You have been approached by Conrad Verner. He seemed like a harmless fan.
Acquisition
Conrad Verner is standing in the Upper Markets on the Wards, at the top of the stairs leading to the Lower Markets. He will wave Shepard down in passing.
Walkthrough
First interaction
Conrad is interested in Shepard after hearing about the mission on Eden Prime and asks politely for an autograph to impress his wife. Shepard can choose to either give him an autograph or to tell him to forget it, and Conrad will leave.
Second interaction
After becoming a Spectre and leaving then returning to the Citadel, Conrad reappears—in the same place—and congratulates the commander. Conrad asks for a photo as proof that he met "humanity's first Spectre" (if Shepard is male) or the "beautiful Commander Shepard" (if Shepard is female). Again, Shepard can either agree to pose for a picture or tell him to get lost. If you tell him to get lost you end the assignment, but you still get the third interaction.
Third interaction
Finally, after having completed a core mission world (Noveria, Feros, or Therum) Conrad waves Shepard down again. He says he wants to be a Spectre as well and asks Shepard to sign him up.
If Shepard gets angry and tells him to go away, Conrad will storm off, saying Shepard is not the only one who can make humanity look good. A news item in the Citadel elevator later reports that Conrad tried to prove himself by attacking a group of turians and was killed. Alternatively, Shepard can Charm Conrad and convince him that he is better off staying at home with his wife, or Intimidate Conrad to convince him that he is not Spectre material.
Mass Effect 2 Consequences
If you chose to Charm or Intimidate Conrad in Mass Effect and carry your save over to Mass Effect 2, he will be wearing knock-off N7 armor, and threatening a bartender on Illium, stating that when Shepard shoved a gun into his face (regardless of whether you did or not—see below), it inspired him to be extreme.
Trivia
- There is a glitch associated with this assignment. It is possible to hear the announcement in the elevator of Verner's death and then go and speak with him to continue the assignment. However, he will still be considered dead for the purposes of Mass Effect 2 game importing (unless you agree to give him the photo and autograph).
- If Conrad lives at the end of the assignment, another glitch causes the Conrad encounter to be flagged both as "Intimidated" and "Charmed" in the importable save file, apparently leading to Mass Effect 2 picking the former over the latter and triggering Conrad's presence on Illium. Conrad will always claim you pointed a gun at him regardless of prior choice.