The call interrupted my plans to head to Chora's Den, where I might have crossed paths with an alien woman I found interesting. But ignoring the call wasn't an option—it was my corporation's representative on the Citadel.
"Go ahead."
I made sure my tone conveyed that if this call was about some petty bullshit, getting fired would be the smallest problem that particular representative would face.
"Boss, a young representative of the Migrant Fleet came to our reception desk and is asking to meet with you. She says she has information important to humans."
"Then buy the information..."
I didn't understand why he was calling. Things like that should be handled by my representative without me. Only after I said it did the bell ring in my head. A quarian... information...
"Boss, the problem is, she refuses to deal with anyone but you."
Well then... let's play a little game.
"Is she in front of you right now?"
"No."
"Fine. Call her in and put it on speaker."
"Will do."
About twenty seconds later I heard a door open, then my representative's loud voice inviting the girl in. Then the door shut.
"Boss, you're on speaker."
"Actually, I was hoping for an in-person meeting."
There was displeasure in the quarian's voice.
"An in-person meeting? And who are you that I should meet you personally?"
"But the information..."
"Alright, I was a bit hasty. I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is John Shepard. I'm the owner of New Life Corporation."
"Tali'Zorah nar Rayya, pilgrim of the Migrant Fleet."
"Excellent. You can call me John, or, if that's uncomfortable, Mr. Shepard. And what should I call you?"
"Tali is enough, Mr. Shepard."
There was embarrassment in her voice.
"Excellent, Miss Tali. I understand you're very young, but your naivety... it's astonishing."
"Naivety?"
Confusion and mild hurt in Tali's voice told me she heard me, but didn't want to accept it.
"Exactly. Let's use the Migrant Fleet as an example. I'm not familiar with your full power structure, but I know your highest governing body is something like an Admiralty Board. Is that correct?"
"Yes..."
She was thrown off by my words.
"Excellent. Now imagine that my corporation is a miniature Fleet. There's me—the highest authority. There are those who run divisions; they're a kind of admirals. There are representatives in different places; they're something like trusted agents or deputies of admirals."
"Are you following my logic?"
"Yes."
I heard thoughtfulness in her voice. Jane, walking beside me, snorted quietly. She didn't interrupt—apparently realizing that, for some reason, I didn't want to simply tell off the overly bold, in her opinion, girl.
"Now tell me: if I, a complete outsider to the Migrant Fleet, somehow ended up near your Fleet, what would quarians think of me if, over some trivial matter any trusted agent could resolve, I started demanding a meeting with the Admiralty Board?"
"Um... they'd laugh at you?"
Her voice carried embarrassment and uncertainty.
"In the best case. Do you understand what I'm telling you?"
"Y-yes... I'm nobody, and you won't meet with me."
"Now, why be so harsh?"
I softened my voice as much as possible.
"You're, at minimum, a representative of a force in this galaxy that is friendly to me. Quarians on pilgrimage are happy to work in my colonies, in my factories, and on my ships. You're also a young woman named Tali who surely has many merits. But none of that is enough to earn a personal meeting with me."
"Then what would be enough?"
"Well... if you were an officially authorized ambassador of the Migrant Fleet, meeting with me would be more than possible. An admiral, or even just a ship captain... though the latter is doubtful. In my view, a captain can't have problems that can't be handled by, say, the director of a branch he turns to. Or, off the top of my head..."
I paused as if thinking.
"...if you were the daughter of one of the admirals, I would meet with you at least to try to use you to establish closer relations with your father, and therefore with the Migrant Fleet."
"Um... well... kind of..."
There was so much embarrassment in her voice that now Chifuyu snorted too, and Rebecca, and Anderson—still walking beside me—just smirked. A faint smile appeared on my lips as well, while Jane only rolled her eyes.
"Yes?"
"I'm the daughter of Admiral Rael'Zorah vas Alarei."
"Hm... do you have documents to confirm that?"
I even stopped, and the others stopped with me. Their faces showed shock and disbelief.
"Of course."
"Could you please show them to my representative?"
"Yes."
"Boss, she really is the admiral's daughter."
My subordinate sounded shocked and disbelieving. He clearly hadn't expected a turn like that. Anderson, standing beside me, was blinking too—looking like he'd expected the documents to be fake.
"Alright, Miss Tali. Will it be convenient for you to wait for me..."
I checked the time on my omni-tool.
"...for about twenty minutes? Unfortunately, I'm in another ward, so I can't get to the office quickly."
"Of course!"
"Alexei..."
I addressed the representative by name.
"...Escort the girl to the quarian lounge, and bring her a proper lunch."
"There's no need!"
Tali tried to cut in.
"Miss Tali, don't refuse. That room was made specifically for especially valuable specialists or guests like you. It has a full air sterilization system, so you can remove your suit helmet and enjoy real food instead of the nutrient paste you usually eat. When else are you going to get that chance outside the Fleet?"
"I... thank you..."
There was confusion in Tali's voice, and a certain helplessness, and anticipation of the meal.
"I'll take care of it."
"Good..."
My tone made it clear to Alexei that everything had better be done at the highest level.
"...I'm ending the call. I think we can meet and talk in about twenty minutes. And don't rush the meal—if you haven't finished by the time I arrive, I can wait, or you can finish after our conversation."
"Thank you."
That was the last thing I heard over the line.
"Is that even normal?"
Chifuyu spoke to me with mild doubt.
"Hm?"
"Captain, you were talking over an open channel, without a headset, in the middle of the Citadel."
"We didn't discuss anything important..."
I shrugged casually. Besides—if you want to hide something, put it in plain sight. Sure, there's always a chance someone will overhear, but let's be honest: if someone really needs to tap a protected line, it may be harder... but it's still possible.
"I... maybe you're right, Captain."
"Chief, you can just use my name now. Didn't I tell you that outside official events you can address me simply by name?"
"Well... I just got flustered..."
"Oh, come on, say it straight. You finally realized John is a big shot, but for some reason you turned into an ostrich, even though it was obvious back when we heard from Jane about what went down on Elysium, and when we saw that container of gear in the hold—stuff the Army's elite units don't even get issued yet."
"Alright. I suggest we head to my office. Maybe the information the girl wanted to sell really will be important for all of humanity."
"John, you're a big boy, and you believe nonsense like that..."
Rebecca curled her lip in amusement.
"What can I do? I like fairy tales. Besides, at the office I can arrange a truly luxurious lunch for us—after the negotiations with the quarian."
"I think I'll go back to the Normandy."
Anderson sounded tired.
"I should pack my things before the ship is transferred to you."
"Anderson..."
I looked at him with a hint of disapproval.
"We have plenty of time, but if you don't want to, I won't force you."
"Thanks."
He nodded to me and left. The rest of us went to the nearest taxi stand, got into an aircar, and headed to my office.
"So how often do you get bothered like this?"
Jane looked at me with interest.
"Not very often, actually. Usually my representatives have enough patience and backbone to convince visitors that their authority is sufficient to solve the issue. But Tali was persistent enough to get Alexei to call me."
"I see..."
There was some doubt in Jane's voice. But she didn't argue that Tali had shown real persistence.
"Hey—can you order weapons from your company?"
Rebecca asked, staring at me with expectation. In her gaze I read a drop of greed and anticipation.
"You can. We'll finish our business on the Citadel and then outfit the landing team. Something tells me it needs to be brought up to at least ten people, and then equipped with the latest tech."
"Oh? Do we get to choose, or will the commander be a tyrant and despot and order us armored bras and armored thongs?"
"Just for you, I'll order armor shorts beyond the edge of indecency that look like denim. And for your chest, I'll order armored pasties."
I said it so seriously that Rebecca went pale, and if we hadn't been in a taxi, she would've tried to get as far away from me as possible.
"I... I was joking..."
For a moment, the taxi fell silent.
"John, please, don't pick an outfit like that for Revy. It would be extremely impractical in combat."
Jane tried to keep a straight face, but a smile still kept slipping through.
"Fine. But if she starts showing off too much..."
"Yeah. Tell me, and then we'll order the outfit you described—and I'll order her a dildo-shaped pistol too."
"No, Jane, please, you won't do that! We... I..."
Panic crept into Rebecca's voice.
"Then behave yourself so Jane doesn't have a reason to do it."
Chifuyu shrugged with a faint smirk.
"Hey, Captain..."
Rebecca addressed me again.
"...I'll be a good girl, just don't do that. Don't get me wrong—I'm not stupid, I get that you were probably joking, but... every joke has a grain of truth. So if I screw up, send me to scrub the head with a toothbrush instead of stuff like that."
"Fine."
I waved it off.
"I won't make you wear something like that. Calm down."
"Fuuh..."
Rebecca exhaled with obvious relief—and just then the taxi reached its destination and settled smoothly in front of the office, opening the doors so we could get out.