memories of Grissom Academy, and the mention of Sidon suddenly rang a bell. Though she'd only been eleven at the time of the attack, she remembered how upset her parents had been when the news had begun to broadcast on ANN. Humanity was still relatively new to the galactic community, and thus, hadn't yet experienced many attacks on their facilities or colonies. The Batarians had still had their embassy on the Citadel, and were still part of the community. Humanity had forced their way into the Traverse one viable planet at a time, and the Batarians hadn't exactly been pleased to have these newcomers on their doorstep. "Wait, wasn't Sidon the facility the Alliance got caught conducting illegal AI research at? They accepted a bunch of trade sanctions for that one."
The captain nodded his head slowly, humming in affirmation. "Goyle, our ambassador at the time, knew about the research the Alliance was doing there. She knew the Council would be angry about it when they found out. Somehow, she managed to turn it around and insisted it was necessary research. Claimed it could help us better understand synthetic races, like the Geth."
"If only that were true. We could really use an edge," Natasha commented.
"That we could, Shepard. That we could." Anderson drummed his fingers against the railing thoughtfully. "Anyway, after proving Kahlee's innocence, the next step was to find whoever was actually responsible for the attack. We didn't know if it was an organization or if someone had just hired some Blue Suns to do their dirty work for them. Kahlee had downloaded some data before she'd left the facility, which began our search for the mysterious artifact that had apparently driven the lead scientist of Sidon mad. It... didn't go as planned."
Natasha snickered and pushed up from the railing, gripping it lightly as she leaned back for a moment. She leveled out on her feet and met Anderson's gaze as he finally turned to look at her. "Does anything ever go as planned?"
"Not in my experience," he replied gravely. "We ended up on Camala. Kahlee was supposed to be escorted safely off the planet and returned to the Citadel, but Saren let her get captured by the Blue Suns and a Krogan mercenary, who had been following her since the news that she hadn't been present for the attack had broken. Someone was trying to cover their tracks, and not having very much luck. That someone ended up being a rich Batarian who owned several eezo refineries out in the desert. Edan Had'dah. Saren followed Kahlee's kidnappers out to one of those facilities, and only told me about it after he was late to a meeting he'd set up in the first place. It wasn't pleasant, to say the least. I was angry. Not only had he kept me waiting, but he'd also put Kahlee in danger and let the Alliance soldiers accompanying her get slaughtered."
Anderson paused, his shoulders tensing. Almost twenty years had passed, and he could still recall every moment and emotion as if it had been only yesterday it had happened.
"I believe it, sir. I've heard over and over how ruthless Saren can be. I'll be sure to watch my back when we track him down."
"Him letting Kahlee get taken wasn't even the worst of it," he shifted his position against the railing, his hands turning so his fingers could tightly grip against his elbows. He let out a heavy sigh, turning to face the lake again. "He agreed to give me a head start when we got to the refinery. Thirty minutes. I had to get in, get Kahlee, and get out. We had to meet him at the rendezvous point by the time he got back or he'd leave us behind. I doubt he waited more than fifteen minutes before he followed me in. He set charges on the processing tanks at the center of the facility and blew it sky high. Kahlee and I barely managed to escape the carnage. His report to the Council said I'd alerted the guards by charging in ahead of him and blew his cover. He even managed to pin the explosion on me, somehow."
Natasha's jaw had dropped as Anderson had recounted this part of the tale, her heart aching at the thought of all the lives needlessly lost because of Saren's brutality. "He killed an entire refinery full of people?" she asked in disbelief.
"It wasn't only the people who worked there, Shepard. This facility was out in the middle of the desert, and the trip out there wasn't a pleasant one. These people had families that lived just outside the boundary of the facility. An entire city of tents and makeshift markets set up near the entrance. When the refinery exploded, it sent molten eezo flying everywhere. People got trampled to death in the chaos. It was the most horrific thing I'd ever seen." Natasha remained silent, letting the facts sink in. "Needless to say, I wasn't considered a viable candidate for Spectre after that. Saren made sure of it, and the Council was more than happy to take his word over mine."
"So, why did you start all of this by mentioning First Contact?"
"I found out at some point that he lost his brother during the war. He'd spent the years since nurturing his hatred for Humanity. After that long, it was just part of who he was," Anderson answered as he turned to look at her again. All the puzzle pieces suddenly fell together and Natasha nodded her head.
"So that was why you thought he attacked Eden Prime. You told me he hates Humans, but not that he blamed us for what happened to his brother."
"I'll be frank with you. As long as Saren has that ship, and an army of Geth backing him, he could raze every colony we've established. It's been 27 years since First Contact, but I don't imagine he's ever dealt with the grief of losing his brother. Instead, he's let it fester. He couldn't change the past, but he could still punish us."
An unsettling silence lingered between them as they stood by the railing. Another breeze blew by, ruffling Natasha's hair as she'd only pulled half of it up into a ponytail.
"Did you ever find out what the artifact was? The one that started the whole thing?"
"Hm? Oh, the Council had their best people analyze the data Kahlee had brought them from the facility, but according to them, it was all theoretical. They claimed that Dr. Qian went crazy and made it all up. That was the end of that."
Something stirred within Natasha. After her own dealings with the Council, she was unconvinced. "I don't buy it, Anderson. For all we know, Saren managed to keep the artifact for himself. Or maybe he handed it over to the Council and they have it hidden away somewhere."
"I'd believe either of those scenarios to be true, Shepard. The Council and I don't have the best history after what happened with Saren. And the whole situation was... questionable, at best." Natasha nodded her head, theories and suspicions running through her mind at record speeds.
"Maybe I'll give Kahlee a call. See what she can tell me about that intel she took," she suggested lightly. Anderson stood up and turned away from the railing, leaning back against it with his arms crossed against his chest.
A wistful smile fell across his face. "Tell her I said hi, if you do."
The door to the office chimed before swishing open, revealing Ambassador Udina as he finally arrived for their scheduled briefing. He immediately found Natasha and Anderson as they stood near the railing. He adjusted his posture, standing up taller as he approached them.
"Shepard, Anderson, sorry I'm late. There's a group of protestors gathered outside the Embassy entrance which made it difficult for me to enter," he explained in an exasperated tone. His gaze shifted between the pair of soldiers before he continued. "That is its own PR nightmare, however. I'll have to deal with it later. For now, we should proceed with our briefing."
"What are they protesting?" Natasha asked, refusing to let the ambassador gloss over the information.
"They're the families of the soldiers who fell on Eden Prime during the attack. Apparently the Alliance isn't allowing them to take the bodies of their loved ones home, and they're understandably upset about it. But don't worry yourself about it, Shepard. An Alliance rep is already working with them to resolve the issue," Udina answered in a disgruntled, impatient tone. He quickly checked the time on his omni-tool, just as he had during their first meeting. "I don't have much time left for this briefing, Commander. My schedule was already full before this little inconvenience, and my next meeting starts shortly."
"Very well, Ambassador. Shepard, the Alliance recognizes that the Council's authority is the only one you'll be answering to from now on. This removes you from the chain of command as far as the brass is concerned. However, they will still be supporting you through this endeavor. You are to be made my co-captain, and Pressley will take over the position of XO."
Natasha was shocked. She hadn't thought of how her appointment as the first Human Spectre would affect her military career, especially since they were the ones who wanted her to fill this position in the first place. She'd never considered a life outside of the Alliance. "Co-captain, sir? How would that even work if I'm no longer part of the Alliance?"
Anderson chuckled, clapping Natasha on the back affectionately as he pushed himself away from the railing he'd been leaning against. "I'll still be in charge of the crew. You'll be in charge of the mission. You decide where we go, and what our priorities are."
"Hm, interesting. Does this mean I can also recruit whoever I want?" she asked, her mind wandering to the Aliens that had helped her prove Saren's guilt. They all seemed to have a personal stake in this, and could therefore be assets.
"What are you thinking, Shepard?" Anderson queried, his eyebrows rising with interest.
"Wrex, Garrus, and Tali were instrumental to the investigation. I'd like to invite them to join my squad. We could use the extra help," she suggested with a nonchalant shrug. Anderson nodded his head as he considered her proposal, a thoughtful expression on his face. While Udina crossed his arms defensively.
"I don't like it, Shepard. We shouldn't be bringing any Aliens onto our investigation," the ambassador protested.
"We already have," she countered smartly, a smirk playing across her lips as he scoffed at her reply.
"As I already said," Anderson interjected before Udina could reply. "The mission is yours, Shepard. If you want to bring in more squad members, that's your decision to make. Just let our requisition officer know so he can acquire the proper supplies we'd need to feed and house them aboard the ship. You know Quarians and Turians can't eat our food, and vice versa."
Udina bristled at Anderson's words, clearly unhappy with Natasha's decision to invite a Turian, Quarian, and Krogan to join the Normandy crew.
"I'll contact them and get back to you," she affirmed.
"The Alliance has also agreed to cover the cost of whatever resources you may need, since you are still a representative of Humanity. In case you needed reminding of the fact," Udina informed her grudgingly.
"It is also my responsibility to protect all the people in the galaxy, not just the Humans," she reminded him pointedly. "Now, I have some news of my own to share."
Anderson looked at her with a curious expression, eager to hear what she had to say.
“I have a lead on the investigation. Matriarch Benezia’s daughter is at a Prothean dig site on a planet in the Artemis Tau cluster. I think we should start there,” Natasha informed them. Udina’s brow furrowed.
“I was not aware that Matriarch Benezia even had a daughter. Much less, her location,” he said. “How did you come by this information?”
“The perks of being a Spectre,” was her short reply to the ambassador. Anderson smiled.
“Just promise me you won’t touch any of the artifacts,” the captain teased.