As Dominic Osoba, the new human Councillor, slowly regained consciousness, the first thing he noticed was that he couldn't see anything.
For a moment he panicked, wondering if he had somehow lost his eyesight in the middle of the night. The panic soon gave way to horror as he realized it was because of the blindfold around his eyes. The horror only grew as he desperately tried to move his shackled arms and legs in a futile effort to get free.
"Glad to see you're finally awake, Councillor."
A cold dread settled into the pit of his stomach at the sound of the synthesized voice, the full extent of his predicament becoming painfully clear.
Terrorists! He'd been kidnapped by terrorists!
"Who are you?" he choked out, doing his best to keep the fear out of his voice. "What do you want? What are your demands? I..."
"Calm down, Councillor," the voice said. "I don't wish to harm you. I just wanted to have a few moments of your time, that's all. But seeing how you were all so busy, I decided to take a slightly more...drastic approach."
"I demand you release us at once!" the voice of Sparatus, the turian Councillor, rang out from somewhere to Osoba's left.
Their captor merely chuckled. "Really, Sparatus? You really think you're in any position to be making demands right now?"
"No, my dear Councillors, I think it's safe to say that I'm the one with the power here; and I assure you, it's in your best interests to humor me."
"What do you want?" came the trembling voice of Tevos, the asari Councillor, from Osoba's right.
"I just wanted to clarify a few things, that's all. Especially regarding the plans you all have been making for dealing with Commander Shepard."
Osoba felt his mouth go dry. "Wh-what about Sh-Shepard? What are you...?"
"Oh please, Councillor. You know what I'm talking about. Fake medical records raising doubts over Shepard's mental state after Akuze, fabricated evidence from the STG claiming that Shepard had provoked the Reapers into attacking the galaxy by travelling through the Omega-4 relay, falsified intelligence reports claiming Shepard had arranged the attack on the Normandy SR1 and faked her own death to work for Cerberus for more than two years...and that's just the beginning of the story, isn't it?"
"What does it matter to you?" came the bold voice of Valern, the salarian Councillor, from Osoba's far left.
"That's not the question here. The question is, why is the esteemed Citadel Council working so hard to destroy the reputation of the hero who gave her life to save the galaxy from the Reapers? Why did you not wait for her body to even cool before you started tearing down everything she stood for?"
"We do not expect you to understand. There are far more important things at stake here than the reputation of a single person," Tevos said, ever the diplomat.
"Then make me understand, Tevos. We have all the time in the galaxy. Help me understand why it is necessary to tarnish the memory of the greatest hero this galaxy has ever known in the wake of the greatest war this galaxy has ever fought."
Despite his situation, Osoba felt a white hot surge of anger go through him at their captor's insistence of Shepard being a hero.
That bitch was no hero.
"We do not need to justify ourselves to the likes of you!" Sparatus spat. "We are the Council. We..."
He was cut off by the loud report of a shotgun. The impact of its round on the ceiling sent a tremor through the entire room, and Osoba nearly wet himself in fear.
"My apologies. My associates can be a little...impatient sometimes." The voice sounded amused. "Now, I believe you were going to explain something to me."
"With the Reapers gone, the galaxy is in a great state of turmoil right now," Tevos spoke. "The people are in need of their leaders to establish a semblance of order, and help return things to the status quo."
"Unfortunately, with the mass relays destroyed and FTL communications down, it falls to us, the Council, to take up the burden," Valern sounded as if he had rehearsed this speech a hundred times.
"It's easier said than done, however," Sparatus continued grudgingly. "With the bulk of the galaxy's forces trapped on Earth, and no way to reactivate the mass relays currently in sight, there is a lot of resentment piling up among the survivors."
"There are a lot of people who wish to return to their homes, tired of all the fighting and constant destruction. The quarians and krogan in particular are getting rather...uncomfortable with the prospect of being stranded on Earth for a while." Tevos seemed to have gone back to her usual calm, placating self.
"All right. Fair enough. But where does sullying Shepard's reputation come into all this?" their captor seemed curious.
"There is a lot of pent-up anger out there. A lot of rage. We thought, if we could use it to unite the people of the galaxy..." Valern trailed off, seemingly unsure of himself.
Sparatus scoffed. "What the salarian is trying to say is that we need to focus the galaxy's ire on something other than their leaders. It was hatred of the Reapers which forced the galaxy to fight together, here on Earth. If we could channel this hatred even further, we can make sure the people stay united and prevent more chaos until our scientists find a way to fix the relays."
"I see," the voice said neutrally. "And your plan was to focus the galaxy's anger on...Shepard?"
"Shepard is dead," Sparatus said bluntly. "No matter what anyone says or feels, the fact remains that the human did her duty to the galaxy and died. If vilifying her memory helps to keep the general populace in line, I fail to see the problem with that."
"I see," once again the voice was neutral. "And what about the fact that she was the one who worked to unite the galaxy against the Reapers in the first place?"
"We do not mean to belittle her accomplishments or her sacrifices in any way," Tevos spoke hurriedly, worried that they might offend their captor somehow. "But right now there are much pressing concerns. The stability of the very galaxy is at stake now. If a few sacrifices must be made for the greater good..."
"But you're not the one making those sacrifices, Councillor." There was a hint of steel behind the voice. "These sacrifices are being made by a woman who isn't even around to defend herself any more. A woman who has done more to save the galaxy in the last three years than any of you have done in your lifetimes. A woman whose exploits have made her a legend, a hero to the very people you….."
"That bitch was no hero!" The words were out of Osoba's mouth before he even had time to register them.
A deafening silence followed Osoba's pronouncement. Everyone had fallen silent and for a few moments, the only sound that could be heard was that of his loud breathing.
"What did you just say, Councillor?"
"I said," Osoba suddenly felt a lot bolder. "That bitch was no hero! She was madwoman, a lunatic who caused trouble wherever she went!"
"I've been working in the human embassy for the past five years. I've heard what she's been up to since she became a Spectre. Destroying a Prothean ruin? Unleashing the Rachni? Detonating nuclear bombs? Blowing up an entire system? Working with...with terrorists like Cerberus?"
"What kind of a hero does things like that, huh? What kind of a hero causes that level of destruction?"
"Some would argue that she did all of that to help fight the Reapers." The voice pointed out diplomatically.
"Ah yes, 'the Reapers'," Osoba mocked. "The same excuse that she used to justify every single one of her actions. Everything is forgiven if it is done in the name of 'stopping the Reapers', isn't it? Did that woman stop to think once, even once, about the political ramifications of her actions? She was supposed to be representing us on the galactic stage, for God's sake! Did she even once consider the impact her decisions would have on humanity as a whole?"
"Oh of course, how silly of me." The voice almost seemed...amused. "'Political ramifications'. Yes, yes I see your point, Councillor. How dare she not pay attention to humanity's political agenda while making decisions like that? After all, it's not like the fate of the galaxy was hanging in the balance or anything?"
"Don't you dare mock me," Osoba was outraged. "You have no idea how much trouble she's caused! You have no idea….you…you….!"
"You talk about her like she'd some kind of hero! Ha! What a joke! She's no hero! She's a monster! You want to know what a real hero is?"
"My son was a real hero! My son, who is dead because of Cerberus! My son, who is dead because of her!"
"Your son was Bilal Osoba, wasn't he?" the voice sounded thoughtful. "He died on a mission on Benning."
"He was killed by Cerberus!" Osoba spat. "He died protecting his team from Cerberus scum. The same scum who Shepard was walking around with pretending to 'save the galaxy' a year ago!"
"Do you know how many billions of people like my son died so that Shepard could fly around the galaxy playing the goddamn hero? But nobody cares do they? Now that the Reapers are gone, it's all 'Shepard this' and 'Shepard that'. Saint Shepard who could do no wrong. Nobody remembers Bilal, nobody remembers all those people who're dead because of Cerberus, people who are dead because of Shepard!"
"Commander Shepard was never with Cerberus..."
"Don't give me that crap!" Osoba was frothing at the mouth now. "She was working for those bastards! I saw it with own two eyes, walking around on the Citadel with Cerberus' symbol on her armor! That whore has always been in bed with Cerberus and don't you dare deny it!"
The silence that followed Osoba's ranting was louder than ever. But the human did not care. He'd wanted to get this off his chest for a long time.
"I see," the voice said slowly. "This isn't about political convenience anymore, is it? This is personal."
"You're damn right it is," Osoba growled. He hated Shepard with a passion and he was not going to apologize for it; and now that that bitch was dead, he was going to ruin her. When Dominic Osoba was done with her, everyone in the galaxy would know what Commander Shepard really was!
To his surprise, their captor merely chuckled. "For all your professed love for your son, you seem to have conveniently forgotten that it was Shepard who helped retrieve your son's dog tags."
Osoba grimaced. He really didn't want to be reminded of that!
"What about the rest of you, Councillors? What grievances did you have against Shepard?"
"Plenty," Valern growled. "As the human said, Shepard was insane. Curing the genophage? Sparing the Rachni? Making peace with the geth? She has doomed this galaxy to a fate far worse than the Reapers. I'd be surprised if war doesn't break out again over the next century or so."
"And yet, had it not been for the krogan, the rachni and the geth, we would all have been annihilated by the Reapers by now." Their captor reminded them coolly. "Those three species helped turn the tide in our favor. Their sheer numbers and power helped us take back a great deal of territory from Reaper control, as well as contributed tremendously in completing the Crucible."
"Those were not her decisions to make," Sparatus snapped. "She should have consulted us first. I may have given her the idea of bypassing the Council and appealing directly to the heads of the governments, but I never intended her to chair the War summit by herself. She had no authority to make those decisions on behalf of the entire galaxy. We are the Council. It is our right..."
"This coming from someone who openly mocked her when she warned you about the Reapers two years ago? Who chose to take a backseat and let her do all the work?" Their captor seemed almost amused. "You know, for someone claiming to owe Shepard a personal debt of honor, you're rather hung up on your ego, Councillor."
"What about you, Tevos? I'd have thought, out of everyone, you would have at least been on Shepard's side. What did she ever do to offend you, of all people?"
The asari Councillor was silent for a while. Then she spoke, "Do you have any idea how many asari died to help Shepard get to the Temple of Athame? My own daughter was among them. All those sacrifices were for nothing! She simply stood back and let Cerberus get away with that data! All that information, all that knowledge in the hands of those...those monsters and she..."
"Had you trusted Shepard from the very beginning, Tevos, things would never have come to that. Did it ever occur to you, Councillor, that out of everyone in this room, you were the one who could have helped Shepard prove the existence of the Reapers years ago? You could have helped her prepare, you could have helped the entire galaxy prepare for this invasion years ago! Instead, you chose to sit back and do nothing, all because you wanted to hoard prothean knowledge for yourselves."
"I did what anyone in my place would have done!" Tevos cried. "The asari couldn't allow such an advantage to slip through their grasp. The stakes were simply too high! We would have lost everyone's respect. We..."
"And yet, thanks to you, the only thing that was lost were billions of lives, including that of your own daughter. Congratulations, Councillor. How does it feel knowing that your daughter died an extremely horrific death at the hands of the Reapers because the asari wanted to maintain their reputation for superiority?"
Tevos was struck dumb. For the first time in her life, she had nothing to say.
"You all disgust me," the sheer contempt in the voice was unmistakeable. "Your collective incompetence and inaction has caused the deaths of billions, and yet you blame all this on Shepard? The human who did your jobs for you, the woman who went through hell fighting the Reapers, sacrificing everything: her career, her reputation, her friends, even her life for the greater good, and this is what you really think of her? Blaming her for your mistakes? Passing judgement on her because she made the hard decisions you were too scared to make?"
"Three of you owe Shepard your lives twice over, and yet you didn't even wait a few days until after her death to spit on everything she stood for!"
Silence once again. This time it was Sparatus broke it.
"What do you intend to do with us?" There was an undercurrent of fear in his voice.
"I am about to grant you your greatest desire, Councillors," their captor's voice had a predatory quality to it.
Slowly, the blindfolds were taken off the captives. The four Councillors blinked owlishly in the darkness, trying their best to take in their surroundings.
They seemed to be in a warehouse of some sort. Before the Councillors stood three figures, two on opposite ends near the walls. They seemed to be the guards. The person speaking to them stood in the center, but was so well hidden by the darkness that they couldn't make out anything about him.
"You wanted to reunite this galaxy through hatred. You're about to get your wish."
"Tomorrow morning, a rescue team will find your corpses in a shuttle on one of the ruined wings of the Citadel, surrounded by your personal bodyguards. Investigations will conclude that when the Reapers moved to attack the citadel, instead of guiding the people like you were supposed to, you ran away, leaving thousands behind to be slaughtered by the Reaper forces. Unfortunately, your shuttle crashed and your personal bodyguards were forced to make their last stand defending you from endless waves of husks. Not wanting to be torn apart by the Reapers, the four of you took the easy way out by putting a bullet in your heads."
The four Councillors stared at their captor in horror, but he wasn't finished yet.
"When the investigating teams go through your personal effects, they'll find evidence showing that you knew about the Reaper threat years ago. They'll find recordings of your conversations with Shepard, where she begged and pleaded with you to prepare for the invasion, and you derided her and called her sanity into question. They'll also find evidence of the smear campaign you planned to use against Shepard as a contingency plan."
"In the days to come, the majority of the galaxy will come to know you all as the cowards who stood back and let the Reapers ravage our homes. Your names will be struck from the records of the Citadel, you will become the ultimate symbol of incompetence and betrayal to your people. Your families will be disgraced, all your accomplishments will be for naught, and in the years to come, when people speak of this war, you will be remembered as the fools who nearly destroyed the galaxy because of your refusal to see reason."
"And you know what the best part is? Like Shepard, you won't be able to do anything about it, because you won't be here to defend yourselves!"
"The precious status quo that you fought so hard to protect will never return. The galaxy itself will be changed irrevocably. United in their hatred for the Council and everything that it stood for, all the surviving races will band together to form a new government, one where everyone who fought against the Reapers will be able to contribute equally. The fate of the galaxy as a whole will no longer be decided by representatives of just four races!"
Osoba felt his entire world collapse around him. He looked around him to see Sparatus staring forward, mandibles flared in shock; Valern looked like his eyes were going to pop out and Tevos was shaking uncontrollably, the biotic inhibitors on her arms glinting in the dim light.
Their mysterious captor turned around to walk away and Osoba caught the glint of a blue visor. "Wait," he called out. "Wh-who are you?"
The figure stopped and turned around to regard him slowly.
"Just think of me as an Archangel, delivering you from your sins. Goodbye, Councillors."
He walked out of the building and Osoba dimly noted two figures, a human and a krogan, slowly advance on them, readying their pistols.
AN: If there's one fanfiction plot that's always annoyed me, its the one where the Council openly accepts their mistakes to Shepard, who then goes back to work for them as if nothing had happened.
History is written by the winners. The aftermath of war, any war, is less of celebration and more of people fighting over who gets to take the most credit. Lies and cover-ups are all part of the game. With a war fought on such a large scale against the Reapers, its to be expected that there'll be quite a lot of problems to deal with before we get to see the happy ending we've witnessed in the game.
I've also found the Council's lack of role in the events of ME3 rather discomforting. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch to imagine a bunch of wily politicians come up with something like this.
Also, bonus points to anyone who can figure out who the human and the krogan are before I post the final chapter :)