Scott sat as still as he possibly could in the uncomfortable chairs provided around the meeting table. Mainly because if he fidgeted even the slightest he was reminded of the fact that he'd spent most of the morning sitting on something else, so to speak. In short, he was sore, uncomfortable, and bored out of his head. By this point, Tann had been droning for the better part of ten minutes but making very little sense to anyone; something about peace and unity and shows of good will. A quick look around showed that both Kesh and Kandros were with him in at least two thirds of his predicament, which made it marginally better. If nothing else, he felt a bit better at seeing the frustrated twist of Kesh's mouth. The krogan female was quickly becoming one of his all time favourite people, their firm friendship stemming from the fact that they both wanted to do the flamenco on Tann's head. Well, if Kesh knew what the flamenco was. Scott wasn't sure, and he liked his balls where they were too much to ask.

Scott sighed deeply and tried to find a more comfortable position without moving too much, wondering if anyone would mind if he broke his datapad over the salarians head. Acknowledging that it would probably get him thrown in chokey, he settled for glaring daggers at the infuriating bastard. If not for the fact that a lot of people depended on him keeping on Tann's good side, Scott would have happily given a whole year's wages to see him take a merry little stroll out the nearest airlock. If that bitch Addison went with him, Scott would even throw a farewell party or six. Well, he'd have Gil and Peebee throw the parties, but that counted.

"A peace bride is the perfect way of showing that we are as one…" Tann went on and Scott wondered if the salarian was aware that he had said the same thing four times so far. Kandros' mandibles clicked with irritation as he made his second attempt to interrupt, and for the second time failed. The turian hated political meetings, and it was most likely only a matter of time before he lost his temper. Even Kesh had a better hold on herself in this sort of situations.

Finally it seemed as if the director was as tired of hearing his own voice as the rest of them, and he trailed off. In the silence, everyone tried their best not to look at each other. Scott's eyes trailed over to the one empty seat, the one where the asari representative should be sitting, and wished they'd found the arc. But they were still searching, so the calming influence of an asari matriarch was not present at this trying time.

"So" Scott sighed, wanting to get the hell out and back to his ship, "do we have a volunteer, or is some poor girl going to be picked at random?"

"While this is too important to trust in a random female volunteering to be the representative of the Milky Way" Tann said in the usual emotionless way of all salarians except Koll, "a random choice is also not practical. The female needs to be one of high standing, well-connected and able to leave immediately without leaving too big a gap."

Scott looked at the salarian with a sinking feeling inside. Surely he did not mean…

"Therefore the human Sarah Ryder has been offered to the angarans, and they have accepted her as wife to Jaal Ama Darav."

Scott looked down at his datapad, knuckles turning white with the force of his grip. Stars, this was going to be an epic disaster. Especially for Sarah, who was still floating in and out of consciousness. His Sarah, whom he'd promised his mother he'd do anything in the world to protect. For the first time in his life, he found himself unable to do just that.

"You are aware" he said hopelessly, knowing there was nothing he could say to prevent this, "that Sarah is… special?"