Spartacus, the Turian Councillor for the Hierarchy in citadel space and the citadel council, was not a happy Turian as he stormed down the halls of the citadel tower. He had been called by his fellow councillors just a bare hour before, and not in a way that was pleasant.

But in truth, that was not what angered him. what angered him was that he had been trying to do something silently for nearing six days, and that he had an unsettling feeling this summons was about to make all his work worthless.

The citadel council met in the top most floor of the citadel tower. Most people only knew of the main lobby there, comprised of the hall where matters were publicly discussed, and the lofts where those who wished to could watch such proceedings. In truth, there were many other side rooms that existed as well, never seen by the common people, and used solely by the citadel councillors.

Entering one such room, the smallest and most comfortable, Spartacus locked the door behind him and took a seat on a comfy chair across from the other two councillors.

Tevos, the Asari councillor was sitting on a long couch looking weary and worried, nervous and angry. It was a strange sight considering how often she tried to keep the neutral expression she liked to use when compromising.

Valern, the Salarian conciliar in comparison was busily typing away on his Omni tool while muttering under his breath, possibly talking to someone. While it was not as visible, Spartacus could tell that something had unnerved Valern as well, though with how quickly he was typing and talking it was difficult to tell if it was true nerves or interest.

Something had happened, something major.

"I apologize for my late arrival. I was at C-Sec speaking with Executor Pallin." Spartacus said as he got comfortable in his chair, waiting for Tevos or Valern, more likely Tevos, to tell him why this meeting was called so suddenly. Neither Tevos or valern looked directly at Spartacus, nor said anything, and after a moment of this Spartacus had had enough. "Why was this meeting called and what was so important?"

"We have a . . . situation that we are curious if you are aware of." Valern finally said as he lowered his Omnitool and looked at Spartacus.

"First though, is this." Tevos said as she brought up her own Omnitool and began tapping at it. "Roughly two hours ago we received this transmission through unencrypted channels to Citadel control. I think it would be better for you to hear it yourself."

"My name is Desolas Arterius of the Turian hierarchy. I am sending this message in the hopes it will reach the citadel council ,and they will be able to fix the situation that the hierarchy has put itself in. Many days ago, the Turian Cruiser, Hunters Pride, fired upon an unknown alien vessel attempting to access an inactive mass relay. The ship was destroyed, and after contacting the hierarchy, the Hunters Pride was destroyed by other ships of this unknown races. The hierarchy acted with extreme prejudice and went through, what was until just recently, an inactive relay were these alien ships had come from. Finding what was initially believed to be this new race's home planet, the Hierarchy attacked, intent on defeating and turning this race into a client race to bring to the citadel."

There was a pause in the recording, and what sounded like background noise of talking that could not quiet be heard, then Desolas's voice came back, sounding worse than before.

"The situation did not unfold how our generals hoped. These aliens have weaponry we are unable to explain. They destroyed our fleet, and are pushing our forces back across their planet. In a matter of days we will likely all be dead unless we surrender before then. I was captured by these aliens, and given one chance to send this message to the citadel. An envoy must be sent to discuss an end to this conflict. If it is not, I truly believe that these aliens will destroy all of us, and move onto complete total war against the citadel. It is something they speak fondly of. Please, send an envoy and convince these aliens to speak of peace; convince the hierarchy to stop this!"

The room was quiet for many moments as Tevos and Valern simply looked at Spartacus, trying to gauge his reaction. After a few moments, much to their surprise, Spartacus began chuckling to himself.

"I fail to see what about this situation is funny, Spartacus." Tevos said in a worried tone.

"I apologize." Spartacus said with a shake of his head. "It is just now that I realize what I had been missing."

"Missing?" Valern asked in confusion, something he hated.

"Yes. For many days now, I have been unable to contact the hierarchy's military, the Primarch, or any general. I've tried numerous times in as many ways I could think of. That is why I had gone to speak to Pallin, to see if he was having the same problem. He has been. Now it makes sense though, the Primarch must have enacted a military block on all communication to stop anyone from interfering with the attack on these new aliens."

"I see. So you were not aware of the situation?" Valern asked incredulously.

"No, I was not." Spartacus said with a sigh. "The Primarchs reaction however, makes sense to me. Stopping this war will require the citadels full attention, not just saying stop."

"And why is that?" Tevos asked curiously.

"If what Arterius says is true, and the Hunters Pride was indeed destroyed by these aliens, likely as retaliation, the Primarch himself would be invested in the war. His daughter served on the Hunter's Pride, as did a many generals children, it was a well-respected post."

"I see. That will complicate matters. If nothing else the Primarch will argue for war regardless of what we say." Tevos said with a sigh. "I recall the name of the one who sent the message, Desolas Arterius, his name sounds familiar to me."

"Yes, he is an up and coming ship captain who is well respected, and his brother is a cabal whose name was recently put on the potential spectre list." Valern said quickly. "I am more worried about what he said though, about these new aliens destroying the entire Turian fleet! That is not something many would say lightly."

"I agree, it either means they have a very large fleet that took losses as well, or that they used weapons of mass destruction. Neither option is good." Spartacus said with a sigh.

"Then we must stop this before it becomes too large." Tevos said carefully. "We need to fix this and have this new race become an associate race, especially if they are as dangerous as we are led to believe!"

"I agree. If these aliens have new technology, it would be wise to bring them under our control where they will not hurt themselves." Valern agreed as he and Tevos then looked to Spartacus, waiting for his agreement.

Spartacus let out a sigh. He didn't like the way Tevos and Valern worded it. He did not fully believe that an entire Turian fleet could be destroyed, but he did not like the idea that a race that could give a Turian captain pause. "I agree, if for no other reason than to stop this from escalating further."

"Good. The message came with coordinates to the alien world. I suggest we sent an Asari diplomatic team, sending any group with Turians may, agitate this new race." Tevos suggested, getting an immediate nod from Valern, and a slower nod from Spartacus. "Good, then I shall organize the envoy's that will be sent. They shall depart within the day and should, if this information is correct, reach the alien world in a day."

"This is good. We should also send some ships to go and, convince the Primarch that he has acted wrongly." Valern suggested, making Spartacus grin.

"I will go with this fleet. I am the Turian councillor, and to be completely blocked like this is insulting to my position. The Primarch will not hear the last of this, and I will make sure those responsible and brought to light, and lose their positions for this breach of protocol!"

"Very well then," Tevos said, shifting a bit away from Spartacus as he spoke. She hadn't seen him so, angered in quite a while.

"Then it's decided. There is much still to decide and prepare for, but who will you send?" Valern asked inquisitively.

"Matriarch Benezia."

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Desolas was led out of the room he had been given to sleep in and down the halls of the manor by Mei, who despite having been asked a question was completely silent as she walked. Or floated as it were.

After a couple minutes thy arrived at the manor's foyer, comely empty and still lit the exact same way it had been when Desolas first entered it.

"My lady shall arrive in a few moments. Please wait here." Mei then said as she turned and fluttered off, leaving Desolas with his thoughts.

Glancing around Desolas found a bench against a wall and sat down, letting out a heavy, uncertain sigh. He had helped these aliens discover who their leader on the planet likely was, but in turn had been allowed to send a message entirely of his own creation to the citadel council, and with luck they would send an envoy, and end this failure of a war.

Just trying to work the alien technology to contact the citadels had been a chore, one that had lasted an entire night, and it had tired him out to such a surprising amount that he had slept for a whole half day. The rest of that day had been spent speaking with Flandre, and then another night had come and went.

He had spent two nights in this strange building, at the behest and mercy, of an alien who seemed both absurdly strong, and insanely cunning and childish all at the same time. It was a wonder he and his people still lived.

Apparently the rest of the Hierarchy's forces on the planet had surrendered in the night while he was trying to communicate with the citadel, so his people were no longer being killed, but he still worried. If the envoy from the citadel did not arrive soon . . . . He didn't want to think of the possibilities, but most of them were bad.

A scratching of wood drew Desolas's attention up from the floor to the stairs, where he quickly saw the form of a small alien, a child, attempting to hide behind the railings. He had seen them on occasion in the building, as it was apparently being used as a safe house for the children of the city, but hadn't realized how similar and yet different they looked.

The child had dark fur on its head that was apparently called hair, and looked at Desolas with a mix of curiosity, fear and wonder. After another moment he then realized the child was the same one he had met in the city, the same one his brother had tried to take prisoner. He felt conflicted, did he apologize? Try to talk to it? He didn't know its name, or even its gender, and couldn't tell considering its size. Did he just ignore it then? Act like he hadn't seen it?

"Your one of those A- A, Areeins, right?" the child asked as he came out from behind the railing, as if coming out of a hiding spot.

Desolas looked at the child, then realizing that mispronunciation apparently was not something that just Turian children dealt with, and slowly nodded to the child. "I am. My name is Desolas Arterius."

The child took a step towards Desolas and looked at him for a moment. "My name is, Kay deen, orenko!" He said with difficulty, while looking very proud with himself. "You have a name, are not a , a . . . copy?"

"A, copy?"

"Yeah! Some of the others said they saw others like you out a window days ago. They said you all looked the same!"

"Ah. No, we're not clones." Desolas said as he realized what the child was going for.

"But you all rook the-.."

"Kaidan!" Both Kaidan and Desolas look up to See Keine walking over, a scowl on her face. "What did I say about wandering off, young man?!"

"B-but I saw the areein!"

"No but's! Until they leave Shanxi classes are here, and its time for class, so back to the classroom with you!"

"But-"

Kiene's hair suddenly changed from blue to green, and her horns grew out the sides of her head. Kaidan suddenly looked horrified and scampered off without a word. "I am sorry you had to see that." Keine said as her hair returned to its normal coloration and her horns disappeared as if they had never existed.

"No, its fine. . . .That child, was he-…"

"The same one you and your compatriots tried to kidnap and study, yes." Keine said with a hint of venom in her tone that made Desolas unconsciously sit further back on the bench.

"I, uh. . . I'm surprised he approached me then." Desolas choked out, unsure of what else to say. When it happened it had made sense, but now the idea of kidnapping a child to study seemed just wrong.

"Kaidan is an adventurous one, and is showing an affinity for magic at such a young age. It makes him think he can do things others would not try. It is both good and bad, honestly. But I must get back to my class. Good luck."

"Good luck? With what?" Desolas asked as keened walked up the stairs of the foyer.

A moment later Flandre appeared at the top of the stairs. Instead of the sleek and revealing dress she had been wearing, she now wore clothing that was far more conservative, and dangerous looking. Dark red pants covered her legs, the area below her left knee uncovered, as if part of the pants had been torn off. Over her upper body she wore a simple bright red shirt with buttons on the front and no sleeves. It would have looked common, if not for the heavy looking boots over her feet, and the metal plated glove that covered her left hand. It was fingerless, but went from her hand all the way up to her shoulder, the metal plates looking like heavy segmented scales of a great beast, dark red and reflecting everything around them, including darkness itself. Her hair was also tied up on the left side, and for some reason it unnerved Desolas, though he was unsure why.

"Ah, you're here, good. I was worried I'd have to hunt you down!" Flandre said, causing Desolas to shiver.

"Um, what exactly do you need from me? My people have surrendered. Shouldn't I be brought to and kept with them?" Desolas asked, wondering why he was still begin treated similar to a "guest" and not a POW.

"You will be, but there is something we need from you first. Information on the envoys your citadel is likely to send." Flandre said as she came down the stairs and stopped at the door, taking a strange spike out of a holder by the door and opening it into some kind of circular shading apparatus. "Follow me." She added as she opened the door, warm light streaming into the room as she walked out with umbrella overhead.

Desoalas did as he was asked and followed Flandre out of the building. For a moment the light blinded him, having gotten use to the dim light within the building, but after a second his eyes adjusted. A bright blue sky was overhead, not a cloud in the sky. No noise of gunfire, fires, or screaming could be heard, and instead Desolas only heard what he could only imagine was the low mumble of people doing things, like the sound when passing by a ward on the citadel.

Leaving the manors walls Desolas saw no one in the streets, but that changed after they changed street twice, getting a decent distance away from the manor. The street they had come to was one that Desolas recognized, a street where there had been a barrier, and one of the massive guns his people had taken to calling overkill guns. Now, there was no barrier, not even a scrap of one, and the overkill gun was further down the street, being lifted onto a massive flat sheet of metal by what looked like a half dozen people with wings coming out of their backs!

Other people on the street were sweeping the street picking up debris, and even working together to pull apart a broken building piece by piece. It was an impressive sight, but was very strange. There were no vehicles anywhere besides for the one that was attached to the plate that now held the overkill gun. Where were all the vehicles?

"Stay close." Flandre said under her breath.

Desolas was about to ask why, until he glanced around and saw that people were now looking in their direction. The crowd ahead of them parted for Flandre effortlessly, but Desolas notice many of the people were looking not at Flandre, but at him. Some looked with curiosity or whimsy, while others glared at him with hate and malice. He even saw one person gripping a pair of short knives, their hands twitching as they followed Desolas's movements.

"Right. . . . . . Your people, do you not use vehicles?" Desolas asked as they continued down the street, hoping to change the subject away from the glares directed at him.

"We do." Flandre answered as they turned down the street the overkill gun was parked adjacent to. "We mainly use vehicles for transport of goods, services and munitions, like the Vajra here." Flandre said as she gestured to the gun."

"What about people?"

"On some planets, especially the home world. Shanxi is comprised of only the one city however, so there is no need for mass transport when people can just walk or fly to where they want to go." Flandre explained as thy turned down another, even wider road that appeared to be completely devoid of damage. The glass on buildings was unscarred, the roads covered in nothing but boot scuffs and old depressions in the road, possibly from physical wheels. Did their vehicles still use actual wheels!?

"Your home world, is-?"

"You realize I will not answer any questions about our home world's location, yes? Not until peace is complete between our people." Flandre said instantly, not letting Desolas finish.

"I was only going to ask its size. The only city on this planet is a good size, so I was just curious if cities of this size were common for your people."

Flandre glanced at Desolas as they turned down another road. "The size of Xi'an is normal for a colony. Some cities on our home world reach upwards of ten thousand square kilometers in size, while most are roughly three thousand square kilometres large. Some of those cities have upwards of forty million people in them."

Desolas was unable to speak for a moment. With those numbers that must mean their planet was a good size and veritably covered in cities! "So your numbers are far greater than we initially figured."

"Considering you thought this was our home world, yes. We're not even fully sure of our own numbers, and they are difficult to gauge."

"Why?"

"We are three separate species, Humans, Lunarians and Youkai, as I've told you. But the problem is that all can have children with the other, and those children do not always end up being the same species as their parents, often being half breeds, half lunarians or half youkai. So it is difficult to ascertain our numbers accurately by species, though some continue to try." Flandre explained as they came down a street and found themselves at the base of the massive mountain range, a pile of cold slag sitting on the slope near them. Desolas could see the shape of a Turian fighter craft sticking out of the slag, but did not think on it too hard, knowing the pilot was long dead, if they were even still inside.

"I see. Are we, going to your command centre?" Desolas asked as Flandre led him towards the massive building built into the mountain.

"I did say we needed information on the envoys your citadel would send. The one in charge of Shanxi's defence is curious about who they would send and what they would be like." Flandre responded.

"Oh, well, I'm not sure who exactly they would send but-.."

"Save it for Tenshi, that way you don't have to repeat yourself." Flandre interrupted as she stepped up to the door to the buildings and taped a keypad beside it for almost a minute straight before it clicked and the door swung open.

The halls of the building were made of solid stone, perfectly smooth to the touch. The stairs were the same, and the only metal that Desolas could see was in the doors they passed and the light fixtures built into the upper edges of the halls. One thing that he found strange was the size of the halls and doors, which were far larger than they needed to be. All the doors were very wide, easily wide enough for two people to walk through, and the halls were easily five metres in width and nearly that in height.

After going up an uncountable number of stairs, they came to the upper levels of the command centre. The walls had wooden supports that were embedded into the walls and the noise of machinery and people working permeated the entire level. Unlike below, Desolas was now worried and nervous, for this was the nerve centre that had defeated his people.

Ahead of them Desolas noticed a door wide open, and as they passed peered in, and instantly froze. Medical equipment was strewn across the room, shattered on the walls. A metal bar was embedded in the wall right above the bed, and blood and other liquids were all over the floor and bed.

"Is there something you need with my room?"

Desolas turned to the new voice, finding another alien standing down the hall, right in front of Flandre. They had been apparently talking, and then she had turned to him. The woman had a more developed body than Flandre and wore a simple red blocky patterned dress. Her hair was bright green and her eyes held a power that made Desolas's heart stop for a half second. Most strange though was that she was holding a wrap of cloth in both hands against her chest, clutching it tightly, but not too tightly.

"Ah, no I," Desolas stop and stood straight as he looked at the alien woman. Flandre had told him about the three species of the alliance, but he was still unsure how to tell them apart. "I apologize. The door was open and I was surprised by the contents when I glanced in."

The woman smiled in way that made Deposal's plates shift. "Understandable. Childbirth can be, dangerous for youkai, or for those around them."

Flandre giggled a bit and turned to Desoals. "Desolas, meet Yuuka Kazami, Yuuka, our alien 'helper' Desolas Arterius. Yuuka here was in command of Shanxi's air defences, for part of the battle at least."

"Yes, Ashley here saw to that." She said as he looked down at the bundle of cloth in her hands, making Desolas realize it was likely her child.

"Oh, is that her name then?" Flandre asked with a smile that Yuuka mirrored.

"Yes, my dear husband though it up, from me threatening him no less!" Yuuka said with a short giggle as she and Flandre turned and began walking down the hall, Desolas following behind, intent on not being mistaken for a spy.

"Oh, what did you threaten him with?"

"I basically told him if he lost the battle I'd turn him to ash."

"Oh, ash, to Ashley, not bad." Flandre said as they turned into a room.

Following behind Desolas entered the room and realised it must have been a command and control room of some sort. A massive holographic table took up the centre of the room, showing a map of the city and Turian camp, as well as glowing dots all over which were likely people on the ground. Yuuka had walked around the table and was standing beside a man, while Flandre was on the side closest to the door. At the side to her left was a woman with brilliant blue hair, wearing a uniform so sleek and powerful looking Desolas knew instantly that she was in command. As he further entered the room he spotted two more people, women by the looks of their body shapes. One was wearing the same clothing as the one in charge and had some sort of floating cloth around their body, while the other was wearing more casual, but still dangerous looking clothing and had a pair of swords on her waist. Their hair colors were a dark purple blue and completely white, making Desolas wonder if there was any reason to the colorations.

"Good, you're here," Tenshi said to Flandre as Desolas walked into the room. "Now your little pet can tell us what we need to hear."

"He's hardly a pet." Flandre said with a shrug as she looked to Desolas and waved him over to the table, then began pointing to everyone as she spoke. "This is Tenshi Hinanai, the one in charge of Shanxi's defences. That is General Williams, Yuuka' husband. Then we have Iku Nagae, Tenshi's assistant, and Youmu Konpaku, one of our operative from the ground assault. Everyone, this is Desolas Arterius, the alien responsible for allowing us to make the aliens surrender and for contacting the alien government!"

"Good, introduction are done," Tenshi said before anyone else could speak. "I want to know one thing. you told them to send envoys. If they do, who will they send and what can we expect?"

"I do not know who exactly they would send, but most likely it will be an Asari diplomatic envoy that gets sent." Desolas replied, unsure if it was a good idea to do so. The people in the room all eyed him with differing expression, none of which he fully comprehended.

"Asari, is that one of the races in your government?" Iku asked calmly, sounding pleasant and even friendly.

"Yes. They often focus on politics, and look similar to your own species." Desolas said as he tapped his Omni tool a few times and brought up an image of an Asari. "The Asari, a mono-gendered race that are all natural biotics with a thousand year lifespan, one of the longest lifespan in the galaxy."

"Until we reveal ourselves!" Yuuka said with a snicker.

"Will that be a problem?" Tenshi asked after looking at Yuuka, then back to Desolas. "Does their age make them act in any specific way?"

"Sometimes, yes. Asari matriarchs are known to act like they know best over other races, especially ones they consider, younger than them, which is most. Some will speak like they are talking to a child, even if they are fully grown."

"I see. What about that, biotics you called them, what is that?" Williams asked.

"Biotics are the ability to manipulate mass effect fields through element zero nodes in a person body. They-,.." Desolas stopped when he realized everyone in the room had what could only be a disgusted look on their faces.

"What can these, biotics, do?" Youmu asked as she stepped away from the wall and up to the table, her hands resting on the handles of her blades ominously.

"Th-they can create mass effect fields, areas that can alter the effects of gravity and a beings weight. They can make things weightless, send bolts of kinetic energy at things to throw them, things like that. Why?" Desolas asked, curious as to why everyone looked disgusted.

"And your species, do they have this ability?" Youmu asked calmly, her tone like smooth steel.

"Some do, but biotics among my people are very rare. Why? Are biotics rare among your people?"

"More like poison!" Tenshi said with hiss. "Element Zero does not play well with magic. Any Youkai or magician is sickened and can die from contact with element zero if it is not dealt with promptly."

"We call it contamination." Youmu said calmly. "I fought one of your people who could do what you describe, and getting hit by the attacks contaminated me. I only was fine because contamination takes time, and I was able to purify myself of it."

"Magic is a major part of our culture and industry." Williams added. "We do not use element zero, and destroy it wherever we encounter it. The idea of an entire race infuse with the stuff is, unsettling."

"More like absolutely disgusting." Yuuka said with bile in her voice.

Desoals could not believe what he was hearing. It was common knowledge that Eezo could be dangerous, but that it could be so hated that these people refused to use it, and even went out of their way to destroy it when found; the Council would not like that, and if what they said was true, they would despise all Asari just for being what they were!

Maybe they'd hate them more than his own people.

"So your government will send envoys of these, Asari, that are walking balls of potential contamination, and who think they are superior to all other species?" Tenhi asked carefully.

"Not all of them think like that, but, yes. That is most likely." Desolas replied.

"Great!" Tenshi said sarcastically with a sigh.

The room was quiet for many moments, as if everyone was considering the information. Then suddenly a beep echoed across the room, and Iku put a hand to her ear and muttered for a few seconds.

"What is it, iku?" Tenshi asked calmly without turning around to look at her.

"That was Patchouli. The Council envoys have arrived in the system and the translation software worked. They successful contacted them. The envoy's ship will be dropping a shuttle to the landing pad outside, and will be accompanied by a fighter squadron from Alice's ship.

"I see. Flandre, you can return our, ally, to his people." Tenshi said with a sigh as she stood up straight and began walking towards the door. "Time to meet the neighbours!"

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"By the goddess, look at the size of those ships!" Shiala exclaimed as their shuttle moved closer and closer to the alien fleet.

"Yes, they are all quite large, but those four are particularly dangerous looking. It will be good when this race join the council and must follow our regulations of ship sizing." Matriarch Benezia said as she looked out a window beside Shiala.

"I agree, but I don't like this. Making us go down to their planet under a guard of their own ships in nothing but a shuttle is, worrying."

"Worry not. They allowed us to land, so they clearly wish for peace regardless of how well they have done. They destroyed a Turian fleet, but the cost must have been too high for them to cope with, so now they wish for us to negotiate peace for them. They will see the truth and join the council. It is the only safe option for them." Benezia said in a confident tone. "They are just being careful; they are worried we are the same as the Turians."

"Still, I do not like being surrounded by these ships." Shiala said as she stared out the window at one of the fighters flanking them. It had a strange shape, like a crescent with a rod sticking out of it front, and while she could not see them, she was sure it had weapons on it. Weapons trained on their shuttle and ready to fire at the slightest act of defiance.

"It will be fine. We were given landing coordinates and they clearly want peace. We just need to remember that to them, we attacked first, so we need to make them understand the hierarchy acted on its own. Pilot, how long till we reach the planet?"

"We're about to enter atmosphere." came the pilots reply over the shuttles internal comms. A few seconds later a red wave of heat began appearing outside the shuttle, as well as the fighters flanking them.

"Their fighters are atmospheric as well?!" Shiala gasped in surprise. Sure fighters could often be used in atmosphere or in space, but being able to jump between them themselves was a rare thing for most citadel races.

"So it appears. Perhaps these aliens will provide the council with new technology. No matter they will be joined with us one way or another, then everything will be as it should be." Benezia said as the shuttle stopped being covered in heat waves.

"We're coming down over the alien city now, Matriarch. ETA to landing pad, one minute."

"Thank you." Benezia said as she stepped away from the window and adjusted her clothing. "Get yourself ready, Shiala, it is time to meet our new associates!"

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The cloudless sky had changed to a calm overcast over Xi'an. On the command centre's landing pad stood Tensh and Iku, everyone else watching from inside the building as the alien shuttle slowly descended down toward the large landing area.

The shuttle, sleek and smooth in its shape, landed with a slight hiss that made Tenshi and Iku cringe from the obvious mass effect field around it. Desolas had told them to expect it, but an entire ship held up by Eezo, as Desolas had called it, was utterly disgusting!

The shuttle opened, and two figured came out, Asari as Desolas had predicted. One wore a hardsuit of some kind, while the other, more regal in the way she walked, wore a long robe like dress. Both had expressions of surprise on their faces, likely from Tenshi and Iku's similar looks to them, but the more regal one compose herself quickly, and began walking toward them with an arrogant smile on her face.

Until Tenshi drew her sword and pointed it at the regal alien. "Do not proceed any further! I am Tenshi Hinnanai, current defender of Shanxi. Are you the envoy sent by your government?"

"Yes, I am Matriarch Benezia, of the Asari republics. I have been sent as the envoy for the citadel council, to end this unfortunate accident and invite your people to the citadel for more in depth talks." Benezia replied, her voice warm and haughty.

"Good, we can begin the talks then." Tenshi said as she lowered her blade to the side.

"Yes, but let us do them somewhere more comfortable, yes?" Benezia said as she took a step forward, causing Tenshi to raise her blade at Benezia again.

"No, the talk will be done here, and you will come no closer to us!" Tenshi spat out, Hisou vibrating with power as a red aura drifted off of it.

Benezia looked at Tenshi and scowled a bit. "May I ask why. This is hardly the appropriate place to have peace talks." Benezai claimed, her tone sounding just as Desolas had said it could, like a parent condoning a child's actions. It made Tenshi want to blow her off the landing pad and into the city below, but that would not be proper considering the situation, or her station.

Tenshi narrowed her gaze at Benezia. "Because I can smell the contamination wafting off you from here! You will stay at that distance from us. If you come closer you will be struck down and these talks end!"

Benezia stepped back, not from the threat itelf, but from the way Tenshi spoke to her. She had not been spoken to in such a manner in centuries, yet this young alien made demands as if she had been the one attacking the planet! She needed to stay composed however, otherwise the talks would never proceed, and these young foolish aliens would never truly understand the situation. "Very well, I shall remain at this distance. I do have two questions before we begin however, if you will indulge me?"

"Ask." Tenshi said Tersely.

"Thank you. First then, my translator tells me you are speaking Turian, did you commandeer their Omni tools and translation software perhaps?"

"I am under the effects of a translation spell for the Turian language. I was informed your translator would catch it, and translate your words to it as well, hence why we are able to speak. What is your other question?"

Benezia sighed; annoyed at the way the alien was speaking, disallowing her from prying further when the answer gave her even more questions, like what a translation spell was. No matter, their secrets would be discovered one way or another all in due time. "Very well, then the second question. What do you mean by contamination? Are you worried about catching a sickness from us perhaps?"

"No. Disease is nothing we worry about. What I am worried about is getting contaminated by that disgusting element infused in your body! I can sense it from here, so if you even attempt to use the capability it allows, you will die!"

"Do, you refer to my biotics? To the element zero nodes within my body?" Benezia asked in a curious and unbelieving tone. They couldn't be meaning that, could they? Was this alien saying that element zero was more dangerous than normal to them? That they don't use it? Not using Element Zero was impossible, it allowed all the technology of the galaxy, and they had to be lying, or meaning something else!

"That is exactly what I am referring to!" Tenshi yelled, her grip on Hisou tightening at the thought of it. "If you use those disgusting abilities we have been warned of, the peace talks are off and you will be killed in seconds!"

Benezia was visibly shocked by this. This alien admitted with her words and actions that they had been informed of biotics and that they apparently reviled them, and anything to do with Element Zero. The idea was absurd, so either this alien was telling the truth, or playing some form of game to make her confused. It was likely the latter, but she had to be careful, otherwise the negotiations would crumble to pieces. "Very well, I am not here to promote violence, but its antithesis, peace."

"Indeed, we'll see how long that lasts." Tenshi said with a scoff. "Your allies, those Turians, attacked one of our scientific ships that was merely getting readings from those relays, and was destroyed. While a force of our own retaliated against them, it does not paint a good image of your government when your military comes and besieges a planet without even attempting contact of any form!"

"I agree, it would not. However the Turians were not acting in response to orders from the council, but acting on their own, therefore it is they you have a problem with, not the rest of the council. The council however does not want this to continue. If you are willing to return all Turian prisoners to us and come to the citadel, your leadership may speak to the council about reparations and your place in the galactic community."

"Perhaps. You say it like negotiations between our two people must be done on your turf however. Is that correct?" Tenshi asked, glaring at Benezia.

"Yes, all negotiations and agreement are done at the citadel, the centre of galactic civilization! It is the perfect place for such agreements to take place, no place in the galaxy is more perfectly suited to it!" Benezia said arrogantly, as if the citadel council was the only worthy organization in the galaxy.

Tenshi knew the heads of the alliance would enjoy proving them wrong and smiled inside as a plan formed in her head. "Very well, we will need the coordinates of this, Citadel, as well as an information packet of your government, races and history to send to our own leadership. Unless, of course, you want our leaders to unfairly have no information whatsoever?"

"That is acceptable, so long as I receive a similar pack of information to give to the council." Benezia replied quickly, clearly having hoped for such an exchange.

"That is acceptable. Iku!"

In response Iku took a pair of inactive Omni tools out of a pocket and tossed them across the landing platform with audible clicks, both of them coming to a stop just a few feet to Benezia's side.

"One of those has information on our people loaded onto it, load the information of your peoples onto the other for our leadership and then toss it back."

Benezia looked to Shiala and nodded, Shiala doing as Tenshi requested while Benezia looked at the other omni tool and looked it over.

"Were these the property of a Turian prisoners?"

"Not of any one that lives, no."

"I see. That does bring up one thing actually. When you come to the citadel, you will need to have all Turian prisoners, and their effects and equipment with them to return to the council otherwise things may become, problematic for the talks between our leadership. Do you understand?"

Tenshi wanted to strike the alien down, wanted to kill her violently and slowly. She spoke as if she was better and her word was law, like the council decided who lived and die, and now was demanding that all of the Turian technology be returned as well? It was an absurd request by normal logic for wars and who gets what, but Tenshi knew it would not matter, Rinnosuke, Sanae and Eirin already had confirmed that the alien technology would do little to nothing for them, and returning it without a problem would net them points right off the bat. "Very well. It shall all be gathered as well."

"Excellent! I am sure our leaders will be able to come to an agreement that is good for everyone. Do you have sufficient supplies to keep the Turian prisoners in good health? I will not demand they be returned immediately, for my ship will not have room for them all, but the Turians have specific nutritional requirements. We would not want them to be returned beaten, and malnutrition now, would we? It would set a bad precedent for your people's treatment of prisoners, and the whole galaxy would recognize it as such.

"That will be alright. I have been informed they have sufficient supplies for their remaining numbers." Tenshi said, making Benezia look worried.

"You did not destroy their supplies during your skirmishes?"

"No, we had, but their numbers are of an amount we can supplement their remaining stores with our own as needed," Tenshi said with a smile, making Shiala shiver for a reason she did not understand.

Benezia looked at Tenshi with an inquisitive eye. She had told this alien woman that if the Turian were mistreated that they would suffer, yet she was saying they could eat their food. Was this race also Dextro based? What worried her the most though, was Tenshi's comment about their numbers. "Are you saying you that their numbers were reduced that badly?"

"Yes. We routed them quiet effectively, and had to wash the blood off our streets." Tenshi said causally, knowing it should set the alien off.

"This was something akin to a small war. You surely lost many people as well, and you are happy about that?!"

"Yes, why wouldn't we be pleased? They attacked us, we killed them, and they surrendered. Why wouldn't we be happy when we are the ones who are victorious?"

Benezia was silent for a moment before composing herself. "May I ask then, roughly how many Turians you have prisoner?"

Tenshi looked to Iku, who took a step forward. "There has been no chance to do an accurate accounting of their numbers as of yet. However, the only ones who live are the ones who were not killed in our counterattack on the ground. We expect their remaining number to be roughly a third of what was deployed to the planet.

Benezia felt herself go pale. She had seen the cruiser slagged outside of the city. It had been a light cruiser, but even a light Turian cruiser would have a crew of roughly three hundred, more if they carried ground troops. Benezia tried to calculate the loss of life in her head from the information she knew about how many Turian ships were supposed to have taken part in the combat in orbit, and how many would have landed troops.

It made her want to cry.

"M-Matriarch, I have finished." Shiala said, as she held the Omni tool in hand, hr hand shaking a bit. Clearly she was just as horrified as Benezia was inside.

"Thank you, Shiala." Benezia said as she knelt down and slid the Omni tool across the stone toward Tenshi. "All the information your leadership will need is now on it. When will the council be able to expect your leadership to arrive at the citadel?"

Tenshi thought about it for a moment. Depending on where this, citadel, was located it could take up to two or three days to boundary slip there. Then there was how long it would take to corral all of the Turians on Shanxi into a ship, organize things so their leaders could go, deciding who would act as their guards and who would join them. They needed to be sure of many things, and giving time for Kaguya, Hackett and even Yukari to read through the alien's information would take time as well. "One to two weeks I would think. A more accurate number is impossible at this time." Tenshi answered.

"I see. I will inform the council, and I hope our leaders can complete what we have started here. Good day to you, and may the goddess protect you." Benezia said as she turned and walked back to her shuttle, Shiala following close behind.

Tenshi watched as the alien shuttle closed and lifted off, its mass effect field making her cringe again in uncomfortable disgust. Once it had disappeared into the clouds Iku walked over and picked up the Omni tool off the ground. "Well, that could have gone better, I think." She said simply.

Tenshi smiled as she looked up at the sky. "No, I think that went about as well as could be expected."

"Truly?" Iku asked curiously. "That alien, Asari, acted exactly as our friend predicted. If the alien government is the same-.."

"Then our government will have fun proving everything they thought wrong!" Tenshi said with a laugh as she turned to the doors. "Come, let's go give this information to the heads of the alliance, and tell them what to expect!"

Authors note: this chapter was both excruciatingly painful, and a load of fun to get right. the political stuff begins, and knowledge begins getting divulged, and don't worry, it's not like the alliance isn't getting anything out of divulging what is common knowledge!

Hope ya liked it, and see you with the next chapter!