Chapter 7
They all sat around a table in Udina's office, talking amongst themselves while Harry was working furiously on his omni-tool.
"What are you doing, Harry?" Jane asked. Harry looked up and for a moment she was tempted to shrink away from him, his eyes were glowing slightly and his his expression was one of barely contained rage. He schooled it immediately and smiled at her.
"Waste management." Harry said, returning to tapping at his omnitool before continuing.
"I was hoping to wait for more of his bullshit to come out naturally, but he disrespected you and Dave..." Harry said.
"You mean..." Anderson started before shouts were heard outside in the hallway.
"What is the meaning of this?!" Udina shouted. Harry grinned savagely as the arresting C-sec officers listed off a number of charged and began to drag him, literally kicking and screaming, out of the building.
"Spirits, remind me not to get on your bad side..." Fedorian said. Harry laughed.
"You have nothing to fear from me, Primarch. From what I can tell you're a good man and a good leader." Harry explained.
"So how are we going to do this?" Anderson asked. Harry withdrew the video cube and handed it to Fedorian
"Primarch your opinion on this matter will carry far more weight than ours, especially with Spartaus. As a race, Humanity is still at the 'They're ignorant children flailing in the dark they know nothing' stage of relations with the Council." Harry said. Fedorian nodded, accepting it.
"I agree. I've seen the contents already, however. It is my hope to have Saren's treacherous head on a pike outside the Palaven government complex by week's end." Fedorian said. Anderson went to interject but stopped when Harry shook his head.
"We will of course not interfere. I'm sure Spartaus will listen to you.. or at least obey you. What are your thoughts on Valern and Tevos?" Harry said.
"Valern is smart, even for a Salarian, but his attention span is limited. If needed, distract him. Tevos is under the impression that she is the queen of the Citadel. Spartaus and Valern let her think that because it makes her susceptible to manipulation, Valern is talented at making her think his ideas were hers to begin with." Spartaus said. Harry nodded.
"Ok, so distract the Salarian, suck the Asari's dick, leave the Turian to Primarch Fedorian." Harry summed up. Jane burst out laughing, and Fedorian and Anderson chuckled. Before long they were summoned to the council chambers. When they arrived, Spartaus was noticeably nervous upon seeing the Primarch at Shepard's side, whereas Valern looked suspicious and Tevos was aloof.
"Primarch Fedorian, it's an honor. To what do we owe the pleasure?" Spartaus asked, completely ignoring the humans.
"I arrived with my men to accept the remains of Specter Kryik, and curiosity lead to me seeking an audience with these humans. I am here to ensure that justice is done." Fedorian announced. Harry cheered internally, he couldn't have asked for anything better than that.
"Of course. Now, you." Spartaus said, pointing at Shepard. She narrowed her eyes at him.
"Her name, Councilor Spartaus, is Lieutenant Commander Jane Shepard of the Alliance Navy. She carries an N7 certification and is the executive officer of the most advanced ship produced by either the Turian or Human militaries, I'd appreciate it if you'd show her some respect." Fedorian said, his tone firm and authoritative.
"Of-of course! Forgive me, Lieutenant Commander. Please explain the events that bring us here today." Spartaus said, his voice shaking. Harry didn't fail to notice the smirk on Valern's face at seeing his colleague dressed down. Shepard explained the mission, how it ended, and the contents of the strange vision she saw.
"So after you destroyed a priceless Prothean artifact, all you have to tell us is that it gave you a vision of blood and machines?" Valern asked.
"Shepard didn't destroy the beacon, it exploded after attacking her. We are working towards figuring out what it means but right now we have bigger problems. What do you intend to do about this renegade specter?" Harry said.
"What proof do you have that Saren went rogue? Aside from the testimony of a few clearly delusional primates..." Tevos said. Harry went to speak but was restrained by Fedorian
"If I may, Admiral." Fedorian said.
"Of course, Primarch." Harry said.
"Councilors, I have here a video cube carried by Turian infiltrators used for gathering intel. This was taken from a position that Specter Kryik set up to record his encounter with Saren. As you can attest, Spartaus, these are nearly impossible to hack." Fedorian said, twisting a dial on the cube and releasing it. Before them was projected images of Nihlus and Saren, and the entirety of their encounter up to Shepard finding and collecting the cube.
"That is... disturbing." Valern admitted.
"Spirits. I'll recall him right away." Spartaus said.
"If I may?" Harry interjected. Fedorian gestured for him to continue.
"Saren is clearly up to something. If you recall him, or even revoke his specter status, he's going to disappear off the face of the galaxy. We won't see or hear from him until he's already done whatever damage he's planning to. I propose we hunt him down as quietly as possible. Of course that would be easier, if we had a specter of our own..." Harry said.
"We offered you the honor, and you refused it in a most impolite way." Valern said.
"I'm not talking about me. Lieutenant Commander Shepard is more than qualified. She's an N7, her record is immaculate, before his death Nihlus had nothing but praise for her. We need access to the same tools, the same intelligence he has, and this is the easiest way." Harry said. Jane's eyes widened but she remained silent. The councilors stepped away and spoke with one another in hushed tones for a moment before resuming their positions at their podium.
"We need time to discuss this In detail. Return tomorrow and we will have our decision." Spartaus said. Harry looked at Anderson and Shepard, getting nods.
"That is acceptable." Harry said. Spartaus went to say something but didn't get the chance, Harry had already turned and was walking out. Spartaus laughed openly at the display of disrespect, and on instinct Anderson and Shepard had followed him.
"Unbelievable. These humans have barely made it off their planet and here they are making demands of us! And the disrespect! I am a Councilor!" Spartaus said.
"For now you are, Spartaus. You serve at the pleasure of our people. You would do well to remember that." Fedorian said, before bowing politely to Valern and Tevos and leaving himself. He walked down the stairwell towards the presidium when he caught up with his Human companions in the middle discussion of another Turian, one that was known to him. Fedorian himself had recommended this one for Specter evaluation, and had, to his astonishment, turned it down. The first Turian ever to refuse.
"Primarch Fedorian, sir! I didn't expect to see you." the Turian said, saluting him
"At ease ,Vakarian." Fedorian said.
"Primarch, we were just discussing the Saren situation. Garrus here has been leading a c-sec investigation into Saren for a number of crimes he's suspected of committing. Fedorian nodded.
"I'm required back home. Vakarian, I'm not your boss while you're in c-sec, but I'd highly suggest you cooperate with these humans. They share your goal and are decent and honorable." Fedorian said.
"Of course, Primarch. I will." Garrus said. Fedorian nodded and approached the Humans.
"I'd like to thank you again for your treatment of our specter. If the Hierarchy can be of any assistance in your investigation, please don't hesitate to reach out." Fedorian said, offering his hand, first to Shepard, who shook it.
"Of course, Primarch. It is much appreciated." Anderson said, when he shook his hand.
"We'll keep you in the loop." Harry said when it was his turn.
"And Harry, if your Dogstar Corporation has problems with the Citadel regarding delivery of fuel to the flotilla, please let me know. I'm beginning to suspect much about what the councilors have told us about them has been lies." Fedorian siad.
"Thank you again, Primarch." Harry said. Fedorian took his leave and their conversation continued.
"Here, Officer Vakarian, take my contact information. If you find anything else, let us know. We'll do the same." Harry said.
"I appreciate it Admiral, Captain Anderson, Lieutenant Commander Shepard." Garrus said, accepting the download to his omnitool. He turned to leave but stopped.
"I almost forgot.." Garrus said, punching information into his omnitool. The three humans' omnitools lit up as they received a data dump.
"That's everything I have so far. I'd recommend you speak to Barla Von down in the financial district supposedly has connections to The Shadow Broker." Garrus said.
"Appreciate it." Shepard said. Anderson turned to Harry and Shepard
"I should return to the Normandy and reach out to Admiral Hackett." Anderson said.
"Of course. Make sure he knows I'm here with you. Jane, wanna come with me to question Barla Von? I have business with him anyway." Harry said.
"Sounds fun." Shepard said, and followed him down the path. They didn't make it far before they saw something that had Harry seeing red. A Quarian woman was being shouted at by a pair of Turians. When Harry looked closer he could see that the normally form-fitting biosuit was hanging off of her, and her movements were shaky.
"What's going on here?" Harry asked, jogging up to them, quietly positioning himself between the Quarian and the Turians.
"None of your concern, human." One of the Turians said.
"I'm making it my concern." Harry said. The Turian's mandibles twitched and he assumed an aggressive stance, however his companion grabbed him by the shoulder and stopped him
"Look at his uniform, he's an N7. You don't stand a chance." The other Turian said. The first one looked back, indecisive before backing down.
"The suit rat can be your problem then. I don't want to see her around here any more." He said before they both stalked off. Harry turned just in time to see Shepard catch the Quarian as she keeled over.
"Hey, ma'am are you still with us?" Harry said
"I-I'll be fine... Thank y-you.." The Quarian said, slowly getting to her feet.
"I disagree." Harry said, reaching into his coat and withdrawing a box labeled "D-Rations (Sterile)" he opened it and pulled out what looked like a tube of toothpaste, the opening designed specifically to attach to a standard Quarian induction port.
"Take this, it's bland, but nutritious." Harry said. The Quarian lifted a shaky hand to grab it, and when she did she immediately dropped it. Harry caught it mid-air and brought it back up.
"May I?" Harry asked.
"P-please." The Quarian said. Harry screwed the opening into her induction port and guided her over to a bench so she could sit and eat.
"Should I get a doctor?" Jane asked.
"There is a clinic nearby, I bring her food and dextro meds all the time, she takes care of kids on pilgrimage all the time." Harry said, looking sad.
"Thank you. I just need a moment, you can leave me." The Quarian said.
"Not happening. You need to get checked out, starvation takes more than a light meal to fix. I know from personal experience." Harry said. Shepard's head shot up and caught his gaze.
"Later" Harry said. Shepard accepted that
"Really, I don't want to be a bother.." The Quarian said.
"How old are you?" Harry asked.
"I'll be nineteen next month." The Quarian said.
"I ran into a boy about your age here a couple of years ago, same situation. He... he didn't make it." Harry said.
"Jesus." Jane said. Harry nodded.
"Dextro food is ridiculously inexpensive too. How are you feeling now" Harry said, the last directed at the Quarian.
"A lot better, thank you." the Quarian said.
"Good, let's get you over to see my friend Chloe, she'll help you get back out to finish your pilgrimage." Harry said, standing and helping her to her feet. She took a step and wobbled.
"Nope, that won't work." Harry said, scooping the Quarian up into his arms, carrying her bridal style.
"You really don't have to..." the Quarian said.
"Hush, child. Let me help." Harry said. They walked the half kilometer to Dr. Chloe Michel's clinic, unsurprisingly there was another Quarian, this one who seemed in much better health, though she had a slight limp. There was a recent patch on her suit on her side.
"You need to take it easy for a few days. It's a miracle you didn't get an infection. Let me know if you feel anything strange in the next few days, polonium is no joke." Dr. Michel said
"Of course. Yes Thank you, Dr. Michel." the wounded woman said.
"It looks like I have a new patient, please go sit in the lobby, I need to get your supplies together." Michel said. The woman walked past them and took a seat in the lobby as directed.
"Harry, dear, bring her here." Michel said, directing him to a table where he carefully put her down.
"Any suit breaches?" Michel asked.
"No, I'm ok, I should really get going..." The Quarian said.
"Nonsense, you're skin and bones! Harry did you give her something?" Michel asked.
"One tube of sterile dextro paste, I don't want to risk more." Harry said
"Good call. Honey you're probably badly dehydrated, I'm going to run a line into your IV port, ok?" Michel said. She nodded weakly.
"I'll take it from here, Harry." Michel said. Harry nodded and took out the box he'd opened earlier, leaving it beside her.
"Take these with you, and if you need more, see the Alliance Embassy. Same with any other pilgrims you encoutner, ok" Harry said.
"Keelah I just.. I don't know what to say.." The Quarian said.
"How about 'Sure thing Harry!'" Harry said with a grin. She giggled.
"Sure thing, Harry! Thank you so much." She said, laying her head down on the bed. Moments later they heard a soft snore coming from her through her vocal processors and the smile Harry had dissolved into a rictus of rage.
"Fucking Turian shitbags I'm going to go back there and rip their crests off and stab them to death with them." Harry said.
"Harry, no. We still need to go see Barla Von. Saren is more important than those racist punks." Shepard said.
"Excuse me, did you say Saren?" the wounded Quarian asked.
"Yes ma'am." Shepard said, blushing. She shouldn't have said that in public.
"I have some information that might be useful." The Quarian said, before she stood and approached, reaching a hand out.
"My name is Tali'Zorah Nar Rayya." Tali said.
