"Hello, Melony L'Soa."
I nodded to the reporter who had arrived on Bali. Information that I was indeed alive had spread, and Tevos made the decision that I should give an interview to provide explanations. This, of course, was not mandatory; after all, one could always say that state necessity forced the faking of my death.
However, she made the decision and even sent a reporter loyal to the Spectres to me, who was broadcasting live from the moment she arrived on Bali. Naturally, this was all coordinated.
"Hello, John... Shepard? Or Lawson?"
"Either is fine. After all, I received the second surname quite officially. It's just that when I joined the army, I needed to make sure, at least during training, that the commanders wouldn't treat me with bias. Но in general, I won't mind if such a charming girl addresses me simply by my name."
"Thank you, then you—or rather, thou—can call me simply by my name as well."
"Great, then what exactly interests you the most?"
"Why was it necessary to fake your death?"
The Asari tilted her head slightly.
"Well, as far as I'm concerned, it's quite obvious."
I shrugged casually. "Or don't you think so?"
"Well... I can assume about a dozen reasons for such a thing, but if you answered how it looked from your side, everything would become significantly simpler."
"What a clever one..."
I wagged my index finger at her, but in a way that all viewers understood it was a joke and even rather admiration for such an approach.
"...but if you want an answer so badly, it will be mind-numbingly obvious. It's for the simple reason that it was beneficial. Initially, no one intended to fake my death. I was sent on a mission, and I was carrying it out... only it suddenly turned out that someone leaked my location."
"Leaked?!"
The Asari stared at me in shock.
"Well, personally, I, as well as Councilor Tevos, couldn't find another reason why a cruiser appeared at the site of my next appearance, and one capable of seeing through the SSV Normandy's stealth systems at that."
"..."
Melony looked at me in shock.
"...and isn't that a secret?"
"Well... on one hand, yes, but on the other, I coordinated with my superiors which topics I can touch upon and reveal, and which I can only give a dry answer to, like: 'That is classified information to which you and the viewers do not have access.' So don't worry, there will be no consequences for me or you for disclosing this information."
"Alright, and what happened next?"
"And next, several factors simply coincided. The pods left the SSV Normandy before Jane and I could reach them. At the same time, I damaged my armor, which caused the air to start running out rapidly, and then there were a few other minor troubles that should have led to my death if I were alone. However, I wasn't..."
Interest was visible in the reporter's gaze, and the viewers commenting on this live broadcast on the company's website were hurrying me along, wanting to understand as quickly as possible what the matter was.
"...Jane helped patch up the armor, and then we miraculously reached the cargo bay. There were several Mako vehicles and shuttles hanging there, but as you must understand, with several hits that forced the crew to abandon ship, everything couldn't stay in its place, and as a result, only one Mako was suitable for an evacuation attempt. We dragged oxygen tanks and survival kits into it—basically everything we could find in a short time—and when the piece of the cargo bay we were in was at a sufficient height for deployment, we left it."
"That's... a brave act."
Melony couldn't help but comment on my words.
"More like a calculated one. We had no other chances of survival."
"By the way, since we've reached the point of how you left the ship, all experts agree on one thing. The SSV Normandy had a surprisingly low mortality rate."
"Well, the thing is, when I took the position of ship commander, I gave an order that in a combat situation, all crew members must be in armor. And it doesn't matter if they are on duty or sleeping. In general, those who died were simply unlucky that they didn't have time to react to the attack or that the hit from the Collectors' ship caught them specifically."
"I see... So it turns out that if the ships defending the Citadel from that ship had followed similar instructions, the mortality rate among the crews would have been lower?"
"You ask difficult questions..."
I shook my head.
"...very difficult. On one hand, I can say yes, and that would be the truth; on the other, I reviewed the data on the ships—there was such damage that it was simply horrific... the chance of surviving such damage..."
I shook my head again.
"But everything was different for you."
"It was, but I would like to point out that the battle there was different as well. Effectively, we were shot down there without being given a chance to do anything. But in front of the Citadel, a real battle was taking place, although it's hard to call it a battle since just one enemy ship showed the inadequacy of our ships. But there... everything is much more complicated. Secondary hits, accidental hits... In general, if everyone had been in armor, the chances of survival would have been greater, but in such a near-slaughter, comparing a five percent chance of survival and a ten percent chance..."
"I understand..."
Meanwhile, in the chat, the people split into two camps. The first said I was right, and the second said I was covering for the military.
"...but we've strayed from the topic. How did it happen that you were moved to illegal status, being declared dead?"
"All because I survived..."
I shrugged casually.
"...the timeframes in which one is declared dead in such disasters are quite short, and if it weren't for my sister, who didn't believe in my death, Jane and I would have remained on that planet. And when a chance to get in touch appeared, I contacted Councilor Tevos, and that's when the plan occurred to us. Since I had been declared dead anyway, we had to take advantage of it."
"But why? Spectres already have the widest scope of power!"
"Wide, but when Spectres arrive, people still start interfering with their work. And a dead Spectre has the opportunity to act without looking back at those who hinder him. And I worked in exactly that way."
"Meaning outside the law?"
"Yes, and the results of my work have already been submitted to the Council, and I was granted a pardon for all operations conducted, as they were recognized as necessary."
"You speak so openly about this?"
"And what do I have to be ashamed of? I didn't raid colonies, didn't engage in contract killings, but investigated serious cases. And as a result of these cases, results were obtained. As you understand, I will not disclose the cases I was involved in, as that is a secret. But I really have nothing to be ashamed of."
"Is there anything else you would like to say?"
"Only that competent specialists will investigate who compromised my position, as the Council had several more cases they could have assigned to me. This means that whoever did it broke quite a few laws and will definitely be held accountable for it."
"Clear. Can we move to the section for answering questions from the viewers?"
"Of course."
I nodded, and the Asari, smirking, scrolled through the list of questions.
"Well, perhaps the most popular question from the ladies: 'As far as is known, you are single, but do you have a lady of your heart?'"
"I'm a womanizer and I have three ladies of my heart. And they all know that I'm chasing three, and have even managed to come to terms with it."
"Oh, that's not the answer our female viewers expected to that question."
"Well, I prefer honesty in this matter."
I smirked.
"I see. Second question: 'How can I become just like you?'"
"You can't."
Answering, I shrugged.
"And that's not a big ego; it's a statement of fact. Every person has their own characteristics and their own starting conditions, as well as their own reactions to what is happening. Someone, starting in a wealthy family..."
I gestured with my hand, as if hinting that I was talking about my own start. Although that wasn't entirely true, outsiders didn't need to know that.
"...will be a self-centered jerk who thinks that having money makes him the king of the world. Someone, like me for example, will use money as a resource for their own development. Someone, starting at the proverbial bottom, will think that nothing can be changed and will continue to live there, while someone else will bite into every chance and eventually rise to the top. And these are only two extreme starting conditions and two extreme approaches in such conditions."
"And yet..."
Melony looked at me intently.
"And yet? Well, then I would advise not becoming me... you can use me as a role model, but not in terms of becoming an exact copy, but in terms of 'look where he is, I want to achieve the same.' And having understood that, start working on yourself. Work, work, work..."
"And will it help?"
"For some—yes, for others—no."
I tried to look as indifferent as possible. "But no one is forbidden from trying."
"I see. Next question... ahem..."
"Melony, don't worry, just read the question, and I, if necessary, will say everything I think about the person who sent it."
"Well... here, if we make the question more polite, they are asking you how you live knowing that because of you, so many military personnel died on the Citadel?"
"I live just fine."
I smirked maliciously.
"Or does the sentient who wrote this question think I'll start avoiding responsibility? That's not the case. I know that the soldiers who fought Sovereign died because of my order, and if I hadn't given it, something else would have happened. In short, I had a choice between a catastrophic decision and another catastrophic decision. And I made it. As for the victims, I know, of course, that money cannot bring them back to life. But all those who died received compensation, and not only from the Citadel government, but from me personally."
For another twenty minutes, I answered questions, after which the reporter finally decided to end it all.
"Is there anything you would like to say to the viewers?"
"Well, if friends, acquaintances, and fellow soldiers see and hear me, I would like to ask their forgiveness for not letting them know that I was alive. However, they must understand that service imposes certain obligations."
** A view from the side. **
"Idiot!"
A dark-skinned girl struck the table with her fist, while the man sitting next to her only smiled sadly.
"Dear, he didn't forget about us and asked for forgiveness."
"That doesn't change the fact that he's an idiot! I hate him!"
"Don't lie to me or yourself... We both admire John; he helped us both, and we both, if we have the chance, will help him."
"Tch..."
The girl cast a displeased look at the man.
"...anyway, having a man who's always citing a headache would be quite a hassle. So, fine, I won't rip his head off when we meet."
"Please be so kind; after all, you owe him too..."
"I know that!"
** End. **
"Thank you for the interview. To be honest, I expected you to answer 'Classified' to every question, but you went and answered almost all of them."
"It's just that the topics that were forbidden to touch upon weren't touched upon. You led the conversation very skillfully, so some might even have the impression that I'm just a chatterbox who doesn't know when to shut his mouth."
"He-he-he... I'll take that as a compliment."
"Wouldn't you like to stay on Bali for a bit?"
"Oh, do you want me to become your fourth girl? Or were you so confident in yourself that you wrote me down as one of your girls and that's why you said you had three?"
"Wrong guess... I just want to reward a professional in her field who helped me deal with all this..."
I rotated my wrist, pretending I couldn't find the words, but in reality, I was just lazy.
"Well... I can stay for a week."
"Great, a room will be provided for you, as well as full service, so rest and regain your strength. Something tells me that after this interview, your life will change significantly. After all, previous reporters really changed their lives significantly after I answered their questions."
"Well, perhaps it's all because they weren't satisfied with the life they had, and I'm satisfied with mine, so... I think everything will stay the same for me as before."
"Alright, rest, and I still have work to do..."
The girl understood my hint and left my office, and a few minutes later, Liara T'Soni came in...
***
Read the story months before public release — early chapters are on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Granulan