"The pattern has repeated itself more times than you can fathom. Organic civilizations rise, evolve, advance, and at the apex of their glory they are extinguished."- Sovereign
Chapter 4: A Knife in the Dark
Despite the admirable efforts of Commander Shepard, this war seems to have little chance of success. The Reapers are much more advanced, which was made obvious when Earth was so easily taken. Preliminary estimates have the death total in the tens of millions already, with more of our people killed or taken hostage every day. This enemy fights like nothing we've ever seen before, their tactics truly appalling. We just received word from one of our colonies on the Kepler Verge of Reapers transforming their hostages. Mutating them to serve their interests, they send the soldiers to attack their former brothers. It lowers morale considerably, and understandably so. It's one thing to watch a friend die, but it's different when you're pulling the trigger.
Should the Reapers succeed in their efforts, life as we know it will be cleansed from the galaxy. It's exactly what happened to the Protheans 50,000 years ago, and they were a more advanced and fierce empire than we can ever hope to be. Our only hope is to gain the support of the Council forces, who refuse to divert from their own defenses, which, unbeknownst to them, is exactly what the Reapers want to happen. Divide and conquer at its finest. By having forces scattered throughout the galaxy rather than facing them head-on, we make ourselves easier prey. It takes a great deal of firepower to take down just one Reaper, let alone an entire armada.
If the Council had listened to Shepard when the Geth attacked the Citadel, we would've been more prepared to face the enemy. Instead they chose to deny their existence, and billions of innocent people will die because three politicians refused to see the truth. How I hope that their fates match those that have already died, and yet they will only continue to cling desperately to their cradle of power. Someone needs to take a stand, this simply cannot go on any longer. Perhaps if the Council feels threatened, they will finally lend their forces to retake Earth. Yes…that is the only viable solution. Who can I go appeal to for such a task? Shepard knows of the Council's failures but would never openly revolt. Jericho is a competent officer; however, he still possesses a flicker of hope that the Council will lend their support. In order to pull this off, I'm going to need the help of someone who isn't afraid to get his hands dirty. It would help if they had a sizeable army as well. Based off of those qualifications there is only one man who could help us, help humanity continue to survive.
Walking over to my desk, I sit in my chair and politely ask my assistants to vacate the area. Once I'm sure that they're far enough away, I lock the entrance to my office. On a personal and secure channel, I establish contact with one of my informants on the outside. Within a few moments, he connects me to the man I'm seeking. Clad in a business suit and smoking a cigar, his blue silhouette appears on my desk, looking rather intrigued.
"Councilor Udina, I must say I'm surprised to receive your call. What can I do to assist you?"
"I have a proposition for you. How would you like to be responsible for putting humanity back on the map?"
A grin stretched across the man's face. He took another puff of his cigar before saying "You've got my attention."