A Day to Remember
197 CE, Rannoch, Ceystiic
Rel'Koris's elaborate, violet prime minister robes were being smoothed down by her mate, Atin, in an attempt to make her as presentable as possible. He was trying to soothe both of their frayed nerves as he looked her over from head to toe. She wanted to look her very best, after all, this would be a day to be remembered.
"You'll do fine. Trust me." Atin spoke words of encouragement softly to her. However, he said this in such a way that only served to show that he was just as worried as she was.
Atin was dressed in a loose fitting shirt and trousers that were made out of a synthetic type of fabric from a Dao'Dao plant. When Dao'Dao was spun, it formed a very smooth and confortable fabric, shimmersilk, which adjusted with ease to body movements, and protected the wearer from extreme heat or cold temperatures. Perfect for a desert world.
If someone had told her a few weeks ago that advanced aliens were coming to Rannoch, she would have laughed at them for believing in such craziness, and told them to take a hike. But, over the last week, things had changed. The strange glowing Relay, as some of Rannoch's best scientists had figured out a century ago, began to fluctuate. It was decreed ninety-five years ago that no Quarian should meddle with the relay, as one should not play around with a gun without knowing its true intent. That is the reason why not much was known about this change, only that it was occurring. Soon thereafter a ship appeared, not one of the few Quarian ships roaming around the solar system, but an advanced ship generating massive amounts of power and energy.
Overjoyed and still startled from this unexpected event, the Search for Advanced Life (SAL) hastily attempted to contact these aliens using basic radio waves, the only means of contact from that distance away. The ship disappeared soon after they were contacted. Whether it was a result of this contact, or for ulterior means, was unknown. It was Rel's job to figure out their intent, and that is exactly what she was going to do.
News leaked of this alien encounter. Because of that, the entire populous of Rannoch was aware of the incursion and actively talking about it. Now, a week later, a second ship arrived with a specific destination in mind, given its current heading, Rannoch.
"What would Tel'Zen do? What would the Ancestors do?" She mumbled to herself as she stared in to a mirror, even though she already knew the answer to both those questions.
Atin heard her and rested a hand ln her shoulder, attempting to calm her, "They'd try to make peace with these beings. To reach out our arms to embrace them in harmony." He then commenced to brushing her long, silky, blue-black hair back; the way she expressly liked her hair to be arranged.
"And what if they don't want peace?" She asked, idly striking conversation. The particular question was a question that was being constantly repeated all around Rannoch; Quarian research in weaponry had fallen far behind, having no large scale wars, there was no reason to obtain them or to develop them. If these aliens were hostile, they'd be utterly destroyed.
"Then, we stick to our values." He responded neutrally, skirting around the question with tact. He bit his upper lip while he looked over Rel's small curved nose, and bright blue-green eyes.
"Do you think it could be the Shanaya, the rumored master-race foretold by our Ancestors?" Rel inquired thoughtfully as she threw a glance in his direction.
"The Shanaya don't exist." He declared, slightly annoyed, having heard this fable many times. He straightened up and checked some of her golden adornments. "There hasn't been a recorded sighting of a Shanaya for 48,000 years. Face it, they're a myth." He said somewhat smugly.
"Well," she sighed, "Hopefully we can get some answers."
Rel's mate stepped away from her and grinned at her, satisfied with his work as he inspected her once again, rubbing his chin.
"How do I look?" Rel said as she twirled around slowly. Her long skirt lifted slightly off the ground in response to the inertia.
"Stunningly gorgeous," he complimented, giving her two thumbs up. "As always."
"Always the charmer, Atin." She briefly examined herself in the mirror, "I'm just this beautiful because you always make me so." She said as she stroked her neat hair and poked at her wrinkle free attire.
"Who, me? I don't do anything, I'm just improving upon perfection." He said modestly with a sly smile. "And you're certainly perfect enough to impress some alien dignitaries."
Blood rushed to her face, darkening her pale white-gray skin to an almost grey-purple color. "Bosh'tet." Rel said playfully as she shook her head, an ever present grin marked her face as he tugged at her heartstrings. Ever since she had become Prime Minister, people, even close family members, began to treat her differently. Not Atin, he'd always remember who she really was on the inside; the same woman he had fallen in love with, and that, even in her position of power, the job would not change her.
The expression on Atin's face abruptly changed to a grimace. "What time did you have to leave?"
The sudden question threw her slightly off balance, but she soon regained her composure. "Midday. It couldn't be that time already..."
After quickly checking the time, Atin returned. "We should probably head out, don't want to keep 'em waiting now, do we?"
"Agreed." Rel curtly nodded. Atin led her out to their white automobile. When she left, the two bodyguards standing at the door to her bedroom, clothed in matte black suits, began to follow her outside the structure. After she entered the front left side of the vehicle, Atin proceeded to ignite the engine and, in a short minute, drive her into the city. The two bodyguards had taken positions in a seperate black automobile, and were following closely, almost to the point of practically tailgating Atin. Luckily, Atin was a good driver.
'They're on edge,' she thought as she glumly glanced out the nearest window. She hadn't wanted any sort of bodyguard, insisting that she did not need one. That any bodyguard would be an invasion of her personal privacy, even at the expense of being at risk. The Elders, the equivalent to a judicial system, formed by the wise old men and women of Ceystiic, expressed that they'd have none of it. That she was required to retain and keep a bodyguard with her at all times.
Ceystiic was beautiful. This was Rannoch's capital; the supposed town where Tel'Zen lived for most of his young adult and adult life. The gnawing sense of excitement in her grew as she relished in a fact: They, the Quarian race, were not alone in this marvelous Galaxy. Not only that, but also that she'd be the first to meet them, face to face.
She lazily gazed out the port side windows, elbow resting on the armrest with her chin firmly planted in her palm, watching as the city of Ceystiic flashed past her. The mirage of green, gray, and silver swirled together in a single collage as they sped past dozens of structures. 'Assuming they have something that resembles a face...' She thought to herself as dozens of questions dashed through her mind; Would they have a similar body structure? Would they be carbon-based? Would this environment be toxic to them? All questions for which they had no time to plan for. She just hoped that these advanced beings knew the answer to these questions and were taking every necessary precautions.
The city was a marvel. It had skyscrapers which rubbed against the very fabric of space, millions of Quarians who passed by and worked here everyday, and beautiful intricate architecture made by some of the most renowned architects. It was breathtaking. She noticed in one of the rear view mirrors that two of Rannoch's peace core were following her automobile on motorcycles. 'Looks as if the peace core is also acting on edge.' She mused glumly, thankfully she was used to this sort of thing. Then, before she knew it, she was staring right at Ceystiic's capital building and the automobile was no longer moving.
"We're here." Atin informed her with a slight smile, turning his head away from the road and back onto her, cutting through her idle musings.
They both took one last long look at each other until Rel decided that was enough. "Goodbye," she said, prompting a wave of Atin's hand. She opened her door and stepped out onto the lush green grass. Plant life existed here; Ceystiic was located at the mouth of a major river and was ripe with flood plains and had an abundance of fresh water.
As she stepped out, she heard an outcry arise from the surrounding area. She quickly spun around towards the noise, a group of protestors had formed and were being contained behind a Purple-green police line. The protestors were carrying various signs, which indicated that the aliens should be sent back to where they came from. Ten of Rannoch's peace core had assembled and were guarding the line. Them and the two who were following her were, quite literally, half of the entire police force for this city. When crime was virtually nonexistent, one did not need a large force to keep the peace.
'How do they even know? It's only been a few hours since the aliens arrived.' Obviously, there was a leak within the very top levels of her government. 'Another thing I'll have to look into.' She thought glumly. Her two bodyguards led her into the building, parting the doors in front of her.
She entered into absolute chaos. Analysts, language experts, and advisors were all scuttling around, preparing for what was to come. She spotted a heavy-set man, Uri'Gerrel, her top advisor, frantically motioning for her to follow him. Uri was also a family friend, given the historic friendship between the Koriss' and the Gerrels'."Three minutes!" He yelled at her. "Come with me; make haste!"
Uri was a no nonsense sort of man; he had a short beard which was mainly stubble, he was in a constant state of being clean shaven. A gold watch was worn neatly around his wrist, tightly encompassing the circumference of his wrist. He always wore a black suit with a black tie, and a pair of dark, opaque, professional-looking sunglasses. Lastly, he had, in his left ear, a radio receiver, giving him up to date vital information on reports and updates.
While Uri was a respectable fellow, he could part a crowd by the meer sight of him. He was a moutain of a man, being both abnormally strong and standing at a height of 2.1 meters (approx. 7'0" feet) even. The outline of his muscles visibly showed through his suit. He was also smart and quick minded, a very deadly, and useful, combination combined with his other prowess.
"What?" Rel said, her eyes were startled as she began to walk at a fast pace with him, swerving and maneuvering through the scores of souls. Most of them tried to avoid standing in the path of Uri lest they be crushed under his boot. "So soon? When you contacted me last time they weren't even past Kaeli'Steiz!"
"I have an answer to that. Our scientists have analyzed their ship further." He said as he handed her the electronic holo-pad, a very recently developed technology. "They have a power system using anti-matter as a means of providing energy. The engines outmatch anything we've ever dreamed of. We're not even sure if it has any sort of weaponry, our expertise in that area is extremely limited."
Rel took a quick glance over it. It was all numbers and figures. "Wouldn't the extreme gamma radiation kill them?" Rel inquired, recalling something she had remembered from a specific science journal she had skimmed over.
He shrugged, shoulders rising and falling only an inch, an almost undetectable gesture to the untrained eye. But, her eye was skillful and picked up on the gesture. "They must have some sort of radiation shielding."
"This sounds like stuff from science fiction!" She declared incredulously.
"It is." He abruptly cocked his head to the left, listening in on his radio. He promptly checked his watch, his eyes wide with anxiety, "Crap. We needa get out here, quick!" He exclaimed as he took her by the arm and hurriedly pushed open the doors to the rear of the building.
The doors parted, revealing a lush green landscape of grass, the courtyard. The perimeter of the courtyard had been cordoned off by the same twelve peace keepers which had cordoned off the front of the Capital building. They had done so, because the interior of the courtyard would be the suggested landing zone for the aliens. Or, that's what they'd been attempting to inform the alien craft. It was difficult to convey any sort of message to the aliens, they had to use only basic pictures and numbers to convey the message. It was still in doubt whether the messages had gotten through or not.
The breeze brushed softly against her hair as she and Uri approached the approximate location of the center. The tranquility of the nature surrounding her, overtook her person. The clouds floated carelessly overhead. Kaeli'Steiz's brilliant rays reflected off her skin, warming her body. The fertile green grass crunched underneath her feet. She sighed, feeling somewhat more calm.
She giggled lightly as to how silly she probably looked, standing next to a brute of a Quarian. To which, she was only at his shoulder height. 'He probably isn't the best person to have for First Contact lest they get any bad ideas of us. But, he is the most capable.'
Uri constantly kept checking his gold watch and looking up at the sky, his eyes widened behind his glasses as he focused on something. "There!" He said as he pointed up at the sky.
Rel craned her head upwards, putting a hand at her brow to shield her eyes. She squinted, surveying the sky meticulously. "Where?" She said, the light from Kaeli'Steiz had a tremendous glare effect on her, preventing her from seeing much of anything.
Uri wordlessly handed her his glasses. She shoved them onto her face, and returned her gaze onto the sky, having nothing to pervent or hinder her from doing so. A certain strange outline could definitely be seen through the clouds. Then, all of a sudden, the object broke through the cloud layer, streaking across the sky at speeds of thousands of kilometers an hour. The object in question had a very aerodynamic design with two large engines jutting out the back of it. She shot Uri a questioning look, the ship was supposed to be much bigger, or so the scanners had projected it to be.
Uri already had an answer, "The mothership is in orbit above Rannoch, this must be a short-range transport from it." He muttered in hushed tones, not taking his eye off the object, which was rapidly descending towards and approaching the courtyard. Obviously, the message had worked very well.
Someone else must've noticed the ship, because the entire crowd was pointing and shouting at the alien ship, progressively getting larger as it approached. As it got larger the noise created by the crowd crescendoed into a cacophony. Rel seemed to tense and her breathing picked up speed.
He noticed her sudden change in stature, "You nervous?" Uri asked, smiling down at Rel, breaking through his professsional attitude momentarily, and to the attitude of a family friend.
Rel forced her body to calm down by taking in several large gulps of air. Once she had significantly relaxed she returned the smile, "Yes, I'm going to be the first Quarian to ever meet another race. What they will view us as is directly on my shoulders to accurate represent our race." She sighed, turning her gaze onto the ground. "And I'm not sure if I can do it."
He chuckled, a very deep and throaty noise, "I can't blame you. I know I would be nervous too in your position."
Rel quirked an eyebrow at him, "I can't see you being afraid, or nervous, from anything."
He shrugged. "It's something neither my strength nor smarts can solve." He said, turning his head slowly towards her until he half faced her. "The unknown."
Soon, the shuttle was overhead, engines roaring as loud as the thousands of Quarians shouting simultaneously and chattering to one another. It soon began to hover in the air and started to descend onto the ground. As it descended, it blasted wind, flung dirt, and rustled grass underneath it. The first of the two forced both Rel and Uri to shield their faces, even though Rel was wearing protective eyewear. The spacecraft settled down ten meters away from her in the middle of the courtyard, gradually losing power as the engine shut down. The entirety of the crowd became dead silent, anxiously awaiting the new arrivals.
Uri whistled and with a gesture of his hand, a young female approached, one of Rannoch's top linguistical experts. She looked rather bookish, having a think pair of glasses and a semi-short skirt. She was to record what the aliens were going to say and try her best to analyze it.
Rel couldn't help but think that, this was all going to be a huge fiasco.
Nothing happened.
Unsure what to do, Rel took a step forwards. Before she could take another step the entrance on the ship slammed open. Rel gasped at what came out...