Epilogue
The conference room of the Destiny Ascension's flag bridge has certainly seen better days, but Admiral Lidanya could not recall ever hosting such an eclectic yet powerful assembly of individuals, from such rather different backgrounds. Of course in the light of recent events, she considered a number of those present as definitely trustworthy people - and she could not suppress a small, satisfied smile as she glanced at where Hackett and Vipsania were chatting softly, with Anderson giving an occasional comment. Even the politician contingent was grudgingly tolerated - at the very least, the three Councilors did not interfere with her during the battle, and judging by their actions since then, they were unlikely to give her or her colleagues grief about the battle. She was not entirely sure why they had brought up the human ambassador from the Citadel, but she had her suspicions.
No, it was the other two groups she was apprehensive about. She suspected she would not be the only person from now on who would watch the Spectres very, very carefully - and there were four of them here, just now. Sure, Tela Vasir was certainly an important reason her ship survived the boarding attempt with comparatively light losses, but she would not forget Bau's cold order anytime soon. And while as a military officer she was used to the hard decisions, the sheer scale and quickness of the salarian's order took her aback. Nihlus Kryik, even shot up and wounded as he was, would probably be under intense scrutiny in the coming days - as a turian, a Spectre, and Saren's former protege, she was sure that a lot of people would not forgive him, even though according to the first available reports, he and his team played a key role in holding back Saren's assault. As for Shepard, well, he would be surely suspected because he sheltered Benezia's daughter, and unless Lidanya completely misread the young scientist, there was at least a one-sided attraction brewing between them. The admiral snorted, shook her head as her mind already flashed to the tabloid articles, faked videos and very likely baseless, tasteless speculations the media would come up with. Joy.
The cadre of people Shepard brought in were the other clutch she was unsure about. Benezia's daughter she did not really care about - unless she was a better actress than Sha'ira, there was no way she was complicit in the events. Unless she is indoctrinated, her mind whispered, and her lips thinned into a grim line. Now that was a worrying thought, and a nice source of nightmares and paranoia. Her gaze met with that of Wrex, and she allowed herself a small grin as she nodded at the old warlord. At least he was just like in old times, changing very little. A small, questioning gesture of hers towards Shepard and Liara was answered by a ghost of a grin and a mirthful twinkle in the krogan's eyes, and Lidanya nodded, satisfied. If Wrex did not see those two as a threat, then she would accept his decision. The young quarian sitting in the old warlord's shadow was clearly nervous, and the admiral could easily understand her.
From the corner of her eye, she caught Tevos, Valern and Sparatus share a glance, the two males nodding towards the asari, and Tevos cleared her throat, and the room went silent.
"In light of the recent events, I believe we need quick action to do some damage control." The glare the asari Councilor shot the chuckling Wrex was entirely ineffective.
"First off, in light of their efforts during the Saren Crisis" Lidanya saw both Vipsania and Nihlus wince at the naming, "the Council decided to offer a permanent seat to the Systems Alliance. Ambassador Udina, unless your government decides otherwise, we would consider you as the best representative." The politician's face was a curious mix of pride and worry, but before he could answer, Tevos went on. "We already have an endorsement from Spectre Shepard, so you might want to mention that as well in your report." Lidanya wasn't the only one who could not suppress a snicker at Udina's poleaxed look as he turned towards Shepard.
"What did you expect, Ambassador? You are already here, you know these people, you love politics, you have some spine and brains - why wouldn't I endorse your candidacy?" Shepard's voice was still raspy, the damage to his lungs and throat more severe than what could be fixed in a single hour. Udina blinked, swallowed, then nodded respectfully towards both the Spectre and Tevos.
"Pending on the approval from the Alliance, I'll accept the offer gladly."
The asari nodded, and went on.
"We also decided that we offer a seat to the Migrant Fleet as well," her raised hand shut off Tali's exuberant squeal "with a few stipulations. While your representative will get full voting rights, the seat is a temporary, five-year arrangement. After that, the Council will review if the conflict with the geth is closer to a final solution - and the five members will vote on finalizing the quarian membership depending on that progress."
Tali's mouthpiece glowed, but no understandable sounds came out other than some high-pitched wheezing gibbering. Wrex nudged her and sent Tevos a toothy smirk.
"I believe the kid accepts."
Tevos nodded with a small smile, before she looked at each of the people in the room, her whole presence subtly altered, conveying the gravitas and wisdom of a leader who guided her people through the turbulence of galactic politics for centuries.
"The other main issue with must address pertains to Sovereign and its origins." Again she raised a hand, forestalling and stopping angry protests and mutterings. "We will not deny that it represented a much different threat than the geth. We will not deny the possibility or the need to prepare should there be others like it, as we could infer from Spectre Shepard's report from the Virmire encounter. What we absolutely cannot afford, however, is for those information to became the official, public version."
"What?" Shepard's voice was tinged with disbelief, and he turned a betrayed, angry gaze at Udina, when the man chuckled, the sound bitter.
"Think, Shepard. How would the masses of people react to situations like a potential galactic destruction? Would you want to deal with that hysteria? The innumerable insane doomsday cults that would pop up within hours, days at best? The idiots who would welcome Sovereign's ilk with open arms, preaching about peaceful coexistence? The opportunists who would try to enjoy the chaos? The genuine turncoats, who would side with the Reapers, just to live for a bit longer?" The ambassador's voice was cold, bitter, his smile cynical. "Don't you think fringe elements in all governments would not try to use another crisis like this to their own short-term advantage? And that's not even going into indoctrination. If you want to spearhead the witchhunt that will surely follow that little tidbit going public, I can't really stop you."
The operative looked suddenly much older, fragile, as he nodded at Udina's words.
"Put like that, you are correct." His eyes flashed with an angry glow. "Does not mean I have to like it."
Tevos' voice was smooth, cool, but unyielding.
"None of us do, Spectre. That does not change the fact that Councilor Udina's assessment is entirely in line with our own reasoning."
Sparatus took over.
"The Council will start increasing military readiness across the board. With the Battle of the Citadel, I foresee no problem in getting appropriate funding from the members, as long as we frame it correctly and move quickly enough. Also " his eyes turned towards Bau, the salarian drawing himself up, returning the turian's gaze calmly "I want Spectre Bau to revise the status of our agents, and take the necessary steps to ensure that the Saren fiasco will not be repeated."
Valern.
"We will take steps to ensure that the various information brokers, including the Shadow Broker are kept in the dark as much as possible, with regards to the true nature of the threat posed by Sovereign." His gaze turned towards Wrex, the krogan's menacing smile chilling the air in the room. "I have no illusions about keeping the information away from the hands of the Broker in the long run, but even so, we will consider how best to convince him to play along. Unless he changes his established patterns radically, he would be amenable to ensuring the galactic status quo."
Tevos.
"A part of the military buildup, we would offer the krogans an associate status - if there was a unified krogan government." The diplomat permitted herself a grin as she took in the surprised, suspicious look on Wrex' face. "No, I am not joking. If a war is coming, the Council's expert in matters military advised that it would be foolish to discard the krogans due to regrettable past events."
The table warped and bent as the old warlord's fingers clutched it, his eyes narrowed, mind spinning as he tried to get his bearings, to convince himself that this offer was genuine. He took a deep breath, before glaring at Valern.
"That's going to be hard work, unless you give us what we need."
Valern closed his eyes for a brief second, sighed.
"Wrex, we can't just give you a cure for the genophage." The deep, reverberating snarl of the krogan did not perturb the salarian as the Councilor went on. "We don't have it and even if we did, I don't think your people would trust it, would they?" A grudging agreement, the threat of imminent violence lessened as Wrex glared at Valern. "What I am prepared to provide you is the resources for creating the cure. Funding, scientists, lab equipment. It would be only fair, wouldn't it, Spectre Urdnot?"
Shepard felt dead on his feet as he followed Hackett towards the flag bridge of the Erebus. He understood the need for the quick action and the whirlwind of directives, but this particular day was beginning to be just a little too much even for him.
"Apologies, Commander, but there are a few issues that need to be taken care of yesterday." A bitter, sardonic grin flashed across Hackett's craggy, scarred features. "And not just because our political masters want reassurances to feed their spindoctors."
The Spectre's eyes narrowed when they sat in the admiral's stateroom, and Hackett motioned for silence, before his omnitool lit up, tracking for listening or recording devices, setting up a monitoring program for electronic intrusion as he keyed in the privacy field of the cabin.
"Is the situation this bad, sir?"
The older man shrugged.
"I'm probably too paranoid, but since an agent from Director Bergman indicated that there was potential trouble within both the First and Second Fleet, I'd rather not take any chances."
Shepard nodded, sat in the indicated, rather comfortable chair. The display of the admiral's desk lit up, as Hackett continued.
"Considering the current situation, Vipsania, Lidanya, and I agree that Fifth Fleet will spearhead the upcoming offensive operations against the geth. Our aim is to secure forward bases and establish depots for the push into the Perseus Veil, to open a corridor to Rannoch for the quarian fleet. At least, that is the official version, and that's how I will present the deployment plans for both the Fleet Master and Parliament, if needed."
"And unofficially, sir?"
Hackett was silent for a moment, before he took a deep breath and continued.
"Unofficially, it will be mostly the same - one way or another, we have to end the geth threat permanently before another Sovereign comes along. And of course it will not hurt to gather a few favors and good will from the quarians, either." The admiral chuckled. "You know as well as I do that it's much better to have a modicum of truth in such cases."
Hackett typed a few commands, and the display changed.
"But just because we are focusing on the geth, we will not ignore the possible threat from the Reapers. There is already a team assembling for this effort, under the codename Task Force Aurora. I will detach the Normandy from the 69th Scouting Flotilla, and your priority will be to find and follow up upon xenoarcheological trails that might provide us insight into where exactly Saren found Sovereign." The older man flashed a wry grin at the Spectre. "I believe your current crew is quite well staffed in that regard, and it would be a rather difficult task to find someone else with Doctor T'Soni's expertise."
Shepard was quiet for a few moments, considering, thinking.
"Am I to consider the last bit an order, sir?" The question was asked in a detached, neutral tone, yet Hackett looked as if he bit into something sour, before speaking with obvious reluctance and faint distaste.
"I am not sure how long I can stall that particular order, Commander. It's not something I would ask for, but you are technically not serving under me." Hackett locked eyes with the operative. "Unless you actually want me to make it an order?" Shepard froze for a moment, then blinked and slowly shook his head. "Thought so."
The admiral reached into his desk, pulled out two tumblers and a flask. He offered one glass to Shepard, the operative accepting it with a nod.
"Stuff like this is why I don't envy you N7s." He grimaced. "There is one more appointment for you, Commander, a liaison from Task Force Aurora. She will be responsible for coordinating the efforts - well, at least once the rest of the scientists get here, and the Normandy's repaired enough to be combat-effective."
"How bad is it actually, sir? I only had time for a brief check, and neither Pressly nor Adams were exactly forthcoming in the summaries they provided."
"She's in bad shape, Shepard. The hits from debris during the battle would have been bad enough, what with the paper-thin armor she has, but your maniac of a pilot almost overloaded the drive core with the approach on Ilos during their relay jump, and then made it worse when he waltzed around Sovereign." Hackett flashed a savage, predatory smile. "Though admittedly, it was perhaps the most impressive flying I ever witnessed, so to say. Still, the drive core needs serious maintenance in drydock, and the whole ship is basically a large sneeze away from flying apart; even with all the high-tech alloy we used in the construction, your pilot nearly overstressed the frame and almost blew up the compensators."
"If it's that serious, sir, when do you expect us back in the fray?"
"Ideally, I'd like at least three weeks, for maintenance and R&R for your crew. As things stand, we are lucky if we get one, two at most."
"Any particular reason for that, sir? That is, if you can tell me?"
"I wish I could tell you something concrete, but the dispatches I have received from home are rather vague, unfortunately. One thing caught my attention, though - both Professor Yildirim and Major Pieterzoon have dropped off the grid." The admiral's craggy features darkened, as he nodded towards the suddenly wide-awake Spectre. "Thought that bit would get your attention, Shepard. As things look, I'm afraid we will not have much longer before we find out exactly what happened to the Protheans and those before them."
The admiral sighed, seemed to age years.
"And I think with our luck, the public will find out about the Reapers sooner than we would like - and then we will have to deal with apocalyptic cults once again. I really wish Udina and his new friends good luck with navigating this particular minefield."
A soft chime interrupted the admiral. He checked his omnitool, then turned to Shepard.
"The liaison is here. Best get this done with, then you can go and enjoy the well-earned rest, Commander."
With a gesture of his omnitool, the door opened, admitting a rather striking, raven-haired woman wearing ONI uniform. Her cold blue gaze seemed to assess the two men for any weakness to exploit, any strength to use to her advantage. She saluted them, then sat down to the chair the admiral indicated.
"Shepard, this is Agent Miranda Lawson. She will be your liaison with Task Force Aurora." Hackett flashed another quick, predatory grin at the Spectre. "Of course, she is a bit more than that."
"Thank you, Admiral." Miranda's voice was cool, measured. "With your permission?" Hackett nodded with raised eyebrows, and the woman pulled out a small, age-worn talisman of intricate craftsmanship, and whispered a soft, short incantation. The two men shared a glance, bleak resignation on their faces. The ONI operative turned towards Shepard, focusing her full attention on him.
"As Admiral Hackett said, I'm not simply here as a member of the task force, or even ONI. Tell me Commander, what do you know of Project Cerberus?"
The Spectre frowned, thought for a few seconds, his mind racing.
"Honestly, I can't recall anything specific apart from rumors about it being a think tank dealing with applied xenoarcheological warfare." He smiled sardonically. "It seems that as usual, ONI's enjoying its black ops mystique."
The answering smile could have frozen the oceans of Titan, before the operative sighed, nodding towards Shepard.
"I suppose you are somewhat correct, Shepard. We do like black ops and misinformation, but considering your background and the work N7s usually deal with, is the secrecy that surprising? Or would you release the full details of say the Irem Incident to the public?"
The Spectre shook his head ruefully.
"No, I wouldn't. But using that little toy" he gestured towards the talisman "on top of the admiral's precautions seems rather excessive even for ONI. And since your type never does anything without good reason, I'm rather worried about the implications."
For a brief second, the perfectly sculpted marble of Miranda Lawson's face cracked, and pain flashed across her features, before the icy calm returned.
"I wish it were not necessary, Commander. But we from Cerberus received troubling information about General Ungern-Sternberg's department hinting at cultist activity - just like in the command structure of First and Second Fleet." She took a deep breath. "Understand this, Shepard. Cerberus, at its core, is more of a conspiracy than even a proper black ops project or a mere think tank. Sure, we have resources, covert influence, and powerful members in every sense of the word, but what we do and why we do it requires utmost secrecy."
Her voice slowly thawed, shades of passion entered her voice.
"We watch for the threats in the shadows, both from within and without. We fight against the corruption threatening to drag Humanity back down into the darkness, to turn us back into the fur-clad, howling barbarians who pray and scrape in front of terrible altars." Her eyes blazed with fury, the implacable determination of a glacier behind them. "We will not allow that. Not when you and people like you sacrificed so much already. Yet to achieve that, we need your help, Shepard. We need the first human Spectre."
Shepared leaned back, studying Miranda with narrowed eyes. The operative did not squirm or blink away, and calmly endured the scrutiny. The Spectre glanced at Hackett, who nodded slightly.
"All right Operative Lawson, I'm in."
The victory at the First Battle of the Citadel almost managed to destroy the fragile new power structure of the Council. The public outcry at the severe loss of life both military and civilian, the damage done to the Citadel itself - these alone would have been enough to generate resentment that has not been seen since the Krogan Rebellions. The official reports and communiques issued in the following weeks about the geth invasion and Saren's involvement hinted at rather serious shortsightedness on part of the Council according to the general, well-informed consensus of the galactic community. The result was, of course, rather harsh criticism against the three principal members. Yet this too paled compared to the way the existing, long-established status quo was cast aside mere hours after the Normandy dealt the deathblow to Sovereign. Perhaps the admittance of the Alliance alone would have been grudgingly tolerated, or even applauded due to their efforts during the Saren Crisis, especially those of Spectre Shepard - but taken together with the quarians, both members and associate races were scrambling to crucify the Councilors who brokered this insane new arrangements. Having a newcomer to galactic politics, and the race ultimately most responsible for the atrocity was just too much - especially since established allies, long-term associates were summarily ignored, relegated to secondary status.
The Vol Protectorate cited its long-standing, close relations with the Hierarchy, its immense efforts in balancing and maintaining the stability of the galactic economy - a thankless, dull task that was nevertheless vital for a functioning Citadel. And their turian masters simply discarded them, put not just humanity, but those thieving quarians before them! The protests and threats died down when Councilors Sparatus and Udina conducted negotiations with Ambassador Din Korlack, promising a revision of the Treaty of Farixen as well as concessions for volus entry into the Systems Alliance financial markets. Meanwhile, Councilor Valern conducted his own deals with Barla Von on the Citadel itself.
The Courts of Dekuuna were still deliberating their protest, when Councilors Zaal'Koris and Tevos managed to present them with a solid argument about the current needs of the galaxy dictating swift, decisive actions - an unfortunate but unavoidable drawback of wartime, sadly. The conservative, meticulous elcor, the Councilors argued, were uniquely suited to oversee the post-war reconstruction, and draft the outlines for a political entity that hopefully could replace the obviously-outdated Citadel Council with a more egalitarian leadership. Meanwhile, Councilor Valern took time to visit a certain elcor merchant named Harrot on Omega.
The Illuminated Primacy was mollified when Councilors Tevos and Udina invited them to take the lead in the upcoming excavations and research to be conducted on Ilos, including access to the Prothean VI located on that world by Spectre Shepard's team, the details of the access to be worked out by consulting Doctor Liara T'Soni. Meanwhile, Councilor Valern was discussing with Ambassador Zymandis the possibility of turning a previously-fictional character into reality.
In the Asari Republics, a cabal led by Irissa T'Shora was moving to recall and replace Councilor Tevos for her shortsightedness and for allowing the situation to escalate to such extent, proving without a doubt that her misstep during the Relay 314 Incident was in fact a warning sign of her incompetence. Councilors Zaal'Koris and Udina, perhaps unsurprisingly, quickly and rather forcefully stood in support for the asari Councilor. Meanwhile, Valern, accompanied by Spectres Vasir and Kryik, met with the High Priestess of the Temple of Athame.
A faction of the Salarian Union, championed by Dalatrass Esheel, urged to replace Councilor Valern, claiming that the current salarian on the Council was unsuited for politics, not able to consider practical, pragmatic solutions to the problems, and demonstrated a singular lack of talent for taking the long view. The Councilors were curiously silent on the issue, and after a visit from Spectre Jondum Bau to Dalatrass Linron, the matter was laid to rest, and Valern kept his seat.
The Turian Hierarchy took the issue surprisingly well, all things considered. Though their forces suffered perhaps the most losses, everyone involved in the fighting universally praised the performance of Admiral Vipsania's people, and their sacrifices went a long way to make the Council races forget about the horrors unleashed by Saren. Councilor Sparatus offered to resign, citing his inability to see through Saren before the latter's rampage, but Primarch Fedorian denied the request, after not just Valern and Tevos, but Zaal'Koris and Udina as well voiced their support for the incumbent turian Councilor.
The Migrant Fleet was simply too happy to have at least a modicum of reprieve to make any serious waves in the galactic politics, at least for the short term. Sure, there were grumbling voices about the underhanded methods of the Council almost blackmailing a simple teen, and not discussing their terms with proper diplomats or the Admiralty Board, but after the grumbles reached a certain old warlord, said person promised to eat the dissenting pyjacks if they did not shut up. That went a long way to silence the grumblings.
The Systems Alliance was also dealing with internal strife, as Charles Saracino and his Terra Firma party went berserk at what they perceived as the betrayal of the species for petty personal gains, sacrificing the lives of countless heroes so the uncaring alien races could profit from humanity's blood and tears. Udina and his supporters obviously forgot the lessons taught by the First Contact War, and the Saren Crisis - after all, both were sparked by turians, and now humanity's finest would have to bow and scrape when the selfsame species who brought war and threat of extinction twice already at humanity's doorstep? With the sudden, suspicious death of President Clark, the Alliance government was thrown into chaos and infighting - with Fleet Master Sheridan actively advocating for at least an interim military government, while the upcoming geth campaign would be finished, and proper civilian elections could be held. The motion was vehemently opposed by both Senator Adkins and Minister of Education Lawson - the latter resigning in protest when the Fleet Master would not back down quietly.
The destruction of Sovereign sent ripples surging along the currents of power in the interstellar void and beyond, the wave of its passing sparking off dreams, nightmares, passion in its wake, birthing plots and plans alike as those sensitive to such events felt the Reaper's passing.
In a city of shadows, lies and cruelty, a crippled, peerless craftsman stared deep into a crystalline mirror close to his anvil, witnessing the fell blow dealt to the immense Reaper by the Destiny Ascension. Pride, fury, and worry warred on his face as he witnessed the bastardized, severely weakened offspring of his own handiwork bear fruit at last. He considered the likely reactions from his siblings, especially those of their current, ever more angry leader, whose body wept blood and molten iron while his sword sang with the cry of the damned. Still, the artisan closed his eyes with a defeated sigh, sending out a call for his far-seeing sister, to consult the Maiden about her prophecies.
On a distant, feral planet, monstrous, green creatures howled their fury at the sky, battling with crude weaponry, seemingly killing each other for the sheer pleasure of fighting. The carnage stopped as a number of the brutes fell to their knees, a halo of green-tinged energy playing around their heads, blood pouring from their eyes, ears, mouths.
In a nameless, faraway system halfway between Alliance territory and the Perseus Veil, Major Pieterzoon wondered for a brief moment why their way led here, of all places. He could not shake the dismay he felt, mentally drawing comparisons to their ancient trek on the Aegean Sea - and he feared that this time, the repercussions would be even more severe. Still, his friend and humanity alike needed him - and he did his level best to navigate the eddies of Fate to reach this point; even without knowing exactly what they would find.
With the pseudo-motion of hyperspace jump, another small vessel appeared in-system, close by. The profile and aesthetics of the alien ship seemed somehow insectile, distinctly inhuman - and very, very familiar for anyone who did not spent the weeks since Eden Prime under a rock. The fact that a geth ship was here was not that much of a surprise - but the message it broadcast over the open channels, in several languages simultaneously, while maneuvering clearly to maximize the targetable aspect, was jaw-dropping.
The major shared a glance with his friend, before he granted the request, and the two ships began the intricate dance of docking.
The geth platform that crossed over was alone, and markedly dissimilar to the typical mechs seen in such number recently. It wore a battered, holed N7 armor plate as its chest. The thing tilted its flashlight head, the shutters on it irising open, a flap on the side raised as a wondering eyebrow as Professor Yildirim stepped closer, placing a hand on the damaged armor plate, and spoke with a voice of power.
"Machine, heal thyself."
Warm, golden glow suffused the geth platform, as the once-broken chestpiece became whole once again.
Beyond the galactic rim, the Harbinger of Tsara'noga's Wrath assessed the situation, still recovering from the sudden, painful loss of a part of its self. The tendrils of its will quested along ancient, long-dormant pathways and channels, as it sought for any means to extract swift and terrible retribution on those upstarts who dared hurt it.
In an immense station circling a black hole, the designated leader of a slave race swayed for a moment, before its four eyes glowed a baleful yellow glare. The armies started to mobilize, their target selected, the ships ready to collect not just the occasional sample but the tribute due to the ancient lords who would once again walk amongst them.
The seeking tendrils of Wrath sparked echoes in a sleeping, dreaming husk of self orbiting a gas giant, long abandoned for dead. The fragmented, fitful dreams sparked energy fluctuations, making the empty dreadnought shudder - and in a nearby system, a lone human vessel caught the brief flare of alien energy, leading them in a new direction.
Another tendril, another echo of power was much, much more successful - and the once-dead, misnamed Leviathan was half-roused from its aeons-long coma, its awakening sending a whole empire reeling under the lashes of Wrath from the Harbinger.
A/N: That concludes Part I of the story. I never expected it to make it so far, so thank you all for reading and reviewing - hopefully I can keep you guys entertained during the ME2-ME3 timelines as well. Hopefully I'll be able to post the next chapter sometime mid-May, that will start Part II - The Right of Deception.
To answer a guest reviewer of the previous chapter:
You may have a point, and I might have gone overboard with the soul-tearing light stuff. But that's my interpretation of how a Talisman of Vaul would function when it can't directly draw power from the warp, and needs to create a conduit first.
As to why I tagged the story as ME/40k instead of ME/Mythos, well there are a number of reasons:
- the Mythos was never intended to be a prime mover and antagonist during the story.
- both canon ME and 40k already use copious amounts of Mythos elements and references; I'm just adding a few extra bits.
- FFN does not allow to add a third tag.