Shala'Raan vas Tonbay was exhausted. All she really wanted to do was crawl into bed and pray that maybe the last few weeks had all been a bad dream. However, she knew by now that this was a feeble kind of hope—it certainly hadn't been true on any of the days she'd done just that.
Sitting in a chair nearby was Tali, and over the FTL comms, the recently-rescued Koris, a grumpy Gerrel, and the disinterested Xen.
"Thank you, Admirals, for your time. This is a copy of my Spectre report," Shepard said, indicating the datapad. "In this case, I feel it necessary for you to know what went in it, so that you can figure out how to remedy the situation."
Raan forced herself to scan the document, written in clipped, brisk terms, utterly devoid of personal emotion. She wondered what it had taken for Shepard to filter off all the anger and resentment she knew the woman harbored. But the facts were there: provoking the geth, Treaty of Frixen violations, confirmation that the violations were 'a small price to pay,' and a coordinated assault that nearly killed two Council Spectres and a highly-placed turian advisor. The only good thing was Shepard's closing recommendation that she be allowed to finish the operation before the Council started calling the Admiralty Board.
"And this is what the Council will see?" Tali asked, sounding quite unperturbed.
"It's the copy I sent before I arranged this meeting," Shepard answered delicately.
The subtext being 'it can't be changed, so don't even ask.'
"It's not the most…politic…report," Raan said feebly.
"Politic?" Tali demanded, straightening in her chair. "Nothing about this situation is politic! And after Gerrel tried to get Shepard killed, I'm surprised the report reads as fairly as it does."
"Meanwhile, I'm afraid I fail to see the point of this meeting," Xen said dryly. "Apart from Shepard airing her personal considerations."
"In case you've forgotten, there's a larger war on at the moment. And the quarians can't really help with that if they're leadership is enmeshed in Council proceedings, now can they?" Shepard asked. "This meeting's purpose is to make certain suggestions which, if implemented once the situation calms down, will help me keep the Council off your collective asses."
"It isn't for you to advise—" Gerrel began.
Shepard crossed her arms, eyebrows arched.
"I've already applied to the rest of the Admiralty Board to suspend you, on the grounds of being unfit for duty," Tali said darkly. "I think it would go a long way to appeasing the Council if the troublemaker who nearly killed their Spectres was out of office before they start asking us 'what the hell?'"
Raan sighed. Tali had, in fact, written a very passionate argument for removing Gerrel and replacing him with someone else—preferably a quarrian marine, someone who knew about fighting and who knew what it was to lose men, so he wouldn't spend lives casually. Tali had also written a less vehement argument for removing Xen. She was clearly unable to put her people's needs first, however brilliant a scientist she was. And right now, the quarian focus needed to be on the wellbeing of their people.
And, which was the real slap to the face, Tali had privately encouraged Raan to resign from the Admiralty Board once things settled down. 'I think it's getting to be more than you can handle, Raan. And I think, deep down, you agree with me.'
It was a burden that had to be carried, and Raan did not appreciate being told, essentially, she wasn't strong enough to do it. However, when she'd bristled, Tali had pointed out the number of times Raan had avoided making a decision, how she tended to go with the majority, even when the majority was wrong, how she let Gerrel push her around with his firebrand mannerisms.
Shepard is one of the Councilors' favorite Spectres. This isn't like before, when she didn't have a lot of support. They're going to be angry that Gerrel nearly got her killed, especially when they find out how the mission objective failed. And that's without her own military getting wind of all this. She's their leading Reaper expert, and we nearly got her killed. Stupidly.
"We've got enough conflict without adding more."
"Then you should have edited your paperwork more judiciously," Xen responded.
"Give me one good reason why I should protect you like that."
Xen shrugged. "Like you keep saying, Captain. You need us."
"I need your fleets, Admiral Xen. You? I—and I think, your people—could easily do without," Shepard answered.
"I think it should be recognized that Shepard is trying to shield us from some of the repercussions of recent actions," Tali said acidly. "Which is more than we have a right to expect at the moment."
"Once things settle down, we'll talk some more about this. I simply wanted the Admiralty Board to be afforded every resource that might help them make reasonable decisions for dealing with the fallout. But hey," Shepard shrugged. "If you want to be quarians vs. the galaxy, be my guests. Thank you for your time." With that, she walked out of the communications room.
Raan sighed heavily, shaking her head. It began to ache as Xen began "When we recover the—" only to have Koris and Tali both jump down her throat.
Raan saw what Shepard was doing. She was going to try to win both fleets—the geth and the quarians. What Raan didn't know was how mercenary Shepard really was. Would she be willing to write off the quarians as more trouble than the geth if she didn't see some kind of supportive action? And, if she did write them off…then what?
The fact remained that the Flotilla spent enough time in Citadel Space to fall subject to Citadel laws. To split with the Council would mean exile into the Terminus Systems, which were much more dangerous, where resources more expensive.