Despite the shock and reoccurring fear caused by Ambassador Scarlets actions her first day on the Citadel, the information that the Alliance was having their biggest festival that happened only every five years, and was opening it to all council races made many people instantly intrigued in the Alliances history and culture. Reading information on them could only do so much after all, and as the date got closer and closer, more and more information was released on how it would work, and what it would have to show all who attended.
Ethnological exhibitions, cultural shows, historic vids, examples of scientific advancements and prototypes, live music and entertainment, food from across Alliance territory, and physical challenges and games were just the barest hints of it given to the public.
The preparations however were not entirely smooth as many people, Biotics and the Asari primarily, continually complained about the Alliances demand of denying them the use of their abilities, many stating it was their right and that inhibiting it was akin to rape. No matter how many times it was brought up to the Alliance ambassador however, she ignored it or gave the same reply each time. That the Alliances stance on element zero technology, that biotics and Eezo were to be not carried or used in their territory, would still stand regardless of how many people complained.
After a while, including four attempts of assault and three attempts of murder to her person, all of them resulting with the deaths of the assailants, often by having their throats torn out; people stopped complaining to the Alliance ambassador, and she quickly gained a reputation as someone as dangerous as a spectre, and unable to be killed.
And that was to say nothing about her guard.
Finally the days to Reitaisai closed to less than a week, and the moneychangers came to the Citadel, converting the Councils credits into the Alliances currency, a strange combination of plastic bills and semi-precious metal coinage, both covered in funny images and shapes.
Then the Alliance passenger ships came. Massive 900 meter long ships with only the barest self defense weapons, built entirely for one purpose, to ferry people between planets. Thousands boarded each on the first day alone, bringing people from every lot of life to Shanxi to partake in the Alliance's insanity.
Since the short incident with the Turians, Shanxi had changed drastically. The city had been rebuilt, the massive wall somehow removed completely, and the city expanded. Three spaceports littered the mountain range, the city was full of decorations and people, and the lands south of the city, past the forests was abuzz with life, Reitaisai taking up easily over a hundred square kilometres with stalls, restaurants, rides, and exhibitions.
A kilometre into one area of the festivals many restaurant and food areas a Turian, Desolas Artrius found himself standing in front of a massive monument of steel. He had walked directly to it as soon as he had seen it when the passenger ship came down to the planet, but now that he was in front of it, he wasn't sure how to act.
The monument itself was simple; unbelievably so when compared to the colors, lights and noise from around it. A scale model of a Turian cruiser, embedded into a similarly scaled Alliance cruiser, and around it, massive black steel walls, each side covered in the names of all those on both sides that had died, in both the Alliance language of English, and in common Turian. Nothing had ever been said about this memorial, but its intention was clear, and Desolas could clearly see others looking it over. It was not just Turians either. Asari, Salarians, a few Quarians and Krogan, and many Alliance faces seemed to pay their respects, either to a specific name they hunted for, or to the monument in general. Even those who did not stop at it bowed their heads or took off hats while passing by.
'In remembrance to all those who lost their lives in the first contact incident. May their souls be at peace, and their sacrifices not be forgotten.' was written on the plaque of each metal wall, reinforcing the monuments meaning.
Executor Pallin had distributed the VIP passes that Flandre had given him to all officers, but only a few, Desolas included, had decided to go. He had initially decided to go both to see how Shanxi fared and to understand more of Alliance culture, but also to look for something.
He had been the captain of a cruiser, then had been dropped to a mere ground commander, then stripped of his rank, to be taken in by C-Sec, all because of another's action, and his own desire to save lives. He was thankful he still had a job, but C-Sec didn't felt right for him, and now with his rank stripped, he would never be able to hold rank in the hierarchy again, making him feel listless and confused, unsure of what he was doing with his life while his brother trained to be a spectre.
Now, standing before the names of all who had died on both sides, he realized he had done something amazing. He had singularly helped end a war that could have expanded to take thousands if not millions of more lives. He had stopped this memorial from covering a whole planet! He had saved lives that would never know he had. And he was fine with that. It made him smile even as his eyes teared up with emotions.
Then something blew through the air and smacked into Desolas's face, right before it flew off and landed against the monuments wall, showing it to be a wide brimmed white hat. Leaning over and picking it up Desolas found it was actually rather heavy, yet did not feel warm in his claws like he had expected.
"Ah, that's mine, sorry!" came a voice from behind him, and Desolas turn to find an Alliance woman approaching him who looked different than others he had seen in passing.
What first surprised him was her build and height. Most humans had an average height just a bit shorter than most Turians, and even less for their women, but this woman was easily six feet tall, if not a bit taller, easily as tall as Desolas was. Her skin was a light tanned brown in color, while her body was clearly what humans called athletic with visible muscle across her, though not so much it was the first thing he noticed. She wore a loose pair of black shorts that went down to her knees, strange compared to what he had seen other Alliance women wear, as well as a loose grey tank top over her torso, its looseness doing an okay job of hiding the size of her chest. Simple shoes covered her feet, and both her lower legs and forearms were covered in a wrapping of bandages. What caught his attention most however was her hair, and the large feathery wings coming out of her back, their total wingspan likely nearing seven meters of total length. They were a brown color with black tips, and like her feathers her hair was brown, but with red tints in it down at the tips. She looked at Desolas with a smile through her bright yellow eyes, one arm outstretched toward him, clearly wanting the hat she claimed to be hers.
"Ah, sorry." Desolas quickly responded as he handed the woman her hat, realizing he had stared for a couple seconds upon realizing she was a Youkai, not a Human.
"It's no problem!" She said as she took the hat and placed it on her head, shielding her face from the sun. "Let me guess, second time on Shanxi?"
"Um, yes. How did you know?"
The woman let out a quick laugh. "You were standing In front of the monument for so long it made sense. Especially when it took a second for you to realize my hat had landed on you." she explained with a smile, her voice soft yet strong and somehow fierce. She put out her right hand to Desolas. "Name's Adaaya, you?"
"What oh, it's Desolas." He responded as he recalled that shaking hands was a greeting used by some Alliance people. "Desolas Arterius."
"Oh, good name!" Adaaya said with a grin. "Good thing I'm not oriental, otherwise it'd mess with me!"
"Why?" Desolas asked, trying to remember if oriental was a planet or culture subset.
"Orientals have trouble differentiating R's and L's sometimes, so they can really scramble names and words with lots of them." Adaaya explained as she stepped up beside Desolas and looked at the monument. "Y'know, the monument was suggested by General Williams, the impromptu leader of Shanxi."
"The one who led the planets defences before the operative arrived and took over?"
"Yep, the very same. You sound like you've met him."
"O-of course not. I just remember hearing the name after my people surrendered." Desolas said, hiding the facts as best he could. "Why would he suggest such a thing?"
"Humans have a long history of war, and making monuments both to the wars and those lost in them is sort of a tradition in itself. A hope that we'll all learn from the past, I guess."
" I see. That is actually rather interesting. Do humans build a lot of these sort of monuments?"
"Tons. There's easily over ten dozen across Earth, if not more!" Adaaya explained as she turned to Desolas with a grin "So, what beings a Hierarchy soldier who fought on Shanxi back? Most Turians I've seen wandering around have been more interested in the events and stalls. You're the first one who clearly was part of the incident that I've seen today!"
"Well, I had come to see this festival I guess. To see what made it so different, and to learn about the Alliance, I guess. When I saw the monument though . . ."
"It just popped out at you huh? I get that." Adaaya said with a solemn tone as she looked at it and smiled. "Monuments like this, there's just something about them that makes people want to give them respect, you know?"
"Not really, but I guess I understand what your saying." Desolas said simply. "The Hierarchy doesn't make monument like this. The only monuments that are made are ones celebrating victories, not the dead."
"Oh, we have tons of victory monuments too, but most people feel it's a good idea to respect the dead as well." Adaaya said as a silence reigned for a few seconds before she turned back to Desolas, "Say, want to look around Reitaisai with me?"
"What?"
"I mean, I want to learn more about Council races, you want to learn more about the Alliance, so why not. Could be fun too, right?"
"You know where everything is?"
"Oh, hell no! The organization changes for each Reitaisai, especially when it happens on a planet for the first time like this. But it'd be interesting to see what is around with someone else, right?"
"I, guess so." Desolas said, slightly uncomfortable with the idea, but understanding the logic behind it. "Alright, I'll be in your care then I suppose."
"Sweet!" Adaaya declared as her stomach suddenly let out a strange noise. "Oops, I skipped breakfast to get out here a soon as I could. Guess that was a bad idea. Want to get something to eat first?"
"um, okay but-"
"Oh right, Your dextro, whatchamacallit. You have those pills that were given out to all of you, ya?"
"Yes."
"Have one now while we look for a place to eat then." Adaaya said as she looked around and scowled. "I forgot how large the food stall areas often are at Reitaisai."
"There does appear to be a lot of them." Desolas agreed as he followed Adaaya down the pathway, weaving in and out of groups of people as he tossed one of the pills down his throat. It was oddly sweet tasting. "What kinds of foods are there?"
"Uh, too many to name them all. Lunarian cuisine is based off oriental cuisine mostly, or is it the other way around? Anyway Lunarian cuisine is basically eastern oriental while Youkai cuisine is basically the same as human cuisine from the various areas it stems from. It might be easier to just pick a place at random." Adaaya admitted as she stopped and looked around. "I see an Indian, an Italian, a Chinese, and a North American place ahead of us, any of those sound good?"
"Um, I really don't know the differences. You choose."
"Alright, Chinese it is!" Adaaya declared loudly as she strode forward. "I've got a hankering for some fried rice and ginger beef!"
Desolas ended up waiting a while as Adaaya insisted on buying for both of them, and a while after came back with two trays, each with a serving of fried rice and ginger beef on them. They found a place to sit easily enough, and after waiting until he'd be sure the pill was working, if it actually did, he tried the food. And found it really good!
Because of the Dextro amino base, he had never had a chance to try anything other than Turian food and Qurian rations, which where the epitome of bland. Now however, he began to understand why there were so many restaurants on the Citadel, and could see human food becoming a big thing!
"Like it?" Adaaya suddenly asked.
"Yes, it's very good and I've never had anything quite like it. " Desolas replied honestly. "Turian food is good but . . . rigid. Very simple in most cases."
"Ah, I get it. Some food from Earth gets called simple or inelegant but sometimes simple is the best for taste and cost!"
"I, guess so." Desolas said unsure of how to respond to such a statement.
"So," Adaaya started as she tossed some ginger beef into her mouth with her fork. "Is there anything specific you're wanting to check out?"
"I'm not sure. There seems to be a lot going on." Desolas said with a sigh, noticing he had almost finished all the food already, and that his stomach was not feeling any different. It seems that pill did do as it was suggested it would, which was utterly amazing
"Hmm. Oh I know, you're a soldier. Right?" Adaaya asked with a sudden grin. "Want to hit the fight club?"
Desolas looked at Adaaya with a confused gaze, "The what?"
Adaaya grin widened, and a half hour later they were standing in front of a large building with 'The Fight Club' written in alliance English on its front, with the subtitle of 'Don't talk about it' underneath. The building appeared to be made of stone of some kind, and a large screen on both sides of the name showed an arena here two people appeared to be engaging in a fistfight of some kind.
"The fight club was started by a pair of Americans, a Human and an Ogre, after an old movie. Like a really old movie! There are magical blockers in the building that stop anyone from using magic or innate abilities inside the arena, so those who fight can only utilize their own body's capabilities."
"So people just go at each other?" isn't there any oversight to stop injuries?" Desolas asked, remembering how controlled fights were somewhat common on Hierarchy ships.
"There's the referee, but honestly a lot of oversight isn't needed because spell card rules are in effect over the entire Festival. Even if someone wanted to kill someone it would be nearly impossible. The most they can do is knocking them unconscious." Adaaya explained as the screen showed one person throw another over his shoulder into the ground. He just got up off of it and continued to fight with a broad smile on his face.
"I remember reading about those spell card rules. It seems, unfeasible somehow. How does it work?"
"No idea." Adaaya admitted. "I know they are held up by people's intent and belief supposedly, but most people don't know how it works, it just does." She said as she turned to Desolas and smiled. "So, up for a match?"
"You can fight? And would my training even be allowable?"
"Of course it'd be allowable. The fight club has no holds on what tactics can be used! If it's a fighting style, it can be used! And, of course, I can fight!" Adaaya exclaimed as she raised an arm and pounded one against the other, the bandages straining for a half second and showing off the muscles underneath.
One part of Desolas was screaming that this was a bad idea, but the other side of him revelled in the idea. He had done very little actual fighting on Shanxi, and had only heard rumors of how much martial prowess some of the Alliance soldiers had demonstrated in battle. The Turian in him wanted to test it, wanted to compare their strength against his own. "Alright, I'm curious to see how my training stacks up."
"Sweet, let's go!" Adaaya said with a grin as she began weaving through the crowd of people In front of the fight club with surprising ease despite the width of her wings. Desolas following behind her, finding that her wings actually made some people make room, making it easy to follow.
"Alright and that match is concluded!" The man at the front of the building, who was a mountain of a man, declared with a smile. "Is there anyone else who would like to enter the ring and duke it out with another?"
"We will!" Adaaya called out, waving a wing up and almost knocking one person over with a laugh as she stepped forward.
"Okay, the young. . . Tengu?"
"Roc!" Adaaya corrected with a smile.
"Ah, of course. Pardon me. The young Roc versus . . .?"
"Me." Desolas said as she stepped up beside Adaaya. The crowd around them instantly started murmuring with excitement, and the man on the podium smiled.
"First Council citizen to try it out, this will be interesting! Very well, go in the two doors to my sides, make sure you understand the written rules, and you can begin when the bell rings. Bidding will start at 100!
"They gamble on who wins?" Desolas asked in surprise.
"Yep, I'll see you on the other side, in the ring!" Adaaya said as she went over to the left hand door with a smile.
Walking into the right door Desolas found it to be a small changing room, the rules of combat written in multiple languages on the one wall. reading the rules he turned and found an open locker, and deciding it would be best not to ruin all his clothing, took his tunic off so he has only wearing his pants and went out of the room. Down a hall it turned and led him to the arena.
It was a simple arena, roughly twenty meter square with a barrier of rubber wires on each side. On the walls above were numerous cameras and glowing instruments, likely the magic blockers that Adaaya had mentioned. There was also a screen showing the crowd outside, and it had grown to easily twice its size. Letting out a breath to calm himself down he approached the arena are and climbed up and into it, looking to see many of the crowd outside cheering fervently.
A second later Adaaya jumped up and onto the arena, looking shockingly different, and causing the crowd to instantly explode. She had removed her shoes, going barefoot, as well as having removed her tank top, revealing a sports top that was black and showed the actual size of her chest. What caught Desolas' attention however was the image on the screen, showing off the two red letters on her black top.
N5
"The crowd seems to be rather riled up. Does that number and letter mean something?" Desolas asked as they both approached the centre of the ring, stopping two meters apart. He could now see the letter and number on the left strap of her top.
"Yeah it does, and I guess I should apologize as well for not fully introducing myself earlier." Adaaya said with a smile. "My full name and rank. Adaaya Nicotris Shepard, N5 special forces member of the Seventeenth BladeBreakers battalion!"
Then the bell rang, indicating the start of their fight.
Turian military training was vast and spread across multiple types and style, with unarmed combat being trained into everyone from the beginning in case their weapons stopped functioning. Desolas himself thought he was decently skilled at unarmed combat; he had to be as he had attained the rank of captain. But as soon the bell rang Adaaya rushed at him with frightening speed, swinging one arm at him from his left.
Desolas threw his arm up in a block and took the blow, feeling the raw power he was sure his arm would snap, but nothing broke, and the pain faded almost instantly. Was this the power of the Alliances spellcard rules? With a grin, Desolas pushed away Adaaya's arm, and went to strike with his one, only to find her other arm swinging at him already, far faster than he had expected.
Blocking it he pushed it away and stepped back, increasing he distance between them. Adaaya lunged forward as he tried to move back, but hadn't expected Desolas to step to the side, making her over shoot and have to turn to face him again, only for his fist to collide with her shoulder before he took another step back.
"Whoo, not bad!" Adaaya exhaled as she looked at her shoulder with a smirk and rolled it before resuming her stance.
"Yeah. You used your wings to push you forward for that one attack." Desolas said with a chuckle, suddenly realizing how his people had lost in melee combat so severely. "Special Forces, was it? Is that what the letter and number mean?"
"Yep. The N program is something new the Alliance introduced this last year. Everyone in Special Force is an N with a number designating their proficiency and skill. When one becomes an N7 they can attempt to get recognized to become an Operative!" Adaaya explained as she rushed forward, throwing swings at Desolas as she talked, and blocking all of his attack that made it through.
"So it was because of my people then?" Desolas asked as she threw a swing at Adaaya's face, only for her to flip backwards and nearly hit him in the head with her foot.
"No, not really. There just wasn't a way to show of people that had the skills to become operatives. There hasn't been a new operative inducted in almost five decades after all, and that needed to change!"
"I see." Desolas let out a gasp as he dodged a blow and stepped back. He could feel his heart beating extremely fast. His arms and leg burned as his muscles screamed from the sudden intense use, and the ends of his claws itched. Having a fight with someone in the Hierarchy was nothing like this. It was raw, but controlled and you knew you could not be hurt. But this, it was raw and untamed. Every swing he blocked felt like it would break him, and every attack of his own got his blood pumping faster than before until he was sure it going faster than it ever had. It was exhilarating! "I'm having trouble keeping up now. It's clear you were not lying about being Special Forces!"
"Yeah, but I'm not just Special Forces," Adaaya said as she rushed forward and flipped through the air. Seeing it coming Desolas dodged to the side, only to hear a crack from behind him. When he looked back up he found Adaaya's heel embedded easily a half foot into the floor, massive cracks coming out from it. "I'm a BladeBreaker!" She exclaimed as she pulled her heel out and shook some bits of flooring off it, her heel completely unhurt.
"I. . . .Don't know what that is." Desolas admitted as he moved forward and threw a series of strikes at Adaaya, one claw catching her arm and cutting from her wrist to her elbow.
She jumped back with a smile and licked the blood off her arm, the wound healing immediately with a small glow. Probably the spell card rules. "Ah right, the information given on our military organisation was thin, wasn't it?"
"Yes, it was."
Adaaya grinned and rushed Desolas again, swinging a kick at his side. To her surprise though, he blocked it with his leg, then slammed his open palm into her side, sending her sideways only for her to flap her wings and land gracefully on the floor, stretching to each side with a giant smile on her face.
"There are four Special Forces groups in the Alliance. Red Eyes are terror and subversion forces. EarthRazers focus on demolitions and area of effect weapons like flamethrowers and artillery. Miko's are spiritual support forces and battlefield healers, capable of turning entire tides by protecting allies or limiting enemies." she explained as she used a hand and pushed sweat slicked hair out of her eyes.
"And Bladebreakers?" Desolas asked, sure he already knew the answer.
Adaaya grinned as he leapt into the air, her wings propelling her down on Desolas with both hands clenched together above her head. "BladeBreakers are melee combat specialists! "she roared just as Desoloas move, and her fists struck the ground, sending bit of the floor into the air from the sudden shock.
Adaaya looked up expecting Desolas to have put distance between them after she revealed her proficiency. Instead he was right in front of her with an arm already in motion. His fist collided with her jaw with a crack. Reacting instantly she threw one of her arms up and swung back down, seeing Desolas move to block the strike. However instead of catching her fist or pushing it away, his arm went to the side and grabbed her arm just behind the elbow, while his other fist swung low, right into Adaaya's stomach.
For a moment everything seemed to stand still, until Adaaya grinned and swung her head down, right onto Desolas'. The sudden shock sent him sprawling to the ground, and when he tried to get up, found his muscles burned and would not move as his vision dizzied for a second before returning to normal.
Then the bell rang, signaling the end of the fight with a roar of cheers so loud it could be heard even within the building.
After leaving and getting away from the mob of people congratulation and approving of the fight on both sides, the two of them made it to a small café, where Adaaya ordered two orders of something called fries, and was eating her share with gusto.
"Ugh, my arms ache." Desolas complained as he ate a fry, having discovered a mere moment before that for something so simple, they were outrageously good!
"Yeah, Spellcard rules stop people from taking permanent damage, so instead they just exhaust people by sapping their stamina for each blow they take." Adaaya said as she tossed a fry in her mouth. "A fallback from when it was used just in Gensokyo to stop incidents, I guess."
"No, I'm pretty sure I'm aching because you hit like a Spirits damned cruiser!" Desolas grumbled. "How do you hit so hard anyway? I know you look strong compared to other humans around but still."
"Ah, well I do work out to keep my martial arts in top performance, but it's also because of my race." Adaaya said with a grin.
"A, Roc, right? Is that some kind of bird youkai then?"
"Yes. I know you won't get the history of it, so I'll just explain it simply. "Rocs are bird youkai known for their size and massive strength and toughness. I can go toe to toe with an Ogre, a Wendigo or even an Oni if I push myself hard enough!" Adaaya declared.
" . . Aren't Oni the toughest youkai race? I think I read that a week or so back." Desolas asked nervously.
"Yep. They are really fun to drink with too. Though drinking and fighting is sometimes the same thing to them, so it's sometimes a problem."
Desolas looked at Adaaya for a moment before leaning back in his seat and sighing. "No wonder I lost, I was fighting an organic tank!"
"That can fly, amplify her own strength and toughness and is proficient in wind magic!" Adaaya said with a smile as she casually tossed a fry into her mouth and reached for another, only to find she had finished them.
"You can do all that?"
"Yep. Roc's can temporarily amplify their own strength and toughness, and most avian Youkai have an affinity for wind magic. Though admittedly my wind magic is still pretty simple."
"Magic, huh?" Desolas muttered as he took a fry and took a bite out of it. "How does it work?"
"How does what work?"
"Magic. A lot of people don't believe in it, but I've seen Alliance people use it; do things that should be impossible. So how does it work?"
"Oh. That's. . . hard to explain without it taking half the day." Adaaya said with a scowl. "or longer."
"Oh, I see." was all Desolas said as he slumped back in his chair, his muscle aches slowly beginning to disappear as he noticed a large building of blue steel in the distance. "What's that building?"
"Hmmm, oh, that's the Research Exhibition hall being by Alliance R&D. They're showcasing new technologies that are soon to be released or in prototyping stages. They usually have an assortment of stuff, from amazing to minor to look at. Want to take a look?"
Desolas did not even need to think about it and nodded. "Lets, I am curious as to what will be there."
"So am I!" Adaaya replied with a grin as they both got up began walking over.
Entering the Exhibition Hall Desolas found it to be a simple building, but very effective for its needs. It had no internal walls, and was just simply its outer walls and open areas. In the area stalls and smaller areas were set up with temporary walls, making areas that allowed inventions to be showcased without impeding other.
There was one area showcasing Alliance terraforming technology through pieces of equipment and videos, another showing off an exoskeletal frame for moving heavy equipment, and even a place showcasing an R&D Techs personal project, a simple and very blocky, but functional mechanized suit almost fifteen feet tall. It was very slow though, and clearly labeled as a proof of concept to get the idea off the ground.
What caught Desola's attention the most however was the massive stall that took up half the length of the entire building, a long closed range, stating clearly that it allows people to test out basic Alliance weaponry in the forms of small pistols and simple rifles. Adaaya only chuckled when she noticed where Desolas's eyes were glued, and followed him over, finding that there were a quite a few Council species watching the range, more interested in seeing the equipment used than using it themselves.
As Adaaya and Desolas walked up to the front of the range, a man walked out from behind the desk, smiling at them. "Greetings, here to try out the weapons?" He said as he looked to Desolas.
"uh, how do you know that?"
The man smiled. "Because I can recognize the gait of a military man at four hundred meters, and you both scream trained to kill. But a . . . Roc, I believe?" he asked, getting a happy nod from Adaaya. "Very good. A Roc who has training would already be part of our forces and knows these weapons inherently well. You however, a Turian of the Council, will not understand our weapons, and as you're not just watching and approaching me, you want to try them. Simple deduction."
"Well it's pretty effective then as you got us." Adaaya said with a smile. "Can I show him the basics?"
The man seems to think to himself for a moment, until Adaaya slipped the one strap on her tank top, showing the man the N5 logo underneath on her sports top. "Fair enough, hard to argue with that. Use the closest firing lane; it's large enough for three people, even with your wingspan. I've just unlocked it."
"Thanks!" Adaaya called as the door to the one gun booth opened up and Desolas went in first followed by Adaaya.
The booth was open on the front with a waist high barricade and small controls to create targets, while on the left wall was an array of weapons, four in total. Two pistols, and two rifles. Picking up one of the pistols Desolas looked it over, admiring its design. It was sleek, with a small circular slightly upraised section on the one side. He could see no way to take it apart, and it only had a single button on the one side and the trigger.
"The button is the safety, if its depressed its in safe mode, just press it in and it should pop out, allowing you to fire it." Adaaya explained as she reached over and tapped a control, forming a stone target downrange.
Desolas raised the pistol, turned off the safety and aimed at the target for a second, then pulled the trigger. A single yellow laser seared down the range, striking the side of the target. "So it's one of those laser weapons. It has no recoil." Desolas muttered as he took aim again, loosening his grip and tensing muscles before he fired, hitting the centre of the target perfectly. "That's a little strange, the lack of recoil, I mean."
"All laser weapons fire is a short laser of pure heat energy, so there's nothing kinetic to cause any recoil. Any excess pressure on the weapon, especially a pistol can hurt your aim through because of it, especially if you're used to recoil. Try that rifle next."
"Why not the other pistol?" Desolas asked as she put the one pistol down and took the rifle anyway.
"Trust me, save that other pistol for last." Adaaya said with a grin as Desolas looked over the rifle in his hands.
Like the pistol its design was sleek, albeit a bit blockier due to its size. It had the same cylinder on the side, but the size of the weapon fit in his hands better and was not as uncomfortable. Touching the side he found the safety beside a small dial and looked it over, finding the dial had options, semi, burst and auto. Moving it to semi he glanced down the sight on the top of the barrel finding no scope, and pulled the trigger, sending one red laser down range. Letting go of the trigger he tapped it a couple times, sending a shot off each time and smiled, then set it to burst an did the same, perforating the stone target.
Then as he switched it to auto, Adaaya flicked a switch, filling the range with a dozen stone targets. Desolas pulled the trigger and held it, sending a swarm of red lasers down range until the gun stopped firing. Then to his surprise, the metal disc popped out about an inch and a half, spun around a third of the way and then went back In, hissing as a stream of steam sped out from the gun at an angle in front of him.
"Alliance weapons automatically reload?"
"Yup. The rotating drum holds three heat blocks. When one fills it is moved to the front, where it vents heat while another is being filled. Makes for a really quick turnaround time in combat." Adaaya grinned. "The next weapons another type. Watch its recoil!"
Desolas put the laser rifle back in its spot and picked up the second rifle, finding it heavier than the first. It also looked a bit more rugged, and its heat disk looked thicker, bulkier as it stuck out a bit more. Hefting the rifle up to his shoulder he tensed his muscles, preparing for the apparent recoil and pulled the trigger. A beam of white energy roared out of the gun, pulling it up and making Desolas grunt as he held it steady, and barely a second later he was forced to let g of the trigger, only to find four targets in a perfect line with holes melted through them.
"Spirits!"
"Yep, massive kick, but the continues beam can cut through a lot. Beam tech is used to carve up asteroids in mining too. Last ones a pulse pistol, rare because of its kick, so watch out."
Desolas nodded and exchanged weapons, looking over the pistol. It was as large as a Carnifex and very heavy. It was also the blockiest of the weapons, and looked woefully designed with odd angles and cutbacks on its casing. Holding it with both hands he aimed and pulled the trigger, feeling in that moment as if his arm was going to rip off. A single green ball was ejected from the barrel, zipping downrange and into a target where it exploded into a mass of electrified liquid and acid.
"How does anyone use this thing?" Desolas asked as he put it on the holder and shook his hand. It felt slightly numb.
"They don't. The kick on a pulse pistol is too great and the mechanisms work best in a rifle, that's why pulse pistols are rare. That's an older model too." Adaaya explained as she open the back of the booth, only for a loud situation to be happening right outside.
"Excuse me, sir. I believe I may have misheard you, would you please repeat that?" the white haired human asked a Salarian standing before him.
"I said, please hand over all makes and models of Alliance weaponry you have to me. Now." The Salarian said, oddly slow for one of his kind at that, as if he was trying be understood.
"It seems I had not misheard you." the man said with a sigh. "Unless you're wanting to try out the weapons here, please leave, you're pushing away guests."
"I will not leave. And if you will not hand over copies of your weapons I will take them by force. Is that understood?"
The man looked at the Salarian with a scowl. "No, you won't. Who do you think you are anyway?"
"Jondum Bau, Citadel Special Tactics and Reconnaissance."
"He does realize that Council Spectre's have no jurisdiction here, right?" Adaaya asked Desolas as they watched the scene unfold before them.
"If he's making demands like that, no, he doesn't." Desolas replied with a sigh. "Probably thinks he has to be obeyed if it's still for the 'sake of the galaxy.'"
"I take it you don't like Spectres?"
"I don't hate them. I just think they need oversight. There are far too many rumors of Spectres engaging in illegal deals and the like for personal gain, while being untouchable because of being Spectres. Should we call security or something to break it up?"
"No need, look." Adaaya said with a grin.
"Is something wrong?" a woman asked as she stepped up behind Bau, making him turn to her in preparation to tell her off, until he froze at the sight of her.
Standing before him was an Alliance woman nearly twice his height. She had a long red horn coming out of her forehead, and chainless manacles of heavy iron on both wrists and ankles. She wore a Yukata, loose around her large chest, with a pattern of sake pottery and chains upon it, and held a massive red sake dish in her left hand.
"It is no concern of yours, citizen. Please leave." Bau said, quickly recovering as he turned back to the man, only for the woman to grab him by the shoulder.
"Names Yuugi Hoshiguma, Operative of the Alliance. You called yerself a Spectre earlier, yeah?"
"Yes. Jondu Bau, Special Tactics and-," Bua was stopped when Yuugi suddenly took a step forward, drinking deeply from her Sake dish.
"You realize that you have no influenc0,e or jurisdiction, in Alliance space, right?"
"A Spectre's jurisdiction is wherever they must go to keep galactic peace, so please stand back while I-,"
"While you harass our people? I don't think so." Yuugi said with a grin. "Get out or I'll knock you out and ship you right back to your Citadel!"
"You would not dare!? These weapons must be brought to the Citadel for study into countermeasures in case-"
"Don't care, last warning!" Yuugi stated as she drank more from her dish.
Bau looked at her and sighed, his one hand slowly reaching to his lower back where an object was attached to his clothing. "This is for the safety of the galaxy, so forgive me."
"Huh?" Yuugi replied, just as Bau took out a stun stick and thrust it into her stomach, flashes and sparks emanating off from it.
Bau took a step back, expecting Yuugi to fall, but instead her free hand shot out and grabbed Bau by the head, lifting him a meter off the ground.
"Unhand me this-," Bau tried to say, until Yuugi started shaking him side to side while casually taking a drink from her dish. As soon as she finished drinking she stopped shaking Bau, and as soon as his mouth opened to speak, she slammed her fist, along with his head, into the ground beside her.
Letting go and looking him over Yuugi smiled, finding him no worse for wear thanks to the spell card rules, but completely unconscious. Then she picked him up by an ankle and waved to those around. "Sorry for the mess everyone. I'll leave you to your fun now!"
Desolas watched Yuugi leave before he looked to Adaaya, shock covering his face. "Did, did she just take out that Spectre with one hand?!"
"Yep, she's an Oni, arguably the strongest and toughest Youkai race in existence. Also one of the Operatives who helped defend Shanxi, and one of the strongest Oni known."
"So, she hates aliens."
"No, she just hates those who get In the way of her drinking."
"What?"
"Well, most Oni are raving drunks at the best of times."
"Huh?"
"Ah, sorry about that." the man running the firing range said apologetically as he bowed to Adaaya and Desolas. "That was the third one today, but the only one who tried to force the matter."
"Other spectres have come to take your weapons?" Desolas asked in surprise.
"Oh no, I don't think they were Spectres, just a Turian and Krogan, both wanting to buy weapons off of me. Fools." he said as he shook his head before looking to Desolas with his previous smile. "Good shooting by the way, I'm surprised you took the recoil on the beam rifles so well. Most people get knocked on the floor."
"Well, I'm military, err, ex-military now." Desolas said before shaking his head.
"Ah, I understand. I shan't say another word. Oh, but while the two of you were in the booth, an announcement came up saying the Heads of the Magical Academies have opened a booth outside somewhere. Might be worth looking into."
With a nod both Desolas and Adaaya left the firing range, and after looking at the rest of the things in the exhibition hall, left to find two people floating in the sky above them, firing colorful bolts and magic at each other.
One person was a woman with black wings coming out of her back and a strange object in one hand that looked like an overgrown leaf, while the other was a man wearing dark clothes. The woman seemed to control the wind itself, while the man seemed to sling lashes of molten metal at the woman that would gather in the air and return to his side. They continued fighting for a moment, before their fight moved elsewhere, mainly from the woman blowing the man backwards with a gust of wind that echoed between the stalls.
"So, it's true then." Desolas said simply as he stared up, bewildered. "Alliance citizens without wings can fly."
"Yep, it just takes learning some basic magic." Adaaya said simply. "Most people learn by the time they're twelve or thirteen, though there's a lot of rules as to where people can fly, especially on Earth where powerlines still exist above ground in some places."
"They learn that early?"
"Yeah, it's pretty simple magic really . . . say, want to go see the setup the High magicians have?"
Desolas nodded instantly. "Sure, I'm interest in how magic works, though I doubt . . . never mind."
The two of them discovered rather quickly that the magicians set up was on one edge of the festival area, nearly a two hour walk away. Using this to their advantage they hit other places on the way, including getting something called Indian for a meal before finally arriving at their objective.
The area of the magicians appeared to be multifaceted. A large arena stood at the back where groups of magicians either showed off their skills or duelled each other, and to either side of it where large screens, one showing the battle and the other images of different kinds of magic.
In front of this was a long table with four signs over top of it. Information and Questions, Arena Entry, Advanced Studies, and finally, Aptitude Testing, were all written on the signs in order, and beneath them were numerous people behind the counters, and many more in front of them. The arena section was full of Alliance people, while the information area was surrounded by Council races. Advance studies and the aptitude testing spots however, did not have too many. Mainly because an Asari stood between them, making a horrendous ruckus.
"You do realize this is racism, right?" the Asari claimed loudly.
"No, it is not. It is simple facts. Now please leave, you are dissuading others from approaching." one person behind the counter replied, sounding very calm.
"It is! You're being racist! Do you even know who I am? What I could do to you all! I could destroy your social lives with one simple call!" The Asari argued, tilting her head enough that Desolas realized who it was. Tela Vasir, an Asari Spectre rumored to have pirate connections!
"That's it, that's too far!" Adaaya said with a growl as she began stomping toward the Asari.
"Wait, that's a Spectre!" Desolas said as he sped up and walked beside Adaaya, trying to talk some sense into her. "We should wait for one of your Operatives, right?"
"No. she's obviously harassing the person behind the counter, and I will not stand for it!" Adaaya said as she stormed up behind the Asari, stopping a bare meter away and flapping her wings out a bit to make herself seem larger. "Hey, what the hell do you think you are doing, harassing people in broad daylight!?"
Vasir stopped, seemingly frozen for a moment before she slowly turned to look at Adaaya, clearly caught off guard by her standing there with her wings spread. She did, however, compose herself rather quickly and fully turned to face her. "Are you talking to me?" She asked arrogantly, acting as if she wasn't sure.
"Do you see anyone else harassing people in broad daylight?" Adaaya asked as she glared at Vasir, her wings shifting naturally.
"I was not harassing anyone. I was simply gathering information. Now run along before you get dragged into something beyond your understanding!" Vasir said as she tried to turn around, stopping when Adaaya spoke up again.
"Miss, was this Asari threatening you?" Adaaya asked loudly, looking past Vasir to the one behind the counter, a young looking woman with long red hair and bat like wings coming out of her back.
"Not threatening, but being a pain, yes. She was making demands I had no rights over and," the woman began to say, until Vasir turned to her and took an aggressive step toward her.
"Why you little-,"
"I think that is enough!" came a sudden and powerful new voice. Everyone nearby turned to look to the voice's owner, and almost every Alliance person within earshot and sight of the scene took visible steps back and bowed. Adaaya even bowed as well, though it was only a half bow as she kept one eye locked on Vasir.
Standing at the end of the table out in the open was a woman with long purple hair. She was wearing an elegant yet impressive looking robe of purple with a belt of multicolored crystal around her waist. A cloak of darker purple hung off her shoulders and trailed down to her knees while a small bulge, possibly a hood, poked out from under her hair. Her purple eyes held no emotion in them that could be seen as she looked at Vasir.
She slowly looked to the red head behind the counter. "Thank you, Koa, you are done for today. Please enjoy the festival, but please do not do anything to extreme."
"Of course, Lady Patchouli. I shall return later." the woman said with a bow before flying off, scowling at Vasir as she did.
Vasir turned to Patchouli with her mouth open, but before she could say anything Patchouli already was. "So, please explain what exactly is going on here." She asked, looking at Vasir, then to Adaaya, and then to Desolas with a curious look.
"We heard a disturbance and found this Asari harassing your familiar, Lady Patchouli," Adaaya said quickly, sounding oddly respectful as she spoke, though she did not become any less tense, nor did her wings shift from their positons. "I approached her to convince her to stop."
Patchouli looked at Vasir, "And what do you say to this, miss . . ."
"Tela Vasir, Council Spectre!" Vasir said proudly. "I told your worker to give me all information about your people's magic and she refused, stating that the Asari's could not use magic. Yet this has not been proven, as your people have not allowed any Asari to attempt it!"
"You ordered her to just hand over the information? How much exactly?"
"All of it. Everything related to magic in its entirety."
"And what exactly gives you the right to make demands of my people?" Patchouli asked, dozens of people nearby suddenly muttering and whispering to each other as they began slowly stepping back. It made Desolas nervous, who was this person really to cause such a reaction?
"Right? I'm a Spectre, that's my right!" Vasir exclaimed. "Spectres can take what they feel is necessary to galactic peace, and that includes information!"
"You forget yourself, Council attack dog!" Patchouli said darkly, her cloak and robe suddenly seeming to drift and sway as if pulled by unseen winds. "You Spectres have no power in Alliance space, and we have no reason to obey your demands. I suggest you leave and reconsider your position while here in Alliance space!"
"And this is why the councillors are fools; making you Alliance weaklings think you are so strong. I'm not going anywhere, and you are giving me what I want!" Vasir exclaimed as she slipped a sword out of a sheathe on her back.
"Very well. Then you may feel firsthand the magic you so desire to witness. I am Patchouli Knowledge, Operative of the Alliance, and Headmaster of the Magic Academy Ship Philosophe, one of the Alliances four highest ranking magicians, known to most as the Great Unmoving Library. Come; let us see if it is pride or arrogance that moves you!"
"As if. The Asari have been around longer than any of your species, yet you call us arrogant?" Vasir said before lunging straight towards Patchouli, only for her to duck under the blade and hover across the grass, stopping a couple meters away. Throwing her hand into the air she smiled. "Saint Elmo's Pillar!" And conjured a ball of flame as large as a Krogan above her head.
So surprised by the sudden ball of fire, Vasir only realized Patchoulis' intent after she had summoned it, right as if flew towards her, striking the ground before her. The blast of fire roared and sent Vasir bouncing across the grass, only stopping when she caught herself with her sword, her clothing smoking.
"You, that is . . . . You would not get way with such things if these worthless bracelets were gone!" Vasir said as she got up and stabbed her sword into the ground, gripping the bracelets on her wrists and trying to wrench them off.
"Asari were given more powerful and studier bracelets to block their biotics, they will not come off through brute force." Patchouli said as she pointed a finger at Vasir. "Noachian Deluge!"
A massive spray of water surged forth out in front of Patchouli's finger, buffeting Vasir with the force of a heavy slug with each shot of water. She took the first couple while standing, but the rest send her flailing backwards away from her sword, parts of her clothing tearing from the abuse.
"You, you only can do anything because my biotics are sealed by these Goddess damned bracelets! I will see these banned from all galactic space!" Vasir roared as she got up and shambled over to her sword, pulling it out of the ground and walking toward Patchouli angrily.
Patchouli let out a sigh. "This is not even a fight, it is simply a beat down, and would still be even if you had your biotics. Stand down before I finish it and have you sent back to council space in a box, understood?"
Vasir yelled out and rushed toward Patchouli, the sword to her side, clearly intent on using it.
"Haaa . . . Emerald Megalopolis!" Patchouli said under her breath as Vasir neared her. What happened next caused everyone nearby except for a small handful including Adaaya to nearly jump out of their skins in surprise. Massive columns of solid emerald suddenly surged out of the ground in waves coming away from her, and before Vasir could stop she was struck in the chin by the first one, then had her body sent flying by another, landing unconscious on the nearby grass. "Thank goodness for the spell card rules." Patchouli muttered as she walked over, directly toward Adaaya and Desolas.
"Um," Adaaya began, only for Patchouli to shake her head.
"Thank you for coming to the defence of my familiar, but you understand a master must protect those who serve them, yes?"
"Of course, and it was no trouble." Adaaya said instantly, her body relaxing as her wings fell back to their usual casual width.
Patchouli nodded and looked her over. "You were coming over to our area, yes? Are you looking to learn magic . . . no, you're a Roc. Looking to advance your studies perhaps?"
"Actually I have already applied for advanced studies, but I was coming over to see if I could check if I was accepted, and to escort my friend here." Adaaya said as she gestured to Desolas.
"Um, hello."
Patchouli nodded before looking back to Adaaya. "What is your name?" She asked as she took out what at first glance looked like a book, but was then noticed to be a small two screened tablet made to look like a book.
"Adaaya Nicotris Shepard, N5 Special Forces of the Seventeenth BladeBrakers."
Patchouli nodded and tapped her tablet a couple times. "Ah yes, I remember now. You would be approved for study, however due to Council requests and our own curiosity; all four of our academies will be taking a one year break to run a special course to see if Council races, not Asari, can learn magic."
". . . So I'll have to wait another year then. Crap!" Adaaya said with an annoyed scowl.
"Yes, however, you mentioned being an N5, correct?"
"Yes."
"Good. You see, currently just the four of us will be acting as teachers, but with the number of potential applicants, there will be far too many students for just the four of us to mentor effectively. As such we are looking into requesting some of our usual high magician's teachers to assist. Marisa and I believe however that having some who is younger and more recent in their learnings of magic would benefit the course. So what do you say? Act as an assistant teacher for this special course, and I shall guarantee your advanced study entry on the Philosophe afterword's, as well as grant you a boon related to your studies."
Adaaya looked at Patchouli in surprise for a few seconds before composing herself and closing her gaping mouth. "Of course. I would be honored, Miss Knowledge!"
"Good." Patchouli said with a nod, as she looked to Desolas. "She said she was escorting you around yes? What is your name, Turian?"
"Desolas Arterius." Desolas replied, unsure how to act in front of someone who just gave such an effective show of force, or who commanded one of the massive ship of the Alliance as an Operative.
"Arterius? Ah yes I know who you are!" Patchouli said, making Desolas suddenly nervous. "Don't worry, I'm not going to say anything out loud. Let's just say I know what you did and approve. Did you come this way out of a curiosity of magic?"
Desolas nodded. "Yes. I've seen it used frequently today already, but I am curious about how your people manipulate it to create such, fantastical effects."
"There have been many asking us such questions, and the basic information is over there by the mass of people." Patchouli said with a gesture, before smiling. "Would you like to try something however?"
"Try what?"
"An aptitude test. We've had very few people try them, but some Salarians and a Drell who did it had some aptitude for magic. It's a non-invasive test, and it will say if you have the aptitude, and if you have an affinity for any one type of magic." Patchouli explained as she walked over to the aptitude test area of the table, gesturing for Desolas and Adaaya to follow. On the table was a large dark metal plate with a glowing sphere on it, glowing runes and shapes shifting and forming other shapes across its surface. "Simply place one hand on the sphere, and the other to your side with your palm facing up." Patchouli said as she floated up and over the table, landing on the other side as she touched a console by the sphere, making it light up and hum ever so slightly.
Seeing nothing wrong with it Desolas stepped forward and did as told, placing one hand on the sphere and the other up towards the sky. As soon as he touched it, it felt like a weak current ran through him, but it was strangely cool and calmly, not warm or painful.
"Hmmm, you have a pretty high base aptitude according to this." Patchouli said with a smile. "I'll now test affinity. Small lampoons of magical energy will appear above your open hand, the larger the form, the higher your affinity. Do not close your hand!"
"She means it. Closing an untrained hand on magic can lead to losing that hand, like gripping a live grenade." Adaaya added, making Desolas slightly nervous.
"Alright, I understand." Desolas said as she felt the current change slightly, though he couldn't even try to describe it.
A second later a small ball of fire formed above Desolas hand, making him shy away for a second before realizing he felt no heat off of it. Twitching a finger the ball of light moved slightly then changed into a large bubble of water. Then it miraculously turned into a clump of floating dirt and stones, then a small hand sized spiral of wind, visible only from particles within it. All of them were relatively small, until it changed again.
The little spiral of wind disappeared, and in its place formed a small ball of energy, arcs of electricity arcing into the air around it. The ball grew in size, from barely the size of a grain of sand, to nearly the size of any person's entire head, the energy arcs coming off of it, increasing exponentially as its size did.
"Hmm, impressive electrical affinity." Patchouli said with a smile as the electricity disappeared and was replaced by flecks of metal balling together to the size of Desolas's hand. "And metal affinity as well it seems."
"This feels so strange." Desolas mumbled as he moves his fingers about, causing the ball of metal to shift and even split in two, before returning to normal.
"Magic can feel strange the first time someone touches it, but after that it begins to feel normal." Adaaya provided as the metal suddenly became a small ball of light, then a mass of darkness that seemed to suck in light, instead of creating it. Then it disappeared, and the machine stopped humming.
"There, done. This machine cannot check affinity for spiritual or Omni magic, but it seems you have a great affinity for electrical magic, followed by metal and darkness. The rest of the elements are minor."
"I see." Desolas said as he took is hand away from the machine, still conscious of that strange feeling.
"That's pretty good for affinity, actually!" Adaaya said as she smacked Desolas on the back with a smile.
"Is it?"
"Yes." Patchouli responded as she stood up and placed the tablet on the table. "For those who have decent aptitude scores we have been offering a special privilege. To put ti simply, we want to see if Council races can learn magic. Those who agree will spend one year on my ship, taking a crash course in the basics of magic, learning what all our people do from the age of eight, to eighteen in one year."
Desolas looked at Patchouli for a second before he realised what was going on. "You're asking if I want to take your course on magic."
Patchouli nodded. "Yes. Adaaya here has already agreed to be one of the courses assistants as you heard, and your affinities are the highest of all those who have already joined. What do you say?"
" . . I'll, need to talk to my boss about it I think, if I even decide to that is." Desolas said, unsure of what to do. On one hand, the idea of controlling magic was very tempting. On the other hand, he had a job protecting people.
A job that didn't feel right, or even fulfilling in any way.
"That is fine. The course begins the day after Reitaisai, so I need to know before then. Take your time to decide."
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Kaguya Houraisen smirked as she watched a Youkai drag a Turian around the festival below her. Who said they couldn't get along with the Council races!
"Is something funny?"
"No, I merely witnessed something enjoyable outside." Kaguya said as she turned back to the one who was sitting across from her. "So, to reiterate, you want the Alliance to cure your people of the Genophage. Is that correct, Shaman Bakara of the Krogan?"
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Codex
Magic/Eezo Repulsion or containment bracelet – These bracelets, initially designed to protect magicians from mass effect fields, have since been redesigned to also protect biotics from magic. They can be altered to form a sort of containment field around the body as well, stopping the wearer from casting magi or biotics. The alliance has not allowed council scientists to look over them or scan them, and it is clear that the council wants them for security purposes, and other groups for less legal reasons.