The Reaper War

by Cole Price

  Samantha’s eyes grew wide with understanding.

  * * *

  24 May 2186, Presidium Docking Ring/Citadel

  Normandy docked, its umbilicals connected, and its main airlock opened.

  A heavy squad of Alliance Marines stormed out onto the boarding ramp, fully armed and armored, weapons at the ready, helmet visors down to present an intimidating facelessness. They took cover at once, clearly ready to defend the ship and its crew. Ashley led them, her Spectre insignia clearly visible as she stalked down the ramp.

  The dozen Citadel Security officers at the bottom of the ramp suddenly seemed much less sure of themselves.

  I emerged from the ship, Shepard on my right and Garrus on my left, the three of us unarmed but looking quite ready for violence nonetheless.

  One of the C-Sec officers detached himself from the crowd, a male human with a craggy face. “Dr. T’Soni?”

  We stopped. “I’m here, Commander Bailey.”

  “I’m sorry, Doctor.” He looked supremely unhappy. “I’ve got orders to place you under arrest.”

  “That’s not going to happen,” said Shepard quietly. “Ash?”

  “Ready!” shouted the other Spectre, giving Bailey a fierce glare. I had a moment’s intuition that she knew the C-Sec officer personally.

  The Marines all leveled their weapons. Down at their position, C-Sec dove for cover and produced their own sidearms. Only Bailey stood still, clenching his teeth until the muscles along his jaw began to jump.

  “I suggest you call the Council and advise them that this situation is volatile, and you don’t wish to cause an interstellar incident,” said Shepard. “Dr. T’Soni is under the protection of the Systems Alliance.”

  “Not to mention the Turian Hierarchy,” said Garrus. “Hello, Commander Bailey.”

  Bailey nodded. “Garrus.”

  “That’s Propraetor Vakarian to you at the moment, Commander.” Garrus stared at his former colleague, his eyes gone predator-cold. “I’m guessing that those arrest orders were not backed by a majority of the Council.”

  Bailey shook his head in frustration. “All I know is, the orders were signed by Tevos, none of the other Councilors have countermanded them, and I don’t have the authority to ignore them.”

  “Commander Bailey, you do have the authority to request a clarification if the circumstances change,” I reminded him. “I suggest you do that, and put the entire Council on the courtesy-copy list.”

  Bailey’s eyes narrowed. “Well, now,” he drawled. “That’s one of the least stupid ideas I’ve heard all day.”

  He turned away to use his omni-tool. Shepard, Garrus, and I exchanged a quick glance.

  Just then I saw movement behind the C-Sec line: two graceful figures, then five, then ten. They formed a line perhaps twenty meters back, not trying to break the cordon. Most of them I didn’t recognize, younger asari in form-fitting black armor, but two of the faces caused my heart to skip a beat.

  Vara T’Rathis: one of the Shadow Broker’s foremost operatives, a petite but very dangerous commando. Also my first sworn acolyte, who had once suggested I could have her as a lover, any time I wished.

  Matriarch Aethyta: once a spy for the Matriarchs of Thessia, now one of our people’s emerging war-leaders. Also my father, with all that implied.

  “Councilor, your order is looking more ill-advised by the minute.” Bailey’s voice rose, as he saw the newcomers as well. “I have senior representatives of two of the Council’s member-states in opposition. I have a bunch of asari here, also not looking very happy with me. I have a lot of people leveling guns at each other. I respectfully request that you reconsider, or at least get the full Council’s chop on your orders.”

  Aethyta strode forward, close enough to be heard by the pick-up of Bailey’s comm. “Game’s up, Tevos. It might have worked if you could have grabbed Liara off the docks before anyone knew, but it’s too late for that.”

  Silence, for several long seconds.

  Then Bailey nodded emphatically. “Good. Thank you, Councilor.”

  “Does she see sense?” asked Aethyta.

  “She’s not happy about it, but yes.” Bailey turned to his officers. “Stand down!”

  Ashley caught Shepard’s eye and received a nod. “At ease,” she ordered the Marines.

  Everyone in my line of sight began to relax, taking weapons to port-arms or holstering them entirely. The asari contingent began to move forward as a whole.

  I had time for a brief hand-shake with Vara and a significant glance at my father, staying carefully detached for the sake of the audience. “Matriarch. Thank you for your support.”

  “Any time, kid. Speaking of which, if you want a little advice?”

  “I’ll take it.”

  “Tevos isn’t beaten yet.”

  “No, I imagine she isn’t. I think I had better go talk to her at once.” I looked at Bailey. “Commander, will you inform the Councilor that I am on my way to see her?”

  “She’s got a pretty full calendar, Doctor.”

  “I believe she will make the time for me,” I said mildly.

  He nodded.

  “Now,” I asked, “who are these others?”

  Vara gave me a sharp-edged smile. “Over the past few weeks, the Matriarch has directed a number of asari to me. All of them are former Eclipse, but none of them took part in the Sisterhood cult that Jona Sederis maintained before her unfortunate accident. These are the best. Nerylla Essenai, Tania Kethys . . .”

  One by one, Vara introduced the commandos, each of them giving me a short bow and a bright-eyed stare when she called their names. I struggled to remember faces and names, knowing that I would lose half of them within hours after such a whirlwind encounter.

  “Thank you all for being here,” I said to them at last, thinking quickly. “Your support has already been very helpful. Do I understand that you wish to take the oath?”

  A flurry of significant glances. Then the foremost of them, Nerylla, stepped forward. “We’ve all talked it over, Doctor, and yes. We want to be sworn into your service.”

  “You all know that I’m just a maiden?” I looked around the group, catching one pair of eyes after another, looking for any sign of doubt. “I’m sure most of you are older than I am.”

  “Doesn’t matter, Doctor,” said another one. Tania Kethys, I remembered. “We’ve all heard the stories. We’ve talked to the Captain. We know who you are. Our honor is to serve.”

  “You all agree to this?”

  One by one, they nodded.

  I took a deep breath. “Then let it be done.”

  We didn’t have time for all the formalities. One by one they knelt before me, gave me their hands, swore the acolyte’s oath. I reached out to each of them in turn, my mind brushing against hers, just enough to give me a sense of her personality, her unfeigned loyalty. Then the next, and the next.

  Aethyta looked on with undisguised pride. Shepard and Garrus watched with bemusement, not understanding asari customs but happy to support us nonetheless. Even some of the C-Sec officers, most of them asari, lingered to witness.

  Finally it was done. I had nine sworn acolytes, all of them trained commandos.

  “Now it’s time to go see Councilor Tevos.”

  “Not yet,” said my father. “That white thing just won’t do.”

  I glanced down at myself. “What, you mean my outfit? What’s wrong with it?”

  “It’s all wrong for you,” she stated firmly. “I know, it’s a lot tougher than it looks, and it’s nice and pretty. But it makes you look like you’re barely a hundred years old.”

  “I am barely a hundred years old.”

  “You don’t have to go around reminding people of the fact.” She gestured, and Nerylla produced a case. “I’ve got something better for you.”

  The style seemed much the same: a body-suit cut close to show off my figure, a long high-collared jacket over that, gloves and knee-high boots. I quickly saw that if anything
, the new outfit had tougher armor and a stronger built-in shield generator. The colors had changed. Aethyta had selected crimson for the body-suit, darkest black for the jacket, and white only for a few accents along the arms and legs.

  I glanced at Shepard. Yes, my new outfit complemented the color scheme of his armor, especially the N7 insignia that he wore prominently on his chest.

  Ashley noticed the same thing and smiled. “Hey, the two of you will match.”

  My father nodded. “They’re good colors, Spectre. To asari, black and crimson suggest authority. Including the ability to kick ass as needed. Damned appropriate, if you ask me.”

  “I agree,” said Shepard. “You’d better put it on. We need to hurry.”

  It did make sense. Anything to carry the message to any asari who saw me: do not trifle with this one.

  I took the case and returned to Normandy, electing to change clothes on the bridge. Fortunately Joker had left his post for once, retiring to the mess hall for a cup of coffee. I could close and lock the hatch for a few moments and put on the new outfit without benefit of his commentary. Or his smug smile.

  When I emerged once more, Aethyta and Vara fussed over me for a moment, adjusting a strap here and the fall of the jacket there.

  “Good,” said my father. “Now one more thing.”

  A headdress. Minimal, no more than two strips of dark cloth, something to attach to my forehead and the sides of my face. Just the kind of thing a Matriarch might wear on a casual occasion, or if she expected physical exertion.

  “I’ve never worn a headdress,” I objected. “I’m much too young for one.”

  “Nonsense.” Aethyta stepped forward to place the ornament on me, adjusting the fit with micrometric care. “No law says you can’t put this on. It’s got nothing to do with your age, everything to do with your status. You may not be a Matriarch, but you’re one of the most important asari in the galaxy, and you need people to know it the moment they see you.”

  “Besides, it honors those of us who serve you,” Vara murmured, grabbing my conscience with both hands and twisting.

  “You are both terrible people.” I sighed as Aethyta finished her task. “How do I look?”

  Aethyta nodded with a smile. “Fit to kill.”

  Greatly daring, Vara leaned in to brush my cheek with her lips. “You look stunning, despoina.”

  Then Shepard loomed close, no more than a flicker of his eyes assessing Vara as she withdrew. “It’s a new look for you. I think I like it.”

  “I suppose I will have to get used to it. Come on. We’ve wasted enough time.”

  * * *

  It wasn’t that easy, of course.

  Shepard and I quickly agreed that all of us needed to travel together: almost a dozen asari, as many humans, one stray turian for flavor, many of us heavily armed. Civilian aircars would not do. Fortunately Normandy’s berth stood close to the Presidium ring. From there to the Council Tower would be no great distance.

  We decided to walk.

  I took the lead, striding along with my head held high, trying to project confidence and resolve with every step. Shepard and Aethyta moved at my side, Garrus and Vara walking just behind, the rest of my commandos and Shepard’s Marines mingling freely in our train. Down the boarding ramp, across the concourse, heading for the exits onto the Presidium.

  Then we started accumulating asari.

  It started with three C-Sec officers, asari who had stood with Commander Bailey in his abortive attempt to arrest me. They fell in at the back of our group as if they belonged, still in their duty uniforms but moving like members of a ceremonial procession, all grace and formal reserve.

  It’s T’Soni.

  The archaeologist. The one who helped bring down Saren Arterius.

  Matriarch Benezia’s daughter. Commander Shepard’s bondmate and partner.

  The information dealer. The one who speaks before the Council for the Shadow Broker.

  Or maybe she is the Shadow Broker.

  Once we emerged onto the Presidium, the thing accelerated. Beings of every shape stopped to stare, but many of the asari left what they had been doing to follow. We attracted ten blue-skinned followers, then twenty, then forty, all of them elegant no matter what they wore: work clothes, uniforms, long dresses and gowns.

  Who’s that with her?

  She’s walking with the human Spectres. With the Primarch’s advisor. With a Matriarch and an armed escort.

  Goddess, she’s dressed like a Matriarch herself. She has acolytes following her.

  Are those her acolytes?

  They certainly seem to be. Aethyta never had much of a following.

  What’s happening? What’s going on? What is she doing?

  I should follow her and see.

  Outsiders often forget that asari tend to flock.

  We’re not herd animals as such. Still, we often feel most comfortable in large groups of our own kind, chattering with each other, engaged in an endless flowing dance of cooperation and social competition. It doesn’t always take much to gather a great crowd of asari, and then get us all moving in the same direction.

  Sometimes all it takes is a display of sheer audacity.

  This is how it happens. A positive feedback loop. Social success leads to areté, which puts confidence in one’s stride and self-assurance in one’s face, which leads to further social success.

  Seventy-five of us entered the embassy district.

  A hundred of us arrived at the base of the Council Tower. By then the press had gotten word, and at least three reporters had begun to shadow our procession, camera drones in flight.

  Tevos stood waiting for us.

  She must have gotten some warning, from C-Sec or from agents of her own on the Presidum. She stood before the front doors of the Tower, a few of her own acolytes and bodyguards visible at her side. Commander Bailey stood there as well, more C-Sec officers at hand, weapons holstered but clearly ready for use. I noticed that no asari stood as part of his new C-Sec detachment.

  I strode up to Tevos and stopped. Waited, while my following came to a halt. Waited some more, while the silence grew deep and the tension became thick enough to cut with a knife.

  Then, quite deliberately and in sight of the entire crowd, I bowed. I measured the gesture with all the precision I could manage: a greeting to someone who occupies a position of greater authority, but whom one does not regard as a social superior. “Councilor Tevos.”

  “Dr. T’Soni.” Her voice sounded cool and controlled as always, and scrupulously neutral.

  “I apologize for the interruption of your busy schedule,” I told her. “I believe we have matters to discuss that will not admit any further delay.”

  “I agree. Will you come up to my office?”

  “I will.” Without glancing to either side, I continued: “Commander Shepard and Matriarch Aethyta will accompany me.”

  “They will not,” she rapped, losing her composure ever so slightly. “We are dealing with classified information, internal to the Asari Republics.”

  Aethyta snorted. “Well, last time I checked, Liara and I are asari. And if you think anything you tell her won’t get to Shepard by bedtime this evening, you’re a damned fool.”

  I heard a ripple of amusement among the crowd of asari behind me. With some difficulty, I kept my own expression calm and still. “Councilor, I wish to remind you that Commander Shepard is also a citizen of the Asari Republics.”

  I felt Shepard stir slightly at my side. My mind brushed across his lightly, tasting his surprise.

  He never considered that aspect of our relationship, until now.

  “True,” said Tevos. “So be it.”

  She turned, all of her followers moving with her, and walked into the Council Tower.

  I had a sudden vision: two armies meeting on a field, unsure whether they would have to fight. Their leaders confront one another, each assessing the other’s strength and determination. Then one invites the other into her tent,
to confer out of the warriors’ sight.

  This may not end in conflict after all. Although I should probably be careful not to drink her wine.

  I caught Vara’s eye. She gave me a small nod. She knew what I expected of her.

  With my father and my bondmate at my side, I followed Tevos into her domain.

  Chapter 32 : Legacies

  24 May 2186, Council Offices/Citadel

  Councilor Tevos sat alone behind her desk, refusing to look up at first as the three of us entered her office. I saw none of her acolytes or bodyguards, though I knew they stood ready to intervene on an instant’s notice.

  “Please be at ease,” she said, glancing up at us.

  I crossed the floor, trying not to feel like an impostor in my new outfit, the minimal headdress an irritation at the sides of my face. Shepard and Aethyta followed, and all three of us seated ourselves facing the councilor across her desk.

  “Thank you for seeing us on such short notice,” I began.

  “You gave me little choice.” Cool and rational as always, the councilor’s eyes took us in with perfectly serene calm. “I regret the rudeness of your welcome onto the Citadel.”

  “You sent C-Sec to arrest Liara,” Shepard growled. “That doesn’t count as much of a welcome in my book.”

  “Councilor, may I ask why you moved to place me under arrest?” I tilted my head back, watching Tevos closely, trying to project grave confidence. “The effort was never likely to succeed for long. I can’t think of any evidence you might have to indict me of criminal activity, and the other councilors would certainly never have supported the order.”

  She gave me a cool stare. “I was hoping to provide you some cover, Dr. T’Soni. Word of your position as the Shadow Broker has reached Thessia as well as my desk. A number of influential Matriarchs have suspected you of being a threat ever since your mother’s death. Now they are convinced of it.”

  “A threat. Me.”

  My father snorted. “Liara, there is that body count of yours.”

  “I haven’t harmed a single person on Thessia,” I said, glaring at the Councilor. “Even on Illium I haven’t hurt anyone who wasn’t already doing her best to harm me or my friends. Ever since Therum I’ve been doing everything in my power to defend all of us against the Reapers. How much did any of them do, before it became obvious that the Reapers were coming?”