Hi all you wonderfol readers!
Thank you so much for the review, fave and following! That really keeps me going!
I wanted this chapter up last week, but I was busy with being in a wedding. This whole summer has been all about weddings and I haven't had much time to do anything else. But it was fun!
But now I'm up with a new chapter and please check out the last part of it!
Hope you like it!
Escape the Fate
Chapter 10: The First Human Spectre
John's POV
"You're not making my life easy, Shepard," Ambassador Udina growled as the now larger group stepped into the human embassy's office.
Which of the Shepard siblings he was referring to wasn't clear in his tone and with his back turned towards the entrance, didn't help them clarify it. Though John couldn't help but throw a quick glance towards his sister to see her reaction. But he didn't really know what he was expecting to see, nor was he surprised to see her smirk rather amused.
Anderson stood not far from the Ambassador, apparently they had walked in, in the middle of a discussion between the two which seemed it had not been pleasant. If John had to guess, it had probably been about their most recent activities in the wards.
The Ambassador turned around as the group came to a stop, not at all fazed by the increase in their numbers and the presence of other races. The man's growl matched the sour expression on his face as he continued his angry rant. "Firefights in the wards? An all out assault on Chora's Den?"
As the Ambassador kept his stare at John, though he was sure the man knew it was all Quinn's actions, Udina blamed him for letting it all happened. John knew he was right and let it all just sink in. It wasn't the first time he had been lectured or blamed, both for his own actions and others, and it sure wouldn't be the last. But somehow it gnaw more this time. It bothered him.
John threw an eye towards the Captain to see if he too was disappointed, but the man's stare wasn't even looking his way. Instead he aimed his disappointment towards someone else and his glare was intense. John didn't have to look to know who, yet his gaze fallowed the Captain's and true enough, it landed on Quinn. She was returning the Captain's stare, her head lowered but her amused eyes stared back at him and a small smirk crawled upon her lips. It was like she told him; what did you expect? All Anderson could do, was to shake his head slightly and turn back to the conversation at hand.
"Do you know how many-" Udina cut himself off as his eyes spotted the quarian as she stepped up slightly behind John. "Who's this? A quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?" He threw John a confused stare.
But of all the aliens John had with him, Udina had to react at the sight of a quarian. The man seemed even more guarded around Quinn than with a large krogan mercenary, which didn't really make any sense. A krogan was as dangerous without a gun as it was with, and a krogan with biotic abilities even more so, yet the man barley bent an eyelash at the sight of him. Nor did he react towards the turian which was hell bent on going after another turian, which others would think suspicious. Even the turian Councilor Sparatus had to be convince and even if they threw the evidence right up in his face, he had a time believing it. Yet the small female quarian who's race kept mostly to themselves and was seen as scavengers drew the Ambassador's attention from his fuming lecture.
But the man was right to draw attention to her.
John answered him by stretching his back a little more, feeling some knots in his muscles pop a bit and he crossed his arms behind him. "making your day, Ambassador." He did not miss the familiar scoffing snort from his left, yet he tried his best not to let it get to him. "She had information linking Saren to the geth."
Udina shot his surprised expression from the quarian to John, then back to the quarian again like he couldn't believe what he just heard. At first, he seemed conflicted, like he didn't know if he could believe it. It was like he was debating in his mind why a simple quarian would have such information and why she would even come forward with it. He went from intrigued to skepticism to suspicions in just a few seconds.
Whatever the man decided to land on, he let the quarian have his full attention. "Really? Maybe you should better start at the beginning, Miss..?"
With a nod, she introduced herself politely, her wyes shimmered from behind the hazy purple mask which covered her face. "My name it Tali. Tali'Zorah nar Rayya."
Udina cupped his chin with his hand and supported the arm with the other. "We don't see many quarians here. Why did you leave the flotilla?" The politeness in the Ambassador's tone was so full of it, like it was supposed to erase or cover up the anger and frustration he had had just moments ago, instead John felt it all came out as false.
Yet Tali didn't seem to pick it up or she just didn't let it get to her. "I was on my Pilgrimage, my rite of passage into adulthood."
"Pilgrimage?" John couldn't help but ask.
Tali turned to him and seemed happy or maybe even proud as she explained it. "It's a tradition among my people." Though her tone was proud, her expression was nearly impossible to read through the mask. Only her eyes slightly shone through, which John tried to imagined how they looked beyond the mask. "When we reach maturity, we leave the ship of our parents and our people behind. Alone, we search the stars, only returning to the flotilla once we have discovered something of value. In this way, we prove ourselves worthy of adulthood."
It was quite a task they put on their young. Rather curious, John asked; "What kind of things do you look for?"
Tali seemed to understand their curiosity. "It could be resources like food or fuel." She turned towards the two superiors, as they too seemed to want to know the answer to John's question. "Or some type of useful technology. Or even knowledge that will make life easier on the flotilla."
The only one who didn't care about this, did make herself known.
"Cut this crap," Quinn barked harshly and walked up to the quarian, her patience finally reached its peak. She dug her finger into Tali's armor, shoving her a little as she demanded; "Where's that damned proof you promised, huh? That's what you're here for."
Uncertain how to react, intimidated or offended, Tali took a step away from the pirate and her hands up somewhat as she tried to come up with a sudden answer.
John grabbed his sister's shoulder and pulled her away from Tali. "Cut it out Quinn!"
She threw her arm up which made him lose his hold and turned towards him with a deadly stare. "No!" She almost shouted then pointed to the quarian. "She said she had proof against Saren. That's why we came for her!" She shot Tali a glance. "That's all that matters."
All John could do was to release a heavy sigh in defeat. He knew they had gone off topic and sure enough it had to be brought back on track. But had Quinn lost everything which anything to do with good manner when she took the title of a pirate?
Taking a quick glance around the room, he saw mostly that everyone around him thought the same. To ease the uneasiness for Tali, John turned to her as he politely asked; "Could you please tell us what you found?" As he said the word please, he had shot Quinn a look, but his attempt to teach her more manners was ignored.
Tali's apprehensive gaze seemed to go from John to Quinn and then back to John again before she gave him a slight nod. "During my travels I began hearing reports of geth." She shot Quinn a quick glance. "Since they drove my people into exile, the geth have never ventured beyond the Veil. I was curious." Her tone grew more confident as she spoke. "I tracked a patrol of geth to an uncharted world. I waited for one to become separated from its unit. Then I disable it and removed its memory core."
The way she spoke was like it all wasn't a big deal. Yet John couldn't help but being impressed. This young woman had gone off by herself and put herself in danger just to find something of value to her people. Either her people had a very high expectation of their own or Tali had put a difficult task upon herself. Whichever it was, John hoped she had gotten something worthwhile for both their investigation and for herself.
"I thought the geth fried their memory cores when they died," Anderson spoke baffled. He turned to look at John. "Some kind of defense mechanism."
John shrugged his shoulders at that.
Even Quinn managed to sound impressed as she asked, sounding genuine curious; "How did you managed to preserve the memory core?"
Facing the pirate, Tali spoke bluntly; "My people created the geth. If you're quick and lucky, small cashes of data can sometimes be saved." She paused to bring out her omni-tool. "Most of the core was wiped clean. But I salvaged something from its audio banks."
With only a few clicks away and not before long, an audio recording filled the office with an all too pleased, but harsh voice.
"Eden Prime was a major victory" The beacon had brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."
Just next to him, Quinn had tensed up.
"That's Saren's voice," Anderson exclaimed in surprise before he turned to the Ambassador, who had the same exact expression upon him. "This proves he was involved in the attack!"
There was no denying it. It was Saren's voice and he had given them the proof they needed. But the one who seemed the most pleased of them all, was his sister as she although quite pleased, still muttered under her breath.
"Try talking your way out of this one."
Though this was indeed strong evidence which they needed to convince the Council of their top agent's treachery, John's thought immediately went to what the turian had said and what it could mean. At first he was silent, then pensive and troubled as he said; "He said Eden Prime brought him one step closer to finding the Conduit-" He turned to Anderson. "Any idea what that means?"
Anderson took a few moments to think. As the silence dragged on to a minute or two, John was beginning to getting concerned. Then the Captain carefully spoke. "The conduit must have something to do with the beacon." His gaze fell slightly upon Quinn as he mentioned the beacon, and John shot a glance towards his sister as she inhaled sharply, knowing full well how her reaction had been whenever the beacon was mentioned.
For himself, just the slight mentioning of the beacon was enough to bring the image back into John's mind and all the pain along with it. It was like a constant trigger. A trigger which laid underneath the surface which waited for it to be pressed. Whatever the Protheans wanted to tell the next civilization with this beacon, they damned well made sure it would not be easily forgotten. All he could do was hope for it to fade with time.
Though it was painful for John to think of it, he knew it was nothing compared to what Quinn went through. As he watched her in the corner of his eyes, he could see her eyes had closed tightly and a hand holding her temple as he guessed she was experience the full force of the vision again. Suddenly she swayed and one of her knees gave out.
Garrus, who stood next to her caught her before she could fall to the floor. "You okay?" Garrus asked as he helped her stand up right.
"Yeah..." She tried to assure, but failed as no one was really buying it. Her eyes opened again and she stood on her own. "I'm fine... just-" She pressed her fingers to her temple and began to rub it. "-just a headache. Continue."
Anderson let his gaze rest on her a couple of moments more before he turned his gaze back to John as he continued. "Maybe it's some kind of Prothean technology... like a weapon."
"Wait... there's more," Tali said and had the recording repeat itself. "Saren wasn't working alone."
Once again Saren's voice broke through the speakers. "Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."
Then a female voice spoke; "And one step closer to the return of the Reapers."
As the recording got to a stop, silence took over the office. It lingered for a long time as they all contemplated what had been said.
It was Udina who first broke the silence. "I don't recognize that other voice. The one talking about the Reapers." He dropped his hand from under his chin as he turned to Anderson.
Never heard of the Reapers, John asked; "Are they some kind of new alien species?"
The two superiors seemed as clueless as John himself was. He looked around him and no one seemed to know either.
"No idea," Kaidan said as he shook his head when John's gaze landed on his.
Right next to Kaidan, Ashley too shook her head unknowing. Garrus gave him a single glance as an answer as he stood with his arms crossed next to Quinn, keeping an eye on her as she was still rubbing her head and seemed to occupied with her mind to listen to what was being said.
His eyes then went to Wrex, who said frankly; "Never heard of them, and I'm old."
Finally, his gaze fell back on Tali in hope of her knowing something more, but the quarian was looking down at her omni-tool.
"According to the memory core, the Reapers were a hyper-advanced machine race that existed fifty-thousand years ago. The Reapers hunted the Protheans to total extinction, and they vanished." She looked up from the screen on her forearm with a slight orange glow illuminating upon her purple mask.
Not really buying that explanation, Udina had a frown upon his face. "Sounds a little far-fetched to-"
"The vision on Eden Prime-," Quinn cut him off suddenly. All eyes landed on her, though her own was still closed. "I understand it now." With a sharp inhale, she opened her eyes and looked first at John then to Anderson as she continued; "I saw the Protheans being wiped out by the Reapers."
"The geth revered the Reapers as gods, the pinnacle of non-organic life," Tali explained to her. "And they believe Saren knows how to bring the Reapers back."
Udina shock his head slightly with a clear frown upon his face. He couldn't believe all this had fallen upon his shoulders and silently cursed at it all. "The Council is just going to love this!" He muttered disapprovingly.
John couldn't believe it. Here they had the proof they clearly needed to show the Council what Saren had done and all Udina could think of was what the Council thought about it all and how it would make the man look. Though he believed the man cared about the death of their people, it seemed the man cared more about his political status above all else.
Snapping at the dismissive attitude of the Ambassador, John said sternly; "From what we just heard, the Reapers are a threat to every species in the Citadel space. We have to tell them."
Anderson was quick to agree, he too trying to push the Ambassador into action. "No matter what they think about the rest of this, those audio files prove Saren's a traitor.
John felt relieved that he could count on the Captain in this matter. Though Quinn, wasn't as eager.
"They won't believe an ancient race is coming back to annihilate whole galaxies. Just keep them out of this." It was evident Quinn had no faith in the Council.
"We have to tell them!" Anderson snapped at her. "Even if they don't believe anything else, this is the proof we need."
Although reluctant, Udina finally agreed. "The Captain's right. We need to present this to the Council right away." He took out his omni-tool and Tali gave him a copy of the audio bank.
"In the middle of their dinner appointments, they sure going to love that," Quinn said sarcastically.
Once he had the audio bank, Udina turned to John. "Anderson and I will go ahead to get things ready with the Council. Take half an hour or so to collect yourself, then meet us in the Tower."
Udina wasted no time and headed straight for the door and Anderson fallowed shortly after.
"We should probably get something to eat before going to the Tower," John suggested as he looked at the time. It was closer to evening than he had first expected and couldn't really remember when he had last eaten something that day.
"What about her?" Wrex asked before anyone could leave. "The quarian?"
Tali was quick to snap at the krogan and putting some force behind it. "My name is Tali!" She then turned to John, her tone strong but pleading. "You saw me in the alley, Commander. You know what I can do. Let me come with you."
"I thought you were looking for scrap to prove you're an adult," Quinn was quick to say. It was evident in her tone she didn't think highly of the quarian. But at least she seemed to be feeling a lot better judging by the return of her bad attitude.
But Tali stood her ground, her tone never wavering. "The Pilgrimage proves we are willing to give of ourselves for the greater good." Her gaze shifted back to John. "What does it say about me if I turn my back on this? Saren is a danger to the entire galaxy. My Pilgrimage can wait."
John considered her request very carefully. The young woman sure seemed eager and he already knew she had something to prove. It apparently gave her the drive to complete her goal. It was true he was impressed of her tech skills, which would defiantly come in handy, but she wasn't a soldier nor had she any specific soldier training other than being able to shoot with a shotgun. But she was determined, he had to give her that. And who was he to turn away voluntary help?
He gave her a confirming nod. "I'll take all the help I can get."
Tali's eyes grew brighter from underneath the mask and in her tone, he detected both relief and gratitude. "Thanks. You won't regret this."
"So now we're bringing children with us?" His sister spat disapprovingly. "What's next? A space cow for moral?"
Tali was quick to snap back at her. "I am not a child!"
The pirate turned an eye to the quarian and tilted her head slightly like it was one of the most amusing things she had ever heard. "You're not a soldier, either."
"Feel free to ignore her," John said to Tali then turned to his sister before he continued. "She's just cranky she can't do things her way anymore."
Quinn narrowed her eyes as she stared back at him, clearly not amused. "Hardy-har, John."
She turned on her heel and headed for the door. John watched her leave. It was like she had to fight him at every decision he made, regardless if she agreed or not. When they were kids she had let him make every decision, depended on it. Whether it was good or bad she had accepted it eventually even if she had disagreed.
"Should I be concerned?" Tali's question made him snap out of his thoughts.
"Don't worry about her." He turned to the others. "Let's get something quick to eat before we head to the Tower."
Quinn's POV
The headache still lingered when they walked into the Citadel Tower and the Councilors chamber. Though now a bit more dull than it had been just a half hour ago, it still didn't seem to release its grip anytime soon. Though she had slept fifteen hours straight the previous night, Quinn still felt tired and her patience was nearly none existent. Her mood was dropping. Yet they were all walking to another hearing with the Council to show them proof of Saren's treason. Something which pleased her quite exceedingly.
She kept herself at the back of the group. Keeping the rest at a careful distance. During their half hour food break, the rest of the group had tried to get to know each other. Bonding and sharing stories of achievements and funny experiences. But she had barley listened to them. Of the six of them, there was one she kind of liked, one she had no opinion on, one she tolerated, one she didn't understand the reason why they let be there, one defiantly didn't like and then there was John. Other than the krogan, none of the bunch was even close to the people she would even consider having around her. Yet here she was. Forced or not, this was the bunch she would be working with. Depend on. Trust.
It all still seemed like a big joke to her. However, she was far from amused.
As they walked through the chamber towards the back where the Petitioner's Stage were, Quinn noticed there was an increase in people around. They didn't look pleased as their group walked straight through, probably cutting in line to see the Council.
Anderson stood at the foot of the last flight of stairs, waiting for them. He seemed a bit restless and walked back and forth, but stopped in his tracks as he saw them approaching. "Come on. Udina's presenting the quarian's evidence to the Council." He didn't wait for the whole group before he turned on his heel and climbed up the last of the steps with the rest of them after.
The three Council members stood on their podiums with Udina true enough, stood beneath them on the Petitioner's Stage as they listed to the audio recording Tali had gotten from the geth.
Saren's voice spoke through the speakers, loud and clear.
"Eden Prime was a major victory! The beacon has brought us one step closer to finding the Conduit."
Knowing it was coming, Quinn had prepared herself for the intense pain the mentioning of the beacon would bring. True enough it had shot pulsing and throbbing ache through her head, though she was a bit surprised at the insignificant lack of power in it compared to the first or even the second. Even if it would linger a long time after, she finally felt it was getting better.
The female voice fallowed Saren's, still as mysterious as the first time they heard it. "And on step closer to the return of the Reapers."
John and Anderson walked up upon the stage and next to the Ambassador, while the rest of them stood back and watched. On the walls surrounding the stage, there was a few floors with balconies with people watching what was going on. There seemed to be more people now than it had been the first time they had met with the Council.
Udina pointed out over the garden below, to amplify his point. "You wanted proof. There it is."
"This evidence is irrefutable, Ambassador," the turian Councilor, Sparatus said factual, his tone with a hint of anger and resentment. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all effort will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes."
Everyone around her seemed to breathe out in relief. Finally the Council had listened. But would they really believe everything? Quinn highly doubted it.
Tevos, the asari Councilor turned to her turian colleague. "I recognize the other voice, the one speaking with Saren." She turned to look down at the people on the stage as she said, her tone actually sounding surprised. "Matriarch Benezia."
Before she knew it, Quinn had walked through the group and stepped up right next to John as she demanded; "Who's she?"
"Matriarchs are powerful asari who have entered the final stage of their lives," Tevos began to explain. "Revered for their wisdom and experience, they serve as guides and mentors to my people."
"I didn't ask for your culture shit. I asked who she is," Quinn spat impatiently. Why did politicians have such a hard time answering a simple question?
"Quinn!" John barked at her at the same time as Anderson. Both standing on either side of her.
Udina was quick to fallow with his own fuming warning. "Show some respect, your lowlife pirate scum! If it wasn't for them, you would be locked up to rotten in a cell for the rest of your miserable life."
Normally she would crush his skull for speaking to her like that, yet she barley even batted an eye. Instead she ignored him and everyone else's harsh words and stares as she kept her own piercing eyes on the asari Councilor who's gaze was calm and collected.
"I don't care," she answered them all. And she really didn't. She was there for one reason and one reason only, to get her hands on Saren.
Like she was challenged herself, Tevos let her head rise a bit more. "Matriarch Benezia is a powerful biotic, and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren."
The warning was clear in the Councilor's tone. Even if it was for all of them, it was more of such to the reckless pirate. Still blinded by grief and hatred she was bound to do something reckless and the asari seemed to know it. Still having Tevos eyes on her, she gave the Councilor a nod, in acknowledgement or thankful, she wasn't sure.
"I'm more interested in the Reapers," the salarian Councilor, Valern suddenly spoke. "What do you know about them?"
Anderson took a step closer to the Councilors. "Only what was extracted from the geth's memory core." He seemed to hesitate for a moment, but pushed on. "The Reapers were an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans. Then they vanished."
"The geth believe the Reapers are gods," John chipped in. "And Saren is the prophet for their return."
As they spoke it out loud, Quinn couldn't help but finding it ludicrous. She knew it was real, after all she had seen it, yet it all sounded so farfetched. An ancient race was coming back to destroy the every galactic being. It was like a plot to a bad movie or something.
"We think the Conduit is the key to bringing them back," Anderson continued. "Saren's searching for it. That's why he attached Eden Prime."
"Do we even know what this Conduit is?" The salarian Councilor was unconvinced and he crossed his arms over his chest.
"Saren thinks it can bring back the Reapers. That's bad enough," John tried to push, but kind of knew it was a long shot they would believe them in the first place.
"Listen to what you're saying!" Sparatus, the turian Councilor spat even less convinced. Quinn couldn't blame him. "Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? Impossible." He turned to his fellow Councilors to see their own reactions to what he was saying. "It has to be. Where did the Reapers go? Why did they vanish? How come we've found no trace of their existence?" Irritation filled his tone as he crossed his arms in front of him. "If they were real, we'd have found something!"
John walked up to the edge of the stage, frustration clear on his face. "I tried to warn you about Saren, and you refused to face the truth." His tone grew darker. "Don't make the same mistake again."
Quinn understood her brother's frustration too, but what did he expect? Of course the Councilors wouldn't believe them about the Reapers. They could have told them they didn't know what Benezia spoke of and then gone off and found out more for themselves. Now they were stuck in another pointless argument which would take more of their valuable time which they could use to hunt down Saren.
"I told you they wouldn't listen," she whispered bluntly to John, who gave her a harsh look.
"This is different," Tevos spoke, her tone still as calm as ever. "You proved Saren betrayed the Council. We all agree he's using the geth to search for the Conduit, but we don't really know why."
Valern turned his gaze from his colleague and continued; "The Reapers are obviously just a myth, Commander. A convenient lie to cover Saren's true purpose. A legend he is using to bend the geth to his will."
Of course he would see it like that, Quinn thought.
"Fifty thousand years ago, the Reapers wiped out all galactic civilization. If Saren finds the Conduit, it will happen again!" John continued to push.
He really couldn't give it up. For some reason John had decided to be stubborn about it all, maybe it was because of the image he got from the beacon which made him push the subject so hard. But no matter what he said, the Council wouldn't buy it without solid proof of their existence.
"Saren is a rouge agent on the run for his life." The disappointment in the turian Councilor's tone was evident, even if the man tried to hide it behind his harsh demeanor. "He no longer has the rights or resources of a Spectre. The Council has stripped him of his position."
"That's not good enough!" Udina roared, his voice echoing throughout the large chamber. "You know he's hiding somewhere in the Traverse. Send your fleet in!"
The Traverse, Quinn thought surprised. The Attican Traverse, that's where Saren was hiding? It wouldn't be easy to find him. With thirteen clusters to search and each of them containing various systems and planets it would be like looking for a needle in a haystack. It would be impossible if you didn't have some kind of clue.
Apparently Valern thought the same as he scoffed at the Ambassador's demand. "A fleet cannot track down one man."
Udina must have know it was a long shot, cause he slumped his shoulders in defeat. But the men pressed on. "A Citadel fleet could secure the entire region. Keep the geth from attacking any more of our colonies."
"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems!" Sparatus was quick to counter.
"That's your reason for not doing anything?" Quinn couldn't help but scoff of surprise or disbelief, maybe even both. The Councilors turned their heads to her direction. "Scared of a war with petty criminals?" Her tone was mocking. "That's hilarious. If I had only know that I had invaded more worlds. To think I was scared of your fleet messing up my business."
"You think we're wrong?" Tevos asked quite curious.
"No," she answered simply. "We don't want you involved in our dealings. Most are very careful not to step on your toes." The Council gave each other a glance. "But don't get me wrong-" She got their attentions back before they could think of anything stupid. "-If your fleet step even one foot into the Terminus, then every pirate, mercenary, slave trader and every other criminal gang would go on the all out offensive. And believe me when I'm telling you-" She turned to look at John. "-you would lose more than you would gain in that war."
"There you have it, Ambassador, straight from the source." Though Sparatus tried to sound disgusted, he somehow sounded more pleased underneath the cruel tone. "We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies!"
That was enough for John to go on the verge of exploding. "Every time humanity asks for help you ignore us!"
Udina was quick to fallow with his furious rant. "Shepard's right. I'm sick of this Council and its anti-human bull-"
Every spectator up on the balconies inhaled sharply at his coming insults and lack of respect.
But what cut him off was Tevos hand which shot up in a stopping motion and the unusual roughness in her tone. "Ambassador!" Udina took a step back and lowered his head in shame, only when he seemed calm did she continue; "There is another solution. A way to stop Saren that does not require fleet or armies."
The asari Councilor turned to Sparatus, who immediately spat his reluctance and disagreement; "No! It's too soon. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with joining the Spectres."
Quinn turned to look at John. She vaguely remembered she had heard something about that before.
John kept his gaze straight as he said; "You don't have to send a fleet into the Traverse, and the Ambassador gets his human Spectre. Everybody's happy."
The only one who was truly opposed the idea was Sparatus. While the other two Council members was waiting for the turian to come to his senses, he himself was eying John. It must really hurt his pride to think a human was about to become a Spectre while their top agent who happened to be a turian, was now a traitor. But pride or not, this was reality.
Finally, the man gave them all his consent and the three of them reached out for the consols in front of them.
"Commander John Shepard-" Tevos said. "-step forward."
Though John knew they had considered him as the prime candidate, it still seemed to come as a shock to him. It was quite interesting to see him go from disbelief to acceptance to doubt. The job would be different from what he knew and he would answer to the Council and not only to the Alliance.
Nihlus had been a great Spectre. Loyal right to the end. It had been how they had met, yet it had hurt her when he had chosen to be more loyal to the Council than to the woman he had claimed to love.
John turned to look at captain Anderson for confirmation, who meet his gaze and gave him a nod. Then he turned back to the Council and took a few steps forward, taking the spot where Udina had just stood. All around him people was gathering to witness this historical event. With great interest people watched on so that they could later on brag about them being there to see when the first human Spectre was announced. It was an honor for John and the human race, but it was also an honor for the people there.
Tevos spoke and John gave her his full attention. "It is the decision of the Council that you be granted all the powers and privileges of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance branch of the Citadel."
Valern crossed his arms as he took over from where Tevos ended, though he had agreed to this decision, he too seemed to be displeased. "Spectre are not trained, but chosen. Individuals forged in the fire of service and battle; those whose actions elevate them above the rank and file."
"Spectres are an ideal, a symbol," Tevos continued. "The embodiment of courage, determination, and self-reliance. They are the right hand of the Council, instruments of our will."
Finally, Sparatus spoke up, his tone had lost all the anger and resentment it previous held, all of it covered over a tone of business. "Spectres bear a great burden. They are protectors of galactic peace, both our first and last line of defense. The safety of the galaxy is theirs to uphold."
"You are the first human Spectre, Commander," Tevos announced, being the first so speak it out loud. "This is a great accomplishment for you and your entire species."
John let his head fall into a bow, let it lingered there for a moment in respect and gratefulness. "I'm honored, Councilor."
"We're sending you into the Traverse after Saren," Valern announced, like they didn't already know it. "He's a fugitive from justice, so you are authorized to use any means necessary to apprehend or eliminate him."
"He will be eliminated for sure," Quinn guaranteed it. No, she promised it. That man would not get away even if he run to the darkest corner of space to hide. He was a dead man walking, he just didn't know it yet.
"We will forward any relevant filed to Ambassador Udina," Sparatus said.
"I'll find him," John assured them too.
The meeting had reached its peak. "This meeting of the Council is adjourned," Tevos announced.
John gave the Council another bow of his head. Anderson and Udina did the same before the three Councilors left the Petitioner's Stage and the Chamber. What the rest of their group did, she couldn't see. But Quinn eyed the three coldly as they left. She couldn't believe those three where the ones who decided the future and well being of every single life in Citadel Space. They were incompetent and narrow minded. If something didn't happen right in front of their eyes, they chose to ignore it and pretend it wasn't happening. Even with proof they were reluctant and had to be fought into action. She had said it before and she would say it again, their incompetence will eventually be the end of them all.
They all walked off the stage and where the rest of the party waited. Anderson was quick to take John's hand and congratulate him. "Congratulations, Commander."
"Thank you, sir."
But Udina wasn't in the same celebrating mood and let his frown deepen now when the Council had gone. "We've got a lot of work to do, Shepard," he growled. "You're going to need a ship, a crew, supplies..." Quinn imagined the gear in the man's head cracking as he was contemplation on what had to be done.
But Anderson wouldn't let the man's sour mood get to them all and he kept his tone light. "You'll all get access to special equipment and training now," he said intruiged. "You should go down to the C-Sec Academy and speak to the Spectre requisitions officer. "
"Anderson, come with me. " Anderson barley had the time to finish the sentence before Udina barked at him. "I'll need your help to set all this up."
With that, the Ambassador marched away like he knew no one would miss his company.
"You should all take it easy for the rest of the evening," Anderson said to the group. "We'll talk tomorrow morning." He congratulated John once again before he too, walked off.
"Congratulation, Commander!" Ashley was quick to praise John, nearly knocking Kaidan in the process and took his hand quite eagerly.
Kaidan was quick to fallow with his own praises, not even bothering on commenting on Ashley's behavior. "The first human Spectre. What an honor. How does it feel?"
"Thanks. A bit unreal, to be honest," John answered a bit awkward and scratched the back of his head.
"I expected your ambassador to be more grateful. He didn't even thank you," Garrus said.
"What do you expect? He's an ass of a politician," Quinn was quick to answer. "Though I don't see why he should-" She turned her stare to John, who met hers. "John was quite busy helping others than trying to find the proof we needed."
With only a smile on his lips and not in his eyes, her brother stared back at her. His voice was filled with dry sarcasm as he said; "Yes. Thank you, Quinn, for all the dead bodies you left in your wake. You were so helpful."
"You're welcome," she said obviously, not letting him get to her.
"I was sarcastic."
"I wasn't." Her eyes lingered on him a little longer before she turned around to leave the Tower.
Thank you so much for reading!
I'm already working on the next chapter, but I'm going to want your thoughts about something. So there won't be a teaser this time, but a question.
Go to Feros?
Go to Noveria?
or
Go and get Liara?
Which one do you prefere?