Chapter 7
Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel Station, Council Chambers - 06.04.2183
Harry and his very recently founded entourage piled into the elevator leading to the Council chambers. He took the opportunity to double check the visual he was going to be sending out when he showed up.
Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, a Quarian he met less than three hours before, was visibly nervous and attempting to maintain her calm. Given that she was going to be one of maybe ten of her species to have appeared in person before the Council in the last three hundred years, and that she was doing so alongside a Krogan that scared her enviro suit's reclamation into overdrive, and that she was follwoing a human that would have either been institutionalized or made Captain in the Flotilla, she felt she was doing pretty well. Pretty well still meant a Hanar could effectively interpret her body language as screaming 'DEAR GOD WHAT DID I DO TO GET HERE!', but to her credit, she was still going strong.
Harry was certainly impressed.
Garrus Vakarian, a Turian that Harry felt knew a lot more about him than he was comfortable with, seemed oddly at ease. Something about the entire sequence of events that led to where they were seemed to tickle the tin-plated bird-man, and given that the Krogan in the room had let him be the one to put his back to the wall in the elevator, he was doing just fine and dandy. Can Turians do that whole 'happily idle whistling' thing?
Harry resolved to ask later.
Urdnot Wrex, the well over five hundred year old, only-mostly-defunct, leader of clan Urdnot was actually smiling. The invitation to come and meet the council had actually been the only thing that got him out of C-Sec without violence. His inability to promise not to introduce this 'Fist' character to the business end of his shotgun hadn't been persuading the cops to let him go.
Overall, the crew he had with him was probably going to raise all kinds of questions, and it was definitely going to raise some red flags with diplomatic security. If Harry was lucky, these wonderful bastards would make Anderson and Udina second guess every decision that led them to him.
He found a really nice homestead on a backwater colony called Freedom's Progress, centered around a beautiful little knoll that would be perfect to anchor a ward stone to. God willing, this time next week he could be there and planting traditional colonial foliage. You know, beets, lettuce, potatoes, and cannabis.
/-/
When they actually got in front of the Council, the hearing was already underway. Udina and the Turian named Palin both seemed to be stalling until Harry and Garrus arrived with their evidence.
Anderson, Shepard, and Williams all stood back and to the side, looking for the entire world like a bunch of bored security agents. Harry and his crew's appearance made a small trill of something that looked a lot like fear pass through the trio, but even if he was trying to get fired, he was definitely still on their side. The idea that they would be afraid of him and what he was about to do was ridiculous. Totally ridiculous.
Harry contemplated buying his new farm right there.
Palin and Udina reintroduced Harry and Garrus, prompting the Turian to share the bulk of the evidence first.
The blue faced Turian concretely linked Saren across several fake identities to controlling interests in the galactic-level corporation Binary Helix, and to significant investments in a number of other colonial corps. Of particular note was a private bio-lab held by Binary Helix on Noveria, his declassified transit records showed an anomalous number of personal visits to the lab over the last five years. For that matter they also showed an anomalous number of site visits to another similar facility out on the rim world Virmire, which appeared to be held entirely outside of corporate control.
Tali was introduced, and after she spent a few minutes establishing her expertise and various certifications in galactic standard electronics, shared the evidence she had found, linking Saren to Matriarch Benezia. Garrus showed tax papers and declassified mission reports linking Benezia through her followers to suspected Geth locations in the Skyllian Verge, and to the company of the late Mr. Arterius.
It was all quite impressive, left little to chance, and adequately explained a number of avenues that could be used to determine how much damage the council's top Spectre had truly done in selling out the sentients of the galaxy to pissed off artificial intelligences and a group called the Reapers...
...which was why Harry didn't pay attention to a single second of it.
He had found something more interesting to poke at.
Councilor Sparatus seemed genuinely angry about Saren, and frequently interjected and asked questions.
Councilor Valern nodded his head frequently, and forwarded corroborating information to his fellows when the question of Benezia's connection to Saren was raised.
Those made sense.
What didn't make sense was that since entering the room councilor Tevos made and instantly broke eye contact with Wrex twenty-two separate times. When they entered she had said one word in greeting to Harry and Garrus, before noticing Wrex and looking like she had swallowed a live animal.
Wrex, on the other hand, wore a smile so wide he looked like an ad for a rough-and-tumble Asari dentist, and had been staring straight at Tevos since that 'Hello' came across.
Harry smelled adventure.
The opening he was looking for had the courtesy to arrive just two minutes later, when Sparatus finally completely bought into the evidence, "I... We... have little choice but to accept how far Saren fell before his death, and how far his corruption has spread into other galactic political concerns. At our last meeting we formally began this investigation into his activities, but now I put forward that we must actively pursue all leads into the threats posed by this 'Conduit' and these 'Reapers'. Saren Arterius was never known for making poor decisions, so as we now see he has indeed been plotting against galactic stability, we must work to counter these interests he advanced. Anything less could be a potentially fatal mistake."
He, Valern, and Tevos seemed to hold a quick and silent vote, confirming Sparatus' proposal.
The Turian spoke again, "We must commend the actions of Harry Potter and the Human Systems Alliance for bringing all of this to light."
Pay dirt. Harry's smile looked almost as predatory as Wrex's.
"I can't take all of the credit, and indeed even the Alliance can't take all credit. Without my friends here, Garrus Vakarian, Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, and indeed," this was his stab in the dark, "My old friend Urdnot Wrex here," Tevos betrayed over a century of political experience at the top by visibly cringing at the words, "The extent of Saren's action would never have been fully revealed."
Wrex looked at Harry with a significantly greater amount of respect in his eyes as he stepped forward, "No, no, no! Don't let Harry be modest here, in over seven hundred years I've fought Asari commandos, and hell, even Matriarchs that couldn't have done as much."
At this, all of the Systems Alliance personnel were confused. No one had any idea how Harry, whose boots had never before left a human controlled world, was old friends with a Krogan without any of their agents knowing. And of all Krogan, this one?
Garrus and Tali were also focused along those lines, each of them was fairly certain Harry had only met Wrex an hour ago.
Both of these groups were, of course, confused for the wrong reason.
What the on looking politicians, and two out of three councilors, were confused by was how fifteen words could hit an Asari matriarch harder than ten decades worth of political infighting combined.
Where she stood Tevos was shaking, just oh-so-slightly. If her species had sweat glands, she would be a half step away from a full onset flop sweat.
"Councilor Tevos! I almost didn't notice you there! It is Tevos T'Hazi right? Did you know I met your mother once, years ago, and she told me if I was to ever meet you I should extend her regards?"
The councilor stiffened before biting off in an icy tone, "I have no idea what you're talking about, and would refer any further statements or inquiries to the active C-Sec case files regarding the deaths of my sisters."
The room fell silent in a way that Harry's story from earlier in the day just couldn't quite match, and the blue skinned councilor nearly tripped as she walked away into an anteroom off the Councilor's dais.
Harry smiled widely, and with a disturbingly practiced gesture, authorized the purchase of a few hundred-dozen hectares of land on an obscure human colony. Thank god Asari politics were just as bitchy and murder-y as old Earth sexists dreamed they would be.
Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel station, Closed council chambers - 06.04.2183
"I don't like it."
Sparatus hurriedly coughed in order to suppress a laugh. Even Valern, with his uncharacteristically (for a Salarian) even disposition, seemed to be suppressing giggles.
Tevos narrowed her eyes at her colleagues. The lack of personal support was entirely in line with who and what they were, the Citadel Council was, at best, a poorly disguised attempt to justify the economic concerns of the Big Three races as galaxy-wide issues. That didn't make the two people she had worked with for the last ten years laughing at her sting any less though.
With malice she shot back at the Turian, "Shut it, need I remind you of his knowledge of the Temple of Palaven?"
Sparatus managed to stop his poorly suppressed laughing and sobered very quickly, "We all have things we'd like to keep hidden."
Valern added his two credits with, "I don't," causing his fellows to begin laughing outright.
Tevos broke off her chuckling first, "Just because your people don't politic in the same way as ours hardly means you have nothing to hide. Kindly recall that the STG is far from the only intelligence agency in the galaxy."
A flanged voice brought up one of the group's concerns with the choice before them, "If he is actually friendly with Urdnot Wrex of all people, we may end up confronting the Krogan issue decades before our projections."
Each of the three Councilors took a moment to consider the situation.
Harry James Potter.
In his first full day off sovereign Human ground, and he made contact with a former Spectre candidate, the daughter of a Quarian Admiral, and a Krogan battlemaster who personally dated back to the end of the Rebellion.
He idly brought up the Temple of Palaven in open conversation, he brought the Krogan who killed Tevos' sisters (at her order), and his personal intervention was all that had stopped their former top agent from acquiring something he had thought of as being significant to his sedition.
Potter had a whole lot of that 'impartial force for good' thing going. His record, both supplied by the Alliance and dug up by the STG, confirmed significant mental illness as a likely result of PTSD as well as a hero complex confirmed through his actions both in and before the twenty-second century.
Worst case scenario, he turns out to just be a halfway decent Spectre.
If he turns out good, the Council made a good decision, they effectively replaced a bad asset, and pay rises all around. If he turns out bad, Humanity loses face, and discrete pay rises from individual governments all around.
Harry James Potter becoming a Spectre looked to be a win-win, especially given that the average life expectancy of a new Spectre was best measured in galactic-standard months. Half the reason Saren had been top dog was purely due to the fact that he survived forty years of ops before evidently turning on his masters. They gave a pretty speech about Spectres being born and not trained, but the reality of the galaxy was that the agents that could actually survive mercs, the Shadow Broker, and fear of being turned into double agents by their home governments were few and far between.
Potter and his knowledge were temporary threats at best. Really they might as well give him the position. It was the least they could do for a guy who was practically on his death bed already.
Serpent Nebula, Widow System, Citadel station, Elevator to council chambers - 06.05.2183
"NO."
"Yes."
"NO."
"Yes."
"NO."
"Yes! No. No. Wait. I'm not doing this. Anderson?"
Shepard turned to the wall and placed her forehead against it. The plas-steel was chilled, and having spent thirty minutes with Potter she already had a headache. Anderson stood forward from where he had been watching Harry and Jane, clearing the grin from his face.
"Why are you even here, we told you why we were bringing you-"
"BECAUSE I DIDN'T THINK YOU IDIOTS WERE ACTUALLY GOING TO FOLLOW THROUGH! Yesterday I brought the Krogan that killed the Asari councilor's family with me to the Council chambers, and last night I helped him assault a strip club in the lower wards to kill an idiot that called himself Fist! Why in the hell are you still hiring me! Is everyone here stupid!?"
Tali bumped Garrus' shoulder from where they stood at the back of the elevator. He turned to her visor and caught the twin rising eyebrows and the wide smile. He answered with his own smile and shoved her shoulder back. Wrex was just lost in thought with a smile on his face, probably fantasizing about all the murders, or rather 'legal exercises of self-defence' during the execution of his 'legal authority as a licensed bounty hunter'. Williams was quietly trying to talk Udina down from slamming his head into the elevator wall.
Harry continued to be a problem, "I would have never come if I didn't think you guys would wise up, I don't want to do this!"
Anderson put his arm around Harry's shoulders, "Well, look. No one is happy. BUT, on the other hand, it's too late so just deal with it," he said, patting Harry soothingly.
Harry's shoulders fell, "The last time I agreed to take responsibility for something from you bastards, my whole unit died to an alien life-form we'd never seen before," and as if to himself, "The time before that I lost a whole planet."
"I don't want to do this again."
For a moment the only sounds in the elevator were the low hum of the mass effect drivers, and the creak of armor-shifting. From the back, Wrex's baritone broke in, "Grow a quad, Punk."
Harry sighed deeply.
"Yeah, thanks Wrex."
/-/
"-both our first and last line of defense, the safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."
"You are the first Human Spectre, Mr. Potter, this is an achievement for you and your species."
Harry stood alone before the council, looking profoundly unhappy. It was a small comfort to him that at least the press were legally obligated to not cover this. His solitary form stood in front of the three alien dictators, one five foot eight inch man attempting to assert strength and authority in front of three people who stood above the known galaxy.
"On behalf of both myself and Humanity; Thanks, I guess. We appreciate that you're taking us seriously and allowing us to take this next step into responsibility as a species on the galactic stage, and..."
Harry visibly looked down at his hand where he had a cue card poorly hidden.
"...that you're giving us the chance to prove we're mature as a species, and ready..."
Harry slipped the card into a pocket at his thigh and cursed quietly as he looked at his arm. With a suck and a hiss, he broke the hermetic seal on his gauntlet, removing it and clearly displaying a bunch of small print in permanent ink across his forearm.
"Da da da... errr... Please accept these thanks on the part of the Human Systems Alliance. We wish to represent a better tomorrow for the galactic community. Please accept further humble thanks on our part so we can..."
Harry reattached his left gauntlet, leaving it hanging loose, and with another conspicuous noise, detached his right gauntlet.
"Hmm... in honor of this occasion I propose we meet quarterly at this time to keep our understanding of each other's political and social concerns current."
Harry slipped his right hand back into his gauntlet, and with two quick gestures snapped the gloves into his suit. Straightening his back, he actually made eye contact with the three beings at the focus of the hall, and for the first time since the audience began, he actually looked like a Spectre candidate.
"Look. Udina had a lot of things he wanted me to say. Humanity for that matter has a lot of things it wants me to say. That's not me, I don't do that, which I imagine is something you knew before we got involved and you swore me in, but in case you did not I'll just state it plainly, I leave politicking to you politician types."
Folding his arms across his chest, he continued, "I've dealt with loads of red tape across many governments, loads 'black ops', and way more than my fair share of tin-plated despots. I can say with authority that me and authority? It's never worked out."
Now it must be noted that, historically speaking, no Spectre candidate had ever done anything other than accept their commission quietly. Especially in front of the full Council. Sure, some had reservations, some had qualms, and some had even gone as far as having pre-existing conflicting loyalties. More than a few had done so without dignity, whether from haven been 'convinced' to join the program after an evening of enhanced interrogation, or from just crying from happiness (a disturbingly common Turian response). However, not a single one had ever valued their new position so little as to warn the council like Harry did.
"I've yet to meet a government worth respect, and I've yet to read a constitution worth the ink it was written with, if I'm being honest."
At this point politicians from every species and special interest group in Citadel space were staring at Harry.
"What I believe in is actually simple. Everyone deserves a right to assent to their future. They can be indentured, they can be drug addicts, or they can be colonists working for some corporation. As long as every sentient being is given a choice for the future they hold, you will never hear from me. I swear on the blood flowing through my veins, and upon every power I can call upon to uphold the sanctity of galactic self-determination above all else."
Their smugly-superior-group-approval period was much longer than normal. Each staring at their fellows, and exchanging glances like only colleagues of more than a decade can. Tevos was worried, and Valern didn't have nearly the amount of information he was comfortable with. Normally they knew what they were deciding on before it ever got to the public chambers, now though, they weren't so sure.
Sparatus, on the other hand, looked to his comrades and emphatically nodded yes.
Valern's eventual nod was less emphatic by orders of magnitude, but still present, which left Asari Councilor Tevos herself as the final gap between Harry James Potter and official Spectre status. The monogender hesitated to give the final approval, before she finally fell in line with her fellows.
As if any previous Spectre had ever bargained over carte blanche legal authority...
Three votes came in, three authorizations came up positive, and Harry James Potter cursed deeply and profoundly.
Harry James Potter. Spectre.
Ah, God had a new title. Fuck.
And twenty-five square miles of farmland on Freedom's Progress that he was never going to be able to develop.
Fuck.
