Prologue: Pawns and their Governments
"Well, what about Shepherd? She grew up in the colonies." Ambasador Udina's nasal voice made it clear what growing up in the colonies meant to him. One or two senior faces around the polished oak table nodded knowingly, as if to dismiss the military's favoured candidate.
They were on earth, in Vancouver, sitting in a secure conference room in the central government complex for the humans' "Systems Alliance". Five soldiers had been on the watch list for the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance division of the Galactic Citadel Council, the Spectres for short. So far not one of the people on the list had inspired so much as a single question from the armed Turian in the room. He was a Spectre himself, called Nihlus, here to once again appease the Alliance by seeing if any humans were worth the Council's attention.
Commander Shepherd was the military's second recommendation, but her kind of fame was not in her favour with Udina. Whereas a couple of the other candidates had eagerly and expertly played to the press and worked for public relations, Commander Shepherd's efforts in that direction were minimalistic at best.
Captain Anderson, one of three military figures present, and a candidate himself once upon a time, glanced at his superior, Admiral Hackett. The Admiral's favourite had already been dismissed for lack of experience. Admiral Hackett had his doubts about Shepherd. Even so, he gave the nod.
"Exactly," Captain Anderson said to Udina. "She knows how tough life can be out there. Her parents were killed when slavers attacked Mindoir."
"She saw her whole unit die on Akuze," added Hackett. "She could have some serious emotional scars." He and Anderson exchanged a glance. That had been their agreed line, a set up.
Captain Anderson went on and said, "Every soldier has scars. Shepherd's a survivor."
Udina obligingly waded right into their trap, and asked, "Is that the kind of person we want protecting the galaxy?"
Anderson waved at the data pad that Nihlus was reading and replied, "That's the only kind of person who can protect the galaxy."
Much as Udina and his colleagues wanted a diplomat, none of their preferred candidates could hold a candle to Shepherd on the battlefield. The dossier summary Nihlus was reading told that story, as did the intel report he'd read before arriving in Vancouver. Nothing fancy, just time and again getting near impossible jobs done. There were many notes in the file about Shepherd's habit of taking initiative, sometimes ignoring orders because she had a better idea, or even switching targets completely mid-operation. Her various commanders had loved her and hated her for it, but all of them acknowledged how effective she was.
There was a file here not on the Council's intel report, and he read with interest. "During operations in the fringes of the Traverse, Commander Shepherd boarded the MSV Segovia and neutralised the hostile crew. The MSV Segovia then immediately went to FTL. Commander Shepherd had identified reference to a slave ship which the MSV Segovia had been en route to attack. A recall order was sent to the MSV Segovia, which is absent from that ship's logs, although all equipment is functioning normally.
Acting without orders, Commander Shepherd liberated the batarian slaves, and sent them in shuttles to hide in the asteroid belt. Commander Shepherd's unit remained on the slaver, and sent a distress call to its owners through the relay network. Five days later, an obsolete turian built destroyer moored to the slaver and attempted to board. After two hours, Commander Shepherd reported the crew of the destroyer captured, and requested pick up. The destroyer is en route to Arcturus for salvage, and the prisoners will be interrogated to determine the identities of their employers.
Commander Shepherd has been officially reprimanded for stealing a vessel under Alliance command, for ignoring a direct order to stand down, and for employing unsanctioned military force. I hereby submit Commander Shepherd for courts martial on the charges above."
There was a footnote by Admiral Hackett, saying, "Commander Shepherd has been deemed to have acted within the bounds of her standing orders to defend the Alliance and her allies. The intel she had did not identify the species of the slaves, and only contained data for a short section of the slave ship's flight plan. On these grounds, it is judged that Shepherd's actions were the best actions possible to prevent possible crimes against humanity. Courts martial is dismissed."
Nihlus raised an eye plate. One fact stood out. Shepherd had liberated batarian slaves. She had rushed to action on behalf of people whose species was unknown to her, and having discovered they were batarians she had not enacted vengeance for their crimes against humanity. This was the one piece missing from Shepherd's candidacy.
Nihlus gave the nod he had not had cause to give any of the times he had sat through this meeting over the last fifteen years.
Resigned, Ambassador Udina drummed his fingers on the table and said, "I'll make the call."
A representative from one of the governments of Earth, not so easily rejected, said, "Surely there are more suitable candidates? Insubordination, minimal commitment to the Alliance government, and red flags on her psych profile that say she could break if she goes through another Akuze? With respect Spectre, I hope you didn't choose her to fail."
Nihlus's face plates shifted, somehow conveying disgust. "Commander Shepherd seems to have some of the qualities we are looking for. There are no guarantees. She must be evaluated first hand. If I recommend her to the Council, they may still reject her." He looked piercingly at Udina and added, "They may be less likely to accept if they think she is another one of your political games."
"Very well," Udina replied, before his colleague could jeopardise the only chance humanity had. "It's your decision. She will have the full support of the Alliance."
