This mission begins after you talk to Joker on the Normandy after the events on Eden Prime.

View Full-size

The Normandy arrives at the Citadel for the first time.

After quite a few scenes showcasing the Citadel and the Ascension (the former’s kind of an important place, the latter, not so much) you’ll find yourself in the Citadel. Ambassador Udina tries to catch flies with vinegar, and unsurprisingly makes little progress. When Udina decides to vent his frustrations on you, respond with “They’re blind.” to earn Renegade +2. Looks like nothing has been achieved on the diplomatic front, you’ll just have to meet with the Council in person and hope that they take the word of a failed would-be Spectre candidate over that of one of their best operatives.

You’ve got no reason to be optimistic right now.

After Udina and Anderson leave you’ll have the run of the Citadel, specifically the Presidium, which is where you’re currently located. The Wards - the seedy underbelly of the Citadel - are currently inaccessible until you meet with the Council, your overriding objective at this point in time. It might be tempting to explore the Citadel fully, as there’s shopping to do, Codex Entries to unlock, and assignments to start… but you really can’t afford anything right now, nor can you complete most of the assignments you’ll run across, so we’ll focus on the main mission until we’re done with the Citadel, then swoop back and explore the Citadel in detail. Swooping is good.

View Full-size

1

2

3

(1 of 3) You can use Rapid Transit terminals to get around the Citadel more quickly.

Look at your map and note that your destination is the Citadel Tower, on the far western end of the Presidium. Make your way over there (you can use one of the Rapid Transit terminals along the way if you want to speed things up) and ride the elevator up when you arrive to reach the Citadel Tower. Continue forward and ascend some stairs to witness an argument between two turians, Garrus and Executor Pallin.

Approach and you’ll be dragged into a conversation with Garrus. Your response doesn’t matter here, but it seems this Garrus fellow is sympathetic to your cause. Continue heading south to reach the stairs leading to the Council Chamber. Talk to Anderson and you’ll meet with the Council. Suffice to say, hearsay and dreams aren’t sufficient evidence for the Council to reprimand one of their best agents.

View Full-size

1

2

(1 of 2) You’ll get a lead on Garrus after meeting with the Council,

View Full-size

View Full-size

You’ll get a lead on Garrus after meeting with the Council, (left), while you can fish for a suggestion from Captain Anderson, as well. (right)

Pick the Paragon options when talking to the Council to score Paragon +2 (there’s no Renegade counterpart here) and afterwards when you’re talking to Anderson and Udina say whatever you want - no moral implications here. That said, some of your choices do matter here - be sure to ask Anderson about “Other leads.” to start the mission Citadel: Shadow Broker. It’s honestly more of a optional phase for the mission Citadel: Wrex than a proper mission in its own right, but still, it’ll give you some more options.

Exhaust Anderson’s dialog options and you should be left with three missions: Citadel: Expose Saren, Citadel: Shadow Broker and Citadel: Garrus. Citadel: Expose Saren is the overarching goal, which the other two missions are in service of. That being the case, you’re functionally choosing whether you want to pursue Garrus or Wrex, and both will require you to head down to Chora’s Den. We suggest going after Garrus first, to avoid the complications that have Wrex with you can cause.

There are also some new assignments you can start, new characters to talk to, but we’re content to continue ignoring them for now in order to focus on the main story.