[ Chapter 10: A Revision of Priorities ]

The soft and warm peach hues of the Presidium's evening sky were leaking through the windows when Councilor Tevos concluded the day's work at her private terminal. Aside from wasting the bulk of an hour bickering with Aria T'Loak during their failed meeting, the following hours had been spent catering to many appointments amongst a seemingly endless flow of paperwork, as well as three petitions following her lunch break. To say she had a busy day was reasonably accurate. And now, as the bureaucrats in the Embassies dwindled in numbers as they departed for their homes, Tevos was enjoying the quieter moments of the gradually approaching dusk while Irissa idly wandered about her office, examining various objects. The conversation maintained between the two women touched many events that had occurred during the work day, but as the variety of available subjects to discuss was narrowed down, their discourse had reached the dangerous topical territory of Aria T'Loak.

"She called you a what?" Irissa requested a repetition of Tevos's previous statement about the meeting that morning. She turned to face her, brow creasing while a hand hovered over a small statuette that Matriarch Idras had gifted Tevos years ago. It was a white, abstract form made of porcelain that vaguely resembled a bipedal figure.

"A murderer," Tevos replied flatly, lips sealing together again while her fingers continued to labor over the keyboard in front of her. Discussing Omega's self-proclaimed Queen was not in her ideal interests at the moment, but Irissa had inquired, and Tevos could see no reason to hide anything from her. "As I said, that was the defining statement which infuriated me enough to end the meeting."

Irissa shook her head scornfully. Her eyes drifted over to the next item placed on the shelf, a miniature glass vase with countless flat edges whose geometric elegance broke the evening light entering its crystal form and expelled it into glittering, radiant beams. It was crafted on Thessia, she absently recalled, but her thoughts immediately returned to the poisonous words of Aria T'Loak. "I can't believe her nerve," she grumbled angrily. "You are most certainly not a murderer, Tevos. But she sure is. She's awful. She's the worst thing that's ever stepped into this office, don't you think? Oh, I despise her…"

Councilor Tevos refrained from replying, instead opting to continue working while letting an agitated Irissa vent her frustrations. The other woman's attitude was quite understandable, and Tevos found it very unlikely that someone as prideful as Irissa would ever forgive the physical assault on Thessia. And she agreed with her. Aria T'Loak had been completely out of line and her actions were brutish and despicable. Attacking an unarmed bystander was simply and unequivocally horrid, inexcusable behavior.

"I can't fathom how we allowed her so close to you. I wouldn't trust her as far as I could throw her, and everyone knows what a pathetic arm I have," Irissa continued, meandering away from the shelf and approaching Tevos's desk. She sat down in the comfortable chair set before it, proceeding to glare at nothing in particular, but then a strange emotion flickered to life in her eyes while she appeared to have a small, solemn revelation. "She sat here, didn't she?" she asked Tevos.

The councilor paused, looking up from the terminal's glowing screen, and cast Irissa a scrupulous look. Though she didn't quite grasp the relevancy of her question, she still gave her an answer. "Yes. Why do you ask?"

The sight of Irissa pivoting her body to bring her nose near the top of the chair's back cushion thoroughly vexed the councilor. "I might have caught the scent of cigarettes," she issued Tevos a staid glance while reporting her findings, "Or a bit like blood and soot." She did not clarify to Tevos whether that was an exaggeration or not. Instead, she turned to briefly inhale the scent once more. "And this hint of... sort of like a perfume my mother once bought for me years ago, but… different; heavier?"

Tevos was about to admit that she did not care in the slightest about what Aria smelled like, but her intended statement soon began to morph into one regarding Irissa's peculiar behavior. "You're acting… bizarre," she said, noting her extreme attention to details that would have normally gone without acknowledgement. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," Irissa replied, laying her hands on the chair's arms and crossing her legs within an obvious haze of discomfort.

"You seem... distressed," Tevos pressed her, clearly seeing that there was something terribly amiss lurking within her friend's mind. "Are you bothered by something? I know you detest Aria T'Loak, but I'm sensing that there may be something beyond that."

Irissa merely fidgeted in reply, an expression materializing on her face which conveyed a curious blend of guilt and apprehension. "I didn't come here to loaf around during the final hour of the work day," she said at last, "despite you probably believing that I did."

Tevos folded her fingers together when her friend hesitated, awaiting her continuity with undivided attention.

" I… I overheard something today," Irissa exhaled. She was gathering her courage, treating whatever news she was about to deliver like the awful confession of a horrendous iniquity. "Something that I was not meant to hear. Something that could possibly get me into a lot of trouble, but it's something you need to know as it is deliberately being kept from you, in secret."

Tevos stopped her. "Hold on, Irissa," she said and briefly pondered the situation. If disclosing the information would put Irissa at any sort of risk, Tevos first needed to know if it was worth relaying. "How important is this? I don't want to get you into trouble if it's something I can afford not knowing. Your career is not worth my knowledge of something comparably trivial."

"It is dire."

The councilor nodded, tapped her fingers on the desk for a moment in thought, then spoke again. "And you're going to tell me?"

"Yes," she said, then lowered her voice. "The cameras they've put in here… do they have audio?"

"No."

"Are you certain?"

"I would say yes, as that was a condition I signed under, but in actuality I am not completely certain. But if they are on at all, I can turn them off from here. I will check them." Tevos accessed a program on her terminal, entered a few authorization codes, and returned her gaze back to Irissa. "They are off."

She let out another shaking, stressed exhale. "All right. I overheard Councilor Tarconis in a hallway. I was coming toward him, about to turn the bend, and I heard his voice and someone else's from his omni-tool. He was talking to Councilor Delran, and when I… when I heard what they were speaking about, I froze and remained where I was out of sight. I immediately began recording, perhaps on reflex, and part of me massively regrets it now…" Irissa brought up her omni-tool, sifting through a few files before selecting the recording taken earlier that day. She held her forearm out in between them both and played the audio file for the councilor to hear.

"She just sent me the report of the meeting," Tarconis's flanging voice rose from the device. "Have you reviewed it?"

Delran replied, a small degree of mechanical corruption and static accompanying her words as they were being relayed through two electronic mediums instead of one, "I've just completed doing so."

"They quarrel, bicker, feud, all variations of the word, but they do not progress."

"Well what did you expect?" the Dalatrass scoffed. "How did we ever expect any sort of results from the two? I don't think they could bear the thought of peace between them. It would eliminate the new found purpose that entertains them every day; battling and hating one another. Imagine a world in which they suddenly no longer struggled and wrestled one another the very moment one entered the same room as the other? They wouldn't know what to do with themselves."

"That may be hyperbole, but you're correct about them being inadequate diplomats to carry out this negotiation. Someone else should be doing this, but they both seem dead-set on doing this in person. The more I think of it, the more it offends me. They've developed a personal grudge, but the results of any action they make consequently drags entire societies along with it."

"Someone's going to get hurt again," said Delran. "The Citadel might suffer the same incident as Thessia did. I can see this ending in only a few ways. Tevos could fail, and we could go to war. Tevos could succeed, Aria T'Loak would return to Omega, and then she'd leech off what privileges were granted to her until she's grown enough in power to demand more. I know we decided to give Tevos this chance, but I can't see it ending well. T'Loak is like a virus, always spreading unchecked, and when held at bay, she but lingers in dormancy until suddenly flaring up again when we'd least expect it. We cannot stop her like this."

Tarconis made a gruff sound of mild frustration before speaking again. "And what if Tevos gives her too much? You know her—she's a compromiser to the bone, and much too protective of peace. If she finds herself in a bind with no escape from war other than acquiescing obscene liberties unto Aria T'Loak, she will likely do so. And what lesson would that teach her, or any other potential enemies watching? That if you attack the Citadel, you can shake free with a slap on the hand and an armful of credits? I respect Councilor Tevos and her values, and I generally think of them as righteous, but our unit—the Council—serves a purpose. Balance. When only one of us is given the stage, the power becomes exceedingly skewed. This is exactly what is happening right now."

"I think we have every right to challenge her contract if it is not adequate," said Delran. "We still have that power."

"But could we do such a thing to her without first notifying her?"

"We may have no choice. I realize your guilt, and I feel much of my own, but we aren't doing anything unlawful."

There came a long pause. "Listen, Delran, I should relocate myself. This hall is empty, but I should return to my office…"

"Speak to me tomorrow then, in your office. I have a lot to attend to today."

"Very well."

When the audio recording reached its end, Councilor Tevos lifted her widened eyes at Irissa, lips slightly parted in fear as she paled. After the initial shock had passed, she breathed incredulously, "Were you considering allowing me to go home without first showing me this?"

Irissa fretted. "I could get fired for this, you realize. Recording councilors inside the Embassies without consent is illegal! So forgive me for not being so immediately courageous…!"

At once, the councilor rose from her chair, beginning to gather a few items into her arms in preparation to depart. "I can't believe they're already set on going to war when they haven't even seen the contract's results!" she said, her words swift and sharp with fury. "They're… they're utterly impatient! I can't believe their nerve, this blatant foul play!"

"Unfortunately it isn't foul play at all, really," Irissa wryly pointed out from where she remained seated. "That's what makes this most unbearable. They can conspire all they want about vetoing your contract behind your back—behind everyone's back—without repercussion. It's technically just deliberation between councilors, so all is fair. And you cannot take this issue to them, because if you do, I'll be terminated for letting you know about it in the first place. I hope you realize that."

After setting her held items down again, Tevos's hands rose to the sides of her head while she paced around behind her desk. "I simply can't believe this… I know I am holding our collective power in this delegation, more or less, and I understand their concerns, but they haven't even allowed me a chance! Though I accept the truth of it; I have expended copious time and energy on this issue, and it has been exhausting, but we are not yet finished... " Then she paused as her thoughts fell to a fitful disarray, and only when they had reorganized, she looked back over at her friend. "Irissa, I need you to find out more. I need to know exactly what they plan on doing. They said they'd talk again tomorrow."

"And what in the world would you have me do to get you that information?"

"They've likely left for their homes by now—"

Irissa stopped her. "Oh no, Tevos," she said while emphatically shaking her head. "I know what you're going to suggest and I'm not doing it. I've already risked my career once by taking this recording. I am not going to bug anyone's office."

"I shall take every ounce of the responsibility if you are caught," the councilor said, steadying her highly aware eyes on Irissa and silently communicating an intense amount of sincerity to her. "All of it. I'll say that I threatened you or something. Or I will even say that I was the one who bugged them, if they discover the bug and begin searching for its owner."

She grimaced at the absurdity of the councilor's request and continued shaking her head in disbelief. "So you're responding to their 'foul play' with some of your own? If we get caught, it could be disastrous! You would really throw all this away—all these centuries of hard work—just for this? I can't watch you do that. If you ask me, Aria T'Loak deserves to die. You know, why shouldn't we go after her and silence her for good? We're tired of her! She's demanding so much from you, threatening us with violence and insulting your character! Yes. I really do think she should die." Irissa abruptly fell quiet and tore her eyes away from Tevos. She was not ashamed of her vehement hatred of Aria T'Loak, or of the fact that her preferences were gradually beginning to align with those of the other councilors, but she was greatly troubled by the position she had found herself in. On one hand, she could help Tevos and ignore her own instincts, and on the other, she could leave her friend in ruins but escape clean. "Tevos, peace isn't always the right course of action," she resumed. "Sometimes you just need to stand up, point your gun, and shoot." When she glanced back at Tevos and saw her pained gaze, she quickly turned away again and softly spoke whilst occupying her visage with a wall of the office. "I just… I truly wish you'd have her killed, Tevos."

The councilor let out a long sigh, her expression growing tired and deeply apprehensive. When she delivered her response, it came slowly, carefully, yet exigently. "Irissa, if we go to war with Omega, it's going to be long, bloody, and painful. A conflict over that amount of distance, between our two well-fortified stations, would last for years before dying down. Though we will most certainly win any exchange, it's going to be a drawn-out nightmare, maybe lasting over the course of decades. We can't seem to go a single millennium without engaging in war, Irissa. It's taxing, and it's awful. So as long as I have any sort of chance to stop one before it begins, I'm going to take it. I'm going to see this until the end, until I can do nothing more. Why would you condemn us when we still have a chance, however small it may appear, to fix this?"

"I'm just so tired of T'Loak," Irissa confessed, her voice burdened with tremendous fatigue as she rose from the chair and folded her arms in front of her chest. "Look at all she's done; look at the sort of person she is. Look at you! You're tired, stressed, and you haven't smiled in days. And even if your contract is successful, how can you be so sure that you can keep Aria T'Loak in check for centuries? She's an asari, just like us. That's a long time to maintain relations between two formerly bitter entities. Like the councilors think, one day she might come back when she's assembled more ships and a larger army. What if Omega one day begins to rival the Citadel? What then? The center of galactic power could shift within our lifetimes."

Tevos's line of sight drifted downward as she was lost to meticulous thought. What if this really was all in vain? All this trouble for the foolish pursuit of peace between the Citadel and Omega… Would a treaty for the day ensure peace for tomorrow? That was the most pronounced question that continued to plague her. The more she learned about Aria T'Loak, and the more she interacted with her, the more Tevos came to understand that Aria was no simple warlord. She was individual with magnificent ambitions, an individual with an astounding amount of drive and dedication to whatever grand notion she decided to entertain. There were many people in the galaxy who dreamt of glory and rule, but few actually ever brought those dreams to fruition. If a day came when she found enough power in her hands to wage a sustainable war against Citadel space… Councilor Tevos was fairly sure that she would take such an opportunity.

She imagined T'Loak in the future, based on all she knew about her—engulfed in a delirium brought by sheer arrogance, a burning resurfacing of the power trip she was currently within, all catalyzing a dangerous belief that she was operating on the wills of gods, or even worse, that she had outplayed the gods themselves. Perhaps the wiser course of action would be putting her down before she became too mighty and complacent, as everyone was beginning to believe. Perhaps Tevos had been wrong all along. But still… the hastiness of this supposed war deeply troubled her. Rushing into battle was dangerous, especially while unknowns created voids in her strategizing. Gathering that information, for the purpose of instilling absolute confidence in this bloody course of action, would require the bending and breaking of some rules. "I still need to know what the other councilors are up to before I make a decision," Tevos said to Irissa. "I need you to find out for me so that I don't make a horrible mistake. I will consider war. I really shall, as I now understand your stances, but only if I'm aware of the plots being conducted behind my back. This is unconditional for me. I cannot surrender us to warfare whilst blind to any data."

Irissa regarded her with a lamenting countenance, and expressed once more, "I really want to see Aria T'Loak die. I really do…" Then she quieted, and after taking some time to carefully consider, said, "But I think seeing you happy and able to pull some success out of this would matter to me more. Because you're probably the only one left who could manage to do it... You have no idea how lucky you are to have a friend like me, Tevos."

"Oh thank you, Irissa," the relieved councilor rounded her desk and approached her. She brought her arms around Irissa in a grateful embrace. "Thank you so much."

Irissa squirmed free of her hold, hardening her features with severity as she escaped a single pace backward. "But you're taking the fall if I get caught, just like you said! Are we clear on that?"

Tevos nearly smiled. "Absolutely," said the councilor. Her appreciation for Irissa also lessened the insult of her friend's primary concerns being occupied with saving her own hide rather than giving them to the state of Citadel space. "I cannot thank you enough."

"Yeah, sure. Celebrate only if I return without a C-Sec escort to prison. I'll be back tomorrow afternoon with your results, if I can get them." Irissa began to leave, evidently having enough of the tense discourse. However, before she reached the door, she paused and turned back around. "But while I'm getting your information, what are you going to do about tomorrow's meeting with Aria T'Loak? If you're waiting for me, you can't finalize your contract."

The councilor pondered a moment. "I suppose I'll just have to stall."

"She won't appreciate that. She probably wants to return to Omega as soon as possible."

With a single hand lain on her desk, Tevos swiftly contrived a rough plan before looking up again, her eyes obscured by the veil of dusk. "Every person, even Aria T'Loak, has a natural proclivity to maintain conversations of certain topics. I'll play to her ego; ask lots of questions about herself and Omega, or make her feel as though she truly daunts me. I believe she could enjoy that for hours on end."

The other asari deadpanned, shaking her head at Tevos's quick solution. "You frighten me sometimes, Tevos," she sighed while retreated toward the door again.

:::

The second meeting on the following day began with the same general aspect of displeasure, made evident by the way Aria T'Loak sat down into the chair and glowered at Tevos as if the harmful stare had never ceased for a single second The fine leather of her white jacket gleamed in a livid torsion of creases, assisting the harshness of her body language. She was all physical, holding herself in ways that communicated more than words could ever hope to imitate. And there, cut into the expensive, immaculate material of her jacket, remained that single tear acquired on Thessia which marked the path of a bullet, still not repaired, and still bleeding visibility of the red, silky, inner lining beneath.

The councilor pretended to prepare some documents and finalize some business on her terminal and a few datapads, but in actuality, she was fabricating a way to ease Aria into a lengthy discussion without alerting her to the hidden motives. When glancing up to momentarily meet her pallid blue eyes, Tevos discerned the difficulty of the secret undertaking. It would not be hard at all. The provocation of another bickering session, if it became necessary, would be a simple matter. After all, she had spent all her time and efforts during the past weeks attempting to avoid those aggressive exchanges, only to catastrophically fail. Igniting one more was hardly a task at all.

But when they began, Tevos found to her dismay that Aria's agenda, just for this very session, did not contain the intentions of rousing a dispute. She sat forward, folding her arms onto the councilor's desk, and said in a flattened tone, "Let's get down to business."

Councilor Tevos hesitated. As Irissa had expected, Aria's immense hatred for the Citadel likely outweighed any enjoyment or satisfaction she found in tormenting and insulting the asari councilor, and so now she just wanted to return to Omega with whatever plunder she could carry with her. But Tevos could not let her leave that day, not while the threat of a vetoed contract loomed over them. She did not even know under what conditions the other councilors would reject her contract. What if she and Aria T'Loak had the ability to meet acceptable ones, but couldn't because they were not even informed of what those terms were? Waiting for Irissa's reconnaissance was vital. Stalling would certainly anger Aria, especially if she picked up on what Tevos was up to, but the councilor had no other choice.

So what to talk about? she thought. What irresistible topic comes with the highest probability of having her chat about it for the better part of an hour, or even longer?

Her solution was simpler than she originally anticipated.

"Yesterday," Tevos began, eliciting an expression of vague interest from the asari seated before her, "when you brought to my awareness certain… unfortunate consequences of my occupation. The ones that involve killing, to be specific. I thought on the notion you presented me—the fact that taking a life is a universal action that transcends all regulations and definitions which law may impose upon it—and I have made subtle adjustments to my opinion." When she observed Aria to gauge her reception of the subject, Tevos was pleased to see interest piquing in her gaze. Yes, the councilor had chosen an excellent topic. What better way to occupy Aria's time than to delight her with a concession?

"I am responsible for deaths, to a degree," Tevos continued. "For although branches of agents like Spectres are the ones who physically carry out the deeds, they ultimately answer to the Council. They are, in a sense, our sentient weapons. They have the freedom to act in ways that we cannot. Spectres do not adhere to the slow, precise protocols that government officials do. And so the Council takes advantage of this and uses Spectres in emergency situations when we cannot authorize drastic measures quickly enough to defend our interests. So yes, I have caused deaths of people who threatened the Citadel's interests, or as you've put it, my interests. Though you are correct in these respects, I concede that to you, I would not go so far to categorize me as a 'murderer', a term that also umbrellas entities of more vile ambitions."

Aria slowly nodded with a satisfactory smirk tugging at the corners of her lips. She reclined in her chair, swiveling the rotating seat slightly to comfortably rest her leg over the other, while taking a paperweight from Tevos's desk and holding it up to the light. Given the fact that paper— its usage being deemed as somewhat pretentious in that age—only reached the councilor in form of personal letters, old documents, and the occasional invitation, the purpose of the item was more of a decorative one than anything. It was a sphere made of polished, black volcanic glass from a distant planet, given a flattened base for its functionality. "It's all just... evolution, that sort of thing," Aria said while leering at the paperweight. She rotated it within her hand to examine the swirls of lighter coloration. "When you take all the morals out of it, which are just constructs of sapients, the act of killing is just people fighting each other for what they want, and whatever they want is going to add to their chances for survival. Money. Resources. Territory. And in the end, only the strongest and smartest live another day. You people are so obsessed with this concept of… righteousness… that you've voluntarily blinded yourselves to reality. You put as much distance as you can between yourself and what you really are. You think, I am not those creatures who dragged themselves out of the primordial muck eons ago. I am better, bound by better rules. I am… civilized. But you're not." Aria returned the paperweight to its previous spot. "You're exactly the same. You just have factories and skycars now."

Councilor Tevos tilted her head slightly, listening to the soft tap the orb made when it was lowered back onto her desk. "You really don't aspire to be more than that? You don't aspire in any way to let the sophistication of intelligence and reason override those primal instincts?"

"Don't misunderstand me," Aria swiftly responded. "Intelligence and reason are what got me this far. Disciplined thought, careful planning. I just don't forget what I am. When I told you that you were a murderer, I merely wanted to point that out so that we'd be on the same page. You had no idea what you were dealing with. All I ever heard from you Citadel assholes were pathetic insults regarding our way of life. Disgustingly typical." She scoffed, folding her arms across her chest, and habitually turned to leer out the window. The midday light bathed her face.

Tevos felt the comment graze her, but gracefully disregarded it. Tevos needed to keep the conversation afloat for as long as possible. She issued another question, "A trait of a highly intelligent creature is empathy, I sure you realize. Do you challenge that?"

"It's a trait of an intelligent species as a whole," the Pirate Queen curtly replied after instantly detecting an underlying attack.

"So do you find enjoyment in killing?" Tevos asked her. Though all her questions served another purpose, she did not deny her interest in Aria's answers. Her views were warped, distorted, and unapologetic in such a way that almost made them fascinating. Terrifying, but fascinating.

Aria glared at her for a long moment, perhaps becoming suspicious of all the queries. "No, not particularly," she slowly replied. "Unless I'm exceptionally angry, or if I've been passionately after the target for years. Then I feel the delight of accomplishment. But otherwise, it's business. It's the expenditure of my valuable time on obstacles. So no, I don't generally enjoy killing unless I have a good, circumstantial reason to. Is this some sort of psychological assessment?" she let a short, mocking breath pass through her lips when the thought occurred to her. "Are you trying to discover long-past psychological damage? Are you hoping to find some sort of traumatic event that shaped me into a ruthless killer?" Aria nearly laughed.

Tevos refrained from saying anything, simply watching her.

"Are you hoping that once you find the roots of my unconventional ambitions, you will somehow bring me to a sudden revelation, inspiring me to change?" Aria's wicked amusement was rising on her voice.

"No," denied the councilor. It was honest answer. Even if Aria T'Loak was exposed to some unfortunate event in the past, it would be almost impossible to alter the mindset of a person this far into the depths of her present one.

"Good," sneered Aria. "Because you need to understand that if you look for what happened to me, or what's wrong with me, you will find nothing. I have no woeful or tragic story for you. If you want to understand the basic aspects about me, understand this: there is nothing to dissect. I do things because I want to. Because I think of certain things and they please me. And I have never, nor will I ever, apologize for any of it."

Tevos gave a shallow nod and silently mused. That was certainly an interesting aspect of her character—the refusal of hiding behind justifications for her actions. Aria T'Loak did not apologize. She was everything she was now without guilt, and without a nurtured reason. However, the councilor found her deliverance of the facts as being more hostile than necessary, and abused that observation as a template for her next extension of their conversation. "You're being rather defensive about this," she remarked.

Aria appeared to resent the accusation. "It's because I know where this interrogation is going and I want to get it over with as quickly as possible, so we can get back to the fucking contract."

"I'd like to inquire once more," Tevos attempted. She discreetly plunged two fingers into the high collar of her dress, pulling the constricting fabric away from her neck. Its grasp around her throat had suddenly grown a tad tighter than desired.

"Listen, Councilor," said Aria as she leaned over the edge of the desk. She spoke slowly, making sure every threatening word reached the councilor uncorrupted. "I'm done playing around. I want my terms so I can go back to Omega. Why are you suddenly so damn curious about me? You were eager to be done with everything yesterday, so why the sudden change of heart now? And don't give me any bullshit answers. I'll see right through them."

Tevos grew quiet. She knew the exposure of her stalling would inevitably happen, but she profoundly wished that it hadn't been so soon. Aria may have been tremendously egotistical and had enjoyed being the center of attention for a while, but she wasn't inane in the slightest. She had detected something foul about the unusual conversation, and Tevos had no excuses prepared. But it was unwise to reveal information unless absolutely necessary, and it would be especially dangerous to give Aria any sort of auxiliary leverage. If they went to war in the end, the prior knowledge of one as opposed to a surprise attack could give her an advantage that Tevos was not willing to bestow; it could result in more hardships for the Citadel fleet, and above all other issues and priorities, the councilor wanted to reduce the number of lost lives for her people.

But on the other hand, if they managed to broker peace, warning Aria about a forming conspiracy could gain her favor and reinforce the solidarity of the new treaty. What better token of good faith could she give her than proof of caring about the other party in the slightest? If Aria T'Loak was made aware of the materializing danger, perhaps relations would smooth out earlier on and help prevent future disagreements. Tevos wistfully imagined herself years from now, possibly reminding Aria of that time when she saved them both from a war, and she would perhaps stand down in light of that, thus evading another war once again. Councilor Tevos gathered her courage, and decided to take the immense risk. "There is a plot brewing amongst the other councilors behind my back," she abruptly confessed. "My friend informed me about it yesterday. We might again be in considerable danger of a war, only this time it may be the Citadel declaring it."

Despite the intense inner conflict the councilor just fought through, Aria remained completely unconvinced. "I told you not to give me any bullshit answers," she said with sharp, cutting words as her facial tattoos contorted along with her forming snarl.

"It is the truth and I am warning you so that we can somehow cooperate to avoid this disaster," Tevos insisted

"I'm tired of your bluffing games, Councilor. You're not going to fool me."

"I can get you proof. I'm actually waiting for more confirmation myself, which I expect to receive later today. I can show you the findings tomorrow."

She profusely shook her head. "I don't believe you. And even if you are telling the truth, this is just some paranoid suspicion of yours, no matter how you present it to me."

"And what if it is not?" Councilor Tevos looked at her hard, adamantly locking eyes with Aria to convey the austerity of the situation.

Aria was rendered silent for a long interval of time. She sat there simmering in anger and distrust, a crease in her brow accentuating her negative storm of thoughts. "How can I know whether you're telling the truth?" she demanded at last. "You could be staging this with the other councilors in some final attempt to scare me. For all I know, everyone in the damn building is in on it."

"Regardless of whether you believe me, my fears are real enough for me to stall our contract today. That is why I have been asking you questions."

"I still don't have any reason to believe you."

"That's fine," Tevos said, raising her hand and executing a short, dismissive gesture toward her. "That's your problem. So go ahead; bask in the ignorance while I attempt to save us both. No matter whether you believe me or not, we will not be discussing our contract today."

She bristled. "So, what? You want us to just sit here, wasting time?"

"We have been here for a while, but not long enough to be convincing. Remember, C-Sec is watching. If you want to leave early, I have no qualms about that. But we'd have to do something like fake a disagreement, to convince them that we truly should not be contained within the same room."

"How about we initiate a real disagreement? Because I've got a few ready to go."

"I don't care about how angry this situation makes you." In response to Aria's insufferable lack of the faintest hint of cooperation, the councilor straightened her posture in her seat and addressed her with sharp, bitter authority. "This threat is real. I am utterly terrified of what may become of us within a few days. Your temper is nothing compared to my other fears. You have a choice, Aria T'Loak. Either help or hinder me. Whichever you choose will be reciprocated."

Aria became silent again. She appeared as though fighting back the urge to lose her temper, but managed to quell the erupting turmoil before it leaked out of her body in the form of shouts, or worse—biotics. "So I have to stay at least another day in this hellhole?" she settled on the rude question.

"I'm afraid so," Tevos replied, forcibly willing her rage to also die down. "Do you want to fake an argument?"

"I'm not an actor," Aria said with incendiary contempt.

"You played the part of a dancer for years," the councilor pointed out.

Aria successfully concealed a sly smirk, coincidentally putting her boiling anger aside for the time being. "I'd say that was real, more or less. A convenient… side job at the time."

"Regardless, you always appear to be on the verge of a dispute. I'm sure you could reach into your anger for acting inspiration. If you need further help, I could orchestrate a convincing exchange. However, you would have to do what I say."

"Yeah, don't get all uppity about it." Aria frowned at the idea. "Just tell me what I need to do to get out of here so I can go cause some trouble in your precious streets..." She reached out to grasp the paperweight again.

"You will do no such thing."

"Even I need some entertainment once in a while," said Aria. She began to throw the incomplete obsidian sphere upward, letting it fall back into one hand only to introduce it to the air once more.

"But surely you don't cause trouble in your own streets on Omega," reasoned Tevos. "You must entertain yourself otherwise." She held out her hand to request the surrender of her possession.

Aria seemed somewhat amused by the topic. She relaxed in the chair. "Oh, I lounge about like blood-born royalty in between acts of administration," she said while tossing the paperweight back to Tevos, who nearly fumbled the catch. "Watching the dancers, having a drink... And when it's especially quiet and uneventful, I've been known for indulging in activities familiar to your cultured society, such as reading."

"No death matches held in eviscerated ships brought into the station?" Councilor Tevos threw in some facetious assumptions for her own beguilement. "No pillaging the neighboring systems or making jewelry from the bones of the slain?"

The Omegan shook her head, looking as if she perhaps found a drop of humor in the highly exaggerated activities illustrated by the asari councilor. "This brings me to the curiosity of what the hell you do in your spare time, Councilor," she said, then matched Tevos's deliberately inaccurate preconceived notions of the other's culture with some of her own. "Classism jokes? Pretentious theatre? Watching C-Sec maul peaceful protesters? Passive-aggressive dinner parties…?"

Tevos gave her underwhelming answer, neither confirming nor denying any of the aforementioned pastimes, "I read as well, actually."

Aria rolled her eyes. "If that's all you have to say, then that's dreadfully boring."

"I don't disclose my private life to anyone. But would you like to hear me talk about government conspiracies or the latest embezzlement scandals?"

Aria found herself thrust into the concrete impression that Councilor Tevos either had no personal life at all, or that it really was a horridly uneventful one. "I'd prefer to hear that, actually," she said, quick to board any ship bearing cargo of more intrigue.

The councilor managed a small smile. The subtle motion of her lips surprised her, baffled her. She nearly reprimanded herself for showing any vestige of happiness whilst talking to this dangerous warlord during the even more dangerous times of impending war. But instead of banishing the mirthful ghost from her lips, she continued within the rise of a lighter mood, "Well, yes, those stories would be much more riveting than the truth, wouldn't they?"

There came something peculiar from Aria in that instant. It was a rudimentary reflection of that same diminutive smile, followed by the very same flash of regret, of self-admonishment for daring to let any trace of levity escape the well-policed confines of her head on her mouth. But unlike Tevos, who tactfully smothered its blatancy down with speech, Aria twisted it into a frown. "…Perhaps," she muttered, brutally strangling whatever mood had brought her the unwelcomed grin. "Just get me out of here now." She adjusted her position on the chair, briefly glanced about the office, and then returned her gaze to Tevos while awaiting her directive.

"Very well," she said, finding Aria's reluctance to show any sort of positive emotion as a major part of her pride. It was not outlandish at all for her to utterly detest the admittance to a single moment of conversational pleasure shared with a councilor, especially the one she so unabashedly despised. Tevos judged the circumstance as a proper one to arrange their freedom from each other's company, and so she leaned forward while masking her face with a believable glare. "I now issue to you a comment regarding your uncultured personality."

Aria hesitated at first, analyzed the statement, and emerged from the interlude bearing the understanding of their ruse and its mechanics. When she did, another series of notions arrived in the primary tiers of her mind; ideas and notations revolving around Councilor Tevos. The councilor was certainly not trustworthy, she thought. That claim was supported by mountains of evidence. Secrets, schemes, and her exhibited knowledge of knowing how to work a system. Holding conversations with Tevos had revealed her wit and capability.

She was not a political puppet. She was in power for an obvious reason. Aria was somewhat reluctant to admit it, and although she still greatly disliked the culture of the Citadel, the attitudes of its leaders, and their endless laws, she acknowledged Tevos as a formidable rival (as well as a past, and possibly future, enemy).

The condensation of a bitter thought beaded onto her awareness. She had underestimated the asari councilor. Underestimation was a form of error, and Aria abhorred error. And so she swallowed her pride without a verbal proclamation and altered her expectations of Tevos to include more imposing decrees. She folded her arms, finally adhering to the councilor's established façade. "And I retort by calling you artificial, as I did yesterday. I'd also like to add a particularly provoking insult directed toward your closest family relative for good measure."

"And so I indignantly rise," Tevos said, her actions matching her words as she rose from her chair and rested her hands on her desk, "to say that you are out of line to bring my family into a discussion that they do not belong in." The councilor, despite donning false acrimony, lifted herself with every ounce of her regal, stately posture intact. She was, in essence, the model to which all asari currently studying law looked to for guidance. The wise and refined matriarchs had selected her from all other candidates, and so with that godspeed leaden with golden seals of approval, she therefore embodied all that they found pride in; a mediator, a persevering pillar of grace and composure, and above all, a dignified vessel containing honed, brilliant faculties of the mind.

"I rise as well to challenge you," Aria rose as well, resolutely meeting the stare of the other sovereign, "and bear with the absolutely ridiculous façade I'm taking part in just to leave your damn office… And somehow refrain from using biotics instead of words, as that behavior would probably get me out of here faster. Break a few things, maybe, to make the process more expedient. And interesting."

"But I remind you that C-Sec are not easily shaken off, and would likely hold you for hours if you caused any property damage. In conclusion, you would waste more time dealing with them than you would by simply completing this troublesome façade."

Aria slightly narrowed her eyes while skillfully conjuring another line. "And so I disdainfully endure it. But not without reminding you that tomorrow I better see adequate proof of this… speculation you have being real. My time is not to be wasted."

"I point to the door," Tevos said, gesturing, "and assure you that I will return with proof, and if I do not, our contract will be finalized by tomorrow's end. So you have no worries. But before I allow you to leave—as a result of our quarreling, of course—I must also warn you of something. If the other councilors really are planning an unconditional veto of our contract, we will find ourselves with few options. Whatever avenues of action remain in that scenario, our cooperation will be inevitable. We must no longer regard each other as enemies, Aria T'Loak. For the sake of Omega, become my ally not through the binding terms of a contract, but through our shared interest of avoiding a formal conflict."

Aria T'Loak lingered there for a while, upper body oriented toward the councilor. She at last said to the councilor, "If you give me a good enough reason to consider myself your ally for the resolution of this... dilemma, I will do it. But only if I have good enough reason."

When Aria left the office, Tevos rested her back against the chair while succumbing to a surreal space of wonder and surprise. What had just transpired? Nothing less than a magnificent miracle. She sat there for some time, wondering if her senses had somehow failed her. The steady chain of interminable hatred had broken, giving way to oscillations between veins of antagonism and... mild amusement. Brief, fleeing moments of humility. Skillful words that captured the heuristics of the other, curving their down-turned lips into ghosts of joviality. And then there was the glorious centerpiece of it all; the fact that although they had bickered, they had also cooperated to a degree. Tevos held a hand to her mouth, eyes trembling over the angles of her work space in silent awe.

She was beginning to do the unthinkable. The unfathomable. The impossible feat of both Councilor Tevos and Aria T'Loak tolerating one another's personal convictions for the safety of their respective states. In this perilous time, the potential for an actual alliance between them—and not one between the names of their domains as representational of themselves, as was the previous, expected result of any resolution at all—was struggling its way into existence. Survival instincts had inspired them. The innate desire to persist took hold of them, driving them to the end of what seemed possible, all in the name of self-preservation. Prior to this day, their foreheads had been pressed together in a burning deadlock as they sent point-blank shouts back and forth while seeing nothing but the other's ire and that of their own reflected back at them in the mirroring irises of their foe. But the hands of fate had come at last, seizing them by the backs of their skulls, tearing them apart, and redirecting their gazes toward the white light of approaching, mutual annihilation.

Look, it had said, this is what awaits you.

What a force that was—the fear of one's own demise. It produced startling phenomenons such as this.

From what she had understood since her earliest days of education, equally opposing forces were supposed to obliterate one another. They were supposed to meet for an instant, swirling about in a fiery havoc until all was spent and extinguished, burned to ash or smothered into unrecognizable ruins and debris.

But no such fate awaited them, Councilor Tevos thought as optimism and determination swelled within her chest.