ME: Lost

Security

"Yes sir, I'm the one that asked for you." The C-SEC officer stood to shake his hand, before handing over a datapad, "one of my techs noticed this discrepancy in an outgoing broadcast."

Kaidan scanned through the report, stopping at a mention of the council, "what am I looking at here, captain?"

"At first it looked like a simple news article, someone forwarding a vid, but when we looked closer we realized the broadcast signature had been tampered with." The turian leaned forward, his talon tapping at a paragraph on the screen, "someone piggybacked a second signal onto the message."

"And this is what they sent? C-SEC's identification code for each of the council members? Who was it sent to?"

"We don't know, sir. It was someone off-station, though, so it could be practically anyone."

Kaidan pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration, "do we at least know who sent it?"

The captain bristled, mandibles twitching, "It didn't come from C-SEC. The signal originated closer to the council chambers."

"Who has access to that signal besides your department?"

"Only a few in the council offices have an access code, but anyone who works in the building could hypothetically get their hands on one. Executor Pallin told the Council for years that security there is too lax."

Kaidan nodded as he scrolled back through the report, "I've noticed that as well."

He straightened and handed the datapad back to the officer, "well, they have to listen now, let's talk about extra security."

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"I'm not going to parade around with an entourage." Udina jabbed his finger at Alenko's chest in annoyance, "I'm a busy man, you know, I can't sacrifice my schedule to the whims of C-SEC."

Kaidan breathed deeply, resisting the urge to flatten the man's nose.

The conference room was empty except the two humans and three glowing images of the other council members. They'd started the discussion of security twenty minutes ago, so far it wasn't going well.

"I agree with Councilor Udina," The turian councilor declared, "I won't cower for an unconfirmed threat. If we took that attitude, we'd never accomplish anything."

"Unconfirmed threat?" Kaidan choked on the words. "Someone off-station is in possession of your C-SEC identification codes. They can precisely track your movement on the Citadel. Do you know what that information could do in the wrong hands? Forget sneaking an assassin into the council chambers, they could just pilot a skycar through the correct wall and take you out instantly!"

The asari raised her hands in an attempt to placate him, "we will simply have to be extra cautious. I'll alert my personal bodyguard of the threat."

The three councilors turned towards their final member, waiting for his contribution. The salarian councilor blinked uncomfortably, glancing slowly between Kaidan and Udina, "I believe every threat should be treated as legitimate until proven otherwise."

Udina snorted in derision, "well, councilor, YOU can have an armed guard babysit you while you sleep. The rest of us won't bow down to unnecessary fear."

The salarian's shoulders stiffened. "I did not say I needed an armed guard, Councilor Udina, I simply stated a fact. I trust Major Alenko will treat the threat with the utmost respect as he investigates."

"Yes, major, thank you for bringing it to our attention." The asari councilor dipped her head in dismissal as the images blinked out.

Udina smoothed the collar of his robe before turning towards the door, "let me know if you discover anything else, major."

Kaidan stood for a moment in disbelief as the door closed, confusion halting all movement. What the hell just happened? Was the council really that oblivious? Udina was the one that asked him to become a SPECTRE in the first place, stressing that keeping the council safe was his ONLY priority. Why was the man purposefully undermining his attempts?

Something seemed out of place, and the sooner he discovered it, the safer they'd all be.