Author's Notes:
So I lied, I managed to get 3 updates out this first week, although having written the first two chapters a while ago helped.
Also, I have to apologize, a lot of reviews mentioned that they thought I was going to be doing a Stargate crossover, this confused me until Solrac III mentioned the description. While yes I make a lot of Stargate references, this will not crossover with that. I doubt I can do Jack O'Neill (two L's, the other has no sense of humor) justice. So yeah, the description has been fixed. And to quote a famous American politician, "Uh, oops?"
Also, picture the human ships from the recent Galactic Civilizations III trailer for the general aesthetic of human ships. I apparently cannot put it into words.
One final note, before we get to this chapter. There will be a second note at the end to address what I perceive will be some concerns regarding a particular revelation in this chapter. I may have been too subtle in setting it up, and the Stargate mix-up didn't help.
I don't own any rights to Mass Effect, those are reserved to Bioware. I do thank them for creating the universe.
February 26th, 2086
Citadel
"Emissary" Kal'Verris vas "Raaya" was in a foul mood. Of course, the general disdain which everyone else on the Citadel showed him was wearying at times, the past month had been especially trying. The reason for his annoyance was his counterpart from the Batarian Hegemony.
While no one else on the Citadel knew the reason for the batarians' recent behavior, Kal'Verris did, and he found it to be particularly amusing, when he wasn't the subject of the batarian ambassador's attention. The batarians had encountered humanity, and in the process had managed to anger the oddly powerful species magnificently. One would think that the batarians would have learned their lesson after the fleet they had detached to show "those pathetic humans their proper place" had been sent back in tatters.
But no, they had approached humanity with their typical arrogance throughout the two species' negotiations. And while the batarians had been trying to browbeat humanity into submission, something which Kal'Verris knew would not happen, they had been simultaneously aggravating everyone else in the galaxy.
From what the quarian "emissary" had gathered, the batarians had spent the past several weeks engaging the other races in attempts to make sure that when war came they would not face humanity alone. Which was pointless because they refused to be clear about what was occurring on one of their borders, so everyone assumed they were going to be attempting something similar to the Esan incident several centuries ago.
As Kal'Verris approached his office he was silently grateful that the captain of the Rayya had informed him of an urgent call from the Quarian Conclave. It let him break away from a meeting with that arrogant bosh'tet Khoresh and his not so subtle attempts to impress upon the quarian how important it was to ensure that the Hegemony held the various Terminus powers in line. Otherwise the quarians might find their new homeworld wasn't as safe as they thought.
Kal'Verris knew that Khoresh was bluffing. To be certain, the other races thought that the quarians had settled some new world far from the other races of the galaxy, and in the opposite end of the galaxy from the geth. The truth was much different however.
Pushing those thoughts aside for the moment, Kal'Verris entered his office in the Presidium, grateful that the Council had at least let the quarian people have an embassy, or as they called it "diplomatic post", here. Locking the door behind him he opened the secure connection to the quarian cruiser stationed here at the Citadel.
The first thing Kal'Verris noticed when the visual connection finalized was the fact that Captain Vact'Morrin was unsuited. Protocol demanded that when in Council space his people were to keep up the ruse, and Vact'Morrin was a stickler for the rules. For him to go unsuited, even with a secure connection, was a cause for moderate alarm.
"Well ambassador, as you may be able to guess, things have gone to hell, as the humans say" Vact'Morrin said with a smile.
"Clearly if even you are willing to abandon one of the Conclave's highest directives on such short notice." Kal'Verris said with perhaps more venom than was truly necessary.
"I'll assume that your annoyance with the batarians is the reason you wound me so. Well, those bosh'tets will be getting what is coming to them. Humanity issued a formal declaration of war about 20 minutes ago, and their forces have already begun strikes against critical targets." Vact'Morrin couldn't hide the amusement he clearly felt with that statement.
Kal'Verris gave a grunt of approval, "It's about time. I realize humanity wanted to at least try and resolve things peacefully, but I think we all knew how this would end up. How much of the Alliance fleet is being committed to the offensive?"
"Roughly one quarter of the human fleet is striking the batarians as we speak. The Conclave is preparing to send a portion of our fleet through the Relay network. A small portion of our children will be joining the fleet to augment its capabilities. But that isn't why I was ordered to contact you."
"I assume the Conclave wants me to run interference while humanity smashes into the batarians?"
"Actually no. The human diplomatic expedition will be arriving in one hour. We've been asked to inform the Council so that they don't immediately open fire on them. The coordinates they will be arriving at will be sent to your omnitool." Vact'Morrin gave a broad smile as he relayed the orders.
It took Kal'Verris several seconds to process exactly what his captain had said. When his mind finally caught up with the rest of the universe though, he noticed that his attitude had improved significantly. "Very well, hopefully the Council will actually respond before the human expedition arrives. Do you know what ships they have sent?"
At that question, Captain Vact'Morrin's smile only widened. "They've decided to send two of their battle-cruisers, the Odyssey and the Hephaestus as escorts to the carrier Albert Einstein. Along with the requisite cruisers, destroyers, and frigates."
Again the quarian ambassador to the Citadel found himself at a loss for words. Finally he managed to respond, "Well, that will surely impress the Council."
"Oh, and one last thing Kal. The restrictions on remaining suited have been rescinded. It may help grab the Council's attention if you don't remain fully suited up."
Kal'Verris could not help but chuckle as he slowly unclasped his helmet and mentally prepared himself for what would surely be an interesting couple of hours.
30 Minutes Later
Councilor Meera T'veros settled comfortably into the couch in her office. She had it specially brought to the Citadel when she had become Councilor fifty years ago. An old heirloom, it had been passed through her family for almost a thousand years. It had always been her favorite, ever since she had been a young maiden, and it had gone with her throughout her travels. Wherever she called home, the couch found its way there.
She always found herself more comfortable in it, calming her nerves almost as much as the Thessian brandy in her glass. And with the events of the past month, she found herself needing its calming effects more often than ever before.
Those damned batarians had once again been stirring up trouble. She and her colleagues had been receiving reports of the batarians' strange behavior on an almost daily basis. From their attempts to remind the other races how important they were to galactic society, to the almost daily announcements from the Batarian State News of "new" economic figures and how the galaxy needed a strong batarian economy and fleet. The STG and several Spectres had reported on how they were reminding many of the Terminus warlords in their pocket of the debts owed to the Hegemony.
In many ways it reminded her of what had occurred just before Esan had been "liberated" by the Hegemony. But there were two reports which suggested something else was at play. The first was that one of the batarian colonies had been reinforced rather significantly. This wouldn't normally be cause for concern, but the fact that it had only recently been colonized raised some questions in the STG. The second dealt with the fact that apparently some of their ships had been damaged, and no one could account for eight of their military transports.
Meera could hope that the long awaited slave-rebellion was occurring. That these acts were an attempt by the Hegemony elites to make sure that the galaxy would support them. But something still seemed off about the situation. She wasn't quite sure what it was however.
Turning on the video screen, she decided to watch the live report of a rather cute reporter from Citadel News Network. Viara Torlia had only recently made a name for herself in Citadel space due to her skill at wheedling information from her interviewees, but it was already clear she would have a long and successful career ahead of her.
Apparently the strangeness of the batarian behavior had caught her interest as she was in a Citadel News vessel at the Relay marking the border between the Hegemony and the Terminus systems.
"General Vorask, many in Citadel space are concerned about the recent behavior exhibited by your government. Many people are expressing concern that a repeat of the Esan incident is in the making. What can you tell our viewers to calm their fears of such an act?" Viara asked with a surprisingly innocent smile.
"Miss Torlia, the Hegemony has always distanced itself from the events which led to Lorek announcing its annexation into the Hegemony. I can assure you that the Hegemony had no hand in the affairs of Lorek leading up to its annexation. Furthermore, the Hegemony has merely seen fit to remind the galaxy of the role the batarian people have played, and continue to play, in maintaining galactic security and stability." The general finished with a smile.
"Be that as it may General, how do you explain the heightened readiness of batarian forces along the borders to your space? Also..." Councilor Meera's focus on the news report faded as her omnitool chimed with the code of her secretary.
"What is Acera?" the Councilor sighed.
"Councilor, there is a situation" the young aide stuttered, rather unusually, "The quarian emissary is here, and well, but he's... He says he has to speak with you."
"It can wait until tomorrow Acera." Meera said with a frown.
"But Councilor..."
"Acera. It will wait until tomorrow."
Silencing the omnitool the asari councilor turned her attention once more to the news broadcast.
"And what of the fleet which the Hegemony recently sent on a tour of its allies in the Terminus systems General?" Viara questioned, pressing her prior line of questioning it seemed.
"The Hegemony is merely attempting to remind our various allies in the Terminus of who looks out for their interests, and more importantly remind them of the power that the various Citadel races hold. We continue to hope that eventually the Terminus systems will join their Citadel brethren in peace and prosperity."
Councilor Meera couldn't quite suppress the very un-matriarch like snort of amusement at that claim. But it was quickly cut off as the scene behind the batarian commander swiftly became one of chaos as alarms began to go off behind him.
Viara, or rather the crew of her ship, cut off the feed from the batarian bridge swiftly switching it to a view of the local space around the relay. Just in time to catch a batarian cruiser spout several bursts of fire from newly-formed holes in its armor.
The view continued to shift as Viara described what billions across Citadel space and beyond couldn't see "As you've just seen, the batarian patrol at the Terminus relay has come under fire from unknown forces."
Turning to someone offscreen she shouted "Varincus, get the feed on those new ships! This is unbelievable, these new ships are unlike any I've ever seen. Our ship isn't registering any known race specifications. It appears that we finally know what has been driving batarian actions lately."
Meera found herself clutching her glass as the new ships came into view. They were unusual, painted white and blue with some form of alien script on the side, they looked like large boxes at first. And yet, as she took in more of them she found they had a similar angular form to the Turian Hierarchy's ships, only with odd protrusions at various points.
The viewscreen now showed both forces engaging one another, and Councilor Meera realized another thing about the new ships. The majority of their shots were not being blocked by any of the batarian ships' barriers.
"According to our ships scans, the new ships range all the way from frigate to cruiser in size. Furthermore, as you can probably already tell, barriers are ineffective against their weapons. We are detecting large surges of power coming from these new ships, and it appears from the damage the batarian vessels are sustaining that this new species uses laser weaponry to great effect." Viara paused as the view showed the batarian dreadnaught guarding the relay turning to face the new threat, "It appears that the Might of Kharak is preparing to engage the unknown vessels."
The view shifted to show the batarian dreadnaught opening fire on the new vessels, two shots from the main gun in quick succession against one of the apparent cruisers, enough firepower to gut a similar sized batarian vessel at such short range. But it appeared to be a waste of fire when the unknown vessel merely continued to fire on its target while shifting its heading away from the battlefield. All that showed of the dreadnaught's fire was a brief shimmer around the cruiser and what looked like lightning around a bubble.
And then the batarian dreadnaught found itself facing a more than equal threat, as two new vessels from this heretofore unknown species entered the fray directly atop it. Though both appeared to be shorter than the batarian vessel they did not seem to care. Meera found herself entranced as the two new arrivals began initiating broadsides against the giant ship, tearing new wounds into its hull.
Her attention was once again drawn to the newscaster when a new voice broke into the cast.
"Attention Citadel News vessel Truthseeker. This is the Systems Alliance battle-cruiser Yggdrassil. You are in an active war zone. We ask that you withdraw to the nearby gas giant or we will be unable to ensure your safety from errant fire and debris." Meera found herself surprised once more at the fact that whoever this was spoke, or at least had a translator capable of, Armali. She found herself flinching as this, Systems Alliance, fleet began to move towards the batarian vessels, with the two large vessels firing some sort of emerald-blue beams at several cruisers.
Speaking clearly over the voices of her ship's crew, even as they prepared to follow the advice of whoever was on the other side of the communication channel, Viara showed the calm that had also made her a rising star in the news media, "Systems Alliance? I assume that's your government's name. What is your species, and why are you attacking the batarians? What is your name?"
Meera didn't expect a response, but apparently this new species didn't mind answering such questions in the middle of a battle they were now clearly winning, "My species calls itself humans, and yes the Systems Alliance is the name of our government. As for why we are attacking the batarians, a small expedition has been sent to the Citadel to explain, an ally of ours should be or has informed the Council of where will arrive. Now again, please clear the warzone immediately, or we will be unable to ensure your safety."
At that moment the only view left on the screen was that of Viara, "It appears that we've made our jump away from the battle, we will continue to report on what has occurred as soon as feasible though. This has been Viara Torlia with Citadel News Network, signing out."
Councilor Meera quickly composed herself, even as her mind began to connect all of the information she had before her. She quickly began sending messages to her Salarian and Turian counterparts seeing if they had received any information. Striding out of the door of her office she was then greeted by a sight she had not seen in almost two hundred years.
Standing before her, and clearly enjoying the expressions on her support staffs' faces as they began scrambling to deal with the latest incident was the quarian emissary Kal'Verris. Without his environmental suit helmet.
"Ah, Councilor," He spoke with a smile on his face,"I suppose you would like to have some more information as to today's events? I'm sure that C-Sec would appreciate knowing where the human diplomatic expedition is going to appear."
While she managed to at least appear calm and collected in the face of the apparent disaster brewing, Councilor Meera fervently wished she had some more of her Thessian brandy...
25 Minutes later
Council Chambers
"Emmisary Kal'Varris, you have explained where these humans will show up, but other than that, you have been remarkably unhelpful."
Like all good turians Councilor Turvic Astranis had risen through the ranks of the turian meritocracy where everyone knew what was expected of themselves, and strove to do their best. And like all good turians he hated it when someone withheld information he needed to do his job properly. And since his job involved protecting the entire galaxy, Turvic liked to know the capabilities of potential threats.
And clearly the quarian emissary was withholding information not out of necessity, but because it amused him.
"Councilors, while I could provide you with second-hand information of humanity's capabilities and goals, you will be able to ask them for that information yourselves within the hour. Do not be concerned however, while their entrance on the galactic stage may be violent, humanity is peaceful unless provoked, as the batarians have learned."
Turvic's salarian counterpart Hallis chose this moment to make his thoughts on the subject known, "Be that as it may, I have STG reports coming in of strikes by these humans across batarian space against military targets. Clearly they have the means to move their forces around the galaxy without the Relays, and that is a danger."
"Yes, the capability of these humans to strike anywhere is a clear threat. And if they are bringing a fleet here, how can we be assured that they do not intend to attack the Citadel?" Turvic continued. Even though this line of questioning had already been undertaken, perhaps the quarian would finally yield something useful.
"Councilors, as I have stated before, humanity's conflict is solely with the Hegemony. They do not wish to engage the rest of the galaxy in warfare. Furthermore, it is only a relatively small detachment of ships which shall be arriving here." At that, the emissary's omnitool gave a small chirp, and upon inspecting the message the quarian addressed the, ostensibly, three most powerful individuals in the galaxy. "Councilors, it appears that the human diplomatic detachment will be arriving in a moment. I believe you will wish to watch their arrival."
At that moment, C-Sec Control put up a large hologram in the center of the chamber showing the nearby sector of space where the humans had stated they would be arriving at. And sure enough not moments after the hologram had appeared than an appropriate show began.
Turvic had to admit, it was an impressive display. Fifteen frigates and five of the "destroyers" as these humans apparently called their super-frigates appeared, wreathed in bubbles of lightning in a pyramid formation. Shortly after three of their cruisers appeared filling in the gaps of the edges, and moments later two of the "battle-cruisers", which STG had determined to be roughly 800 meters in length, appeared inside the pyramid.
Turvic was about to comment on the strange amount of open space in the center of the formation, when a final ship appeared. And while he managed to control himself, Meera was unable to as she muttered to herself at the sight, and Hallis began typing into his omnitool.
"By the goddess. That ship is massive."
He had to agree. It clearly out massed anything in the Citadel race's fleets. He could only estimate the size from how it appeared next to its kin, but he would put it around 3 kilometers in length. And yet, just from the shape of the craft and the way it positioned itself, Turvic could tell that it was not meant to be a combat vessel.
"Yes Councilor, that is the Albert Einstein, the first of humanity's carriers."
"Carrier? Hmmm, I take it that ship class deploys smaller craft then, or is it some form of troop transport?" Turvic had been a tactical officer before rising through the ranks and eventually becoming a politician, "I assume that it is not intended for direct combat, especially seeing as how it lacks any sort of central battery."
For the first time since the whole affair had started, Kal'Verris did not seem to be interested in holding back information from the Council. "The former Councilor, it carries and is capable of deploying roughly 200 fighters and bombers, as well as serving as a repair base for those same craft. Humanity has some history with the concept, it proving itself during several of their wars."
"Interesting. If their fighters are capable of FTL, then I'm sure that it could prove quite useful as a means of force projection. I suppose then that they do not possess any dreadnaughts?"
"You would be incorrect on that count Councilor." And once again a smile played across the quarian's face, "Human dreadnaughts measure 5 kilometers in length."
Turvic had to admit that was impressive. While the Citadel races could theoretically build such large ships, the amount of element zero required to make them feasible would be astronomical. He hoped that humanity did not possess a large number of such ships, but given what he had already seen, this race clearly did not take its security lightly. And while that represented a clear danger to Council space, he had to respect them for their foresight.
Councilor Meera chose that moment to intervene, "Well then, hopefully they will be amenable to meeting us sooner rather than later."
"Councilor, I have already received a message from the human ambassador assigned to lead their delegation, and she is willing to meet with you at once."
"Excellent, I will have Citadel Control contact this, Albert Einstein, immediately and provide them with the necessary details."
One Hour Later
"God, I was hoping the elevators weren't as slow as we'd expected them to be."
Ambassador Jessica Parker chuckled at the comment she had been thinking to herself just moments before being expressed by the Admiral. In the two week trip from Altera, Admiral Jonathan Davis had grown on her, mostly because of his tendency to speak plainly what everyone was thinking.
"If I didn't know better, I'd say these damn elevators were the reason the protheans died off. Sheer boredom from standing around in them." He continued.
That got their escorts chuckling. A half-dozen of the Alliance's finest, and all that the Council would allow to this historic meeting. Stripped of all weapons but their pistols, the marines had been slightly uncomfortable throughout their ride to the base of the Citadel tower. And yet the Admiral found a way to cheer them up.
"Of course, we could have been flown to the tower itself, but nooooo, we have to see the grand majesty of the big dumb object they found several thousand years ago and proceeded to call theirs." He finally finished with a grin.
"Well Admiral, after the display we made simply entering the nebula, why wouldn't they feel a little inadequate?" Ambassador Parker quipped back.
"How were we supposed to know the hyperspace fields would light up like that upon exiting inside the nebula? None of the spy-probes we've sent in had that problem, and they operate on the same basic principles!" He waved his hands in an exaggerated manner. "Besides, its not as if its our fault they're limited by their reliance on eezo. They have the construction techniques to build larger ships than they've got, and longer than humanity has that's for certain."
Finally the elevator reached its destination. The center of power for the Citadel, and of the majority of galactic civilization. Ambassador Parker had to admit, it was somewhat impressive. Though the knowledge of what exactly lay in this place checked her admiration. She and the other seven humans were the first humans to stand at the center of a galactic trap. One which had resulted in the destruction of countless civilizations for eons.
A trap which humanity had to walk into, or it may very well be next in line to join the dead.
Greeting her small company were nearly a dozen C-Sec guards, and those were merely the ones she could see. Giving a curt nod to their new companions, the ambassador simply strode forward towards the central dais in the chambers.
As she reached the top of the steps however, she couldn't help but break into a smile at the sight of an old friend. "Kal'Verris vas Rannoch, what a pleasure to see you once again. I hope you're in good health? And how are your children?"
The quarian turned and smiled at his human counterpart, sharing a quick embrace, "My health is fine, thanks largely to your people and your technology. Keera and Nico are fine, perfectly healthy. Though I do wish I could visit home more often to visit them."
"Well, I do believe that after this, returning to Rannoch will be much easier for you and the Rayya. But I suppose we had better get this meeting underway, shall we?" Ambassador Parker flashed a brief smile then continued to the platform facing the three councilors.
As the ambassador stepped up to the podium before the three most powerful beings in Citadel space, she watched them engage in some manner of silent communication. Finally the asari Councilor Meera T'veros spoke, "We now call this meeting of the Citadel Council to order. Today we welcome the newest race to the galaxy, humanity. And while the entrance of this new race may be marred by war, we hope that it soon gives way to peace."
"Greetings Councilors, I am ambassador Jessica Parker. I have been sent here by the Systems Alliance Congress to explain why humanity has decided to engage the Batarian Hegemony in open conflict. With me is Admiral Jonathan Davis of the Systems Alliance navy. It is also our hope that we can achieve peace, though we recognize that war is oftentimes necessary."
The turian councilor quickly spoke up. "It is good to see that you wish for peace. Unfortunately, that may not be possible if we do not understand your intentions. Therefore, why don't we begin this meeting by addressing why precisely it is that you have attacked the Hegemony."
Well, at least they wanted to get the elephant in the room out of the way quickly enough. "Councilors, understand this. From our perspective we are the ones who are defending themselves. The batarians have twice attacked our ships and our worlds, starting one month ago. The first incident was a first-contact situation near one of their newly established colonies. Intercepted transmissions indicated that their forces intended to take the crew of our patrol, which had unknowingly entered their space, as slaves. Our ships defended themselves, and then in light of standing orders, freed the slaves on the colony, who were then transported to one of our colonies for treatment."
Pausing momentarily, she continued, "The second incident was a week later. The batarians launched an attack on one of our colonies with the intent of taking slaves, after we had invited them to peace negotiations. The force sent to commit this act was warned to leave the system, when they refused, our forces opened fire in response. Eight transports were destroyed, and the rest of the task force was damaged and sent back through the Relay. Several days later, at our request, we began negotiations with a Hegemony representative, which lasted two weeks. These talks failed roughly six hours ago, at which point we began combat operations against the Hegemony."
"You have evidence of your claims?" The salarian Councilor inquired.
"We are willing to transfer all relevant data and records to you at any time for your perusal."
The three councilors shared a look. Once again Councilor Meera took the lead, "Very well then. You appear to have some measure of familiarity with the quarian people. How did this come to pass?"
"We learned of their plight when we first began observing Citadel space. We formally introduced ourselves to them roughly 30 years ago." Jessica continued with a shrug, "We proceeded to return them to Rannoch, and they became our allies with their signing of the Rannoch Accords."
"You have been observing Citadel space? Surely we would have noticed such efforts by now, especially given the rather dramatic entrance your ships made to the Widow Nebula." Hallis chimed in.
"We are actually unsure as to what precisely occurred upon our exit from hyperspace. That is the first recorded example of such behavior by our ships' hyperspace fields, and our scientists are eager to look over the data to learn what happened." Taking on a concerned look for a moment Ambassador Parker continued, "As to your question, yes, we have observed your races for some time now. Once we learned of your existence from our prothean beacon, we immediately began searching for the other races we had come to inherit the galaxy with."
Next to speak up was surprisingly Councilor Meera, "You mean to say that you have a working prothean beacon? That is quite remarkable, such a discovery would explain your level of technological development."
Fixing her gaze on the asari Councilor, Jessica expounded on humanity's beacon, "Yes, while our beacon received some minor damage 70 years ago due to a cometary impact on the planet it was housed on, it is not the reason our technology is more advanced in some respects. At around the same time we discovered the beacon, we developed part of a unified field theory, combining electromagnetism and general relativity. The beacon itself primarily contained research data on our species as well as your own."
Councilor Meera couldn't help but wonder why the ambassador's next few words made her worry as much as they did. Humanity couldn't possibly know about that particular secret...
"However, we are well aware the advantages which an intact beacon could provide a species over the rest of the galaxy."
Thankfully Turvic and Hallis had set their sights on the more immediate revelation, Ambassador Parker thought to herself, as Turvic made the next inquiry, with Hallis nodding beside him.
"You say the beacon had research data on our species, perhaps you could share some?"
Ambassador Parker smiled, "Certainly Councilors." Pulling out a small datapad she began scrolling through the relevant information. "Ah, here we are. The protheans noted many things about the turians. Even in their time your species was noticed for its discipline and ability to solve the problems you faced in your environment. The asari are noted for their aptitude for biotics and uncharacteristic wisdom for such a young species. As for the salarians... ah... hmmm."
"Surely the protheans have some insight to share on my species Ambassador. We do know that they visited my people in the past."
Grimacing, the ambassador could feel Admiral Davis looking over her shoulder to see what particular piece of information on the salarians was causing her such consternation. And then he decided to take the revelation upon himself...
"Cook salarian breast meat at 200 degrees, centigrade of course, for 30 minutes, flipping twice. Gently apply brazing sauce, along with butter equivalent, after each flip. Serve with a side of greens, and, hmmm, I suppose the Earth equivalent would be lemon." Glancing up at the now quite clearly shocked salarian, the Admiral did his best to ease the poor Councilor's concern. "Don't worry, we have no intention of conducting further research along those lines. Remember of course that there was some data corruption and our search algorithms for appropriate information may not always work properly."
Councilor Turvic didn't know what to think about these humans. For one, they looked very much like the asari, if pink and brown instead of blue and a mass of hair on their heads instead of the asari frills. Another interesting facet was the apparent size differences between what he assumed were different genders, the Admiral stood close to two meters tall by his estimate, as did the soldiers, whereas the ambassador was probably just under one and three quarters. Of course they were not a true representation of the species, so it was possible that there was more or less differentiation.
The armor the soldiers wore was also interesting. Their armor was white, and while in some places angled, particularly the chest and extremities, there was also a number of curved contours to it. Most interesting to the former soldier was the presence of what would appear to be thrusters on their backs, arms, and legs. If he had to hazard a guess, these humans probably favored speed and mobility in combat, and reflecting on the concept behind the carrier further, their reliance on fighter craft only emphasized that further.
Choosing to change the subject of the conversation slightly, Turvic decided to press for more information on this new species, "Yes, I'm sure there is much more relevant data you could provide. However, I'm now interested in your species. Perhaps you can tell us a little about yourselves?"
The human ambassador gave another of her smiles, again very similar to the asari. And quarians, now that he had seen one without a mask in the way. "Certainly Councilor. Is their a particular topic you would like me to elaborate on?"
"How about we start with your history. How long have you been a space-faring civilization ambassador?" Meera chimed in, seemingly distracted by something else.
"Ah, that is quite the interesting tale Councilors. We first achieved controlled, manned space-flight 127 years ago during a period of time called the Cold War. Two super-powers on our homeworld engaged in a simultaneous nuclear arms race and space race. Eventually the one which had lost the race to our moon collapsed due to economic issues brought about by said arms race." The ambassador paused for a second before turning to one of her guards, "Captain, perhaps you could display Earth for the Councilors?"
At that, the lead guard began fiddling with something on his arm, before raising it to display a holographic representation of what could only be humanity's homeworld. Turvic could see why a ship design such as a carrier came into being. Over two thirds of the planet was covered in water, obviously these humans would have a rich naval experience to draw upon when expanding into space, possibly explaining the ships they had seen to this point.
Confirming his thoughts, the ambassador continued, "As you can see, Earth is largely covered in oceans separating its seven continents. This has produced the historical axiom 'He who controls the waves, controls the world'. 72 years ago, when we first developed the technology which would allow us to leave the surface of our world easily, we drew upon that history to build our first star-faring vessels. By our calender, the first frigates were completed in 2018. Roughly 3 years after that, in 2021, our first extra-solar colony was founded, named Chiron."
At this point, the ambassador became somewhat guarded, if Turvic could apply his understanding of asari mannerism to humans. "At this time several important discoveries and developments were made. One of those was in the realm of nanotechnology. Ten years after Chiron had been founded, the Systems Alliance had grown to include another 10 star systems, all without using the Relay located in Sol. However, a plague developed on Chiron, due to the similar biochemistry of Chiron to our homeworld. It was contained, and in the process humanity made a crucial decision."
The ambassador paused for a moment with a look of concern on her face before resuming her history lesson. "The Systems Alliance recognizes that there are technologies which the Citadel Council has determined to be dangerous, nanotechnology being one of them. In order to counteract this plague, and prevent a possible recurrence, humanity developed what was effectively a nano-tech based secondary immune system. It was soon made mandatory that every human leaving Earth utilize it. However, that may not have been necessary due some, unintended consequences of it."
"Our natural lifespan is around 80 years, similar to the turians. Medical technology in the past century had extended the length of time which we experienced relatively good health by a significant margin, and we had expected genetic engineering to increase it further. The nanite-system we now use changed that. Our life-expectancy is now close to 300 years. It may be possible for us to live even longer than that, but we are choosing to be cautious in this matter."
This revelation clearly alarmed Haliss, far more than his species' apparent use as dinner by the protheans had, "Ambassador, it would appear that you have taken a very dangerous step. In order to be effective, such a system of nanites would have to have some form of learning capability and decision making process. That is very close to Artificial Intelligence, and as your quarian allies can tell you, that could lead to the destruction of your species."
Turvic had to grant some credit to the humans arrayed before the Council, they clearly did not intend to be talked down to, it was the Admiral who spoke up in defense of humanity's actions. "With all due respect Councilor, humanity understands very well the consequences of our actions. Our cybernetics experts have taken steps to ensure that the nanite-immune system does not become a true artificial intelligence. Furthermore, the system binds to the host and in effect becomes an extension of the individual's consciousness. It is not possible to "hack" the system once it has been placed in a body as the host must confirm every action the nanites take except in a life-threatening emergency. Finally, the technology does not work outside of a body and cannot be transmitted in any manner, so there is no threat to others."
At this Kal'Verris spoke up, "Councilors, the quarian people themselves have benefited greatly from this technology. In addition to our return to Rannoch, an adapted form of the nanites is what now allows us to walk around without even contamination masks on. We shared the same concerns as you have shown and have thoroughly inspected the technology to ensure the safety of its users."
The quarian's interruption brought something else to Turvic's attention, something which could have profound consequences for the rest of the galaxy if his fears were correct, "You returned the quarians to Rannoch. What happened to the geth?"
"We consider both the geth and quarians to be our allies Councilor. We made contact with the geth in 2032, shortly afterward we formalized a mutual-defense pact and offered ourselves as third-party mediators between them and the quarians." The ambassador shrugged her shoulders and continued on as if this wasn't galaxy-shaking news, "When we made contact with the quarians in 2057 we explained what had occurred, and offered to serve as neutral peace keepers until such a time that was not necessary."
While Turvic was stunned by the matter of fact way this revelation was handled, the other two councilors appeared to share the same apprehension to this new wrinkle.
His asari companion was the first to speak on the matter, "You made peace with the geth. And then forged peace between them and the quarians. How is this possible, synthetics cannot exist peacefully with organics."
"I assure you Councilor, such a blanket statement is not only unnecessary but also false." The human ambassador simply waved her hand before continuing, "Needless to say, that won't be the most interesting piece of information you learn of our species today."
Haliss gazed warily at the now somewhat maddening human representatives. "Oh? Perhaps then you would like to speak plainly then about what we should be concerned over."
Once again the human ambassador gave a small smile, and Turvic could almost feel the tenseness in the rest of the human delegation. "Very well then. In 2052 the entirety of human space contained almost 9 billion humans. Today that number is around 100 billion. You see, in 2052 humanity began the first large-scale trials of a new form of faster than light technology, one that we had known the possibility of for quite some time. It's technical name to humanity is an Einstein-Rosen bridge, colloquially called a wormhole. Our electro-gravitic theory had made it possible to build a practical wormhole generator."
Pausing once more, no doubt for dramatic effect, the ambassador matter-of-factly continued, "When the initial tests showed that the theory and technology was sound, we decided to send a small colonial expedition through a wormhole to its target world. You can imagine our surprise when all contact was lost with the ships sent through the wormhole. And when a small fleet of ships appeared in the same area through yet another wormhole shortly afterward and claimed to be the descendents of that initial colony expedition, well, the stir it caused in the Alliance was incredible."
"The Admiral here is the descendent of some of those same colonists, and hails from the territory formerly known as the Alteran Republic. I hope you understand now why our history of space-exploration is interesting Councilors?"
Codex Entry:
Alteran Republic History
Founded 1500 years before Earth had sent its first explorers into space, the Alteran Republic was an exercise in contradiction. With standing orders to avoid contact with the other races of the galaxy, and unable to contact Earth, the initial colonists took to the challenge before them and exceeded their own expectations.
With an initial population of 100,000 and several dozen AIs, foremost among them Odin, the Republic found itself in the unique position of creating society from scratch and preparing itself for the inevitable contact with its progenitors, while observing the rest of the galaxy..
The Republic government decided to focus its efforts on building a sufficient reserve of ships for when contact was made with the greater galaxy, as well as pushing the boundaries of element zero. As such, at the time of their reconnection with the rest of humanity, Alteran ships make up 95% of the Alliance military and bring the total number of enlisted personnel to 5 billion. Furthermore, the advanced terraforming technology developed by the Alterans has seen extensive use on Earth and the other colonies.
The Alterans now stand with the rest of humanity. While slightly more aggressive in their dealings with the other races, they follow the lead of Earth in galactic affairs. As they see it, humanity now stands united against any threats, and it faces those threats united and prepared.
2nd Author's Note:
Yes, the Stargate parallels grow stronger. Humans have wormholes. This is, in my mind at least, a natural extension of the ability to manipulate gravity. However, this is nowhere near the game breaker it would appear to be, for several reasons.
The first is that wormholes consume a lot of power to operate. Dreadnaughts are the only ship capable of using them, and they have 5 power generators to do so. And while there are fixed structures being built between important points in humans space (and Rannoch), they have the same problem.
The second problem is one that humanity will keep hidden from the other races. Wormholes don't like eezo or the dark energy "residue" it leaves behind. You cannot open a wormhole to the Citadel, or anywhere within several million kilometers near it. Anywhere there is heavy mass-effect based traffic is also troublesome (that puts the other homeworlds off limits). The effects of attempting to open a wormhole to those locations is BAD, as in feedback through the power systems bad.
Finally, when a wormhole is opened to an area, both the entry and exit points experience extreme fluxes in both hyperspace (where our universe gets mass) and subspace (where the universe gets energy). This has two effects. The first is that for roughly an hour after the wormhole closes, any ships in either area cannot use their shields or hyperdrive, otherwise *bad things* happen. Furthermore, because they operate on similar principles, energy weapons have a reduced effect.
Opening a wormhole in combat, horrible idea. They're great for logistics and movement pre-combat, but beyond that not so much.
A lot of electro-gravitic tech has a bad response to eezo, it's why eezo use in limited in human space. It's there, and the knowledge of how to use it is there, but humanity tries to avoid using it.
One more thing. The ambassador was lying about what led to the Republic being founded. It was a conscious decision, and cannot be repeated. Quantum shenanigans interfere with the time travel shenanigans (Shenanigans is the technical term). Can't open a wormhole farther in the past, nor can you open one into the interim period of time or the future. Anyways, hope you enjoyed, feel more than free to criticize everything I've just said, within reason of course.