Quick A/N: Since humans live twice as long, just take the age I give and half it once they pass the age of 40 to get the metric on how old they are. Same with AI's; if a character is 80, picture them as a 40 year old.

Chapter 6

Logging on…

Authorization required to access these files…

Login accepted… Welcome Councilor [REDACTED]

Codex Entry 001: The United Confederacy.

-Skipping to section 31…

-United Confederacy Human /AI sexual relations producing offspring.

I'm going to keep this section short and to the point. The whole Idea of humans and AI's… doing it… just makes my skin crawl at how wrong it sounds.

Recently, about 30-40 years ago, human AI's reached the next stage of their evolution. They gained the ability to become pregnant and have children through sexual relations as opposed to "joining minds" as had been the norm for AI children.

Remember how I said that the process of uploading a scanned human brain and combining it with the scan of an AI's mind creates literal "brain children," as people like to call AI's born this way?

Well this process is even harder to make sense of. Human AI's have reached the point of being essentially living beings placed into a computer. They eat, sleep, drink, get drunk, and feel pain just like normal biological beings. And just like biological beings, AI's can have sex; the full experience which I don't desire to describe right now. You know what sex is like, (I'm assuming at least.)

This new process of AI birth starts with how one would expect. With an AI father and Human mother it's more straightforward. The AI's Hard Light Emitter (HLE) produces sperm that carries the AI's traits into the human. And yes, it is possible; don't ask me how I know just… trust me on this. (ugh.)

The AI mother is more interesting, (in a morbid kind of way.)

Human father and AI mother have sex, and sperm enters the AI; what's interesting is the AI (unconsciously) scans the sperm and takes the qualities carried within it and combines them with qualities of the AI. Then it disposes of the sperm the same way it disposes of food and water it consumes.

Once that scan is complete and the two parents' qualities are combined at random, the AI starts creating the new AI's mind and soul. This period can take three to four months.

Then the AI goes into labor; now AI children born this way are born the same way the Ancient human wisdom goddess Athena was born. The AI child goes up into its mothers mind, causing it blinding pain and a severe debilitating headache. "Doctors" set a HLE near the mother, who then splits their skull open; allowing the child to rush out and occupy its new home.

From there its three years of rapid aging from infancy to adolescence. Once an AI reaches the mental age of ten, the rapid aging stops as it learns to slow down the information it takes in.

Sigh… I really don't get paid enough to document this stuff.

Logging off…

The Volkshalle; Warsaw, Earth

Artemis tried to keep herself calm, but the anticipation was nearly unbearable. In just a few hours, her father would introduce her to the Quarians; as simply his daughter. He didn't plan on any fanfare, no honorifics, just have her walk in when he called her over. She just hoped to God that they didn't freak out at the sight of her. He had told her not to act all prim and proper, just be herself.

Artemis began to pace the Prime Ministers dressing room, trying to burn off some of her energy. She began to glow brighter, her silver and blue avatar lighting up the room.

She picked at the edge of her Himation as she mentally recalled the hand to hand training for AI's her dad and caretaker had given her. AI's were considered a godsend on the battlefield because their hard light emitters allowed them to make essentially any melee weapon they so choose.

A few, like herself, had a special ability passed down to AI's through genetics; Artemis had the ability to produce more hard light than a normal AI, which she could use it to make short ranged projectiles, like arrows.

It was something that very few AI's were able to do, and something even less were able to master. The bow and arrows that Artemis carried around sometimes were not just for show; it was an actual, functional bow with arrows made with hard light. It was something that wasn't thoroughly understood, as Hard Light was only a recent invention even for a race as short lived and as fast developing as humans; only about 90 years old.

"Stop fidgeting, you'll be fine. Neither I nor your father will let anything happen to you." A voice said behind her.

Artemis yelped and spun around, summoning her bow and an arrow. A pair of unamused Bright Orange eyes stared back at her; a middle aged woman who looked to be in her 80's, about the same age as her dad.

Another AI, this one was differing shades of red-orange; her hair and clothing edging more towards dark red, while her skin was more of a flame orange. She wore the long female version of a chiton, one that reached down to her feet. She also wore a shawl around her shoulders though she had let her bushy long hair stay loose, which looked like flames.

"Auntie Vesta! I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean too I-I'm just-" Artemis stammered.

"Nervous?" Vesta finished for her.

Artemis looked down in shame and dispelled her weapons, "Yeah…"

Vesta sighed and knelt down and hugged Artemis. Artemis began shaking and Vesta said, "Hush now; everything will be okay my Little Archer." Artemis gulped and nodded at her caretaker. Vesta gave her a very warm smile, and put a hand on Artemis' cheek. Artemis buried herself in her caretaker's chiton.

Vesta had been Artemis' caretaker on the rare occasion John couldn't be there for her. She was the closest thing to a mother Artemis had; while Vesta treated her with the same love and care as if she were her own daughter.

While Artemis was too young to know better, most in the Executive branch and higher levels in the other branches believed Vesta actually was Artemis' mother.

About a year before Grants presidency, Artemis had been born. When John had started his campaign he had found himself in quite the pickle. Artemis was the equivalent of a toddler by that point and out of the blue came Vesta.

She and John seemed to have had this… tension around them whenever they were alone. They were both too formal and too familiar with each other at the same time. Like two close friends trying and failing to pretend they didn't know each other and had only just met.

Plus, she seemed to share many of Artemis' more "family" related traits, such as her kindness and compassion; along with her more… "Ancient Greek" like personality.

No one was sure, nor were they really willing to pursue it because they had too much respect for Grant; but many government officials suspected that Vesta and John had been in a pretty "active" relationship before his campaign started, and Artemis had been the result.

It didn't help the rumors that Vesta could use hard light projectiles, just like Artemis could.

"You remember the plan?" Vesta asked in a playful tone, smiling at Artemis now.

"Auntieeee…" Artemis groaned. Vesta laughed and covered her mouth with her palm.

Artemis huffed and crossed her arms. "Fine… the phone will ring and you will answer. Dad will ask a certain question and you will answer. If he gives the first one, then the both of us go into the Prime Ministers meeting room. The second one you escort me to the room, but I enter alone. The third one, then the whole thing is off and the two of us wait here for Dad, Uncle Singh and Auntie Ayelet to come in."

"Right! On. The nose." Vesta said, bopping Artemis on the nose. Artemis snickered like she was half her age.

Vesta's smile turned sad as she looked at her charge.

She's growing up so fast. I wish she knew who I really was. Vesta thought, remembering that fateful day that seemed like a decade ago.


3 Years Ago; Montana, USA

"Oh shit, John… I think its time!" Vesta yelped.

Grant leaped up from underneath his biplane, his eyes wide. "Holy shit, are you sure?" he asked.

Vesta gave him a nasty glare, her bushy hair now beginning to look more like flames. "Yeah, I'm pretty damn sure. My stomachs started throbbing now, and I-" Vesta's eyes widened, and she bowed her head; putting her fists to her temples while her abdominal area started to glow. "Holy fuck, yeah… its coming alright!" she exclaimed.

John wasted no time, throwing his socket wrench into the tool box while digging his keys out of his pocket. He dashed over to the pickup truck and started it; then he dashed back and scooped Vesta up in a bridal carry and plopped her into the passenger seat.

The AI's dull orange glow now brightened, looking more and more like a roaring fire as John drove. He quickly dialed up his campaign manager, an old friend and college classmate from before his days in the Air Force.

It picked up on the forth ring. "Hello…" a voice said on the other side, rather tiredly; clearly having been just woken up.

"Robby, sorry for getting you outta bed; but cancel my speechs and public appearances for the next two weeks. Family emergency has come up." John ordered, even as Vesta began panting and groaning from the pain.

"Oh shit, yeah got man; is she okay?" Robby asked, sounding very awake now.

"DO I SOUND FUCKING FINE!?" Vesta screamed, and John winced in pain at how screeching her voice was. It was quite the contrast to her normally smooth and melodious voice.

He could practically hear Robby yank the phone away from his ear, "Yeah dumb question I guess. Ok let me know when it's over so I can get more long term marching orders." Robby said, before there was a loud click and the line went dead.

John floored it now, eventually reaching the small town near his little airfield. About 200 people lived there in the downtown area, and there was a small hospital near the church. He slammed on the breaks with a loud screech and threw the seat belt off. He took his keys and threw open the door, vaulted over the hood, and grabbed Vesta out of her seat. A deputy who was always posted at the door jumped up from his chair and hurried out to help John with Vesta, who was now glowing like a campfire.

Vesta was hurried down the hall and given a physical hospital gown. One thing about HLE's was that when the AI using it was either in extreme pain, or at critically low power levels they lost control of their ability to use its functions.

Number one being the clothing they projected and the light they produced; in hindsight Vesta was lucky she had maintained control as much as she had, had she any less control she would have been running around naked.

The receptionist gave John a sheet of paper to fill out as the delivery room was prepared. John filled in the lines as fast as he could write and still be legible. Then practically threw the clipboard onto the desk and dashed down the hall, not even acknowledging the "Congratulations" being sent his way.

He bashed through the door into the delivery room, seeing Vesta clothed in a hospital gown and writhing in pain.

"Well?! Why hasn't the AI come out yet?" John demanded, the doctors gave him a sympathetic look.

"She has to force the child into her mind and out of her skull; it's a short but very painful process. She's prepping herself for the pain that comes with it." The doctor explained.

Accepting the answer, albeit grudgingly, John walked over and knelt next to Vesta and gripped her hand; the table in front of them already had a HLE ready to go, all it needed was the AI it would host.

"Hey Ves, remember what we were gonna name the kid?" he asked to help her take her mind off the pain.

Vesta panted for a few minutes before responding, "Yeah… Apollo if it was a boy…" She scrunched her eyes shut and groaned in pain.

"And Artemis if it was a girl." He finished for her, "Well, let's find out which it is alright? You ready for this?" he asked.

"No," She admitted; "But I can't take this pain anymore. If I burn you I'm sorry."

John smiled, "Just focus of getting this kid out, and I'll worry about potential burns."

Vesta gave a pained smile, then turned and nodded at the doctor. He stepped forward and turned the Hard Light Emitter on; "Okay, Push in 3… 2… 1… NOW!" He ordered.

Vesta screamed an unearthly wail that sent nails down John's spine, her hair turned into fire, and she glowed like the noonday sun. John squinted; he wasn't sure, but he swore he could see the light glowing the brightest in her stomach.

As he watched, Vestas scream became more wavering, and the glow in her stomach brightened while Vesta's own light faded slightly. The source of the glow wormed its way up into Vestas chest, then up through her throat, before finally reaching her temples.

Vestas scream became guttural and increased tenfold, and the glow flared before separating into two lights. One was Vesta's bright fiery orange, and the other shot out of her forehead into the HLE. John wasn't sure, but could swear he saw a flash of blue and silver.

Vesta passed out, her light dimmed to almost translucent; John hugged her and kissed her temple, hoping beyond hope that she was okay.

Then the crying started, and John turned and saw the most beautiful shade of blue he had ever seen in his life.


DSS Paris

Hannah was amused somewhat by the Quarians expressions as they looked out on earth. It was a mixture of awestruck, and admiration; and did she detect a tiny bit of jealousy as well. Over the past few days, she had become familiar with their body language and tics that they communicated nonverbally. "It's so… blue." Rael finally said. Hannah laughed, and patted her breast pocket.

"Get used to seeing blue my friend, because we got blue oceans and blue skies. You're gonna love it here. Oh I can't wait till we get to Warsaw; it has some of the most diverse architecture in the world. It sucks I couldn't get a message off to my husband that I'm planeside. I'm gonna have to make it up to him and the kids later." She said, somewhat breathlessly. Whenever she got excited, she tended to talk faster.

Rael chuckled, as Nato walked up to them; "Get ready, we are descending into the court yard of… what is it called again?" he asked.

"The Volkshalle, It's what houses our congress. Don't worry there won't be any press; that won't happen until tomorrow when we bring you in front of a joint session of congress." Hannah replied, hand now resting on her sword. She wasn't sure why, but she had a bad feeling in her gut.

She recalled the Chancellors gag order regarding mentioning no AI's. They had lucked out in that George was the only one on board, and that he had neglected to bring his HLE. From what she understood, the President had a plan to introduce them to two AI's.

His daughter Artemis; and Artemis' caretaker Vesta, and he would do it during an informal dinner between the Triumvirate, their families, and the Quarian envoys.

Since he was their Commander in Chief, it didn't feel right to gossip; but everyone had seen the footage during the campaign trail, along with how attached Vesta seemed to be with Artemis and their President despite being only the girls "caretaker."

"So who will we be meeting when we arrive? And what will we be doing exactly?" She heard Rael ask, in spite of the dirty look his superior was giving him. Hannah could sympathize; Rael was young and far less inclined to care about formalities, much to the irritation of any superiors.

"We land in the courtyard of The Volkshalle, and meet the President and Prime Minister. There's only going to be a single camera and crew recording the event; it won't be live but it will be sent to the news agencies all throughout the Confederacy. If one of us trips or falls that will probably be edited out, so no pressure." Hannah said, then decided to give some more details about the President and Prime Minister; seeing their uneasiness through their body language.

"Okay the President; in public settings he's referred to as 'The Honorable President Johnathon A. Grant;' in private, just call him 'sir,' or 'Mr. President.' He's a Roman Catholic, pretty devout too I may add.

Uh… don't worry about religious faith though. Her Excellency is Jewish like she told you yesterday.

The Prime Minister is Hindu, and before you ask I don't know all that much about it. Only that they worship a pantheon of gods, as opposed to the Abrahamic God that the 'big three' worship.

In public he's referred to as 'The Distinguished Prime Minister Dayananda Singh.' In private he's just 'Mr. Singh,' or 'Prime Minister.'

Hm… what else?

Both are veterans of the Confederacy's military. The Prime Minister was a tanker in the Army, fought in a few campaigns; but he left the service about 40 years ago. The President was an Ace Pilot in the Air Force; and when I say ace, I mean he has over 283 confirmed air victories. He left the service about 10 years ago. A way to get on the Presidents good side is to talk about history or architecture; but if you really want to get him engaged, exchange some war stories with him. He's got hundreds of his own."

Hannah took a breath, and then became aware that most of the people in the hanger were now looking at her. All of the Quarians and about half the humans all held expressions of bafflement; Bishop O'Flaherty looked greatly amused, while Chancellor Isaaman was actually laughing. Hannah bowed her head, very aware of how red her face was becoming.

The Chancellor quickly recovered and walked over, "I see someone actually read the briefing packet." She said still chuckling, "And yes, all that info is very accurate. John is quite the sucker for history and war stories; he can talk your ears off if you're not careful." She joked.

A timer began beeping on the Chancellors iWatch, and she looked down at it. "Alright! Places everyone, we are landing in 10 minutes and are entering the atmosphere. Let's make some history."


The Volkshalle; Warsaw, Earth

John and Singh wore their triumvirate "uniforms," and stood waiting for Ayelet to finally bring down the Quarian delegation. John felt a little bad for Singh, it was early February and Singh was from India and was used to warm humid climates; John himself was far more used to colder climates, having grown up in Montana. Johns black Calvary hat did keep the snow off his face at least.

It was snowing all across Poland at the moment, and while he would have preferred clear weather; John couldn't see this meeting happening anywhere else. Poland had suffered much in Earth's history, now it had a chance to be known to finally capitalize on its recent string of success after it helped found the Confederacy.

The distinctive buzzing of a shuttle drove any discomfort from his body, and John instantly stiffened to a sort of "parade rest." He noticed Singh do something similar, although he appeared to be in more of a position of "attention."

John silently chuckled at how they had both fallen back on military instinct for the situation.

Old habits die hard I guess. He thought to himself.

He watched as the gunmetal grey shuttle landed in the middle of the massive courtyard, the bone rattling humming of the engines filled the air. Then the shuttle extended its landing gear, and touched down. The bay door opened, and a platoon of Marines and a squad of Army Rangers filed out into the area and formed two formations on either side of Singh and John.

Her Excellency Chancellor Ayelet Isaaman walked out onto the ramp that had extended onto the ground; she walked in perfect step with the official Quarian ambassadors, Admiral Han'Gerrel and Admiral Beto'Raan. They walked the hundred feet between the ramp and where Grant and Singh stood, the lone camera allowed at the event recording and taking pictures simultaneously. When they stopped about three feet in front of them, Ayelet walked up and stood to grants right; turning and facing the Quarians.

Grant stepped one step forward, forming a triangle between him, Singh and Ayelet.

He took a breath and said, "On behalf of the Confederacy those that inhabit it, I welcome you to Earth Admirals. You already know Her Excellency the Chancellor of Nations Ayelet Isaaman. I am The Honorable President of the People Johnathon Grant; and to my left is the Distinguished Prime Minister of Congress Dayananda Singh. We are the Triumvirate, and we represent mankind."


The Volkshalle; the Prime Ministers Dressing Room

Artemis and Vesta had dimmed their glows to as low as they could make them; watching Grant and the Aliens greet each other for a window in the room.

"They seem… nice I guess. Why do they have to wear those suits though? I guess it's not exactly nice out, but Dad and Uncle Singh were handling it just fine." Artemis commented.

Vesta sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Did you not read the briefing packet the Chancellor and George sent us?" already knowing the answer.

Sure enough, Artemis stiffened and brightened slightly, then turned slowly to look at Vesta with the most innocent expression she could manage. "Uh… maybe?"

Vesta sighed and shook her head, of all the times; my laziness she inherited rears its head. She thought in exasperation.

"Of course you didn't, they wear those suits because Quarians have such weak immune systems that they will die from allergic reactions if they even have a part of their body exposed." Vesta explained.

"Oh…" was all Artemis could manage, and she began picking at her Himation again.

Vesta made sure she had dimmed her light as low as she could before checking the window.

"Okay, their inside the building; it'll only be a few minutes now Artemis." Vesta said, she turned and saw that Artemis was shaking again.

Vesta knelt and hugged her fiercely, "You'll be fine… it's gonna be okay."

Artemis' shaking ceased and she seemed to melt somewhat. "Thanks mom- I-I m-mean!" She stammered and she started glowing brighter from embarrassment, unaware that Vesta had frozen and was holding back tears at what Artemis had just said.

She hugged Artemis even tighter while brightening back to normal levels and said, "For all intents and purposes my little archer, I am your mom."

Artemis nodded, her glow fading again; unaware of the shadowed confession Vesta had given her.

RING!

They both jumped and looked at the phone on the desk. Vesta took a breath and walked over and answered. "Yes?"

"Yes John, we're both ready."

"Okay, we'll be there in a minute." Vesta hung up and looked at Artemis with a slight measure of relief. "The both of us are needed Artemis, are you ready?" she asked.

Artemis gulped, and her glow brightened back to normal levels; but she nodded and a determined look came over her features, "As ready as I'll ever be."


The Prime Ministers Cabinet Room
John replaced the phone on the receiver and looked back at the Quarian envoys. No one had any weapons; it was just the Triumvirate and the 4 Quarians. The Secret Service wasn't happy about it, but John made them go away with the measure that all three of their charges were veterans and combat trained.

The Quarians for their part were looking and touching everything in the room, having been unused to creature comforts during their days in the Migrant Fleet.

The captain, Nato he thought, asked; "Who was that you were talking too Mr. President?"

"Some very important people I would like you to meet, now please sit. We… need to tell you something very important." He replied.

The large oval shaped table had 10 chairs surrounding it. Each was plush and very comfortable, and the Quarians expressed amazement at how soft they were before taking their seats.

John, Ayelet, and Singh sat on one side; the Quarians sat on the other. John shifted uncomfortably; "Look, we know how you feel about AI's. And we'll… we haven't been entirely honest with you regarding our attitudes on AI's." he said.

The Quarians all shifted, he could feel suspicion radiating off of them. "What do you mean, 'not entirely honest regarding AI's?'" Han'Gerrel asked.

Lieutenant Zorah gasped, "You don't have AI's do you?" he asked, although he sounded more fascinated than horrified.

Grant, Singh and Ayelet looked at each other; confirming the Quarians worst fears. "You do! You must kill them, they will turn on you! Just like they did with us!" Beto'Raan exclaimed.

Nato'Meemor narrowed his eyes, then said; "Unless… they haven't been recently developed have they? You've had them for a few years at least." That stilled the Quarians and they leaned back, looking horrified by the concept.

John winced, "Not… Exactly."

"10 years?" Rael asked, sounding more enthused than his colleagues.

Ayelet shook her head, and Singh winced.

"Try 150 of our earth years, give or take ten years or so." John said.

That shut them up for a moment, and John decided to continue; "See AI's are so advanced and integral to our society that most just see them as human. It's reached the point that AI's-"

KnockKnockKnock!

John stopped and everyone turned as Vesta and Artemis entered the room, Vesta somewhat shielding Artemis' Silver and Blue body with her own Orange and Red body.

"Hello John, Singh. Ayelet, I'm happy to see you've made it back in one piece." She said, trying to break the ice somewhat.

No one responded, so John stood and walked over to them. He gave Vesta a quick hug, then put his hands on Artemis' shoulders and faced the Quarians. "Admirals Han'Gerrel and Beto'Raan, Captain Nato'Meemor, and Lieutenant Rael'Zorah; I would like you to meet Artemis Grant, my daughter, and Vesta, her… caretaker." He said, hesitating on caretaker because he had almost said "mother."

There was a beat, then Artemis said, "Um… hi everyone, nice to meet you."

A/N: OH MY GOD! Sorry this took so long, but I had trouble finding a way to put this together that felt right. Man I have to admit I don't like the Quarian centric parts of the story so far. Mainly because I'm constrained in that I can't explain in terms humans would use. I might just make it AI-Human only from now one, with slight deviations to get different perspectives.

If Vesta felt a little shoehorned in, rest assured that was intentional. If you want to know why she and Grant aren't married, or at the very least acknowledge that Artemis is their daughter as opposed to being the result of a "Sperm Brain;" rest assured that will be explained in time.

To address one reviewers desire to have other religions represented, such as the pagan faiths, I'm sorry to say I won't do that. I already have Singh being a Hinduist, and that's about it. The reason for this is because I'd rather have someone make an offhand remark about their religion and not explain further, than have my dumb Roman Catholic ass try to make sense of other faiths that I probably have never even encountered.

I don't want to disrespect other people's religions by getting the facts wrong.

What else… Next chapter will probably be the last chapter regarding first contact between the Humans/AI's and Quarians. I can't say anything more because it's too spoilery.

Also, keep in mind that this story is mostly inspired by Spielberg's Lincoln and Clancy's Hunt for Red October. So if you want action in this, well don't expect much. I admit, even really good action scenes in books and fics tend to make my brain shut off because I can't really make myself picture what's happening. Unless it's Air Combat/Dogfights, then you got my attention.

Also from this point forward the Codex's are going to start being different. I will start alternating between the Citadel Codex's, like what you've seen so far; and documentary style "footage" from the Confederacy's point of view. Best comparison for that I can think of is Ken Burns Civil War style intros and talking points. Watch The Civil War by the way, some of y'all out there don't know your history; and if you're not American, watch it anyway because even if you're not interested in history, Ken Burns will make it interesting for you.

Leave Reviews, tell me what y'all think. Have a good week.

See ya' when I see ya'