AN: This is an idea for another ME story - no crossover this time. What if the Council was actually reasonably competent and busy trying to keep the peace and stability that ensured the galaxy prospered ever since the end of the Krogan Rebellions. While Shepard will be special and will have a place to shine, this won't be much of a HFY story, more of the Turians and Council Fuck Yeah.
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.
Prologue: Case Black
=DC=
Part 1
=DC=
21.04.2183 GS /Galactic Standard/
Council Chamber
Citadel Tower
The Citadel
Councillor Trest Sparatus stood at parade rest and counted backwards from ten to zero in an attempt not to explode at the petulant children that were the Humans, especially the sorry lot that passed for their politicians. He managed to keep his composure until Tevos could not so gently deny Udina's ridiculous demands and promise him a hearing over the frankly insane accusations and cut the link before slamming a fist into the reinforced corner of the table where the Councillors usually met. The loud metallic clang and the feeling of the solid surface vibrating under his clenched talons made him feel better. It was only the Spirits damned Batarians who could consistently drive him close to the limit of his patience with a gusto rivalling the Humans.
"Don't you dare!" Sparatus sent Rhin Valern – possibly the best Salarian Councillor he had to serve along with, a deadly glare.
The amphibian's huge eyes merely widened a fraction, though his amused grin never wavered. "I don't need a recording to remember this to my dying day." Within a blink, Valern was all business. "Geth attack on Human colony most concerning." His fingers flew over the secure terminal built into his corner of the table. "Death of Spectre Kryik regrettable. Accusationsabout Arterius' involvement with the Geth..." The Salarian's voice quieted beyond the Turian's ability to hear.
"More human idiocy, I'm tempted to say." Sparatus let out a long sigh and sat down. "Why did they have to pick up the worst traits of Asari politics?!" He asked rhetorically.
"They aren't all bad. Besides, despite trying very hard they haven't even come close to our worst." Their resident Asari decided to damn the Humans with a faint praise. That wasElis Tevos in a nutshell – always apparently soft and diplomatic, however below the surface she was pure battle steel – otherwise she wouldn't have been able to not only remain a Councillor for centuries now but retain her sanity. There were days Sparatus couldn't stop wondering why people kept underestimating her, even Asari who by all means should have known better.
"Are you telling us this because they superficially appear and often act as Asari maidens or because your niece hooked up with one and you still aren't down from happiness about their brat?" Sparatus hummed.
"I do have a recording of you dragging us both to show us those pictures complete with all that cooing..." Valern briefly looked up from his terminal.
"Stress relief." Tevos glibly replied. "It was good for the soul." She nodded at herself before straightening up and leaving the levity behind. "What do we actually know about the events on Eden Prime?"
"Geth involvement beyond any doubt." Valern begin his traditional rapid-fire speech, which he did every time he was serious. "Presence of Super Dreadnought most concerning." A image materialized above the table. "Do note radical difference in design between it and known Geth warship models, including those seen at Eden Prime."
"Somehow they knew about the Beacon too. It was no accident they hit a human world, much less this one." Sparatus grumbled. "We need to find and seal that leak, permanently." I wasn't like the discovery had been a public knowledge that could be gleamed from merely monitoring the extranet. He didn't know what would be more concerning – that the Geth could have good enough penetration of Human systems to get the data from there, considering that Human space was practically on the other side of the galaxy from the Perseus Veil, that they managed to do have their wicked AI way with Council computer networks or worse, that it was all Saren's fault...
"STG already working on it. Will task Spectres once we've dealt with the Arterius issue..." Valern continued half-lost in his own world.
"To be the devil's advocate as the humans say, what if Saren is actually involved?" Tevos inquired.
That question, coming from Elis of all people gave Sparatus a pause. "You know something, don't you?"
"I've heard certain rumours that Matriarch Benezia got fed up with his more extreme actions and went to speak with him. She has always been a most perceptive woman."
"You're concerned about her suspicions then." The Turian's mandibles twitched in frustration. "Of course, Benezia hasn't deigned to inform anyone of what exactly made her concerned enough to go to one of our Spectres without giving us a call first…" Sparatus let out a long suffered sight at Asari Matriarchs in general and their usual belief that they could do no wrong. "Can you contact her?"
As soon as he asked, Tevos' activated her omni-tool. Soon she shook her head in the negative and frowned. It wasn't unheard for Matriarchs to go to ground for some peace and quiet… or when they were up to various shenanigans and didn't want to be caught. Tevos knew one thing for sure, the Benezia she knew wouldn't be a part of a Geth attack on anyone, much less a Council Associate species. That meant she had failed and was either up to something else, a captive or dead. None of those possibilities made Tevos feel any better.
"In the unlikely case Saren has indeed gone on the deep end, I'll nail his carcass to the Citadel Tower myself." Sparatus growled. "We're getting the Spectres and C-SEC to look into his actions and movements, just in case. I won't look like an idiot in front of the bloody Humans. Do you agree?"
"As I said, STG's on it already. If Saren's rogue, he might have an accomplice or two within the Spectres." Valern pointed out. "Do we want to show we suspect he might be rotten and as importantly, do we want to give C-SEC clearance to look through his affairs?" The Salarian managed to spare a meaningful look to each of his colleagues between his furious typing and high-speed reading.
"Get the C-SEC go over his less sensitive affairs. We'll use them as a screen to persuade Udina we take his people's concerns seriously. Meanwhile, we'll have STG and the Spectres carry on the real investigation." Tevos suggested.
"I agree." Sparatus nodded.
"That makes three of us. Motion carried."
"I'm calling in Vasir. Through her links with the Shadow Broker she might be able to dig up intelligence faster than most."
"If she isn't already in his pocket." Sparatus' jaw flexed in displeasure.
"Sooner or later the Broker will become more trouble than they're worth it and we'll deal with him." Valern dismissed his Turian colleague's concern.
"Him?" Sparatus raised an eye-ridge in speculation.
"Him." Valern nodded rapidly and refused to shed any more light about the identity of the most illusive beings in the galaxy.
"I'll let it slide for now. The Geth and their new fancy ship. Is it a new design of theirs or something they salvaged? If its Protean in design if not in fact, that might explain why they went for the Beacon." Sparatus changed the topic. When Valern was like that, there was no persuading him to share more information.
"You think they found something old beyond the Veil?" Tevos' eyes widened at this idea. It wasn't something she had considered… Yet, why not? A great deal of mainstream technology was either reverse-engineered or at least based upon bits and pieces recovered from the Proteans or other, older species. If the Geth had found either an ancient super-dreadnought or the schematics for one and built it themselves, it would explain why they would suddenly break their self-imposed isolation in search for more pieces of ancient technology. Tevos certainly hoped that the Geth found said ship and didn't build it themselves, because the industrial and technological might that implied was enough to give her sleepless nights.
"That's what I hope for." Sparatus muttered and his bearing made it clear he shared similar fears. "We need to neutralize the threat the Geth possess. To do that we need raw data – are they merely interested in Protean relics or is this the opening stage of a full scale war? If we miscalculate we might be the ones starting said war."
"Such caution isn't something I often hear from a Turian, Trest." Tevos smiled softly.
"Caution?" Sparatus snorted. "We all know that our fleet is stretched thin keeping up with our security responsibilities, which incidentally is why we haven't done something about either the Batarians or the Terminus systems. A full scale war would be ruinously expensive too –something like that is going to tank the economy and if we are indeed going to fight it, I can assure you, my government will demand full support, both military and economic."
"The current crop of Dalatrases will balk at that." Now it was Valern's turn to grimace.
"Many of the Asari Republics would be divided at least initially." Tevos put her cards on the table too.
"So how do we fight a potential galactic war on a shoestring budget and with our arms tied behind our backs if it comes to that?" Sparatus asked aloud.
"That's obvious – let the Humans bear the burden initially, while we gather more intelligence and do our best to put our houses in order. Offer reasonable support: intelligence, limited economical and military. But first, figure out do we have a rouge Spectre on our hands, something that might point towards much deeper problems..."
"I'm calling Vasir for a little chat. Then we'll see what will surface when she begins hunting."
=DC=
Part 2
=DC=
21.04.2183 GS /Galactic Standard/
Spectre Offices
Citadel Tower
The Citadel
The inner sanctum of the Spectre Office on the Citadel was aptly named – despite what popular media and the general populace believed, it in fact resembled a high tech office on the inside. Desks, complete with the best workstations and security money could buy, secure file cabinets and data storage that would make the STG proud, access to raw data and intelligence from all over the galaxy… and more often than not the Spectres used the power at their fingertips to solve mundane problems.
A fine example was Jondum Bau's second case after being initiated into the Spectres – one of the companies responsible for supplying and maintaining the Citadel fleet had been skimming off the top. That bit of corruption got both the Matriarch in charge of the Destiny Ascension, her Turian counterpart commanding the largest part of the fleet and the Salarian Rear Admiral rounding up the small triumvirate responsible for space defence royally pissed off and aimed in the same direction, a feat in itself. Soon enough their displeasure got the attention of the Council and thus Bau received a new case. As a consequence, he spent the last week all but welded to his desk going over copious amounts of data gathered by C-SEC, STG and couple of fellow bored Spectres. Once he was done, Jondum was pretty sure a major corporation or what was left of it after the dust settled and all the arrests and trials were over would be eaten by its competitors. Perhaps a bit of investment for a dry day might be in order?
"Jondum my friend!" The entrance door slid open with its characteristic whine meant to announce an arrival and Tela Vasir of all people came in like a too cheerful a hurricane.
Bau pushed away from his desk and swing his rotating chair to face the rampaging Asari.
"We most certainly aren't friends, Vasir." He grumbled.
"Nah, your' my new best buddy! Come on, Council orders, we've got a few windbags to bag!" Vasir was too cheerful for comfort. What did she do this time?!
"Details!" Bau grumbled. He didn't need to look around to figure out that they had the undivided attention of the other five Spectres who were in the office space.
"As I said, a few of the old fossils back on Thesia apparently have their tentacles waist deep in the mess you're dealing with. They either tried to bribe or blackmail Tevos and she wasn't pleased so she's sicking us on them too!" Vasir actually bounced during that declaration. It was a public secret that certain Matriarchs within the Republics had various expectations both from the Asari Spectres and their Councillor, the kind that technically could be considered treason at the best of times. Spectre rumour had it that Tevos had been bashing heads with those for centuries now with mixed success.
"Come on! We've got work to do!" Vasir bounced again. She was excited enough to act like a maiden too, so this had to be the real deal.
"I'm coming." Bau grumbled and secured his station before following the sickeningly excited Asari to the armoury.
Once inside and alone, Vasir locked down the place and used her omni-tool to activate her electronic counter-measures and gestured him to do the same.
"This is more serious than Asari Matriarch being their insufferable selves?" Bau focused his attention on Vasir's expression. The moment the counter-measures went into effect her excitement died a sudden and unlamented death.
"Nihlus is dead. The humans claim it was Saren who shot him and led the Geth attack on Eden Prime. The frigate that was supposed to haul him and the beacon here is on its way with the survivors from the ground team sent to recover it and what preliminary evidence they managed to gather. They'll be granted a meeting with the Council on arrival so we have about eighteen hours to figure out if Saren has let his hatred to humanity get the better of him. C-SEC will provide political smoke screen and we along with STG are doing the real work."
Bau blinked rapidly in shock while processing the news. It was obvious why Vasir lied – if Saren was dirty… "I'm the newest Spectre, least likely to be compromised by Saren if he's gone rogue." Jondum nodded.
"First, we're checking where he has been, where he is supposed to be and as Sparatus of all people suggested – if he had went to or near the monitoring stations watching the Perseus Veil."
"That Geth fleet had to come from somewhere and the first warning we got was the news after the attack was over." Bau frowned. "They either uncovered a new route that allowed them to reach human space, infiltrated and neutralized our outposts meant to warn us..."
"Or someone, like a possible rogue Spectre made sure there was a hole in the gird for at least long enough that their fleet could slip through."
"I'll go over his known movements. If he's rogue and planned things well, we might be unable to uncover conclusive evidence fast enough. Eighteen hours?" Bau's frown deepened. "If he has Geth support, any and all electronic records about him questionable…" He began to mutter to himself while going over scenarios and ways to expose anything irregular.
"Good, you're on the ball. I'm going dark for a few hours to meet certain contacts." She handed him a small data drive. "If I go missing or turn up dead, open this. You'll be able to figure out how."
"Those rumours about the Broker are true then?" Jondum refocused his attention upon his colleague.
"It has been a mutually beneficial relationship so far. Tevos at least is aware and I'm pretty sure Valern knows all about it too. They haven't asked me to go after the Broker so far."
"It has too much blackmail to release if dead or captured to make it potentially not worth it as long as their operations aren't too much of a disruption." Bau concluded.
"The moment that changes, well..." Vasir shrugged. She certainly wasn't going against the Council and the other Spectres over the Broker, especially if it acted up first. "I'm aware Saren had dealing with the Broker before so it might know something of value."
=DC=
Part 3
=DC=
21.04.2183 GS /Galactic Standard/
Rapid transit station K-21
Zakera Ward
The Citadel
Vasir glided through the crowds giving the impression of being just one more haughty Matron among many. Her outfit – an expensive not quite formal dress but not the height of fashion, the way she walked and carried herself – there was no trace of the experienced and deadly Huntress in the sensual swing of her hips nor in the way she carried herself. It took Tela decades to be able to competently hide her true nature in plain sight. As always it was frustrating, especially the way the holster, gun and blade along her inner thighs chaffed, yet at that moment even a sophisticated biometric recognition program would have had a hard time picking her up within the crowd. True, the light skin-kissing mask that altered her features just enough helped too. Perhaps Vasir was paranoid, however even if she was far from convinced of Saren's guilt, given his close association with the Broker and long career as a Spectre, taking any chances would be foolish.
Tela slid into a nearby side alley once she had eyes on the closest rapid transit station, checked up to see if anyone followed her and once she was convinced the only living thing nearby was a Keeper slowly shuffling towards the far end of the alley, she activated a scrambler that would ensure a bit of privacy and called Barla Von – one of the top Broker agent's on the Citadel and her first stop in the quest for information.
"hsssk… Barla Von… hsssk… Miss Minerva, to what do I own the pleasure… hsssk…?" The banker slash Broker operative asked after checking the caller ID.
"I've heard a barefaced acquaintance of ours just became a very bad boy." Vasir's voice was silky velvet – a far cry from her real one.
"His accounts are suspended while we investigate accusations of corruption. We'll come back to you later, Ms Minerva. Have a nice day."
The channel went dead and Vasir removed the band of cheap omni-tool she used to make the call before turning it to dust with her biotics. A gesture deactivated the scrambler and she walked out of the alley moving straight towards the rapid transit station. All Von really told her was that the Broker had heard concerning rumours about Saren and his people were busy looking into it, just like she was. Until the Broker knew one way or the other or decided the heat was enough to cut its loses, it was unlikely she would get more information directly.
That left some of the less reliable Broker related contacts, like that slug Fist. A short, not too bumpy ride later, Tela dismounted at another RTS, this one just a few hundred metres from Chora's Den – Fists' personal den of debauchery. A pair of bored looking bouncers gave her a once over while she walked towards the entrance and waved her in.
Inside, Vasir grimaced at the assault against good taste that passed for modern music. Blinking headache inducing lights – check. Young scantily clad maidens and a few human women doing a sorry imitation of striptease on a stage above the bar and in not so private booths – check. The damned place hadn't really changed since the last time she had been in, was that two or three owners ago? At least the drinks used to be adequate, but she wouldn't hold her breath for it today. For a moment Tela was mightily tempted to go to the bar and get herself a very strong drink before she sighed puled back her shoulders just enough to emphasize her bust and put to work every little trick she had learned during her seven centuries as Huntress and later, Spectre.
Tela walked towards the back of the sorry excuse of a club and everyone who laid their eyes on her couldn't look away. She even saw a couple of the working girls give her jealous glares, the poor things and barely contained her snort of derision. The dancing crowd divided in front of her and in her wake people clamoured and pushed for a closer look. She put just a hint of extra swing to her hips and her smoky eyes searched for the guards protecting the back of the club. A Human and Batarian who were busy drinking her form – perfect.
"Boys..." Tela purred while eye-fucking them both. "I'm present for your boss by a very good friend of his." Her tone, the way she sensually twisted her lips in a smile holding so much promise and the aura of sex that simply radiated from her were more than enough to ensure those two already had blue balls. "Would you kindly help me surprise Fist?" She licked her lips and leaned forward.
Both of them were already enthralled and nodded vigorously. They couldn't open the door fast enough. The human even offered her his arm – such a gentleman. She wanted to laugh at how easy this was. If she pushed her biotics a bit more to reinforce the way she shifted the harmonics of her voice for maximum effect she might just break those two.
"Mike, Boros, what..." There were three more guards – all wearing light armour and had older but serviceable rifles and a shotgun in hand. All were male, two Humans and one more Batarian.
"She's present for the boss..." Mike let out a forlorn sight.
"You don't say..." The Human who apparently led the trio leaned forward to better examine her.
"What can I say?" Tela let out a throaty, needy purr. "Fist has a few very good and generous friends."
"I'm wondering if he's man enough to handle you." The second Batarian chuckled and leered at her.
"Well, if he isn't you might just get lucky tonight… A girl has her needs..." Tela looked him in each pair of eyes in turn and her own held all kinds of dark promises.
"Lucky bastard..." Boros groaned.
"Shall we? Let's not make Fist wait." Tela suggested.
"I would be pissed off if someone made me wait for you..." One of the so far silent humans nodded emphatically.
The guards fell around her and led her down a short corridor that contained various containers and a single door to the left.
"Boss, you've got a guest!" The leader of the second group laughed aloud.
"The hell?! I told you fools not to interrupt me! I'm busy damn it!"
"You don't want to make her wait, boss!"
"The fuck you're talking about, Mike?!" The door opened to reveal Fist in all his… glory.
Well, he wasn't actually bad looking, though being a Human and thus so similar to Asari certainly helped. Short black hair in what Tela recognized as a military haircut, high end medium armour painted black and glowing with additional shield emitters, a heavy pistol on his hip – a decent one too, not one of those expensive pieces of junk gun-shop owners made a fortune of selling to wealthy fools who didn't know one end of a gun from the other.
"Saren sends his regards for a job well done." Tela ensured her eyes practically shone with desire and she licked her lips in anticipation. "You've been a very good boy, Mr Fist and I'm here to reward you." Tela used he Biotics to rip the upper part of her dress down to mid-hip to reveal her leather underwear – that did more to accent her curves than to hide anything.
"Damn, that was fast..." Fist shook his head in wonder. "I just sent my people to deal with the girl."
Tela beamed at Fist. Jackpot!
She made a show of glancing at the guards who looked at her ass speechless and winked at them. The motion was calculated to give fist a great profile view of her breasts.
"Do you want me for yourself, Mr Fist?" She whispered and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Leave us alone and make sure that no one bothers us! I mean it! Scamper!"
"I so love men who know how to take charge..." Tela purred. The guards behind her gave out moans and sighs of disappointment but soon piled out of the room.
As if in trance, Fist walked towards her and went to grope her breasts. He took his hand in her own and cupped his cheek. "Tell me how good a boy you are, Mr Fist." Tela cooed and her biotics flared making her tone deeper. For a moment her eyes shone with power before turning pitch black as she pressed the side of her face to his.
"Embrace Eternity!" Vasir demanded and as their nervous systems touched she dove into Fist's mind.
=DC=
Part 4
=DC=
21.04.2183 GS /Galactic Standard/
Fist's office
Chora's den
Zakera Ward
The Citadel
Vasir glared at the drooling and grinning like a fool human crumpled at her feet. She took what useful bits of information Fist had about Saren – which were barely enough to warrant investigation and left him with the impression of a session of the most amazing sex he had ever experienced. She pocked him with a toe. Perhaps it had been too impressive for his brain to handle. The Spectre grumbled in disgust, shed what was left of her dress and lifted Fish with her biotics long enough to grab his arm and activate his omni-tool. Now that she had his codes, it was a child's play to syphon all data he had available in the office. Some bored analyst backed by expert VI's would be going over the information. At worst, C-SEC would be happy and it usually paid to give them such morsels – more often than not, that whole institution was uncomfortable with the freedom of action and ability to disregard the laws Spectres enjoyed so it was a good policy to keep them happy when practical. That was doubly true when you were an Asari and could expect to be a Spectre for centuries yet.
A few minutes later, Vasir had syphoned all data from both the omni-tool and personal computer at Fist's desk, retrieved a few hidden data-disks containing all kinds of interesting information, primary blackmail and now it was time to decide what to do about the still drooling human. The most straightforward course of action was to call C-SEC, help them subdue the guards and hand them Fisk bow-tied.
Plan B was to erase any recordings of her being here and leave him a message that he would be even happier once a certain Quarian girl was dealt with – give him more rope to hang himself while monitoring his activities. Once said girl was in custody and it was clear why Saren wanted her silenced, it would be possible to arrange for Fist's goons to "kill" her in order to give both him and Saren the impression they got off clean.
Decision, decisions… Vasir accessed Fist's security system deleting her presence and inserting a few nasty worms made by the STG then went back to his desk where the Human had an old fashioned paper notepad. She scratched a short message, dragged Fist up to his couch and put it on his chest. Now to secure a bit of clothing and make herself scarce. She had a kid to track down before she could get herself killed…
=DC=
21.04.2183 GS /Galactic Standard/
Docks
The Citadel
Two hours later, Vasir arrived at the meeting place between the Quarian girl and Fist's men. To her utmost displeasure, she was too late and even C-SEC beat her there.
"Tela Vasir, Special Tactics and Reconnaissance." She flashed her ID to the pair of armoured Turians keeping a group of curious bystanders away.
"Ma'am." One of them nodded and sent a signal from his omni-tool that allowed her to pass through the laser barrier cordoning the crime scene without triggering an annoying alarm.
A Turian detective oversaw a pair of crime scene investigators who had drones hovering over three bodies busy scanning them.
"How long ago?" Vasir didn't waste time with pleasantries. Getting herself some proper gear, ensuring the data she salvaged – both physical or otherwise wasn't lost if something happened to her took her too long. It didn't help that for the time being the investigation had to be low key. On the other hand, even with the tip she gave C-SEC the moment she was safely clear from Chora's Den, hadn't been enough for a ERS team to get to the Quarian in time. On the bright side, the kid apparently had claws and wasn't afraid to use them.
"Three rather well equipped thugs. At a first glance they jumped the wrong 'victim'." The Turian's voice warbled in grim amusement. "One took a micro-grenade to the throat."
He jabbed a talon at a Turian corpse whose head was almost separated from the torso. It looked like only the armour kept it more or less in place. At a closer look, it was certainly less – the explosion had vaporized the throat and most of the lower jaw and mandibles were simply missing along with a solid chunk of the spine. Nicely done, Tela nodded in silent approval.
"This one," The Detective pointed at the next corpse, a Batarian this time, "got hit with a very powerful Overload that fried his shields and stunned him for a few moments. If I'm to guess, military grade tech. While he was incapacitated, the 'victim' used an automatic shotgun to turn this one's chest to jelly." Another finger jab, this time at the third corpse. It used to be a human and he used to have a torso that hadn't been a paste before his run in with the Quarian. "With him done, our Batarian client managed to recover and sent couple of bursts at our 'victim'." Yet another jab, this time towards a row of weapon within clearly labelled plastic bags that stood to the side awaiting pickup. "Polonium rounds, nasty stuff." The next jab was far to the right. "He managed to hit our 'victim' and go past their shields and armour. I'm still waiting for the camera records to be certain because of the radiological contamination, however we're rather sure the 'victim' is a she. Dextro, either Turian or Quarian. For her sake I hope Turian. Once the lab techs go over the blood sample we can give you more, ma'am. As you can see, the 'victim' wasn't happy at being shot and shotgunned our Batarian friend in the head."
The shattered helmet and missing face told Vasir that much.
"Get those recording yesterday, Detective. Your victim is a Quarian who is a person of interest. She has data we need. If you find her, approach her carefully and take her into protective custody. Don't let another Spectre approach her or arrange her release unless Palin has received direct orders from the Council – face to face."
The Detective's eyes widened at those orders. There were very specific circumstances when one Spectre could and should deny access to another.
"Case Black?" The Detective whispered just loud enough for Vasir to hear.
"That's what we're trying to figure out."
=DC=
Part 5
=DC=
21.04.2183 GS /Galactic Standard/
C-SEC HQ
The Citadel
At a glance, C-SEC was engulfed by controlled chaos – so situation normal, all fucked up as usual. Garrus Vakarian's mandibles twitched in amusement at the thought. It was too bad that he knew better. First, the Executor pulled him aside and gave him a new assignment – to look into the activities of not only a Spectre but Saren of all people! Council orders so no way to even protest the orders for even a rather bad Turian like him. If that wasn't bad enough, not only everything that Saren touched went classified way about Garrus' pay-grade, now C-SEC was busy looking for a missing Quarian girl – on a Spectre's orders and thus the Councils. The Detective didn't have to be a genius to figure out that the so far unnamed Quarian was very likely related to his own case and thus his time would be better spent helping the quiet search for the girl. Instead, he was stuck at his desk trying and failing to go over files that were so classified it was a small wonder his workstation hasn't melted due to Spectre level defence software. The fact he was trying to access said files with authorization from Palin and from the heart of C-SEC probably had something to do with the continued well being of his computer. Unfortunately, despite all he could do, the files remained locked and behind solid firewalls. The little Garrus could see without waiting for clearance from the Spectre office was routine, boring and totally legit. Even if it wasn't, the Detective lacked context to connect the dots.
"Progress?" An exhausted looking Chellick appeared at the door of Vakarian's small office bearing gifts – an energy drink with metallic content that would be pure poison for most species not native to Palaven.
"Spirits, there's enough red tape here to entangle the whole Citadel fleet and have spare for at least half of Home Fleet!" Garrus shook his head in disgust.
"We have nothing to show so Palin will be screaming at us all tomorrow." Chellick threw one of the drinks to Garrus who managed to snatch it before it could hit him in the jaw.
"Thanks for nothing, bastard." Garrus grumbled good naturedly to his partner.
"You're welcome. Cheers!" Chellick popped open his can and took a long swing. "Good, this might keep me awake until tomorrow."
"That isn't something I'm looking up to." Garrus glared at yet another access denied message and took a sip of his drink. The tangy metallic taste and weak legal stimulants certainly provided a kick in the pants. "You know, she'll be looking for a doctor if she's still alive."
"We have people at all major hospitals and called the smaller ones. No joy." Chellick pointed out. It wasn't like it was mass effect science or something!
"I mean there are smaller clinics that kinda rely on not calling us in order to continue to operate unmolested from local lowlifes, not to mention those patching up people without having an active license. She's a Quarian who someone jumped just as she arrived. Somehow I don't think she'll be running to Huerta Memorial."
"I certainly hope someone else had the same idea and hit our informants. Otherwise, you'll make us look like idiots..." Chellick trailed off and smirked.
"Yeah, rub it in. I'm still on shit duty after making Palin look bad." Garrus flipped his partner a one finger salute.
Chellick chortled and went to check if someone thought to check and perhaps put under surveillance the less reputable clinics and "doctors".
=DC=
22.04.2183 GS /Galactic Standard/
Human Embassy
Presidium
The Citadel
Ambassador Udina's office was white, pristine and looked almost sterile. It gave the impression of a hospital room, perhaps an operating theatre raring to go – not what movies and common sense made Lieutenant-Commander Shepard to expect. At least the captain in his parade uniform didn't look too much out of place, however John himself and his squad – the survivors from Eden Prime in their fatigues felt distinctly underdressed. Unfortunately none of them had their dress uniforms on board – an understandable oversight considering that as far as anyone knew they were merely on the Normandy's short shake-down cruise. Needless to say, Gunny Williams came on board only with her weapons and armour. With the barracks on Eden Prime being struck from orbit, it was unlikely that anything personal she had ground-side had survived anyway.
"Understood, Councillor Tevos. We'll be there on time." Udina finished his chat with the Council and turned to glare at Shepard's team. John was tempted to glare back, however the short course in dealing with diplomats and other VIP civilians during his OCS had drummed into his head that pissing such off unless he had excellent reasons, wasn't a good idea. Of course, experience taught him that even if he had said reasons, stepping on political toes wasn't of the good. Not at all.
"Did you have to bring up your whole crew?" Udina asked Anderson and gave the three of them a dirty look.
"Merely the ground team from Eden Prime in case either you or the Council have any questions, Ambassador." The Captain smoothly attempted to defuse the situation.
"If your AARs are done right, there won't be such a need." Udina paused and his scowl deepened. "They have their I's dotted and T's crossed, right?"
"Of course, Ambassador." Anderson responded without missing a beat.
Udina glared at the stack of data pads and drives on his desk. "Not that it would matter."
Williams let out a sound of distress and disagreement – a proof she wasn't accustomed of dealing with politicians or high placed civilians. Udina's gaze snapped up and focused on the Sergeant.
"Do you find something funny, soldier?" The Ambassador snapped. "What about you, Shepard? You were supposed to be our first Spectre, you should have some skills in politics. At least enough to avoid most landmines."
"We did everything we could in order to complete the mission, Ambassador. Considering the unexpected opposition on the ground and the presence of an unknown super-dreadnought that could land, I don't see how we could have done better with the available assets. While Spectre Kryik's death is regrettable, he wasn't under my authority. I couldn't give him orders. When he decided to go ahead alone, I had no acceptable recourse but to let him go. I couldn't very well detain him."
"That won't be good enough for the Council. And this 'evidence' about Saren." Udina snorted.
"The bastard has had it in for us ever since the First Contact war!" Anderson snapped.
That certainly surprised John. This was the second time he saw the Captain's composure crack and it was when Saren was mentioned. Did the two of them have a history or something? That was the only plausible explanation he could think of.
"Perhaps. That's not how the Council would see it. We're going to accuse one of their golden boys of consorting with Geth and committing an act of war. The evidence? Testimony from a criminal who slept through the initial attack and lets not forget, he has been keeping busy stealing and selling military hardware meant for the garrison!" Udina's sneer was as impressive as the amount of venomous sarcasm he could put into his words without raising his voice. "Not to mention that said dock worker went missing when the relief force showed up!" This time the sneer was pointed at Shepard.
"We didn't have enough people to leave someone to babysit him and given the circumstances on the ground, locking him up in place would have been a death sentence." Shepard coolly explained. He thought about it but didn't add that disarming those nuclear charges at the star-port had been close enough even when he brought his whole unit there but held his tongue. As it is, only three people of the Normandy's original marine contingent were both alive and able to walk right now and one of them was the quartermaster who didn't leave the ship for the deployment on Eden Prime. That was clearly pointed out in the AARs.
"It doesn't really matter! A brain dead underpaid public defender would demolish that testimony!" Udina snapped. "And I'm expected to demand the Council strip Saren of his status and arrest him based on said 'evidence'!"
"There has to be more evidence we can find!" Williams made the mistake of opening her mouth and thus Udina turned to vent upon her.
"Really? Do you think anyone would let us come close enough to anything the Spectres have been in the general vicinity of to touch with a ten foot pole?! Of course, Parliament in their infinite wisdom doesn't care! It would be miracle if I can salvage your candidacy much less get the Council act against Saren on what we have yet they expect me to make a fool of myself!"
"Do we have any contacts that might help? There are couple of hours before the hearing, I know it isn't much, however..." Shepard trailed off. He wanted to ask why Parliament would force Udina to publicly act on such flimsy evidence, however he felt that this wasn't the time nor the place. Perhaps if he had a chance to speak with the Ambassador when he wasn't ready to bite off someone's head at the tiniest of provocations…
"In couple of hours? There's Harkin I guess – he's a C-SEC agent who knows all kinds of things. At least he might be able to point you at the C-SEC agents who are supposed to investigate Saren's activity. I hope for all our sakes that they were able to dig up something, because once the Council sees our 'evidence' I would be surprised if they don't put a stop of any and all investigations about Saren! Solid proof my ass..." The last was muttered low enough that Shepard wondered if he really heard it.
=DC=
Part 6
=DC=
22.04.2183 GS /Galactic Standard/
STG Safe-house
The Citadel
As safe houses went, this one was quite nice – a whole flat within one of the more expensive hotels priding itself on guest comfort and more importantly, ensuring their peace and quiet. The balcony overlooked one of the largest market areas on the Citadel, which in turn was always quite busy, no matter the time of day or night and thus provided crowds to get lost into. It was also an alternative escape route if you were a biotic or had the appropriate tech. Even a clamp and high strength cable could to the trick. A mixed smoke grenade or two can ensure no sniper would be able to nab you on the way down too.
The furniture was comfortable, expensive and not really to Vasir's taste, something she had the time to grumble about while staying low and watching Bau control various spy programs watching persons of interest and their activity. She itched to be out and doing something, however officially both of them boarder a ship to Thesia to deal with that corruption scandal. Besides, it wasn't like one more person on the ground would have an impact considering that currently C-SEC was like a kicked off swarm crawling all over the station looking for their little illusive Quarian. It was just a matter of time before they located her, the only question was if it would happen before the Council meeting with the Humans in an hour and if she would be still in one piece when they got her.
The Spectre shifted to be more comfortable on the sofa she was sprawled on and looked back at Jondum. The Salarian was at his element – typing furiously on multiple virtual keyboards and surrounded by three primary monitors with a few smaller holographic windows open around him. His eyes darted from screen to screen and Tela could swear the VI helping him had trouble keeping up. It was most amusing to watch, at least in small doses. A day or two of this and despite all here training and experience, Vasir would be climbing the walls and needing to shoot something as stress relief.
"Wegothim!" At least that was what Tela thought Bau shouted at him – it was too fast for her translator to properly get and her Salarian was quite rusty, especially given Jondum's accent.
"Who and how?"
"Saren! Just sent a message to Fist!" Thankfully, Jondum slowed down to merely a thousand words a minute. "It's a hit on any and all Normandy ground crew who were on Eden Prime! Primary targets – Lieutenant-Commander Shepard, Lieutenant Kaidan Alenko and Gunnery Sergeant Ashley Williams! Payment details, hit-men to contact..."
"That's a nice start!" In a flash, Vasir was behind Bau looking at the relevant intercepts. It didn't exactly implicate Saren in consorting with the Geth and leading them on Eden Prime, however arranging the murder of a Council Associate military personnel, especially those who just arrived from fighting said Geth was damning. Certainly enough to yank him back to the Citadel so Vasir and company could ask some pointed questions and if he refused…
"Contact the Council – they need to know about this. Give me Shepard's location – he'll likely be with the other two. I'll make sure they don't get killed before we get to the bottom of this!"
"I'm already compiling a report. Implications most concerning…" Jondum shot back.
=DC=
22.04.2183 GS /Galactic Standard/
Council Chamber
Citadel Tower
The Citadel
The Councillors were back in their usual meeting room, discussing how to play their meeting with Udina in order not to make any more of an international accident than the Human's accusations would engineer, when a priority message reached Tevos' omni-tool. A moment later, the same happened to her colleagues.
"That's never a good sign." Sparatus sighed and flicked his wrists thus activating his device. A few lines of authorisation codes later he wanted to strangle a certain barefaced bastard.
"Vasir has the right idea. Shepard getting assassinated just before or after our meeting with Ambassador Udina could be most disruptive.
"Do we recall Saren in to explain himself or give him enough rope to properly hang himself?" Tevos asked in a deceptively calm tone.
"If he hasn't just let his power and hatred of humans get the better of him and is in fact traitor, he won't come anyway. Better keep his official status up for now and monitor what resources he taps, perhaps find out his location as well." Valern suggested. "Unfortunately, grabbing him for interrogation or neutralizing him won't be a low key event. Must assume a Geth naval force and that dreadnought on station to protect or extract him."
"A major fleet action. We don't know the capabilities of that ship. Overkill highly recommended." Sparatus nodded. This was going to get messy and if properly mishandled, they would be clearing the said mess for years, perhaps decades to come.
"We'll use the Humans as a diversion as previously discussed. Unless they have solid evidence about Saren's presence on Eden Prime, we'll dismiss their claims for the time being. Promise further investigation to soothe ruffed feathers." Tevos nodded.
"What about Shepard's candidacy?"
"Opposition on Eden Prime extreme and unexpected. Needs proper evaluation." Valern voiced his opinion.
"We assign one of the Spectres we sick on Saren to monitor him. Use said evaluation to soothe the Humans' pride after this coming meeting." Tevos suggested.
"That can work. I'll be playing the big bad inflexible Turian again, won't I? It's getting old, you know?" Sparatus grumbled.
"But you do it so well, Trest, I'm half convinced there might be a grain of truth." Tevos sent a half-smile her colleague's way.
"Har, har. We need to establish a proper naval task force to go after Saren once he surfaces with that fleet of his. If he hasn't lost his mind completely, he'll keep to the Terminus systems unless he absolutely has to be within Council Space. Sending a fleet there can spark a war and we're stretched too thin to protect most places that hive of scum and villainy can lash at..." Sparatus trailed off. "We'll need to mobilize some of the reserve citing the resurgent Geth threat. If we can buy enough time, we might just be ready to face the backslash when we have to go after Saren. Ideally, he'll come to us but I won't hold my breath." The grin he gave Tevos and Valern was all teeth. "Let's talk about paying for said mobilization."
"The Republic's would scream bloody murder and the Serise Council will lead the charge…" Tevos hummed deep in thought.
"STG itself is already on board. Our political leadership however… the current crop of Dalatrases are far from ideal." Valern's lips twitched briefly in an approximation of a grim smile. "Naval Command on the other hand is much more reasonable. They will be eager to send an additional task force or two to the Citadel Fleet – ships unique qualified for stealth insertion within the Terminus and locating Saren and his Geth."
"Speaking about money, once Saren is revealed to be part of the attack on Eden Prime, we'll need to pay at least part of the recovery bill, care for wounded and settlement to families who lost members during the action." Sparatus twisted the knife.
"We'll have to get some of that covered below board within funding the activation of reserve units." Valern nodded and the two of them looked expectantly at Tevos.
"I will have to burn some political capital back home and possibly blackmail a few Matriarchs." Tevos sighed. "This is going to be so troublesome, I just know it..."
"We're agreed then. We will hold on calling Case Black on Saren for the time being, however we're sending STG, the Spectres and if I know my Primarch, Blackwatch after him in force. They'll go after his assets, try to unravel his plans and find him so we can drop a proper fleet on his head." Sparatus nodded. "Then if I could only get my talons in that barefaced..." He began muttering quietly before catching himself. "With Saren likely a traitor or insane, we have to assume everything he has touched is suspect. Everything he knows – either the Geth, perhaps even the Shadow Broker, know. Codes, CDF contingencies, the Spectre's are compromised at least to a certain extent… potentially our own security too. We'll have our hands very busy over the next few months."
"Sound like a plan." Valern nodded too. "And I do share your concern. The STG will be engaging Burnout Protocols as far as Saren is concerned."
"Just for the record, some days, like say, today, I hate you both." Tevos added her own nod. "I do agree in general. We'll have Vasir go after Saren on the Spectre front with Shepard trailing her as her trainee. Bau will coordinate clearing up house and enacting the Case Black contingencies within the Spectre office."
