Enjoy
It was times like these that Anderson really was thankful that his colleagues despite doing the exact opposite of keeping level heads, they were still able to keep their voices calm and controlled. It didn't go unnoticed why they were here in the small meeting room where the council often had the private discussions that needed to be done in person but not so grand enough that they would need the main chamber in the Presidium tower.
Or why they were all facing him to some degree.
It was the first time in the last couple of weeks that they had a meeting together and this didn't have much to do with Superman, if anything at all. Those last couple of meetings really did give him a headache, the main reason being was that he had to map out all the plans in his head in order to keep names clean from records, namely the ones of the Normandy-SR2. Who were last seen publicly, killing one of the councils most revered Spectres in board daylight and seen by many people with cameras.
Then of course Superman showing up and telling all of them to leave before leaving himself didn't help things at all. The new ran with it as they always do and it was more than just a scandal, the council had to act because of course they did. One of their Spectres were dead and for a time there was seemingly no reason as to why. It wasn't until later that Anderson received a report from Admiral Hackett that came from Williams who is still aboard the Normandy, it stated quite clearly and with a lot of evidence that Tela Vasir worked as an agent for the Shadow Broker.
Naturally he brought this to the council and they argued same way they always did, it went on for a few hours but as they started to go over the data and evidence even Tevos had a hard time denying it. Eventually it was decided that for the sake of publicity, that while they would rescind the warrants and criminal charges on those who took her down, they wouldn't give a reason as to why those charges where quietly dropped. For that seems to have done the trick and there has been no media attention about it which means that so far, no-one's caught onto it yet.
Though when one headache goes, another arrives as he started to learn in this line of work.
When he entered the meeting room, he was surprised to find that all the others where there waiting for him. Not a good sign he was quick to notice, nor was the silence as he moved around the table and sat in his designated chair. He knew what they were going to tell him, what they were going to say to him. He may not have been the first choice for councillor by the Alliance but he wasn't stupid enough to not know what this was about.
The reports came in not even an hour ago, the UN had given the Alliance clearance and extra funding to begin into the military. Namely it was ships. Which of course went against a very important treaty within Citadel space and it was something that humanity agreed to when it wanted to be an apart of this governing body. One hour ago he found out about this and now he was being summoned to a meeting in order to explain it.
"It is completely ignoring not only the standard rules and guidelines of the treaty but the very idea of it" Sparatus spoke as he looked at Anderson "that treaty was put into place to maintain some semblance of order"
It took a great deal of self-control for Anderson in order to not laugh of smile at that blatant lie "if we allow one to break the treaty then we allow everyone else to do it as well" Valern added as he looked down to the small computer screen in front of him "with orders and requestions of these sizes, it would seem that you wish to grow your military to be the largest in just a few short years. I don't even want to think about where you are going to get the money to build so many large ships"
"Do I even want to ask where you got that report?" he said back calmly, everyone here already knowing the answer.
"The STG are always watching" Valern spoke calmly, not even bothering to hide the fact that the Salarian spy network does its job very well and illegally.
"I take it they didn't give you the reason as to why they would do that?" Tevos spoke for the first time the meeting started, it was something the others noticed. She was being much more withdrawn than usual. She turned her head before the councillor could answer back and looked right at Anderson.
He knew what she was doing, it was giving him a moment to explain the actions that were taken by the species he was representing. He gave the Asari councillor a nod before he turned to face the others "a few hours before the vote to ignore the Treaty of Farixen. Admiral Hackett received a report from Lieutenant Williams who as you all know, is onboard the Normandy-SR2. The report started that at a given set of coordinates that upon arriving at the location. We found this" he pressed a few more keys next to the screen in front of him and in the middle of the table. A holographic image of a derelict Reaper was found, heavily damaged and lifeless.
Upon seeing that, there was a multitude of reaction. Sparatus let out a loud, dramatic sigh and leaned back in his chair with his arms crossed. Valern narrowed his eyes as he looked at the image of the machine and Tevo's crossed her arms and leaned back, placing her hand to her head as if it were her turn to try and avoid a headache "I do not want to have this conversation again" she stressed.
"None of us do" Valern added as he looked to the human councillor "While I would like to know more about this machine and where it was located, I do not want to hear about yet another claim of Reapers. There was no evidence that could prove they are real, with all due respect to the late Commander Shepard. None of us want to deal with those claims anymore" he said in a strong and unmoving tone.
Normally Anderson would have felt amused at the normally calm collected Salarian. Out of all present, he was normally the most... 'ok arguments are done? Can we get back to it?' sort of guy but to hear him have such an attitude was a rare sight, at least for him
"fine" Anderson said with a shake of his head, along with a heavy sigh "don't talk" he stood up and looked at the three of them "just listen and I know you don't want to" he turned to Sparatus just was in the middle of rolling his eyes "if only to hear my final words as councillor of the Alliance" well, that certainly got their attention now as each one of them all turned slightly in their chairs to look at him "I won't tell you something you don't want to hear again, I'll start with the other stuff" he started as he placed both his hands on either side of the small screen on the table and leaned forward "that Reaper was reported to the Alliance from Lieutenant Williams who is alongside Superman, he decided that we should have the coordinates for the Reaper derelict. When the fleet arrived, the first thing they did was carbon date it" he pressed a couple of buttons and allowed the data to be shared.
"This predates the Geth by millions of years, I know" he raised his hand towards Valern "I know, it's a machine. Carbon dating is difficult, I get it. The point being that what Shepard said, what his crew said, what Superman is saying and what we can see ourselves is enough for us. So, humanity is now entering a state of battle readiness and we are buffing up our military. Are we going against the Treaty of Farixen? Yes, we are and we know we are. We don't care because in our eyes, we are facing complete extinction"
"And you are aware of all that is going to come down on you for this" Sparatus said back calmly "the tensions between peoples, the political turmoil of a member of the council leaving their post, the trade sanctions that are going to come on the Alliance as a form of protest to stop you doing it" he listed all of the things that Anderson knew would end up bringing untold misery unto humanity if the Reapers really did turn out to be nothing more than a hox. But that was the gambit wasn't it?
"We are" he nodded back "but this is happening and we're not as alone as you may think" he pressed another button and the image of the Reaper got smaller along with the Alliance fleet, it did that in order to show many different contacts appearing in the distance "it would seem that the Quarian's have had a recent encounter with Superman as well. Last I heard, they were in the process of talking with the U.N, trying to form the foundations for a military alliance"
"What!" Tevos snapped this time as she almost stood up from her chair, her own nerves beginning to show "you want to join forces with criminals of Citadel Space?" she asked him, crossing her arms "forget the sanctions, you are going to alienate your entire species for doing that"
Anderson however did not back down from the scornful tone "based on what I've been told, in exchange for housing their civilians. The Quarian's are willing to provide us with their complete support in whatever may come are way"
A red light started to flash from the ceiling light. Followed by a very loud alarm.
The arguments stopped the moment it happened, and they all paused for a moment to wonder about what just happened, the doors to the meeting room burst open and a squad of the councils Spectres marched in with their weapons ready "Councilors! We are taking you to the emergency bunker immediately!" the lead Turrian said as they round the table and grabbed each of their arms, gently but also firmly pulling them away from the table.
"What is going on!" Sparatus asked as they all moved out of the room and down the corridor, which all of them could now see was not empty but full of armed guards.
"A ship appeared, it's massive, disabled the entire defence fleet and is advancing towards us" they were told as they all entered an elevator.
"What!" Anderson said as he looked forward to the guard who waited in front of the elevator door as it closed in front of them and they began to move "Why has the station not been sealed?"
"Because we can't close it" he was told as the Turian looked over his shoulder and opened up his Omni-tool. All the councillor's present looked at the message they were just sent and they had nothing but silence "we tried closing the arms and sealing the station, but that ship is using its own bulk to stop it from happening" the images matched what they were told exactly right.
Anderson looked down to what seemed to be a 3D image of the Citadel station and whatever was attacking them. It really was huge, the only human present had never seen anything like it before. The ship was only a little smaller than the Citadel itself, he didn't want to think about the weapons that it had onboard but the very tip of the ship, seemed to be jamming itself in place where the outer arms of the Citadel would close, preventing the station from securing itself "We need to make the call for reinforcements" Valern spoke as the doors opened and the council was met with another long corridor that was full of armed gauds, at the end of it all was a heavily armoured door that they would stay in.
"The call's been made" the lead Spectre spoke as the council all started to walk forward "the Asari fifth fleet and the Turian second fleet are the closet and on their..." everyone present almost fell to the ground as a loud rumbling echoed throughout the area, it was almost like an Earthquake "EVERYONE MOVE!" the Spectre shouted as they all ran for the door. The shaking getting heavier and heavier. It was only when they reached the halfway point of the corridor that the cause for it showed itself. Just in front of the door the armoured door, the ceiling caved in and a large hole was left in its wake.
Dust, water from piping and dangling wires still sparking covered their view, though one feature that did stand out to them was the shadowy silhouette of a person. Everyone present aimed their weapons at it, none of them dared make the first shot but there was no doubt that they were all ready for what may happen, the Spectres where the best for a reason after all.
The shadow moved out of the smoke and the first thing they could notice was that as it got closer, it didn't move. There was no sign of legs walking or arms swaying. It just moved, it wasn't until the smoke faded away and they could see the cause for it all.
A collected breath came from all present as the form of Superman floated towards them, he wore dark jeans, boots, a black shirt and a long black trench coat. Though they all looked at his face and saw the red eyes staring at them "It's time to talk"
Earlier that day
Clark leaned back in the chair as he looked out of the front window 'wormhole technology really is something else' he couldn't help but think to himself, the view in front of him was a lot different than others would think. It wasn't just a blackness full of a couple of white spots. It was more like the a round tunnel but instead of smooth walls all around you, it was a mirage of different colours that moved in waves like the surface of an ocean. His head was still connected to the ships neural port so he could... see for lack of a better word what everyone was doing and it was about what he expected. Miranda had left the vault and was now in one of the labs of the ship, she was also joined with Mordin and the two had continued to work on the sample of his blood.
It was amusing to see someone like Miranda attempt to work on a problem that she was getting very little from. It was like she was slowly drowning in information she didn't know what to do with, he suspected that this would mainly be due to her trying to not think about the offer he made her. He knew it was a shitty thing to do but this was him thinking about himself, he couldn't fall in love with someone only to see them die in a few decades when he would live a hell of a lot longer.
The thing was though, he already knew exactly what she was going to say, he knew her quite well at this point and he studied her body language in all the situations she's been in just like he did with everyone else. She would take some time to think about it, no doubt speak to her sister but she would say yes. Miranda had this drive in her to be perfect, yes she should learn that she doesn't need to be but when it comes to something like this, she wouldn't say no to this chance. To become smarter, faster, stronger and to travel with him. Across all of space, to every species that could be uncovered, all the wonders of the universe and everything beyond that. Her very nature wouldn't allow her to pass up that opportunity.
He was deep in that train of thought which almost caused him to not the doors to the bridge open and two figures walk towards him. He asked that Thane and Garrus make their way here so that they could talk about certain things, they walked slowly as they looked down off the main bridge and towards all the consoles bellow that where many Marauders worked.
The two slowly started to make their way around the command chair and their eyes widened, Clark couldn't really blame them there. He could admit that he looked like a type of Super villain sitting on his throne but he didn't really get a say in the design. The chair had to be that big in order to fit all the machinery after all "hey guys" Clark smiled as he disconnected the neural link from his head and stood up, walking down the small flight of steps to stand near the other two.
"Hey Clark" Garrus said as he nodded at him, trying to not stare at the command chair, though he wasn't doing a very good job at that. Thane was much better though even he couldn't do much to hide from Clark's eyes.
"Oh, don't worry about that" he said gesturing to the chair behind him "It's not just for show, the chairs so big because there's a lot of machinery in there and this was all I could get away with, it used to be way bigger" he explained.
"And the crown?" Thane asked with his hands pressed behind his back.
He rolled his eyes at that "it's not a crown" he denied even though deep down he could very easily see the similarities between them "it's a neural link, it allows me to interface directly with the ship"
"Wait" Garrus said as he held up a hand causing Clark to pause "are you telling me you can control this ship with your mind?" he asked as he place as he leaned back slightly and placed a hand on his hip.
Clark raised his hand and did a 'So-So' gesture as he waved it sideways "in a manner of speaking" he added "anyway, I wanted to talk to you guys" he continued ignoring the looks they gave each other upon hearing that new "listen, you've both come to me to ask for help regarding a personal matter. Both of which require us going to the Citadel" they shared another glance with each other as they heard this, no doubt that were not aware the other asked for help "the problem with that is I don't think I can help you, not really. I'm too high profile to be wondering around the Citadel and not drawing attention to myself. But the good news" he added before either one could try and complain "is that I think you can help each other, instead"
"How do you mean?" Thane asked in his usual calm voice but it was clear there was an edge to it. Not that Clark was surprised by that, after all his mission was to save his son, something that he could understand was very important.
Clark didn't answer, he instead looked towards Garrus and gave him a nod while gesturing to Thane. A not so subtle 'tell him' look added in for good effect "Thane, you know that I ran a team on Omaga right?" he asked the Drell.
The two turned to face each other while Clark looked on calmly "I was aware" was all he said back.
"Well, the team I had was betrayed. One of our own gave up the identities and locations of all the others including me. Then he ran" the heat in Garrus's voice was easy to hear "I was able to find out that he used a well-known networker to get himself a fake identity. I was planning to go to him, his names Fade. I was going to go to him and make Sidonis reappear, just long enough for one shot" he explained the plan to the two of them and Clark turned to Thane.
"I know that you said you were done with your line of work" he started "but you also said that you wanted to right some wrongs as well. Do you think this is something you may be able to do?" he asked.
The Drell was quite for a moment as he thought about what he was asked, in truth Clark could see him going either way on an answer. Thane stated that he was done taking lives, that he was tired of the blood but what would it mean to him to avenge someone? "I can't" he said with a sorrowful look towards Garrus "I am sorry that you where betrayed but I cannot take another life for something like vengeance"
Before Garrus could say anything else, try to convince him to change his mind or even say that he'll do it himself, Clark spoke up "But what if you did it for a reason, like helping your son"
They both looked at him as he spoke "What do you mean?" he asked him.
Much like before Clark gave the Drell a knowing look and then nodded to Garrus making the same move that he made before. Seeing what he was doing and knowing that the Turian did the same not even a minute before, Thane turned back to Garrus and spoke "my son is on the Citadel at the moment, from what I've been told he's trying to follow in my footsteps, something I do not want for him, something I've never wanted for him" he looked down and let out a sigh "I wanted to find him and try to convince him that this isn't what I or his mother would have wanted"
"And Garrus" Clark said "I think it would be common in your line of work for C-sec that you've dealt with a lot of kids that just made a stupid mistake" it wasn't really a question and he knew that.
He crossed his arms and let out a sigh "that was my typical day, there was a kid like that four times a week" he admitted, before he looked away from Thane and to him "Oh I get it"
It seems Thane had the same thought "Garrus would like someone dead and I need someone to convince my son there's another way"
"I could do it" Garrus said before Clark could get the chance to speak "I've delt with a lot of kids that don't know what they're doing or think this is what they wanted, happens every day"
Thane looked at him before letting out a sigh "it wouldn't be too difficult to use my old contacts to find this Fade" he looked down to the ground, seemingly having a small battle within himself for what he should do. This went on for a good few seconds before he looked to Garrus "if you can promise me that you will help me son, I will do what I can to find justice for your fallen comrades"
The Turian slowly nodded before he reached out with his hand, Thane looked at it for a moment before he shook it. The agreement made. Clark smiled at the two before he turned and made his way back to the chair "Kelex, could you tell everyone to make their way here for me" he spoke allowed as the neural link was lowered onto his head.
"Of course sir" the A.I said back.
"Woah!" the voice of Joker sounded behind the chair as he and the approached. He wasn't the first to arrive, but he was the most vocal about it all. He rounded the chair and stood next to Jacob who stood still looking out the window "please, I will never ask anything of you again. Ever" he said almost looking like he was about to get on his knees and beg.
Clark gave him a humourful thin-lipped smile before nodding "Sorry Joker" he said "but it would take a while for you to learn the controls and you can't use this" he reached up and tapped the neural link "cause it would fry your brain" he added.
The pilot looked like he just got kicked in the balls while at the same time told that someone had killed his dog "you... the biggest tease in history" was all he said before he turned around and sat on the steps of the command chair, settling for looking out front window instead. Though the sniffing was loud enough for everyone to hear.
"Sorry pal" was all Clark offered and before he could ask anything else. Someone interrupted him.
"So, why are we going to the Citadel again. I thought you didn't want anything to do with them" Ashley spoke as she leaned off the edge of the bridge slightly and eyed the Marauders down below "not that I blame you" she added.
"Garrus and Thane asked for a favour and I thought I would kill two birds with one stone" he answered.
"Wait" Jacob turned around "what's the second bird?" he asked.
"The council can finally have the face to face with me that they don't want" he answered as the others listened to the door to the bridge opening and footsteps echoed throughout the room.
"They don't want to talk to you?" Tali asked as she leaned on one of the console to the right, crossing her arms as she did "they summoned you there, I think that was pretty clear that they wanted to talk"
Clark opened his mouth to speak but was stopped as another voice beat him to it "they summoned him but he's the last person the council actually wants a face to face with" Miranda said as she and Mordin moved around the chair and stood in front of it as well. The good doctor immediately went a little bit further forward, as close as he could get to the window and raised his Omni-tool, no doubt taking a video so he could look at it all closer later.
Miranda herself stopped at the base of the steps and turned to look at Tali "What do you mean?" Ashley said turning back around to look at her "why wouldn't they want to speak to him?"
"Because he doesn't fear them" Samara was the one to speak next from her spot beside Garrus "because Clark is the only person who is capable of doing whatever he wants and they know that. They know that no matter what they demand or threaten, there is nothing they can do to make him or stop him from doing something. They summoned him publicly because they were sure he would never turn up" it would make sense that out of everyone here, Samara would know the most when it comes to the political plays by the council, being the oldest person here by a lot "he's someone who can put them in their place and not fear the repercussions"
"Is that what you're going to do?" Kasumi asked as she decloaked herself, standing right next to Clark, leaning forward on the armrest "put them in their place. Also, I don't know what type of animals you have here but I really want one"
It was no surprise to him that she was there as he could see and hear her move there, despite the cloaking but that didn't stop the smallest smirk as he saw Miranda's frown at her being so close to him "Normally no but Garrus and Thane need a distraction and I can't think of a better one then this. And like I said, at least this way I can tell the council straight up what's coming for them and they can give their government heads an idea about what I'm going to show them" he informed before he closed his eyes for a moment and turned his head back forward "We're here" he said as the wormhole tunnel begin to open and real space started to come back into view.
"Citadel Control. This is the Destiny Ascension. We're getting some weird gravitational anomalies from grid sector Omega 473. Can you confirm?" asked the captain of the flag ship of the Citadel defence fleet.
"Stand by Ascension?" a voice from the other end of the line spoke "yeah, we're getting the readings too. Leading cause might be the remnants of a large solar flare that happened nearby. We advise you to send a probe to get a better idea of what we're dealing with" the voice said.
"Understood, sending probe now" she said back as the line went dead and sat back down in her chair looking out the front window of the Ascension. She turned her head and looked down the to collection of switches that were placed on the arm rests. Pressing a couple of buttons, she launched the probe and waited.
Several minutes past as she starred at the screen that appeared on the central window of the bridge, it showed a live camera feed. It didn't show anything she hasn't seen a thousand times before. Just shots of the Nebula that the Citadel was rested in "Ma'am, the probes in position but we're not getting anything from it" one of her subordinates said from her station "must have been a glitch"
"We have the best scanning equipment the Citadel have to offer, we don't get glitches" she countered.
She was just about to open her mouth and order another scan but was stopped when she was interrupted "what is that?" a voice from her left called, turned her head to see that the one who spoke was starring forward.
Along with everyone else on that side of bridge.
Turning forward herself, the captain of the flagship looked at the image the probe was give them. Her mouth dropped and her heart skipped a beat. The feed showed a large amount of electrical discharge, it was almost like a lightning storm in space which in itself was an amazing thing. But what really struck the fear into her was when a large blackness started to open up, for a split second she thought that a Black hole suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
That was when she saw it, a sliver of silver. Her eyes went to all the readings on the right of the screen and she could see that whatever that thing was, wormhole or portal. It was huge. So, what was coming out of it must be just as big.
And it was, it took her a moment to register what it was exactly but as it kept coming out and getting bigger it was made clear. It was a ship. And it terrified her. It was only when it came through in its entirety that she found her voice again "SOUND GENERAL ALARM! BRING US AROUND!" she shouted at the top of her lungs which seemed to snap everyone on the bridge out of their shocked state and the room turned into a song of loud voices, a bright red light started to flash along with a loud siren that echoed throughout the ship. The captain held the radio button down and transmitted the signal to everyone, the defence fleet and the Citadel itself "DESTINY ASCENSION TO ALL HANDS! BATTLE STATIONS! THIS IS NOT DRILL!" she shouted as he used her decades of experience leading this ship.
"Ma'am, all ships are scrambling!"
"All ships, form defensive position Alpha Zulu. Citadel control, seal the station!" she immediately ordered everyone around and once again looking out the front window as the Ascension came around and now faced this monster. When it did and she could see it with her own eyes, she made a silent prayer to the goddess hoping that whatever death they face it would be quick.
"Ships are moving into position ma'am the station is beginning to close. The unknown is moving and will reach the station in thirty seconds" she was told.
"Start a radio broadcast directed right at that thing" she ordered to no-one in pedicular.
"We're live" a voice sounded from behind her.
"Unidentified vessel, you are breaching the borders of Citadel space without authorization. Halt your advance and turn off your engines or we will be forced to assume you are a hostile force" her tone was as strong as she could make it even though she was feeling more dread than she ever has before. The ships just kept getting bigger and bigger, until it started to blot out the stars around it.
"Ma'am, the fleet is ready" a voice sounded.
She took one final deep breath before speaking "All ships! Fire at will!" she shouted. She could feel the ground beneath her rumble as the primary weapon of Ascension fired as well as all the other ships around it. It was beautiful in its own way, if you take out the destruction of it all then all the rounds that were fired looked like metros gently flying through space. But that didn't last much longer as before she could even order another volley. The rounds from over a hundred of the best ships that the council had to offer smacked against the front of the ship, much like she had dreaded. They didn't even reach it. She looked closely as a hexagon like pattern appeared around the area that the attacks would have struck 'of course it has shields' she thought to herself bitterly "Scramble all figh..." she was ordering but stopped when a bright light caused her to raise her hand in order to stop it from blinding her.
It only last a second before a shaded screen went over the front window so she and everyone else could look at it more clearly. It was a laser, a bright, thick laser that came from that ship pointed right at her own. With a shaking breath, she walked forward and could see that it was not the only one. A bright green beam of light was pointing at over single ship in the defence fleet, all coming from the same singular point on the enemy vessel. Despite the alarm, despite the panic, no one said a word, the only thing that could be seen was fear.
Then she saw the electrical charge come from a small point just above where the lasers were coming from. She was no idiot, she has been serving in the navy for nearly four hundred years, she knows that size matters when it comes to war. She saw the stats when the ship first appeared for a brief moment and saw how big it was. It was only slightly smaller than the Citadel itself and if that was the case, the weapons would be proportionate to that. Then it didn't matter how powerful the Accension was compared to everything around it, there may be a change the cannons on that thing could be huge and it would wipe them out.
Knowing this, she did the only thing she could knowing what was coming. She turned around "ALL HANDS! ABANDON SHI..." that was as far as she got before the large jolt threw her from her feet. She could hear the panic from those around her and didn't know what to do for a moment as she lay on the ground dazed for a moment.
"Ma'am! all systems are down or failing!"
"Sensor data is lost!
"We've lost complete control"
She found herself up to her feet and looked around, all the consoles and screens where buzzing. Eletrical discharge was sparking everywhere and she had no idea what happened "are the radio's working?" she asked aloud.
"No ma'am. We're dead in the water"
She closed her eyes and limped to the window, hoping that there would be something she could do but there was nothing "did the Citadel close?" she asked. The large ship was still going forward, moving past them without a though.
"We don't know" another voice called.
She let out a sigh through gritted teeth "you" she pointed to one of her subreddits standing over a console "head down to engineering, find out what happened" she ordered.
"Yes ma'am" she said before she ran off.
Present Time: Citadel Council chamber
'Was that really necessary' he could practically hear Miranda's words as he stood calmly in front of the council. He couldn't blame her for asking at the very least, he could understand where she was coming from but she was wrong in this case. Appearing out of nowhere, disabling the entire Citadel defence fleet without killing anyone, using Genesis's own girth in order to prevent the Citadel from closing without so much as a scratch on the paint. To make matters worse for everyone else he saw made five small, calculated attacks on each of the Citadel arms, nothing that would do damage of course but it was enough to break the holographic projectors on top of each arm. Meaning that lovely projected sky that each arm had was broken and everyone could now see Genesis and what it was doing.
He knew that it would be seen as too aggressive, but he needed to people to know that their regular political manoeuvring won't work here, not with him. Which would most likely explain why they were all so nervous, expect for councillor Anderson, though he did seem quite pent up, that could be for any number of reasons, but Clark was sure that it had nothing to do with him which is interesting in of itself.
He would also go out of his way to say that Anderson was the reason there was so many cameras on him at the moment. After his arrival, he told them matter of factly that they would be in the open public meeting chambers in five minutes. From there he disappeared. Well, to them he did. To him, he ran around the station looking for quite hidden away places. When he found the right one, he made the signal, Garrus and Thane shimmered into view with a small blue flash.
As expected, they both immediately threw up the contents of their stomachs and stumbled around for a moment. The first teleportation would do that to a person, he took a minute to tell them where they were and then left. Leaving them to take care of the others problem, kinda like Strangers on a Train but a little different.
Thankfully it seemed that the Council didn't want to argue with him on his demand and they quietly moved to the chambers, which is where they stood now. All four of them stood on their raised pedestal at the far end of the chamber, Clark himself stood in his spot on the dais in front of them, the platform that was pushed forward slightly and stationed over a glass covered garden area.
Within the large chamber, there walls were covered with many different walkways and balconies that had the purpose of allowing others to see the meetings, letting them know that everything the council did was open to the public, that was complete shit but it was good publicity. As of the moment, they were completely packed with people. On both sides, of course he could see dozens of different cameras and microphones all pointed right at him. That wasn't including the hundreds of regular everyday people that where there, or the hundreds that stood behind him on the ground level only being held back by the line of C-Sec guards, or the thousands outside that wanted to get in but were not allowed since the place was too full.
There was a loud muttering coming from all directions, the sounds of flashes and the like. Of course, neither he nor the Council spoke for a couple of minutes, each one wanting the other to start... ok, that wasn't true since Clark wanted to get this over and done with but since he was going to wait for Garrus and Thane to finish their shtick, he was going to drag this out for a bit.
Unfortunately, it had to end at some point. He wasn't surprised at all that it was Tevos who spoke first, no doubt thinking that her seniority made her the most capable among her colleagues "let me start by saying that we are grateful for the person of interest to make the time to arrive here today" she started and as she did so, there as a mute effect that went around the chamber, all stopped speaking as the conversation began. The only sounds present being the small clicks coming from all the cameras around the place "however I would also like to the request that said individual arrives to this preceding and this station in a calm and civilized manner" her tone grew firmer as she starred at Clark "I don't even want to think about the damage caused to not only our ships but this station as well with your... entrance"
Clark crossed his arms and frowned slightly "you know if you want to stop any damage to the station then you might want to open the arms instead of weakening the engines of them by trying to close them, which you're still trying to do" he said calmly but even he had to admit that it was weird that his ship was still being used as a means to stop the station from closing, you would have thought that the point would have been made by now "You wanted me here. What do you want?" he asked.
"There were many different things that we wanted to speak to you about" Sparatus spoke "many different points of interest that could have been explored but I think it's safe to say that had we known inviting you here would have caused such a commotion, it may have been best to simply let you stay in the shadows, it seems that you didn't mind that"
He gave him a shrug "I didn't mind that all, it very nice laying in the background just watching instead of interfering"
"But you did interfere, did you not?" Valern said as he brought up his Omni-tool and the council chamber was full of many different holographic images of pieces of paper "there are well over a hundred reports over the last few decades that state that people have been saved from life threatening situation by... blur's, flashes, sudden jolts of movement, flying objects. Some even stating miracles. That was you was it not?" he asked him.
"Ok, I'll give you that" he admitted "but saving people when I'm right there and going out of my way to look for people in danger are two very different things. There's a reason I haven't put the suit on since... that day"
It was clear to even the regular civilians that was a topic that should not be brought up and based on the way the councillors all tensed as he said that they couldn't blame him "we wouldn't have asked you to put the suit on, we wouldn't even have asked you to do what you did before" Tevos continued "while yes, what you can do is truly an amazing thing. It's also terrifying" she admitted "there's a very good reason as to why we as not just the council but are own separate governments thought it would be best to do everything, we could to bury your existence" there was a muttering that went around the chamber as she spoke but no-one started to break out into shouting or accusations.
"We couldn't do that for humanity" she nodded towards the human councillor "there was no chance of that but we could do it for our own people. We didn't want them to know that there could be a being with your power, your capability out there" she admitted "but everything else" she used her own Omni-Tool and showed everyone a 3D image of Genesis "I don't think I even need to see the specifications for that ship to know how much damage it could do, or how much good. It's only slightly smaller than the Citadel itself" another image showed an accurate scale of the Citadel and it was true, Genisis was just over three quarters it's size.
"I'm going to assume that you built it on your own?" Valern asked as all present looked closer at the image, not that anyone could blame them, it was an amazing thing.
"More or less" he said back not wanting to introduce Kelex just yet, he would wait for the right moment.
"That" he pointed "that was what we would be interested in, you're mind, your technology. We wouldn't have asked you to put the suit on and take up your old title because it's not what we would be interested in. Yes, it's fascinating put I doubt it is something we will ever understand"
He tilted his head at them "you asked me here so you could try and convince me to work for you?" he asked.
"It would have certainly been a point of discussion" Sparatus said with his arms crossed.
"Would it. You wouldn't have... anything else you would want to speak to me about. Something involving any recent events perhaps" was he being petty? yes. Did he care? No. They were never going to bring up the Reapers if they could avoid it.
"There would be one thing" Anderson spoke up for the first-time drawing eyes to him, it was almost too easy to see the looks of barely concealed rage "we've been given evidence from an undercover operative that you are investigating the late Commander Shepards claims on the Reapers. Is that true?" he asked.
"It's completely true" he said that quickly and as soon as he saw that Tevos was opening her mouth to either deny the claim or politically hint that Anderson needs to shut up. Too late to do that now of course, there was a multitude of flashes from cameras and louder muttering from that declaration "and so are they" he looked right at the other councillors as he said that "you can deny it all you want, but they're real and they're coming for you"
It seemed that Sparatus forgot who he was speaking to for a moment and took a step forward, leaning on the railing in front of them "There is no such thing as the Reapers! And to think that you..."
"Stop"
Silence.
As soon as the word escaped Clark's mouth, all froze around him. No-one said a word, no-one moved, the only sounds where the slight humming from the camera's "you seem to have forgotten who you are talking to" he started "take a step back and try again"
Sparatus was on the cusp of yelling again, he knew that. He also knew that his eyes practically burrowing themselves into his head was stopping him from doing that. But that Turian pride of his nearly got him. If Valern didn't cough into his hand, he might have tried something. The councillor gave Clark a glaring look before he took a step back "there has never been any evidence that the attack on the Citadel was done by this... ancient race of A.I"
"There was evidence, you just don't want to believe it because it will throw people into a panic and you can't be bothered doing your job and dealing with it" he countered quickly "I don't have that problem. Let them panic" he turned his head and looked right at a camera "there is no doubt in my mind, that there is an entire race of completely sentient A.I that are on their way here to exterminate all advanced organic life. If you don't start getting ready for it, you'll all die" he looked away and back to the council "as of the moment, the only ones who have a chance at survival would be humanity and that's just because they and the Quarian's seem to be capable of understanding that them sticking together may be for the best"
"How do you know about that?" Anderson was quick to ask him.
"Who do you think sent the Quarian's to you?" he asked them rhetorically "if they were smarter than they would go the Geth and ask them for help as well, but that may end being something I have to do" that comment was more to himself but that didn't stop the others from hearing it and speak loudly amongst themselves at the news. Clark himself kept himself quite for a moment. Yes, he did say that the Quarian's making peace with the Geth at the moment would be something they couldn't do, but that was only because he knew that there would be a lot of friendly fire because they wouldn't be able to let go of old grudges. If they were smarter than that they would but they're not perfect.
"Oh, well thank you" he said giving him a nod "the U.N does feel a lot safer with the Migrant Fleet coming to the Sol system"
"Which completely goes against the laws that were put into place regarding not only the Quarian's but the place of the Alliance as well" Valern added turning to Anderson.
Rather than get angry, Anderson let out a small chuckle "then I suppose it's a good thing that I and humanity don't answer to this council anymore" the sudden declaration caught many different people off guard, even Clark himself who raised an eyebrow at the statement. While it was entirely possible for this to happen when humanity started to build up their forces, he didn't think that they would leave the council completely. That was unexpected. Then the muttering became even louder after that, not that he could blame them for it.
Then came the largest power play so far. Anderson simply turned away from the podium and started to make his to a side door "if you want to talk, you know where to find me" he said to Clark before he left. That was something Clark could respect, maybe he knew or maybe he didn't but Clark have a feeling that Anderson wouldn't get anything from him, so he left and no doubt would be heading back to Earth to help with the defence.
The council stood there frozen for a moment, in doubt at what they should do next and Clark was all the happier to stay there and watch them squirm for a moment, after all he was buying time "we..." Sparatus stopped for a moment before he regained his composure "the systems Alliance leaving the council and the Citadel government can and will be discussing it at a later date. For now I believe it would be best to turn back to the purpose of this meeting" from his words some semblance of order found itself returned to the chamber and the rest of the council was able to collect themselves "Mr. Kent. Yes, we desired a meeting with you because we feel there is much we can do for each other..."
"No, there isn't" he was quick to answer back, not allowing the Turian to finish "there is much I can do for you. There is nothing you can do for me, what do you have that, A: I cannot simply take or B: make for myself?" he asked them with a frown. They didn't say anything for a moment, all of them looking at each other with uncertain looks. Knowing that there was no answer that they could give "I am here as nothing more than a curtesy for you, that is it. I will leave and continue to do what I've been doing for the last couple of decades. Whatever I want"
"Mr. Kent that is enough" Tevos said as she herself seems to have grown a temper "we all know who you are, but we will not be spoken to so blatantly and rudely. I've half a mind to have you arrested not just for all your previous crimes but for what you've done for today alone. We don't care what power you have; no-one is above the law" the sureness of her declaration seemed to bring the confidence back to the others.
They seemed surer of themselves and even the crowd around them started to get angry and Clark for his words, not the humans but everyone else. The humans just stood silently, waiting to see what the reaction would be.
"That is why I didn't want to come back" he said calmly as he looked right at Tavos "doesn't matter what the species is or how old they, politicians will always have two things in common. Hypocrisy and fucking ego" there was a red hue to his eyes for a moment before he calmed himself "you have the gall to stand there and think you can arrest me"
His feet left the ground and he began to hover in the air, now direct eye level with the council who immediately lost their confidence "I've walked across the surface of stars" he began to slowly float forward towards them "I've collapsed black holes in my hands" the crowds of people began to take pictures, back away in fear and talk amongst themselves all at once "I have seen demons die and gods fall" he stopped moving just shy of the railing that Tevos had just been leaning on "I cannot be intimated, I cannot be threatened and I am done catering to the feelings of superiority of those in power feel at the cost of those they are meant to protect"
He turned away from her as well as the rest of the council and started to float away, his back to them. Activating his Omni-tool the holographic images that had displayed the image of Genisis and the Citadel was replaced with another handful of documents "No-one is above the law" he echoed around the chamber "those were your words. Well, it certainly seemed that you don't believe that" he turned around, still hovering and looked back at the council "just encase you didn't know, I recently raided and took over the data banks of the Shadow Broker" he didn't even give them a moment for their hearts to skip in fear "I learned quite a bit and all those files that I just released into the open extranet are about you lot. Every shady deal, every illegal black Opps missions, every bribery, every blackmail. Every single illegal thing every single one of you have done over the course of your career has now been blown open for all to see" he brought his arm up again "and just for good measure" he pressed and button and everyone in the chamber received a notification "everyone in here doesn't even need to look because I just gave them a copy"
All around the chamber, every single Omni-tool pinged with a notification "seems appropriate" he said to himself "the last public act of Clark Kent. Knocking the most powerful politicians in the galaxy off their pedestals. I hope you enjoyed the meeting" with that he turned around, there was a brief blur and he was gone.
The Citadel council only had a moment to think before the entire crowd scrambled over to them, demanding questions to be answered.
And I shall leave it there, I must have gone back and re-write that council meeting like three times. I guess I'm just gonna have to hope it was the right call. Anyway, next chapter we get into the immediate aftermath, Thane and Garrus have their missions to do and Clark has a talk with Anderson. Let me know what you all thought in the reviews and I'll see you in the next chapter.
Next story update: Project Atlas