NOVEL NEXT 44 – Emergency Meeting with the Council
With Samael leading, the group made their way to the Council Chambers. They passed through the Markets, the Clinics, and even close to the Embassies until they finally arrived at one of the many elevators scattered across the Citadel.
They entered the elevator and after a few moments, arrived at their destination/floor.
Upon entering the floor, they noticed the influx of people was bigger than ever before, so they knew something was up.
'' What do you think is this about?'' Wrex asked everyone.
Samael knew what happened, '' Our friend Tevos probably called all Spectres to watch the meeting.''
'' Why would she do that?''
'' We are about to show them that the galaxy is on the brink of extinction. The Spectres, liking it or not, are the special forces of the Council. They have to know about this.'' Samael was right on the money.
'' Makes sense.''
The group continued making their way toward their destination, while one particular Quarian was shocked.
Tali was looking around in awe, as this was her first time in the Council Chambers/floor and now she was even going to meet the Council. Sadly, it was with bad news.
FLASHBACK
When the Quarian and Liara heard about the Reapers from Samael and the crew's mouths, they really didn't believe it at first. But, Javik interjected at that moment, saying it was true.
The Prothean showed both what Vigil gave them as proof. And it worked.
Liara believed 100% now. While she was with the crew for a little longer than Tali, no one exactly mentioned the Reapers to her at any moment. But, with her studying the Prothean for so long, she knew a few things others didn't know, and one of the biggest mysteries was how they disappeared one day without leaving anything behind.
Of course, there are places with Prothean remains, but there was no huge data on what happened in those places, to tell what really happened to them. So, it made sense to her, that the Protheans were wiped out by the Reapers, a race she thought was a fairytale until now.
So, receiving that news, she panicked a little, even wanting to call her mother to say something, but was held back by Samael.
It was not the time to talk with her.
Tali was also frozen with fear. The pictures she had on her mind after hearing about the upcoming threat, weren't good. But, it was at that point that Samael said something that helped both.
'' Do you know what LD stands for?''
Liara and Tali shook their head. They really didn't know and also didn't understand why Samael was talking that right after telling them the galaxy was fucked.
''It stands for Last Defense.'' Samael sighed, '' Thanks to something that happened to me when I was a child, I was made aware of the Reapers existence earlier on. Since then, I made it my life mission to do my best to stop them. LD was created with that goal in mind and everything that I did and will do is towards that goal too.''
'' So, trust me. We can stop them if we unite. The galaxy right now doesn't stand a chance, but if we unite everyone, we can.''
END OF FLASHBACK
So, that was how Tali and Liara were made aware of the Reapers threat. Everyone in the SSV Phoenix was now in the loop.
After walking around the Council Chamber a little more, the group finally arrived at the meeting place. The guards asked them to stop, and after confirming their identity, let them pass.
Inside the meeting place, Samael noted at least 50+ people in the room. Based on his calculations, about half of the Spectre were in the room.
The others were late or couldn't come even if they wanted, as they were on a mission or something like that.
The eyes of everyone in the room turned to Samael and his team. There are countless Spectre of different races and a few members of the crew felt intimidated by their gaze.
Safe to say, as Samael's identity was 'revealed' a few weeks ago, every single Spectre now knew they were from LD. That only puzzled them a little more, as Tevos message didn't specify anything at all, just said Code Red.
While the Spectres were a little confused about what was this about, Wrex, on the other hand, said out loud, '' I can take them.''
Samael snorted, '' Me too, but I don't think I would win.''
'' ... How about me, you and Javik? Do you think we can win if we face all of them?'' Wrex asked.
'' Hmmmm.'' Samael knew if he took the serum, the chance would rise, but as of now, if the trio faced those in the room, they only had a 50% chance, '' 50/50.''
When the Spectres heard that, there was laughter in the room. They found the idea of the trio facing them and having a 50% chance was ridiculous.
You have to remember, that the Spectres are the very best of their people/species in terms of skills. So, they had their pride too and didn't like hearing that.
They also had no idea why Tevos called Code Red, a code only used when there's a war or something along those lines. They were already mad to be called out of the blue, dropping their mission, only to hear that.
The atmosphere of the room got worse thanks to the banter between Samael and Wrex, but both didn't care.
Everyone was waiting for the Council to arrive. It was then Samael noted a very special Turian among the crows of Spectres.
' Saren.'
The turian was the villain of Mass Effect 1 and right now was in contact with Sovereign. But, as Samael's 'sixth sense' didn't activate nor RR said anything, meant the Turian still wasn't indoctrinated.
Also, to Samael, the Turian was a sad figure. He faced Sovereign earlier on in his career, lost miserably, and now works for the Reapers in exchange for a promise to save as many as he could from the 'cleaning'.
He was doing whatever he could to save himself and others because he was lost in despair. If he just had a little more hope in the galaxy, things would go differently for him.
Alas, Samael tried to help him in one cycle, but he did not get good results. Even Shepard in the games tried to help the Turian, but when she managed to get to him, it was too late, as at that point in time, he was indoctrinated. It only helped him gain clarity for a moment and he used it to kill himself.
A sad life.
' I deal with you in the future. You still have your uses.'
Just like he left the Illusive Man alive for some time, he did the same to Saren.
After thinking about Saren and what he could be useful, Samael looked through the crowd of Spectres. There, he saw a few familiar faces: Nihlus, Tela, Jondam, and Avitus Rix.
He had interacted with those Spectres in past cycles.
Nihlus, a Turian Spectre who would be betrayed and killed by Saren in the future. Samael had saved him in a couple of cycles, and the Turian helped later, regarding Saren and the war against the Reapers. The Turian was a good asset in war and Samael didn't mind saving him one more time.
Tela Vasir, an Asari Spectre. She would be more known in the future thanks to a few feats, but the main reason she is remembered by Samael is that she is a double agent. While she's a Spectre, her loyalty is with the Shadow Broker. Safe to say, Samael dealt with her and her employer in a few cycles and will do the same in this last cycle of his.
Jondam Bau, a Salarian Spetre. Works with the STG ( Special Task Groups), the same group Mordin worked with, and is a good guy.
Last but not least, Avitus Rix, another Turian Spectre. He is a good person, his major problem is that he was recruited by Saren. Normally, after Saren betrays the galaxy, he retires from the Spectres and joins the Andromeda Project. With Samael's interference, that was unlikely to happen this cycle.
Of course, there are other Spectres that Samael knew, but not as much as those he thought. That was because, in other cycles, he didn't stay in the spotlight and let Shepard do the conversations.
As the large majority of the Spectre helps in the War against Reapers, Samael, while not much, had a good impression of the majority of them. Of course, the ones like Saren and Tela exist, but they weren't the majority.
Right as Samael finished thinking, the Council finally arrived at the meeting place.
Clearly, two of them didn't want to be there by the look on their faces. Only Tevos was normal, but her semblance wasn't good, as she knew the meeting would not be bearing good news to the galaxy.
Tevos looked over everyone in the room and stopped her eyes at Samael's group. She then started speaking, '' Good day to all of you. I'm sure the majority of you are confused as to why we called you here in such fast fashion and with Code Red.''
The Specters looked solemnly now, as Tevos just admitted the galaxy was in danger of imminent war. Against whom, they didn't know.
'' ... Yes, once more. This is code Red. But, the threat is not immediate but is the most dangerous one we have ever seen. To explain the situation, I'll now let LD's group say a few things.''
Everyone's attention was now on Samael and the crew. Taking a breath, Samael took the stage. '' I know the majority of those here know who I am but for those who don't, my name is Samael, creator and owner of LD.''
'' I'm afraid I don't have good news.'' Samael then explained the situation, from the beginning, '' A month or so ago, in the middle of an excavation on Eden Prime, we found a Prothean base.''
Samael just now revealed that it was on Eden Prime that LD found Javik. He promised to tell the Council where it was and he maintained that promise.
He was sure the Shadow Broker would get wind of the information, but at this point in time, it didn't matter much.
'' As you know, we found Javik there.'' Samael motioned to the Prothean, who nodded at everyone in the room, '' and we woke him up. Do you know what were his first words?''
No one said anything.
'' He said, ' Did we lose?'. After that, we asked what he meant and he explained it to us. His species, the Protheans, didn't simply go away, disappeared from the galaxy without traces, and died peacefully, no. They were exterminated by another species made of killing 'Immortal' killing Machines, almost like the Geth but way stronger. And ... that same species is coming to attack the galaxy once more.''
A shocked murmur started to roll around the room, with some believing and looking serious while others didn't look concerned. Saren had a poker face.
'' They were called the Reapers and from what we, LD, and based on the things we found out thanks to Javik, the Reapears systematically wipe out ALL intelligent life in the galaxy every 50.000 years. It's our turn now.''
'' I know, it's hard to believe without proof. In our first meeting with the council, we came up with that information but they didn't listen, wanting proof of what we told them. So, we left and found your proof. Javik, if you may.''
Samael then left the spotlight and left the 'last' Prothean alive to give his part of the speech.
Tapping his omni tool, Javik passed the info Vigil had to the omni tool of all Spectres and the Councilors, and at the same time, he started projecting something in a hologram to everyone.
Every single one in the room was watching in attention. The hologram showed war. Massacre. Death.
All caused by something straight out of a nightmare. A HUGE machine who killed without stopping.
It showed countless Reapers coming out of the stars, destroying every planet it came across, leaving no survivor.
It was real footage, as this was what the Prothean had on their archive on Illos, and that Vigil passed to RR on Javik's request.
Javik whinced a little while watching that. Even though he experienced the war firsthand, it was still not nice to watch his species being exterminated.
So, he started speaking, '' As mentioned before, those machines are the Reapers. I'm sure a lot of you know them as a monster from fairytales, but they were real. My species faced them 50.000 years ago and we lost.''
Javik then went and started to explain about the Reapers in more detail, their powers, appearance, etc. He finished saying, '' All I said is true. And now it's your turn to face them. The Reapers ARE COMING.''
'' And, let me say something. My people faced them for a century, and we had a good chance of winning, but the strength of the Reapers doesn't just lie in their fighting capabilities, no. They were cunning and used the Indoctrination process, to help them achieve their goal.''
Javik then explained in detail what the indoctrination is and what it was. Safe to say, no one liked to hear that.
The Prothean finished explaining it and looked deeply at the room.
'' We have to start preparing, now.''
Javik then left the spotlight, but the room was silent. Everyone was too shocked to say anything.
Before they could even react, Samael interjected, '' Also, please look at the files of old missions you guys participated in. More so even involves a huge Geth.''
Dots connected in the mind of the Spectres, while Saren looked a little pale.
'' Are you suggesting-''
Samael interrupted the unknown Spectre, '' Yes, the Reapers might already be here, hiding and plotting. Now that you know its appearance, we can hopefully identify one if it really did appear in one of your missions.''
The hologram and the proof Javik gave everyone, had the Reapers image on it, so everyone knew its appearance now.
Also, Samael knew that Sovereign was in the galaxy right now. The Reaper wasn't a normal one that just came to attack, no. Its role is to stay in the galaxy between 'cleaning' cycles and help pave the way for the rest of the Reapers when the time is right. Meaning the Reapers had already arrived at the galaxy since long ago.
After that, there's some murmurous here and there, but they promised Samael to look at old files, to see if there's any truth to what he said.
Even though Samael stopped speaking, the repercussions of what Javik said were still happening.
The two Councilors, who didn't want to be there were shocked. The two knew very well the implications of what they had just seen.
The galaxy was fucked. Even their powers as Councilor meant nothing in the face of this threat. They were frozen-shock by seeing the proof even after being warmed by Samael before this meeting, so imagine how the Spectres were as they just found out about this.
Nihlus was the first one to recover from what Samael and Javik said, and to ask something, '' Why tell us first and not our government?''
'' Because your words have weight. Why do you think we didn't reveal anything about the Reapers to the galaxy yet? Because no one would believe us without the Council's backing. With you in the fray, others will have no choice but to believe us.'' Samael explained.
'' ... How much time do we have?'' Jondum asked.
'' According to our calculation, no more than 10 years.''
'' Fuck.'' An unknown Spectre cursed out loud. Everyone was discouraged after they received that news.
Who could blame them? While they were the Spectre and could face other races/species with no problem, the Reapers, from the little they saw, were on another level. They were not ready, nor did they think they would be in the future.
Samael could see the shadow of doubt over everyone. He sighed and knew he had to say something to help them recover.
'' We know that there are dark times ahead of us, with the threat of utter annihilation on the horizon. But, we can lose hope, at least not yet.''
'' So, to show you how serious LD is, starting from today, we will help any species with monetary means and we will help with research projects.''
'' This is not the time to not move. LD will be at the front leading the war efforts, but I ask you to relay the contents of this meeting to your government.''
'' I'm sure for those species that don't have a representative within the Spectres, that the Council will tell them about it. This isn't a fight where they or we could run or hide. We have no choice but to face them.”
Then, Samael stopped speaking and as if waiting, there was an explosion of conversation between the Spectres and the Council.
Some of them asked a few questions to the LD group, mainly Javik, regarding the Reapers and such, and the Prothean answered as many as he could.
The majority of those were on how to identify indoctrinated people, and Javik told them LD was working on a project that allowed others to identify those too far gone.
When it was ready, it would be given to the galaxy for free. The Spectres appreciated that, and just as Javik, found the indoctrination very scary.
Just imagine, you're winning the war when suddenly an indoctrinated person explodes a planet just because they could.
It sent shivers down everyone's spines and they vowed to keep an eye open to any signs of indoctrination.
In the meantime, Tevos approached Samael, '' How are you doing? I reckon getting those proof wasn't easy.''
Samael looked around and made sure no one was listening, '' Well, we just had to use a long-lost Realy. I'm talking about the Mu Relay, I'm sure you know it.''
Samael nodded, '' And as a courtesy, we will tell you the location. What you do with that information is on you.''
Teveos took a few seconds to digest everything. '' ... Whenever you come around, you either bring extremely bad news or too much good news.''
Samael smiled mysteriously at Tevos, '' You should see this then.'' He passed a file to her omni tool.
Tevos looked at the name of the file: Project Andromeda, and quickly began to read it.
Samael watched in real-time as Tevos' usual poker face lost the battle against the file, and she showed surprise and understanding.
After some time, she closed the file and asked Samael, '' Why show me this?''
'' This is a fail-safe, an assurance the species of the galaxy can repopulate another if ... we lost. And, I want the Asari to be involved.''
'' How so? From what I could gather, funding isn't a problem.''
True, LD was funding the Andromeda project alone, but money isn't everything in a project of this scale.
'' People. I left the project in the hands of a good person, but I want to help him the best I can... Also a favor.''
While Samael was sure Alec could handle everything, and it's been less than 2 months since he left the project in the man's hand, he wasn't going to stay put and let the man work alone. The Asari could help a lot.
With them on board and with huge numbers, repopulation would not be a problem.
'' What do you want in exchange?'' Tevos wasn't dumb. She knew everything has a price and the information and the chance to participate in such a project wasn't going to be cheap.
Samael smiled at Tevos. This was one of the reasons she was his favorite Concelour. She knew exactly how things worked. So, he put forward one of his plans, '' I want a human Spectre.''
Shepard was going to become a Spectre way sooner.
Tevos reacted a little weirdly. She hesitated for a moment, before saying, '' I'm sure you know, but humanity had its shot at having a Spectre but failed.''
The Asari was talking about Anderson, and how he almost became humanity's first Spectre. But, unfortunately for him, Saren was the Spectre chosen to oversee his mission. Safe to say, the Turian sabotaged the mission, making Anderson fail.
The human even tried to say something about it, but Saren's words had more weight, so he wasn't heard.
That was humanity's first shot at having a Spectre.
'' There are rules to follow regarding that so-''
Samael interrupeted Tevos, '' This is a one time offer. Think carefully about how to respond.''
This was forceful, but Samael knew Tevos would accept it. A chance to have your family members, or even you, survive for a Spectre position was something easy to decide.
Tevos sighed, '' Do you have the file of the person who you want to become a Spectre?''
' Gotcha!'
Samael just managed to have a human as a Spectre. It cost almost nothing to him.
'' I'll send it to you in a few days. Also, how fast can you push it forward?'' Samael wasn't dumb and knew even Tevos didn't have the authority to make a Spectre right away. He wanted a timeline and knew that it would take roughly half a year or so, but he wanted more detail on that.
'' Hmmm, maybe in a couple of months. I will push it forward whenever I have the chance, so please send the file. Also, the person must be good at their job otherwise, not even my autorithy could make them a Spectre.''
Thinking about Shepard and what she could do, Samael assured Tevos, '' Don't worry, she's good.''
After this negotiation, Tevos looked at the other two Councilors. '' Do you plan to tell others about Andromeda?''
'' No, at least not now. You're the first person besides me and Alec to know about this project.''
'' Thanks for the trust.''
'' You earned it.''
After all this, Tevos officially joined the project Andromeda.
Samael and Tevos made a deal on the spot. The Asari had to do two things: help Project Andromeda by helping recruit promising Asari to the project, and would have to help humanity have a Spectre. In return, she would have a few personal spots she could give to her family or to her.
He also told the Asari about the Mu Relay location but didn't say anything about Illos. That wasn't exactly his 'secret', so he would not disclose it. Only if Javik allowed, but that is a conversation for the future.
'' Also, let me be the one to inform Humanity about the Reapers.''
'' No problem.''
Samael asked and Tevos accepted.
When both finished their talks, the meeting with the Spectres also came to an end. Things were said, deals were made, and everyone had a mission now.
Everyone soon left the Council Chamber with a somber expression. The Spectres and the Councilors now had the job/mission of informing the government about the upcoming threat and they weren't exactly pleased with the situation at hand.
The Councilors had it worst, as there wasn't much variety of species within the Spectre ranking, so they would have to tell ALL the species who weren't there.
Even Tevos didn't look good. No one wanted to have the job of informing others about the upcoming extinction event.
After Samael left, he eyed Tela for a bit before going away. The Shadow Broker was his next target and he knew he would have to face the Spectre if he went after it.
But, he wasn't afraid of her or the Shadow Broker. In his mind, they were just obstacles he had to overcome to have a peaceful life.
With that in mind, LD group soon entered the elevator and left the council chambers.
