User blog comment:Arbington/DLC Theories/@comment-1900300-20100929004020

Here's an idea that combines many previous ones. A high-ranking Alliance member (im thinking Anderson to make it personal as long as its set after retribution, or Hackett or Udina) is almost assassinated. The Alliance sends the virmire survivor to investigate (or the Virmire survivor is made a spectre and then assigned to investigate). TIM sends Shepard to help to clear suspicions of Cerberus involvement and to ensure the Alliance does not suffer anymore losses. The trail leads to the same batarian terrorists at Tera Nova (if you let him go, you meet balak again!). The batarians are trying to start a coup on the batarian homeworld and declare war on the Alliance. Usually, they wouldn't stand a chance, but they have a secret: the Collectors gave the batarians weaponry and technology, letting the Alliance become distracted with a war against the batarians so their kidnappings when they slip into Alliance space will be unnoticed. Anyway, plot foiled, tech destroyed and you smooth things over with Ash or Kadian.