Minor edit done to one word later on. painstakingly used wrong name. its fixed now.
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Widow Cluster, the Citadel Presidium, October 9, 2142.
"So, what is this meeting about?" Sparatus asked as he, Valern and Tevos sat in their personal meeting room in the council chambers. Often there was a pot of tea, a tray of snacks, or data pads lying around, but today it was startling bare.
"You have no doubt heard that the Alliance has declared their victory over Kar'shan?" Tevos asked calmly, though something was off about her tone, like it was on the verge of changing.
"Yes, that is why we are to speak with Ambassador Flandre tomorrow. Or has that changed?" Sparatus asked.
"No it has not," Tevos answered quickly as she spoke, but kept her gaze off of Sparatus. "However there has been a . . .situation that-.,"
"STG operatives that were operating in Batarian space sent a report that arrived earlier today," Valern interrupted quickly. "Here is the vid of what they witnessed."
Sparatus took the data pad from Valern as the video began. It showed a view of Karshan from far orbit. The Alliance fleet was easily noticeable surrounding the whole planet, but nothing seemed horribly out of place or strange. At least until a massive flash came away from the planet as an orange sphere erupted and consumed a chunk of the main Batarian continent. It sat there for many seconds before it slowly but surely died down and disappeared, leaving a glowing red circle on the landscape. "What am I looking at here?"
"A nuclear reaction, of a scale unseen of before," Valern spoke up in a worried tone. "STG estimates the blast reached upwards of three hundred gigatons and the heat produced nearly rivalled that of a small star."
"How is Kar'shan still there then?" Sparatus asked after a moment of silence.
"We are unsure. STG is looking into it, but believes that Kar'shan should no longer exist just from the power of the blast alone, not to mention the heat it produced. They have confirmed that the entire Batarian capitol and a large area around now cease to exist and are nothing more than a heated crater of glass."
"We wanted to hear your thoughts on this," Tevos than spoke up, looking extremely unwell.
Sparatus dropped the datapad onto the table and let out a low sigh. This had been happening more and more recently, Tevos and Valern having meetings without him. Did they know? No, they couldn't, they were just being rightfully paranoid over how some members of the hierarchy were acting. "I think that the Batarian Hegemony was a corrupt government that has been screwing with us for far too long and has gotten what they deserve."
"How can you say that when the Alliance just nuked a garden world!?" Tevos nearly shrieked in horror.
Sparatus looked at Tevos and suddenly wished he had eyebrows so he could raise them at her. "What makes you think the Alliance resorted to nuclear weapons?"
"I must concur," Valern spoke up right after Sparatus. "There is no reason to assume that the Alliance did this."
"The Alliance has been out to prove their power since we first encountered them!" Tevos stated matter- of-factly.
"Perhaps, but a blast of such magnitude would require a delivery system equally large. Such a system could only be carried on a ship and be dropped from a ship. It would also produce very high radiation readings, none of which were noticed in orbit. The chance of them having delivered a weapon of such magnitude is highly improbable." Valern explained quickly and perfectly.
"That blast likely took out huge numbers of their forces as well, unless there was some sort of warning." Sparatus added, inwardly surprised that Valern was taking the Alliances side in the argument.
"That blast was larger than anything any known race has ever constructed! How can you say that you do not suspect the Alliance?" Tevos countered, seeming far too excited for her own good.
"I do," Valern said simply. "A blast that powerful should have been bigger, much bigger, and should have ruined Kar'shan's atmosphere in a matter of hours. However, STG reports that radiation readings are lowering at very high rates, and that Kar'shan's atmosphere is as stable as it was before the blast."
"That's impossible!" Tevos exclaimed.
"No, not for the Alliances' magic, I'd wager," Sparatus said with a sigh.
"There is no way the Alliance is capable of controlling such destruction," Tevos said certainly.
"Yet they made a giant space laser that vaporized an entire Turian battle fleet!" Sparatus snapped back instantly.
"B-but, it's not, I mean, they cannot just. . . . . . . . . We should have stopped them! We've done something terrible!" Tevos stated, seeming on the verge of weeping.
"By the spirits, the only thing that has happened here was the inevitable. Once the public found out the true extent of the Hegemonies activities, cutting them from the Council would have been the least that was demanded!" Sparatus stated angrily.
"I have to agree. What is your issue with the situation?" Valern asked calmly, "it of course, is sad that so many lives have been lost, but –.."
"You sound like you support this madness!" Tevos said with a scowl. "Since the Alliance has appeared all they have done is made fools of us! They have ruined one of our council races and demolished their home world, and did it so fast we barely had time to try to stop them! They are ruining thousands of years' worth of peace and prosperity!"
Sparatus hung his head down to hide a sigh as he rubbed his temples. He hated this. Whenever something happened quickly the Asari went insane. They were far too focused on the long term, and it made them occasionally infuriating to deal with. There was no way he could drop the information on them like this, not until things calmed down a lot!
It was just a possibility anyway, nothing concrete or guaranteed. There would be no trouble in keeping it hidden a bit longer.
"Hmm, you may have a point. We will have to put more pressure on the Alliance, we need to see their technology and make them see the advantages of Mass effect based technology," Valern suddenly said after a couple of moments of silence. "At the very least they will be easier to handle if they used the same technology as us. And perhaps when they do we can convince them to join the Council fully, and abide by all its rules."
Sparatus let out another sigh. The Alliance would never agree to anything that was so one sided. Were they just being willfully ignorant or had they forgotten how all previous trade deal attempts had gone?
"No, I think we need to go further, otherwise the Alliance will just keep acting like they rule the galaxy when they do not!" Tevos declared suddenly, making Sparatus wish he could simply walk out of the room.
"What do you suggest then?" Sparatus asked carefully, knowing he didn't want to know the answer.
"The Alliance will soon in all likelihood conquer the Hegemony, but not the Terminus systems. They simply wouldn't be able to! If they are intent on making the Batarian people into a client race, we demand that they must join the Council as the Batarians were a council race already!"
Sparatus just stared at Tevos for a second before speaking. "You want to demand the Alliance join the council on our terms, because they won a war?"
"In a sense yes. In truth it will,-"
Sparatus tuned Tevos out. Her idea was complete lunacy, and not the kind the Alliance utilized; that he probably would be able to handle at this point! There had to be some way to stop this, otherwise what little relation they had with the Alliance would sour so badly Tevos and Valern would probably go comatose from it!
Wait, it was simple! "Before we go making assumptions, we will have to hear the Alliances response to their victory tomorrow, yes?" Sparatus suddenly said, interrupting Tevos and Valern, who seemed to be having their own little conversation.
Both of them looked at Sparatus, and Valern was the first to respond with a nod. "Yes, quite right. Cannot make assumptions. The war may have been bad for them. With luck they will require our assistance in rebuilding their forces and the Batarians."
"Or perhaps they will have realized that they need the council more than they need their secrets!" Tevos added hopefully.
Sparatus just felt like walking out of the room and leaving them both to their fantasies. "We'll have to see what Ambassador Flandre tells us tomorrow then. Let's not make assumptions until then."
"Agreed. We will find out much tomorrow after all!"
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Widow Cluster, the Citadel Presidium, Council chambers, October 10, 2142.
The Citadel council chambers were filled to the brim. A series of comfy chairs and tables took up the lower main level where every races ambassadors and high rank officials were sitting. Above them in the balconies stood hundreds of onlookers, news crews and even corporate exec's. Unaware to those watching, a dozen council spectres are also stood around the room, some under cloak, and watched the room with neutral yet worried gazes.
Today was the day where the Alliance ambassador finally spoke of what happened on Kar'shan, on what happened with the Batarian Hegemony. It had been almost three days since news of the Alliances victory had reached council space, but the news coupled with a complete lack of other information had many people nervous and anxious. People wanted answers, and now they would get them.
The councillors stood on their podium and everyone else stood or sat at the edges of their seats, for while the meeting was supposed to start in a few sparse moments, the Alliance ambassador had yet to arrive.
Flandre Scarlet had yet to arrive, and that worried many.
"She is keeping us waiting," Tevos said quietly, her tone only heard by Valern and Sparatus.
"Yes, could be intentional or not. We will have to see," Valern replied instantly, his tone also muted so as to not worry the masses of people around them.
Sparatus let out a light sigh. Valern and especially Tevos seemed far calmer compared to the insanity they had displayed the day before, but he was admittedly worried it could resurface again. Both of them clearly did not enjoy dealing with the Alliance. In comparison, he had done research about them as soon as information databases had been exchanged. He hadn't done so to find advantages, he had done so to allow advantages to be discerned easier, to understand them. Over the years however it had become clear that if you wanted to understand the Alliance, you had to get into their heads, and that came with a price.
Like your idea of sanity and normalcy being thrown from a very high building.
Sparatus let out another sigh. Either he had gotten too use to the Alliance, or Tevos and Valern hadn't cared enough to look into them, but it was now clear to him that the schism in the hierarchy was not just limited to his people, similar schism's must be forming in the other races as well, though to a likely smaller degree.
"And depending on the information we hear, they could clear up or get worse," Sparatus muttered under his breath, causing Tevos turn to him.
"Pardon?"
"Nothing, I was just thinking about something minor to calm my nerves," Sparatus casually lied with a wave of his hand.
"I see. . . I do hope this goes well," Tevos commented, making Sparatus want to groan.
Both Tevos and Valern were prepared to go through with their insane plan, and it made Sparatus feel a rock form in his bowels.
Suddenly the rooms noise levels increased and Sparatus looked up, instantly realizing why. Flandre, her bodyguard, Mokou, and her aide, Mei had walked into the room, and all three of them made many people take second looks. Mei and Mokou both wore black suits with dark red undershirts and edging to their outfits. Their clothing was clean, sharp and screamed business. Flandre however was not wearing a full suit. A pencil skirt came down from her waist, and over her upper torso was a dress shirt with its uppermost buttons undone, allowing a portion of skin to show through. Her hair was let down and her wings shimmered and shook in the light, while the bracelet on her wrist was a brilliant silver. Simply put, even with such a simple outfit she looked radiant, until people realized she was licking fresh blood off her lips that was not red. That made many want to lurch.
"Ambassador Scarlet, it is good of you to finally arrive!" Tevos announced loudly, causing the room to quiet down and most everyone that could to sit down.
Flandre strode to the centre of the room with a grin on her face, reckless abandon empowering each step. Her fangs poking out from between her lips made her seem even more arrogant, and by the time she stopped moving, no one had realized that Mei and Mokou had taken up positions at the sides of the room, eyeing the spectres. All eyes were on her and no one else. "Yes, but it could not be helped. Some young . . . people I met just could not understand what is going on in the galaxy and took offence to my presence!" Flandre stated as she looked to the councillors, giving a have glance at Sparatus that told him everything he needed to know.
"Very well, but you are here now so we can get underway yes?" Valern asked quickly, seeming impatient even for a Salarian.
Flandre smiled and her wings seemed to twitch a bit, causing the jewels coming off them to refract light around in a beautiful and odd spectacle. "Yes, we can. First off, shall I begin with information, or would you prefer to ask questions first?"
"You may speak first," Sparatus stated, surprising Tevos and Valern with his audacity. If she spoke first they could not try to lure her into a corner where they had the advantage! "Once you have given us the basics of what has occurred, we can speak our questions."
"Very well. Then to start, at 1321 hours on October the seventh, three days ago, was when the Batarian Homeworlds capitol was taken, and a sparse few hours later the Alliance gained control of the rest of the planet. In the days since our fleets and forces have been spreading across Hegemony territory giving the chance to surrender to other planets. Those that had refused have been put under siege and it is estimated that we have destroyed a total of one hundred and seventy three Batarian frigates, destroyers, cruiser and battleships. Hegemony territory is roughly eighty percent under Alliance control as of four hours ago, and Hackett believes that will reach one hundred within the next two days!"
Murmurs began filling the rom in an instant at Flandre's words. Most people expected the meeting was for the Alliance to request help in combat, or to ask for the council to help set up a cease fire. Such a quick victory over a races home world; no one had even conceived such an idea!
"How are Alliance and Hegemony losses, if I may ask?" Tevos spoke up; tinting her tone with a slight grief that Sparatus and Valern new was faked. It always made people look upon such information harder if someone sounded horrified or saddened by such a loss of life.
To their surprise however, Flandre smiled. "Due to a high number of Operatives who volunteered to lead the charge, our losses are far below our projected numbers, and as for the Batarians . . . . . how do you want to know the numbers?"
"Excuse me? What are you meaning?" Valerns asked curiously.
Flandre's smile turned grim and the room seemed to drop in temperature. "Do you want to hear it as a percentage, or in fractions?"
The room was as silent as a tomb. A percentage or in fractions. If the Batarian loss of life could be stated in fractions, or an exact percentage, just how had the Alliance figured it out? Had they counted each kill?
And if they could give the number in fractions, just how bad where the numbers?
Finally, Sparatus spoke up, his voice echoing across the room like the blast of a spinal mounted gun. "If you have all the numbers, then those please."
"Very well. Oh, but these numbers are just from planeside combat on Kar'shan, they do not take into account ship crews or battles outside of Kar'shan," Flandre replied as she brought up her wrist comp and tapped It a bit before speaking up again. "Using the information on the Hegemony's caste system, we gave all Batarian of low castes a chance to surrender and most took it. Any Batarian of higher classes, those that could participate in the slave trade or own slaves, were not given this choice and killed, or executed if they had surrendered. Because of this, the Batarian death count on Kar'shan was limited to 2.6357 billion, roughly twelve percent of Kar'shan's Batarian population!"
The room exploded with roars of outrage and horror. Every second person was yelling threats or insults, while the other half tied to comprehend what had happened. Until Sparatus spoke up again.
"Shouldn't those numbers be higher?" Sparatus asked, the room becoming silent again in horror at his question. 2.6 billion was not a lot in galactic population terms, but it was still an extreme loss of life all the same!
"If we count loss of slave life, the numbers rise to 3.4 billion," Flandre said with a shrug. "The loss of life was limited as almost all lower caste Batarians surrendered peacefully, or mostly peacefully while slaves were freed when they did not resist. Only the upper echelons of the Batarian caste system could use slaves, and those castes also happened to be the ones that were most behind the caste system and gained the most benefit from it. Government officials, military officers, scientists and the like, so basically, those Batarians that were the ones allowed leaving the Hegemonies sphere of influence and propaganda control." Flandre continued to explain, her tone sounding dry and filled with distaste.
"But, just the Batarian capitol would have more than that." Valern stated calmly, earning a raised brow from Flandre. "A STG ship was in the area watching the battle, they recorded this," Valern added as she brought up a video of Kar'shan, and a massive blast taking out and glassing a large are of the surface. "Would this blast not kill many more than what you have stated?"
"We'd also like to know how a blast of such magnitude happened." Tevos stated as she stared accusingly at Flandre. something that many others in the room began to do as well as the video became a bit smaller, showing the STG's scanned data of the blasts intensity, heat and all of its other pieces.
Flandre looked at the screen for a few moments, and then to everyone's surprise, let out a sigh, her expression of glee completely gone and replaced with one of sadness. It was not something anyone had ever seen on her face, and it caught everyone off guard. "I had hoped to keep that particular point until later."
"To hide your actions of nuking a planet?!" Someone from somewhere in the room called out in rage, causing many to begin voicing sentiments.
"No, to protect those who remain!" Flandre exclaimed, shocking the room out of its anger.
"What do you mean?" Tevos asked, unsure if she wanted to hear Flandre's words or not.
Flandre let out another sigh, heavier than the first. "During the invasion of Kar'shan our operatives on the ground began finding strange signals and a number of them began finding dangerous devices hidden underneath the capitol in specially designed bunkers. Nuclear missiles, thousands of them. All of them had their timers already rigged, but their silo doors had long since rusted shut. Our forces vacated the capitol, taking as many willing Batarians of low caste as possible. Our forces barely escaped the blast due to a number of operatives and magicians using magic to contain the blast. That blast likely killed many millions in the city, but we do not have exact numbers, and the deaths wrought by it were not counted in our Batarin death tallies."
"Why would you not mention this in the first place?" Sparatus asked calmly as he could when he thought about how many nuclear armaments it would take to create such a blast. He stopped when he realized he couldn't count that high without a data pad to assist him.
"To protect the Batarian people," Flandre replied to everyone's shock.
"You will need to explain your statement," Valern said immediately.
"We are only executing those related to the slave trade so that the lower castes of Batarians can rebuild their race with a more cooperative culture, one that can work with the rest of the galaxy. How would it look for their future to find out the Batarians had been stockpiling such weapons? Even if it was an old government that did it, people would look at it negatively!"
"Wait, you speak as if . . . . You are hoping to reintegrate the Batrians into the galaxy?" Tevos asked, unsure if she was right at seeing the message in Flandre's words.
The whole room became quiet once again at the idea.
"Yes. The Alliance heads have agreed that we do not know enough about the Batarian people to effectively incorporate them into the Alliance," Flandre responded calmly.
"So the Alliance is ready to join the Citadel Council formally then! Excellent, this is-,"
"No, the Alliance is still adamant that we will not join the Citadel."
The sudden joy that had filled Tevos's face drained out instantly.
"The Alliance, however, does understand that our current stance has, complicated things for ourselves as much as the Citadel Council and its members, and as such is willing to reopen some negotiations on things such as trade, and to a small extent, technology. Foremost however, we would like to hand the lower castes of the Batarian peoples, those who had been under the heel of those who think themselves superior, to you so that they may find out what they have been denied all their lives. And so that they may take your hands and become valuable members of your council once more."
Sparatus had to control himself or he would burst into laughter. The Alliance was pulling all the strings and giving the council what they wanted and needed, but also had completely denied Tevos and Valern their personal hopes. Honestly the more he dealt with the Alliance the more he liked them.
Tevos calmed herself and put on a smile. "That is excellent to hear, and unexpected. There will be much to do in the coming days, but this meeting shall still focus on the war with the Hegemony, and how the surviving Batarian people will be…handled. The situations with trade, technologies, and the situation with the Quarians and Krogan shall be dealt with at a later time, when this current situation is dealt with."
"Of course. Transferring the Batarian people to your, tender care will take time and must be done correctly," Flandre stated, the meeting becoming a back and forth debate of what will be done. Once it ended, hours had passed and it was all down in writing. The Batarians of lower castes would be allowed to rebuild their culture and people under Citadel supervision. While those surviving high caste Batarians would all be tried for war crimes for their races years of willful lawbreaking.
The masses of the Citadel considered the meeting to be one of the most successful in recent years. But not everyone was so enthused by the pace of events, or the actions of the Alliance.
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"I cannot believe the council has become so weak!" Saren Arterius yelled in frustration as he walked into the Spectre lobby.
The spectre lobby in the Presidium Tower was a little known area accessible only to spectres. A place where they could exchange information and look for information, or simply relax without having to worry about their enemies hunting them down or being overheard in their conversations.
Such as the various conversations that were going on in the lobby by those who had attended the meeting.
"You have no idea, Arterius," Tela Vasir said as she walked past him and took a seat at a group of couches near one side.
"And what do you mean by that?" Saren asked as he followed Tela and took a seat across from her. Within seconds other Spectres came into the lobby, many taking seats at specific places or forming standing groups. Those who preferred certain tactics often trusted those with similar ideals, and even the spectres had different groups within the organization.
"I mean the entire Council is full of politicians," Vasir said with a sigh as another Asari Spectre took a seat with the two of them.
"I know what you mean. They're more intent on making peace with the Alliance than showing them their place!" The second Asari stated with a sigh of exasperation.
"I agree. They're too afraid of the Alliance's magic stupidity to see that they are just screwing with everyone!" Saren exclaimed before looking at the second Asari. "I apologize, I don't believe we've been introduced, Saren Arterius, just recently inducted as a Spectre."
"Oh, I know who you are Arterius, everyone knows you. The youngest ever inducted Spectre, whose brother also betrayed the council by taking the Alliances side and disappearing into their culture," The Asari said, causing Saren to visibly grow angry. "Relax, I'm just teasing. Kylyra Atana, I'm the one who trained Vasir here."
"I see. I apologize, that failure's actions still haunt me and my family's pride," Saren admitted with a growl as he rolled his cybernetic arm and shook his head. "That meeting did not help either."
"No, it did not," Kylyra stated as she glanced around the room with a scowl. "Some like Jondum Bau or Avitus Rix seem to like the way that meeting went. I do not. It paints us as weak. The Alliance goes and does something people have wanted done for centuries, and then drops the end result on the Council to clean up like they're some kind of cleaning robot. It's pathetic."
"On that we agree," Vasir said as she grinned. "And I see another who looks to think the same. Lonar, come over here if you would!"
Saren looked around and was surprised to see that the famed Lonar Maerun, famed expert assassin of the Spectre's was Hanar with a strangely dark tint to its body. Additionally, small sections of dark blue tech armour floated around its main body, while clasps of metal were on is various tentacles, likely tools of many sorts.
"You requested this one's presence?" Lonar asked calmly as he stopped between the two couches.
"Yes, the three of us were talking about the meeting. Figured you'd like to join in." Vasir said simply with a strange smile.
Lonar looked at Vasir and Kylyra, and then turned his body to Saren. "You are the one named Saren of the Arterius. Your youth paints you as skilled. It is this ones pleasure to meet one so willing to do what must be done to uphold galactic peace."
"I . . . thank you, the pleasure is mine though," Saren replied awkwardly.
"You are confused, or perhaps wish to say something?" Lonar asked simply as his body floated down to the same level as the others, his tentacles shifting about below his body.
"I . . . I apologize, I simply did not expect to see a Hanar as a Spectre. Your people are not known for violence."
"This is true, but this one can move quickly due to careful manipulation of biotic gravity fields and manipulating this one gravity field generator. This one's natural poison is potent and the use of Omniblades together create a surprisingly dangerous combination that this one uses to great effect."
"I see, that could be quiet effective indeed. Admittedly I had forgotten that Hanar possess a poison."
"Most do."
"Getting back on topic," Vasir suddenly spoke up with a smile as she looked to Lonar. "What do you think of the meeting and how things went?"
Lonar's body shifted color in flashes for a moment before his voice recorder started, his tone deep and rumbly. "This one does not care for what has transpired. This one believes that the Alliance is manipulating the Council while they do not realize it. This one believes the Alliance cannot be trusted, but too many are beginning to trust them at their word."
"Then we four are in agreement, I believe," Kylyra said calmly, but in a hushed voice. "The Alliance is dangerous, far too dangerous. Others died trying to sneak technology from them, so working solo is clearly out. I believe we need a new tactic."
"Such as?" Saren asked carefully.
"I believe we need to begin working to create a group, an organization to combat the Alliance!"
The three other spectres's looked at Kylyra and seemed to think on it for a few seconds. Lonar spoke first after a moment of perpetual silence. "This one believes the concept may work."
"It depends on the kind of organization," Vasir stated.
"Yes, will it be just us Spectres, or other groups?"
"Other groups obviously. I'm sure we could find those willing to work against the Alliance, the few Batarians left in the Terminus and council space, the ones from the higher castes would be quite willing I'd think," Kylyra said with a smile as she leaned back on the couch. "It would be a long term idea of course, but I believe it is our best bet for combating them, as using stealth or direct approaches seem to not work."
"This one agrees, and believes that you should know a piece of information this one received earlier today, Matiarch Escelva has been found dead in her Ilium office."
"What? How did it happen? What did the Alliance do?" Vasir exclaimed in surprise.
"It is unsure," Lonar stated as an omnitool appeared on a tentacle and he tapped it a couple times, making an image appear between them. The image showed a stately office, and Matriarch Escelva's body lying against the front of the desk. Her arms and legs were mostly intact, but her torso looked like it had been blown apart down to the bone and the skin across her body had odd patches of color all over it. "Investigator information states that something blew apart from within her body. They also detected high amounts of mutation in the remaining flesh of her body and a strange energy signature, similar to Alliance magic, within her."
"Damn. . . . She's an old friend of Tevos's, isn't she?" Vasir asked quietly, getting a nod from Kylyra.
"Yes. That is a gruesome way to go, and just gives me more proof that the Alliance must be stopped!"
"I agree. The problem is, how did they find her?" Saren asked carefully. "Only a sparse few maps have been given to the Alliance, and places like Noveria and Ilium were left out intentionally. We should have gotten notice if an Alliance ship had neared Ilium as well. I doubt they would even let them land."
"This one believes this must be looked into as one of our priorities for this organization we start. What shall we refer to it as?" Lonar asked politly.
All of them were quiet for a moment before Kylyra smiled. "How about Ragnarok. It's a human word meaning the death of their world!"
"They have a word for that?" Vasir asked in surprise.
"They have a word for everything it seems," Saren said with a shake of his head. "We'll need to make a lot of preparations, especially so those like Bau and Rix do not catch on. They would get in our way."
"Agreed. There will be much to do, but once we get moving even the Alliance will not stop us!"
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Flandre, Mei and Mokou stepped into their abode on the Presidium, Mokou flash incinerating a pair of new listening devices she noticed immediately. Within seconds Flandre walked into the living room and dropped her onto a couch with a smile, while Mei and Mokou did a quick run around of the room, breaking apart another four new listening devices. The STG was probably the most annoying organization in council space. They never took a hint!
"I think that went well enough, yes?" Mei asked as she and Mokou came into the room.
Flandre smirked.
"As well as could be expected," Mokou replied as she looked to Flandre, her smirk turning to a full grin.
Then she began laughing maniacally, like a bad villain who's plan had come together perfectly. Only there would be no hero to stop her. "These people are fools!" She finally declared as she kept laughing uncontrollably.
"They certainly like to believe whatever is easiest," Mokou agreed as she sat down while Mei went into the kitchen and began fiddling with dishware.
"It's worse than that really. As soon as I brought up the idea of the Alliance allowing a bit of leniency in trade and technology, they latched onto that subject like a wasp to honey! They complete forgot about the nuclear blast on Kar'shan after that!"
"Yes, and I'm surprised they believed our cover for that," Mei stated as she came into the living room with a tray topped with cups and a teapot. "Utsuho is likely thankful as well."
"She doesn't give a damn about what cover we use," Mokou said with a wave. "She's too busy to care."
"Yeah, and Satori is probably berating her for it!" Flandre said with a giggle as she sat up on the couch and took the tea off the tray as Mei placed it on the table. "Either way I'm just happy it went well. They accepted our explanations, agreed to take the Batarians off our hands, though they still haven't said how, and even agreed to the Eden plan!"
Mokou looked worried suddenly as she let out a low sigh. "I still don't agree with that plan. The idea of an entire planet being used for cooperative research with them reeks of spies and technology thievery."
"Yes, but Yukari, Kaguya and Hackett must have a reason for it, otherwise they would not have authorized or told us to tell the council of it," Mei stated calmly.
"Yeah, they're probably going to insist on tons of security . . . . . they still haven't sent me the whole information packet on that plan either. It's going to be difficult to convince the council if the plan on our side is not finalized."
"Their probably still finalizing things for the Quarians . . . .And that's probably a reason for the Eden plan as well, as it keeps the council focused on it and not them."
"Think it will stop them from messing with Eirin anymore?" Mei asked with a small smirk. She didn't often show much emotion, but when she did she meant it.
"Oh probably not. STG will keep sending people to try to mess up her and Bakara's work, but they can deal with it. Apparently they're starting a collection of STG heads to eventually send back to them as a message. They're up to twenty two now!"
"And things like that are what remind me that Eirin can be as cruel and vindictive as Kaguya sometimes," Mokou said with a shake of her head. "It's going to be a busy few weeks."
"Handing over the Batarians, dealing with the wars fallout, dealing with Utsuho's fallout, starting the Eden plan. As long as the council keeps forgetting about the Quarians and doesn't mention the Krogan we should be fine though. . . . Probably."
"That doesn't give a lot of confidence," Mokou said as she glared at Flandre. "Some would argue you've kept this position by bull-shitting politicians and harassing the Alliances neighbors.
"Not correct, but not technically wrong either!" Flandre countered with a grin. "Either way, all of Yukari's little plans are now fully in motion, so now we just need to move ahead and see what she has planned!"
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[Nazara, report]
[The body of onslaught has stopped transmitting.]
[Reason?]
[Unknown. data does not make sense]
[Discover the reason then, and begin the preparations for the next cycle. An ascended simply disappearing does not pose an acceptable beginning.]
[Understood.]
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As I forgot it in the last chapter, another Operative Bio!
Bio – Utsuho
Name: Utsuho Reiuji (Okuu)
Race: Youkai – Yatagarasu crow.
Gender: Female
Age: unknown , over 200.
Power rank: A.
Class: 2
Class Specifics: Works best alone but can lead small groups of units, if only to act as a vanguard. Has difficulty helping those she is not fond of, as most others perish when exposed to her power, or simply cannot keep up.
Powers: Flight, Manipulation of Hellfire, Manipulation/ creation of nuclear fusion and fission reactions.
Capabilities/skills: High altitude flight, high level flight control, high level strength, fire/heat immunity, basic knowledge of death. High level intellect, with an extremely high focus on ballistic and energy based physics.
Bio: Historically a pet of Satori Komeji alongside her best friend Rin Kayenbou, Utsuho Reiuji, often nicknamed Okuu, was 'gifted' the power of the sun by Kanako, Yasaka, changing her from a regular Hell crow to a Yatagarsu crow. She then attempted to take over the world for her master Satori, an incident that was ended rather quickly by Gensokyo's primary incident stoppers.
After the fall of the border and Gensokyo's release to the rest of the world, Satori insisted that her pets learn about the world and try to better themselves, and much to most people's surprise, Utsuho did just that, and went above what people expected or thought was possible for her.
While an operative with a very high level of power at her beck and call, she is also a well-respected physicist in the Alliance R&D weapons and armour development, and her research was used in creating some of the first near-perfect Rad shielding used on Alliance ships. She does not get sent on missions very often due to the extent of fallout her power uses, but with her increased control over her abilities, is mostly capable of containing her power when on missions if it is not needed.
Mostly.