SfS-33

Salvaging from Strife[]

Chapter 33 - The Whole World Blind (Part 1)[]

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Part 1[]

Perseus Relay

Long-lived as asari were, Captain Visilia knew that did not make them immune to complacency. She would need to conduct a surprise inspection at some point to keep the crew alert and ready. Sentry duty deep within the Terminus Systems, at the border to geth space, was not a place for carelessness.

Her crew were still performing their duties professionally, but the younger maidens, especially, were becoming restless. They'd wildly theorized and speculated when the Guardian had first entered the Terminus Systems, on the geth, the humans, the possibility of a war. That the lone scout frigate was out of range of backup had only added to the thrill. Now, the initial excitement had passed, the bridge was much quieter and focused, and the monotony was starting to settle in.

The system containing the Perseus Relay still remained unchanged from when the Guardian had first arrived. The mass relay to beyond the Perseus Veil floated peacefully at the edge of the system. Captain Visilia remembered when, as a young maiden, it had still been quarian space. The geth rebellion had seemed epoch-defining back then, but now it was old history, especially to the shorter-lived alien species. It seemed fitting observing the mass relay now seemed such a similarly uneventful task.

The only other sign of life in the system was a small quarian vessel, around a light-hour from the Guardian. The hull still resembled its origin as a light civilian freighter from a turian shipyard, but Captain Visilia had no doubts it had been converted by the Migrant Fleet into a scout ship. They pretended not to see it, and it in return pretended not to see them. Hailing or scanning the quarians wouldn't accomplish anything, she knew. If the quarians weren't forthcoming with the Citadel Council, they wouldn't be with her either.

Aside from the quarian ship and the Guardian, the few deep space stations the geth had built were now drifting clouds of debris. Sifting through those had been quick and fruitless. The Guardian had arrived only days after the human-quarian fleet had returned, delayed by politics with Terminus Systems powers. Time enough for the quarians and humans to pick anything valuable clean. Perhaps the Guardian should do another sweep, just in case they missed something. It would give the crew something to do, besides observing the continued lack of geth presence.

She'd read the intel summaries. Normally, geth would pass through the relay frequently on their way to and from their systems on this side of the Veil, rarely observed from afar by briefly approaching scouts. Now, after the joint human-quarian attack, there was nothing, no geth activity at all. A geth ship on watch for the return of humans or quarians would have been something, but instead geth activity was completely absent.

It wasn't impossible the geth had come through before withdrawing. Faint signals had been detected near the mass relay, possibly quarian probes. Or they could be geth probes, or part of a minefield. The only way to be sure would be to approach the mass relay.

No, they were here to observe and report back if something happened, not play at spec ops. She would do the surprise inspection now, Captain Visilia decided, before she started seriously contemplating reckless ideas.

The alert came while she was halfway through the inspection. "Captain, the mass relay is activating."

It was still active by the time she returned back to the bridge in haste. The Guardian was several light-hours from the mass relay, but it had FTL-contact with spy satellites close to the relay. One look told her half the satellites were already down. The remainder watched as signal after signal burst into existence around the mass relay, at least a hundred of frigate size or larger.

The relay was still active.

The satellite feed cut out abruptly. Several displays on the bridge followed suit shortly thereafter, before they restored themselves. Captain Visilia's XO answered before she asked. "Captain, the geth got into our satellites, and inserted viruses into the Guardian's comm systems. Security programs have contained and are purging the intrusion."

To the Guardian, the relay still looked passive, the light from the geth hours out. But Captain Visilia knew geth ships were already on their way to her location, following the data trail from the compromised satellites. "Transmit a warning to the quarian ship."

"Long range comms are down, Captain."

She hesitated, but ordered, "They're on their own. Helm, get us out of here."

Part 2[]

Elysium

"Ahh, Mr. Valkarian, yes, the Commander is expecting you. If you would please follow me, I shall escort you to his private box?" The smartly dressed human attendant bowed deeply to Garrus, then stepped back, a polite and vacant smile on his face. The two bouncers flanking him and the doorway shifted their heads to frown discouragingly at the human behind Garrus.

Garrus stepped through the doorway and followed behind the attendant into the VIP area. The interior was the same durable concrete and metallic plating as outside, though well hidden by paint and decorations. Framed photos of Mechs, posing humans, and large chunks of metal mounted above plaques. A gold-coloured lift brought them up to the topmost floor, which had the air of even more extravagant taste. The attendant stopped before a solid-looking wooden door and knocked. "Commander Shepard, Mr. Valkarian is here."

The door slid open with a soft whoosh, revealing a welcoming Commander Shepard behind it, wearing his dress uniform. "Garrus, come in and make yourself comfortable." Once Garrus was through the door, the Mechwarrior shut the door.

The room was richly furnished, with expensive looking furniture and floor. Opposite to the door, the wall was thick, transparent glass. A large couch was placed before it to provide a good view of the exterior.

Garrus remarked, "You're doing well for yourself."

Shepard shrugged nonchalantly. "Everything's billed to the Star League. One of the perks of being Normandy Commander. Anyway, you came just in time. The show is about to start," Shepard told him.

Garrus walked forward to look out of the glass. From here, he had an excellent view of the match grounds, a wide expanse of smooth white gravel under the night sky, illuminated by floodlights set at intervals on the ground. Below the box was a slope of armour plating, and the turian could make out windows, and massive gates.

"It's supposed to be a spectacle tonight," Shepard continued talking from behind Garrus. "First match is a pair of heavies, Red Nightmare versus the Robot Doom. Nightmare's a Thunderbolt, Doom's a modded Warhammer, supposed to be based on the geth, but it's terribly inaccurate. Still, I've heard good things about the cosmetics and sound effects, and the Mech is a crowd-pleaser. I'm betting the Doom wins the first round. They need to build up the drama."

Two of the gates were slowly opening, light from within casting large, shadowed silhouettes onto the arena ground. Garrus looked away and focused his attention on Shepard. "Shepard, why I am here?"

Shepard walked forwards and sat on the couch. "Well, I always wanted to visit the Elysium arenas, and it seemed a good opportunity for you to see a proper match in person." The smile went from his face. "More importantly, I wanted a private conversation with the Citadel liaison to the Normandy Initiative. You need to be more careful."

Garrus considered playing dumb, then decided not to. "Why shouldn't I investigate what I can? I answer to Executor Pallin and the Citadel Council, and that requires me to know what the Initiative is really up to."

"Yes, but there are limits." The human paused, looking down at the two Mechs striding out into the open. "I may be Commander of the Normandy, but that doesn't give me free reign on handling you. I'd tell you to treat this assignment as a cushy desk job, but I don't think that will help."

"No, that won't," Garrus agreed. "I don't intend to spend my days at the Citadel embassy doing nothing,"

Shepard sighed. "And so you launch a one-man investigation into the Normandy Initiative?"

"It's what I know," Garrus replied, crossing his arms. "And I know I'm not being properly informed about what you're doing. I can look around, I can talk to people, but nobody told me a quarian colony behind the Perseus Veil was the target."

That the humans and quarians were planning to attack geth was obvious. Which target was more questionable. By the time Garrus learnt of Nedas, sitting in a bar across from a drunken officer, the alliance was one day away from setting off. He would have appreciated more forewarning.

"You know Saren still has contacts in the Citadel. I can't risk them learning anything," Shepard defended heatedly. "Besides, the Council hasn't helped with Saren."

"Citadel forces helped the Aurigan Reach, and the Council helped secure your release from Noveria, even if that was due to the rachni," Garrus reminded him testily. "Matriarch Benezia is already under investigation, and Saren by association. And perhaps the Council would be friendlier if the Normandy Initiative actually cooperated with them."

He added impulsively, "Saren got away with Feros because ComStar was keeping secrets. You want to make the same mistake as your aunt?"

Shepard sucked in a breath with a low hiss, but said nothing. A disembodied voice broke in over loudspeakers, announcing with rapid-fire words the Mechs were in position. With a snarl, the Commander reached over to press a button on the couch's edge. The voice faded to a soft murmer, and he softly said, "Low blow, Valkarian. That works on criminals you catch?"

A flash of off-white light illuminated the box. "Sometimes," Garrus grudgingly admitted. His head turned to peer through the window. There were two small shapes moving on opposite ends of the arena, too far for him to make out any differences. A cloud of rapidly moving lights descended upon one of them, turning into a series of small flashes that obscured it.

"The vid-screens on the side walls offer a better view," Shepard offered. He had stood up and was pouring out a drink, in front of the screens showing close-up footage of a grey Mech strafing and firing. "I'm aware. So long as the Council protects Saren, it will be difficult to kill him. And even if he did die, anyone involved will be hunted for the rest of their lives, because the Council cannot permit the undermining of the Spectres' reputation."

Shepard briefly lifted the glass to his face before setting it down and walking back to face Garrus. "As it happens, that shouldn't be a problem for much longer." He reached into a pocket and pulled out something in his hand. He held it out, and Garrus looked down at it. A nondescript data pad. Wordlessly, he picked it up, and looked inquiringly at Shepard.

"It's completely safe, I guarantee it. You'll find evidence of Saren's treachery on it. Extracted straight from the geth themselves."

Activating the data pad, Garrus looked at the first file, an audio recording, and opened it.

A distorted turian's voice spoke. "No, I am not here on behalf of the Council, geth. I serve a different cause now." It could be Saren.

A flat, mechanical voice replied, "It is illogical for you to betray the Citadel."

"You don't need to understand. Organic civilisation will soon fall, to be replaced by a new order. Accept the offer, and you will have a place in it." The recording ended.

Muffled booms came from outside. Behind Shepard, a loop ran on one of the displays, replaying a red Mech stumbling clumsily backwards before falling on its back. Garrus finally said, "Spirits."

Shepard spoke, "That recording will be publicly released soon, as will some of the less sensitive data, once it's agreed what is safe to declassify. The others agreed it was prudent to give the Citadel Council a bit of a warning. Well, except the stupid ones, but they're not in charge."

"You could have just sent the data to the embassy, or to me."

"Some things are best done in person, just in case of prying eyes," the Mechwarrior replied.

Something on the datapad's display caught Garrus' attention. "The timestamp of this recording, it was years ago," Garrus muttered, then asked, "This isn't everything, is it?"

"The quarians aren't willing to share some of the data involving the geth, and other parts are still being pieced together. What matters is that there's enough in that data pad to prove Saren's treachery."

"I need to bring this to Pallin immediately." On the arena, the two smaller shapes were much closer together now, circling each other within a thin haze of smoke, the space between them flashing with dashes of light and explosions. "I'm going to have to miss the rest of the fun."

Shepard nodded and informed him, "There's a secure comms terminal on this floor, otherwise there should be an express taxi for guests waiting outside." He turned to peer at the clash below, adding, "You're welcome to come back. It's a long event tonight, and I was hoping to discuss your detective skills at some point. They might be useful for finding Saren's non-geth contacts. When, or if, the Council disowns Saren, you won't be committing treason doing so."

"Better than sitting on Elysium all day," Garrus replied, and walked away from the transparent wall. Before he opened the door, one last question emerged in his mind, and he said, "Any clue how Saren's responding to your attack?"

"Not yet. According to the last report from the relay, the geth are staying quiet. Saren didn't retaliate when Matriarch Benezia died, perhaps he's on the defensive and won't do anything this time either."

Garrus nodded, then slid the door open. The ground shook slightly under his feet, and noise poured in from the corridor. Faint shouting echoing from afar, and the previously muted commentator screamed "And the Robot Doom knocks the Nightmare down to her knees! Come on, Mechwarrior, get up! Get up! You've still got armour, you've still got ammo! Yes, YES, there we go! Show that merciless menace flesh beats steel!"

Part 3[]

Terminus Systems

An asari reporter stood with the Citadel Tower behind her. News teams thronged around her, their sounds muted so only the asari could be heard speaking.

"Here at the Citadel, the chaos and confusion has frankly become almost constant, current events just another shockwave rippling through the core of galactic government in this highly eventful year. As a reminder, the Council has formally suspended infamous turian Saren Arterius from the Spectre ranks, following emergence of irrefutable evidence that the now former top Spectre had been collaborating with the synthetic geth to overthrow the Citadel government.

Precentor Udina, ambassador of the Human Star League, just gave a thirty-minute long speech on the steps of the Council chamber, denouncing the unaccountability and unrestricted authority of the Spectre program, while praising humans and quarians for their role in discovering Saren Arterius' betrayal. The unofficial extranet group 'Udina Sermon Club' has already ranked the speech among the top ten of his ambassadorship. We expect to hear official reactions to the Precentor's words shortly.

For many asari, questions remain regarding the role Matriarch Benezia played in Saren's plot. Although Precentor Udina mentioned the Matriarch a few times in his speech, no new information has emerged, though some analysts believe the Normandy Initiative is withholding incriminating information as a gesture of goodwill with the Asari Republics. Matriarch Benezia's sole daughter, Professor Liara T'Soni, last seen attending the funeral on Thessia in the company of Spectre Nihlus Kyrik, has yet to comment on the recent developments.

Meanwhile, pressure is mounting-"

The holovid froze mid-sentence. Jarbon leant away from the terminal on the table towards the ship's intercom, currently beeping softly. "What is it, Captain? I'm busy working here."

"Senior Vice-Manager, we're receiving multiple reports of ships coming under attack in the region. I would recommend the convoy turn back and seek shelter at the trade port."

Why were the employees always so skittish? The salarian let the frown stay on his face. "Absolutely not. I will not tolerate any delays to this shipment. Binary Helix has an agreement with the local protectors for safe passage. If piracy cuts down our competition, that's just more profit for us."

"Senior Vice-Manager, with all due respect, the attacks so far appear to be indiscriminate. And there's the alert from the Citadel about possible geth attacks in the Terminus Systems."

"Citadel!" Jarbon cut the captain off. "We're in the Terminus Systems, those meddling bureaucrats aren't in charge here. They just want to frighten honest hard-working people and distract from the spectacular mess they're in." He chuckled happily to himself. "And if those machines are around, why should they bother us? Let them teach those Normandy idiots a lesson. Continue on course, captain. That's an order." He shut the intercom.

Honestly, it was clear what was happening. Some wannabe pirate armada was trying to hit it big. Well, that didn't concern him. The Binary Helix convoy had plenty of escorts, and everybody knew not to cross the corporation. They were on a major trade lane, there were plenty of other unlucky chumps to take the heat. He resumed trawling through the extranet.

Everybody except the Citadel and the humans. The humans, fine, vendettas needed fulfilling, Bob could understand that. Binary Helix would get back at them eventually, and that would solve the matter.

The extranet connection was spotty. Bad mistake by the pirates. Nobody liked it if the comm buoys were damaged.

The Citadel members, acting as though they should be in charge of the galaxy, just because they owned the Prothean capital. They should be compensating Binary Helix for their lost profits. After all, it was technically their fault Saren Arterius subverted Binary Helix operations on Noveria with his Spectre credentials. In a just world, Binary Helix would get control of their Noveria holdings back, the Citadel would grant them full custody rights over the rachni species that the corporation had selflessly revived, and offer them a replacement Spectre. Preferably one of those attractive asari ones, marketing would enjoy that. Having her make an example out of Commander Shepard would be a start…

A shrill alarm shattered his pleasant daydreams. Nothing would mute it. And when he stood up to demand answers in person, he found the door locked. "Captain, I demand an explanation!"

"Geth ships emerged from the mass relay and are attacking everyone in range. Stay in your quarters, Senior Vice-Manager."

"That can't be right. Pirates pretending to be geth, that must be it."

"They are geth, Senior Vice-Manager. With your permission, sir, the convoy is changing course." The call terminated.

The nerve of the captain, hanging up on him, Jarbon thought as he stumbled back before his terminal, accessing the freighter's systems. The extranet connection to the rest of the relay network was inactive, he noticed. The traffic and comm buoys that should have provided the convoy with live information weren't transmitting. And the selfish non-Helix ships between the convoy and the mass relay weren't providing him with any data, just distress calls.

The convoy was safe. The convoy was safe. They had frigates escorting the freighters. The geth wouldn't dare. His fingers fumbled around the controls. One of the last updates from the traffic buoy had listed some of the incoming ships. Two of them were cruiser-sized. There were other targets for the geth to go after. There was time for the convoy to get away. He watched the convoy marker crawl across the system map.

The freighter dropped out of FTL. The geth had caught up and forced the convoy to slow down. An idea came to Jarbon. He should have thought of it sooner. Hastily he contacted the bridge again.

"Broadcast our Binary Helix identity. We're allies of that turian Arterius, the geth can't attack us!"

Maybe this was a good thing for Binary Helix. Saren Arterius was establishing a geth fief, now his plans had failed, and this was all a show of force. Binary Helix could make a name for themselves as a negotiator, or obtain a trade monopoly in Saren's territory. The mad turian would get a cut of the corporate profits, turians loved money and luxury just as much as anyone else. This could all work out.

The sudden lurch nearly threw him from his seat. "Captain, did you hear me?"

"I did, the geth are still attacking, now shut up and let me focus!"

Jarbon didn't recall what he yelled, but there was no reply. Every attempt to call the bridge was being ignored. At some point, he gave up trying. It must have been around the point the lights went out and were replaced by dim emergency lights. He simply curled up onto his cot, clinging to the soft mattress as the ship rocked and shuddered under him, and waited to die.

There was a soft beeping. The intercom. Bob scrambled towards it on all fours.

"Senior Vice-Manager, we managed to escape. We're currently en route to a small mining outpost about ten lightyears from the relay."

"That's good." Jarbon panted. "That's good, yes. Pass on my compliments to the frigates."

There was a pause before the captain replied. "The convoy was scattered in the attack. Our freighter is alone."

"Oh. Thank you for telling me."

He slumped onto the floor. At least the carpet was soft. Jarbon was a Senior Vice-Manager. Binary Helix would realise he was missing. He was an important person. HQ would send a cruiser to locate him once they realised what had happened. He knew members on the board, they'd look for him and get him to safety.