Disclaimer: I do not own the Mass Effect games. This story is written with no profit in mind. I make no money from it. It isn't for sale or rent.
Chapter 2
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Part 4
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22.04.2183 GS
Council chamber
Citadel Tower
The Citadel
The day kept getting worse. First, the meetings with CDF brass was 'fun' when the Council told them about Saren's possible betrayal and the security nightmare that entailed. In no small part due to his questionable status, there were ships or even whole battle groups racing to check in person the various listening posts meant to monitor Geth space and avoid a sneak attack. With that done, the Admirals were now busy scrapping and updating all their plans for the defence of the Citadel and sooner rather than later C-SEC's high echelons would need to know about being possibly compromised as well. The Spectre's… well that was another thorny issue. Two STG units backed up by CDF marines and network specialists currently had the Spectre Office on lock-down and going through it slowly and methodically trying to find backdoors, listening devices, other nasty surprises left by Saren and not to mention the need to re-evaluate the Spectre cadre for other possible traitors. That by itself was going to be a nightmare and a half.
Then there were the two hopefully trustworthy Spectres investigating Saren and wasn't their newest update something to behold.
Tevos switched off her omni-tool once she was done reading the summary and listening to the recovered piece of conversation. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and felt the need to go to the bar and hit the hard liquor. Perhaps find if there was some Ryncol to re-appropriate from one of C-SEC's evidence lockers.
Goddess, she knew that other voice. What was Benezia thinking?! Didn't she go to Saren to avoid him going on the deep end?! Instead she jumped right after him gleefully it seemed. It didn't make any sense! Granted there was still the possibility of the evidence to be a Geth plant, both Vasir and Bau did spell it out as a warning, however they did recommend Saren's recall and debriefing in person anyway.
As if that wasn't bad enough, there were the other pieces of data from the Geth data core – about those Reapers Benezia spoke about. Ancient advanced machines, whom the Geth apparently took to worshipping over the past few centuries. The same murderous rogue AI's who apparently went and wiped out the Protheans if the data fragments were to be believed. Shepard's reaction to the name and included recording of his neural activity taken by Vasir lent credence to the whole insane story pained by the evidence recovered so far.
"So what? Saren went insane, joined the Geth and some old even crazier AI's who want to murder everyone for reasons? This makes no sense at all!" Sparatus fumed.
"We don't have a motive, I'll grant you that. However, there's always good old fashioned brainwashing. Stick some advanced implants in someone's head, there are chemicals and other ways to get it done. While during the meeting yesterday that certainly looked and sounded like Saren, a sufficiently capable AI who had him at its disposal for unknown period of time could have fooled us. We need to examine him in person to be certain." Valern thought aloud.
"That makes more sense than Saren going crazy enough to want to help kill everyone for fun." The Turian spat in disgust.
"We don't know if that's what their ultimate objective is. Certainly until meeting those 'Reapers' the Geth were perfectly happy to mind their own business and not bother us. As their primary objective on Eden Prime indicates, they're after something of Prothean origin."
"Whatever it is, we can't let them have it. I certainly don't like how those things call themselves – Reapers. Doesn't inspire confidence in their motives." Sparatus growled. "How long until we have independent verification that the data is genuine?"
"A few days if we want it done right. Mind you, with the damage caused by the Geth's trying to erase and melt its core, it might not be possible to give a hundred percent guarantee." Valern explained.
"At any rate this combined with the other circumstantial evidence is more than enough to recall Saren. If he comes we stick him in a secure facility until he's been scanned to the molecular level for unknown implants or brainwashing. If he refuses to come or simply fails to appear we'll know for a fact that he is either compromised or indeed rogue. In either case we'll need to hunt him down and consider everything he knew compromised." Sparatus sighed. "Can we afford to wait for the confirmation of the data's validity given the stakes?"
"C-SEC needs to know and start overhauling protocols ASAP." Valern concluded. "What do we tell the Humans? Shepard is aware of the new evidence however he has agreed to keep quiet at least until we can be reasonably sure its the real deal this time."
"Call in their Ambassador and Captain Anderson – what was his new job? Liaison with the Turian military? We'll meet with them, Shepard and the Spectres and formulate an official course of action. Something else. I'm reasonably sure I recognize the other voice – that sounds terribly like Matriarch Benezia and with her rumoured to have gone to soothe Saren..." Tevos frowned.
"That makes it almost certain that even if Saren is acting on his own will, she might not be. More brainwashing screening. I loathe those." Valern cursed in Salarian dialect that neither the translator implants nor his fellow Councillors knew. "What assets she has access to? We'll need to monitor or freeze hers too. Contacts we should watch? Notable people to check if they were compromised too?"
The threat of brainwashing was an old one – all three Councillors knew their people had been dabbling with it as far back as the days before their species became spacefaring much less interstellar. Screening for said threat was always necessary and a monumental pain in everyone's azures no matter how necessary.
"That's a very long list." Tevos grimaced. "We'll have to step carefully there. Benezia is one of the most powerful and respected Asari Matriarchs. Many would not believe her being subverted based on what we currently have."
"More covert investigations. We'll officially blame everything on Saren if we have to. Write her off along with other high profile compromised figures if any as collateral damage..." Valern's let his STG training shine through his usually calm and approachable exterior.
"Keep that thought." Sparatus noted. "What about Shepard? He did get something from that beacon if the mere mention of Reapers makes his brain fire up. We probably should arrange that he meets some of our Prothean specialists."
"Why this makes me think I'm forgetting something? Prothean experts..." Tevos spoke aloud before her eyes lit up with recognition. "Benezia's daughter! A decade or so back it was quite the scandal in certain circles. She's fancying herself a Prothean expert and had some radical theories that got laughed out due to her youth and inexperience! The mess Benezia's daughter made was all the talk until she got bundled out from archaeological dig to archaeological dig in order to keep her out of sight and out of mind until all the furore passed." Tevos had her omni-tool back on and browsing through a secure extranet connection about details.
"Interesting but why is this important beside her being a person of interest as Benezia's daughter?" Sparatus asked.
"I'm remembering correctly it seems. The daughter, Liara T'soni had radical theories centred around cycles of extinction – she claimed that an outside force wiped out the Protheans, possible a few species that preceded them too. I might be reading too much into it but doesn't that sound like these Reapers to you? As far as I know she either didn't find enough evidence to back her theories or it wasn't credible enough. There are no easy to find links about her theories and how she came to them, much less about evidence. We'll need to find her and send someone to ask questions about her ideas and her mother."
"Interesting indeed and if there's even a shred in truth in her ideas, most concerning." Valern allowed. "Any other notable family members we should look at?"
"Liara's father perhaps but as far as I know she and Benezia have been estranged for nearly a century now."
"Still, she might give us a better handle of how Benezia has changed or been changed. We'll need to retrieve them both. Recovering Benezia alive if practical should be a high priority too." Sparatus said. "Lets get things going and call in our Spectres and the Humans. We have some more plotting to do."
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Part 5
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23.04.2183 GS
STG Safe house
The Citadel
It was warm and comfortable. Peaceful and… quiet? That should have made her worry but instead she continued to drift in content fog. She wasn't quite awake yet nor really asleep. A familiar sensation, a hypospray piercing skin and the warmth became something distant as cool liquid raced through her veins.
"Miss Zorah? Tali'Zorah nar Raya, rise and shine!" An annoyingly chipper voice was the straw that broke the fog and Tali cam to awareness with a start.
She tried to get up and figure out what was wrong when a pair of strong arms caught her and pushed he back. First she saw people shaped objects leaning over her and the familiar orange glow of an omni-tool. As the coolness within her became a slight chill and her heart started beating faster, her vision cleared. There was familiar Asari holding her down and a Salarian was beside her waving an omni-tool over her laying body.
"What?" Tali gurgled through parched lips then memories rushed in and her eyes widened in shock when she recognized the Asari. She struggled, tried to kick and claw at her captors only to be hit with a stasis, again.
"I wasn't finished yet!" The Salarian complained.
"Next time you try holding down the little spitfire." The Asari smirked. "Feisty little thing, isn't she?"
"She's not a pet, you know." A new voice added. A human with very short hair – almost completely shaved walked in to stand between the other aliens. He had a ruggedly handsome features and with him standing beside the Asari, it was startling how those two species resembled Quarians at least as far as facial features went. "You can't keep her."
"You sure about that, Shepard?" Was that teasing she heard in the Asari's voice? "She's a resourceful little thing, has experience in recovering more or less intact Geth data cores and we'll be hunting Geth among other things. Considering what she did to that first group that went after her, she's quite proficient with a shotgun too. She'll fit right in."
"Do you want a full collection? You already have a Human, Krogan, Salarian and Asari. I'm reasonably sure you'll be conscripting Vakarian too. So what's next? Volus lawyer or quartermaster? An Elcor or Hanar?"
"I'll take a Drell anyday instead one of those nasty tentacle monster." Vasir grumbled and absent mindedly rubbed her neck. "A few decades ago one of those little bastards nearly choked me to death. If it wasn't for my biotics I would have been a goner."
"You can have your pet Krogan eat then next Hanar who tries to molest you, Vasir. We aren't really interested in your sexual escapades." The Salarian grumbled.
"You do have a sense of humour!" Vasir pumped a fist into the air. "I do win that bet!"
"Seriously?" The Human sighed.
Tali could comiserrate or she would if he wasn't one of those keeping her captive.
"What do you want with me?" She managed to hiss despite the stasis locking her down in a very uncomfortable position.
"Will you behave or do I need to freeze you again once this times out?" The Asari asked.
"I'll be good!" Tali promised. It wasn't like she could really overpower any of them except the Salarian. She had to bid her time and get away if they gave her a chance.
"Good girl. I'm Tela Vasir, Spectre. This," she waved at the Salarian, "is Spectre Jondum Bau who has a freshly discovered sense of humour. We probably throw him a party for the occasion and finally, my personal minion – Lieutenant-Commander John Shepard from the Systems Alliance navy."
"Is that promotion or demotion from a prospective Spectre candidate?" The newly named Shepard snarked.
"The jury is still out on this one." Vasir wisely nodded.
"I'm still alive. That means you don't work with Saren..." Tali connected the dots.
"Nope, we're investigating him in fact." Bau confirmed her hopes. "You did well to recover as much information from that data core. We'll want you to show us how you did it so we can refine the procedure… I wonder if modern tools would have made a significant difference..." The Salarian began to ramble.
"They should. What I had to work with was less than ideal." Tali confirmed his suspicions.
"Great! Now tell me how..."
"Ahem. We'll cover that later, make it SOP for our tech specialists in the field once its done. First a few questions and lets give Tali here a bit of time to freshen up before we go meet the Council!" Vasir demanded,
"What?" Tali exclaimed and the stasis flickered out. She exclaimed in surprise and only the Asari's firm grip held her from tumbling to the floor.
"I would like to say that you'll get used to this but somehow I doubt it." The Human sighed again.
"We'll have to find your sense of humour too or you'll get all dull and boring like those fossils back on Thessia." Vasir frowned in disapproval.
"Keelah…" Tali muttered. "I could swear you said we'll be meeting the Council..."
"We will, in about two hours."
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23.04.2183 GS
Council chamber
Citadel Tower
The Citadel
The place where the Spectres led her into turned out to be very clean, well lit and somehow less opulent than Tali imagined. There were various tasteful pieces of art around the walls – paintings, a few statues and a huge star scrape that as she watched flickered from a beautiful blue world to a long range picture of the Citadel with the gas cloud half-concealing it making for a stunning display. At one corner there was a large couch with small tables in front of it and what looked suspiciously like wooden cupboards next to it. In contrast, a large table made of some white alloy dominated most of the room and despite of the furniture with various colours everything was chosen well so it wouldn't clash. At least to her Quarian eyes.
Three people sat at one corner of the ellipsoid table – an regal appearing Asari in the centre flanked by a Turian and Salarian in what looked like very expensive suits. Beside the Salarian sat two humans – one dark skinned in suit and a uniformed one whose skin was a shade darker. Those colours weren't something you saw among Quarians – they usually varied from pinkish to light blue, though much move vivid than any Asari.
"Spectres, Commander Shepard and Ms Tali'Zorah, welcome." The Asari gave them a welcoming smile and waved towards the table.
"Shepard," The Humans greeted and gave Tali and the rest curious looks.
A brief round of introductions followed putting names to the faces. Perhaps now, someone would explain to her why she was deemed important enough to sit in this meeting.
"I won't beat around the bush as you humans like to say." The Turian Councillor began. "After the accusations you people made in the immediate aftermath of the Eden Prime attack, we immediately began investigating Saren."
"That much we know, Councillor." Ambassador Udina inclined his head in what looked like conciliatory gesture. "However, we all know how that turned up."
"Do you, now?" Sparatus' mandibles twitched in obvious amusement. "The C-SEC investigation was a mere smoke screen. We didn't allow the agents charged with conducting it enough time nor access to any relevant information. It was a mere formality. The actual investigation has been done by Spectres Vasir and Bau." A talon singled the Asari and Salarian who rescued her from walking right into ambush yesterday. "At first all they uncovered were few questionable details, however the investigation picked up shortly before the Normandy's arrival on the Citadel..."
The Turian Councillor went on to explain that apparently Saren had ordered the assassination of Shepard and whoever else had been on the ground with him on Eden Prime along with her own murder. Not enough to conclude beyond a doubt that he was a part of said attack but while circumstantial, the evidence was nonetheless quite damning. Then there was what she recovered, something the Council let Bau explain.
"In conclusion, we've got more questions than answers." Tevos said. "Is Saren merely a madman who managed to somehow subvert Benezia? Are both of them merely puppets for the Geth and that old AI they somehow made contact with? Is Saren even still alive or merely a convenient distraction?" The Asari grimaced. "It would be at least another twenty four hours before the data Ms Zorah recovered could be verified as more or less genuine. Given the circumstances and corruption due to the Geth unit being busy destroying its memory, we might not get a high level of confidence in its authenticity." Tevos raised a hand in a gesture that halted Tali before she could open her mouth to protest. "I'm not blaming you, Ms Zorah, even if there would be some who would take anything coming from Quarian sources as inherently tainted, especially if it concerns the Geth. There has been too long a period of bad blood between our people to be any different."
Did she sound as she regretted that fact?! It was all the Council's fault that the Quarians had to be nomads after their exile!
"What do you intend to do about Saren, the Geth and this Reaper AI that either works with them or has them all subverted?" The Human Ambassador demanded.
"At least initially we'll have to tread carefully." Sparatus's face twisted into an ugly grimace. "We still lack evidence that is beyond doubt, especially when Benezia is concerned. At least as far as Saren go, we do have other reasons to recall him besides Ms Zorah's recording. The Matriarch is very well connected – it won't be a stretch to say that she is among the most powerful people in the galaxy. We need to know how badly we're compromised here before making this public."
"So you will do nothing?!" Udina's voice was low, almost a his. The sheer disbelief he radiated was a sight to behold.
"Ambassador, would you kindly refrain from putting words in our mouths?" Valern chided lightly. "We'll be recalling Saren shortly. If he shows – all is well and we can stick him into interrogation room after we've checked him for any controlling implants. The more likely outcome is that he doesn't show or outright refuses to come and then we can strip him of his Spectre status and begin hunting him down. What we won't do at this time is publicly announce that there is in fact a connection between him, Benezia and the Geth."
"I think that in this instance I can speak for all of us Humans, when I say this while a nice gesture won't be enough." Captain Anderson spoke for the first time since greeting Shepard at the beginning of the meeting.
"As far as the Geth go – we'll continue to coordinate our military response. We've dispatched units to check and secure our listening posts that were supposed to prevent exactly this kind of sneak attack. However, it's not just your fleet that is stretched rather thin." Sparatus continued. "The Turian navy has too many responsibilities as it is. We'll need to keep significant assets to cover our core worlds, critical infrastructure and vital choke points. It's not like we can immediately surge into a foolish invasion of Geth space. We don't even know if Saren, that Reaper and the Geth fleet that hit Eden Prime had returned beyond the Veil. We'll first need to locate the enemy before striking back and without creating easily exploited openings! Our best guess is that they are laying low for now somewhere in the Terminus. Sending a fleet there will spark a war..." Sparatus slammed a fist into the table shocking everyone. "We'll win it without a doubt, however that not only would take time and precious resources, but pirate and warlord strikes will cause significant damage going after soft targets before we can put them down. All the while we'll be making ourselves vulnerable to the Geth. We won't send a fleet unless we're sure that even a victory there won't make our strategic situation worse. Military speaking, we'll need to wait to properly mobilize or for Saren and the AI's to come to us."
"That's prudent..." Anderson allowed.
"And it will be politically unacceptable once it becomes clear Saren is rogue, much less working for the Geth no matter if it is of his own free will or not." Tevos said in a calming tone. "We are aware of your domestic situation. It is not in the Council's nor the galaxy's interest that your people radicalise. We're prepared to officially induct Shepard into the Spectres once we've got some more solid evidence. He'll still be working under Spectre Vasir's guidance, however his mere presence during the hunt for Saren should help I believe."
"That can work." Udina allowed after few tense moments of deep thought. "However, if the Geth hit more of our colonies and we aren't seen to respond, and by we I mean both the Alliance and Citadel, the situation back home will turn for the worse."
"None of us wants that. When practical, we'll use elements of the Turian fleet to help shore up your borders." Sparatus suggested.
"That would be opening another can of worms but I believe it might be for the best." Captain Anderson said.
"With that settled, we do have a few more ideas to suggest." Valern changed the topic. "First, you have one of the fastest and stealthiest ships in known space in the Normandy. We'll request you allow Spectres Vasir and Shepard use it to retrieve a VIP. One Liara T'soni – Matriarch Benezia's estranged daughter. She is a Prothean expert, if young and is currently at a new dig site within Human space. We would want her available for both debriefing and as a consultant."
"Figure out if she is potentially compromised too while you're at it." Captain Anderson slyly suggested.
"That too." A hint of a smile appeared on Valern's otherwise serious face. "Second, the Normandy would make for an excellent vessel for said Spectres to covertly track Saren and the Geth within the Terminus. They will have access to what STG assets are available as support, however unless and until we know more, proper fleet support will be unavailable at this time."
"I believe both Admiralty and Parliament will agree." Udina said.
"And third, thanks to Ms Zorah here and he connection with Admiral Rael'Zorah, we would want for the Normandy to quietly ferry her to the Migrant Fleet along with an ambassador and a military attache to discuss response to the Geth aggression and arrange access to Quarian expertise. While we will make no binding promises at this time, if all Geth turn to be either hostile of their own volition or subverted, then we'll need to neutralize them as a threat. If that is to happen..." Tevos smiled at Tali.
"Rannoch..." The young woman whispered reverently.
"At this time the possibility of driving the Geth all the way there is remote, however not something we are willing to overlook." Tevos added.