Chapter 2: Patience & Expectations

A single shot and debris was all that was left of the human vessel. Gutted with the first shot Annu remarked to himself of the fragility of their ship. The humans were dead, vented into space and he was certain that there was a survivor or two drifting and venting atmosphere with damaged suits. But it was not his concern to attempt any rescue. He was content to leave things be and it did not take a Chronomancer to know that the humans were doomed. However, while these aggressors were busy moving their ships onto his side of the relay surrounding him, they were not responding to the other human ship making an escape. Having experienced human nature all those millennia ago has taught the cryptek one thing. They were going to come back with their pack of monkeys to retaliate against these natives. War was about to begin and the cryptek was a witness of the first shots fired in this conflict.

His prized Jackal was also a victim of a hypervelocity projectile. These upstarts have fired upon a servant of the Silent King. Transmitting all the data back to The Imperishable, Annu was providing his fellow crypteks raw data to be analysed and presented to his majesty. His fellow crypteks sent back a single line following the transmission of data.

"Possible risk of destruction?" asked his caring colleagues. Although, Annu knew better that they were only determining any potential risk to his majesty. Further uploads of data soothe their worries. Showcasing the extent of the damage to the Jackal and a quick scan of these new vessels did not indicate any weapon capable of damaging the Imperishable.

A request was put out to allow retaliation against these disrespectful vessels. Annu was willing to further test their capabilities was his reasoning. However, Judicator Prime's response was not what he expected. "Do not retaliate and report" was the order, and the Astromancer will obey.

The Jackal was already initiating repair protocols. Living metal fusing and knitting, undoing the damage caused. A simple observation of the data confirmed his suspicions that the shot did not fully penetrate the armored layer. Emotion dictated that he should retaliate with a burst of his lightning arc arrays. Even dispersed the lightning arc arrays would obliterate the smaller vessels. Even though he was outnumbered, by his calculations he could teach these natives a lesson in firepower. But cold logic and obedience stayed his hand.

Annu knows better than to to disobey his master and to act against these newcomers. His Lord may wish to converse with them or better yet subjugate these vermin. His compilation of data on the relay was also almost complete. Detaching the scarab swarm from the relay. Annu was lost in his own mind on what to do next. His King demanded that he stay his hand and report. Open to interpretation and being a loyal devout subject. The Astromancer decided to gather more data on these new species for his report.

Seeing the newcomers arrive with similar energy signatures to the relay answered many of Annu's questions. For one, He understands the method of travel for the natives of this galaxy. But it also added many more questions. Deciding to intercept bits of data between the vessels. Annu was able to determine the name of these upstarts. Turians they called themselves. However, these Turians were clearly were not the owners of the relay. Have they regressed as well? Client state? Too many unknowns that it was becoming uncomfortable for the Astromancer. A small relief was that scans show no evidence of warp taint or technology. The intercepted transmissions also tell nothing of their history, culture, or status. He needed more information and their pitiful electrical counter measure systems will prove futile in denying a cryptek.

"Knowledge is power, guard it well." remarked the cryptek as he cheerfully invaded their systems.

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A job well done was what he expected. Blowing the two unknowns into space dust was what he expected. More information on the subject before him was what he expected. Desolas had many expectations when the order was given. One of them was to move onto the planet and begin a proper interrogation of the species and maybe subjugation. A client race for the Turian Hierarchy would do well on his list of achievements. Instead of blowing both items into oblivion, the tumor proved itself to not be a tumor but a cruiser sized ship that was fully capable of moving as it detached itself from the relay.

"What is that thing? Why are our scans not showing anything?!" questioned the General. He felt like a broken recorder at this point as he was throwing questions again and again. He was replaying the video feed of the show smashing it fully on the side. Despite the lack of kinetic barriers, the ship was seen repairing itself at a rate visible to the naked eye. Fear was beginning to seep into the General.

As no scans were affecting the ship, it was impossible to determine if the ship was utilizing Element Zero (Ezo). The crew were trying their best to provide any answers for the General. A quick assumption was that the ship was a prototype stealth ship for the natives of the nearby planet. Chatter between the ship intensifies as they begin to exchange ideas and theories on what the vessel is. From stupid ideas such as the manifestation of the Spirits to an actual ship of the Protheans. Hearing these speculations did nothing to ease the general and the first mate who was the second in command was feeling the full brunt of the General's worsening mood as he began to bark out orders to the fleet.

The General quickly ordered the fleet to surround the object and it became clear that the object was shifting direction to face his ship the TSF Steadfast. An odd ship with no visible system of propulsion and shaped like a crescent moon. The General ordered the entire fleet to ready weapons as a precaution. A report came that a vessel escaped while the fleet was maneuvering on the opposite side of the relay. Brilliant, he thinks to himself as while the fleet was responding to this possible threat, there was a hole in his blockade. As he knew nothing of the vessel before him, he would leave nothing to chance. Besides a few glowing crystals aboard the ship. There were no visible weapon systems resembling gun barrels or missile systems, which served to alleviate the General's worries.

To look on the brighter side of things. The general began to suspect that the vessel was automated, as it did not retreat or retaliate in any way ever since it was hit. Perhaps the ship was a treasure trove of technology that can elevate the Turian Hierarchy to better compete with the other two Council races. He was beginning to feel ecstatic about the situation and order a boarding team when he heard a shout from his helmsman.

"Sir! We're being hacked!" an instant later the command bridge lights turned off and they were left with dim red lights. A cackling sound could be heard from the speakers as weapons were drawn and safeties were turned off. The engines and weapons were powering down, kinetic barriers were shutdown and all communications were blocked. Until all that was left was projection screen in the middle of the command bridge.

A ghostly figure projected itself. Some of the crew started to shake in panic as a skeletal being introduced itself.

"Greetings! on behalf of Triarch, I Annu will be borrowing your databanks. It will only take a moment as I have diverted power to transmit the data over to my ship. I have also taken the liberty in disabling your weapons and communications for your safety." remarked the robotic ghost in perfect Turian as he bowed in a ceremonious gesture.

The general was taken aback by the intrusion of his vessel, his euphoria was cut short with this Geth like creature. If the projection was an actual representation of what it was like physically, there was almost no doubt that it was cybernetic. A review of the firewalls will have to be done once this is over seeing as it only took mere seconds for this "Annu" to disable his ship entirely. Data was being stolen aboard his ship and he gave the order to his staff to attempt manual overrides which proved pointless as Annu was always one step ahead of them. Arterius then gave the order to start pulling out wires from the databanks, knowing that classified and important military documents were stored in the databanks. As he was left no choice, the general placed his bets on his last option in hopes of distracting and buying time. Conversing with the creature.

"Spirits damn you! Return my ship this instant!" demanded Desolas at the projected hologram.

"Have greetings changed? No, your data says it is still common to start conversations with a greeting. You are remarkably rude to be making demands when you hold no power." chided Annu as he turns to look at Arterius.

"No power? we will regain control sooner or later and we have you surrounded. You are from that crescent ship correct? Surrender." said Arterius with confidence and pride.

Feeling unamused Annu stooped low as to be face to face with the General. He spoke in a very condescending tone.

"I have witnessed up close, the destruction of entire civilizations and the death of stars. I brought low gods and lived through the War in Heaven. A mortal such as you demanding my surrender is as far as I am willing to endure General. Especially since i was patient enough to ignore the damage on my ship. Choose your next words wisely General or they may be your last." remarked the hologram in a bone chilling tone.

Dread was now beginning to creep in the General's soul as he may have realized that he may have bitten more than he could chew.

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The 43rd fleet was at high alert as the flagship TSF Steadfast was not responding to hails. Readings also show that the dreadnought was powering down its weapons. Something was wrong, very wrong. A few minutes in and the second in command was about to assume control, when suddenly the flagship was powering up again and communications was restored. Immediately, the order to fire was given by no other than General Desolas Arterius himself. The frigate TSF Courageous who was closest was about to open up with its mass accelerator cannon, managed to witness a change in the unknown vessel. As if cloaking or shifting away into another plane of reality resembling a blur and it was gone. A barrage of fire hit nothing but the vacuum of space with two shots impacting on the relay and doing nothing to damage it as the relay was made of the same material as the Citadel and being nearly impervious to damage. Orders were relayed to the TSF Courageous to move into its last known position and the fleet was watching their cameras and sensors in a desperate attempt to find the unknown vessel. Finding nothing, the Turians moved onto the nearby planet of Shanxi to begin the siege.

The footage would be relayed back to the Citadel and the First Contact War would begin between the Turians and the Humans.

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The Citadel, the seat of power and capital of the council. At almost 50 kilometers in length, it serves not only as a symbol for the united races and its associates. But also a reminder of the endless possibilities of space. For no other race has come even close to building a structure of this magnitude. On the arms of the Citadel are its Wards, each of them are sectors for inhabitation and commerce. Deeper in lies the Presidium with its park like complexes and offices and in the center of the Presidium is the Citadel Tower. Politics is always at the heart of any empire and the Council is no different.

Councilor Valern would be first to know of the events of Relay 314. As the Salarian Special Task Group (STG) was already intercepting information between the fleet and Councilor Sparatus. Despite being members of the same council it was always better to have an upper hand when it comes to information gathering. The Councilor being informed of the Turians police actions came as a slight surprise when it was reported that there was a new race. But what concerned him more was the unknown vessel, as he stares at the video on his Omni-tool. Such technology would be a god send to his people. The ability to hack a military vessel in seconds and to cleanly disengage after that. Not to mention the self repairing ship. The possibilities were endless if he could get his hands on the vessel. With a series of motions on his Omni-tool, Valern would divert the bulk of STG operations in finding the unknown vessel and also to research the new race.

War was sparked between what is now known as the Human race and the Turians. One side blaming the other, the Turians were adamant in defending Council law as the strong military arm of the Citadel. As the conflict raged on, the Council was about to intervene to prevent full scale war.

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Near Shanxi

Annu exited Phase Shift back into the material plane a few hundred thousand kilometers away from the fleet on his way back to the The Imperishable when an impossible event occurs. Communications was being blocked, rechecking his systems showed no issue with the ship until it was too late when a bright lance tore through his ship like butter. Annu was vaporized as his ship was drifting back to the Shanxi system.

The last transmission sent back to the Imperishable was that it was surrounded and had to cut off communications when the Jackal Phase Shifted. It would take almost a month before the derelict of the Jackal is found by the 43rd Fleet of the Turian Hierarchy laying siege on the planet. Having to rely on visual confirmation again to detect the ship. Arterius would take no chances against the unknown vessel as he ordered his fleet to unleash hell on the ship. Blowing it into pieces.

Orders were given to scoop the remains for study. The General will salvage the pieces restore his lost pride, and he was hopeful that the pieces will provide an edge to the Turian Hierarchy. The Primarchs will be pleased, he thought to himself.

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The Imperishable was still moving slowly in the Jackal's direction as Szarekh was eager to observe these younger races. The crypteks were already reporting Annu's findings when the Silent King sensed the severed connection between The Imperishable and the Jackal. An anomaly perhaps? solar storms or some other phenomena he suspected. He was expecting the connection to be reestablished soon. As Annu was always more than willing to go the extra mile in pleasing his liege, that perhaps he may have made a small stop along the way to gather more information for his lord. Nothing, there was no indication of Annu's whereabouts or his status. As a loyal subject for millions of years, the Silent King will have his answers. Powering up long dormant systems, The Imperishable initiated an inertialess jump towards the Shanxi system. Only to find a whole fleet of ships desecrating the remains of the Jackal with clear signs of damage from their weapons.

The great king stared at the scene in disbelief. It was on his order that forced Annu to not retaliate, did he doom another of his loyal subjects?

Long forgotten emotions arose within the Szarekh, emotions he thought lost eons ago. Annu left with his blessings for this mission, he expected another interesting find to alleviate his boredom or if the great king dared hope. An end to his quest.

But he has learned his lesson eons ago.

There is no peace amongst the stars, only an eternity of carnage and slaughter, and the laughter of thirsting gods.

**RANT**

Did not expect this many reviews and follows after a day. To answer some of you:

LonelySamurai i dont see a need for the Silent King to call in any reinforcements especially since he owns a modified Cairn Class Tombship. The ship alone is enough for a fleet of imperial ships and holds enough troops to conquer almost anything it faces. Although we'll see as the story progresses. i won't spoil anything here.

PrinceofPetersburg I hope this chapter answers your question as i have already made plans for the balance of power.

Thank you all for your reviews and personally i felt that i rushed the introductions for chapter 1. I will endeavor to improve further and try to make longer chapters. Also to let you guys know that i will not be updating this too regularly. So don't expect daily updates.