Even without the Reapers coming close to the same system – the war had come to the Citadel.
Revan could feel it throughout the docking bay, the heavy choking atmosphere of too many people expecting the worst and only the lack of a clear threat right in front of them keeping them subdued.
Worse were the slum cities popping up around the cargo areas.
When people began putting down roots expecting to be in one place for a while, they began to get territorial. People that were either stranded or had lost everything would be easy targets for people looking to make a quick credit or desperate manpower for a number of dangerous or exploitative jobs.
The entire area was a ticking timebomb that could go off at any minute.
"This is terrible." Tali'Zorah commented as they walked towards a gateway into the main areas of the Citadel. "So many people lost everything. Even if we beat the Reapers right now, how many simply don't have anything left to go back to?"
"Easily thousands here, and millions across the galaxy. And that number will only grow unless the Reapers are stopped." Revan made sure to keep her voice low.
"Isn't there anything we can do? The Empire–"
"Can't just start kidnapping people and hiding them in the Terminus Systems, even if they would be ultimately safer." Revan interrupted. "Nor can we start just donating what the people need here for free. Not when our own people need what we have just as much."
"We can't just do nothing either!"
Revan figured the slums were a sore point for the young Quarian Admiral. Until recently, her people had mostly been forced to live in similar conditions wherever they went on their pilgrimages. At least unless they were lucky or valuable enough to secure basic lodging somewhere else.
Tali'Zorah was also empathetic enough that she didn't find much, if any, enjoyment of others suffering what her people had suffered until Revan had helped them reclaim Rannoch. Instead she saw others in the same situation and looked to fix it.
"We can't force them or help them directly, but I will see about getting permission from the Council about accepting refugees onto our less populated worlds." Revan offered as a compromise. "And even if they refuse we can sneak in some of the ships that haven't been sent for recycling just yet and still have proper landing codes to make the offer to the refugees themselves." There would be an increased risk of spies and infiltrators, but that was inevitable and could be managed.
"I'll make a note of it!" Tali'Zorah already sounded happier with just that promise as well.
That marked the end of that conversation as the two of them were greeted by an exhausted looking C-Sec officer. "Name, pass authorization, and purpose for visit?" The man asked in the dead tone of someone who had repeated a phrase so often it had actually lost meaning.
"Tali'Zorah under Spectre authorization. Shore leave for the Normandy." That got a flash of interest and while the officer might have wanted to ask more questions, Tali'Zorah was already in the system as an associate of Shepard's.
Theoretically, Revan also could have used the same thing from when she last visited with Shepard. Or just had a new authorization created if it had been deleted since she had arrived on the Citadel via the Normandy.
But that wasn't what Revan was here to do.
"Right. And you?" The officer asked Revan after Tali'Zorah passed through the scanner without issue.
"Revan. Diplomatic authorization to meet with the Turian Councilman." She said, passing along the correct codes.
One of the advantages of spending a lot of time on the same ship as the Turian Primarch was that Revan had plenty of time to negotiate deals that would have otherwise dragged out for weeks. But as the Primarch had pointed out at the mostly stalled Peace Summit, they didn't have time for the traditional political maneuvering.
So Revan had only moderately fleeced him instead of taking everything he had.
Most of the Turian Hierarchy – what was capable of it anyway – would be shifting nonvital production to intermediate products for the Empire's own technology for things like theatre shields and weaponry. Nothing that would let them reverse engineer the final products, but would greatly speed up the production of those items or allow Revan's own production facilities to focus on more esoteric components. In return the Empire would provide blaster rifles and other personal equipment to the Turian military and a dozen planetary shield systems to planets of the Primarch's choice.
"These check out." The C-Sec officer said, surprise breaking through his seeming tiredness before seeming to realise that someone authorized to meet with one of the Council members was standing right in front of him, waiting. "Oh, uh, is there anything else I can assist you with, ma'am?" He rushed to say while straightening up.
"No, that will be all. In fact–" Revan raised a hand and gently pushed a suggestion on him with the Force, not exactly hard given how exhausted the man was, "just treat this as a normal entry. No need for anyone to get excited on my account."
The man nodded agreeably. "A normal entry, yes ma'am. Welcome to the Citadel." He even 'forgot' to scan for any weapons.
It wouldn't stop any alerts from being sent out about her authorization level or if anyone was watching for her name or description specifically, but it would hopefully give her a several hour lead on anyone pursuing her and force them to start with only the knowledge that she was 'somewhere in the Citadel'.
Unless they managed to hack the Councilman's schedule or the security station's cameras anyway.
"I expect this meeting to take a few hours at least," Revan told Tali'Zorah as they made their way towards the Aircar hub. "You're free to do what you like until then. Though I think you mentioned plans with more of your old teammates from the Normandy?"
"Well, less plans and more like Engineer Daniels mentioned some of the conduits the Systems Alliance swapped out once they converted the Normandy from being a Cerberus ship aren't rated for the power they could draw, so Garrus offered to show me around some contacts he made when he was a detective that might have some compatible replacements." Revan didn't think Tali'Zorah was aware of how she perked up at the idea of spending time digging through mechanical components with the Turian marksman.
"Well, be sure to thank him for the introduction." Revan said, not giving anything away. "I think we had some improved focusing lenses for the model of rifle he uses stashed with the samples I presented to the Primarch of what components we wanted them producing. I'm sure we could spare the one. Plus he might appreciate you explaining how to install them rather than just going by a manual."
"Oh, that's a good idea! The manuals are good for the initial installation, but properly calibrating them takes a bit longer. Thanks Revan!"
Revan just huffed amusedly. She would figure it out. Probably.
-o-
"I'll be honest with you, if this meeting wasn't ordered by my Primarch I would be having you arrested." Councilor Sparatus obviously didn't like her, Revan mused. She idly wondered if it was something the Jedi prejudiced him with, the fact she was the head of a major spacefaring empire that sprung up outside his control, or if the stress of being one of the four main faces of a galactic polity that was breaking into isolationist subfactions while the galaxy burned just made him surly.
In the end, it didn't really matter much. Sparatus's job was to advance Turian interests in Citadel space and for the moment his leader decided that meant working with Revan.
"And I'd wish you all the luck in the galaxy." Revan replied blandly. "To business then?"
"If you can call it that. Half of these proposals are insultingly ridiculous." Sparatus grumbled. "Instead of hoarding the technology that could give us an edge over the Reapers, you are demanding even more of our production capabilities and want me to help convince the rest of the Council to give you almost complete operational freedom in our territories."
He leaned back in his chair and waved a hand, "I shouldn't have to explain to you how outrageous that is. The Council has managed the galaxy for almost two millenia and yet you expect us to just roll over because you have some toys and technology we need."
"No, I expect you to work with me because you have proven incapable of taking the Reapers seriously for years and your ability to act for the immediate survival of the galaxy instead of a nebulous future state is seriously in question."
"We are responsible for the safety and stability of the entire galaxy!" Sparatus growled. "We couldn't just start an arms race on the words of a single Spectre."
"And Palaven is burning because you did not prepare for the threat you dismissed." Revan replied mercilessly.
Sparatus glared at her and then did what all politicians do when faced with something they did not like. Deflect and change the subject. "We acted with the facts we had available to us at the time and for the future of Citadel Space. A future your proposals are putting in danger! As they are, if I help push these through over half our industry would be dependent on the Empire to actually produce anything. The economy would crash for years once the Reapers are driven off!"
Revan stared at him like he was an idiot.
Something made slightly easier because he was being an idiot, and slightly harder thanks to the black faceplate of her mask. She had plenty of practice however, and seemed to get her point across.
"Tell me something, Councilor Sparatus… are your armed forces more powerful than the Protheans at their peak?"
"What?"
"It's a simple question. Are your forces more powerful than the Protheans? Better weapons? Shields? More numerous and capable of engaging the Reapers again after a major confrontation?"
Revan did her best to express her disdain for the politics being played while they were fighting for their very survival.
"I can assure you, they are not. Courtesy of possibly the last living Prothean in the galaxy – who also happens to be traveling with Commander Shepard – that happened to mention outside of certain subsystems, your ships are greatly outmatched."
"Your point?" Revan wasn't sure if the Councilor was being deliberately obtuse or willfully blind.
"My point is that the Prothean civilization DOESN'T EXIST ANYMORE," Revan almost yelled, "And the Reapers didn't get weaker since then! My advice to you, Councilor, is to worry about the economy after the existential threat to all life in the galaxy is defeated. Otherwise I doubt the dust and echoes left behind will care that you had some shareholder's future in mind while we died."
"You think I don't know that?" Sparatus growled. "Of course I know that if we lose then we are all dead. But I have to convince the greedy shortsighted idiots, or the morons who think they can simply wait this invasion out, that they should be investing everything they can into the war effort instead of hoarding things for themselves is the more profitable choice or taking what they can and running to the ass end of the galaxy! And just demanding they do so will not help anyone!"
So not completely ignorant to what was going on, but incapable of just telling her what the issue was. Still, Revan could work with that.
"Then help me rework these into something acceptable. I don't have the time to sit in boardrooms arguing over line items while we lose more ground and your Primarch agrees with me." She demanded.
"That was the purpose of our meeting, but I needed to know you were on the same page as I was. And that you were not just some warlord that assumed everything could be resolved through force." The Councilor huffed.
Revan was not surprised Sparatus had been testing her in turn. But she felt they had wasted enough time with posturing.
"Then let's get started. The first thing we need is a guarantee that Imperial ships can operate in Citadel Space without being fired on. Everything else is pointless if my soldiers cannot even enter a system without being challenged by the people they are supposed to be protecting."
"A blanket permission is impossible." Sparatus said bluntly. "The Asari Republic in particular seems intent on denying anything to do with your empire and Tevos seems aligned with that opinion."
"Systems not dominated by ties to the Asari then. Or as many that we can get. My own ships are simply better suited for fighting the Reapers – at least in equal numbers – and we can use the pressure from their advance to expand access later."
"That will work as long as you can actually supply the ships to defend the areas that allow access. Otherwise there will be pushback from the groups that want you to fail." Sparatus warned.
Revan nodded in acknowledgement. "Garrisoning and supply runs, when they start, can be handled by the remaining Geth ships we have. I can have small fast-reaction battlegroups stationed between systems to respond to scouting forces made from Imperial designs. That should be enough to defend against anything other than a dedicated attack."
"Where are those ships coming from? Primarch Victus told me every vessel you had was held up defending your own territory."
"Yes, but we've been able to free up dozens of vessels by using old Krogan ships as garrison forces. They are slow enough that they can barely chase off a random pirate fleet, but they are tough and can be armed enough to be a mobile weapons platform that even a Reaper needs to be wary of."
Sparatus looked surprised but quickly nodded at the news. "Good, I can work with that. The next issue is…"
Revan settled back into her seat and prepared herself.
This was going to take some time…
-o-
When Shepard dropped by the Spectre Office to coordinate the handoff of the Cerberus database she had not been expecting to get pulled into another Spectre's investigation into an indoctrinated hannar diplomat.
Or for him to have been hunting Kasumi on and off for several years which made the reveal that the thief had been shadowing Shepard the whole time they had been investigating slightly awkward.
The fact that Kasumi had been the one that stopped the virus the indoctrinated jellyfish had uploaded that would have shut down the Hannar homeworld's defenses had bought her a free pass though.
Kasumi had decided to make herself scarce on the way back to the Office, though. Professional paranoia kept her from walking into a room with several potentially unfriendly Spectres.
"It was an honor to work with you, Shepard. When the time comes, I'll be there to return the favor… with a few friends." Jondum Bau said once they finished dealing with the immediate fallout of killing a recognized diplomat in an embassy area. Thankfully Bau had been the one to pull the trigger, so Shepard wouldn't have to be the one to deal with the mountain of paperwork that would generate.
"We'll need it, thank you." Shepard replied with a smile.
At least until a scoff sounded out nearby. "Careful Bau, this one works with monsters. I wouldn't get all friendly with her if I were you."
Shepard looked over to see an Asari with purple facial markings. No one she was familiar with.
"You have a problem with me?" She asked.
"Tela Vasir, well known in Special Tactics and Recon for her investigations into economic crime and the dissolution of several slave trading rings." Jondum Bau identified the newcomer. "I was unaware you were back on the Citadel."
"I'm not staying long. I got a break in a missing persons case. A pair of Asari Je-usticar that vanished while last being seen around some of Shepard's… associates."
Shepard sighed. "Look, if this is about Cerberus, I only worked with them to uncover what the Collectors were doing after the Council denied support. I cut ties with them the minute the threat was dealt with."
"I heard about that and I'm not judging. Every Spectre has a few unsavory contacts they've used once in a while to take down bigger threats to the peace of the galaxy." Vasir waved off. "But when that contact is the head of the second biggest threat to the galaxy, well, we can't afford to turn a blind eye because you happen to be 'friends'."
"Are you talking about Revan?" Shepard blinked, surprised. "She's not a threat, she's the only one that took the Reapers seriously from the beginning!"
"Maybe," Vasir shrugged, starting to walk off. "Or maybe she just used that to justify her conquest out in the Terminus Systems. But let her know that I'm watching her, and the minute I find her undermining the Council for her own gain – me and a few of my own friends won't hesitate to take her down." She paused at the doorway. "And Jondum, I recommend double checking 'when the time comes' that you are actually fighting for the side you think you are."
Shepard scowled as the Asari Spectre vanished around the corner. If Vesir was only being cautious because of how quickly the Empire formed she could understand – be annoyed that time and effort better used against the Reapers was being wasted, but she could understand.
But she had caught that minor verbal slip up Vasir made about the two Justicar.
The other Spectre was working with the hidden Jedi order in some capacity and even with the ongoing threat, they were focused on Revan.
"Cryptic. Do you know what that was about?" Bau asked with a frown.
"Possibly. There's a religious order out in Asari space that has an issue with the Empress of the Sith Empire." Shepard said, not feeling like getting into all the details at the moment. They didn't have time for it anyway. "They've already tried to assassinate her once as far as I know and I'm sure they've made other attacks. From the sound of it, they've recruited Vasir as an agent."
"Interfaction squabbling, at a time like this. And those are always made messier when religion is involved. Issues like that are why I prefer to target problems that clearly violate the law." Bau sounded understanding at least. "On that note, please pass on to Kasumi Goto my thanks for her assistance. I look forward to catching her once the Reapers are defeated."
Shepard gave him a smile. "I'll be sure to. Though she'd want me to tell you that she's going to make you work for it."
"Of course. It wouldn't be a challenge otherwise." Bau acknowledged and then walked off himself.
Shepard didn't have much time to consider what her next move should be as her Omnitool alerted her to an incoming call. The fact that Wrex just gave her a bad feeling.
"Shepard, I need a favor."
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