Citadel Presidium: Councilor Tevos' Apartment
Tevos walked into her luxurious apartment and simply wanted to drink a glass of wine, take a shower, and go to bed. It had been a long day of meetings and negotiations. Batarians were again angry about the fact they couldn't simply take what they wanted. Volus corporations were petitioning for special privileges. Other matters that simply could not be resolved without the council's intervention. Tevos thought about taking a vacation. Going to sunny Thessia and just laying down on a beach for a week would do her good. A chime from her omnitool broke her out of her daydreaming.
Looking at the alert she cursed inwardly. The priority alert meant she would not be getting her shower or rest anytime soon. She decided that she might as well be comfortable when reading the message that was apparently so important. She saw no point in sitting hunched over looking at her wrist. Getting a bottle of thessian fruit juice and pouring herself a glass. Now was not the time for wine as she had planned. She sat down on her couch to read the message on her extra-large holographic display that projected onto a wall.
The first words in the report nearly caused her to drop her glass.
Turians defeated at both human colony and New Nepolita. New Nepolita under siege expected to fall shortly.
Goddess this would change everything in regard to these humans. As she continued to read the more serious the report got. The turians weren't merely defeated or routed. They were broken, if her report was right, they lost everything around the human colony and most of the fleet around New Nepolita, including the dreadnought. The report mentioned the humans took light casualties. Her report did not go into many specifics. Vivius would undoubtedly have a more accurate report from the Hierarchy.
She knew the turians would not simply take this, they would retaliate. Preparations for full scale war were probably going on right now. Goddess, a full-scale interstellar war was brewing. These humans probably had no idea what they had just unleashed. Her earlier wariness gone Tevos was determined to stop what was in motion. If the turians did what Tevos thought they would do, the council would have an enemy for the rest of time. She would not let this species go the way of the krogan, especially when they had not done anything to deserve it yet.
She placed a call to Inorth and the salarian councilor was quick to respond.
"Hello Tevos, I assume you're looking at how the Human issue has evolved?" Said Inorth going straight to business as usual.
"Yes, do you agree that it has to be stopped?" replied Tevos.
"Of course, the council could stay silent when it's a small skirmish on the turian border. However, it's a full-scale war that is breaking out. We have to act. The turian already called for full mobilization. The 1st, 4th and 8th fleets were ordered to mass and retake New Nepolita."
Tevos took in a sudden breath. Those were the heavy turian fleets with the more dreadnoughts than any others. "Goddess, isn't that response a bit excessive?"
"Yes, but it makes sense considering what these humans managed to do."
That caught Tevos off guard. "Turians have lost battles before. What made this one so special other than the fact it's a new species? That by itself doesn't warrant such an escalation. War yes, but I would have expected a more measured response."
Inorth looked at her through the screen and paused a moment. Clearly the STG had managed to get more info then the asari. Tevos always envied the salarian's STG, their ability to get information was unmatched. Eventually Inorth spoke.
"This wasn't just a loss as I'm sure you know. The turians were crushed, these humans didn't even bring a dreadnought." That got Tevos' eye to bulge.
Regaining her composure Tevos asked "How did they win then?"
"Humans came with some sort of dreadnought sized fighter carrier. Half the STG is running simulations to see if the humans got extremely lucky or they know something we don't. Either way this counts as the worst naval defeat the turians suffered to a non turian force."
"Surely the turians had battles with worse losses in the krogan rebellions." Replied Tevos
"Krogan won through superior numbers. The humans won with a rough parity of ships. They also beat a dreadnought without a dreadnought, which up until now was thought nigh impossible. The casualties they took were also much lower than anyone could have expected. Turians have been spectacularly effective in space combat, such a one-sided defeat is new to them."
Tevos processed this new information. With it in mind it made sense why the turians were fully committing with no reservations. Their idea of honor could not let such an affront stand. However, Tevos thought about the future possibilities. A new race with a strong affinity for naval warfare offered interesting opportunities. In the far future they could prove to be a counterbalance to the turians.
They would be very useful if it was possible to bring them over to the asari side. Tevos thought it was possible, they looked so similar to each other and that usually counts for something even among aliens. There was almost no chance for the turians to get them on their side, not with how this first contact played out.
That only left the salarians as competition. However, with the salarians generally kept very good relations with the turians. This was done out of precaution as the salarians had the smallest navy out of any of the council races. With that in mind and that the fact that the asari could bring more to the table in terms of economic benefits than the salarians, she was confident about the prospect of getting these humans into the asari sphere. Tevos would have felt slightly guilty about thinking how to turn this to benefit the Asari if she was not sure the that Inorth had already thought of how to twist this to benefit the salarians.
"Are we agreed that the council must step in to negotiate peace?" asked Tevos.
"Yes," answered Inorth "That will be in the galaxy's best interests, but the turians won't like it. Vivius will oppose it."
"True but he can't stop it either. I'm adding him to this call." Said, Tevos as she contacted Vivius.
"Hello Tevos, Inorth" came the gruff voice of the turian councilor. "I imagine you're calling about what has happened with those humans?"
"Yes" replied Tevos but before she could continue Vivius continued.
"Don't worry about it the Hierarchy will handle this. These humans apparently aren't amateurs." He said that with almost a hint of respect. "We'll take back both colonies and then push forward and force a peace."
"That is precisely what cannot happen." Said Inorth
"Cannot?" replied Vivius in a low growl.
Tevos stepped in to try and contain the situation "Vivius the hierarchy is preparing for full scale war; the council does not have the luxury of simply ignoring this any longer."
"Then take the side of the Turians. Lend your support, after all this was done was done in order to defend the citadel's laws."
"I'm sorry Vivius" said Tevos putting as much sympathy as she could into her voice. "But you know as well as we do that the council can't tolerate a full-scale war without an attempt at peace."
Turians were hard to read due to the plates on their faces but Tevos had plenty of experience. She could see the frustration in that face. "Fine" he finally said, "I will get The Hierarchy to send peace terms to these humans."
"No, the council will negotiate on behalf of the Hierarchy." Inorth again talking the blunt approach.
Before Vivius had a chance to protest Tevos spoke. "Vivius with recent developments this has ceased to be a mere turian border skirmish with a new species. This is a matter of galactic importance now and the council has both a duty and right to intervene." She avoided mentioning the staggering defeat the turians suffered, or the fact that if the Hierarchy was allowed to send their own peace terms those terms would probably be so outrageous that the humans would decline on principle. The Hierarchy was not above using an attempt at peace to justify a war.
Again, Tevos could see the frustration in his face but eventually it bled away as he accepted the inevitable. "Alright, the Hierarchy will abide by the agreements you make. Let us discuss how this peace process will work."
Tevos smiled warmly at him, she understood his frustrations. The rest of the call was spent discussing how the exactly peace would be achieved.
Arcturus Station: Prime Minister Adhiban's office
Admiral Hackett sat in front of the prime minister's desk. Waiting for the man to speak. He had been called to see the prime minister as soon as possible and could probably guess why he was here. Not long ago a message was sent to the Alliance. Broadcast on all frequencies and without any encryption. A message saying that the citadel council has called for an end to the fighting and is willing to negotiate peace between humans and the turian Hierarchy.
Clearing his throat Adhiban began "Well admiral, what do you think about the message?"
Looking Adhiban clear in the eyes Hackett said "Prime minister, I do not know what peace we can get but I do know we cannot win the war. If it continues it will not be a matter if but when we lose."
Adhiban returned the admirals gaze and continued. "How are we so sure of that?"
"If you do not trust the first data source then trust this one. We analyzed the wreckages of the alien ships and managed to retrieve some info from their computer systems. We also managed to capture a large amount of data from the alien colony as well. We are outmatched. It is not even close." Hackett paused to emphasize what he was about to say. "Prime minister, I imagine you called me here because you wanted my opinion. Here it is, make peace now while we are in the best bargaining position possible. If you don't make peace now it will be made later when we have lost militarily."
Adhiban sighed, and Hackett endorsed that sigh. It was not a good position to be in, being attacked by an enemy you can't beat. It is a nightmare scenario for any military or political leader. The fact that the Alliance knew very little about what exactly they are fighting made it even worse. The turians weren't exactly forthcoming about their motives for attacking.
"Do you think it's a good thing we will be negotiating with this council instead of the turians directly?" asked Adhiban
"Probably, it at least implies that there is some power greater than the turians, which in the end could mean trouble. However, it also means that whoever we are negotiating with will have interests other than that of the turians. That is almost certainly a good thing."
"Is your desire for peace the position of the admiralty?"
"It is the position of the sane part."
Adhiban smiled "On that we can agree you should see some of the messages I received from the more hawkish admirals. I agree with you, this is a chance we cannot pass by. One thing before you go I need you to pull out of the alien colony."
That caught Hackett of guard "Why?"
"A gesture of good faith, we want to show we can be reasonable."
"We risk appearing weak."
"True but I think we showed we are no pushover not long ago, now we need to show that we are people that can be negotiated with."
"People died to secure that colony."
"Yes, but you know as well as I that we won't be able to hold on to it. We will have to give it up in the peace deal anyways."
"Yes, but why give it up one before negotiations we could have gotten something for it."
"Because we have to think what happens after the war. If a peace is achieved, we will have to live as neighbors to these turians. If we make them pay to get their own property back, they will hate us more than they already do. This 'council' can't be relied upon to step in on every little disagreement. You said it yourself we need peace, and a lasting peace at that, a gesture of good faith builds trust."
Hackett was unsure of this approach and Adhiban picked on it "Don't worry admiral we both understand that peace at any price is not worth it. If it was, we would have surrendered. I fully intend to fight to get the best deal for humanity. But we must make a deal as well. As the old saying goes 'ask for a lot but take what is offered.' You've done your job excellently. Now I must do mine, let's just hope I can do mine as well as you did yours."
Hackett nodded "Have a good day prime minister."
"And you as well admiral" With that said Hackett stood up and walked from the room. He was unsure of the Prime Minister's idea of 'seeming reasonable'. Nevertheless, Hackett had a good working relationship with Adhiban and humanity was lucky that he was at the helm instead of his predecessor. That man would have surrendered as soon as they knew of the power disparity. Hackett trusted Adhiban to get the best deal for humanity, and he had more experience in negotiations than Hackett did.
Returning to his office he wrote up an order for a peaceful exit from the alien colony. However, he ordered the troops to try and fix any damages before they left. If the Alliance wanted to make a gesture of good faith it would not do to simply return a war-torn husk. The colony was already in good order as the Alliance was very careful to avoid collateral damage when possible. However, being seen fixing what was broken will almost certainly help relations going forward.
Bridge of Alliance fleet carrier SSV Nimitz.
Shepard stood next to Admiral Tanaka waiting for the relay jump that would take the carrier to the 'Citadel'. He thought he might as well get a nice view of the grand alien fortress. It was the only reason he was here. When offered the position of being and 'honor guard' to the alliance negotiators he wanted to decline but agreed when he found out that he would be one of the first humans to set foot on 'The Citadel'. At his age Shepard found himself prizing novelty more and more and while being a 'honor guard' was old news, going to the citadel wasn't.
As soon as they dropped out of the relay, an audible gasp ran through the crowd on the bridge. The citadel was massive, and the fleet guarding it was larger than any the Alliance could scrap together. Shepard noticed one particularly massive ship. It was shaped like a four-pointed star but had a hole in the middle.
He was dumbfounded, Arcturus station was the largest station the alliance had, and it was nowhere close to being as big. He had seen a lot of sights in his days but nothing even close to this in terms of sheer presence. It looked like something from a myth, like a realm of the gods. A massive shrine in a purple heaven. The station wasn't just massive it was aesthetically pleasing to look at. He had thought Arcturus impressive and in many was it still was, but it was blown away by this.
Shepard was struck by an unwelcome feeling of inferiority. He had already known humanity was outgunned but this just rubbed his face in the fact. Slowly he turned this feeling into one of resolve. Humanity would rise up to be a power in its own right. Equal to or perhaps greater than these aliens who were exploring the stars while humans where burning witches. And, by god he would do his part, if humanity needed him to strut around looking impressive than that's what he will do. It was an ambitious dream, but history had shown to him that relative strengths of nations can change drastically and quickly. He had witnessed it more than once. With enough will and effort it could be done, just like Japan or Scotland had done when they rose from being a backwater to leading the world in several ways in the 18th and 19th centuries.
The pilot spoke up so the admiral could hear. "Sir we have been given coordinates for a position to hold and where our shuttle should drop off our negotiators."
Tanaka, with amazement still visible on his face replied. "Well take us there, and Shepard get down to the shuttles with the rest of the guard. After making his way there he could hear voices coming from the shuttle.
"So, these aliens have a big space station and fleet, we already knew that. This changes nothing, it's merely a ploy to get us on edge. We cannot let ourselves be intimidated." Sheard recognized that voice as belonging to Donnel Udina. One of the three negotiators selected for role. As Shepard entered the shuttles, he could see the three negotiators and the two honor guards other than him.
"Ah lieutenant, so glad you can join us, ready to make history?" Said Anita Goyle another one of the negotiators.
"Making history is your job, mine's just to look good." replied Shepard.
"Don't be so sure, when people look back on this day your name will be in their minds. The first 6 humans on the Citadel."
"Well I'm just happy we're here to make peace. That fleet did not instill me with confidence as to what will happen if things go poorly."
Udina chose this moment to jump in. "Not to worry lieutenant, we'll do our job. By the end of today these aliens will pay us money for troubling us." Udina was confident, almost frustratingly so, still it was better than hand wringing and muttering 'I don't know if I can do this'.
They made their way down in the shuttle to the ring that held the sections of the station together. As they landed Shepard took position right in front of the door and put on his best honor guard stance, ramrod straight with a severe look on his face, rifle on his shoulder. As the door opened Shepard walked forward and then to the side so the ambassadors could talk to however was here to great them. The greeter was a small blue alien that looked strikingly similar to a woman.
The blue alien walked and spoke. "Welcome to the Citadel honored ambassadors. The meeting room is not far from here please follow me." With that she turned and led the group off the landing platform and through a terrace. Shepard walked in the front, then came the ambassadors and the rest of the guard trailed in the back. Groups of people lined the path they were going on. Floating balls that he assumed were cameras were visible everywhere. Shepard did his best to look impressive as that was the job.
Eventually they stopped in front of a building which was already guarded by 3 different aliens. Another of the blue women, one of the ones from Shanxi and a thin little one with horns, whose skin and eyes reminded Shepard of a toad. Their guide said, "The council's negotiators are waiting inside, your guards can stay out here with ours." The ambassadors nodded and stepped inside while Shepard and the rest took up a position beside the door. Luckily whatever area they were in was cordoned off, so no gawking aliens were wandering around.
Shepard settled in for a long wait, but at least the view was nice. An open terrace from which one could clearly see the massive ring, where presumably the elite of the station resided. Shepard made sure to not gawk himself, that would not reflect well on humanity. He stood tall and implacable like a cast iron creature.
Presidium Embassy complex.
Donnel Udina sat and watched his competitors. There were three of them one for each 'council race'. Unfortunately, one was a turian which meant the aliens humanity has been fighting are one of the big wigs of the galaxy who shape the council's policy. The others were a salarian who looked suspiciously amphibian or reptilian, and an asari which looked like a blue woman with a tentacle scalp instead of hair. In any case he, Anita and Vassily had their work cut out for them. Make peace, preferably one benefitting humanity, but they were licensed to make great concessions if need be.
All things considered the first few days of negotiations went well. They were able to prove that the Turians attacked first and continued onto Shanxi without attempting to deescalate. The only thing they did communicate was a demand to surrender. This apparently was a big breach of protocol.
The council had specific protocols set up for first contact and in several cases a hostile first contact was allowable. In cases involving a new species breaching the citadel conventions, such as using the main guns of dreadnoughts and cruisers on habitable planets or opening closed relays, a hostile action was permissible until the immediate reason for force was stopped. By not attempting to make peace before attacking Shanxi the turians broke the council's rules and landed in hot water.
Apparently, the officer in charge did not mention this oversight to his superiors. This allowed for the humans to make demands otherwise thought impossible. His boast about getting the aliens to pay humanity might actually become true. Currently Vassily was speaking "This brings us to the point of reparations."
As expected, the turian was not happy with this line of negotiations. "Reparations? Our navy lost more personnel than yours."
Anita jumped in "Yes but it is not merely a matter of who lost more crewman. The council already agreed that the turians were at fault in starting the fight, and the turians were much more damaging to our colony's infrastructure and civilian's population than we were to theirs."
Udina picked up on the last point to hammer it home. "By the time we left New Nepolita almost all the physical damage we had done was restored. But our colony is still in shambles. We must also not forget about the bereaved. Those who lost loved ones, while monetary compensation cannot bring them back, it can help ease their burden at least a little."
The turians were hard to read but Udina could tell this one kept his face under control. As usual the asari stepped in when the turian seemed to be unwilling to answer. "The council agrees that the party at fault should compensate the opposing side. Does the Alliance have a figure in mind?"
Before goyle could answer the turian spoke up. "Before we start talking numbers, I must press the Hierarchies' claims. Shanxi was in a region of space claimed by the Turian Hierarchy. This claim was mad in accordance with all the citadel's laws, and previous rulings have respected that claim. Humans have settled on what is effectively a turian world. The hierarchy is willing however to renounce all claims to Shanxi, for a price of course."
Ah there it is thought Udina. The Hierarchy would not let the council simply let humanity walk out with a pile on money and an apology. Udina thought about the options. They could try to convince the council to make the turians drop their claims. However, he doubted they would do that. He was pretty sure that the council was not looking to do humanity a favor by alienating one of their members. According to the council law the turian's claims were legitimate.
They could refuse to pay anything, but that might derail negotiations. Even if it didn't, having a much more powerful state with a reason to dislike you and with a claim on one of your worlds as a neighbor is not a recipe for peace. The turians might feel compelled to push that claim with little provocation. Or use it as an excuse to cause further trouble.
That left paying the price. Some people will definitely hate the fact that humanity would basically pay to get something the turians never truly possessed. After all it was just a claim the turians had not settled or used the Shanxi system in any way. It would be seem like humanity was paying to use their own property. Nevertheless, it was better than the alternative.
Anita as lead negotiator spoke up "The Alliance is willing to pay a sum to settle the matter once and for all. Now let us talk numbers."
More negotiations followed and even with the price payed to get the turians to forfeit their claims humanity was out ahead monetarily, from the peace treaty at least. If one were to account for the losses suffered, this war was a massive money fire like most wars. Fixing Shanxi, paying out to widows and widowers, and repairing and replacing the ships lost or damaged would take much more money than the alliance got from the turians.
As they neared the end the asari brought up another proposition. "Before you leave, we would like to discuss the possibility of humanity becoming a member of the citadel races." This was not unforeseen but since the Alliance knew so little of what that entailed Udina and the rest were unsure.
"What would that entail?" Asked Vassily, "Would we have to give up our sovereignty? And is the peace treaty dependent on whether we agree to join."
"No and no," answered the asari. "The Citadel governed by the council does not rule the member states. What it does is enforces certain rules and standards called the citadel conventions. It offers protection against attacks from nonmembers. There are of course rules the alliance will be required to follow but the Alliance will not be ruled from the citadel. The peace will be signed regardless of whether you join." She paused for a second and then dropped the last but most significant bit "The citadel council also steps in to arbitrate friction between members. It does not usually step in to arbitrate disagreements between members and nonmembers."
Udina could read between the lines as well as anyone else. If humanity was not a member and something happened to spark off a fight with the turians, the council will not step in to end it. This wasn't a threat exactly as the council wouldn't do anything. It was however a promise that things would be worse if humanity refused the offer.
Anita once again spoke up "We would need time to discuss this. We don't even know what obligations we would be taking upon ourselves if we agree."
"Of course, take all the time you need." Said the asari and handed the humans a datapad. "This contains all the relevant information, rules, obligations, benefits and everything else. Send it to your leaders and discuss it among yourselves. It would be remiss of me not to mention that most sentient spacefaring races acknowledge the council's authority. Those that don't are not in the best position politically, economically or militarily."
"Thank you, we will consider this proposal carefully." replied Anita and with that the meeting was ended.
Author's notes:
Getting near the end. I plan on doing two more chapters in this story then skipping forward to me1. Hope you have enjoyed so far and please do review. I tried to write out what might play out in a human's mind the first time they see the citadel. I would be especially interested on hearing thoughts on that.
Updates may be not as regular, as work is getting busier and of course I'm playing legendary edition.