Speaking Softly

A/N Hey there! This is my first time posting to Fanfiction, so please expect a few mistakes here and there. When I say "A few mistakes here and there" I actually mean "This will be full of horrible errors. Please be nice and tell me so that I can fix them."

If any of you more expirianced folk out there have some advice for me PLEASE, for the love of god, let me know. I am a Bambi to your Scar, I am the Karate Kid to your Mister Miyagi. I am the novice window washer to your somewhat-more-experienced window washer.

If you were to enter the Widow Nebula, you would first be struck by the strange, primitive beauty of the billowing purple clouds of slowly cooling gases and superheated particles. You would stare at the seemly endless expanse of it's fantastical existence and wonder at the sheer largeness and eternity of it all. If you were to look around for awhile, you would probably spot a suspicious glimmer enclosed within the nebulous folds, and you would wonder just what it was. If you were to look just a bit closer, you would see that it whatever it was, it was not natural. You might notice that it looked a bit like a flower. A strange sort of geometric tulip. If you moved a bit closer, it's shape would become more apparent. A strange metallic flower nestled between the billows of the nebula, slowly rotating in a beautiful, haunting, lonely dance.

If you decided to move a bit closer, you would see a few other shapes floating around this strange structure. Not so lonely after all. You would slowly realise that these shapes were also moving in straight, orderly lines. Ships.

As you get closer, you notice more and more of them. Soon there are hundreds… thousands. Most coming and going, others are stationary, keeping silent, watchful guard over the others in this odd little pocket of apparent civilization. Inevitably though, your eyes would be drawn back to the flower. Only now would you realise it's sheer immensity, it dwarfs the ships, making even the largest of them seem like the tiniest speck of dust. Now you realize that the inside side of each pedal is brightly lit with the lights of sprawling urbia in stark contrast to the smooth, featureless hull that you have seen so far. The massive skyscrapers still seem small when compared to the station that they rest on. But if you were to drift toward the center, to where all of the pedals connected, you would find a smooth, towering spire reaching confidently, boldly, towards the heavens, and if you were to approach the top of this spire, you would see two people silhouetted by the bright lights of the room. It would seem to you that these two people were having a heated discussion.

An argument, even. Then, after a final dismissive gesture, one of the figures would turn and look out the window, seemingly in your direction.

Counselor Kasden watched Councilor Tevos, watching the window. She always did when she was thinking. It was clear that she still needed convincing.

"It just seems like we're making something out of nothing." Tevos said, turning away from the window. "And I still don't understand why we aren't involving Counselor Quentius in this discussion." She strode over to her gigantic metal desk and poured herself a drink from the tumbler of fine hanar liquor. Counselor Kasden blinked his large salarian eyes at her from his seat before responding.

"You know that Councilor Quintus has enough on his mind with all the separatist antics going on in The Hierarchy." He said as he rose from his seat. "Besides, it's best that a difficult situation like this be left to people of discretion. People who understand diplomacy." he strode over to Tevos and poured himself his own drink. "People like us." he lightly clinked his glass against hers. Tevos raised the asari equivalent of an eyebrow.

"What are you playing at, Kasden? What are you trying to hide from Quintus?"

Kasden blinked again and smirked.

"Think, Tevos. Elcor ships that have been at the same stations for decades suddenly up and leave, all going in the same direction. Now why would they do that?" Still wary of her associate, Tevos responded, the wheels turning behind her calm, neutral face.

"It's not a round of upgrades, because they aren't going towards their core worlds. It's not aid for some sort of disaster or they would have told us about it, and it's not a police action because they're elcor." She paused to take a pull from her glass.

"So what would you guess it is?" Prompted Kasden. Tevos thought for a moment longer before answering. "... They found something. Something worth mobilising a third of their military over, but not worth notifying us."

Kasden smiled. He had her now. All he had to do was keep her thinking in the right direction.

"But what would that be?" asked Tevos. "A prothean ruin would warrant the ship deployment, but they would certainly tell us about it. It's law, and they know that your STG would find out soon anyway, so why are they playing for time?"

Kasden gave her another nudge in the right direction. "My agents have already been able to gain access to a few elcor field reports. They were heavily encrypted, but dealing with that didn't take long. Numerous references are made to something the elcor are calling 'Ha-Knene.' Which roughly translates into 'traveling salesman.' Strange, isn't it?" Tevos thought on that for a few seconds.

Ancient elcor usually lived in migratory societies. This made bartering for goods extremely important to ensure the survival of the group. Merchants were usually the ones to contact other groups, since trading was usually the first order of business. In a sense, a traveling salesman was the elcor equivalent of a diplomat.

Suddenly it dawned on her. "First contact. They found a new species." Kasden could barely contain his sigh of relief. Gods, it had taken her so long… He wished that he could have just told her, but it was better if she thought that she had figured this out by herself, at least in part. It would be a disaster if she ever figured out just how well- informed he was.

"Precisely! That must be it! The elcor have never had to directly deal with a first contact situation as a government. Their archives hold no advice on how to proceed, so right now the Courts of Dekuuna are debating their next course of action."

Tevos looked back toward the window. "It still doesn't explain why they haven't told us. The elcor may be conservative, but they are hardly indecisive. They would still notify the Citadel under normal circumstances, so what's different about this situation specifically?"

"That is exactly what I propose we find out." Said Kasden, setting his already forgotten drink down.

"So it looks like we're going to Dekuuna." Said Tevos.

"Us? Going to Dekuuna?" Asked Kasden, plainly taken aback. "Isn't that a bit...heavy- handed? I was hoping for something a bit more discreet." It was Tevos' turn to smirk.

"If this is indeed a first-contact situation, then the elcor are going to need help dealing with it, and who better to do that then Citadel Councillors?" She finished her drink, swilling the last of the dark red liquid down. "Besides, I want to know just why they haven't notified us. I don't appreciate this sort of backroom secrecy from an associate species, I want to show them just who is in charge."

"I suppose you're right. Dekuuna it is, then." Mumbled Kasden. Just as he had planned. "I'll have a cruiser dock with the Presidium immediately." He said and started typing on his omni-tool.

"No." Said Tevos, her voice ringing with authority. "We are Citadel Councillors, we'll be taking the Destiny Ascension and her escort ships!" Kasden couldn't believe his luck, a councillor arriving in person to stick their nose in an associate race's business was one thing, but if that councillor brought the largest warship in the galaxy and half the Citadel fleet? He couldn't ask for more. Now he had to make a token objection. Just for the record

"Are you sure that's wise? That would hardly paint a picture of mutual trust and cooperation. The elcor are our allies, after all." Tevos, of course, ignored this.

"If the elcor want mutual trust and cooperation, then they should have told us about their bloody first-contact scenario!" She was almost shouting. "We leave immediately!"

At that very moment, Kasden's omni-tool began beeping with an urgent message. Just as planned. "Excuse me, Councillor Tevos."

He looked down at it for a moment, pretending to read the message. He let his mouth slowly open, his eyes grow narrow, and his complexion to redden. The classic salarian expression for shock. He collapsed into a nearby chair for good measure. "It's….It's my brother…" He let his voice shake just a bit. "There's been some sort of accident…"

"Goddess, what happened?" Tevos' voice was full of concern. "Is he alright?"

"It would appear that there has been a fire in his apartment block on Sur'Kesh. His condition is still unknown." He breathed heavily for a few seconds before speaking again. "Tevos, if he is dead…" Tevos moved closer to the other councillor. " Oh Kasden...You should go to Sur'Kesh. I know how complex family matters are for salarians. Let me handle this business with the elcor." She rested a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"I will be sure to keep you up to date on whatever happens, but you should be with your family now." Kasden nodded and stood up. "Yes.. yes, you're you, Tevos. I should… depart right away." He reached for his overrobe and shuffled toward the door. "Please tell me when you know his condition." Tevos called after him. " Yes… of course. Let me know if you need the services of the STG while I am away." he finally relaxed and smirked as the door closed behind him. The meeting really couldn't have gone better.

3 WEEKS EARLIER

Shi Zhen's eyes fluttered open a few minutes before his alarm went off. Deciding that it wasn't worth going back to sleep, he stared at the ceiling for a few moments before finally getting up. Getting dressed was always an awkward ordeal in such cramped quarters, but Shi was well accustomed to it, and managed to dress himself without banging an elbow on his fold-out cot or his tiny desk. Calling his dwelling a house may have been a bit generous. It was closer to a hut, about the size and shape of a shipping container. Though small, the hut was ingeniously designed. Every bit of furniture, from the stove, to the research desk, could be collapsed and folded into the walls or floor to create more space, making the tiny home actually quite comfortable. This would assume, however, that the occupant actually used these tools to his or her advantage, and Shi Zhen… didn't. Most chairs and tables were deployed and littered with the leavings of Shi's work, plant samples and data logs dominated every spare bit of horizontal space.

Brushing aside a half-dissected stamen and a pair of tweezers, Shi began to make breakfast. Nothing fancy. Some dehydrated noodles with a diced indigenous vegetable thrown is for flavor. Eating indigenous food was technically against protocol, but Shi had grown fond of the small yellow reeds that grew around his house in such abundance, he had begun calling them "nixies." Besides, he had already made perfectly sure that they were safe to eat.

After breakfast, it was time for a radio check-in. It was required for all surveyors to update their sector managers periodically throughout the day.

"This is Outpost 4 to Zentrum, how's the weather up there in the mountains?"

Zentrum was the administrative center for the sector, a small base in the mountains, around 100km from Shi's home in the valley.

"Oh shut up, Outpost 4. It's cold, alright?"

"Roger, Zentrum. Could you please remind me exactly how cold?

There was an audible sigh.

"It's -8 degrees celsius… and you're laughing."

"Sorry, Zentrum. It's just hard to imagine when I'm down here in my nice, temperate, river valley." The man Shi was speaking to was David Lenn. He had been on-planet for ever since it was discovered three years ago. Shi had only been here for just under a year.

"I'll be the one laughing when the wet season rolls around again, Outpost 4. By the way, did you ever find your kayak?" Shi chuckled. This was the back-and-forth that he and David had always shared.

"Lost forever to the mighty waters of river 86-B, I'm afraid."

"Maybe you'll find it while gathering samples today."

"I doubt that very much, Zentrum. Have a good one."

Shi broke the connection and took his hand away from his headset. His pack was already in order and waiting for him at the door, it was the one thing that he kept organized, largely because its contents kept him alive whenever he left his hut. Thats not to say that Afua (The large island-continent that Shi Zheng was stationed on,) was a very hostile place, but it was definitely wild and definitely alien. The land was thick with gigantic ferns that were almost as tall as the mighty pines back on Earth, and the air was thick with the shrill calls of the small flying mammals that were common on Afua. Nobody had officially named them yet, but Shi had always referred to them as "minibats" which would do for now. The only real dangers in the fern jungle were dehydration and giant carnivorous turtles that were about the size of a cow, but those were very rare on Afua, and actually quite docile creatures… unless you looked like food.

Remembering this, Shi grabbed the rifle that he was required to take with him whenever he went more than 200 meters from his house. The winchester certainly wasn't enough to kill a turtle if he ran into one, but the noise might help. HIs gear sorted, Shi slowly plodded down the small rise that his house sat on, and into the thick vegetation of the valley proper. His nimble feet easily sidestepping or hopping around and over the roots and rocks of the fern jungle.

Within a few hours, Shi Zhen was a dozen kilometers from his home, taking his final soil sample for the day. He was interrupted by the voice of David Lenn in his earpiece.

"Zentrum to Outpost 4, pick up right the fuck now, Zhen!"

Zhen knew immediately that something was horribly wrong. David was never worried or angry. Ever. It was part professionalism and part lack thereof, but the man always kept his cool.

"Outpost 4 here. What's wrong."

"I just got word from Orb-Sec, apparently there's a damaged ship of some sort heading planetside. Dropped out of FTL right in front of the station, and gravity did the rest. All personnel planetside are to return to their posts." Shi felt a bit bombarded by all of this news.

"It just jumped in? Just like that? No comm burst, nothing on the flight roster? Just like that? Is it civilian or military?" The silence from David's end was just long enough to be noticeable.

"Neather. Apparently the ship profile doesn't match any known configurations, and when they tried to make contact via radio, the translators nearly shit themselves trying to deal with what came back."

"David, are you saying…"

"That this looks an awful lot like a First Contact situation? Orb-Sec seems pretty convinced."

First Contact. Zhen felt like he was going to fall over. After taking a moment to collect himself, he finally responded.

"Roger that, Zentrum. Returning to Outpost 4"

Author's Notes

The Atten

The atten are a large crustacean species that slightly resemble crabs from Earth. They have a tall, thick body that is supported by eight lobster-like legs. Each atten has a large pincer on their right side, and a much smaller, more delicate appendage on their left side that bares a surprising resemblance to a chiten-covered human hand. Despite their fearsome appearance, atten tend to be quite friendly and social people. Some people even describe the atten as whimsical.

Atten language is a mixture of vocalization and sign language, and though the vocal elements can be easily translated by any Alliance-issue translator, the sign language is taught to all Alliance children in public schools, and tutorial/ reference programs are available for ocular and cranial implants.

Though the atten posses incredible physical strength, and their right pincer can easily bite through wood, atten are rarely violent, and very few ever enlist in the Alliance military. Many view them as the "gentle giants" of Alliance society.

Humanity made contact with the atten in 2131 (Alliance Calendar) only ten years after activating their first mass relay. After colonizing their first few worlds, humanity stumbled upon the atten during a survey scan of the Rhu system. The atten had already developed infantile mass effect technology, and were taking their first tentative steps outside their home system. Humanity debated for weeks over whether to initiate First Contact, but before they could decide, the decision was made for them when an atten ship discovered the probe that humanity had been using to monitor the atten home system. After a very successful first contact, humanity and the atten begin trading everything from raw materials to manufactured goods and cuisine. After sixteen years of good diplomatic relations and mutually beneficial trade, the two species sign what has since been called The Alliance Charter. This effectively creates the "Systems Alliance" as we know it today. Though, it was not officially recognized as such for another decade.

The Drell

The Systems Alliance found the drell wallowing in the post-industrial wasteland of their homeworld. With the advent of modern industry, their population had risen too high, too quickly, and they had strained their already scarce resources to the breaking point. When The Alliance arrived, there were only a few dozen city-states of drell left on the planet. Apparently, humans and atten were not the only aliens drell had met. All of the city-states had records, and even photographs, of a people who had come from the heavens when the resource crisis was just beginning, and had taken a large number of drell away, never to return. Explanations as to who these aliens were, or why they came, remain scattered and inconsistent. Some say that they trying to save a small part of the drell race from extinction, others say that they were gods who came to claim the worthy and spare them the horror of the resource wars. Whatever the case, today the drell are contributing members of the Systems Alliance, and the drell homeworld of Rakhana is largely deserted, but slowly being rehabilitated. 13% of Alliance parliament are drell. They also, of course, hold the standard two seats in the Species Assembly.

A/N

So that's the first chapter. It feels pretty short, I agreen but I kinda wanted this to be more of a set-up chaper. You can expect the next on to be longer. Let me know what you guys thought! If it sucks, please tell me it sucks, but tell me WHY so I can fix it.