Chapter 26:
Date: February 11th, 2095, ten days after the discovery of the Inusannon.
I was surprised at the hospitality of the Inusannon Federation, even though there was still a bit of a tension between Kochinan, Korlib, and Delaki. The ISF had started fitting most of the United Rannoch Government's ships with their current drives, which they called a "Mezhadeni Core." It supposedly travels 525 light years per day, which would be approximately 21 light years per hour, as compared to the Bermuda's EMDrive, or even its previous element zero core, this would outclass it by at least a ten fold. Needless to say, the Bermuda would also be receiving one of these cores.
As a token of appreciation, Sirius had gifted the Inusannon with the blueprints of the EMDrive, though I had my doubts on how useful it would be for their federation. Of course, we'd be departing as soon as the retrofits to the Bermuda were complete. With how hard they were working, the upgrades would be completed in at least five days. Further modification to the ships would have to be done at a later date. The ISF had assured us that we'd be stable until then, but I didn't know whether to believe them or not.
During our departure, it was decided that an ISF colony ship would be accompanying us, along with two carriers and a few stealth frigates. The carriers and the colony ship would specifically be used to establish a stronghold on Rannoch. As for the stealth frigates, I could only speculate that they'd be doing scout missions throughout the galaxy. The colony ship that Kochinan ordered to enter galactic space was 14km long. From what I could see now, we looked more like an invasion fleet rather than one of diplomacy.
My arm, from where it had been shot by the late Lera'Gerrel, had healed for the most part. Avenali Wravn'kaleshnak, the Inusannon woman who also healed Teval, attached a portable device onto my arm. It couldn't have been bigger than a brick and it was surprisingly light, only being a pound at most (0.5 kilograms). The device dripped grey goop onto my wound, healing the fibers in my arm while keeping the entrance and exit wound slightly open. It burned any non-organic materials away, but kept my organic fibers intact. I was still having trouble with lifting heavier things, such as my rifle, but by the time we were back at Rannoch, I would be fully recovered.
Date: February 16th, 2095, five days later.
"I can't believe they'd even build something that big…" Lyna stood behind me, staring down at her omni-tool. On it was a window of the Inusannon colony ship, the full 14km (8.6mi).
I nodded my head and scratched one of my cheeks idly. "Mhmmmm. I assume that's what happens when you have nothing better to do and decide, 'Oh hey, let's just build ships the size of Mass Relays.'"
"Something tells me that the 'flagship' that they greeted us with wasn't actually a flagship. It might just be a frigate that mistranslated into flagship," she murmured, crossing her arms over the headrest of my seat. "I know what you're going to say, that size isn't everything. I disagree. Just one of these 'colony' ships could blow the Destiny Ascension to pieces just by ramming it, and that's completely ignoring all of those turrets on the outer hull."
"We'll not be warring with them, so why worry, Lyna?" I asked, kicking back in my seat with a small smile on my face. I watched as one of the Inusannon ships began to move, with the absolutely massive 14km long colony ship in the middle of it all. It had an architectural structure of wings, which I assumed helped it in atmosphere, but their purpose in space was not known to me. I had assumed that something as large as that wouldn't be operable in atmosphere, but I certainly wasn't an aerospace engineer, though I heard that they could be used as hangar bays, or supports for cannons.
Lyna didn't answer me, as she strode over to another seat where she plopped down and glanced at me for a few seconds. Sirius was already spinning up the Bermuda's new drive core, something that would possibly get us back to Rannoch in just a week or two, as opposed to the previous month-long journey. As soon as Sirius finished keying in the destination, the activation of the Mezhadeni core shook the ship. Light warped around the windows for a few moments, bending as the Bermuda became unstable. Due to the relatively small size of the Asari-manufactured corvette, it was almost unable to handle an FTL drive such as the Mezhadeni core. One final jolt gave way to our journey to Rannoch. I knew for certain that once we arrived on the Quarian homeworld, the galaxy would start changing.
Date: February 27th, 2095, eleven days after embarking for Rannoch.
"Kyle, wake up already. We're going to be at Rannoch in just under thirty minutes." Lyna pushed at my shoulder. The last few days had been nothing but rest, and I was grateful for that. It was much needed after everything that had occurred.
I writhed around in the pilot's seat for a few seconds, taking the time to blink at Lyna and even sigh at her. "Ugh… What? Already?" I drowsily asked.
Lyna exhaled, rolling her eyes at me. "Yeah, already. Now come on, I've got something that I think you'll want to see."
Lazily pushing myself up out of the seat, I stood in front of Lyna, gazing tiredly at the Asari. I wouldn't be at my best for at least a couple more minutes. "So… What is it?"
Wordlessly, she turned me around almost forcefully. There on the holographic interfaces were Samara and Vodnik. Samara looked as cold and calculated as ever, though she seemed to be annoyed, maybe even displeased. Vodnik looked a bit worse for wear, a new scar was now present on his cheek and he definitely was angry. especially after all of the political bullshit that I had dealt with. "It's a video recording... This is a couple of weeks old, but I still think it's important."
"You think?" I cocked my head at Lyna while rolling my eyes.
"Okay, okay. Again, with the hostility and sarcasm, there's no need for that."
I crossed my arms over each other. "Well, go on then, play the video. Don't leave me hanging here until we reach Rannoch."
Without another peep from the Asari, she flicked a switch on her omni-tool and the video began to play.
[-]
"After all this time, we've finally located Morinth. For the last year, she's been traveling around the Silean Nebula, lying low, living discreetly," Samara said, folding her hands in her lap. She was wearing something other than her usual red justicar armor, a dress of some kind.
Vodnik was off to the side, popping a magazine in and out of his M1911. The sound was slightly annoying, but I didn't protest, mostly because it was a video. He was the one to speak up next. "We nearly trapped her on a remote world called Zorya in the Terminus. It only had a few villages on it, nothing big, probably a population of under five hundred people. When Morinth saw her mother, she attempted to run away, unfortunately, we were unable to stop her."
Samara nodded, staring at Vodnik for a few more seconds. She waved her hand while her palm was pointed towards the ground, to which Vodnik stopped messing around with his pistol and its magazine. Once silence reigned upon whatever room they were in, the justicar continued where Vodnik had left off. "We'll continue to update you two on the hunt for Morinth. If and when we trap her, or ever find ourselves in need of your help, you'll receive a message with this code…"
Samara and Vodnik flickered off of the screen, and suddenly another picture was up on it. It was an orange box, with black numbers and letters scattered about. They read out as, 'LvB.12.1770-3.1827.'
"Remember that, LvB.12.1770-3.1827. Whenever we give you this message, whether it be Vodnik or myself, it will be a priority," Samara said. She promptly ended the recording, giving a small nod to Vodnik right before her finger hit the holographic button.
[-]
I blinked while scratching the back of my head idly. "LvB… Ah crap, already forgot it," I trailed off, turning my head back to Lyna. "I'm not sure what that means."
"It's a code made by Vodnik and Samara. It's important if they're using codes now; we just need to remember it, you specifically." Lyna drawled out.
Shrugging, I strode over to the holographic display. The code that Vodnik had sent was of little concern, but why he had decided to contact us now was beyond me. It probably wasn't something to think too hard about, so I directed my attention to the matter at hand. One of the holographic displays showed that we were only a few light years away from Rannoch at this point. Audibly yawning, I rubbed my eyes and stepped back from the display. "I could really, really go for coffee right now, or a steak. Yeah, that sounds nice, a steak," I muttered, still staring into the holographic projection.
"You're homesick, aren't you?"
I nodded. "Yeah. I miss Earth."
Lyna walked up behind me, her footsteps only being masked by the hum of the Mezhadeni core. "Well, you know that Earth hasn't gone anywhere, right? You'll see it again in about sixty years if everything goes as planned. I mean, we could visit now if we knew where it was."
"If I wasn't experimented on by the earlier Inusannon, I'd be dead way before then. Now I have five hundred years to waste," I exhaled, gazing back at Lyna.
"Five hundred years, maybe more, maybe less. Only Krogan and Asari can live that long. You know, once this is all over," Lyna paused, pulling my hunched form away from the displays. "...We'll live out the rest of our days on a planet, whether that be Earth, Thessia, or… Somewhere else."
I slowly trailed my hands up Lyna's back, pulling her ever closer to me. "That is, if we make it through the Reaper Wars," I responded.
"Oh shush. We'll beat them to a mechanical pulp, make Harbinger cry tears...or oil as his entire army is destroyed before his eyes.."
I broke out into a fit of laughter, eventually taking the time to kiss the Asari on her lips between periods of chuckling. Before I could reply, I felt the ship jolt for a second. "Sirius? What was that?"
Silence followed my question, but Sirius' voice soon reigned throughout the Bermuda's halls, "I'm preparing the ship to exit FTL, as we'll be dropping into United Rannoch Government-occupied space in less than a minute. Our arrival will be only a few seconds ahead of everyone else."
Arching one of my eyebrows, I shifted my gaze towards Lyna. "Our entire trip lasted thirty minutes?"
"Huh… Apparently," Lyna replied with a shrug. She broke our embrace and strode over to one of the displays, pulling up a display of Rannoch. It'd go live as soon as we dropped out of FTL.
As we grew closer and closer to the Tikkun System, I couldn't help but to walk up beside Lyna, pulling up another display to monitor radio chatter. I didn't pick up anything within five seconds. Said five seconds passed and the Bermuda shook again. I didn't even have time to take another breath, as the space around the ship warped. The lights inside of the corvette flickered before shutting off, the holographic displays following soon afterwards. Right as I thought that Lyna and I were going to be dead in the water, everything regained power and I was met with the glorious sight of Rannoch. Silence reigned throughout the Bermuda up until the Inusannon Federation ships dropped into existence, followed by the Vekaani and the rest of the exploration flotilla. My head was suddenly filled with the panicked, unsure, and concerned voices of the URG's fleets, all directed at the absolutely massive fleet now in their territory.
"Keelah… What is that thing…"
"It's larger than anything I've ever seen!"
"Is it hostile?"
"Where did it even come from?"
"Is the homeworld under attack?"
"You asked me once before, Maari, now I have your answer. This… This is what fear looks like."
"Why are our ships with them?"
Everything went silent for a few seconds, but then I heard Svesa's voice pierce the silence. "Quarians, Geth, and Protheans of the United Rannoch Government… I am Pervichalomar Svesa Voz'avansiro of the Inusannon Federation. We seek harmony with your people, to create an alliance against the race hell-bent on destroying all advanced lifeforms of this cycle, and every cycle before that. The very same race that you will soon be facing. Today will mark the beginning of a new golden age between my people and your own. This cycle will be the one to defeat the Reapers, once and for all."
All radio chatter went silent. The tension in the air was so thick that you could cut it with a knife. Lyna and I exchanged looks for a moment. I turned my head away from the Asari, gazing out of the window as the Inusannon colony ship began to move forwards, the Inusannon and URG Exploration fleet following towards Rannoch. I yanked my hand away from the display, temporarily deactivating the communication monitoring.
Deep breaths came from Lyna as she tracked the positions of the URG's home fleet. Every Quarian, Geth, and Prothean ship was utterly dwarfed by the carriers and the colony ship. The 'stealth frigates' were located in the back of the fleet, hiding directly under the engines of either the colony ship or the carriers. I was holding my own breath as multiple vessels of the URG cleared a path for the larger vessels. It was a bold tactic by the Inusannon, flying right into the URG's territory. I sensed that they weren't as diplomatic as I previously thought.
I hope you're talking with the Geth right now, Sirius.
'Yes. They are… Afraid.'
Afraid? The Geth are scared? Of what?
'The future.'
Date: May 2nd, 2095, about three months after the Inusannon Federation reveal at Rannoch.
The Inusannon Federation had successfully established a small colony on Rannoch, Quarian/Geth ships had begun to be outfitted with Mezhadeni FTL Drives, and civilian life was improving by more than one could imagine. Medicine, and machinery were both extending the lifespan of Quarians and helping them with their daily lives. ISF medical vessels had begun to swarm Rannoch, each carrying immune system boosters. Quarian immune systems would always be weak, but the new influx of advanced technologies were healing them than the next generation that the Geth could effectively heal.
Meanwhile, the Bermuda was still undergoing upgrades, mainly with the Mezhadeni core being unstable due to the small size of the corvette. The main solution to this was to increase the size of the relatively tiny Asari-manufactured vessel. Extensions were added along the back of the ship and its hull had been expanded too. Lyna had been adamant that we kept the Bermuda instead of getting a new ship, apparently she had become attached to the corvette, which wouldn't be a corvette for much longer. The estimated size that it would be built up to was in the cruiser-range. Because of all of this, Lyna and I were without a ship for the time being. While we were waiting for the Bermuda to be upgraded, we had a bit of a vacation on Rannoch. Luckily, Lyna and I were provided with levo-amino foods.
Date: September 30th, 2095, seven months into the project to upgrade the United Rannoch Government.
A Geth destroyer had attempted to use a Mass Relay while its Mezhadeni core was engaged. This was an experiment to test the effects of a non-eezo based core against a high amount of element zero. Despite the numerous risks of doing so, many Sannokar and Inusannon physicists were intrigued to find out what exactly would happen. When the destroyer was pulled into the grasps of the Relay, a hole in space appeared. The Geth destroyer was flung through the hole and the Consensus lost all contact with the servers inside of the vessel. To prevent the astronomical anomaly from occurring again, the ISF strongly opposed any use of a Mass Relay until they found a solution to stop this from ever happening again. Alternatively, Quarian ships could still travel with Mass Relays, but due to new ship upgrades, the Mezhadeni core would have to boot up again, taking at least five minutes after the fact of jumping.
Date: January 4th, 2096, eleven months after the Inusannon had officially allied itself with the URG.
The United Rannoch Government rebranded itself as the United Rannoch Association. All of the admirals and Geth had agreed on this new name, as it served the new alliance between the Quarians, Geth, Protheans, Sannokar, Inusannon, and Inusynthetics.
The Bermuda was also close to completion, though due to the recent findings by the Inusannon and Sannokar scientists, a cryo bay was being installed within the ship. Now it'd take another year or so for the corvette to be completed along with all of the other enhancements. I wasn't exactly thrilled about this, but Lyna was happy to spend her time on the rapidly developing Quarian homeworld. I could understand that, but I also wanted to get the meeting with the Council over with.
Date: November 7th, 2096, eleven months after the URA was established.
A week ago, the Bermuda's upgrades had finally been completed and now, instead of the previously hundred meter long ship, Lyna and I were faced with the sight of a massive 500 meter monster. It was a large vessel, and now we had our own crew instead of just me, Lyna, and Sirius. I had no experience in captaining a vessel, so Lyna would take charge. It was her ship after all. We had several Quarian mechanics and engineers, various Geth platforms, an Inusannon medical officer, and some Sannokar. There was also one Prothean on the vessel, who seemed to be the chef of the ship. I was sure that I'd meet them all eventually.
Before we departed for the Citadel, Svesa boarded the ship alone, only having a pistol and the same sort of device that I saw many high-ranking ISF officers using by her side. The pistol was called the ISF Firaskae, a Sannokar-created weapon. It acted like a railgun, one that fired a molten slag of metal at its opponent. "Kyle Terrah, I'll be joining you on your journey to the Citadel. It is estimated that we'll arrive in two… Maybe three years," she told me.
"That's a fairly long time. Why not use a Mass Relay?" I asked.
Svesa gave me an odd look, waving one of her hands around dismissively. "It won't be that long when we're all in cryo. Longer trips are why we installed a cryo bay. Besides, we'll be using the drive at 20% to conserve fuel. We don't exactly have enough to make it to the Citadel at anything higher than that. Using a Mass Relay poses too many threats. What if we come across a patrol? What if we encounter pirates? There are a lot of what ifs, and I'd rather not risk anything."
I chuckled as I leaned against one of the pillars now in the Bermuda's hallways. Svesa was gazing at me, but after a moment of silence, she burst out laughing. "Something funny, Pervichalomar?" I asked, coyly smiling at the Sannokar leader.
"N-.. You're so casual, it's… Odd. The people I've been around have either been scared of me, or otherwise void of emotion… Though those are mostly the Inusynthetics."
"Should I have a reason to be scared of you? Are you secretly a Reaper? 'Oh no, Svesbinger, please don't kill me, I've so much to live for!'"
This made the Sannokar smile and seemingly shake with amusement. "Svesbinger. I'll have to remember that the next time I talk with Kochinan... I have a feeling that I'm going to enjoy this little journey. To answer the question, no, you shouldn't be scared of me, unless you are a Reaper, Kovereign!"
I laughed along with Svesa, to a point where I was holding my throat and she was clawing at her chest, giggling away at our names being combined with the two most prominent Reapers. Lyna walked right past us, patting me on the shoulder. "We're leaving soon. Ma'am, unless you're coming with us to the Citadel, I suggest you leave."
Svesa looked at the Asari, all of the previous joy being ripped right off of her expression. "How awkward for Ventain (Captain) Rilac to not know. I'm accompanying you to greet your 'Councilors.'"
"What? Are you sure that's wise?" Lyna asked, arching one of her false eyebrows. "Councilor Tevos might not take too kindly to him..." Lyna pointed over at me, "...Or the Geth, or the Quarians. You, however, are on another level entirely. Do you plan on starting a war?"
"Plan on starting a war? No, no, my sweet little Asari," Svesa said. She strode forwards, cupping one of Lyna's cheeks in her hand. Calmly, the Sannokar trailed her fingers onto Lyna's crests, running the tip of her nails over them. This caused Lyna to squirm uncomfortably. She continued, "I plan on ending one." The Sannokar planted a kiss upon Lyna's forehead moments later. Obviously, Lyna was incredibly creeped out by this, as she struggled away from the ISF Admiral. Svesa let the Asari go moments later, still smirking at Lyna. Before she departed from us, she added one last thing in. "I almost forgot, one of the older Protheans will be accompanying us. He's currently sleeping."
As Svesa walked down the bridge, both Lyna and I were speechless, occasionally exchanging looks with each other. I was the first to speak, "She's…"
"A bit fucked in the head?" Lyna replied, still a bit dazed from that little encounter.
"I wouldn't word it like that, just," I paused for a moment, "Alien."
Svesa's voice came from the bridge, "Sirius, set our destination for the Citadel. Inform all organic crew members to enter suspended animation, spin up the Cryo bay immediately. We depart now."
I glanced back to Lyna as the humming inside of the Bermuda grew slightly louder. "Well, I guess in about two, maybe three years, we'll be in the heart of galactic civilization."
Lyna nodded, turning away from me for a second while a gleaming bit of maroon light made its way across her body. She softly chuckled, "Let's not forget about the STG. They could snatch you up at any moment… Well, that also goes for special forces as well."
Before I could reply, Svesa pushed herself between us, gesturing for Lyna and I to follow her down to the 'Cryoskaavan' bay. I didn't even see her coming. She also had two little cups in her hands, each filled with a forest-green liquid. "I presume that this will be the first time for you both. Drink this, and we'll be on our way," ordered the Sannokar. She handed both of the cups to us and stood there, waiting for us to drink the strange liquid.
Without hesitation, I downed the cup. A bitter and tart flavor flooded my mouth five seconds later. I gagged on it while the liquid coated my throat and burned at my inner flesh. If I hadn't known better, I'd say that Svesa just tried to poison me. Lyna wasn't as compliant as I was, since she rapidly exchanged looks with Svesa and I. Lifting it to her nose, she gave it a small sniff and immediately recoiled at the smell. "Eck, what is even in this crap?"
"As I said before, this is your first time in cryo. Drink it… Or don't; it'd be interesting to see what a skinless Asari would look like."
Lyna audibly gulped, and I turned my head over to her while holding my throat, finally able to breathe again. She clenched her fists, pressed the tip of the cup to her lips, and let all of the liquid slide down her throat. It was fair to say that she had a much worse reaction than I did. Gasping for air, she fell to her knees, clutching her neck. Her entire body was shaking, and from what I could tell, her face was seemingly becoming bluer. After five more seconds, she pressed one of her hands onto the floor, the other was placed on her stomach, clutching it as she writhed around in pain.
I rushed over to assist Lyna, but I found myself stumbling and I nearly fell onto her. My vision was blurry. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Svesa walking towards us, or at least a red blob which I assumed to be the Sannokar. She knelt down, putting her hands on our backs. "I apologize for the pain, but it is necessary. Your bodies will initially reject the fluid, as you have just experienced."
Of course, Lyna shrugged off Svesa's hand. "Did it not occur to you that you could have at least warned us first?" the Asari asked, squinting and staring up into Svesa's eyes.
"I'm sorry to say, but no warning would have prepared you for that. Now, either you can wallow on the floor for two years and starve to death from lack of food, or you can get up and come with me to the cryo-bay," she replied, staring right back down at the Asari.
We pushed ourselves up and headed after Svesa. After that incident, I didn't trust her as much as I used to. Either way, Lyna and I would enter the pods, and then be frozen to sleep.
[-]
Date: January 1st, 2100, just over three years later.
The Citadel was a relatively quiet sight this 'early' in the morning. The night cycles had just ended and people were just blinking awake. The Citadel control tower traded out its 'night' workers for the ones that worked in the 'day.' One of them was a Salarian and his Turian co-worker.
"Morning, Harretan! Last night was amazing! I see the 2100s being a great time for us, our children, and their children after them!" the Salarian smiled at his Turian friend.
Harretan, the Turian clicked his mandibles, rubbing his head. "Yeah, yeah… Spirits, how do you not have a hangover?"
The Salarian blinked several times, laughing at Harretan's misfortune. "Ha! High basal metabolic rate, buddy. Makes the alcohol wash right away!"
"Taren, I swear, I will hurt you and I will hurt you badly," Harretan mumbled, resting his head on the console before him. When he looked over to Taren, one of his mandibles lifted up as he saw the Salarian was absolutely shocked. "Are you serious? I was joking, don't take that seriously," he sighed, pressing himself up from the console, and then looking in the same direction as the Salarian was. His jaw almost instantly dropped. A ship the size of a cruiser had just dropped out of FTL, nowhere near a Mass Relay. It didn't appear to be a primitive vessel either. It mimicked Asari corvette designs, and the IFF systems were painting it as a Dystopia Class Corvette. Yet, the ship was five times as large as any Asari corvette. Various metallic substances jutted out of the sides of the vessel, with purple bolts of electricity bouncing off of the exterior. It had three outstretching beams of titanium that covered the engines, and there were forward-swept wings on the sides of it.
Taren recovered from the sight much quicker than Harretan had, with his fingers flying over the omni-keyboard in front of him to inform the Citadel Fleet of the incoming ship. "Contact! Cruiser just off of Zakera Ward! IFF labels it as the Bermuda, a Dystopia Class Corvette. It is not a corvette! Vessel is visibly armed! I repeat, vessel is visibly armed!"
No response was heard from the other end for a few seconds, but then a voice that Taren didn't recognize started speaking, "Calm down. We are not your enemy. We have come to speak with your Councilors, nothing more. Inform your leaders that we wish to speak to them."
"Who… Who are you?" Harretan asked, looking directly at the odd ship before them. The Citadel Fleet was at a standstill, the Turian ships seemingly ready to engage, with the Destiny Ascension putting itself directly before the Citadel tower.
[-]
A hissing sound woke me from cryosleep. Svesa was standing in front of me with a Geth platform standing directly behind her. My entire body felt like it had just gone through a siberian winter. I took a shaky breath as Svesa tilted her head at me. "Slow… Don't… Still," was all I could make out. Panic filled my mind as the Geth administered some sort of heat wave onto my body. I quickly thawed out. Soon after that, I fell to the ground in absolute confusion. A burning liquid exited my mouth, pooling on the floor under me. Everything was blurry. I couldn't see anything clearly even if I tried to focus my eyes. Svesa moved towards me, pulling me up by my bicep. "You… Food… Get him… Food…"
"What," I croaked, stumbling forwards. Svesa extended her arm out as to stop me from falling to the ground.
She took me by my shoulders and looked down into my eyes. "Easy there. We're about five light years out from the Citadel. Your Asari has already been thawed out. You're the last one." I tried to push Svesa away, but it was no use, she was ultimately stronger than me. Her iron grip on my shoulders was becoming a bit of an issue. It was hurting me, so I put my hand on her face as a means to get her to break away. She leaned back, her eyes showing that she was incredibly confused. "Human, Kyle, stop that. Please, please?"
I retracted my arm once she loosened her grip, but I quickly found my place with my back against a wall, looking at my hand in a complete daze. Instead of Svesa, a Geth platform was now crouching before me. It had a protein bar in its mechanical hand. "Eat, Interloper-Terrah.
"Ugh… If the consensus would just not go with titles, that'd be amazing," I murmured, taking the bar out of its hand. I took a bite out of it, looking up to Svesa and the Geth platform. "How long has it been? Have we received any transmissions? Has anything gone on while I was frozen alive?"
"Three years, eight weeks, two days. We were unable to receive anything while in FTL transit. The Consensus relayed that the Inusannon have begun to explore systems that Mass Relays can't reach," the Geth platform monotoned.
Svesa helped me up onto my feet, all the while holding onto my bicep with that same iron grip. "I'm sure you want to know how long it'll take us to arrive at the Serpent Nebula. It'll be within ten minutes. I suggest that once you get your bearings, head to the bridge and be ready to contact the Citadel."
I meekly nodded, shrugging Svesa off of my shoulder. She followed after me, her hands behind her back. The loud clanking of her metal boots against the floor sent shivers down my spine. I looked back to her, raising one of my eyebrows. "Have you ever heard of casual attire inside of a ship?"
"This is casual for me." Svesa shrugged.
"Sounds miserable," I muttered under my breath. We eventually arrived on the bridge. Our timing was impeccable, as Sirius had just powered down the Mezhadeni core. I was greeted with the sight of the Citadel in all of its glory. We were closer than I expected, since I could clearly see the Citadel Defense Fleet. Turian, Asari, and Salarian vessels were floating around the perimeter of the station.
"This might be a problem," Lyna said, standing behind Svesa and I.
"No, really?" I asked Lyna, not even turning to face her. "Sirius, open up communications with the Citadel Control Tower. We don't exactly want to be blasted into a million pieces."
Svesa tapped her metal boot against the ground, her arms folded under her breasts. "If they decide to do that, our shields will hold. The Mezhadeni core wasn't-"
"-Vessel is visibly armed! I repeat, vessel is visibly armed!" A transmission cut off Svesa.
Sirius, am I patched in?
'Yes. You can talk to them whenever you like.'
I raised one of my eyebrows out of surprise. Eventually, I started to speak, "Calm down. We are not your enemy. We have come to speak with your Councilors, nothing more. Inform your leaders that we wish to speak with them."
Another voice on the other end of the line spoke up, "Who… Who are you?"
"My name is Kyle Jonathan Terrah, and I am a representative of the United Rannoch Association alongside Lyna Nithil Rilac, and Svesa Voz'avansiro," I said into the microphone. My hands were behind my back and a grin was spread across my face. Svesa was directly behind me, dressed in clothes that didn't display her rank or her allegiance to the Inusannon Federation. Lyna shut off my mic shortly after I finished my sentence. Our mess sergeant, Okuderod, was also coming along with us. A Prothean voice would most likely help us in our meetings with the Citadel council.
"Rannoch, you say? Buddy, you don't sound like a Quarian to me. Your ship doesn't look like their usual pieces of scrap, but I'll give you suit-rats the benefit of the doubt. Allow them through the Citadel Defense Fleet and into one of our docking bays. An armed force will be there to escort them to the Council Chambers," a feminine voice ordered from beyond the line. Her voice was just barely audible, but I could still make it out. Before my very eyes, the Defense Fleet broke off their formations, and the Bermuda was allowed passage to one of the docking bays.
I stepped back from the displays as they were disconnected from the control tower. A smile spread across my face, and I turned back to Svesa, who had her arms crossed under her breasts. "Interesting response they had. I'm sure their armed forces will understand their place when they see a Prothean," the Sannokar chuckled. She secured her pistol on her thigh and made her way over to the airlock as Sirius began to pilot the Bermuda down to the Citadel Presidium.
"I'm just a mess sergeant, ma'am. I'm not exactly clear on what I should say in a diplomatic meeting between two galactic super-powers," Okuderod murmured, scratching at one of his brows. He blinked with all four of his eyes.
Lyna patted the Prothean on the shoulder as she walked past him. "I'm sure your testament on the Reapers will be more than enough to sway them."
I laughed, following right after Lyna. "And don't forget our video evidence either. If they don't believe us, then they're foolish. I'm not saying that they're not, but you know, at least one of them has to have a lick of sense. We could just send them to Mnemosyne and literally show them a Reaper if they are that dense," I paused, "they'll probably be that dense."
"Come on, I've met the Council. They're not that dumb," Lyna retorted, pausing for a moment after that. "Actually, if we had just gone to Aria with all of this beforehand, it would probably have been easier on us. I know, Kyle. She's already on board, but I'd have a feeling that she'd accept the Inusannon Federation a lot more than the Council would."
Svesa shrugged her shoulders at the Asari. The Sannokar was currently leaning on the side of the airlock, tapping one of her feet on the floor idly. "This 'Aria,' isn't our objective. Like Kyle said, if the Citadel Councilors reject our statements about the Reapers, we'll show them the Mnemosyne planet, which I assume either Sirius or him have the coordinates for."
"Since the lot of you have yet to look out of a window, we've arrived. Citadel Security is waiting outside of the airlock, they're armed," Sirius spoke from one of the intercoms. Sure enough, when I turned my head to look out of one of the windows, I saw the interior of one of the Citadel's docking bays, presumably the one located right above the C-Sec Academy. I fondly remembered this place from all my previous playthroughs of the Mass Effect trilogy.
Lyna turned to me, then to Svesa. We all exchanged looks before Svesa nodded towards the Asari. "I think it would be best for them to see a familiar species before the rest of us."
The Huntress nodded her head, pressing her omni-tool to one of the display panels on the door, and then opening it. We all piled into the airlock, with Svesa squeezing in last. "Is everyone ready? There's a chance that this could turn into a firefight pretty damn quickly," Lyna murmured, looking back to everyone. Most just nodded their heads, but I gave Lyna a squeeze on her shoulder, basically letting her know to hurry up and open the door. She didn't hesitate after that, as the airlock repressurized soon after I gave her that squeeze. After that, the airlock opened, and all of us were greeted by the C-Sec force outside of the airlock. There were two turians and one Asari. More were behind them, comprised mainly of more Turians and a Batarian.
As soon as Svesa, Okuderod, and I exited the airlock, they all took a step back, aiming their weapons at us. Svesa was one of the first to react to this, "Lower your guns, cease your hostility. We've not come here to hurt you, I can promise you that much."
"Quiet, demon. Which is the one known as 'Kyle Jonathan Terrah?'" The 'leading' Asari asked, her eyes drifting over the three of us. Lyna was exempt from this, being the same race as the C-Sec officer.
I stepped forwards, slowly but surely. "I am. Before you ask, I'm a human. The 'demon' is a Sannokar, the other is a Prothean."
"A Prothean. Ha! Hahaha! Hahahaha," the Asari laughed, holding her gut. She wiped a tear from her eye, probably from giggling so hard. Eventually, that cold, serious attitude returned to her demeanor. "Do you really expect me to believe that, alien? They're extinct! You mistake me for a fool."
Okuderod sighed, moving directly past me and right up to the Asari. He grabbed onto her shoulders, causing the other officers to all point their guns at him. The officers hadn't shot him, mostly since they didn't want to risk a diplomatic incident. All four of his eyes were staring down at the much smaller Asari woman as a small smile spread out across his face. "I sense the internal conflict within you, primitive. You're doing this job to gather the funds for the ransom of your Salarian bondmate. However, you're 5,000 credits short. You also need those credits for your daughter's schooling funds." The Prothean let go of the Asari, who backed away moments later, her eyes as wide as a full moon. She was panting in fear, to which the Prothean frowned at her. "I recall a time when you Asari were worshipping my brothers and sisters, where you wore nothing but a loincloth. How amusing it was to see the start of your civilization. Right now, my people are still alive. We are four hundred strong. Close to extinct, but not quite."
"Ma'am, do we engage? What are our orders, Captain?" one of the Turians asked, his finger resting on the trigger of his gun.
"Hold. Lower your weapons. Let the demon identify herself, as well as the one with fur on his head. The… The Prothean… It's real," the Asari captain murmured off, holding her head and distancing herself from Okuderod by quite a bit. The officers in front of us hesitantly lowered their guns. Behind us, Lyna chuckled a fair bit, shaking her head from side to side.
Svesa was the first to speak, gently nudging me aside. She stood beside Okuderod, smiling down at the slightly shorter Prothean. "Fortunately for you and every single soul on this station, I'm not a demon, as you so love to call me. I am a Sannokar, the third species to join the Inusannon Federation. I am Svesa Voz'avansiro, one of the three primary admirals of the ISF."
I stepped forwards, finding my place right beside Svesa. "I'm Kyle Terrah, the Human representative of the United Rannoch Association."
Lyna had already quit her laughing, striding forwards to greet the C-Sec captain. It seemed that the two knew each other. "You already know who I am, Arosifa T'Petani, or have you forgotten my last trip here?"
"In the name of the Goddess... Of course it's you, Lyna. I'm not entirely sure why it took me that long to recognize you. After all, I should have known that you would come back to haunt me sooner or later," Arosifa sighed.
"We could catch up after our little meeting with the Council… That is, if you let us through." Lyna leaned forwards, smiling at the other Asari.
The two held a stare for a few seconds, where Arosifa sighed moments later. "Kragen, Darius, Turmad, Iskyre! The four of you will escort Lyna and her alien buddies to the Citadel Tower." Two Batarian and two Turian officers nodded, each moving forwards. A pair was in front of us, another was behind us. "We'll need to apprehend your weaponry. The only exception to this is Lyna, since she has an open-carry permit for the Citadel."
Svesa was really the only one besides Lyna that had a weapon here; I had left my guns back on the ship as a move of cooperation. With a very slow motion, the Sannokar admiral pulled her pistol out of its holster, giving me a full view of it. It was colored mostly black, with bumps along the barrel. The body had indentations all over it, with lights of some kind inside of these dents. Svesa pushed something on the side of the gun, causing these lights to flicker and eventually power down. She then flipped it in her hand, handing the weapon over to the small Asari. "Perhaps you'll see that I'm not a demon, Asari. One day, you'll understand all of this. Now, let's get moving," Svesa muttered. The Turian and Batarians began to move. We were on our way to the Council now, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous.
A/N: This was a surprisingly easy chapter to write. Anyways, next chapter will contain the meeting with the Council, which I've been looking forwards to writing ever since I started this series. Hopefully after that, I can finally get into more developmental writing, instead of diplomatic meeting this, first contact that.