Аннотация: Saving Tali from Fist bandits. A conversation with Udina and Anderson.
Chapter 8 Dubious Evidence
"Garrus!"
I shook the still-astral Turian by the shoulder. The blue eyes blinked.
"Don't take some of my actions so personally."
"It was... cruelly."
I shrugged my shoulders.
"It was cruel the first time. But there was plenty of time on the grenade, so he would have had time to undress. Well, the second one... maybe this case will teach him not to click his beak."
There was a look... strange. I don't know what he's up to, but I hope he doesn't give up on the idea of becoming a member of my team. And by the way...
"Garrus, I don't know anything about the Citadel."
The Turian nodded understandingly and ran down the corridor. I'll follow him.
How he found his way through these absolutely identical corridors is a mystery shrouded in darkness! Ten minutes of fast running, and now we flew into a corridor flooded with reddish light, around the corner of which we heard the vibrant voice of a Turian:
"Did you bring it?"
Garrus slid towards the turn, activating his sniper rifle. A moment later, I did too, dropping to one knee. Peeking around the corner, we saw a rather interesting picture: a Quarian and a tall Turian, a little to the side - four, judging by the characteristic shape of the helmet - Batarians.
"Where is the Gray Intermediary?" The Quarian's soft voice sounded a little muffled because of the helmet. "Where's Fist?"
We exchanged glances. Garrus took the rifle more comfortably, and I took the assault rifle. The fact that I was squatting at the Turian's feet didn't bother me or him at all. There were no shelters in the corridor. Even the most cluttered crate!
"They'll be here soon." The Turian reached out and patted the tense Quarian patronizingly on the head, for which he received a slap on the wrist. "Where's the proof?"
"No!" The girl took a step back. The deal is off!
And with the girl's next step, Garrus raised his rifle and stepped around the corner, crouching at gunpoint. The Batarians drew their weapons, and the Quarian staggered back against the wall.
Our shots rang out almost simultaneously: booming snipers and dry coughing rifles. A Turian in black armor collapsed to the floor with a bullet through his head, and my shots cut down one batar. A booming shot, the second - fell to the floor and twitched in agony. Garrus decided to change his habit and shot the idiot in the spine. He's kind! I cut off the two remaining batars in one burst.
The girl huddled behind a support and looked at us with wide-open eyes, perfectly visible through the tinted glass of her helmet, gushing with panic. Garrus put away his rifle, took out his pistol and went to his unfinished victim, and I crouched down next to the frightened Quarian woman and said softly:
"I am Commander Shepard, Alliance Air Force. Garrus Vakarian, C-SEC officer."
As the girl comprehended my words, the fear disappeared, and she relaxed a little.
"Thank you!"
"Thank Dr. Michelle." I smiled reassuringly, shifting slightly to block her view of Garrus, who was quickly interrogating the still-alive Batar. And the good guy's methods are draconian! "She told me you were in danger."
"I..." the girl's voice trailed off as a muffled, confused whisper came from behind me. "Fist set me up! He..."
"Don't worry about him. Fist got what he deserved." A gurgling scream was interrupted by a dry pistol shot.
The girl shuddered, nervously shrugged her shoulders.
"Apparently, I need to thank you twice."
Garrus came over and held out his hand, helping the girl to her feet.
"But why did you come to the doctor?"
"We are conducting an investigation into the activities of the Saren Spectrum." Garrus said.
"In that case, I can repay you for saving my life. I have something that can help you."
Garrus and I exchanged glances. Well, wow!
"We need to get out of here. It's not safe here." A vibrating voice echoed my thoughts, putting them into words.
"What about Ambassador Udina's office?" I suggested. "It's safe there. And he's DEFINITELY going to want to see it."
The girl did not object. Garrus caught my expressive gaze, grinned and walked forward, waving his hand inviting me to follow him. A couple of minutes of winding through the same type of corridors, and here it is happiness - a taxi terminal. We called the flyer and sat down on a bench. Garrus was looking at me with some kind of incomprehensible expression on his face, trying, however, not to stare openly, Tali was nervous. And I was sprawled out on a bench, watching the future members of my crew from under half-closed eyelids. Tali is a kind and open-minded girl, rather guileless and trusting. The result of growing up in a closed environment. Garrus, on the other hand, does not suffer from excessive trust, but still has not lost his youthful faith in justice and a miracle. It's amazing how a shy, sincerely believing in justice, kind, idealistic guy and an Archangel, a ruthless, frankly cruel, cold-blooded and calculating sniper, were so harmoniously combined in one reasonable man.
An automatic taxi landed silently near the terminal, gurgling a greeting. Garrus perked up, and Tali stopped weaving her six fingers into strange shapes.
"Let's go and make the ambassador happy." I stretched luxuriously and yawned widely.
As soon as I settled into an easy chair, I almost instantly slipped into sleep, and I safely overslept all the way to the Presidium.
Vivid pictures of someone else's death flashed before his mind's eye, forming into clearly structured military chronicles, a harsh voice in a strange but understandable language told about the death of a great empire and called for revenge. An unknown Prothean was warning about the Enemy, he was trying to communicate everything that his relatives had learned over the long hundred years of the brutal war of annihilation that they had lost. The coordinates and visions of the planets were imprinted in the memory, on which Archives and peculiar arks were created, in which the chosen of the great people slept in stasis capsules. It was the voice of the dead, calling for Revenge, warning of a great threat and an Enemy waiting in the wings. It's just a pity that this voice would have remained unheard and misunderstood. The human mind is not capable of accepting information structured in this way. The maximum is to catch incoherent pictures and ragged visions. I will fully realize all the information put into my head only when the gift of the mentalist is revealed.
"Commander Shepard?"
The Turian's quiet voice, tinged with genuine concern, jerked me out of sleep. The flyer began to slow down and descend, taxiing towards the embassies. Yawning, I rubbed my eyes and blinked.
"Have we arrived?"
"Almost. You look tired." he said carefully, peering intently into my face.
"Communication with the Protean beacon is having an effect. Information overload." I answered honestly. "The chronicle of the annihilation of a great empire is not the most pleasant thing to see in dreams."
A Quarian gasped softly next to me, and for the first time I saw the Turian's jaw drop. It's a pretty sight!
The taxi landed and raised the canopy of the cab, politely inviting us to get out and giving me the opportunity to avoid further questions. But Tali's attentive gaze and Garrus' thoughtful gaze made it clear that these two would not forget my words and would eventually demand answers. We walked to the ambassador's office in silence. I was in an elated and even dreamy mood, and my companions were still trying to chew on the news. It must have been hard to chew, because when we stumbled into Udine, Garrus and Tali were silent, staring at my back.
In addition to the irritated Udina, Captain Anderson was in the office. The native authorities raised an eyebrow questioningly, shooting a glance of penetrating gray eyes at the aliens, and I nodded in agreement and smiled broadly, contentedly.
"Commander Shepard," Udina guessed quite correctly who had come to him. "You're making my life difficult." The ambassador's voice sounded irritated and angry. "A shootout in residential areas, the murder of the owner of the Kora Lair!" The ambassador slowly turned around. "Do you have any idea..." The ambassador finally noticed our interesting company and stopped. "Who's that?"
Tali and Garrus exchanged glances. Apparently, this was not the reception they had expected.
"A Quarian? What are you up to, Shepard?!"
Against the background of the evil ambassador, Anderson, who was happy with his life, looked indecently happy. The captain immediately realized that I had brought a Turian he already knew and an unknown Quarian for a reason.
"The Quarian can help us with the evidence." I said sarcastically, watching Garrus's long face out of the corner of my eye, unaccustomed to such insubordination. If you had let me insert a single word into your monologue, I would have told you about it.
Well, just the very courtesy! Anderson seems to be starting to get "haha", Garrus is in a stupor, Tali is puzzled.
Udina sighed wearily.
"I'm sorry, Commander. This story has worn out all my nerves."
For a moment, I even felt sorry for him, literally! For a VERY small moment! It's okay, I'll get the status of a Spectrum and I'll be able to send it sometimes through the distant forest with a clear conscience!
"Maybe you could start over, miss..." Udina looked pointedly at Tali.
The girl nodded graciously and introduced herself:
"My name is Tali*Zora nar Raya." Quarians don't come here very often. Udina quite reasonably remarked. "Why did you leave the Fleet?"
"I went on a Pilgrimage." The girl just said.
No one needs to explain what it is. Almost all sentients living in Citadel space were well aware of this lovely tradition of immigrants from the Migrating Fleet and, sometimes, enjoyed using the services of Quarian youngsters.
"Tell me what you found, Tali." I asked softly.
The girl nodded, clasping her fingers together.
"While scanning one of the uninhabited planets, we found something strange. It was the Geth! Since our people were driven out, they have never crossed the borders of the Veil." Tali paced nervously, unconsciously stroking her palm with her fingers. "I became interested and was able to follow one of the Geth patrols."
Oh, how! And the girl is an adventurer!
I waited until one of the Geth had fallen behind his group and turned him off. I managed to remove the memory block.
Pretty cutie! She caught Geth and twisted his head, pulling out his brains. The beauty! Of course, I wouldn't have killed all my friends at the same time, it would be generally good.
"I thought that at the moment of Geth's death, his module burns down." Anderson pointed out quite reasonably.
Tali lowered her nose and hesitated.
"This is true. Most of the data was destroyed." The nose rose again. "But I was able to pull out some soundtracks."
With these words, this little miracle rattled on its fancy omny-tool and played us a short recording in which the perfectly recognizable voice of the unforgettable Saren was broadcasting to someone:
"We won a big victory at Eden Prime! The lighthouse has brought us one step closer to the Canal!"
How interesting... And the pathos, the pathos! I wonder if he believes what he's saying. Or is excessive pathos just a screen to hide something else? The fact that the legendary Spectre does not want to put on display even to his closest associates.
That's me, the Main Villain of the Entire Galaxy... on a short leash.
There was a moment of silence in the office. Intelligent people of different races silently comprehended what was said. I was silent too. Everything I could do, I did. Now it's up to Udina.
"This is Saren's voice!" The captain whispered.
"Wait! That's not all!" Tali clicked on the virtual buttons. "He wasn't working alone. Listen up."
In the silence of the office, Saren's hoarse, low, vibrating voice sounded again:
"We won a big victory at Eden Prime! The lighthouse has brought us one step closer to the Canal!"
But this time, he got an answer:
"And he brought the Reapers' return one step closer."
The drawling, deep-throated female voice sounded especially sensual and deep against the background of Saren's hoarse, rough voice. That's just why I thought Lady Benezia sounded tired and hopeless... A reproach? A play on the intonation of a sensual voice? Or is it a trick of my mind?
The recording ended. The golden glow of the active instrumentron disappeared, and the device shut down.
"I do not know whose voice it is." The ambassador's voice broke the heavy silence. "The one who talks about the Reapers."
Tali answered the unanswered question in the air:
"According to data from the Geth memory module, the Reapers are a highly advanced race of machines that existed about fifty thousand years ago. The Reapers completely exterminated the Prothean race, after which they disappeared. That's what the Geth think."
"It sounds like speculation and fairy tales." Udina muttered.
I could feel the fabric of reality tightening! A burning sense of excitement ran through my nerves, as it always does when I step in and break a frozen story, a shock dose of adrenaline hit my bloodstream, my heart began to beat, my mind cleared, becoming crystal clear and pure. Here it is - my drug, which I got hooked on five more lifetimes ago, and I don't think I'll ever cry!
"What if I tell you that it's probably true?" I asked, watching with interest as the faces stretched out.
"Commander?"
"Captain, do you remember that strange ship on Eden Prime? He's so black." I asked. "During the briefing with Nihlus." The captain nodded. "I think it's the Reaper."
Udina choked, Garrus exhaled in amazement, Tali squeaked.
"Are you sure?" Anderson braced himself.
"Do you know what put what you called a lighthouse in my head?" after waiting for a negative swing, I pressed: "The chronicle of death. The demise of the Prothean Empire. A warning. A call for revenge. I've seen such machines descend on populated planets, wreaking death and destruction. However, there were MANY of them. And now the Reaper is alone. I suspect the others are waiting somewhere while this one watches. There is no concept of "long waiting" for cars.
"Do you realize that your words are unprovable?" Udina asked.
"Naturally, I understand." I shrugged my shoulders. "But I'm not going to prove anything to you. I can only warn you and share my knowledge."
I really wasn't going to prove anything: I warned my native race. And how to dispose of the information received is their problem. Moreover, a Ghost has known about Reapers and Collectors for twenty years for sure.
"Is there anything else?" Anderson asked.
"No technical information. Only war footage and a warning. I mentioned it in the report." I spread my hands. You may not believe me or convince yourself that the Reapers are just fairy tales and there is no real threat. Your right. There is no proof. But when they appear, it may already be too late."
"The council won't believe it." Anderson said gloomily.
"No one will believe it." I waved it off.
The captain didn't say anything. He just stood there and stared thoughtfully through me into the distance he alone knew. Tali was silent.
Garrus was thinking hard about something. The ambassador was pacing with his hands behind his back.
"The council won't like it."
Udina's soft, thoughtful voice broke the heavy silence.
"They might not believe it." Anderson added.
"You shouldn't try to get everything at once. We are content with a small victory. Proof of Saren's guilt in the attack on Eden Prime."
"That's right, Commander," Anderson said, crossing his arms over his chest. "These audio files are sufficient evidence. It's not worth trying for more."
"I'll inform the Council." Udina drew a line under our conversation. "I'll give you a couple of hours to rest. Meet me at the Tower."
The authorities left, and after consulting with each other, we decided to wait in the Tower so that we wouldn't have to rush headlong to the Council meeting.
The terrifyingly slow elevator lifted us to the right level, having managed to overwhelm all three of us with a disgusting mournful melody. For relaxation, we chose a long bench located slightly away from the main staircase in a nice little corner. They sat down there.
However, Tali didn't have enough time for long, and the young Quarian jumped to her feet and nervously cut around the fountain, looming in front of her eyes. Garrus and I sprawled out on a bench, relaxing after a busy day.
Slowly, fatigue, silence, and the soothing murmur of the water took their toll, and I drifted off to sleep. As I was falling asleep, I felt my relaxed body slide smoothly to the side, and my head bumped uncomfortably into something hard. Once I was comfortable, I switched off, plunging into the already familiar and somewhat familiar bloody nightmare showing me the demise of the Prothean Empire. Hurrying to an unexpected meeting, Councilor Sparatus noticed a strange company even for a multi-species Citadel: a Quarian woman nervously pacing back and forth and a young Turian man he knew well, sitting on a bench, looking at a human girl sleeping soundly on his lap and not knowing where to put his hands.