"Persecution"
The Council Tower, The Citadel, April 6, 2193
"We hear your accusations clearly, Ambassador Goyle." Tevos tried to defuse the heated situation. "But the Council is beholden to its own laws. What you are suggesting is that we would willingly and knowingly violate one of the most dearly held laws in Citadel society."
Goyle's eyes nearly started twitching. She barely held back an outburst of expletives that would have left even the brashest of sailors stunned.
Liar.
Hypocrite.
Xeno scum.
These were the words the Ambassador so desperately wanted to hurl at the aliens before her, and yet she did not. Her duty came before her personal feelings. The wave of frustration which washed over her quickly turned into boiling rage. Nonetheless, Goyle held herself back and bit her tongue.
"We are as surprised, and as disgusted, to hear of this as you are, Ambassador." Toraph defended himself and his colleagues.
That was a partial lie and the Salarian knew it. He had seen the clues to something nefarious happening behind the scenes, something to do with biological weapons and kidnapped subjects. However, Toraph suspected that whatever rogue body did such heinous crimes, did so against the Turians. He was not expecting the Humans to be involved at all.
"The fact remains that the evidence links it to your people." Goyle practically hissed out. "It was your operators from your intelligence agency from your homeworld which are implicated in this."
The Salarian winced. There were truth in her words, and he feared that any further speech he made would simply agitate the Ambassador further.
"The people of the Alliance... my people, want answers. They want justice. They want blood."
"*wheeze* The STG is already conducting an internal investigation as we speak. It may be prudent to wait a few more days for more information to come out, *wheeze* and for cooler heads to prevail." Councilor Bola suggested.
"This 'rogue' operation has been going on for at least the past 6 years. I highly doubt the upper echelons of the galaxy's best intelligence agency would have remained ignorant of the conspiracy happening under their noses." Goyle countered. "The entirety of the STG is suspect, it cannot be trusted."
"Then what do you suggest, Ambassador?" Yorgal rumbled, his voice low and surprisingly calm, given the circumstances.
"The Alliance will send its own investigators." Goyle declared. "We will be granted access to everything that we could possibly want and need for uncover the truth behind this heinous crime against humanity, and we will punish those guilty accordingly."
"And if we do not grant you your request?" Yorgal replied, stressing that last word in the sentence.
"We will do what we must." Goyle retaliated. "Our people have the right to live... the right to see justice. It is now the obligation and duty of every civilized man and woman of the Alliance to see to it that we succeed."
"What of our people's right to live? Our right to justice and due process?" Tevos retorted. "Do you not recognize that we too are civilized beings with our own rights?
Goyle felt a vein throb on her forehead. She had always felt patronized by these Councilors in previous meetings, but this was just way beyond the line. The Ambassador grit her teeth, balled her fists, and then answered with venom she didn't know she had.
"You are hypocrites if you think believe that argument holds any merit coming from you." Goyle all but snarled out. "You let the Batarians run rampant, you let these supposedly rogue Salarians commit such heinous crimes... You have a whole agency dedicated to operating above the law. Now, after all is revealed, you have the galls to say that it is we that have crossed the line?"
The Ambassador was almost short on breath. She slowed down her tirade and took a few deep breaths before delivering the killing blow.
"It is clear that the Citadel Allied Races and its leading Councilors do not care for the rights of us Humans, nor the rights of it's own people whenever it is convenient to ignore it. We are only acting in our best interests, as the Council clearly has."
The four of the Alien leaders were taken aback, some showed it more clearly than others. Yorgal's eyes narrowed and his back hunched slightly, as if he were expecting a physical attack. Toraph tensed up, clearly understanding the full extent of what the Ambassador had said. Bola could be heard gasping through his respirator audibly, but made no sudden movements. But it was Tevos that recoiled the most. Her mouth was agape, her eyes wide with shock and her hands held her podium with a white knuckled grip. The Ambassador's words must have shaken her deeply. Perhaps the outward similarities between the Humans and Asari had created a bias of false expectations. Perhaps the Councilor believed that the similarities between Man and Asari were beyond skin deep. Whatever image of nobility and civility she expected from the Humans had evidently been crushed by the Ambassador.
Yorgal was about to snap back, his anger boiling under his thick hide. It would seem that he did not... appreciate the Ambassador's kind words.
"Choose your next words carefully, Ambassador." The Krogan rumbled. "They may decide the future of your race."
Goyle puffed her chest and stood straight against Yorgal's barely veiled threats.
"The future of my people has already been decided." Goyle retorted. "What remains to be seen is whether you will stand with us, or stand against us."
Yorgal clenched his teeth. He would not suffer the petulance of a young race like this.
"We wield power far greater than you will could possibly ever have." Yorgal now said. He was done playing games. "If you march your armies against us, you will face the full might of the Citadel in retaliation."
"Is that what you told the Turians too?" Goyle snidely replied. "They seem to be holding their own against your ilk."
Yorgal was going to lash out back at that the Ambassador, but he was quickly cut off by his colleague.
"*wheeze* IF there is nothing productive left to be said, I think it would be best if we... *wheeze* ended the session."
The Councilors looked at each other, and then at the Ambassador.
"The session concluded." Toraph told them all. "All participants are dismissed."
Goyle sneered at them one last time before she turned around and left. Her power armored bodyguards followed suit and escorted her out. The Council did likewise and vacated their stations, heading into the private chambers where they could discuss further in secrecy.
-000-
The walk there was quiet... and tense. Yorgal was still hunched and had his jaws clenced, he looked like he wanted to rip someone's head off. This was in stark contrast to Tevos, who looked like she had just gotten the wind punched out of her gut. Bola was as inexpressive as ever behind the mask he wore and Toraph was deep in thought, as he always was these last few months.
Upon entering their private meeting chamber and taking their respective seats, Yorgal practically exploded.
"These upstarts need to be put back in their place!" The Krogan growled out, still angry at the insults practically hurled at him. "They're going to throw a wrench into everything we and our predecessors have been working towards for the past half a century."
"A confrontation, *wheeze* was inevitable." Bola commented. "The Humans are stubborn to a fault. There was no way to convince them to change their ways."
"This will not bode well with the Matriarchs at home." Tevos now said. "There were talks among the House leaders at home that the Humans could be influenced into mediating a ceasefire between us and the Turians."
"What good would that have done?" Yorgal almost growled out.
"It could buy us time to consolidate our fronts and to redraw our plans." Tevos argued back. "We could have leveraged the situation on Thargora Thoraga to manuever ourselves a more advantageous political position."
"Bah! It's always politics with you Asari!" Yorgal snidely remarked. "The Turians will not bow to the strength of political pressure and other such scheming. They respect only the strength of arms, the contest of sword and shield!"
"And what do you suppose we should do, Yorgal?" Tevos bit back. "Abandon reason? Know only war?"
"Enough!" Toraph interrupted. "This internal bickering will not do us any good."
All eyes were on the Salarian now.
"No matter how we got here, the fact remains that the Humans are now a belligerent threat. We must take steps to counteract this problem." Toraph reminded them.
"What would you advise?" Bola now asked.
"We should redeploy some of the reserve battlegroups, as well as the homefleets." The Salarian suggested. "Give these Humans a good show of force, to show them that our words are backed with adequate firepower."
"Would that even deter them?" Tevos scoffed.
"It would make them move cautiously, *wheeze* make them more likely to rethink their course of action."
"A quick string of victories against the Turians could achieve similar results... or better yet, preemptive strike." Yorgal now suggested.
"No!" Tevos flat out yelled.
"Yes!" Yorgal shot back. "We can hit first, break their strength and blunt their abilities enough that further attempts in aggression is unfeasible, we could force them back into the negotiating table so that you politicians can play your games."
"Snapping them back to their senses could bring us into a more advantageous position in negotiations." Bola mused. "*wheeze* Bringing to bear the full capabilities of the Council should scare any and all rational being in the galaxy."
"No, there is too much uncertainty in this course of action." Toraph interjected. "If we could hit first, if we can blunt their strength adequately, if a preemptive strike will cow them into submission and not galvanize them further into aggression."
"Then we ensure we bring forth fire and fury unlike the galaxy has ever seen. We point the gun at their head and force them back into the table, give them a deal they cannot refuse." Yorgal reasoned. "We invade a planet, shatter their fleet, and offer them peace if they agree to cease relations with the Turians and join our fold."
"Might I remind you of the information our insiders within the Free Batarians have given us of the Hegemony's operations against the Humans?" Toraph hissed. "Invading one planet for over a year and subjugating it to slavery hardly made a difference in their will to fight. What makes you think our efforts would make a difference?"
"The Batarians are incompetent and primitive buffoons compared to us." Yorgal defended himself. "It was nothing short of a miracle that the Humans could last so long against them."
"The logic is sound, *wheeze* Councilor Yorgal is right." Bola commented. "We will be able to commit much more troops in an open and public offensive strike, as opposed to the secretive one the Batarians held. Our troops are better equipped and better trained. Statistically, we are at an advantage.
"You can't be seriously entertaining the idea!" Toraph objected. "We've already had one blunder with the Turians, making more enemies now is not the right move! We'd only be pushing them further into the Turian's arms! Tevos, surely you understand how misguided this is... tell them!"
Tevos was silent. She was thinking and struggling within herself. A long time passed before she finally answered. When she spoke, she looked drained of life and was hunched as though exhausted.
"Yorgal... is right." Tevos said, quietly, almost as if she didn't believe the words herself. "We stand a far better chance at bringing the Humans down now than we will in the future when they are fully prepared for a strike."
"No, not you too!" Toraph felt his knees become weak. "No, no, no... We are supposed to be keepers of peace and civility! Mindless violence should not be our go to solution!"
"I don't like it either, Toraph, but we are at war." Tevos grit out after taking a deep breath. "The odds are stacked against them two-to-one to our favor. I realize now that warfare, as brutal and barbaric as it may be, is sometimes necessary. Given any other choice, I would never have call for it. But the Humans have shown that they will not listen to our words willingly... so we must force them to listen."
A heavy silence falls on the private meeting room. Toraph looked from colleague to colleague, finding himself alone.
"I see that I cannot dissuade you all from further devolving into insanity." Toraph said, his words heavy. "Do as you will. I have no means to stop you."
Toraph rose from his seat and flattened down his robes.
"I must inform of the Dalatrass Council and coordinate operations the director of the STG." The Salarian said as he excused himself from the room. "I must ensure that things go... without incident."
-000-
It had been no more than an hour since the meeting between Ambassador Goyle and the Council had been concluded. Half an hour earlier, SPECTRE agent Valern received an urgent call from a very distraught looking Councilor Toraph. Suffice to say, his attention was directed only at his superior.
"I need you to reach the Human ambassador before she departs from the Citadel." Valern recalled what the Councilor told him in hushed voice. "Go to her, demand a meeting and tell her that granting you audience may mean life or death for millions."
"I doubt that neither her nor her guards will be easily convinced to do so." Valern replied to the Councilor. "Any suggestions on how to make sure they comply?"
"Tell them who you are... that you have a message from me." Toraph said. "Tell them the truth, Valern... Let them understand that I am tired of lies and secrets, and that if they are not made aware of this one, catastrophe will come."
"If you are calling me directly, I must assume this is to be done off the record." Valern surmised.
"My colleagues cannot know." The Councilor explained. "They are set on their path to ruin and I cannot stop them."
"Contradicting the will of the Council is treason, sir." The SPECTRE agent commented, though he made no real protest against the mission. "If our plot is discovered, it would mean our death."
"Then let me be the martyr that brought light to the rot and corruption which infests the institutions we hold so dear." Toraph said with finality. "Get to the Ambassador, and contact me again when you do."
With those words in his mind, Valern approached the Human guards watching the ship which stayed still at it's designated dockspace. The two guards, already on high alert, moved from their post to intercept Valern.
"Look, buddy." One of the guards said, his voice filtered through his powered-armor helmet. "We already told all the other reporters that we ain't answering questions. You can bug off now."
The SPECTRE suppressed a small smirk. He had swapped out his usual armor set for a set of regular civilian attire, though his high grade shield and pistol still remained under his loosely fitted jacket.
"Apologies, sirs, but I have urgent matters that must reach the Ambassador's ears." Valern told them. He moved a hand into one of his pockets. The guards shifted in their position, very obviously readying the weapons they carry in anticipation of a potential threat. Valern slowed down, and raised his free hand in a friendly gesture.
"I mean no harm." The SPECTRE reassured them.
"We'll be the judged of that, buddy." One of the guards said, his weapon fully shouldered.
Valern paused for a few seconds before ever so slowly taking the item he wanted out. It was a square metallic badge, with the image of a hawk-wing made out of six bars carved out and inlaid with silver. A SPECTRE Agent's badge.
One of the guards took the badge and inspected it. He raised a hand to the helmet's earpieces and his head began to move as though he was talking though not a sound was heard from him. Valern surmised that he must be speaking to an internal communication network, not unlike what he and his team would use in their covert operations.
It was a few minutes until the power-armored guards spoke to Valern again.
"Raise your arms." The guard said, mimicking a t-pose.
Valern hesitated at first, but then slowly complied. He stretched out his arms and held still. The second guard pulled out a baton like device and waved around the SPECTRE. When the device hovered close to Valern's hip, it began beeping rapidly. The first guard reached into Valern's belt and removed the offending object, that being the agent's pistol.
"You'll get this back once you're done." the first guard said, placing the pistol into a locked box. Valern only nodded in response.
Once the second guard was done waving around the device, he gave the first guard a thumbs up gesture and gave him the all clear.
"You will be escorted to meet the Ambassador. You will stay within 1 meter of both of us at all times, and you will not deviate. Failure to comply will be met with severe penalty." The first guard warned. "Do you understand?"
"Yes." Valern simply answered.
The guards escorted the agent into the ship. The insides of it was surprisingly bare-bones, it was a utilitarian vessel. Valern supposed that this was a military vessel which was quickly repurposed for diplomatic purposes. A stellar nation which was attacked so early into their life-cycle would certainly have more militaristic leanings. It would certainly make sense that the Humans would prioritize security over diplomacy.
The guards escorting Valern stopped by a door and knocked on it twice. The door opened, revealing the Ambassador sitting on her desk, typing away at her device.
The guards entered and ushered the SPECTRE Agent in to the seat across the Ambassador.
"I have been told that you have a message for me." Goyle said.
"I do, Ambassador." Valern curtly answered.
"I was not aware that SPECTRE agents doubled as personal mailmen." Goyle then mused. "Unless of course, you're here for more... nefarious reasons."
"Oh, no such thing, Ambassdor!" Valern replied. "If I may be allowed, I must make a call to the one which sent me here."
"And who might that be?"
Valern raised his left hand and activated his omni-tool. The two guards behind him becoming tense in response did not elude the SPECTRE.
"One moment and you will discover." Valern deflected, activating the code to connect to Councilor Toraph's thrice encrypted personal line.
After a bit of loading, the holographic image of said Councilor appeared.
"Ambassador, I hope my agent did not disturb you too much." Toraph's filtered voice spoke. "I had an urgent message to relay to you, and had no other means to get it to you."
"Skip the pleasantries, Councilor." Goyle interjected. "Time is short."
"Of course." Toraph responded as he straightened his back. "My colleagues intend on pacifying your people as a threat. An invasion is a possibility. You must prepare."
This took Goyle by surprise.
"Wh... what? Why?" Goyle stammered out.
"My fellow Councilors see no recourse to convince you to stand down, so they will seek to stop you from becoming a full threat." Toraph explained. "Yorgal, that thrice damned fool, wants to launch a preemptive invasion to force you into the fold and stop you from joining the Turians."
Goyle blinked twice.
"Do they expect us to just roll over and submit?" Goyle scoffed. "How utterly retarded are you people?"
"Remarkably retarded, it would seem." Toraph sighed.
Goyle sighed too and rubbed her temples.
"Why would you tell us this?" Goyle asked now, feeling a headache rising within her skull. "What purpose would telling me this achieve? You're setting your own people up for failure."
"My people, the Citadel, the Council... we deserve to fail." Toraph bitterly responded. "I too have been running my own investigation into mysterious dealing by people I thought were my allies. What I discovered implicates two of my colleagues in this massive web of schemes, which is connected to what happened to your people, though I still cannot pinpoint how."
Both Goyle and the Councilor was silent for a moment, before Toraph continued.
"There is... a rot in the heart of the Citadel. It afflicts us in secret and it's hideous hands reach far and wide. I do not know who I can trust... someone who I thought I could turned on me to join the march to war. Warmongering, secrecy, and lies are not what the Council is supposed to stand for. If I remain silent, I am complicit. As such I cannot stand idly by and let my fellow councilors lead us further into ruin."
"Betraying your allies isn't going to make you a very popular politician." Goyle commented.
"And betraying my principles will see my Citadel's collective soul sacrificed in the name of victory. My colleagues may be willing to turn their backs on the oaths we made, but I am not." Toraph asserted. "I am transmitting the evidence I have collected over the span of my personal investigation to my agent with you, as well as what pieces of intelligence I can scrounge up for you to use. They are not translated yet, you will have to do that your self."
"I... thank you, Councilor." Goyle could only say. She was overwhelmed. "I will have my staff work on this at once."
"Be sure that you do." The Councilor concluded. "You can begin transferring the file now, Agent. Take care, Ambassador."
Valern took off his omni-tool strap and handed it over to the Ambassador.
"I have spares in my office." He said.
"Thank you, agent." Goyle thanked. "Your actions will be long remembered by the Alliance."
"It is no need, Ambassador. I do what my duty asks me to."
Valern stood up and excused himself.
The two guards escorted the SPECTRE out of the ship as Goyle connected the omni-tool to her computer. R&D had thought ahead of time and created a wired adapter to manually connect Citadel built omni-tools to a Human computer. Scrolling through the data given to her, she saw that the Councilor had given her far more than she had expected. Judging by the spotty translations her computer was doing, these seem to be files pertaining to military formations, combat doctrine, even weapon system schematics. A better computer would be needed to translate the texts to a more legible form.
Picking up the phone on her desk, Goyle called up the captain of the ship.
"Raise anchor at once," She told him. "We need to get home as soon as we can."
"Aye ma'am, we'll wait for the boots to finish packing up then we'll leave ASAP."
"Councilor Toraph..." Goyle mused under her breath, scrolling further down the list of files. "What a hornet's nest you've stirred up."
-000-
A/N:
Mmmm update machine go brrr.
Patch v1.2: fixed some typos.