"They are expecting you."
The Council secretary invited us to enter the chamber, where all members of the Citadel Council were already present. And it clearly wasn't the beginning of the session, as Nihlus Kryik was already standing before them, and Saren Arterius's hologram could be seen to the side.
"Oh yes... Humans... who else could testify against me..."
A sneer sounded in Saren Arterius's voice.
"I wonder what they could have seen if, according to Nihlus Kryik, he was alone when I shot him in the head?"
The Spectre shook his head in bewilderment.
"Spectre, maintain silence."
Tevos cast a displeased look at Saren Arterius but otherwise showed no reaction to his lack of restraint.
"We have gathered to conduct a full investigation, and although the Humans cannot confirm your presence on Eden Prime, they can confirm the rest of Spectre Kryik's words. And now we will conduct an inquiry to establish whether their testimonies coincide."
Saren Arterius only pointedly moved his mandibles; I got the feeling that by this he wanted to say that even during the flight we could have made a deal and now our testimonies would be identical.
"Now, Captain Shepard, take a step forward."
At Tevos's request, I took that step and looked intently at the Council members, who were drilling me with their gazes. Besides Tevos from the Asari, the Council currently consisted of Sparatus from the Turians and Valern from the Salarians. And they were the most stereotypical representatives of their races.
"You were sent to Eden Prime to retrieve a Prothean Beacon; tell us what happened during the mission. A short version first."
"At the very beginning, even before departure, I was arguing with the supply service representatives, who didn't allocate the necessary equipment for the ship, and I was also arguing because the landing party was supposed to consist of two people, not counting me..."
"We are not interested in your problems."
Sparatus spoke in a haughty voice.
"Get to the point."
I just shrugged.
"Upon approaching the planet, we received a distress signal. Please review it."
I activated my Omni-tool and transferred the video recording to the secretary, which was immediately added to the case. At the same time, I saw that the Councilors were shocked that such a behemoth could land on a planet. They were ready right now to say it was a lie and that such ships simply could not exist.
"If necessary, we can allow your technicians onto the SSV Normandy, and they can review the original recording and assess its authenticity. After receiving the signal, the ship activated all stealth systems and reached the colony, where, at Spectre Kryik's insistence, we split up. He went alone, while we moved toward the dig site from another direction."
"Who attacked the colony?"
"We fought two types of opponents. The first type—Geth. The second type of opponents were strange creatures, presumably created from Humans by implanting something into them..."
"Explain."
Valern looked at me intently.
"We encountered strange mechanisms that look like retractable spikes. In some places, we saw dead Humans hanging on these spikes, and in others, these were creatures... of a gray-blue color, moving... Well, the closest definition would be 'zombies'; in Human culture, there are movies about the apocalypse..."
"We are familiar with the definition of 'zombies.' Are you saying they were slow and clumsy?"
"No... I'm saying they paid no attention to us until we were within a certain distance. After which they ran at us, no matter what. It was necessary to destroy the head for the creature to stop trying to maul us."
The Councilors continued to drill me with their gazes.
"When we reached the dig site, it turned out the Beacon had already been moved. So we headed to its presumed location. On the way, we found Mr. Kryik lying unconscious. I even thought at first that he was dead... but it turned out he had received a head wound and the bullet ricocheted off the skull. Such things are very rare, but they do happen."
"We know such things happen. What happened next?"
Tevos hurried me along.
"Well, we took the monorail to the spaceport, where Turian nuclear bombs from the time of the Krogan Rebellions were discovered—at least, that's how Spectre Kryik identified them. Since the bombs were set so that disarming them was impossible, I had to use a rather complex Biotic technique that my Asari teacher taught me. I gathered all the bombs and threw them into space, where they exploded and caused no harm to the planet. At that point, I temporarily stopped tracking what was happening. Because such a technique, while it can be used by me, currently requires excessive effort. Lieutenant Shepard can tell you in more detail what happened next."
"Lieutenant Shepard?"
Valern nodded to Jane, and she stood beside me and quickly told the rest of the story, after which the Council retired for a short deliberation, after which Jane and I were asked a few more questions aimed at clarifying what had occurred.
And naturally, they were trying to figure out if we had conspired with Kryik or not.
"This is all well and good, of course..."
Saren Arterius couldn't stand it at some point.
"...however, not a single piece of information confirming my involvement in the attack on Eden Prime has been provided by either of the Shepards. And I have work to do, by the way."
"My apologies..."
I decided it was time to show the trump card.
"...but we didn't demonstrate it for the reason that we weren't asked if we had data confirming Spectre Arterius's involvement in what happened."
"And do you have such data? And if so, you should have mentioned it during your story."
"The data exists, and I didn't mention it because it was obtained only after our arrival at the Citadel. Essentially, it was a stroke of luck. A Quarian girl miraculously managed to extract several audio tracks related to what happened on Eden Prime from a Geth she encountered elsewhere. If the esteemed Council permits, I can play them."
"Play them."
I immediately activated the recording, which, although short, allowed Saren Arterius to be identified by his voice.
"Spectre Arterius, do you have anything to say in your defense?"
"No... I am acting in the interests of the Turian Hierarchy."
After that, the connection with Saren Arterius cut off.
"I consider Spectre Arterius's guilt proven."
Tevos said this somewhat lazily, but at the same time, it was clear she was tense. After all, it's not every day that the guilt of Spectres becomes known, if not to the public, then to a fairly wide circle of people.
"Agreed."
"Confirmed."
Sparatus and Valern confirmed Arterius's guilt, and Kryik beside me clicked his mandibles with satisfaction.
"To make further decisions, the Council is retiring for a meeting. Spectre Kryik, proceed to the briefing room."
"Yes, sir."
The Spectre immediately departed, and we were asked to leave the chamber, as there was nothing for us to do there now.
"Any ideas?"
Jane cast an intent look at me and adjusted a strand of hair, tucking it behind her ear.
"What is there to say? It's either yes or no... And if it's yes, it seems to me that we'll be the ones having to clean up the mess."
Chifuyu snorted quietly.
"And when was it ever different?"
"Well, actually never... but before, the mess we cleaned up was of a much smaller size, a shovel was enough, and now what kind of excavator will we need?"
"Hah..."
I turned my head slightly and saw a Turian standing a bit away from us. And my words greatly amused him.
"...your commander says the right things. You are climbing very high, and if you secure your position there, you really will be shoveling mess with excavators. Although I can't say it doesn't please me, the way you are climbing up. After all, I've been gathering dirt on Arterius for a long time, but my superiors..."
"And who are you, exactly?"
"Garrus Vakarian, investigator for Citadel Security (C-Sec). Pleased to meet you."
With his last words, he subtly hinted that he already knew all of us; however, formalities were still necessary.
"Captain John Shepard, commander of the SSV Normandy's landing service. My Lieutenant Jane Shepard and her subordinates Chifuyu Orimura and Rebecca Lee. And our commander..."
I nodded toward Anderson, who hadn't said a word during this time. He hadn't even been interrogated to establish the truth.
"...David Anderson. And we're pleased to meet you too."
"And what do you plan to do next?"
"Nothing for now..."
I shrugged carelessly.
"...since the Council's position and our place in their plans are not yet known. But when everything becomes clear... I'll do my job."
"I see... if you ever need a decent investigator and an excellent sniper, contact me."
Garrus Vakarian quickly gave me his communicator number, then left us.
"John?"
Anderson looked at me inquiringly.
"What?"
"What do you think of the Turian?"
"I think that not every Turian is equally useful, but if prepared correctly... even an investigator can be put to use."
"So, you want to include him in the team?"
"It's too early to think about that, but if I'm sent after Saren Arterius, I'll contact him. I think a good sniper will indeed be useful to us."
For a while longer, we just stood in silence, each thinking their own thoughts, but personally, I was thinking about the canon and what exactly I had managed to change even before it began, and what I still had to break over my knee, or maybe my knee would be broken...
However, my thoughts were fairly quickly interrupted.
"Enter."
We were called back, and we entered the chamber. The Councilors were drilling me with their gazes.
"I still think it is far too early for Humanity."
Sparatus said this in a slightly displeased voice.
"Two against one, my friend, two against one..."
Tevos gently pointed out that they were a triumvirate and everything was decided by a majority vote. Although, in my opinion, the Asari were foolish when they gave power to others. They should have built their own empire with the younger races as subordinates. But... not everyone is capable of that. The Turians surely wouldn't have missed the chance if they had reached the Citadel first.
"Captain John Shepard, step forward."
I took a few steps.
"From this moment, by decision of the Citadel Council, you are endowed with all the powers and privileges of a member of the Special Tactics and Reconnaissance of the Citadel."
Tevos spoke in a level voice that held a sense of solemnity.
"Spectres are not trained; they are chosen. They are hardened in battle and in the execution of special assignments. By their actions, they place themselves above all ranks and positions."
Valern picked up the solemn speech after Tevos.
"Spectres are the Ideal, the Symbol, the embodiment of Courage, Determination, and Self-sacrifice..."
Tevos pronounced almost every word of the sentence with a capital letter.
"...they are the right hand of the Council, the instrument of our will."
Yeah, and they're also your left hand, as well as the excavator clearing the mess. And other little things... personal assassins, saboteurs, and so on. However, I kept these thoughts to myself.
"Spectres bear a heavy burden; they are the protectors of peace in the galaxy. They are our first and last lines of defense."
Isn't that line of defense a bit flimsy? However, I kept these thoughts, which came to mind after Sparatus's words, to myself as well.
"The security of the galaxy is in their hands."
"You are the first Human Spectre, Captain. This is a great achievement for both you and all of Humanity."
"It is an honor for me, esteemed members of the Council."
I had to say something, and that was all I could say. Although if not for Aria T'Loak's lessons, even that would have sounded oh so fake. Because this isn't an honor; it's a headache!
"We are sending you to the Attican Traverse after Saren Arterius."
Valern said this, looking at me with his huge eyes. Even from such a great distance, it seemed to me that his eyes were too big. And it looked slightly creepy. However, I didn't care; I wasn't planning to start a family with him.
"He is a fugitive from justice, therefore you are authorized to use all means for his arrest or elimination."
On the last word, the Councilor made a barely noticeable emphasis, as if indicating to me which option was most preferable in this case.
"Do you have questions?"
Sparatus looked at me intently.
"I do... do I already have access to the corps' databases? I think before flying to the Attican Traverse, I should study exactly where Saren Arterius went most often, his routes, and..."
"We already have this information; we gathered it while we were deliberating. All information will be transferred to you by a special corps courier."
Good thing they're not giving it to Udina; they could have done that too.
"Thank you. I will put forth all my efforts to complete the assigned task."
"The Council session is declared closed."
Tevos closed the session, and we were finally able to leave the chamber, and once outside, Anderson shook my hand.
"Congratulations... you are worthy of this rank, my boy. I had no doubt in this decision, and therefore I've already vacated the ship; all that's left is to transfer the codes."
He extended his hand and activated his Omni-tool, and I followed his example.
"Success in your work, Spectre Shepard."
"Thank you, Captain Anderson."
***
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