Sparatus

Sparatus Calidian Lexios is the turian representative on the Citadel Council. He and Commander Shepard spent much of the first years of the their acquaintanceship at odds, though in the wake of the defeat of the Reaper War, he and Shepard's relationship has changed dramatically.

### Description

Sparatus is an older turian, with dark brown plates, white markings, and green eyes.

### Early Life

Little is known of Sparatus' life prior to 2183. He went through boot camp with Aelianus Vakarian, making the two turians of an age. The two have remained life long friends.

There was apparently some scheming some time ago to marry Sparatus' son to Aelianus' daughter Solana- however the talented Blackwatch freighted the young man half to death . . . an incident the old friends have since laughed over.

### Mass Effect

In 2183, when the human ambassador Donnel Udina along with Captain David Anderson, Ashely Williams, Kaidan Alenko, and Commander Shepard presented accusations against Saren Arterius for orchestrating the attack on Eden Prime, destroying a prothean beacon, and murdering fellow Spectre Nihlus Kryik- Sparatus expressed doubt, likely due to the general dislike of most humans by turians, a defense of one of the Council's top agents, as well as Udina's abrasive personality.

When Shepard returned with proof, Sparatus expressed dismay. He easily accepted the proof of Saren's treason as irrefutable, but had no desire to send a fleet into the Terminus Systems to chase after Saren and his geth army, considering striping Saren of his Spectre authority to be sufficient to redress the issue. He was also extremely dismissive of Shepard's interpretation of the vision she had seen when interacting with the beacon, finding it impossible to believe that the protheans were wiped out so completely 50,000 years before with no trace. When it was suggested that Shepard be made a Spectre and sent after Saren instead, Sparatus loudly objected by claiming it was "too soon," but he was backed into a political corner and reluctantly conceded.

As Shepard chased Saren and reported on her missions to the Council, Sparatus was often the first and loudest negative voice, constantly questioning Shepard's judgment. He was no fan of Shepard's release of the rachni queen, was angry the prothean ruins were destroyed in the rescue of Dr. Liara T'Soni, and accused Shepard of favoritism in her assistance of the human colony of Feros. After the destruction of Saren's base on Virmire, Shepard expressed concern that Saren would be heading to attack the Citadel, Sparatus and the rest of the Council expressed skepticism that Saren would do something so suicidal, but nevertheless ordered a large fleet to protect the Citadel. Shepard pushed back, telling the Council that Saren's ship Sovereign was no make of geth design but an actual Reaper, and they couldn't wait for it to come to them. The Council refused to listen, and Udina locked down the *Normandy*. Shepard escaped with the *Normandy* shortly thereafter to try to stop Saren.

It was not too long after that a geth armada with Sovereign at it's head arrived and began decimating the ships defending the station. Simultaneously, Saren snuck into the heart of the Presidium using the Conduit and took over the station. Sparatus and the rest of the Council was evacuated to the *Destiny Ascension*, the asari-lead dreadnought at the head of the Citadel Fleet. It was quickly apparent that even this most powerful ship in Council Space was outclassed utterly by Sovereign and it was in danger of being destroyed. Fortunately for the Council, Commander Shepard was on Saren's heels through the Conduit and her pilot Joker had contacted the Fifth Fleet at the Arcturus Station. Admiral Steven Hackett left the decision on whether to save the *Ascension* and the Council or to save their strength for Sovereign up to Shepard due to position of "boots on the ground". Shepard called for the Alliance to save the Council. While they were successful, the Alliance suffered heavy losses in the Battle of the Citadel. Sparatus himself was incredibly humbled by the number of ships sacrificed for their sake.

In light of the Alliances' sacrifices, humanity was invited to join the Citadel Council. Shepard suggested David Anderson for the position, which he accepted.

### Post Mass Effect

The Council and the Systems Alliance, confronted with how overpowering Sovereign's attack was, commissioned research into the possibility that Shepard had been right. Shepard and the *Normandy* were sent after rumors of geth attacks in the Amada system when they were attacked. The ship was destroyed, and a number of hands were lost- including Shepard herself. While the Council mourned Shepard's death, the process of trying to repair the Citadel took up much of their time and focus.

Sometime after the *Normandy's* destruction, the Council received reports back from the teams sent to the planet Ilos: While it was clearly a prothean site connected to the Conduit, there was no sign of the VI "Vigil" Shepard had claimed to speak to when chasing down Saren. This seemed to shut down any uncertainty Sparatus had regarding Saren's downfall and Sovereign's nature.

### Mass Effect 2

In 2185, more than two years after the *Normandy's* destruction, rumors that Shepard was alive began to circulate. Worse, those rumors claimed she was working with human-centric terrorist group Cerberus. The Council, well aware that they owed Shepard their lives, asked David Anderson to try to see if he could contact her and ask her to come to the Citadel to explain herself.

Much to their surprise, Shepard did appear at the Citadel. There was no mistaking her for anyone else, though she was sporting a number of new scars. Shepard explained that Cerberus had "brought her back" due to the human colonies in the Terminus Systems and further that she had found a link between the Collectors and the Reapers. Sparatus immediately sneered "Ah yes, 'Reapers'. The immortal race of sentient starships allegedly waiting in dark space. We have dismissed that claim."

Sparatus and Shepard were both frustrated, Shepard seemed to truly believe in the danger and the the Council *was* concerned about the wholesale disappearance of the human colonies they had neither the resources nor the authority to get involved; further, Shepard's involvement with Cerberus was treasonous- though Councilor Anderson pushed back hard on that point. Asari Councilor Tevos recommended a compromise: while they could not approve of Shepard's activities, by reinstating her Spectre status they would be showing support of her personally. Sparatus agreed to this token gesture.

### Post Mass Effect 2

The military focused David Anderson resigned from the Council in early 2186, and former human ambassador Donnel Udina took his place. Around this time, Sparatus' friend Aelianus also became convinced of a looming Reaper invasion, though he was unable to convince Sparatus of this.

### Mass Effect 3

Six months after the destruction on the Alpha Relay, Earth was attacked by Reapers. The newly reinstated Commander Shepard escaped the initial attack and presented herself before the Council along with Liara T'Soni to show the group blueprints of something they called "The Crucible"- a weapon capable of defeating the Reapers. Sparatus was sympathetic to the devastation on Earth, but like Councilors Tevos and Valern, was unwilling to commit resources or solders to assist Earth while their own worlds were being pressed by Reaper forces. Three days after Earth was hit, the first turian world was assulted by Reaper forces- and one week later Palaven was in the crossfire.

Sparatus knew Shepard's skillset and told her that Primarch Fedorian had called a war summit- but they had lost contact with him when the Reapers hit Palaven- and the *Normandy* might be the only way to get him off of the base on Menae. A grateful Primarch would be critical to assisting in coordinating their forces. In addition, he informed Shepard that the Council had voted to uphold her Spectre status.

Sparatus spent the rest of the war frantically coordinating his people while the Crucible was built. He was evacuated along with most of the rest of the Council (except Valern) by newly minted Spectre Kaidan Alenko when Cerberus attacked the Citadel.

He and the remainder of the Council were on board the *Destiny Ascension*, during the Battle of London- having escaped the Reaper invasion of the Citadel.

## Every One That Asketh

In the aftermath of the Battle of London, Sparatus worked closely with War Primarch Victus, and Praetor Aelianus Vakarian to help direct the contingent of the turian Hierarchy trapped behind the Sol Relay after the detonation of the Crucible. The three would often meet on board the THV *Acumen Ensium**,* trying to keep a lid on the hopeless situation.

On January 8th, 2187 Aelianus met with his friend on a personal matter- he had just discovered that Commander Shepard was somehow pregnant with his grandchild. Despite the extremely limited resources available to them, the Alliance doctors needed both information and help from the turians to support the pregnancy. Sparatus agreed to both this and the necessity for absolute secrecy.