Аннотация: A conversation in the infirmary with Garrus and Tali. The decision to go to the arsenal at the C-Sec.
Chapter 11.2 grabbing Garrus and Tali.
Already at the dock, the adviser turned his head and said softly:
"As the current Spectr of the Council, you have the right to demand at your disposal ANYONE reasonable within the Citadel Space. For any period of time and for any purpose. Your request submitted through the office of the Special Corps is sufficient."
The hint was more than transparent: the Alliance of Systems has been a part of Citadel Space for twenty-one years, and they ARE OBLIGED to obey the decisions of the Council and the laws of the Citadel. Including the law on the powers of Special Corps operatives.
How lovely! I don't even need consent! It's enough just to face the fact.
"Thanks for the advice."
Sparatus accepted my sincere thanks with a barely perceptible echo of approval and patronage.
"If you have any questions about the legal framework of Citadel Space, I believe Officer Garrus Vakarian can advise you." There was a hint of a grin in the low, vibrating voice. "He's one of the Citadel's best security investigators, and he knows a lot about the capabilities, rights, and responsibilities of Spectr's."
Op-pa... And the advisor just strongly recommended that I take Garrus into circulation! Wow! That's exactly what I didn't expect! Or does Sparatus himself have any plans for the younger Vakarian? Maybe. As far as I remember, he was also nominated as a candidate for the Spectr, but for some reason they still haven't accepted him. It's like my father was against it... I don't remember exactly.
How lovely... I will definitely use this advice!
"Advisor."
Sparatus shook his head questioningly.
"Can I pick up Officer Vakarian from C-SEC?"
Irony and some kind of incomprehensible fun stirred up the mental plane. Sparatus was frankly amused by my question, but why? What's wrong with the idea of taking a promising employee away from Pallin? I need him more! There are enough good investigators at C-SEC.
"You can." The Turian handed me a small card and a silver badge. "Your new identity, Spectre Imrir."
On that sublime note, Sparatus simply walked away, leaving me to digest what he said. The sign of the Spectr chilled my fingers. I have a lot to think about. The differences from the canon are more than significant. The character of Councilor Sparatus didn't even come close to what I expected to see. My immediate supervisor is smart, prudent, practical and extremely cruel, reasonable, completely unencumbered by the unnecessary burden of moral restraints. If necessary, he will drown the Citadel Space in blood, but he will achieve the desired result. Such a ruler will not dismiss a hypothetical threat. He didn't dismiss her anymore, took my words into consideration and heeded the warning. I have serious suspicions that if it is really necessary, THIS Sparatus will push ANY necessary decision through the Council, even if his colleagues are against it. He's not the type to compromise when it comes to the survival of his species. And Tevos is not just a beautiful woman. She is as cruel as Sparatus himself, though there is practically no blood on her. Let's see how she'll behave. Valern... a former officer of the MOUNTAIN, appointed by his predecessor. It's also quite a fruit.
Yeah... THIS Advice is unlikely to dismiss all my warnings so skeptically. They'd rather squeeze all the information out of me and start preparing for the coming Apocalypse. That's good. It's VERY good! You won't have to punch your forehead through the ship's armor in an attempt to convince. Now we need to provide proof. But it is. An excellent, visual proof, which you can't trample on, you can't declare falsification with all your desire. But now it's a bit premature to light it. Not all at once. First we need to deal with this damn ship and get my mentor back on his feet. Nihlus's help will be VERY useful to me. No, it's not like that. His help is vital to me, because I know absolutely nothing about the Citadel Space, the rights and duties of the Spectr, about the culture of the sentients, about ... yes, a lot of things I do not know!
Still, the decision to save his life was very correct.
I turned around and returned to the ship.
Garrus and Tali were still waiting patiently for me, sitting at the table and trying to ignore the sidelong glances of the crew. We also need to resolve the issue with them. I would REALLY like to see them on board my ship. Now I'd like to convince them...
"Garrus, Tali. Come with me."
And they went. Without question or hesitation. Tali, burning with burning curiosity and apprehension, Garrus... Garrus was calm. Only a slight echo of interest and wariness. Now, walking next to me was not the kind guy who was completely childishly embarrassed sitting on a bench near the Council Tower, but the one who would be called the Archangel.
"The infirmary?" Garrus asked quietly, watching as the disinfection progress bar filled in.
"You'll figure it out for yourself now."
He just nodded in response.
Finally, there was a soft squeak, and the door opened to let us into the infirmary. The conversations immediately died down. Tali let out a low cry from the not-too-friendly glances of the fighters who crossed on her and stepped back a little, Garrus just blinked in surprise, looking at his kinsman lying on the bed, glancing at two people in Alliance military uniforms, at Dr. Chakvas, recording something in the datapad from the devices, and back at Kraik.
"Nihlus, how much more time do we have?"
The Turian understood me correctly: lifting the massive pyramid, he shook it in his palm and said:
"Advisor Sparatus gave away a more powerful model. It runs for about eight hours and charges in ten minutes from the ship's power system."
Darg and Dylan exchanged surprised glances.
"Wait a minute, Kraik. Are you trying to tell me that that guy is a counselor?"
Nihlus chuckled.
"Didn't you get it?"
"I thought he was your boss."
"He is mine..." a quick glance at me, "our superiors. I am Imrir's supervisor and mentor. She's officially been assigned to the Spectr Turian Corps, and from now on, she only has to report to Sparatus and me personally."
"What do you mean, to the Turian corps?" Nihlus put the jammer on the cot, relaxed, wincing slightly from the pain.
"Garrus, will you explain to him the structure of the Special Corps?"
Vakarian nodded in agreement.
Oops!
"I didn't know you knew each other."
Garrus grinned, Nihlus laughed hoarsely and immediately grimaced in pain.
It's been a long time.
"And the Quarian?" Derg asked.
"My name is Tali"Zora nar Raya!" The girl immediately jumped up.
"No, I'm not familiar with Tali"Zora." Nihlus closed his eyes. "Imrir?"
"Tali had the proof we needed that Saren was behind the Geth attack on Eden Prime." I explained the presence of a young Quarian in our extremely close circle. "Doubtful, of course, but in order to bring the official reason to the decision of the Council, it was quite suitable."
"It's not questionable!"
"Tali." I looked at the girl reproachfully. "Do you really think that one audio recording with incomprehensible statements is enough to dismiss a living legend of the Special Corps? It served only as an official reason, nothing more."
"And what convinced the Council then?" Derg asked.
"A direct and outright lie by Saren. He lied so that Sparatus would understand. Deliberately and demonstratively." I rubbed my temples, frowning at Nihlus. "There's definitely something wrong with your mentor."
"What?" Dylan choked. "So Krajk was shot by his mentor?"
"Yes. Saren Arterius is a living legend of the Special Corps. Mentor of Nihlus. One of the most famous Spectr of the Council. And then, all of a sudden, out of the blue, he went on a betrayal? Sorry, I don't believe it."
"He was absolutely devoted to the Council and the Hierarchy." Nihlus added softly. "ALWAYS!"
"Even more so. People like him don't betray. There must be a reason. I would like to understand what this reason is." I sighed. "Okay, we'll deal with your legendary mentor later. Right now, I'm more interested in this ship and its crew. Dylan, Darg, I'm going to pull you out of the squad and get you back to Normal. Objections?"
The fighters only exchanged glances and simultaneously shook their heads. Any objections? That's great.
"Max will do a great job commanding the group. It's time for him to be promoted." Derg drew the line.
"Good. Nihlus, can you tell me how to write a translation request correctly?"
Nihlus nodded in agreement.
"Darling, do you think they'll let us transfer to your ship?" Dylan asked skeptically.
"And there will be no choice." I grinned at him.
"The request of the Council's Spectr must be executed in any part of the Citadel-controlled territory." Garrus explained. "It is equivalent to a direct order from the Council. The Alliance of Systems has joined Citadel Space. They must obey, otherwise it will be a violation of the Council's resolution on the rights of Special Corps operatives."
"The counselor advised me to contact you if I needed legal advice."
Garrus blinked in confusion, looking at me in surprise and incomprehension.
"Did the advisor recommend it?"
"yes."
This Turian just amazes me sometimes! When it comes to work, he is collected, confident, cold-blooded, tough to the point of cruelty, ruthless and reasonable, but when it comes to personal questions or banal praise... so all this disappears somewhere in an unknown way, leaving a shy and extremely polite tactful young guy. How is this possible? And so it is now. He stands there, hesitating, and doesn't know how to approach me and ask to join the team. Although I can see it in his eyes: he wants to!
"Garrus, what are your plans?"
The Turian shrugged, shifting uncertainly from one foot to the other, looking at me with surprisingly light blue eyes. There was complete silence in the infirmary: Naylus and my fighters were watching Vakarian's throwing with interest, Tali was generally trying to become part of the interior.
"I'm assembling my own squad to complete the Council's tasks."
Come on, come on, propose your candidacy, or at least just agree, but don't look at me with the eyes of a kitten forgotten at the door! You should have realized by now that no one is going to let you go!
"Working in the Security Service... disappointed me a little." Garrus went out, absently tapping his clawed fingers on his forearm. If you..." he faltered a little, meeting my expressive gaze and obediently corrected himself: "If you don't mind, I'd like to join your squad." The guy blinked, apparently just realizing what he had said. "I'm... a good shot."
It's just a nightmare! Garrus causes an uncontrollable attack of emotion, coupled with the desire to punch him in the neck to knock out this wild insecurity and shyness.
As far as I know, he's about twenty-seven years old now, and he's about a year younger than my recipient. I'm not sure exactly-I wasn't interested. I'll look at his file later. At the moment, Garrus is an employee of the investigative department of the C-Sec, who is being unloaded with all the "hangers" and other not too convenient cases that older colleagues do not want to take on. The younger Vakarian's reputation at C-SEC is quite specific. He's too honest, proud, and pushy. Do I need such a shot on the ship? Of course... YES!
"Nihlus, do you think Director Pallin will be very unhappy if we take Officer Vakarian away from C-SEC?" Tilting my head slightly to one side, I watched with interest as understanding flashed in her blue eyes.
"What do you think?" my handler chuckled. "You're going to steal their best sniper."
"Director Pallin doesn't like me too much. Rather, he tolerates it. With difficulty." Garrus objected.
Nihlus looked at his kinsman skeptically.
"Imrir, Venari will be furious. Trust me, he won't want to send this scumbag to the Special Corps, as you people put it. But he will not refuse the transfer: he will fulfill the request of the Spectr."
"A scumbag?" Dylan asked in surprise.
Nihlus spread his mandibles in a snide grin.
"His head on the table is an unattainable dream of almost all criminals on the Citadel."
Garrus blinked in embarrassment. The fighters laughed. The young officer's gaze changed dramatically: the unrealistically bright eyes narrowed slightly, all shyness, kindness and insecurity evaporated. The Archangel looked at my people appraisingly with an unequivocal warning in his gaze.
The laughter is like a snap.
"I take my job responsibly." He said calmly and very coldly.
"Now I believe it." Derg met Garrus' heavy gaze, slightly shrugged his shoulders. "A sniper, then?"
Garrus shrugged his shoulders.
"I'm a good shot."
Nihlus grunted and shook his head. Agree. The word "not bad" does not reflect the real situation in any way.
"Welcome to the team, Garrus." I smiled.
"Thank you, Imrir."
While the confused Turian blinked in disbelief, I sat down on an empty cot and opened the drone. Now, before something unexpected happens....
"Garrus... do you know how to write transfer reports?"
The Turian nodded, looking at me in surprise. I stared at him in silence, and he stared at me until it dawned on him.
"Now?"
"Don't you like our infirmary?" I asked with a chuckle. "If you haven't changed your mind, sit down and write a report to Director Pallin about transferring to the Spectr combat team. In the meantime, I'll write an order for its formation and a request addressed to you."
"Imrir", Nihlus nodded at the uncertainly hesitating Quarian.
Indeed, I had forgotten about the girl. The disorder.
"Tali, what are your plans?"
From such a simple question, the girl was simply confused. She stood in the middle of the infirmary, nervously twisting and unwinding her fingers, looking from me to Nihlus, to Garrus, to my fighters, quietly panicking.
"I... I... I do not know. I went on a pilgrimage...."
"Do you have to do something specific?"
"N-no... I just have to bring some valuable gift to the captain of the ship on board of which I will serve..." the girl stammered.
"You've already given me a valuable gift. That audio recording was important."
Tali was speechless for a while, looking at me in confusion.
"Are you... are you suggesting that I become a member of your ship's crew?" The Quarian asked me uncertainly.
"Yes, I'm offering you to become a crew member of my ship. You will fly on the ship of the first human Spectr. You'll see the galaxy. And then we'll find something interesting that you can donate to the Migrating Fleet. Contact your father and ask for his advice if you are in doubt."
"I don't think Admiral Rael'zora will refuse." Nihlus said calmly. "Until now, the Quarians had never worked with the Council's Spectr's. And they never became crew members of their ships." The unrealistically bright green eyes shone with amusement: the Turian understood exactly what I was doing. "I can register Tali as a civilian employee of the Special Corps."
"I... I... I..."
Tali was frankly confused by the news that had befallen her and was now stuttering banally, unable to clearly express her racing thoughts. It seems that the Quarian has just realized which company she will be in. Nihlus is indeed a very well-known Spectr, whose reputation is not much inferior to that of his legendary mentor, except perhaps a little ... softer. In fact, I just offered Tali to join the elite team of the galaxy's special services, which automatically changed her status from an uninteresting tramp who even has problems with documents, if I'm not mistaken, to... an employee of the Special Corps. And this is a completely different level.
"Communication with the Fleet can be established from the communications center of the Special Corps." Nihlus said softly.
Tali didn't know what to say. She was just taken aback by this turn of events. I can understand her: she didn't have time to leave for the Pilgrimage, as she immediately got into big trouble with the Spectrum, lost all her friends, killed for the first time, and now, suddenly, her Pilgrimage is actually ready to end if the Fleet College agrees and gives her to us. And I didn't really doubt their decision.
I have plans for Tali. But there is one "but": without her sincere devotion, they are not feasible, and this devotion can be obtained only in one case. When the prefix "vas" with the name of my ship is added to the girl's name. Otherwise, there's nothing for a Quarian to do on our ship.
Garrus, can you give me the text of the request? The guy nodded in agreement. I unfolded the dictation omny-tool and started typing the text. Sometimes Nihlus intervened and corrected some little things. I wrote requests for Garrus himself, for Tali, for Darg and Dylan, and for the Joker and Dr. Chakwas. Just in case. You never know, but you might need it. I finished it pretty quickly, read it aloud, and after a nod from Nihlus, I sent them to the Special Corps department. All except the last two.
"What's next?" Derg asked.
"And then..." I exchanged glances with Nihlus. "The communications center and the arsenal of the Special Corps. Nihlus, what do you want to take from the arsenal?"
Garrus winced and twitched his mandibles in annoyance.
"May this old greedy man not give you anything beyond the minimum. Especially for Krayk, if it won't be there."
"Why?" Derg asked.
"The whole Citadel knows about the stinginess of the quartermaster of the Special Corps."
Nihlus grimaced.
"It's easier to pull a piece of meat out of Warren's mouth than to beg the old bastard for an extra thermal clip." He added.
"I can take C-SEC to the armory, there's also a Special Corps unit there." Garrus suggested it. "Write a request, I'll talk to the quartermaster, he will give you what you need. Only your ID card will have to be taken with you for reporting."
"Take it in box." Nihlus pointed to the closed box with the SPECTR logo, which I brought him from the cabin. "Do you know where the communication center is?"
Garrus nodded.
"Imrir," Dr. Chakwas called out to me. "You should contact Admiral Hackett and inform him about the transfer of Darg and Dylan. The request can take a very long time to process."
Indeed...
"Thank you, I will do that."
Karin smiled slightly and went back to work. During the five days of the flight, I managed to find a common language with Dr. Chakvas and switch to a rather informal communication. Still, I came for checkups regularly.
That was the end of the conversation, and we went to solve pressing problems.