A/N: Feedback and reviews are welcome, and they keep me motivated :) That said, the story will have a short hiatus (about 2-3 weeks) due to vacation and work.
SSV Normandy, Feros orbit
The briefing room of the Normandy was not too large, and with the amount of people inside, Garrus felt somewhat crowded. He leaned back while he took in the Feros ground team: Wrex, impassive as ever; Liara, paler and somewhat shaken-looking; Ashley, her eyes glowing with excitement; Shepard, composed and determined. He glanced aside at Alenko and Tali'Zorah, saw the human frowning, lost in thought, while the young quarian was visibly forcing herself to appear calm. Garrus then focused on the screen in front of the standing Spectre: the surface of Feros.
He, like most turians in active service (especially potential Spectre, Blackwatch, and Cabalist candidates), knew about the scale of destruction the Alliance was capable of. He figured that after Shanxi and Torfan, the galaxy was well aware of the human's resolve and capabilities. Now, it seemed, Shepard and Anderson were using one of their own colonies to remind them on that lesson again.
On the screen, the surface of Feros was glowing red, as magma spilled from the deep fissures rent into its crust, the ground writhing and convulsing as the bombardment continued. Clouds of noxious gasses and ejecta darkened the planet's atmosphere, the hellish glow of the spilling magma accentuated by the flashes of coherent light as the human flottilla fired its dorsal laser cannons at the vicinity of the former colony and the Prothean ruins, where their sensor sweeps found traces of Thorian biomass or geth signals - surely an overkill, after the "conventional" bombardment, and especially after that C-type shelling. Garrus did not ask and did not really want to know what that abbreviation stood for; the gut-wrenching, sheer wrongness of those things was enough to convince him about some things better left in the dark. On one hand, he felt privileged to see such a rare sight, on the other, he was watching a world being essentially tortured to death - and he blinked when he realized he meant that literally.
The screen changed, showing the Council, and Garrus saw that he wasn't the only one to tense, even if all knew that the projectors on their side were focused so only Shepard would be displayed for the Councillors.
"As you can see, the situation is under control, the opposing forces have been eliminated." Shepard's voice was calm, even.
"I see your apparent disregard and hatred for Prothean architecture is as strong as ever, Spectre. Was it really necessary to turn an artifact world into a spirits-damned netherworld?"
"I invite you to educate me on the alternatives Councilor, based on the data we gathered." Garrus saw he wasn't the only one who struggled to suppress a smile, it seemed that Councilor Sparatus was rather universally disliked. "I'm sure after service in the distinguished turian Army, your experience in dealing with xenoarcheological threats is vastly superior to that of humanity."
"You would do well to mind your tone, Spectre, before the Council is forced to ask the Alliance for clarification why such an abomination was not uncovered, reported, and disposed of earlier!"
"As a Spectre, I consider it my duty to point out that the Council had ample time to examine Feros and locate the Thorian, prior to ceding the world to the Alliance for colonization. Unless, Councilor" Shepard's eyes narrowed, his posture shifting in eager bloodlust "you want to imply that the Citadel Council knew about a dangerous xenoarcheological threat, and deliberately set up the Alliance as a scapegoat when it broke free."
Wrex and Ashley cackled, Liara frowned, and Garrus heard Tali mutter something about bulkhead-breaking idiots, as she stopped herself from reaching for Shepard's arm. Sparatus sputtered in indignation.
"Baseless speculation and slander is not your task, Spectre." Valern cut in. "We are not going to achieve anything by arguing about past deeds. Spectre Shepard, I found one thing curiously missing from the Feros reports. The exact nature and capabilities of your so-called C-type bombardment shells."
"I have it on good authority, Councilor, that the Alliance is prepared and willing to hand over the relevant data." Garrus narrowed his eyes, then his mandibles flared in a grin, as Wrex, Tali, and Ashley chuckled almost simultaneously. "Admiral Hackett assured me that the moment the capabilities of Blackwatch, Serrice Guard, and STG WMDs become available, the Alliance will release the requested information."
With the ongoing chuckling on their side, Garrus was unsure if the others caught the minuscule nod and smile Tevos directed towards Shepard. The Spectre turned towards the asari.
"Can I assume the requisite political dancing is done with, Madam Councilor? Frankly, I feel we could be spending our time more productively - and my crew needs a bit of time to relax after this. Not to mention that we need to get in touch with our dedicated STG team."
"Very well, Spectre. We will arrange for a meeting with your STG backup once you get back to the Citadel. I would advise you to consider Noveria as your next target, or at least a close-future one; our operatives found some...disturbing information about the work Binary Helix does there."
"As you wish, Madam Councilor. If there's nothing else?" The asari shook her head, and Shepard ended the connection, before sighing and turning towards the crew.
"So, any questions about the Feros operation?" The operative was looking at Garrus with a raised eyebrow. The turian shrugged.
"You know I'm considered sort of an unofficial observer. I gave my report to you before passing it to Sparatus." The Spectre nodded. "That said, I am curious about those bombs of yours. They certainly seem very ... effective, not to mention unusual."
Garrus could see Ashley tense and glare at him, then Alenko touched the woman's arm, and shook his head, with a nod towards Shepard.
"Trust me on this, Garrus - the more you know about those abominations, the less you sleep well at night. And that's something even the Butcher would agree with." Shepard's small smile was bitter. Garrus considered for a few moments, then nodded, relaxing back in his chair.
"Why...why do your people even have them? Those things...those voices...was I hearing things, or did they really..." Tali's voice was low, hesitant, afraid. "I mean we were up here in orbit, and I thought I could still hear them..."
Wrex shot a dark glare at Shepard, then turned towards the young quarian, his voice a deep rumble.
"Such things are necessary, Tali. Best not dwell on them too long, or too deep. And besides, shouldn't you be gushing about the drive core?" His eyes widened for a moment when Tali shuddered at the mention of the core, then Wrex narrowed his eyes, and again glared at Shepard. "I see. We will be having words, Butcher. And if I don't like what you say, I'll smear you all over the staging deck."
The Spectre grinned mirthlessly, as he met the krogan's glare, and nodded. Garrus noticed that Ashley became more tense, more excited as the tension went up between Wrex and Shepard, and her hands were unconsciously looking for an absent sidearm.
"Anything else?" Shepard looked around, and Ashley spoke up.
"Yes, Commander, may I speak with you and Doctor T'Soni in private?" Garrus sighed, when he noticed Wrex' wry grin, before they filed out, the krogan's sinister laughter echoing in the room.
Liara waited nervously with the two humans as the others filed out of the briefing room. She did have some ideas why Lieutenant Williams wanted to talk with them - well, more likely to Shepard about her, but she didn't want to jump to conclusions too quickly. And even if she was correct about the Lieutenant's agenda, she was unsure whether it was true. She frowned, sitting primly in her chair, as Shepard leant back against the holoscreen's control unit.
"So Ash, what's on your mind?" Shepard's voice was friendly, calm, body language nonconfrontational. Ashley seemed lost in thought for a few more seconds, the silence becoming awkward before she coughed, and looked up into the operative's eye.
"Sir, I'm unsure whether you are objective enough in your handling of Doctor T'Soni." She took a deep breath, and went on. "I believe you allowed your personal feelings to dictate your actions during the Feros operation, and endangered the fulfilment of the stated objectives." Liara was blushing at the woman's implication, especially since she thought it might contain some measure of truth. Ashley would have continued, but Shepard raised a hand, cutting her off.
"For clarification, Lieutenant. You have problems with me taking Doctor T'Soni and Wrex with me on Feros, instead of Alliance marines, or Garrus, or Tali?"
"Not entirely, sir. I do not like you taking Wrex along, but based on his records, it was a solid tactical decision. I could say the same for choosing Vakarian, though personally I'd like that even less." Ashley was looking straight into the commander's eyes, and Liara shivered a bit as she thought what the woman's argument would be...and at the undercurrent of emotion in her voice. "But taking either Tali or Doctor T'Soni? Commander, both are basically kids,civilians with next to no combat experience, and bringing no battlefield advantage to the table. I can admit to the benefits their abilities can provide shipside, but on the ground, both are liabilities."
Shepard nodded towards Ashley, and Liara fancied she could detect a very small, somewhat bitter smile on his face.
"So at least it's not simple speciesism." Ashley opened her mouth, face flushed, fists clenched, but Shepard held up a hand, and went on. "I know your past, or rather, your family's past, Lieutenant. I am not holding your prejudices against you as long as it does not impair teamwork or cause more trouble than the occasional snippy remark. Also, I can appreciate the fact that you tell me your suspicions to my face, instead of having to hear it from the grapevine or from our superiors. So, before we take this to a more formal level, let us talk a bit."
Ashley nodded, a jerky motion of her head, face still angry, posture tense. Liara watched, unsure if she should speak up, but decided she would keep quiet for now, as it was a confrontation between the commander and his subordinate. Still, a part of her brain was considering why Ashley wanted her to sit in, especially since she had not asked for Tali to stay. Some of the conclusions were blush-worthy, so she did just that.
"That said, Lieutenant, while I have not really seen Tali in action much, and I consider her abilities much more useful shipside, I think you are doing the good doctor here a disservice." Liara and Ashley both snapped their heads up at that, with rather different expressions. Shepard flashed a quick smile, and continued. "While I admit that Doctor T'Soni is not a soldier, spending fifty years on xenoarcheological digs unchanged and basically unhurt is not something I'd call lack of experience, especially if you read through some of those expedition notes."
Liara's eyes widened at the implications - surely, the Spectre did not dig that deep into her past exploits? But then again, she considered it was what Spectres did, and the human certainly seemed to know his job well. Shepard went on.
"As for her usefulness on the ground, you presumably saw the recovered Therum reports from Kai Leng's team?" Ashley nodded, clearly unwilling. "Good, so we can dispense with that part, and you should be getting the idea why I brought her along on Feros. Also, she's a very good xenoarcheologist, and we were dealing with a xenoarcheological threat, Lieutenant Williams, an Opera Night-level one at that! I should not have to explain the implications of that to you, of all people!"
Ashley flushed, opened her mouth, but Shepard overrode her.
"I am not finished, Lieutenant! Unless you or Alenko suddenly gained an in-depth knowledge in xenoarcheology, she was literally the only choice who could conceivably offer advice in case we ran into something Wrex or me were not familiar with. And did you consider for a moment that we may need to extract information quickly from an unwilling, uncooperative, or unconscious source, without having time or the necessary equipment at hand?"
Ashley's eyes widened at that, and Liara felt cold, her eyes narrowed in anger. Surely, the Spectre could not have insinuated…
"With all that, Lieutenant, I suggest you leave, and think a bit on the situation a bit. Informally, I can understand and accept where you are coming from and why you said what you did, and I can respect you for that. If you want to go formal, then I advise you to come up with more arguments, and a more solid reasoning. Dismissed, Lieutenant."
Ashley stood, still flushed, before she saluted and marched off stiffly, her face and posture still indicating simmering anger, and perhaps something else. Liara frowned, surely the Lieutenant couldn't think like that…
"Sorry you had to sit through that, Doctor, I have no idea why she wanted to air those issues with you present."
"I think I understand her reasoning, Commander, and I'm flattered by what you said, however, there is a small detail I'd like to discuss with you." Liara's voice changed to the cold, formal, aristocratic tone she heard Benezia use so often, and sparks of biotic energy licked around her arms and shoulders. "Did you really consider having me forcibly meld with whoever, whatever was down there, just to gain information?"
The operative nodded, with a small, bitter smile.
"Why, Commander? You do realize I'd never willingly violate someone like that! It's simply not done, a taboo among asari - wait, would you really have forced me to do that? Commit mind rape by proxy?" Liara's voice was colder than the void, her biotic corona sparking eagerly, her entire being poised to smash the Spectre against the bulkhead, and the Goddess damn the consequences! The Spectre loomed over her, stepping closer, unafraid, and chuckled, the sound low, bitter - and that was mainly the reason she held back.
"Yes, Doctor, that was one option." The human's voice was tired but cold. "I know you are young, but get any notion of shining knights in armor out of your head. I do the dark, horrible deeds so the young and idealistic can have a better world, blessedly unaware of the things that lurk in the void. Go on, call me evil, call me a monster, I don't really care. Me and people like me are, unfortunately, necessary. Just ask Wrex, I'm sure he can tell you stories."
Liara hadn't noticed how close they were standing as she listened to Shepard's voice, a part of her wanting to run, another to hit him, while yet another wanted to … she blushed, as she gazed into the strange, gold-flecked eyes from up close. Shepard blinked, suddenly realizing their close proximity. He cleared his throat, and stepped back.
"Sorry about that, Doctor. Unfortunately, I cannot promise that the future will not require somewhat … less than ethical actions. I will do my best to keep you uninvolved with that, but I can't guarantee we can always find a convenient alternative. So, if you want to leave due to that, I'll arrange for your return to Thessia."
Liara allowed her biotics to dissipate, and frowned in contemplation, before she shook her head, and looked back at the Spectre again, with a small, sad smile.
"No, I think I'll stay with you, Commander. It's not like I have much choice, do I?" The human looked down, and gave a minuscule headshake. "At least you were upfront about it. Still, Commander, in the future I would deeply appreciate it if you could at least consider other options that forcible melding. If you excuse me, I have some data in need of analysis." She raised an eyebrow at the human, who nodded, then Liara turned and walked out from the briefing room with perhaps a bit more swaying than necessary.
Some impulse made her turn back at the door, and she saw the Spectre looking at her strangely, before the doors hissed close.