"It was just supposed to be a routine job... don't know what else I can say"
"You can start with your name, for the record"
"Right.... Sergeant Major Dan Hawke, Troop Garrison of ARC P.M.C."

[b][u]C-Sec Interrogation Room 1
The Citadel
3 Hours After the Icarus Bombing[/u][/b]

"So let's take it from the top Sergeant Hawke" The turian agent said as he paced the dimly lit room "Says here you were with the Alliance for a short time. Dishonorable discharge. Shortly after, you drop off public record, which I presume is around the time you joined ARC, correct?"
"Yeah that's about right. I've spend most of the past 8 years with the company. We're based in the Terminus Systems"
"Indeed. Until today, that is. You and those others show up here just after this devastating terrorist attack. Can't you see how that looks from my point of view?"
"We didn't have anything to do with that. We came here cuz we were attacked by those gold-faced freaks ourselves. The Commander still has a contact back this way, he was hoping to gain some intel"
The turian stopped pacing. He pulled out the chair nearest him and sat, leaning in. Dan moved back slightly.
"Talk" The interrogator said.
Dan sighed and began "We picked up a contract. Anonymous. We were to travel to a desolate planet, Helios in the Hades Nexus, and meet with another contracted group to pick up a package and authorize a credit exchange. Pretty standard deal for smuggling, bootleggers, anything dealing in contraband. I've been around long enough to know not to ask questions as to what the cargo was. Anyway we get there and we see some Blue Suns have already set up. Fisher and Arterian, the bosses, wanted me to match their number, so we loaded up 4 shuttles worth of men and headed planetside. Just as the meet started, we heard the first shot. It was Icarus, but of course we didn't know that, just thought we were bein' set up, same with the Suns, so naturally, we started fighting each other. I think we all caught on when the rockets started firing, blew all the shuttles to hell, but by then, it was too late"

"Back up for a moment" The turian cut in "So did you see them or not?"
"I'm just getting to that part" Dan said "But yeah, we saw them. All decked out in black armor, gold faceplate on the helmet. It was impossible to tell what they were. Human, turian, asari, salarian, quarian, I mean, all our species are roughly the same shape, few more than that even, but the armor hid any other distinguishing features."

"That aligns with what the few eyewitnesses we've had have said. One last thing that puzzles me. How did you escape without shuttles?"
Dan flashed his best shit-eating grin, one that hid a profound sadness "Never count out an ARC man"
He coughed and shifted a little in his seat before continuing "We were split up. Commander Fisher and a few of my guys were with the rest of the Blue Suns. Comms were being jammed, so Jarek, myself and 5 of my troopers fought our way out of that pit and worked our way up to a hilltop. We made contact with the flagship and requested reinforcements, but Icarus was on our trail, and we were trapped there. Fisher and the Suns weren't responding to our hails, so we bunkered down, and started returning fire. Few of our guys went down, but not before ripping through a few of theirs. A biotic shockwave ripped through our defensive line, knocked me off balance. Whatever happened, I couldn't move, it was almost like the biotic wave had me locked into a stasis field. I watched helplessly as Jarek Arterian took a blast right through his chest plate. His body fell from the cliffside. Last of the troopers went down, and the shooting stopped. They must've thought we'd all been eliminated. I could move again so I sat up and peeked around cover. They were falling back. I caught sight of one of them. He had a holograph wrapped around himself, like off an omni-tool, looked like wings. Don't know what it means, but that's probably something to look out for"

"You're lucky to be alive Hawke" the turian said "This has been helpful. Now on to more pressing matters. I don't think I introduced myself. My name is Tarrin Karvik. I'm a Spectre. Though officially, as of tomorrow, I'm a renegade who stole a top-of-the-line frigate. I don't know how the council will spin it, but that won't be your or my concern. Your Commander has already signed on, and he suggested I talk to you. We're putting together a team to go after Icarus, and we could certainly use your talents"
".... The Commander's on board?"
"Yes. From our brief conversation, seems as though he's quite eager for a chance to avenge Lieutenant Arterian"
"Well ok then. I'm in"
Tarrin extended a hand, which Hawke grasped "Welcome aboard. Come along with me now, Commander Fisher's waiting for us"