A/N: Hello y'all, welcome to the new chapter of this AU. I have provided a big hint here for Shepard, so hope you catch it. Hope you enjoy reading this. Thanks for the reviews, keep 'em coming. Onward!

Chapter 2

He was the silent assassin. He was the head of the coldest, most hardened soldiers in the galaxy. Now in Tzarzus, Thane Krios quietly admired the mountains and deep forests that were restored after the Diamond War centuries earlier.

As he stepped into the private villa of Lerkmandok, the dwemer soldiers immediately bowed and saluted. Thane was bothered with that; as a matter of fact, he hardly felt anything. Only things precious to him were his mate, his son and his job, that was all.

Emperor Logrodax smiled as he watched his greatest assassin approaching. "Thane, it is a pleasure to have you here."

"Pleasure is all mine, my lord." Thane bowed. "I am honored to be here."

The dwemer emperor chuckled and shook his head, waving a hand for the soldiers nearby to leave him alone with the drell. Then, from a small house nearby, Emperor Julius came out in his royal robes, smirking.

"Well, now that we are alone, you can get rid of that ass kissing." Logrodax laughed. "How are you doing?"

"Very good sir." Thane kept his stoic face. "I just came back from Ceres, as you requested."

Logrodax frowned as Julius approached. "Hello Thane."

"Good morning sir, always a pleasure to see you."

Julius just nodded while sneaking a glance at Logrodax, who looked slightly nervous. "Did you find anything?" The dwemer finally asked.

"Apart from old ruins of cities destroyed during the Geth Uprising and a dense atmosphere, no sir, nothing."

The emperor of the second most advanced race in the galaxy nodded. "Good, these reports were very nauseating to be honest with you both."

"Yes." Julius added in. "I had my suspicions that these stupid bastards were back, but it looks like some well placed hoaxes did the job to frighten us all, good thing the army was not informed, even my son would have gone crazy."

"We lost over one hundred million people in that war, each of our species." Logrodax gestured at himself and Julius. "If, by some sick demented joke from the universe, they are back, we must ensure that we are prepared for any eventuality."

Thane just watched the exchange and understood the feeling, completely. The geth did cause more than a few problems to the Imperial Alliance back in the beginning of the twentieth century. Millions dead in the quarian cities around the Perseus Veil colonies and then Ceres destroyed, Kronos following it. The Imperial Alliance was so furious they quintupled their expenses in the war after those colonies were razed to the ground by those genocidal robots.

According to the data of history the drell possess in Akramand, their sacred city in Rakhana, over twenty million of their race perished in the Geth Uprising, so it was a shared feeling of hate. Thanks to this war, AI research was banned and any scientist or government official supporting it would be trialed under charges of treason. No matter the outcome, execution would be the punishment.

Emperor Julius Calpurnius was one of those 'Anti AI People.' Thane was amused by that term, since some of those radical scientists that called the emperors that were executed by his own hand.

"I don't think we have to worry, evidence from back in the war is solid enough to prove they are completely gone, just like those monster brutes, the yahg." Logrodax smirked.

"There is also another thing we need from you, Thane." Julius stared at the head of one of the most elite military forces in the galaxy. "Dolos Agrippa has proven to be more than a headache, and I want you to watch him, see if you can find anything we can use against this radical bastard in the future."

Logrodax frowned. "Yes, we may have to blackmail him if he keeps getting the mob excited with his less than amusing speeches."

Thane nodded. "Understood sir, my Arcanii will be available for any eventuality, of course."

Both emperors had a malicious grin on their faces. The Arcanii were the answer to the Spectres of the Citadel. A couple of differences were there, though. Arcanii were very carefully chosen from raw recruits that showed true biotic, strategic or ruthless potential. They would be trained for eight through ten years before finally being set to become the fiercest, most disciplined soldiers in the galaxy.

"We trust your soldiers will be able to handle the job should the need arises?" Julius raised an eyebrow, but then smiled as Thane nodded immediately.

In addition to their long, brutal training, Arcanii were capable of executing raids in groups or individually, but the most feared traits of them were their ruthlessness and manner of executing orders without question. Spectres feared these cold hearted assassins during the devastating Galactic War back in the 2000s. Thane knew his soldiers were prepared for a highly unlikely, completely impossible second coming of AI genocidal robots.

"If there is nothing else sir, I may be on my way, if you don't mind." Thane bowed but was stopped by chuckles.

"We didn't invite you here to stay for a small chat, come on in; I want to talk to you about some amazing fellow dwemer private teachers that will serve your son's education…." Logrodax smirked while Julius grinned.

Thane bowed his head again in respect, though he had the slightest shadow of a smile on his face. Being the head of the fearful Arcanii had its advantages.

"That movie was completely idiotic." Kal complained. "When did you see turians acting with honor before?"

Aulus smiled. They had just gotten out of the cinema and he was extremely amused by the blockbuster movie. "Well, I know a few turians that could argue with your views man."

"Which ones?" The quarian just chuckled. "Apart from the ones we set up straight in the academy, I know of none."

Indeed, during their academy years, there were some turian exchange students from the Turian Alliance, eager to learn from their "allies." Aulus and his gang retaliated with pranks, bullying and constant arguing in the halls.

Aulus was a racist of turians until he met Saren Arterius. That turian was now a good friend of his.

"I know Saren would never agree with you."

"Hell with him." Kal smirked. "It isn't like his damn race is powerful anymore; they are a complete joke now."

The human frowned. "Oh come on Kal, you like him. I was thinking of you having a crush on the lizard."

Kal's horrified expression was enough to send Aulus into deep laughter. "Goddamn it, how can your filthy mind think of that? You are a bad roman."

"Well, you have a filthy mind too." The human argued as they proceeded to their car. "I still wonder why you wanted to see a donkey show."

"Because it's fucked up." Kal fired back. "Domak's father was so enraged at the idea he banned us from going to their mansion for a month."

The roman laughed as he gave his chauffeur a wave. "I would have done the same if my son was trying to watch that shit." Both entered the cab and gave a smile to the driver before going back to their argument.

"Oh stop complaining, you were willing to put your share to see that." Kal smirked. "Everyone knows you always had a thing for my fellow quarian women. You wanted one to do the…. job."

"Bullshit." Aulus frowned. "I have dated some before, but it doesn't mean I have a fetish on them… specifically."

Now it was the quarian's turn to laugh. "Specifically? How many fetishes does your filthy mind have?"

"Well… I like dwemer too…" Aulus smirked. "Your favored women I should say… tell me, are you turned on by their cute ears or the fact they can outlive you by two centuries and then take away your money?"

"Shut the hell up."

Both frowned but after a few seconds erupted into laughter. The cab driver shook his head at them, thinking they were insane.

"Donkey show? Really?" The driver asked. Aulus did not know who he was but assumed it was a dwemer due to the ears.

Kal turned to see him. "So? Come on man, I was curious about it."

"Only fucked up people like you Kal. I will be expecting a donkey, a dwemer girl and you in bed next time you text me about your less than amusing kinky adventures." The roman replied as the chauffeur outright laughed, making the quarian blush slightly.

"Asshole." Kal muttered. "Next time, I won't call up a cute quarian girl for your damn convenience again."

"Go ahead." Aulus taunted. "I have always been getting them myself, you only hooked me up with that insane girl, the Koris one."

"What about her? She is stunning and is still asking about you… if you know what I mean."

"Really? Telling you that the Geth Uprising was wrong and that the geth deserved peace? Fuck that shit; rather date a turian girl for a week that listen to one of her damn ramblings again."

The chauffeur nodded. "Well, that is pretty bad. Lost my father and brother in the war to be honest."

"Whoa, how old are you man?" Kal's eyes widened.

"Three hundred and two, been around too much, seen shit that would make both of you shit bricks."

Nodding in respect, Aulus asked, "What did you do before this job man?"

"Used to be an engineer in a big firm that went to hell after the Galactic War, then got into a quarian company in charge of making Helios gunships."

"And then?"

"Owner's son sent the company to hell and I was out once again. Now I am a chauffeur and private teacher for hire, so if you have any rich friends that want to learn, hit me up."

The three now talked nonstop until they approached Aulus' flat, set to become a party place for some of their old friends back in the academy. Even Tali'Zorah was invited, though they doubted she would show up.

"You guys have fun, careful though." The dwemer driver told them.

Aulus smirked. "How about you join us at the party? I am sure there will be some… older women in there."

"Yeah." Kal laughed. "Booze, women and music, what is there not to like?"

"I would accept the offer if it wasn't for my mate." He chuckled. "I do love her but she is one of those territorial ones that would hang your balls in the house for disobeying orders."

"Ah, quarian?" Aulus was amused. "Heard they could get like that, just like humans."

"Nah, dwemer." The driver laughed again. "You boy." He gestured at Kal. "If what I heard of you is correct, then watch out, dwemer women will do anything to get what they want."

Kal just stared, dumbfounded, making the other two men laugh at his expense.

Tali knew she had to meet Aulus, and fast. The idiot was probably getting hammered at the very moment, but she needed to talk to the heir to the throne of Rome. As the quarian engineer thanked her driver for the service, she leaned on the window and thought of the events that unfolded.

Her father knew she could not provide a child to Aulus, and the marriage would be seen as a farce by some people. However, the vast majority of the mob was eager for a thing like this though. A union of two of the most powerful races would be significant in quelling some fears of their alliance breaking.

It was a fact that the Triarchy was weakening politically, which was extremely dangerous. The military was at the peak of its power, yes, but the shenanigans and mistakes in the past were now destroying the entity from within. The secret files of the geth, yahg extermination and now the Batarian Civil War raging through numerous systems in the Terminus was making the political situation precarious.

Tali shook her head as she remembered her father ranting at the lack of proper forces on Virmire. Rael had made a valid point that the third most important commercial hub of the Triarchy needed reinforcements should the batarians spoil their conflict there. Hell, there were millions of them fleeing the war and settling in the Triarchy, which was becoming very problematic.

"Tali, we are almost there." The driver smiled at her.

She smiled back and said, "Thanks Luca."

The quarian liked her driver, he was a good man and very proper, something the barbarian she was going to see lacked completely. She could not fathom how a highly educated man like Julius produced such a spoiled, stupid brat. His mother was also really sweet.

'He better not be drunk.' This situation was serious enough. His antics would just annoy the hell out of her. Kal was probably drunk already. Not even the military had changed those two. Firat was the only individual in their group that somewhat matured but the drell was still a pain in the ass at times. Still, Aulus sounded different in the email. No curses or offensive remarks, a straight to the point message about the party and the need to meet.

Tali frowned as Aulus' private flat came into view. She was still really not looking forward to see him, even if they hadn't seen each other for two years. She had been so close to tell him off but then her father had to come with the wonderful news that she was going to get married. Life sucked for her it seemed. Also, his tone in there suggested... change? Perhaps maturity? She shook her head. It was impossible to change that bosh'tet.

"Be careful Tali, whatever people say, I don't like these boys." Luca frowned. "I will be back for you at one am, unless you say otherwise. Expect a Praeventor team here if you don't contact me."

She giggled quietly. Luca was always overprotective, treating her like a daughter. "Thank you Luca, I will see you in a bit, don't worry."

Nodding reluctantly, he left once she had closed the door. She turned and saw a man leaning on the door, smirking.

"Here we go…" She muttered as the steps to the scourge of all her ancestors got closer and closer.

The man was smoking a cigarette, completely unfazed by her cold demeanor. "Well, well, the princess had the decency to show up huh?" He raised an eyebrow, smirking.

"The fact that I showed up to this stupid party of yours was because of something important duly needed to discuss."

Her tone amused him, but did frown at it. "Well, go inside and get something to drink, make yourself comfortable."

"Wait for me here then." She got the door to open and went inside, leaving Aulus outside, cursing at himself for being such an idiot.

Entering the flat, she could but help but cringe. Numerous women were making out with men and Kal was dancing quite… stupidly with some random girl. Domak and Firat were praising his efforts with mockery and laughter. The women were giggling and raising their glasses at him. 'Ridiculous behavior.'

Tali shook her head and made her way to serve herself some turian wine. She really needed it, especially after the great surprise from dear Rael. The quarian still fumed at the memories of her father using their duty excuse. Other excuse was stupid Aulus and his antics, which will probably take place in a short time.

"Zorah." A voice seethed from behind.

She turned and saw Domak, his arms crossed, looking at her with disdain. "Now what is Rael's little prissy princess doing here? Certainly, this is a shocking surprise."

Tali mentally cursed at him. "Blame Aulus, not me Kagrenac." She replied.

The dwemer reared back and laughed, his silver hair, tucked in braids, moving at the rhythm of his laughter. "Heard of it, question is, why would you show up Zorah? We are certainly not that good of friends hm?"

"None of your damn business, Kagrenac."

Smirking, the former classmate and jock walked towards Firat, who waved awkwardly at Tali. She waved back at the drell, though neither of them was smiling. There was a tense atmosphere for her, so much it could actually punch the daylights out of her.

As the young quarian could not see the night getting worse, she saw Aulus enter the flat and glare at her.

"The fuck is taking you so long woman? You are already done with your make up right?"

Tali sent her trademarked icy glare towards the spoiled Roman. She smirked inwardly when she saw him cringe at it.

Aulus sighed. "Well then, get your drink and come with me outside, my rabble is probably below your intelligence standards anyway."

Shaking her head, the quarian followed him, and rolled her eyes at the jealous glances of several women. Tali swore a dwemer girl called her 'nerd bitch' but maybe it was something else, not that she cared anyway, used to the bullying of Aulus and his infernal gang. Anything to make the party uncomfortable for the so called 'Aulus' Rabble.'

Finally, the doors closed and Aulus leaned on the balcony, sighing once again. Tali looked at him curiously before putting her drink in the table. It was a nice view of the city, lot of lights and cars moving around, along with the military frigate or two that passed by.

"Before you say something." He began, his voice soft. "I did not make this deal."

She nodded. "I know, it was both of our parents."

Aulus turned to look at her and his eyes scanned. She was wearing a red dress, which was shocking, since she had always been a sort of a tomboy, but now she looked... passable. Her nails were not painted but she was still fair.

"Did you have fun taking my clothes off?" She smirked as his eyes widened before descending into a smile.

"Who? You the tomboy? Nah, I would throw up, honestly." 'She is passable, I'll give her that.'

She chuckled. "Yeah well, at least I wasn't dating the first whore that placed her chest on my face."

"Hmmm…" He mused comically. "Well, that was not the case… most of the time."

They both knew the subject was being evaded but for the first time in almost ten years, they had a chat that did not involve curses and anger. It was a nice change, since Aulus was now looking forward to a friendship of sorts with her. They would have to pretend being a happy couple anyway.

"Listen, Zorah, for all the shit I said..." He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry alright?" He swallowed his Roman pride at apologizing, but it was duly necessary.

Tali stared at him before nodding slowly. "Yes, it is in the past." 'Sure, in the past hah.' She thought sarcastically. There was no way she would forget all those humiliations, bullying and verbal spars in the student cafeteria.

The human leaned back and lit up a cigarette. He knew she would forgive, in time, but never forget. He felt like shit, but the past is the past. Now, he was in the military and taking a long break thanks to his status, but still had to work out. Responsibilities everywhere, something he seriously disliked. And, he was the future leader of the people inside. He smirked.

"Well, as you can see, I am the future leader of this rabble; this will be yours once I take your hand my lady."

She laughed. "Sure, you are like a shepard of those people then? They surely need guidance from the looks of it, but doubt you could provide it."

"Right." He snorted, then frowned. "And Zorah, please, its shepherd, not shepard, where did you get that ridiculous term?" Though he did like being called the Shepherd of the People, it was a nice term, one he certainly did not deserve in the slightest.

While there was still awkwardness around them, it was a fact that Aulus was more mature, though not by much.

"When are you leaving to the barracks again?" Tali asked to get rid of the silence. She was fighting the urge to look at her omni tool and see how much longer until she had to leave.

He frowned slightly. "In about a week, I am going to proceed with the bureaucratic bullshit to have a ship myself."

"A ship? You will be sent on assignments then?"

"Yeah, probably coordinate migration efforts regarding our dear four eyed friends."

Tali smiled weakly. "At least you won't be sent against pirates or slavers."

"Whatever you may think of me, I still have my duty to help people, so fighting or coordinating is good to me."

"I know, you have matured…" She smirked. "But only slightly."

He smiled mischievously. "Ah, so now I have something positive eh? Well shit, the galaxy is set to stand still."

"Please, the one time you show humbleness or any other strong positive quality, the galaxy will implode."

Aulus chuckled as he took a sip of his beer. "Yeah, well, even though I am a damn bastard, I am not evil."

She waved him off. "I shall await for a proper marriage proposal, one where you will kneel at my feet and show the respect you seem to be severely lacking."

Her tone was teasing, but Aulus faked being offended. "Ah well, tomorrow morning I will go buy the biggest damn diamond ring there is." Even though he found marriage with this girl as a punishment for his sins, he was happy it was her. Any other quarian, just like Governor Koris' daughter, would have driven him to blow his brains out.

The man stood up and offered a hand to Tali, a smile on his face. "Partners?"

She smiled and nodded. "Partners."

That word meant friendship, nothing more. Of course, it also meant they would do anything to get what they wanted and help each other into doing so. It would benefit their goals towards a stable, if fake, marriage.

Dates of Importance in the Imperial Triarchy Codex Part II

1807 – Roman Emperor Julius Caredeniz III meets Dwemer Emperor Ormon Drumzas V, and both agree on a treaty, though it's not disclosed to the public.

1810 – Roman freighter "Koshima" discovers Rakhana, home world of the drell. Roman and Dwemer diplomats arrive within weeks. Drell are invited to several events in Terra and Tzarzus.

1811 – Drell ambassador Mikalod Fashi visits Terra and Tzarzuz.

1812 – A military alliance is announced between Humanity and the Dwemer. The Imperial Senate of the Interplanetary Alliance is established. The Council starts sending Spectre agents to human and dwemer space.

1814 – Peace accords are signed by the Imperial Alliance and the Batarian Hegemony, declaring the Skyllian Verge a "batarian zone of interest" and helping batarian colonists settle the colonies. Batarian ambassador Kisha'Miad declares that "his people will always welcome Imperial Alliance citizens in their system and always remember this breath taking moment." Both governments sign a non-aggression pact. Kisha promises for pirate and slaver raids on Roman and Dwemer space to "diminish greatly."

1815 – Human, Dwemer and Quarian scientists begin research on new weapons for Dreadnoughts, Cruisers, Destroyers and Frigates, in close cooperation.

1817 – Drell advance several centuries in technology. They begin plans of settling new planets with the encouragement of the Imperial Alliance.

1820 – Roman senators approve the "Noris Ocrum" law, which states that any alien may join political parties and work freely in the Roman Empire. The Roman Army and the Dwemer Empire stage war games after tensions with the Turian Hierarchy over Shanxi, under joint Alliance control.

1822 – Batarian diplomats meet Council dignitaries and denounce their meddling in their territory. Roman senators support the Batarians and encourage their four eyed trade partners to take this to the Council itself.

A/N: It is good to see people providing their opinion on this, so please continue doing so. Shepard was in this chapter, so hopefully you know understand that he will turn into that kind of person, in time. In about two chapters, action will begin to take place, so stay tuned. Thanks for your reviews and alerts, please keep them coming. R&R. Also, Kagrenac/Zorah family rivalries will be explained next chapter.