Chapter 7: Interregnum

"Are you sure this intel is accurate?" questioned Anderson worriedly.

"Yes." replied Pluribus immediately. "While the data stores you forwarded us for decryption and analysis aren't explicit, the information available leads to no other plausible explanation."

"So the reason the Hegemony is full of indoctrinated Batarians is because they discovered a dead Reaper?" asked Tevos. She shook her head in frustration. "Goddess, this explains so much. The Batarians have been getting more and more withdrawn since first contact with the Alliance. At first we thought it was simply due to the way the Alliance integrated itself into the galactic hierarchy, but if this is true, we have the Reapers to blame."

"The situation gets worse." stated Raan softly, casting a glance at the Turian Councilor.

"How?" asked Valern tersely. "Is there some other species with widespread indoctrination among its populace? Besides the heretic Geth, I mean."

In response, Sparatus let out a pained groan. "Spirits… I've been looking back at Saren's mission reports trying to figure out where he was exposed to indoctrination, and this answers that question. He was on a fact-finding mission to Khar'shan four years ago, and the indoctrination probably began then."

"Four years!" exclaimed Tevos. "One of our Spectres was compromised for that long?"

"Saren was probably not completely compromised on his initial visit." reasoned Anderson. "Unfortunately, he may have returned at some point or points in the future, meaning his indoctrination got worse as time wore on. His free will was probably gone long before he ever found Sovereign or made contact with the heretic Geth."

"We have far more immediate concerns, Anderson Councilor." interrupted Pluribus. "While it is unlikely the Batarians were able to replicate the EM field that causes indoctrination, we theorize the indoctrinated leaders of the Hegemony may have been rotating troops and possibly civilians through locations on Khar'shan in an attempt to spread the indoctrination to as many individuals as possible. This makes it highly likely that everyone in the Batarian military is indoctrinated to one degree or another, or close enough that it makes no difference. Fortunately, the autocratic and repressive government of the Hegemony also makes it likely that travel to Khar'shan was difficult if not impossible for the majority of the Batarian civilian population."

"So to put things simply," added Raan, "most of their military is probably too far gone to help, but the civilian population should be relatively untouched?"

Pluribus nodded. "Correct, Creator Shala'Raan. After the invasion begins, we suggest cordoning off the planet until the remainder of the Hegemony has fallen in its entirety. It is unlikely that anyone who has spent a prolonged period of time near the Old Machine can be freed of indoctrination, regardless of the methods used to treat the condition."

"What would you suggest we do with them then?" asked Anderson slowly. "We can't just leave them there under guard indefinitely."

"We concur, Anderson Councilor." said Pluribus with a nod. "We recommend sweeping the planet to determine relative levels of indoctrination in various areas, and acting accordingly based on that. It is possible that only the immediate area around the Old Machine will be heavily affected."

"And if it's the entire planet?" asked Anderson cautiously.

"In that case, we recommend sterilization of the areas most affected via kinetic bombardment."

The five Councilors looked at the synthetic totally aghast. "Are you mad!" demanded Valern angrily. "Not only is the destruction of a garden world in that manner a gross and unthinkable violation of the Citadel Accords, it would require this Council to sanction the mass murder of potentially five billion people and the total destruction of a species' home world!"

"With respect, Valern Councilor, they are better off dead than irrevocably indoctrinated." stated Pluribus bluntly. As the Council paused to consider his words, he continued. "Even if you were to quarantine the planet, when the Old Machines arrive, you would be unable to hold it. Delaying in this matter would only allow the Old Machines access to billions of willing servants, while putting a drain on this Coalition's resources. Simply put, you have no other acceptable choice."

"Other acceptable choice?!" snapped Tevos. "How could you possibly consider… that to be an acceptable choice!? We need to at least try to save those we can!"

"At what cost?" retorted Sparatus grimly. Tevos and Valern snapped their heads around to look at him, but Anderson and Raan nodded. "We're at war. Scouring the planet like that will cost lives, resources, and time we may not have. We can use Geth scouts to scan small groups to get an idea of the bigger picture, but if it comes down to it, we need to be ready for the worst. The Council permitted orbital bombardment during the Rachni Wars and the Krogan Rebellions. Even if the planet in question is a home world, this is a necessary – and acceptable – loss."

Tevos shook her head in resignation. "Goddess, must we become as bad as the monsters we fight?"

None of the others had an answer.

"I've got a bad feeling about this."

In response, Hannah began massaging the tense muscles in Sparatus' shoulders, and pulled him against her chest. "I know how you feel." she murmured.

"Oh? When did you condemn five billion people to death?" he replied snidely.

Hannah rapped him gently on the head. "I was the one that convince Ryan to parole Yuri to help John. If that idea had gone sideways, billions of dead would be the least of our worries."

Sparatus sighed, but nodded and relaxed back into Hannah's body. "Still… after the news of Desolas broke, people started calling him The Butcher. What will they call me? Us?"

Hannah began nibbling on a sensitive spot on his neck as she answered. "The point is they'll be alive to call you something. Compared to the alternative, what does what they call you matter?"

"Something like this could destroy my entire clan." he protested.

Hannah rolled her eyes slightly at his mood, but responded with what he needed to hear. "In decades or centuries from now, when our great-great grandchildren look back at what we did, I think they'll understand our decisions, and recognize we were only doing what was necessary during a time of great adversity. For now, the best thing you can do is to accept responsibility for your actions, and trust that we'll get through this together."

Sparatus chuckled slightly. "Together… I still find it strange, hearing that from you."

"Oh? You don't enjoy it?"

"I didn't say that; quite the opposite, in fact."

"Then let's make it official." stated Hannah boldly.

Sparatus froze in a mixture between shock and trepidation. "Official?" he wheezed. "How official?"

Hannah giggled slightly. "Don't play dumb. It doesn't suit you."

He seemed to hesitate. "I was under the impression that among Humans, males were traditionally the ones to propose."

Hannah shrugged slightly. "I was never one for tradition. And stop dodging the question." When he continued to hesitate, she deflated. "I understand. It was-"

She cut off as he rounded and pounced on her. "Yes." he growled.

There was no more talking for quite some time after that.

"All ships, this is Zorah. Assume attack formation and standby."

Despite his nervousness, Rael maintained a calm façade as he led his prong of the Alliance, Quarian, and Geth attack on the Hegemony. While Hackett was commanding the main spearhead of the initial engagement and was cutting a path to Khar'shan, the Quarian Admiral was bringing up the rear and protecting his Human counterpart and friend from being ambushed from behind… which was incidentally exactly what was about to happen until Rael arrived at his present location. The Batarians had been caught off guard by the vicious initial assault, and with their communications crippled, they'd been slow to regroup for a counterattack, but eventually they had. Now, Alliance FleetCom had entrusted him with guarding the forward assault group with a much larger – if somewhat less concentrated – force.

"Admiral, we're receiving a transmission from one of the Batarian ships." informed his coms officer, a Human in this case. "I think it's your counterpart."

"Let's hear what he has to say." said Rael.

A moment later, an image of an extremely irate Batarian in a ceremonial uniform appeared. "Suit rat!" sneered the Batarian. "How dare you attack us? The Hegemony will eradicate your worthless kind for this insult!"

Rael shook his head sadly. "The Council sanctioned this invasion based on evidence of indoc-"

"The Council has no authority here!" interrupted the Batarian angrily. "After I'm finished with you, they're next!"

Rael rolled his eyes. "Are you blind? We outnumber your forces three-to-one, and we have technological superiority, you're only condemn-"

The Batarian cut him off again. "We'll see who's superior when I drag your family off in chains!" he barked. "All ships, fire at will!"

When the transmission ended, Rael's pilot, who his daughter had recommended and called Joker, began laughing. When he saw Rael's inquisitive look, he explained. "It's a Human thing. That guy was acting like a classical impotent supervillain. The only thing missing was the mustache twirling and evil cackle."

"You find this amusing?" growled Rael threateningly. "Thousands of men and women will die in the next few hours, some of them likely to be people you know."

Joker's face fell. "Sorry." he muttered. "Just trying to keep up morale. Sheesh.

"Rael growled again, but didn't respond, choosing instead to focus on the battle. He opened a line to the entire force and began relaying orders. "Disco teams one and two, attack the port and starboard flanks of the Batarian fleet. Disco teams three and four, attack dorsal and ventral. I want destroyers and Knives out in front, with cruisers and dreadnaughts in the rear for long range support. Midway and Elizabeth, deploy ZIGS and keep them boxed in."

Rael had seen recordings and after action reports from the assault on the heretic Geth, and this reminded him of that battle in miniature. Unlike the Geth, however, the Batarian forces lacked the coordination to manage their numbers effectively, and even indoctrinated, their commanders and crews were still susceptible to psychological warfare. When they found themselves being torn to shreds by the invisible Silent Knives and pounded from every direction at once by the Disco teams, their resolve faltered, and they began to break. Once the first cracks appeared, the Alliance forces pounced on the disorganized Batarian fleet mercilessly, and in a little less than an hour, four hundred enemy ships were dead or dying, with less than a tenth that many losses in Rael's forces.

"Begin scouring the wreckage for survivors, and signal the Turians to send in transports." ordered the Quarian admiral. "I want any prisoners recovered scanned for indoctrination and restrained if they exhibit violent behavior. We might not be able to help everyone, but we have to try."

"Everything's going to plan, for once."

"Good to hear, Steven." replied Anderson's hologram. "We've just received word from Admiral Zorah: the bulk of the Batarian response force has been dealt with, and the Turians are moving in to cover the sectors we've already secured. How are things on your end?"

Hackett grinned slightly. "We've got Khar'shan completely blockaded, and we managed to capture most of the Batarian High Command when they tried to run for it. As we suspected, they're all hopelessly indoctrinated, well beyond anything the Rachni are able to fix."

"What about the civvies on the surface?"

Hackett sighed slightly. "We've got teams of Geth down below performing random sweeps in some of the outlying areas. We're seeing evidence of mild to moderate indoctrination, but the teams haven't been able to make much headway into the more populated areas yet. One thing we can say for certain is that there's definitely a Reaper here."

"You found it?" asked the Councilor.

"I should hope so, considering its two kilometers long." replied Hackett with a nod. "Smack dab in the middle of their capitol, next to the damn star port."

Anderson grunted in frustration. "Where it can do the most damage. Damn." He sighed heavily before continuing. "I'll inform the rest of the Council. Prepare your fleet for orbital bombardment, but try to keep the damage confined to within one hundred kilometers of the Reaper. We can always bomb more in the future if we need to."

Hackett nodded, but scowled. "Understood." After the com line had closed, he began relaying orders to the rest of the fleet. "Begin positioning the dreadnaughts and conventional cruisers over the capitol. I want at least three dreadnaughts to pound that Reaper to powder once the bombardment starts. Keep the destruction localized, and open a channel to the Geth."

A moment later, a hologram appeared before the Commander. Though it looked like Pluribus superficially, its appearance was simply a way to help the Geth relate to their mostly organic allies. "Hackett Commander."

"I need to know when you'll be able to get me some intel on the condition of the civilian populace in some of the major cities." he began without preamble. "We're prepping for bombardment of the capitol, but I'd rather not wipe every major city on the planet out if I can help it."

"We will increase our reconnaissance efforts, but it may not matter." replied the Geth platform. "We have been monitoring Batarian communication channels, and it appears that indoctrinated Hegemony military forces are being moved to major population centers and preparing for a guerilla campaign."

Hackett cursed loudly. "God damnit. It would take months to secure the entire planet using conventional tactics." He considered the problem for a moment before continuing. "Get me whatever information you can in the next planetary cycle. If possible, I'd still like to minimize the damage we cause from orbit. Anything you can give me right now on military outposts and force concentrations will help."

The hologram nodded. "We will forward any information we acquire to you. Be aware that the longer you delay, the more time enemy forces will have to dig in."

Hackett nodded as he cut the com line, and then gave the one order of the war he would regret most.

"All Coalition vessels, this is Hackett. Commence orbital bombardment."

In a small, sealed room on the Citadel, five individuals were reading the latest reports from the now month-long invasion of the Hegemony, while one was simply observing the others mutely.

"Goddess, I'm going to be sick." muttered Tevos as the glanced over the casualty figures. "Ten billion dead? And nearly a third of that from Khar'shan alone? This is a nightmare."

"Imagine what it would've been like if we'd delayed for another few years." added Sparatus. "The Batarians only moved the Reaper six years ago. In another six, they could've doomed their entire species."

"There's a silver lining here." interjected Anderson. "In cases of severe indoctrination, the victims are left as little more than mindless drones. Without oversight or orders they… die off, for lack of a better word."

"Elaborate, please." requested Valern, who was still reviewing the data intently.

Anderson shrugged. "We've seen some of the heavily indoctrinated Batarians we're holding captive. They don't respond to outside stimuli except to attack it when it's not also indoctrinated. Other than that, they don't eat, drink, or really even move. After a few days, they simply collapse from dehydration or malnutrition and would starve if we weren't force-feeding them. I imagine it's much the same on the planets we control."

Sparatus cast him a glance. "So the ones who can't be saved should die off by the time help arrives, and the others will still have a fighting chance?"

Anderson nodded. "That's about the sum of it. Also, the Geth scouting parties have managed to recover several smaller artifacts from the surface of Khar'shan that are emitting the same EM field that causes indoctrination as the Reaper, only on a lesser scale. We're hoping to reverse engineer the process so we can treat it more quickly and decisively."

"Are we certain the field doesn't affect synthetics?" asked Valern sharply.

Pluribus spoke up for the first time since the start of the meeting. "Yes. Since the discovery of heretic spies within the Consensus, additional security measures have been implemented to ensure the integrity of each individual Geth. Even if the field were to interact with our programming-"

"Which it doesn't." interrupted Raan. When the others turned their attention to her, she explained. "The Quarians created the Geth. We understand them better than anyone besides themselves."

After a moment, Pluribus continued. "Even if the field were to interact with our programming, we would detect the interactions and take steps to avert or correct them as needed."

"What about synthetic Humans?" asked Tevos. "They don't have a hive mind like the Geth. They can't continually watch each other."

"It doesn't matter." replied Anderson. "We've only got Bound synthetics being exposed to the artifacts, and the physics of the Binds makes it impossible for them to be altered. A synthetic Human's core personality is fixed from the moment it's Bound, and it's physically impossible to change it."

"Could their personality be suppressed or overridden in some way?" asked the Salarian.

Anderson seemed surprised, but took a moment to consider. "Actually, I'm not sure. I don't have the right scientific background to answer that question. I'll find out, though. Pluribus, I'd like the Consensus to start going through the systems of anyone exposed to Reaper tech for signs of irregularity. I don't think you'll find anything, but better safe than sorry."

Pluribus nodded. "We concur, Anderson Councilor. We will begin at once."

"In the meantime," continued Anderson, directing his attention to Tevos and Valern, "we need to begin prepping processing centers for displaced Batarians. In the next few months, we're gonna have hundreds of millions of displaced refugees to deal with and get resituated. We could use your expertise with this. Salarians have better organizational skills than we do, and the Asari Republics have more infrastructure and manpower than we do at the moment.

"Tevos nodded slightly. "Agreed. We'd best begin at once. I think Benezia can handle overseeing something like this. She's been restless in recent months, and considering her past experiences with indoctrination, this should be a cause near to her heart."

"This is a much more efficient way of dealing with the problem." said Anderson as he reviewed the proposal that the Geth had just forwarded to him. "It seems so obvious now that I really think about it. Why bring the indoctrinated to the Rachni when you can bring the Rachni to the indoctrinated?"

"You'll still need to transport quite a few of the Batarians from the outlying areas to centralized locations for processing." corrected Hannah. "Still, considering the range of a Rachni queen's abilities, even the largest cities shouldn't need more than four or five queens to cover, and only for a month or two."

"Even so, that's hundreds of queens, and we don't have that many, even after nine months." grumbled Anderson. "They've been rebuilding their numbers rapidly, but it'll be another three months before they newest… batch of queens will be mature enough to begin the process."

"We're still transporting some of the Batarians to the Rachni worlds." retorted Hannah. "It's less efficient, but more immediate. Six months since we began ground operations, and we've managed to treat nearly a full quarter of the victims. That's not as good as we were hoping, but with this change, we should be done in less than half a year." When Anderson grunted an affirmative, she decided to change the subject. "David… oh hell, there's no simple way to say this, so I'll just say it: I want you to give me away at my wedding."

Anderson was momentarily stunned, but recovered quickly. "Wedding? To who?"

Hannah was about to begin tearing into him, but when she saw the mischievous gleam in his eye, she let out an exasperated sigh instead. "You know damn well who." In a softer tone, she continued. "Please, David? It would mean a lot to me. If circumstances were different, it'd be John doing this, but…"

Anderson smiled softly and wrapped her in a gentle hug. "I understand Hannah. I'd be honored. Still, considering this job is normally reserved for the father of the bride, I can't help but feel that a crack about my age is going to come up at some point."

Hannah slapped him playfully on the arm. "You're only a few years older than I am. Besides, those grey hairs make you look distinguished."

Anderson pouted theatrically in response. "See! I knew it. Do you have any other details nailed down yet?"

Hannah shook her head. "Not really. We're planning on having it in about six months, give or take. Hopefully this whole situation with the Batarians will have worked itself out by then. I still have several other people to talk to."

"At the risk of sounding like a gossiping fishwife, give me some details."

She chuckled slightly. "Well, I was thinking of asking Raan to be my Maid of Honor, and Tali, Carolyn, and Ashley to be bridesmaids, at least of the Human ceremony."

Anderson's eyebrows rose. "You're having a Turian ceremony as well? Awfully brave of you."

She shrugged. "Could be worse: I could be marrying an Asari. Some of their more traditional weddings are a bit…"

"Provocative?" suggested Anderson.

She smirked slightly. "To say the least. I was also going to ask Steven to oversee the ceremony. Granted, he's not exactly a ship's captain, but he's close enough."

"I wonder what John would say if he were here right now?"

"So do I, David. So do I."

"The next time I see Tevos, I'm going to rip her Goddess-be-damned fringe off." muttered Benezia irritably. "How did I let myself get roped into this? If I'd known how much paperwork it involved, I'd have run to Omega and never looked back."

"Perhaps you should contact Liara, Matriarch." suggested Shiala. Benezia's former acolyte had agreed to assist with her current project in exchange for Benezia's support in dealing with the Survivors from Feros. So far, Benezia was receiving the better end of that bargain

Benezia cast a tired glance at her former follower. "You think she can help with all… this?"

Shiala smirked slightly. "I've had word from one of my contacts on Illium that she's become a rather successful – if slightly ruthless – information broker. Quite the change from her younger days, isn't it?"

Benezia smiled wistfully. "Yes, it is. I suspect Shepard may have had something to do with that. He affected so many in such a short time. I think I should speak with her, regardless of her help. It's been several months since we last spoke, and considering I didn't even know what she's been doing recently…"

"Shepard gave both of you another chance." said Shiala softly. "Last time you went nearly fifty years without speaking to her, and without him, you likely never would've spoken again."

Benezia sat up a bit straighter, and nodded sharply. "You're right. I may have missed out on much of my Little Wing's life already, but I'll be damned if I miss out on any more. I'll be in my quarters." she said, rising to her feet. "If anyone calls, let them know I'm unavailable."

"Of course, Matriarch." replied Shiala with a small smile.

A few minutes later, Benezia was secured away in the small office attached to her quarters, and a few calls to old contacts got her the information she needed. A short time later, her daughter's image appeared.

"Hello mother." said Liara stiffly.

Benezia drooped slightly at her tone. "Hello Liara. I know this seems odd, me contacting you like this. I wanted to talk."

"About?" she asked curtly.

"Honestly? Anything. I know I was never the most… nurturing of mothers, but I was hoping to make amends for that."

"Really?" asked Liara in a somewhat deadpan voice. "And the fact you've been working on the Batarian issue for the Alliance had nothing to do with it?"

Benezia looked away from her daughter in shame. "I won't lie to you: that did play a part in it. I was wishing for some help when Shiala mentioned you were working as an information broker. I suddenly realized I had no idea what you'd been doing for the past year, and Shiala made me see I was repeating the mistakes of my past."

"Oh?"

Her daughter's emotionless tone caused Benezia to wince slightly, and when she replied her voice was nearly a whisper. "I allowed myself to be distracted from you, again. I pulled away from you, again. Johnathan gave me a second chance at life, and I was squandering it. Please, Liara." she pleaded. "Forget the Alliance, forget the Batarians, and forget the Reapers. I just… I just want to speak to my daughter again."

Liara was silent for a long moment before a small smile bloomed on her lips. "I'd like that. Why don't you stop by Illium in a few days? We can have a drink and talk to father." Liara's proclamation caused Benezia's eyes to bulge out, and the younger Asari laughed lightly at the expression on her mother's face. "Mother, I wouldn't be much of an information broker if I couldn't figure something like that out. I would like to know why you separated, though."

Benezia smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Liara. I… I can't tell you how much this means to me. I'll see you in a few days."

This just in: the Citadel Council, acting in concert with Alliance High Command, has just announced an official end to hostilities in the former Batarian Hegemony. After nearly fifteen months, an estimated twelve billions casualties, and nearly four trillion credits spent, the subjugation of Batarian race is complete. While small pockets of resistance and indoctrination continue to emerge in more remote areas of Batarian space, it's estimated that more than ninety nine percent of formerly indoctrinate victims in the Hegemony have been cured of the condition. Westerlund News has received information detailing moves by the Citadel Council and Alliance High Command to officially reclassify the Batarian people as a client race of the Alliance, though this is unconfirmed at present. Only time will tell if action was taken in time to prevent an entire race from falling to the oncoming storm of the Reapers. For Westerlund News, this is Khalisah Bint Sinan al-Jilani.

"Calm down, Hannah." admonished Anderson gently. "It's not like you haven't done this before."

Despite his assurances, Hannah continued to fidget nervously, and was unconsciously clenching several pleats of her dress in a death grip. "I've never gotten married on live television before David. If something goes wrong-"

"It won't"

She didn't seem to have heard him. "-the whole damn galaxy will see it. I don't know if I can do this."

"Hannah." replied Anderson with a chuckle. "You made first contact with an alien species. You negotiated – and I use that term loosely – the peace between the Alliance and the rest of the galaxy. You represented us for years to the Council. Now, you're helping to plan the largest conflict in our history. This is nothing."

Hannah took several deep breaths before an unbelievable sense of peace seemed to flood her mind, and she found her center and steeled her nerves. "You're right. I made it through worse than this. If John were here, he'd be dressing me down like a wet-behind-the-ears private."

Anderson flashed the distraught woman a warm smile in response. "Probably. Or he'd be stringing your husband-to-be up by his ankles. Either way, he'd be proud of you."

Hannah blinked several times to clear away the tears that were threatening to form in the corner of her eyes. "I know." she whispered. "I just wish he could be here to see this."

"Who says I can't?"