It was always an uncomfortable experience to be a turian on board a Coalition vessel.
The discomfort was not borne of antagonism or even the differing chirality of the species' base amino acids. Politically, economically, and even socially, the Coalition was not fundamentally incompatible with the Turian Hierarchy or the Citadel.
'No, what makes me uncomfortable is that the humans have completely thrown science on its head,' Spectre Nihlus Kyrik thought darkly. Truthfully, Nihlus could not accept any of the 'Arcane Disciplines' as science. The Arcane did have repeatable results and appeared to be governed by some form of 'laws'. The turian scoffed at the idea of Arcane laws and repeatable results. Madness was the only consistent result Nihlus had ever observed. He had seen the effects on the turian, volus, asari, and salarian scientists who attempted to study the Arcane in an attempt to break the Coalition's monopoly on D-engine production and viable energy weapons.
Worse, he had seen the unfettered malice of rogue sorcerers.
Human and nazzadi sorcery was deeply troubling, but at least they avoided sacrificing innocents or invoking Names. Nihlus felt a quiver in his gullet as he remembered the sight of the Bakhi tearing itself free of a sacrificed Elcor female in a hideous parody of birth during the Attican Blitz. It was a memory he reviled, but would never be free of. Nihlus was reminded of a curious human phrase, 'it was too late to put the genie back in the bottle.' That statement was painfully true. There was no going back to the simpler days when the Citadel was blissfully unaware of the horrors lurking behind their ordered and limited view of reality.
Nihlus shook his head and practiced a meditation exercise he had picked up from a Cabal squad during his military days. It helped to refocus his attention and remind him where to find the conn of the CNS Angre. The passageways seemed to have unusual angles, even though the Spectre knew the exact specifications of a Coalition Triumphant-class battlecrusier. The twisting of the bulkheads and images flickering in the corners of Nihlus' vision were likely caused by the extensive use of Arcanotechnology in Coalition vessels.
"Approaching Mass Relay. Element Zero drives spooling up," the ship's on-duty helmsman announced. Nilhus nodded at the marine guard and transmitted his identity codes to the marine's omnitool.
"This checks out," the marine said without preamble. It took a moment for the Spectre to realize he was speaking with a nazzadi. The helmet obscured most features, but the passageway's lighting reflected just right off the nazzadi's blood-red eyes. "Please step into the Circle."
Nihlus stepped into the ornate runic circle. As a current of electricity passed through the Arcane security measure, the turian recalled what he knew about the nazzadi. The nazzadi were created by the migou, an enigmatic alien species that sought the enslavement of humanity, to conquer Earth while keeping the migou's existence a secret. The Coalition referred to the nazzadi attack as the First Arcanotech War. After six brutal years of war, Field Marshal Vreta realized that the nazzadi had far more in common with their enemies than their secret masters. The majority of the nazzadi defected and quickly discovered that humans and nazzadi were genetically compatible. The migou had 'redesigned' the nazzadi from human stock in order to quickly build a conquering army. Nazzadi were universally dark-skinned and black-haired. They also have reflective red eyes, sharpened incisors and a few organs placed in more 'efficient' locations. Despite their origins, the nazzadi have been fully accepted by their human 'cousins'. Nihlus, along with every politician and historian in the galaxy, was aware that the Aeon War was responsible for the acceptance.
"You are Clean," the marine reported. Nihlus nodded in thanks and gratefully stepped out of the Sorcerer's Circle. The turian's extremities were getting their feeling back. Nihlus knew that his mental focus on the history of the nazzadi had been a defense mechanism against the truly uncomfortable feeling of the Arcane scan.
"Ah, Spectre Nihlus," Captain David Anderson turned to greet the Council Spectre. "I wasn't expecting you."
"I was touring the ship and was drawn here," Nihlus admitted to the dark skinned human. Captain Anderson was an unusual case in the Coalition. He started out as a Coalition marine, but through a series of incidents had taken command of a Balao-class stealth frigate and risen up the ranks. At least, that was the public story. Nihlus, as a Council Spectre, was far more aware of the truth. David Anderson was one of the toughest and most decorated members of the Office of Internal Security's Rapid Response Teams.
The Office of Internal Security had a very sinister reputation, even outside the Coalition. OIS operatives were charged with policing the Arcane and the horrors that could be unleashed through renegade sorcerers and para-psychics. Rapid Response Teams were the final bulwark against the true horrors of the Outside. The operatives faced down horrors like Bakhis, Ghasts, and worse.
Anderson nodded. "It's something we've noticed on the Triumphants. They tend to have an effect where they guide you to where you are needed. Something about the A-Pods."
"I'll never understand Arcanotechnolgy. It is not fit for the turian world view," Nihlus confessed.
"It is a dangerous discipline," the OIS operative admitted. "I think we have a few things to discuss."
Nihlus nodded. "We do. The Council is eager to see how this mission develops."
"Let's head to my wardroom. It is secured by both Arcane and Technological means." Anderson motioned for Nihlus to follow him.
The two veterans of wars where no record of their victories or defeats would be kept made their way through the Angre's passageways. It did not take very long to reach Anderson's wardroom. The human did not speak for several moments as he ran through the standard security sweeps.
"A man such as yourself surely understands the need for security," Captain Anderson said once the checks had confirmed the room was secure.
Nihlus nodded. "If there is one thing the salarians have truly taught the galaxy, it is that information control is vital in modern warfare."
"The New Earth Government learned that the hard way during the Aeon War." Captain Anderson motioned politely for the turian Spectre to take a seat.
Nihlus sat down. "Thank you. The Council also wants to extend its gratitude to the Coalition. Your government has always followed the laws regarding Prothean artifacts, both in letter and in spirit. This discovery on Eden Prime is the greatest archeological find in the past one hundred and fifty years."
"It could be a great boon to the Galaxy," Anderson agreed smoothly. "We both know that if it was Arcane in nature, the Council would likely have never learned of it."
The crest of the turian's head flexed as he recognized the surprising honesty from the human. "As long as it was discovered by the Coalition. There is no way I would accept the batarians or the barbarians from the Terminus Systems discovering anything connected to the Beyond."
"The last thing the Coalition and Citadel Space needs is another Q'lawki War," Anderson agreed.
Nilhus repressed a shudder. The Q'lawki War was one of the four Great Arcane Tragedies. The First Arcane Tragedy was the Aeon War that nearly drove humanity and the nazzadi to extinction before Admiral Suriyata and her naval task-force and the 'recruited' mercenary fleet helped to break the migou blockade of Earth. It was only a few years after 2085 of the Coalition calendar when the second Arcane incident shook the galaxy to the core. The Citadel Cataclysm demonstrated the folly of unrestricted sorcery. A group of curious Citadel citizens, primarily asari maidens and salarians, experimented with sorcerous rituals secretly purchased on the Arcane Underground. It was a disaster. The ritual failed catastrophically and unspeakable horrors spilled into reality and ravaged the Citadel.
Those two incidents paled, at least from the perspective of the Citadel Council, in comparison to the creation of the Senoquol Zone and the Q'lawki War.
The Citadel Council quickly declared Arcanotechnology to be a restricted technology. Simultaneously, they adopted regulations on sorcery similar to those in place in the Coalition. The Citadel Council 'grandfathered' in the use and development of Arcanotechnology by Coalition and the Salarian Union Arcanotechnology thinktank on Senoquol. Senoquol was an unmitigated disaster. Reality prefers a specific order and 'separation' of the various dimensions that exist. The salarian experiments compressed nearly two thousand realms of reality into the four dimensions mortal beings can experience. The resulting conflagration consumed nearly two billion salarians and almost the entire planet in a few moments of madness. Senoquol now exists as a festering wound in the heart of the Salarian Union.
Only a few years later, Citadel Space had its first total warfare in centuries. The q'lawki race launched an unprovoked and undeclared invasion of the Coalition-controlled Armstrong Cluster and surrounding systems. It appeared to the galaxy that the Rapine Storm had returned. Entire worlds were ravaged by Bholes, Gugs and other unnameable terrors. The greatest tragedy was when the q'lawki used a powerful sorcerous ritual to redirect the rogue planet Vaht to eventually collide with Rayingri. A potential garden world was doomed to a slow and highly visible death. Eventually, the Coalition and Citadel forces pushed the q'lawki back to their homeworld. The q'lawki chose to commit species-wide suicide rather than surrender to the Coalition and Citadel in a final act of devotion to their Unnamed God.
"The thought of another species committing ritual suicide to honor an Old Oneā¦" Nihlus took a shuddering breath. "We cannot allow that to happen."
Anderson took his seat and looked his turian counterpart in the eyes. "That's why the Coalition and the Hierarchy need to increase our cooperation. The OIS does not trust the Salarian Union. They are far too cavalier with their approach to the Arcane. We've seen disturbing evidence that certain Special Tasks Groups have been invoking Names."
"That is madness," Nihlus hissed. "It seems my working relationship with the Angre will continue for some time."
"You will also have more time to decide which of my Operatives to steal away for a position as a Council Spectre," Anderson said with a half-good-natured smile.
"Captain Anderson, you know as well as I do that the Council needs more human and nazzadi Spectres. Your species has great promise. The Coalition has served as a valuable mediator between the Citadel and the Migrant Fleet. More importantly, humans and nazzadi are the best choice to police the Arcane."
Anderson leaned back as he listened to Nihlus's sales pitch. He knew well that the Council was eager to recruit a third human Spectre. Kelsy Namibia and Darrell Sunseri were the only Coalition Spectres to date, but they had been the most effective operatives for publicly policing Arcane threats to the Council. The Coalition knew the Council would be making a renewed push after Darrell Sunseri's death a few years ago.
"Who do you have in mind?" Anderson asked.
"Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko and Commander John Sheppard."
Commander Shepard was used to people giving him a wide berth. It was only natural that he unnerved people. In the odd civilian world, people noticed the tattoo on his left hand and decided to stand just a little further away. John was always annoyed when it was an attractive woman whom his tattoo scared off. He couldn't blame them, not really. The crossed lightning bolt over the Coalition's symbol for para-psychic ability was a very clear warning.
John Sheppard was an Electrokenetic. The civilians didn't know that he wasn't solely focused on offensive powers. John knew they'd be even more terrified of him if they realized he could hack their Omnitools or Personal Central Processing Units by touching the device just as easily as he could 'pull a Zeus'.
And if they knew he was in the top three percent of all para-psychics in terms of raw power, they'd all collectively shit their pants.
The military was different and John infinitely preferred it. Here, the soldiers gave him a wide berth out of respect for his position as a commander of an Office of Internal Security Rapid Response Team. The rank and file trooper knew that Shepard was a special operations soldier. He was aware of a few of the rumors.
'Hell, some of them are pretty close to the truth,'Shepard thought. The rumors that he had been involved the reconquest of Walvis Bay from the Esoteric Order of Dagon were true. Most of the rumors about the Skyllian Blitz were untrue. John was convinced that the Office of Internal Security and Ministry of Information created a few of the more plausible rumors. He wished those rumors were true. There would be far fewer nightmares that way.
Shepard cleared and refocused his mind as approached his current objective. It was February 25 and a very difficult day for one of Shepard's squadmates and few friends.
Lieutenant Kaiden Alenko and Shepard had worked together for some time on their Rapid Response Team. Alenko was one of the rare biotics in the Coalition. Humanity and the nazzadi relied mostly on natively developed arcanotechology instead of Element Zero. Thus, the risk of dust-form Element Zero exposure was minimized. It did occasionally happen, as the existence of Kaiden Alenko and twenty three thousand human and nazzadi biotics could attest.
"Kaiden," Shepard said as a manner of greeting.
The lieutenant immediately stood and saluted. "Commander. Pardon my inattentiveness."
"Don't worry. We are off-duty. I just wanted to see how you were holding up," Shepard replied casually.
"I've had missions on the 25th before, Commander," Kaiden assured his friend. "You won't have anything to worry about from me."
"Good, because we'll probably have enough to worry about from everything else," Shepard joked.
"We usually do, sir." Kaiden smiled back.
"Seriously, Kaiden...how are you? It's the anniversary of..." Shepard began.
Kaiden's face twisted into a grimace. "John, I don't need to be reminded of Tiky. I never forget her...or how her Tainted bastard of a brother sacrificed her."
"I'm sorry," Commander Shepard said sincerely. He knew he had hit a raw nerve when Kaiden had called Shepard by his given name.
Before Kaiden could accept or brush off the apology, the Angre's LAI 'spoke' called into the room. "Command Shepard report to Captain Anderson's wardroom. Command Shepard report to Captain Anderson's wardroom."
"Sounds like the OP is about to drop," Kaiden said as he stared into the distance. His gaze was directed at the nearest speaker, but Shepard knew he didn't see it. If the Commander had to guess, he saw a nazzadi biotic and the beaches of Nazza-Duhni.
"Sounds like it," Shepard agreed. "Kaiden, get the team prepped and ready. The second the Angre drops out of FTL, I want everyone ready to go."
"Aye, aye sir." Kaiden snapped off a salute and departed. Shepard returned the salute and made his way through the Triumphant-class battlecruiser. John had always noticed that the Triumphant-class had the odd 'ability' to guide people to their destinations. He also knew it was far more pronounced for para-psychics. The OIS Commander reached the Wardroom and received permission to enter.
"Commander Shepard, it is good to see you again," a flanged turian voiced greeted the human soldier.
"Spectre Nihlus, I'd heard you were onboard. I haven't seen you since the Blitz," Shepard responded. "I was expecting Captain Anderson to be here..."
The turian looked gravely serious, even for a member of his species. "Commander, Captain Anderson received a priority signal from Earth."
The OIS officer tensed, reflexively reaching for his holstered CS-40M. The action wasn't hostile or aimed at Nihlus. It was simply the results of fighting the worst of wars. "What is the situation on Earth?"
"A Rapine Storm emerged from the Himalayas and is advancing on the Dhaka Arcology," Nihilus solemnly revealed. "The Coalition does not stand alone in this Aeon War. Council forces are mobilizing to reinforce Earth."
"The support is appreciated. Earth's mortal species were nearly driven to extinction in the first Aeon War."
The Spectre crossed his arms. "Humans and nazzadi have become valuable members of the galactic community, even if you threw our perceptions of reality on its head. That is why this mission to Eden Prime is so important for the Coalition."
"Beyond the Prothean artifact?" Shepard asked.
The doors slid open and Captain Anderson strode into his wardroom. "The chance at a seat on the Citadel Council."
John Shepard was rarely caught off guard or gobsmacked. The political implications of the Coalition getting a Council seat were incredible. Human and nazzadi interests had only been represented in the Citadel for around seventy-five years. A Council Seat so quickly was unheard of. The volus, the species that practically invented inter-galatic economics, and were one of the first species to join the Citadel wasn't even considered for a seat.
"A Council Seat," Shepard repeated.
"And a third Coalition Spectre," Nihlus added. "The Council is eager to elevate another human or nazzadi to Spectre Status. That is why I am here. You, and your entire squad, are considered candidates for Spectre Status. Commander Shepard, you are the leading candidate for Spectre. I've read your report from Walvis Bay. Shepard, you killed a Spawn. That is an accomplishment even for Mecha pilots and Engel pilots. Eden Prime will be the first of several missions together. I'm sure you, and your squad, will be eager to return to Earth and bring the Dagonites to heel."
Shepard's spine felt like frozen steel at the mention of the Spawn. That foul creature had been malevolence embodied. It was true that Shepard had landed the killing blow against the abomination, but the battle had been far more desperate. John had even Burned. His para-psychic gifts had run hot and out of control. The dry dock Shepard had been fighting for his life in was already in ruins after the airstrike. After the release of power caused by the Commander's Burn, there had been nothing left.
The flash of Aeon War Syndrome passed and Shepard nodded. "It would be an honor. I'm sure the Council, Captain Anderson, and the OIS know that if I'm accepted as a Spectre, my squad is a package deal."
Nihlus's crest ruffled in amusement. "I had heard you were a clever one."
"Shepard," Captain Anderson interjected. "President Raida Vaazi-kee is heavily invested in this. The Hall of Commons Select Committee on Citadel Relations has started flexing its muscle to get this done. A Council Seat, and a new Spectre, would guarantee Citadel support against the Dagonites and the Rapine Storm for generations. It will help our species, human and nazzadi, stave off extinction."
"My team and I won't disappoint," John swore.
"Captain! This is XO Hill," a voice interrupted the conversation. "Priority Sierra transmission from Eden Prime! Confirmed massive assault!"
A Priority Sierra was the second highest military alert in the Coalition Armed Forces. It signified a massive assault by enemy forces. The only difference between a Priority Sierra and a Priority Omega transmission was that the enemy wasn't using weapons that violated the Citadel Conventions.
"Patch it through and sound General Quarters!" Anderson ordered. "Shepard, I want you here until I know what in the hell we are dealing with."
Shepard nodded as the image appeared on the Wardroom's wall screen. Eden Prime was a scene of absolute pandemondium. The commanding officer of the Defense Force, a middle aged nazzadi woman appeared. "CNS Angre, this is Colonel Gedi. Eden Prime is being hit hard by the geth. They have built...or summoned...a Dreadnought. We have no idea what it is, but we know it has the strongest Barriers I've ever seen."
"Colonel, this is Captain Anderson. You said it could be summoned, why?"
"Captain, it is generating some kind of 'energy field'. Our para-psychics describe it as distant 'white-noise' and it enrages our Engels."
Nihlus stepped forward. "Do you have visual on the Dreadnought?"
"Wait one," Colonel Gedi snapped as an explosion reverberated across the transmission. "The geth are playing havoc with our systems."
An image flashed on the screen. The ship vaguely resembled a Cuttlefish or the destroyed Great Shrine of Dagon that used to dominate the Azores reborn and given life. Even filtered through distance and electronic signals, the true nature of the bestial ship was clear. It was from Beyond. It was a threat and it was Ancient.
And Shepard knew that it had to die.
Author's Note: This is a side project that's been slowly building for several years now. For those of you who don't recognize the 'Coalition' or some of the other terms, they come from CthuluhuTech. I am working on a Codex for everything. I have a timeline already completed and have a great deal of other information in the works. I might post them as a postscript in future chapters or as a stand alone posting. I'm not expecting the level of reviews I'd get on my Naruto fanfiction, but I'd love to hear from all my readers. A question, what do you all think of the Citadel and Coalition being on friendly terms? I wanted a change from the usual "Earth of Universe X enters the Mass Effect Universe and wins the First Contact War.".
Thanks in advanced!
