Author's note: I really have to apologize for taking so long with this. Everyday-life stuff has been getting in the way during the past six months and even longer. Lots of awful stuff, followed by working tons of extra hours on the job, plus both of those giving me a really bad case of "the fuckits" for a while. I shouldn't complain about the extra hours because it helps pay the rent and keep me from coming as close to ending up homeless as I did last year, but it still takes time away from writing. I'm starting to get back into a routine, though, so I'm hoping the next chapter won't take another six months.
"The gang's all here." Chula nodded at the door. Dakka and Valeria turned to find their stowaways entering the Rayya's Conclave chamber, Garusha moving slowly as if exhausted and Scott holding an arm around her to help her stay upright. Skru'Reegar walked along behind them, leaned over to say something to Scott, clapped his shoulder, and jogged over to join his uncle Kal and the rest of the Sulaco's crew.
"Well, almost all," Chula added, referring to their crewmate Magnum, still in the medical bay after emergency surgery.
Dakka nodded and reached over to pat Chula's shoulder. "She's tougher than most humans I've met. She'll be okay once we can get her back to the Citadel."
"I hope so." Chula turned to shoot a glare across the room at Admiral Daro'Xen as a pair of guards escorted her to the dais on the far side of the civilian crowd. "I hope we can get this over with quickly and get a ride out of here."
Dakka gave her a quick hug and turned to smile at the approaching teenagers. Unlikely pair, those two, a human and a batarian. Don't think I've ever heard of that happening before. But I guess the same could be said about me and Quint. She waved as they joined her and the others. "Glad to see you up and around, Sixpack."
"Heh. Thanks. The pain meds made me a little loopy, but I'll live." Garusha sighed and rubbed her hand over her face. "I'm not looking forward to explaining all this to my father, though."
"Well, just remember he'll be relieved that you're okay, even if he's pissed at you for sneaking onto our ship."
Scott gave her a kiss on the cheek and glanced around. "No place to sit, huh?" He motioned at the raised benches lining the walls, which were already occupied by quarian onlookers.
"Yeah, the lack of seating is the first thing I noticed when I walked through the door." Dakka shrugged and pointed at the sets of stairs between the benches. "If you want to sit down, I guess those would work."
"Oh, yeah, good idea. Thanks." Scott led his girlfriend over to the stairs. They sat on the top step and cuddled.
Aww! Dakka grinned and took another slow look around the room. The chamber had a few small trees and potted plants along the walls, and was packed with around a hundred quarians. Some of them had divided into groups to talk among themselves while waiting for the Admiralty Board to get down to business, but many others stared nervously at the two geth platforms standing near Valeria and her husband. She chuckled at that and turned to watch the rest of the admirals take their places on the dais. She wondered if the meeting was about to begin, but the admirals merely talked quietly. Daro'Xen placed her hands on her hips and tried to appear aloof. Han'Gerrol and Shala'Raan continued their conversation without seeming to notice. Zaal'Koris, meanwhile, glanced at Xen, then at the ceiling, and shook his head.
"Lia!"
Dakka glanced over her shoulder and found a pair of quarians rushing over to her new friend. Lia's parents, Dakka guessed.
"Good to see you," Lia said to the new arrivals, stepping forward to hug each of them. "I just wish the circumstances were better."
"We're just relieved to hear you weren't hurt," the woman said.
"When we heard about your ship being fired upon," the man added, "we feared the worst."
"I was lucky enough to be on the Moreh when Daro'Xen gave the order to fire. One of the crew members – one of my friends – was impaled through the chest by a piece of shrapnel when our ship exploded, but she and the rest of the crew are still alive."
"We're glad to hear that." He glanced around at Dakka and the others. "Are these your crewmates?"
"Yes." Lia turned and motioned at each of them. "Meet Chula'Raalga vas Sulaco, Dakka, Quentin Bork, Lantar Sidonis, Irving Kostmeyer, and Spectre Operative Valeria Terakkis. Guys, this is my father, Uli'Vael vas Ulnay, and my mother, Aela'Vael vas Ulnay. And those two geth units over there are called Weyland and Yutani. Uh, Yutani is the 'female' one."
The geth stepped forward and bowed in unison. Each of the rest nodded or waved. Lia's parents greeted her organic crewmates and just stared at the geth. They stared back for several seconds, and then Yutani finally spoke.
"We do not bite."
Dakka released a guffaw that caused everyone nearby to twitch and spin toward her. She shrugged at them and said, "What? It was funny."
"Well." Uli cleared his throat. "We're honored to meet you, and saddened by the loss of your ship. Will you be able to get back home from here? If not, I'll see what I can do to help."
"Thank you," Chula said softly. "We should have a ride arriving soon. Our captains contacted the SSV Normandy soon after the Sulaco was blown up by that fucking maniac over there." She pointed a thumb over her shoulder at Admiral Xen.
"Your captain?" Aela cocked her head. "I assumed you were the captain."
"I'm the pi–" Chula winced, glanced at the floor, and took a quick breath. "I was the ship's pilot. The Sulaco belonged to Weyland and Yutani."
Aela glanced at them, looked away quickly, and stepped closer to Uli. "The Moreh shot down a geth ship?"
"Easy, there." Dakka held a hand up. "These geth understand that it happened because the admiral lost her goddamned mind. They haven't even told the rest of their people what happened here."
"Correct," Weyland said, and both of Lia's parents twitched again. "We do not hold Admiral Daro'Xen's actions against the rest of the quarians."
"We are awaiting the results of Spectre Operative Terakkis's investigation into another matter," Yutani added, and Valeria stepped forward.
"A matter which is possibly connected to Xen's attempt to get rid of us." Val glanced at the dais, where the admirals appeared to be consulting with Kal'Reegar and several captains. "You're all very lucky. The geth have been showing admirable restraint, but if things like this continue to happen, they won't hold themselves back much longer. Whatever I discover while questioning the Admiralty Board may determine whether they continue exercising that restraint."
"They're also waiting for input from Commander Shepard after the Normandy arrives," Chula added hastily. "They value his opinion, and he's known for coming up with a third option."
Lia's parents exchanged a glance and nodded slowly.
"Well," Uli said, "I hope the next few hours go better than the previous few."
"It'd be hard for them not to," Chula muttered, crossing her arms over her chest as if hugging herself. "Losing our home will be hard to top, especially when one of our own people is responsible for it." She took a slow look around the room. "Excuse me, I think I'll see if my parents are here yet."
"Ah, yes, I imagine you have a lot of catching-up to do." Aela turned to Lia. "As we do. I'd like to hear how you came to be aboard a ship owned by the geth."
"So would I." Uli motioned at another set of stairs behind him. "Could you fill us in? As much as you can before the meeting begins, that is?"
"Sure." Lia waved at the others. "I'll rejoin you when things get under way."
"Nice to meet you all," Aela said before putting a hand on Lia's shoulder and walking away with her and Uli.
Dakka laughed softly. She's got a helluva story for you guys.
"Okay, I won't have time for a whole lot of detail, but I'll give you the condensed version." Lia sat on the top step and her parents sat to her left and turned to face her. "My Pilgrimage went off the rails early on and I ended up stranded on the Citadel for months. The better part of a year, actually. Because whole galaxy still blames us for our ancestors creating the geth, and then Saren Arterius and Sovereign led a small faction of the geth in the attack on the Citadel two years ago, no one would hire me for anything. I ended up spending the nights in a shelter, getting by on turian nutrient paste, for all those months." She shook her head and chuckled. "Guess I should've taken a ship out on my Pilgrimage, instead of trying to ride shuttles and trade my engineering services for passage on ships."
But if I had, I wouldn't have ended up in such a unique position and made all these new friends. Might've even ended up with my ship boarded by pirates, shot, and left for dead, like Chula was.
"A Pilgrimage can be rough, alright," her dad said. "I wish yours hadn't been. I'm glad you were finally able to get back on track, though."
"So am I." Lia sighed. "I finally got desperate. Decided to travel to Illium, contact IndentuTech, and sell myself into indentured servitude."
Her mother gasped and her father hung his head.
"I've heard of young quarians being forced to do that. It's unfortunate, but at least it gave you a chance to get back on your feet." He raised his head and met her gaze. "You do what you have to do."
"I certainly did. I tried to get a ride to Illium in exchange for work, whether it involved my tech skills or just helping load and unload cargo. No one would agree to it just because I'm a quarian. I finally met a freighter captain who agreed to take me there … but only if I had sex with him."
Her mother stared for several seconds and then raised both hands to her helmet. "Oh, no."
"I did what I had to do." Lia shrugged. "I got horribly sick thanks to the difference in chirality between us and humans and the good ol' non-existent quarian immune system, but I signed a contract with IndentuTech before any symptoms appeared. About a week later, I was so sick I could barely stand, but someone finally picked up my contract." She motioned at Weyland and Yutani.
Her parents stared at them and then turned back to stare at her.
"You can't be serious," her father stammered.
"I guess we live in a twisted universe." Lia shrugged. "They brought me on as a full crew member and now I have a chance to continue my Pilgrimage once I fulfill my contract."
"This is …" Her mother took a slow breath. "I don't even … there are no words. The geth were created to be our servants, and now they own you?"
"I've started to see the humor in it." Lia shrugged again. "If they hadn't bought me, I would've died. They had a clean room on their ship and medical supplies specifically for quarians. They gave me a whole range of medications for infections, allergic reactions, and everything else that was wrong with me. I was in such bad shape that another week passed before I was back on my feet." Lia took a slow breath and smiled. "But I survived, thanks to them and Chula, and now I have a chance to get back to my Pilgrimage someday."
"Well, that's wonderful, of course." Aela glanced over at the rest of the Sulaco's crew. "They're treating you well?"
"Quite well, yes. The whole crew accepted me without hesitation. Especially Dakka. She started acting like we'd been best friends for years just moments after we met. And I'm still amazed that the geth not only saved my life, but have never treated me like a slave. They seem to see me as a crew member like all the others. They've actually been very kind to me."
"That's good to hear," her father said. "Surprising, but good."
"Yes," her mother added, "it's a relief to know things have finally started to work out for you." She glanced at the others again. "What sort of work are you doing for them?"
"Whatever the next job requires. One day, I helped replace and repair some shipboard equipment, another day I helped them rescue Sidonis and a quarian he was trying to protect from a bunch of thugs on Omega. Heh, that's a whole other story I need to tell you after this mess is cleared up. Anyway, they're a small group of independent mercs. I guess I should say, we're independent mercs, since I'm one of them now. We take on small jobs and leave the full-scale warfare to the big mercenary corporations like Eclipse or the Blue Suns. Whenever we can, we take on jobs that let us help people who are in trouble – being pushed around by thugs or attacked by criminals, for example."
"This crew you've become a part of," her father said, "they sound like good people."
"They are. They've become my friends." Lia smiled and motioned at Valeria. "Most recently, the Spectre hired us to help her out on a small job." She nodded toward Scott and Garusha. "A small team of Blue Suns was holding that kid in a research outpost on Chasca, and we went in to rescue him. Ended up having to save the few surviving mercs as well, after they were attacked by something that was already on the planet. That's another thing I'll have to tell you all about later. And then Valeria hired us again to bring her to the Flotilla so she can investigate … well, I'm sure you'll hear all the details when she questions the Admiralty Board."
"Sounds intriguing."
"That's certainly one word for it."
"Speaking of which," her mother said with a nod at the dais, "it looks like they're almost ready to get started."
"I should get back to my crewmates, then." Lia stood and hugged them again. "After this is over, I hope we'll have time to talk again. I've got a lot to tell you."
"That'd be wonderful. We've been anxious to know how you've been doing ever since you started your Pilgrimage."
Lia smiled at them and walked over to join her friends. Well, let's see if we can keep this from turning into a disaster.
Admiral Shala'Raan stepped up onto a platform behind and slightly above the other three admirals and raised her arms to begin the meeting with the traditional invocation – but Valeria strode forward and interrupted her.
"Given what happened to our ship and crew, I hope you'll understand if we skip the formalities and get down to business." She slowly raked her scowl across Zaal'Koris, Han'Gerrol, and Daro'Xen. She didn't know for certain that any of the three were involved with the stealth ship that had attacked the geth supply ship, though Xen's behavior had been more than a little suspect. Valeria couldn't rule the other two out yet – and she wasn't about to let any of them start to think that she might let them off the hook after what had just happened.
"Oh … well, yes, we can get to the matter at hand. I must apologize for the actions taken by Admiral Xen and her crew."
"Daro'Xen is the one who needs to apologize, but I wouldn't accept it from her insane ass, anyway. You, however, have nothing to apologize for." Valeria bowed her head and looked back up quickly to spear Xen with another glare. "I'm very much interested in why Daro'Xen was so quick to blow our ship out of the sky, particularly when one of the rounds could've gone through the Sulaco and hit one of your civilian ships, or debris from the Sulaco could've damaged many nearby ships. However, I'll save that for later, since it may be connected to the issue I came here to investigate."
"As to why I gave the order to fire," Xen said with a shrug, "it's quite simple. I panicked."
"As the humans like to say," Chula grumbled from behind Val, "bullshit!"
"I have to agree. An admiral with many years of commanding squads, then one ship, then making decisions affecting your entire fleet … panicked?" Val shook her head. "I'm not buying it."
"Your ship was harboring two mobile platforms containing hundreds of geth programs, and you refused to turn them over to us. The geth are actively hostile toward all organic species – or have you forgotten their attack on the Citadel two years ago?"
"I'm up to date on all information concerning the quarians, the geth, and the Battle of the Citadel. The geth who followed Sovereign and Saren were just a tiny fraction of the total population. The majority of the geth called them 'Heretics.'" Valeria motioned at Weyland and Yutani. "These geth, and the unit on the SSV Normandy, have been trying to make amends for the damage caused by the Heretics. They've been donating funds to the rebuilding of Eden Prime, which was the first colony attacked by Sovereign. They're trying to not only learn about us, they're trying to learn how to coexist with us. They've assisted me in my recent investigations, and from what I've seen so far, have gone out of their way to help people, including Chula and Lia. They were not a threat."
"In fact," Dakka said, stepping forward to join Valeria, "you had a geth platform on this very ship, walking among you, not very long ago, and all it did was talk to you."
"During Tali'Zorah's trial, yes." Valeria sighed. Tali had begged Commander Shepard not to reveal what he'd found on the Alarei, and he did as she asked despite the possibility that it could've led to her conviction for treason and exile from the Migrant Fleet. Yet, soon after the end of the trial, the information about her father's brutal experiments on the geth had gotten out anyway – thanks to Daro'Xen.
That bitch was knee-deep in it. She didn't get her own hands dirty, but she knew what was going on. And I'd be surprised if she doesn't know about that stealth ship. Valeria took another slow breath. What the hell. The cat's already out of the bag, and the admirals know Tali wasn't even aware of what her father was up to until after he and the crew were killed. Might as well go all-in.
"Let's just do a little recap, shall we? Tali's father, Rael'Zorah, was in charge of a top-secret project on the Alarei. The purpose of that project was to assemble and reactivate geth units and find a way to hack their neural networks – which, if I'm not mistaken, violated some of your most sacred laws, laws that were in effect before your evacuation from Rannoch three hundred years ago." She glared at Xen again. "Rael'Zorah and his crew were experimenting on sapient beings with the intension of turning them back into your slaves. He never told Tali anything about his pet project. He only asked her to send geth components to him."
"That worked out pretty well, didn't it?" Quint muttered.
"Well, the geth reactivated, alright," Val continued. "They retaliated, and I can't say I blame them. They slaughtered the Alarei's entire crew, including Tali's father. And you lot tried to pin the blame on Tali."
Shala'Raan let out a long sigh, nodded, and looked away. Zaal'Koris hung his head. Han'Gerrol stared at a random point off to Val's right. Daro'Xen crossed her arms over her chest and tried to maintain an aloof attitude, but couldn't make eye contact with Val.
"You accused her of sending active geth to the Fleet and charged her with treason. You nearly ruined her life to cover your own asses."
"Yes," Zaal'Koris finally mumbled, "Commander Shepard gave us quite a lecture, and we deserved every word of it. We each had our own agendas, and used Tali'Zorah as a pawn. That's something I'll always regret."
"I didn't know about Rael's experiments until after the trial," Gerrol said. "Neither did Admiral Raan and Admiral Koris. Shepard told me what he found on the Alarei, but asked me to keep it off the record. Had I known what Rael was doing, I would've done everything I could to put a stop to it." He almost snarled his next few words and had to take a moment to rein himself in. "I despise the geth … for what they did to us. And I want our homeworld back. But not by experimenting on sentient beings."
Valeria suddenly noticed the crowd around her murmuring and realized it had been going on for while. She'd been so focused on telling the admirals off that she hadn't really been aware of it until they fell silent for a moment.
Raan spoke up next. "Tali didn't want this getting out because it would've branded her father as one of the worst war criminals in our history, and could've divided us as a people. She was willing to be exiled to keep it covered up."
"And yet word got out anyway." Valeria pointed at Xen. "Shepard and Tali had barely gotten back to the Normandy when you sent him a smug, creepy email about wanting to take control of the geth and turn them into your private little army. And lookie here, Shepard gave me a copy of that very email before we headed out here." She brought up her Omni-Tool interface, loaded a file, and projected it in the air, large enough for everyone in the chamber to see clearly.
From: Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh
Shepard vas Normandy,
I've been digging through the Alarei. Just wanted you to know that I did find a few things from the experiments Rael'Zorah was conducting. Had you shared them with me, humanity might have reaped the benefits. Instead, once my own experiments are complete, you and your people will watch from a distance as the quarian people reclaim not just their homeworld, but the largest synthetic army in the galaxy. Rael'Zorah's death will not have been in vain. I will complete what he started.
Cordially,
Admiral Daro'Xen vas Moreh
The murmuring from the crowd grew louder, punctuated by a few gasps. Valeria let it sink in for a few more seconds before continuing.
"You claimed not to know anything about it until you'd searched the Alarei, but you didn't have time to conduct even a half-assed search before you sent that message. You already knew what Rael'Zorah was up to. And that leads me to believe you may be connected with the matter I came here to investigate." Valeria's mandibles twitched and she gripped the rail in front of her hard enough to make her arms tremble. "Well, that and the desperate haste with which you tried to shut down my investigation and get rid of us."
The audience's volume increased even more.
"Which brings me to that very thing." Valeria glanced at the geth and motioned for them to step forward. "Please show them what you found on your supply ship."
Hah! Chula grinned like a madwoman as Weyland activated his Omni-Tool and projected a holographic recording in the air. Chula glanced at Daro'Xen and had to fight the urge to fire off every obscene gesture her hands were capable of. Eat it, you twat!
The crowd fell silent as the recording played. It was the same one they'd downloaded from the supply ship after they found its crew dead. First, the exterior shot of an undetectable ship blasting the hell out of the geth ship, then interior shots of a quarian squad marching through the corridors and blowing away every platform they encountered. Finally, one of the quarians accessed a terminal and uploaded software from his Omni-Tool that deleted all the geth in the ship's servers.
Chula glanced around as the image faded. Some of the onlookers stared in shock, others leaned over to mutter to one another, a few shook their heads in disbelief. She turned back to the admirals. Koris shifted his glowing eyes back and forth, as if trying to find something solid to lock on to. Xen rolled her eyes.
"No," Koris whispered. "Thousands of them were murdered. Thousands."
"Don't be stupid," Xen snapped. "They're only software. They can't be murdered!"
Some of the indistinct voices behind Chula turned angry and grew louder.
"They're sentient," one of them shouted, and several other voices rose in agreement.
Lia stepped up suddenly and leaned forward, bracing her hands on the rail and glaring at Xen. "Regardless of how you feel about the geth, whether or not you even consider them sentient, they outnumber us! Not only that, but they can replenish their numbers far faster than we can. Before the Morning War, our population was in the billions. Now there are only seventeen million of us left. If these attacks continue, they'll retaliate – and they'll wipe us out!"
"From what I know of the trial," Valeria added with a glance at Han'Gerrol, "a retaliation might be exactly what some of you want. It'd give you an excuse to declare full-scale war and try to retake Rannoch by force. But you won't have a chance, even with a stealth ship on your side. You'll get everyone under your command killed, and you'll lose civilian lives as well. As Lia pointed out, if you continue down this path, you'll bring about the extinction of your species."
"That's why Rael'Zorah's experiments were necessary," Daro'Xen shouted. "If we could take control of the geth, we could have our homeworld back without firing a single shot."
"Has it ever occurred to you that you could have that without attacking them at all?" Lia prodded her Omni-Tool interface and loaded a file. She projected it into the air – a view of the surface of Rannoch. "The geth gave me a copy of this video. It was taken less than three weeks ago. Notice the buildings in the background? They've been rebuilt. The geth have spent the past three centuries restoring Rannoch to the way it was before the war. They're waiting for us to return."
"They're not even occupying Rannoch," Chula added. "They don't need an atmosphere or gravity, so they stay on ships and space stations most of the time. They're willing to let us have our home back if we stop attacking them."
"Foolish child!" Xen waved a hand abruptly. "It's merely a deception. They want us to go there and start landing so they can finish us off once we let our guard down."
"What a bunch of shit." Lia pushed away from the rail with a frustrated snarl. "After what you did today, I have more to fear from you assholes than I ever did from the geth!"
"What did you just say?"
"Xen," Valeria snapped. She lowered her voice and her icy tone made Chula shiver. "You almost killed my husband, my grandmother-in-law, and several of my friends. If you know what's good for you, you'll shut the fuck up and let the rest of us decide what to do with you."
Several more gasps arose from the crowd, followed by a few laughs and one quick cheer. Xen and the other admirals stared at her.
Val held her gaze for a few more seconds before turning away. "Kal'Reegar, what's your assessment of the situation?"
Kal shifted from one foot to another before approaching her. Before he could speak, Xen mouthed off again.
"It's not your place to offer an opinion. Your job is to follow orders."
Bitch! Chula clenched her fists. If Val doesn't kick your ass, I swear I'll stomp a mudhole in your crotch!
Reegar stared back at Daro'Xen for several seconds and appeared to consider his words carefully. Finally, he said, "Well, ma'am, a few months ago I would've felt the same way. Now, after all I've learned?" His glowing eyes narrowed. "With all due respect … shut your sass-hole."
"How dare you?"
"I think he deserves some leniency, under the circumstances," Zaal'Koris said. "I agree with him and the Spectre and her crew. You're insane, and as long as you remain in charge of anything in the Fleet, you'll get us all killed."
They glared at each other, but Xen kept her mouth shut, for once. Valeria turned back to Reegar.
"Now that's settled, would you please tell us what you think your chances are if you attack the geth?"
He sighed. "Well, ma'am, it's exactly like Lia'Vael said. The geth already outnumber us, and they can reproduce just by copying themselves. It would take only a few minutes, and they can build thousands of new platforms for the software to inhabit in a matter of hours. For us, it takes months to birth a child, years for that child to grow into an adult, and more years of training and combat experience to be ready to fight the geth. Even then … look, Tali'Zorah had a team on Freedom's Progress when the Collectors hit the colony, and they were all wiped out by a couple dozen LOKI and YMIR mechs. I had a team backing her up on Haestrom, and the geth killed everyone except her and me. If Commander Shepard and his team hadn't arrived when they did, we would've been killed, too. We have not done well in recent ground battles." He shook his head. "Before Tali'Zorah's trial, I didn't want to fight the geth, but I would've done it if ordered to. But knowing what I know now …" He motioned at his nephew. "I have family and friends to think about, and so do you. As part of our military, our job is to keep them safe. If you start a war we can't win, we're all dead."
Xen snorted. "You're a coward just like Zaal'Koris and Shala'Raan."
"You're completely insane." He glared at her and then added in a snarky tone, "Ma'am."
Hah. Chula smirked. I like this guy.
Natalie Kurakova strode forward abruptly and cleared her throat. Admiral Raan faced her and let out a long breath, as if relieved at the interruption.
"Yes, General Kurakova, you have something to add?"
"If everyone can stop bickering for a moment, yes." She arched an eyebrow at Han'Gerrol. "Given your position of authority, you must have access to classified intel. You must have known how badly outnumbered and outgunned your military is. Yet you're itching to start a shooting war with the geth. Why?"
Gerrol started to fidget before catching himself and holding still. He stared at her and remained silent.
"You have a responsibility to protect your civilian population, as Kal'Reegar has already reminded you," the retired general continued, "yet here you are, deliberately endangering them. I think they have the right to know why."
Gerrol stared silently at her. Valeria waited a few more seconds before firing off a sharp sigh.
"Answer her question, Admiral. Now."
"You have no authority here," Xen snapped.
"Oh, yes, she does," Raan practically snarled. "It may be inconvenient for you, but I recognize the authority of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance division and will comply with whatever decision she makes at the end of her investigation."
"As will I," Koris added. "We won't hamper her investigation, either."
"Agreed." Raan turned to face Gerrol and crossed her arms over her chest. "You will answer her question."
"It's not relevant." Gerrol's voice quivered ever so slightly.
Hmm. Now that's interesting. Chula kept watching him.
Admiral Raan's Omni-Tool beeped and its interface appeared around her left arm. She tapped an icon on its surface and a text message appeared beside it.
Valeria turned and glanced around at the crowd. "How about you guys? You're the ones these admirals work for. You're the ones they're sworn to defend. Yet two of them are putting your lives at risk. Don't you think they owe you some answers?"
The muttering from the audience was distinctly louder this time, with a number of affirmative shouts around the room.
"Yes!" A young quarian male darted out of the crowd, followed by a female with a medical insignia on her envirosuit. The male stopped halfway to Chula's position and wrung his hands. The female placed a hand gently on his shoulder.
"Yes, Veetor," Zaal'Koris said, his tone suddenly much softer. "We're ready to hear what you have to say."
"I – I – I w-was on Freedom's Progress. I've barely begun to recover. I c-can't … face anything like that again!" He started to hyperventilate. The woman beside him rubbed his shoulders and spoke softly to him, and he gradually began to relax.
"Easy, kid, it's okay." Valeria kept her tone gentle. "Thank you."
Poor guy. Chula had started her Pilgrimage around the time the Collectors hit Freedom's Progress and other human colonies in the Terminus Systems. She hadn't been anywhere near the place then, but had heard about it later. The entire colony was abducted, every human taken away and placed in stasis pods, and were never found. Veetor'Nara was the only person left when Shepard arrived – probably because the Collectors had targeted humans exclusively. He'd had the presence of mind to scan the aliens and their weapons with his Omni-Tool before the horror of what he'd witnessed sent him off the deep end, and that information had proven vital in stopping the Collectors.
Veetor nodded, his movements twitchy, and let his medic guide him back to his seat. Valeria turned back to the admirals.
"Do you expect kids like him to fight the geth? Because that's exactly what will happen if you keep attacking them. First your military will be wiped out, then everyone who's able to pick up a gun will have no choice but to take their place, and then they'll be slaughtered. Do you really want their blood on your hands?"
Han'Gerrol stared at her but said nothing.
Chula shook her head in disgust. This is our leadership. How have we survived the past three centuries?
Admiral Raan raised a hand and gestured at her Omni-Tool. "I've been informed that the SSV Normandy is preparing to dock. Commander Shepard and several of his crew members will be escorted to this chamber within the next few minutes."
Well, at least now we'll have a ride out of here, and a way to get Magnum to a better hospital. Chula took a deep breath and let it out slowly. She still wanted to see her parents while she was here, but she'd had her fill of Gerrol and Xen.
Raan turned to Gerrol and placed her hands on her hips. "Would you prefer to answer their questions now, or wait until Tali'Zorah arrives?"
Gerrol snapped his head around to stare at her. He remained silent, but his body went rigid and he tightened his grip on the handrail.
"Huh," Lia muttered. Chula leaned toward her and spoke softly.
"If I'm not mistaken, Tali's father was a close friend of Gerrol's. He's sort of like an uncle to Tali, I think."
"Ah. Wow, she'll be disappointed when she hears about all this."
"Exactly."
"The geth drove us from our own homeworld," Gerrol said, but Koris interrupted before he could go on.
"Of course they did. Our ancestors tried to kill them all."
"Apologist," Xen grumbled.
"They defended themselves. And it happened centuries ago, so that reason is rather weak. There must be something more for you to be so hell-bent on war."
"I … I've lost family and friends over the years, many of them in the geth invasion two years ago. Rael was my closest friend, and the geth murdered him."
"Under the circumstances –"
"Yes, I know. What he did to them was inexcusable. That doesn't change our friendship or the grief I still feel over his death." Gerrol slumped forward and leaned on the rail. "My sister's youngest daughter was on Eden Prime early in her Pilgrimage … when the geth attacked. She tried to evacuate a handful of the colonists on her ship, but it was shot down. Everyone onboard … died. I only found out what happened to her a few weeks ago."
Oh, hell. Just when I was working up a nice, big hate-on for the guy, he drops this bombshell. Chula sighed and shook her head.
"And then," Gerrol continued, then had to take a breath and steady himself. "One of the Systems Alliance ships destroyed in the Battle of the Citadel … the SSV Madrid … I knew its captain. Her name was Connie McPherson. We were … close." He took another breath and sagged a little more. "We met many years ago and stayed in contact. We'd started to make plans for the future, but … the geth took her away from me."
"Damn," Lia whispered, and Chula nodded.
"Yeah." Chula noticed Koris and Raan exchanging a surprised glance. Huh. Looks like they didn't even know about this until just now.
"That was bad enough, but when they took my youngest niece –"
"I'm sorry for your loss," Valeria said, "but the Heretics who attacked the colonies and the Citadel were a very small fraction of the geth population." She sighed. "Throwing away your people's lives won't bring back any of those you've already lost."
"I know. I just … wanted the geth to pay for what they did."
"That'll only make things worse. Please tell us everything you know about the stealth ship. The geth were transporting food and medical supplies from Rannoch for Chula and Lia. They were doing it to help their quarian crewmates. If other quarians continue these attacks –"
"Yes, yes, I know the stakes." Gerrol hesitated a moment longer, then stood up straight. "As soon as Shepard joins us, I'll tell you everything."
"You fool, Gerrol!" Xen took a step forward and jabbed a finger at him. "We could've taken our homeworld back if you weren't such a spineless, aging war-horse!"
He sighed and pushed her hand away. "Fuck you, Daro. I'm just tired." He turned away and leaned on the handrail again. "I'm so tired."
Shala'Raan glanced from him to Xen to Gerrol. Finally, she turned to Valeria and said, "Perhaps we should have a brief recess. We can reconvene after Commander Shepard is brought up to speed."
"Agreed. I think we could all use a break."
Maybe that'll give me enough time to find my parents. I was sure they'd be here.
"When the meeting is resumed," Yutani said, startling almost everyone in the room, "may we address the Admiralty Board?"
"Of … of course." Shala'Raan flicked a nervous glance at Valeria and then back to Yutani. "We look forward to hearing what you have to say."
Oh, hell, I hope they don't start making threats, now that the situation seems to be defused. Chula rubbed her still-aching wrist. Not that I'd blame them for getting fed up with this crap.
"Thank you." Yutani stood beside Valeria and waited.
"We should meet Shepard at the airlock and fill him in on what he's missed." Valeria held Irving's hand and both of them headed for the nearest exit.
"Well, this is about to get interesting." Chula followed them, and the rest of the crew filed out behind her. Lia caught up with her and rubbed her arms over her shoulders.
"Yeah, that's what worries me."
