When you visit Illium in Mass Effect 2, the first thing you learn is that your old friend Liara is working there as an information broker. So, naturally, you seek her out for a reunion. It's there when you learn about her issues with The Shadow Broker. One of the ways you can help with that is by completing The Observer mission.

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However, it isn't a simple quest. Not only do you have to locate a few unmarked data points, but you also need to use them to figure out who the Observer actually is. Here is all the information you need to do both of those things.

Starting And Unlocking Mission

Before you can unlock this mission, you have to complete the System Hacking job for Liara first. Once that's over, return to the Asari and ask her how she is.

Don't suggest going to get the Shadow Broker, as that initiates the Lair Of The Shadow Broker DLC, which prematurely ends this mission.

In response, she reveals the situation with the Shadow Broker's agent, the Observer. You simply need to agree to help her find out the identity of the agent.

Find The Data Points

To discover the Observer's identity, you must find and hack various terminals. Each one contains a fragment of text discussing the Observer and their allies.

Yet, there are no names used. Only the species and title of the individuals are mentioned. You have to work out which of them is the Observer.

Data Point 1

To locate the first data point, you must head to the trading floor. To be more specific, this terminal is on the first stall you pass when entering Illium. Hack it to get the following bit of text:

"...trader tried to kill the Batarian. Claims it was because he hates slavers, but the men were more likely fighting over money. Watch for now..."

Data Point 2

The second terminal is the only one that's not on or next to the trading floor. Instead, it's in the Eternity bar. To be more specific, it's a few feet from the actual bar. Here is what the fragment on it says:

"Smuggler and assassin have refused to work with the vorcha due to lack of trust. Odd to see scruples from the men at this point."

Data Point 3

Terminal three is on a big blue screen en route to the Eternity bar. It contains this bit of text:

"The turian's asking too many questions. Observer recommends terminating him and framing assassin or salarian contact."

Data Point 4

The fourth terminal is also on the trading floor. It's part of a stall that's to your left when you're coming from Liara's office. The fragment on it says:

"Turian contact working well with the trader. Observer has rescinded kill order against him, given difficulty in securing contact with the trader through other methods."

Data Point 5

The last data point is the closest to Liara. In fact, it's right at the bottom of the stairs to her office. It reads:

"Vorcha trader has requested no further contact with the salarian. Salarian is becoming more trouble than he is worth. Observer recommends a kill, but she may have

a grudge."

Who Is The Observer?

Liara's assistant, Nyxeris, claims that the Observer is either a Turian, Salarian, Batarian, Vorcha, or Krogan.

So, your natural instinct is probably to use the fragments to see who did or didn't have an interaction with the Observer. This way you can figure out their identity through the process of elimination. After all, the Observer isn't going to order a kill on themselves. But that isn't actually the way to work it out.

The real answer lies within the gender and pronouns used during the fragments. The Observer is a woman that has she/her pronouns, while none of the others do.

So, from any data point, hit the call Liara button and tell her, "none of the subjects fit."

At this point, the Asari will get suspicious of her assistant Nyxeris, who gave her the intel about the Observer.

Return to Liara's office to find out that Nyxeris was the one working with the Shadow Broker, and Liara dealt with her. The Asari then gives you some credits for working it out.

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