NOVEL NEXT SIDE STORY – Improbable Alliance
This side story takes places between chapter 45 onwards
Tevos was traveling in disguise through the Citadel, her destination was a bar called Apollo's Cafe, located in Presidium Commons, a type of neighborhood within the Citadel. A friend worked there.
That friend was Aethyta, who also happens to be Liara's father. The Asari Matriarch worked as a bartender because she wanted to. She was what many call a rebellious or free spirit, a trait very few Asari possess.
She also had quite a controversial point of view, as she wanted the young Asari to develop better at Thessia instead of going out of the planet to work as a stripper or mercenary.
No one listened to her, and as she had quite a free spirit compared with the other Asari Matriarch, she spent her time working on bars here and there and just happened to be at the Citadel at the moment.
In the games, she only worked here at Mass Effect 3, quite a few years into the timeline, but as mentioned before, she was quite the free spirit, so she could change jobs as she wanted.
You could even interact with her in the games, and she would talk with you. If you have a relationship with Liara, she will comment on that too.
Anyway, Tevos arrived at Apollo's and sat down at a table. Sure enough, not much time passed before an Asari approached her table and sat down.
'' Tevos. Why was I graced with your presence today?'' Aethyta asked as she served a drink to the Councilor.
'' Aethyta.'' Tevos drank it and put down her cup.'' Believe it or not, I'm here at work.''
'' Oh?'' Aethyta was a little taken aback. She was a Matriarch, so she knew that most of the time, the other two Councilors blocked Tevos regarding work. Even though the Asari wanted to do more, the other 2 didn't let her, making others assume she was just plain incompetent, like them. '' Did you find some dirt on them?''
Surprisingly, Tevos nodded and said, Yes.''
'' Tell me more.'' Aethyta is now curious.
'' It's like this. A few weeks ago, I made a partnership with the owner of LD. ''
''Samael. He's a pretty obscure figure, managing to hide his identity for so long, and as soon as he revealed it, things started to happen around the galaxy, whether they were good or bad." Aethyta commented as soon as she heard what Tevos said.
Also, she knew about Samael in depth because Liara was working under the human. Aethyta was quite overprotective over her daughter, and at any sign she was suffering from anything, she would use her powers as a Matriarch to intervene. There was no fear whatsoever that the other part was LD.
'' He is way more amazing than others give credit for.'' Tevos realized she had gone too far with the compliments and went back on track, '' Anyway, in that partnership, we exchanged contacts and made a promise to help each other.''
'' Will you tell me what kind of promise?'' Aethyta smirked knowingly as she figured out Tevos must have already 'eaten' Samael.
If only she saw the state Tevos was left in, she would not smirk like that. She would also laugh out loud.
Tevos snorted, '' Ask Benezia if you want, she knows everything.''
When she heard her ex- mate's name, Aethyta frowned a bit and said, '' Forget it, them.'' While she loved Liara, Benezia was a complicated subject for her.
Tevos knew Aethyta's weakness and exploited it quite easily. The Councilor continued, '' Anyway, today he asked for my help regarding something. That something just happens to be a C-Sec officer who has LD support and managed to find dirt on the other two Councilours. Quite a lot, actually.''
'' Which officer?''
'' Garrus Vakarian.''
'' Oh, him. Uptight and good character. I even know his father and sister. He is a good turian.''
'' I know. Samael also only had praise for the turian.'' Tevos finished her drink.
It was then that Aethyta got up from the table and said, '' It seems our guest has arrived. Good luck.''
Just as Aethyta got away, Garrus sat down on Tevos table. He was a little nervous, as this was a Councilor. But, he had a goal here, and he would see things through until the end.
'' Hello.'' Garrus said it dryly, nervousness filling his voice, but he did his best not to show it.
'' Hello.'' Tevos, of course, noted that right away. This wasn't the first time she had those kinds of meetings, and she could read a nervous Turian from miles away. So, she also knew she would have to take charge of the conversation if she wanted things to proceed. '' I talked with Samael first, but just to confirm, do you have dirt on the other two councilours, right?''
Garrus nodded and decided to give a preview of what he had to Tevos. So he transmitted a little bit of what he had to her omni tool.
Tevos noticed that and took some time reading it. At the end of the 2-minute mark, she was smiling. With this, she could change a lot of things in the status quo of the Council. And the Turian is supposed to have much more.
So, Tevos got into business transaction mode. '' What do you want in exchange for all you have about them?''
While she trusted Samael, this has now turned into a transaction.
Garrus then said in a serious tone, '' I want you to help my father secure a position at the Council.''
Tevos paused. It was quite a big request, but the proof he had was big. Even she, with her power as Councilor, didn't manage to find them because the other 2 Councilors also used their influence to block the majority of her access to C-Sec. And that's the place where they used to hide their dirt, bribing those on top there to hide it from the public's eyes.
Even if she wanted and could, no one would help her.
And now there's a ticket in front of her that would help stabilize her position and even strengthen it. Besides, it was only one Council position, she could negotiate the other.
There is no point in hesitating.
'' Deal.''
Garrus visibly relaxed hearing that. This was a gamble and something that Samael said in passing to him, and it got stuck in his mind. He had asked why the Turian father, a good person, never tried to up his career in the Citadel.
Again, that stuck with Garrus, and he acted on it when he had the opportunity.
'' It was nice doing business with you.'' Garrus then passed the last of his files to Tevos.
When she saw it, her eyes showed anger for a few seconds, then resolve, '' This is more than enough to make them retire. I just need to wait for a chance to make this public.''
'' I know. Even I was surprised by the amount of dirt they had on them.'' Garrus hesitated but continued, '' Even you ha-''
'' Don't go there.'' Tevos interrupted him, her face clouded, '' You are young, but you know how things work. Sometimes you have to do what you have to do in order to survive. I'm sure you know, the things I did are nothing compared to what they did.''
Garrus knew she was right. Compared with the other two, she was a saint. But it was also true that she had her hands dirty.
When that thought hit his mind, Garrus almost laughed at his hypocrisy. He was receiving help from LD, which had a mercenary group that worked for money.
So, he stayed quiet.
Just then, Aethyta came and gave both of them a drink. From her face, it seemed she had listened to the conversation, as she was happy for Tevos.
Garrus grabbed his drink and raised it at Tevos, '' To our partnership. Let's hope it will bring us nothing but good news.''
'' Cheers.''
It was a short meeting—less than 10 minutes—but in the near future, it would change the Citadel's political structure for good.
