Han'Gerrel, without his sash of office, was brought into the chamber of adjudication. He looked thunderous, and although he wasn't restrained in any way, his guards seemed ready to knock him out at the least provocation. He stomped up to the small seat on a plinth, but ignored the chair, glaring at the assembled jury, Xala'Far the adjudicator, and at the benches of witnesses or other specialists whose opinions might have bearing.
If this were a comic book, Shepard knew she, Vega, Garrus, and Alenko would all have thought balloons over their heads containing the same idea: a proud one-fingered salute. Clearly, Gerrel didn't feel his actions deserved any particular punishment.
Shepard's fingers curled around the datapad upon which she had her prepared statements.
"Han'Gerrel vas Neema nar Tonbay," Xala began, tone grave. "You stand before this judiciary review—"
"This judiciary review," Gerrel spat, "isn't legal! It has no mandate, no precedent."
The crowd's volume swung upwards, but Xala's tone cut through both Gerrel's protests and the crowd's upset. "And if the Admiralty Board had not failed the quarian people so spectacularly that three quarters of captains voted no confidence, and three fifths actually refused to recognize orders given by the Admiralty Board as legal, then this review would not be necessary. Your actions will be judged individually, not in tandem with any of your peers."
"Our actions recovered the homeworld," Gerrel argued.
"And at what cost?" Xala asked, tone suddenly dangerous. "I shall begin listing the charges, which—" she raised her voice when it looked like Gerrel was about to interrupt, "you may defend yourself against. But you will do so when permitted, and you will not interrupt. I have five trials today, and I refuse to ruin my voice by allowing any of them to devolve into shouting matches. Am I understood?"
Gerrel glared mutinously, then nodded once.
"You are being incredibly rude, Han."
Gerrel forced a sickly smile onto his face. "I understand," he grated out.
On the bench where the Spectres sat, four people had varying degrees of success in not grinning as Gerrel found himself steamrolled by Xala's no-nonsense, no tolerance for bullshit calm. It was rather like watching a mudslide in progress: nothing really stopped it.
"That being established, finally," Xala declared icily, "Former Admiral Han'Gerrel. You are charged with endangering the Flotilla, in that when the opportunity to evacuate the Civilian Fleet was created, you unilaterally decided to move your Heavy Fleet to the attack, thereby costing the Civilian Fleet, which included the Liveships our people depend upon, its chance to escape. Further charges will be brought by Council Spectre Jalissa Shepard."
Shepard stood up, opening her datapad. "The charges are as follows: that he did knowingly and voluntarily violate the spirit of the Treaty of Frixen, which places limitations on dreadnaught-type ships, specifically dreadnaught-type firepower, with his initiative to arm the quarian Liveships. That he did knowingly and willfully endanger and come very close to killing two Council Spectres, and a high-ranking turian officer, and the last living Prothean—which falls under the Council Species Preservation statues—and a member of the Admiralty Board, and my support team, during the attempted evacuation of the Civilian Fleet. That he did knowingly and willfully provoke the geth in direct violation Council mandates that the geth be left alone to prevent further loss of life after the original quarian exodus. That concludes my list of formal charges, on behalf of the Council." Shepard looked up from the datapad. "I would like to take this moment to add that the Human Systems Alliance, to which Spectre Alenko and I still belong, is not looking kindly on this abuse of its personnel, but are holding any formal protests in abeyance until these trials are over." She sat down.
Gerrel looked absolutely livid. "Everything I have done," he said in a vicious, cutting tone, "has been for the betterment of the quarian people. To reclaim the world that was taken from us. I would think," he spat, "that this would hold more weight than a foreigner's opinion on the interpretation of laws that are not those of our people."
Shepard sighed. There it was, the 'it's their law, not ours' argument all members of galactic society had to learn to deal with.
"Am I to take it," Xala asked, "that you refuse to acknowledge the charges?"
Gerrel opened his mouth…but paused, as if realizing just how far out his ass was actually hanging.
"Well?" Xala prompted after a few silent minutes.
"I recognize that the majority of charges are brought by an outsider," came the mulish, noncommittal response.
"Whom the Admiralty Board has included in quarian internal affairs once before, by virtue of making one of our people her responsibility. Moreover, as she had not been demanding your execution for endangering her and her crew. I think her opinion will continue to carry weight, and rightly so."
Gerrel licked his lips. Clearly, he'd never been so on the outs with his own people before. "So this is what is to become of the quarian people. In bed with the geth, which is treason in its own right!"
Shepard raised a hand discreetly.
"The bench recognizes Spectre Shepard," Xala said.
Shepard stood up, tapping her datapad against her thigh. "I wonder if I might address Han'Gerrel directly, pertaining to the charges." It was quite appropriate to make the request, both as Tali's ship captain—which meant she had the right to plumb why he endangered her crew—and as a Council Spectre, who might need to hear his justifications for herself to help her decide how to advise the Council in handling the matter.
"Of course, Spectre Shepard. Please," Xala indicated Gerrel, whose bristling suddenly became wary, more defensive than offensive. He had seen Shepard in a courtroom before, just not with her antics pointed in his direction.
"Here she goes. Watch this, it's gonna be great," Alenko murmured to Vega.
Smiling at this, Shepard sauntered forward.