The trials reconvened after the ten minute recess. In her heart, Shepard felt cleaning out the Admiralty Board to be more than fair, for the time being. The quarians had suffered heavy losses. With the grinding into the dust of Han'Gerrel, even his most fanatic supporters would look suspect. She applauded Xala'Far's last words to Gerrel. They were the dramatic, bold, uncompromising words that would be used to silence even the most zealous warhawk of his political persuasion. For now, anyway.
Xen was led into the room, her expression supremely disdaining. A woman who knew she was about to be shit-canned, and wasn't going to give the peons the satisfaction of a response. Her haughty bearing caused more than a few nasty looks to be leveled from the onlookers.
"Daro'Xen vas Moreh nar Orra," Xala began. "You stand before this judiciary review to be held accountable for your actions. You will be given the opportunity to defend yourself, once the accusations have been listed."
Xen said nothing, merely arched her brows, as if to invite the tedious list.
"Former Admiral Daro'Xen. You are charged with supporting the initiative that defied the spirit of the Treaty of Frixen, with proposing action against the geth, as prohibited by Council law…" Xala paused, looking unnerved, then proceeded as if she wasn't entirely sure she believed what she was saying, "And if geth are considered sapient creatures, unethical research."
"The geth weren't sapient creatures at that time—if, indeed, they are now. Therefore, my research at that time cannot be considered unethical," Xen answered simply.
"Something has changed in the geth," Xala said very firmly, "and that something is potentially sapient consciousness."
"I wonder if the Council will agree with that, whatever their current mouthpiece espouses." Xen turned to look at Shepard. "Well, Spectre? Has the Council decreed that the geth are sapient creatures, like any other organic?"
"The Council hasn't ruled on that," Shepard answered simply. Nor would they any time soon. She suspected it was something they would avoid until they had to deal with it.
Xen returned her attention to Xala. "This judicial review has already decided that I'm guilty—a bone thrown to foreign powers already seeking to control us. And before this most excellent orator can bring it up to her advantage, yes. I did point out that recovering our homeworld, and advanced AI technology, would be worth any price—even upsetting those bureaucrats, whose forerunners were delighted to strip us of all galactic standing because we lost out homeworld."
Murmurs ran through the crowd, not all of them unsupportive.
"And is it really such an unusual thing to think? Isn't Shepard herself attempting to recruit allies in aid of her homeworld, to take it back from a hostile synthetic force? Humans had scant respect for Council law when they started fiddling about with mass relays. And I think Captain Shepard will agree that ignorance of the law is no excuse."
Shepard got to her feet when Xala motioned she was free to respond. She thought she saw what Xen was up to: simply to stir up contention before she couldn't anymore. "I am recruiting allies to remove a threat from the galaxy. That the Reapers seem to congregate most thickly around my homeworld is irrelevant. As a Council Spectre, I would be working just as hard if they were congregated around Palaven, or Thessia, even Kahje or Kar'shan."
"I wonder," Xen almost purred. "And my second point?"
"About events that happened before I was born? I don't hold the quarians of today responsible for the war their ancestors started. Should I?" Shepard asked politely.
Shepard had the brief satisfaction of seeing an ugly, contemptuous flicked on Xen's face. That, she thought snidely, was why one didn't bring up old stuff.
"As I say. I am already a martyr to political necessity," Xen continued. "The sheer amount of participation these foreigners have been allowed—beyond what a ship's captain would be permitted—shows it. So go on. Sentence me and get it over with."
Xala, who looked mildly uncomfortable, looked to the jury, who also looked confused and uncomfortable.
The deliberations too much longer than Gerrel's had, perhaps an hour, during which Xen radiated that aura of arch superiority to everyone and everything…which eventually began to cause annoyance among the jury. Certainly, Xala, by degrees, began to look furious.
Finally, a plump female got to her feet. "The jury has reached its decision."
The twist of Xen's mouth was triumphant: she'd wasted a full hour of everyone's time, when—as far as she could tell—the conclusion should have been foregone.
"Daro'Xen vas Moreh nar Orra, the quarian people have regained their homeworld, but not through the weapons you designed. More than that, with the regaining of our homeworld, shared as it must be, we feel that your views and application of them represent a liability we cannot afford. Moreover, those same views create a liability on the galactic stage that cannot be afforded. If we are to live in the galaxy, and not remain outcasts like the Terminus systems, a certain respect for…foreign influence in the form of Council law…must be maintained. You are stripped of your rank of admiral."
Xen waited, expression unphased.
"Furthermore," the woman continued, her tone hardening, "your behavior here displays an unpardonable lack of interest in or care about your fellow quarians, their lives and the quality of their lives. Therefore, you are removed from the research and development fleet, and will be reassigned to constructive labor on Rannoch. You will never again hold any position of public authority."
Xen opened her mouth, looking shocked.
Shepard inwardly nodded. Take away Xen's ability to ignore everyone else and focus on playing with her toys. It was a punishment she would feel more than any. Her big brain, wasted doing menial tasks.
The quarian from the jury sat down, indicating without words that they were finished with Xen, who was promptly escorted from the room.
