On board the Union Intelligence shuttle, Kofunago LK2, on approach to the East Spitsbergen Spaceport, Svalbard, former Kingdom of Norway, Earth, Sol System, Earth Cluster, Union Core Systems…
Agent Legasov gazed out of the shuttle window, as he was reminded of how limited the Organization's reach was. The Organization may control entire systems and have hundreds of warships, but it needed to operate under the nominal facade of the Union Intelligence Service.
And Intelligence's refusal to cooperate in keeping Svalbard clear from settlement had contradicted the Director's wishes. Ultimately, Deputy Director Manah conceded the point, and various sites began cropping up across the archipelago. A port settlement at Longyearbyen, a radar station at Ny-Alesund, an archeological dig site at Pyramiden, a new airstrip at Calypsobyen, massive railgun emplacements at Barentsburg and Edgeoya, huge vaults of data, artifacts, and biological samples on Nordaustlandet… the list kept growing.
Soon ships, aircraft, and spacecraft were visiting on a regular basis, and the Organization was forced to become more and more discreet with their activities.
"I guess that shows the difficulty of keeping an enormous secret over long periods," Legasov sighed to himself. "Pity we can't just ship all our projects off-world…"
As the shuttle set down, Legasov casually bid the UIS pilot goodbye, and passed through the identification scanner to enter the small Intelligence outpost, and take a hidden lift downward.
Several checkpoints, and secret underground passages later, he found himself within the bowels of the Organization's headquarters.
Sighing, he readied himself to face the music, and walked over to the Deputy Director's office.
"You called for me, Deputy Director?" Legasov saluted, as he entered.
Deputy Director Manah leaped up furiously, kicking back the chair she had been sitting on. "Legasov, what the hell have you done?!"
"Deputy Director, I was acting in the best interests of the Union and the galaxy at large-"
"I fail to see how leaking vital information to a hostile alien civilization serves the Union's interests!" Manah retorted, bringing a fist down on her desk.
"Excuse me, ma'am, am I missing something? Are we at war with the Citadel Council? How are they hostile?"
"They despise intelligent AI and synthetic lifeforms- and have regulations demanding their destruction. Informing the Council about the Old Machines will only make them even more hostile toward synthetics. What's their first reaction to our activities in the Traverse? Send a hostile agent to attack an outpost. Imagine what they'll do when they find out our true nature. Given the opportunity, they would gladly commit genocide against us!"
"We cannot keep the Old Machines- or ourselves- secret from them forever. The sooner we let them know of the threat, the more they can arm themselves against the pending invasion."
"And the more they can prepare against us! Your actions constitute treason against the Organization and the Union!"
"Actually," Legasov objected. "I consulted the Director directly beforehand, and they hand to 'act at my discretion'. As for the Union, like all Organization activities, I acted under Article-"
"Silence! That's enough! Who did you leak to, specifically?"
"Both the Shadow Broker and the STG," Legasov replied bluntly. "I presume the Council got its information from the former."
"GRAH!" Manah let out an incoherent outburst, blasting Agent Legasov with a blinding white light that seemed to glow mysteriously from all over her body. The latter slammed against a wall and fell apart, splattering lubricant, oil, and other Android fluids onto the wall.
Pacing around the office breathing heavily, she finally settled down and pressed her communicator. "Agent Cortana, I want you to get in touch with Director Serov, Priority Alpha. I'll also be sending Agent Gallico, K-M3, and Observer Corona over to join the briefing… Yes, I do think it's appropriate to let her in on it- it's not like we have much choice now. It's time we arrange a press conference." Manah took a deep breath. "And tell High Admiral Victoria that I want to talk. It's time to put the Jormungand Strategy into action- if we're going to fight a war now, let's make sure it's not a two-front one."
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Union Press Hall in Shanghai Settlement, former People's Republic of China, Earth, Sol System, Earth Cluster, Union Core Systems…
Chairman Anemone of the Union Council walked up to the podium at the center of the vast hall, with various key dignitaries in tow- Minister Kavar of the Union Diplomatic Corps, High Admiral Victoria of the Space Navy, Commander White of YoRHa, Director Lovelace of the Space Colonial Administration, Artemisian Ambassador Davil Crainagh, Ecclesiarch Benedin of the Church of Humanity, Chairman Pascal of the Machine Council and Director Serov of the Union Intelligence Service.
The audience was far more varied- reporters from numerous news agencies, representatives from various branches, divisions, and subdivisions of the Union, ambassadors from major planetary and national governments, military officers from numerous fleets of the Navy and planetary defense forces.
Even members of allied and vassal races were in attendance, ranging from the Rachni Worker busily taking notes on a table in the corner, to a nest of prattling Saderan diplomats. There was even a hungry Kroot eating in the back of the room.
Live news broadcasts carried the scene to a hundred billion mechanical eyes on thousands of worlds, transmitting from Earth to the far corners of the Union.
Among them, 2B, 9S, and 6O watched the solemn proceedings with trepidation. "They really pulled out all the stops this time..." 9S whispered. "What on Earth has happened this time?"
"Do you think war has broken out with the aliens? I mean, we've been having skirmishes on and off with them for years now," 2B suggested. "And there are the rumors about their prejudice against artificial intelligence…"
"Let's not jump to conclusions, after all we've just been eradicating pirates and terrorists," 9S reasoned hurriedly. "And their regulations have been against the development of artificial intelligence in their own space, we haven't heard of any conclusive policy on their part about first contact with an independent artificial race like ours."
Once the dignitaries in the front had taken their positions, Chairman Anemone cleared her throat, and began, "Attention, all citizens and friends of the Union! As your Chairman, it is my duty to inform you of a great threat- an existential threat to not just the Union but the entire galaxy.
She paused, as a murmur of surprise ran through the crowd.
"By analyzing extensive records from Prothean artifacts recovered throughout Union space, from the archives on Mars and Troflagari, to the beacon on Eden Prime, to data discs we discovered on Juntauma, Caerleon, and in the Sparta System, just to name a few, we have discovered the threat that caused the collapse of the Prothean civilization and the extinction of their people.
Over fifty thousand years ago, the Prothean Empire was the predominant civilization in the entire galaxy. This lasted until a massive synthetic alien race hiding in deep space invaded the galaxy, decapitating their government in one strike, and then systematically exterminating their colonies over more than a century. Furthermore, according to the Prothean records, the Protheans were not the first to fall victim to these "Old Machines", as the Intelligence Service has dubbed them. Likely for hundreds of thousand, or millions of years, the Old Machines have been periodically and systematically exterminating all advanced spacefaring civilizations in the galaxy before retreating back into intergalactic dark space.
Was this done for some ideological reason? To destroy potential rivals and threats? Or a perverse form of 'conservation' for the less-technological races in the galaxy? Or some reason yet inscrutable to us? We do not know, but what is clear is these Old Machines pose a threat to the Union's survival, not to mention our honored Oracles on Artemis.
Little is known about their naval forces but it is said their capital ships were two kilometers long, longer than even our largest carriers and dreadnoughts, and had unbelievably-powerful mass effect cores that powered terrifying weapons.
But even more deadly for the organic races in the galaxy, mainly the Protheans, was their ability to brainwash and convert organic beings, often without them knowing they were being controlled. The final step would be to turn them into twisted cyborg or genetically-engineered puppet slaves."
Anemone paused, and glanced at the many wide-eyed audience members and rolling cameras.
"As to why they didn't destroy the Mass Relay network, we can only speculate. It's possible they hoped that to corral future spacefaring civilizations into certain regions of space- certain kill-zones- for convenience in future genocide.
It's possible that the Protheans didn't even build them, as were corralled by them just the way the Old Machines wanted. It could have been built by many cycles of extinction ago- or even by the Old Machines themselves.
If that is the case, we face a terrifying enemy with the overwhelming burden of experience and planning on their side, untold numbers, and advanced technology we know not about.
But I will make it clear the Union government is doing all within our power to address this- and other- threats to our glorious Union. The Union Council has already approached the Oracles and received their unanimous support to take any measures necessary to take all necessary measures to protect our civilization, our culture, and our citizens.
Our engineers have begun designing new classes of super-dreadnoughts that will match the largest Old Machine Capital Ships, while production of various Mass Accelerator Cannon platforms are being rapidly accelerated to defend our worlds from invasion. This is not a war we ever sought, but we will not tolerate any enemy that desires our extinction.
We will be ready- and we must prevail- over these, and any such invaders! Glory to the Union!"
Chairman Anemone glanced over at High Admiral Victoria. "I believe the Union Navy has some official statements to make…"
"Thank you, Chairman," High Admiral Victoria stepped up onto the podium. "As Commander of the Union Navy, I am well aware that not everyone in the Union has gotten along well in our tumultuous history. But we face a dangerous, uncertain future, an existential threat to each and every one of us, no matter our race, construction, or ideology. It matters not if you are Machine or Android, Independist or of the Church, if you are Rachni, Geonosian, Troflagari, Saderan, Colicoid, Selonian, Kroot... we need the help and cooperation of each and every citizen and ally of the Union! We must set aside our differences, look past our divisions, to form a bulwark against extinction! Glory to the Union!" She paused momentarily, looking slightly uncertain how to finish her speech. "Now, I believe Commander White would like to make some comments…"
Seven more speeches later, Chairman Anemone opened up the room for questions.
Colonel Mazabraud of the Mars Defense Force raised her hand. "Is there any evidence to suggest the Old Machines may have been constructed by the same alien race that constructed the Machines? Or if they have any link to the Locusts?"
"Good question, Colonel," Commander White replied. "I'll take that one. While I cannot say anything definitively as we know nothing about the Old Machines' origins, I will say that is infinitesimally unlikely. The Old Machines have persisted hundreds of thousands to millions of years, and the aliens, who lacked mass effect technology and had only rudimentary FTL drives, did not remotely resemble such an ancient, Eldritch race. Of course, that's just my opinion, and we have no way to know for sure, nor can we confirm or dismiss any connection with the Locusts, as much as I doubt it. Most likely the Locusts were nothing more than the creations of a minor race that persisted after its extinction, or an attempt at Von Neumann probes gone wrong. Regardless, I assure you we will look into any available leads on enemy threat, but no one must give in to discrimination or suspicion. Now is the time for unity, not discord! Will that be all, Colonel?"
"No, ma'am. Thank you."
A reporter for the Arcturus Tribune, Estella Chen, raised her hand. "If these theories are true, doesn't that cast more questions on the Union Diplomatic Corps' failure to make contact with the wider galactic civilization- this 'Citadel Space'? We've known of their presence for years with unofficial encounters and skirmishes. Many alien races have already joined us as citizens or allies- many of them in this very room- wouldn't it make sense to unite the galaxy against the Old Machines, against this threat?"
"It's not that clear-cut-" Minister Kavar objected. "We have gathered evidence that the Citadel civilization is highly-hostile to the creation of intelligent synthetic lifeforms. There are strict restrictions in place. And when AI is indeed created, the Citadel has little qualms about massacring them, viewing artificial intelligence as nothing more than tools. The Citadel's paranoia was further intensified during a conflict known as the Geth War, a conflict in 11,772 CE in which AI constructs fought back against the attempted genocide and seized an area of space."
"That was during the Ninth Machine War…" 9S muttered, raising an eyebrow.
"Though we don't know definitely how the Council nations will react to a foreign synthetic race, what media and discourse we have been able to glean from the Extranet suggest a response driven by great, widespread fear and hostility."
"And it's entirely possible that the Citadel may not believe us whatsoever. And if they do believe the Old Machine threat, they could entirely misconstrue us as that very enemy, or an extension of the Old Machines, due to the biased lens they view AI," Ecclesiarch Bendin of the Church of Humanity added.
"No offense or finger-pointing intended, but consider how quickly thoughts of connections between the Old Machines and us Union Machines were considered, as well as with the Locusts," Minister Kavar pointed out. "Now imagine a civilization that knows nothing about us, and views us as well, entirely alien."
Director Serov stepped forward. "After discovering the evidence, we attempted to deliver the information to the Citadel government through informal channels, as we have no formal lines of communication. Shortly afterward, a hostile attack was launched against the Intelligence outpost in question. While we cannot be sure, evidence suggests the attack was sponsored by the Citadel. Furthermore, our attempts to establish contact have so far been ignored."
"So what exactly do you plan to do?" Estella questioned pointedly. "Try to keep silent from the Citadel forever? What's the feasibility of that? Or are you still going to try diplomacy eventually? Or are we going to go to war? What's the strategy?"
Chairman Anemone and High Admiral Victoria both moved as if to speak, before noticing each other and pausing. After a moment, Anemone gestured quietly, ceding the position to Victoria.
"The intention is to eventually make official contact with Council civilization. We are willing to work with the Citadel races, but only if they are willing to cooperate with us in turn. We will not compromise Union security to placate hostile aliens!" Victoria curved her left hand into a fist on the podium. "We are determined to protect Union colonies and citizens from any threat, be it the Council or the Old Machines! Does that answer your question?"
"Yes," Estella Chen nodded solemnly, lowering her hand.
"Chairman, do you want to wrap this up?" High Admiral Victoria turned toward her nominal superior.
"Yes, it does seem our time is up," Anemone spoke up. "This conference is adjourned, and any further questions can be forwarded to our press offices. Glory to the Union!"
"Glory to the Union!"
