Chapter 11
Quiet Agenda
April 12, 2187
It was the first good night's sleep Shepard had gotten in months.
Unfortunately for him, a pair of messages from his omni-tool woke him up at some ungodly hour of the morning. He tried pulling his arm up over his face to see who it was but the limb wouldn't respond. It was not only tingling, but heavy. Looking over to see the cause he saw his new fiancées head resting on it.
The communication's vibration had given a little feeling back, but was also running the risk of waking her up. But he'd need to get his arm out in any case.
Rolling over he hit the mute button silencing the message notification. He then started slowly slipping his arm out from under her head. He didn't want to wake her, especially with how peaceful and cute Tali looked when she was sleeping, her pale skin glowing against the cabin's evening lighting. He took a moment to admire her while she slept. Not long, just enough for his heart to flutter for a moment.
'I am so damned lucky' He thought before he accessed the omni-tool. Sitting at his desk he didn't want to disturb Tali if it was an communique.
Both were text messages; one from Admiral Hackett.
[To: Rear Admiral M. Shepard, SSV Normandy
From: Fleet Admiral S. Hackett,Alliance Fleet Command
Due to the early hour this message will be sent as a text. I am requesting you and the other senior members of the Alliance to join me onboard the SSV Everest by 0700. You are not to discuss the specifics of the meeting until after a public announcement has been made.
The Council is also demanding you 'explain' your actions with the Crucible activation. If their actions to date are any indicator they'll be expecting an apology.
Shepard, in light of the Normandy's return I am withdrawing your orders to select a new ship to serve as your flag.]
Looking at his orange holo-clock, it showed it was 0622. Barely half an hour until he met them. And the time stamp on it was nearly an hour old.
'Better check the second.' He thought to himself. This one was from his mother and had a little more of an explanation.
[Sorry about this Mark. Looks like we're back on the clock. Little pointer, if it's ALLHIGHCOM] A common term for Alliance High Command.
[then you'd better put on your class A blues. I'd also suggest a shave, but I don't think you'll have time. See you in the shuttle bay. I've got a pot of coffee in the shuttle bay for us for the ride up.] Class A's were the most formal variant of a soldier's dress blue uniform. Every medal and ribbon was included, shoes polished to the point they could be used as a signal light. Either it was typical mom action of 'dress up nice on your first day honey' or and this was the more likely, something big was going where the pomp and circumstance was required.
"Mark?" Tali groggily asked. He had woken her up, either from the light, moving his arm or some combination of the two.
"What are you doing up?" Her tone indicated that she was still mostly asleep and had no intention of changing that.
"Got some work I have to do. I'll be back in a few hours. Go back to sleep."
"Okay." She put her head back on the pillow and immediately fell back asleep.
Walking back to the bed, he opened the middle shelving unit where he kept his nicer clothes. One set official military functions, the other for when he was off duty. Not surprisingly, he only had one such civilian suit: the one he used for the casino infiltration when his psychotic clone tried to take over his life.
Shepard quickly wiped off the dust on his bone-white Naval dress uniform. Taking the jacket, pants and shoes into the bathroom (along with a white t-shirt to wear underneath) to get quickly dressed. When he stepped out he removed the ribbons and medals from a compartment next to where the uniform was stored. Over the years, he had collected more than his fair share of them doing, in his own opinion, "What needed to be done. Nothing more, nothing less".
Among the medals, was the one he earned from ICT known as the "7 Elite" (as the ribbons' design changed based on the focus of training). The N7 ribbon was black and gold with a horizontal narrow red line for completing the engineering training. Various others he had previously and since earned were the Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC for short), the Navy Cross, the Legion of Merit, Medals of Heroism and Valor, the Covert Action award was secretly given to him by Hackett after the events in batarian space shortly before the Reaper War began. He had also earned a multiple Purple Hearts over the last fifteen years of service (four to be specific), though only one was permitted to be worn.
Pinning the ribbons on the right breast above his dark blue name plate, white letters etched into it. The decorative medals were pinned to his right breast. The combined weight tugged his uniform down quite a bit.
He gave Tali a quick, light kiss on the cheek before stepping into the elevator. 'What the hell kind of meeting has to be held this early in the morning?' He thought as the elevator descended to the cargo bay.
When it opened he saw a very large steaming cup sitting on top of the requisitions terminal along with a datapad. Someone had brought a new shuttle, already fired up and waiting for him. Picking up the pad and activating it, two words popped up for several seconds 'READ ME' in flashing red-orange letters. Whoever left it there meant for him to read it. He picked up the coffee cup and stepped onto the shuttle.
"Took you long enough Markus." A female voice said coming from the cockpit. It took a full minute before it consciously connected that it was his mother, who was likewise in her white dress A uniform.
"I've already gotten clearance from EDI." She said as the shuttle door opened. "The pad has a list of the admirals and generals you'll be meeting along with the branches they belong to. Coffee is to help wake you up."
"Oh thank you." He pitched the mug back and began chugging. It took him a moment before the rancid taste got to him, spitting it back out.
"What the hell?! I haven't tasted coffee that bad since-" He started putting the flavors together, hoping that the coffee wasn't what he thought it was.
"The Shepard Sunrise Surprise? Yup." The shuttle had taken off and was already clearing the troposphere.
"Dear god! It's even worse than I remember!"
"I've made a few... alterations to the recipe." He didn't need to see her face to see the coy grin all over her face.
"Pretty sure making this stuff goes against the Geneva convention and the Citadel sanctions."
"You volunteered. Now read the pad! Can't go in there with my son looking like an unprepared idiot."
Slowly sipping the coffee down, trying to get used to its taste again as he read over the names on the pad. The first time he had a Shepard's Sunrise Surprise, or 'Triple S' for short, he was fourteen. His mother made it as a deterrent against developing a caffeine addiction. It took him nearly a year the first time to get used to it. After that, it was a point of pride that he could drink what even the most voracious drinkers called "a foul, disgusting mess of varren piss".
[line across page]
Steven Hackett stood outside of conference room six on deck twenty-two of the Everest. He had taken command of the vessel when it first launched out of the shipyards over Io and remained its commander for almost a decade. The faces of the crew had changed several times, but he could still remember nearly every name with only minor focus. The Everest was his first 'real' command, and as the first of her class he thought it deserved the remembrance of those who sweat and bleed for it before anyone else.
He had hoped to speak with Shepard beforehand, prepare him a bit for the job he was going to be given. In his typical grand style though, Shepard found a suitable balance between showing up on time and at the exact moment he was needed.
'At least he's awake.' Hackett thought to himself as he and his mother walked up to him.
They both saluted him. Something that was done more out of a formality. Technically, flag officers didn't need to salute, but it was still sometimes maintained as a courtesy or between those whom still thought the senior officer deserved to be recognized with the respect their rank had earned.
"Admirals Shepard reporting as ordered sir." Rear Admiral Shepard said "I apologize for our tardiness. I had some issues with my uniform."
They weren't more than ten minutes late. Most likely they just stopped for a cup of coffee, but it didn't bother him. The decision had been made quickly and was all but unanimous by all the members of the Alliance leaders, so a few minutes didn't hurt. Much.
"At ease." Hackett saluted them back. "Since you two are the last to arrive we can get started right away. I want this done before someone on the ship accidentally leaks to the press."
Pressing the controls on the green-lit holographic console the door slid open with a quiet hiss revealing nearly three dozen officers all of whom had white, silver hair, or were simply bald. The number of attachés was quite remarkable as they outnumbered the flag officers between two and three to one. All of them though wore dress A uniforms. Navy on one side with white jackets, Marines on the other with black.
"Take your seats Shepards." Hackett said as he moved to his own chair on the Kingwood able cut into a ring. It was a bit of a luxury, but he had found it useful for briefings like this.
When the mother and son sat down Hackett officially began the briefing.
"As you're all aware, when the Crucible was activated the mass relay network self-destructed along with every Reaper and husk in the galaxy." A hologram of the galaxy appeared in the center, orange dots representing the relays with strands intertwining representing the relay paths being severed in a cascading pattern. The system clusters associated with them grew dark as the orange lights blinked out.
"With the geth leading the efforts we've been able to reconnect much of the network." The now connected areas returned back to the normal color, though a fair portion of asari space in the "western side" of the galaxy remained dark.
"Since the homeworlds of all of the Council members are now reconnected the Council has begun hearings for adding new members to their numbers. The krogan have already sent the name of their representative along with the volus. Until now, they were satisfied with various members of the board. But now they're pushing us for a formal representative. The board has already decided to elect Rear Admiral Markus Shepard of the SSV Normandy to be humanity's next representative."
If he wasn't listening before, he certainly was now.
"Okay, this is a joke right?" The young admiral said from the opposite side of the table. If his eyebrows had gone any higher they would have started to merge with his shaggy, unkempt hair. "Yanking the chain of the new guy? Right?" The hopeful desperation in his voice told them he thought this was a form of an initiation prank.
"No. You've had the most experience with the Council Shepard and aside from the late Admiral Anderson, you've been the most successful in dealing with them."
"This is... the worst idea I've heard in a long time, and if any of you knew my crew you'd know just how bad of an idea this is."
"What's the matter?" Admiral Najem of Alliance R&D spoke up first. "Afraid to deal with something that isn't part of your omni-tool?" Najem's jealousy sometimes got the better of his brain-to-mouth filter. He had wanted the position as he was planning to retire before the war. When the Reapers hit, he declared it was his 'civic duty' to remain. He had done so very publicly while announcing the new modifications to the omni-tools allowing for variable omni-blades.
"Cool off Fadil." Major General Ewan Argyris interjected on Shepard's behalf. Argyris was head of nearly a legion of M35 Mako and M44 Hammerhead tanks. He maintained that the turians had an excellent military strategy: hit the enemy with overwhelming force. Despite this, he was cautious on his assaults as even the slightest error meant at best, the loss of an entire squad of soldiers and a gap in the charging force's perimeter defenses.
"Gentlemen please," Hanna said standing up with a mother's tone. One that said 'knock it off before I start knocking heads'. "I'm quite sure that there's a reason for this decision."
"What's the matter?" Najem turned his annoyance on Hanna now. "The boy can't speak for himself?"
"HEY!" Shepard shot back. "I was trying to find a way to politely say 'no' but now, I don't give a damn. Thanks to you."
Several of the board members rubbed the bridge of their nose and eyes. While they had, for the most part, all agreed to the choice of the young admiral for the Council select members had concerns about his tact.
"I'm going to be honest here, selecting me for diplomatic functions is not a wise decision. I'm honored, don't get me wrong, but I'm a combat engineer. I fix things while other things around me explode. That's what I do, it's what I'm best at. Put me in with Fleet Construction, hell even a teaching position at one of the academies. The Council and I barely see eye-to-eye on, well, anything."
"Most politicians don't get along with each other." One of the other Naval officers defended.
"Most politicians don't tell each other to get stuffed openly and on a regular basis." The entire board immediately regretted the decision to choose Shepard.
"Look, I don't deny that I don't handle them with the proper... spit and polish they demand. But I think I have a recommendation for a suitable replacement."
Najem scoffed at Shepard nominating a replacement. "Let me guess, you're going to pick someone close to you? I've read your reports. You nominated your former CO to be the first human Councilor, replaced the Chief Engineer of the SR-2 with an alien. Now what? If you're going to pick someone, it had better be based on merit."
"It is." Shepard shot back. "My recommendation is for governor Radomir Krall from Eden Prime." Krall was, at the outbreak of the Reaper war, was an aid to governor Arron Cox. Krall became one of the heads of Eden Prime's resistance movement against Cerberus. When Cerberus hit Cox had fallen apart. While Krall had technically usurped power, she had done so getting food, water and medical supplies to the scattering colonists. The colonists hailed her as a hero. Once the crisis had passed he confessed what she did. Serving two months for 'abuse of office' in a jail cell then was elected in a landslide election.
"He's smart, fast on his feet, first thought is those around him and knows the political game but doesn't have any goals of his own. Perfect candidate. That or he's a complete sociopath. Last civilian we elected was." He was referring of course, to Udina. During the attempted coup with Cerberus to gain control of the Citadel Udina drew a gun on Shepard. It was the last time he and Shepard were on opposite sides.
"She has had no major political experience, barely months of what she has done and only on one world." This time the aggressor was Admiral Gagnon, head of the ICT's naval candidates and students. His French accent was somewhat thick as he spoke English for the general benefit of all members of the board (most of whom grew up speaking English as a first language).
Markus leaned to his mother whispering to her. "Is it always like this?"
"Pretty much, yeah." She answered back. "Raising four kids seems to have been the perfect practice for this."
In the less than five second conversation between the Shepards, the entire room had devolved into a shouting match.
Shepard tried a couple of times to interject himself, try and get the commanders back on track but nothing worked. He had it. Barely any sleep and spending his first full day back on the Normandy wasn't being spent with Joker, Garrus, or especially Tali. He had enough; raising his metal hand into the air he fired off a quick incendiary shot into the ceiling of the room. It got the attention of everyone in the room. Hackett though was staring at him with angry steel-gray eyes. Shepard made a note to apologize and paint over the scorch mark.
"Look at yourselves!" He hollered at the squabbling leaders. "You are supposed to be the best military leaders in humanity! If I didn't know better, I'd say there's nothing more than a bunch of third graders in here! So here is what we're going to do. You're going to write down your top three nominations for human Councilor with a decreasing number from 3 from your first choice to last. Send them to me, I'll get back to you later today with the final tally."
The officers keyed up their omni-tools and began typing; a flurry of messages came into Shepard's omni-tool. When each of them finished they stood up and walked out of the conference room without another word. Admiral Sato of the Sixth fleet stopped by Shepard's chair as she walked out.
"Nice touch." She said, and continued on her way. Her voice was sincere and there was a slight indication of a smile running up the left side of her lips.
In the end only Hanna, and Hackett remained and he hadn't moved a muscle since Shepard let loose.
"Hanna, I'll need a moment alone with your son." His voice was barely containing his anger.
"I have to get back to the Orizaba. I'll let you know when I have some free time." She said and left, one last message pinging on his omni-tool. By this point it had reached almost three dozen.
The door closed behind Hanna leaving the two men in silence for a few seconds. Hackett regaining his composure, Shepard awaiting the inevitable chastising, and possibly dismissal from the Alliance. What he had done, while effective, was all forms of stupid and they both knew it. Shepard became the youngest admiral in Alliance history, was one for less than a month, and he just yelled out the officers who held command over every posting in humanity's military.
After a minute of silence between the two of them before Hackett spoke.
"Not your best decision Shepard."
"Yes sir, sorry sir. And as for the ceiling, I'll repair it down to the paint sir."
"No need Shepard. They've been slowly sliding towards that since the relays blew. Looks like a lot of the pre-war issues are coming back to the surface."
"I guess we shouldn't be that surprised."
"No. But I happened to agree with you. You're a hell of a soldier. According to Anderson you're the best soldier he's ever seen. I've never known anyone he recommended that highly or as often."
"So you're not ticked?"
"Ultimately, I have final choice for who is nominated. You were the first choice for nearly everyone in this room. If the civilian populace had their way, they'd likely make you prime minister of the galaxy."
"So why did you really bring me in? You could have simply ordered me to report."
"Because I knew you'd turn it down. And ultimately, I am abiding by your decision."
"Sir?"
"Your entire career you've demonstrated exceptional judgment. Anderson trusted you implicitly. As do I. I only required the evidence to bring to Parliament and the commanders."
"So Krall is going to be the next Councilor?" Shepard asked.
"I'll notify her of our recommendation. She's free to pass it up, but I don't think she'll say no."
"Not her style. She won't lobby to keep it in the next election but she won't turn it down either. She'll work her ass off but she goes where the political winds take her. Impressive woman. We could have used a lot more like her. Will that be all?" He was wanting to get back to Tali. If he hurried, he might be able to make her a brunch. Then promptly try to make up for the lack of physical intimacy last night.
"Aside from the meeting with the Council. You forgot didn't you?"
It had completely escaped his mind. "Yes sir."
"I'll be delivering the results of our meeting to them. I'll also remain while you give your report to them. Given what happened..."
"Probably a good idea."