Citadel, Council chambers
Despite the recent events, Garrus felt mildly amused while waiting for the oh-so-majestic and important Council to stoop down and give them an audience - as if the actions of a Spectre, especially with Saren on the loose would not warrant it by itself. The thought of that treacherous bareface was enough to dispel his amusement, his mind dwelling on their departure from Noveria - Tali's frantic scrabbling for preserving and recovering as much of the data as she could from the data banks of the research facility, the nuclear fire cleansing away all traces of the gruesome experiments and rachni presence, the disturbing rapture Ashley radiated with her whole being while she watched the explosion from orbit … no, he'd likely never understand that woman; and to be honest, he was not sure he'd ever want to. Even Shepard seemed to keep a careful eye on her, and anyone who made the Butcher wary was someone to keep away from.
No, he'd better stay back and enjoy teasing Tali, especially after her reaction to rachni - and arachnids in general. Odd, that - where had she encountered those at all? It's not like the Migrant Fleet had a ready supply or presence of the pests. Also, he had to be careful not to rile up the young quarian too much, she could be surprisingly vindictive and creative with her pranks, as Joker found out to his chagrin. And the way Wrex and Shepard both hovered over her as a pair of overprotective parents … yes, clearly caution was warranted when pranking and teasing Tali. Garrus permitted himself a small smirk - well, a certain amount of risk just made it all the more exciting.
Before he could further contemplate his shipmate, a new arrival caught his eye - a slender female turian, wearing the insignia of an admiral, and the facial markings of Invictus. Garrus' mandibles flared in a grin; the Council session would be even more interesting than he previously thought.
He followed Shepard and the rest of the team to the Council podium, standing before and beneath the three Councilors, and he carefully examined the trio while the commander gave his report. Tevos, as usual, seemed serene, but he noticed a number of minuscule details he learnt to associate with nervousness in asari - nothing much, a minor tremor of the fingers, a slightly elevated heartbeat, a tenseness to her posture. Minor things taken separately, but the detective had been at his job for too long to disregard such signs. Valern, too, fidgeted nervously, much more than the hyperactive salarian was wont to, his eyes darting all over the place, rarely fixating on anything for an extended time. And Sparatus, well, he supposed even a blind, brain-dead vorcha would recognize the barely controlled aggression screaming from his posture. Garrus tilted his head to the side, mandibles flaring thoughtfully - the Council did not seem to harbor too much resentment against Shepard. Damn, the way things shaped up, he just might lose the bet to Wrex, and the old krogan would be insufferable.
Shepard meanwhile stepped back, finished with his report. The three Councilors shared a quick glance, communicating like longtime associates, before both Tevos and Valern nodded, allowing Sparatus to take the lead on this. Garrus grinned. This ought to be good.
"In light of your report, and the supporting data your specialist" a nod towards Tali upped Garrus' estimate of Sparatus up a notch "was able to recover, the Council unfortunately has to agree with your conclusion and actions, Spectre Shepard. While genocide is is not something the civilized races of the galaxy would condone, your reasoning and the extreme circumstances involved with the rachni are convincing that you had precious little choice."
Garrus felt as if the floor dropped out from under him. Wrex was correct, damn the canny old bastard. Who would have thought that the Council would take this moment to remove their collective heads from their asses? Sparatus continued, an undertone of rage in his voice.
"The fragmentary coordinates you and Doctor T'Soni were able to extract from the rachni queen are being processed, and the cursory examination lends weight to her theory that it is indeed a key to finding the Mu Relay. Unfortunately, we do need time to collate the data, and establish a reasonably precise location for the lost relay, and comb through the Relay Network controls and logs on the Citadel itself."
"That is rather unfortunate, Councilor. Understandable, but still - it does leave Saren and Benezia time to prepare, and we will still be playing catch-up, only reacting to them."
Garrus felt the turian female practically radiating smug satisfaction, as Sparatus nodded towards Shepard, acknowledging the point.
"That much is obvious, and is the reason why STG companies and Spectre operatives have been combing the Traverse and the Terminus Systems, looking for clues about Saren. And the Third STG under Captain Kirrahe managed to find something."
Sparatus manipulated his console, replaying a rather garbled distress call, and even Garrus could not understand more than just a few disjointed words - but it was enough, and with luck, they could really hit Saren where he would feel it.
"This is all good news, Councilor, but I would hesitate to bring the Normandy alone to Saren's base, without any backup."
"That's why Admiral Agrippina is here, Spectre. The Normandy, as a turian vessel, will join the Seventh Fleet for the duration of the Virmire assault."
Garrus eyed the turian female with renewed appreciation - such high level command, especially for that particular fleet suggested competence, intelligence, and ferociousness. Admittedly, she was rather easy on the eyes, too, he mused, enjoying the view of her hips, before a rather forceful poke and a glare from Tali snapped him out of the brief appreciation, as Wrex spoke up.
"And what about the Terminus warlords? I thought the Council was rather unwilling to provoke them - and don't tell me a full turian fleet is not a provocation for those trigger-happy idiots."
The trio on the podium exchanged glances again, and this time Tevos spoke, her voice calm, measured - but with an undertone of the roaring sea beneath it.
"The Council decided that we can always worry about their reaction if Saren's plans and the commander's visions turn out to be the megalomaniacal fantasies of a deranged mind." She lifted a hand to stop the protests. "Given the potential magnitude and severity of the threat, the Council decided that an appropriate message will have to be sent to the Terminus Systems. We will not tolerate dissent on that scale in the face of a potential galaxy-wide crisis. The warlords can either fall in line, or they will be hunted down."
Citadel, Spectre offices
Tali did not feel comfortable at all. Sure, her envirosuit was regulating the heat and took care of her quite well, but the current atmosphere of the briefing room was so cold and sharp she could barely suppress shivering. And much as she hated admitting that, she only did so because her adoptive uncle and her captain were both quite relaxed and darkly amused. Though that last bit might warrant her caution, both bosh'tets were capable of breathtaking stupidity for their amusement. A gentle tap at her shoulder almost made her jump out of her suit, and she glared at the offender. Garrus however simply chuckled.
"Relax, Tali. I'm not sure you drilling holes into Wrex and Shepard would be considered a help."
Tali huffed indignantly. She was not glaring, and anyway, those two have proven time and time again that they were remarkably lax about shipboard safety, and it was just good sense for her to educate them; it was practically a mandatory self-preservative act. And anyway, the nerve of the turian! Especially since he was practically drooling over that smirking admiral! Could he be a bit more subtle about it, if he had to go and ogle someone like that? It's not like even turian females appreciated a man simply leering at them like that! Garrus was lucky that the admiral apparently had rather lax morals herself; in her place, Tali would definitely have slapped the man - who, for some reason, took a step back from her, and half-raised his talons towards her in a placating gesture.
"Now, don't glare at me, Tali, I haven't done anything to anyone."
The young quarian blushed under her helmet, and turned away with a small squeak; hoping she did not blurt out anything embarrassing. Fortunately for her, Shepard apparently decided they had enough time to get comfortable with the atmosphere, and with a gesture of his omnitool, the display changing to show the the Hoc system, prominently featuring Virmire. The background chatter died down, as the Spectre began talking.
"I'm not going to repeat Captain Kirrahe's report, you should all be familiar with that - if not, I suggest you do it fast. We will depart in thirty hours; if you want to bring anything not covered in the mission outline, send the requisition form to me. We did try to consider as many angles as possible, but you all are welcome to add your own suggestions." Shepard's gaze lingered on Wrex and Tali the longest, and the young quarian swallowed as she felt a lump of dread and elation at being put in the spotlight. Seemingly unaware, her captain continued. "The turian Seventh Fleet will accompany us, providing additional firepower both groundside and spaceside. Commodore Anderson's task force will also remain on hand as a reserve, in case we run into surprises. Admiral Agrippina, if you could summarize your plan for approaching Virmire."
The turian female nodded, ignoring the burning, venomous glare Ashley sent her way, and her omnitool flashed, the display changing. Her voice was smooth, distant; the harmonics Tali was used to in Garrus' voice almost entirely absent.
"The Normandy will precede the fleet by two hours, and jump in-system. As Virmire is on the far side of the system, the relay translation should be masked by the star. After arrival, the Normandy will conduct a quick and thorough sensor sweep, ensuring that there are no ships waiting to ambush us. Seventh Fleet will follow after two hours, or at the Normandy's signal, whichever comes first. Commodore Anderson's ships will remain at the Attican Beta relay, holding position."
A raised hand prompted the admiral to stop, and with a nod, she gave over to Ashley, and the woman spoke, barely suppressing the rage in her voice, shaking off Kaidan's restraining hand.
"With all due respect, it does sound like we are taking the much greater risk. And why not allow the Commodore's fleet to join the Normandy?" She turned to Shepard, her voice a hiss of anger. "Commander, this looks like a quite comfortable setup to take us out, there will be practically no reliable witnesses; and with the hare-brained idea of the Normandy being a turian vessel this time, well..."
"Enough, Williams." Shepard's voice was colder than the interstellar void. "This is not..."
The Spectre stopped at a gesture from the turian admiral, then motioned for her to speak.
"No need to intervene, Spectre. At least she's brave enough to speak to my face instead of my back." The smile the turian female sent at Ashley would have made a seasoned mercenary cringe; the human returned it in kind. "Let me ask you, Lieutenant Williams: do you think you are the only person to lose family on Shanxi?"
Ashley's face went pale, her eyes furious, and only Alenko's grip kept her seated, her mouth opening to a waspish retort but the turian went on, the sheer fury of her previously even tone making even the irate marine pause.
"I am not finished!" The admiral glared at the human, her whole posture screaming the desire for violence. "I lost two brothers there, thanks to your grandfather. Spirits, that bastard Saren lost family there as well - and if you dare to compare me with that traitorous wretch, I do not care about diplomatic niceties before personally tearing your lungs out." Her voice deepened, bitter anger staining her harmonics. "If it were up to me, I'd have bombarded all human colonies to rubble before your insane kind unleashed something even worse than the so-called Yutani-Yi reactors, or the abominations you dropped on Feros."
Wrex chuckled, leaned back with a smirk, his voice a deep rumble
"I like her. You'd better pay attention, Butcher."
Admiral Agrippina sent a brief glare his way, then she focused back on Ashley.
"I understand your feelings quite well, Lieutenant - but it seems that unlike you, I am willing to move on. Now, I suggest you drop your prejudices and start actually thinking; I can't imagine that even the Butcher of Torfan would keep around people who are unable to dispassionately evaluate a situation like this. So come on, Williams - show me that you inherited more from your grandfather than a name."
Tali shuddered as she fancied she could see the sparks where the glares of the two women clashed - then she caught herself, and took in the reactions of the others. The admiral's aide was tense, ready to leap to her defense; she dismissed it as the typical turian reaction. Garrus looked ready to intervene, to keep the two from tearing each other apart - just like Kaidan, and Tali did not miss the quick glance the two men shared. Well, at least they could pretend to have some measure of sanity, at times. With that cheerful thought, her eyes shifted to the main disappointments - Wrex and Shepard both looked as if they actually enjoyed the confrontation, neither making even the smallest gesture or attempt to rein in the confrontation. The young quarian let out a long-suffering sigh, and lamented the perverse sense of humor the ancestors seemed to have.
"I'm curious about the reclassification of the Normandy as well, Admiral."
Wilting a bit under the two glares, Tali rallied when she caught the small, encouraging nod of Shepard, and the proud smirk of Wrex. Oh, just wait you two bosh'tet adrenaline junkies...
"The approach I can understand, but why the charade? Technically, the Normandy could have been a turian vessel, true, but the Hierarchy did not lay claim when she was launched. Are you planning to have another vessel masquerading as the Normandy?"
Admiral Agrippina breathed out, closed her eyes for a brief second, her posture becoming less menacing, shifting to attention, as she nodded towards Tali.
"Indeed. A cruiser of Rear Admiral Mikhailovich's fleet will be fitted with a modified IFF emitter, and the engineers are working to alter her drive core signature to be more similar to the Normandy. They will launch for the Armstrong Nebula in twenty hours for anti-geth operations. We planted this information on individuals C-Sec suspects of being on Saren's payroll, directly or indirectly." She smirked. "Technically, my fleet is also supposed to leave there, to support Admiral Hackett; but unfortunately a slight mishap with my flagship will result in a delayed departure. I assume you all are aware how finicky turian ship design can be."
A round of chuckles accompanied the admiral's words, the tension somewhat abating, then Kaidan used the opportunity to speak up, not noticing Tali's glare.
"Do we plan to bombard the base from orbit, or will we take a closer look?"
"We are landing, Kaidan." Shepard's voice was laced with a dark satisfaction. "We do need to take a closer look at what exactly the salarians found, hopefully do some datamining - and frankly, I want to personally put a few bullets in Saren's head, just to be sure he's dead."
"You are not the only one, skipper. Bastard still owes me for the lives of the 212th and Eden Prime."
"We can draw lots, Ash." Garrus drawled. "And besides, there's no point in squabbling over who gets to shoot him until we know he is there."
"And what support will we be getting from the esteemed Hierarchy? Because I don't think even our marine contingent would be enough to take on a rogue Spectre's base without casualties...and that I'd love to avoid." Ashley's voice still carried a hurt, resentful undertone, but the turians seemed to ignore it, the admiral outright smirking at her.
"The 43rd Marine Division, two Blackwatch squads, and a few Cabalists." Her smirk turned feral, eyes glittering maliciously. "While we acknowledge humanity's efforts and cause to kill Saren, that barefaced bastard is a disgrace for all we stand for. The Hierarchy does not suffer traitors."
Wrex leaned back, flashed a toothy grin at the admiral before speaking, his voice a low, sibilant whisper.
"And what if he manages to kill us all down there? What if he pulls a fleet of geth from nowhere, and trounces your ships?"
Tali winced, preparing for the inevitable heated shouting. And just when things seemed to calm down…
To her surprise, Agrippina remained calm.
"The fleet will remain on orbit, and if the ground forces are defeated, we will level the site from orbit. I formally requested that the Council and the Alliance authorize Commodore Anderson to employ the same weapons used on Feros." She chuckled darkly, discomfort radiating from her posture, not that Tali would fault her for that; she still had nightmares about those abominations. "Also, we agreed that he would give us a ten hour head start before commencing relay translation, unless we signal for him. And while Saren may pull a geth fleet from stellar dust, I am sure I can maul them bad enough that Anderson is able to finish the job."
Wrex nodded, grinning at the admiral.
"Fair enough."
"If there's nothing else, I suggest we adjourn. The briefing data will be sent to you all in an hour." Shepard nodded at them all, and the participants started shuffling datapads, filing out. Tali swallowed, squared her shoulders, and spoke up.
"Commander, Wrex, could you remain for a minute? I would like to discuss something with you two." She felt vindictive satisfaction as both hesitated a moment at her sweet, patient tone.
Citadel Upper Wards, Flux
The pulsing, pounding beat of the music battered at Liara's senses, as she leaned back in her seat, sipping her drink as she tried to contemplate her current predicament and companions. In a way, she was reminded on her university years, where most classmates she had enjoyed life in the typical asari fashion, while she buried herself in her books and studies, the stigma of being a pureblood a seemingly insurmountable barrier between them. Here too she felt as if she was at the sidelines, but the distance was much less, and the whole situation lacked the undercurrents of hostility directed at her. Well, at least most of her shipmates seemed much more at ease around her than even her closest "friends" at Serrice - though admittedly she never would have thought to find herself in such a motley company, especially not in such a location.
To one side, Garrus and Tali were engrossed in some technical discussion, the young quarian animatedly explaining, gesticulating wildly, her pleasant accent more pronounced, speech a tad more slurred as she continued drinking - and Liara caught the warning glance Wrex shot Garrus, which was acknowledged by a slight nod. Wrex himself was sitting on the asari's other side, enjoying his ryncol, seemingly fully engrossed in his memories, only occasionally tossing out a remark or two when something grabbed his attention; yet Liara could not shake the thought that the old warlord was rather more aware of the surroundings than his brooding exterior suggested, and she wondered what exactly his aim was. The Normandy crew and marines were sitting in nearby boxes, drinking, chatting, mingling - when they were not down on the dance floor.
Looking down there, she had to admit that while Ashley was not the most welcoming individual, she seemed as home on the dance floor as on the battlefield - and she radiated the same easy, fiery confidence the young archeologist saw from her when under fire. The Lieutenant moved with a graceful fluidity that would have made quite a number of asari envious - or amorous; possibly both. At any rate, Kaidan surely seemed to appreciate her company, even if Ashley occasionally attempted to steal glances at what Shepard was doing.
The Spectre was currently chatting with Doctor Chakwas and Officer Pressley, and Liara noted how his posture seemed to lack the usual energy and animation; admittedly, no wonder given how much he had to do with planning for the Virmire operation. Liara would be the first to agree that she was not really knowledgeable about military matters (though sadly the last few weeks had her increase her knowledge in leaps and bounds), but after all her expeditions, she could certainly appreciate how much effort was needed for coordinating a deployment on this scale. All things considered, he bore the weight of responsibility quite well, and unless you knew what to look for, there was precious little chance of realizing how exhausted Shepard actually was. And that led to another worrisome thought - was it really good and appropriate that she could at times read him so well? Especially after all he did for her - and what she glimpsed from his mind on Noveria?
A low, unmistakeable chuckle interrupted her thoughts.
"Careful kid, you don't want to start drooling."
Liara sputtered indignantly, trying to burn a hole into Wrex with her glare - sadly, to no avail. The old krogan simply leaned back, and smirked at her, showing far too many teeth for her liking.
"Don't worry, princess, you could do much worse than the Butcher. At least he has a quad, and knows how valuable his krantt is."
The retort died on her lips as her mind raced along the krogan's reasoning, factoring in what she read of Shepard, and what she saw in his mind.
"And I suppose that is enough for you, Wrex?" Genuine curiosity filled her voice, and the warlord snorted.
"Live as long as I have, and you start really appreciating the small things in life - like having a comrade who will not stab you in the back." He nodded towards the commander. "Sure, the Butcher's a bloodthirsty maniac at times, but that's mainly because he goes all the way to get his job done, and worries about the personal consequences later. We krogans can definitely understand that; even if there are very few of us remaining who can remember the Rachni Wars and the Rebellions."
Voice turning bitter, Wrex downed his ryncol, then went on.
"We too did the things no-one else had the ability or willingness to do - and we were neutered for it. So yes, having a comrade like Shepard is enough for me."
Liara shivered at the tone of the old warlord, yet she reached out, slender blue fingers alighting on the immense fist of the krogan, her gaze meeting the wide-set eyes of the other.
"Not all of us have forgotten, Wrex. And hopefully after seeing you take part in this campaign, more will remember - or learn. Especially if Saren and my mother disturbed something from the ancient legends; but I'm sure you forgot more about those than I ever knew."
The krogan glared at her for a few seconds, then chuckled when she did not flinch.
"I knew I liked you, kid. You have brains and are not afraid to use it."
The asari allowed herself a small, satisfied smile.
"I am an archeologist, Wrex. The events of the past hold quite the fascination for me - even those that do not really have a proper scientific explanation. Rather, especially those. And you cannot spend fifty years on various digsites without hearing and seeing things."
The warlord nodded, conceding her point. She went on, voice a bit more shaky, hesitant.
"Tell me honestly, Wrex. If we encounter something from those legends, do we stand a chance?"
She waited as he downed another glass of ryncol, and glared at her, making her fidget. The krogan's lips peeled back in an expression that made her quite aware of her mortality.
"Of course we do. And if we don't, well, we just have to make our chance, don't we?" The sinister, low chuckle did not reassure her at all. "But you should not worry about that, anyway."
"And why not?"
"Because if you do, you miss a great chance." Wrex nodded towards the dance floor, and Liara could see Ashley trying to convince Shepard to step up and enjoy the music. "And that would be a shame, though I guess you might prefer krogan-style courtship?"
Throwing the old warlord a withering glare that had absolutely no effect, Liara rose and headed towards the Spectre, unconsciously putting some extra sway in her steps, ignoring the chuckles from behind. Shepard turned around when he noticed Ashley focus on something behind him, and Liara blushed slightly when she felt his eyes on her. She resisted the urge to fidget, and stepped closer, ignoring the cold radiating from the lieutenant, before reaching out to detain the Spectre before he could make his escape.
"Care for a dance, Commander?"
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, Doctor. I'm not exactly a good dancer." Liara simply tilted her head, and smiled at him. With a long-suffering sigh, Shepard took her hand, and stepped out to the dance floor.
"Don't say I did not warn you, T'Soni."
While not nearly as accomplished than the stereotypical maidens, Liara was quite confident in her skills, even if her preference was for more classical dances. And considering how gracefully Shepard could move on the battlefield, she was sure that they would enjoy themselves. How hard could it be, especially compared to surviving the various life-threatening situations?
In a few minutes, she had her answer. Apparently, something in Shepard's mind simply shut down as soon as he attempted dancing, and the results were … well, she could pride herself on not laughing; that surely did count as a heroic effort of will. The others were not nearly so forgiving; the general consensus was that Doctor Chakwas had the right of it, the commander was likely taught by a spastic vorcha. At least he took the ribbing with good grace - and he did not seem to be angry with her either.
"I am sorry, Shepard - I had no idea this would happen." He waved off her apology as they headed back to the booth.
"No worries, at least they got a good laugh." He smiled, eyes twinkling. "And the company was not that bad either, T'Soni."
Liara felt herself blushing again, opened her mouth to say something … then promptly closed it, and glared at the chuckling Wrex.
"Finished torturing your krantt, Butcher? At least now I know why you got that nickname."
"Laugh it up, old turtle."
The old warlord obliged, his rumbling laughter rousing Tali from her slumber on the table, and the young quarian slowly raised her head, her eyes mere slits of light.
"Keelah, my head … what a nightmare ... Shepard, is that you or the vorcha I saw wearing your skin and trying to dance…?"
Despite her feelings, despite the years of self-discipline, strict control, and the legacy of being a Matriarch's daughter, there was only so much Liara could take - so, she joined in the general chorus of laughter.