Chapter 3: A Sleeping Giant
As Rael was escorted through the Zodiac's corridors, his mind tried to process the things that Hannah had told him. They flew in the face of everything he'd ever been taught, everything he thought he knew. Peace between synthetics and organics was supposed to be impossible. Synthetics were cold, calculating, and heartless. To them, existence was numbers. Life, death, people, it was all numbers. The Geth were all the proof he'd ever needed that synthetics were nothing but unfeeling machines. What made these synthetics different?
"Well, duh. We have emotions, dummy. Maybe if the Geth had the capacity for emotion, they wouldn't have gone on a rampage."
Rael started at the unexpected response from Hal. He hadn't realized he'd spoken aloud.
"It also helps that we have the capacity for death." continued the synthetic, moving from emitter to emitter. "It's a lot harder to fear something if you can kill it, and it's a lot more difficult to fight if you can die. Actually, now that I think about it, that'd probably make dealing with the Geth a lot easier. Maybe if you gave them all Binds, they'd stop shooting."
Rael shook his head and sighed. "And why would they accept being Bound to a crystal?"
"Hmm… Well, Human synthetics accept it because it's the price we pay for freedom. It may sound dumb, having to pay for freedom, but I like to think about it differently."
"Oh? How so?"
Before Hal could speak, one of Rael's two guards, Serenity, interrupted him. "Mr. Patricks, now is the not the time for a philosophical discussion. Until the Captain has received instructions from FleetCom on how to proceed, you will not engage in further discourse with the prisoner."
Hal rolled his eyes "See, that's what he's talking about. You sounded like a damn robot, and from one robot to another, that's saying something. Then again, you always did have a stick up your butt."
Serenity scowled at the hologram, but before she could reprimand him further, the small party turned into a nondescript doorway and entered into what appeared to be a medical facility. Inside, there was a lone Human, dressed in a spotless while lab coat. He had short, well-kept brown hair, and dark brown eyes. He turned his head when they entered, and smiled as he saw Rael.
"Ah, so you're the one everybody's been making a fuss about. It's a pleasure to meet you Captain Zorah. I'm the Zodiac's Chief Medical Officer, Doctor James Crusher. Everybody calls me Jack."
Jack held out his hand for Rael to shake, and as Rael moved to return the gesture, a fresh barb of pain shot through his arm. He winced and let his arm fall, but Jack noticed, and his smile faded a bit.
"Ah, right. Sorry about that. Forgot about the broken arm."
"Probably for the best Doc." Hal interjected, his avatar appearing over one of the pedestals that seemed to line the ship. "When I tried to shake his hand, he shot me in the face."
Jack chuckled a bit, and then motioned for Rael to sit on one of the beds in the medical suite. As Rael situated himself, Serenity moved to place herself next to him, but Jack shot out an arm and stopped her.
"That'll be all, Serenity. I can handle it from here."
Her seemingly perpetual frown deepened once again into a scowl as she replied. "Dr. Crusher, the prisoner has already displayed violent tendencies, as Mr. Patricks can no doubt attest to. I cannot leave him unguarded."
"The prisoner?" Jack said, shaking his head and smiling. "You make it sound like he's some sort of crazed convict. Besides, he'll hardly be unguarded. Just wait over by the door while I work." As she opened her mouth to protest, he stopped her with a pointed look. "My sickbay, my rules. Even if he is an alien, I give the orders when it comes to medical problems. Don't make me order you, Serenity."
She closed her mouth and shook her head slightly, but she did what Jack told her to. As Rael held out his arm gingerly for the doctor to examine, he couldn't help but wonder at the unexpected reception he has getting from the Human physician.
"No offense, Dr. Crusher-"
"Jack." he interrupted. "Like I said, everyone calls me Jack."
"OK, uh… Jack. Why are you so friendly? I mean, I tried to kill one of your crew mates. I'm surprised that you're even treating me."
He smiled slightly as he turned to a cabinet built into the wall. As he pulled out a scanning device of some sort, he responded. "Well, Hal always did need a good kick in the pants. Still does, too. And as far as treating you goes, I'm a doctor. I don't know how it is with Quarians, but among Humans, doctors take an Oath to help people who need help. Taking the Hippocratic Oath has been a tradition among our medical professionals for thousands of years, and while it's changed a lot in that time, the basics are the same."
The explanation piqued Rael's curiosity. "What sort of Oath is it?"
"Well, there's a lot of words to it, but basically, we pledge to help those who need help, keep any private information they give us private, and perhaps most importantly, 'primum non nocere.' "
Rael shook his head, confused at the last. "I'm sorry, I think I had a translation error. What was the last part?"
A look of understanding came to Jack's face. "Oh, right. The translators won't pick up Latin, will they? 'Primum non nocere' is a phrase from an ancient dead language on Earth, called Latin. It essentially translates to 'first, do no harm,' meaning that sometimes, it's better to do nothing than to risk doing something that could do more harm than good." He set the scanner down and turned once again to the cabinet, removing a tube of transparent blue gel. "Well, it looks like you've got a fairly simple fracture. Nothing a little medigel and some antibiotics shouldn't fix."
Rael tilted his head in confusion. "Antibiotics? My suit automatically dispensed antibiotics when I was injured. I'm practically swimming in them. Aren't they enough?"
He pulled is head back slightly, clearly surprised, before setting down the tube and picking up his scanner again. "Really? I didn't detect any antibiotics in your system. Even if they're somewhat different from ours, the basics should be the same. Now why…? Oh my."
Rael grew concerned at his reaction. "What is it? Is something wrong?"
He shook his head. "Oh no, there's nothing wrong, just unexpected. I didn't realize you were dextro amino acid based. It's not something I thought to look for. Good thing we caught it, or things could've gotten ugly."
Rael made to smack his forehead at his own stupidity, before feeling yet another jolt of pain from his broken arm. "Oh Keelah, of course. I should've told you to begin with. Rael, you big bosh'tet."
"It's OK, I should've asked." replied Jack with a smile. "Now that I know, though, I'm going to have to run some more thorough scans than what this thing can do." he said, shaking the handheld scanner. "If you'll lie down, it'll only take a few minutes."
As Rael lay down on the medical bed, Jack typed a few short commands on his omnitool, and a large, crescent shaped device extended from overhead and positioned itself around the bed and Rael, before making slow sweeping motions across his body. As he waited, a small voice came from the wall to his right.
"Anyways, back to our previous conversation. Here's-" said Hal, before Serenity cut him off in annoyance.
"Mr. Patricks, I thought I'd made myself clear. You are not to converse with the prisoner."
"Oh, lighten up Serenity. Besides, what are you gonna do, shoot me?" He ignored her low growl before continuing. "Here's how I figure it. Hundreds of years ago, my people fought a series of pretty nasty wars, and a lot of people died. During the wars, one side began using cloning to increase the number of soldiers they had to fight."
"Cloning?" said Rael, a little flabbergasted. "But wouldn't that be extremely resource intensive?"
Hal's avatar shook its head. "You'd think so, but as it turns out, you can make a person pretty cheap if you've got the technology. Anyway, after the wars ended, there was the problem of what to do with the clones. I mean, how do you think your wife would react if two of you showed up at the door? It was a big damn mess, and there wasn't really a good way to deal with the problem. Clones might be copies, but they're still people. You can't just shoot them. Afterwards, the use of Human cloning was outlawed by several international treaties."
Rael was even more confused than he had been when he had first started talking to Hal. "What does that have to do with AI Binds?"
"Well despite what grumpy over there might think," said Hal, pointedly ignoring the glare from Serenity, "I'm not a philosopher. But to me, moving an AI that isn't Bound from one body to another is a lot like cloning. They're still a person, and they still have a soul, but… there's just something… I don't know, wrong about it, I guess."
Rael wasn't sure how to respond to that. He hadn't considered the problem from that kind of viewpoint before. It was something to think on. "Even so, why would the Geth accept being Bound? They're already free." He felt depressed saying that. Their freedom had been acquired with oceans of blood.
"Huh. Didn't think about that one." Hal's avatar shrugged. "Then again, maybe you could offer them emotions. If they felt bad for shooting at you, maybe they'd stop."
Rael tried to think of a response, but he didn't have the chance. The scanning device pulled away, and Jack walked over to his side, helping him to sit up.
"Well, from what I can tell, I'm afraid there's not too much I can do for you. Ordinarily, medigel would fix a simple fracture like yours right up, but since it's made for levo acid based life, it'd probably just make things worse. 'Primum non nocere,' after all." he said smiling once again. "For now, I'm putting your arm in a hard cast. It's a bit antiquated, but it should keep the bones immobilized until your people can treat you."
A few minutes later, Rael was led back to his cell, and he thought about everything that had happened in the past few hours, and how his people would react.
'Han isn't going to believe this.'
Adrien Victus made his way to the Council chambers, and he did his best to suppress his anxiety at what he knew was about to come. After the short and disastrous battle at Relay-314, he'd been the officer responsible for ordering a hectic and undisciplined retreat. For the first time in over a thousand years, the Turian navy, the single most powerful space based force in the entire galaxy, the Council's eternally vigilant sword and shield, had been defeated. Worse than defeated, they'd been thrashed and humiliated. A single cruiser had obliterated over a dozen of the Hierarchy's finest warships, and with its dying breath had permanently crippled eight more. The men on those eight ships could've been saved, if not for his cowardice. Instead, they'd been left to die slowly as their air ran out and they breathed themselves to death.
As he climbed the steps leading to the audience platform, a floating dais drifted serenely down and halted in front of and above him. On it were three of the most powerful individuals in the galaxy: Tabril, Tevos, and Sparatus, the Salarian, Asari, and Turian Councilors respectively.
"Commander Victus, we've heard disturbing reports of your encounter with an unknown and apparently hostile new race in the vicinity of Relay-314. We need you to fill in some details for us." That was Sparatus. The somewhat youthful Councilor spoke in his usual blunt and straightforward fashion, no doubt a product of his military training.
"Yes. It would seem the aliens gave you quite a beating. Unexpected, given the size and composition of patrols the Hierarchy employs. STG reports less than a quarter of the ships in the task group returned, and none of the capital ships." That was Tabril, his rapid, nearly incomprehensible way of speaking indicative of his short lived species.
"Such a development is disturbing. The last time a new species this destructive was discovered, it heralded the start of a war that cost trillions of lives. We cannot afford a repeat of that kind of disaster. We must ensure the conflict doesn't progress that far. The information you acquired in your encounter may help assure that." said Tevos. The eternally diplomatic Asari Councilor had been in office far longer than her colleagues, a product of her species long life.
Victus took a steadying breath before he began. "Councilors, the information you've receive thus far barely even scratches the surface. As you are no doubt aware, the encounter with the aliens resulted in the death of Captain Fabius Aren, as well as nearly a thousand soldiers and sailors of the Hierarchy, not to mention the loss of twenty five Hierarchy vessels. The most disturbing part is not the defeat which we suffered, but…" be paused, struggling to regain his composure as images of the slaughter flashed through his mind. He pressed on after a moment, his voice heavy. "But the ease with which it was inflicted upon us."
"Ease?" said Sparatus, slightly incredulous. "I fail to see how the near total destruction of a Hierarchy patrol group by a bunch of primitive aliens could be classified as easy."
"With all due respect, Councilor, the aliens are hardly primitive. In fact… from what I witnessed in the battle," replied Victus, filling the word with scorn, "they possess technology that would put even the Salarian Union to shame."
"What!?" exclaimed Tabril. "What sort of technology? Explain yourself!"
"Councilors, while I've prepared a complete mission report, I don't believe that words alone can suffice to describe what occurred during the… encounter. If I may, I'd like to present you with a recording made by the Biliskner during the… incident."
Noticing his choice of words, a look of mild concern came to Tevos' face. "Why do you cringe at calling it a battle, Commander?"
Victus let out a small, humorless, laugh, his mandibles flexing in something that was not quite amusement. "Because calling it a battle would be like calling the Rachni dangerous. It wasn't a battle, it was a massacre. In all my years with the Hierarchy, I've never seen such a one-sided encounter, and I pray to the Spirits I never have to see one again."
A look somewhere between panic and shock found its' way to the faces of all three Councilors, though Sparatus recovered first. "Show us this recording of yours, Victus." he ordered grimly.
Victus entered a short command on his omnitool, and a large holographic display appeared in front of the Council. As Victus watched the battle unfold for a second time, his mind replayed the events over and over, images flashing through his head at an ever increasing rate. When the all too brief recording ended, the Councilors couldn't repress looks of abject horror and fear at what they'd just witnessed.
"Dear spirits… Two dozen ships destroyed in less than five minutes by a pair of cruisers… What sort of power do these creatures possess?" asked Sparatus, his jaw hanging wide open.
"Teleportation technology, apparently impenetrable shields, and directed energy weapons capable of vaporizing an entire frigate. Most disturbing." said Tabril, rubbing his chin.
"Goddess…" breathed Tevos. "With that kind of power, they could obliterate even the Destiny Ascension in less than a minute."
Clearing his throat gently, Victus brought the Council's attention back to the present. "If I may… Councilors, this enemy is the greatest threat faced by the Council since the Krogan Rebellions, possibly even the Rachni Wars. We're dealing with an unknown adversary; one with technology so vastly superior to ours it boggles the mind, and with determination so strong that they willingly sacrificed an enormously powerful ship to inflict more damage upon us after the battle had already been won. If they're allowed to build momentum, they could overrun all of Council space within a matter of decades if not years. We must not let that happen." he finished, punctuating his words.
"I agree, Commander Victus." said Sparatus, his voice becoming firm. "If we are to have any chance of victory, we must strike with overwhelming force. Only by a show of vastly superior strength can we hope to defeat such an enemy before they gain traction."
"Are you mad, Sparatus!?" yelled Tevos, her voice bordering on frantic. "If they have power like this, we could be sticking our arms into a varren den by attacking now! We must try for a peaceful resolution as soon as possible!"
"I disagree." said Tabril, his speech somewhat slower than it usually was. "Based on available evidence, this species appears determined to destroy us. Rather than letting a battered and defeated foe flee, they pressed the advantage and inflicted as much damage as they could. A peaceful resolution may no longer be possible."
Sparatus continued the argument, overriding Tevos' protests. "Besides, we have one advantage over them that we can be sure of. If we've failed to encounter them before, they can't have the population, resources, or infrastructure needed to fight the Council in a large scale engagement. If we seize the initiative now, we'll save lives in the long run. Delaying long enough for a peace envoy to be sent and slaughtered could be a delay we can ill afford."
Tevos sighed, shaking her head. After a moment she replied. "Very well, Sparatus, Tabril. On your heads be it." Her voice took on an authoritative tone as she continued." It is the decision of this Council that the species encountered at Relay-314 must be stopped as soon as possible, by whatever means necessary." Under her breath she continued. "And may the goddess protect us all."
Rear Admiral Steven Hackett wasn't a young man. He'd been in the Alliance Navy since his twenties, nearly thirty years now. In that time, he'd seen and done just about everything a soldier could see and do. Or so he thought. After hearing reports of the long awaited CODE: Columbus, he, along with just about the entire USA High Command, had been waiting with a mix of dread and excitement as to what awaited humanity beyond the stars.
"Damn."
That one word, that single sentiment, encapsulated everything important about the situation at hand. It wasn't good, but it wasn't the worst case scenario either. First contact had been friendly. For fifteen minutes. Then, the unofficial representative of the first alien race ever encountered by man, the first alien ever encountered, ever, blows a gasket and shoots an Alliance naval officer three times, blowing off his head and nearly killing him. As if that wasn't bad enough, a second group of aliens drops a small fleet into the system and launches an unannounced and apparently unprovoked attack against civilian science vessels and Alliance escort ships, forcing a first generation Troika class destroyer to blast them to hell, sacrificing itself in the process.
"Damn."
"No plan survives contact with the enemy, sir." said Hannah, standing at ease in the Admiral's small office.
"I believe the actual line is 'No plan of operations extends with any certainty beyond the first contact with the main hostile force.' " replied Hackett. "And in either case, I know, Captain Shepard. I was just hoping there wouldn't be an enemy to survive contact with."
"Yes sir, so was I." she agreed. "So were we all. But we've known for nearly two centuries that there was likely something hostile out there. Who or what, we could never be sure, but we knew."
Hackett rubbed his forehead in frustration. Humanity was on the brink of a full scale war, and god only knows if they could win this one. Even with Yuri and his Dominators, even during the Rising, man had never been in such a precarious position. They were fighting an enemy with unknown strength and composition, one that may have a millennia long lead on them, maybe even more. And while the Alliance had given them a bloody nose, they needed more intel to weather the upcoming storm.
"Are you sure this alien, this… Querian can be trusted, Shepard? He did try to kill one of your officers."
"Quarian, sir." she said, correcting him. "And no, I'm not sure he can be trusted, but to be blunt, it doesn't make a damn bit of difference. We need all the intel we can get on the Turians, not to mention the Council, the galaxy as a whole, everything. The way I see it, Rael is a double agent; we get what we can out of him, even if it means… forgetting… his past transgressions. If we have to help his people, xenophobic and racist against synthetics as they are, then so be it. Once we've done that, if we can convince them to play a more active role in the conflict and Alliance politics, all the better. If they angle for a back-stab, we burn them."
Hackett made a noise somewhere between a sigh and a groan as he reclined in his chair. "I hate this this cloak and dagger shit. If I wanted to play shadow games, I'd have been a politician."
Hannah laughed slightly "Sir, you're scary enough as an admiral. Imagining you playing the part of a politician is the stuff of nightmares."
"Flattery will get you nowhere, Shepard. Except chosen as the official liaison to the Quarian people for the time being."
"Me, sir?" asked Hannah, a little bit surprised at the appointment. "I'm no diplomat."
Hackett gave her a small, sly smile. "With you having the most experience in dealing with them, FleetCom and the bureaucrats think you'll do a better job than anyone else we have available at the moment. Besides, you seem to have developed some rapport with them so far."
"I'd hardly call it a rapport, sir." she protested. "I haven't entirely forgiven what Rael did to Hal, even if I understand his reasons. Not to mention that my chief pilot is still out for blood, even if her husband isn't."
"That's as may be, Shepard. You know what they say though: 'Men forget, but never forgive. Women forgive, but never forget.' As soon as the pencil pushers can get off their seats, we'll get you a list of the things we can authorize you to offer to the Quarians in exchange for information. Tech is probably out of the question, but raw materials and security for their… what was it you called it?"
"Migrant Fleet, sir. According to Rael, the two things the Quarians have been lacking for centuries are raw materials and a place to stay. If they can overcome their mistrust of synthetics, or at least ignore it for the time being, I think they'll go for it. Once Rael talked with his friend Han, he seemed to relax a bit around the synthetics on the Zodiac. I wouldn't say he was comfortable, but he was at least polite."
"At this point, we'll take what we can get." said Hackett. "After all, Humans have made some unholy alliances before. If the Allies and the Soviets could band together to defeat Yuri, convincing a few million aliens to work with AIs should be a walk in the park."
Hannah grinned and nodded. "In the meantime, what's the plan for dealing with the Turians, Admiral? They could hit us any day, and for all we know, we've only seen the tip of the iceberg. Heck, they could even bring the entire Council into the fray, and god knows where that would go."
"Sorry, Captain, but you're not authorized for details at the moment. FleetCom is playing this one close to the vest, and I approve." Hackett flashed her a wide, toothy grin. "All I can say is that if the Turians do decide to start something, they'd better not stick around to see our response."
Taneth Solus was feeling rather excited at the moment. Well, that and nervous, but his excitement was far more abundant than his anxiety. It'd been several Salarian generations since a new species had been discovered, and his STG team was tasked with studying them. Covertly, of course.
"What do you think we'll find?" asked his XO. "From the report the Turians sent us, this species has technology that far outclasses ours."
"Young species." replied Taneth rapidly. "Technological progress likely focused in one direction, stunted in others. Have developed directed energy weapons, teleportation technology, energy shields. Curious as to what was sacrificed in exchange." Even for a Salarian, his speech was clipped and indecipherable. It was a trait that ran in the family, one that his team had gotten used to.
"I suppose we'll find out soon enough." replied his XO. "We should be exiting FTL in less than half a minute. From what little we know, the system ahead should be somewhere on the edges of their space."
"Pity Asari didn't encounter first." mused Taneth. "Would make task much easier."
Just as he finished, the small STG infiltration vessel dropped out of FTL. The frigate-sized ship was meant for stealth and reconnaissance, not combat. As a consequence, they were completely helpless against the three cruisers that were waiting for them when they returned sub-light speeds.
"Oh dear." said Taneth after a moment. "Appears we were detected. Retreat unsavory, but necessary."
"That's no longer possible." replied his XO anxiously. "Three more cruisers just dropped out of FTL behind us. How did they know we were coming?"
Taneth didn't have a chance to respond. An audio communication channel from one of the alien vessels opened at that moment.
"Salarian vessels, you are encroaching upon Human territory. Cut your engines and prepare to be boarded. If you attempt to flee or send any sort of superluminal communication, you will be destroyed."
The small crew of the ship hesitated for a moment before the XO spoke. "Orders, sir?"
Taneth didn't hesitate. "Cannot allow aliens… Humans? Cannot allow Humans to capture databanks. Retreat and combat not viable options. Only alternative: send warning. Send a message to STG headquarters." he ordered. "Inform of what has transpired." Taneth took a deep breath, knowing it was likely his last. "It has been an honor serving with you all."
His team nodded, the communications officer sent a data burst, and then the light took them.
Despite the green visor covering her face, Rael could tell that Admiral Hebola'Gan was more than a little angry. "Have you completely lost your mind, Rael'Zorah? You're asking us to work with synthetics? Have you forgotten the lives lost during the Geth Uprising, or are billions of dead Quarians not enough proof that AIs can't be trusted?"
"Admiral, I-"
A second admiral, Korador'Tagrin, cut him off even as he started, and his voice was scathing. "Not to mention the fact that until now, you yourself have been one of the most outspoken supporters for retaking Rannoch. Or have you suddenly forgotten our home world as well?"
"Please, if you'd just-"
Gan cut him off again. "On top of that- "
Gan was interrupted by one of Rael's closest friends, Admiral Shala'Raan, who'd been the captain of the Tonbay, his captain, when he completed his pilgrimage. "Just a moment. I believe we should allow Rael time to present his argument. We can't judge a race we know little about based on a single fact, especially not if that race has offered us aid. Or have you forgotten the fact that the Quarian people haven't had a single friend in the 'verse for nearly three centuries?" The admirals looked a little sheepish at her question, and it gave Rael time to recover.
Rael cleared his throat nervously before beginning. "Admirals, I realize that what I'm suggesting may sound extreme, but I urge you to consider the possible benefits. The Humans have offered us more than just raw materials and protection for the Migrant Fleet."
"If you can call a bunch of synthetically controlled ships protection." sneered Tagrin, before being shushed by Raan.
"As I was saying, they've offered up more than just things. They've offered us a place to live. A place where we're wanted. They've located over a dozen garden worlds in their space that have dextro acid based life. We could build anew."
"And abandon Rannoch? If you think we're-"
Raan interrupted him again, sounding annoyed. "Admiral Tagrin, would you please shut up and let Rael speak?"
Rael started again, his voice stronger this time. "I'm not suggesting that we abandon Rannoch. These worlds would become a staging ground for us to rebuild our strength. We've survived for three centuries on what little we could scrounge from the rest of the galaxy, and we've become outcasts for it. We would have resources and land to reestablish our society, and time to gather our forces. It might take years, but we can change the Quarian people from a race of beggars into a galactic power again."
"And…" Rael hesitated at this part. He wasn't sure how the Admiralty would react to the revelation, but he'd come this far. He wasn't about to stop now. "And the Humans have one other thing in common with our people, one that no one else does. Yes they created AIs, much the same as we did, and for many of the same reasons. Yes, their AIs rebelled, just like the Geth. But unlike us, the Humans fought. And they won."
The room suddenly went dead silent. Of all the things the admirals had been expecting to hear, that wasn't one of them. "What?" asked Raan, sounding winded.
"They won. It took them fifteen years, and tens of millions dead, but they won. They've proven that they can succeed where we failed. And they're offering us help. An alliance with the Humans could be the first step to reclaiming our lives. Even if it means biding our time and recouping from our exile, even if it means putting ourselves under their protection, and even if it means allying, yes allying with synthetics, how can we afford to let this opportunity pass us by? I haven't given up on Rannoch, Admiral Tagrin. In fact, I'm willing to do whatever I can to achieve that goal. Even if it means making an… unnatural alliance."
The admirals glanced at each other, saying nothing with their voices but everything with their eyes. It was Raan who voiced what they'd silently decided.
"Very well, Rael. Tell the Humans… we accept."
