Liara found herself so hungry that she even forwent utensils, ravenously chewing on greasy strips of a pale meat she tore off with her left hand as the other covered her mouth for some semblance of manners. Between trying to be as delicate about it as one could be eating in such a barbarous manner and glancing up at the party gathered at the small foldable table around her trying to keep track of the conversations going on between the seven or eight other people, she did find her spirits lifting and even her weariness receding. Despite mostly just listening and concentrating on trying to moderate her bites and gulps of a tart, cloudy, pale golden brown juice of apples, she was thoroughly enjoying herself, the little bit of normalcy a distraction from the chaos around their circle. It reminded her of the Normandy inbetween all the battles they had gotten themselves into, not quite sure if it was something all soldiers did to take their minds off their circumstances, or if these circumstances were simply extraordinary. Having set her VIs to divert any relevant information to her omni, Liara felt a little better about abandoning her monitoring station; she knew she had needed the break, and the food. Even Jack seemed to have relaxed a little despite clearly checking her feeds every few minutes.

As she was closing on the bone of her second piece, Liara started drifting into the conversation more, even speaking up a few times—if mostly to ask for clarifications on idioms and references her human tablemates used. She was pleased and thankful to find that even the men and women she did not know—two of them she thought were introduced as James' subordinates and the others had just been sitting at the table as they arrived and were apparently known to the female corporal, Rivers—seemed to try to make an effort to include her, and to her delight even somehow intuited that she enjoyed both learning the idioms and what they meant rather than just wanting them to use simpler language. Despite having been around humans a while already, Liara still found it fascinating to study the dynamic of a group of both sexes and the members of which were not all well known to eachother, creating a contrast to the exposure she had had on the Normandy and on the Citadel.

Much was also made of the food they had all enjoyed, apparently the availability of chicken being something of a miracle. Liara did not quite catch most of what seemed to be an amusing story one of the women was telling about the procurement thereof, wondering as she was about the connection she was certain she remembered to exist between these chickens and dinosaurs. Surely it could not be one, she thought, dangling the small bones up in front of her, but maybe it was an evolutionary fork? She would have to remember to look it up.

"Enjoying the delectable chicken, doct…ah, Liara?" inquired James from the opposite side of the table, sucking loudly on each of his fingers in turn and causing the asari to look around for something to clean her own digits with. She would have to ask Shepard—Goddess—how she had made the lieutenant so terrified of Liara. Or herself, she mentally amended.

"Yes, it is quite wonderful," she agreed, rubbing at her fingertips with some tissue the man on her left side had given her. "It tastes a bit like damis…they are little furry things that live in trees in the warmer zones of Thessia. And the turians have a sea creature quite similar in flavor, too. Bakara also said that the pyjak closely resemble damis, too, although I would never try myself, and—"

She paused, a little taken aback by the raucous explosion of laughter until Rivers, wiping tears from her eyes, let her in on the joke. Even Liara, relieved that it had not just been something foolish she said, was still giggling when the man sitting next to James nudged the big marine.

"So, LT, what's this I hear about a tattoo?" he inquired, his voice neutral but even Liara could interpret the movement of his eyebrows and the twitching in the corner of his mouth as mischievous, and was not disappointed when James' head turned toward Corporal Rivers like a whip.

"Goddamnit, Rivers, I—" he started bellowing at the red-headed woman before seeming to abruptly run out of steam with his lips still parted.

Even Jack, sitting close on Liara's right, seemed to perk up as Rivers, with an expression matching the man who had asked about the tattoo, leaned back to one side and waggled a finger at James. "You said you would, LT, and you said it in combat. You know the rules!"

"Come on," the lieutenant pleaded to the mirth of the entire table. "Besides, we weren't fighting anymore!"

"Bullshit, LT," Rivers countered, her hands growing animated as she emphasized her point, "you know and I know that it still counts—and besides, the fucking zombies got up again after that so it's not even a valid excuse!"

"OK, maybe I said I should get one, but we're in a fucking warzone, it's gonna have to—" James started before being struck down again.

"I've got a kit sitting over at the FOB, LT," interjected one of the women, "and I've got nothing but time and the desire to do anything to get my mind off this desolate fucking situation we find ourselves in. We can go right now!" she exclaimed, making as if getting up right then.

"Whoa, whoa," James tried to stall, desperately scanning around the table for any support. His eyes lit up as he looked over at Liara, and almost triumphantly he turned toward Rivers and, pointing at Liara, tried to make his case. "Have you thought this through, Rivers, maybe doc— Maybe Liara wouldn't be very happy with me if I did that, did you think about that?"

Liara knit her brows trying to make sense of the lieutenant's argument as everyone in the table turned toward her. She was rescued by Jack, who let her chair fall forward from where she had been rocking on its back legs, landing her elbows on the table with her right index finger pointed accusatorially at James.

"Now I'm interested," Jack enunciated carefully in a low voice. "What exactly did you fuck up this time, dumbass?"

Rivers jumped in before James could try to defend himself. "The LT promised that he would have a tattoo of Commander Shepard commissioned on," she paused for effect, "his left tit, I believe was the exact wording."

Liara felt a bit of heat on her cheeks and neck and Jack let out an evil cackle with the lieutenant trying to think of something to add to his case as the rest of the table whooped and jeered, the man next to Liara even remarking that he hadn't realized the asari was 'her' in an awed voice. Quickly recovering and mustering all the poise and seriousness she had cultivated in her time as an information broker, Liara delicately folded her hands on the table and cleared her throat. Satisfied that she had caught everyone's attention, she adopted her most strict and serious tone.

"Now, James, I must admit I would be a little displeased and even jealous if you did that," she started, lighting up James' face even as Rivers and Jack's faces seemed to fall, "but seeing as you have made a solemn oath on the fields of battle, a very sacred thing, I do not see any alternatives but to demand that you do it despite my personal feelings."

The entire table fell silent staring at her. James' mouth slowly falling open was what finally broke Liara's somber mask, the corner of her mouth quivering upwards into a smile. Hearing the marine's relieved groan as he settled his forehead on the table was quite satisfying, as was having intentionally gotten her new friends to laugh. The laughter was still dying off and Jack had gotten to complimenting her in a vaguely obscene manner when James finally lifted his head and looked up at Liara and Rivers in turn.

"Damnit, Dr. T'Soni," he half-muttered, "you're an evil, evil woman—and so are you, Corporal.

"But, y'know, you're also right…I did make a promise, and I can't think of a better reason for ink than this right here. We got nothing to do til the morning. Let's go."

"Fuck yes, that's what I want to hear!" exclaimed Jack, pushing her plate toward the bin in the center of the table. "You know what, cabron? I'll come with you, and if this chick," she said, pointing at the tattoo artist, "is any good, I'll get one too."

The whole table made to leave, tossing away their used plates and chattering, excited at the prospect of further distraction. Before they actually got going, Jack leaned down next to Liara, looking the asari in the eye from a handspan away.

"You're something else, Blue," she said approvingly after a moment, and continued quietly, "You gonna be OK if I go with the jarhead for a bit? We'll be on the channel."

"Yes…yes, I think so," Liara replied softly, "I will go back up and see if I can find new information, or maybe locate your Rodriguez and the others. Or the Normandy. And maybe some cots to sleep in; the days are short on this planet."

"That sounds like a good idea," Jack nodded, and straightened back up.

Liara had just turned her head back toward the table to put away her dinosaur bones when she felt a little rush of air, an arm wrapping around her shoulders, and a warm cheek pressing against hers. The stubbly hair on the side of the woman's head was prickly against the asari's skin as Jack gave her a squeeze and then took off after the marines.

{Thank you for joining once again. We have some new participants, I will briefly introduce everyone before moving on.

{I am Matriarch Lidanya, commander of the asari contingent. From the humans, we have admirals Lakopoulos and Bajic. Turians are represented by Admiral Rastias, and we now also have the pleasure of the company of Primarch Victus. We are glad that the Primarch was not seriously injured in the battle on the ground,} the asari intoned politely.

{Thank you, Lidanya. I will report on the ground situation when we get to it,} a turian voice interjected.

{Thank you, Primarch.

{Admirals Shala'Raan and Han'Gerrel of the quarians are with us again, as well as our honored guests the rachni. Additionally, Admiral Tann from the batarian fleet and M. Vosque from the mercenary and mercantile fleets join us now. The volus, elcor, drell and hanar are represented by Admiral Bat of the volus.

{Unfortunately the geth are not present; Admiral Bajic will have some information on the matter a little later.}

Alina Bajic slouched back on her armchair, letting her head rest on top of its back, unshod feet propped up on the table she had dragged closer for the express purpose. She was technically off-duty, and her yeoman had brought her customary tumbler of whisky but had also left a gel pouch of stims next to it with the customary discreet precognition the admiral so much valued. Sucking on the artificial berry flavored goop, she leaned back forward and rubbed at the bridge of her nose before concentrating on the Matriarch in front of her, the asari's image enlarging to triple the size of the others with video enabled as she started talking again. Alina noticed that even the normally withdrawn Lakopoulos was among the faces shown, still in full combat regalia and his hat on in what looked like the Fuji's conference room.

{Before we begin,} Lidanya started, {I want to ensure that we are all in order here. With fleet combat now over, I am now longer technically in command. However, unless anyone objects, I would like to continue to moderate these meetings until other arrangements are made.}

Satisfied that no-one objected after a few moments, the matriarch nodded, and picked up again. {Very well, thank you. First, I shall note that based on what the scientists have observed, the Crucible deployed successfully. From their measurements, all of the Reapers, both capital ships and the destroyers, have been completely…erased, I believe would be a good term. Unlike some of the deactivated Reaper technology we have come across, there appears to be nothing left of what Dr. Lok assures me we can think of as their…software. With this confirmed, Admiral Rastias has instructed the turians to alternate between destroying the weapons or power plants of the carcasses so that they are absolutely neutralized while leaving the option of salvaging some of their technology.

{The husks, as the Reaper-affected organic bodies are called, were also affected in that all their Reaper parts were similarly erased. Some of the husks are still somehow reanimated after all that, and they still seem to be aggressive, but they are very weak and pose little risk. Some of the scientists were hoping that the husks could actually be cured somehow, but it seems exceedingly unlikely. The creatures are, unfortunately, no longer the persons they were.}

While Lidanya drew breath amidst pleased mutters from all participants, Alina added a todo item on her pad, anticipating that Lakopoulos would want her talking to Lok again.

{I am also glad to report that with the assistance of the rachni, our Search & Rescue teams were able to locate Commander Shepard and three other persons in an intact section of the Citadel Presidium Tower's base. All four are en route to intercept the hospital fleet, and are expected to make a full recovery.}

Alina couldn't but let out a little private cheer even though she and Lakopoulos had been informed by Admiral Shepard a little earlier. She was also amused to find the normally reserved Primarch breaking in with a solemn 'hurrah'.

Smiling briefly herself, Lidanya continued her report. {The hospital fleet is expected to reach the Earth sphere in a little under three hours. All 51 ships are intact, and their patient capacity is still approximately the original 220,000. With this, I would like to hear status reports on the remaining intact or salvageable ships for each contingent, and the estimate of casualties from fleet operations.}

With a heavy sigh, Lidanya herself went first. {The asari are left with 4 dreadnoughts, 247 cruisers, 381 frigates, one carrier, and a handful of fighters. We have lost nearly 320,000 lives, and the number of wounded requiring serious care is almost 35,000.}

Admiral Lakopoulos cleared his throat and spoke next in his terse staccato. {Humans, 4 dreadnoughts, 360 cruisers, 297 frigates, one carrier, 400 fighters. 305,000 killed, 36,000 wounded.}

{Admiral Rastias?} Lidanya inquired, with the gruff turian rattling off his litany. {As of last count, we have 8 dreadnoughts, 490 cruisers, 401 frigates and 57 fighters. Nearly 510,000 lost or missing, 73,000 reported wounded.}

Shala'Raan's report was little better, the burden especially heavy on the quarians whose numbers were small to begin with. {The quarians have 2 liveships, 1 offensive dreadnought, 234 cruisers, 576 frigates, and 685 fighters. Almost 285,000 will not see Rannoch again, and we have nearly 20,000 wounded more severely than just exposure.}

Alina was already doing the dreadful math in her head, listening to the remaining reports with one ear. The batarians and the merc-civilian fleet had lost over two thirds of their numbers, and Admiral Bat's small contingent was very nearly demolished, with only a handful of ships remaining in addition to the Admiral's own Kwunu which was badly crippled but might be repairable. The rachni seemed to have fared marginally better than the others, but had still sustained heavy losses. With her neck tilted back and eyes aimlessly wandering from one crease in the ceiling to another, Alina missed whatever it was Lidanya said before Victus spoke up with the information she was anticipating with a tight knot in her stomach.

{Victory seems a fleeting concept in this moment,} the general and Primarch began, his voice bereft of the metallic edge that usually characterized the turians. {The situation on the surface is a complete chaos, with the communications only now coming back. All data we have is preliminary, and we hope that many of the currently missing will be found at a later time.

{As you may know, the primary planetside assaults focused on London as well as eight other significant Reaper concentrations. Each operation had between 250,000 and 400,000 troops—many of them untrained—with London actually getting the fewest in the hopes of further obscuring our true goal. All smaller resistance units were given orders to start attacks in the two previous days. By the current reports, all the large operations sustained losses on the order of 65-75% of their strength, and we do not believe the smaller operations fared much better.

{In addition to the killed and missing, we have confirmed just under 540,000 wounded requiring treatment, but the number has been growing by tens of thousands per hour as reports are starting to come in. And, of course, this is just from this operation. The… The situation on the planet is quite bad, much worse than Palaven or Thessia, but I would like to address this matter separately and when we have more information, if that is acceptable to admirals Lakopoulos and Bajic?}

It took a few seconds of silence for Lakopoulos' grunt of assent to interrupt Alina's silent prayer to any benign forces out there. She, in turn, sat up and straightened her jacket, trying to make herself look presentable before flicking on her video for the first time.

{Yes, Primarch. Thank you,} she saw her own image mimicking her words on the screen. She pulled her pad back into her lap, and suppressed a snuffle as she sent some data to the other participants. {I am sure Matriarch Lidanya will want to address the issue of prioritizing treatment with the number of wounded we have to deal with, but I wanted to add a word about the geth at this point, as we are still going over the contingents.}

Lidanya nodded her approval, and turned her eyes to look over the info Alina sent. The admiral snuffled again, turning her head to the side, and spoke up when she was sure everyone had gotten the data. {Just before the Crucible actually fired, we received a transmission from the Citadel, presumably from Commander Shepard. The analysis of the transmitted data by the AI of the Normandy—and yes, we can return to that point later—completed in the short window that we had indicated that the Crucible's mechanism was a targeted pulse to erase all of what could be termed the software and firmware of the Reapers.

{As some of you may know, the geth had incorporated some of the Reaper code in their quest to improve themselves,} she continued, leaving out the fact that EDI itself had some. {The AI made the assumption that the geth might be safest from the pulse if they powered off completely. If the…whatever circuits it is,} she waved the specifics away with her hands, {had time to clear out the…resonance— Uh. Essentially, if the pulse would not be able to detect running or previously running Reaper code, it would hopefully not affect the geth.

{The teams we have at the geth ships are estimating that maybe as many as 60% of the geth remaining at the time of the pulse had in fact been able to power down. The rest were, in fact, destroyed much as the Reapers were. As yet, we do not know how or if we can restart the geth. Some of the Crucible team is being tasked to help there. The AI would probably also be helpful, but as you know, the Normandy is still missing.}

Lidanya took the cue, {Thank you Admiral Bajic. Our team is indeed still on its way to Charon, and had not encountered Normandy as of last contact. I would like to address the topic of the relay and the QEC first, and then return to the wounded and the evacuation efforts.

{All of you may not know…}

"Doctor Lawson?" the timid orderly called from the doorway with a knock. The sheet covering the shape on the cot rustled and shifted, but it took another knock before the sleepy murmuring and rocking transformed into a sitting young woman rubbing at her eyes, scratching her neck, and trying to tame the cloud of black hair around her head into something resembling a sensible hairdo.

"They are arriving in 20 minutes, doctor," the orderly ventured as the woman's eyes were starting to adjust to the light judging from the more infrequent blinking. "You wanted me to wake you up when they were coming? ChiefMed ordered them first to the Danube for surgical treatment. They have a decent burn ward there, but we're still better set up for that. Would you rather—"

"That's fine, thank you," Miranda waved ambiguously at the young man at the door. "We're not going to have other victims come in for a couple hours still. I'll just hop over to the Danube to assist in the surgery if I can, and then bring Shepard back over to Tiber myself and we'll take care of her burns."