Book I - Chapter 12: You Can't Take the Sky from Me
The two Spectres stood at the front of the conference room when Liara and the rest of the squad joined in for the debrief. Since Captain Kirrahe and Lieutenant Ganto Imness were both invited for this meeting, that meant all the seats were taken. Instead of sitting at her customary seat across from Shepard, Liara sat at her lover's usual spot. This possessive gesture earned her a raised eyebrow from Ashley, but a indulgent smile from the Commander herself.
It seemed the short rest had returned some colour to Shepard's cheeks, Liara thought. When she had come back to their cabin from the mess hall earlier, she had found the Commander already passed out in an unconscious heap, her short red hair still damp from the shower. Shepard's lightly freckled face had been a shade paler than usual, a furrow between her brows. Liara had followed her impulse, and stripped down to join her lover in bed. The physical contact had soothed the sleeping woman somewhat. Even while unconscious, Shepard must have sensed a warm, naked body pressing up against her side. She had rolled over until she was half on top of Liara, and nuzzled against her throat, all without waking. They had napped together until Shepard's Omni-tool started beeping.
Tali was oblivious of the byplay. The young quarian spotted Liara and simply sat down next to her best friend. "I can't wait to hear all about it. This mission was very exciting."
"If by 'exciting,' you meant 'dangerous,' then yes. It was very exciting." Liara replied, shaking her head at Tali's antics.
How drastically things had changed in four short months! Before she had met Shepard, Liara had been so terrified by a few geth and a krogan, she had accidentally locked herself inside a Prothean security device in a panic just to get away from them. Now, she was part of the successful infiltration unit that had outwitted a legion of geth and krogans inside their own base. She could scarcely believe this transformation herself. This was all made possible because of Shepard's confidence in her.
The debrief began with Captain Kirrahe thanking the Normandy crew for the success of the mission. He also updated everyone on his men's recovery. The two STG operatives who had been injured by rocket were in stable condition. They would need to be transferred to Huerta Memorial for a more comprehensive reconstructive surgery to reattach missing limbs and regrow organ grafts. There was only so much Dr. Chakwas could do with limited resources on a warship.
The mood of the debrief started out jubilant because of the zero casualty rate, but it quickly turned dark when Lieutenant Ganto Imness began to recount what exactly had been done to the captured salarians.
"The rate of mental deterioration is not consistent across the board. Saren's scientists would inject a variety of drugs to alter the test subject's' mental state, before taking them to the dreadnought to be indoctrinated. One symptom was universal - complaint of incessant whispering inside one's head. For days, I sat in my cell and watched my men slowly being hollowed out. They released the ones who were brainwashed into Saren's most fervent zealots and allowed them to join their ranks. The rest were locked up like animals. 'For comparison purpose,' they said. They were delighted to have suitable subjects to study this downward spiral to insanity. A bullet to the head would have been kinder. I cannot think of a greater evil than indoctrination." Ganto said quietly.
Evil. There truly was no better way to describe this atrocity, Liara thought. From the look on everyone's faces, they all agreed.
Shepard massaged her forehead with a deep exhale. "From what we've learnt, Saren did not create the technology to indoctrinate others. At some point in time, he came across Sovereign and discovered the means to do so. Here is the uncomfortable question; is Saren indoctrinated as well? Does it matter?"
Captain Kirrahe was taken aback. "How could Saren indoctrinate himself? That does not make any sense."
The two Spectres exchanged a grimace.
"Really? You've got to be kidding me." Shepard was annoyed, to say the least. Liara could tell from the way her flinty green eyes narrowed that the woman was trying very hard to keep a tight lid over her boiling temper. "The Council didn't provide you with any intel on Reapers at all?"
"Dr. T'Soni briefly mentioned that Sovereign is a Reaper ship. That is all I know." Kirrahe replied.
Shepard pinched the bridge of her nose. Even Vasir looked pained by this borderline criminal neglect. After a moment of pause to cool her head, Shepard bagan. "Reapers are a hyper advanced race of sentient machines that caused the Prothean extinction 50,000 years ago. Sovereign, Saren's dreadnought previously thought to have been a Reaper ship, was in fact, an actual Reaper. Right now, there is a legion of them hiding in dark space, waiting for Saren to find a shortcut to hasten their return, instead of having to rely on good old fashioned FTL travel. Since Eden Prime, we've been made aware of a Reaper's capability to indoctrinate and to mutate organics into half-synthetic Husks. Your unit should never have been sent into Saren's base without this critical information."
Kirrahe's jaw dropped. "This is… this is impossible."
"Which part? That there is an ancient machine race hell bent on exterminating all advanced organic life every 50,000 years? That even if we were to stop Saren, the Reapers will still invade our galaxy in numbers? That the Council would knowingly send your unit into enemy territory without briefing you on their capabilities? Or that the Council would be in full denial mode when they were confronted with the biggest crisis this galaxy could possibly face?" Shepard asked in an offhanded manner.
"Well," Kirrahe blinked rapidly. "All of it."
Shepard barked out a laugh. "Fine. Think of it this way - weight the cost of believing my warning versus not believing my warning, and then tell me which one you can afford to pay."
"Fair enough. I see your point." Kirrahe relented.
Vasir cut in. "You said you'll tell us about the beacon at the debrief, Shepard. Now talk."
Shepard sighed and crossed her arms. "Right. We discovered a functional Prothean beacon inside Saren's private lab."
"By the Goddess!" Liara blurted out. All the blood drained out of her face when the realization clobbered her over the head. "And we blew it up!" Her resentment towards the Council skyrocketed in an instant. "If the Council had only sent us the fleet we requested in the first place! This is a tragic loss that could have been easily prevented if they would have just listened instead of dismissing your concerns out of spite! So much knowledge, so many answers, our galaxy's shared heritage, lost! This is an outrage!"
Shepard cleared her throat. Liara clamped her mouth shut at the sound. Her cheeks burned when she noticed everyone was staring at her ranting and raving like a lunatic. "Liara, I think you'll be less upset if you let me finish." The Commander commented with an amused smirk.
Liara stammered out a quick apology. Just when she thought she had grown out of the most socially awkward phase, there she went and had gone all Prothean nerd in public again. Thank the Goddess the Commander was not offended. Were she military, she would have been reprimanded for her inappropriate outburst.
"As I was saying, we discovered a working beacon in Saren's possession. Understanding the distinct possibility that the device might contain critical information regarding the Conduit, I decided to access the beacon."
Liara's brows shot up in surprise. Of course! Where else would Saren have learnt of the Conduit if not from a Prothean beacon?
Sitting next to her, Kaidan sucked in his breath in shock while Ashley let out an expletive. Liara turned to regard the two Alliance marines in confusion.
"Commander, haven't you done enough for the Council already? You could've died! No information is worth your life." Ashley spoke vehemently.
"What do you mean by that?" Liara asked in alarm, her eyes flittered between the Gunnery Chief and the Commander.
Kaidan gave Shepard a questioning look. Then his eyes darted in Vasir's direction for a second before settling back to the Commander. He waited until Shepard gave him a nod as permission, and answered, "the beacon on Eden Prime knocked the Commander out for over a day. The same thing could have happened again on Virmire."
"... Except, if she were rendered unconscious on Virmire, it would have been nigh impossible for us to safely retrieve her back to the Normandy. Dear Goddess…" Liara was all of a sudden appalled and furious at the woman. "You knew the risk, and you did it anyway!" She could not keep the accusatory tone out of her voice.
"Yes. And I would do it again if required." Shepard stated with conviction.
Liara clenched her teeth together to prevent further arguments from slipping through her lips. There was no look of apology, not a trace of doubt inside her green eyes. Shepard was well aware of the danger, still she made the difficult choice to access the beacon because she deemed it necessary. Liara hated it, but the least she could do was to support Shepard, not questioning her judgement in public.
"Damn, Shepard. I hope whatever was inside that beacon was worth the gamble. I would have been very disappointed if some Prothean mumbo jumbo killed you dead. It wouldn't have been a very dignified death." Wrex said gravely.
"Enough dawdling. Just tell us what was in that beacon before I die of old age." Vasir demanded impertinently.
"Three thousand year's worth of daily communication between the research colony on Eletania and the rest of the Prothean empire." Shepard stated simply.
The answer stunned the entire room into complete silence.
"What?!" Vasir was the first to regain her voice.
Shepard elaborated patiently, "the Protheans are psychometric. One branch of technology we are still light years behind them in is communication. One touch was all it took for Protheans to exchange complex ideas. The beacons were used as communication and data storage devices. The one on Virmire in particular, was originally activated on Eletania three thousand years before the Reaper invasion started. The very last message this beacon received was a distress call three hundred years after the beginning of the war."
"What?!" Vasir exclaimed in disbelief again.
Shepard rolled her eyes. "Let me simplify this for you - I have the Prothean Cipher as well as three thousand years worth of Prothean daily communication crammed inside my skull. I am a walking, talking Prothean relic who probably knows more about the Prothean civilization than an actual Prothean, whose lifespan was around two hundred and fifty years."
Vasir continued to stare at the Commander as if she were stark raving mad.
"And Vasir, please tell the grabby Matriarchy to bugger off. I refuse to meld with some random people they send over. Kindly remind them that a person's mind is sacrosanct. If they want to force my hand, the truth will come out. I promise you they won't like it. In fact, tell them to come clean on their own terms. The Reapers are coming. The galaxy does not have decades for them to contemplate their long view. The asari was chosen amongst many to lead the war against the Reapers in this cycle for a reason. If they refuse to step up, Thessia will fall."
"What the fuck are you talking about? You're speaking complete nonsense!" Vasir exploded.
Shepard scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Ah, yes, you wouldn't have known. You're a matron and a Spectre; they never would have told you. In any case, just repeat what I said to Councillor Tevos in private. My guess is she would understand."
Liara's brain finally rebooted. "You've a walking, talking Prothean relic." She repeated in a daze.
Think of the possibilities! People would kill to get access to the sheer wealth of information stored inside Shepard's head!
The grin on Shepard's face was positively blinding. "Easy there, Dr. T'Soni. You'll get the chance to have an in depth study later."
Liara sputtered at the innuendo.
"What did the beacon have on the Conduit, then?" Vasir asked.
"The Conduit was a top secret research project the Protheans had been working on for a while. There was very little information about it since it was classified. However, there were a few communications about sending top scientists to work on the project. The very last message I was talking about earlier was in fact, sent from the headquarter of the Conduit project. Liara, I think you will be very interested to find out where the Conduit is."
"Ilos!" Liara bolted up from her seat. Her eyes were wild and her heart was hammering loudly inside her chest. In her excitement, she all but shouted, "the Conduit is on Ilos!"
Shepard beamed at her. "This proves you are indeed the best Prothean expert, Liara. You were right about the cycle of extinction, and you are right about the Conduit again. The Conduit is on Ilos. How did you know that?"
"There were references of Ilos found in several Prothean ruins, but they were all second hand accounts. The lost world of Ilos was always referred to as one of the most significant sites for research and development. Top scientists around the galaxy vied for the privilege to be invited to work there. Since the Conduit project was supposed to be cutting edge and top secret, it made perfect sense it should be on Ilos. And the secrecy of a classified research project would also explain why there was very little first hand accounts on Ilos, or on the Conduit… The Mu relay! We can reach Ilos through the Mu relay! That's the only way to get to Ilos… Oh, by the Goddess! We found Ilos!"
Liara's mind was spinning at top speed. The Mu relay had been lost for thousands of years, long before the asari found the Citadel. Ilos should still be completely unexplored. An entire world of pristine Prothean ruins, the most significant, the most advanced world of the Prothean empire that spanned the galaxy…!
"And if Saren gets his talons on the Conduit before we do, we're going to be as dead as the Protheans." Garrus said. His words worked as well as a bucket of cold water dumped on her head.
Wrex was eager to get down to the action. "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go to Ilos and kill that skullface bastard. Problem solved."
"Forget it!" Tali, of all people, interrupted Wrex. "The Mu relay is inside the Terminus systems. Alliance ships are not welcomed there. Neither are Spectres."
Garrus disagreed with Tali. "The Conduit is on Ilos. That's where Saren's heading. This is a race against time. We need to find the Conduit before he does."
Vasir shook her head. "Saren would have his entire fleet orbiting Ilos. It would be more than a couple geth dropships. Whatever that's on Ilos will make Virmire look like a leisurely stroll in the Presidium. You'll never make it on your own without reinforcements. We must alert the Council. After Virmire, they would not deny your request again."
"Exactly. They would have to be insane to ignore your warning this time." Kirrahe agreed with Vasir.
"Is that what you think?" Shepard gave a mirthless chuckle. "You think my warning alone is sufficient to convince the Council to send a fleet into the Terminus systems?"
"Shepard." Vasir's voice was quiet and deliberate. "It would not be just your words. I was there with you on Virmire the whole time. In this regard, you have my complete support. Isn't this why you let me on your ship in the first place? I'm certain Captain Kirrahe would also agree to lend you his support. You and the Normandy crew saved his unit. The Council might hold a grudge against your induction into the Spectre rank, but they would not be so belligerent to disregard perfectly sound advice. Saren needs to be stopped. Sending a Council fleet might trigger some aggression from warlords residing in the Terminus systems, but letting him obtain the Conduit is a far greater danger. At the very least, the Council will see the urgency to mobilize a fleet to destroy Sovereign. That machine is pure evil."
"I hope you're right." Shepard sighed, and shook her head wistfully. "For all of our sake, I hope you're right. That's it for the debrief. Everyone, dismissed. Vasir, please stay. We're going to give the Council a call."
x-x-x
The report to the Council went about as well as last time, in the Commander's opinion. Which was to say, it was a complete disaster.
As per usual, Tevos was the first to speak. "Commander Shepard. I'm pleased to see your mission on Virmire was a success." The asari Councillor sounded genuinely satisfied by the result.
"Saren was formidable enough without an army of krogans serving under him." Sparatus pronounced the word "krogans" with enough distain, he made it sounded like a swear word.
Shepard felt a burning need to correct the self-important turian. There was something about Sparatus that always seemed to rub her the wrong way. "The krogan clones, the geth, the indoctrinated salarian captives, if not Saren himself, all serve Sovereign, a Reaper. I believe I've made it perfectly clear in my written report I sent out an hour ago."
"Yes, the Reapers." Valern said with disapproval clear in his clipping voice. "We saw the mention of this in your report. Sovereign, a sentient machine, a true artificial intelligence. This news is quite alarming… if it turns out to be accurate."
"If it turns out to be accurate." Shepard repeated dumbly. "You sent me out to Virmire to investigate. I have investigated. And now you doubt the validity of the evidences I've gathered. Why send me there in the first place if you're going to disregard everything I find? The Reapers are real. The indoctrination and the Husks are the result of Reaper tech. I have presented you with irrefutable proof. What more do you want from me?"
"The 'proof' you spoke of is hardly irrefutable, Shepard." Sparatus drawled out. "The visions you saw from the beacon were just that, visions."
Shepard took a deep breath and counted to ten, absently noting that she had been doing so a lot every time she had to speak with the Council. "They are not mere visions. They are reliable intel. I did mention that I have gained three thousand years' worth of Prothean knowledge through the beacon. This is not made up of my own imagination."
Tevos looked almost apologetic for what she had to say. "Commander, I did not wish to bring this up because I thought it might embarrass you. But please, the human brain is simply not capable of handling this much information." The unspoken part was that if an asari could not, there was no way a human could.
"I am not a typical human." Shepard replied with her face entirely void of expression. "I've deduced the location of the Conduit through clues gleaned from the beacon. I can assure you, Councillor, my brain can handle it. Our Prothean expert confirmed my findings."
"You mean young Dr. T'Soni, Matriarch Benezia's only daughter." Valern shook his head. "Maybe you should have picked a better Prothean expert as your consultant. Dr. T'Soni is, there is no way to put it gently, a laughing stock in the Prothean academia circle. I would not put too much faith in her work."
Now Shepard was truly insulted. With every last drop of her self control, she somehow managed not to erupt in a fountain of anger and resentment. Instead, she would settle for cold vindication. "Dr. T'Soni is not on trial here. If you don't mind, I would prefer to move away from this topic."
"Very well, please continue." Tevos said amiably.
"You may choose to disregard my words, but I have eyewitness accounts. My squadmate not only witnessed, but also participated in the exchange I had with Sovereign. The Reapers are coming in numbers soon, with or without Saren's help. Denying it won't make the problem disappear."
Sparatus's mandible flared in obvious irritation. "Your squadmates are either Alliance soldiers or a bunch of misfits you gathered. They are going to say whatever you want them to say. They are hardly reliable eyewitnesses. If you've got nothing better to report to the Council, I think we're done here."
Shepard let a thin smile spread across her face; she had been waiting for this. "Spectre Vasir, if you don't mind?"
Vasir stepped into the view and gave the three Councillors a polite nod. "Councillors. I must confess it is very… enlightening to witness my newest colleague's debrief. It greatly resembles school yard hazing, if I care to draw the comparison."
The mono colour of the holo image was not of the best quality, but Shepard swore she saw the colour drained from Tevos' face. "What are you doing on the Normandy?"
Vasir tilted her head in a show of puzzlement. "Commander Shepard asked me to assist her with the Virmire mission. I accepted."
Realization dawned on the other two Councillors' faces. "You were Shepard's squadmate on Virmire?!" Sparatus exclaimed, before whipping his head toward Shepard and accused, "I knew you couldn't have done this on your own! You needed another Spectre to carry you through your own mission."
"No one could have done this alone. I never claimed to have done the impossible. My entire crew pulled their weight to make sure not one man was left behind. 'Whatever it takes' included asking for help when I needed it. I am not ashamed to admit I know my own limit." Shepard replied shrewdly.
"Councillor Sparatus," Vasir's frigid voice cut in before the turian could go off again. "If you think back to the report you've read, you would notice Commander Shepard was the one in command for the entire duration of the mission. She came up with the plan to out maneuver a great number of enemy troops and executed the plan to perfection. I merely lended her firepower. In hindsight, she could have pulled off this daring operation all on her own, if she had wished to do so." The asari gave her a coy sideway glance and smirked, "my presence was her insurance policy. I am dismayed to see that I am needed at all."
Valern's eyes twitched spasmodically as he worked through the implications in his mind. The stress he was suffering from made his already curt tone extra snippy. "Spectre Vasir, I assume you agree to this insanity Commander Shepard has been spouting? Reapers? Indoctrination? The beacon? Cycle of Extinction? Everything?"
"Well, I wouldn't say everything." Vasir drew out her voice slowly in a clear contrast to they way Valern spoke. "Her biotic barrier definitely requires more work, despite her claim to the contrary. Her bravery troded on foolishness on many occasions. Above all, her most glaring shortcoming that I completely disapprove of was her relentless drive to do the right thing, even at great personal cost without obvious benefits. As a simple soldier, her lack of grace and finesse was appalling to asari sensibility. I couldn't say I agree with any of that insanity."
Shepard wasn't sure if Vasir had just complimented her, or insulted her. She supposed this was as close to a positive review as she could've hoped for from the senior Spectre.
Tevos stood stock still. "So the Reapers are no mere stories." The woman's voice sank low to a murmur. With a jolt, she flinched and stared at Shepard in astonishment. "You have taken all the data from the beacon into your mind..."
"Yes, I have. Three thousand years worth of daily communique, public service announcements, shipping manifests, private exchanges. Any and all communications that went through that particular beacon, ranging from cooking recipes to academic discussion. Literature, music, history, astrometric coordinates, geological surveys, blueprints. All this information was downloaded into my brain in perfect clarity."
This was not a bluff. The beacon had used her brain as a simple hard drive to store all that information, similar to how it had downloaded her future self into her younger body before merging the two. The scientific and technological stuff was way over her head, but she didn't have to understand them. Memorization did not equate to comprehension. Shepard was going to milk this happy coincidence for all it was worth.
Shepard had learnt the lesson the krogans had paid dearly for - she refused to be used by the Council as a very big gun with none of the respect she deserved. If she was to have any sway over the Council, she first had to be treated as an equal at least. And the only currency the Council traded on was political clout, which she now had in spades. The writing on the wall was clear - play nice, and this living beacon might cooperate and divulge some lost Prothean knowledge to you.
It seemed both Tevos and Valern had gotten the message loud and clear. Vasir's testimony was only a hair away from being an actual endorsement the arrogant asari was capable of giving.
Sparatus, on the other hand, was livid. "This... this utter absurdity needs to end right this instant! Ask any reputable paleo-historian and they will tell you the Protheans destroyed themselves in a galaxy wide civil war! There are no Reapers! Obviously the beacon has addled your mind, Shepard. And speaking of which, did you really think I was going to overlook the fact that you intentionally lied to the Council on the Eden Prime report? Your recklessness led to the destruction of the beacon on Eden Prime, and you did the same thing again on Virmire. Now you want us to believe you have the entire content of the beacon memorized? Do you take us for fools?"
Shepard remained aloof under fire. "Saren was still a Spectre with full Council support when I submitted the Eden Prime report. The deception was made to gain a tactical advantage over the rogue Spectre. As a military man yourself, I'm sure you can see why it was necessary to deprive him of this intel. 'All warfare is deception,' Councillor. As for the rest of your accusations... Well, you are entitled to your own opinions. There is no obligation for you to believe anything I have to say. If you think there are no Reapers, then you are free to go about your days unburdened by the knowledge that civilization as we know it is about to end in a short few years. If you think I'm lying about the beacon, then by all means continue to treat me as a joke. I'm used to it. Step up and prepare for the invasion or stand aside and let someone else do the unpleasant job. Your choice."
"How dare you! You pompous little…!"
"That's enough!" Tevos raised her voice before Sparatus had the chance to finish that sentence. "Need I remind you two this is a Council meeting, not a screaming nursery?" She gave Shepard and Sparatus both a stern glare, and continued, "one thing we are all in agreement with, is that Saren must be stopped. Report back to the Citadel, Commander. We can discuss details in person." She said, and disconnected the call.
Shepard let out a long suffering sigh.
"That could have gone better." Vasir deadpanned.
Shepard gave the asari a thoughtful frown. "I'm starting to have second thoughts. Perhaps I've made a mistake when I decided to inform the Council of the beacon. So far it only seems to discredit me."
"Don't try to play games with me, Shepard. I'm centuries ahead of you." Vasir clicked her tongue. "You knew exactly what you did. You had all the Councillors caught between a rock and a hard place. Because of that beacon in your head, they couldn't dismiss your warning in one breath and then accept precious Prothean knowledge in the next. Inelegant, but it worked."
"I certainly could not have planned for this to happen. This opportunity fell on my lap, so I took it and ran. Were you in my shoes, wouldn't you have done the same?"
Vasir scoffed at the Commander. "Certainly not in the same brutish manner."
"Alright, I'll bite. What would you have done then?" Shepard was very keen to find out more about Vasir's thought process.
"Simple. I would have baited them with a trail of tasty morsels, and then eventually have them eat out of my hand. You treated the Councillors as if they were sensible adults who can be reasoned with. That's what you did wrong. You should've treated them like wild varren. Bribe them with treats and make them think you're harmless. Once you have them house trained, that's when you neuter them. Next time, remember to give them a way out. Just make it so that it leads to where you want them to go."
"That is… very insightful." Shepard praised. She would not have thought to handle the Council this way. But Vasir had a very good point. For as long as she remembered, she had been trying to get the Council to agree with her. She should have been trying to get the Council to do what she wanted them to do instead. Why bother wasting time to convince them that the Reapers were real, as long as she had them preparing for an invasion? When the Reapers showed up, they would be well positioned for a siege while seeing for themselves that she was right the whole time.
Vasir's advice might have just saved them all.
"Thank you, Vasir. For everything. I won't forget this." Shepard lowered her head in a bow of gratitude.
"Finally, some manners." Vasir laughed, and returned with a gracious nod. "It has been a pleasure working with you, Spectre."
x-x-x
After the Council meeting, Shepard retreated into her cabin to make further preparations for Ilos. Despite Vasir and Kirrahe's optimism, Shepard had first hand experience what the Council was most likely to do with the intel they gathered on Virmire. Forming a blockade to protect Citadel space would be the Council's limit of mobilizing the fleet. In her opinion, this move demonstrated the Council's sheer arrogance and utter ignorance to the horror that was to come.
Both the salarian and the asari preached against open warfare. Their military doctrine revolved around sabotage and guerrilla tactics. Valern and Tevos would most likely vote against sending in the fleet. Sparatus was a non entity in Shepard's mind. Regardless of what conventional turian practicality might say about Saren's impending attack, Sparatus hated the upstart human Spectre too much to do listen to her, if only out of spite.
Short of an open declaration of war, the Council would never move its fleet into the Terminus systems, not under the current climate. It would have been simpler if this lawless region were only inhabited by slavers and drug lords. Numerous powerful and wealthy corporations took advantage of the lawless nature in this space and made it their base of operation. The Terminus systems was in essence, a separate realm onto itself. Thought of as a loose conglomerate of a thousand different Noverias on steroids, each world a separate fiefdom, and one might gain a faint idea of what the region was like. Those who had the influence and credits to take control, became their own lord and master in the little niche they carved out for themselves. Aria T'Loak was well within her right to call herself Queen. Because in practice, she was one.
Anarchy, the ultimate freedom.
Each of the Council races had their own use for a little lawlessness inside the Terminus systems once in awhile. The most the Council would do was send in spies to monitor the ever developing situations that moved and evolved like a living organism. Every time the Council stressed the delicate nature of this region, they weren't talking about the warlords. What they really meant was that they were too invested to step on these well-connected political titans' toes.
Shepard sent out three heavily encrypted messages. One to the Consort, one to Shiala, and the last one to her mother.
With or without the fleet, Shepard was going to Ilos. She needed that overriding code from Vigil, otherwise they were all fucked.
"You know, even though my aura sensing ability sucks, I can still feel you staring holes in the back of my head, Liara." Shepard said to the maiden sitting at the meeting table. She shut down her computer and turned around to look at her with a knowing grin. "Go ahead. Ask me already."
Liara squirmed uncomfortably in her chair.
"Hanar were either boiled or fried. Salarian livers were usually served raw while they were still alive. Apparently their fear would add a kick to the taste."
Liara's mouth fell open.
"Cooking recipes." Shepard said. "There are some really gross stuff. Don't ask me what they taste like."
The Prothean expert grimaced. "I'm sorry, I don't want to give you the impression that I'm only interested in you to get inside your head. You are not a convenient Prothean artifact I get to study to satisfy my own curiosity."
Shepard snorted. "And I don't want you to think I'm only interested in you to get inside your pants. You are not a convenient sex object for me to sate my own urges."
Liara couldn't help but giggle at the comparison. "Touché."
"Come here." Shepard moved to the bed and patted the spot next to her. They cuddled with their backs rested against the headboard. "How about this; let's play a human game called 'trivia.' Instead of you asking me endless questions, you get to tell me what you know about Protheans according to the topic I give you. I'll tell you whether you answer it correctly. Just so you are aware, I don't claim to know everything."
"That does sound very interesting. Alright, I'll play."
Shepard began with an easy topic. "Physiology."
"Protheans had four eyes. This is probably the reason the batarians consider themselves superior to two-eyed races. Protheans had red blood, like humans do. They considered the colour red to be a warrior's colour." Liara said, looking quite confident with her answer.
"Correct. They also had dual pupils in each eye, and they could perceive a wide spectrum of light. Females would move those eyes in specific patterns to begin foreplay. They also had three pairs of nostrils. The Protheans were evolved from hunters. Their senses were extremely sharp. One touch would be all it took to exchange complex idea, like learning a new language. They had quad strand DNA that was resistant to low level radiation."
Liara squealed in excitement. "I didn't know about the pupils or the foreplay! Tell me more, please? It sounds fascinating!"
Shepard laughed so hard, she was rolling around in bed while holding her stomach with both arms.
"Hey, stop that. You are not trying to trick me, are you?" Liara seemed quite put out by her antics.
"No, no, of course not. I'm just laughing because, well. Of all the things to ask me, you want to know about Prothean foreplay."
Liara crossed her arms, looking slightly affronted by Shepard's reply. "Very little data survived the purge. I'm an archaeologist. I'm interested in their culture as a whole, not just their technology. Courtship is an important part of any culture; it intimately ties to how a society organizes itself. It highlights their value system, politics, religion, just to name a few. So yes, I am very interested in Prothean foreplay."
Shepard straightened up and smoothed out her face in exchange for a more somber expression before she began to speak in a rhythmic tone in a language that did not automatically translate through the standard implant. However, since she gave Liara the Cipher through the meld a while back, she knew the archaeologist could understand it perfectly.
It was a love poem. A young warrior of twenty, recently received his helmet of adulthood, was struck senseless by a sublime foreign beauty he met in his travels. The poem described in meticulous detail how the female's two pairs of eyes would tangle with his own gaze while the two engaged in a friendly war game to test each other's intellect. The female won all three games. Unable to impress, the warrior left in dejection and shame. His mind thus forever haunted by those haughty eyes.
"It's a classic. It served to warn younglings to hone their intellect so they wouldn't repeat the same mistake. With their ability to learn new skills quickly, it was especially important for the Prothean youth to know how to apply them, as supposed to hoarding knowledge for knowledge's sake. Intangible qualities that were not transferrable - charisma, intelligence, leadership, bravery, loyalty, physical fitness, and biotic proficiency - were therefore highly valued by the Protheans." Shepard added the helpful commentary after reciting the poem.
Liara's reply to the explanation was to grab the woman's face with both hands, and crush their lips together in a devouring kiss.
When they finally broke for air, Shepard muttered breathlessly, "I suppose talking Prothean is your idea of foreplay?"
"I honestly don't care what's inside your head at the moment. I really need to get inside your pants right now."
Shepard laughed. "I shudder to think what you would do if you ever meet a flesh and blood Prothean. It's a good thing they're extinct. Otherwise I might have a hard time holding on to you."
Liara wrinkle her nose. "No, thank you. Four eyes and six nostrils is a bit… I don't mean to sound prejudiced, but I prefer athletic human females with deep eyes and sensitive souls."
Shepard's green eyes twinkled madly. "Is that right? Does that mean you find our Gunnery Chief attractive?"
"You are incorrigible." Liara lightly smacked Shepard's shoulder with a pout. "And you are wearing entirely too much clothes."
"I didn't hear a no." Shepard teased as she stripped.
Liara made the most innocent doe-eye at the Commander. "That's because I did not say so. I do appreciate the aesthetics. Chief Williams is very well put together."
Shepard's eyes went round at that information.
Liara put a hand over her mouth to stay the hilarity from overtaking her. "The look on your face…"
"You were making fun of me!" Shepard growled playfully and pounced at her lover. There were no more talk of Protheans or anyone else for the rest of the night.
x-x-x
During the Reaper invasion, Udina had used all of his political pull to enact unpopular wartime measures in order to pour an enormous amount of resources into the war efforts. The man might be a wily politician who would not blink to stab an ally in the back to get ahead, but in a twisted way, Shepard actually respected him. Regardless of his political leaning or his character, Udina formed an alliance with Cerberus out of desperation; his homeworld was in flames, his people were dying by the millions, while the rest of the galaxy refused to lift a finger to help. Who else could he have possibly turned to?
The Commander herself made the same deal with Cerberus during the mass human colonist abductions. She allowed herself to be abused, her good name to be vilified in order to gain access to a terrorist organization's immense resources. Hell, she paid for it by way of getting locked up behind bars for six months, all because she refused to do nothing when innocent colonists were abducted to be rendered down to goop by the thousands. There were no difference between what she did and what Udina tried but failed to do.
They made a bargain with the devil, and the devil always came for his due. Through herself, Cerberus got their hands on Collector tech. It was a horrible thing to contemplate, but sometimes Shepard suspected that more lives were lost because of her cooperation with Cerberus to take down the Collectors than if she had just let the Reaper's slave servants have free reign. Those poor humans living in unfortified colonies were a lost cause anyway when the Reapers cut a bloody swath through the region.
Without Collector tech, Cerberus would have never climbed so fast in power. Without the Hero of Elysium's "endorsement" by association, the terrorist group would have never swelled so rapidly in rank. Cerberus' active sabotage to the galaxy's war efforts had caused more death and suffering than she had managed to save from the Collectors.
She would never repeat this mistake again.
Shepard brought along Ashley and Kaidan when she answered the Council's summon in the Chamber. Vasir, Kirrahe, and Udina were also present for this meeting. Each one of them who had bled with her on Virmire were utterly struck dumb when they heard what the Council had planned to do to counter Saren's force.
"A... blockade?" Shepard summarized the Council's strategy succinctly.
"Yes. All the mass relays connecting the Terminus systems to the Citadel will be heavily fortified. Saren's fleet will never make it through." Sparatus explained to Shepard in a condescending tone as if she were too dull to comprehend the concept.
Valern added, "thanks to all of you, we've pinned down Saren's movement. Our fleet will be lying in wait when he shows up."
"Is it wise to allow him free reign? For all we know, he could use Sovereign to create an even larger army while in the Terminus systems." Vasir's voice was low and flat. It was clear the asari was extremely unimpressed.
Kirrahe was equally dismayed. "Sovereign can indoctrinate people to serve as its willing slaves. My unit suffered heavy casualties to bring this critical intel back to the Council. Are we to allow this atrocity to go on unchecked?"
Tevos shook her head deliberately. "The Council could hardly interfere with the many ongoing conflicts within the Terminus systems. The moment he chooses to send in his force, then it becomes our problem. Saren's greatest weapon is his secrecy. Since we have discovered his true target, he no longer holds an advantage."
In other words, it would be no skin off their collective nose if Saren picked a fight with the many superpowers dwelling inside the Terminus systems. The Council might even come out ahead if the rogue Spectre stirred up enough troubles for their own spies to slip in amidst the chaos. Cold, but Shepard could see the logic behind this strategy. Besides, they didn't care about people being enslaved by Sovereign. After all, slavery was a common practice in that lawless region. The Council was not even willing to go after batarian slaver gangs roaming the Traverse with Citadel fleet. They left that mundane task to the Alliance to worry about.
Too bad that in their denial of the Reaper threat, they had completely overlooked a few facts. One, the size of the blockade the Council was planning for would have never been large enough to stop a Reaper plus hundreds of geth ships. Two, Saren's fleet could reach the Citadel completely unopposed through the back door the Protheans built on Ilos. Three, the fleet stationed over the Citadel was uttered unprepared to combat a Reaper. Four, in their arrogance, the Council never planned for any additional ground fortification in case Saren's troops made it onto the station.
"What is the contingency plan in case Saren's fleet breaks through the blockade?" Taking Vasir's earlier advice to heart, Shepard proceeded to gently (for her, anyway) prod the Council along instead of picking apart their poorly thought out stratagem openly.
"Break through the blockade?" Sparatus let out an amused chuckled. "What a thing to say. Perhaps you are unfamiliar with the Citadel fleet garrisoned over the station? Our flagship, Destiny Ascension, alone packs enough firepower to equal the rest of the asari fleet combined. Even if Saren miraculously breaks through the blockade, it would be impossible for his already battered force to put a dent on our defense. I assure you, Commander Shepard, if Saren is foolish enough to attack the Citadel head on, we will be more than ready for him."
So the answer was no, the Council had absolutely no clue what they had coming. Thinking furiously, Shepard found one angle she might be able to use without antagonizing the Council too much. "As the Council had mentioned before, Saren still has allies here. It's very possible his allies might sneak in a few geth, along with some dragon's teeth, and unleash a swarm of Husks right here on the Citadel. Are our C-Sec officers trained to handle this kind of attack?"
The startled look on everyone's face was her answer. Of course C-Sec would have no idea what to do in this situation. Only the Alliance and a few STG units had some experience fighting geth and Husks in the Traverse. The Council had done such a thorough job downplaying the attack on Eden Prime, even their own troops were kept ignorant of what the geth could do on the ground, or what they could do to organics with Reaper tech.
Sparatus was beginning to get impatient with Shepard's unwillingness to simply accept the Council's directions. "I don't claim to know how the Alliance trains their soldiers, but Citadel Security has always been trained to follow the highest standards. It will take a lot more than a few geth to overwhelm our force. Now, are you done with all the pointless questions?"
"Not yet, Councillor, and they are by no means pointless." Shepard replied calmly, though her eyes were burning with carefully suppressed outrage. "As we speak, Saren is searching through Ilos to get his hands on the Conduit, a top secret tech the Prothean developed at the height of their civilization. We know Sovereign is a Reaper and must be destroyed. We've discovered their plan to attack the Citadel, thereby repeating the same pattern as all previous Reaper invasions did. So why are we doing nothing to stop this from happening again? The Prothean empire was doomed because the Reapers had destroyed their central government located on the Citadel in one surprise attack. We cannot afford to repeat the same mistake. If the Council is not willing to send in a fleet to the Terminus systems to stop Saren, then send me. I can be discreet. One ship is not going to start a war."
Sparatus was unconvinced. "You detonated a nuclear device on Virmire. I wouldn't call that discreet."
Before anyone could point out the obvious flaw in that argument - after all, it was the Council's poor decision that led to the necessity to detonate a nuke on Virmire - Tevos cut in. "Your style works well in the Traverse. We recognize it. But Ilos requires a deft touch. We have the situation under control."
"With all due respect, Councillor. You really don't. Reapers are coming. Sovereign is their vanguard, while Saren works as their puppet. A blockade is nowhere near enough to stop their advance. Trillions of lives are at stake. Please, we are running out of time."
Kirrahe decided to stick out his neck to repay what Shepard had done for his unit before, even though it was clear the Council would be extremely annoyed with him for siding with the Commander. "If anyone can bring down Saren, it would be Commander Shepard. She has proven herself to be an excellent strategist and exceptional infiltrator on Virmire. I have faith Commander Shepard is more than capable to complete the Ilos mission with utmost discretion."
Risking the Council's displeasure, Vasir also chose to step up to provide Shepard support as she had promised. "I agree with Commander Shepard and Captain Kirrahe. If we must err, let it be on the side of caution. I urge the Council to reconsider all the options."
Tevos frowned at them unhappily. Shepard felt her stomach churned when she saw that particular stern expression. Fan-fucking-tastic. Calling ahead to warn the Council about Saren was proven to be a huge blunder on her part. The four day's travel time was too much delay that the ever cautious Council were getting cold feet. If only she had withheld intel until they were back on the Citadel to report in person, the shock of having so many credible eyewitnesses might have been enough to push the Council into action. Now, since she had allowed them time to bury their heads deeper into the sand in denial, the inertia alone had killed her hope of getting any kind of support from the Council.
"The Council is being cautious. I understand you feel strongly on this issue, Commander, but you learnt of the Reapers from the beacon. The mind is delicate and complex. What you perceive to be true could have easily been unrelated facts that are simply misinterpreted. The most talented Matriarchs with more than a thousand years of continuous dedicated practice could not have processed three thousand year's worth of information without making the slightest mistake. The Council could ill afford to risk a war because there is a very good chance you are wrong." With a regretful shook of her head, Tevos refused to reconsider and stood firm on the Council's position.
Sparatus tacked on Tevos' statement and added, "there is a human saying, 'even a broken clock is right twice a day.' You might get lucky once in awhile. It doesn't mean the Council would accept every outlandish claim you make on face value. I think we've all heard enough. If you are not willing to comply, Commander, we will find other people better suited to assist the Council to counter Saren."
Next was Udina's turn to glower at Shepard. "Enough, Commander. You are on thin ice already. Need I remind you your title was given by the Council, and could just as easily be taken away? I'm beginning to think you're more trouble than you're worth. As the human Ambassador, I can arrange for the Alliance to collaborate with the Citadel fleet to form the blockade. It's for the best. We need someone who understands the value of cooperation to represent humanity."
Shepard scowled. Udina was showing his true colours. The vulture could tell which way the wind was blowing. Humanity's first Spectre had done the hard work of tracking down Saren, now the Ambassador was going to rake in the credits for assisting the Council in taking him down. From Udina's point of view, Shepard had outlived her usefulness. She had a good idea what was about to happen to herself, too. Well, why fight the inevitable? At least this time she would not feel so blindsided when she knew the knife was coming.
Standing behind the Commander, Ashley and Kaidan both bristled at this turn of event. "Bastard!" Ashley growled.
Shepard corrected the Chief. "Politician." She spat.
Kaidan let out a loud snort at the retort.
"Control your people, Shepard." Udina sneered.
Shepard gave him a disgusted look. "They are my people, not yours, Ambassador."
Udina's face contorted into an ugly mask of contempt for a few seconds before it morphed into one of triumph. "Commander, I believe with Saren cornered, your mission has come to an end. Is that correct, Councillor Sparatus?"
Sparatus' mandibles flapped languidly in an expression of absolute delight. "Why yes, I do believe so. Commander Shepard, you have performed admirably in your mission to stop Saren. The Council will summon you when we need you again. For now, you are dismissed."
Here it comes. Shepard braced herself.
"Hear that, Commander? Your job here is done. Go take a well-deserved vacation. Humanity thanks you for your service. I believe Rear Admiral Mikhailovich is very eager to have the Normandy re-join his 63rd Scout Flotilla." Udina said with a self-satisfied smirk.
What the Ambassador just said had both Ashley and Kaidan suck in a sharp breath in shock.
"Well played, Ambassador. I will remember this." Shepard promised in a frigid tone. She didn't need to fake the look of indignation to mirror what she was feeling inside. Grounding the Normandy was one thing, while taking it away from her was an entirely different matter. In any case, she was not about to take this lying down. Nor would she forget this transgression any time soon.
Udina narrowed his eyes at Shepard's thunderous expression. "Pack your things and get all the non-Alliance riffraff off the ship. You have one day. Don't even think about trying anything funny. I'll have C-Sec ground the Normandy."
"Commander Shepard." Tevos called out just as Shepard was about to leave. Wearing an regretful frown on her heavily tattooed face, the asari Councilor said to her benevolently, "this is for your own good, Commander. Don't think of it as a punishment, either, because it isn't meant to be one. As a newly instated Spectre, you have performed above and beyond our expectations. Don't let the rashness of youth be the undoing of a wonderful career."
"Then perhaps in time, I will learn to appreciate the Council's wisdom." Shepard replied in a placid tone that betrayed not a hint of her defiance. Her aura, even though muted by the hardsuit significantly, must have revealed her internal turmoils to the two asaris. She caught Vasir and Tevos exchange an alarmed look with each other whereas the other two Councillors as well as the Ambassador seemed pleased by her show of deference.
Regardless of what the Council wanted, everything was already in motion. Sovereign would be here in about three day's time. Without the override code from Vigil, a legion of Reapers would follow.
Udina could kick her off her ship. The Council could bench her, or even threaten to sack her if they wished. But nothing, nothing was going to stop Commander Shepard from saving the galaxy.
Damn it. Vasir's right about the savior complex. Was the thought that went through her head as she marched past the contemplative asari Spectre to exit the Council Chamber.
x-x-x
A/N: Chapter title name was from Firefly.