Airquotes - Mass Effect SI

[Strunkriidiisk]

Chapter 1

I resisted the urge to rub at my face in exasperation. The human ambassador was being as much of an intractable spur-ache as ever, and furthermore this 'tribunal' was far too rushed. It had been barely a few standard days since the Geth attack on the Eden Prime human colony, and less than that since C-Sec had been able to put an investigation together.

Spirits take it, I'd been working on getting the investigators some limited access to Spectre records so they could actually do their damned jobs - Saren might have been a friend, but that didn't afford him any special treatment. I'd been pushing for greater accountability to be required of Spectres since I'd been appointed to the Council, but Tevos - ever the conservative, and damn her patronizing attitude - had stonewalled me with 'arguments' that the Spectres had been fine without such for centuries, and Valern consistently kept her side. Even now, Tevos worked to keep the boat from rocking: Saren was an effective Spectre, and him getting genuinely in trouble would make the Council look bad, she claimed. So the so-called 'tribunal' was pushed forward; there was no solid evidence, the humans would be laughed out, and everything would go back to normal.

Except I knew it wouldn't, because the humans were right, and we were all doomed.

"The Geth attack is a matter of some concern," Tevos said placidly, "but there is nothing to indicate that Spectre Arterius was in any way involved."

I gritted my teeth for a moment. "Citadel Security's investigation has not turned up any evidence to support your charge of treason against him," I added, with veiled irritation at my fellow Councilor.

"An eyewitness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!" And there was the ambassador. Truly I had no idea why the Systems Alliance thought his appointment was a good idea. The man seemed to embody the frustrations I had with Humanity - he wanted the galaxy with very little offered in return. Humans had been part of the galactic community for less than thirty years, and yet individuals like Udina seemed to believe they deserved anything and everything when they'd done nothing to deserve such.

"We've read the reports, Ambassador," Valern replied. "The testimony of a single traumatized dockworker is hardly compelling proof."

"I resent these accusations," commented Saren, his holographic representation - and the FTL-linked camera floating in his 'head' - turning to regard us. He hadn't yet looked at the humans. "Nihlus was a fellow Spectre, and a friend."

"That just let you catch him off guard!" Captain Anderson. I remembered him. Former Spectre candidate himself. The circumstances behind his disqualification had been falsified, I knew, but there hadn't been evidence of Saren's wrongdoing then either.

Saren turned, and smirked slightly at the human. I imagined that Tevos or Valern might have caught it, but other races found our expressions hard to read. I doubted they cared, even if they had. "Captain Anderson. You always seem to be involved when humanity makes false charges against me." He cast a disinterested eye over the smaller frame of the human woman standing at the captain's side. "And this must be your protege, Commander Shepard. The one who let the beacon be destroyed."

Shepard bristled. "The mission to Eden Prime was top secret," she shot back. "The only way you could know about the beacon was if you were there!" I suppressed a sigh. The humans were playing into Saren's hands. Getting agitated wouldn't serve to strengthen their claim against him.

"With Nihlus gone, his files passed on to me," Saren replied, patronizingly. That was, unfortunately, a solid excuse; all Council Spectres were to designate at least one other to be the recipient of any of their files on ongoing missions, such that if they were killed in action valuable intelligence wouldn't be lost, and I knew that Saren had been in line for Nihlus's. "I read the Eden Prime report, and I was unimpressed. But really, what can one expect from a human?

"Your species needs to learn its place, Shepard," Saren continued. "You're not ready to join the Council; you aren't even ready to join the Spectres."

"He has no right to say that!" Udina was flushing noticeably, and his composure seemed entirely departed as he shouted. "That's not his decision to make!"

I interjected firmly. "The Commander's admission to the Spectres or lack thereof is not the purpose of this meeting." I passed a cold glance at Saren for a moment. "Though the ambassador has a point, Spectre Arterius: that decision is none of your concern."

Saren's mandibles were pinched close over his jaw, and they twitched; it was a tic I recognized, meaning he felt irritated. "This meeting has no purpose," he returned, curtly. "The humans have no proof; they are wasting your time, Councilors. And mine as well."

"Saren is hiding behind his position as a Spectre," the small human woman declared hotly. "You need to open your eyes!" She was right, and I knew that, but her attitude was beginning to grate. I felt irrationally affronted as a turian to be subjected to this arguing without proper evidence, even though I knew it wasn't her fault that there was no hard evidence to go on.

"What we need is evidence," Valern said. "So far, we have seen nothing."

"There is still one outstanding issue," Anderson came back with. "Commander Shepard's vision. It may have been triggered by the beacon." I couldn't help but wonder if Anderson realized how absurd that had to sound to an uninformed party like my fellow Councilors. I idly toyed with the idea of getting an asari into the meeting to confirm Shepard's vision, but decided against it. The Reaper vision didn't have anything relevant to the matter at hand, and I doubted that just any Asari would be able to parse the information as anything useful anyway. Best to let that wait for another day.

"Are we allowing dreams into evidence now?" Saren was fairly sneering, and his tone was biting. "How can I defend my innocence against this kind of testimony?"

"Our judgement must be based in facts and tangible evidence," I declared, looking hard at the Human commander. "Your 'vision'" - I resisted the faint urge to use airquotes - "is dubious at best without any corroboration."

Tevos then stepped back up. "Do you have anything else to bring forth, Commander?"

"No," Shepard replied bitterly. "I can see you've made your decision. I won't waste my breath."

Tevos nodded, a look of probably false sympathy carefully arrayed on her face. She and Valern then both looked over at me, and after a moment I reluctantly relented, shaking my head slightly. She acknowledged me, and said: "The Council has found no evidence of any connection between Spectre Arterius and the Geth. Your petition for his suspension from the Spectres is denied, Ambassador."

Saren fairly radiated smug satisfaction. "I'm glad to see justice was served." He nodded at us, looking for a moment longer at me than the others.

"Councilors. Good day." His hologram winked out, and the FTL camera floated away through an opening in the wall.

"This meeting is now adjourned," Valern said, and we filed out. I was last, and I glanced over to see Shepard turned away and talking indistinctly with her captain and the ambassador. There was some agitated waving of hands on Udina's part.

After a moment of consideration, I opened my omnitool with a flicking motion of my wrist. I tapped out a short message, and then sent it in a quick point-to-point communication with her omnitool after I quickly pinged the IDs of the 'tools in the area to find hers. I saw the commander activate her omnitool as Anderson and Udina departed, then jolt slightly and glance back at me. I gave a single short, slight nod, and then strode off toward my office.

I believe you. Find evidence.

---

I got back to my office, rubbing tiredly at the bridge of my nose. I passed by the desk of my adjutant, the younger, barefaced male diligently tapping away at his console and preparing my itinerary for the next week. I offered him a reserved nod in greeting. "Tacitus."

He glanced up. "Councilor Sparatus, sir," he replied crisply. "Did the meeting go well, might I ask?"

I sighed lightly. "It went as expected. I know he's likely too busy to talk, but can you communicate my apologies to Executor Pallin?"

Tacitus nodded. "Certainly, sir."

"Thank you, Tacitus," I replied genuinely, smiling slightly for a moment. Then I passed into my office.

My office space, as the humans would say, was rather Spartan. A desk, computer console and chair for work, a couple of small doors leading off to a closet and a QEC booth, and a comfortable - if slightly worn - couch and pair of chairs off to the side for guests. The only decorations were an antique sword I'd hung on the wall - an anniversary gift, that - a small holoprojector that flicked through stills of my family back on Palaven - I reminded myself that my niece's boot camp was coming up soon, and I'd have to find time to attend the going-away party - and a suit of armour sitting on a stand in the corner - fully functional, because I liked to be prepared. There was a nice view of the Presidium through the office's large windows.

I went over to my desk and pulled a decanter of brandy and a tumbler out of a drawer, then poured myself a measure of the alcohol and went to sit on my couch. I swirled the liquor around a little, and thought. It was finally happening. The Reapers were coming, and all I could do was try and smooth Shepard's way.

The Council wasn't the be-all-end-all of galactic politics. We were supposed to represent our race's interests in the Galaxy, but ultimately I was an advisor to the Primarch, if a high-level and respected one. I couldn't simply order the Turian military-industrial complex to ramp up production of materiel, or expand the armed forces; I could advise the Primarch to order such, but without a clear and unambiguous threat there was little reason to take such advice seriously, and the Turian military hadn't had a major mobilization other than general peacekeeping and pirate-hunting since the Relay 314 incident - and even that had been too small and short-lived to amount to anything.

I hoped, inwardly, that Shepard might release the Rachni into the galaxy and not kill the queen on - I grimaced; I couldn't remember where the rachni queen was. Couldn't remember any of the particulars of what Shepard was supposed to do.

But still, the Rachni; that might get me some actual leverage to get things in motion. And wasn't that a terrifying thought: Rachni, loose in the galaxy again, and I only had vague memory to tell me that they wouldn't kill us all.

There I sat, mulling possibilities over in my mind and sipping at expensive alcohol, for the next hour. After that, I needed to get back to work, and I returned to my desk to draft my report on the Council's deliberation.

 

[Strunkriidiisk]

God damn it. Sorry about the wait; shit got real busy at university. I was hoping to get this out before Christmas, but between exams and unwinding and generally not wanting to do anything, time sort of slipped away. Anyway, merry (belated) Christmas, happy holidays, and all that.

Also ergh, the first half of this chapter fought me.

Chapter 2

My parents weren't the same, and yet they weren't wrong. I remembered a pair of alien-yet-not faces, stretched into expressions that were simultaneously unknown to me and identifiable as smiles.

My father had been a calm man, I remember; placid, though always willing to ask after my problems. He was an excellent cook. My father now was gruff, reticent, but he'd always been happy to play with me, in a way my before-father hadn't been available for. Games of catch, mock-hunts where I pretended to stalk prey, whatever.

My mother had been absent so often, working, but she was likewise kind. Now, she was always present; I understood that she worked from home a lot, drafting architectural designs. She was… distant, like she wasn't sure what she was supposed to do with me. She loved me just the same, I knew, it was just that she didn't express herself well.

I had two sisters, one older than me and one much younger. That was new; the ghostly memories insisted I had two siblings, a brother and a sister, both younger than me. She was sharp-tongued and aloof most of the time, my elder sister. We didn't get along well, though we weren't hostile. Too many differences between us; too many years to really be peers, even if I seemed wise beyond my age. My younger sister was bratty and obstinate, a child still learning self-control from our parents.

The memories were stronger then, when I was a child. I could almost imagine that other life, from time to time. And yet… I didn't miss it. I had something new, now.

Tabula rasa.

---

"Lastly, you mentioned a strange ship that the humans encountered on their colony in your report, Councillor. There is nothing else on it?" The Primarch's tone was flat.

Primarch Fedorian certainly made for a distinctive figure, even as a simple hologram being projected over the quantum-entanglement link. His deep purple colony paint was notably asymmetrical on the left side of his face, where his plates were so pitted and scarred it looked as though a varren had been worrying at his head. Both the eye and the mandible on that side were prosthetic replacements, I knew. He looked every inch the grizzled veteran, and carried himself with an ever-present grim air. He was the Primarch of the Home Cluster, and the current First Speaker of the Primarchs' Council.

"I'm afraid not, sir. All we have is the picture one of the members of the human team had presence of mind to take with their omnitool." I sighed a little after saying that, my irritation flaring up again slightly; the humans hadn't been wearing combat recorders, because of course not, that would make things too convenient for me. "We know that it accompanied the geth fleet, but nothing on its capabilities beyond the obvious." A dreadnought displaying such a casual display of power would be cause for concern, regardless of the whole truth of the matter.

"A dreadnought that can safely land and escape a planet's gravity well," Fedorian mused, shaking his head slightly. "I can't even imagine the power that would require. How did the geth manage to advance so much?" He gave me a level look. "Thank you, Councillor. I've already given orders to increase patrols around our outlying colonies. Also, I'm seconding a detachment from the Home Fleet to bolster the Citadel's defences until we are able to contain the situation." Of course, I knew it was more extensive than simply moving forces around. Mothballed ships would be brought back online, reservists called back into active service, state factories and foundries increasing production of equipment and parts; the galaxy's latest nightmare was stirring, and so too would the extensive Hierarchy war machine wake to meet them.

"Sir, I must protest," I returned. "The Citadel Defence Fleet is sufficient-"

"Councillor." Fedorian's tone brooked no argument as he cut me off. "The Citadel is of paramount importance. While I appreciate your concern, I have made my decision and I will not have my orders countermanded. Am I clear?"

I swallowed back my protests and nodded tightly. "Yes sir." I felt a guilty little flicker of relief; the vague memories remembered what a juggernaut the Reaper was, and despite myself I couldn't help but feel glad for the support, and hope the fleet might be able to hold out.

"Very good. Thank you for your report, Councillor." The Primarch saluted crisply, superior to inferior.

"Primarch, sir." I returned the salute. His image winked out, and the quantum-entanglement communicator shut down. I returned to my office proper and settled in to continue with my work.

The hanar ambassador was petitioning to…

---

Some hours later, I was in the middle of a meeting with one of the elcor Ambassador's aides - evidently the Ambassador himself was unexpectedly indisposed - to begin negotiations for prospecting grants on a heavy-grav world out on the frontier edge of the Apien Crest when a sudden interruption came up. In the midst of Representative Tulluun's droning, my omnitool began chiming urgently. I frowned, and keyed open the device; I thought I'd shut it down to avoid being interrupted.

The brilliant 'Priority Override' alert shone on the holographic screen, before being replaced by a short, to-the-point message. A call for a snap Council meeting from Councillor Tevos.

"My apologies," I interjected briskly, "but there has been a development. I'm afraid that I must cut this meeting short." I gestured to the door. "Speak with my adjutant; he will arrange another appointment for you."

I was only half listening to the elcor's slow reassurance as I marched out of the office. I left Tacitus with a quickly-given order to help the ambassador and reschedule the few remaining correspondences remaining for the day.

As I made my way to the Council chambers, I keyed in Tevos' communication ID on my omnitool. I suspected I knew what this was about, but operating without clear intelligence was a fool's errand.

"Tevos, what is going on," I barked as the communication channel opened.

"Apparently, new evidence has come to light on Spectre Arterius's case," came her calm response. "The human ambassador requested we reconvene." 'Demanded' seemed more likely, but then Tevos was probably being diplomatic as always.

So Shepard found her evidence then.

"Right, I'll be there shortly." I shut down the link, then checked the alerts and messages in my omnitool, looking to see what I'd missed in the interim. A quick glance and I swore quietly to myself - gunshots reported in Lower Tayseri Ward, bodies found, and a local dive by the name of Chora's Den shot up. No perpetrators found; evidently they'd moved fast, or the local C-Sec personnel were getting sloppy. Pallin was probably livid. And it seemed that Shepard was already acting the part of a Spectre, at least; I suppressed my irritation with the lack of protocol.

I filed in at the same time as Valern, giving the salarian a short nod in greeting. The human ambassador was already there, as was Tevos. He huffed as we came in, evidently impatient, then sourly requested use of the chamber's loudspeaker to play the evidence, which was apparently an audio file.

"Eden Prime was a major victory," the recording blared, and I suppressed the urge to wince at the familiar tones. That was Saren, there was little doubt about it; unless the salarians had finally managed to crack the problem, voice altering software and sound editing still couldn't spoof a turian's unique subvocal rhythms. If someone had been masking their voice to sound like Saren, I would've been able to tell easily. I caught Tevos and Valern glancing my way, and I nodded slightly in affirmation. I couldn't help the feeling of disappointment, though; regardless of what he'd done, Saren had still been my friend, and it hurt to know he'd disgraced himself so.

As the recording continued - "The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit," - I saw the Commander walk up to stand just behind Udina, along with Captain Anderson. I inclined my head subtly, not quite a nod but still an acknowledgement. Her eyes narrowed slightly, as if to try and drill through me.

"And one step closer to the return of the Reapers." That wasn't Saren. A low, female voice, her galactic noticeably Thessian-accented. Asari.

Udina stepped forward as the recording ended. "You wanted proof," he declared, "and there it is."

"The evidence is irrefutable," I agreed. "In accordance with your previous request, Saren Arterius will be hereby stripped of his Spectre status, and all efforts will be made to bring him in so that he might answer for his crimes." I suppressed my irrational misgivings behind a shield of turian stoicism.

"I recognize that other voice," Tevos added, "the one speaking with Saren. Matriarch Benezia." She looked pained as I glanced over to her. Probably an acquaintance, then.

As I looked back over, I saw Shepard frown. "Who's she?"

"An influential political and spiritual guide in the Republics," Tevos answered. "She's a powerful biotic, and has many followers. A powerful ally, if she's with Saren."

"I'm more interested in these 'Reapers,'" I interjected. "What do you know about them?"

Captain Anderson was the one to answer this time. "Nothing more than was extracted from the geth memory core. Apparently, they were an ancient machine race which killed off the Protheans, and then vanished." Leaving no evidence of their xenocide, or even their existence. I knew it was true, but it sounded too outlandish to be real.

"The geth believe the Reapers are gods, and that Saren is the prophet of their return," Shepard added. "The Conduit seems to be the key to their return, whatever it is," she continued, "or at least that's what Saren believes, and that's bad enough."

Valern spoke up again. "Saren wants to bring back the machines which wiped out the dominant race in the galaxy fifty thousand years ago? Impossible." There was a note of contempt in his voice. "Listen to what you're saying. Where did the Reapers go, and how did they vanish? Why have we never found evidence of their existence?"

"I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to face the truth," Shepard shot back defiantly. Certainly she was a stubborn one. "Don't make the same mistake again." And there the argument falls apart.

"This is different," Tevos said flatly. "You proved Saren was a traitor, and that he's using the geth to find the Conduit, but we don't know why."

"The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander," Valern dismissed. "A convenient lie that he's using to bend the geth to his will."

I held my tongue.

"The geth are logical machines, not a group that can be easily deceived," Shepard argued. "How would Saren 'bend them to his will?'" She actually used air quotes. "If the geth are working for Saren to find the Conduit for the purpose of bringing back the Reapers, there must be at least some truth to it." A good point, finally. "We have to assume that the Reapers are in fact real and that Saren finding the Conduit would in fact lead to their return."

"Perhaps," Tevos said coolly - and that was a dismissal, there was no doubt about it. "Saren is, however, a rogue agent. He no longer has access to the resources or privileges of a Spectre, and he is on the run."

"That's not good enough!" Udina was flushed, and his voice had risen to a shout. "You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse, so send your fleet in!"

"A fleet cannot track down one man," Valern replied. Not exactly true, but it would be a gross waste of resources.

Udina changed tactics. "A fleet could secure the entire region, and keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies!" I wondered idly if the ambassador realized how little the Council actually commanded in terms of military manpower and materiel.

"More likely, it would inflame tensions with the batarians and others in the Terminus, again," I returned bluntly, and I saw Shepard twitch. Right, she was a veteran of the Traverse conflict. "Such an expenditure of force could very well trigger a galactic-scale conflict, which is exactly what we don't need with the geth reemerging. Which is ignoring that the Council does not have the resources to spare on protecting everyone, which is why we expect that all races be able to make provisions for their own defence."

"Every time humanity asks for help, you ignore us!" Udina evidently didn't understand. "I'm sick of this Council and their anti-human bull-"

"Ambassador," Tevos cut him off smoothly. "There is another solution - a way to stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies."

"A Spectre," Valern finished the thought, glancing over to Tevos. "Even without proper vetting, you're certain that the humans are ready for the responsibility?" As Tevos and Valern were distracted for that moment, and Udina as well, I saw Shepard move to speak. I shook my head very slightly and lifted a hand in a 'stop' motion. Evidently the little human woman saw, because she wisely kept quiet.

The other Councillors looked at me after a moment, and I nodded back decisively and firmly. The console in front of me blinked to life with a simple 'yes/no' option, and I tabbed the affirmative option without hesitation. The indicators at the top of the holographic screen indicated after a moment that Tevos and Valern had voted likewise.

Shepard would do well in the Spectres, from what I'd seen.

Tevos straightened. "Commander Shepard, step forward," the asari instructed. The little human did so and stood to attention, and Anderson and Udina backed up in turn. From the side galleries, I could see people leaning in to watch.

"It is the decision of the Council," my fellow Councillor continued, reciting the words we all knew by heart, "that you be granted all of the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."

Valern picked up the oath from there. "Spectres are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle, whose actions elevate them above the mere rank and file."

Back to Tevos. "Spectres are an ideal, a symbol; the embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."

Lastly, my part. "Spectres bear a great burden. They are the protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defence. The safety and security of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."

"You are the first human Spectre, Commander Shepard," Tevos said. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."

Shepard saluted crisply - I approved. "I'm honoured, Councillors."

"We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren," Valern said, not wasting time. "You are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."

Shepard nodded, and asked: "Any idea where he might be?"

"We will forward all relevant files to you," I answered.

"This Council meeting is now adjourned," Tevos declared, and with that she and Valern turned and left. I followed after them, but instead of taking the route back to my office I strode out into the Tower's common area to catch Shepard as she left.

I saw the new Spectre speaking with Captain Anderson and Ambassador Udina before both left for the elevators. Arrayed behind her were a pair of armoured humans, a turian in C-Sec livery, a hulking krogan in red and a quarian female with purple wrappings.

"Spectre Shepard," I called out after the Captain and Ambassador were gone and as she conferred with her slightly motley group. Shepard turned, seeming only slightly surprised.

"Councillor." She crossed her arms over her chest, looking up at me expectantly.