01/07/2017
Thank you to Pax Humana and Daisy Duck for beta-ing.
Thank you to everyone who reviewed, you are the greatest!
Part 2 The Fall of the Galaxy
Chapter 9 Cracks
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Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought Astrakhan
Admiral Walenty forced himself to take deep breaths. So long as he did that, he didn't tremble. And if he didn't tremble, the crew gained confidence.
He did not like this. He did not like this at all. It went against everything he had been trained for but reality did not always fall into neat expected packages. And no matter how much he didn't like it, he knew this was the only route.
The unknown ships formed an almost perfect sphere around the Citadel. They were all at least fifty percent out of firing range and they had left a small gap in their formation for the Relay. A couple of traders had already come through. Some had turned and fled, others had continued to the Citadel boldly and the unknown ships had made no move to stop them.
What were the Geth thinking? How did the Geth think?
No, not questions for now. "Status report?"
"No change, sir," the reply was instantaneous.
"Is the analysis complete?"
"Yes, sir."
"Report!" Admiral Walenty ordered immediately before taking another deep breath.
"We haven't risked any active scans on them, Sir," the tech replied. "Passive scans indicate that the Geth ships are all superficially identical."
"Explain!" The ships all looked the same to him.
"Over all, their construction is identical sir. They all have five struts at the front and, as far as we can tell, six legs curled up behind them. They are all segmented at roughly the same intervals and they all measure 2.04 klicks long from the tip of the front centre stanchion to the top of their split tail. The differences are minor. Some light placements are skewed and visual inspection reveals that some antennas are not placed in the same position."
"Weapon systems?" Walenty asked.
"Mass driver, front and centre, just like the one in the recording," a different tech replied and Walenty recognised the Astrakhan's Chief Weapons officer Azra. "Given the parity of design we are assuming similar weaponry and shield specifications."
"How do they compare?" The ship forty years ago had been impressive but surely there were gains made in that time.
"Our weapons have certainly improved sir," Azra replied and the rest of the bridge crew were hanging on her words. "We have Thanix cannons, thanks to the last one," she said and most smiled at that. Thanix cannons were hugely powerful and the Hierarchy had built them into all new ships. "And the Human Rebellions have given us quite a few smaller but highly effective weapons, however, it would be incautious to think that they have not similarly improved."
Walenty nodded. Looking out at the Geth ships, it was a distinct possibility that the ship forty years ago had been a prototype, one used to gauge the strength of the galaxy. The vessels now would be the real test. Though… a test of what?
The fact that they were not attacking just did not make sense. Were they a trap, a diversion, a show of strength, an envoy? What? No one knew and that made the entire situation seem unreal.
"What is their estimated shield capacity?"
"Based on estimates from last time, the three dreadnoughts here could take down the shields of one," Arza replied. She didn't need to indicate how stupid that would be. They could pick one to attack easily but the rest of the Geth fleet would then collapse their sphere, surrounding them.
That was another thing that was not making sense. The sphere. If the geth ships moved into firing range, while maintaining that formation, they wouldn't be able to concentrate their forces where they needed them! There was speculation from the Salarians that the geth ships would have enough time to react but… Mentally, Walenty shook his head. He would not want to rely on sensors in that situation. But then, he wasn't geth. Who knew what made sense to them?
"Have the suit rats said anything?" The Quarians had disappeared years ago but they had abandoned several of their people on the Citadel and other places in the galaxy.
"Not that we know of," the comm's officer replied.
Walenty was silent. There wasn't much more to say. "All right, send the first contact package," he ordered.
"Sir?" The bridge crew was incredulous.
"Orders from the Council," he replied. "The last ship of this design came through the Relay already firing. These ships just appeared." He made a wry face. "Councillor Irissa's exact words were 'We would be remiss in our duties to the galaxy if we did not attempt to communicate with them.'"
He didn't hold out much hope of successful communications but he could see the logic behind the purely Asari suggestion, though it also raised other questions. If they were prepared to talk, was it possible these weren't geth ships? At the moment, that consideration didn't matter and as soon as it became obvious that these ships were not going to open fire, he and the rest of the Citadel Fleet Captains had reviewed the available footage of the battle forty years ago. The review had not been heartening. Even accounting for improvements made in weapons and shield tech as indicated by Azra, they were grossly outmatched.
"Package has been transmitted," the comm officer replied.
Walenty could hear the underlying note of disbelief in his voice but he was Turian, he would obey. And for now, all they could do was wait.
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Earth Year 2222, Arcturus Stream
"Udina's reached the Citadel." Anderson made the information available to the entire Human fleet.
Most of the fleet had gathered in small groups spread throughout Arcturus after finishing their additions. Taylor's group had returned and completed their additions, as had Moxus'. They were on alert for new messages from the Turian Sector Command but it had already been agreed that a select group was in charge of composing messages.
"Any troubles?" Miranda asked.
"Nothing reported," Anderson replied shifting his attention slightly towards Shepard and Harper. They had remained silent.
"We should start moving," Harper said, directing the announcement to Shepard.
Shepard remained silent and the groups, which had been forming up to begin the journey to Palaven, paused. "Wait," the Ascended Leader said suddenly. "Udina just sent through what has to be the Turian First Contact package."
"And?" Miranda prompted, her choral voice mildly annoyed.
Shepard played the recording for the fleet. The message was about as friendly as Turians would get though it was formal. The military aspects entered with the few shots of the Turian military. It also included some images of the Asari and Salarians and had obviously been approved by the Council.
"That's a standard message for a military race," Anderson analysed it quickly.
"Yes, it is," Shepard agreed. "However I was thinking that it would be impolite of us if we do not introduce ourselves when we approach Palaven."
"And you want to use the Turian First Contact package?" Harper interposed, sounding amused.
"A version of it," the Human Ascended leader indicated. "We intended our additions to give the Turians information but it is only polite to provide a first contact package. Besides, it will take the Council some time to decide what to do," Shepard added and all heard the derision in his voice. The Council was always willing to talk, except when it came to Humans.
The fleet was silent for a moment before most indicated their agreement and quickly broke down the package from the Turians. It was obviously designed to be used for first contact in space. The opening images showed Turian ships - cruisers and frigates only - meeting what looked to be an Ascended.
Shepard laughed at that. The video coding was fuzzy around the Ascended, a sure sign that the Turians had added it in. They obviously intended to add in whatever ship they encountered. The image was gentle, clearly showing neither side firing.
Then the image shifted, showing images of Turians from various citizenship tiers. It displayed farmers, techs, soldiers, and administrators. It showed everyone who made up Turian society. Speech accompanied the images, saying basic things like 'We are Turian'. Most of the Ascended ignored the words. They were unimportant.
The final vid was of the Citadel with the fleet surrounding it. The dreadnoughts were in the background, made to look smaller before the image zoomed in to show the Council. As much as they could, the three aliens seemed to be welcoming. The Council was pictured in the gardens, with trees and blossoms as the background.
Within his form, Shepard heard a snarl from Adams.
"Greg?" Shepard asked. The man had been the Normandy's Chief Engineer and had been one of the first volunteers to be ascended with Shepard. The depth of his desire for revenge had been surprising but it was useful as well.
"Those bastards!"
"What is it?"
The final image from the Turian First Contact Package appeared, but instead of focusing on the Council, the greenery was in sharp focus. There was a red flower highlighted. "Those are poppies. Earth poppies."
Shepard understood. The Council had supposedly removed all Human artefacts from the Citadel in the opening act of the War of Betrayal, which included destroying the thousand year old bonsai which had been painstakingly transported as a gesture of goodwill in the wake of the First Contact War. The fact that they were still displaying Earth flora on their first contact message was an insult. It highlighted the fact they had been destroying priceless Human artefacts only because they could, not because they truly cared. If they cared, there would be no Human presence in their First Contact Package.
"We'll make sure they pay," Shepard reassured Adams. Being one with Adams, Shepard knew how much the Engineer had enjoyed keeping several small plants.
"So what were you thinking, Shepard?" Harper asked.
"I'm thinking that we show what really happened at First Contact," he replied, flashing up a vid taken from the Human web. It was a historical recreation of first contact but it clearly showed the Human ships against the relay with the Turian vessels opening fire and destroying them.
"By this stage, those at the Citadel will realise they are trapped," Hackett mused. "We lose nothing by showing them second contact," the former Admiral added, sending out a very hastily constructed image of Ascended ships firing on Turian dreadnoughts.
"I'll fix up that image," Nergal, one of the Ascended who had named themselves after the Mesopotamian god of war said.
"Are we agreed?" Shepard asked the fleet.
It only took a moment for agreement to stream through the network, along with a few other suggestions for the videos and very quickly a small group was assembled to help Nergal in creating the second half of their first contact package. There were a few surprising requests that came with it. Shepard would be used to voice a few sections of the vid, along with Skye Tunick who had been one of the most recognisable voices of Cerberus, having voiced many of their recruitment and anti-alien vids. Tunick would voice the rendition of First Contact while Shepard would voice the second half.
The Council wouldn't have time to care but the Humans would enjoy it and after all, vengeance was all about your satisfaction.
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Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Citadel Council Chambers
"Citadel Security is your domain, Executor Govinus, not deputising some grasping murderous hirelings!" Irissa snapped, closing the connection before sagging slightly and raising one hand to rub at her forehead.
It wasn't meant to be this hard. This is why they appointed people! She lowered her hand and turned to glare at Quentius. "If Govinus cannot get the citizens under control, then he will have to be replaced."
The Turian Councillor raised his hands placatingly. "I agree but this is an unusual situation and the request to hire those members of Wystan Company who are on the Citadel was well thought out."
"Hiring mercenaries is well thought out?" Irissa yelled, her eyes widening as she failed to control her emotions. "And what of the implications? That we can't even control the population!"
"I agree," Quentius said, again trying to placate her with his gestures. "But we have just over ten percent of our population rioting. C-Sec is not equipped to deal with that. They haven't been for the last 20 years. Wystan Company are the most discreet of all the mercs with a presence on the Citadel."
"Govinus might just as well have suggested the Blood Pack!"
Internally, Quentius sighed. Irissa was not going to be calm but she wouldn't acknowledge the point either. C-Sec just was not equipped to deal with large scale riots. The last time there had been anything this bad had been over 40 years back and that had been incited by the Humans. This was incited by the ships outside.
He hid a shudder. The ships outside. Fifty absolutely silent, super-dreadnought class vessels in a spherical orbit and all of them fifty percent outside of firing range. What were the Geth doing?
He looked at the image. The ships were all super-dreadnought class. Two clicks long. The Destiny Ascension had only been one click. Turian ships weren't that large. It was a waste to build that large. The Geth were logical. Surely they realised that. Or was this intimidation?
Or were they really something else? As the Humans had maintained before their isolation.
He didn't know and Quentius forcefully brought his attention back to Irissa. They didn't have time for this. She was correct in many ways. Rioting was C-Sec's issue but right at the moment it was their issue. "How about we bring over some troops from the fleet?"
"With the possible enemy out there?" Irissa objected. She was obviously focusing on the fact that the ships hadn't attacked.
"With the enemy out there," Quentius agreed. It would be nice if the super-dreadnoughts were friendly but he remembered, even if Irissa wanted to forget, exactly how he'd become the Councillor for the Turians. The last ship of this design had come through the Relay firing. "If it comes to a shoot out, troops are only going to be dead weight on the ships. There won't be many troops in the fleet. Turian vessels assigned to Citadel Patrol generally offload but there will be a few and they can help C-Sec."
"You think they need the help?"
"I know they need the help. We have 13 million citizens on the Citadel. 1.5 million of them are rioting. C-Sec is a policing force. They aren't meant to deal with this level of civil unrest and we do not have a army. They need help and if we don't provide it, then things will only deteriorate faster."
Irissa didn't look convinced but Quentius could see that she was thinking about the situation. "Oh, all right," she eventually conceded with ill grace. "But troops only. I will not accept mercenary dogs."
"Agreed," Quentius nodded, tapping his omni-tool to authorise the orders. Govinus needed the help and they needed the Citadel to be calm. "We'll have to make a statement."
"Yes, yes," Irissa waved one hand, dismissing the issue completely and Quentius resisted the urge to sigh. For all that they were long lived, even Asari could be remarkably short-sighted at times. Irissa picked up her tea, taking a long sip. It seemed to relax her. "What are we going to do about those ships?"
This time, Quentius did sigh.
They'd been over this already. Despite attempts from all the Citadel Fleet, and from the Citadel itself, the ships were silent. There was no point in further discussion without new information and they had already scheduled a hook-up with fleet command of the Turian, Asari and Salarian military. Whatever the galactic response, it had to be co-ordinated.
"For now, we concentrate on information," Quentius replied, dismissing the matter himself. Information was hard to come by but it would do no good to continue speculation without facts and he was not going to indulge her fears.
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Earth Year 2222, Citadel
"Ding de Ding Ding Ding!" The news jingle sounded, indicating a break in programming.
"In our ongoing coverage of the Citadel riots, Citadel NewsNet brings you all the latest.
"As our loyal viewers will already know, these riots have broken out in response to the fears of the fifty Geth super dreadnoughts that have arrived here at the Citadel. The last time one of these Geth super ships arrived, they attacked and killed the Council, all three Councillors dying on board the pride of the Asari Republics, the Destiny Ascension. In addition, thousands of people from all races died in the fighting and the chaos both on the Presidium and the Wards.
"The impromptu leaders of the rioters have called on the Council to do something about the murderous synthetics and remove them from Citadel space immediately. To the anger of the people here, the Citadel's own fleet hasn't fired a single shot at the new arrivals. They have let them do whatever they want in defiance of not only public opinion but also of Citadel regulations that have stood for over two thousand years."
The view changed from the Asari reporter to the fleets outside, showing the 'Geth' and the Citadel fleet that defended the station.
"As you can see, however," the voice continued, "the Geth have not fired upon the station or our valiant defenders, who are outnumbered fifty dreadnoughts to eight. Calls from Citadel Security to stand down have been ignored by the rioters, as has the clearly unfavourable balance of power between the two fleets outside. This reporter wonders what the rioters think would happen if the brave ships opened fire on the Geth, beyond the destruction of the fleet and the senseless loss of hundreds of thousands of lives.
"In a recent statement, Executor Govinus confirmed that the ships of the defence fleet were docking and offloading their troops, troops, he said, that would be sent to deal with the rioters. Govinus failed to respond to questions about just how they would deal with the riots and how many people would be killed by the troops before the riots were over.
"This has been a special report from Citadel NewsNet.
"We now return you to your regular programming."
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Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought Astrakhan
Admiral Walenty was thankful that the meeting was coming to an end. His feet hurt but it had been necessary to stand to transmit his hologram. This had been a meeting of the highest order. The Council, Turian High Command, the Asari Guiding Matriarchs, the Salarian Admiralty and himself. Their discussion topic was obvious: the new ships.
All Council races' First Contact Packages had been transmitted to the new ships, and each one had been met with silence. More creative measures had been taken as well, involving the flashing of lights in a pattern the Hanar indicated was friendly. More silence.
In the end, since the new ships were not impeding transport, for the moment they had to ignore them. But they could not let that many ships remain around the Citadel, not without knowing their purpose so the meeting had been called to discuss where reinforcements could be pulled from.
"The Hierarchy will reduce our Home Defence fleet," Primarch Victus summarised, "and, with Council permission, will temporarily reduce border patrols along the Traverse. We can start sending patrol units immediately but it will take four to five days for all the dreadnought fleets to arrive."
Councillor Quentius nodded. "Fifty five Turian dreadnoughts," he said with the slightest trace of satisfaction. This would be the largest military gathering in the history of the Council. "Under your command Primarch."
"Yes. The Hierarchy will also assign ten carriers to the reinforcement fleet." Victus replied before his hologram turned towards Matriarch Aethyta.
The Asari Matriarch looked mildly annoyed, an expression she shared with Councillor Irissa, and the two of them had not been shy about letting the Salarians know they were disappointed. Despite continual nagging for the last four decades the Salarians still did not maintain their full quota of dreadnoughts. The discrepancy was something the Asari and Turians now had to make up. After this battle, there was a very real chance the Salarians would be put on notice until they built their allowed numbers.
"The Republics will similarly reduce our systems defence fleets and will be able to bring forty dreadnoughts and attendant fleets in a similar time to the Turians, four to six days. Matriarch Inanna will be in command." She didn't bother to elaborate further and all knew that Asari patrol units, similar to the Turian ones consisting of a cruiser and three support frigates would be present much sooner.
The gathered holograms turned towards the Salarian Dalatrass Lelwani. The old Salarian had studiously ignored the Asari's evident frustration when she had contributed to the conversation. "The Salarian Union shall send thirty dreadnoughts and fleets, to arrive in four days. They shall be commanded by Admiral Rentola. Advance parties may arrive as early as 23:00 Citadel time." Subtle cues showed her satisfaction at the rapid Salarian response.
"That leads to one question," Walenty interposed before anyone could consider the meeting closed. His feet ached, but this was more important than his feet.
"Admiral?" Quentius questioned, holding back his own frustration that the meeting still hadn't finished.
"While reinforcements are needed, how they arrive is yet to be determined," he said, ignoring the way the power brokers were looking at him. He was a Turian Admiral, he knew how to deal with them. "It does us no good if the Salarian forces arrive and the geth fleet attacks immediately."
There was silence for a few moments as the problem was considered.
Matriarch Aethyta was the first to speak. "That is a valid consideration," she said diplomatically, "however, we cannot send all one hundred and twenty five dreadnoughts, with attendant fleets through the Relays at once."
Primarch Victus replied. "They aren't attacking but they are most definitely testing our resolve. I propose that we gather the fleets and send ten dreadnoughts with their fleets through to watch the reaction. That should tell us truly if they are hostile."
Walenty wasn't sure what to think about that. If the geth attacked, they would destroy the current fleet and the ten reinforcements before they could retreat but it would let the rest of the fleet know their intentions. The problem was that he was not used to thinking of ten dreadnoughts, and attending fleets, as expendable.
"So you are suggesting that we test geth reaction times?"
"Yes," Primarch Victus was firm in his reply. "We have no choice," he added. "There is simply not enough information to make a considered decision as such we need to test. If they do not destroy the reinforcements, then I would propose that we wait until all fleets are gathered, sending through only smaller ships before we move the dreadnoughts into the Serpent Nebula as fast as possible in one big convoy."
Again there was silence as the course of action was considered.
"I agree," Quentius said, backing up the Primarch.
Matriarch Aethyta shared a long look with Irissa before she nodded. "That is a most wise suggestion," she said, "though we must maintain open minds. As Primarch Victus so correctly says, we do not yet know enough about what these geth ships want so while I will support this course of action, I believe that we should remain willing to adjust our plans should that prove necessary."
Primarch Victus nodded his ascent.
"The Salarian fleet will gather at the last Relay in the Annos Basin, ready to jump when required," Dalatrass Lelwani said. "It is a comparable jump to similar positions in the Athena Nebula and Apien Crest."
"So in six days?" Irissa formed the question for them all.
"In three, we will send the first wave of reinforcements," Primarch Victus added the clarification. "Turian High Command can easily get ten dreadnoughts into position in that time frame."
Admiral Walenty nodded. "We will be waiting," he said. There was nothing else he could say because no matter what happened, he was in for a nerve-wracking three days.
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Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula
Unknown to the representatives, their meeting was hardly as private an affair as they wished. Udina and the other Ascended present had hacked into the dreadnoughts present and maintained a channel to keep an eye on what their organic opponents were planning for just such an opportunity as this. Even before Walenty stepped off the holographic transmitter to soothe his aching feet, the Humans were already discussing the contents of the meeting.
"Should we alter our formation before they arrive?" Udina asked generally.
"No. While it would lessen the risk of a captain panicking being so close to us, it would also give away some of our capabilities. That is simply aiding our enemies." Ares replied calmly.
Udina accepted that. For all that Shepard and Hackett didn't like him, they acknowledged that he was a consummate politician and part of that was knowing his weaknesses, just as they knew theirs. That's why he'd gracefully accepted a military advisor. "What do you recommend?"
There was an impression of a shrug. "We'll shift our formation in response to their initial reinforcements. A wall of Ascended formed up on the opposite side of the Citadel from the Relays would allow us to still present a threat they have to honor, while also keeping us in position to offer mutual support, something they will understand. It will also 'happen' to keep us out of weapons range and unable to prevent the Council bringing through the rest of their ships, just as we want them to do."
"Arshan, how close do you need to be to shut down the Relays?"
"One light-second if I do it directly. Alternatively, I could ask the Catalyst to do it for us in an emergency." Encoded with Arshan's response was his amusement at the Catalyst's earlier rebuke of the Humans and his own desire to avoid being on the receiving end.
"Very well." Udina and the rest sat back and waited, automatic protocols keeping their orbits of the Citadel on course.
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Earth Year 2222, Citadel
"Ding de Ding Ding Ding!" The news jingle sounded, indicating a break in programming.
"In our ongoing coverage of the Citadel riots, Citadel NewsNet brings you all the latest. As recent reports have shown, the Turian Hierarchy's elite shipboard troops have been seen in all five Wards, clearing the way for C-Sec officers as they put down hundreds of rioters.
"Over the last forty-eight hours, their tireless efforts have paid off. The ongoing riots across the Citadel are no longer spreading their lawlessness and murder into new sectors and though casualties are already reported in the tens of thousands, the good citizens of the Citadel can sleep easier tonight in their beds now that the troops are starting to push the rioters back into the slums.
"The good news doesn't stop there. Despite the Geth Crisis triggered by the mysterious AI's, shipping through the Citadel Relays has hit a new high as the backlog of delayed and diverted freighters resume their interrupted routes. The Galactic Stock Market rallied strongly in the wake of this news with primary resource interests and military stocks recording their strongest day in trading in nearly twenty years. Economic analysts expect the increase to continue as sources in the Asari Republics are confident that more government construction is to follow for the next five years.
"And the trigger for all of these events, the fifty geth dreadnoughts remain in Citadel space but have cleared the immediate area around the Relays, still refusing contact with anyone. The Council have ordered curious citizens to maintain a respectful distance from the Geth ships in their efforts to maintain peace and prosperity.
"This has been the latest from Citadel NewsNet! Your only place for all the Citadel news!"
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Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula, Turian Dreadnought Astrakhan
"Reinforcements incoming in three, two, one," Captain Fisseha announced watching the display screen intently. Exactly on time, ships appeared around the relay.
Admiral Walenty who was standing on the bridge of the Astrakhan felt a surge of pride. The Turian ships were in perfect formation.
Then he felt his heart clench. The geth ships, which for four days had sat outside their weapons range, ships which had not so much as flinched when trade vessels came through the relay, all turned as one. Watching the screen, Walenty was presented to a side view of the geth ships. It strengthened his impression on their organic shape. All of them were angled towards the reinforcement fleet.
"Weapons hot," he ordered, his voice being transmitted to the entire Citadel Fleet. He was pleased when his ships adjusted their position slightly, moving so that they could quickly move to assist the reinforcement fleet.
Before they could launch the geth ships responded again. This time they actually moved. Both fleets and the watching Citadel were presented to what could only be described as a virtuoso display of precision maneuvering.
The geth ships peeled away from the relay and Walenty's eyes flicked between all the display screens. The closest ships moved back, maintaining their sphere formation but putting a larger gap in it. Then the next rank moved back. Line by line they moved back as he watched until they formed a half circle around the Citadel.
The half circle kept collapsing and without orders the Astrakhan tracked the motion, turning so that its main cannon was pointed towards the geth. "Citadel Command, are you tracking this?" the comm officer's question rang through the bridge.
"We copy." Walenty recognised the Salarian Eachann's voice. "They are maintaining a constant distance from the Citadel."
The geth ships were now forming ranks and as Walenty watched, they organised into what appeared to be five lines. It was a hexagon. Five lines of ships with the middle line being eight ships wide and the rows above and below two ships fewer. Sensors detected a second hexagon behind the first. It was offset and again comprised of five layers as well but this time the widest layer contained only seven ships while the above and below layers had five and three respectively. Behind the two layers, three ships remained, which included the ship which had been in that original position in the sphere.
It was a reinforced wall of dreadnoughts. And while the front line was made up of twenty eight ships, Walenty could see that there was enough space for the secondary hexagon to shoot between the front ships.
It was a formidable force.
"Admiral!" Captain Fisseha sought his attention. Her voice carried an undertone of awe and Walenty knew he wasn't the only one impressed by the geth's maneuver. Despite that he had to respond.
"Captain."
"Captain Ormod is requesting instructions."
Ormod. The name flicked through Walenty's mind for a few moments before he realised who it was. The leading Captain of the reinforcements. "Have him fall into position with the Citadel fleet, though have the Pride of Epyrus maintain a guard position on the Relay." It was unlikely but possible that some of the less savoury elements of the galaxy might take advantage of their distraction.
Admiral Walenty closed his eyes for a few moments before he resisted the urge to groan. The Geth maneuver was going to result in another long meeting. His feet throbbed at the thought. "Transmit our sensor readings to the Citadel and have them forward it to Primarch Victus. The precision of their movements needs to be considered, as does their new formation."
The new formation was highly defensible. Front and back ships could take differing roles and it was open enough to allow the ships to move as necessary to avoid taking too much damage. The precision of their motion in forming that formation was troubling. It was so precise that there had to be a group mind controlling the whole.
Darn Geth, Walenty thought, nodding to Captain Fisseha before moving into her ready room, where he collapsed into a chair and rubbed at his eyebrow ridge.
Another three days until the full reinforcement fleet arrived…
And then what?
He felt sick just thinking about it.
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Earth Year 2222, Sol, Turian Patrol Vessel Gover
Illo felt sick. The ship that had towed them to Sol had handed them over to another. Unfortunately, while the former had been smoothly proficient, this new one, outwardly the same model, didn't possess the same skills for manipulating its mass effect fields. The result was a bumpy ride, full of jerks and stops, that reminded Illo of nothing so much as his younger brother playing with his toys back when they were both little kids.
In between the random bursts of acceleration and torque, Illo called out to his communications officer. "Patch me through to Captain Teschius of the 1634th."
"Y-Yes, sir." The poor officer was faring worse than most but managed to do his duty, a good Turian.
"Captain Nazario."
"Captain Teschius. Have you made any progress in escaping this situation?"
On the screen, Lidan Teschius gulped and his mandibles shivered. "None at all. Spirits damn these Humans! It's bad enough that they refused to give us honorable deaths. Do they really have to shake us until we're too spacesick to do our duties?"
"Captain Teschius, for what little it is worth, we do not intend to render you all ill." Their private conversation was broken into, just like others had been, by the entity that identified itself as Elysium. "And for the record, sitting at your stations and not dying is the full extent of your remaining duties. So in that regard, you are all doing your duties just fine."
Ascended were supposed to be above petty revenge. Elysium had denied to Shepard that she wanted to take part in the actions that were about to sweep the galaxy. When confronted with suffering Turians, however, Elysium found she was quite prepared to enjoy their plight and indeed, schemed to extend it for as long as possible. She had stepped in on occasion before the young ones had destroyed their play ships too early. Not that she would ever admit that to the Turians aboard their disabled vessels that she felt any satisfaction. That would spoil her image, and her fun.
"Elysium!" Teschius growled then cut off as a nasty bump 'happened' to choose that moment to interrupt him. "Urp!"
"So what is our course this time, Elysium?" Illo asked as calmly as he could manage.
"The juveniles on this run are taking you on a high-acceleration trip through Jupiter's rings."
"That doesn't sound too bad." Illo replied, picturing a course that would take them by the system's largest gas giant.
"Following that, they will be landing their assigned ships on Europa purely with their mass effect fields." Elysium added sweetly. "After that piece of 'good training', where they will be scored on damage to their ships and the condition of their cargo, they will then have to lift you off again through the combined fields of their small craft. While staying in orbit themselves, to increase the difficulty, naturally. Obviously, the young ones will lose points if any of your crew dies, so as usual, I'd be appreciative in the event of death or injury if you will tell me the cause."
Teschius lost the battle with his nausea at the prospect and, as his fellow captain vomited, Illo cursed the man roundly in the privacy of his own mind, clenching his teeth to hold his own lunch.
"And just to show the younger ones how it's done, your ship will be taken through the course twice. Once by me. Once by Jerrick, the juvenile who is training on your little ship. And I'll be doing it at twice the acceleration that Jerrick will need to maintain."
Illo tried to terminate the call, knowing it was futile, so he and his crew could suffer in privacy. It wasn't to be. Elysium's final words followed him in a sing-song tone to his cabin as he rushed there as fast as his dignity would permit.
"Just remember, sometimes you have fun. Sometimes the fun has you."
-cfr-
Earth Year 2222, Serpent Nebula
"Ding!" Udina smugly answered the call from Shepard, having reduced the apparent volume of intership ringtones.
"Shepard. Things are proceeding nicely here. The Council have been forced to declare martial law on 'their' Citadel and the reinforcements are arriving in a steady stream."
"Good work, Udina. We've tapped into their news transmissions and seen their coverage too. We particularly enjoyed the rising panic that the damned aliens are feeling thanks to the way you've kept them on the edge. That little maneuver when the ten dreadnoughts came out of the Relays was a nice touch."
"You can thank Ares for that brainwave." Udina praised his subordinate, inasmuch as he had any, openly. It wasn't like Shepard wouldn't find out later if he tried to steal credit.
"Indeed. When the last of their dreadnought reinforcements arrive, it will be time to get things moving at last. We'll strike Turian sector command here in the Exodus Cluster then move to the Bahak system in the Viper Nebula. The Relay there is special, the damned Batarians knew it, and we'll use it to travel across to the Apien Crest.
"According to the updates we got from the patrol fleet, there are a lot more resources to destroy there than we had believed, so it should take a couple of days before we are ready to strike at Palaven. It would be best if you had joined us by then. Once we go through the Trebia Relay, we won't be slowing down or stopping for anything until their homeworld is in ruins." Shepard's anticipation was matched by the former politician.
"We'll be there. As soon as the last of their dreadnoughts are here, we'll make a run for the Serpent Beta Relay through FTL. We'll disable whatever ships are in-system en route to the Relay, then head to Trebia as fast as our drives will take us. Try not to destroy all the comm buoys if you can, Shepard. We're going to have a boring run if we don't have a few action movies on the trip."
-cfr-
I'd love it if you reviewed :) So would the Human Ascended.
Reviewing at any time is great. It's quite nice to come back to look at the fic after a while and see 'oh, there's a new review'. That's a really nice feeling :)