Acronyms:
OCS – Officer Candidate School
MARINE – Muscles Are Required, Intelligence Not Essential/Expected/Evaluated (alternately: My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment)
AT – Antitank
CHAPTER 11: DECISIONS AND DISCUSSIONS
Something chased her, something gangly and inhuman. She tried to use biotics, but nothing happened. She then saw organs be removed from a dead body, but she realized it wasn't dead; the body still twitched as her mind screamed at her to flee. She ran, and ran fast, but not fast enough. One of the creatures caught her and knocked her to the ground, then…
Commander Shepard awoke with a gasp and shot awake, breathing heavily. Her head whipped around the room as her biotics instinctively charged in defensive reflex. It took a moment to realize that she was aboard the Normandy in her bunk. This nightmare somehow seemed more vivid, more real…
"Shit," she whispered.
She prayed that her little outburst hadn't woken up the other occupants of the officer's room. After another thirty seconds of careful listening, she had determined that she hadn't disturbed any of them. Relieved that no one had woken as a result of her nightmare, she pulled the covers around her, but despite still being tired, it was clear after a few minutes of resting that her mind and heart were still racing. There was no way she would be able to fall back asleep after that, so she might as well get up early.
She hit the gym to get in her running and her cardio, her exercise taking longer than usual due to the lack of a pool onboard. She took a long drink of water and grabbed a biotic supplement bar. It was still quite early as she left the exercise room after her long workout: 0437. She pulled out her dress uniform and hit the showers. She let the water run over her head and hair for long time, as if the act would clear her head.
It didn't work. The nightmares that had plagued her dreams the prior night still lurked on the edges of her mind, waiting for a reason or trigger to return. She stepped out and toweled off, cleaning herself up for the meeting with the Council. It took her longer than expected since her hair apparently had decided it wasn't going to cooperate again today, as if it too were protesting the nightmares.
Given she was up so early, there were only a couple members of the crew awake at this hour, in addition to a couple watchstanders from the Alliance barracks to keep an eye on the basic systems and comms; the Normandy's crew was too small to have anyone from her crew stand watch when docked. Just like their XO, the small crew needed its rest, and being docked meant that the crew's time was often occupied by maintenance tasks…and shore leave. For consistency ships conformed to Alliance Standard Time, whether they were on a station, or deployed, or planetside. The latter made things rather difficult, due to the vastly differing length of days on celestial bodies.
Shepard still struggled to get the images from the beacon out of her head as she dressed and went to the mess to eat. After the large breakfast, she headed up to the comm room, returning to the mess for another snack after a half hour catching up on classified briefs about Saren's recent activities and updates from the embassy. News reports hadn't caught on to Saren yet, and, more surprisingly to Shepard, news of that massive ship hadn't leaked.
That ship…just thinking about the ship sent a chill down her spine as she images from the beacon returned once again –
She shook her head clear and moved on to the next topic. Barla Von had been very forthcoming after hearing about the attack on the Presidium, and had provided additional information about Saren to the Alliance for free. The Shadow Broker had reached out directly as well, and had even provided privileged information about the hit. Saren had indeed ordered the attempt on her life, had worked through a Citadel crime syndicate to carry out the hit, and paid for the use of biotic resistant armor. The Broker had provided a bevy of information about the syndicate, and Alliance authorities were scrambling to pore over the data. The Alliance was desperate to show they were doing something, anything, after the Eden Prime attack, and while rolling up a Citadel crime syndicate wasn't the same as stopping more geth attacks on colonies, it was something.
After a while Kaidan and Ashley appeared in the mess within just a couple minutes of each other. "You're up rather early," Ashley remarked with a small smirk, seeing how the commander was already fully dressed and ready to go. Both of them grabbed a meal and sat next to her.
"I woke up a while ago and couldn't fall back asleep," Shepard replied casually. Both marines could tell that her offhand remark didn't tell the whole story, though, and they shared a quick glance. "So I figured I'd exercise and get to work. While you're both here, I wanted to say thank you for yesterday."
"You did most of the work finding the evidence," Ashley replied.
"No, you both helped. And with the assassins in the Presidium. If you hadn't been there with me…" she closed her eyes for a moment as her voice trailed off. "Well, you both saved my rear back there."
"You saved our asses back on Eden Prime. You tore through those geth," the chief said.
"All of us tore through those geth," she corrected again. "If any one of us hadn't been there, we wouldn't have even gotten to the beacon."
"But you used your biotics constantly," Williams replied.
Shepard shrugged. "I've always relied on my biotics in fights."
Alenko thought that there had to be more to the story – he hadn't seen or heard of a human with a peak power as high as Shepard, not to mention one that made hovering look so easy. Well, it probably helped that she was tiny with the latter. But he still found himself surprised about her peak power. Well, she was an N7 after all, but still...
He mentally sighed; he shouldn't be dwelling on his XO's biotics right now. "I'm…I guess I'm surprised that you aren't wearing armor today," he said quietly as he changed the subject.
Shepard frowned. "Trust me, I asked. PAO nearly threw a fit, and the ambassador's office didn't react much better. It's all about appearances to them." She shook her head, the frown morphing to a momentary scowl. "Well, there's a small chance I could be in front of the Council today, and if not, we'll only be at our embassy. Ambassador Udina wants me to be there," she said neutrally. "Which means service dress."
"He certainly puts the 'ass' in 'ambassador'," Ashley muttered under her breath.
Both officers laughed, both at the lameness and the truth behind it. "He certainly can be a challenge to us poor military folks. With the files from Tali and the info from the Shadow Broker, AIA is starting to pick up more suspicious information on Saren as well. According to this, the Council had summoned Saren to respond to 'matters of grave concern regarding your recent activities.' He hasn't responded at all. Not a sign of an innocent man," Shepard said.
Williams raised an eyebrow. "You really think the Council will believe us?" she asked skeptically.
"Completely ignoring all of the new evidence would be counterproductive. While they think the ambassador is too pushy, the Council needs to keep us happy. The embassy could also 'leak' facts about Saren's involvement, and that would be…messy," the commander understated. "Unlike yesterday, at least for the next couple days, they will definitely listen to what we say."
They all finished their meals. Shepard went to freshen up before leaving for the Presidium while Alenko and Williams changed into armor. This time around, the two marines would carry rifles as well. They boarded the skycar and took the short trip to the embassy.
For the most part of the morning, Shepard read up on additional evidence against Saren. She was surprised, though, when several people wanted to discuss just what she had seen in the beacon's visions. It still remained a mostly jumbled mess, but nevertheless she explained what little she could understand. It did not take long for her to get a pounding headache at the discussion.
Williams saw that Shepard had been unsettled any time the beacon came up. Just hearing the discussion made her unsettled, too. The clinical, detached questions, the slow quiet responses of the commander…in the chief's mind, this questioning couldn't be over fast enough. If she found it uncomfortable, she couldn't imagine how her XO felt. It was clear that even though Shepard knew the importance of the questioning, the commander wanted this discussion to be over as fast as possible. The chief shot a share of glances at the lieutenant, but he observed the proceedings stoically.
The questioning finally concluded after lunch, and Shepard took a minute to stand, rubbing her head. "I'm glad that's over," she said quietly, wincing slightly as she rubbed her temples.
While the embassy "weenies," as Williams liked to think of them, discussed and debated on how best to present the information to the Council, the three Alliance soldiers talked more with Tali, Garrus, and Wrex, before finally returning to the ambassador's office.
Shepard mostly contained her frustration at the ambassador's next set of orders for her. He wanted her to review more information on Saren. She frowned at the thought. He didn't really specify what he wanted her to look for, of course. He wondered if it was so she could be "seen" by the embassy personnel and the select pool of reporters allowed into the complex, to remind them all that she was suddenly back in the Council's and Alliance's good graces. It took a while for her slightly tired mind to realize that this would also keep her in the secure offices of the embassy – away from any potential assassination attempts. She wondered if that was the real reason.
She also wondered if Captain Anderson put Ambassador Udina up to it.
In the meantime, both Lieutenant Alenko and Chief Williams had been ordered back to the Normandy. The captain wanted the kinetic barriers on all of their sets of armor to be tweaked ASAP.
"More interesting than looking through reports," Shepard had chuckled. "The ambassador's going to have me tied up at the embassy for the rest of the day, so the greatest threat to me will probably a cut from a datapad edge." A shrug followed before she said, "Or tinnitus from listening to a bunch of diplomats talk."
Alenko and Williams had done exactly as ordered – tweak the barriers on each set of armor aboard the Normandy, in several instances helping the armor's owners with the process. The project had taken the rest of the day and part of the evening, with a dinner break in between.
The lieutenant checked the time – it was getting pretty late. And they had heard nothing from the commander. The two marines returned to the embassy to learn that it was still in a near frantic state, trying to quickly put the best case against Saren as possible.
They found the commander exactly where they had left her. This time, however, she looked obviously fatigued. A myriad of datapads of different sizes lay strewn across the small table. One of her elbows rested on the table, supporting her chin as she read through data on a trio of screens, scrolling and clicking on something every few seconds. The tiny room smelled of the remnants of delivered food, with a large, empty container of dinner at the edge of the table. Her jacket had been tossed across the second chair in the office.
"Huh. Who would have thought that just reading reports could take the whole day," Williams muttered.
Despite her obvious fatigue, Shepard chuckled. "Clearly you've never been in a staff position."
"Back to the Normandy, then?" the chief asked.
"Back to the Normandy," the commander confirmed. "Perfect timing, I just finished looking through some new data on Saren's financial interests."
"Dry reading, I take it?" Alenko asked.
"Dry reading," Shepard confirmed again.
"More of the same tomorrow?" the lieutenant asked.
"More of the same tomorrow," Shepard confirmed yet again. "Until we give the report to the Council tomorrow afternoon. And hopefully without the – with a bit extra sleep," she corrected quickly.
Both marines didn't share a look, but both thought the same thing. She had been up pretty early – was she having trouble sleeping?
"Anything new of note?" Alenko asked to return his mind to the immediate questions.
Shepard turned fully in her chair before leaning back and stretching her arms above her head. "The files from Tali have truly been a godsend. The techs are still sorting through them. I'm just staying out of their way." She gestured towards the datapads. "Saren's finances are all an undecipherable web. Nothing that I really understand. So I started looking at other things a few hours ago. While everyone else was putting together the report that proves that Saren is guilty, I started looking at Matriarch Benezia."
"The asari in those logs," the lieutenant stated.
Shepard nodded, pressing a button on a datapad, resulting in a report appearing on the screen. "Turns out Matriarch Benezia has a daughter. A Doctor Liara T'Soni."
"So she became a doctor instead of a politician," Williams stated.
Shepard started chuckling and shook her head. "She's a doctor, but not the medical kind. Guess what kind of PhD she has?"
"Psychology?" the chief replied quickly. "Figuring out why Mommy threw in her lot with a traitorous Spectre?"
A quick laugh. "Nope. Archaeology. The digging up of ancient ruins. And guess whose ruins she specializes in?"
It took the marines a few seconds to come to the realization. "No," both said in disbelief. "Don't tell me she digs up prothean ruins," Ashley replied.
"Okay, then I won't tell you that," Shepard replied with a chuckle. "But yes, that is exactly what she does. What a coincidence, huh?"
"But…wait. Is this Dr. T'Soni working with her mother? I mean, she and Saren are looking for information about the protheans," Alenko asked.
"Yet another surprise: it doesn't seem so. We've been able to get some message logs between Benezia and Liara. Their messages got more and more…heated. Apparently the matriarch doesn't approve of her only daughter being a prothean researcher. Dr. T'Soni was expected to be something more…influential. They haven't talked in over a year."
"When did Benezia start working with Saren?" Alenko asked.
"About eight months ago."
"So…why hasn't Benezia just gone and picked up Liara?" Williams asked.
"Another excellent question. Don't know," Shepard shrugged. "Liara was just on a planet called Junthor – apparently the protheans were researching an even older civilization there – and she left a few days ago for a dig site somewhere else. Current leads indicate a corporation could be funding her current efforts. Hence the reason it's probably all hush-hush – they want to glean anything of note before they report it to the Citadel."
"Whoever it is will get sanctioned pretty heavily. Hell, the Council may even get involved," Alenko replied in surprise and skepticism.
Shepard nodded agreement. "Fast way to go bankrupt with sanctions. It's possible that it's all just a cover for Liara to meet back up with Benezia, but I don't think so. Their last messages…well, heated argument is an understatement." She rubbed her forehead. "Finding Liara and learning what she knows is probably our best bet, though I seriously doubt that she knows anything about what Saren and Mommy are up to. Benezia and Liara have a…troubled relationship right now, and neither party seems to have made an effort to mend it. I mean, maybe Benezia tried to contact Liara, but we don't have any evidence of it." She barely managed to stifle a yawn.
Williams couldn't help but chuckle. "Ma'am, I think you need a break."
"There's no need for 'ma'am' when your XO is yawning. But yeah, I don't think there's much else for us to do here today."
She unleashed a biotic attack at the advancing creature, which only elicited an unnatural roar. She scrambled into the ruins, only to run immediately into –
Commander Shepard once again bolted awake with a gasp, and her eyes immediately appraised her surroundings. She lay in a bed…her bunk…in the Normandy's officer's quarters…another nightmare.
"Damn it," she whispered. Once again, she listened for a minute, trying to determine whether her sudden jolt had woken any other occupants of the room. Once again, she hadn't. Once again, she used tried and true techniques to try to fall asleep. Once again, they didn't work.
She slowly and quietly got out of bed to get in more exercise. Being unconscious for a couple days set her back, and it gave her racing mind something else to focus on. Despite not getting a full night's sleep the last two nights, she could never go back to bed after that vision. Everyone on the ship was still asleep except for a couple watchstanders from the barracks in CIC, and she could tell by the ambient lighting that it was still "night" in Zulu time. She only checked the time after she finished her workout. 0508. At least it's later today than yesterday, she thought.
She repeated the same routine, the long shower slowly removing the lingering traces of the nightmare. "Shit," she muttered again, pounding a fist on the shower wall. She stood and let the stream of warm water wash over her head and hair. It was on the only thing that seemed to offer a respite from the visions, from the headache. Someone probably wouldn't like her high freshwater use on the Normandy, but that was their problem. They didn't have some damned alien device dump a load of hallucinations into their brain.
She sighed and got dressed once again, making sure her uniform once again looked presentable as she went to the mess.
"Get down Polowski!" she shouted at the marine. He did, but not before a pair of rounds punctured his hardsuit.
She turned to face the utterly unyielding, precise robots, whatever the hell these things were. She opened up on one of the troopers, but immediately ducked back into cover as rounds zipped overhead where she had just been crouched. She saw Bhatia take a series of rounds and collapse, and she
Chief Williams bolted awake, a bead of sweat on her forehead as she relived the memories from Eden Prime. She found herself panting, gasping for air, and it took her a minute to calm and her breathing to slow.
Damn it. She silently glanced around the chiefs' quarters, looking for any signs that she had disturbed any of them. She hadn't. Fortunately, she also hadn't jumped up and hit her head on the bunk above her. Her mind and heart still raced, as she kept thinking about Bhatia, Polowski, Goto…
She found herself angry, at why the Alliance hadn't deployed a fleet after the discovery, how they even let the geth sneak into their space, how the Council had rejected any request for aid –
Bastards. She couldn't do anything about that. But she could kill every fucking geth she found. And in the cargo bay below, she had a perfect outlet for her anger.
She crept out of the quarters and pulled on a BDU. She looked around the crew area, and it seemed that no one was up yet. Good. She punched the button to call the elevator, wondering how the hell the most advanced ship in the galaxy had such a shitty elevator.
A minute later, she found herself in the cargo hold, and quickly got to work setting up the shooting range. Focusing on the tasks allowed her to shelve the memories from the nightmare. She noticed that the exercise equipment had been recently used, as whoever had decided to work out at zero dark thirty had made sure to clean the equipment after they finished. She idly wondered who it could be as she set the targets in place and drew her rifle.
She waited for one of the targets to appear from behind the shutters, the VI being programmed to randomly open the shutters on the several targets at the far end of the bay. She watched intently, waiting for one of the –
A three round burst "dropped" the first target, and she switched to the second in a flash, dropping it a second later. No more targets presented themselves for several moments, and she pretended the monocolored targets were the shades of grey of geth troopers, the ovals at the top of the torso being replaced with the damned flashlight heads.
Williams dropped target after target, finding a form of catharsis as target after target dropped, and after several minutes, she switched to her pistol and repeated the same process. After probably consuming a fair portion of the ammo block in the weapons, she stowed and safed the weapons before taking the range down. She didn't necessarily feel better, but she also didn't feel worse after venting her anger on the hapless targets.
The morning was most of the same, with Shepard, Alenko, and Williams getting a chance to see the full case against Saren. It was both thorough and convincing. After receiving an initial set of files two days ago, the Council had ordered Saren to report in to them. He still hadn't, and Shepard knew that he never would.
The case presentation to the Council didn't occur until the afternoon, and it took nearly a half hour. Ambassador Udina, Captain Anderson, a senior leader from AIA, and Executor Pallin stood in front, with Shepard a couple steps behind and to the left of the captain. Williams and Alenko watched and waited again in the viewing room while Saren was tried in absentia.
"The evidence you have provided us is irrefutable, Ambassador," the turian councilor said immediately after the presentation finished. "Saren will be stripped of his Spectre status and all efforts will be made to bring him in to answer for his crimes," Sparatus said loudly and firmly, as if wanting to overshadow his unwillingness to believe his fellow turian's guilt. Despite the grave topic, Shepard had to suppress a giggle at the thought. She knew most Council sessions were recorded, and what she wouldn't give to have access to those to compare the Sparatus from two days ago to today…
"We have ordered Saren to communicate with us after we first heard of these disturbing developments. He has not responded," Valern said.
Not surprising, Shepard thought.
"He is guilty and convicted in absentia," Valern continued.
"Matriarch Benezia's involvement is surprising," Tevos added. "She is a powerful biotic, even among matriarchs, and she had many followers. She will make a formidable ally for Saren." Always projecting the image of being calm and in control, the asari councilor nevertheless seemed slightly troubled at the revelation of Benezia's involvement.
"I'm more interested in what you've learned about the Reapers," the salarian councilor said, putting his hand up to his chin.
"We know only what was extracted from the geth's memory core," Captain Anderson said. "The Reapers were an advanced race of machines that wiped out the protheans. Then, just as quickly as they appeared, they vanished. The geth appear to revere the Reapers are gods, and they seem to believe Saren is the prophet for their return. The geth appear to think there is a connection between the Conduit and the Reapers returning."
"Do we have any intelligence on what the Conduit could be?" the salarian councilor asked.
"Saren and Benezia think the Conduit can bring back the Reapers. Anything that has a possible connection to the Reapers should be thoroughly investigated," Shepard said, stepping forward, to the slight frustration of Udina.
"Listen to what you're saying! Saren wants to bring back the machines that wiped out all life in the galaxy? If these so-called Reapers even exist, where did they go? Why did they vanish? Why have we found no trace of their existence?" the turian replied harshly.
"Councilor, I understand that there is very little intel to go on. If there is even a remote chance of the Reapers being real, of being able to cause a galactic extinction, it would be prudent to investigate the prothean disappearance for any information about the Reapers," Shepard responded as calmly as she could despite being put on the spot by the turian councilor. "If the Reapers could destroy the creators of the Citadel and the relays without leaving so much of a trace of the destruction, they would be an existential threat to us. Galaxy-spanning civilizations just don't vanish," she concluded with more conviction in her voice than she felt.
"The Reapers are different, Commander. The Alliance has conclusively proved Saren betrayed the Council. We can all agree he's using the geth to search for this Conduit, but we can't agree on why he wants to find it or even what the Conduit is," the asari replied.
"The Reapers are a myth, Commander. They are a convenient lie to cover Saren's true purpose, a legend he is using to bend the geth to his will," Sparatus continued, as if addressing a wayward child.
Shepard thought she saw Valern's eyes quickly glance to Sparatus and back to her. Salarians were so fast, though, that she could have just imagined it…or did she? "Councilors, Saren may be a traitor, but he's not stupid. He wouldn't risk exposing himself unless something huge was at stake. Furthermore, his plan must be far enough along that being disbarred from the Spectres will not have an effect on his future operations. Allying himself with the geth and committing a planetary assault on a colony, regardless of species, means that the data contained in the beacon is worth such huge risks," Shepard replied, trying to keep her nerves to a minimum at suddenly being at the center of the Council's attention.
"Saren is a rogue agent on the run for his life. He no longer has the rights or the resources of a Spectre," the turian said, ignoring her statements. "He is no longer a threat."
"Anyone who has that ship is a major threat, Councilors," Shepard said, her voice grave and subdued.
"Doing nothing is not acceptable. Send out ships to deal with the geth threat," Udina responded. "And to bring Saren to justice."
"Ships cannot track down one man in the galaxy," the turian shot back.
"A Citadel fleet could help secure the entire region and prevent geth attacks on any more of our colonies," the ambassador responded.
"Or it could trigger a war with the Terminus Systems! We won't be dragged into a galactic confrontation over a few dozen human colonies! Colonies that you have founded in inherently unstable space!" the turian shot back.
"In treaties, you gave us permission to expand into the Traverse. As part of those treaties, we would establish colonies and police sectors in the Traverse, and you agreed you would come to our defense if they were attacked. Are you saying you are refusing to honor your treaty obligations?" the ambassador asked harshly.
He's got a great point there, Shepard thought as she observed the councilors. She could never tell a salarian's mood – any emotions that appeared on their faces seemed to be gone just as fast – but Sparatus looked uncomfortable, and even Tevos looked slightly uneasy at Udina's question.
"We have no further intelligence that indicates the geth are planning another colony attack," Sparatus said defensively after a pointed silence.
"We had zero intelligence that the geth and Saren would attack Eden Prime, either," the ambassador replied quietly, the reduced volume providing a stark contrast to his usual boisterousness.
The ambassador may have been an utter asshole to the commander over the past couple days, but he was getting a few great licks in on the Council, Alenko thought. The silence that hung in the air of the Council chambers was thick enough that Shepard mentally froze. She had no idea what would happen next, but she knew it probably wouldn't be good.
"So you won't do anything to protect against future geth attacks, and you won't send ships out to find Saren. What will you do?" the ambassador asked harshly.
While the ambassador presented good points, and actually managed to place the Council in a trap of their own making, continuing to push them now would permanently sour relations, the commander figured. "There are multiple solutions to finding Saren, not just sending out ships," Shepard said calmly and reasonably.
Tevos gave a quick nod, almost appearing pleased for a moment. "Commander Shepard is right. There is a way to stop Saren that doesn't require fleets or armies," she replied.
"No! We have already been over this. Humanity is not ready for the responsibilities that come with one of them joining the Spectres!" Sparatus protested. He glared momentarily at the commander.
"The Council doesn't have to send ships into the Traverse, and Ambassador Udina gets a human Spectre. Both parties get what they want. It's the best compromise," the commander said in a very reasonable voice. Everyone gets what they want, she thought. Except me.
"Of course you'd say that!" Sparatus shot back. "You're the one that would be put in history as the first human Spectre!"
Shepard held back the true words she wanted to say to Sparatus. "Councilor, while becoming a Spectre is a tremendous responsibility, I will do what needs to be done for the security of the galaxy. While I would much prefer to forgo the fame and ceremony, I understand that will be a result, and I have and will continue to hold myself to the highest standards, to best represent the Citadel Council and the Systems Alliance."
Sparatus looked about ready to reply, but he glanced to Tevos, who nodded. A moment later Sparatus did the turian equivalent of a sigh as he frowned, as all three councilors looked down at their terminals, each typing something onto their screens as metal panels quickly obscured the Councilors. She could hear muffled discussions on the other side of the barriers. Shepard knew it didn't take a rocket scientist to know what they were currently talking about.
Only a minute later, the barriers suddenly retreated, allowing all present to see the Council again. "Lieutenant Commander Layla Shepard," Councilor Tevos said, a firm voice of command that Shepard had never heard before from the asari councilor.
"Yes, Councilor," Shepard replied as she instinctively stood at attention at the tone.
"In light of the evidence you have uncovered regarding Saren and the geth, and your history of exemplary military service, it is the decision of the Council to appoint you as a Spectre. This is a tremendous honor for both you and the Alliance, and your formal induction will be tomorrow morning," Tevos stated formally, briefly outlining several details to the ambassador and the commander.
"Thank you, Councilors," Shepard said respectfully with a small bow.
"This meeting of the Council is adjourned," Tevos said, but then her mouth twitched ever so slightly into a small smile. "Congratulations, Commander."
"Thank you, ma'am."
The councilors departed their stage, and Alenko and Williams watched Udina, Anderson, and Shepard briefly talk.
"Damn," Williams said quietly. "Who would have thought they'd be making her a Spectre after everything that's happened?"
"Funny how just a couple days and a bit of evidence can change their minds," Alenko agreed, then chuckled. "Well, an awful lot of evidence. Councilor Sparatus was livid with her two days ago, and today he's loudly saying that Saren needs to answer for his crimes."
He saw Anderson and Shepard shake hands, and then Shepard shook hands with Udina. The two men left the podium while the commander stood motionless for several moments, clasping her hands in front of her, before walking slowly towards a nearby bench. She promptly took a seat and looked at the ground for a moment before staring straight ahead, fiddling with her tie tab.
Kaidan started walking back down to the podium, with Ashley following a couple steps behind. Layla didn't even notice them approach until they were just a few meters from her. The commander glanced towards them and took a deep breath before she stood, straightening her skirt and wringing her hands in front of her. "Well…" the commander said, with more than a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Congratulations, Commander," Alenko said with a smile, then snapped off a perfect salute, which she quickly returned. While it technically wasn't proper protocol in this situation, it just seemed to be the proper thing to do given the circumstances.
"I'm not technically a Spectre yet," she replied cautiously.
Williams saluted the soon-to-be first human Spectre as well, but the O-4 remained very anxious.
"Is everything OK?" Ashley asked quietly upon noticing Shepard's expression and mood.
"Yeah…maybe…no," Shepard responded slowly. "I just told the three most powerful people that 'Yes, I can be the first human Spectre. I'll stop Saren, his ship, and his army of geth. No problem.'" She shrugged. "No idea how I'm actually going to do that, but it's no big deal. I'm sure everything will be fine," she replied, her tone oozing sarcasm, then the took a deep breath. "I mean, they didn't explicitly say they're going to send me after Saren, but I know they will. And it's…I'd rather just be made a Spectre now and skip all of the celebration and ceremony. Just go right after Saren, and look for Dr. T'Soni. Or take the fight to the geth. Saren already has a head start, and this pomp and circumstance will just give him an extra day." The Normandy's current XO sighed. "Captain Anderson is going to start working on the logistics so I can have a head start tomorrow as soon as possible after the induction."
"I?" Alenko asked after she finished speaking, catching on to her pronoun use quickly.
Shepard sighed, looking to the ground. "I'm not sure if I'm going to remain on the Normandy now," she said, an odd trace of sadness in her voice. "I mean, I still will probably be involved in some capacity at some point in the future, given the capabilities of the ship. But Spectres normally work on their own. So…well, I'm not sure. The embassy hasn't really planned for what comes after getting a human Spectre." She then looked to Alenko, with a smile on her face that didn't quite match the rest of her expression. "Ready to be third-in-command of the Normandy, Alenko?"
He nodded. "Yes, ma'am," he replied confidently, but inside he suddenly felt a little torn…and sad. He hadn't worked with Commander Shepard long, but he realized he would miss her…miss working with her, he corrected.
"You…you're going to be reassigned?" the chief asked.
Shepard shrugged. "Probably, though I'm not completely sure. I mean, I'm technically still Alliance. But I work for the Council now. I don't think the embassy really thought about the details. I think they wanted to get a Spectre, and the administratia would eventually sort itself out."
"Udina's probably in his office jumping for joy," Alenko said dryly.
"Very true," Shepard said with a grin, now imagining Ambassador Udina leaping and squeeing around his office like a teenage fangirl. "Thanks Alenko, now I have that mental imagery stuck in my head."
"What are you supposed to be doing now?" Williams asked.
"Oddly enough, nothing," she said with a shrug. "Captain Anderson told me to relax, that I've earned it," she continued with a sour note in her voice. "I can't set up anything with my Spectre authorization, since I don't have it yet. So there's nothing that I personally can do to get a head start for tomorrow. I don't know. I…guess we can just head back to the Normandy," she said pensively.
Kaidan saw her expression, her…uncertainty. The last few days had felt like he had been the ball in a pinball machine, and as unpleasant as it had been for him, it had to have been a hundred times worse for Shepard. He weighed asking the question, his caution balancing against his boldness. Unusually, the latter finally won out after several seconds of contemplation.
"If you don't have any orders, and don't have anything to prep for tomorrow…maybe we could all grab a drink?" he asked. Great, Kaidan. It had sounded far more confident in his head. "I know I could use one," he finished.
Shepard turned to face him fully, and she started by saying "Alenko…" Then she paused for a moment, and the lieutenant knew he had said the wrong thing by her silence. Just as he was about to say that hitting a bar maybe wasn't a good idea, she grinned and said, "I think that's a great idea."
A quick look of relief flashed across his face. "I figured you could use a drink after the last few days," he replied with a smirk.
"Or five," Shepard responded with a nod and her own amused look.
"Five?" the chief asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Being biotic somewhat balances out being tiny – I'm okay as long as I don't drink too much too fast," Shepard responded.
"The press would have a field day if we had to carry the the drunk Commander Shepard back to the ship," the chief grinned.
"The ambassador's reaction would be worth seeing, though," Alenko added.
"Definitely," the chief agreed.
"For you two, maybe," Shepard replied. "Though a bar sounds so much better than what I first thought of. I first thought we should do some sightseeing on the Presidium, but the last time we were strolling about people tried to kill us."
It was the way she said it, and the mock gravity in her tone, that elicited laughter from the two marines.
"I can't let Captain Anderson forget that. He said something like, 'It's the Presidium, people don't get shot at here!' Guess what? Ten minutes later, we were being shot at."
"You did start it with the sniper check," the chief pointed out with a smirk.
"No I didn't!" the commander responded quickly, then her face broke into a wide grin. "Pretty sure that caused a jinx. How many times did we say 'no one gets shot at on the Presidium?' I still owe both of you for dealing with those assassins, by the way. Hmm..." she pondered as she crossed her arms, raising her right hand to her chin. "For places that are quote 'safe', we could try that embassy bar past the security checkpoint. Certainly not the most exciting of places, but we shouldn't have to worry about assassins there."
"I thought we could try Chora's Den instead," Alenko asked deadpan. "I've heard the cooking is something to die for."
Ashley laughed and Layla did that cute giggle that he had first heard – stop it Kaidan, Alenko's mind snapped at him. "That's probably true. I don't even want to guess how high the chance of food poisoning would be there. But we trashed the place pretty well. Do you think there is an intact bottle of liquor left?" the commander wondered.
"On the plus side, if there is, it would be free," the chief said. "They should have cleaned up the bodies by now?"
Shepard grinned with a shake of her head as the three went to the bar. "It will be nice to relax, now we have a few hours to kill…" she immediately stopped speaking and facepalmed. "Poor choice of words given our last sightseeing trip here in the Presidium," she said. "I know you're supposed to be my protection, but in the embassy it really isn't an issue…and I probably jinxed it again. Next time it will probably be stalkers or something instead of assassins," she finished with a shake of her head. "Oh, and get whatever you would like at the bar—don't worry about the cost. It's on me."
The three arrived to find the bar was fairly quiet, which, given the commotion yesterday on the Presidium, suited Shepard just fine. There were perhaps two dozen patrons, all keeping to themselves. All of the clients were diplomats or senior embassy personnel, persons of "importance." Shepard took a seat at a circular table in an area of the bar that was out of the way—and had a view to the entrances, just in case something unexpected happened. The two marines took a seat on either side of her. "What can I get you, ma'am?" the asari waitress asked Shepard just after the marines got settled.
"I'll have a cosmo," Shepard said.
For the marines, it was as if someone had set off an explosion in the bar. Their heads whipped around to stare at Shepard in slack-jawed silence. "Wha-what? Did I just hear that right? A cosmo?" the chief asked after she regained the ability to speak.
The commander looked at her and shrugged with a grin. "Too girly?"
"Yeah…and I wouldn't have guessed you to drink them. I mean, you slaughter thugs by the dozens during the day, but drink cosmos in the evenings?" the chief asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Pretty much!" came the response.
"Huh. Learn something new every day," the chief said with a chuckle. "And that explains why you admitted that the pink ar – "
"NOT another word," the commander interrupted. "Order your drink, Chief."
"Well, I guess that settles it. Sure, why the hell not." The chief shrugged. "The same. A cosmo," Williams said with a grin as she shook her head in disbelief at what she had just heard from the commander a minute ago.
"And what can I get you, handsome?" the asari asked Alenko in a sultry voice with a seductive smile, putting her hand on his shoulder and leaving it there.
"J-just a glass of water," he replied nervously, suppressing the lump in his throat.
"Alenko," Shepard said to him with a slight, tight smile. "Get whatever you'd like. It's on me."
"A-alright," he said with a bit of hesitation in his voice, both from the commander's insistence and the overly flirty asari. "What, uh, scotch do you have?" the lieutenant asked, subtly trying to move away from the waitress.
"Well…" the asari cooed at him, listing off what they had. After Alenko made his pick, she finished with "Of course," leaving him with a lingering smile as she withdrew her hand.
After the waitress had gone out of earshot Williams said a mischievous, ear-to-ear grin, "Looks like you made a new…friend, L-T."
"She's n-not really my type," he responded quickly. He didn't dare look at his XO, not wanting to see her expression. He wanted to change the topic immediately, but the chief interjected before he could.
"What is your type, then?" she asked, her grin nearly spreading ear to ear.
"Not her," was his simple response. He wanted nothing more that to talk about anything else in front of his current XO.
He didn't notice Shepard shift uncomfortably in her seat. "Did both of you join the Alliance out of high school or college?" the commander asked quickly, fiddling with her tie tab, before either of the marines could continue the prior conversation.
"After high school," Williams confirmed.
"Enlisted a short while before I got my degree, and went to OCS a couple years later," the lieutenant responded, feeling very relieved that Shepard had quickly changed the topic.
"Have you always been Alliance Navy? Or were you rotated into the Marines?" Ashley asked Layla.
"Always been in the Navy, even though I've been groundside a fair amount." Shepard grinned. "Also, with my size, I would probably ruin the Marines' reputation." She narrowed her eyes and cocked her head to one side in a theatrical expression. "'Her?'" She paused for a moment. "I definitely fail the first three letters of MARINE, though I'd like to think I have at least some semblance of intelligence."
Williams paused for a moment, glancing at both of the officers, before asking, "So…when do you find out that you're…biotic?"
"With modern medicine, usually your parents learn from in-utero testing," Shepard responded.
"When do you first start getting the glowing corona-thing?"
"Usually pretty young, about eighteen to twenty four months, but it's really faint, just a slight glow around your hands from time to time. As you grow beyond the toddler phase, you start getting small corona flares that aren't just limited to your hands, and start getting static discharges to objects," the lieutenant responded.
"Here you are," the waitress said as she brought their drinks, only making eye contact with Kaidan as she gave him a seductive smile.
Each of them took sips of their drinks, with the chief shooting Alenko a wide grin. "So, those static discharges…do they hurt?" Williams asked.
"You actually don't feel a thing, other than a tingle. You are discharging to the object, not the other way around. Your body slowly gains electric potential that will flow to grounded objects," Shepard said.
"When do you first start…you know…getting actual powers?" Williams asked.
"Usually around ten or eleven. You can exert forces and move small objects, but you won't be doing anything impressive until you get an implant and amp," Alenko said.
"Did you get a lot of crap in high school for being a biotic?" Williams asked him.
"Not really," the lieutenant responded, though BAAT wasn't really "school" in the traditional sense of the word...
"A little," Shepard replied evenly.
The waitress walked by their table, and asked if they needed anything. "Would, uh, it be possible to get a food menu?" Alenko asked the asari, not making eye contact.
"Make that two," Shepard added.
"Why not, make it three," Williams chimed in.
"Of course," the waitress said, winking at Alenko.
The chief, sporting an ear to ear grin, poked the lieutenant in the shoulder. He ignored it. "Biotics have higher metabolisms. Our caloric intake is much higher than non-biotics," Alenko told Williams, immediately changing the topic away from the flirty asari waitress.
"How much?" the chief asked him.
"When not using our abilities, anywhere from about 50% to 100%, or even more. It varies from person to person. When deployed in combat, or returning from hard combat, it could be double, or even triple, the normal rations," Alenko responded.
"What? Wow!" Williams exclaimed. "I've never served with biotics before, so this is all news to me."
"We're different from what you might hear in the general public," Shepard commented. "We don't read minds, drink blood, eat babies, and talk at the theater." She shook her head in disgusted amusement.
"Don't forget joining cults and sacrificing virgins," Alenko added with a shake of his own head. "What ignorant members of the public will believe has progressed far beyond silly."
"I don't see that ignorance too much from people in the Alliance," Williams said.
"The Alliance is pretty accepting of biotics, unlike the general public, though there are a few bad apples," Alenko told her.
Shepard shook her head. "And I seem to have encountered a fair number of them when I joined."
"Basic a challenge for you?" the chief asked.
"A little," she admitted. "At the time, some folks really didn't like the thought of a biotic officer in the Academy. I also stood out like a sore thumb, being a petite blonde." Blonde hair and blue eyes were both recessive traits and a very rare combination. While average height of humans had still grown slightly over the past several centuries, being 155 cm tall, even for women, was very unusual as well.
"So that's your natural hair color?" the chief interjected.
Shepard grinned. "My hair is uncooperative enough as it is; if I dyed my hair, it would probably mutiny." Her grin then faded. "But yes, things could be a bit of a challenge every now and then. At the time, acceptance of biotics still had a ways to go at the Academy. And due to my size, I was called 'Noodle Arms Shepard', shortened to 'Noodles'," she said. "Nevermind the fact that with my biotic metabolism and exercise, despite being tiny, I take in about three thousand calories per day, before accounting for any combat."
"Three thousand!?" Williams exclaimed in surprise. She glanced to Alenko, to see even the lieutenant had raised an eyebrow in surprise. Sure, she was powerful, but she was also tiny.
Shepard nodded. "Three thousand, and a lot more than that when in combat or using abilities. That can also be surprising to some, I guess." She narrowed her eyes. "'How can someone eat so much but still be so tiny?'"
Williams chuckled slightly, then her expression turned serious. "You improved the opinion of biotics after the Blitz, though."
"I didn't do that much. It was really the massive effort by the Press Corps," she said, taking another sip of her drink. "That really improved the opinion of biotic humans, but there're still plenty of people that distrust us out there." She paused for a moment, and tried to lower her voice, as if to sound like a stereotypical villain from a cheesy vid. "I am biotic, I eat souls, I will –" she suddenly started coughing and hacking uncontrollably as she couldn't keep the deeper tone for more than a few words.
Both Alenko and Williams joined her uncontrollable coughing with amused chuckles.
The chief patted her current XO on the back. After they all regained control of their ability to speak, Shepard stated, "Another reason to join-", a cough, "-the Alliance. I'd be a pretty lousy-", another cough, "-vid villain."
The menus came, and the three ordered food. Shepard insisted that she was paying for the food as well, stating she owed them for saving her rear yesterday after leaving Barla Von's, and to reward them for their assistance the last couple days, since the commander expected to get reassigned.
"Well," Williams said after several seconds of contemplation. "You certainly aren't what I expected, Commander."
"What were you expecting?" the commander asked innocently, neutrally, but the corners of her mouth were tugging at a grin.
"Everyone's seen you on the vids. Went to the Academy, and a couple years later saved Elysium. You do some interviews every now and then. You appeared in a few recruitment ads, and have been on some special ops missions since. Despite your face and likeness being plastered across Alliance space, that's all most people really know about you," the chief said.
"Did you have to mention those recruitment ads?" Layla groaned, placing her forehead in her palms as the back of her hands hit the table a moment later.
"I thought they actually pretty good!" Ashley responded.
"No, they really weren't. Not my finest moment." She continued after a long pause as she sat back up. "Okay, you want my real story," Shepard responded. She sighed and paused for a couple moments before continuing. "You sure?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
Both marines nodded. "Start at the beginning," Williams confirmed.
"Okay, then." She paused for a couple moments, a strange expression on her face, and let out a sigh. "I was born on a small colony out in the Traverse. I left to go to college, then transferred into the Academy," she said quickly. "I transferred out to a ship soon after I was commissioned. I got promoted to O-2, then you all know what happens next. First Lieutenant Layla Shepard gets credit for saving the colony of Elysium," she said with a hint of frustration.
"But you held off the slavers by yourself. You rallied the garrison and the civilians," the chief countered.
Shepard shook her head. "No. I was a terrified young woman that was trying her hardest not to end up a batarian slave. There was nothing really more to it. I just happened to be one of the ones that survived. Many others didn't," the commander said quietly. "And Alenko knows the full story of why they placed me on a pedestal."
The chief glanced at the lieutenant before looking back at the commander. "What happened?" the NCO asked.
Shepard told her the story of the failed PPU on the Chicago. "It turns out that it's better for the Alliance to pluck some random soldier that survived and pin a medal and a bunch of praise on her than to admit the problem."
"How many casualties were there?" Alenko asked. Shepard then told him. "What? That many?" he replied in surprise.
"The casualties got downplayed, as well as the fact a ship wasn't on patrol there. The fewer people that ask why, the better. There weren't many Alliance survivors to give any credit for 'victory,' and I drew the short straw. I was barely even conscious when Fifth Fleet arrived."
"Why? What happened?" Williams asked.
"I had been shot in the abdomen twice with polonium rounds and had lost a lot of blood, and I had used my biotics to the breaking point. How I didn't die was a miracle. And if Fifth Fleet had arrived and started landing reinforcements about…oh, just a few minutes later than they did, I would probably now be…" the commander paused as she looked down at the ground, visibly shuddering as she pursed her lips together, "'entertainment' for the batarians, if they first somehow kept me from dying of wounds and overexertion. The lines were already strained, and were about to break when the Fifth showed up and beat them back." She sighed. "I regained consciousness four days later to –"
"What!? Four days!?" Ashley interrupted in shock.
"Four days," Shepard confirmed. "I had drained my body of practically every vital nutrient, not to mention the polonium rounds. My metabolism was running haywire, due to the biotics and the rounds, and for about thirty-six hours they weren't even sure if I was going to live. If the marine medics had started treating me just a few minutes later I would have been dead for sure, either from the injuries or from the biotic exhaustion – or both. They kept me unconscious for four days just so I could heal and rest. It took me several more days to get back on my feet." She paused for a moment while she looked at her subordinate's faces, a slightly resigned look on her own face. "They didn't mention any of that in the reporting about Elysium, did they?" she asked softly.
"No," Williams said, still in surprise. "But you saved the colony."
Shepard shook her head. "No. I survived," she said quietly, looking down at the floor for a moment before continuing. "A few of the marines and the colonists had said that some biotic girl saved their lives and stopped a bunch of pirates. There weren't any other female biotic personnel on Elysium, so I stood out during all of the fighting, and the Alliance wanted something to immediately focus on rather than the lack of patrolling ships. Find someone who actually survived, and put them on a pedestal. So I became the quote 'heroine'. Then the public jumped on the story."
"So...they delayed the Star of Terra presentation due to your injuries, then?" Alenko asked.
Shepard nodded. "After I regained my strength, I had to sit down for several more days and get a crash course on dealing with the press," the commander responded.
"Oh?" Williams asked in curiosity.
"They're actually smarter than we often joke about," Shepard said with a frown. "They'll ask you questions, trying to lead you to an answer they want to make a more sensational story. If you don't pay close attention or answer correctly, they'll pull you in and you'll look like a fool. PAO wanted to make sure that I knew the ins and outs of dealing with the media. And, as a colony girl from planet with just a few thousand people...well, frankly, I needed all the help I could get."
"But you single-handedly –" Ashley started to say.
Shepard shook her head emphatically. "It wasn't single-handedly. There are…were…a lot of good people who haven't gotten credit for saving Elysium." She pointed to the very visible Star of Terra on her chest, saying emphatically, "I wear this for those who can't." She paused for a couple moments. "They don't talk about the marines, navy personnel, and service personnel holding the line, refusing to fall back to buy the civilians time at the cost of their own lives. They don't talk about the civilians, some of who had never even fired a rifle before, who pick up bloodied weapons from the corpses of the dead, and used them to hold off the slavers, knowing full well that their life expectancy with this heroic action shortened to be in the minutes, if that," she said.
"But even with no ships to disrupt the landings, you stopped the –" Williams began.
"We stopped the attack," Shepard corrected. "Or, more accurately, we held them off long enough for the Fifth to arrive. Many good people fought, and died, that day. They deserve the press coverage and the awards just as much as me—more so, probably. I had a job to do as a military officer, and that's all I did. Furthermore, I was simply scared; I…I didn't want to become a slave," she finally said quietly as she bit her lip, looking down at the floor. "The many civilians that fought never asked to wake up to a war zone—fighting to defend a planet wasn't in any of their job descriptions—but they did it anyway. Everyone did. It had to be done, otherwise Elysium would have been a lot worse."
Both Alenko and Williams shared a look.
"Corporal Ozawa and Corporal Modi," Shepard continued, her eyes closed, her expression a mix of pain and sadness. "An AT crew that helped take down a batarian frigate. Both knew their actions would cost them their lives, but they did it anyway. Sergeant Gunda, who had become a father just three weeks earlier, killed when shielding civilians from fire. PFC Bock, fell on a grenade to protect his comrades. Chief Hernandez, took a half dozen polonium rounds to the chest, but refused to go down until he took out a batarian fireteam trying to take slaves. Those are just five heroes from that day. People who sacrificed their lives, yet their actions remain entirely unknown to the public. They, along with many others, are the true heroes of Elysium."
There was something in her eyes, both marines saw…something that was difficult for either subordinate to place. Shepard paused for a few moments before shrugging sadly, looking down.
"I guess my fame was nothing more than…lousy luck, really. If that PPU wouldn't have blown, I wouldn't have even been there. And maybe the Blitz never would have happened – I'm not sure where the Chicago would have been had she not been back for repairs. The fact I actually survived the attack…the media wanted a story of heroism that they could then embellish, and the Alliance also saw a chance to prove that biotics were actually a good thing to the general public. And, biggest of all, they could sweep shoddy subcontracting under the rug." Despite the somber topic, Shepard let out a quick, sad chuckle. "And Captain Anderson told me that 'It's 24/7 vid news. Crap is king.'"
Williams let out a quick laugh. "I bet he didn't say 'crap', though."
"He did, actually. No idea if he made it up or got it from somewhere." Shepard shrugged.
Williams remembered her acceptance speech of the Star of Terra, where she didn't talk about what she did, other than she was just doing her duty. She always gave credit to everyone else on Elysium, but part of the chief's mind always had thought the Press Corps had scripted everything. And the fact for the real reason that a ship hadn't been on patrol… "But how many slavers did you…you know…" Williams stopped short of saying "kill".
"I really don't know, I don't count those things, especially when I'm fighting for my life. From what I was told, a hundred and fifty, two hundred, maybe?" Shepard said.
"What!?" both Alenko and Williams replied in unison as their jaws dropped nearly to the floor, and they shared a look. Alenko frequently wiped out a couple squads in engagements with his biotics, and a couple times had dealt with a platoon plus some stragglers, but never had eliminated an entire company.
"I didn't even try to keep track. I was just trying save as many people as I could and somehow not become a slave in the process," Shepard responded quietly.
"Don't they know from armor data?" Williams asked.
"Some of my armor systems, including the camera and BPDS, were damaged by the end. All I know is the techs said they could verify I eliminated 'a full-strength company' before my armor's recording systems went down."
Alenko and Williams were still speechless, and they shared a wide-eyed look. They both had seen her in action on Eden Prime, and watched as she cut through geth squads like a hot knife through butter. But this was an entirely different scale…
"Then I got promoted much faster than normal, and much faster than they should have. Having an Alliance 'heroine' being 'just a lieutenant' in their words, even a staff lieutenant, apparently isn't good for their image. Just because 'Commander Shepard' sounds much better to the masses than 'Lieutenant Shepard.' It's so stupid." She shook her head as she finished with a bitter tone, a flicker of dark energy appearing for a moment around her clenched fists as she pounded the table in frustration. "There are countless talented people in the Alliance that have proven themselves time and again, but promotion requirements aren't waived for them because they weren't all over the Alliance news for a few months," she said sourly. "I…actually tried to turn down the promotion to O-4, but I was told that it was happening, whether I like it or not." She looked down at the ground at the moment, as if she was pondering whether she wanted to say something. "When I learned about the promotion, I actually…thought about…" she began to say, but stopped, letting out a small shrug. "Nevermind."
The food arrived a moment later, and they began to eat in silence, the two subordinates pondering the surprising information from the commander. Williams changed the topic away from Elysium after they had started their meals, asking, "So, uh, you both have pretty large plates. Are those typical meals for biotics?"
"Yeah," Alenko said.
"A bit…uh, small for me," Shepard replied sheepishly.
"What? That's small!?" Williams exclaimed in utter disbelief.
The commander gave a slightly embarrassed grin. "I have larger portion sizes than most biotics, despite my size." They ate their meals mostly in silence until Shepard glanced at one of the vid screens and did a double take. She laughed and said, "Hey guys, look. We made the news."
All three watched a Citadel news segment that showed Chora's Den, utterly destroyed and strewn with bodies. The station's news media had no idea who had assaulted the club, but they were speculating like mad.
The reporting soon switched to galactic news. Not surprisingly, the attack on Eden Prime dominated the headlines. A bevy of expert analysts – some real, some self-proclaimed – discussed the implications of the attack and the Alliance's response. The three humans studiously focused on eating their meals and the surroundings as they listened to the news reports, but none of the other patrons at the bar paid the three Alliance personnel any heed, despite their government being the main focus of the nearly ten minute news segment.
The three soldiers finished dinner, and spent the remainder of the time cracking jokes once the second round of drinks came. The commander paid the full check and the three returned to Captain Anderson's office, while her two subordinates pondered the different side of the commander on display and the revelations about Elysium.