"Okay, thing is… Udina and the rest of the alliance kinda… Don't know the trouble we have been causing. I think that the evidence will help smooth things over with them, and get a cheerful smile on their face, but you never know. So, limit your talking as much as possible, and try not to kick the hornet's nest." Mads advised.
"I thought you said it was better to ask for forgiveness than permission." Garrus replied.
"Yeah, but I don't think they'll like us going behind their backs on this." Mads said as they walked up the stairs of the embassy. "Okay, moment of truth." Mads remarked as he opened the door into Udina's office.
Udina and Anderson were having some sort of discussion when they entered, and by the looks and sounds of it, it wasn't a pretty one. They stopped once Mads, and his new band of friends, entered. "Romanov, riddle me this: For the last two hours, C-sec has been sending me reports that someone with the rank of commander is tearing up the lower wards, starting gunfights and killing people left, right and center. You wouldn't happen to know the man who did this, would you?" Udina asked highly impatiently as he tapped his foot.
"That would happen to be me… Sir." Mads answered.
"Why? Why the hell are you trying to stir up more trouble? We are already on a very thin thread here!" Udina ranted.
"I did it because it gained us something. You might notice there are three aliens in your office right now, and that's not just to meet the diversity quotas for the month. Tali, take it away." Mads said as he stepped back.
"Thank you." Tali replied, before opening her omni-tool. "As some of you may know, we Quarians are required to go on pilgrimages once we reach adulthood. Just as I had started mine, I picked up the news about what had happened on Eden Prime, and my Captain intercepted a signal from a planet that proved to be of interest. I managed to take out a Geth platform, and remove its audio bank-" Tali was interrupted by Anderson.
"I thought the Geth fried their memory core when they died?" He asked.
"Yes, but if you are fast and know what you are doing, you can recover information before it is gone, as is the case with mine here." Tali typed in a few commands on her omni-tool, and played back the message she had gotten.
"Eden prime was a major victory! We got what we wanted, and we left the humans looking weak!" The voice on the recording was without a doubt Saren in his full glory, sounding way too smug for his own good.
"Yes! We got him!" Anderson cheered.
"Wait! There is more." Tali said, and played the rest of the recording.
"Not to mention this is a step further towards the return of the reapers." The other voice was quickly recognized by Mads. Matriarch Benezia, the bitch that had defended Saren and gotten him off the hooks. Of course she was in on it.
"Well, that proves Matriarch Benezia's lack of innocence in this case. Two birds with one stone, how lucky can one be?" Udina almost cheered.
"The council is gonna love this! I can't wait to see the Turian councilors face!" Mads laughed.
"What about those reapers?" Anderson asked a bit concerned.
"According to the Geth data base and logs, they are an ancient race of machines that wiped out the Protheans." Tali clarified.
"An ancient race of machines? I thought the Protheans died in like… A civil war or something?" Mads was a bit intrigued.
"That is indeed a popular theory." Anderson confirmed.
"It's probably just some set of lies that Saren preached to the Geth to get them to follow him, or something like that. There is no way there is an ancient race of machines, we have never heard or found anything!" Udina said.
"Shouldn't we at least keep the option open?" Mads asked a bit concerned.
"We can look into it later. For now, we have Saren and Benezia. There is no way the council can dismiss this." Anderson replied.
"Captain Anderson is right. We must focus on the matter at hand. I will call for another meeting with the council; I will alert you once I have confirmed it." Udina added.
"Understood, sir." Mads replied. With that, was their cue to leave, they could walk around or something until Udina and his smug face had gotten the attention they needed.
"I'll have… A large beer, and… The Spareribs, please." Mads requested. The Asari waiter smiled and nodded in confirmation as she noted it down on her omni-tool. Mads put down his menu card and looked over at the rest of the people sitting at the table. It was his idea to get something to eat before the Council meeting, mostly because he was starving and he felt like he owed them at least a little something.
Garrus ordered some Turian wine, alongside a dish of which Mads could not pronounce. The restaurant was named 'Galaxy united' and prided themselves on serving every species and having food for all. Wrex ordered a ridiculous amount of food, but given his size, Mads would let it slide for now. Kaiden and Ashley had joined them as well, both ordered some Italian style dish. Tali seemed lost in trying to figure out what she wanted to eat. The Asari waiter waited impatiently for an answer.
"What do you want, Miss Zorah?" Mads looked over at Tali and asked.
"This is all… I don't..." She tried to say several different things at once. Mads shifted his graze from Tali to the waiter.
"What's the best Quarian food you have here?" Mads asked.
"The best would actually be-" The waiter started, but was quickly interrupted.
"Great, she'll have that." Mads said.
"But, I don't have the money for that, and I couldn't-"
"Nonsense! I'll pay for it. Consider it my thanks for giving us the evidence." Mads said. The waiter didn't seem to care as long as they would get the money, and took the orders with her to the kitchen. Time passed as they waited for their food to be prepared. Some people struck up some chatter along each other, while others sat silently and looked down in their lap.
Good thing about eating out nowadays, was the quick service you were getting. In some areas, Mads could appreciate the new technology, while in other ways it seemed to be dumb down the population. The food was okay-ish, nothing fancy, certainly not for the price they were paying, but Mads hadn't eaten in quite a while, and he was quite hungry after the events that had unfolded that day.
"So, I heard you caused quite a mess down in the lower wards." Kaiden remarked as he took a break from eating his ravioli and took a sip of his coke instead.
"Well, Saren is apparently tried to clean out house. Some low life Turian prick tried to take me out, but he made his own choice. I suppose he is with the Spirits now, as the Turians believe." Mads said.
"Him? I doubt it." Garrus added.
"Garrus over here knows where trouble is, and has no problem leading us straight to it." Mads remarked as he pointed to Garrus.
"What can I say? I'm Judge, Jury and executioner all at the same time. Saves money." Garrus joked, Mads let out a short laugh as he dug back in to his ribs. They mostly ate in silence after that, most of them were probably deep in thought anyhow. Tali barely touched her food, while Wrex had no problem downing his food in record time.
Just as they were about to wrap up, the call came over Mads' omni-tool. The meeting had a start date, which was pretty soon, in an hour to be exact. There was a bit of a walk to the chamber, not to mention the elevator ride took forever. Mads kept his promise and paid for it all, which seemed to please most of them.
Mads had run late again, second time showing up a few seconds late to a council meeting. To most people, this would be dis respectable, but Mads couldn't care less. If they were so high and mighty, they could wait a few seconds. Anderson waved them to the chamber, very Udina was looking smug before the councilors. This time, it was a smug face Mads could agree with.
"Commander Romanov. Ambassador Udina has informed us that you have new evidence that should be reviewed by us." Councilor Tevos remarked.
"Indeed councilors." Mads said, and turned his attention to Tali. "Take it away Miss Zorah." Mads stepped aside and let Tali step forward. She seemed nervous in her body language, but that was justified considering she was standing before the very rulers of the galaxy.
She hit a few commands on her omni-tool, and in no time, the recording played over the speaker for the councilors to hear. They looked shocked as they heard the words spoken by their very precious Spectre. The needed a moment to chew on it.
"This evidence is, without a question, remarkable. This puts Saren as the guilty party. He will be stripped of his Spectre status and will be hunted. The same will go for Beniza, she will not be welcome in Asari space anymore." Tevos said.
"I'm more interested in these 'reapers'. How do they fit in?" The Salarian councilor asked.
"According to the data taken from the Geth Platform, they are supposed to be:-" Mads Looked down at his omni tool for the notes Tali had given. "An ancient race of machines that were the key cause for wiping out the reapers"
"That is absurd! An ancient race of machines? Saren must be throwing out false information. There is no record of such race." The Turian councilor remarked.
"Well, I don't think we should rule anything out, not at this stage at least." Mads replied.
"Commander, please. We know that Saren is guilty, that we can see and that is where our focus should lie." Tevos added.
"That won't be enough! You need to send the fleet in!" Udina was really trying to push his luck and get some more support.
"A fleet won't get anything done in a manhunt! It is too costly!" The Salarian councilor fired back.
"It could secure the region and make it stable!" Udina explained.
"Or it could prompt a war with the Terminus system! Something we are not interested in." The Turian councilor replied with a harsh tone.
"Come on guys, I think there is another way to solve this problem..." Mads remarked. The councilors stared at Mads for a few moments, trying to decide what he was going on about.
"NO! It is too soon, humanity is not ready for it!" The Turian councilor suddenly bursted out saying.
"IT'S THE BEST DEAL!-" Mads yelled back. He took a moment to breathe and calm down. "-You don't risk a war with the lawless part of the galaxy, and humanity gets a bone." Mads explained.
"I would agree." The Asari councilor remarked. Mads was pleasantly surprised by the sudden agreeable nature of the councilor.
"You can't be serious!" The Turian councilor was baffled by the mere suggestion that they would hand over anything to the humans.
"Look, we both win. Commander Romanov has shown that he is capable to operate on his own, and clearly he is suited for the task." The Asari councilor replied a bit annoyed.
"Ugh! Fine!" The Turian councilor finally yielded. They held a vote to decide the matter formally. Within seconds, the results were in.
"Commander Romanov. It is the decision of this council that you be granted the rank of Spectre. This rank holds many responsibilities as well as privileges. Your mission is to hunt down Saren and Beniza and make them stand before justice. You will be given a ship by the Alliance to begin your mission, and Ambassador Udina will inform you of what we know so far. Is this clear?" The Asari councilor asked.
"Yes ma'am." Mads replied. "I am honored to be given this rank, and I will do my up most to ensure this mission is a success." Mads added.
"If that is settled, then we can move on. Make sure to get your briefing from Ambassador Udina. He and Captain Anderson should prepare a vessel for you, as well as a crew to help you. Any other questions should be directed towards him." The Salarian councilor said.
"Understood." Mads nodded.
"This meeting is officially over, and your mission begins now." The Turian councilor ended in a very annoyed and offended tone.
"Well, commander. That marks that." Captain Anderson remarked as he leaned against the railing overlooking the Normandy. Mads was trying his hardest to get his lighter to cooperate with him in an attempt to light a cigarette.
"I guess it does. We will see how much it will help. I have a feeling it may end up being more of a curse than a blessing." Mads replied as he finally got the zippo to work.
"This is a huge step up for humanity, Commander. I would take advantage it, and never forget that you are human, and you are still a part of the alliance." Udina added.
"Yeah yeah, I get it." Mads swiftly dismissed.
"Anderson and I have been making the paperwork, and we can confirm that the Normandy is now your ship." Udina said.
"Come again?" Mads asked confused. There was no way he heard that right.
"The Normandy is now under your command. The Alliance has promoted me, and has given the vessel to you. She is one of the few that can handle what you are going to do." Anderson clarified.
"You can't be serious." Mads replied.
"I am. Take her, she is your best bet for getting to Saren and getting a step ahead." Anderson added.
"I can't take it from you Anderson. She is your ship." Mads said.
"Well, you know her crew and you know her. I can't think of anyone else taking over. You will be fine, and I'll be here on the citadel if you need me. Good luck and Godspeed." Anderson concluded and padded Mads on the back.
"Fine, I'll take good care of her. But… I don't know where to start." Mads Admitted as he took another drag of his cigarette.
"There have been reports of Geth activity on Noveria. Our outpost on Feros hasn't reported back in an alarming time." Anderson advised.
"We have been able to track down the daughter of Beniza as well. She is on Therum. She might know something that could prove useful." Udina added.
Mads hummed as he thought about where to go first. "I'll give it some thought. Thank you." Mads declared as he finished the last bit of his cigarette and threw it on the ground only to put it out with the tip of his boot.
"It's your choice, commander. The crew will follow you where ever you want to go." Anderson reassured. Mads gave them both a nod and a handshake to finalize the deal. So, he would be the one to go after Saren after all.
Tali had only heard snippets of the conversation that was happening behind her. She was too busy looking at the vessel before her. It amazed her beyond belief. She had never seen anything so magnificent during her time in the migrant fleet. This was like a dream come true. Garrus had also joined in on the action and was giving his thoughts on the vessel, but Tali didn't listen. She was lost within her own thoughts. Wrex was there as well, Kaiden and Ashley had already headed into the vessel.
"Well, I guess I'm important all of a sudden." Mads joked as he appeared behind them.
"Don't let your ego get to your head." Garrus fired back with a cocky smile.
"You aren't one to talk-" Mads stopped himself before they would get into one of those joke wars. "-Anyhow, what are you guys doing now?" He Inquired.
"Desk duty for the rest of my life, probably." Garrus responded.
"Where ever I can continue my line of work." Wrex swiftly replied. Mads looked over at Tali, who seemed a bit nervous again.
"What about you Tali? Do you have to go back to your pilgrimage?" Mads asked.
"W-well, technically… Yeah..." She shifted on her feet.
"Well, I have a proposition for all of you. Since I am a Spectre, that means that the Normandy follows my command. I need specialists, and you guys seem to fit the bill. I can offer you work on the Normandy. It won't pay well, and it will be dangerous, but-" Mads was stopped before he could go any further.
"I'm in." Garrus replied. "-I've had it with the red tape. I'd rather see this case to an ending." He added.
"Sure thing." Mads welcomed Garrus.
"I'll join as well. It's been too long since I have seen some good action." Wrex remarked as he straightened himself out.
"You are of course welcome as well." Mads smiled. "And you Tali?"
"Our Pilgrimage demands that we give whatever we have. As a Quarian, what would it say about me if I pass this up? I would like to join as well." Tali said.
"There might be a light at the end of this tunnel, but only if you follow me." Mads said. "Go on, head inside and find out where you will best serve. We will discuss this further after takeoff." Mads ordered. They quickly bolted inside. Mads smiled as he saw them with big eyes, studying the every details of the Normandy as they went up the ramp.
Mads took the time to call up on the investment firm he ran beside his employment at the alliance. He had heard the name Fevos before, and he believed this could mark an opportunity. But, he settled on taking on the Asari doctor whose mother had joined the cult of Saren. If they would gain any leads, it would be from her.