A/N: HEEEEEEEY DER! Names Daelron, The Lord of Cake, and this is the first of my AU-ME short(ish maybe) stories about my AU races that I have made. I will be making one for each (right now there are four, I have some more but I dunno if I will add them or not) and should either be one shots or small stories with up to 4 chapters. The reason in doing this is I always felt that the ME universe had potential for waaaaaaay more species that could exist, the Terminus Systems are also said to have races that exist there that are not listed in the games. So I have created some species, from the young and naïve Theigh, to the two sides of the Akthan people, the brutish and savage Klthik, and the graceful and mysterious Alderians. When I get around to finishing each, I will get around to writing my AU-Me story which will tell my tale of the great and wonderful…. COMMANDER SARAH BROOK SHEPARD! Anyways, I hope you enjoy.
Story 1: Contact to Theigh
*Aboard the Theigh Sovereignty "Commandment of Truth*
"Fleet Master Thala, the Light of Lost Dawn has reported unusual activity off one of the moons of Urthal' Nay Sorio, Ship Master Sletha is requesting permission to investigate," Communication Master Suthma reported to his superior, his stalk eyes remaining on his data field as his head turned to his commander.
Fleet Master Thala was not a young Theigh, he had seen action during the Colonial War and had learned over his time of service that "unusual activity' most likely meant combat. Being one of the highest ranking Theigh in the Sovereign Fleet left after the brutal war prior, he had been given command of the 3rd fleet of Untimely Action. Under his command were 24 frigates, 16 cruisers, his flagship Commandment of Truth, and the 24 various support ships. Of the six fleets his people could bring to bare, the 3rd was one of the strongest.
"Sletha may explore, but tell her that at the mere hint of trouble she is to retreat back to the fleet, there may yet be Colonial Liars left," Came the response from the aged Fleet Master. " Master of Cruisers, alert the Shattered Eye, Forlorn Lord, and Judgment of Teria are to move to position 564 and 579. In the event that the Light of the Lost Dawn requires retreat they are to open fire on any targets not under command of the Theigh Sovereignty."
"At once my lord"
With his orders dispensed, Thala simply sat in his command chair, his Thuleigh twitching in apprehension. For several minutes nothing happened, and then immediately the Light of Lost Dawn was under fire from an unknown source. Warning alarms began to go off as his crew prepared for potential combat. Communication master Suthma began to list off reports filled in from the ships that were engaged in combat. The Masters of Frigates, Cruisers, and otherwise began sending out their own orders to their ships as the Ship Master to the Commandment of Truth began ordering the ship to full combat readiness.
"Communication Master, what is the situation?" Thala queried as he stood to his full height.
"Unknown my lord, Ship Master Sletha is reporting her ship is under attack from an unknown source, these craft do not conform to any design in the Sovereign Fleet. Their weapons appear to be mass accelerator based as ours are, and from the return from the Light of Lost Dawn gave, these ships are outfitted with reactive shields like outs."
Thala squinted his eyes, placing his arms behind his back as he approached the command hologram. The Light of Lost Dawn was shown moving in full retreat, status reports indicating it had suffered moderate damage. Two more ships moved out from behind the moon, they looked like no ship he had seen.
"Suthma, are you indicating that these… Ships, are not Theigh Sovereignty or Colonial Liars?" Thala asked sceptically.
"Yes my lord, until otherwise that is my best guess," Suthma responded.
Glancing at his Master of Cruisers, he gestured to the holo of the three cruisers he had placed to cover the Light of Lost Dawn. "Master Thelam, have your cruisers provide cover fire for the Light, aim to disable as best they can but not to kill. I must contact the Sovereign Master at once."
His Master of Cruisers nodded his head and began to give out his orders as Thala turned and headed to his personal quarters. They were mostly empty, the Fleet Master seeing no need in having much material need. Not that he was completely lacking in taste, he had a few personal effects, such as the small sculpture gifted to him by the City Master of Lathur. He approached his holo-communicator, and sent a high priority query directly to the Palace of the Sovereign Master. A few moments went by as his call was directed, until a young Theigh stood before him, his skin a soft cream, eyes raised in curiosity. His Thuleigh adorned with golden bands studded with gems, a robe of purple silk being his attire along with the Crown, a platinum ring with a single diamond carved into the shape of a star. But the most striking feature of the Sovereign Master was the terrible scar that traced across his face, ending at the point where one of his eye stalks was cut off. Sovereign Master Othluan' Lath Norath the Third was one of the most unusual Theigh Thala had ever met. He never seemed to take his position as being as important in comparison to a simple farmer. Quite fitting though as His Masterful was rumoured to have started off as a simple farmer, before rising up to take command of the city state of Norath during the Colonial War.
"Ah, Fleet Master Thala, a pleasure to see you once again," The Sovereign Master bowed his head slightly in respect. "Though I assume with the priority of this message this is of more importance than a simple social call. Is there a reason you have contacted me instead of the Master of War?"
Thala was slightly taken aback by the casual way the Sovereign master spoke, but simply accredited it to his unusual nature. "Yes my lord. Not too long ago, one of my ships, Light of Lost Dawn, detected an anomaly off one of the moons Urthal' Nay Sorio. I sent in the Light to investigate, but they were fired upon by an unknown enemy."
The Sovereign Masters eyes widened in surprise at this news, his hands raised to stroke his Thuleigh softly. "Is it Colonial Liars? I have heard rumours some may have escaped their judgement."
Thala shook his head. "No my lord… We appear to be dealing with first contact."
Othluan took a step back in shock, his hand dropping to his side, nostrils flaring in confusion. It took him a moment to form a coherent thought. First contact? Now? And it had begun in violence? He turned his head, typing on a keypad that Thala could not see, before facing him again.
"I must contact the Advisory Council immediately, and the Master of War as well. We must prepare for potential combat or worse at once. Fleet Master Thala, I am trusting first contact to you, should these aliens attempt communication you are to represent the Theigh Sovereignty until further notice. Should these aliens continue hostilities you are to destroy them in their fullness. Should they retreat you are to pursue them at all costs. You have your orders, may the Truth favour you." Thala gave a bow of salute as the Sovereign master closed the channel. He was to decide the fate of history? He could not believe it. But he put aside his feelings, marching back to his command room. Thala had his orders, attempt contact or destroy if need be.
*Aboard the SSV Prague, shortly after*
Captain Derik Masters could not believe the reports lighting up before his eyes as his crew scrambled about, contact klaxons blaring, his XO, Staff Commander Helen Forde shouting for his attention. First contact, the first of the situations Humanity had to deal with had taken a turn for the worst from the very start. That fool of a Commander Corrie Dempsey had mistaken one of them for pirates, and had nearly been destroyed by the other ships when he pursued. His other two frigates had also taken damage, but the SSV Vancouver was in the worst condition. The cruiser he was commanding from had managed to evade fire from the unknown ships, so he was lucky there. But the fleet of ships arrayed in formation in from of them, the flagship as big as a dreadnaught, were already pressing forwards, guns charging for another volley of attack.
Taking one second to himself , he closed his eyes. Masters forced all his unease, all his fear, down as deep as he could. Upon opening his eyes he turned to Captain Forde, already forming a plan in his head.
"Commander Forde, have the SSV Taiwan, Hong Kong, and SSV Prague provide defensive cover for the Vancouver as she retreats," He shouted. "Comms Specialist Daniels, try to open communication with the aliens, we have to show we mean no threat or we are toast in rain. And prepare to send the greeting message. Specialist Orion, I want scans on those ships, we need intel on what we are up against. Everyone else, stand at full alert, and be prepared to bug out at a moments notice."
The chaos of his CIC settled, and with a chorus of "Yessir" his crew got to work. Masters smoothed his hair, brushed away invisible lint, and braced himself for the Comm-link with these aliens. That is, if they accept. But what came up on his screen put him into shock, a face so alien not even the Turians could compare.
The creature that stood before him on the Holographic Command Screen stood almost 7 feet tall. Its skin that showed from the sleek armour it wore was an almost green-brown, and it had three fingers and a single thumb. Its body looked similar to a Humans or an Asari, except with a long armoured tail behind it curved up its spine and swaying slightly. Yet despite how almost Human its body looked, the face showed how alien it was. It had no mouth, instead it had a mess of tentacles going from its chin down, like some sort of beard. There were four "nostrils" that opened and closed as it breathed, with two green almond shaped and slanted eyes. The top of its head was bald except for two eye stalks with pale milky eyes that were constantly scanning around. Its face eyes widened in potential surprise and stared directly at Masters, before beginning to speak in some form of language.
"Thal' nuth ma Theigh althau' ah ra sluagh marth, thanor almeth sath. Uthan mal Theigh' Leh Payth Sotherian Matho santha. Suthano O' Matho?"
Mouth wide open in a mix of confusion and shock, Masters shook his head and stood as straight as he could. He could not make heads or tails of the confusing mix of words coming out of that things… Face? But as a veteran officer of the System Alliance, he would do his best to represent his people. He gestured to Daniels, and cleared his throat.
"Greetings, my name is Captain Derik Masters, leader of the convoy of ships you see before you. I would like to apologise for the confusion , we do not mean any harm. We come in peace. As the senior ranking SA member present, I would like to greet you on behalf of the Systems Alliance Parliament, Earth, and all Humankind." With his little introduction done, Daniels sent out the greeting message. It was only a small clip showing scenes collected from throughout humanity, Green fields on Earth being tilled by farmers, construction workers taking a break from working on a skyscraper on Eden Prime, families relaxing on a beach, and so forth. All the while some scientist was speaking in a soft tone, describing each scene and how it showed Humanities peacefulness. Masters thought it was all a joke, but it was his duty to show it. It was designed to send the message that Humanity was capable of peace, but had some clips showing soldiers to demonstrate Humanities might.
The alien was apparently watching the vid, his stalk eyes glaring at Masters as his face eyes looked at some screen. Despite his alien face, confusion was apparent. With the alien leader distracted, Masters turned to Commander Forde. The alien glanced up for a moment as he moved, before looking back down at the vid.
"I want a line directly to Alliance command, I don't care how many hoops I have to jump through to get there. They should know what we are dealing with, not a moment later. These aliens might attack at any moment, so word has to get out."
"Yes sir, what will you do now?"
Masters shook his head, feeling a slight headache coming on. "Fuck if I know Forde, I will mostly be doing this on the fly it seems. Alliance command doesn't really teach how to deal first contact well." Masters sighed, the stress of the situation suddenly hitting him. What was supposed to be a routine sweep on the suspicion that a pirate group had fled here after assaulting one of the Alliances colonies had become a turn point in history. He was changing history with his decisions, and if things went sour it would most likely get pinned on him. Suddenly he heard what sounded almost like a cough and a sneeze combined, and upon looking up noticing the alien was staring at him again.
"Alatha' nau, thuran tha Theigh." the creature said, tapping its chest at the word 'Theigh'. Masters simply stared, expecting something more. Once again the alien tapped its chest and said "Theigh, thuran tha Theigh." It gestured towards Masters, and once again was silent.
Realization came upon Masters, this alien must be giving the name of its species, it called itself Theigh. Masters tapped his own chest in the same manner as the alien, this 'Theigh' before proudly saying "Human, I am Human." Something about this exchange gave Masters a deep sense of pride, for this was how the very first contact should have gone with the Turians, not a bloody war. He was extending a hand of peace, even though Commander Dempsey had royally screwed up. Even though Masters was never a really religious man, he knew that this would be a moment few would forget, and it would lead to a bright time forward.
The Theigh nodded its head, saying something in its language to someone off holo before looking back at Masters.
"Thunan mal Tha, Ruthan Human Lithay' Uno Arugh." The Theigh tapped a few things on an out of view keypad, and his image was replaced by an animated holographic view of space, showing both the Theigh ships and Human ships. It showed the human ships backing off and staying near the moon Humanity had stayed behind, while the Theigh ships stayed in their position. It showed a few more Alliance ships arriving, and moving to meet with some more ships from the Theigh side. They both would meet , dock together, and an animated image of a Human (who resembled Masters) and another Theigh meeting together and talking, before bowing and making some sort of gesture. The image also showed the humans moving forward pre-emotively, and being destroyed. The Message was clear, stay there and wait for dignitaries, or be destroyed.
With a nod, Masters bowed, and tried to do the gesture in the image showed in the vid as best he could. With what could only be some sort of smile, the Theigh bowed and gave the same gesture, before closing the channel.
Glancing around the CIC, he noticed everyone in the room had stopped and was staring at him. Some with pride at how he represented humanity, some with slight fear, others seemed to be asking him what to do with their eyes. Taking a deep breath, he gathered his thoughts before making a speech.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, looks like we get to be the ones to initiate first contact. I want you all to know I could not have a finer crew with me here, and that I am proud of you all. Commander Dempsey may have made a rash mistake, but he did what anyone would do under pressure. I am glad to see none of you cracked, so lets keep this streak going. I want all ships to report to point designation Contact Moon, orbiting the moon we hid behind. Under no circumstances are any ships to break formation, and we will use this chance to initiate repairs on the Vancouver. We are to hold here until I can get someone here to deal with the situation. Until then, we repair the Vancouver and sit tight. Now, lets get to work."
OK so, this is one of the multiple part ones, probably three or four chapters long. I really hope you all enjoy this race, I has designed the Theigh years ago, only now finally finalizing them into what they are now. What do you think? Any questions? Any comment will really help, and any constructive criticism is greatly appreciated. Next chapter will be the meeting between the Sovereign Master of All Theigh and the Systems Alliance. Until then I bid you lovely peeps farewell! LORD OF CAKE, AWAAAAAAAY!.
P.S. I cannot garuntee this will keep going, or if it will die out like my other two stories, but if I can get enough interest that will motivate me! Anyways, I am rambling now. Later!