As Shepard was thrown to the ground, Kara was the first to reach the Commander. She quickly assessed the soldier's status before the rest of her team could react. She was breathing, and her body looked unharmed. Kara grunted as she stood, she'd be fine.

The Normandy, the ship Nora had spotted earlier landed nearby, and the ships marine detachment disembarked, securing the landing site. A man in a dark blue Naval uniform approached, flanked by four soldiers. They spread out as they approached, surrounding Kara and her team. Kara huffed, and the man in command approached her. "I'm Captain Anderson, Systems Alliance. And you are…?"

"General Kara. Hunter Expeditionary forces."

The man nodded. "What brought you here General?"

"My team and I had just arrived in the system when we detected a distress call coming from this colony about a half hour ago. We were duty bound to investigate."

Anderson brought a hand to his chin in thought, before he turned to face his soldiers. "Alliance First contact protocol is to assume hostility, so I hope you don't take this situation the wrong way."

Kara shifted her gaze to the men and women who had their rifles pointed at her before she responded. "A wise policy. I assure you, we don't mean any harm." Anderson nodded idly as he watched Shepard's unconscious body be loaded onto a stretcher and carried on board. He turned back to face Kara, chewing his lip as he thought of the most tactful approach.

"I'd like to thank you on behalf of the Alliance for your efforts protecting this colony, but this is a first contact scenario. I'm afraid I can't let you leave, I'm going to have to ask that you and the rest of your team surrender your weapons and board the Normandy so we can decide what to do from here."

Laura rejoined Kara and the rest of her team then, and she opened an encrypted com channel between her and the rest of the team, allowing them to speak privately.

"What'd I miss boss?" Laura asked, her jovial nature not sullied in the slightest by the sight of guns being pointed at her.

"The good captain here wants us to accompany him." Kara said.

"As prisoners." Nora growled.

"I'm not sure he'd phrase it that way Nora." Samantha interjected.

Machiko spoke up. "So what do we do? You know we can't just surrender our gear."

Kara silenced them when she turned her head. "I have an idea, stand by. If things go sideways, stick to non-lethals." Five green acknowledgment lights winked in Kara's HUD, confirming the order, and she turned back to the captain.

"I'm afraid I can't comply with your request, but I have a counter-offer."

Anderson's eyes narrowed. He'd seen what one of those things could do from the communique they'd received, and he really, really didn't want to see what five of them could do in person, so he was eager to resolve this peacefully if he could. "Let's hear it." He said, after a brief moment of silence.

"We can't surrender our weapons or armor. Instead, the rest of my team will leave the system, and I'll surrender myself, unarmed and unarmored." Anderson contemplated the offer. On one hand, he had no idea if Kara was important enough that her capture would stop the rest of her kind from fighting (though the way the rest of her team seemed aggravated at the thought of losing her seemed to support this). Letting unknown aliens who were clearly military just disappear into god knows where seemed like a terrible idea. On the other, Kara and her team had helped avert what likely would have been a disaster, and Anderson was inclined to take Kara at her word.

"Alright, the rest of you can go." Kara nodded in thanks.

The next few minutes were occupied by Anderson's debriefing of Shepard's team and William's unit, and the four Hunters excluding Kara climbed into their fighters and left. As they did, Nora made sure to notify Kara they'd be tracking her position in case anything went wrong. Anderson watched the triangular ships fly off, and he really hoped he wouldn't regret this. With the rest of the team gone, Kara and Rocket, who also remained behind, disarmed and placed their weapons and armor inside their respective craft, which followed the rest of the fighters sans their pilots.

Kara was evidently nude without her armor. Well... nude wasn't quite the right word, as her dense fur coat did more than enough to protect her modesty. The only "clothing" she wore, was a pair of silver thigh guards and shin plating, secured with leather straps, and a band of thick leather that covered her breasts, which clearly identified her as Mammalian and female. She still wore her helmet however, after removing two pieces, she was left with a bright silver sheet of metal fashioned in a distinctly avian appearance, with a beak like dip in front of her mouth, and a sharp upwards swoop towards the back of her skull. The helmet wasn't secured to her head in any visible way however, but it rested atop her skull all the same.

After Anderson had finished his debriefing, Kara and Rocket followed Anderson up the Normandy's ramp, flanked by six marines. Anderson gestured for them to stop.

"This is the cargo bay, we'll keep you here until further notice."

"As you wish, captain." Kara responded, her voice completely calm and relaxed in spite of her situation. Anderson turned to leave, heading up the lift in the bay, intent upon seeing Shepard's status. Kara lazily gazed at the four marines who remained behind as a security detail, before slowly kneeling, folding both her legs beneath her. She placed her hands atop her thighs and began to meditate upon recent events.

Fire team Artemis's usual methodology upon arrival was to find some isolated backwater, and garner as much intel as they could without leaving a trace, so as to more peacefully make contact. Instead, her team got caught in the middle of a firefight, and their whole plan was derailed within minutes of arrival. No plan survives contact with the enemy, Kara thought to herself.

"Serina." Kara thought, calling upon her AI companion.

"Yes ma'am?" The AI responded, using Kara's helmet to communicate in private.

"You haven't said a word since we approached Eden Prime. What is it?"

The AI swiftly replied. "I've been busy data mining. Finding out as much as I can about our new friends while you were busy shooting things."

"And?" Kara asked. Serina responded by pulling up a detailed summary of everything She had learned about this galaxy's inhabitants. Kara spent the next half hour studying it intensively. The First Contact War (Kara immediately decided she didn't particularly like Turians given their reckless behavior in that whole debacle) the Citadel Council, and this galaxy's vast history. It was utterly fascinating. The Rachni Wars, the Krogan Rebellion, the Geth Uprising and general distrust of AI (That would be a problem).

So much information to process, but it would have to wait. Rocket shifted, raising his right leg over Kara's shoulder and wrapping his arms gently around her neck as he napped. Kara reached a hand upwards and delicately scratched his back with a trimmed claw, eliciting a pleased sigh in response.

Before Kara could return to reading this galaxy's extensive history, the elevator to the cargo bay shuddered, and she was shaken from her concentration. Kara cocked her head as she sensed Shepard approaching. The woman crossed the room, and gestured for the guards to lower their weapons. They did so reluctantly.

"Commander, feeling better I presume?"

Shepard nodded. "Yeah just… never mind, what are you doing?"

"Meditating."

Shepard raised an eyebrow. "Really? I've heard good things about that. Does it really work?"

Kara shrugged. "I certainly feel better."

"Maybe I should try that sometime. Anyway, I wanted to ask you some questions while we're en route to the Citadel.

"Ask away." Kara said.

"I wanted to know more about your species. You said on Eden Prime you were "Expeditionary Forces". So you're explorers?"

"In a way. Any venture outside Hunter territory is considered first and foremost a military expedition. So we are soldiers who happen to be exploring."

Shepard nodded. That made sense, Humanities early exploration probably would have gone smoother if they were using warships instead of civilian vessels. "What about your culture? Turians are pretty hierarchical from what I understand, and Krogan are always looking for a fight."

Kara nodded. "We are more communal. Our societal structure is somewhat similar to… Feudal Japan. Our species is divided into dozens of clans, and the magistrate, the equivalent of a president or prime minister, is chosen through direct elections by the general populace of each clan. There is a great emphasis placed on altruism and community service. When I was growing up, when I was done with my day's classes, me and my pack would often take care of the children younger than us. The adults in the clan, even the ones we weren't related to, were like aunts and uncles to us."

"Sounds like you had a lot of people looking out for you growing up. What's a pack?"

"A pack is…hmm. When you start your formal education, you're assigned to a group of six individuals, your pack. Like a study group. You spend your entire childhood with them, going to school, attending martial drills and the like."

Shepard nodded again, growing increasingly interested. "You said martial drills. So military service is mandatory?"

"No, the purpose of the drills is more to instill discipline and self control into our children. We mature quickly, and could easily harm or even kill other species from a young age." When Kara finished talking, she brandished her claws. There was a slight curvature to them, leading Shepard to believe they were meant to impale and grasp onto prey. At this distance, Shepard could see that the claws were dull, apparently intentionally. Even so, Shepard knew immediately exactly what those claws could do to a person.

"You mentioned Hunters are from different Clans. Is conflict common between your people?" Shepard asked, thinking of the Krogan and their propensity for violence, internal and external.

"No, at worst, the relations between Clans are like friendly rivalries. Warriors hailing from different clans try to one up each other in Wargames, those kinds of things. At best, the differences are negligible. Our people are encouraged to travel the world and learn as much as they can, about themselves and others. So conflict is exceptionally rare."

"But it stills happens?"

Kara nodded. "Understanding doesn't eliminate conflict entirely. Not all differences are reconcilable."

"That's a bit pessimistic, don't you think?"

Kara shrugged. "Perhaps, but reality can be disappointing."

Shepard nodded, then remembered something. "Back on Eden Prime, Rocket called us "humies" and Nora called us monkey's…" She trailed off, casting a suspicious glance at Kara.

The Hunter immediately grasped Shepard's implication. "Your point being, how could they refer to humanity so disparagingly, if your species and mine have never encountered each other? The answer to that is… complicated. Very complicated. I would be more than willing to explain it to you, but that will have to wait until we have more time to discuss it. But the short answer I can give you for now is, you aren't the first humans we've come into contact with."

Somewhat satisfied, Shepard thanked Kara for answering her questions, before processing the answers. How could Humans have made contact with Hunters before? The new species was so distinct in their appearance from other species in the galaxy, and the Mass Relay Network was so heavily observed that they couldn't have come from somewhere outside, they'd have been spotted sooner.

And how could they have encountered Humans before, when the first species the Systems Alliance encountered were Turians? Did the Hunters kill human explorers who discovered them before they could report their findings? Shepard briefly entertained the idea, before discarding it. The scouting vessels that traveled through the Relays prior to the First Contact War were heavily monitored, any loss in contact would have been reported and investigated.

Shepard was snapped out of her thoughts however, when Joker spoke through the Intercom. "You're wanted on the bridge Commander, we're on approach to the Citadel."

"Understood Joker, on my way." Shepard was joined by Kaiden, Jenkins and Ashley as she made her way to the bridge. They arrived just as they reached the relay near the Citadel. They stared through the view ports at the encroaching nebula, and gazed in wonder at the Destiny Ascension as it drifted past. Their awe was dwarfed when they came within sight of the Citadel. The center of interstellar government, and a massive Prothean construct.

They were quickly transferred to Alliance control, and docked near C-sec headquarters. Anderson must have sent word ahead about Kara, because Shepard could see over a dozen C-sec officers standing ready on the docks, no paparazzi thankfully. Though Shepard wondered how they were supposed to keep the discovery of a new species under wraps.

Shepard accompanied Captain Anderson, and together they took the elevator to the cargo bay to inform Kara of their arrival. The four marines took flanking positions behind Kara, and they escorted her to the elevator before realizing they had a problem.

Kara was far too large to fit in the elevator, much less have people accompany her.

Kara huffed derisively. "Why does everything people make have to be so tiny?" After a brief moment of mulling over what to do, they simply decided to use a Kodiak shuttle, which again, was almost too small for Kara to fit inside along with her escort.

The shuttle moved a grand total of thirty feet before coming to a stop and opening the doors. Shepard and her team stepped out first, rifles in hand, Kara stepped out next, then four more marines with Anderson taking up the rear. A Turian with blue facial markings approached, and after a moment of gawking at the massive creature before him, spoke to Shepard. "Hello Commander, we got word you were bringing a guest, but we didn't expect… this." He gestured to Kara. "You could have been a little more descriptive."

Ashley spoke up, her voice laden with sarcasm. "How could we have been any more descriptive than "hey we found a giant piss off monster and we want to bring it to the Citadel."

Kara scoffed, and the Turian looked at her claws, then at her. "I understand you're unarmed, but for everybody's safety, including yours, we should probably put you in some cuffs."

Kara sighed. "If you can find a pair big enough, fine." Sure enough, they couldn't. Kara assuaged their fears by promising to only maul people who really deserved it, and Shepard honestly couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

As they marched through C-sec headquarters, dozens of heads turned in shock and fascination, enraptured by the new arrivals. They took the elevator leading into the Presidium. The marines that had been escorting Kara shifted uneasily, and Shepard knew why. Being locked in enclosed spaces with something that looked like they'd eat you just as soon as look at you would put anyone on edge.

Once the elevator came to a stop, they met briefly with Representative Udina, who immediately voiced his dissatisfaction with the situation. "A Spectre killed in action, the beacon destroyed, and then you have the audacity to dump this," Udina threw his arms up at Kara, "On my lap. Do you have any idea how much this complicates things Shepard!"

Rocket spoke before Shepard had a chance to respond. "Well flark you too humie." The ambassador scowled at the raccoon, but otherwise remained silent. As they approached the elevator leading to the Council chambers, they attracted a small crowd of civilian gawkers. Rocket grunted in disdain. "Bunch of losers. Don't they have anything better to do?"

"Evidently not." Kara responded.

They entered the elevator, and Kara braced herself to come face to face with the Citadel Council.