Sorry for the long wait, but i hope you guys would enjoy this. Chapter 12 is not far behind. Please leave a review once you are done.
Chapter 11
Citadel Tower, Citadel
Fedorian walked briskly towards the Council Chambers, trying to disguise the haste in his footsteps. This will be the second Council Meeting he would attend as the representative of the Turian Hierarchy. His previous outburst had caught the attention of the Primarch and that of his father to say the least and both had advised him to stay to learn more of galactic politics. After all, if he is to be Primarch, he had to be able to understand politicians of other species, not just the direct ones of Palaven.
But before he had come here, he had to see someone else. And now because of that he is going to be late. He tried his best not to pick up the pace, as a running politician would seem unprofessional. He calmly opened the door into the Council Chambers and after trying to mask his nervousness as well as he could, walked in.
"Glad to have you back Fedorian, I was not expecting you to return." The Asari said to him as he took his seat on the table.
"I have much to learn. I hope you would excuse my previous outburst."
"It was already forgiven. Trust me; I was much like you when I started out."
For some reason, Fedorian somehow doubted that but he courteously replied "Perhaps with your guidance, I could find a measure of success."
"It is my hope as well. Now that we are all here, shall we begin?" Councilor Tevos asked with a smile directed at Valern. "So what is the latest update on the Batarian-Alliance issue? I heard the tension continues to rise."
"Surely there are more pressing matters Councilor Tevos? Like the issue of obtaining Alliance technology?"
"Ever the military man Fedorian, but that can be solved if the Batarians and the Alliance enter a formal war. The debris will contain the technological treasures you seek." The Asari said calmly.
"Which brings us to the issue I intend to bring up: our technological disparity." Valern said grimly. Before anyone could say anything he continued. "After meeting the Alliance, probes were sent to scout their territory. But to do that, the probes have to follow ships through Mass Relays to avoid the suspicion of them suddenly activating. However, the probes could not find a ship that used the Mass Relays that travelled to their core worlds. Instead they used a form of FTL we find intriguing."
Fedorian wanted to scream at the fact that the Salarians had used probes to monitor a new race. If they could do that, have they planted some in Turian space? He thought of his father and the Primarch and all the Turians counting on him to do his job and managed to calm down. Thankfully neither had noticed his embarrassing situation. Or so he hoped.
"But that is another matter entirely." Tevos said.
"Not exactly. For unknown reasons the ships shadowed only use Mass Relays and not their own FTL. There is also a surprising lack of commercial and civilian vessels. All ships encountered were military combat capable vessels. The shadowed ships all arrived at one destination: a system in the Attican Transverse all following ships moving via Mass Relay in the half we dictated as Batarian."
"What were they doing there? What kind of ships? How many? Where are the Batarians?" he asked.
"Over two hundred ships of various sizes which probably chased or scared off their Batarian counterparts if there were any in the system. The probes, all of them have been gathered in one system, following Alliance ships. Either they had known of the probes but chose not to deal with them until now, or they had known and intend to make a statement." Valern answered.
"It was the latter wasn't it?' He asked.
"Shamefully, yes. They had detected our probes and brought all of them to one system, STG thought that we were on to something big." Valern said bowing his head. "But what happened next; is hard to believe. It is best I show you."
Valern then activated a projector that allowed all of them full view of what the probes had recorded: hundreds of ships orbiting a lush garden world in geostationary orbit. All was well until the ships started moving at an unseen signal. They began to unleash lances of light that stabbed onto the surface, burning away everything it touched. Within minutes, all visible water bodies had largely vanished beneath clouds of steam. Large storms began to brew only to be swept aside by the awesome power the Alliance was bringing to bear.
The video was sped up to a few hours later, where atmosphere bled out in a corona surrounding the planet. The amount of energy that went into the assault was phenomenal and he could only imagine the amount of raw power required for such an operation. The forest and jungles that lay beyond the fury of the ships in orbit burned so bright that the planet seemed to glow.
A pattern seemed to be forming to Fedorian. The Alliance ships were moving in a pattern, one that ensured every inch of ground was covered and not a piece of land managed to escape unscathed by plasma. This was not just simple destruction, this was extermination. Whatever the Alliance wanted to destroy, they made sure they were extremely thorough.
Eventually, the ships began to pull back, leaving the planet dark and lifeless as they jumped out of the system by their odd FTL that burst with bright blue light like that of a Mass Relay, but not before destroying all of the STG drones and the links turned black one by one.
"So that was the glassing they talked about," Tevos said, deep in thought.
"It appears to be so but why such a show of force? It seemed unnecessary." Valern commented.
"They wanted something destroyed. If they wanted a show of force they could just bombard the planet and left it burning. This," he said pointing at the image of the burnt world "was more than a show of force. It was that and extermination. They wanted something destroyed. But something that could wait for them to gather all the probes you sent to spy on them there."
"What other way to better show power than destroying the biosphere of a world?" Tevos said.
"I believe Fedorian's worlds have merit. They could have wrecked the planet after a few moments of bombardment and yet they stayed until the planet's magnetic field faltered and solar winds blown away the atmosphere and the planet, well, glassed." Valern pressed something on his omnitool and an image they had seen earlier came up: the one with the corona. "See that light around the planet? That is atmosphere bleeding out. The planet was lost to us the moment that happened."
Tevos leaned back, deep in thought.
Finally she spoke after a minute. "We cannot approach the Alliance, condemning their destruction of a garden world or ask them about their motives without officially revealing that we were spying on them, and we also cannot just sit on the sidelines and watch as the Alliance prepares to destroy the Hegemony. So what can we do to prevent the Batarian's destruction as a political entity?" She looked at Valern and him in turn. "Any ideas?"
"Everyone needs something, so only by finding out what they need can we negotiate." Valern pointed out.
"We could ask Ambassador Udina." Tevos concluded. "He is after all who we should refer to on Alliance matters."
"Ask him what? Asking anything of him and it would likely tip him off." He said.
"Which is why you should leave it to me to do the talking. Watch and learn Fedorian. You will not get another chance like this if all goes well."
Tevos's motherly tone was and is disturbing every time she uses it but he could not deny her logic: she is a few hundred years more experienced than he in diplomacy. He gave her a curt nod, not trusting himself to speak lest his discomfort shows. He wondered if she could tell.
It took Udina fifteen minutes to come up to the Council Chambers citing unfinished business and Tevos had explained it is a common tactic wielded by diplomats. Arrive too soon, it looks like you need them and respond to their every call like an animal being offered a treat. Arrive too late and you might annoy whoever that summoned you. The latter however would not matter if you were essential to them, as you have what they need.
Udina walked in ceremoniously as the doors opened but tripped on himself much to the detriment of his professional image. No one seemed to notice as Udina began to apologetically explain why he was late and Tevos seemed interested enough to listen. Fancy talk as such was beneath him, believing that they should get to the point, but doing so will most definitely tip Udina off, so he once again, remained silent.
Once the formalities were over, Tevos began asking on whether the Alliance has made any progress to adopting Council policies like the ban of A.I. but as expected, there were none.
"Perhaps we can make a compromise." Tevos said.
"Truly? What do you suggest?" Udina replied.
"Perhaps you could trade your technology for a place in the Council."
Udina laughed. "I am afraid that is not possible. We are not desperate to join the Council. We have survived alone this long, we can survive without you for a few more years."
"Then perhaps we could trade scientist to teach each other what each side is lacking. For example I am sure your scientists are keen on understanding Element Zero. There is sensitive information not available to the public that your people would find useful in helping the advancements of your own understanding of Element Zero."
Udina crossed his arms and thought for a moment. "This seems fine. What knowledge will our scientist provide?"
"The Alliance will probably not be willing to give up its advantages in weaponry but perhaps the understanding of your faster than light travel." Tevos suggested.
"This is beyond my jurisdiction but I however believe there is a catch."
The gaze Udina gave Tevos was one of challenge, and he did not avert his gaze until his suspicions were confirmed by her.
"The catch, as you call it, is that some of the scientists are from the Batarian Hegemony."
Udina immediately replied, probably expecting this. "I will have to discuss this with my superiors. I beg your leave." And without another word he turned and left. After the doors had closed, Fedorian looked at Tevos who seemed unconcerned with the latest turn of events.
"So we wait for his return?" he said, wondering if Udina had read between the lines.
Tevos leaned back into her chair and said "Yes. We do."
Secret Geth meeting location in the Attican Transverse
1628 hours, April 2nd 2587, Alliance Military Calendar.
The Mass Relay of this system has been long neglected. Thousands of years had passed since its last use, yet technologies beyond the understanding of those who utilized it now willed the multi-kilometer object to life. In moments, the dust, ice and a host of other materials were ejected off it after gathering for millennia. The two rings began to rotate and a soft blue glow began to emanate from the core of these rings.
The relay reoriented itself. Its spokes pointed towards the galactic center like a giant gun, as if expecting something that could threaten it. Suddenly, a bright blue flash of Cherenkov radiation appeared and as the light vanished as soon as it came, a ship of a unique design emerged fifteen kilometers next to the relay.
Most denizens of the galaxy would find the three segmented ship something to be feared; a ship carrying artificial intelligences that very nearly wiped out their creators, but not their guests. The mass relay swung again, this time it pointed in the opposite direction, but slightly more 'downward' than before.
Another ship emerged, quickly followed by two more. These ships were newcomers to the galactic community where a sight of which creates a feeling of awe, fear, distrust and wonder in equal measure where ever they were seen. Essentially a large block with smoothed out edges, these ships can be considered both ugly and beautiful, but their lethality is undeniable.
The newcomers joined the first and together they travelled down star towards the solitary gas giant, taking refuge from prying eyes by its bulk from those that would come through the relay. No chances were taken. The largest of the four ships lined up next to the first and only now the size disparity could be seen.
The Alliance Endurance class assault carrier Eye of the Storm is still technically on its maiden voyage; the ship had not returned to any port for the past few months as all UNSC and therefore Alliance ships were designed to operate for long voyages alone. The five kilometer long carrier pulled aside the barely kilometer long Geth cruiser, the former dwarfing the latter making the latter look like an escort.
Rear Admiral Hackett took the elevator down to Deck D confident that the commander that he left in charge will be ready for every conceivable situation should things go south. Treachery included. He was wondering once more why the Geth would want to organize a meeting with so short a notice when the doors opened to reveal Deck D. He waved away a man who offered him a cup of coffee as he stepped out of the elevator.
The deck was a chaotic place; men and women ran about, Pelicans being attended to by their crew and some with their pilots making their own checks. There is no doubt on other decks, fighters were being readied for launch and ship board weapons being triple checked in case things turn sour.
The journey to the Geth ship was uneventful. No anomalies or problems appearing seemingly at random, just the way he liked it. However, he could barely contain his excitement to see the interior of the Geth cruiser. As a young man, he had always wanted to see the stars, to explore unknown reaches where man had not gone before and meet interesting new species of life. But ships that sailed the stars, he lived for it! At last to see the inner workings of a Geth ship!
The marines next to him seem uninterested at the very least, extremely bored and worst. As the pilot announced that they were beginning to dock, the marines seemed to pick themselves up. They became more alert and battle ready. He put on the straight face he normally wears just in time.
As the ramp descended, he noticed the hiss of pressurization could no longer be heard on this new Pelican. It is a proud day to an Alliance citizen. Technology is advancing in all fields and if this meeting goes well, it will race ahead with Geth technology provided he could steer the meeting in that direction, and if the Geth had not intended to discuss about it in the first place.
The hangar of the Geth ship was large. It seemed to stretch from bow to stern and all along the inside, Geth fighters were suspended from the ceiling in rows ready for launch. Walkways lead from the bottom to the upper levels where the fighters could be reached. These fighters looked like miniature versions of the ships they used and he felt his enthusiasm diminish. If everything was the same, there would be nothing that would surprise you. He also thought that the Geth's lack of creativity must have been a byproduct of their swarm intelligence although he did not know why they had not adopted more reasonable designs.
Standing before them were six Geth who awaited them. One of them he recognized as Legion while the others looked exactly the same in their metal shade of grey save one which was larger than the others by at least a head.
Legion took two steps forward as they descended the ramp and spoke "Welcome. I fear we cannot serve any refreshments as we bring no supplies with us."
"It is alright." He replied, now regretting the coffee offered to him earlier. "Perhaps we could discuss the reason you called us here so urgently for."
"Yes. If you would follow me."
Legion led them deep into the vessel; pass doors and through corridors that seemed the same whichever way they looked. His attempt to memorize the route back to the hanger had crumbled as Legion steered them around another corner. He could feel the edge in his guards as they were led through another corridor for the umpteenth time. Hackett understood them; they were led into a maze with no way of finding their way out by themselves aside from sheer dumb luck and if they had to find a way out themselves, it would be unlikely they would get far before the Geth stop them.
He derailed this train of thought, fearing that thinking about it may bring up the fear of death that resides in all humans and instead focused on merely following Legion. After five more minutes of twisting corridors and sharp bends did they arrive at their destination: an empty hall deep inside the bowels of the ship.
Legion showed him his seat which was of a hazel brown color before taking his own opposite him. He placed his hands on the bronze table before speaking.
"That was quite a walk."
"Apologies," Legion replied "No Geth ship has the appropriate facilities to house a meeting like this one."
"Then what is this place?" gesturing at the hall realizing it was awfully familliar.
"I am…not sure." was the reply.
"You could ask your counterparts in this ship could you not?" he asked, his curiosity getting the better of him.
Legion looked around, observing the hall carefully. "The Geth in this ship say they did not know why this was built here."
Something was screaming inside him, pleading him to leave this place immediately but he fought the urge to run. His conscious mind fought back, reasoning that this was a Geth ploy to scare him before negotiations but it did little to turn aside the fear growing within him. Was there something in the air? Were they trying to poison him? To bring a deadly disease back to the Alliance? He wiped of sweat that was forming on his brow and he realized that his guards were not affected. Instead they seem perfectly fine and were looking at him in concern.
"Is everything alright?" Legion asked, concerned.
"I am fine." He said. "Perhaps we should speak of why you had called this meeting?"
Legion's face flaps bent inwards, something akin to the narrowing of the eyes in humans due to suspicion but he pretended not to notice.
"Very well," Legion said finally. "We discovered the citadel Council has one of your ships?"
"What?" he exclaimed leaning forwards. "Which one? And how did you know?"
"We detected an Identification Friend or Foe tag of a ship similar to the ones the Systems Alliance uses when one of our ships moved through Citadel Space. The ship also intercepted Council communicae about a piece of 'important' technology under a project called Project Vase."
So the Geth were spying on everyone as well. So they were no different from anyone else.
"Project Vase," he said, the words unfamiliar. "Not very creative. Perhaps that is their intent to make it sound dull. Why did you tell us this?"
"It is merely a gesture of trust and friendship."
The mechanical voice Legion spoke in was completely monotonous so he was unable to tell if it was lying and the lack of facial features did not help. Perhaps the Geth is playing a bigger game, getting the Citadel Council and the systems Alliance to go to war that will no doubt weaken both and allow the Geth to overrun the survivors with little effort. Or perhaps just getting the two to remain at odds with each other while building up?
"We thank you for letting us in on this but why tell me? You could have easily gone to the other unit you contacted to organize this meeting." he asked.
"This unit has experience with communicating with humans and you had experience with this unit. We thought it was a good idea."
"It was. They would probably not know how to deal with you." He said with a chuckle, all aliments that affected him gone. "However, I am sorry that we must leave immediately. Given the nature of the information you gave us, the security of the Alliance is now at risk." If the information was true he thought.
He got up from his chair and extended an arm for a handshake. Legion looked at his outstretched arm for a moment before taking it and shook.
"Perhaps you could provide us with the data regarding the location and signal for our own people to analyze?" he asked as he let go of Legion's three fingered hand.
Legion looked shocked with his flaps extending fully to both sides before composing himself and replied solemnly. "The ship that detected the IFF tag disappeared before it could send the data, you know all that we do."
"Hmm, could you send us the information if you reestablish contact with the missing ship?"
Legion bowed his head. "Of course. But we never lose ships like this. We fear it may be destroyed."
"I understand. Once again, thank you."
"It is our pleasure."
And without another word Legion led them back to the Pelican awaiting them through the maze of corridors once more. They boarded the pelican and just as the ramp closed, he waved goodbye. Legion merely stared back at him.
The Pelican swiftly returned to the Eye of the Storm and they watched as the Geth ship departed for the relay. But before it could jump away, four dozen Batarian ships of various sizes jumped in. Outmatched, the Geth withdrew as the Batarians opened fire on them. The Geth cruiser was much faster and durable than the Batarians had expected, and so had nearly moved out of weapons range without firing a single shot. Sensing an easy victory, the Batarian ships broke formation and gave chase with the smaller and faster frigates racing ahead of the slower cruisers and dreadnaughts.
Hackett was at this point already in the bridge of the Eye of the Storm and had ordered covering fire to be provided to the Geth. The three Alliance vessels emerged from the curvature of the gas giant and fired their energy projectors. Caught off guard, three Batarian cruisers were destroyed immediately.
To their credit, the Batarian dreadnaughts reacted quickly and fired upon the advancing Alliance vessels supported by their cruiser escorts. However, this left the frigates that went after the lone Geth cruiser dangerously overextended and without the heavier firepower of their larger cousins, outgunned as well. Now it is the Geth who senses prey and moved on the attack. A hail of GARDIAN lasers in the ultraviolet spectrum was unleashed upon the nearest frigates punching holes in their armor crippling some as their engines were disabled while a few blossomed into fire explosions as their eezo cores were hit. Fighters were launched on both sides, each trying to bring their disruptor torpedoes to bear on the other, only to be interdicted by interceptors.
Meanwhile, an entirely different scenario played out between the larger ships. Both groups of ships had kept their distance, hoping to use their long ranged firepower to whittle down each other. Plasma torpedoes and energy projectors answered mass driver rounds but even as the Batarian ships were destroyed one by one, their fighter complement had broken through the Alliances fighter screens by sheer weight of numbers.
The captain of the Alliance cruiser Irrefutable Truth guarding the right flank of her sister ships had disregarded the fighters believing that they could do little to harm the ship; trusting in the energy shields to repulse any attack. Still, the Batarian fighters waded into a barrage of pulse lasers which reduced half their number into clouds of rapidly cooling gases. The remainder however had closed sufficiently to use their disruptor torpedoes which the Alliance had never seen in action. A salvo of these torpedoes crashed into the almost 'skin tight' shields of the Irrefutable, where they detonated, creating unstable mass effect fields along the length of the entire ship.
Hull plating peeled back, stretched and convulsed, until the entire flank of the ship is exposed to the void. Multiple engines were heavily damaged as is the slipspace drive. The captain had little time to be dumbfounded by the severe damaged received by his ship, as the two Batarian dreadnaughts that had evaded destruction by sacrificing their cruisers opened fire on the crippled Irrefutable. The incapacitated ship could not provide enough energy from the sole surviving engine to sustain the shields and had faltered despite the frenzied attack her companions unleashed to prevent her demise.
Round after round battered the Irrefutable until nothing but a blazing wreck was all that remained of her as the Eye obscured her from Batarian view, too late to block the incoming attack.
Bridge of the Eye of the Storm
1702 hours, April 2nd, Alliance Military Calendar.
"Sir, we lost the Irrefutable Truth,all hands lost." A voice said, followed by gasps throughout the bridge. Hackett understood why; so far, no Alliance ship has been so much as scratched by the Batarian Navy and suddenly one of their own was lost due to a until now, an unseen before weapon. The morale boost provided by the destruction of the Irrefutable will surely ripple across their opposites as will the stinging blow on their own. He had to distract the crew or perhaps, turn the grief and lost into anger.
"Redouble your efforts," he said as he continued to pace the bridge, occasionally glancing at the screens of the working men and women. "Trajan, focus pulse laser fire on the incoming warheads. I want them destroyed before they can even get into visual range."
"Yes sir," Trajan replied with a bow and vanished from his pedestal.
He looked at the tactical screen the size of a blackboard and noted the Geth was still busy with a few remaining frigates harrying her. He looked at the Batarian fleet and a plan began to form in his mind.
"Open a channel to the Zerstörer." He said to the COM officer.
"Done sir." The woman replied after a second of working on his station.
"Zerstörer, slave control of your ship to Trajan." He ordered. "We will take the fight to them. Power up your plasma cannons we will be closing with the enemy." He tapped the woman on her shoulder and nodded. She terminated the link immediately after.
"Trajan, is the Zerstörer under your control?"
"Yes sir," Trajan replied, his voice coming from everywhere around the room.
"Then plot a jump course right behind the Batarian fleet. We will tear their heart out with our broadsides."
"Admiral, it is a risky maneuver. If they-"
Hackett cut him off. "There is risk in war. But also reward. Can you do it or not?"
"Yes sir."
"Then do it." He barked.
"Already done,"
The cameras showing the outside world turned black for the briefest instant before starlight and burning ships once again filled the screens, only this time much closer and from a different angle.
The Batarians had cheered when the Alliance vessels had vanished, thinking the loss of one ship would knock the fight out of them, forcing them to flee. An instant later the broadsides of the Alliance ships rippled across the staggered Batarian line, crippling many but not destroying them. The dreadnoughts, being the primary focus, were utterly annihilated. The few ships that remained operational quickly turned and opened fire but it was sporadic and ineffective.
With most of their fighters too far away to deliver the disruptor torpedoes, and more ships destroyed as the Alliance ships did a barrel roll to bring the starboard guns to bear, many Batarians lost their nerve. Some had tried to flee, only to be destroyed swiftly. The remainder of the heavily damaged cruisers that had not yet exploded as their eezo cores overloaded tried to flee, return fire and surrender.
Yet their fate was the same, the blood of the men and women of the Alliance was hot and they cried out for retribution for their sister ship and took no prisoners. Admiral Steven Hackett would later remark "We have won, but at what cost?"