The Citadel XIII
"During my travels, I began hearing reports of geth. Since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious. I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then I disabled it and removed its memory core." Tali says, narrating her travels.
"I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died. Some kind of defense mechanism?" Anderson interjects.
"How did you manage to preserve the memory core? Did you find some way around their self-destruct sequence? Was it a hardline link or some form of input scrambler?" Sampson ask.
"Actually, a combination of both in conjunction with an adaptive VI data miner." Tali answers enthusiastically before turning back to the admiral.
"My people created the geth. If you're quick, careful, and lucky small caches of data can sometimes be saved. Unfortunately, most of the core was wiped clean. But I salvaged something from its audio banks." Tali says before typing away on her omni-tool finding the recording she had recovered and playing it.
"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." Saren's voice echoes over the recording.
"That's Saren's voice! This proves he was involved in the attack!" Anderson exclaims in righteous vindication.
"He said Eden Prime brought him one step closer to finding the Conduit. Any idea what that means?" Sampson asks turning to Anderson.
"The Conduit must have something to do with the beacon. Maybe it's some kind of Prothean technology... Like a weapon?" Anderson suggests.
"Wait... There's more. Saren wasn't working alone." Tali says before typing away on her omni-tool.
"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit." Saren's recording says once more.
"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers." A female voice answers.
"I don't recognize that other voice. The one talking about Reapers." Udina says as he scratches his chin.
"I… I feel like I've heard that name before…" Sampson says, rubbing his head with a grimace.
"According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed 50,000 years ago. The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and then they vanished. At least, that's what the geth believe." Tali explains to Udina and Anderson.
"Hmmm, sounds a little far-fetched." Udina says dismissively.
"The vision on Eden Prime, I understand it now! I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers!" Sampson exclaims as he rubs his migraine away.
"The geth revere the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life. And they believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back." Tali explains.
"The Council is just going to love this!" Udina says while crossing his arms in disapproval.
"The Reapers are a threat to every species in Citadel space! We have to tell them!" Sampson urges adamantly.
"No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren's a traitor!" Anderson interjects.
"The captain's right. We need to present this to the Council right away." Udina finally agrees, uncrossing his arms.
"What about her? The quarian?" Wrex asks while pointing at Tali.
"My name is Tali!" Tali snaps back at Wrex indignantly.
"You saw me in the alley, Sampson. You know what I can do, let me come with you!" Tali pleads.
"What about your Pilgrimage? Don't you need to return to your people with that data?" Sampson asks with curiosity.
"The Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good. What does it say about me if I turn my back on this?" Tali asks sincerely before continuing, "Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy. My Pilgrimage can wait."
"Well, I appreciate all the help I can get. Welcome aboard, Tali." Sampson says with a smile before offering his hand.
"Thanks, you won't regret this." Tali says before shaking his hand.
"Anderson and I will go ahead to get things ready with the Council. Take a few minutes to collect yourself, then meet us in the Tower." Udina instructs before taking his leave with Anderson.
"Understood, sir." Sampson says with a salute before taking the team out of the embassy.
"Alright, it seems we have some time to kill before the Council meeting is ready. I think we have enough time to check in with the consort before the meeting begins." Sampson says, starting to lead the team over to the Consort's office.
Once inside the office, Sha'ira warmly greets, "Commander. I recently received a lovely note from Septimus. Thank you and your sister for speaking with him. Even the Elcor diplomate has withdrawn his campaign against me." Sha'ira says with a hint of awe.
"It was an honor to aid you." Sampson says with a smile and slight bow.
"My brother, the white knight." Sapphire mutters under her breath, eliciting a chuckle from Ashley and Kaiden, who get the reference, though Wrex, Garrus, and Tali don't seem to understand.
"You are too kind, Commander. But I would not expect you to help me out of the kindness of your heart. I also have another thing to give you, if you are interested?" Sha'ira offers.
"I'd be honored." Sampson agrees with a smile.
"I offer a gift of words. An affirmation of who you are and who you will become…" Sha'ira says while approaching Sampson.
"I see you… Your uniform fits as though you were born wearing it. You are a soldier through and through, but there is another side, a side of curiosity, a wonder at all the galaxy has to offer, you are a peacemaker… But rarely does the peacemaker ever find peace all their own. You will need strength to persevere through the battles ahead. This may be who you are, but it is not who you will become. It only forms the basis for your future greatness. Remember these words when doubt descends, Commander." Sha'ira explains.