AN: Sorry for the lack of spacing between the POV changes in the last chapter. In my googledoc their was a double return between each pov change when it switched areas (like bezzie talking to laranth switching to Vau talking to Cara). But somehow that did not translate over when I saved and uploaded the chapter.
Chapter 4
"Is there anything else I can help you with mistress?"
"No 3TY that will be all" After ten days on the Avalon Benezia was still not comfortable around what the alliance called droids. She hadn't seen or noticed any on the starbase or Far Ranger, at least none of the humanoid model that had been assigned as her valet. Despite constant reassurances that the droids were not going to go on a murderous rampage and weren't a truly self conscious AI she couldn't help but think about the Quarians and what happened to them. Still in a way it was just a VI put into a mobile shell so it wasn't that bad. Though it would most likely become a sticking point for the Citadel Council.
"Yes mistress. I'll just remind you that Admiral Williams is awaiting you on the bridge for our arrival at the Citadel and go on my way". The grey and green droid turned around and started walking away and Benezia caught herself from saying thank you to the droid like she had seen the humans do. They were even in the habit of thanking the small little mouse droids that ran around cleaning up the ship.
"I wonder if Flight Officer Kellex is still mad about the little red one I tore apart the other day?" Ashala asked stepping intco a flanking position behind Benezia.
"All it wanted to do was say high and you warped that thing into the ceiling. What did you do the first time you saw Avina? Rip the kiosk out of the wall?" her partner teased. Benezia was glad they could joke about it. Still the humans didn't really treat these droids as simple AI and they had a lot more character than the Citadel's information VI.
Even after more than a week she and her commandos still attracted attention as they made their way across powered walkways and up turbolifts to the command bridge. Every technician and trooper in the hallway turned to watch them pass. She always smiled back at them as they watched mouths agape. Soon they would be seeing a lot more alien species up close. And hopefully in a few years or decades be working beside them in ships not to much different than this one.
Reaching the command deck she wound her way over to the duty officer, impressed at how their hadn't been any back straightening or wrinkle fixing from the bridge crew when she entered. turians and Krograns seemed to make the mistake of assuming all asari were delicate and flighty, and she could see them easily making the same mistake about the humans. "Matriarch," The duty officer said once Benezia had made her way over to his station. "Admiral Williams and Knight Sheppard are waiting for you in the Admiral's cabin ma'am. Both Master Alinco and Admiral Fraiser are going over away procedures but I can contact them if you wish them to join you for lunch."
"Thank you lieutenant but that will be unnecessary. Master Alinco and I talked this morning over breakfast and I had a wonderful dinner with Admiral Carpenter last night. I'm sure that she and the grandmaster have nearly had enough of my company this past week."
"I'm not sure that is possible ma'am" Benezia wasn't totally sure what it meant when a human turned red at the ears but from the quiet snickers emanating from one of the sensor officers she assumed it meant he was embarrassed. Benezia gave the lieutenant a big smile and turned towards the Admiral's cabin. Walking down the short hallway off the bridge's port side she left her two commandos guarding the door as she walked into the large spacious room that did double duty as office and dining room.
Hannah was standing at one of the large windows looking out into the tunnel of hyperspace and rocking her son in her arms as a silver protocol unit plated the food. Sensing the Matriarchs presence she turned around and smiled at her and moving away from the window. "Good morning Matriarch. Corso is in the latrine but should be out as soon as he gets done fussing over his hair"
"Yes, I can see how all of that hair you humans have must be very annoying to take care of."
"It is, it's why I usually just keep mine in braids. From what the codex said we are the only species that actually have hair?" Hannah sat down at the table and tried to get a fussy John into his baby chair.
"Uh may I hold him?" Benezia asked walking over to the struggling infant. She had been around the child for the entire week and this was the first time she had asked if she could hold him.
"Sure go ahead." Hannah passed John over to Benezia who took him into her arms with a practiced ease and cradled him against her chest. John's big brown eyes stared up at the strange blue woman for a moment and Benezia was afraid he was going to start crying until he let out a giggle and started sucking on his fist.
"This is nice. It's been a long time since I've held a child this young" Benezia said moving to sit down in one of the seats.
"How old is your daughter?" Benezia had mentioned that she had a daughter but hadn't really made mention of how old she was.
"She just turned eighty this year" Benezia held back a laugh as Hannah choked on her drink.
"I guess its has been a while since then." Hannah said between coughs.
"Yes, she's finally starting her secondary education. In a few years she will hopefully be picking out what college she wishes to attend. What about this one? Is he going to become a Jedi as well?"
"No he's going to join the naval academy and become a pilot or starship captain like his uncles." Admiral Williams said as he walked into the room. "No boring diplomatic functions or party tricks for him. Just a fast ship and the freedom of open skies."
"I'm pretty sure ever since they gave you those stars you've been to twice the diplomatic functions I have" Hannah said as Corso pulled up a chair and forked a big piece of ham onto his plate. Hannah purposefully ignored Corso and turned back to Benezia "He will be a Jedi if he wants. He is extremely strong in the force. But if that is not the path he chooses then there are always other jobs open to him, even jobs in the order that would not require him to travel or fight"
"That is something that has been confusing me." Benezia said holding John in one arm and grabbing some vegetables for her plate with an ease that spoke of a lot of experience at doing things with one hand. "What exactly is the role of the Jedi. You mention fighting and diplomacy and even though you don't dress like the soldiers they still all salute you when you walk by."
Hannah thought for a moment about the best way to tackle that question. It was one that the order itself dealt with. "A jedi uses the force for defense, never for attack" Benezia quirked her eyeridge at the koan. "In other words a Jedi is not to be an aggressor. Our duty is to use our powers to find a third path to a problem and only use force when necessary. There are many who think that the Jedi should be nothing more than monks meditating on the meaning of the universe. Or that we should not be so closely tied to the Alliance. And maybe in a perfect universe that would be possible. In the records we have the history of the Jedi in the other galaxy spoke of them losing their way for a melinia and outlawing marriage and emotions and becoming generals in a slave army until they were destroyed and replaced by a better order by a man named Skywalker. We try not to fall into many of the same traps that the old order did as you can tell" Hannah said pointing her fork at the sleeping infant in Benezia's arms "But with the existential threat of an unknown alien race bent on the destruction of all life we can't just sit back and do nothing. So some of us decide to join the military and assist there while our brothers and sisters deal with diplomacy or the smaller threats such as pirates."
"We have an order like that in asari space. They are called justicars. Though they usually take a vow of non-attachment." Benezia said. "Speaking of that, is your husband a jedi?"
"Scott's a grease monkey. He's probably up to his elbows in what's left of those Batarian ships." Corso said around a boiled potato.
"My husband is one of the chief engineers for starship design. Which if I'm being honest is kinda ironic as he does not like to travel at all. Which is why he isn't here with us." Hannah clarified.
"Yeah the guy could probably make a working ship out of junkyard scraps but you have to knock him out to get him on a shuttle. That or mind trick him" Corso laughed at what must have been an old joke from Hannah's half hearted rebuttal.
"That was once and I apologized"
"I hate to interrupt the thirty-second retailing of that riveting story but we will soon be approaching the Citadel." A sardonic voice said from thin air.
"Thank you Andy. We will make our way to the bridge." Hannah said
"Andy what kind of progress are you making on on your assignment." Corso asked as he started to bus the table.
"Currently I am predicting a fifty-two percent positive outcome based on data at hand. I feel that once I can access their version of the holonet and see the reactions of the councillors I will be able to raise that percentage to eighty-four percent." Taking the baby back form Benezia Hannah led the group back onto the bridge of the ship where there was now a lot more activity going on.
"Navigator what is our status?" Admiral Fraiser asked as the group came up beside her.
"Three minutes out ma'am." A young red haired navigator answered. "Due to our size and the estimated amount of air traffic around the space station we are going to come out of hyperspace a thousand klicks from the station and make the rest of the trip on sublight drives."
"Excellent. We will approach the station at one-third thrust. Quick enough to get us there but long enough that it doesn't look like we are stampeding them." Turning towards her four passengers Admiral Fraiser quickly saluted the admiral and Hannah before shaking the matriarchs hand. "I hope you have enjoyed your stay on the Avalon Matriarch"
-Citadel Council Chambers, June 2157-
"The whole station is buzzing with excitement. I don't think the station has been like this since the Turians joined" Teari T'kaana said casually as she sipped on a spiced wine that had been uncorked for such an occasion. "It's been how long since another race has came to us seeking to join?"
"My agents have been paying special attention to the extranet this past week. Stories of a mysterious fleet jumping in and out of systems between here and relay 314 have been popping up with the fleet getting bigger and bigger each time it jumps." Yargin Raxe, the salarian dalatrass said "And the people on station are driving themselves crazy with theories on what these humans look like and what they want and what new sorts of entertainment they could bring"
"As long as they know their place and follow the rules of the Council" The turian councillor said gruffly. Canus Orocus did not like what he had been hearing from some of his friends in the Hierarchy now that they had been able to have a sit down chat with Commander Duccellus
"The station's flight control seems to be picking up new contacts coming out of the nebula" Raxe said and instructed the rooms largest window to zoom in at a speck of space slightly above the space station.
-Presidium-
The walkways of the presidium were packed shoulder to shoulder as everyone crowded around to see the newcomers. Their heads all tilted upwards where the artificial sky was now showing pictures of the space around the station. Currently it was showing the Citadel defense fleet arranged around the Destiny Ascension as they rotated towards the new arrivals. A well trained observer would have noticed the number of turian ships that had been added to the fleet over the past week. The fleet was now over double its normal size and huge dreadnought hung in the void around the station.
The cameras blurred with motion as they zoomed in on the nebula above the station as the gasses were pushed aside by the new and unusual ships. Cheers went up and hundreds of discussions started as ships started to pour out of the nebula. The camera angle changing to that of a news flyer to get a closer look at the mix of new varied ship types. Some were smooth hulled and looked more like sea corals while others had right angles and hard curves.
The mood in the presidium changed as the ships kept coming in twos and threes, a wave of ships that seemed like they would never end. The Citadel's fleet still outnumbered them three to one but some people were beginning to get nervous about this unknown fleet right outside their windows.
"Twenty-Seven, I wonder where the last ship is" A gruff voice asked as it poured another shot of krogan whiskey into a glass. "Ahh yes, there it is. This will be interesting." The presidium darkened as the camera was suddenly blocked by a huge object. After a second the signal shifted to another ship and the whole station went silent as the Avalon broke though the nebula, the gases flowing around her like clouds around a mountain. People stared in shock as the ship emerged from the gaseous cocoon. Every second people thinking that it had to be nearly out of the veil only for it to continue growing larger and larger in their cameras.
No one spoke as after a full minute the entire ship had made its way out of the cloud and now took its place in the center of the fleet. The codex hadn't yet been updated with the side of Alliance vessels but everyone could tell that the ship that had just appeared dwarfed even the prized Destiny Ascension or Palavan's Spear. The hushed murmurs started again as the Citadel fleet moved itself in front of the space station. "Hmm and they say size doesn't matter. Well I guess I need to go get ready to Bezzie" the gruff voice said laying down a credit chip on the table.
-Citadel Council Chambers, June 2157-
The silence in the council chambers was broken by the sound of a wine glass hitting the orval wood table. "What is that thing? Did they transport a whole space station here?" Counselor T'kaana whispered moving closer to the image displayed on the window.
"That is the Avalon." Councillor Orocus stated gruffly from his seat. "According to the commander who made first contact with them that is the largest ship in their navy."
"It was an asari who made first contact councillor" T'kaana reminded him, "Still something that big must be very important to them. To transport it all the way here must mean they feel very secure about their own strength"
"Secure yes. But also trusting no? They let it venture so far from their own space because they trust us not to attack it" Yargin Raxe said.
"That or it's a threat. Traditional dreadnaught diplomacy" Orocus countered. "They think they can come in and threaten us and demand a place on the council."
"We haven't even spoken to them yet" Raxe said "Nor has Matriarch Benezia been debriefed yet." While the dalatrass liked playing her two fellow councillors against each other most days she was finding herself opposite both of them. salarians as a whole didn't like making decisions until they had workable intel.
- Citadel Station Orbit, June 2157-
The crews of the Citadel navy were not as quiet as the civilians in the presidium. Crew members watching from their bunks, cockpits, break rooms, and even duty stations were talking about the fleet approaching them. The ship captains at least tried to keep their bridge silent but many of them were soon caught up in the conversations as their ships maneuvered to give room to the newcomers without giving a clear shot at the Citadel.
News of the new race had spread like wildfire among the defense fleet the past week and a half. It seemed like the crew of the Sofia Fos was always to be found in one of the bars near the docks ready to talk about what they had seen for the price of a cheap drink. Even some of the officers had learned about the scuttle butt first hand from Captain Sittia after she had requested reassignment to the Citadel to greet the newcomers. All across the fleet people marveled at the new ships and wondered if even half of the stories had been true.
The crew aboard the Alliance ships were also marveling at the sight of the gleaming space station sitting in the center of the nebula. Earth and the colonies had never built anything like it in their short history in space. Even their nicest starports still had a look of utilitarianism from the outside but this station was a work of art. The Destiny Ascension even captured a few eyes as it lead the Citadel fleet towards their ships. The giant four pointed star with its glowing hollow center seemed like some sort of deep sea creature swimming though an ocean of stars.
-Citadel Docking Bay 227-
The docking bay had been packed with news crews, minor dignitaries, and random onlookers as the small hammerheaded intersystem transport craft came into the landing pad, its four large engines at the rear powering down as it touched the ground. The small transport was as much a matter of not having a ship small enough to dock as it was the Citadel council not wanting to let a warship from a unallied nation that close to the station. So instead the transport had been escorted in by a mix of Alliance A-wing interceptors and the Citadel's own small allotment of fighters.
Cameras zoomed in and onlookers leaned closer as the doors of the transport slid open revealing a small squad of blue and white armored figures stepping out of the transport and taking up position on either side of the small transport. Behind them came Matriarch Benezia being escorted off the ship by Admiral Williams. Cameras flashed as everyone tried to be the first to snap a picture of the humans as they left the transport. Behind Corso were Knight Sheppard and Master Alinco in full jedi robes followed by a helmeted Skirata Vau and two of his super commandos.
People didn't know what to focus on first and the holofeeds were quickly a jumble of people picking apart everything about them.
"Do they have fur everywhere or just on their heads?"
"Are they some kind of asari offshoot? Do they live as long?"
"Only the Krogan and Yhag go so heavily armored what could they want?"
"Who are the ones in robes? Some kind of priests? I hope they aren't as annoying as the Hanar"
Waving the group walked down the catwalk towards the lift guarded by C-Sec guards. The waves of excitement, curiosity, and uncertainty rolled off of the crowds causing the two Jedi to pull the force tightly around them trying not to be deafened by the crowds mental screams on top of their vocal ones. The mandalorian super commandos had it easier and just cut the external audio feed on their helmets.
"I feel like we're in a parade" Vau said over his suits com as they were led through the Presidium.
"But a parade for who? Are they trying to impress us?" One commando asked in a thick scottish accent "Ohh look at all of us and this big space station we built. Isn't so grand?"
"Found not built" A third voice cut in with a clipped english accent that spoke of life in the southern parts of Africa. "According to their own Codex they did not build this station but instead found it. They are just colonists using something someone else constructed"
"So what is the biggest thing these blokes have made?" The scottish commando asked.
"I don't know, maybe that big flying starfish outside. Either way this is their home so be on your best behaviour." Vau looked ahead to where Admiral Williams and the two Jedi were waving at everyone as they passed. He had tried to at least convince Hannah to wear her battle armor but she had replied with the old 'A jedi needs only the force' saying which always made him nervous during a mission.
-Citadel Council, June 2157-
As they walked into the council room Hannah instantly noticed how it was laid out. Three huge dias raised above a speakers platform. She didn't need a psychology degree to tell her what message the Council was trying to send. Even the gap between the speaker and the council's dias was a subtle message. Three council races out of a group of seven races, some of whom had been members for centuries. The Council was used to leading and everyone falling into step behind them. Well, they would just have let the council lead them where they wanted to go.
The three councillors were imposing figures to have to march up to. Their dias high enough that anyone speaking has to look slightly up at them, recognizing them as being above them physically if not politically. Stepping into the center of the speaker's podium Admiral Williams wondered if the Council had designed this room in this fashion or if it was like this when they had discovered the station.
"The Citadel Council recognizes the ambassadors from the Galactic Alliance" Councillor Orocus scoffed at the name as he read it. A big name for such little people.
"Thank you Counselor." Admiral Williams said "I come before you along with Grand Master Alinco and Jedi Knight Sheppard of the Jedi Order to greet you in the name of friendship and in the hopes of a partnership between our two peoples" The crowd burst into applause before he had even gotten out his last word. He knew it wasn't his oration skills that had done it but the cheers and yells still made him feel a bit better.
Corso along with Hannah and Skirata had all wanted to come out swinging with the dire warnings of their unknown alien enemies. But both Matriarch Benezia and Master Alinco had warned against it. At best it would be laughed off as a joke. It was better for them to focus on making connections and getting their foot in the would let this meeting progress and at the appropriate time they would show the council and the people of the alliance the video.
After the initial greetings were out of the way with Corso gave the podium over to Master Alinco and just stood back and watched how the crowd reacted to the master's words. He wasn't nearly as interested in the council as he was the men, women, and children in the stands watching them. Even if the council wasn't already stacked against them due to their expectation that everyone bows to them nothing ever got done in preliminary meetings. The real treaties and trade deals would be made in offices across the Citadel and its space in the coming weeks and months. This whole thing was just political theater. But theater that the Jedi Master was using to their benefit.
"Yes councillors we can understand the fears you have of a new unknown power right next door to your people. Matriarch Benezia has already told us of the lengths your fleets and the council itself goes to to secure peace for your people. And we have already been able to fight alongside the brave turian fleet against the pirates who drove the Matriarch to our door. We are still new to the galactic stage and new to politics and workings of your council. For that reason we would like to request that the turian navy assists us in patrolling the borders we share with Citadel space for pirates and other galactic threats. "
"That could possibly be arranged" The asari ambassador said. She had read the reports and knew that "fought alongside" meant the Alliance shielding the turian ships as they retreated. But it was a good soundbite for the cameras and the onlookers seemed to be loving it. Even counciler Orocus was looking a little bit happier. "Still your fleet breaks Citadel codes, if you are to join the Citadel Alliance you will have to mothball your fleet. Including that large warship floating above our heads" She said hoping to remind the fawning audience about the seventeen kilometer warship outside the station, or its dozens of escorts.
"Your fears are valid ambasador and we understand the reason you have them. But we have fears of our own and reasons why we can not do that. But even if we could destroy our fleet it would make little sense to do it so quickly for reasons I'm sure the esteemed council has already figured out."
"To vast of a technological difference." Yargin Raxe said saving Counselor T'kaana from having to ask the jedi master to clarify. "Your ships. Your technology. It is all so vastly different. No element-zero. No mass relay transit. Any sort of agreement in numbers based on our system would be incorrect. Same for your Virtual Intelligences. The Droids. To us another Geth. But the Matriarch says they are not true AI."
"Exactly counselor. Transport, weapons, ships, manufacturing, ftl, communications, everything in our cultures comes from a vastly different tech tree. We even recognize that given your people's history with robotics and artificial intelligences that some of these may seem scary to you and like the mistakes of another young race." Master Alinco took a breath and tried to look as humble as he could. For the past hour he had been trying to head off every demand he could with their own suggestions. Instead of letting the public see the Councillors commanding a new race to get in line they would hopefully see a thoughtful and respectful race that was doing its best to ensure the wellbeing of both alliances. "For that reason we would invite your scientists to come and visit some of our shipyards and factories so that they could get a better understanding of the difference between our two powers. But not only the differences, the things we have in common. Each of our societies have technology and entertainment that others may find useful or enjoyable and we hope to quickly be able to start trading and learning alongside the alliance."
"You have given us much to thank about Master Alinco" councillor T'kaana said. "Do you have any closing remarks to make before we adjourn to deliberate?"
"We do your honor. I spoke of our own fears previously and said that we could not destroy our ships due to that fear. In fact if anything I would ask you all and your member states to build more ships. As many and as speedily as you can. For the reason we have built such a fleet is because we fear that there is something more dangerous than the Geth or Krogan or even the Rachni out in the galaxy. A danger that destroyed the very people who created this majestic space station in which we currently stand" The turian's presence had shifted back to radiating derision but it seemed that he still had the curiosity of the other two councilmembers at least. And most importantly the citizens were listening to his every word.
With perfect timing every single networked device on the citadel with a screen or holoprojector started emitting Master Alinco's voice over the tape of the mysterious craft coming out of the mass relay. While fixing the Sofia Fos the Alliance techs had noticed that every single piece of equipment and technology the asari had was sending and receiving information constantly on what was basically an open wireless network. That had confused the technicians as everything at least military and diplomatic ships required using a physical interface or at least a very secured wireless network that was only limited to specific functions. Putting everything from life support to communications and weapons on one system was just asking for trouble. And now Andy was using that disadvantage to beam the message to every receiver on the Citadel.
Nearly thirteen million beings watched the video as they heard Master Alinco repeat what he had told Matriarch Benezia. How they had found the prothean ruins while just beginning space flight, how they had discovered the message, and as the four words appeared on the screen how they sought allies to stand with them incase this threat ever returned. Once the video was over the crowd erupted into a thousand different voices. Some wondered how the visitors were able to hijack their communications, some considered the video a prank or thought it was fear mongering, some hanar were upset at them defiling at Prothean structure, and a not insignificant number took them at their word. Their was, as the council had reminded them, a seventeen kilometer ship hanging above their heads. What could drive a race to build something like that if they didn't truly believe it could happen to them.
The council however was not as impressed. Or perhaps couldn't allow themselves to be. They were the duly elected rulers of the civilized galaxy and they were the only galactic superpower. It was beyond their imagination that there was something else out there that could stand the might of their alliance. Not even the Krogan hords had destroyed them. And besides, everyone knew it was a disease or some other natural disaster that caused all of the protheans to go extinct. "Order." Councillor T'Kaana called the viewing chamber finally returned to normal volume. The humans had transmitted the message to everyone so she could not simply dismiss it off hand, nor could she be to harsh on them for their stunt as it seemed they did it in good faith. Before she could do anything a female voice called out from the side of the chamber and all eyes and cameras moved to focus on an elegant blue woman dressed in midnight black.
"I understand how difficult this is to believe councillors" Matriarch Benezia said in a voice that boomed through the halls. This was the final part of the act. She was going to publicly hitch her hoversled to that of the Galactic Alliance. Due to her age and power any notion of her being impared or coerced would be seen as slander so the council and more importantly the citizens of the galaxy had no choice but to listen to her. "But I have seen the videos as well. And during my time with the humans they have done nothing but put their lives on the line to protect myself and my crew. If there is a possible danger out there somewhere we must not turn our backs on it. Our very own history speaks to that. I ask that you take what they say under consideration."
"Very well." Councillor Orocus said "We understand how the galaxy can seem large and fighting to such a young race. So we will excuse this little stunt and take what they have said into consideration. For now though we will adjourn this session and meet in the morning to discuss more concrete terms"
-Avalon's Situation Room, June 2157-
Hannah sat across from Admiral Williams and Master Alinco as a large hologram with the crest of the Galactic Alliance spun in the air between them. A lightsaber with two wings coming out of the hilt the emblem had been that of the New Jedi Order in the old galaxy and the one the members of the Alliance had adopted as their own. Matriarch Benezia had also been invited to the meeting due to her being their contact and for her experience in intergalactic relations.
"Admiral, Master, Matriarch" Hannah tilted her head in greetings to all three of them as she stood to give her report. "Over the past three days Andy and I have been looking at the data available on the 'net as well as polls conducted amongst citizens after our introduction and the council's ruling that we can have temporary embassy on the station until we can get some more diplomats out here." Hannah keyed for the hologram to change to a picture of the milky way. "Matriarch Benezia has been kind enough to lend me her time and expertise. Especially when it comes to dealing with the asari." The Matriarch nodded at Hannah when she said this.
"Thanks to Matriarch Benezia we knew going in that the Council and even the heads of state for each individual race would not be as willing to listen as we wished. Therefore before we can even begin on Operation Clipeus we are going to have to build up a good amount of trust amongst ourselves and the citadel races as well as earn a good amount of social credit. Due to this Andy and I have devised a new path of action that we think can speed up. For now we are calling it Operation Eclipse"
"Yes we thought that Operation Prometheus was to cliche and Operation Pax Societas Galactica to imperial sounding" Andy chirped in from speakers above the admiral. "Operation Eclipse however perfectly describes what we plan to do."
"Which is?" Admiral Williams raised an eyebrow at the name.
"Instead of dealing directly with the council or even the heads of state of each race we plan on winning over the hearts and minds of their citizens." Hannah said directing their attention to the holo display which was now zooming in to show citadel space. "For over 2000 years the Citadel has had complete political, military, and economic hold over the galaxy. It exerts a lot of societal pressure just from its very existence at this point. There are going to be a lot of citizens who would like the galaxy to stay the same tomorrow as it is today. However that stagnation is the key to us overcoming the pressure the Citadel exerts."
"One of the reasons I was so happy to have encountered your fleet was due to that stagnation. As I told you we are only powerful enough to deal with either the Batarians or the Terminus Cluster. The councils inaction towards either party sees tens of thousands of our citizens lost to pirate attacks and slave raids." Benezia said solemnly and reminding them about the attack that had brought them together. "We also haven't progressed technologically in centuries. In fact we have blocked all expeditions outside of known Citadel space in the hopes that if we don't go looking for trouble none will find us."
"So what are your suggestions?" Master Alinco pressed.
"Focusing on the three council races individually we have a number of plans for each one but our main objective is to create a closer military alliance with each state and to have the citizens of the galaxy start to see us as their protectors. Andy would you like to do the honors?"
"Certainly" The hologram zoomed in to focus on the shared borders between Alliance, Citadel, and Batarian space. " Our greatest external threat seems to be the Batarians. A concern many in the Citadel hold according to polls we accessed" Andy said putting up the relevant info on the displays. "The turians pride themselves on being the councils police force. So we suggest recommending a joint operation to tackle pirate and slavery activity on our shared borders and around Batarian space. This will create a sense of shared experiences between the crews as well as showing off our ships abilities to prospective navies."
"The operation will also allow us to better track down and rescue kidnapped asari" Hanna said switching the view of the galaxy over to the asari held systems. "The Matriarchs have a firm grip on asari society but according to Matriarch Benezia some feel that they don't do enough about asari maidens being prime targets for slave raids. If we can track down and destroy these slaver rings and rescue the slaves it should help make us look better and the Matriarchs worse"
"I have some commando's who would love to go after the slavers. Working with them would also spread good word of mouth among the asari commandos." Matriarch Benezia said and motioned with her hand for Hannah to change the image to that of the salarian systems "The only ones who won't be swayed militarily are the salarians. For them I am suggesting some spy work. There are many corrupt Dalatrasses who are harming salarian interests by being more interested in personal wealth and power. If you could expose and eliminate them the Salarain people would be more apt to follow your suggestions."
"Focusing on the Batarians sounds like a good idea to me given the news I got from Fleet this morning." Admiral Williams said. "Their was another small attempt on Shanxi yesterday. More of a scouting run really. And the President has decided that we are going to start scouting their territory for the possibility of an invasion. The people back home don't like the idea of a agressive empire right next door, espically one that deals in slavery"
"We have a plan for the Batarians sir." Andy stated happily "They are a cast based system with the rulers on top and everyone else at different levels below them going from warrior down to slave. We hope that during the raids or even open war we will be able to send agents in to lead a uprising against the ruling class."
"The only two species we couldn't really figure out were the Elcor and the Hanar. The Volus we figured could just be swayed by giving them mining rights to Element Zero rich gas giants in our territory and investing much of what we hope to make on the market back into Volus held companies and banks." Hannah said and looked at the matriarch. "And we do mean every species."
The matriarch bowed her head a moment before looking up at the Admiral and Grand Master. "I suppose I should thank you for not bringing up the Quarians and Krogans until now. I know to outsiders it must look like the worst possible thing to do short of killing them, and it may be, but at the time everyone was acting on fear and afterwards the council didn't dare go back on their word less they looked weak."
"We understand that it's a hard thing to admit. And honestly it's not going to be very popular amongst our people because it mirrors some of the things we have done to ourselves in the past. But we need any and all the help we can get." Master Alinco said.
"Current estimations say that any net gain in Citadel space from helping either race will be in the single digits if at all. But it is still something our code calls for us to do." Hannah said "We just hope that the amount of new technologies, shows, songs, clothing styles, foods, and other exports will be able to offset that."
Before the Matriarch could respond a chime rang out and Andy switched the holoprojector to the picture of a frazzled guard and an angry looking asari woman. "Sirs their is a asari here wishing to see Matriarch Benezia. She uh" He flinched and looked over his shoulder at the woman "She uhh claims to be her husband."