Chapter 10

"I know, Wrex."

"Only a few days left, Shepard."

"I am aware. I'll see what I can do."

Shepard stepped around Wrex in the Council wing's hallway. His clan wasn't with him today. When she'd met with Wrex the day before, the krogans had wrestled into a table of Omni-Tool mods in headquarters's mercantile section. A small krogan broke through a window. After Wrex stopped laughing, he sternly dressed them down, then laughed again afterward. Mixed messages, but that criticism didn't seem to resonate with Wrex. At least today, the krogan entourage wasn't here stirring up a commotion as the Council gathered.

"I've got to go. I'll check in with you later."

"Tick tock, Shepard."

She frowned back at him but continued into the Council chamber. It'd been a long time since being in here. She'd logged so many hours staring at this ceiling. A few months off felt like returning from sabbatical. Shepard moved through the gathering audience. They crowded the aisles shaking hands and joining loud discussions.

"Spectre." Tevos looked up from the stage's long, narrow table as Shepard approached.

She pushed through the banister's gate to the stage. A C-Sec officer looked over sharply then glanced at the Councilors. His posture relaxed, and he returned to surveying the crowd. Mason and Sparatus sat in their usual spots reviewing what was probably pre-meeting notes. Mason raised his head with a smile.

"Spectre Shepard."

"Councilors." She came all the way up to the table.

"That business on the Normandy was an atrocity," Tevos said.

"Agreed," Shepard said. "Thanks. But—wait, where's Councilor Ilk?"

Sparatus grumbled. "We have twenty minutes until the session starts. He has more important things to do than be early for a meeting."

"That so?" Shepard said. "Well, that's unfortunate. I hoped he'd be here."

"Oh, he will," Sparatus said. "In nineteen minutes. You're not usually here early yourself, Shepard, otherwise you'd know this."

More Alliance officials, Council delegates, and ambassadors streamed through the entrances filling the room. It was a larger group than normal with the Summit nearing and so many important representatives coming into the city.

"The Laurel will be at the end of the opening ceremony, Shepard," Tevos said. "You're a key figure for the Summit. You've seen the agenda?"

"Has it been released?"

"Unofficially," Mason said. "I'll send it to you. You've heard about the Mass Effect shard, I suppose?" Mason asked.

Shepard's muscles tightened. "Yes. Yes, I did."

"The Alliance is searching for it. Likely a Terra Firma hit. Until then, the relay's construction is stalled," Mason said.

"The media doesn't know about this?" Shepard said.

"No," Tevos confirmed. "If it can't be recovered soon, we'll announce it at the conclusion of the Summit. We'll make contingencies. It's been several days though and nothing."

"I'm sure they'll be some leads before long," Shepard said, then pressed her hand on the table and leaned into them. "Okay, listen. I know Urdnot Wrex has been trying to talk to you."

Tevos frowned and sat back in her chair with crossed arms. Sparatus sighed lifting his datapad off the table and started to read. Mason on the opposite side of Tevos just folded his hands on the desk and waited.

Shepard sighed. "The Council invited him here and the clan. Did he misunderstand?"

"No," Tevos said dryly. "But the invitation and his rowdy arrival has upset the non-Council races. Word leaked about us entertaining the idea of helping with the krogan relay. It's outraged some of the planet system leaders. We've been comm'ed from Thessia, Sur Kesh, Palaven, Dekkuna, Irune. The media even got wind of it. If it makes its way onto the Summit agenda, we'll have protests."

"We're already going to have protests," Shepard said. "Probably the same people planning to protest the relay reconstruction or the Asari-Prothean restitution will be the ones protesting the krogan. They'll just bring an extra sign to wave at the gate."

"This has the ambassadors, species leaders, and the new primarch on edge," Tevos said.

"Let them be on edge. Isn't the Summit about moving the high stakes, controversial issues into the public spotlight? To get the input and discussion from a collection of minds? Forge agreements with everyone finally in the same room for the first, maybe only, time?"

Sparatus fixed her with a frown. "We'd be gridlocked and frustrated, get nothing else done on the day's agenda, and decide nothing."

"The gridlock and frustration will be exponentially worse later when you're trying to involve hundreds of people over messages and vid comm sessions light years and solar systems apart. Because believe it, at some point, this will need figured out. It isn't going away. Ignoring it will make it bigger and more difficult than it already is."

Spartus clunked his datapad down on the table. "We will have years to figure this problem out - how to deal with the krogan, their inevitable expansion, how to quell it, the ethics. Decades to solve this over vid comms and messages, perhaps even have another meeting like this one day."

"Okay," Shepard pushed off from the desk and straightened. "While we have decades to figure out the krogan, as you say, what are they going to have decades to figure out about us? Like I said before, instead of diffusing a bomb, you're throwing fuel around it. You're making a self-fulfilling prophecy."

"And if a decision can't be reached at the Summit?" Mason asked.

"We could spend the entire meeting on just the krogan," Sparatus said.

"So, a decision isn't reached." Shepard shrugged her shoulders up and let them drop. "Is a decision going to be reached on everything listed on that agenda? Of course not, but at least by talking about it, giving them their time, you show you're willing to work with them and see their side."

"Their side," Sparatus snorted. "They're brutes. There's no reasoning with them."

"If you want them to see our side, you have to see their's too. You do that, you've gained something. Maybe there's not a full decision, a full agreement but it's progress nonetheless. Don't insult them like this. Just give them a couple of hours at the Summit. Inviting them, see their side, listen. It won't be a waste. And what can it hurt? A few extra picket signs? A few ambassadors and representatives using the next few days to throw their weight around and gripe? You're the Council, not them."

Sparatus gave a drawn-out sigh. Tevos glanced over at Mason before turning back to Shepard.

"Very well," Tevos said. "I'm not opposed to giving Urdnot Wrex some time at the Summit to speak. Perhaps as Shepard says, this can give us some foundation to build off, subvert mistakes that will cause a repeat of the past."

"Very doubtful," Sparatus grumbled, "but I don't think the drawbacks are great enough to prevent it. Let him talk then."

Mason nodded. "I agree. If Ilk consents, we'll add it to the agenda. The push back will be ugly though."

"Only a few more days," Shepard said backing up. "It's worth it."

"There's Ilk." Tevos turned to a door sliding open in the back of the stage.

"I'll talk to him," Mason assured. "I'll let you know when it's official."

"I'll talk to the new primarch if there's a stable comm," Shepard said. "You say she's concerned?"

Sparatus sat forward with a lurch. "She's an important system leader and very busy."

"She'll talk to me," Shepard said. "I just need heard out."

"That's the most dangerous part." Tevos smiled.

Shepard trotted down the stairs and back through the gate. Most of the audience was already seated. She saw an empty seat in the second row. Some Alliance uniforms stood with frowns letting her pass before she plopped down.

"First order of business," Tevos projected. "The Summit agenda …"

Shepard sighed. Back to the battle of the meetings.

XXX

Shepard tapped her datapad on her tight as she left session. She cut around the hallway corner and bumped up into a solid frame. Strong hands tightened on her arms and pushed her back.

"Aria?" Shepard smirked backing up.

Aria released Shepard's arms with a smirk. A small entourage of mismatched aliens stood behind her. The human to her right was so short, Shepard had to look twice at him. He gave her a wink with a toad-lipped smile.

"Shepard," Aria said.

"What are you doing in the Council Wing?" Shepard asked tearing her eyes away from a vorcha picking his teeth.

"Presenting myself for questioning like a good citizen." Aria put her hands on her hips.

"Questioning for what?" Shepard asked.

"Appears a lot of mercs are showing up under contract with that little terrorist organization you're all hunting."

"Terra Firma?"

"That's the one. Some asari assassin killed out on Jump Zero used to work for the Stilettos. Apparently, anyone hears 'mercenary' and my name is the next thing on the lips.'"

"Stilettos, the assassin – she worked for you, didn't she?"

"Worked, yes. Past tense. At least, you have it right."

"And this?" Shepard waved at her entourage.

Two asari standing behind her stopped whispering and regarded Shepard with raised eyebrows. The vorcha, two humans, and and turien looked glanced around the empty hall.

"The merc leaders I'm still working with," Aria said. "Lots of defectors though. No money, no jobs. What does the council expect?"

Shepard shrugged.

"Read something about your last go-around on the Normandy," Aria said. "The Alliance stuck you with an outdated S-7 shuttle model. Almost killed you."

"Hmm. Couldn't draw me into Council-bashing, now you're changing the flavor to Alliance?"

"Just think you should keep your eyes open."

"Anyway, good luck," Shepard said. "I haven't forgotten our picture at the Summit."

"Watch yourself, Shepard," Aria said.

Aria turned to her gang and inclined her head forward. They fell in around her and moved down the hall. Shepard rolled her eyes and turned the other way.