This guide will help you navigate the Citadel Station during your first return visit in Mass Effect.
Return to Citadel Map
Return to Citadel Overview
There are six new assignments available on Citadel Station following the completion of one of the three initial plot-critical planets (though one of these is entirely dependent on your pre-service history). Therefore, a return to the station is recommended even though it isn’t absolutely necessary.
1 – Arrival
To begin, look over the map above. Since there isn’t nearly as much to do on the Citadel during your second visit, I wanted to merge all of the essential maps into one to avoid spreading the station over several pages again. For the purposes of this walkthrough, I will be hitting the maps in the following order: Docking Bays (top left) – Citadel Security (top right) – Citadel Presidium (bottom left) – Citadel Tower (bottom right). You should consider visiting the Wards too, just in case Morlan or Expat have any decent wares to offer you and to further the Citadel: The Fan assignment by speaking to Conrad Verner again.
When you step off of the Normandy, expect to be grilled by Rear Admiral Mikhailovich of the Fifth Fleet. This whole encounter is a good chance for you to earn some Paragon or Renegade points, so make sure you’re picking the right dialogue options. Apparently the Normandy was supposed to be part of his regiment before the Council handed it over to you and now he wants to do an inspection to see if it’s “up to snuff”.
After performing the inspection, Mikhailovich returns and expresses his disappointment. First, he states that the CIC is ineffecient. To this, you can use a standard dialogue option or go with Charm (“It’s a Turian design.”) or Intimidate (“We’re trained for it.”) options. Next, he ridicules the fact that 120 billion credits were spent on the “useless” stealth-enabled drive core. Again, you can use a standard dialogue option or go with Charm (“It’s useful.”) or Intimidate (“Do you read history?”) options. Finally, he questions your decision to allow “alien nationals” access to Alliance equipment. Once again, you can use a standard dialogue option or go with Charm (“They’re allies.”) or Intimidate (“That’s my choice to make.”) options.
As a means to conclude the conversation, the Admiral asks if you have anything more to say in order to justify Normandy’s condition. To this, you can either answer “No” or use Charm (“We need to build bridges.”) or Intimidate (“We need to kick ass.”) to get the point across a little more effectively. Depending on how you fared, Mikhailovich will leave to submit either a somewhat negative or highly negative report to the Joint Military Council. He’s a bitter man that thinks the ship is a waste of taxpayer dollars, so you’ll just have to live with “somewhat negative” even if you set him straight.
2 – Khalisah bint Sinan Al-Jilani
Long name, annoying reporter. Khalisah is with Westerlund News and she wants to ask you several tough questions for a live news broadcast here on the Citadel. Keep in mind that if you turn the interview down or issue a generic response that ends the interview prematurely, it will look bad for you and the Spectres as a whole. It’s also less rewarding in terms of experience and credits. So, yeah, no pressure…
Your best bet is to always choose the available Charm or Intimidate choice, then pick the right-side middle response (“I can’t confirm or deny that.”) for the final question about your investigation into a rogue Spectre named Saren. Telling her that he was behind Eden Prime or that the Council protected him also works, but they’ll get you scolded later on when Admiral Hackett gives you his personal feedback while aboard the Normandy. If you make it through the whole interview picking any of the talent-based choices, you should come away with a nice experience boost and a decent number of credits.
3 – Udina and Anderson
These two don’t have much to say at this point in the game, though Udina does lay into you over the destruction of the Prothean ruins on Therum. Once the Ambassador leaves, examine the NAVMANUAL 0.7.4 in front of him. This will unlock the Space Combat: General Tactics codex entry.
4 – Nassana Dantius
You probably already heard from Nassana aboard the Normandy as you approached the Citadel, and she seems genuinely glad to see you. She tells you that her sister Dahlia was a crewman on a cargo vessel that was attacked by privateers. The bandits took Dahlia as prisoner and demanded a huge ransom from Nassana in exchange for her sister’s life. Despite the fact that she could lose her post as a diplomatic emissary, Nassana paid the ransom without reporting the kidnapping to the authorities. Unfortunately, her sister has yet to be released.
As you probably already guessed, Nassana wants you to save her sister from the privateers. She has already tracked the ransom payment she made to a mercenary base in the Artemis Tau cluster (on the planet of Sharjila in the Macedon system, to be precise), so at least you know where to begin your search. Accepting the job triggers the “Asari Diplomacy” assignment, which Nassana promises will be “well rewarded” upon completion.
When you pay another visit to Nassana after discovering that her criminal sister was blackmailing her, she fesses up that she didn’t want to reveal the information because she’d be deemed a security risk and her clearance on the Citadel would be revoked. She then announces that she’s going to transfer “a little something” into your account as a token of her appreciation. With a successful Charm (“I’ve got a better deal.”) or Intimidate (“Credits won’t cut it.”) line, you can convince her to add you to the Armali Council client list. This will get you access to the powerful Armali Council line of items when you visit certain merchants in the game. Either way, you’ll end up with both experience and credits when the assignment is complete.
5 – Rebekah and Michael Petrovsky
You’ll overhear these two arguing when you get within earshot. Inquire about what’s troubling them to learn that Rebekah is pregnant and that her husband, Jacob, recently died from a rare heart condition. Michael is Jacob’s brother and, therefore, Rebekah’s brother-in-law, and is arguing with her to let the unborn baby undergo potentially dangerous gene therapy to ensure that it doesn’t end up with the same heart condition that killed Jacob. Involving yourself in this argument triggers the “Citadel: Family Matter” assignment.
If you believe that they tell you, the baby’s chance of developing the same heart condition is 1 in 50, whlie potentially fatal side effects from gene therapy have a 1 in 300 chance of occuring. To make the decision more difficult, medical treatments are available even if the baby does wind up with the same heart condition and nobody seems to know if gene therapy may cause long-term side effects.
Once you have all the facts, you’re must choose to side with either Rebekah and Michael. In order to convince the other to make the same decision, you’re going to have to have a sufficient amount of Charm or Intimidate to pick the appropriate dialogue choices. Once the opposing party is swayed, the pair thanks you and continues on their way. You should gain a significant amount of Paragon or Renegade points once the assignment is complete, as well as the Genetic Engineering codex entry.
6 – Garoth
Garoth has a lot on his mind. His brother was crossing the Traverse in a small trading vessel called the Majesty when it suddenly dropped off the grid completely. According to Garoth, the only way the ship could just disappear is if it suffered major mechanical failure or if it was attacked by privateers, slavers, mercs… or worse. Considering the condition his brother kept the ship in, Garth does not believe the former option makes any sense.
Unfortunately, Garoth doesn’t have any sort of reward to give to you. He asks you to find out where his brother is because humans just need to “stick together.” Offer to carry out the mission for him and you’ll receive two Paragon points along with the “Citadel: Privateers” assignment. The coordinates he uploads to your ship will take you to the planet of Xawin in the Strenuus system of the Horse Head Nebula cluster.
When you return to tell Garoth that Willem is dead, he almost seems relieved to finally have closure and then leaves to make arrangements for his brother’s funeral. Depending on how you gave him the news, you’ll gain two Paragon or Renegade points. For whatever reason, you won’t receive any experience for completing this assignment.
7 – Emily Wong
Remember that investigative journalist you met in the Upper Wards during your first visit to the Citadel? Well, she has another proposition for you. With her crime syndicate investigation wrapped up, she’s now doing a little digging into traffic controller conditions. She thinks that space traffic controllers are so overworked that a disaster is just waiting to happen.
Since she can’t get into the control room, she asks you to plant an audio/video bug inside so that she can crack the story and prompt those responsible to fix the conditions. She also insists that the bug is harmless and won’t interfere with communications or traffic signals. Offer to plant the bug for her and you’ll receive the “Citadel: Planting a Bug” assignment.
If you immediately turn around and speak with Emily without planting the bug, you can choose between Charm (“I’ve changed my mind.”) or Intimidate (“[LIE] I already did it.”) dialogue options to conclude the assignment immediately. Emily offers you some credits for your involvement and you’ll receive several Paragon or Renegade points. As a result, this option is more rewarding than actually planting the bug.
However, if you decided to place the listening device in the proper area of the control room on the west side of the C-Sec Academy (area #8), make the trip back up to the tower and speak with Emily once again. She’s already getting readings from the device and is happy to give you everything that’s left in her publisher’s budget as a reward. Your responses toward Emily will also earn you two Paragon or Renegade points.
8 – Inconspicuous Location
The top of this railing would make the perfect spot to plant Emily Wong’s listening device for the “Citadel: Planting a Bug” assigment.
9 – Lieutenant Girard
If you chose a Colonist pre-service history for Commander Shepard, then you’ll be contacted by someone named Lieutenant Girard and asked to speak with a woman named Talitha who was rescued from batarian slavers. The experience took a toll on the woman’s emotional state and now she stands near the end of the docking platform with a pistol. Girard thinks that you may be able to help her since she’s from your home planet of Mindoir and was kidnapped during the same raid that claimed your parents’ lives. Agree to help and Girard will give you a syringe filled with a sedative that will knock the woman out and let a medical team give her the aid she needs. This triggers the “Citadel: I Remember Me” assignment.
Talitha is very unstable when you speak with her, so you need to be careful not to make any sudden movements during the conversation. The idea here is to successfully issue a Charm or Intimidate line and then take a step closer to her. Repeat this method a few times and you’ll be close enough to inject her with the sedative. If you’re going for Paragon points, then you can simply hand the syringe to her and have her do the injection herself. Once she’s drugged, it’s just a matter of reporting your success to Girard to complete the assignment.
10 – Finch
If you chose an Earthborn pre-service history for Commander Shepard, then you’ll meet a seedy human named Finch right here between Chora’s Den and Morlan’s supply shop. Apparently you used to belong to a gang back on Earth called the Tenth Street Reds, of which Finch is still a member. To keep him from dragging your name through the mud, Finch requests that you speak to a Turian guard in Chora’s Den and ask that he frees another gang member named Curt Weisman. This triggers the “Citadel: Old Friends” assignment.
Head over to Chora’s Den and enter dialogue with the Turian guard. When you ask him to release Curt, he scoffs at your request and proclaims that the “xenophobe” will remain in his custody. If you issue a successful Charm (“I need your help.”) or Intimidate (“Make it negotiable.”) line, though, the guard starts to see things your way and will release the prisoner. This completes the mission and gets the Tenth Street Reds off your back.
However, this can play out differently. If you don’t use persuasion on the guard and leave the prison in his custody, Finch will approach you and claim that “if you can’t be useful, you’ll be publicity.” You can match him with a Charm (“This won’t help you.”) or Intimidate (“So what?”) line to make him go away, but for a little extra satisfaction (and several Renegade points) you can simply shoot him. The Turian guard even gives his compliments for ridding the galaxy of another gang member.
11 – Lieutenant Zabaleta
If you chose a Spacer pre-service history for Commander Shepard, then you’ll be called over by a guy named Zabaleta when you pass through the Wards Access map. The lieutenant will claim to have served with your mother on the carrier Einstein over twelve years ago when you were just a kid. The guy will then mention that he doesn’t have a credit to his name and asks you for 20 credits so he can afford his next meal. Giving him the money earns you a couple of Paragon points, while refusing to fork over any cash and accusing him of being a drunk earns you two Renegade points. Either way, you’ll receive the “Citadel: Old, Unhappy, Far-Off Things” assignment.
To finish the assignment, you must first confirm Zabaleta’s story by contacting your mother. Head back to the Normandy and use the terminal in the comm room to reach dreadnought Kilimanjaro where your mother, Hannah Shepard, is stationed. She recognizes the name Zabaleta and even knows his first name – Ernesto. According to your mother, he saw atrocities on Mindoir that led to post-traumatic stress and an addiction to alcohol. He was eventually discharged by the Alliance for being drunk on duty. Your mother recommends that you send him to the Veteran’s Affairs Office.
Return to Zabaleta and let him know that you spoke to your mother about what happened on Mindoir. He’ll share a few details before asking for another 20 credits to buy a bottle of whiskey. You can give him the money – for food, of course – or you can persuade him to change his ways with a successful Charm (“The Veteran’s Affairs Office”) or Intimidate (“No one understands! Waaah!”) line. This earns you several Paragon or Renegade points. Either way, the assignment is complete.
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