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"When a Batarian goes to sleep each night, he checks under his bed for Commander Shepard"
Serpent Nebula
Widow System
Citadel Tower
Several Weeks Later
"They have who?!" Turian Councillor Sparatus shouted, hands gripping the rails tightly, his claws almost biting to his hand.
"The Prime Administrator and the Ministers of the Hegemony, Councillor. They had been paraded in the Arcturus Station like a prize and while the Alliance did manage to keep it a secret even when everything else was leaked, including Commander Shepard's cam footage of the entire operation. As such, I would like to recommend Jonathan Shepard of the Alliance Navy as a Spectre candidate" Spectre Nihlus said. The Turian had studied the footage, and the entire thing was as unbelievable as it sounded.
Conducting extremely risky maneuvers, dispatching the most elite units of the Hegemony with ease, slaughtering entire platoons, infiltrating high security places through hacking and acting, studying his enemies- not many people knew the religious importance the Batarians placed on their eyes- combat and biotic proficiency, calm and focused under intense pressure, the human would make an excellent Spectre.
"I object, Councillors. Last human Spectre candidate had been a failure, there is no reason to grant humanity another chance so soon" Saren Arterius, the number one Spectre Agent of the Citadel Council disagreed. His argument was weak, he knew that, but spirits damn him if he agreed to it.
While Nihlus was busy gathering intel on the Alliance regarding the Batarian Situation as it was being called, Saren was sent to gather intel inside the Hegemony, exploiting the growing lack of security to infiltrate deep into their territory.
Khar'shan was a mess, with their military bases destroyed, hundreds of millions of slaves and lower caste citizens were in a uprising, and with the disappearance of the Prime Administrator and the ministers- now revealed to be in the hands of the Alliance- the deaths of the high ranking civil and military officials and the major destruction their Navy faced, there was no one to hold the many factions of the Hegemony together, so there was an intense civil war going on between multiple nobles and military personnel, all vying to be the new rulers of the Batarian Hegemony.
Saren figured by the time someone won the civil war, they would be ruling over an empire of rubble and ash.
If only the one responsible for all of this wasn't a human.
He would even be fine with a Krogan.
"Noted, Spectre Saren" Councillor Tevos told with a tone suggesting the Turian to drop the matter.
"This would mean that the Hegemony can not afford to act rashly. The masses were indoctrinated to see their leadership as holy, even if the civil war factions don't, they can't start a war against the Alliance without severe public backlash" Valern reasoned. Half the reason the Council did not do something about the Hegemony was unlike what the majority of the galaxy thought, the Batarian slave caste, besides an extremely small minority of rebels, did not want to abolish the system, but rather wanted to be the masters. Even if the Council freed them, the problem would just continue without a fundamental cultural and educational change, one which neither the governments or the Council itself wished to undertake.
"What is the situation in the Terminus systems? With the Hegemony crumbling rather quickly, the proxies they have must be worried" Tevos asked Tela Vasir, who had been assigned to monitor the lawless systems after her latest assignment.
"At least half the pirates and mercenary groups have been called to assist the various Hegemony factions they received support from. The Alliance has created checkpoints to monitor and intervene. However, they only seem to attack certain groups while letting the others pass without any harassment" Tela could have found more, but that would require her to contact the Shadow Broker, and she didn't want to owe anything to the mysterious figure for something like this.
Sparatus clicked his mandibles, accompanied by a whistling sound, a Turian equivalent of a scoff.
"I bet my private armory they are doing it to extend the civil war. Destroy support for the sides that are projected to win, but leave their enemies unscathed, and this civil war can be extended beyond what the simulations show" Sparatus begrudgingly admitted it was a cunning but effective way to further weaken the Batarians.
"What is the Alliance planning now? We wanted them to counter the Batarians and keep both sides in check, but now that balance is broken, humans won't stop their expansion" Tevos said, as it was the Asari diplomats who brokered the deal, giving the Skyllian Verge to Alliance when the Batarians had been lobbying for the right to colonize that sector.
"Perhaps we should ask Udina, he did say the Alliance's report was ready" Valern already had a copy of the report, and knew what they wanted, but it was best to let Udina make the case rather than advertise that the Salarians were spying on the humans.
Everyone knew of course, they just couldn't prove it.
"Very well. Spectres, you are dismissed, as always you have proven to be worthy of the rank bestowed upon you" Sparatus praised the agents. Nihlus was proud, as expected of a Turian, while Saren simply nodded. Bau did not care, and the only reason Tela did not roll her eyes was professional courtesy.
The Spectres vacated the private room, and Udina was let in.
"Welcome, ambassador Udina. We were highly anticipating Alliance's report" Tevos said, and while they understood the gist of the situation, hearing out Alliance's side was important to have the full picture.
"Yes Councillors, I am sending it to you now" Udina's omni-tool flared to life and he transmitted the files.
It was long, as expected of a report detailing a situation of this magnitude, so they could only spare time to read the summary and scan through the important parts. The report would be studied in a detailed manner at a later time.
"And our request for Commander Shepard to appear in the Citadel?"
"He will be here in a week, Councillors, after the award ceremony for his Shepard's Star" Udina said, with an unusually subdued tone.
Sparatus wasn't surprised. He knew deep down that the Turian Hierarchy, even with how much they were raised to follow orders without question and would punish a soldier who went AWOL, no matter the excuse, would make an exception for anyone who could do what Jonathan Shepard did.
"The Alliance has named an award after the Commander?" He asked, surprised at that.
"Yes, the Parliament believed another Star of Terra was too lacking for what he had done, so a new award beyond it has been created" Udina explained, knowing it was as much publicity stunt for the politicians as it was an actual desire to see the Commander rewarded.
The Councillors looked at each other, shrugging. While their respective governments too had numerous awards, none was named after a person.
"We also received rumours that the Alliance has the Prime Administrator and the Ministers of the Hegemony in custody. Is that correct?" Tevos asked for official confirmation, as they already knew the truth.
"Yes, they are currently guests at Arcturus Station"
"What are the Alliance's plans regarding them?"
"They are a safeguard against any retaliation from the Batarian Hegemony, other than that, Alliance has no other plan with them in mind" Udina told the truth, omitting the fact how they had already spilled the beans on everything the Alliance wanted to know.
Mere mention of Shepard was enough to make them talk.
"I also came to inform you of the Alliance's decision moving forward. The Parliament and the Prime Minister have agreed that it is in the best interest of the Alliance and the galaxy as a whole for us to secure the entirety of the Skyllian Verge as well as the Terminus Systems and eradicate the pirate presence once and for all" Udina smiled smugly at this, knowing the Council could not refuse.
The Council did not interfere in the Terminus Systems much, besides the occasional operation against piracy, due to the Batarian Hegemony and how those disorganized groups would come together to fight.
But now, pirates, mercenaries and bounty hunters were busy fighting in the Hegemony Civil war, whether for credits or other reasons, and the number of outlaws in the Terminus had decreased significantly, making it an opportunity for the Alliance to secure those systems for itself.
The Councillors looked at each other, weighing their options. Technically speaking as those systems were outside the jurisdiction of the Citadel, there was no reason for them to stop the Alliance, as long as they ensured this war did not spill into the Citadel space.
Practically, however, handing all those systems to the Alliance would give them too much power. All those garden worlds and raw resources would create an enormous economic base for the Alliance, and would considerably hasten their inevitable rise to the status of a Council member.
Rather than outright refuse it, their best course of action would be to convince the Alliance of the infeasibility of this endeavor. Failed at that, limiting the Alliance expansion in return for certain capitulations.
However it would have to be deliberated in a more private setting.
"Thank you for the report ambassador, please do inform us when Commander Shepard arrives" Tevos nodded, not giving any response to Alliance's plan.
"Yes, Councillors" Udina turned back and left, walking to the exit with a confident gait.
"He is getting more arrogant each day" Sparatus muttered after the door closed.
"It was a human that brought down the Batarian Hegemony, who could blame him? If it was a Salarian, I knew I would be quite confident too" Valern said, as Tevos was busy skimming through the report.
"Leaving your aversion to humans aside, we need to discuss how to proceed. Letting the Alliance go unchecked is out of the question, but our traditional justifications for not taking a militarized action against the Terminus won't work anymore" Tevos might have been the one to voice it, but the path humanity would take was easy to predict, and the Asari Republics, Turian Hierarchy and the Salarian Union already made their thoughts known.
"We should let the humans do it. They can spend ships, credits and lives there, and we can reap the benefits. They will need financial backing to produce enough ships to control and defend so many systems, and we can use it to acquire garden worlds or mining rights" Valern said
"And what, let the humans increase the size of their navy? Turian Hierarchy won't stand for it" Sparatus asked, leaning forward.
"It will take them decades to increase the size of their navy to a point where the Hierarchy would have to worry, not to mention the Hierarchy would need more fleets if you can buy or bargain dextro planets in the Terminus, and the same goes for us as well" Valern explained, while the Salarian Union would prefer to spend more credits on research, they still understood the value of their fleets.
The two continued to argue back and forth, with Sparatus pointing something out and Valern offering a solution.
"You are forgetting Commander Shepard. He is a force multiplier, and would no doubt make the Alliance's conquest of the Terminus much easier than it conventionally would be. This would reduce the amount of credits and ships they would have to send, and if Alliance isn't in dire straits, they would have no reason to sell any planets or systems for cheap" Tevos intervened as the argument started to heat up, silencing both Councillors.
"Perhaps we should make him a Spectre and keep him away from Terminus" Sparatus said, the words leaving a sour taste in his mouth.
"And if he refuses?" Valern challenged, after all there was nothing to stop someone from refusing the offer, save perhaps the insistence of their government.
Sparatus had nothing to say to that.
"Perhaps we should talk with the Commander first, then make a decision" Tevos offered, receiving nods from Sparatus and Valern.