Mass Effect Citadel: Jahleed’s Fears Guide—Outcomes by Checkpoints

This guide breaks down the Citadel side quest Citadel: Jahleed’s Fears in Mass Effect, focusing on the checkpoints that decide how the confrontation with Chorban and Jahleed plays out—and which outcomes you can secure.

Quick Jump Checklist

• Assignment stats
• Travel to Widow
• Speak with Jahleed
• Talk to Chorban
  • Do NOT have Scan the Keepers
  • DO Have Scan the Keepers
• Talk to Jahleed

• Do NOT have Scan the Keepers
• DO Have Scan the Keepers

Assignment stats

Video guide

Essential stats

• Persuasion: 7 Charm / 6 Intimidate
• Minimum Decryption: N/A
• Minimum Electronics: N/A

Travel to Widow

• Location: Serpent Nebula – Widow – The Citadel – C-Sec Academy

Despite its name, this Assignment is picked up on the Citadel. The Citadel is the galactic hub in the Serpent Nebula—also the only cluster in the western portion of the Milky Way—and it’s where you’ll run the mission Citadel: Expose Saren. Widow is the only system tied to this area, and there are zero Discoveries to find.

Speak with Jahleed

To start the Assignment, locate and speak with Jahleed at C-Sec Academy. This is the blue section that functions as C-Sec headquarters, connecting you to Docking Bay 422 where the Normandy SR-1 is docked. If you recruited Wrex, this is also the area where that happened. The easiest route is the elevator beneath the Presidium Embassies.

Once you’re in the main atrium, stand at the entrance to the central elevator and face inward. Look to your right to find a set of stairs leading up. Take them toward the C-Sec Offices, then at the top turn right again. In the seating area, you’ll see a Volus named Jahleed talking to a C-Sec officer beside a pink tree.

When you talk to Jahleed, you’ll learn he believes his business partner is trying to kill him.

• Accept the quest by choosing I’ll talk to him or Yes. I’ll help you.
• If you refuse by selecting Can’t help you, you can still approach Jahleed again to receive the Assignment.

Talk to Chorban

After speaking with Jahleed, you need to locate Chorban in the Lower Markets on the Wards.

Chorban is no longer in his earlier Citadel Tower spot. Instead, he’s in the Lower Wards. For the quickest path, use Rapid Transit and travel to Chora’s Den. When you arrive, turn around and go through the door—this places you in the Lower Wards with Chorban directly ahead.

The encounter changes depending on whether you spoke to Chorban earlier in the Citadel Tower (which determines whether you have Scan the Keepers). Because of that, the guide splits the confrontation into two cases.

Do NOT have Scan the Keepers

If you did not talk to Chorban previously in the Citadel Tower, you won’t have Scan the Keepers. In this case, Chorban becomes hostile and pulls a gun on you. No matter how you respond, you’ll be pushed into a firefight with Chorban and his group.

Good news: all of them are Salarians, so they carry very little armor compared to many other enemies you’ll face. That means they fall faster than heavier squads. You can also shoot a Fire Suppression System to slow them down.

Once you strip the health bars of all three Salarians, Chorban surrenders and begs for his life. He explains that he and Jahleed were scanning the Keepers, and that Shepard was supposed to return the data to him. After you learn Jahleed wanted to keep the information for himself, you can decide what happens next.

• If you choose Get out of here or Good. Go, Chorban escapes alive.
• If you choose You’re not leaving, you kill Chorban and earn +8 Renegade Points.
• If you choose Scanning?, Chorban offers to let you Scan the Keepers in exchange for credits.
  • If you then pick Maybe, you receive the Scan the Keepers Assignment.
  • If you choose No thanks, you decline the Assignment and Chorban leaves alive. You’ll still get one additional chance later to pick up Scan the Keepers.

• If you then pick Maybe, you receive the Scan the Keepers Assignment.
• If you pick No thanks, you decline the Assignment and Chorban leaves with his life. You’ll have one more chance after this to pick up Scan the Keepers, however.

After you lock in your decision, go back through the back door of the Lower Markets toward Chora’s Den. Then use Rapid Transit to return to C-Sec so you can talk with Jahleed.

DO Have Scan the Keepers

If you already have Scan the Keepers, the conversation with Chorban is far less violent. Instead of immediately getting a gun pointed at you, you ask Chorban for the truth, and he orders his two bodyguards to leave.

Once Chorban stresses what the Keepers could reveal, you can decide whether to continue the Scan the Keepers Assignment.

• Select No more to stop scanning and gain +8 Paragon Points.
• Select All right or Sure to keep doing Scan the Keepers.
  • Doing so means you won’t be able to scan any Keepers. If you already had the Assignment but still want to continue it for XP and credits, you’ll get a chance to reopen it when you speak with Jahleed again back at C-Sec.

• Choosing this will mean you won’t be able to Scan any Keepers. If you already had it but still want to continue it for XP and Credits, you’ll have a chance to re-open that Assignment when you talk with Jahleed again back at C-Sec.

Talk to Jahleed

Go back to the C-Sec Offices and confront Jahleed about how he misled you regarding the data, as well as Chorban’s part in their ongoing conflict. After Jahleed defends himself, there are several ways this can go.

If at any point you select I don’t care in the lower-right or Too bad along the right side, Jahleed becomes desperate and offers to pay you credits. At that moment, a C-Sec Officer returns and asks whether Jahleed is causing any trouble for you.

• If you answer Definitely or Yes, Shepard reveals that Jahleed stole company secrets, and Jahleed is arrested. This outcome provides no rewards.
  • If you did not accept Chorban’s offer to Scan the Keepers in the Lower Markets, choosing this option permanently blocks the Scan the Keepers Assignment—even if you already scanned a few Keepers.
• If you answer We’re fine, the C-Sec Officer walks away and your discussion with Jahleed resumes with the Persuasion Check options described next.

• If you didn’t accept Chorban’s offer to Scan the Keepers back in the Lower Markets, picking this will permanently lock out that Assignment, even if you already scanned a few Keepers.

If Jahleed isn’t arrested, the conversation reaches its climax with a Persuasion Check choice. You’ll reach this point if you showed interest in what Jahleed’s data might uncover, or if you told the C-Sec Officer We’re fine. Here are the possible outcomes:

• If you have 7 Charm points, choose Then do it legally for +8 Paragon Points.
• If you have 6 Intimidate points, choose Take it back! for +2 Renegade Points.
• There’s also a right-side option in the Dialogue Wheel that changes based on context:
  • If you showed interest in what Jahleed’s data could uncover, the option will be Too bad. Pick it and Jahleed panics, offering you credits before the C-Sec Officer shows up, just like the earlier scenario.
  • If you already sent the C-Sec Officer away, the option will be Payment. Choosing it makes Jahleed pay you five times the normal credit amount for completing an Assignment, but you receive no Morality Points.

• If you expressed interest in what Jahleed’s data might uncover, it will be “Too bad”. Pick it, and Jahleed will panic and offer you credits before the C-Sec Officer shows up, as described earlier.
• If you just sent the C-Sec Officer away, it will be “Payment”. Picking this will have Jahleed give you five times the normal amount of Credits for completing an Assignment, but no Morality Points.

There’s one last portion of the conversation—but it only triggers if all of the following are true: you declined Chorban’s offer to Scan the Keepers in the Lower Markets, Jahleed was not arrested by the C-Sec Officer, and you have not completed Scan the Keepers already by the time you speak with him again.

In this final moment, Jahleed offers to let you continue scanning the Keepers, which effectively re-enables that Assignment.

• If you choose Sounds interesting or Sure, you reacquire the Scan the Keepers Assignment and can finish it.
• If you choose No, you refuse the Scan the Keepers Assignment—meaning you will permanently lock yourself out of it.

More Mass Effect help

• Legendary Edition Changes
• How-To Guides
• Key Choices and Consequences
• Romance Options
• Walkthrough
• Side Quests

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