The elevator was as slow as she remembered. It seemed like a lifetime ago, when she'd first stepped foot onto the citadel with Kaidan and Ashley in tow. Now here she was, in that same elevator but alone, Ashley dead for almost three years and Kaidan fighting for his life at one of the Citadel's top hospitals. She'd wanted to go with him, to be there for Kaidan at least until she knew he was alright but knew she couldn't. The council was her priority, despite how much it tore at her to know that if Kaidan died now he'd do so thinking she hated him. Guilt threatened to swamp her as the image of his face, closed and drawn after she'd rejected him pushed to the forefront of her mind. No matter what else had happened between them he was still her friend. She pushed the feeling aside as the door opened to reveal Liara already there, a worried frown marring her features. Placing a hand on Liara's shoulder she nodded toward the council chamber. It took everything she had to mount those stairs, so much more daunting than they had been the first time she'd walked up them. Back then she'd had faith in the Council, hadn't yet come to realize how little they cared for helping others unless it benefited them. Now, she hoped rather than believed they would extend their aid to the Alliance, to the countless people depending on them for rescue back home who didn't know just how unlikely it was that the council would offer any help.
They didn't disappoint. Shaking her head in disgust she stalked off the platform and made a beeline for the elevator. Scrabbling, cowardly politicians the lot of them; did they really think that any of them would be able to hold their own against the Reapers? She knew they were frightened, trying to ensure their own race's safety but it still rankled that after everything she'd done for them they still doubted her. They still wanted her to jump through hoops on their behalf without offering a single thing in return. She didn't realize until the elevator stopped at the Embassy Suites that she'd left Liara behind. Heaving a sigh she stepped off the lift into chaos.
People were everywhere. Supplicants seeking aid, politicians discussing battle plans, reporters clamoring for statements – it was nearly deafening. The sight of it cooled her ire. Caught up in her thoughts of those left behind she'd forgotten what those who had made it out were dealing with. The councilors might deserve her anger but these people didn't. Straightening her shoulders she pushed through the crowd, doing her best to calm those she passed until she made it through the throng, marching up the stairs toward Udina's office. The best way she could help those people was to forge ahead, to make what peace she could with the other council races until they could strike back. Udina looked up as she entered and she nodded to him. They had battle plans to discuss.