The spaceport greeted us with noise and bustle.
The beacon’s remains were being unloaded from the hold immediately — not by humans, but by representatives of other races who worked in the Spectre corps not as field agents but as support staff.
Kryik stayed near the Normandy to oversee everything.
Meanwhile, Anderson, Jane, Chifuyu, Rebecca, and I headed to the embassies, since Udina was very eager to meet us.
The ride to the embassies was quick and even comfortable, but inside…
“Anderson, I can’t trust you with anything!”
That was how the ambassador greeted us when we entered his office.
“You were entrusted with the simplest task — to help a candidate pass the Spectre evaluation — and you failed!
Do you understand that this is unacceptable?!
That even the batarians will be laughing at humanity now?!”
Listening to this man, every second I wanted more and more to punch him between the eyes.
But I couldn’t do that.
So I had to stay silent and listen to him tear into Anderson over nothing.
“Ambassador, we weren’t at fault for what happened…”
“Yes, yes, of course, Saren is to blame.
I was allowed to read your report.
A very entertaining read, so entertaining that I can already tell you what the Council representatives will say about it.
Or do you think they’ll come down from their podium, pat you on the head, and say they’ll punish the evil turian?
Not a chance!”
There was sarcastic mockery in Udina’s voice.
“They’ll say you’re the ones to blame.
And you will be the one to blame, because John Shepard still has a chance to become a Spectre!
So get ready — better yet, write your resignation from the Alliance fleet in advance.”
“That’s not for you to decide.”
There was steel in Anderson’s voice.
“Anderson, you don’t understand politics at all.”
Udina sighed wearily.
“Your name already sounds like a mark of failure to the Council, and frankly, I was against you participating in this operation from the start.
But since you’re here, you need to rewrite the report, and I’ll submit it to the Council.”
“Ambassador…”
“Anderson, don’t argue!
You’re not a politician.
You don’t know how things work in our world.
Just write a new report where the blame is entirely on you.”
“Ambassador Udina…”
Oh, how I wanted to call him “Udina the Jerk” instead of his actual name at that moment, but I held back.
A cold smile was on my lips, and I tried to convey through it everything I thought of him.
“I believe Captain Anderson — before you interrupted him — was trying to remind you that there was a Spectre on board the ship.
And for your information, he knows exactly how everything happened.
He also requested a copy of the report for the Council before the Normandy even docked.
No, if you want to embarrass yourself, Captain Anderson and I will absolutely write a new report, and you can submit it to the Council…
but…”
“Shepard…”
Udina hissed my name, clearly understanding all the subtext I’d put into my smile and tone.
“…you’re sticking your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
“I don’t give a damn whether it belongs or not.
I’m just saving humanity’s reputation, because if it comes out that our ambassador pressured subordinates — and even people who aren’t his subordinates — to falsify documents…”
I didn’t finish the sentence, but my tone and look showed Udina exactly what would happen.
“Fine…
very well…”
From his voice, I knew he wouldn’t forget this — but I didn’t care.
We don’t abandon our own, and if need be, we’d shove a stick up Udina’s ass to straighten his posture.
After all, my corporation, though it mainly works in the Terminus Systems, produces extremely high-quality weapons that the military is happy to buy.
And if it comes out that contracts aren’t being renewed because of one specific Udina…
In short, he’d be in for a very bad time.
And no, that wouldn’t be petty of me.
Aria taught me well back then: you use power, you don’t sit on it and just enjoy having it.
* * *
Flashback.
“So, kid…”
Aria looked at me with slight mockery.
“…that wasn’t a joke.”
“No, ma’am.”
I looked at the asari who, in my past world, had been a favorite of many people.
Among asari, she probably shared a solid second place with Samara, while the top spot naturally belonged to Liara.
And she was sitting in my father’s chair, while I stood opposite her.
A magnificent woman, dressed in extremely elegant clothes that emphasized her figure.
“It wasn’t a joke.”
“And you’re genuinely ready to hand your father’s corporation over to me?”
“Yes.”
“Interesting…”
Aria looked me over thoughtfully from head to toe.
“…and very tempting.
But I’ve long outgrown the age when I believed someone would voluntarily give up such a prize as a corporation.
What’s the catch? This chapter was taken from g.com without permission.
Is your father in debt?”
“No.”
“Is someone trying to take the corporation from him?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“Simply put, I want to preserve it.
Preserve and develop it.
And asking for your help is the most reasonable decision.”
“Asking me?”
There was slight mockery in Aria’s voice.
“Boy, did you hit your head?”
“Maybe a little.”
I allowed myself a smirk.
“But in reality, I was just taught well enough, and I understand that asari have a child cult.
As long as I’m a child, you won’t kill or rob me.
No, if this were about some washed-up bandit, I wouldn’t be so sure.
But you…”
There was respect and admiration in my voice and my gaze.
“…you’re the Queen of Omega.
You have everything, and while my father’s corporation is a tasty morsel without a doubt, you wouldn’t go against a fundamental asari trait for it.
So you’re my only real chance to actually keep the corporation.”
“Hmm…
what about following your father’s will?
He’d have definitely passed it to you…
there’s something else…”
“I have sisters…
and they ran away.
I’d like to find them and rebuild our relationship.
Though for now, that’s only possible with the older one, since the younger is still too young for that.
But as long as Henry is in power, Miranda won’t even talk to me.”
“And you’ve spoken with her before?”
“No…
we were raised separately.
I only heard she existed.”
“I see.
Still, I don’t trust you.
Are you ready for the Embrace of Eternity?
To prove you’re hiding nothing from me?”
“I’m ready.”
I nodded readily, and Aria crooked her finger, beckoning me to her.
“Then…
Embrace Eternity…”
Her eyes went black, and I fell into darkness.
“Hm…”
I came to, sitting in a guest chair, while Aria sat in the one next to me, looking at me thoughtfully.
“Yes?”
“Tell me, are you stupid?”
“Excuse me?”
Aria took a deep breath and exhaled very slowly, massaging her temples.
“You remember a past life…”
At her words, I tensed slightly, but only slightly, because I’d anticipated both the Embrace to confirm there was no trick, and that Aria would be able to see more.
“…you know asari can look through memories, and you still agreed to the Embrace.
Do you even realize that right now I could just hand you over to Republic Intelligence and live comfortably for the rest of my days?”
“I…
suspected as much.”
I said it in a calm voice, though I wasn’t actually calm, and judging by Aria’s mocking half-smile, she saw right through me.
“But I assumed you’d appreciate the fact that right now, even considering my past life, I’m essentially a child by asari standards…”
“You’re all children to us, being short-lived.
But by human laws, you’re far from a child.
So that argument is invalid.”
“Well, it wasn’t the only one, or even the main one.
My main reason for trusting you was the hope of your gratitude.”
“Gratitude?”
“Yes.
You apparently didn’t look through my memories very thoroughly…”
“And what was I supposed to see there?”
“Memories of a computer game.”
I allowed myself a smirk.
“A game?”
I heard a faint threat in Aria’s voice, and her eyes narrowed, as if to say that now wasn’t the time for jokes.
“Exactly.
In my past world, there was a game called Mass Effect — a trilogy.
And in the second game, we met a rather extraordinary personality who liked to say that she wasn’t just the Queen of Omega — she was Omega.”
Aria kept looking at me, but now I saw doubt in her gaze about my sanity.
“And in the third part, we learned that the daughter of a certain Aria dies.”
I was lifted into the air and my throat constricted.
“Talk.
But remember — your life is in my hands.”
“If you can dig through brains, it’s better if you see for yourself.
Because I only remember that your daughter contacts a rogue Cerberus agent, and the Illusive Man’s people decide to hit that agent, killing your daughter and framing him for it.
Around the same time, Omega gets attacked, and you get driven out of it.”
“Me?!”
Aria’s eyes were terrifying and captivating at the same time.
“I was a fan of the game, but I never paid much attention to the lore outside of it.
So I might just not remember a lot of things.
So if you can…”
“I’ll look…”
Once again, black eyes peered into my soul, and I fell into who-knows-where.
“Alright…”
That word, spoken in Aria’s completely calm voice, made me open my eyes.
“…I’m grateful to you for this information.
I won’t hand you over to Intelligence.
What’s more, I’ll help you.
But answer me this: why didn’t you mention the Reapers?”
“Because that information is harder to verify.”
“But we’ll have to prepare for their arrival…”
I sighed in relief.
“…but if Shepard really exists in this world, and if at the start of the invasion she just announces it at an open hearing like that, then we’ll all be hearing that phrase: ‘Oh, right, the Reapers…'”
My gaze at that moment probably showed shock and incomprehension.
“If the Council acknowledges their existence, it’ll cause unrest.
And yes, if you think that now I’ll do everything, as the one in power, you’re wrong…
you’re going to be busting your ass a lot.
But first, we need to review the training program Henry put together for you and adjust it.
We have…
ten years?”
“I think so.”
I nodded slowly.
“Get ready for the next four years to be hell for you.
After that, you’ll go into the military.”
“Huh?”
“Have to use your opportunities and build your own army.
And the most convenient way to do that is to be inside a state army and recruit the people that idiot commanders kicked out for made-up reasons.
And besides…”
She looked at me more intently.
“…didn’t you want to be a figurehead?
Well, like hell you will.
I’ll help with the corporation, but pinning all the coming crap on me?
Find some other sucker.
So you’ll slave away like a good little boy — though I will show you how to use all the benefits you’re entitled to.”
All I could do was nod gratefully at Aria’s words.
*** End of flashback.
***
“…don’t count on my help then.
Deal with the Council yourselves.”
In Udina’s voice, which had yanked me from memories that had flashed before my eyes in an instant, I heard sarcasm.
He was sure we couldn’t deal with the Council on our own.
“Whatever you say.
Just don’t try to latch onto our victory later.”
“Ha, I won’t even leave the embassy!
Do whatever you want!”
“John…”
Anderson put his hand on my shoulder, stopping me from saying anything else.
“…that’s enough.
I’m grateful you stood up for me, but…”
“David, I didn’t just stand up for you.
I also prevented both of us — and humanity as a whole — from looking like morons who don’t understand that a Spectre who was on the ship will report not only our report but also their own to the Council.
And the Council won’t consider our report separately from theirs.
Anyway, I suggest we take a walk around the Citadel.
I haven’t been here in a while…”
“Alright.
We haven’t been called in yet anyway.”
Anderson shot an unpleasant look at Udina, and then all of us left the embassy.
“You shouldn’t have started all this…
he won’t let you live in peace now.”
“Then I won’t let him…”
I grinned darkly.
“…I’ll catch up and give it to him again.”
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