A/N: In my continuous attempts to make the Council appear actually somewhat decent and competent, there will be some hopefully interesting changes to the war summit. And if you can guess the plan of Councilor Tevos, you'll get chocolate chip cookies. Bring your own milk, though. :)

Chapter 49 - Synthetics and Politics

Commander Morgan Shepard tosses her head back in the pillows, feeling a powerful shudder running through her body. There is something about the texture of Liara's tongue as it slides against her heated skin, the asari teasingly flicking it against her nipples, enjoying Morgan's gratifying reaction. Her fingers gently slide along Liara's crest, careful enough not to distract her lover from her delightful task.

But suddenly, the Normandy is seized by a fit of shaking, and taken by surprise, Liara's nibbling teeth bite down hard into the tender skin of her breast, forcing Morgan to cry out. At the same time the dimmed lights in her quarters go out completely, leaving them both suspended in the dark.

"I'm so sorry, I did not mean to bite you like that," Liara immediately apologizes, continuing to hold her in the darkness.

"It's not like it was your fault," Morgan manages to reply, trying to recover her breath. "Right now I'm a little more concerned about what the hell is going on with my ship."

The lights suddenly return again, but continue to flicker going on and off. "You should probably go and investigate," Liara suggests.

"Me?" Morgan blinks. "Aww, fuck. I guess I have to, don't I?"

"Yes. The privileges of the commander," Liara replies with a smile.

"You are so very cruel," Morgan grumbles and heavily pulls herself up from the bed, starting to look around for her hastily discarded uniform.

"Oh, stop your sulking," Liara chides, covering her enchantingly nude form with a blanket. "I will be here when you return." She then throws a towel that hits Morgan smack in the face. "Perhaps consider at least cleaning yourself a little, unless you want to make it patently obvious to the crew just what we have been doing..."

"Good point..." Morgan nods with a wicked grin, wiping the perspiration off her brow, not able to do much about her sticky hair, just pulling it back in her customary ponytail. "Hopefully it's nothing serious," she adds, leaving her quarters, then shouting in the comms as she waits for the elevator. "Joker! What the hell is going on?"

"Commander?" Joker sounds distraught over the comms. "Something is wrong with EDI. She's been going offline and coming back on..."

"Oh, I'm glad it's nothing serious... wait, what?" Shepard blinks. "Some kind of Cerberus virus or something?"

"Look, I don't know, okay? She's not responding and I can't access the AI core diagnostics," Joker replies, more terse than usual. "Commander, please check out the crew deck."

"Right," Shepard says, heading towards the medbay and the AI core room at the back of it. Dr. Chakwas has taken a few hours off to rest and the medbay is empty as Shepard walks up to the doors leading into the AI core, hearing a strange sound from the other side of the doors. "Any idea what's going on in there, Joker?" she asks over the comms.

"Fire extinguishers just kicked in, Commander," Joker replies. "Could be an electrical fire or something. It should be safe to enter."

"Uh-huh," Shepard replies, readying her pistol just in case. The AI core is filled with smoke and for a while, she can't make anything out inside the small chamber. As she carefully steps inside, suddenly all the systems and consoles around her appear to be powering back up.

"Alright, I don't know what you did Shepard, but EDI's back with us," Joker sounds relieved over the comms.

"Wait, I'm not sure it's her..." Shepard warns him, seeing a familiar silvery shape striding towards her through the screen of smoke. "It's Dr. Eva! She's taken control over EDI!" she exclaims, unloading one shot after another at the Cerberus synthetic. Why haven't we spaced this piece of junk anyway?

"Please, Commander, could I possibly request you to refrain from trying to destroy my new platform," the shape of Dr. Eva for some reason addresses her in EDI's voice. "I assure you that I pose no danger to the crew."

"What the..." Shepard blinks, reflexively pressing the trigger one more time, before stashing the pistol away. "Uh, sorry, instinct. Err, EDI... I'm sorry, but what the fuck are you doing in Dr. Eva's body?"

"When we brought this unit onboard, I began a background process to search for the information on the Prothean device," EDI starts to explain. "This eventually triggered a trap, a backup power source and a CPU activated, and the unit attempted a physical confrontation."

"But you kicked its ass, right?" Shepard asks.

"Correct, if crude. Fortunately, I was able to gain root access and repurpose it as I saw fit. During the process, the Cerberus unit struggled, thus causing the blackouts and the fire."

"Well, I'm glad it wasn't anything serious!" Shepard exclaims, shaking her head. "Or at least, nothing that required a warning in advance! Just saying."

"Bringing the crew up to speed would have been counterproductive," EDI simply explains. "All your attempts to help would have been limited by reaction time."

"Nice roundabout way to call all us organics slow," Shepard grumbles. "Great, so now not only you are far more intelligent than any of the crew, you also have a vastly enhanced rack. Looks like it's time for us all to hail our new synthetic overlord!"

"You are overreacting, Commander," EDI tells her. "I still exist primarily within the ship. For optimal control, this unit should not leave Normandy's broadcast or tightbeam range."

"If you're planning to take this body somewhere, you might want to first do some repairs," Shepard says, a little apologetically, the left side of EDI's new face and her upper chest and neck carrying nasty marks and dents. "Sorry about that."

"It is nothing that the auto repairs of this platform could not fix," EDI replies. "But to answer your question, yes, this platform could provide limited-fire ground support."

"You mean, you could accompany us on missions?" Shepard asks, feeling a little as if she's stuck in some sort of strange Hallex-induced dream. EDI does not seem perturbed and simply nods in reply. "Well... that's possibly... interesting. I have seen your capabilities when you operate within the ship and to have that sort of aid during ground missions... well, I'll have to seriously think about it. And I will want you to run some kind of tests to make sure this body doesn't hold any more nasty surprises."

EDI stands like frozen for ten seconds at most. "The test results have been forwarded to your personal terminal," she says. Shepard blinks in reply. "Now, if there are no additional concerns, I should attend to restoring full functionality to the Normandy to assure the crew that everything is back to normal."

"Maybe warn James in advance, he might react even more violently to seeing you," Morgan suggests.

"That is an excellent suggestion, Commander," EDI nods. "I should take this platform to the bridge and present it to Jeff."

"Somehow that sounded dirty," Shepard mutters under her breath as EDI turns around to leave the AI core, synthetic hips swaying in a mesmerizing rhythm. "Hey, Joker?" she calls out on the comms a bit later. "You've got a surprise heading your way."

"Oh? Do tell, Commander!" Joker replies.

"If I were you, I would start baking a cake," Shepard merely chuckles, switching the comms off and heading back to her quarters, softly shaking her head.

Liara is snoozing on the bed when Shepard enters her quarters, but she wakes up instantly to face her with inquisitive stare. "What was the problem?" she asks.

"Oh, nothing really," Shepard shrugs, starting to pull off her uniform. "EDI installed herself in Dr. Eva's body, and we now have a sexy fembot running around our ship... as if it wasn't crazy enough before this. But anyway..." she says, grinning at Liara as she undoes the buckle of her belt. "Where were we..."

"Seriously, Morgan," Liara says chidingly, getting out of the bed and starting to dress herself. "How can you even think about sex when something as exciting as this happens? I must go and speak to EDI at once!"

"What the..." Morgan is staring after her lover as Liara storms off hastily, her mouth hanging wide open. "I don't fucking believe this..." she groans, falling face first down on her bed.

Wrex's answer awaits her when Shepard checks her private terminal the next morning.

hi shepard

good to hear your alive and kicking. knew you would show up when the reapers come calling. we see some scouts on tuchanka but only disappointingly light action.

this summit couldnt have come at a better time shepard. i know exactly what to ask from the council haha. cant wait to make them sweat.

shepard just give me place and time for this summit and ill be there. or send a transport for me, your choice

urdnot wrex

"Well, at least I can understand what he means," Shepard chuckles at herself having read the message, sitting at the computer screen in Liara's XO office, her asari lover busy browsing through the data feeds over the last eight hours. "His spelling is actually pretty remarkable for krogan." Liara just smiles, but doesn't say anything.

"Right, I'll bring this to Victus and tell him to get in touch with the salarians and the asari to inform them about the krogan presence at the summit," she then says. "I can only imagine the reaction."

"As long as they don't pull out, they can be as upset as they want to be," Liara shrugs.

"What do you think the matriarchs will do?" Shepard says, continuing to browse through her messages.

"I'm not sure, Morgan," Liara admits. "I can see them staying on the sidelines just to remain on good terms with the salarians."

"That's the kind of stupid brown-nosing that your people can't afford, Liara," Shepard sighs, shaking her head. "Anyway, I guess we'll see." She reads a few more messages before speaking up again. "Hmm, as long as we're back in Council space and waiting for the summit details to be finalized, we might as well stop by the Citadel. I've got a whole host of people who want to meet up with me."

"Oh?" Liara appears curious. "I do agree with going to the Citadel, though."

"Yeah, a fellow Spectre is requesting assistance," Shepard says. "Also, my old friend Thane Krios wants to meet up. Gods, he can't have a lot of mileage left..."

"The drell assassin?" Liara asks, Shepard nodding in reply.

"Also... Aria T'Loak, of all people? On the Citadel?" Shepard blinks.

"Aria is looking for you? Most interesting," Liara idly scratches her chin. "Oh, I imagine you have not heard, but Cerberus kicked her off Omega. My sources say she's now cooped up on the Citadel, seething and planning her revenge."

"Poor, poor Aria," Shepard chuckles. "Still, she hates Tim and his merry band, that makes her a reluctant ally, so I should probably not make her wait. Also... Kaidan is doing better. He writes that Udina has extended him an invitation to join the Spectres."

"That's good, isn't it?" Liara smiles.

"Yeah... I suppose. Don't know, really. I mean, if Udina ever offered me a slice of cake, I probably wouldn't eat it, fearing it might be full of arsenic," Shepard chuckles grimly. "At least Kaidan is doing better health-wise."

"You will visit him at the hospital, of course," Liara says matter-of-factly.

"I really should, shouldn't I?" Shepard sighs. Liara fixes her with an inquiring gaze. "It's just... I don't know, we talk and we talk, and our relationship isn't getting any better, quite the opposite, I just get frustrated because I can't convince him and he just can't bring himself to trust me again."

"I know. Watching you drift apart saddens me greatly," Liara admits.

"Well, I'll give it another try, I promise," Shepard rises, walking over to Liara and planting a kiss on her brow. "I'll go talk to Victus now, tell him the news. Time to get this summit on the road."

"Commander Shepard," Victus seeks her out again a few hours later, finding Morgan mindlessly picking apart and cleaning her rifle, more out of habit than necessity. "I have news. The salarians are very upset, but they will still be joining us. Dalatrass Linron will be in attendance."

"Dalatrass Linron, huh? Never heard of her," Shepard shrugs. "She's the head lizard of the Union, I take it."

"...yes, though I would not say that to her in person," Victus says, unreadable expression on his face. "Or else, I might not be the one who ends up pissing off everyone at the summit. Mind you, it would be a nice change, Commander."

Shepard laughs. "I think I can manage a little more restraint when necessary, Primarch," she grins. "But what about the asari?"

"Yes, the asari... I have not heard from them yet, but there's a call waiting for you from the asari Councilor," Victus explains. "It might be wise not to make her wait."

"Right, I'll go talk to Tevos," Shepard puts the rifle away and heads to the elevator. "Hopefully she'll be reasonable..."

Councilor Tevos looks uncharacteristically agitated when her figure appears before Shepard on vid screen. "Commander, I understand that you have decided to bring krogan to our war summit," she says hastily. "I question the wisdom of this. We have already been down this road when the rachni invaded."

"The turian Primarch thinks that we need krogan to win this war. I agree with him. Madame Councilor, I would take the word of those who have seen the brutality of this war up close and personal over those whose worlds have not yet been touched," Shepard replies a little tersely.

"Perhaps, but at the cost of alienating our oldest allies?" Tevos shakes her head. "I have tried to smoothen things with the salarian dalatrass. To say that she is upset would be a monumental understatement."

"And yet, the salarians have confirmed their participation despite being so angry?" Shepard wonders a little. "Oh, I understand, your matriarchs think that the salarians would take further offense if you show up. Gods, with the Reapers at our doorstep, where do you people find time to play politics?"

"I have informed you of our position, Commander," Tevos says, sounding a little frustrated. "If you have nothing else constructive to add, I wish you good luck and bid you farew-"

"Hold it, Councilor," Shepard says quickly. "I can't believe you don't see the short-sightedness of this decision. You're a smart woman, Councilor Tevos. You don't like this decision, I can see that you don't."

Tevos is wringing her hands a little nervously. "The matriarchs are almost unanimous on this matter. If I would ignore their wishes in this and decided to attend the summit... it would be a political suicide." She shakes her head, her purple skin growing pale to almost match the beautiful white markings on her face.

"Tevos, I did not save the Destiny's Ascension to watch you doom your own people with this spineless indecision!" Shepard says angrily. "Don't make me regret that call! I can't let you lead Liara's people to extinction! I won't!"

Tevos faces her with a fiery stare. "And do you think I want that?" her usually calm and level voice rises in volume noticeably. "It must seem so easy to you, Commander. For you, the rachni invasions and the Krogan Rebellions are just a distant tale of the past, but for our people, our life spans... those tragic mistakes are still vivid in our memories. Turning to the krogan almost doomed the galaxy once already!"

"The krogan are nothing compared to the Reapers, Tevos. You know that. Come on, Councilor," Shepard stares at her hard. "Do the right thing. Soon enough, the Reapers will be encroaching on your worlds and all these matriarchs will be scrambling to save their own skins, they will have no time to deal with your defiance!"

"You truly believe that, don't you, Commander?" Tevos asks quietly. Shepard nods in reply. "Damned if do, damned if I don't..." the asari speaks numbly.

"You said that the matriarchs were almost unanimous in this decision... that means that some did oppose it," Shepard says. "Madame Councilor, if you do not wish to attend yourself, get me one of those matriarchs who disagreed."

Tevos quickly looks at Shepard, an idea forming in her eyes. "I... may have someone," she finally admits. "She does not have the largest political pull back home these days, though that does not mean she is completely powerless. And there is a way for me to explain her presence on the Normandy without making this entire move a political disaster..."

"Now I have no idea what you mean by that, Councilor," Shepard says.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Commander," Tevos is actually smiling now, making Shepard a little worried. "You are returning to the Citadel, yes?" Shepard nods. "In that case, Shepard, you will have your asari representative onboard of the Normandy within two days. With that, I wish you the best of luck, Commander. Goodbye."

"Err... goodbye, Madame Councilor..." Shepard says, as the image of Tevos slowly fades. "Gods, now I'm suddenly feeling worried about the whole thing..."