Chapter Seventeen – Choosing Sides

"You did what?" Grunt asked, despite the fact that Egret had already repeated herself twice.

"Hugged her," she said again, emphasizing the word as though she were talking to someone with only a loose grasp of the language she was speaking, "is that bad?" she added, before grimacing, "That's really bad isn't it?"

Grunt couldn't help but smirk as Egret grimaced at her own memory and slapped a hand over her eyes. It was the morning after the night before and the effects of being stunned had almost worn off but had left both of them with a persistent fatigue that refused to shift even after a full night's sleep. Though in truth Egret had only had about half a night's sleep as she'd spent the other half tossing and turning and generally fretting about her conversation with Shepard.

It wasn't until now that Grunt had managed to get any details out of her about how it had gone.

"You hugged Shepard?" he repeated with a chuckle, "Shit. You'll be lucky if you're still on this project by tomorrow."

His bondmate didn't appreciate the joke as she glared at him sharply, "This isn't funny!"

"I wouldn't worry too much," he told her with a shrug, "Shepard was always into the touchy-feely stuff," he remembered her having a certain affection for lots of the old crew, particularly Tali and Joker, even Miranda used to soften when Jules was in the room. He wondered if she missed them.

Egret snorted, "Your Shepard was, maybe. This one's very different from the woman in your memories."

"That's not true," he told her, "you just haven't got to know her yet, that's all."

"And I never will now! I bet she thinks I'm completely insane!"

"Probably," Grunt sniffed, happy to let his utter lack of concern show and when Egret stared at him in question he just shrugged, "that's exactly the kind of people Shepard goes for when she's picking a squad."

…

Liara settled back against the bedsheets as she watched Jules getting dressed. The activity – like most activities undertaken by the human these days – was accompanied by much grumbling and muttered curses as she kicked at the piles of clothes she insisted on leaving lying around and searched for the ones she was looking for.

Her mood had been soured even more than usual by the fact that she had been dragged from bed far too early by a call from Tevos, stating that she had scheduled a meeting of all four commanders in half-an-hour's time.

As a result, Jules was being especially impatient with her task and Liara couldn't help but find it quite amusing. As she watched Jules fighting with a pair of inside-out jeans she didn't even try to supress a chuckle, earning her a sharp glare.

"What's so funny?" she demanded, turquoise eyes gleaming angrily like gemstones.

"You're adorable when you're grumpy," Liara replied with a smile.

"I'm always grumpy."

"I know."

"Hmph," Jules retorted, scowling for a moment before she threw the jeans aside and searched for a different pair.

"You're still angry about that film last night, aren't you?" Liara observed calmly.

"No," Jules replied stubbornly, then after a moment she sniffed, "I can't believe they killed me off."

"In all fairness to them, you did die a few months after defeating Saren."

"Yeah. Then I came back again. That film better have a fucking sequel – where the hell is my black top?"

Liara leaned over the side of the bed and plucked the crumpled garment from the floor before chucking it across the room. Jules yelped as it hit the back of her shoulder but managed to catch it before it fell to the floor again. She yanked it on over her head before scooping up her red locks and pulling them free from beneath the collar.

Her hair may have been shorter now but it was still thick and wild as it splayed across her back in loose, dishevelled strands. The haphazard look always suited Jules far more than if she actually put any effort in, something which Liara both loved and cursed about her.

"Right!" she turned dramatically – all messy hair and crumpled clothes – and gave Liara a scowl of such intensity it made the asari chuckle, "I'll go and see what 'her majesty' wants. Why can't she schedule meetings in advance rather than waking me up at stupid hours and summoning me like a glorified servant?"

Liara smiled, "I suppose I should have made her put a clause in the contract to avoid these situations."

"Too late now," Jules agreed grimly, wandering up to the bed and leaning down to offer her a kiss. As she did, her hand fell on the warm quilt that hid Liara's form and her eyes lingered on the soft pillows still moulded from where her head had rested and she groaned regretfully as she pulled away, "I hate Tevos," she muttered darkly, before setting her scowl deeper and turning to leave the room.

…

Jules' already dark mood worsened significantly as she stepped out of the door and almost tripped over a turian who was standing opposite it, staring past her as though she wasn't even there.

"Jesus!" she exclaimed, jumping with such alarm that the man's impassive eyes flicked to her briefly before returning to their spot on the wall. He was wearing an HTA uniform and Jules realised with some annoyance that he had probably been tasked with guarding their room. She didn't let this stop her from berating him however, even though he was probably just following someone else's orders.

"Do you want something?" she demanded. As she waited, the turian glanced at her uncertainly again as though wondering if he were expected or even allowed to answer. After a second of indecisive silence, Jules gave up on him with a dramatic roll of her eyes.

"Never mind. Just… try to stay out of the way."

With that she left him, striding purposefully through the corridors and making a point of glowering at everyone she passed. It was with much vigour that she threw open the door to Tevos' office, determined to make her bad mood felt by everyone on the other side.

She didn't exactly get her wish.

She entered the office to find Grunt, who gave her a half-hearted wave, Aria, who smirked in her usual way, and Tevos, who ignored her entrance completely as she greeted her with a smile and offered her some tea.

Jules sighed quietly to herself as she wandered forwards to take the chair between Aria and Grunt, "What's so urgent?" she asked bluntly, "Has something happened?"

"Nothing that requires our immediate attention," Tevos replied, "I've been watching the footage of yesterday's training session and I think it's time we started to discuss who we want on our crews."

Jules almost spat out the mouthful of tea she had just taken, "Seriously? You dragged me out of bed for that?"

"Why?" Aria asked lazily, "Were you busy?" there was a cocky slant to her smirk that made Jules scowl.

"Yes: sleeping."

"I apologise," Tevos stated calmly, "but I'm sure discussing the future of this project is worth sacrificing a few hours of sleep for."

"Well it's more fun when there's someone else keeping the bed warm," Aria said idly, "think back far enough, I'm sure you'll remember."

Tevos didn't bristle at the insult, she merely sighed and cast Aria a withering look, "Getting back to the matter at hand…"

Several hours in to the meeting, Jules started to think that Tevos had been right to wake them so early, it was taking a lot longer than she would have thought to pick out who they wanted.

They had started with pilots. Ereba was the only one Jules would even consider having fly her ship – she wanted to surround herself with as many friendly faces as possible and they were hard to come by these days. Once that was established it was left to Tevos, Aria and Grunt to fight over the other three. Unfortunately, Aria and Grunt both wanted the same one, they were also as stubborn and pig-headed as each other and the ensuing argument almost resulted in a fist fight.

By the time it was resolved even Tevos' patience seemed to be wearing thin and they had barely even started.

Next came the medical staff. Jules picked Rhys as her doctor as she had come to trust the skilled – if somewhat quirky – quarian. She also decided to let him choose which nurses he wanted, which meant he had to be contacted over the comm and was briefly brought into the negotiations.

Once that was settled they moved onto the more basic staff: engineers, maintenance crews and of course all the data collectors they would need for the multiple planetary surveys they would be conducting. The truth was that Liara had spent more time with those staff members than Jules had so she was also contacted and Jules left the choices up to her.

By this point half the day had gone and they still hadn't moved from the office. Even lunch had been brought in for them and they had eaten while arguing over who they wanted on their cleaning staff. It was at this point that Jules realised the four of them would probably argue over literally anything.

It was with a grim smile that she remembered she used to try and stop petty bickering like this. The smile faded as she realised she was acting exactly like the politicians who used to make her life so difficult.

"So," Tevos said at last, delicately rubbing her eyelids as though to shake off her weariness, "that brings us finally to the squads. I imagine you all have thoughts on who you want fighting beside you?"

Grunt turned immediately to Jules, blue eyes widened expectantly and she realised what he was waiting for.

She had given some thought to Egret's request since yesterday though she hadn't drawn many conclusions. It would be wrong to take her on just as a favour to Grunt, though she'd had worse reasons for recruiting people in the past.

Tevos picked up on the silent look between her and Grunt and she frowned slightly, "Shepard?"

"Egret's asked to join my squad," she explained as was slightly surprised when Tevos gave her a single nod.

"Good. I was worried about letting her stay with Grunt, it may bring about a conflict of interests if he had to order her into a life-threatening situation," Jules raised an eyebrow, she couldn't guarantee there wouldn't be a conflict of interests if she had to order her friend's bondmate into a life-threatening situation but she didn't say as much.

"So unless Aria wants her…" Tevos looked over at Aria, who merely snorted.

"No way, girl's a liability."

"Hey, watch it," Grunt growled.

"That's settled then," Tevos cut in before another argument could ensue, making Jules frown sharply.

"Hold on, what do you mean 'that's settled'?"

Tevos glanced up at her and sighed, "Problem?"

All three sets of eyes fell on her and Grunt's in particular seemed to bore into her until eventually she relented, "Fine. But Egret works best people who are older than her – or relatively older anyway – people she can look up to. If I'm taking her on then I want Maia and Barbet too."

Tevos inhaled deeply to cover her reaction. Barbet and Maia were the two most experienced and reliable of all their choices, demanding both of them was a sure way of starting a fight. Thought interestingly, Aria didn't seem that bothered.

"The batarian?" she asked indifferently, "He knows his stuff, I had my eye on him for a while… until he got himself shot yesterday. You're welcome to him."

"Now hang on a minute," Grunt piped up, "you don't get to take my bondmate and the best sniper in the group. I want Maia."

Jules already had her argument set and ready for that one, "Maia doesn't respond well to your orders," she told him simply.

"What the hell does that mean?"

"You're too rash, Grunt. You rush into things. Maia appreciates strategy, if she's uncomfortable with your methods then she won't be at her best."

"Hey hang on!" Grunt interrupted, "You taught me at least half of my methods, battlemaster."

Jules ignored him and continued, "Isla, on the other hand – you and her work brilliantly together and she can almost match Maia in skill."

"And no one else wants the miserable old- ow!" Jules cut Aria's mutterings off with a sharp kick that had the asari staring at her incredulously but surprisingly she kept her mouth shut.

In the end Grunt relented and Jules got to keep Maia and Barbet. Aria claimed Colt – unsurprisingly – and everyone agreed that Lesha, Jonan and Rhea should be kept together, eventually being placed under Tevos' command. Aria seemed to have something against matriarchs, she hadn't wanted Maia and she downright refused the idea of taking on Erecleia so in the end Tevos got her too.

The list began to get whittled down until they were left with the ones who were hardest to place.

"Kyla," Tevos said, chewing on the corner of her mouth as she looked up at the others and waited for comment. Aria just snorted scornfully and looked away while Grunt reacted somewhat similarly, making Tevos clear her throat as she clearly worried that she might have to take her.

Jules watched in amusement at her fellow commanders backing away from what they obviously saw as a challenge. Kyla was skilled, experienced and a complete pain in the neck. She probably wouldn't always follow orders, her unorthodox methods might well complicate things sometimes and she definitely wouldn't keep her opinions to herself.

"I'll take her," she said with a grin, making the other three look at her with both surprise and scepticism.

"Seriously?" Aria asked.

Jules shrugged, "I like my squad to have spirit."

It wasn't until hours later, when she finally got back to their room and showed the completed list to Liara, that she realised what she had done.

"What?" she asked, when Liara started chuckling to herself. The asari handed the list back and pointed out two of the names, making Jules groan softly, "Urgh, Kyla and Maia on the same squad…"

…

"So what do you think?" she asked the next morning as she half-heartedly picked at her breakfast and considered the list for the thousandth time at least. Opposite her, Liara chewed on a mouthful of toast, giving her an excuse to think before she answered.

"You've made worse squads work," she decided, making Jules glance up from the datapad.

"Great, that's exactly the vote of confidence I was looking for," she looked back down and sighed, "Maia really winds Kyla up, just by existing."

"I think the world winds Kyla up," Liara mused, "and Maia won't rise to it."

"Really? She tripped her up in a pond."

"Allegedly," Liara smiled cunningly and took another bite of toast.

"Barbet's good a keeping Kyla in line," Jules added, more to herself than anyone, "and Kyla does like Egret… though I don't know if the feeling's mutual. Egret and Maia work well together though so… that's something."

"You sound like you're trying to convince yourself," Liara said and Jules looked up to find her smiling, "it'll be fine. You managed to get the krogan and the turians to fight alongside each other, how hard can it be to make one squad work?"

She opened her mouth but was cut off by the comm bleeping, when Liara stood to answer it, Tevos replied.

"Director Damon is here," she said, she kept her voice level but even over the comm Jules could sense her unease, "he wants to speak to Shepard. Alone."

Liara looked back at Jules and raised her brow slightly. Jules sighed, "Tell him I'll be right down."

Liara shut off the comm and briefly grabbed Jules' arm as she stood and made for the door, "Be careful," she warned softly.

…

Jules entered the office that Damon claimed on his regular visits and found him sitting with his back to her in a plush leather chair, looking out over the city.

"Commander," he greeted without looking round, she didn't even react to his use of the title, it was getting boring, "coffee," he said, gesturing vaguely to two cups on a low table beside him, "black with far too much sugar, just the way you like it."

"You do make a good coffee," Jules allowed as she stepped into his eye-line and sat in an equally plush chair beside him, "believe it or not, I'll miss our little meetings when I'm in asari space."

"Hmm," Damon smiled softly and turned his eyes on her, shimmering blue like a tropical ocean, "then why not stay?"

"And join the HTA?" Jules cocked her brow knowingly, "I've got to admire your persistence, how many times do I have to say no before you take the hint?"

He blinked calmly and returned his gaze to the city, "Only once more," he said quietly, "but I do wish you'd reconsider. You would be such an asset to us, you did help to create the HTA, after all."

Jules snorted into her coffee, spluttering briefly and probably ruining any air of composure she had managed to create, "I helped to bring together the remnants of the human government and the turian military in an alliance that was dedicated to keeping order in a galaxy that was in ruins," she corrected him bluntly, "I don't even recognise whatever the HTA is now."

"Yet our goals are still the same," Damon cut in before Jules could get into her stride.

"You sure about that?" she challenged, "You stockpile eezo for yourselves and use what little is left to hold governments and corporations to ransom, you impose intergalactic laws which no one can oppose because you've got the biggest fleet in the galaxy, you restrict travel – do you really need me to go on? It's obvious to anyone with eyes that you're trying to take over the galaxy."

"With the best possible intentions," Damon agreed calmly, "when the HTA was first formed didn't you stockpile food supplies and ration it out to those you thought most needed it? I believe you did the same with the eezo, and the medical supplies."

"We made a lot of tough choices," she agreed, "because we were recovering from a war."

"And we still are, Commander," Damon smiled sadly, "we still are."

Jules resisted the urge to scream in annoyance, she had learned by now that Damon never backed down from an argument and never came out of it with his opinions altered. She almost had to admire him for it.

"Why are you keeping people out of asari space?" she asked him, probably for the hundredth time.

"Because it's dangerous," he answered her as simply as always, "the factions there are powerful and in constant competition with each other. Too little is known about them to be able to negotiate or fight with them. Tevos' plan is rash and foolish and doesn't stand a chance of succeeding."

"Not with all the restrictions you've placed on her," Jules retorted, "insisting she use ships with no guns, for example."

"A sensible precaution, we don't want her stirring up trouble out there and bringing it back here. Everything we have done has been with the galaxy's best interests at heart, that is all. There is no great secret, no conspiracy. I beg of you not to let Tevos drag you into her madness, you have too much good to offer."

Jules chuckled, "You are a charmer, aren't you?" as though in answer he tilted his head to flash her his smile, "I like you Damon," she admitted, "really I do. Trouble is, I don't trust you as far as I could spit you."

"Do you trust Tevos? Or Aria?"

"Not for a second. But we're old enemies."

"Better the devil you know?"

"Something like that."

Damon sighed and genuine regret marred his features for the first time, making him look strangely older, "You're making a mistake."

"There's no such thing as mistakes," she replied, "only decisions, and they all have consequences."

He smiled faintly, "How poetic."

"I know what I'm talking about, Damon. I've made decisions that have affected the future of whole races."

He turned his eyes on her again bright and dazzling but somehow harder than before, "As have I."

A moment passed as they stared each other down until eventually Damon smiled once more, "You won't reconsider?"

"I won't," Jules replied carefully.

He sighed but nodded, "Very well. It's been nice getting to know you, Commander," he said genuinely and rose from his chair.

"That's it?" Jules asked, slightly surprised, "You're finally giving up?"

"I know when I'm beaten," he replied. Jules doubted that very much but she didn't argue as she stood and took his hand.

"The pleasure was all mine," she lied, prompting a laugh from the director.

"Be careful, Shepard," he warned her softly, "you're not safe with Tevos."

…

Jules had given up on the notion of being 'safe' a long time ago, yet for some reason Damon's warning stayed with her as she wandered back through the corridors towards the training hall. It had been such a strange thing to say, even for him.

Damon's apparent concern for her had come across as a bit odd since their first meeting and she couldn't help but wonder exactly why he had been so keen to get her off the project, and why he'd suddenly backed down now.

She entered the hall to a babble of voices that echoed off the high ceiling. The room was packed with all the crew members on the project, each waiting to be told which ship they had been assigned to. Tevos, Aria and Grunt were at the far end, talking in a huddle as they cast glances around room.

Liara was waiting by the door as Jules entered, she must have looked troubled as Liara tilted her head curiously and walked towards her.

"Is everything alright?" she asked in a low voice.

"Is everything ever alright?" Jules said with a smile, as Liara's concern deepened, Jules merely shook her head, "It's nothing, I'll tell you later."

The room hushed and they looked up to see Tevos had stepped forward. She kept things brief, no empowering speech or rousing words about the importance of their mission; which was just as well as everyone in that room had heard it all too many times before. Instead she took out a datapad and read out who was assigned to each ship, going through the names in alphabetical order.

Watching the reactions of those in the room became briefly fascinating. Some smiled, some grimaced, some subtly hid disappointment while others barely contained excitement. It was those assigned to Jules' ship who had the most interesting responses though.

Ereba grinned and clenched a fist in triumph, before quickly composing herself as though she hoped no one had noticed. Egret looked disbelieving and still seemed to be processing the information five minutes later. Kyla actually choked with surprise, earning her a smirk from Barbet which she promptly elbowed him in the ribs for. The batarian himself had merely smiled and looked calmly satisfied – as he probably would have done no matter where he ended up – while Maia didn't noticeably react at all, staying straight-backed and silent where she stood.

"That's that, then," Liara murmured softly when Tevos had finished and the room broke into excited chattering. Jules turned to smile at her.

"What do you think of our crew?"

She took a moment to answer, her eyes scanning the room thoughtfully, "They… have a good commander," she stated at last, making Jules laugh.

"Well that's reassuring."

"Shepard!" she looked up to see Tevos and Aria moving through the crowd towards them while Grunt had moved away to talk to Egret. Aria was smirking at her as they approached, "your new crew looked happy," she muttered slyly.

"Yours looked terrified," Jules retorted. It wasn't true though, Aria had selected only cockiest and most outspoken crewmembers and those with nerves of steel, there were few among them who would be intimidated by her. Still, Aria snorted at the jibe.

"They know who's in charge, Shepard. Let's hope your lot are as reliable."

"Nothing's set in stone yet," Tevos stated, "we still have a few months before we're scheduled to leave, plenty of time to make changes."

"Let's make sure they know that," Aria said, "help to keep them in line."

Jules was about to reply when Aria's face fell sharply at the sight of something over Jules' shoulder. She turned to see that Damon had entered the room, flanked by ten HTA security guards, all armed.

The noise in the room began to fade as conversations trailed off and everyone turned to look at him. There was no dazzling smile on his face now and no twinkle in his eye, just a calm, cold stare as he surveyed the scene before him.

After a moment, Tevos stepped forward, "Director," she said carefully, eyeing the security guards with suspicion, "is something wrong?"

His face remained stern and when he spoke it was not to Tevos but to the room as a whole, "As of ten minutes ago," he said loudly and clearly, "the HTA has ordered the complete termination and shutdown of this project."

If Jules was honest with herself, some part of her had been expecting this. But it didn't stop the sting of dread that lurched through her, mirrored by the collected cry of outrage from the crowd as people began to exchange bewildered looks.

Damon remained unfazed, raising his voice over the ruckus as he continued, "This building is now the property of the HTA, all staff are to vacate it immediately, anyone who resists will be arrested."

The confused noise in the room grew louder, built up by months of distrust of the guards and growing resentment of the HTA and their restrictions. Jules' head was racing with options and she was all too aware that there was a potential riot brewing; Liara had stepped closer to her and was also looking around, her eyes narrowed sharply.

Beside them, Aria folded her arms, "Well," she muttered, "we all saw this coming," then she saw the look of shock and horror on Tevos' face and sighed, "or not."

"You can't do this," the matriarch protested sternly, her teeth clenched as though it were taking every ounce of control she had not to punch him. For a moment Jules actually related to her, it was a feeling she had known too often when dealing with politicians, "This is an Earth corporation, you have no jurisdiction over us while we are still on the planet, there are laws."

"Oh grow up Tevos," Aria said coldly, "they are the law. The Earth government is just another one of their puppets," she sneered in disgust as she looked Damon up and down, he smiled faintly at her before turning his attention back to Tevos.

"We have been reasoning with you for months, trying to show you what a bad idea this project is but you wouldn't listen. You've left us with little choice," he turned back to his guards, "take all the senior staff into custody, including Shepard, and the other one," he waved a hand in Liara's general direction and she frowned at him, mild outrage simmering in her sapphire eyes, "arrest anyone else who resists."

"What are you hiding in the Athena Nebula?" Tevos asked suddenly, moving towards him and being swiftly caught by two of the guards, Aria lit up with biotics in response and Jules could tell things were going to get violent, "What have you done to Thessia?" Tevos demanded, heedless of the two men who were holding her back, "Why are you keeping us away?"

Damon sighed heavily and shook his head, "Bring them in," he ordered lazily as he turned towards the exit, "and try to keep casualties to a minimum."

The last part of that order would prove to be difficult as the gathered crowd made their displeasure known and the room exploded into chaos.