The Reprieve
A/N: I decided to make Pulare more human in this chapter, given that he was becoming too unfair in the previous chapter. Fun fact initially I was going to have Pulare threaten to nuke the Salarian eggs, which would spell doom to their race due to their short life span, but I would feel that it wouldn't be subtle enough for Pulare's style.
Citadel Council Chambers- Councillor Tevos
The still air had come to the Citadel, for the first time in galactic history the Asari homeworld was attacked, neither Rachni nor Krogan managed such an attack. The chambers of the Citadel Council with busy, but instead of the laughs of peacetime it was the whispers of war. A sense of fear and tension was thick in the air as people feared spies, bugs and assassins, vital not to give the Intel away to the none-existent spies.
Communication was cut on Thessia after the fleet was destroyed, the fleet's response was unclear as was the strength of the enemy.
Tevos sighed, rubbing her temples, the Thessian defence fleet though small could outgun an entire Turian fleet and to be destroyed by primitives? It just couldn't be true, why would they do this? How did no one realise what they were up to?
"Councillor, a word?" came a distinctly Turian voice. She swung to see Councillor Garvulus approaching her with a data pad in hand, he like herself was appeared to be losing sleep.
"My friend you look exhausted" she said, attempting to try to provide at least some level of comfort.
"I've been trying to predict our enemy's movements, I haven't been able to get much sleep" he said, his voice weak.
"Any luck?" she said, hopefully.
"Yes and no, on the one hand the fleet we're tracking has been sighted but they're not stopping to take out our colonies. They don't seem to need supply chains" he replied desperation and confusion in his voice, he'd clearly been trying to solve the enigma with no luck.
Tevos thought for a few moments, who were they?
"Do you think that they'd be willing to negotiate peace?" she asked weakly.
"You're people would overlook the attack on your own homeworld?" he asked confused. He didn't quite understand the nature of Asari.
"Some will hold it against them, but the Asari are more afraid than angry. They'd prefer a compromise" she said through gritted teeth, she knew they'd always put the face on but inside it would drive them mad. Garvulus looked sceptical but overlooked it.
"My people would only be willing to if we're outvoted on the Council, it seems that Dalatrass Wilso has the final vote" he said. That would be problematic she knew that the Salarians would be on off citadel for a week, they couldn't negotiate peace without appearing weak. A shame Salrians wouldn't endure with the exception of the worst case scenarios.
Admiral Pulare, Third Fleet
Pulare stood at the window of the bridge. Looking out onto the planets they were now draining for resources, with every minute another probe would be shot onto another surface. To some a meaningless though Pulare saw it as symbol of how far humanity had come, where once they'd been a crisis of materials now they drained entire planets for them. Pulare used this opportunity to allow his poker face to fall, refusing to sacrifice morale for his own shake he'd kept his game face on for days on end, but in reality he was shattered. He was afraid what might happen if he'd failed, the beacon they'd secured would give him blackmail on the Asari but the Turians would rarely bend to unfavourable terms, for it was their nature to destroy an enemy utterly. According to the extranet, the Council had drove the Rachni to extinction and the Krogan were on the brink of sterility. What would that mean for Earth?
Worse was Shanxi, he'd left Williams in charge on the Shanxi defence fleet, and it was no match if the Turians came in force. The only hope for humanity of victory, and not to break even in losses would be on the offensive, and stretch the Turian fleet out to defend everything at once. He knew if they came to Shanxi it would fall, the entire Alliance fleet couldn't stop it.
Footsteps, Pulare heard footsteps, Hackett was coming. He pulled his face together as well as his shattered voice, into their game positions. Every element being calculated to ensure his colleague would not figure out his Admiral is troubled to preserve morale.
"Sir, we've gathered the amounts of Palladium you required" he said, standing at attention.
"Very good, could you please tell me what creatures we recovered" he asked showing no signs of the stress he held.
"They fit your specifics, but I still don't see the reasoning behind it" said Hackett.
"The Salarian people consider themselves the masters of evolution and civilisation pathing. They were responsible for the uplift of the Krogan, and used them to destroy the Rachni, second only to their infamous STG this is where the Salarians draw the most pride. Shatter that, as we did with the Asari's pride in their technology and they shall negotiate even from a position of weakness" explained Admiral Pulare, "And they also have an insatiable curiosity that we shall exploit"
