Rebirth: The Mass Effect. Book 1. part 6.2

Chapter 6.2 Council meeting

A visibly nervous captain was waiting for us in front of the Council platform.

"Commander! The hearing is already underway!"

I didn't even blink at his reproachful look. Anderson sighed and led us to the platform. And the Citadel Council and Saren Arterius appeared to my eyes in their own holographic persona.

The meeting was already underway, and we were late for it. It turned out badly, by the way. When I reached the platform, I stood away from Ambassador Udina, looking with interest at the Council Chamber and the sentients in it.

One look at the three intelligent people, invested with supreme authority, and the canonical impression fell apart with a loud bang. Is the council stupid and short-sighted? RIGHT NOW! Just the case! There were three intelligent, cruel, and cynical creatures standing on the platform behind the low terminals.

Advisor Tevos. The Azari. A very beautiful woman, with a beautiful figure and the eyes of a goddess. And anyone who falls for her pretty face will be very strong... surprised. There is a slight interest and boredom in emotions. The ambassador annoys her, which does not show up on her beautiful face. A dangerous person.

Advisor Valern. The Salarian. A completely impenetrable face, huge eyes look indifferently. There is not even a shadow of interest, although he listens to Ambassador Udina very attentively, instantly noticing all his gestures and expressive facial expressions. The emotions are the same boredom and irritation. Udina really got him, too.

Advisor Sparatus. A stubborn soldier? Yes, of course! Although he plays his role perfectly: his face is impenetrable, his eyes are completely indifferent, and his posture is lazy. His whole appearance shows how tired he is of the constant attacks of people, how he was bullied by Udina with his demands, and what exactly he thinks about the topic of today's meeting. That's just the emotions... Oh yeah... There is no trace of indifference and boredom here! Emotions are so powerful that they interrupt the emotions of the neighbors. Captain Anderson turned out to be right: he took Nihlus' death VERY personally. Rage and dull pain poured into his mind in heavy waves, and his dark eyes stared intently and gloomily. Yeah... But I have to work with him.

Okay, I'll go through the chain of events tied to Nihlus, and I'll make the guy happy that his subordinate is alive, even if he's not completely healthy. I'm really scared of his looks. Sparatus is not only practical, but also extremely cruel! He's also very smart: he noticed my movements instantly. He's standing there now, glaring at me, making me want to curl up into a ball and quietly get out of harm's way.

"The Geth attack is a serious matter." Councilor Tevos continued the conversation that had been interrupted by our arrival, glancing at me with a reproachful look. "But there is no direct evidence that Saren is involved."

Saren Arterius. The main antagonist, Spectr, is a traitorous, human-hating monster in Turian guise, as shown by his creators of the game. Let's see what you are like in reality.

A huge orange hologram showed me a tall, powerful Turian standing somewhat tensely, arms folded across his chest in a universal protective gesture, exposing his prosthetic leg. Her head is cocked, and Saren is watching intently and warily. And the eyes... The hologram did not convey a color other than orange, but the shape and appearance of the iris were VERY clearly visible. Indoctrination has already manifested itself. At the time of the attack on Eden Prime, Saren Arterius was already completely subordinated to the Reaper.

"The investigation conducted by the C-Sec found no evidence of treason against Saren." Sparatus abruptly cut it off, but the look he gave this Saren was far from kindness and understanding.

The spectr twitched slightly. He noticed it too. And the reaction is interesting: the mandibles are firmly pressed to the cheeks, the fingers are convulsively clenched on the forearms, the eyes narrowed slightly.

Udina leaned forward and growled:

"A witness saw him kill Nihlus in cold blood!"

I closed my eyes. I-di-ot! You can't lie! The worker didn't see ANYTHING, he just heard! I was present during the interrogation of this lover of sleep!

"We've read the report on Eden Prime, Ambassador." Councilor Valern said dryly. "The testimony of one frightened worker cannot be considered as serious evidence."

"Nihlus was my Spectr colleague. And a friend." Saren abruptly, jerkily turned his head, looking at Advisor Sparatus. "I... reject these accusations."

That's how. I reject it. An extremely streamlined expression, it should be noted. In fact, Saren said in plain text that he did not accept the charges. He didn't say he was innocent. It's just that I don't accept these accusations. He's good at twisting words. But what does he want to say?

"That's why you caught him off guard!"

Anderson's sudden intervention caused a slight surprise in Sparatus' eyes and a vivid reaction from Saren: eyes narrowed, mandibles twitched in anger.

"Captain Anderson." Spektr said through his teeth. The hoarse voice broke into a barely audible growl. "When people make false accusations against me, for some reason, you're always involved." Saren straightened up, lowered his arms, shifted from one foot to the other. "This is probably your protégé, Commander Shepard. The one who did her best to destroy the Prothean beacon."

That bastard! I looked up at Saren and gave him a friendly, kind smile. The Turian's eyes narrowed, and he cocked his head slightly to one side, his mandibles barely visible in a grin. What? I looked into the hologram's eyes... He's deliberately provoking me!

Let's try this.

"The mission to Eden Prime was secret." I said. "How did you find out about its details?"

Saren crossed his arms over his chest again and said:

"After Nihlus' death, his documents passed to me. I read his report on Eden Prime. I was not impressed."

WHAT IS HE?!

The realization of WHAT Saren said shook me up. HE LIED! Clearly, defiantly, looking into the eyes. Nihlus did not send any report. What's the report from the corpse? He just COULDN'T send it! The cases were not transferred! See how Sparatus clenched his fingers on the railing. He understood too!

Turians are an honest race. Lying about your actions is considered a much more serious offense than the action itself. Saren couldn't help but know that. And now, at the Council, he pointedly lied. Looking into Sparatus' eyes.

There it is, the REAL proof. Not the words of a worker. Not a dubious audio recording provided by Tali. It's a direct lie. Indicative. It's a sign that something is VERY wrong with the Spectr Arterius.

Saren looked away from Sparatus and added:

"But what did you expect from a human?" And a demonstrative, contemptuous look at the seething Anderson.

And then the captain jumped:

"Saren despises humanity! That's why he attacked Eden Prime!"

Great powers, give me patience and strength to endure all this. Is it necessary to be such an idiot? Well, what do you have to think about to blurt it out at the Council? And is he still surprised that he is treated with skepticism? And how can you treat a reasonable person if he seriously gives out such pearls?

Looking up, I met Saren's gaze. Spectr was not at all surprised by the captain's reaction. He clearly knew how he would react to his teasing and got the desired result, making his opponent look like a complete idiot. He knew where to hit.

"Your race needs to know its place, Captain Anderson. You are not ready to join the Council. Shepard, you're not even ready to join the ranks of the Spectres!"

Anderson took his breath away from such a statement!

"He has no right to say that! This decision is not in his jurisdiction!" Udina growled, clenching his hands into fists in rage.

Tevos raised her head, looking at Specter:

"The issue of accepting Shepard into the Spectres will not be decided at this meeting." In contrast to the ambassador's furious and angry statements, the adviser's deep voice sounded very gentle, with a slight reproach and a hint of displeasure.

"Then what issue is being resolved now?" Saren asked, waving his artificial hand questioningly. "Human are wasting your time, Counselor. And mine."

"There is another noteworthy fact." Anderson said, looking at me. "Visions of Commander Shepard. The lighthouse could have called them."

That's right... captain... I told him not to mention the visions!

"Do we consider dreams to be proof now?" Saren asked with a bit of surprise in his voice, looking at the puzzled advisers. "How can I defend myself against such ridiculous accusations?"

Sparatus shook his head and said:

"I agree. Our judgment should be based on facts and evidence, not on what someone imagined."

"Do you have anything else to say, Commander Shepard?" Valern asked me.

"I'm sorry, Counselor, but I didn't say anything." I replied calmly, then turned my gaze to Saren, examining him with interest. "I asked one question."

He's an interesting bastard. Smart, calculating, sophisticated. A dangerous enemy, that's for sure. But just how much of an ENEMY is he to me? It will be necessary to think about his behavior, gestures, fine motor skills and intonation when there is a free minute and it will be possible to find a quiet place. In any case, the Arterius is behaving strangely.

"In that case, what can you say, Commander Shepard?" Sparatus' growling voice pulled me away from an exciting staring game with a nervous Saren.

"It depends on what exactly interests YOU." I answered calmly, meeting the adviser's hard gaze.

"Tell me about the demise of the Spectre of Kraik."

"There's nothing to tell." I shrugged, watching him with half an eye. "Nihlus went ahead to investigate. We haven't seen each other since we landed, although we've been in touch three times. During one of the communication sessions, he said that he would go check the spaceport, where we were supposed to meet." The adviser listened very attentively, literally spelling out my words. "As we approached the spaceport, we saw a huge ship taking off from the planet. We found Nihlus at the spaceport. He was shot almost POINT BLANK. The wound is fatal. It's all."

"Where is his body?"

"When we left Normandy, it was in the INFIRMARY."

Sparatus took a deep breath.

"Do you have any more questions for me, Counselor?" I asked calmly.

"Tell us about the Lighthouse."

Well, I told him. And about the lighthouse, and about bombs, and about information overload, and about visions of disaster. You should have seen Saren's face at that moment! I specifically emphasized that I had never seen such landscapes and such reasonable ones. As an example, I described the proteanin in detail. The expression on Saren's face warmed my soul. Sparatus watched our exchange of glances very carefully and drew some conclusions. It's funny, while I was talking, Saren was silent, without making a single sarcastic remark or comment. But his eyes were very heavy.

Finally, this long muddle came to its logical end, and the Asari counselor said:

"The Council found no connection between Saren and the Geth's. Ambassador, your request to exclude Saren from the Spectres has been rejected."

Which is to be expected.

Saren bowed to the Council, saying arrogantly:

"I am glad that justice has been done."

After taking one last hard look at me, Saren switched off. He drew conclusions. The question is different. What did he see that he neglected the perfect opportunity to plunge Anderson and me into the swamp while I was talking about the visions. Why didn't you say anything? But he could have. I was giving you a reason on purpose.

The council dispersed, and Udina stood on the platform for a long time, clutching the strong railing in impotent anger. By and large, the Council had just publicly wiped its feet on him, and had every reason to do so, and Saren added from above personally and with special cynicism.