First Contact
Councillor Tevos had a headache. It took the form of her least favourite colleague-namely-Councillor Sparatus.
"Valern, how accurate is this report?" the asari said with no small amount of annoyance and frustration. "STG has confirmed alien ship appearance near Relay. The ship is not moving. The design of the ship clearly shows an understanding of Element Zero. However, no MAC guns are seen and no weaponry can be seen on the exterior of the ship."
She had clearly been dreaming if she thought that the salarian would have been of any help. As she opened her mouth to state her opinion, the damnable turian spoke.
"We should attack them. They violated Citadel law and activated a dormant Relay! We'll teach those primitives a thing or two about Citadel law." Sparatus said tersely, his mandibles pressed tightly against his face.
"Sparatus! This is not how a First Contact scenario should look like! Why would you even want to attack a new species? They hadn't even moved since they came through! The ships don't even have anything that looks vaguely threatening."
"They are a young species, in over their heads. As Council species, we will intervene and provide guidance and discipline."
Tevos gritted her teeth and rubbed her temples. The salarian was tolerable, but it seemed as if any turian that was a Councillor was also an inexplicably large warmongering idiot. Just being in the same room with him made her want to turn his head into a cloud of fine blue mist. Alas, it was not to be.
"We shouldn't act like Krogan warlords. We do not need another Rachni war, and if those aliens wanted to attack us, they would've done so already." Tevos stared pointedly at Sparatus, who refused to meet her eyes.
Valern nodded vigorously and said, "Matter will resolve itself soon. STG has told me that ship has begun to move and are trying to contact us."
"What?! We should prepare the Citadel Defense Fleet!" Tevos couldn't help but sigh. The turian had somehow made a relevant point-a show of force wouldn't be too bad for a negotiation, if things turned ugly and the aliens really were like krogans.
Such was a day in the life of a Councillor.
Undisclosed location
Sibyl Unit 49008: Alien structure located. Presence of orbiting ships. Match with Prothean records=0 Conclusion: non-Prothean settlement
Sibyl Unit 25983: Heat signatures detected on surface. Estimated temperature of alien settlement surface: 303.1592K. Conclusion: structure is habitable.
Sibyl Unit 34900: Alien structure analysis: 97% match to recorded alien structure in Prothean records. Number of Protheans detected=0
Sibyl Unit 10009: Conclusion reached: Protheans extinct. Probability of mass extinction event: 59%
Sibyl Unit 02910: Engage in combat?
Sibyl Unit 00091: Structure visibly armed. Weapon count: unknown. Chance of victory: 31%
Sibyl Unit 98714: Conclusion: peaceful contact necessary. Combat will increase local colonies' Area Stress level. Organisation of First Contact package will be completed in 10 minutes.
"Captain, Sibyl reports a 68% chance of attack by alien forces."
Hackett gritted his teeth and stared at the holographic display. The discovery of an alien settlement was definitely unexpected. While the existence of aliens was obvious, as could be seen by the Mass Relays and the Mars Ruins, contact with actual living aliens was something the UN hadn't planned for. It had been estimated by astronomers that it should've taken another century for First Contact, but the universe had defied all expectations and Contact was 74 years early. Personally, Hackett wasn't sure what to think.
"Captain, we have movement. What appears to be a fleet is flying towards us. They, too, are trying to establish radio contact."
Hackett frowned and said, "Has the brass been alerted?"
"Yes, sir. Their standing orders are to establish contact and send out diplomats. The Sibyl System approves and states a 78% chance of success. They also created a First Contact Package."
"Good. Send out the First Contact package, then. No time to waste."
Aboard the THS Offense, the prospect of discovering a new species and the excitement that came with such a momentous occasion led the ship crew to endlessly speculate on the new species. The crew's excitement was infectious, and the bridge was of no exception. However, the turian captain, Octavian, didn't feel very happy about the new aliens.
"Penny for your thoughts, Captain?" Octavian sighed and turned to look at the tech sitting behind a console, his face set in a carefree grin.
"None of that cheek, Ensign. Honestly, though, I don't agree with any of the Councillors' decisions. They clearly broke Citadel rule; if we won't punish rulebreakers, what about those pirates in Terminus, then? They'll see the Citadel as weak and they'll be even more audacious."
"We'll see, Captain. We'll see." Octavian grinned at the impertinent tech. The behaviour, while normally intolerable by military standards, was a fresh breath of air in the stuffy environment of the military. As if on cue, an alert on several consoles flashed.
"Captain, the aliens are hailing me. Should I patch them through?"
Octavian blinked surprisedly. The labcoats had estimated the contact time to be a day from then. "Of course, Ensign. Looks like the aliens are assertive and quick to react. Let's hope for good news."
"A few moments, sir," there was a pause. "I'm patching them through."
The screen flickered briefly before an alien face appeared onscreen.
The crew members made sounds of amazement. The alien had pink skin and fur on its head, looking eerily like the Asari, though the stern glare was unexpected. The alien spoke in its language, the sound smooth and sharp at the same time. Octavian rubbed his temples and sighed. The worst part of First Contact-language barriers.
"I'm Captain Hackett of the UN and a representative of the Sibyl System." The alien clearly recognised the blank-eyed, confused look of the crew before letting loose a breath. It pointed to itself and said in a confident voice, "Human."
Octavian repeated the word to himself a few times, rolling the word over a few times with his tongue.
He liked it.
Smiling, he reciprocated, pointing to himself and saying, "Turian."
