# Rebirth: The Mass Effect. Book 1. part 6.1

Аноним Nytare

Arrival at the Citadel. A trip to the Council Tower.

Chapter 6.1 The Citadel

The five days of the flight were extremely monotonous: getting up early, doing my job as an amphibious squad commander, and hanging up. The only entertainment was short evening conversations with Dr. Chakwas and silent Nihlus. The Turian immediately realized who had turned it off and why, but reacted to this incident with irony. And why did Imrir dislike him so much? A normal, quite adequate man. With his exploits, of course, but there was no pathos and arrogance anywhere near.

Dr. Chakwas gave me the test results to read. To say that I was surprised is an understatement. The description turned out to be quite accurate, however, I was confused by the reaction of this lovely woman to this very characteristic: the doctor just smiled patronizingly and advised me to be more careful. And that's it!

I enjoyed talking with Dr. Chakwas. Karin is an extremely intelligent and well-read woman, and listening to her stories from her life, I learned a lot of new and funny things. The stories about biochemistry and physiology of the Soviet races smoothly jumped to stories from the active doctor's military past in order to return to medicine again. Nihlus was used without any mercy by Karin as a visual aid, although the Spectr did not mind at all, fascinated by the story.

The signal to exit the relay found me in the infirmary. The doctor was doing another checkup on my birthmark: changes in my body had already begun, and Karin categorically ordered me to come every day. There was no desire to disobey.

"Imrir, go take a look at the Citadel. As far as I know, you've never seen her before?"

"No, I haven't seen it."

"Look. She's impressive for the first time!"

I smiled. And really, why not go and see this miracle of the Reapers' design genius?

***

Listening to the conversation between Ashley and Kayden out of the corner of my ear, I stared at the huge station, which spread five petals of residential modules far away. A magnificent sight! This station is an ingenious creation, it shocked the imagination, caused awe... someone, but not me.

I disliked the Citadel at first sight. A shiny, pretty wobbler, a tasty bait for gullible fools who decided to get the knowledge of the previous rulers of the galaxy for free, and the relay network was a bait hook that local civilizations swallowed so quickly and with a satisfied slurp, voluntarily embarking on the path of death. Apparently, people have safely forgotten the thesis of free cheese, while other races did not even know, having got into a development rut carefully dug for them by patient Reaper breeders. Gloomy prospects, no matter what you say... Damn it, even goblins who have problems with logical thinking are much more careful and don't touch strange free weapons! Is it really hard to think: if the past owners of this wealth were brought under genocide, but this shit remained untouched, then something is wrong? Or is it just anger and annoyance talking in me? Ashley and Kayden were excitedly discussing the frankly ugly Path of Destiny, which looked more like an exaggerated shallow bucket on a four-legged stand than a warship. A rather cute Turian cruiser rustled by. The good mood was slowly but surely replaced by dull irritation. My heart feels like I'm going to get to the Council boiling and bubbling with anger.

***

The mooring of the Normandy was uneventful: the ship smoothly approached the berthing area and braked, after which the anchors worked, fixing it and sucking the ladder to the airlock. By that time, the men who had been released were already crumpling in the airlock. It is worth noting that running around the Citadel in full combat gear and with combat weapons is strictly prohibited, and therefore we were all dressed in standard Alliance uniforms with low-power personal kinetic barrier generators and service weapons, namely pistols. Only Citadel Security personnel were allowed to wear armor, but they were also light, and rifles and fairly powerful pistols were used as service weapons. The only exceptions were the Spectr's and the personal bodyguards of the Council members-they could wear anything.

Anderson dismissed the crew, and he took me, Ashley, and Alenko, called a taxi, and drove to the diplomat of the Alliance, Udina.

We stumbled into the ambassador's office when the sought-after reasonable was communicating with the holograms of the Council, and the first phrase I heard was:

"This is outrageous! The Council would have intervened if the Geth had attacked the Turian colony!"

Udina's indignation was quite understandable to me. Who would like to be seen as something like a third world country? And the Council treated the human race like that, and I couldn't blame them for that. Now, having had the experience of living among other races and peoples, I can quite authoritatively declare that humans are the most unpredictable race, from which it is best to expect some kind of setup. You'll be whole. And there will still be a chance for a pleasant surprise, nevertheless, there are decent specimens in our environment, however, they are not very clearly visible against the general background.

The Turian advisor measured Udina with an impenetrable gaze and quite reasonably remarked:

"Turians do not colonize planets bordering Terminus systems."

The ambassador grimaced. Apparently, people were really warned about the danger of Terminus systems.

"And what about Saren? Will the Council turn a blind eye to Spectrum's betrayal?"

"The Citadel's Security Service is conducting an investigation into the Saren case. We will discuss the conclusion at the hearing, not earlier." The Asari replied softly, and the holograms of the advisors disappeared.

Muttering something extremely unpleasant, Udina turned his attention to the intruders. While he and the captain were discussing business, I brazenly turned my back on them and, leaning on the railing, looked at the Presidium with interest.

Finally, the ambassador came to an agreement with our captain, and we left his office.

"Commander Shepard." There was a hint of displeasure in the captain's voice. "I did not expect such behavior from you."

"Captain," with a sigh, I shifted my attention to my immediate superiors. "I have quite serious doubts about the expediency of this meeting. I believe the Council has already made a decision. We don't have any really serious evidence of even the presence of Saren on Eden Prime, let alone his involvement in the attack. Surely you don't think that the testimony of a doctor with a shattered psyche and a worker with a criminal past will be significant enough?"

The captain nodded.

"I understand it myself. But it's worth a try."

"Is worth. But I beg you, not a word about my visions! I don't want to be laughed at!"

The captain chuckled.

"Good."

"By the way, how did the Council receive information about the fate of Nihlus?"

"Restrained. Except perhaps Councilor Sparatus..." The captain hesitated for a moment. "It seemed to me that he took it too personally. The Turian's rage is unmistakable."

"That's how... Thank you, Captain."

Anderson smiled reassuringly.

"Go to the Council Tower. The meeting will begin soon. I advise you to take a taxi. The distances in the Citadel are quite long, and there are elevators..." The captain grimaced. "You'll have time to evaluate them."

With that, the captain left, leaving us alone.

***

By the time we got to the Council Tower, I clearly realized that the creators of the game were VERY stingy about the scale of the game world, since we got to this tower in ten minutes by taxi and another fifteen minutes on foot through rather confusing passages. I also realized that if Ashley didn't shut up, I would strangle her.

Great Chaos, what do you have to think about to get out of the elevator and blurt out: "Aliens are the same animals, only they can talk?" Words cannot convey with what eyes they looked at us! I'm tired of silently apologizing for these two idiots! Eventually, my patience ran out, and I said:

"Sergeant Williams. In case you haven't noticed, we're not at home right now! We are in the capital of Citadel Space, and please keep such statements to yourself until you get into trouble."

Ashley flared with displeasure.

"Yes, ma'am."

Kayden looked at me with the eyes of a beaten dog and was silent, looking from me to a frowning Ashley. I hope I have the patience not to strangle these two!

A Turian in light black and blue C-Sec armor, watching this circus, barely moved his mandibles. Sympathy flashed in his bright yellow eyes. She lived to see it...

Finally, we reached it: falling out of another slow elevator, I saw a wide grand staircase and two Turians, one of whom was expressively saying something to the other. Wow, the canon didn't lie! Indeed, the irrepressible investigator tried to delay the Council meeting.

Well, hello, Garrus Vakarian. Let's see what you're like in reality.

As I was climbing the stairs, I heard the end of their entertaining dialogue:

"Please give me more time!" The low rumbling voice of the young Turian broke off excitedly. "Stop them!"

His tall companion replied irritably:

"Detain the Council members? Don't make me laugh! Your investigation is over, Garrus. And don't make me remind you of it again!"

Pallin, and it was undoubtedly him, gave the young subordinate a hard look and left, shaking his head disapprovingly. Apparently, Vakarian had already managed to get him a lot.

Watching Nihlus, I was sure that Turians were simply physically incapable of vivid outward expression of emotions, but Garrus had just shattered that misconception of mine! His whole figure, down to the tips of his clawed fingers, depicted disappointment and confusion! The pitiful face, which was not supposed to be capable of lively facial expressions at all, was the epitome of childish resentment and deeply wounded pride. But in those vivid, unreal light blue eyes, confusion was quickly replaced by determination. Garrus shook himself like a big cat, muttered something displeased, and turned an interested gaze to our frozen composition. There was a moment of realization and recognition, and the Turian, already full of determination and enthusiasm, moved towards us.

And I couldn't help but smile. The game's image did not even come close to conveying this storm of emotions and the energy of the young officer. I'm not me if the genius shooter doesn't turn out to be a member of my squad before I leave the Citadel! Anyway, this polite bundle of optimism and the embodiment of justice is worth a fight with Pallin.

Garrus skidded to a stop, peering at my face with interest, barely noticeably cocking his head to the side like a bird.

"Commander Shepard?" A slight hesitation crept into the vibrant voice. "Garrus Vakarian." a short nod, a slightly bowed head. Garrus is extremely polite. "I was the C-Sec officer in charge of investigating the Saren case."

By the end of the sentence, the uncertainty had evaporated, lost in the determination and confidence of a professional.

"Why 'was'?" I asked with interest, looking at the guy. Garrus looked confused.

"You heard us... Director Pallin closed the case."

"But did you find something?"

"Saren - Spectr." Garrus grimaced, which looked very funny and was easy to read. "All his activities are classified. It's almost impossible to find something really worthwhile."

How lovely! Garrus just made it clear that although he couldn't find anything 'really worthwhile', he did manage to dig up something! But Saren is still paranoid and knows how to clean up tails well.

"Commander, the Council is waiting." Alenko reminded me quietly, and once again I wanted to strangle him. Her fingers twitched reflexively.

Garrus must have noticed something: he blinked in surprise and looked strangely at the unsuspecting Kayden.

"Alenko... Don't try my patience. I haven't dealt with you yet for the Lighthouse."

Alenko opened his mouth, but met my kind, promising gaze and shut up, choking on his objections.

"I'm sorry, Commander."

Shaking my head, I walked past the young Turian, who was looking at me thoughtfully, and headed for the Council platform. Let's see what the real Advice is. I really hope that they are at least a little smarter than the canonical image. And I wanted to see Saren live. Even if it's in the form of a hologram.