"I sincerely hope you have a valid explanation for this, Sparatus." Tevos said, frustration prevalent in her voice and face.
The Councilors were currently seated, on an occasion that required hours of discussion.
Sparatus regarded Tevos with anger in his voice, "I don't take kindly to your tone, Tevos."
"You don't take kindly to MY tone?" Tevos said in disbelief, placing a hand on her chest,"I don't kindly to your race's severe xenophobia!" She swung an invisible sword in her hand.
"How Dare You!" Sparatus Stood from his seat, "You know as well as I do that the rest of the council races owe everything to the Turians! We were the ones that fought back the krogan when they began dropping asteroids on all our planets!"
"You didn't fought them back." Valera crossed her arms, "You poured a sterility plague onto their planet with OUR shroud! Even now the entirety of civilized space view them as victims worthy of their sympathy! As a result, we have to deal insurgencies popping up everywhere because they see us as oppressive tyrants!"
"That may be true..." Sparatus' anger wavered, "...But we were only doing our duty. And you can't blame us for the general who led the attack. It was obviously a political scheme, a general gunning for position as a Primarch."
"He was still sanctioned under the Hierarchy." Tevos added, reigniting his anger.
"Only because we thought they were dealing with pirates! Not a new and oblivious race! Look, Desolas will be returned to the Hierarchy and disciplined appropriately-"
"You mean given a medal?" Tevos spat out, "We're all perfectly aware that Turian military law states that a high ranking official can only be disciplined if they lost a battle, or attacked Turian allies." She began to count off her fingers, "Since a) They didn't lose a battle, but are being called off from one, and b) This race is uncontacted and therefore not aligned with any citadel species, then the Turian hierarchy is not obligated to discipline anyone, except, of course, soldiers that have spoken out against Desolas and were therefore considered insubordinate."
Sparatus stuck his hands out as he shrugged, "If Desolas will not punished, then he will not be punished. The rules of the Hierarchy exist for a reason."
"And that reason is to prevent any instability among its ranks. Except this situation might cause instability for everyone. Vasir, If you'd explain." Tevos motioned for an Asari to step forward. She wore blue and white armor, and had purple facial marks on her face. It was obvious to the Councilors who this was, as they oversaw her initiation.
"A Spectre?" Sparatus said with confusion as to why she's here.
"Yes councilor." Vasir's omnitool lit up with a yellow glow, "After receiving word from the Hierarchy of their attack on a reportedly primitive species, I was tasked by Tevos to keep track on any progress of the invasion. Including the progress that wasn't yet reported from the fleet." She spoke with a voice that was monotonous.
Sparatus perked up at that last part, "What? How?"
"STG operatives were stationed on some of the Fleet's ships. Mostly as doctors or medics." Valera added.
"Ah yes." Sparatus said, everything clear to him, "I forgot about the Salarian's little spy network." He finished with clear contempt.
"The Network is vital in dealing with any unrest among every race's military. They are, after all, armies, and should we lose any control over them, we'd all end up as militarized as the Turians." Sparatus clearly disapproved of Tevos' wording, but didn't continue the issue.
"Anyway, the Fleet has been completely destroyed." Vasir said, as if it was the most ordinary thing to say.
Everyone's eyes shifted immediately to Vasir, shocked surprised and floored jaws evident on their faces.
Tevos was especially shaking her head from the confusion, "Wait. What?! That's not what you said before!"
"Well the situation has changed; I just received this video from an STG agent, right before his ship was destroyed." Vasir interacted with her Omnitool, a holo-vid appearing for everyone in the room to see.
On the video, a Turian Cruiser was shown. From the angle and the metal surface underneath, it was evident that this vid was taken from a camera attached to the of a ship. The Turian ship turned, revealing a tumor-like metallic growth on its hull. The ship was struck by a projectile launched by a kinetic weapon. The ship exploded, spewing forth liquid metal, like a balloon full of silver paint being popped. The silver droplets splattered on the hull of the ship the camera was, and the silver liquid began to grow. The vid was cut out, just as it was observed that the silver liquid was dissolving the hull.
"By the Spirits..." Sparatus looked like a deer caught in the lights.
"What was that?" Tevos exclaimed. She noticed that Valera was more shocked than the rest, "What is it Valera?"
"That technology...That's programmable matter!" She pointed a finger at the frozen picture before her. She looked between her colleagues, "Programmable matter is wildly accepted as fringe science among the salarian science community; Issues in surface tension on the nano-scale, heating issues, and a matter of feasibly powering the material. To see a race actually attain this level of technological sophistication..." Valera was mesmerized at the fact.
Tevos angrily turned to Sparatus, "How could your people attack a race this advanced?!"
Sparatus stuttered, "B-b-but that can't be true. The patrol fleet reported a primitive species that was easily dispatched! They never encountered this!"
Tevos calmed down, and looked up at the picture, "Could it have been a trump card? A last resort weapon?"
"Possibly." Valera drew herself out of her trance, "The very few theories on programmable matter is that it could be weaponized by being ordered to replicate uncontrollably. A single drop of it could consume an entire planet."
Tevos nodded at that, "Then it would make sense for it to be a last resort. If they ever lost control of it..." Tevos was visibly terrified of the thought.
Sparatus attempted to take advantage of her fear, "You see! This proves that my people's actions were justified. Such a race would be a threat to the entire galaxy!"
"Which is why you shouldn't have attacked them, without any real evidence of their actions." Tevos firmly said, using the excuse the council likes to use.
Sparatus was having none of it, "Don't you use that excuse on me-"
"We could've engaged in peaceful contact with this species." Tevos interrupted, "Instead, you had to justify an all out war. It would be a miracle if they even considered a ceasefire..." Tevos rubbed her forehead in frustration.
"Why would a species as young as them need to be the ones considering a ceasefire?" Sparatus asked.
"Because we may not be able to handle-" Valera's musings was interrupted by the council chamber's main holograph projector.
An Asari appeared as a giant, holographic head, "Councilors, a fleet of ships has just entered the system, and have appeared near the citadel."
"Show it to us." Tevos ordered.
The hologram changed to a screen. On the screen, a small fleet of ships was floating in space just outside of the Citadel's arms. A couple of the ships looked Turian, sharp and sword-like, only without the avian-like wings most Turian ships possessed. One ship stood out from them, though. The ship was shaped like a star, yellow, and had a black dot in the middle. Smaller ships were being launched from it.
What made it stood out the most was that, compared to the other ships, this one was utterly massive.
"Operator," Tevos referred to the Citadel defense systems operator, "How big is that ship?"
"One moment Councilor." The Operator's voice replied. After a minute, the Operator's stunned voice answered," I-Its over 29 kilometers wide!"
"By the Goddess!" Tevos covered her mouth in a gasp, "That ship is almost as big as the citadel's width!" She looked Sparatus with a look that said 'You better not have fucked us', "Sparatus, you better hope they mean peac-" She was interrupted when the hologram started to distort.
The screen was warped, changing and shifting. It spun, like a swarm of fish in the ocean, trying to form the shape that it was looking for. Eventually, it coalesced in a...Drell like head. Asari-like, but without any crops. Glowing blue eyes sprung to life on the head, blinking. It stared at us...
"...Hello."
The Citadel was absolutely stunning up close.
Its five silver arms stood out in one direction, like an angel pointing me the way with its wings. On the arms, I could make out lights dotting it, like a city. It is a City, I thought. As we got closer, I could make out skyscrapers, sharp on some edges, smooth on others. On one end of the huge construct, the arms were connected to a single ring. According to Sitan, the Council chambers were located on a Tower sticking inwards on the ring.
The Admirals and their respective governments agreed for a parlay with the Citadel. Mostly out of fear towards the Archosaurians. I was selected to go on the journey, also making a quick stop at Shanxi.
The reports were accurate, as was Sitan's words. The fleet was destroyed, both the orbital defense fleet...and the invasion fleet. It was amazing. The empire had swiftly and precisely stomped on the enemy fleet, like...bugs. At least, I assumed it was the empire that had done it. Until Sitan assured me that it wasn't them, and that they would reveal who did it during the parley...Something that is starting to annoy me.
I was shaken from my thoughts by a deep, sandpaper shaving voice, "Admiral Udina?"
I looked away from the window of the ship halls, to see a..."Ambassador Toval?"
"I am."
Sitan said an ambassador from the empire would board our ship, an Ambassador Toval. And Toval, well...
He was a lizard. A green lizard. He stood on his two bird-like hind legs, somehow keeping perfect human-like balance. He had arms that resembled that of a man's, a tail sticking out from his rear end, a long crocodile-like jaw, and...are those wings?
Well, he looked like it, so I decided to ask,"Please don't take this the wrong way, but...are you a dragon?"
"Yes, yes I am."
"But...How?" I waved my arms forward, unconsciously indicating towards his wings.
"It will be explained-"
"During the negotiations," I said, eyes half lidded, "like Sitan keeps saying."
On our way to the citadel, I had taken the time to get to know Sitan. Most of everything I asked was answered with 'at the parley', but the questions in which he didn't say that, cleared up everything I needed to know about him and only him specifically.
He explained that he was an Artificial Intelligence, one that was apparently really, really smart.
And how, you wonder, that made me feel? Well..."Are you sure we can trust Sitan?"
Toval, who was now standing beside me, also gazing at the sight out the window, craned his neck towards me, "What do you mean?"
"It's just that...There are predictions among my people that if we were to create anything that surpasses us, they would rise up and destroy us." Yeah, I saw that old movie my Grandpa showed me...Exterminator, was it?
"Ah. A common conception, if not a valid one, about vec rebellions."
One eyebrow moved up an inch,"Vec...?"
"Vecs are what we refer the synthetic citizens of the terragen sphere as."
"What is this Terragen sphere?" I said, immediately having a massive revelation about the answer.
"That will be explained-"
"At the negotiations," I said, my greatest dreams come true, "I know. That is, if the negotiations even happen."
"Trust Satin. He has more than mastered the art of social influence and persuasion."
An AI mastering Social Influence and Persuasion. What could go wrong...?
I let out a frustrated sigh, "Very well." I regarded him, wondering... "So, tell me about yourself ambassador Toval."
"Well, as you know I am a dragon. I was born on Pheros, a planet that had been colonized by The Empire." Its a start.
"What was Pheros like?" Take the bait, you scaly bastard...
"It was very much like Earth. Green, covered in oceans, a blue sky covered in white clouds, but with two moons instead of one. I lived on a city built along the mountains, for the view I receive when I flew." Ha! He's getting lost in the nostalgia.
I glanced at his wings, which I originally assumed were vestigial, "You mean those wings work?"
"Of course, with a little technological intervention." That didn't sound wrong to me, not wrong at all. As I was picturing horrific cybernetic implants, I noticed that Toval's eyes had begun to dip into memory, "Ever since I learned flying as a young-ling, I loved to fly. Feeling the wind flow around my chomper, my wings twisting the air like a hurricane, and watching the mountains and the trees run past beneath me. Of course, I wasn't alone. There were other dragons who could fly, and even a humanoid such as yourself could receive your own wings for flying."
"That sounds amazing. If things turn out well between us, I would love to visit your planet. Try out flying with wings myself." Yeah, riiiight, "That is, of course, I don't wet my cold, screaming corpse while crashing into a mountain." That last part wasn't exactly a joke.
He chuckles, his voice a deep roar that was like a...well, a dragon,"Well, that's enough about me. Why don't you tell me about yourself."
I placed the back of my elbows on the railing, facing him, "When I first joined the Alliance Navy, my mother was sick. As a Navy officer herself, she became involved in an accident. A freighter carrying a shipment of the element zero had a breach in its hull, and so unrefined toxic Eezo was spilled on the colony she was stationed at." My voice became quieter, as I too started to drown in memory, "She was put on sick leave for radiation poisoning. She died a year after I joined the Navy."
His next reaction completely took me by surprise. It wasn't that he was indifferent towards her death; he was that he was completely shaken by it. I could see him holding back a gasp, "I'm...sorry to hear that." It was like...he had never experienced the death of anyone. Like he was new to death.
I decided it was best not to bring it up, "Thank you, Ambassador. After her death, I started to work harder. Volunteering for any mission, taking point in fighter squadrons when the need arose. Eventually I was promoted to captain, and then Admiral." I was now back to looking at the citadel.
Toval had apparently shaken from his stun, "I hear you also have a son."
I thought on this, "Donnel? Yes. He's almost 20, but unlike the rest of the family he's more interested in politics." Yeah, like I needed that. A politician for a son, "Can you imagine that? My son, a politician. I just hope he doesn't become like those snobs." I said, remembering a particular snob who was always on my ass and kept asking for 'my evidence'.
"Well, guess you'll to have wait and find out." He said, drawing my attention to the whirling of light behind us, "In the meantime, we have our own game of politics to play."
Sitan's iconic blank static face appeared.
"Ah, Sitan." Toval said.
"Toval." Satin regarded the both of us with those glowing eyes of his, "Glad to see that you are making a good friend out of the Admiral here."
"The Admiral was just talking about all those times he wetted himself while flying in a fighter." What?!
"I didn't say that!" I said, feeling utterly betrayed.
"Well, I suppose it makes sense. You do seem to have a baby's face. Anyway, the council have agreed to parlay. We'll meet at the tower located at the ring of the Citadel." Sitan said, ignoring the truth.
"Will I be able to understand their language?" It was then that I realized, "Wait. How do I even understand you?"
"Your language already existed long before we met. I was able to learn it instantly, and Toval uses a Direct Neural Interface that lets him speak all languages fluently. As for the Citadel, you will also utilize a DNI implant to communicate in their language."
My question for the first part was snuffed out by that last part, "Does that mean surgery?"
"No. In fact, you already received the DNI through nanites in air."
Alarms rang through every cell in my body, "What?!"
Sitan tried to calm me, "It's alright Udina-"
"No, it's not alright! You implanted me without my permission!" I looked towards Toval, feeling really betrayed now. And violated, "How could you?!"
"Udina, we can remove the implants immediately if you would like it." Toval raised his hands in a calming gesture. Calming, were it not for the claws...
I gritted my teeth in rage, and hissed out,"...Get. Rid. Of it."
Sitan went quiet, looking to the side. I coughed a little, "...Done."
I looked into my hands, realizing I had just coughed it out. But I wasn't forgetting... "What about the machines in the air? Are you going to get rid of them!?"
"No. They are part of the angelnet, a network of nanomachines that protect us from harm." Sitan assured me, to no avail.
I let out a heavy sigh, calming down, "I will have to report this to the other admirals. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go make a stop at Med-bay." I don't trust the words of these two.
As I took the first five steps away from them, Toval called to me, "They are gone, Udina. Trust us."
"We'll see about that."
Udina angrily walked down the ships hall, vanishing around the corner.
Toval turned To Sitan, "Sitan, What happened back there? I thought your memetics would prevent any hostile feelings?"
"It would have. Were it not for the presence of other memetic engineering." Sitan replied, immediately getting Toval's full attention.
"There's another memetic presence? Is it the Caretaker?" Toval hoped it was.
Those hopes were smashed completely, "No. In fact, the Caretaker called us because it also had it's memetics subverted."
"A third presence then?"
"maybe."
Toval had worry written all over his face. He looked out the window to distract himself. The tower was in view, close enough for this small ship to dock with it. A bridge mechanically extended out of the tower, connecting to an airlock on the other side of the ship.
"until then," Sitan continued as he could feel he was being called to the airlock, "we'll have to attempt to reason with them instead of memetically influence them."
"Is that an Asari?"Sparatus indicated the pink-skinned, fur topped, Asari-like creature.
The Alien, Sitan, had convinced the Council to engage in Parley with the people the Turian fleet had attacked. Docking was arranged with one of their smaller ships, and now a holographic screen was showing the Aliens stepping off the ship.
It was to the Council's surprise that an extremely Asari-like creature stepped out.
Vasir uncrossed her arms, "That's the species that the patrol fleet attacked. Their resemblance to us was a big surprise for everyone as well."
"But their not alone." Tevos noticed a second, different creature had stepped out, "Another species is there. An alliance perhaps?"
"This could explain the technological difference," Valera began, "This race is most likely the more advanced one, having come to the other one's aid."
The two were flanked by guards of the Asari-like species, and had walked through the halls leading to the elevator. The halls were, for the most part, empty, save a few C-sec guards...and Spectres in hiding. The Alien representatives entered the elevator, leaving behind a couple of their guards, taking one of their own and a C-sec guard.
Sparatus looked to Vasir, who was off the side on the Council stage,"What's the progress on that hacking investigation?"
The Council had ordered an immediate investigation of the Alien's hack, "Empty. We have no idea how they hacked our communications system. There's not even a trace of our firewall being breached."
"It might not have been a software attack, but a hardware attack." Valera added.
Tevos looked to Valera, "What do you mean?"
"If they have nanotech more advanced than ours, they could've infested our computers with tiny machines, interfacing with the circuitry itself." The thought terrified Valera, as that could mean they could hack anything the Citadel had.
Tevos heard the elevator go to stop on the screen, "Then we should ask them ourselves."
The being's footsteps could be heard outside the main Council's chambers, in the hallway connecting the elevator. The green and pink aliens appeared at the entrance, walking towards the Council's stand for the younger races. They came to a stop, just on the tip of the stand.
The green winged creature spoke out, the council understanding him, "Greetings. I am ambassador Toval, of the Archosaurian Empire." He indicated the Asari-like creature, "This is admiral Udina, representing the Human's Systems Alliance." The familiar hologram of the alien Satin reappeared, "Before we begin, Satin will translate between you and Udina, as he does not want a translator implant."
"Of course. I am councilor Tevos, of The Asari Republics. My colleagues are respectively Valera, of the Salarian Union, and Sparatus, of the Turian Hierarchy," Udina recognized Sparatus to be one of the Aliens that attacked Shanxi, but something else was on his mind, preventing him from bringing it up.
"First off; Where is Satin? I thought we would be meeting in person," Tevos asked.
"Satin currently has no body to interact with us." Toval answered.
Valera realized something, "Is Satin a Virtual Intelligence?" she asked, fearing the worst.
"If by a virtual intelligence, do you mean a non-sapient program?"
"Yes, I do," Valera almost hesitated.
"Then no. Satin is a sapient artificial intelligence that has surpassed organics in capabilities. He is referred to as a Hyperturing." To the Councilors, it was like a bomb had just been placed in front of them.
"What?!" Sparatus shouted, for once receiving agreement from the other Councilors.
Tevos especially, "I am sorry, but we are going to have to ask you to permanently terminate any and all artificial intelligence, as they are outlawed in civilized space."
"I am afraid I cannot do that, as that would be genocide," Toval firmly made this clear.
"But they're machines! It won't be murder if they aren't alive!" Sparatus shouted.
"First of all," Toval said, clearly annoyed with the anti-synth prejudice, "All beings similar to Satin are recognized as citizens of the empire, and are as such respected as persons. Secondly, what makes you think we are under any obligation to meet your demands?"
Tevos wasn't yelling Sparatus, but talked like him,"It is necessary for you to do this in order for your species to join the galactic council."
"I have never made any indication that we would join your council."
"My people, however, would like to join," Udina spoke through Satin.
This drew bulged eyes from everyone, including Toval.
"Wouldn't that strain your alliance with the...empire?" Tevos immediately realized what that title meant.
Toval recovered from his ex-friend's decision, "We wouldn't mind it, seeing as how we simply came to your aid during the council's attack of their colony," Toval said, emphasizing 'our aid' and 'Council's attack'.
"Speaking of," Udina looked at Toval, "I think its time that I and the rest of humanity is owed an explanation."
Tevos assumed he had meant the attack on Shanxi, "Very well. The fleet that attacked you-"
"I wasn't talking to you." Udina abruptly cut her off, "Toval, you and Satin kept implying that your people have a unique relationship with ours. You said that you would explain when we started the negotiations. Well, we've started the negotiations," Udina waved his arms to indicate the situation.
Toval let out a sigh, expecting this situation to deteriorate even more, "Of course." He looked to Sitan. His hologram head dispersed, flowing into tiny little dots. The Dots flowed into the space between the representatives, creating a sphere of, what everyone realized, were stars, "The Archosaurian Empire is only one out of a trillion civilizations among the Terragen Sphere, a sphere of influence originating from...Earth."
Valera didn't recognize the name, "Earth?"
Udina did, "That's...That's our homeworld!"
"No. It is not. Your world is located on the outer rims of sphere." A dot was highlighted in orange on the outer end of the Sphere, "Earth is located in the epicenter of the Terragen Sphere," Another blue dot lit up orange, in the middle of the sphere.
What Toval said was a complete contradiction to Udina, "I don't understand."
Toval looked to Udina, sympathy in his eyes, "Your entire system is a complete replica of the original solar system. Including your civilization."
Udina eyes bulged, like he had just heard his mother died, "But...how?"
"We do not know. Details of how we came across you will be related later on." Toval looked back to the council, "For now, we are still negotiating peace."
Udina's shocked face was pushed aside by Tevos' indifferent question,"But wait. How big is the Terragen Sphere?"
"200 lightyears in diameter," Satin answered.
Such a size was unheard of in Citadel space, "That's incredible! How didn't we contact each other until now?" Valera exclaimed.
"This may take a while." Satin said.
Half an hour later, the councilors were told of the background of the Terragen Sphere.
They were roughly billions of sapient species in it. The council was surprised at how so many species could evolve in such a small corner of the Galaxy. Sitan, however, explained that only one or four of the species with the Terragen Sphere are truly alien. The rest are, in fact, all descended from the creations and members of the Human race, Udina's race and the original race that inhabited Earth. Terragens range in Human descendants, called baselines. Modified Human descendants, called Nearbaselines. Artificially created organisms, which were either animals given sapience, animals mixed with other animals, animals mixed with humans, and animals that were created completely from scratch.
There were also numerous synthetic species; such as Vecs, which were sapient robots recognized as citizen. Aiods, which were disembodied AI, which were also recognized as citizens. A-lifes, which were artificially evolved synthetics. And finally, Virtuals, which were originally organics that had uploaded their consciousness to cyberspace.
While the use of synthetics as citizens surprised the council, the sheer diversity of the Terragen Sphere completely eclipsed that.
It also proved to worry the councilors, "I'll have to say...most of this... disturbs us." Tevos hesitated, not knowing how to react.
"Disturbing?" Sparatus was at a loss, "Ten thousand years of horrific experimentation and living under tyrannical machines?!"
Toval tilted his head in confusion, "Experimentation?"
Valera, being a member of a Scientifically Ethical race, explained, "To accomplish what you have done to create all the Terragens, countless experiments and failures would've had to have been carried out."
"Not with us." Satin firmly assured, "My kind could easily predict the outcome of every modification and thus there was no need to experiment. Changing DNA was as easy as writing a book for us."
"But still, you've interfered in the evolution of nearly every life form from your Sphere!" Tevos felt like the Genophage wasn't as bad as this.
"And you've created countless threats for us to deal with!" Sparatus was deeply reminded of the Krogan, a race that was uplifted by the Council.
Toval was clearly not amuse, "That is hypocritical of you to say."
"What the hell do you mean?"
"Thanks to Satin, we are well aware of your council's history." Toval indicated the AI, "First, Tevos, your council has left one race on the brink of extinction for centuries, even going so far as to renew the virus after every time they start to adapt to it."
"How could you know that?!" Valera exclaimed.
Toval crossed his arms, looking at Satin, "Satin told me." He looked to Sparatus, "Second, Sparatus, the council only deals with threats towards the core civilizations, the turians, asari, and salarians. Everyone else is left to the mercy of Batarian pirates, who torture and enslave anyone that they capture."
Tevos placed her hands together in a triangle, pointing at Toval with it, "The problem of the pirates is far more complex-"
"You mean political?" He cut her off, "We are also aware of the Hegemony's relation to the pirates."
"Then you know that any action we take could lead to full scale war!" Valera shouted, once again having to deal anti-pirate idealism.
"That is unacceptable. You've fought two massive threats, both bigger and smarter than the Hegemony. The Hegemony is just not seen as a threat to you specifically. Entering your council has no benefit for us, seeing as how you doom all of your allies the moment they disagree with you."
"The Krogan were warlike and the Quarians broke council law!" Those words surprisingly didn't come from Sparatus, but Tevos.
Udina was freed form his stupor when he overheard the argument,"And my people still wish to join the Citadel."
Toval, this time, was more bothered by Udina's decision,"Why? They attacked your people. What reason could you..."
He stopped short of himself, looking to Satin. They quietly looked at each other, like they were having a conversation without speaking.
"Ah. I see." He exited his psychic conversation with Satin, "Very well then, do as you wish."
"Then it is agreed, the Systems Alliance will join the Council," Tevos said, trying to keep the matter the Terragen Sphere away for now.
"That is correct." Udina confirmed.
Tevos still worried on what the empire would do, "And what of your people?"
"We still seek a friendly partnership with all of you," Toval reassured her fears of conflict.
"Then shall we discuss trade and policy?" Valera said, ignoring the complete and utter disregard for ethics the Terragens held.
Toval between everyone, feeling like it wasn't going to be so easy as he thought it would be.
Finally, he spoke,"Of course."
A house was sitting on the edge of a field. A field of sunflowers. The house was wooden, in contrast with the metal city behind it. A loud hum sounded, as a vehicle approached. The vehicle wasn't on the ground, though. The vehicle was flying, in the air. It landed far from in front of the house' front door.
The door of house opened, revealing a women. Two children, a boy and a girl, were behind her. The women had taken care of her niece and nephew while her mother was gone.
The door of the shuttle hissed, sliding to side. Tears started forming on the girl and boys cheeks. They sprang into a sprint towards the Shuttle. A woman in uniform stepped out, holding her arms, and taking the children in a big hug. And for a while, Hannah Shepard held onto them. Tears were forming in her eyes as well.
As the children cried, happy that their mother had returned, her mother held thoughts that tormented her. Thoughts that told her she was weak. That her children were weak because of her, and would feel unimaginable suffering in their lives from now on. She vowed to never let that happen, to teach her children never to be weak, or to give in to fear. She vowed, because those thoughts...
...
...They were like a million.
CODEX ENTRY
Terragen: Any being that can trace its origin back to the Terragen sphere's old Earth. Terragens are incredibly diverse. They branch into millions of different species, with families of them being called clades. The Terragen Spectrum is divided into categories: Biont, biological and organic beings. Vec, mechanical beings. AIs and Virtuals, respectively artificial and uploaded disembodied minds. And cyborgs, a mix of mechanical and biological parts.
Old Earth: The original... Earth. Our Earth was...(the narrator hesitates)...a copy of this Earth. The Archosaurians believed that we were the result of a demiurge, a Transapient that rules over isolated worlds that it colonized with life. The original Earth is currently under the control of GAIA, one of the first transapients and the one responsible for kicking civilization off of Earth. Earth currently lives in Anarchy, as GAIA protects the wild-life from the influence civilization.
A/N: Just tried out a new method for writing. May have caused a few errors and fixed most of them. Also found a new method for Character Development in later chapters. Hope it works.