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HandleWithCare
Jul 22, 2017
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#1
This is my first time attempting something larger and posting to SB.
Beta reader volunteers are welcome.
A Subtler War
Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
2130:
At the edge of the solar system a small group of people call attention to themselves for the first time with the development and open source distribution of the "Charmer" morph.
These biomorphs are specialised for social interaction, with increased empathy, patience, extreme stress resistance and generally a "sunny, happy, optimistic" disposition. They are explicitly designed to foster and strengthen social relationships.
In the coming month and years reaction is split. In the outer habitats the morph is immensely popular and observers note it has lead to a marked increase in social stability and average happiness.
In the inner system however the echo is not so positive. On the one hand, the morph does stabilize communities. On the other, wearer of the original, unaltered morph genuinely care about other persons. This leads to several corporate managers to side with the people they were supposed to keep in check, causing problems on Mars and elsewhere.
The creators of this morph are an eccentric group, even in the outer systems. Calling themselves the "Gardeners of the Void" they are openly ruled by a hyperintelligent AGI called "Samaritan" and operate as a "Think Tank" of sorts, offering their problem solving skills to other groups. They enjoy a rather high reputation ranking.
2130 onward: In the following years, the small group is noted for it's humanitarian efforts. It takes in infugees free of charge, however, each infugee must undergo a mental scan by Samaritan to reveal hidden agendas, mental instabilities or hidden psychoprogramming. All applicants can be refused by Samaritan without explanation.
Furthermore, the group is known to buy indentured People and especially Flats of traders and offers them citizenship and better lives.
For this purpose, it buys or produces morphs in small bulks.
2149: Charon unexpectedly explodes and reveals a massive alien artifact inside.
The entire solar system reacts in shock and nearly every faction prepares an expeditionary force to secure the artifact for themselves.
The Gardeners of the Void reveal they have mined the artifact and are prepared to detonate it should the other factions not stop their attempted take over. The other powers have no choice but to withdraw.
Firewall is extremely alarmed by these events, but internal debates about the best way to proceed hinder the group.
Even more worrisome: after the artefacts revelation, all remaining TITAN activity seemingly stops. Even several recovered artifacts stop working. Some claim to find evidence of hidden clocks counting down. Others report the measurement of mysterious energy signals shortly before shut down. Whatever the mechanism, those in the know are deeply concerned by these events.
2149:In the following months experiments reveal what the artifact is for: it allows instantaneous travel with an identical partner artifact over interstellar distances.
A strange (as in physically impossible) material is needed to achieve this. Thankfully, enough deposits of it exist in Charon's remains to build a few prototypes.
The first explorer is a Gardener Ego called Jon Grissom who sleeves directly into the probe that will explore the other side.
The Arcturus System is discovered.
March 2150: After further tests, a bigger ship is constructed that takes several well know independent reporters to the other side in an openly transmitted, real time publicity stunt.
At least two Firewall agents are hidden in this group, without knowing of each other though.
The team confirms the discovery of another star system and the functionality of the alien device. The solar system reacts with shock, excitement as well as uncertainty. The current status quo was fragile at best anyway, the discovery of an entire new system (and possibly more), the confirmation of alien live (with advanced technology to boot) and the fact that one AGI has effectively control of it raises both hopes and fears.
Many groups begin to plan.
March 2150:The Arcturus System now belongs to the Gardeners of the Void, both by unofficial custom as well as most accepted laws regarding found, non inhabited bodies in space.
This makes the Gardeners effectively one of the most powerful polities in the system quasi over night.
Despite the fact that the small group only comprises a few ten thousand individuals, the problem of manpower is solved easily: apparently alpha forks are a perfectly acceptable part of the groups society, meaning they can just instantiate all the workers they need. Additionally, Samaritan itself takes direct control of all worker morphs needed for construction or otherwise dangerous or unpleasant projects.
Additional Relays in the Arcturus system are discovered and immediately mined by the Gardeners.
Construction of Arcturus Station begins, the central hub for all building activity in the Arcturus system.
May 2150: Long negotiations for settlement rights begin.
It turns out the Gardeners had a vast array of contracts, pacts and political alliances in the outer system. These "trusted partners" receive preferred treatment. Using specially constructed scaffolds, entire habitats can be transported via Relay.
Similarly, individuals who wish to emigrate only have to pay very reasonably fees, based on their personal belongings and trust ratings.
However, the prices for corporations and other entities are exponentially higher. Individual members of corporations who wish to leave the solar system (and passed Samaritan's psych probe) are free to leave, but corporate ventures cost exorbitant amounts.
No negotiations happen with the Jovian republic. They are publically declared "undesirables". Individual members who wish to emigrate an renounce their Jovian citizenship are welcome.
2150 onward: The relay network is further explored while remaining under tight control of the Gardeners and Samaritan. The discovery of the first "M-class" planet with an ecosphere compatible to human baselines sends additional shockwaves through the Sol system.
Biomorphs capable of reproduction soar in popularity and many Flats (at least those who hear about it) gain new hope.
The Hypercorps and the Republic are deeply troubled by these events. The mere existence of other star systems, reachable by ordinary citizens no less, erodes their power base.
A mass exodus of humans would render them for all intents and purposes irrelevant.
Several radical subgroups reason that the distraction of the relay, now that the other side is settled wouldn't endanger humanity.
Multiple plans to sabotage or destroy the Relay are made, all are stopped by Firewall.
2151: The Gardeners of the Void, having grown exponentially the last few years declare a new ruling body: the Systems Alliance is founded and retains full control of all systems but especially the relay network. It is the sole entity deciding which ships and people may pass occupied Relays.
The Alliance is effectively governed by multiple AGI, one for each system. The AGI communicate with their citizens in a form of e-democracy where they explain their reasoning behind decisions and ask for opinions and ideas.
Many at home decry this as an effective form of AI tyranny.
Which the Alliance doesn't deny.
They merely point out it works.
Although most of the AGI take a different name than Samaritan, it is unclear if they are truly new or different systems or merely renamed forks.
2152: Demeter, humanities first M-Class settlement, is opened for habitation after lengthy toxicology and disease tests.
2154: Shanxi is founded. The first Prothean ruins are found.
After the alien ruins are identified, similar remains are identified on other, previously inhabited planets. They were destroyed so much that they didn't register in scans until people knew what they had to look for. After a hyperbright explorer named Jones manages to find a way to access several alien data storages, all findings are quickly classified however.
The Protheans made it clear that their civilisation was being destroyed by a "galaxy wide threat". Someone destroyed their galactic empire millennia ago. And whoever it was, they might still be out there.
As a reaction, the Systems Alliance Navy is founded. This is the first time in decades that a dedicated transhuman military (as opposed to a "security force" etc.) exists
2154 CE April 11: Shepard is decanted as an Exalt morph in an alliance habitat in Arcturus.
2155: Humanities numbers have increased drastically in the last few years and has now reached 1 billion people.
Most of which are Alpha forks. A surprisingly high amount of this "Star generation" as it is called, however, are "naturally born" babies with only "moderate" genetic and cybernetic enhancements.
The population still lives primarily in space based habitats, only about a third settles on planets.
The scum have notably decreased in numbers, many of them integrating with other polities or even the SA directly, making the rest protective and fearful for their cultural heritage.
The Hypercorps have fallen into meaninglessness. The Jovian Republic still holds out, but has become increasingly isolationist and unstable.
No further TITAN sightings occur. They seem to have vanished.
2157: A Turian patrol fleet notices Alliance ships about to open another Relay.
Last edited: Aug 1, 2017
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Jul 25, 2017
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#6
First Contact, Of Sorts
Captain Aselus reclined in his chair, focused on projecting an aura of calm confidence. Which was getting difficult after 4 weeks of nothing happening.
The men and women weren't exactly getting restless, modern turian ships had plenty of amenities to keep the crew both entertained and sharp, but it wasn't moral improving either. His unit was effectively banned to the ass end of nowhere, patrolling systems with inactive Relays at the edge of Citadel space.
And everyone knew it was because of him.
Aselus grimaced slightly, knowing his subordinates on the bridge couldn't see it. Once again his thoughts strayed to that depressing memory. He knew it was unhealthy to ruminate the incident over and over again but he couldn't help himself.
How was he supposed to know the slaver had long range field disruptor torpedoes damn it? He had been perfectly at rights to stay his distance. Nevermind what people's opinions were, he hadn't done anything illegal.
The Admiralty had agreed. But it had also been indicated that a...more excitable captain would have ordered his ships between the slavers and the fleeing transport. As his previous first officer had in fact demanded multiple times. Or rather screamed at him.
In the end, his good family name had been the determining factor. So he had only landed here.
Nowhere.
"Approaching Relay 312, Captain" the pilot called out.
"Proceed as normal, Sub Lieutenant" Aselus ordered calmly .
Turian Patrol Flotilla 2547, consisting of 7 Flavius class frigates entered the Relay by the book...and exited it by the book as well.
"Well, done Varian" He made a point of always complimenting a job well done, even a trivial one. So far, it had yet to gain him much good will with his soldiers. "Query the probes and begin patrol pattern"
This system didn't even have a name, but rather a catalogue number. No planets worth mentioning, the only thing making it remotely interesting were the other two inactivated Mass Relays here.
However, long range observation of their suspected endpoints had not shown anything of interest, so planned expeditions to their counterparts, always expensive affairs, had dropped in the priority queue. Likely to last place or close to it. Until such a time those expeditions were launched, this system would remain a dead end. As such, the only permanent "presence" the Citadel maintained here were a few small probes, smacked unto some airless moons. Solar powered and short ranged they where queried every few months by a passing turian ship and then forgotten about again.
In other words: the entire system was a spirits forsaken boring waste of space, just another part of his punishment of getting bored to death.
"Captain!" his communications officer called out.
Or not.
"Yes, Leutenant"
"The telemetry from the probes...they found something"
Aselus sad up straighter. "Found what, Leutenant?"
"Relay 313...has been activated sir. Unknown ships have passed through!"
Tension immediately rocketed up on the bridge. The Captain took several seconds to process the report. Alien ships? Here? A first contact situation? His plates shifted. He felt thrilled at the though. Excitement and fear.
A new race! Most likely some primitives, poking around in the void. A new client species for the turians. And he had discovered them. That should make up for any potential mistakes in his past. Aselus the Conqueror...not bad.
"Did the probe record what they did and where they went?"
A moments pause "Sir...probe data indicates they are still in system. Clustered at Relay 314" Aselus felt stress hormone curse through him, making him feel oddly lightheaded. "Are they attempting to open the Relay, sensors?" The turian there networked for a moment with his colleagues on the other ships "Perhaps sir. Impossible to tell at this distance" The Captain nodded, resolved. The last time he had been accused of...hesitation. That would not happen again.
"They are illegally attempting to open an unknown Relay. That makes them criminals. We will engage the enemy"
The turian heads in his field of view jerked in surprise.
"Sir?" His new first officer, Tario Varkan, questioned.
Aselus felt anger flare "You have your orders, Pilot. Execute"
"Yes, sir" the man muttered and relayed orders to the rest of the flotilla. The ships turned and began to move
The first officer stepped up "Sir, with all due respect. These are newcomers. They do not know our laws, we cannot punish them for not obeying them" the man quietly said. Aselus remembered another face, a face hurling obscenities at him, even as the civilian transport broke apart.
"This is a Citadel system, Commander. We will uphold Citadel law"
"Sir..."
Aselus snapped his head around to stare at the man. Tario was young, for his post. Younger than he had been.
"You have your orders, Commander" he snapped. But the other turian didn't budge
"Sir, again, with all due respect, we can not do this. I officially protest against your actions" he said, loud and firm. The bridge became very, very quite . The Captain rose form his chair.
"Are you refusing a direct order, soldier?" He growled angrily. Tario stood firm.
"Yes sir, I am."
"Marines! Arrest this man for insubordination!" Immediately the two posts next to the bridge door marched forward to secure Tario. The man in question didn't resist. He allowed himself to be disarmed and led of the bridge, head held high. Aselus let himself fall into his chair. First officers. Next time he would vet potential applicants himself before agreeing to any posting .
"Time to intercept?"
"20 minutes until weapons range. Enemy vessels can now be visually located"
"On screen" The screen showed the 314 Relay and around it, a rather motley assembly of weird shapes. Aselus frowned.
"No two ships seem to have the same configuration"
"Confirmed, sir" Sensors reported "All 8 ships seem to be unique"
He shook his head "Poor imbeciles. Probably threw together a few wrecks from prothean ruins. Prepare to open fire" The turian manning the sensors kept quite. He didn't dare mention that all of the ships looked visually rather new and that their energy readings were uniform and stable.
The alien vessels had noticed them too. They were turning towards them.
"Sir, we are being hailed" Communications reported.
"Ignore them." Aselus ordered. "We will talk to them face to face once they are disabled" Behind him several officers exchanged looks. But they did not speak up. Their careers wouldn't survive it and the knew it.
"We are in range sir" Aselus nodded, took a deep breath and gave the order that would make him immortal
"Open fire" The frigate Vis coordinated in a split second, reconfirming target choice and synchronising fire...then the frigates main mass drivers discharged as one.
And the enemy ships dodged.
Power levels and dark energy readings spiked and the ships evaded in a semi random pattern. Not perfectly. The largest one, a sort of sphere with many protrusions, flashed as it's shield deflected a grazing shot. But it was still an impossible maneuver. Aselus was on his feat.
"What happen..." The noise of screaming metal drowned out his voice as he was thrown across the room. His suit's barriers flashed and prevented instant death, but the air was still pressed out of his lungs and his head rung. He fought back to his feet. Several voices were screaming in pain, holographic displays flashed and showed static or random nonsense. The stars outside rushed by madly, showing the ship was in a spin.
His eyes fell on the GUARDIAN coordinator. His neck was compressed in an unnatural angle and empty eyes stared at the ceiling. He managed to divert his gaze.
"REPORT!" A sensor officer fought himself back into his chair, cradling his right arm.
"Unknown weapons effect sir, we are disabled" He bit out. The Captain shook his head. Impossible. Turian ships had been improved for centuries, only a dreadnaught class projectile could do something like this and those primitive ships had been smaller than them!
"Belay that." The officer suddenly called out "The VI has identified the weapon. Graser style energy lance. Terawatt strength!" Aselus stared. An energy weapons? A spirits forsaken energy weapon? How? There was a metallic sound and the deck shuddered.
"What was that?" he demanded to know and stalked over to take a look at the sensor screen himself. Nearby another soldiers was whimpering in pain, despite not being visibly wounded.
"WHERE ARE THE CORPSMAN?"
"No response!" Someone called back "They may be injured too!"
Aselus cursed but focused on the screens. He had a ship to safe. The sensor officer was hammering in commands with one hand, broken arm forgotten for the moment. His suit had most likely doped him up.
"Starboard sensors are disabled" he muttered. "I probably can...there sir!"
A camera was still working. It showed parts of a mostly disintegrated hull, metal still glowing dully. And beyond that, strange objects where approaching. Bizarre looking pods. Where those tentacles?
Aselus felt terror pulse through him, pushing the shock aside. He grabbed his sidearm. "PREPARE TO BE BOARDED!" he ordered loudly and tried to keep his fear under control. But behind that emotion guilt already loomed. What had he done?
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Jul 29, 2017
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#10
Interrogation
Tario floated in his cell, head in his hands, fighting despair. He was all alone in his own personal nightmare. Helplessly stuck in a small room, only lit by the gloomy emergency illumination as all around him the ship was dying.
He had no idea what was going on. When he had been brought down here they had stripped him of his hardsuit, giving murmured apologies for having to do this and had locked him in here.
That had probably saved his life.
Turian cells had old fashioned metal bars, both as backup in case power failed and for psychological reasons. When the ship had been disabled, Tario had been holding on to these bars. His arms and hands hurt like crazy, but he wasn't dead. He suspected not everyone had been so lucky.
Now however, with the power gone, the forcefields had collapsed, but the metal bars where still there, keeping him imprisoned.
So he had been forced to listen as fighting noises rose in the distance, even the occasional explosions, while his cries for help went unanswered. Wether the guards had been killed in the attack or joined the fight he couldn't tell. Ten minutes into the fighting the gravity had disappeared and the lights had dimmed. That had been an hour ago.
Tario heard a noise.
Something skittered in the darkness. The turian tensed. A noise as if metal softly hit metal. Over and over again. A whining sound. Something was approaching the cell block.
He stretched in zero gee, grabbing the bars for purchase. His hands were shaking and his stomach had turned to lead but he would be damned if he showed that. Whatever was coming, if the enemy would kill him, he would die like a turian soldier.
The humming and metallic ticks cam closer and closer and Tario saw...two drones. They were mostly round, with multiple metal tentacles sprouting at various points. Large optical sensors were dotted almost randomly. Their metal arms moved in a way that was disquietingly organic, fast, fluid and with purpose, making the turian feel queasy. They stopped upon seeing him. Tario returned their "gaze" undaunted.
"Huh. A Kittybird in a cell."
"Yeah, what do you think he did?"
"Let's find out"
One of the drones turned to the side. It's arm stretched towards the dead terminal in the wall and...shimmered, somehow. Tario couldn't make out what it was doing in the emergency lighting. A second later the terminal glowed to life.
"Interesting. Kittybird here protested his shitty captain's idea to fire on us"
"That IS interesting. Bet the higher ups want to have a chat with a nice Kittybird?"
"Sucker bet. Let's get him out"
The other drone approached Tarios cell, raising a tentacle. His grip tightened and his breath sped up. This was it. Damn you, Aselus. Then the tentacle...fired on the lock.
The cell door swung open
One of the drones addressed him, in perfect Palaven "Nice Kittybird. Come with us and we'll give you seed!" Tario stared at the thing. He blinked.
"Excuse me?"
The other drone sighed "Ignore him. He's an idiot"
Aselus sat were he was bound, head proudly raised to hide his fear. Hands and feet were bound and his neck and head were fixated as well. He had no doubt that these barbarians would torture and defile him and a primal scream of fear had been stuck somewhere in his throat since the attack. But he was also firmly aware of his men and women, all the other turians in the holding cells behind him, watching him. Whatever was left of his reputation and honor resided firmly on him putting on a good show.
The door opened. The first to enter where two massive, ugly brutes, carrying staff like weapons. The two looked identical and heavily modified with cybernetics. Enslaved abominations, no doubt, fitting for these primitive monsters. With them, however, came another form.
This one was sleek, metallic...and faceless. An aura of menace accompanied it and Aselus felt his plates widening in an instinctive effort to vent waste heat. The being and it's two guards came to stand in front of him.
Even in his fear he couldn't deny a strange beauty about that thing. Bestial, no doubt, but of a sleek, deadly design that a turian could respect. Then it's faceplate leaned forward toward him and for all his bravado he couldn't help pressing himself back into the chair.
When the thing spoke it was in perfect Palaven with a ringing, menacing echo to it's voice. Despite the fact it had no mouth.
"You attacked us. Why." Aselus scrapped together what strength he had left
"You opened unexplored Mass Effect Relays! This is against citadel laws!"
The thing titled it's head "Laws we didn't know about? Laws we were not informed about? Your own Citadel regulations and laws forbid you from attacking strangers, even if they break your laws. In attacking us, you not only broke every civilised beings rule about first contact but also your own Hierarchy's laws"
Aselus deflated a little. This was true. Victory would have meant protection by the Primarch, but like this?
"The turian navy will crush you!" he shouted out, desperately. The thing...laughed. It was a sound straight out of turian horror movies and it didn't miss the intended effect.
"With what?" the thing hissed in a taunt. "Weapons like these?" It raised something that Aselus recognised as his own service pistol. For a moment he fantasized about having it, about putting rounds into this smug monster. Then bleak reality had him again.
"How primitive. Your kind expects to win a war with this? You have so much to learn. I look forward to teaching you" the hand holding the gun balled into a fist. Hardened plastic and metal bent and exploded like glass. Aselus flinched as a stray piece hit his crest.
"Our navy..."
"You don't even have ship scale energy weapons. You fly with no stealth to speak of in tin cans controlled by organics, operating in baseline speeds. No, your ships are no threat. Unless there a few secrets left that were not in your database" The turian knew what that meant.
"No...no matter what you do to me. I will never tell you ANYTHING!" There were encouraging shouts and calls from behind him, his troops cheering him on. But as something mechanical whirred behind him, his claws cramped around the armrests. At least he managed to keep voiding his bladder.
"I'll never talk" he pressed out.
The thing made a weird snorting sound "As if your decisions matter. We studied your medical database and a few turian corpses. We know enough. We will analyse your brain and the contents of your mind and everything you know and remember will be ours. It will be entirely painless. In fact, you shouldn't feel a thing"
Aselus stared in disbelief. For a few long seconds there was no sound in the room from anyone. "You...you can't do that" he stammered out, hearing the waiver in his voice and hating himself for it "That's not possible!" The thing didn't answer.
"I will resist! I will...I will kill myself before I allow you to probe my brain!"
The thing titled its head again "What are you talking about? The probe is already inserted. That was the whirring sound you heard" Aselus was speechless. The monster and it's guards turned as one to leave.
"Relax, Captain Aselus. Or don't. It doesn't matter. In a few hours, your mind will be ours"
The door closed.
Last edited: Aug 27, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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HandleWithCare
Aug 1, 2017
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#17
The Council Reacts
It was a lonely turian frigate that exited Relay 312 on the Ikay system side. Ignoring hails it came to a stop slightly outsite the Relay and began broadcasting an audio message encrypted with standard turian military codes.
"We are Transhumanity" a menacing voice growled "Your forces attacked us without provocation in violation of your own laws. We expect a Citadel diplomatic envoy to appear in this system two weeks from now. Any refusal to accept our offer of negotiations will be seen as a declaration of war between us and Citadel Space."
That was all.
The turian commander of the garrison forces flipped his shit. After a screaming fit that left his bridge crew most impressed, cursing Aselus, his family and suggesting they had had anatomically impossible dealings with varren, he ordered the frigate recovered, the Mass Relay blockaded and strict black out on all communications. After which he sent a courier towards Palaven And expressively not towards the Citadel.
Unfortunately for him, there were those among his fleet who felt they owed greater allegiance to the Citadel as a whole than any single one government. Several of those in the employment of the STG.
Tevos, Sparatus and Valern were in the private Council chamber and had been going over reports and security issues. Most of the Citadel affairs were handled this way, the Council Audience Hall only used for public and important affairs. Not even their various aides where there, although they were no further then an omnitool call away either, in case their expertise was needed, or specific information...or a cold drink.
Thankfully none of them were in right now, so they didn't see the Councillors reactions to the Spectre's report.
Tevos felt her mouth had dropped pen. She first threw a look at Valern, who wasn't even bothering to hide the expression of fury on his face. Then to Sparatus, who was refusing to meet her gaze and instead affected an aura of studied serenity.
That told her all she need to know.
She gifted the asari Spectre her widest, most cheerful smile and the Spectre cringed in alarm at the sight.
"Would you excuse us for a moment, please?" The Spectre bowed jerkily, without taking her eyes of Tevos' face and promptly fled the chambers. As soon as the door closed Tevos turned on Sparatus.
"WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THIS?!" she barked, tempted to use her biotics for emphasis.
Sparatus, to his credit, didn't even flinch. He merely turned his had to meat her glare head on.
"I may have been informed that a turian patrol flotilla had engaged an alien fleet illegally opening a Mass Relay."
It had been a long time since Tevos had been truly surprised, but now the incredulity almost made her dizzy "You *knew*? And didn't inform us? And what do you mean *illegally*? They can't break a law they don't FUCKING KNOW!"
Sparatus frowned at her "Calm down, Tevos. You can not fault Turians that merely try to uphold..."
"There are laws to prevent this sort of thing Sparatus" Valern interrupted, voice cold with controlled fury "Laws your people have broken. Our laws. And in case you missed that part of the report: your people lost." Sparatus straightened his posture.
"A lucky win" Tevos fought the urge to punch him. Valern stepped in front of the turian councillor, eyeing him.
"Perhaps. But luck alone can not bridge a technology gap. These aliens matched our ships" The salarian eyed the turian for a moment "What is the name of the patrol commander?" he abruptly asked. Tevos wanted to open her mouth to know why this mattered, but something about Sparatus face made her pause. She raised her omnitool and entered a query.
"Flotilla 2547, correct?" Valern nodded. It took a few seconds to return the answer
"Captain Aselus Endyrion" She raised her eyes to glare a the other Councillor some more
"A cousin, maybe?"
Sparatus Endyrion deflated "A cousin's nephew" he admitted with an aura of defeat. Tevos threw her hands up and then walked to her chair to let herself fall in it, all her usual grace and poise forgotten.
"Goddess. Thanks Sparatus. Now we have an unknown species, possibly technologically our match, on the WARPATH!" Sparatus had the decency to look sheepish. Valern was busy typing on his omnitool.
"No references in STG database to "Tran-su-man-ity". Voice analysis inconclusive. Most likely synthetically generated" Sparatus snorted.
"Of course it is. It spoke perfect Thessian. No doubt lifted from our ships databases" Tevos shook her head.
"Aren't those encrypted?" The Turian shrugged.
"There are public entertainment caches, including language learning VIs that are only lightly secured. Simple biometrics taken from one of the soldiers would have opened them" Valern looked sharply at him
"What if they cracked main encryption?" Sparatus stiffened.
"Then we may have a problem" He admitted slowly, after a second.
"They were a patrol flotilla, they had hardly every military secret of the Citadel stored in their computers, but general information. And..."
"And you can surmise and extrapolate much even from that" Valern concluded, voice cold again. Sparatus grew defensive.
"They had no way of knowing or assuming they would loose that fight!"
"Which is one of the main reason those laws exist" Tevos growled from her chair. Sparatus took a calming breath
"Be that as it may, the damage is done. We should focus on repairing it"
The salarian Councillor pulled a grimaced but then nodded
"Agreed"
"But do not think this is over" Tevos promised darkly. Sparatus was smart enough to not say anything to that Valern asked the typical salarian question.
"What do we know? We know they defeated our fleet, indicating technological advancement and perhaps, a warlike aspect" Tevos stood up again. Sparatus frowned.
"They open Mass Relays, so they are expansionist." The Asari almost rolled her eyes. Paranoia was an unattractive trait in politicians.
"They also offered peace talks, in case you overlooked that" Valern shook his head.
"No mention of peace. Merely negotiations" Sparatus nodded.
"They might be isolationist. Xenophobic" Tevos threw him a Look.
"Excuse me if I consider you biased in that analysis." Sparatus clicked his mandibles close in anger.
"Whatever the outcome may be, we must at least take the chance" She declared "We have a chance to turn this into a successful first contact. We must take it." Valern sighed. A curiously universal gesture among species. Even the Hanar did it, in a way.
"Agreed. Must seize opportunity to gather more information"
"The Primarch..." Sparatus began before Tevos interrupted him.
"Is not part of this decision. They explicitly threatened war with all of us, that makes it a Council decision" Sparatus grimaced. The Primarch would be very unhappy But he couldn't afford to fight the other two right now.
"Fine" he gave in "Who do we sent?"
"As much as I'm tempted to go..." Tevos begun.
"No" Sparatus said immediately, followed by Valerns "Impossible"
"We can not risk a councillor" Sparatus barked.
"Agreed. You know to much, Tevos" Valern supported him. Tevos grinned at the Salarian
"Your concern for me is heart warming, Valern." The Salarian winked cheekily at her.
"But as I was going to say we can not risk it until we know more. But I have the perfect candidate. She is currently on the Citadel and I know for a fact that she has no pressing commitments for the next week or so. Perfect for a little discreet council work" Valern eyed her curiously.
"Who do you have in mind?"
"Benezia"
Last edited: Aug 2, 2017
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#27
Tea
Benezia silently regarded her counterpart.
Tevos reached for her cup to take a sip of tea.
"You are not joking" Benezia said finally. Somehow, she made even that profane statement sound deep and meaningful. Tevos nodded, hiding her quick flash of irritation. She didn't exactly dislike the other Matriarch, but her endless composed patience could be almost condescending.
"The Turians, pardon my Illium, parked the hovercar in the varren shit..." Benezia grimaced at the profanity "...and we have to pull it out again. I won't lie to you, we are sending you in blind. But this could be our best bet of avoiding a war." Benezia nodded regally. Despite Tevos...colourful description, she had to agree. She didn't doubt for a moment the Citadel would win in such a conflict, but the destruction of a turian fleet, even a small one, by a singular, unknown species? Worrisome. And wasteful. What treasures of knowledge or insight could be lost if this new species wasn't brought into the fold. These...
"Transsummanitti, was it?" she inquired . Tevos waved her hand in a little bow. A gesture that meant agreement.
"We know nothing about them and that includes Citadel and STG archives. The frigate we recovered was clean, all data from after in system transition deleted. There was no DNA or other biological substances...including form the original crew"
Both Asari grimaced slightly at that, only to aware what it could mean.
"Possible battle damage had been repaired with on board parts. And to such a perfect degree that our teams aren't sure if there ever was any. Otherwise the ship was empty, any movable parts gone" Benezia sighed.
"Wonderful. They kept samples of our technology. They have the crew and the data from those ships. And they have a firm enough grasp of our politics they demanded contact with the Citadel using Thessian. Not Palavan, despite having encountered Turians. Furthermore, they were smart enough not to demand to speak to Councillors directly, knowing that wouldn't be possible." Tevos raised a hand.
"Our linguists are fighting over their grasp of Thessian. The voice we heard was synthetic. It's likely they used some sort of VI construct." Benezia made a straight line in the air with one hand. A denying gesture.
"Or their grasp of alien languages is perfect but they lack the vocal apparatus to speak like us. Tevos, we are dancing blind" The Councillor smiled ruefully.
"You don't have to tell me that, trust me. Valern keeps reminding me constantly" Benezia was silent for a moment.
"Who will I take with me?" Tevos didn't let her relief show
"Whoever you want. The Citadels best First Contact specialists are standing by. Specters, STG, even a dreadnaught, if you want one" The other Matriarch eyed her for moment.
"You are worried" Tevos sighed.
"Matriarch, these are unkowns. Remember, the Rachni where at first dismissed as well" Benezia closed her eyes in thought for a moment. Tevos used the pause for more tea.
"Not a dreadnought, I think" The black clad Matriatch finally said "An Asari ECM frigate should suffice perfectly. Their signal analysis systems will come in handy." Tevos nodded, a logical choice. A dreadnought was a threat. Or, alternatively, not a threat which was even worse, but would also make the Citadel look weak. Unacceptable.
"What Spectres are available?"
"Vasir, Horuk Rhan, Tabanak, Mos'Resin, Arem Tonos..." Benezia shook her head.
"I know to little about them, I cannot judge this. Choose one whom you trust to keep their cool head, please" Tevos nodded and made a few notes on her Omni-tool.
"Furthermore, a full cadre of STG analysts, a volus representative...and a high ranking Turian to apologise" The Councillor cleared her throat.
"Perhaps seeing a Turian so soon after..." Her counterparts' look made her stop.
"The Citadel is planning to take responsibility for this incident, isn't it?" Tevos sighed. Unfortunately, Benezia would need to understand the situation at home to effectively negotiate.
"Sparatus is blocking it. His family is involved and you know turian clan loyalty. "You brought shame to your house" and all that. Aselus distant relation to Sparatus is a massive political embarrassment. They tried to fix the issue quietly, either diplomatically or, knowing the Turians, using warships. But now that the secret is out, they are trying to prevent backlash by making it seem like a single, loony officer lost it. And that means no official recognition of the mistake. After all, the Republics don't apologise for crazed Asari either, right?"
Benezia nodded again but her eyes had a decidedly unfriendly glint now.
"Valern doesn't care either way, he wants more information to base his decisions on. And I wouldn't hesitate to let these turian assholes get eaten if it meant securing the Citadel" Benezia pursed her lips.
"Perhaps we have not go quite that far, but a turian apology will be essential, sooner or later" Tevos shook her head.
"I'm sorry, Benezia. Sparatus blocks and the Primarch agrees. If we have to accept responsibility, it will solely land on the flotilla's soldiers heads" The other Matriarch did not look happy.
"Most of these Turians probably didn't even know what was happening. No one asked them" Now it was the Councillor's turn to look unimpressed.
"And you are more than old enough to know how the game is played. If you have to sacrifice the soldiers to broker a peace, do it. That is a Citadel order" Benezias eyes flashed but Tevos did not back down. Finally the black clad Matriarch nodded.
"Very well. I will better begin preparations immediately" Tevos leaned back with a sigh.
"Agreed. Your Envoy status will be approved immediately and security details resolved. You have nine days, than you must leave to reach them in time for the deadline. And Benezia...thank you"
The newly minted official Citadel Envoy nodded at her and left the room.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Aug 8, 2017
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#32
Meeting the neighbours
Benezia sat cross-legged in her quarters, observing the visual spectacle of the Mass Effect FTL effect outside. She was supposed to be meditating, to gains strength and prepare for the coming mission, but found herself lost in thought.
This wasn't the first time she was playing diplomat for the Citadel, far from it. And many missions had involved unknowns and even mortal danger. But usually her information consisted of a bit more than "We shot at them, now they are angry".
She sighed. Benezia didn't curse, as a rule, but sometimes she thought it would have been nice to throw a few choice words at the turian Councillor. They could be a very...stubborn people. At least her leeway when it came to negotiating was comprehensive. According to her clearance, she would technically be allowed to barter away entire solar systems.
Not that the Citadel would be very happy about such an outcome, but Benezia was absolutely ready to use this option, if it became necessary.
She allowed herself a sigh. If nothing else, the coming days would certainly be...interesting. Behind her the door chimed.
"Open" she ordered the VI. Without turning around she knew it was one of her Commandos that entered.
"Honored teacher" the Maiden begun "We are approaching Relay 309 and will arrive at the Ikai system in approximately one hour. 20 minutes after that, we will reach Relay 312" Benezia didn't move.
"Thank you, Hesinde. My guard and I will meet here after our jump into the Ikai system." The maiden bowed
"Yes, honored teacher"
The Ikai system garrison, originally nothing more than a token force, had been expanded considerably. Only a handfull of frigates and cruisers were stationed here normally, and even that only because the system contained several connecting Mass Relays and was therefore strategically important. Otherwise there wasn't much of interest here.
Now however, a full turian task force, an ssari scouting force and several salarian reconnasense frigates were all clustered around the Relay. A bit further off, they had even begun construction of a pre-farbricated space station. Heavily armed, no doubt.
The haste and scope of the force build up was a sing how serious the Council took this potential new threat. It certainly impressed Matron Hanoris, Captain of the ECM frigate Acaleam.
The door in her back opened and Matriarch Benezia and her entourage entered. Asari, Salarians, a Volus...notably, no Turians. Hanoris turned to bow at her VIP.
She hadn't been to happy when she had been ordered to transport a politician, but when she had been fully briefed in the situation her grudging acceptance had turned into genuine respect. She was a warship captain and therefore used to the idea of low odds. But a diplomat that tried to prevent a war all by herself? That deserved her respect.
"Envoy Benezia, welcome to the bridge of the Acaleam" The Matriarch returned her nod regally and let her gaze sweep over the bridge.
Unlike the usual half circle or 3 quarter circle of asari bridges, the ECM frigate had a fully circular room with several lowered sections in the back. While the front of the bridge was filled with the usual sations necessary for ship operations, the entire back of it was dedicated signal intelligence and cyber warfare.
On this flight, her usual analyst crew had been supplemented by a salarian STG complement, so now all stations on the bridge were in use. The Salarians themselves were not unusual. Unlike many other warships in Citadel space, this was a Citadel defence fleet ship and that meant it's crew was multi species. But this was the first time Hanoris had seen STG and known they were STG and her feelings were rather mixed about having them on the bridge. Not that anyone had asked her.
Benezia finished her inspection and gifted the Captain a thin smile.
"An efficient, clean ship you have here, Captain"
"Thank you ma'am" Hanoris answered crisply, not showing her joy over the praise.
"We will all do our best"
"So will I, Captain" The matriarch said almost absently. More forcefully she continued.
"The deadline will be reached in twelve hours. Please assume a parking position facing the Relay, with double the usual security distance for expected arrivals. And hail the local garrison commander, I must coordinate with him"
12 hours later the Acaleam had assumed position facing towards the Relay. Weapons and shields on standby, but not active. The guard forces had assumed a half shell position in a respectable 100 kilometers distance. The flagships of the asari, turian and salarian contingents had assumed a sort of honor guard position behind the Acaleam, even though the turian commander had protested vehemently against that positioning, arguing it would put the command ships to close together and ruin their firing arcs.
He was an older turian, at the end of his career and had been given this guard position to expect honorable retirement and train the rookie turians send his way. Now, unexpectedly, his command had tripled in size, included multiple species and was at potentially the first front against an alien attack. Given all that he was handling it surprisingly well and if everything went without problems, it would certainly mean a last minute promotion coming his way before retirement.
Bnezia had found him to be refreshingly unimpressed by her credentials, without ever being disrespectful. In the end however, she had overruled him. Presenting a united but non-threatening front could be vital in the negotiations and certainly more important then optimal firing arcs for all ships.
Now they were waiting,
It had been entirely unclear how precise the aliens demand of two weeks time was, so the Citadel had decided to take it literally. If any affront was taken in any way, they could honestly claim to had wanted to make sure to be on time. Turns out "precise" was exactly what Transsummanitti had in mind. 2 minutes before the allotted time the Turian manning the ships regular sensors called out.
"Relay activating!"
Benezia carefully straightened her pose as the tension in the room rose. Showtime.
Outside the main viewscreen, the massive, prothean artifact glowed brighter and brighter as it's core spun up, preparing to receive an incoming vessel. And then, with the typical shocking abruptness, it was there.
"Goddess" someone gasped out and Benezia had to agree.
Massive. Sharp angles as well as flowing lines, seemingly simple and intricately complex at the same time. It's hull flowed from an organic, bright green all the way into black. It was beautiful. Alien and menacing. And huge.
The first measurements appeared on the screen. 1,2 kilometers, bow to stern. Due to it's configuration, roughly a third of the Destiny Ascension's volume. If the frigates had tried to go up against that then there loss was far less surprising. The term suicidal would come to mind.
It was a bad sign. The aliens had chosen to send a warship.
Subdued murmurs rose in the room and Benezia could see the tension lines in the captains back and shoulders. She could only to well understand why. The only defence their tiny frigate could hope for againdt this monster was the frigates ECM capacities. Which seemed rather thin in the face of the alien ship.
Beside her she could here the volus representative's respirator click rapidly on and off as he struggled to get breath.
"Hail them, Captain" Benezia ordered, loud enough to be heard everywhere on the bridge, focusing to project as much calm and serenity as she could muster. The noises died down somewhat and most people refocused on their tasks. The captain relaxed.
"Yes, ma'am" and put the necessary commands in herself. Benezia took several steps forward.
"Alien vessel. This is the Citadel Envoy Benezia T'Soni. I was sent in the hopes of prosperity and peace between our people. We wish to meet with you and negotiate. How do you wish to proceed?"
For a moment there was no answer. Tense seconds ticked by as Benezia and with her the entire garrison fleet waited. Then the alien ship began to move. Notably, there was no identifiable drive plume. But it was moving. Towards them.
"Matriarch?" Hanoris pressed out, vibrating with tension again. The massive ship was dwarfing her own command and was heading straight for them.
"Countenance, Captain. It would make little sense to ask us to negotiate only to ram us then"
"Course projection!" One of the Salarians behind them called out.
"At current course the alien dreadnought will miss the Acaleam by..." a pause "...12 meters, gods above"
In absolute silence the bridge crew watched as the artificial mountain moved towards them. It was curving slightly while also twisting relative towards them in an absurdly nimble maneuver. Benezia needed something to break the tension in the fleet. To distract them. And herself, if she was being honest.
"What can your scans tell us?" she asked. Behind her hectic activity broke out.
"Greatest length, 1, 211 kilometers" a salarian analyst called out "Greatest width, 436 meters, greatest height 321. We are measuring a Mass Effect core signature but the readings are...highly irregular. No theories as to why yet, Matriarch."
"Hull composition is complex" someone else called out "Our scans only penetrate a few centimeters. We are reading metals and complex plastic components but...part of it also reads as...organic"
"Organic" Hanoris repeated, stunned and turned wide eyed toward the screen and the approaching vessel.
Highly advanced material designs. More troubling news.
By now almost one third of the alien ship's bow had passed and it was slowing down, decelerating. It came to a stop a few seconds later.
"We are detecting something like a port" the viewscreen changed to show a close up of the alien hull, with something that could be considered a docking system of sorts. It was hard to distinguish it's lines from the surrounding hull.
"It is directly opposite our dorsal starboard docking port"
Benezia turned towards the door.
"Gentlemen and ladies. Let's proceed"
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Aug 11, 2017
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#38
First Contact Mark II, Welcome aboard
They had assembled outside the docking port. Benezia, two of her Commandos as well as one of the salarian analysts and the volus representative, inside the actual airlock. There was simply not room for more. As soon as everyone had taken up position, the Matriarch contacted the alien vessel again.
"We are ready to proceed"
They didn't have to wait long.
"Activity on the alien ship!" an agitated voice called out.
"Matriarch Benezia, observe this" a tense Hanoris said over intercom. A screen powered up in the wall of the airlock, showing the nervous team a view of the alien vessels exterior.
The hull was melting. Ripples run through it, twisting and conforming it. Strands of it raised away from the ship...towards them.
"Goddess above" one of the Commandos muttered but Benezia would not reprimand her for the breach of protocol. She could understand her only to well. An entire section oft he alien hull seemed to have come alive, shifting, moving, reaching for the Acaleam, reminding her of nothing so much as the tentacles of some horrific beast, ready to devour the smaller ship.
They all heart the soft thumps with which the...feelers made contact. Somewhere behind the Asari the Volus was close to hyperventilating, a dangerous condition while one was in an encounter suit.
A camera on the bulkhead's outer wall showed what happened next. The strands flowed out, forming a hollow tube. The interior continued to articulate itself, forming a floor and walls. Soft light illuminated the interior form seemingly nowhere. Then there was the hiss of entering atmosphere.
"Analysing air" a salarian voice said over intercom "100% Thessian standard. No cont..."
"We are receiving communication!" another voice shouted over him. Next, Benezia heard a beautiful, flawless asari voice. Deep and sensual, with an almost erotic lilt to it.
"Envoy Benezia. You will proceed alone to be scanned. Should the scans be satisfactory, your companions may follow."
"Teacher..." One of the Commands began to protest, but the Matriarch stopped her with a raised hand.
"Refusal to submit to testing will end our contact" The voice fell silent.
And what a voice it had been. A voice that pornstars and politicians would have killed for. Benezia registered it with worry. Creating a tailor made voice like that so perfectly indicated a deep understanding of asari psychology. To her knowledge, there had been no Asari on board the turian scouting flotilla.
"I will go alone, my student. Do not fear" The Commando was clearly unhappy, but to well trained to contradict her in public.
Benezia steeled her will and hit the button to open the airlock.
The air that hit her had the perfect smell of a fresh summer morning on Thessias beaches. Despite the friendly lit interior of the passage, the knowledge of what these walls could do couldn't be ignored.
Benezia didn't show any of that and strode forward with poise and grace, refusing to be hurried. She noted the oddly muffled sounds around her. The memory material obviously swallowed noise.
On the other side, the portal opened for her. She wasn't surprised to see it flowing into the wall, instead of merely retreating. Stepping through she also noted the thickness of the outer shell. The "airlock" was no weakness in the alien vessel's defence.
The room she stepped into was of a friendly, inoffensive brown/green tone, with indirect illumination. It also had no exit. Or, she corrected herself, none existed yet. If the entire interior of the alien ship could be formed and reshaped like this...Goddess, what utility. The defence applications against boarders alone...
Behind her the door closed. The Matriarch refused to be cowed. Then the room changed. Both ceiling and floor...flowered open, she had no other word for it. Appendages that were clearly more mechanical then the wall material, but had still something insectoid rose and lowered.
Again Benezia refused to show emotions, but it was considerably harder this time. The voice returned.
"Matriarch Benezia. No harm will come to you. The analysis should cause no pain. Please remove your hat to allow fro precise scanning" The Matriarch blinked a little at that but removed her head piece.
"Thank you. Please hold out your hand" The Asari raised her right hand and a flexible little probe, like a metal tentacle, touched it's back. Benezia felt a tiny amount of pressure, nothing more.
"Thank you. Please hold still for the scan" A complex piece of machinery unfolded and lowered towards her head. It almost enfolded her crest, but did not touch her skin. Benezia stood still for several seconds.
She felt...nothing.
Finally the device retracted smoothly and she was left alone. No, not alone. There was...a whisper? Something brushed her mind...
"Thank you, Envoy. Please stand by" Patiently Benezia waited, thoughts racing. What had that been? What were the aliens trying to discover? She put her hat back into place and waited. 5 minutes later the voice returned.
"Thank you for your time, Matriarch. Your group may join you now"
Behind her the doorway opened again, at the same time as another exit formed in front of her.
Her Commandos were the first to rush through the passage
"Teacher! Are you unharmed?"
"I am well, students. Thank you for your concern" The salarian analyst was scanning with his Omni-Tool.
"No alterations or foreign substances detectable" he declared.
"What -ssh- was all this about?" The Volus demanded, clearly nervous.
Benezia turned towards the new passageway.
"We shall find out"
Next part comes tomorrow!
Last edited: Aug 11, 2017
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Aug 12, 2017
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#47
First Contact Mark II, Introductions
The corridor was surprisingly short. Benezia had half expected a kilometer long march past ominous machinery. It's slight curve prevented them from seeing ahead, however. It's end opened into a wide, open room that was mostly empty. Organic looking decorations adorned the walls and there was more of the gentle, indirect illumination.
Non threatening. Calming. Simple psychology.
And in the middle of the room...Benezia came to a stop. She had expected many things, but what she saw still surprised her. In front of her was a group of seven beings.
The one on the left end looked almost asari, shockingly so, except for the wrong skin colour and strange fur on the head.
Next to...her?...was another asaroid but larger and more slender and...was that a tail?
Then came something that could be a brown, fat Hanar. With visible eyes, however.
The middle figure was the most imposing. It looked like smooth, ancient armour in a green-blue colour, faceless, elegant and mysterious.
The figure next to it...looked robotic, much to her unease.
This was followed by something that looked like a big, thessian bird and finally, a big, hulking brute of an asaroid, again with strange fur.
All of the organic looking ones spotted implants, and even entire artificial limbs. The robotic looking one on the other hand, shifted it's position with an ease and elegance that seemed entirely organic. What was this? A race of cyborgs?
The two groups stopped and regarded each other silently.
Benezias thoughts raced. A multi species grouping? More advanced than the Citadel? That could be a serious threat. And they obviously made extensive use of cybernetic technology. Perhaps not surprising given the semi-organic ship. But this was a serious problem. Alien mindsets were hard enough to decipher. But when cybernetics came into play? Or maybe even...artificial intelligence?
Benezia had never been a proponent of the radical anti AI factions in the Citadel. In fact, she had been among many who had protested the Citadels effective genocide of it's own AIs. But she could recognise the sheer otherness that machine thought could take.
Oh yes, this mission was shaping up to be more then even she had expected. Thank you very much, Tevos.
It became clear that the aliens were waiting for her to make the first move. Or maybe they were just giving her time to get used to them. They did have extensive files on the Citadel, after all. She took another small step forward.
"Greetings. I am Envoy Benezia T'Soni, send here to negotiate peaceful relations between our people and to rectify the turian commanders...mistake in judgement"
Their had been long discussions over wether or not the incident should be mentioned at all, but she had decided to address the issue right away. Trying to pretend it didn't happen would likely fool no one and may even be seen as in insult.
She had addressed the armoured figure in the middle, speculating it to be the leader or spokesperson. Now that figure stepped forward as well, mimicking her actions.
"His "mistake in judgement" was an illegal act of war, Matriarch. By both our laws, your laws, as well as common sense. We will not downplay this incident"
It was the same perfect asari voice she had heard before and it was rather unbalancing to hear it coming from something that looked like futuristic, ancient armour without a mouth. Then it looked to her side.
"And tell the Salarian his "discreet" active scans are not welcome"
She shot a sharp look to her side. The First Contact specialist slowly raised his hands, and then demonstratively pushed a few buttons on his Omni-Tool.
"Better" the...metal?...figure said, satisfied.
Wonderful, just wonderful. They were really of to a good start here. Thank you so very much, Tevos
Benezia raised her empty hands in a gesture she hoped would be understood.
"It is obvious there is much tension here. But be assured that we mean to come to a peaceful resolution. Perhaps we should begin with introductions?"
The figure regarded her silently. At least she thought it did. Not having a face was a surprisingly effective advantage in diplomacy. Finally it nodded.
"Very well. Begin" Benezia stepped to the side to better introduce her companions.
"My trusted students and companions, Harla Vadan and Ethitia La'uni. Asari, like me" Her commandos both bowed in perfect form.
"The curious gentleman is Tolun Manos, a First Contact specialists. His race is Salarian" The man in question bowed even deeper than the Asari to make up for his faux pas. "Greetings"
She pointed at the Volus.
"Sharun Holk, Doctor of Economy. A Volus"
"Greetings" the small figure said, with a friendly wave. Benezia stepped back in front of them.
"And I am Matriarch Benezia T'soni, fully empowered Ambassador of the Citadel. We would be honored to hear your names."
Her opponents were eyeing them, faces unmoving. The armoured figure again mirrored her actions and now introduced it's companions.
"Tessa Samal, Xenobiology and Gene-integration specialist, First branch of Transumanity" The figure on the left nodded a greeting.
"Har'lam'a'ana, Memetic specialist" The tall, slender figure swished his tail and nodded.
"First branch of Transhumanity"
"Professor..." the figure didn't say anything but instead projected a complex hologram over its hand. The brown tentacled creature didn't say anything either, but instead it's skin changed in a complex pattern of dazzling hues.
"Psychosurgeon and Mental architect. Third branch of Transhumanity" The armour pointed at the robotic like being.
"Pactrap. Security" The metal face shifted into something that was definitely a grin and not a friendly one.
"Second branch of Transhumanity" It pointed toward the bird like thing...and let out a serious of whistles
"...xenotechnology and exploration specialist. Third branch of Transhumanity" The bird creature hopped and bowed.
"Thomas Richter. Philosopher" The hulking figure inclined it's...his?...head regally.
"Fourth branch of Transhumanity" The armoured figure stepped back into place.
"And you may call me Keystone, first branch of Transhumanity. I speak for the Virtuality of this ship, the Systems Alliance Warship Agree To Disagree. Welcome on board"
To many questions rose in Benezia at once but...
"I apologise. What did you say the name of the ship was?" This caused the first emotional reaction she had seen from the alien group. Those with faces laughed or grinned and the brown being waved it's tentacles in evident amusement. As the green figure spoke it was in amusement as well, but it's voice had also changed. It sounded...deeper. More turian...masculine?
"This is the proud Alliance Warship Agree To Disagree" Benezia inclined her head with her own smile, feeling it safe to do so.
"I meant not disrespect"
"None taken"
"We heard many new identifiers and descriptions we do not understand. Would it be acceptable to ask questions now?" Her counterpart agreed.
"First: we expected to meet a singular species. We are surprised to see this is not the case. Do you speak for all of your races?" It was the tailed asaroid who answered. In perfect Thessian. Harlam something?
"Yes and no. What you see in front of you are different species, in a way, but we all hail from the same planet of origin." Benezia didn't hide her surprise.
"Uplifting. Fascinating" The Salarian, Manos said.
"Among other things, yes" The tailed asaroid agreed.
"We represent a grouping of many diverse lifeforms"
"And the uplifts are equal partners?" Benezia asked, fascinated. The bird creature turned to her.
"Should we not be?" It asked in mocking amusement. The Matriarch bowed to it.
"In Citadel space, it is custom that the younger learn from the older. What goes for individuals also is common for races" She explained smoothly, hoping she hadn't insulted too much. It was the big figure, To-maas, who spoke next.
"Age means very little to us, Matriarch. It is of no concern" He, she was confident it was a he, explained in a deep, sonorous voice. Benezia needed a moment to absorb the potential meaning of that statement. It was Sharun Holk, the volus, who asked the question.
"Are you saying you are immortal?" he said hesitantly. The armoured figure nodded.
"Yes. Age does not kill us" The Citadel representatives had to process this first.
"What about injuries?" Tolun Manos asked, finally. The robot like being stepped forward.
"Looking for weaknesses, STG agent?" Its voice was seemingly friendly, but had a sharp edge to it. Before Benezia could apologise, again, Keystone spoke.
"If our bodies, or morphs as they are known, are to damaged, we simply switch to a new one. If even that is impossible, we can be restored from saved backups." Again there was shocked silence, as the Transhumanities looked on. Benezia took a deep breath.
"You exist in virtual form" she surmised. Keystone nodded.
"Correct. These bodies you see here are temporary and can be exchanged for different ones, if we so wish." Benezia hesitated. She tried to adapt to the rapidly changing situation.
"Your origins are organic?" Keystone confirmed. "But not all of you are" It was the obvious conclusion. Sparatus, what thresher maw nest have you poked here?
The robot, and yes, it was a robot, turned to her.
"Is that a problem?" It asked, tauntingly. The two Commandos and the STG agent tensed where they stood while the Volus, fearfully breathing fast, begun to retreat backwards.
This was it. This was the critical point. Benezia forced herself to relax. She met the gaze of the machine head on, regaining her calm demeanour.
"For me, personally? No. Life is life" The robot hesitated for a second, then gave a short, mock bow and stepped back.
"Good answer, Matriarch" Keystone said, sounding satisfied "Very good answer. Perhaps there is hope for cooperation between us"
The Envoy relaxed somewhat.
"Not all of the Citadel see it that way" she warned, not wanting any miscommunication. Keystone's answer was decidedly cool.
"Trust me, Ambassador, we are acutely aware of that fact. Do you have any other questions?" Benezia made an affirmative gesture.
"What do the various branches you mentioned represent?"
"They denote the origin of the various minds you see in front of you" It raised an impossibly asaroid hand, balled into a fist. It spread it's thumb.
"First branch. Homo Sapiens. The first race of our world, Gaia, that achieved sentience through conventional evolution" Second finger.
"Second branch. Artificial intelligences that achieved sapience. They are, for the most part, equal members in our polities" Next finger.
"Third branch. Uplifted animals. They are equal citizens and free to switch bodies like the rest of us" Fourth finger.
"Fourth branch. Resurrected species, animals and former human races, that have been brought back to existence and uplifted" Final digit.
"Fifth branch. For all alien minds that choose to join us" Keystone lowered it's hand.
Benezia thought about this. What a weird way to solve problems of integration. You simply redefined what it meant to be part of the species. It seemed to be very much a mathematician's answer.
"Your culture is certainly fascinating. I would very much enjoy to learn more about it. Would a visit to one of your systems be possible?"
"Perhaps." Keystone answered seriously.
"If we manage to resolve the current issue" The mood in the room sobered considerably.
"My leaders are most interested in resolving the...unfortunate incident wit the turian fleet diplomatically. They, and I, wish for peace"
"The turian attack on us was unprovoked and unlawful " Keystone reiterated, "Many of our citizens demand an acknowledgement of that guilt" Benezia did very much not think told you so.
"My leaders are of the view that the turian commander in charge overreacted and badly misinterpreted the situation. The fault with the incident lies with him"
"Officially, anyway" Tessa Samal, the humanity on the left said quietly, but loud enough to be heard.
"Officially" Benezia agreed, sensing that honesty might win her a few points here.
"We are prepared to pay extensive reparations, as well as publicly apologise to all next of kin of the victims" Keystone tilted it's head.
"Do not worry about that last part. There were no injured or killed" The Matriarch did not care much for the implications of this. If it was true, Tanshumanity's military capacity was worrisome indeed. The robot continued.
"What about the Captain? Aselus Endyrion?" Benezia took a deep breath.
"He will be tried in a Citadel court for his crimes" She had to try.
Keystone froze. As did it's companions. She had the distinct impression they were communicating silently.
"We agree to the return of Aselus as well as all captured Turin soldiers." the armoured figure said, not sounding very happy about it. The Matriarch did not try to hide her surprise.
"We thank you for your generosity. May I ask why you don't insist on trying him yourself?"
"Their sentencing will teach us a lot about the Citadel" Came the neutral sounding response and Benezia kept her face carefully blank.
"As for reparations: we will dictate our terms at a later date" Sharun Holk hurried forward.
"I'm sure we could negotiate..."
"Yes" Keystone interrupted, faceplate towards the Volus "I'm sure we could" It wasn't even said in an unfriendly way, but the Volus made no effort to speak up again.
No one else did, either.
Finally Benezia stepped forward to draw attention back to her.
"We thank your for meeting us and choosing peace over war" She said, formally "We hope that our further relations will be prosperous and beneficial to both" Keystone gave her a regal nod and the other Transhumanity members followed it's example.
"I'm sure our future negotiations will be fruitful. We will transmit details of the prisoner transfer shortly" Her Omni-tool beeped "A précis on human society. I am sure it will be helpful. Until next time, Ambassador. Mr. Hol, Mr. Manos, Ms. La'uni, Ms. Vadan"
The dismissal was clear.
The Citadel representatives bowed, turned and left the room. Despite their calm speed as they walked back to their ship, Benezia couldn't help but feel as if they were running away.
Last edited: Aug 12, 2017
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Reflections
As soon as they were safely back aboard the Acaleam, Benezia allowed herself to relax a little...only to be accosted by the rest of the teams frantic questions. The alien vessels hull had interrupted communications and those on the frigate were impatient to know what had happened. She managed to fend them of with reminding them they would have to go through decontamination first.
Benezia and the others were asked to disrobe, the clothes and especially the throwaway Omni-Tools they had used quarantined and they themselves carefully and painstakingly examined in the medical bay.
Even as she was checked over a quick message from the human ship came. The prisoner transfer could begin whenever the Citadel was ready. The message also contained a simple written agreement, not even really a contract, that basically said both sides would not shoot each other. For the moment.
Benezia countersigned it, send it back and fired of a short memo to the Citadel, nothing detailed, just to the effect of "war hasn't started yet, am optimistic". Then she retreated to her cabin.
She needed time to think.
She had given herself and her team two hours while their equipment was carefully checked. Afterwards they would meet in one of the secure debriefing rooms on board to discuss their sort of successful first meeting and their impressions of their new...acquaintances. Certainly not friends, but also nothing worse and Benezia allowed herself a moment of relief over that fact.
She was spending the two hours meditating in her cabin, trying to find the "Quite Focus" Asari mental disciplines favoured. But she was also wise and experienced enough to allow her mind to process, to stray to random thoughts. What was her general impression of this "Transhumanity"? Odd. Colourful. Wary and determined. Cybernetic.
The last one filled her with unease. She couldn't quite make out the source and that dissatisfied her.
Cybernetic implants were by no means uncommon in Citadel Space. Many enhanced themselves it this way. But they were usually...well, discreet about it. Transhumanity blatantly showcased how blurred the border between mechanic and organic was for them. Keystone it...himself?...had shown no real indicator wether it was organic or not, accept for the claim of being "First Branch". And it could be anything really.
They changed bodies like clothes...
Now that was truly something new in a species and disturbing to any race that instinctively favoured body integrity. Many species disliked the sight of blood or found detached body parts gruesome. A simple result of billions of years of evolution telling them that body integrity was important, that certain things had to be inside the body and everything else was bad.
For an entire species to disregard those instincts...
She knew that this alone would keep the sociologists and psychologists at home busy for decades or even longer. As soon as they were allowed to learn about this, that is.
And what had those strange scans been about? Whatever they had been looking for, they either found it or didn't find it, which apparently satisfied them, but no other of Benezia's companions had been similarly scanned.
There were possible explanations. Her Biotics, asari meld abilities or simply the astounding similarity between Asari and these humans...well, at least one kind of human. There hands had been all but identical. Incredible.
Of course there were certain parallels between species. The Amania Sequence for instance determined the proportions between finger segments of all species, it could even be found in Rachni.
But such similarity.
And such differences.
Her mood darkened as she remembered the robot.
A society that lived peacefully with AI. That would make many people, the Quarians at the fore, very unhappy. And technically, it could be argued that all of them were AI in some way. Uploaded minds. Pure code. A lot of people back home would argue that they had lost their souls. Were imitations of real life.
And even the less spiritual would balk.
There was a reason uploading was a forbidden technology in Citadel space. She had seen reports of some crazed people trying it, out in the Terminus. The bloodshed they caused with failed experiments. The few seemingly successful cases who had turned violently insane. Some argued it was a matter of time before they got it right. Many others disagreed.
And here was a species who treated it like a boring, everyday occurrence.
No, her mission was far from over. Peace with this new species would be very difficult.
Her wandering thoughts were interrupted by a message that the prisoner transfer had begun and that their throwaway Omni-tools and clothes appeared to be clean. To the STG experts' best knowledge, they had only be sent one piece of innocent information, with one notable exception.
Her teams passive recordings of the meeting had apparently been deemed acceptable. Manos active scans: not so much. On his way back tot he ship, a focused EMP had punched through his tools shielding and fused it. All data lost. At least in that respect Transhumanity wasn't ahead of the Citadel, she was assured. Citadel tech could do the same. Of course, this didn't mean that they would get their clothes or tools back.
Benezia asked, however, for copies of the recordings and the human information dossier to be copied and distributed to the team. The STG informed her they would recompile the data to destroy any potential steganographically hidden viruses and worm programs and then hand the information over. Benezia waited patiently until her private Omni-tool received the new information, then went over the data.
The précis turned out to be a rather bizarre piece of information. It talked in great detail about some things and glossed over other, rather important ones entirely. But what was there, was a brief history of Transhumanity.
And just like that, her mental equilibrium was gone again.
Transhumanitys history was a series of wars and near extinction level catastrophes.
The destruction of their homeworld through their wars.
The flight into space and development into a dozen different subcultures.
Attacks. Destruction, Countless small atrocities.
The bleak horror of intendured minds.
Some of it was in disturbing detail and she had to force herself three it.
The horrors of what "civilised" beings could do to each other was, unfortunately, nothing new to her. But Transhuman technology opened up entirely new kinds of nightmares.
Finally, there was a glimmer of hope: The discovery of the Mass Relay and the formation of the Systems Alliance. The relaxation and peace the new room to expand had brought.
On the Alliance itself the précis was suspiciously silent. It showcased some habitats that were part of it (Apparently semi independent? Perhaps like the City States on Thessia), detailing their different kinds of weirdness. She flipped some of the images around multiple times, but was still not sure what she was looking at.
What seemed to be the central theme so far, was freedom. Liberty in mind and body...and mental states...and skills. It was all subject to change. She couldn't even begin to imagine what that was like. Be an Asari at morning and a Krogan at dawn? Think like a Salarian and see the world through the eyes of a Volus? It was intriguing. Beyond intriguing for someone like her...no, for all Asari.
Exchange with that which was other was the bases of Asarikind. Transhumanity had found the logical extreme of that ideal: to literally become each other.
Still, the old adage about being careful what you wished for came to mind. Identity as something you could choose. Benezia found it worrisome. Alien. So...cursory.
Individuals themselves were transitory. And so, logically perhaps, was death.
Benezia disliked what she read about this casual attitude towards The End. There was something...perverse in seeing it as an annoyance. She felt this was evidence of a certain lack of respect for life itself, a disregard for it's solemn value.
But she reminded herself not to be hasty. These people build warships. They wouldn't defend themselves if death was that irrelevant to them.
Still, it was clear how different these people really were, on what fundamentally levels they saw the world differently. She wondered if it was even possible to find some sort of permanent understanding of them, considering how easily they could change themselves. And at least right now there were many aspects she had no hope of understanding at all.
For instance: their form of government was a total mystery. No doubt deliberate to obscure themselves from potential enemies. The Citadel definitely did not have their trust. Understandable, but troublesome. It made appraising their current negotiations next to impossible.
For how many people did the crew of the Agree to Disagree really speak?
Was building a rapport with them crucial?
Or would she negotiate with different people each time, perhaps with representatives of each state?
In that regard, the précis was next to useless. There were still some things to be learned here however: the various member states of the Alliance seemed as alien to each other as the Yahg were to Asari. Yet, they had found some sort of cohesion.
They strongly desired peace and it was even clear why: they had destroyed their own world and even afterwards unleashed weapons straight out of nightmares on one another. They clearly knew what modern warfare could mean for all parties involved and were striving to avoid it.
She chose to see that as good news.
As Benezia reflected on what she learned, an asari cruiser had docked on the other side of the human vessel. It was coloured a blinding white, it's sides adorned by a large, drop shaped symbol, the blue colour of asari blood. Aside from it's guardian array the cruiser was unarmed, even though it's furnace looked fully operational.
This was a Search and Rescue relief ship and medical cruiser of the Order of the Sisters of Athame, the premier NGO relief organisation in Citadel space.
This cruiser, the Solace, had been especially dispatched to accompany the Task Force in hopes of retrieving the prisoners. A contingent of turian soldiers had been brought aboard for this mission, to deal with the prisoners and offer a familiar environment.
Now, the ship had docked with the same disquieting mechanism as the Acaleam and the prisoner transfer had begun.
One by one the captured turians were stepping through the passageway.
The officer in charge of accepting the returned prisoners had sworn to himself to remain detached.
"Next"
He had done registrations like this before. Hostages, slaves or the victims of an accident.
The confused suffering had always been the same, the desperate questions for loved ones, the far away, traumatised look in their eyes…or worse, those that seemed entirely unaffected, with eyes that were dead and empty.
"Next"
The only way to do this was to remain detached, to not let the victims come near you, to feel nothing…and then get black out drunk afterwards.
"Next"
"Saren…Saren Arterius"
The officer looked up and despite himself his stomach clenched in sympathy. The voice had been young, way to young. In front of him was someone more boy than man, still a bit lanky, without any bulk. Eyes wide and frightened and lost. The officer looked down at his Omni-tool. There he was…Saren Arterius, 17 cycles old, spirits. A Junior Cadet, stuck on some boring patrol to gain some experience. Poor bastard.
The officer allowed his voice to become gentle.
"Listen, kid, you are safe now okay?"
"There were things" He was trembling. The officer slowly reached out, but never touched the boy. Never touch the victims without their explicit permission.
"I know" he said, as soothingly as possible "It's over now. Our psych officers are over there, okay? They will take good care of you. You are safe here" The officer watched the boy walk away, half curled together, his movements careful and skittish.
He managed to catch his superiors eyes and shot him a pleading look. The other turian immediately stepped closer.
"Take five, soldier" he ordered firmly and booted up his own Omni-tool
"Thank you sir" the officer murmured.
He left the processing area quickly and found himself a quite corner. Leaning against the wall he panted harshly while blinking away the tears.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Aug 20, 2017
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#76
Interrogations
Not everyone agreed with Benezia's positive outlook it seemed. Holk stormed into the secured room, before anyone else, waving his Omni-tool around
"Have you seen this? -ssh- These people are a menace! Monstrous!" Behind him Manos followed at a more sedate pace, a weird role reversal for Volus and Salarians. Benezia gazed disapprovingly at Holk.
"Please avoid such language, Doctor."
"Yes Doctor, calm down. They do not appear to be an immediate threat" Manos agreed. The Volus managed to look up at the Salarian in a way that made the glare behind the mask abundantly clear.
"Not a threat? -ssh- Their technology renders our production methods obsolete! -ssh- And their AI tech! Horrendous! The only thing -ssh- that we could even remotely sell to these people would be -ssh- culture and entertainment works!" The "First Contact specialist" had clearly not been thinking about economic threats and needed a moment to change tracks.
"Perhaps we can limit our trade to that then?" Holk made a snorting sound.
"Right, -ssh- we'll buy there tech with what? Panorama -ssh- shots of Sur'kesh?" The Salarian grinned sarcastically.
"Why? You think volus burlesque dancing would suit their tastes better?"
"Gentlemen" Benezia interrupted icily. They looked at her.
"In a few hours I must make my report to the Citadel. Please let us use this time in a calm, productive manner?" The other two looked chastised. Behind them the rest of the team began to filter in. The Matriarch waited patiently until everyone was seated.
"Gentlemen and ladies, I know that many of you are perhaps worried by what we have seen on the alien ship and in their information dossier. I know that many of you have...reservations regarding cybernetics and especially AI.
Nevertheless, this is the situation we find ourselves in. It will be our task to overcome our own preconceptions and prejudices to look at the situation clearly and, if possible, come up with an acceptable compromise, a cease fire at least, until the Citadel had time to formulate a more comprehensive long term strategy. The bases for this strategy will be very much our report.
So, gentlebeings, let us start. First impressions"
They began with Benezia, Holk and Manos recounting their experiences on the ship, interrupting and contradicting each other, filling in their own opinions on things the others had noticed. As the Matriarch had feared, the discussion quickly devolved into uncontrolled speculation from there.
The examination of Benezia, the hull technology, the five branches of Humanity, the seemingly reactionless drive, the historical documents. It all was being discussed, dissected and every phrase, every word was used as a basis for more speculation, building and feeding on each other. Any attempts to bring order back into the discussion was hopeless.
There was one point they were all coming back to however, over and over again: AI. Peaceful coexistence with AI.
It was a topic that caused almost superstition in the Citadel citizens around the table. They just couldn't imagine it. They could not grasp how it might look like, what the limits were. They had tried it themselves 300 years ago and failed spectacularly.
How can beings live like this? Side by side with AI? Hells, AI themselves, in a way. With minds that could switch between bodies like they did with clothes? To be brought back from the dead via back up?
True immortality.
It had always been considered one of the greatest trenches between organic and artificial. And these people had crossed it, removed it almost. And in the AI direction. What did that do to a society? How could they even begin to comprehend such a people?
After roughly two hours of this, Benezia saw how pointless it was. It had been meant as a brainstorming session, now, after the impressions were still fresh. But they had to little to go on, not enough reliable, hard data. She turned to one of the Commandos beside her.
"And you? What do you think? You have been very quite so far"
"Pardon me, Ambassador, -ssh- but I fail to see what a maiden student has to offer -ssh- to this discussion" Holk questioned, sounding rather condescending. The Volus' voice was even rougher then usual, having rather strained it these last few hours.
The "Commando" next to her turned to the smaller man. And gave up the charade. It was a remarkable transformation. The hesitant, innocent look on her face disappeared, replaced by cocky confidence. Her body language turned to relaxed and perfectly self assured. She smiled at the Volus, a lazy, dangerous smile.
"And what do you know, Doctor, about what a Spectre has to offer?" Holk froze where he said. Even the respirator stopped hissing. Manos returned her smiled.
"Wondered which one of you was the Spectre" The fake Commando gifted him with a nod, two professionals acknowledging each other.
"Well?" Benezia pushed softly. The Spectre narrowed her lips.
"These people could be a serious threat. In a thousand different ways. My recommendation will be: limited contact and continued information gathering, until we can properly assess that threat" Benezia looked pained.
"I do hope the Citadel is mature enough to meet an equal without having to retreat, first" The other Asari met her gaze head on.
"Matriarch, with all do respect, we met our potential equals once. The Geth. We tried peace. It did not end well" And there it was. The comparison they all had so carefully avoided until now.
Benezia could feel the mood shift in the room. What optimism there had been, fragile as it was, was gone. Now, more pessimistic opinions would prevail. She had hoped the Spectre could help bring structure back into the discussion. Instead, she had determined it's outcome.
Her Omni-tool flashed a message. The timing couldn't have been better. She was being informed that the first debriefings had been finished and that the recordings were now available to her.
Benezia rose from her seat, the others showing respect by following the example.
"I have just been informed that the debrief of the prisoners has begun. Thank you, gentlemen and ladies. We shall continue this should the situation change" She strode towards the exit, the Spectre falling in by her side as her "Commando" again. With each step the woman changed, until the young, eager, unsure Maiden was back in her place.
In a way, it was almost reassuringly normal.
First was Aselus Endyrion.
The man could only be described as broken. He wasn't even trying to sit correctly in his chair, but was slouching over. His eyes were on a table corner, not his opposite.
"Captain, we already have a full recount of the battle, corroborated by multiple survivors. However, there are certain...irregularities we require immediate answers to. During the medical exam, you reported a complete memory loss after your capture. Several of your crewmates report the same"
"Yes" Aselus said, sounding absent "Last thing I know was that a dart hit me."
"So no interrogation happened?" Aselus looked up at the other man, almost directly into the camera and Benezia shivered at the expression in those eyes.
"How the fuck would I know? Maybe I told them everything. Maybe they just didn't care. I don't remember" The spark of anger left as soon as it came and left him looking even more exhausted. He looked to the side. "How many...how many were lost?"
"I am not at liberty to disclose any information to you, Captain" The interrogator replied smoothly. Aselus apparently took that as confirmation of high losses because he shrunk even more in his seat.
"What is the most recent thing you remember?" Aselus was silent.
"Captain, please answer the question. What do you remember?" The other Turian took a deep breath.
"I woke up in a cell a few hours ago. A turian voice informed me I would be released to a medical ship shortly"
"Describe the cell"
"Big. Bigger than one of ours would have been. Soft light. Nice bed. There was food and water"
"Did you take any?" Aselus scoffed.
"No. I want nothing form these monsters"
"And then?"
"A while later, I don't know how long, the door opened to a hallway. Lights on the floor pulsed in one direction. Other Turians...my crew...those who survived..." The Captain buried his head in his hand. The interrogator waited patiently. Finally, Aselus got himself back together.
"We...we all walked together. At the end of it was a tunnel and on the other side, Turians waited. They scanned us as we passed and...I think they said something...I wasn't listening"
"Thank you, Captain. We will require a full battle report from you at a later date...if you can remember it, that is" Aselus didn't react to the taunt. The interrogator hesitated.
"Captain, do you have complains about your lodging or would you like to contact someone?" Aselus didn't react.
"Captain Endyrion, do you care at all about what will happen to you?"
"No"
Benezia paused the recording.
There was a tag for additional footage from the debriefing room as well as Aselus "lodgings", but Benezia ignored them for the moment. She stared at the frozen picture in thought.
No memories.
Possibly a sideeffect form Transhuman weapons? No. He woke up only hours before the prisoner transfer, they kept him sedated. They had been in control over his unconsciousness, that meant they could have woken him up to question him. That is, if he needed to be awake to be questioned.
Building brains and minds...
What could Transhumanity do with an alien mind? Could they really work that fast? Between Aselus secret message to the Primarch and Turian Councillor and the emergence of the lone, unmanned frigate from the Relay not even 30 hours had passed. Could anyone be that fast?
But they had AI
Benezia scrolled through the video options. They were ordered by rank, not time of recording, how typically turian. It explained why she was missing context to the interrogators questions.
She would have to find the first recording, listen to the battle description. It didn't interest her much, but it would be important for her report. She opened the very next in the list, the first officer, Tario Varkan.
In sharp contrast to his former Captain, Tario looked alert and well rested. He sat straight as an arrow in his chair, almost at attention.
"Commander Varkan, you reported to be have been treated well by the aliens. is that correct?"
"Yes sir. I was treated very well, considering the circumstances" Benezia paused. She opened the written attachments and comments. Hm. Varkan had officially protested his Captains actions and been put in the brig for it. How unusual. It put some things into a new light though. It might explain Transhumanitys leniency.
She mentally groaned as she saw that there was already an official reprimand "pending further investigation" in his file for "potential insubordination". Turians.
She made a mental not to propose an official commendation for this man and continued the recording.
"How would you describe your captors?" Tario hesitated fro a moment.
"Very angry sir. Pissed of like a BLEEP Varren. Rather understandably, sir" The last part had been said with a certain sharpness in voice and a flash of anger. The interrogator did not react. There was a moment of silence.
"Commander, did you share military secrets with the enemy?" The sharp question was meant to shock and surprise but Tario merely blinked.
"I didn't have to, sir. They knew everything. The content of our databases, private or otherwise, and even things that shouldn't have been in there. Like the codephrases the Captain and I had created." A linked comment overlay informed Benezia that Citadel fleets regularly build individual codephrases for things like hostage situations. It was a salarian idea that had paid of very well during the Krogan Rebellions.
"What did they ask you then?"
"Mostly they wanted me to confirm stuff. They asked wether our frigates were modern turian ships. I answered truthfully that they are about 12 years old but considered up to date by turian standards"
"And how did they react to that, Commander?" Tario thought for a second.
"I would say they...relaxed, sir"
"Why is that?" Varkan spread his mandibles wide for a moment, the Turian equivalent to a shrug.
"Because our ships aren't a threat, I think. Not against their weapons" Benezia narrowed her eyes at that, but she would look up later what he meant.
"Do you have any gaps in your memory? Time you cannot account for while in captivity?" Tario looked mystified.
"No, sir. Why?"
The interrogator ignored the question. Benezia watched the rest of the interview, but nothing new was revealed. Tario seemed to like the Transhumanities, but they had still been very careful about what they said to him or showed him.
Benezia watched a few more of the vid files, but there was not much more of interest. One of the Biotics in the flotilla had been examined by the aliens. The poor man had been rather frightened by the alien medical equipment, but apparently not harmed. This could indicate a lacking knowledge about Biotics, but no one was certain. It might just be that they had compared different biologies.
The interrogators had even asked one of the cooks questions, hoping he had a different perspective than anyone else. Benezia grinned as she heard that he and his captors had apparently swapped recipes. The interrogating officer didn't share her amusement.
There was one important detail though: Several of the interrogated had reported memory loss.
Benezia closed the vid screen, deep in thought.
She reopened the dossier on her Omni-tool. Intendured minds. She had read this as uploaded intelligences being forced to labour, coerced into work. A form of slavery that you couldn't escape from.
What if it was more? What if it was literal?
A troubling thought.
The prisoners had been planned to be put into quarantine anyway, it was standard procedure. Everyone on board the Acaleam and the Solace had signed waivers that made them agree to potential indefinite quarantine, in fact, including the regular crews. Everyone had seen this as nothing more than a formality. Cross species diseases were very rare and mostly harmless.
Now, that formal precaution seemed very, very wise indeed.
What could Transhumanity do with alien visitors? What had they already done with the prisoners?
The scan on the ship...
Benezia remembered her own scan and cold shivers raced down her skin. What if they hadn't scanned her physiology? What if they scanned her mind? No. Her stomach dropped. What if they had changed something in those few seconds?
Her thoughts raced. How would she know? How could she know?
How could she be certain she was still herself?
She opened a view of the alien vessel, still passively holding position. It's alien beauty had disappeared and instead it's strange form and stranger inhabitants seemed nothing but sinister to her.
Last edited: Aug 20, 2017
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#90
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The hologram flickered and stabilised.
"Honored Councillors" Benezia greeted the three awaiting her.
"Envoy Benezia" Tevos greeted back formally.
"Your location is secure?" The black clad Matriarch bowed.
"Of course" The connection itself was entirely secure. The device Benezia was using was married to the one in the Councillors chambers. Any attempt at tampering would immediately destroy both QECs.
"What do you have to report?" Sparatus asked, unable to contain himself. For him, personally, much could ride on this. The Ambassador looked serious.
"A cease fire was agreed upon and all prisoners will return" Tevos let out a deep sigh and felt her muscles unknot. Beside her Sparatus was just as relieved but hid it better. Valern was eyeing the Envoy.
"This is not all" he claimed. Benezia gave a slight shake of her head.
"No, Councillors. These new people, Trans-hu-man-it-ty" she carefully sounded out the name. "Is a very troublesome newcomer" Tevos was instantly on alert again.
"Elucidate" Benezia took a deep breath.
"Allow me to begin with a recount of our meeting. First..."
Hours later all three Councillors were still in their private chambers. Tevos was nursing a tall glass of energy drink to fight her exhaustion, Sparatus had opted for something alcoholic. Valern was pacing up and down, the usual Salarian stress response keeping him alert and unable to hold still. Tevos still wished he would shut up for a moment.
"Disturbing. Deeply disturbing. Immortality, hyperintelligence. Advanced bio and nano technology."
"We know, Valern" Tevos groused "We've been over this" Valern threw her a sharp look.
"Yet, have not realised what this means. Infection. Coercion. Mental integrity of everyone in question!" Tevos cringed and rubbed the sides of her aching crest.
"I do, in fact, realise that. I also realise what even a whisper of this will do to our people"
"What do we do?" Valern asked the million credit question.
"We attack" Sparatus said, voice flat, the usual flange almost gone. It was the first thing he said since the call ended and he wasn't even looking at his fellow Councillors.
"We gather our forces and crush them before they can spread" Tevos eyed him carefully, Valern stopped his motions.
"Sparatus...this may be a hasty decisions. Our peace talks..."
"Peace talks?" The Turian's head snapped up to look at her. A motion that looked rather predatory on a Turian "They have AI, Tevos!"
"And energy weapons" Valern threw in. "Victory...may not be assured. More information necessary" Sparatus glared at the Salarian.
"That is your answer to everything. More information, more security. A good soldier knows when to take a risk. We have to strike now, overwhelm them with numbers, before they can prepare for us" He was unconsciously rubbing his right forearm, were a bullet ha ripped it open years ago. Tevos shook her head.
"The interrogation of the survivors may still be ongoing, but what Benezia has reported already is bad enough" Valern nodded.
"Ship to ship energy weapons." he repeated "Mass effect fields useless" Sparatus abruptly stood up
"We have to do something" Tevos nodded.
"Agreed. We have to isolate them" The other to looked at her in surprise. An Asari proposing to reduce contact with another species? Valern shook his head.
"Wrong move. Need contact. Information, samples of technology" Tevos leaned back and closed her eyes. So they had one vote for contact, one for isolation, one for attack. Wonderful.
The problem was of course, that in a way all three of them were right.
Their ship weaponry considered of energy weapons, completely bypassing the Mass Effect field Citadel warships relied on. At the same time, they used Mass Effect fields themselves, which made their defences effective against Citadel mass driver weaponry.
So in a way Sparatus was right: attack now before they could dig in. Before they could prepare. Before they had a chance to infect the Citadel's militaries. Use the Citadels (hopefully) superior numbers before Transhumanity could build up it's wouldn't be difficult, given it's insane technologies. Advanced AIs. Increased intelligence. General purpose nanofactories.
Even more worrisome, however, then the purely military threat was the economical potential of these of them by itself would completely annul the Citadel space's economic contract. Just like 300 years ago, it would render billions of workers obsolete, destroying the bases of Citadel economy. Chaos would follow.
Take all of these technologies together in the hands of an alien species? And there was a very real threat they would outcompete or even take over the Citadel by themselves.
So both she and Valern were right. They needed to distance themselves from this "Transhumanity" to prevent the economic threat and the destabilisation it would bring. On the other hand, they needed to gather information to close the technology gap that gave them these advantages in the first place, to give the Citadel a fighting chance.
Tevos shook her head at her own thoughts. A fighting chance for the Citadel, goddess' tits.
Their had always been the theoretical possibility of meeting a species or even a union of different species who where technologically superior tot he Citadel down however, Tevos, like most others, had been convinced that that would never be the case. The Citadel was the pinnacle of galactic civilisation, economy, military might...to even assume there was someone or something that came close let alone surpass it was ridiculous. Had they not survived the Rachni? The Krogan?
Where they not the rightful heirs of the Protheans?
The Protheans. Yes, the Beacon. Tevos would have to force the issue on speeding up the datamining. The Protheans might be the solution to the problem once again. Yes, a glimmer of hope. But it meant she would have to convince the other two, to give them time.
"Valern, Sparatus. I'm sorry, but I don't see any other way than to contain and isolate, at least for the moment. We have to negotiate terms of no or limited interaction between Transhumanity and the Citadel. We also must pause the Expedition, maybe indefinitely. We do have not enough information to assess the risk of it and we can not risk a potential war on two fronts right now. We must keep Transhumanity an isolated secret or our people will flock to them, no matter the risk to their minds."
And they would. Tevos new several Asari by name who would scoff at the idea of any form of contact being a negative. Every year there still were some morons who got eaten on the Yahg homeworld, despite the blockade. And there would be even more idiots on the other, more militaristic side of things who would clamor for a campaign to "liberate" the "poor Transhumans" form the "AI menace". No they would have to handle this carefully. Valern looked defensive.
"But..." Tevos raised a hand.
"We will supercharge our own R&D efforts. Finance fringe projects, explore new avenues, that sort of thing. And the STG shall be ordered to find ways to infiltrate transhuman space. Discreetly, of course. But we cannot risk our populace having unfettered contact with them. Think what someone like the Batarians would do with this technology" She grinned an ironic smile "Who knows Sparatus. After their bad first experience meeting us, they might be all to willing to cut contact. perhaps your nephews brother..."
"Cousins nephew" Sparatus corrected her testily. Tevos made a dismissive gesture.
"Whichever. Maybe he did us all a favour" Sparatus grunted unhappily but didn't answer otherwise.
Of course it wasn't just done with that. Even the Councillors, the nominally most powerful beings in the galaxy could not just go and declare war in the name of the trillion plus people they represented. In fact, the exact levels of power and jurisdictions were an intricate patchwork pattern of political trench warfare, all the more confusing since each member species had their own organisational structure of political power.
The Asari had their Circle of Matriarchs, in which Tevos was an extremely powerful but by no means ruling member.
The Turians had their Primarch, with the Councillor as a sort of Co-Ruler, mostly in terms of foreign policy. The military was firmly in the hand of the Primarch, while at the same time he was formally required to follow the Councillors decisions when it came to declarations of war against other races. Which meant very little, since the Councillor had no legal way to force the issue should the Primarch refuse.
Additionally, the Volus, who effectively represented the Turian's economic power, fell under the Councillors purview, meaning the Primarch should very much listen to his Councillor if he didn't want to deal with economic blackmail.
The result was a political mess that had to be broken down on a personal level. In short: it worked when the Primarch and Councillor could work with each other and became hopelessly deadlocked if they disagreed.
The Salarians, unsurprisingly, had a far more pragmatic solution: the Councillor represented their Dalatrass and spoke in their stead or, equally likely, the Dalatrass simply took on the duties of both positions.
The end result was that formal declarations of war, peace or, in this case, isolation could be intricate messes of internal powerplays. It could only work if everyone agreed and it was generally assumed that in cases were the entire Citadel space had to decide on one policy, the situation would be obvious enough that everyone would, in fact, agree on one course of action. No one knew what would happen if there was dissent and no one wanted to find out. They had tried to find a working solution for such a case for centuries and the arguments and positions had mostly fossilized at this point.
What all that meant for the three Councillors was that they would have to carefully decide who to inform in their respective governments to get the necessary people in power to agree with their course of action.
Tevos knew all of this personally, through painful experience. The other two would now have to learn. She sighed.
"Gentlemen, let's get to work"
They conferred for hours. Unfortunately it turned out that it was a rather large circle of people that needed to be informed. Many of the more powerful Matriarchs, The Dalatrass and her circle. The Primarch and his circle. And they were certain hat each person told would bring another list of names that "just had to be informed for this to work."
Even preliminary agreements wouldn't work, their cliodynamics models showed that clearly. They needed widespread consensus or someone would break the isolation in secret. It became clear something else would be necessary.
"We need something big" Sparatus decided. "A gathering, a presentation"
"Expert opinions" Valern agreed. "To convince everyone"
Tevos had known this from the beginning of course. Everyone would have to be informed at the same time or that alone would cause certain people to disagree, simply out of spite for the perceived sleight. But it was better to let the other two come to the conclusion themselves, let them think it had been their idea. Easier to convince them of it. Easier to share the blame if things went wrong. Besides, if she was being honest with herself, she wasn't exactly looking forward to it, so she felt no need to rush things.
She normally adored social gatherings, like most Asari. Many of them lived for this kinda thing. But this wouldn't be some fun party or formal gala to conceal back room deals and political manoeuvring. It would be serious work. Worse, it would be between professionals. Little had more potential for conflict.
"And who is going to wrangle all these experts, scientist, politicians and powerbrokers into attending?" The other two just looked at her. She deflated a little in her seat.
"Yeah. I thought as much" At least there was one thing they could do that they were certain everyone would agree on: Until such a time the expert congregation had assembled and the people in power had agreed on a course of action, contact with humanity had to be concealed. The public could not be told. At least not yet and certainly not directly.
Yes. They would have to be careful with this information. A full blackout wouldn't work, of course, it never did for long. But there were certain ways to...reshape news, to make them sound mundane, even harmless...
"And in todays news, the Citadel has reported first contact with a new species. Unfortunately, a "misunderstanding on both sides" let to an exchange of fire between a turian patrol fleet and the aliens. The Citadel reports that negotiations continue, but that the alien newcomers are "understandably wary" after their bad first encounter and asks all Citadel citizens for patience. Until further notice, the Ikai system has been declared off limits to the Citadel public."
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#113
Threat Assessment, Part 1
Tevos leaned back in her generous seat. It was not just a mere chair, but equipped with a full work station plus it's own high security connection to her own private network. Also a cup holder and a food tray.
Around her the many, many other dignitaries, soldiers, scientist, Spectres, STG agents, random but influential Matriarchs, Volus functionaires, Hanar dignitaries, their Drell partners and several Quarians were taking their seats.
The massive hall was filling quite quickly. It was not as secure as other locations, but offered enough seats for everyone to attend in person. Something that had been considered necessary for this particular presentation.
After 20 minutes or so, the final attendees had found their places and the hall was closed and sealed. Only the secure transmission lines, tapped by the STG, allowed outside connection. As the hall grew quiet, a single Asari took centerstage.
"Good afternoon, gentlemen and ladies. I am Aileena Tanopis, head of the Citadel First Contact Institute. As you all are no doubt aware, there has recently been a rather unfortunate first contact event in the Ikai system. What most of you are not aware of, is the extent of the potential consequences of that First Contact."
What a delightful way to describe the potential Fallout of that particular cluster fuck.
"Here today to present their findings on this issue is the Ctiadel's Relay 314 Incident Threat Assessment Research Commission"
Matron Aileena had kept the tone cool and professional, for which Tevos was thankful. She was a true diplomat, genuinely believing that all conflict could be solved by talking and that contact between species was always something positive. The mere fact that such a threat assessment commission existed had disgusted her, but she was too much of a professional to let it show. Tevos admired Asari like her and was thankful they existed. But she was too much of a realist to share their beliefs. And unlike herself, Aileena had never been a Commando.
"We will begin with a short report on the actual First Contact at Relay 314, mostly consisting of footage from patrol flotilla 2547 as well as the helmet and Omni-tool recordings of Matriarch Benezias'" she nodded at the Matriarch in question whose hologram "sat" in on the "expert" section of the room. The real Benezia being still in quarantine on board the Acaleam. The hologram returned the nod in her usual, graceful way. "First Contact team. Please refrain from questions or commentary until after the presentation"
The lights dimmed and the presentation began.
A short background on Aselus Endyrion, including the passenger liner incident (much to Sparatus discomfort), his smug assuredness in trying to teach some primitives a lesson, Tario Varkans protest and arrest (Valern intended to recommend the young Turian. It was the salarian way to question things, even superiors, while Asari and Turians were mostly expected to obey. Once again the salarian worldview had been proven correct), then the engagement of the enemy.
Even though Tevos had seen it all before, she still winced as the turian frigate suddenly bucked, throwing bodies around like ragdolls. Only the hardsuits and mass effect shields had prevented more casualties.
She could emphasize the cries of surprise and shock that echoed throughout the room. It really was a brutal sight, made all the more worse by the abruptness of it all. The video logs continued for a few moments more as the bridge crew scrambled to react and find out what happened. Overlays that were superimposed informed the watchers that the weapon that had caused so much damage had been positively identified as a terawatt scale energy ship weapon. This caused another round of shocked murmuring and even a few shouts.
The holographic view witched to a pastiche of multiple camera feeds, showing matriarch Benezia and her first contact group. Aileenas voice rose.
"We apologise for the sudden timejump, gentlemen and ladies. All recordings of the boarding action that followed have been deleted. The bridge recordings you have seen so far have been handed to us by the race in question themselves. Note that they wanted us to have these recordings and that their correctness has been verified by all surviving bridge crew members" The report continued. Benezia's orders regarding the garrison, the activation of the Relay, the sudden appearance of the alien dreadnought. The tension form the Acaleam's bridge could be felt in the hall as Benezia made contact and the massive vessel began to maneuver.
The shape shifting of the organic hull brought more murmurs form the crowd.
Benezias examination, from a first person perspective, the newly formed hallway.
Then, finally, the aliens themselves. Their weird, almost obscene group of partially organic, switchable bodies. The tense conversation. The AI revelation which, again, raised the noise level.
Then the almost dismissal. The matriarch retreating and discussing things with her group, recording their first impressions and opinions.
A quick overview of the "cultural précis" .
The prisoner release.
Finally, another round of negotiations, this time via comm. Benezia and Keystone agreed to a few rough terms such as the military presence of both sides in the Ikai system. As ordered by the Council, Benezia had also indicated a potential long term "acclimatisation phase" and Keystone had agreed it would be a good idea.
The report ended with a series of debriefing videos, showing the prisoners.
The last picture was the Citadel logo, projected into the air.
After the recordings ended, the light remained dimmed for a moment as people recovered.
Then it brightened and Aileena walked back on stage "This concludes our preliminary report. Please wait with questions until the appropriate..."
The hall erupted. Shouts, noises and loud denials. Some of the dignitaries even tried to leave the hall. Tevos and the others in the know simply waited until the orderlies calmed the others down. Finally peace was restored. Aileena had waited patiently, used to rather...heated debates.
"I now ask the first presenters from the Commission on stage" Unsurprisingly, the group that took the stage mostly consisted of Salarians. One of the them spoke up.
"Thank you Ms. Tanopis. Good evening, honored dignitaries. We are part of the threat assessment commission and our focus was self replicating technological threats, meaning nano, bio and info warfare capabilities. Most of the members of our group came from STG special task forces, disease control officers and the Advanced Warfare Threat Control Bureau." That got peoples attention.
The Bureau was a semi-secret, almost legendary institution. Not quite SPECTRE status, their agents nevertheless enjoyed massive operational freedom and often cooperated with disease control, STG and actual Spectres. They most often dealed with some amoral weapons manufactures attempt to create a bioweapon virus. But they had also stopped insane mind control experiments, nano disassembler experiments and the occasional attempt to recreate the Geth only "this time we will be entirely able to control them, I swear!"
The Salarian didn't introduce the people of his group. Their names would remain secret and Tevos knew for a fact that their faces had been altered just for this presentation. They needed to convince people and that meant genuine representatives, but the agents also needed protection.
"As we have seen and learned from the transhuman dossier, their civilisation makes advanced use of nano assemblers, biotechnolgoy and is, in fact, mostly virtual, meaning their cyberwarfare abilities are most likely superior to our own." As he spoke, illustrations and short clips of animation were projected in holograms above his head.
"As the sight of the warship's hull alone can attest, their skills in nano/bio technology are beyond our own. How great that advantage is is currently unknown. However, all members of this group agree that these systems represent the greatest direct threat to the Citadel.
The number of possible infection vectors are countless should we allow free travel of transhuman personnel through Citadel space. Every single person, their equipment and even their clothes could carry infectious agents, able to evade our detection methods.
This is especially dangerous as there is a synergistic component: cyber viruses supporting infiltration of nanomachines, for instance, who then help spread the cybervirus to new machines.
Similarly, biological machines could be used to run hacking attacks, or a biological virus could help conceal nanomachines in a living host. The potential scenarios are nearly infinite, we spent many days coming up with variants and our list isn't nearly exhaustive.
Now, all that being said, nano technology isn't magic. There are several, very severe limitations. The most important one is simply size. There is a limit of how much processing and data storage you can squeeze into something the size of a large organic cell" The holograms showed a few example calculations that showed how much processing could be achieved by various different nanostructures.
"One other limitation is that the small size means there is limited heat radiation. A comparatively small amount of energy is enough to destroy must nanoscale structures, biological or otherwise" Multiple illustrations of complex molecules denaturating under heat or radiation .
"Nanomachines are not invincible, but used at the right time in the right place and especially when controlled by a guiding intelligence, their threat potential is massive.
One of our main worries in that regard comes from Transhumanty's obvious mastery of the mind. It is currently considered accepted fact that Transhumans have learned how to transfer and copy organic and anorganic minds between bodies. The précis also indicates that manipulation and enhancement of thought is possible for them. The conclusion in combination with bio/nano tech is obvious: this commission has no doubt, especially in light of what happened to the captured Turians' memories, that Transhumanity is capable of at least limited mind control with infectious, self replicating agents"
The room erupted in murmurs and the Salarian patiently waited them out.
"No matter how further negotiations with Transhumanity proceed, no matter the outcome: this is a threat the Citadel must prepare for"
Th hologram now showed a simple list: How to defend against nano scale infection? Followed by dozens of subpoints who had dozens of subpoints and so on.
"The entire list of proposed countermeasures is massive, yet undoubtedly incomplete. You will all find a private, heavily encrypted copy on your workstations. We want to focus only on one proposal, the on we consider to be most feasible: Even Krogan physiology does not protect form infection as the Genophage has proven. Even quarian or volus style encounter suits can not offer reliable protection from infecting nanites.
The only way we see to reliably defend against foreign nano infection, is to have our own ecosystem of nanite defenders in place, wide spread and ubiquitous, who identify and destroy foreign agents." He made another pause to let that sink in.
"The development and deployment of such systems, however, will take a long time to research and design, to prevent unforeseen sideeffects or dangerous accidents. At this time, we can give no timeframe until such a system would be available for deployment."
Tevos was sure she shared her unease with many others in the room. Mindcontrol was a sad fact of life in the Citadel, especially the Batarians had made horrific progress in that regard. But usually reprogramming someone took more than just sneezing at them. And nearly all species shared the "crawling dead" variant of horror movies...
Her eyes found Benezia. The holographic image looked perfectly calm, but Tevos' experience allowed her to see the well hidden tension. She was owing the other Matriarch, big time, and they both knew it.
The Salarian spoke again.
"We now come to a second, perhaps less obvious threat by Transhumanitys advanced biotech expertise.
As we have seen, humans make regular use of constructed bodies. They also have several samples of turian bodies and no doubt took genetic samples of the contact team, at least from Matriarch Benezia. This commission has no doubt, that if the humans wished to infiltrate the Citadel, they could do so suing artificially build, Citadel species bodies" More murmuring, sounds of incredulity. The Salarian raised his voice to overcome the noise.
"We already have extensive systems in place to detect criminals and background check travelling people in Citadel space. We recommend massively extending these procedures as well as implementing certain STG techniques to detect manipulated background-check databases.
Until we find a way to reliably identify those frauds, we would also recommend severely limiting, if not outright blocking, travel to and from Non-Citadel worlds and tighten orbital control around all our colonies to prevent illegal landing. VI control of all public places must be increased to spot impostors" To Sparatus those measures sounded a little thin. He hoped they would have more concrete anti-infiltration systems in place soon.
"We would like to stress that the psychological effect of these possibilities can be damaging in and of themselves. Paranoia could become a serious problem to hinder Citadel operations. We would recommend using a pretext for the increased security measures, at least until the populace has gotten used to the more visible ones. Full disclosure of Transhumanity's capabilities can come at a later date.
This concludes our presentation. Please ask your questions now"
There were a lot, actually, but they all mostly were variants of "Can they really do that?" and "Are you sure this will work to stop them?" The answers, predictably, boiled down to "We don't know yet"
Someone wanted to know if the prisoners and ambassadors had been found to be clean. Benezias holo cleared her throat, but the Salarian was the one to answer.
"We will continue our long term monitoring of all personnel in contact with Transhumanity. Should manipulation, or indeed infection, have occurred, we will eventually find signs of this and gain further insight from it"
Many people were scowling at that none answer, but Aileena was already moving along.
Last edited: Aug 29, 2017
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#128
Threat Assessment, Part 2
"I now ask the military analysis group of the Commission to the stage" All Turians in the room sat up straighter at that.
The group that now took stage was much more mixed than the other one. Asari, Salarian, many Turians but also a Drell male in a demonstrative lab suit and a Quarian.
A Turian was a spokesperson this time. He introduced everyone quickly, giving names everyone forgot immediately and backgrounds that only served to reassure everyone that these people knew what they were doing. They were turian generals, asari Matriarchs famous for certain anti-piracy campaigns, ship builders and designers, as well as Special Forces members. The Quarian was introduced as Harrel Guem vas Tandioma, a quarian Marine who had partaken in 5 different forays into Geth occupied territory, and had survived all of them intact.
Sparatus respect increased somewhat. That was not a bad record to have, for any soldier.
Valern remembered the name and a quick search confirmed it. Guem had been one of the Quarians tapped for the Expedition.
"We begin our analysis with the most obvious discrepancy between transhuman and citadel ships: the ship scale energy weapon that took out captain Endyrion's frigate" In the holograms the impact scene repeated, without sound this time.
"Energy weapons present a serious threat to our military capabilities. Almost all our ship defences are build around mass effect shields and missile interception. Our armour, as well, is designed to repel projectiles, not directed energy fire.
In contrast, the human warship hull has shown shapeshifting properties and even organic components. It is intuitively understandable that this technology can serve as ablative hull armour, wit the ability to shift to cover exposed areas and, most likely, includes a limited self repair capacity.
Reproducing this energy weapon capacity is in theory simple. We already have our guardian arrays and to increase the energy amount, we would only have to combine enough emitters or at least focus their output on one part of the enemies hull.
In practice, however, this is not so easily doable. Lasers create much waste heat that has to be vented or stored somehow. It is unknown how transhuman ships handle this problem, but for citadel ships it is a serious problem.
Another problem is diffraction. Lasers do not stay focused. Current mil spec GUARDIANS have an effective engagement range of several hundred kilometers. Beyond that, energy dissipates to much to penetrate current, state of the art armour. And even that range is only certain with salarian UV GUARDIAN arrays.
The transhumans engaged at over three hundred thousand kilometers and with a gamma ray weapon to boot. Much of the energy actually penetrated the outer armour layer and vaporised deeper layers of ship systems, causing massive internal damage." He paused a moment to take sip form a water canteen and to let his statements sink in.
"Thankfully, we are not completely inexperienced in the field of energy warfare. Research into ship sized energy weapons has been ongoing for centuries, but with comparatively low funding.
Our recommendation would be to increase that funding sharply." No shit, Tevos thought acerbically, but didn't comment.
"Building a dedicated energy weapons ship would be possible for us even now, at least in simulation, but it's effective engagement range and therefore usefulness would be...questionable. Instead, we recommend focusing on our known, tried and tested weaponry and increase defence capabilities. And energy defence has been a productive field for quite some time, mostly thanks to the effort to make disruptor torpedoes survive GUARDIAN fire until actual impact.
Luckily for us, there has recently been something of a break through in that regard. It is called Silaris armour" He proceeded to give a quick description of Silaris and it's properties...including it's current price.
"Although currently expensive, we believe that covering our ships with Silaris armour is, in the short term, our best bet of counteracting Transhumanity's energy weapon superiority"
"Impossible!" a Volus somewhere in the audience shouted "The cost!" The Turian calmly looked at the representative who had shouted.
"The cost in lost ships and experienced personnel and, eventually, lost worlds would quickly outstrip the initial cost of Silaris" He replied, calmly. The Volus was quite.
"As for strategic and tactical analysis and predictions: we must regretfully inform you that we don't have any." That was an outright lie of course. The results had simply not been…fit for public consumption. "We know that human corvette sized ships have energy weapons big enough to disable our Dreadnaughts with continuous fire. We know they have dreadnought sized ships. We know their nanomanufacturing capacitiy outstrips our own and that they can copy ship crews and have AI.
Make of that what you will"
More murmuring, this time especially from the military members. It seemed the speaker had found a way to disagree with the order to keep the results of the projections quite without actually violating the wording of his order. Unacceptable. Sparatus mandibles clenched in disapproval. Had this man never heard of keeping up morale?
The turian speaker seemed finished. He waved back towards his group.
"Our next speaker will focus on ground combat." The Quarian, Harrel Guem, stepped forward.
"Thank you. Honored Representatives, unlike my predecessors, my task today will not be in introducing new and revolutionary technologies and concepts to you. Instead, my task will be to correct preconceptions and remove prejudices." He paused for effect "Many today believe that the book on robotic warfare has already been written. That the challenge between organic and mechanic forces has been fought and won by living beings.
Superficially, that may seem correct. The Geth only ever managed to defeat us in open ground warfare with overwhelming numbers. Even though certain groups like Eclipse make extensive use of drones, they only ever do in a supporting role. Any average soldier of any species is easily worth a company of Xanas"
Xanas were a bipedal mech variant produced by Hanar-Kedar. Cheap mass production models made them affordable for nearly everyone and small colonies, merc outfits and anyone handling dangerous biological materials (or waste processing) made frequent use of them. Any true soldier derided them as wind up toys or something similar of course.
"The sole reason for this is, of course, the inadequacy of current VI tech"
Even Tevos knew about that one. Well, she had seen an infotainement piece about it, anyway. Over the millennia, researchers and engineers had come up with both truly twisted and brilliant designs for warmachines. The problem was that even with modern, state oft he art VIs...they were dumb as bricks. Put them into one place and let them fire. They easily outperformed organics.
Tell them to guard a door and report anomalies...better than any bored soldier.
Tell them to react to an obvious shift in tactics by the enemy and you had better luck with a Varren.
Much of that was due to Citadel restrictions on AI. Illegal VI variants had often been more successful...most often against their own creators.
"Even the most advanced walker, drone or mech can not compete with an organic soldier. Therefore, the preconception that organic outperforms machine one on one in the field, is easily forgiveable.
This preconception is FALSE!" The last word had thundered from Guem's suit speakers and many in the forward rows winced at the volume.
"As all Quarians know, comparing drones to true, intelligent mechanical opponents is a deadly mistake! Robots do not tire. They do not get sick. They do not despair. Their logistical train is significantly easier to handle than our own. Most of what they need can be scavenged and flash forged in the field. Mobile energy collectors are all they need on inhabitable planets to keep going indefinitely! It has been well documented that in the field, Geth forces often scavenge the remains of destroyed units and built new models form parts of the old! Right there in the field! For where we need decades to train a new soldier, they simply install a copy!
Just like these Transhumanity abominations!"
Tevos jaw clenched. Fuck. That was not what they needed right now. A hysterical Quarian, throwing around words like that, getting them stuck in people's minds. Aileena must be fuming by now.
"And they appear to be even more advanced than the Geth!" Guem was gesticulating wildly now, having talked himself into a rage.
"Even small units of them could use that nanotechnology of theirs to quickly build up forces using local materials, copying themselves into new bodies! They are a threat that...!"
"THANK YOU, Captain Guem" The Turian who had spoken before had evidently had enough. He stepped forward, suppressed fury in every line of his body. For a moment, the eyes of the two men locked...then the Quarian nodded, stepping back to the rest of the group. The speaker attempted a smile.
"Our full analysis is of course available for all of you. Nevertheless, we will now answer questions."
They came mostly from Turians and former Commandos this time, mostly regarding specific aspects of battle and warfare. Harrel Guem managed to control himself now, answering curtly and professionally.
Critical were questions about military simulations. Had the Commission truly not run any? But the group managed to divert these question more or less gracefully.
The real answer was: of course they had run simulations, based on the energy weapons of the smaller ships and the size of the Agree to Disagree (and what a name was that, anyway?) and the results were...not good.
Even assuming Transhumanity had just a few of those ships and none more (an absurd assumption, given their nanotech and copy abilities), the Citadel currently had nothing they could throw against them. Mass effect shields and cannons had been the focus of warfare for millennia. This sudden paradigm shift was a shock and could not be so easily compensated for.
After a while Tevos let herself relax. The questions were as predicted and the Commission members could handle them. Her hands found her terminal.
BlueAndInChrg: [Well, that could have gone better]
Sky_Eye: [As predicted, however. Quarian cultural trauma significant ]
BlueAndInChrg: [Which would make one think they would have chosen someone else as speaker]
Sparatus: [I expected more discipline form a soldier]
Tevos snorted.
BlueAndInChrg: [Have you any idea how many bodyhorror vids the Quarians have where Geth abduct them and forcibly "upgrade" them? Transhumanity must be like nightmares made real for them ]
Sparatus: [Which will become a problem]
Sky-Eye: [Indeed]
Tevos sighed. The Quarians were a problem, but they would hardly be the only ones. Quite a few hardliners, even in this room, would call for an immediate attack on this new, pseudo-AI species. On of the main reasons for this threat assessment presentation was to dissuade people from thinking they could win such a war. And despite the Quarians newfound place in galactic society, they hardly had the pull to convince the entire Citadel to go to war.
Aileena Kanopis was taking the stage again.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#143
Threat Assessment, Part 3
"Our thanks to the Military Threat Assessment Group. I am now asking the Economic Threat Assessment Group for their presentation"
This group, to absolutely no ones surprise, was mostly Volus, but also several Matriarchs who were known for their economic influence and expertise. Including Alia Star, one of the famous five Majority Shareholders of Ilium.
One of the Volus stepped froward and proceeded with the introductions. Unlike with the other groups, this one included rather famous individuals. Multiple rounds of polite applause, mandible clicks and other species specific greetings rang out, dragging everything out.
Finally he began.
"Our economy is a vast complex system, an intermeshed, entangled chimera of a dozen economic systems and spheres. Some say it's complexity has grown beyond us, that no one truly understands it anymore" Several members on the stage pulled faces at that.
"Despite that complexity of the system itself and the many individual industries, branches and sectors involved, however, it can be argued that all of them share certain advantageous characteristics." The Volus began to walk back and forth, his academia background very much showing as he adopted a lecturing tone.
"Characteristics, abilities and skills that are profitable in every sector of industry and economy." Several people grumbled at that, apparently not agreeing with such a generalisation. However, no one interrupted.
"What are these abilities, these defining characteristics for success in all aspects of economy? Well, there are book series, day long lectures and rather personal social media conflicts about this very topic and entire universities are feuding with each other over their pet theories.
But what can be said unites them, what is the lowest common denominator of economic success? " A gigantic holo oft he word FLEXIBILITY appeared in a rather tasteless fond. The Volus presenter may have many good qualities, graphic design wasn't one of them.
"Flexibility. Transhumanity's nano production capacity, if what we have seen is correct, far outstrips our own. Our won flash forges are extremely utile and modular refineries and production plants are used all over Citadels space to great success. But none can compete with stepping unto a planet, pouring a cup of liquid into a pond, sticking a processor core into it and watching a house grow. Or a space ship. Or a powerplant." He paused to let rendered clips of just that play out over his head.
"You want something else? Choose a different program. The exact same cup of goo and the same processor block can deliver it.
Unlimited production. Controlled and maybe even designed by AI. You only need raw materials, energy and time.
AI is an excellent keyword. Another factor is: speed" The corresponding holo popped up. Just as tasteless as the other. Had this group not used a graphics designer?
"The fastest known thought processing by organic intelligences occurs in Salarians. The slowest one in Elcor. Salarians are 2500 times more likely to be hired for white collar jobs as Elcor. Many discrimination lawsuits have been raised over this issue, all have been dismissed.
Known, existing AI systems think 100.000 times faster than Salarians!
100.000 times, gentlemen and ladies." he paused. Silence from the crowd.
"Let that sink in.
Think what it would mean if such systems competed on the open market. And we have to assume Transhumanity is capable of at least such thought speeds." Another holo appeared: CONTROL.
"Another factor: control. Oversight. Organisation. In one word: Management.
An efficient, effective control mechanism in place.
AI system are known to not only be able to react faster than organics but also to outclass us in multitasking jobs, the managing of extremely complex systems. Synthetic Insights is regularly tasked with streamlining and overhauling entire businesses. And they succeed"
Even though Tevos couldn't see her from her seat right now she knew the Matriarch CEO and owner of Synthetic Insights was smiling rather smugly, somewhere in the room.
"Another factor is experience. Asari live up to 1000 cycles. Humans have self professed to being immortal. We can only imagine what that might mean in another millenium.
These are just a few examples, but I think the message is clear. In short: Transhumanity presents a serious, existential risk to Citadel economy." Shocked murmurs in the room, unhappy faces on stage.
"If we allow Transhumanity to freely compete within Citadel space, we will face mass bankruptcy, mass joblessness, due to our employees being unable to compete with transhuman copies and, eventually, a widespread collapse of social cohesion. Until our technology can close the gap, Transhumanity must be isolated behind the Ikai Relay.
Thank you for your attention"
The Volus stepped back. There was halting, reluctant applause and other assorted noises. Rather more enthusiastic form the quarian group. The room was buzzing.
Even Tevos felt rather nonplussed. That might have been the shortest lecture she ever listened too. She had known the conclusions beforehand of course. But the volus professor had presented it with such inelegant bluntness it hit her all over again.
Transhumanities capacities had frightened these economic giants. And unlike the other two groups, this one had hit close to home.
The first threat, of infection and subversion, had been to abstract. Too fantastic, too sci fi. Seen in a horror or catastrophe vid, but not real.
The second threat was real, but, ironically, too real. Too familiar. The Rachni, the Krogan...had the Citadel not prevailed each time? Stronger than before, better than before? The Turians would fix this.
But the third threat? The prospect of all their money disappearing tomorrow? Now that got people nervous. That galvanized them. The first markers went up over work stations.
Valern narrowed his eyes at the questions.
Certainly something can be done to increase capabilities and skills of the average worker? Increased VI support perhaps?
Transhumanity would certainly be interested in Citadel goods? What about artwork?
What would the commission recommend as the best, most secure investment strategy, under these circumstances?
This was what he and his Dalatrass had feared. The reactionary impulse. Transhumanity was too much of a shock, too much of a threat to the status quo.
They couldn't threaten the Citadel like this, it wasn't possible. They were the pinnacle, the top Varrens, unchallenged. This new race couldn't be that much of a threat.
So it wasn't. Business continued as usual.
Sparatus had already fallen for it. He and his Primarch were talking about defence plans, attack fleets, as soon as Silaris and perhaps energy weapons of their own were available. Transhumanity had threatened Turian military supremacy. They had challenged the Turian soul. So they had to be attacked, shown as inferior to Turian military might.
Tevos was more open, quicker to see alternatives. But she firmly believed in a diplomatic solution, believed the Citadel would eventually overcome this threat, would stand as the victor. Not without hardship, but also without doubt. It was one of her best qualities. Tevos believed in the Citadel and all it's member species.
Valern knew better and his Dalatrass agreed. The Citadel would change. Hard.
Eventually, Kanopis took the stage again.
"Thank you all for your attention. We will now recess for two ours. Recreational facilities are available, but please note that no one will leave this conference center or be allowed to contact the Extranet directly. We will continue with the discussion round after the pause.
Thank you"
She left the stage and the noise level in the hall jumped as representatives rose form their stations and immediately coagulated into small groups of fiercely debating people, while generally heading in the direction of the exits.
As the pause ended, the discussions hadn't died down one bit.
But the hall had been altered, the mobile workstations rearranged. Now they all formed a series of concentric circles. The three Councillor stations were at the end of an otherwise empty segment, able to see all and be seen by all.
After everyone had shuffled in again, still in heated discussions, had taken their places a quieted down, Aileena once again took the word, this time in the middle of the work station circles.
"We are now coming to the general discussion part of the conference. You all had time to at least skim the reports. You have heard, in essence, the recommendations of the various specialist groups.
We are now asking for opinions, further questions and ideas. The goal is to formulate the Citadel space's response towards the new species' polity known as "Transhumanity".
Before we begin however, I would personally like to take the time to remind everyone that a diplomatic solution is still very much an option.
Transhumanity has, aside from an entirely justified response to turian aggression, shown no hostile intentions towards the Citadel or, in fact, anyone else. They even agreed to return all captured turian soldiers. A peaceful solution must be considered paramount. Thank you"
She returned to her seat. Several Asari, Volus, Salarians and Hanar were applauding her, but many of the others stayed demonstratively silent. The Councillors were among those agreeing the loudest. Even Sparatus, after much cajoling.
After the applause died down there was a tense moment were no one said anything. Finally, a Volus indicated he wanted to speak.
"Frankly," he began angrily "I have found this entire -ssh- presentation to be highly alarmist. If the Council's -ssh- goal is to cause panic in our population there would be no easier way -ssh- than to release the unedited presentations we have seen here today!
No matter the presumed technological capabilities of these newcomers -ssh-, they are only one species. Alone. -ssh- We are the Citadel. We represent almost 1,5 trillion sapients. Our economy will not just -ssh- disappear because a few aliens use AI!"
"There is nothing "presumed" about their technology" Matriarch Benezia countered calmly over the comm device "I have personally seen and confirmed much of it, although, admittedly, not all of what has been indicated in the précis"
"In either case" Matriarch Lidanya from the Destiny Ascension said "The military capabilities we have confirmed alone make isolation of these newcomers a necessity. At least until we can close the gap"
"This one agrees that total isolation seems like the best course to swim" The Hanar ambassador added.
"That won't work" A turian general "For simple navigational reasons. The dossier contained some information about border worlds close to our territories that the Transhumans lay claim to. Several of these systems can be reached via civilian ships. Including from batarian worlds" Grimaces all around. No one here was a fan of the Hegemony.
"You are all overlooking the most important pat of the equation" Heads turned to look at the speaker. An elderly Salarian. His holotag named him as a professor of sociology of some renown.
"You spoke of economic, military and infiltration threats. Yet the greatest threat none of you have mentioned" He paused.
"Our own citizens. Once they learn of this new species, they will storm the Ikay Relay to speak to them. Morphing starships? Energy weapons? Immortality? Treasure hunters, those down on their luck or simply the curious will start pilgrimages. And you cannot keep this information contained forever.
And even that isn't the greatest problem. The greatest threat from these aliens is a memetic one. Once our people know these technologies are possible and can be safely used? There will be no stopping them. Someone will build these devices, here, in the Citadel"
Silence.
Tevos would have liked to contradict him, but his words made sense. Just knowing there was a race that lived with AI would the Quarians make go ballistic. Immortality? What Salarian would resist? The knowledge these things were possible alone would destabilise the markets like little else before had. And certain people would profit from that. New technologies always meant money. And others would risk anything to get a piece of the pastry. And the Batarians...
Valern had demanded they counter this problem by keeping this incident secret, but Tevos knew, like all Matriarchs, that secrets had a tendency to not stay secret long. One or two centuries, maybe, but sooner or later, they bit you in the ass.
An entire garrison had seen the flotilla enter the Relay and only one ship reappear. The Primarch had been informed and even if others didn't know what had been said, the arrival of an extremely secret message had been noted. The same was true for the Councillors and their emergency sessions.
No, this couldn't be contained. Trying so would make things worse. The best they could do was to manage the information flow themselves.
Benezia was the next to speak. "Transhumanity has agreed to limited contact while the negotiations continue. They seem reasonable and willing to make concessions. I am certain a...probation period where both sides get to know each other can be arranged. Perhaps they will decide to isolate themselves as well" The sociology professor shook his head.
"Doesn't matter. The knowledge will spread" Tevos took the word.
"Nevertheless, limiting if not outright negating contact between Citadel and Transhumanity seems to be the best short term solution we have" She looked around the room, took in faces and body language. General agreement. Now was her chance.
"I propose we put it to a vote. Your terminals contain the necessary functions" It took a bit more time to get everyone to agree to it. Several people wanted to be heard. But in the end everyone voted. There was silence for a few long minutes as everyone answered the simple prepared query.
Tevos nodded as the results were projected into the air. 86% of the assembled delegates backed her plan of isolation. 8% wanted closer contact. Only 7% were voting for more aggressive action.
The Asari Councillor let out a silent breath. It had worked. The decision had been made.
"Then this will be your task, Benezia. The Transhumanities know you. If their demands are not to outrageous, negotiate for a period of limited diplomatic, and no civilian, contact. Meanwhile, our focus must be on closing the technology gap between Citadel and Transumanity. Even if they are peaceful" Tevos nodded at Kanopis "Other species might not be, while having the same level of advancement. Technology must be our focus"
"Exactly right" another Salarian immediately continued. He had been part of the Infiltration Group "And to do that, we must address an unpleasant issue. The Citadel's use of Artificial Intelligence"
Almost instantly a dozen speaker request holos went up, several people began to shout to be chosen first.
"And I believe" the Salarian continued over the noise "That the Council agrees with my assessment. Why else would the CEO of Synthetic Insights be invited to this meeting?"
This time Tevos knew Matriarch Sho Da'an was smug. The CEO had arms and legs crossed, self satisfied grin firmly in place, her famous implant glinting at the side of her head. The noise level rose further.
"This can not be done!" A Quarian shouted, desperately.
"We have no other choice!" a Salarian screamed back. The speaker request holo went on over Da'an's workstation. Kanopis gave her the word. The Matriarch rose and waited with demurely folded hands. It took a while for the upset delegates to calm down.
"Synthetic Insights" the Matriarch said in her unusually deep voice "Would of course be pleased to assist the Citadel with these complex, challenging developments in any way we can" That was all. She sat down again. Her voice had trembled with barely concealed triumph.
In a way, Tevos could understand her. Sho had argued the superiority and utility of artificial minds for centuries, decrying the Citadels AI ban as a serious mistake. This was her moment of triumph.
On the other hand, Tevos also wanted to Warp the bitch through the nearest wall.
"Councillors!" A Turian demanded. Having sprung up from his station he was shouting down everyone else "Give it to us straight! Does the Citadel Council consider the use of AI to keep up with Transhumanity?!" Valern leaned forward in his seat.
"We are evaluating all options at this point" Once again shouting started. Accusations were flung around.
Tevos leaned back in her seat, face carefully blank. This would be a very long day.
Several weeks later Benezia was once again reporting to the Council.
"Envoy. Did they agree?" The Matriarch nodded the affirmative.
"They have. They also transmitted their list of demands for this agreement" The Councillors tensed.
"And?" Benezia cleared her throat and read the demands from her Omni-Tool.
"Control of the Ikai system half of Relay 311. 20 tons of refined Element Zero. The genetic and medical data of 2542 assorted species, including all known sapient ones. An entertainment database. And…" Benezia hesitated for a moment "…a Thresher Maw. A live one" Tevos blinked.
"Could you…repeat that?" The other Matriarch showed no outward reaction. She answered monotone and deadpan.
"Of course. They want, and I quote, "One of those worm thingies, a Thresher Maw. Still wiggly, please. They look fun" end quote."
Sparatus' eye twitched.
Last edited: Sep 8, 2017
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#161
The Raid
Bah'lek Tarn grinned menacingly. Mostly to hide his nervousness. He wasn't sure what had made his superiors decide to finally go ahead with a raid on Transhumanity, but he wasn't complaining. Nervous, yes. He had heard rumors.. .
Years ago, a mysterious new contact with an alien race. For weeks nothing concrete, then the Citadel had announced that both sides had agreed to a "prolonged period of careful acclimatisation" and had declared several nearby systems as either belonging to the Transhumans or labeled them with a "dangerous, stay away" tag on the official maps. An obvious ruse.
His people had been all but salivating, multiple raiders jockeying for first position, exchanging jokes and friendly ribbing over the extranet. Then...nothing. The raid was called off. The transhuman worlds declared as to dangerous. No further explanation given. Bizarrely everyone had followed that order, as far as Bah'lek knew. At least he never heard of a successful raid.
And now, the sudden 180, call to the ships, race to the auction block. It could make a man nervous.
On the other hand... the price for capturing a single life Transhuman would be enough to retire in luxury. This amount of credits could quell all doubts. And the rumors were stupid anyway. They had to be, right?
Right?
"We are approaching the system's edge, sir" Bah'lek nodded jerkily.
The "system's edge" was of course pure fiction. A random sphere in space where people said: "This is now that and that system". There were multiple different formulas for calculating "the edge", and many species and even many organisations had their own definitions. In the case of Batarian raiders it was the "suspected outer detection perimeter of the prey"
The problem in this case was, that no one knew the transhuman's capabilities. or even how big or important this system actually was. The only reason the Hegemony knew of it at all was because it was relatively close to other settled systems and the Transhumans had wanted to make their claim clear.
They hadn't even known there was a habitable planet here. Long distance scans had shown nothing before.
"Passing edge sir" the pilot warned.
"Steady as she goes" Bah'lek ordered, trying to calm both himself and his crew.
Remember the money
For a tense half hour nothing happened. It was quite on the bridge, except for the usual status updates and confirmations of orders. Only quieter than usual. An involuntary response many crews adopted when trying to be undetected, even if it made no sense in space.
Then the sensor console beeped. The officer sounded puzzled "Sir, I'm detecting..."
At this point the consoles flickered and died. The lights went out. The usual subliminal humming of a ship in operation disappeared.
Bah'leks stomach rose as the gravity was suddenly gone. He grabbed his armrests to prevent himself from floating away. Not all of his officers reacted fast enough. Shocked calls and gasps were heard.
For a moment the bridge was clad in darkness, then his eyes adapted to the weak starlight form the front window. And a moment later the chemical emergency lights began to glow.
"REPORT!" he barked.
"Consoles are dead sir!" a frantic voice called back and Bah'lek gritted his teeth.
"Then get them back!"
"Environmental control has stopped! We'll suffocate!"
"Don't panic we..."
"HOW DID THEY DO THIS!"
"GODS PROTECT US!"
"CALM DOWN! We don't know if they di..."
Voices talked over each other, ignoring the officers calls to order. Then on of the systems engineers stood up "HEY! HEY! SHUT UP! ALL OF YOU! Listen!" It grew quite. Bah'lek strained his ears. He heard...a faint hiss.
"GAS!" he shouted "DEPLOY HELMETS!" Clicks followed as his own helmet deployed and Bah'lek relaxed as he felt fresh air being pumped in by his suit.
The HUD displayed an error message and his helm retracted again. It wasn't the only one and all around him soldiers cursed and tried to get theirs to deploy again.
Bah'lek was hammering on his Omni-Tool, panic rising but the damn thing refused to cooperate, displaying random advertisements instead. "Sore back? Stiff neck? Try Namodas ergonomic chairs, with latests, patented multiform material!"
Bah'lek gave up on it and did his best to ignore the flashing holos and random voices. Instead he reoriented himself and pushed of his chair, towards the door. He had to get out of here.
The door was still closed, but while the outside was smooth to prevent any potential attackers from gaining entrance, the inside was articulated to allow for manual opening.
Bah'lek pushed and cursed as the door refused to budge at first. Already the first coughing could be heard around him. Bah'lek ignored it. His men had to help themselves. Finally he managed to wrench the door open a bit.
"Captain!" He didn't wait until it was big enough, but rather frantically tried to wiggle himself through, cursing as his suit scrapped over the edges .
"Captain, wait!" Ignoring the voice he pushed of to glide away from the bridge. Behind him the door closed again to a slit.
Relieved Bah'lek took a deep breath. He noticed the two unconscious guards to late.
A coughing fit hit him, wrenching him around in midair, turning his straight glide into a wild curve. He bounced against the wall, then scraped along the floor.
"Rulani nature resort! Taste the air!" his Omni-Tool chirped as he drifted away, gasping for breath. Already his sight was blurring, his movement uncoordinated. As he desperately grasped in the gloom, trying to find purchase, trying to find anything he thought he saw something.
Something was moving in the corridor. Something was...
Darkness embraced him.
"We are approaching the system's edge, sir" Bah'lek nodded jerkily.
The "system's edge" was of course pure fiction. A random sphere in space where people said: "This is now that and that system". There were multiple different formulas for calculating "the edge", and many species and even many organisations had their own definitions. In the case of Batarian raiders it was the "suspected outer detection perimeter of the prey"
In this case however, it wasn't prey, but Bah'lek's home system and base of operations, the batarian Colony Torfan.
It felt good to be home. They had wasted the last few weeks in FTL to and from the transhuman system. A system that had contained nothing except some automated buoys. It seems the Transhumans hadn't begun settling or mining it yet.
But still, despite the waste, Bah'lek felt...happy. Relaxed. It was good to be home. Yes, he thought he would be spending some time on planet, relax from the boring weeks in FTL.
Maybe visit a few government facilities. Observe the colonies infrastructure working. Or, hey, he had always wanted to take a tour of the colony defences.
Yes. That would make him quite happy.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#173
Ghost
He called himself Vado, ghost, these days. Clear names were to risky. It also had the advantage of not being very imaginative. He wasn't even the only Vado in his own cell and there were tons of books, vids or games with "Vado" in the title somewhere. It gave him the illusion of anonymity, which he badly needed. He really wasn't sure if he was cut out for this.
A few months ago, he had been a simple Hill Caste service technician, always in the background, barely noticed. Which had been a blessing, in a way. Those in power didn't step on you for fun if they couldn't see you. Still, he had felt helpless often enough.
So when the call had reached him, he had answered.
One day, he had been replacing a conventional power regulator in a corridor somewhere in an archive somewhere. Freak accident really. Those things normally lasted for decades. Then a group of people had been running by where he worked. All he had done was point the police men following them in another direction.
It was a spur of the moment decision and he was still confused why he hadn't been caught. Maybe the all mighty state wasn't as powerful as they always made it seem? Still, the risk had been enormous.
When he had been contacted, he had hesitated for a long time. Maybe it was a sting operation to find dissidents? Maybe Blackwatch itself was laying out the bait? But he had taken it. He had too. How could he not? The following days had torn his nerves into shreds, but in the end, the contact had come through, he had met his new cell leader and Vado had been part of the Resistance.
Or rather, the local Hill Caste Anonymous Butemerol Addict Self Help Group (non-denominational Chapter).
Vado approached the building, taking care to step shorter than normal, to lower one shoulder slightly and keep his breathing irregular. Modern surveillance VIs didn't just do facials scans.
Before he met these people, Vado would never have suspected that acting classes, especially body language alteration, would become a skill his life would depend on one day. Still, despite their lessons, you couldn't always get it right. Or get it right to much and then the VIs rung the alarm as well, noticing the outlier behaviour. So far, they had been very lucky.
Vado's group wasn't exactly the elite. They filled support roles, got passcodes, stole minor things, stuff like that. But still, it had gotten close several times. The movement was growing, and so was the governments willingness to use force. One day, a bullet might end it all. Or worse, he might be captured by Blackwatch, alive.
But...Vado opened the door. He had to try, didn't he?
Vakah Bram eyed their latest price through the transparent wall, arms crossed in front of her.
She tried to tell herself her body language reflected the anger and annoyance she felt at being made to babysit the Squinters. But the truth was, she felt vulnerable. Uneasy.
The size of that thing alone!
If someone had told her a month ago that you could keep a hangar this size secret, on Kar'shan of all places, she would have smacked them for being stupid and wasting her time. And now look at it.
Look at it.
The rolling, massive expanse of pseudo-organic hull. The awe inspiring, overwhelming size.
Tiny lights seemed to glow in the darkness of the monstrous body, workers, researchers or scan drones no doubt. But in her fantasy, these lights turned into eyes all to easy.
She scowled at herself.
It was dead. All...crew captured and killed before being brought here. Everyone she had met here had reassured her of that. She was being ridiculous.
But still...
She hadn't survived so many Black Ops missions by ignoring her instinct.
And right now?
Right now she had the impression of an insect, stuck on the surface of a pool, watching a fish approach from below.
Bah'lek was having an odd day, the most odd part maybe how little it bothered him. He was wandering though Kahvekan, Torfan's main city, observing sites he had grown up with, yet he felt as if he was seeing some of them for the first time.
Odd details caught his eye.
Like the glint of the guard armours. The way a Mountain Caste police officer was "flirting" with a clearly uncomfortable Hill Caste. The rapid movement of the birds.
He also noted the surface-to-space cannon placements around the central palace and the blocky Mass Effect shield projectors around it.
You couldn't really approach either, they were heavily monitored and forbidden to approach, even by other officers or police on duty. Only the current guard shift was allowed around them.
But he had taken one of the public tours that were held in one of the older, discarded types that had been placed in a museum. He had surprised himself with the amount of questions he had asked. Weird what one could develop an interest in if you spend all your time in a warship,flying or fighting.
Yes, maybe all he really needed was a vacation.
He had even developed a new nervous tick without noticing, constantly playing with his Omni-Tool controls. Maybe that was why it drained the battery so quickly, lately. And he would need to buy Omni-gel cartridges soon, too.
Lost in thought he hadn't noticed were he was walking and jerked in surprise when he saw where he was. The entrance to the lower market, where Untouchables sold themselves into servitude.
Huh. Had he been here before? Oddly, he couldn't tell. His memory felt...cushioned, somehow, like covered in something soft but impenetrable. He couldn't bring himself to care. A lot of things didn't seem to matter much anymore.
Well, he was here. Might as well have a look around.
Ga'van Harrek stood on the open terrace, taking in the beautiful sight of Torfan's sun, rising over the morning mists. It was still quite, the city beneath him having not yet awoken. He took a deep breath of the cool, fresh, invigorating air. He loved mornings like that.
A good nights sleep. Waking up next to whatever slave he currently favoured. A slow, unhurried beginning. Knowing the day would bring naught but pleasure and success.
Well, not perfect success, perhaps.
His last few slave raids had been wastes, all of them failing or returning with nothing, their information wrong or the resistance unexpectedly fierce. It wasn't critical yet in any way, but his purse would eventually feel the impact.
At least none of the other expeditions of his rivals had fared any better, as his spies reported. In fact, many hadn't returned at all. Too bad. So sad.
Smiling to himself he crossed the terrace, where his newest acquisition was waiting next to a backless couch. A powerfully build Batarian, kneeling in a complicated stress pose that showed of his assets perfectly. The pose required both skill and a willingness to suffer for his master. Yes.
Ga'van did not understand the Masters who went for Asari or even Salarians. Soft, bendable creatures. There was no skill in mastering them, no strength or patience needed to break them, no effort and therefore no reward. But breaking a strong, handsome male, used to being in control...now that was power.
Ga'van stood next to his slave, smiling down at him. He reached out to caress his face. Many Masters would have killed, literally, to call a body and face like this their own. And they were his to do with as he pleased. He had already made good use of him last night, testing his strength and stamina.
Ga'van sat down on the couch, still absentmindedly caressing his slave.
He had had strange dreams, last night. Strange but pleasant. Random memories, mixed with fantastic visions and vague ideas...
Odd dreams...
The slave moved against his hand. Ga'van looked at him. The slave had lowered all four eyes in submission, but his widened nostrils and open mouth...and something else told the Slavemaster that his gentle ministrations had some effect. What an excellent slave. So responsive. Yes, the dreams could wait.
For now...
Gavan beckoned his slave and with one hand, opened his robe.
For now he would remind himself that reality was even better.
Cloud 4 looked around the table.
"What have we got?"
"Sorry, Boss" Cloud 2 answered "A whole lot of confusion, nothing clear, but something is definitely going on" Cloud 4 narrowed his eyes at him.
"Could you be a bit more specific?" Ram 2 was the one who answered. The Batarian opened several holographics over the table, mostly showing hidden network traffic analysis as well as crime statistics, napped from local security forces.
"There has been a marked increase in successful raids by both sides in the last 3 months. Blackwatch has frequently managed to get information that let to cell arrests but at the same time, the number of successful Rebel attacks on state owned and private installations have gone up as well.
Want to hear my opinion? Blackwatch has a new Mind Chip and the rebels found someone with serious hacking skills" Ram 7 looked thoughtful.
"Outside help?" Ram 2 highlighted certain holograms.
"Network traffic outside of Kar'shan looks normal, if there is a new player, he or she is planet side" Cloud 5 leaned in for a closer look.
"Is this local only? What about the colonies?" Ram 2 shook her head.
"You know how little HQ tells us about other operations, and for good reasons. We would have to inquire deliberately" The last sentence was half a question, with a curious look to her superior.
Cloud 4 studied the holograms. The continuous rebellions on Batarian worlds had been going on for centuries and were, by now, almost part of what locally passed for the "political process". They had never been very effective.
Usually a dozen small scale cells rose and sooner or later Blackwatch managed to squash them.
The intelligence service was brutal and ruthless, but as busy with infighting and internal powerplays as with the rebels they never took very seriously anyway.
The rebellions meanwhile were hampered by the Batarians social structure, their caste system. Each caste jealously guarded it's advantages over the others, making true cooperation between different caste Batarians difficult at best.
In the last months, however, things seemed to have changed.
Cooporation over caste barriers had improved dramatically and the rebels had gained some serious tech skills.
And Blackwatch, for their part, was acting much more focused, taking the resistance suddenly seriously and having more and more success with it.
Either change alone would have been noteworthy. Both of them? At the same time? Alarming.
"I will inquire with HQ" Cloud 4 decided. The Salarian looked around "We will need the additional data for comparison, to see if the source of the changes can be localised. But even if that succeeds, well need ways to verify the data. Ideally, inside sources from both sides. Ideas?"
The brainstorming session begun.
Last edited: Oct 10, 2017
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Oct 12, 2017
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#190
Commando Style
I am Kamila Bakan and our top story in the Hegemony today is the spectacular success of Treacherous Turns, the newly acclaimed hit series from Harrek Industries Illuminated!
The highly unusual and controversial series is the dark tale of a group of Batarian patriots acquiring a hidden, strange artifact, intending to study it for the Hegemony's future. But strange happenings and mysterious changes soon occur. Could the artifact be not as dead as it seemed?
Despite being only in it's first season the series has hit record viewing numbers and is widely considered to be an artistic and economic success, having found a viewership even behind Hegemony borders, in the greater Citadel Space.
The series has drawn critique, however, for it's inclusion of *slave* characters as protagonists. Many outraged Batarians have decried the portrayal as "blatantly false" and "disruptive to batarian society". These complaints, of course, have made the series only hotter and it has become a smash hit with batarian youth.
Today the series has won eight Black Pearl trophies at the Kar'shan Summit for Excellence in the Arts. An unprecedented success for any Hegemony production.
This reporter for one can not wait to see what the second season will bring.
This is Kamila Bakan, signing off.
Vado was crouched in the back of the aircar, together with four others, trying to keep his nerves under control. Things had progressed quickly, it felt, even though months had passed.
His group had proven itself multiple times and now they had been trusted with something infinitely bigger than before. Their first real, weapons hot, most likely armed guards raid.
It was still a surreal thought.
They had learned that a warehouse at the edge of town was being used as a temporary storage for an entire shipment of Mind Chips. The chips were to be delivered to the slave owners over the coming week. A target to tempting to pass up, even thought he risk was enormous.
These chips weren't what Blackwatch used to seemingly turn capture Resistance members with ease. They were civilian, but high end products and the tech guys were eager to measure their skill against the builders, trying to find a way to hack and disable the chips (remotely, if possible), to free whoever was being influenced. Perhaps even to find ways to shield rebels against those devices should they be captured.
A very tempting target.
The car lurched as it took a curve quickly and his heart skipped a beat. The stress was getting to him. His hands shook, he was sweaty and his eyes seemed to sensitive to the light. But there was also exhilaration. They were really doing something tonight. The chips might provide answers on how to free others or prevent rebels from being brainwashed.
And even if they didn't manage to obtain samples: mind control chips of this kind were difficult to produce and expensive, real top of the line stuff. Nothing you could just replace with a trip to the store. Destroying an entire warehouse would hurt the bastards in charge.
"5 minutes" came the call form the front and Vado's heart seemed to try to beat out of his chest.
He went over his weapon again, a Terminator rifle, "liberated" from a police station. He knew it was superfluous, his equipment was perfectly fine. Still, he needed something to do
Then, seemingly a few breaths later, the car started to tilt, coming down close to the warehouse. They sat down, a few streets away. The doors opened, but still they waited.
Vado could hear his own breath loudly, reflected by his cheap hoverbike helmet, mostly there to conceal his face. Only those with combat experience rated real protective equipment. Then the streetlights outside flickered.
"Surveillance is down! Go, go, GO!" They were out of the car, in order, just like they had practiced. The street was dimly lit, but to Vado every streetlamp was a flood light searching for him, every window full of spies or snipers. Half crouched the ran forward, finger carefully of the trigger.
"Fence" someone whisper-shouted and an Omni-Tool blade sprung into being with an ominous hum. They were through in five seconds, keeping to the shadows. Around the warehouse no one so far seemed to have noticed the looped surveillance feeds and Vado couldn't see any physical guards either. Could they really be that lucky?
Ducking behind an airtruck they scanned the area. Whispers of "clear" went out. Two of them stormed forward toward the actual entrance to the warehouse itself while the other three kept guard.
Vado strained to focus on his surroundings, all four eyes moving independently, while he tried to ignore the sounds behind him. It seemed to take an eternity before the two cracking the door whispered "Open!" One by one they rushed inside, Vado being second to last while the last one kept guard.
Thy were inside. Vado had to force himself to take breaths. The interior was even gloomier than the night outside, the unmanned storage space not needing much light.
"Swarm out" came the quite command and they moved out, began to run own the isles and rows, looking for the containers described to them. It took long minutes before they found something.
"Hey!" someone hissed. Vado looked out to see Hunter 3 frantically waving at them through the half empty shelves. They quickly converged on him.
They were looking at 3 dozen off-white containers, round and smooth, the outside evidently thermal insulation.
"Check" Hunter 1 ordered and Hunter 3, the only "engineer" in the team, began to use his Omni-Tool to crack the seal on one container while the other four stood guard. Finally, one of the pods opened with a hiss
"It's real" Hunter 3 confirmed. Vado couldn't help but shoot a quick look.
He knew enough to know not to expect actual, rectangular chips. Sharp edges in soft tissue were in general a Bad Idea.
Mechanisms to control slaves came in all forms, from the simple collar, shock or explosive, over to the more sophisticated implanted pain/pleasure inducers (often causing brain damage with excessive use) all the way to this: top of the line, mind altering equipment. Devices that could, on a fundamental level, alter the drives and needs of a person. Overwrite their personality, given enough time.
The ultimate form of violation.
And what Vado saw were cooled, clear containers, containing liquid and what looked like tiny balls of white gauze. That was all.
"Look innocent, huh?" Hunter 2 drawled sardonically. Vado opened his mouth to answer...and Hunter 5 screamed as his shoulder exploded in blood.
Figures were moving between the shelves, fast and clad in real armour, not the cobbled together stuff the rebels wore.
They spun towards the new threat.
Hunter 1 was barking orders Vado couldn't hear, the attacking soldiers...Blackwatch, no doubt...were shouting things he couldn't understand, he was going to die. Everything had gone surreally silent as his blood rushed in his ears...and all tension fell away.
The world unfolded into clarity. Suddenly, what he needed to do became entirely obvious.
In one smooth motion Vado brought up his gun, anticipated the movement of one of the attackers and pulled the trigger. He kept it pressed for long seconds as the rifle hummed in his arms, a stream of mass accelerated slivers of metal hitting the enemy soldier. At first only his shields flashed and he managed to throw himself into cover. But Vado had seen the containers he used and knew/remembered/expected them to be lightweight. His prediction came true as his steady stream of bullets ripped through the flimsy material and finally the soldier behind it screamed in pain and fell from cover as he convulsed.
One target down.
Then he was in motion. He ignored the rest of his squad as he scrambled up the nearest shelf, rifle slung over his shoulder. He needed oversight, data.
Near misses pinged around him, but he swayed and jinxed randomly as he climbed, slowing him down but also making him harder to hit. Finally he was up and still in motion, breaths rapid but deep, taking stock of the room, counting enemies.
Around 2 dozen soldiers from both entrances/exits. A trap.
No matter.
Bringing his rifle up he began to bark orders into his Omni-Tool.
They left behind a burning warehouse full of corpses and dying people. Several small containers holding suspended balls of white gauze were secured in their various bags.
Hunter 5 and Hunter 1 were being supported by Hunter 2 as they stumbled forward. They continued to throw disbelieving looks over their shoulders back to where Vadow was guarding their rear.
His body was thrumming with exhaustion but his mind still had that unreal, crystal clear clarity that left no space for doubt or questions, that made him know what had to be done any single second.
Sirens were howling, firefighters, police and more Blackwatch would descend any moment but they still had time. When they finally reached the fence the aircar was waiting for them.
"Get inside, inside" the driver hissed, face contorted in anger and fear. The order was followed, Vado the last one, rifle still at the ready. They took off and casually began to hover close to the ground until they could rejoin higher air traffic without suspicion. Apparently the surveillance blackout was still working. Amazing.
"What the fuck was that?" The driver hissed at them "In, out. No one said anything about blowing shit up!" Hunter 1 still had that disbelieving expression.
"It was a trap. Blackwatch but..." The driver looked really scared now.
"Blackwatch? What? How the shit did you escape?" The others all looked at Vado.
"Well, little service tech here stepped up. Commando style"
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Oct 17, 2017
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#194
Cyphers
Cloud 4 looked rather incredulously at his agent.
"A holoshow" he deadpanned "Really" Ram 2 shifted on her chair uncomfortably but held his gaze.
"I know how it sounds but...well, the statistical analysis doesn't lie. There is a marked increase of anti-system and anti-government sentiment in forums discussing the show and unrest and disobedience have both risen sharply each time a new episode aired. It falls to nearly normal levels after a while, but it rises again after each new showing. Throughout all castes and even, to a lesser degree, throughout all levels of wealth and prosperity. Even rich government officials have shown a marked rise in aggression towards superiors" Cloud 4 shook his head.
"You think that what...the show is causing the current unrests?" Ram 2 winked her eyes one after the other, a denying gesture.
"The anomaly appeared after the latest spike in dissatisfaction, but it is definitely pouring oil on the flames. Somehow. I can't explain it, I am only presenting the fact that it does" Cloud 4 looked around the table.
"How?" Ram 5 shrugged.
"It's a good show?" His superior did not look impressed and Ram 5 hastily continued. "Well, it has slave characters. And it has become socially critical, somewhat. That's why people like it. It's subversive, without crossing a line that government censors could point to as justification to take it off. Yet the message can't be missed. It's clever" Ram 7 looked disbelieving.
"We are talking about the usual sci fi/mystery/horror crap here, right?" Ram 2 looked defensive.
"Not only. It uses that as a medium to... tackle other themes" Ram 7 looked around, searching for support. When none of the others reacted he shook his head in disbelieve. Cloud 4 looked thoughtful.
"You think it is designed to have this effect on people? Deliberately?" Cloud 5 cleared his throat.
"We know the rebels got some serious hacking mojo recently. What if they got someone with decent social engineering skills too? A meme specialist or group psychologist or something?" Ram 7 protested.
"Or it's all just coincidence. I mean, what could be the purpose of doing it like that? No matter what backing they might have, this is to public to have any chance of long term survival. If it really turns out to ...to incite violence or whatever it will get shut down and the people behind it disappeared." Cloud 4 closed his eyes to think.
"A wildcard is always possible, but Ram 7 is right. Even if we assume you could deliberately create discontent with a mere vidshow like this: Why? It's to public, to blatant. It would have to cause a reaction from the government and the last thing the Resistance wants is easily traced back attention"
"The publicity could be the point" Cloud 5 argued "Harder to crack down on someone that is seen and liked by everyone. The show is popular throughout..." he pointed at a holo, showing viewership data "...a large part of the demographic, crossing caste borders" Cloud 4 hummed.
"I tend to disagree. We might be confusing cause and effect here. It is more probable the success of the show is a result of the latest unrests and that it simply struck a nerve. There may very well be rebel sympathies within the group of writers, but I doubt it is a rebel operation. As Ram 7 said, it's to blatant" Ram 7 looked satisfied while Ram 2 opened her mouth to protest. Cloud 4 raised a hand.
"But we can not ignore the odd behavioural anomalies in viewers either." Now the expressions on Ram 2 and 7s faces were reversed.
"Doing the obvious, investigating the show and it's producers, should be easy enough. I highly doubt they will lead us to the resistance leadership, but even the faintest connection could show us new possibilities." Ram 7 rolled his eyes, an impressive gesture in a Batarian.
"Waste of energy if you ask me, but I'll contact some of my usual people" Ram 2 looked eager.
"I'll take a look at their network, crack a few private accounts, take a look at future episodes" Ram 5 smiled.
"Care to share those future scripts?" Ram 7 looked disgusted at them. Cloud 4 cleared his throat pointedly.
"Be careful. I know this may seem frivolous, but if we noticed it, then Blackwatch may have to. And we don't need attention form them either."
Vakah Bram was fuming. A vid series? Never had she felt so humiliated. The sheer audacity.
Blackwatch prided itself on it's reputation of ruthlessness and deadliness. In it's long history it had been attacked over and over again, even wiped out a few times, only to be rebuild. But never before had anyone dared to openly mock them like this. And the most insulting part? So far, they had been unable to find the leak.
Heads had rolled, literally in a few cases. Yet the show somehow persisted. Some had even begun to question if there actually was a leak, or if the show just so happened to fit Blackwatch's latest project perfectly. Bram would have been ready to believe in absurd coincidences, if it hadn't been for the impossible, little hints shown everywhere.
The ancient, secret society (because of course there was one) used a symbol that looked just to much like their prize find from above to be mere chance. One of the characters had worn the exact same clothes as one of their own did in private. The mock secret base even had roughly the same layout as theirs, for gods sake!
And they couldn't even relocate, due to the absurd size of that thing (Whoever had decided to move it to Kar'shan itself had been an insane idiot anyway.)
It was such a deliberate, blatant, absurd provocation and yet they couldn't find out who or how, let alone why.
There had been no blackmail. No mysterious accidents. No bombs.
Just a godsdamn, smash-hit holo show.
Tarn didn't feel so good. He couldn't remember why he had bought tickets to Kar'shan. He couldn't remember the flight. Only vague impressions of a cabin and a spaceport...
He felt slightly dizzy, unbalanced, yet every time he tried to scan himself his Omni-Tool insisted he was in perfect health. He had been staying in a rather shabby hotel somewhere for ... for a while.
That was...it was weird, wasn't it? He was a ship's captain. Had he taken leave? He couldn't remember. Were people looking for him?
He felt followed sometimes. Watched.
Today he had spent quite a lot of money on tickets to the Arsenal Arena. It wasn't the Arena of course, Armax didn't do business in Hegemony space, none of the big Citadel companies did, out of fear for their reputation. At least officially, they didn't. It was an unlicensed Hegemony knock off.
He hadn't known why, to be honest. But perhaps the distraction would do him good. After all, the Kar'shan Arena Complex was the biggest entertainment center on the planet. They had everything, from public holoarenas over AR adventure parks to private VR suits.
He had booked one of these, including the option to bring his own programs. To be discreetly run on the Arena's system and then deleted without a trace, plausible deniability for all involved, no matter what fetish he favoured.
He actually didn't really feel like sex, but maybe the hunger would come while eating?
If only he wasn't so tired all the time...
Rika Ashkan was clutching her flyers, stuffed toys and plastic crest to her chest as she shoved her way threw the crowd.
The first Treacherous Turns Fancon on Kar'Shan ever and the place was packed! Around her was the brutal noise of 25000 attendees conversing, shouting, yelling and singing the theme song. Badly, most often.
The cosplayers were in full force too. Treacherous Turns didn't have many glamorous costumes, but the ones it did have were thrillingly scandalous.
Dozens of Batarians around her were dressed as Avuna, Surresch and 138 the famous asari, salarian and elcor slave characters from Treacherous Turns.
Incredible!
It had the Wheezing Warriors out in droves of course. The elder Batarian generation had shown up in force, protesting in front of the convention center, projecting holograms and shouting slogans.
The assembled mass of sweaty fans had shouted right back, thundering the theme song with more enthusiasm then skill.
It had only served to heat up the atmosphere even more. Rika herself had bravely sung along, feeling one with all her idols form TT, that fought the oppression to keep the Hegemony safe.
She was just like them! Fighting with Batarians of all kinds and castes against oppression!
She herself was Cloud Caste, so not exactly low on the pyramid. But here, now, this didn't matter. She saw Hill, Cloud, even the occasional Plains or Sky caste Batarian, chatting amicably with each other, reciting lines and animatedly discussing plot points and favourite characters. Some Batarians, especially those in cosplay of course, had even gone so far as to completely conceal their caste memberships.
And some, the most radical, were even wearing fake slavecollars!
Wild!
Mom and Dad would throw fits when she showed them her pictures!
A cosplayer dressed as Colonel Sorkoz, the brainwashed Blackwatch leader, shoved her aside and she nearly dropped her bursting bag of free TT merchandise. What should she do next?
She had lost her two friends, Barra and Tolku, hours ago. Normally it would have been a matter of moments to find them both via Omni-Tool, but it seemed that the local nodes were unable to handle the load. The extranet was slow, halting and connections glitchy.
Bit odd. Rika couldn't remember a time she hadn't had easy access to the the 'net. Yet, also exciting in it's own way!
A colourful swirl in the air distracted her and she forgot all about her friends. Someone had recreated the Cyphers!
The Cyphers were complicated, abstract holo artwork that was often somewhere in the background in the show. Some contained well hidden secret messages for the fans, others were seemingly just mood pieces to help set a scene. One had been a minor plot point because it had contained encrypted research of one of the scientists. Now, the enormously complicated recreations were slowly shifting above people's heads.
Rika was impressed. That was top notch hologear someone was using there. People were stopping and staring, appreciative murmurs could be heard.
Then a hammer hit her entire body and tossed her aside.
She crashed into a nearby stand, bouncing of the plastic and sliding to the floor.
Dazedly she moved her limbs, trying to figure out what happened. The world was humming. Her ears hurt and her eyes were unfocused. Disoriented she grasped around, driven by the need to keep her things together.
She inhaled a lungful of smoke and curled over in an abrupt coughing fit. Wheezing she shot back up, reality suddenly restored.
Her ears still hurt but now she could hear the screams, crackling of fire and the noise of collapsing booths and decorations. And see the devastation.
A few dozen meters from her, something must have exploded.
Fire was already being fought by localised suppression systems. Wounded Batarians were staggering away from the epicenter. Someone was screaming a name over and over again.
Rika began to shake. That was so close. Someone had...that could have been her...where were Barra and Tolku?...who would...that could have been her!
Tears were prickling in all four eyes as she clutched her bag closer for protection. She stared at a leg that was sticking out of a pile of rubble. Gods, who would do this! Security personal was swarming the place. The few medics that all gatherings of this size required were shouting orders.
Should she help? Should she stay out oft he way? Rika didn't feel brave or special anymore. She was just a scared child, once again.
But as she was still debating what to do, a flicker of movement caught her right eyes.
The Cypher holo was still active, but evidently damaged. The gentle, intriguing dance had became a jagged series of random movements. The holo flickered and pulsed.
As Rika watched, she thought she could see her own heartbeat reflected in it's erratic flares.
And, slowly, her shock and fear turned into rage.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#200
Virrum
They had x-rayed anyone with even a tangential relation to the production. Nothing. A few really weird people, even a few subversives here and there, but no one had shown any hint of how they got this information. At least not without abducting and interrogating someone in person and they were reluctant to show their hand like this . Might even be that whoever was behind this was precisely hoping for such an abduction. Wouldn't have been the first time Blackwatch got infiltrated like this. Until the time it was unavoidable they had tried a more subtle, restrained approach.
And the stupid holotrash shrugged it all of! It was absurd! Bizarre! Impossible!
Some of the most powerful men and women of the Hegemony regularly toured their facility, drinking in the ship's alien beauty.
(Something she understood very well. Vakah herself was dreaming more and more often of it's sensuous organic curves. She couldn't understand anymore why she had found them so repulsive at first.)
But even with all this support, the stupid show refused to die! Somehow, they just couldn't get if of the air! Many of Kar'shan's rich and powerful were actually fans of this...mental afterbirth. And especially their kids were.
Vakah Bram would not stand for this.
The show was an affront, a mockery of Blackwatch and what it stood for.
Even worse, the potential reveal of these information was threatening it!
And that simply could not be allowed.
Tarn woke up. Tarn stood up. Tarn began his daily cleaning routine.
He barely recognised the face in the mirror. Vaguely he was concerned about that. Disassociation. Dangerous. A warning sign.
The impulse died. The worry ebbed away. He continued cleaning himself.
He was brushing his teeth as he noted a movement out of his eyes. His right arm was twitching. Rising it he stared at it. It was moving without his control, cramping spastically.
His eyes dulled. He stared without reaction as his right hand moved randomly, muscles on his forearm bulging and straining, as if they were trying to rip themselves from the bones.
For a few seconds he watched without outward reaction. The spasms slowed and then stopped.
Tarn lowered his arm and continued cleaning his teeth. He finished his daily ritual and dressed in the bedroom, although he wasn't quite sure what for.
He went many times to the arena, spending a fortune he couldn't afford to loose.
He didn't know why. All he remembered from his visits was a vague feeling of happiness that had kept him going. Not anymore.
Bah'lek felt...empty. Waiting. It wasn't unpleasant.
His omni tool screeched. His eyes twitched. Perimeter breach alert.
He had dived half way to the hidden compartment when the front door and balcony doors exploded. simultaneously
Batarian silhouettes became visible in the flying debris, cloaks flashing erratically. Stun bolts rained around him, but he had dived out of the way in time.
Now he came up again, gun in one hand, device in other and he aimed and fired in one fluid motion. The invisible man became visible instantly as his VI switched to shields. They flashed blue under the impacts. A stunner bolt from the other assailant clipped Tarn's left arm and he shouted in anger as he dropped the...the...
Hormones roared in his blood. His vision had tinged red and all he knew was that it was time to kill, kill, KILL!
He turned, grabbing for the device with is functioning right arm.
Someone shouted "Grenade!" and the still invisible one of the pair tackled him, a second before the visible one could.
Tarn roared again, using impossible strength to lift both Batarians in the air. Pivoting on one foot he managed to grab the invisible one on his back and slammed him into the wall. His cloak sputtered and died and he slid down in a daze
The other attacker had come free though, Tarn's left arms till useless.
Again he pivoted, getting all his mass and momentum behind a kick that send the visible attacker stumbling, despite his shields.
Ignoring him Tarn jumped at the...the grenade. He roared again, this time in triumph as his functioning hand closed around it. Bullets impacted in the walls and floor, deadly ones this time, from a third shooter somewhere outside.
Tarn ignored them, his fingers finding the necessary buttons.
"NO!" The visible attacker launched himself forward, desperately grabbing for Tarn's arm. It didn't matter. His fingers pressed down.
With a bright light the incendiary grenade ignited.
The explosion ripped out what was left of the windows, tore apart the walls and melted through the floor.
For a few short seconds temperatures inside the cheap flat reached as much as 8000 degrees.
Nothing organic remained.
Codex Entry: Virrum
A Virrum is a worm like creature home to the Salarian colony world of Marash. The animal is known for it's habit of finding sleeping, mammal like creatures and paralysing them with it's secretion, penetrating an ear canal and laying eggs close to the hosts brain.
As the eggs grow, they secrete a substance that evidently causes the host to feel constant thirst. Eventually, the urge overwhelms the animal, it drowns itself in a body of water and the eggs hatch, burrow through the carcass into the water to enter the next stage of their lives.
The exact mechanism of this apparent "mind control" is unknown, despite extensive research into the subject.
Despite the fact that there has been no infection of any sentient ever recorded (the creature targets only one animal and Salarian flesh, causes, in fact, a deadly allergic reaction in it), rumours of infection persist.
The creature has became the subject of urban folklore. Horror stories of the worm infecting Salarians or other species are a common theme. Most commonly, the story involves entire settlements waking up one night, wandering through the night forest in silence and drowning themselves without hesitation in a nearby lake or river.
As a result, Virrum has become synonymous with mind control, with Salarians developing saying like "Who put that egg in his mind?" referring to someone developing a strange, seemingly out of character idea.
Researchers note that...
STG Taskforce VIRRUM EGG
This was the name for the STG umbrella organisation that coordinated the task forces and special research groups that monitored the potential Transhuman threat.
The organisation had grown vastly in the last few years and had, by now, the 4th highest overall budget of the various STG subsections, despite bitter protests of their rivals about "wasted resources".
A sign how serious STG took the threat.
The various heads of these subsections were currently meeting, physically, in one space. The extreme risk this presented was offset by the negation of Transhumanity's most likely superior abilities of infiltrating and listening in on network traffic.
Even though each of them was present physically, there were still extensive security measurements in place between each of them.
Everyone was wearing their own, air tight suits. Around them were transparent gel capsules, moveable and equipped with every type of anti-nanite system the STG engineers could think of. Each gel capsule had in turn rolled through it's own access corridor into armoured, sealed pods and these pods were now converged in one room.
The room in question looked rather bizarre, even ominous. Bright, blinding lights left no shadows anywhere, radiating in infrared and ultraviolet as well as he spectra visible to salarian eyes.
Odd, almost organic protrusions swallowed sound and reinforced the room in case of attack. No outside data connections were possible. The room was flooded with pure nitrogen and pressure sensors, sticking from the walls and ceiling like bizarre insectile feelers, would register if anything moved when it shouldn't.
Located several kilometers beneath the surface of a moon in the Salarian home system of Pranas it was perhaps the most secure place in all of Citadel Space.
The Salarians gathered here did not know each others clear names. Or maybe a few, but not all of each others names and personas, their faces, retinas and sometimes very DNA altered to obfuscate their identity. (Many spoke of the potential psychological issues this insecurity and fluidity of ones personality may cause, but for obvious reasons, no one would ever see a psychiatrist about it.)
So even though they could see each others faces...it didn't mean much to them. Gender, voice, DNA...it was all in question, subject to change. The irony of their situation compared to Transhumanty's was not lost on them.
The sole exception was the head of the Task Force. Codenamed Vasik, Observer, he - or she - knew the various members actual selves. Maybe.
"We are certain of their presence?" He asked now. At least the others were hearing a male voice.
"They have a show about an alien artifact infecting Batarians" White Three noted drily. "After a failed "expedition" into transhuman space, no less"
"Yes, but do we know?" Hammer Three insisted
"There is a show..."
"That is not evidence. It might be bizarre coincidence. It could even have been initiated as a distraction, to make us believe they are in batarian space, to shift our focus. Do. We. Know"
"We have worked closely with the locally present groups on this" Sigma Blue noted "This show is attracting undue attention, causing destabilisation, inciting unrest. Somehow. No known technology is capable of this. Transhuman involvement highly probable." A pause "It is a message"
"To whom?" Hammer Three asked.
"To us, of course." White Three answered derisively "They are demonstrating their abilities, sending us a warning"
"There would have been much subtler ways to turn the Batarians away from their colonies. And I do not buy this "message" excrement. Why antagonise anyone? Why provoke?" This was Violet Orchard. Their voice was gender neutral.
"What does Thoughtful Sunrise say?" Observer wanted to know. Critical Dawn answered.
"We have given Thoughtful Sunrise the unprocessed signal intelligence data from that time frame, together with observation data on Harrek Illuminated and associates, taken from Blackwatch's own datafeeds.
Thoughtful Sunrise indicates a strong and subtle alien presence in Batarian data networks and confirms behavioural changes in Harrek and others" White Three's expression darkened.
"Our reliance on this system..."
"Is not up for debate" Observer interrupted. "We have had this discussion many times before." White Three made a gesture of submission. Violet Orchard continued.
"Transhumanity's long term goal seems to be clear. Prevent any further incursions into their space. But there would be subtler means. Even just disappearing their ships would have gotten them to stop eventually"
"Unknown" Hammer Three cautioned "Batarian pride might have led to an all out attack. Transhuman moral sensibilities might also look unfavourably on killing the raiders or even incarcerating them. Too little is known"
It was a cliché expression, a saying for Salarians. One that was all too often applicable when it came to the newcomers.
"We can still assume basic logic behaviour patterns though" White Three noted "We have too. Otherwise this entire assembly would be pointless. The Transhumans want something in Batarian space. I believe they have already achieved that. Their method merely serves another purpose by showing of their skills. A warning not to attempt what the Batarians attempted"
"A warning lost on anyone who does not know about them or doesn't believe in their abilities" Observer noted. It went unsaid that this included to many of their own kind, even in the STG. Dozens of their fellow high ranking agents demanded funds to be turned away from VIRRUM EGG, decrying the Taskforce as paranoid. And if a STG agent claimed that, it meant something. The group had no doubt about their concerns though.
"This might be an opportunity" Ocean Peak noted. "A way to proof our fears. And, perhaps, a way to study their methods. Even employ countermeasures."
"Dangerous" White Three cautioned.
"Very" Violet Orchard agreed.
"Are we sure this is not what they want? A way to study us on neutral ground?" Hammer Three sounded wary.
"A challenge?" White Three mused.
"We would need a Varrenpaw" Ocean Peak said "Blackwatch would be an obvious choice"
"Obvious and predictable" Hammer Three warned. Observer shook his head.
"The Hegemony has been infiltrated. This infiltration is rather obvious to anyone in the know watching it. To obvious. A challenge to the STG is possible. Perhaps also a warning. We do not know. I would recommend we focus on the show first. Figuring out the method, it's limitations, might give us a chance of determining the goal." The others thought about that.
"Abductions?" White Three wanted to know finally.
"If no other method shows success" Observer agreed "We should avoid risking a disruption to Transhumanity's plans, though. They so far have been lenient with our incursions. Therefore we have currently no way of knowing how a possible retaliatory strike would look like, and I do not intent to find that out before we are ready." Confirmations sounded out.
"And another thing. I want a copy of all your findings in Thoughtful Sunrise" This time there were noises of protest.
"But..."
"We..."
"Thoughtful Sunrise presents a deliberate risk we have taken" Observer said, steel in his voice "The system can only correlate new or overlooked patterns if it has all relevant data available. We will use the system. You all have cells working outside this grouping for the very danger it might represent. But within this group we will take the risk. That is all. Individual members can now convene for private discussions. The notification for our next meeting will reach you" Another secret service might have added "through the usual channels", but not the STG.
The assembly dissolved, individual members indicating to each other who they wanted to talk to privately. The pods convened in smaller, adjacent rooms, their passengers going into details, coordinating in greater level and sharing information not meant for the others.
After a few hours, the assembly dissolved, each member making their individual way back to the surface.
They had their marching orders.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Oct 30, 2017
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#206
Escalation
Once again time seemed to have passed in an instant.
After Vado's little display of battle prowess, his rise in the ranks had been all but secure...as had the rise in suspicion. He had been a harmless little tech given the basic training all new recruits got. Where had his special forces style fighting come from?
It was bound to arouse suspicion. Especially because Vado could not explain it himself. One moment he had been scared out of his wits, the next he had just...snapped. Even now the memories of it were oddly distant. Unreal.
Those who questioned him about it conceded that shock and stress could do that sometimes. Make someone act in an entirely new, unpredicted way and then barely remember it. But it was very suspicious, Vado himself had to admit. There was basically no more direct or blatant way to gain the respect and trust of the Resistance.
In the end, it was that obviousness that saved him. No one, people argued, would choose such an obvious path to infiltrate them. Vado, it seemed, just had a talent for killing people under stress. Which, he understood, was meant as a compliment.
So he was shipped of in all secrecy to advanced training and found his talent for fighting was persistent.
He aced training, to his own surprise. He had always been somewhat athletic, having great fun at team sports. But these levels of reflexes, speed and hand eye coordination were new to him. Apparently all it took was sufficient motivation.
"Commando" people were calling him now, only half kidding.
So now he was on his next big mission: raiding a hidden Naval Intelligence outpost.
NI was the official arm of Batarian secret intelligence community, despite everyone knowing that Blackwatch was really calling the shots.
That still meant it had access to some juicy secrets and classified information however. Knowledge they were now after.
Vado didn't know what knowledge specifically. He wasn't ranked important enough to warrant that information.
Many rebels were angry about this hierarchy, complaining it was just more of the authoritarian system they were fighting against, but Vado understood the need for compartmentalisation.
All he knew was that the higher ups in the Resistance wanted information and had sent someone to retrieve it. He and his team had been hand picked to defend and, if necessary, die to cover the specialists who had been tasked with information retrieval.
The NI substation was partly hidden in plain sight, partly hidden in the buildings structure. Getting access to the real information caches would be tricky.
This time their approach was not by car, but rather ordinarily by foot. Disguised as a column of Plains Caste janitorial workers they would gain easy access to the hidden NI substation in a modest processing hub node, a local distributor and supervisor station of the State sponsored media.
It was work any half competent programmer could do with a VI mech, but the jobs were kept to have something to do for the lower castes, to keep "opportunities for the less fortunate to add productively to society".
Or rather, to keep the lower castes busy, distracted and have something to blackmail them with to keep them in their place.
It was degrading work in the eyes of the higher castes, meant to humiliate and intimidate, so naturally janitorial work was one of the few things Plains Caste Batarians were allowed to pursue. One of the many reasons the Resistance was doing what it was doing.
The first phase went off flawlessly. Heads down and shoulders dropping they managed to get inside the closed building without problem, their keycards being accepted without a hitch. As usual, their IT people were on point.
Vado and the others cleaned the rooms (actually cleaned them, they had practiced on the machines) until one of the techies managed to "clean" the correct workstation of one of the Systems Integrity staff.
After that, the disguises were off. Weapons were pulled form hidden compartments, hard suits revealed under the wide cleaner clothes, helmets closed for access to the HUDs and against potential gas, sound or light based attacks.
The next part was trickier. While most of them stood guard, several people were scanning the walls, looking for the entrance mechanisms, traps and hidden scanners. Vado found the waiting nerve wrecking. He would never had guessed that passively waiting could be so stressful.
Eventually, the all clear rang out and stolen command keys where used to open the hidden access panels. Vado was still unclear on how they had got these. The Resistance really had some amazing resources.
Tension rose another notch as the techs entered the hidden rooms and began extracting the data. If there were any hidden alarms they had overlooked, now would be the last moment they would be triggered. From now on, enemies could show up any moment.
To Vado's absolute surprise, nothing seemed to happen.
Minute after minute ticked by, while he barely dared to breath. The odd, almost supernatural cool he had felt the last time was no where in sight. Maybe the fight had to start for it to return? He fervently hoped so. Loosing his preternatural edge was not a happy prospect. And second after second, nothing happened. It was downright creepy.
After a nervewrecking twenty minutes the techs reemerged.
"We got it. Let's go!" They reattached the wall panels, carefully sprayed a mixture of dust and DNA taken from a public transport, took their gear and left, again disguised as janitors. Vado was at this point vibrating with tension. Things weren't supposed to run so smoothly.
Finally they were back in the tunnels they had used to access the janitorial building and were heading towards their dispersal point.
No alarms had rung. No headshot had killed one of them. No one seemed to be following. Incredible.
Even as they walked one of the techs checked the stolen information over his Omni-Tool. Vado saw it and couldn't help himself.
"And?" The man grinned.
"We got it. Solid confirmation of The Base"
"What base?"
"Several of the prisoners spoke of a secret, central hub…which you didn't here form me, of course" Vado was stunned. Prisoners? That…was impossible. No one taken by Blackwatch ever returned.
"How did we free prisoners?" The man winked with two eyes.
"We're fucking professionals, darling."
"Shut up" someone behind them hissed.
Vado went quite the rest of the way.
This is Kamila Bakan with breaking news! Treacherous Turns has officially been banned in Hegemony space!
The hit show has been declared "disruptive and a threat to public mental health" and has therefore drawn the Ministry of Public Health's attention.
No official word from the producers yet.
Fans all over the net however are outspoken and furious, there is even talk of staging protests in front of ministry offices!
Well, this reporter is hoping it won't come to any violence.
This is Kamila Bakan, signing off.
Cloud 4 stared around the half empty table.
"Ram 5?"
"Joined the rebels" Ram 7 answered tiredly.
"Cloud 5?"
"Joined the rebels" came the same response.
"Ram 3?"
"Unknown" said Cloud 7 courtly. Cloud 4 shook his head.
"It's the show" Ram 2 explained, shaking her head "Ever since the cancellation the net has been growing crazy. There are flashmobs forming everywhere, open support for the rebels."
"Over a show?"
"I told you, something was going on with that. Some sort of...well, attack" Ram 7 rubbed his face.
"This is the most ridiculous thing I ever heard. What does HQ say?" Cloud 4 cleared his throat uncomfortably.
"We lost contact with HQ." The silence that followed was filled with fear.
"Someone is filtering Extranet messages with astounding ability. I'll need a volunteer to act as a courier" Ram 7 lethargically looked up.
"What for? So much of our intelligence gathering networks have collapsed and disappeared. Both sides are one step away from open war. We should all go. Perhaps someone will make it past Balckwatch's nets" Cloud 4 hesitated. He had a duty to uphold, to gather information at the front lines. But Ram 7 was right. There was no point in collecting it if no one got it. There wasn't much they could do here anymore.
"Agreed. We'll all go"
This time the Councilors met in one of the standard conference rooms, surrounded by aides and experts.
"It's confirmed" Valern was saying. "Ahune has officially asked for Citadel protectorate status, citing public violence and unrest. No official response from the Hegemony" The Salarian was aging, but he still fulfilled his duties admirably. Tevos sighed and let her head sink on her hands.
"So it's happening. It's actually happening"
"Finally" Sparatus agreed. Unlike Tevos he sounded satisfied. The Hegemony had always been an ugly problem in the Hierarchy's flank. Tevos shot him a glance.
"Forgive me for not sharing your enthusiasm over civil war and the death of thousands of civilians, Sparatus" The Turian looked back undaunted.
"We always knew this was going to happen. The Hegemony was never stable. It just happened sooner than we expected" A salarian analyst grunted unhappily.
"Much sooner then expected. Latest reports spoke of massive irregularities, rebels and government behaving in ways no one predicted"
"What is the current situation on Kar'shan" Tevos wanted to know. Valern returned her gaze solemnly.
"Unknown. STG has lost contact with most operatives" That had everyone sit up straighter.
Sparatus eyes were narrowed "I didn't know we had lost eyes on the ground?" Valern shook his head "Situation has escalated exponentially in the last few days. We expect wide scale rebel attack. Communication with multiple STG cells has collapsed. Reasons...unknown. Others have reported mass defection of batarian operatives to rebels." The salarian carefully looked to Sparatus. "Special Task Force analysts agree that situation escalated after batarian expedition into Transhuman space." Sparatus leaned back in his chair in surprise.
"Transhumans. Is this confirmed?" Another analyst, this time a Turian, shook her head.
"No. Circumstantial evidence. However, the STG specialists agree that the mass social upheaval can not be explained by our accepted models. Another, unknown factor, perhaps several, interfered." The turian Councillor turned to the asari one.
"I told you, Tevos. I told you they wouldn't stay quite" Tevos stared at her hands.
"We knew it was a possibility. If I remember correctly, you were the one to actually advocate against warning them about the batarian attack. To "observe their reactions", as I recall. If this is their doing...well, I guess you got your wish" She looked up at him and it was Sparatus that looked away first.
To be fair to him, he most likely had not expected a reaction like this.
Over the last years many ships had illegally crossed into Transhuman territory. Some were benign undertakings, Asari staging "cultural contact expeditions" genuinely believing they were helping. Others were soldiers of fortune looking for something valuable, scientists who just had to study a new species or even pirates, thinking they could rob the primitives. In one remarkable case, it had been a bunch of too rich kids steeling a pleasure yacht to go on an adventure.
In all instances the reaction had been the same: either the ships would be drifting into their systems of origin, crew unconscious, without any memories of what had happened...or the ships would never reappear and Transhumanity would outright deny any information regarding them.
And the Citadel was in no position to challenge that.
Instead they spent a lot of effort to obfuscate the cause of the missing ships and keep the survivors silent. They were all isolated first of course, sometimes for months, but so far they had found no sign of infection or subversion.
So far Transhumanity appeared to have been rather lenient. Even STG ships had been returned unharmed. The only ones who disappeared where either hardened criminals or people the Citadel suspected of having decided to stay of their own accord.
But the batarian attack on them had been different.
Premeditated, coordinated, with political backing. Not just some idiots breaking some laws or spies doing their job. And if Transhumanity really was behind this, then this time...well, they had obviously taken of the gloves.
With these dark thought Tevos turned to another specialist, a Hanar.
"I suppose we should prepare for Batarian refugees?" The Hanar glowed with light as the translator voice spoke.
"This one and it's colleagues agree that this is unlikely. Both sides block spaceports and there are frequent battles in space between loyalist and rebel forces. Autonomous raiders are acting surprisingly neutral. Very little smuggling of civilians so far" Tevos frowned.
"That sounds...suspicious"
"It is" a Salarian agreed. "As we said. Our models are failing us"
"Well, we should prepare refugee camps anyway, just in case. And we should decide what to do with outright defectors"
"Like Ahune?" the female Turian STG agent asked.
"I vote for acceptance" Tevos nodded "The more people we can get out of this mess the better"
"Agreed" Sparatus said, arms crossed "A turian fleet will be detached"
"What's the situation on the ground?" Tevos asked Valern. The Salarian answered without having to look at his 'Tool.
"Surprisingly tame. The ruling class surrendered peacefully. In exchange for certain assurances, of course"
"Bunch of slavers trying to avoid their due" an Asari growled.
"Perhaps for the better" a Salarian commented "Former slaves can become...creative"
Tevos shivered a little and even Sparatus grimaced.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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HandleWithCare
Nov 3, 2017
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#212
Down the Varren Hole
This is...Kamila Bakan. To...Today in Hegemony news is the...end of Treacherous Turns. The actors and...and actresses...
distant explosion
Oh for fucks sake they left okay? They run away. Fled from...
distant explosion
Fucking rebels. Why did they do this?! We were fine! How could anyone...
explosion, studio shakes
Gods they are here! In the building! Won't someone help us? Please! We are neutral! You have to do something!...please, somebody, hel...!
end of transmission
transmission cached
...
cache deleted
Vado was still shocked. How could it all go down so fast? A day ago, they had still been arguing over wether or not to follow the prisoners plan, then chaos had descended and they had rushed to attack.
He couldn't understand what was happening. There was suddenly fighting everywhere. Sure the rebels had become stronger in recent months but like this? (There were odd rumors going around as a supposed explanation, rumors about a show, but Vado had no idea what that was supposed to mean. )
All he knew was that around him Hegemony society was falling in on itself, seemingly all at once. Like a house of cards collapsing. It was terrifying.
Vado had worked to change it all, to bring down the people in power. He had never quite visualised what that could mean for the common people.
Power was randomly failing and being restored. Explosions and smoke were going of everywhere. He had seen at least one building outright collapse. Streets were either deserted or full of running people, trying to escape from something, running somehwere, often in opposite directions. Their aircars were entirely ignored.
Soon they were leaving the populated areas behind, entering one of the few "wild" parts of Kar'shan, left alone by the sprawling megalopoli.
The base, it had turned out, was in one of the few "untouched" places on Kar'shan. Officially and legally wild life conservation zones, these few places were really semi-private nature zoos for the rich and powerful. To hunt, hike or simply relax away from the teeming masses.
And, surprise!, the hidden base was smack dab in the middle of one.
"We are entering our final approach! Prepare weapons and armour!" Came the order.
Vado stared outside but could still see nothing resembling civilisation.
No wait.
Was that smoke over there?
"Flak!" the pilot shouted. Without warning he was slammed into his seat as the aircar bucked. Muffled explosions were all around them.
"Dive, dive, dive!" The car dipped over it's flank and Vado's stomach rose as they dropped a hundred meters in seconds.
"Fuck, coming in hot!"
"This is it, boys and girls!"
"Brace, brace, brace!" Vado, indoctrinated by a dozen safety lectures as a child, obeyed without hesitation and curled around his midst, trying to protect his head.
Impact.
The car bounced. Once, twice, they were thrown back into the air, but no one screamed, no one had any air left to do so. They slid over rocks and bushes, things breaking and all Vado could do was praying that it wouldn't be him next. But each impact also slowed them down, draining kinetic energy.
Finally, they came to a screeching stop. The aircar groaned one last time and settled with a muffle whump. Vado looked up dazed.
The others looked shook up, but everyone was at least still conscious and the harnesses had held.
"Get up! Get out!" Mechanically they obeyed ,got rid of the harnesses and crawled out of the crashed aircar. Miraculously, they all were unharmed. Stealing that armoured police flyer had been entirely worth it.
They still all winced as another explosion rung out nearby, smoke rising into the air.
"Allright, look alive people!" The group leader called out "Our boys and girls are already heavily engaged with the enemy and we are going to bust them out, got it!" Several cheers went out form the more bloodthirsty among them. It sounded rather thin. Vado and several others stayed quite.
"Let's go! Fall in line!" The leader took of in a jog. Vado took his place in the line and followed him, like the others always watching around, looking for enemy troops.
The terrain around them was the edge of a mountain. Dense forest and undergrowth all around. If he hadn't know there was a hidden Blackwatch base around he would never have believed it. He couldn't even tell where they were going exactly. The crash had robbed him of his last bit of orientation. He just hoped that the goal markers in their HUDs were correct.
They tried to stay in cover as much as possible but they still made relatively quick progress, judging by the growing fighting noises and the random bursts of comm chatter they picked up.
His own group stayed silent, unwilling to be picked up by the enemy network in the area until the all clear signal came from the tech teams tasked with infiltrating and cracking it. Other groups had already engaged and were broadcasting, so that other resistance members might get some information. But it was broken up and choppy and Vado had no idea how the fighting was going.
Where they winning? Was the plan working? Or had Blackwatch already mopped up the survivors and was now putting on a show to lure more of them in? He didn't dare voice that question.
The already nervous rebel group got even more twitchy as soon as they found their first bodies. They were thrown around a pock scarred clearing, debris all around them. Some were so mangled or burned it was impossible to tell which side they had belonged to.
Quick checks by the medic confirmed that all were dead. Which, given their injuries, was probably a good thing. They trooped on but their eyes lingered. Would they be next?
Fighting noise was now loud in the air, they were close. A burst of clear signal came through.
"Azul-Rahan-Blue-Plain-Water, this is orange group, all rebel troops gather for forced entry here, end." A new goal marker appeared in their HUDs, only to flicker and reappear somewhere else as their VIs recalculated the coordinates according to the latest cypher they all had been given.
"Proceed" the group leader hissed. Abandoning stealth the little group hurried along towards the new real coordinates. Vado's heart hammered in his chest. Orange group. That meant leadership. That meant important.
Crap.
They convened in another clearing, bearing the smoking craters (and blood stains) of high power explosives. There was no sign of corpses, though, oddly enough.
Two other groups had already assembled, all of them wearing armour with prominent orange stripes. Vado knew what that meant. These people were the the whole reason the attack was happening. The coordinators and leaders of the resistance, at least some of the, here to supervise the attack and ensure their objective was fulfilled.
They were the VIPs and Vado's and the others explicit orders where to serve and protect these people, to, if necessary, die for them. Because if they died, the resistance would follow. Vado might have been a little intimidated.
So he staid mostly quite as the leaders of his group and the orange stripes went over what they knew and hashed out battleplans.
Unfortunately, they could be summarized as: we don't know all that much for certain, since the comms are jammed and our plan consists of storming the base and killing everyone in our way till we reach our objective. Whatever tat was.
"Trust me, we'll know when we see it. Blackwatch's latest fucked up project, but possibly the key to ending this. You'll learn more when you need to" Vado's group leader wasn't the only one clenching their teeth at the condescensions. The orange leader had been Sky caste and it showed. But they all kept silent. This was not the time to start infighting.
They formed up and started to trot forward towards their point of entry. They found the fighting had already passed it.
A hidden bunker had been busted open, leaving a gaping hole leading into darkness. According to their intel, it should connect them to the wider base network. Dropped gunships, destroyed turrets and bodies from both sides were littering the surroundings. Vado activated his helmet's respirator function against the stench.
"This is it everybody. For Kar'shan!"
"For Kar'shan!" the answering shouts went up.
The rebels formed up and one after the other entered the darkness below.
Vakah Bram was stalking the halls silently, cloak fully engaged.
The defilers had come, ready to commit heresy against the Dreamer. Fools. It's guiding whispers showed her their burning weakness, exposed the bright glow of their deceased selves. She saw them for the small monsters they truly were. She longed to reach out and slaughter them, but the Dreamer forbid. Now was not yet the time.
So she continued, avoiding the turmoil, observing, killing.
The station network was down, not just hijacked or subverted (as if the Dreamer's presence would allow such things!) but simply gone, destroyed in so many points it failed to form a coherent whole. No matter. The Dreamer's whispers guided her and sooner or later she would...There.
Thertherethere.
A group of rebels hushing by, ducked and fast, orange striped adorning their armour. The leaders. The head of the 'maw.
Vakah followed. Using her superior knowledge of the base and the Dreamer's guidance she danced around the group's edges, flicking back and forth, from one flank to the other, always unnoticed.
Then...more of her colleagues. Preparing an ambush. They knew of the coming group, somehow they knew and they had brought death. Silently Vakah stood behind them.
Two were crouching by the walls, pistols ready, a third one with a large gun was crouching, another standing with a machine gun at the ready. The whispers grew louder, more urgent.
Yes.
Vakah uncloaked, new gun at hand.
An invisible beam of light played across the first two Blackwatch members. It barely left a mark on their suits, the short contact not hot enough to melt plastic and metal. But it delivered enough energy to boil the liquids in the flesh underneath, causing internal explosions. The men fell without screaming. The other two had just begun to move around when the beam hit them, killing them as well.
Yes.
Vakah cloaked again.
No one would stand in the way of her Master.
Last edited: Nov 4, 2017
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Nov 7, 2017
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#215
Off-tackle run
The feeling of creepiness has turned into outright horror and Vado was having difficulties keeping it together.
It was like a cliché nightmare. The barely lit halls. The distant sounds of battle. The sight of damage, blood, abandoned rooms. But no corpses. Not even body parts. No resistance whatsoever. And only hissing static in their receivers.
They were in the heart of the enemy, yet no one opposed them. What was going on here?
The leaders didn't seem to notice, they were pressing forward as if the enemy was behind them not in front of them. Their guardians were hard pressed making them slow down enough not to risk themselves.
Another corridor junction, another moment of pause as they secured the terrain.
The woman who had scouted ahead turned back to them.
"Four more" she whisper-hissed. Their comms had turned useless.
"Dead, but I can't see why. Omni-Tool says massive internal trauma" Vado shared fearful looks with his neighbour. What was killing these people?
"It's okay" one of the leaders murmured, almost in a singsong "Our comrades must have passed here. We are close. We must hurry" Vado's group leader wanted to say something but the orange stripes weren't listening. They had started moving again and helplessly, Vado had to follow.
They marched on, past empty rooms, destroyed equipment, labs that ranged form nightmarish to creepily mundane. It was like a "best of" rendition of every bad adventure sim out there. And finally, Vado's group leader had enough.
"With all due respect, we are here as a protection detail and we can't protect against what we don't know. What is it what we are looking for here?" The head bodyguard of the orange stripes shot the leader a glare, but surprisingly, one of the group answered.
"Data we got from liberated prisoners and confirmed by other sources indicate that this base is Blackwatch's central stronghold on Kar'shan." That would have been me, Vado thought, remembering the data collection OP "Every fucked up secret and covert OP they have is somehow connected back to this place. Including it" The leader waited several seconds before asking, now clearly annoyed.
"And what is it?" Another stripe answered.
"We suspect the source of Blackwatch's latest advances in technology. An alien ship."
"An alien..." The scout screamed a warning as her barrier flashed. Everyone dove into cover, such as there was. They were in a small atrium between levels. Flimsy handrails was all there was to duck behind. Everyone pressed themselves against walls or threw themselves unto the floor. Blackwatch soldiers were streaming upwards, towards them, their guns spitting rounds. Return fire answered, flashing against barriers.
Oddly enough, the enemy soldiers didn't dive for covers themselves, accepting injury and death to fire continuously. It was suicidal, but effective.
One of the soldiers beside Vado reacted to slowly to the enemy tactics and fell, head a bloody mess, under concentrated fire. The scout woman who had been hit first was spraying medical sealant on a wound in her arm. Vado himself was unhurt.
Both sides used VI support to coordinate fire, concentrated bursts bringing down shields and killing people. Blackwatch manoeuvred for better firing lines, but the rebels refused to be baited. The fight dragged on, the black soldiers had reserves. but the resistance had the better position.
In the end, the rebels were left standing. Three dead and two injured paid the price for it.
"Come on. Forward" one of the leaders demanded. Vados group leader was kneeling next to a fallen soldier, opening his eye for him. He looked grim.
"We just lost three of our people"
"And we'll loose much more if we don't secure that ship!"
"What's so damn important about the fucking ship!" The other Batarian roared, stepping closer to the leader. The bodyguards readied their weapons, pointing them at Vado's group. He nervously raised his arms.
"We are all on the same side here..." he said weakly. Everybody ignored him. Surprisingly, the orange stripe wearing Batarian explained.
"It is advanced. Valuable. They say it might be organic, like a Rachni ship"
"And that makes it valuable?" The other Batarian shook his head, in a gesture Vado found condescending
"The most valuable thing here. Organic. With some sort of neurological processors. Programmable brains. Ring a bell?" The group leader sighed.
"The mind control chips"
"Exactly. We need that ship. Now let's go" Vado exchanged helpless looks with his group. The leader had not inspired confidence in them. He appeared...impatient...hungry...
They formed up and began a quick trot, deeper into the facility. Vado had still no idea how the leaders navigating down here. And he felt more and more uneasy with them. His nervousness had turned into outright fear. The nightmarish place. The far to infrequent firefights. Now this.
The Resistance leadership seemed driven to the point of fanatism. And their soldiers had aimed at their own people without hesitation. Every instinct in him was screaming at him. But another part of him was driving him forward. They were so close.
Behind him he heard two members of his own group murmur to each other.
"Those soldiers fought weird"
"Yeah man. No ducking into cover. No medic taking the wounded."
"Drugs? Brainchips?"
"Probably both"
Vado felt shivers across his body. Despite his hardsuit he felt cold.
Shots punched through the flimsy barrier, impacting his shields and Vado cursed.
As everyone had expected, their unnatural luck hadn't lasted and resistance had grown sharply towards the center of the base. There were still mysterious corpses left and right but now there were also fully intact choke points, automatic weapons, mechs and, of course, Blackwatch agents.
They fought inconsistently. Some were yelling loudly, sprinting form cover to cover, fighting like the possessed. Others were creepily quite, standing in the open with no regard for themselves, firing methodically. Vado couldn't say which was worse. The rebels were taking heavy loses either way.
However, so close to the center, other rebel troops were now converging, continuously reinforcing them. In fact, they weren't even the farthest troop ahead, if some straggler that had found them could be believed. But they were close. Close enough that elite agents were now fighting them.
They were in some sort of office space, oversight maybe or finances. Vado didn't know and didn't care. All that mattered was that the walls here were designed to be modular, to rearrange space quickly. Meaning they were lightweight and thin. He threw himself flat as more shots punched through is cover, perilously close to his head.
Fucking shit fuck wall damn.
Throwing himself around he robbed towards the corner. Opposite him he could see another rebel, half kneeling, firing methodically. Vado ducked around the corner for a second, found a target and took aim.
Concentrate bursts of fire, coordinate fire. His first target fell backwards with a scream of pain. Now fire converged on him and Vado as forced to duck back into cover.
The next moment blue fire erupted between the enemy soldiers, the sheer force of a warp overloading their barriers and rendering them to pieces. He had to look away as the bodies came apart.
"This is our chance. Push through!" Someone shouted. The fighter opposite Vado stormed forward and so did the others. Unwilling to be left behind he had no chance but to follow, despite the idiocy of it all.
This wasn't their turf! Who knew what traps were waiting for them!
They rushed forward and as Vado expected, mass effect rounds answered them. He spit curses his father would have slapped him for as his barriers flashed, people shouted and wall parts flew around. They were getting murdered out here! They would...he would...die.
The world became clear.
Eight enemies remaining, six friendly combatants.
He brought his rifle up, stood still, focus was on the others, he hadn't registered as a threat. Three controlled burst to the head, target down.
Seven.
A pre-trained thought caused his suit to from a grenade on his left Omni-Tool. Half crouch and turn to throw it. It bounced of the ceiling at an impossible, perfect angel and fell behind an enemy's makeshift barrier. Explosion.
Four.
One of the men was close, rousing out of a crouch to take aim at him. Two and a half steps, red glowing Omni-Blade extended.
Three.
Everyone was now focused on him. Rifle brought up, combined fire with others.
Two.
Duck and roll, behind a barrier. Allied fire took care of second to last combatant.
One.
Coming up in a crouch, one burst, to the heart.
Zero.
No enemies remaining.
The world abruptly snapped back and left Vado panting were he stood, covered in blood and other bits and liquids. The remaining rebels, even the orange stripes were staring at him. The exhausted adrenaline high suddenly made him feel angry.
"What?" One of the leaders simply shook his head and stepped past him.
Vado only noticed now that most of the wall was a window overlooking...the biggest caver he had ever seen. They all stepped closer. Vado stared. There it was. Their goal.
"Isn't it beautiful?" One of the stripes gushed, a mad glint in his eyes "With it's technology, we will win this war. Easily! And build a new Batarian state, better than ever before!"
Vado saw the massive ship. Saw the vast, extending cavern, impossible huge. The inky, curved, wrong blackness in the middle. There were tiny flashes of light all over. People were fighting on gangways, platforms and galleries.
He saw the ship. And somewhere in his brain, clusters of quantum entangled particles reported what he saw. Somewhere else, a decision was made.
A tiny pulse was sent by the nano-machinery attached to the entangled particles. Weak and short range, but that was enough. Receivers all throughout his body picked up the signal.
And embedded in his bones, complex cages collapsed in a pre designed manner, bringing an anti-iron and an iron atom closer together. Closer and closer, until a critical point was passed.
The atoms annihilated.
As did millions of identical cages and not just in Vado's bones but in those of two other team members as well. 45 grams of anti-iron annihilated with 45 grams of iron.
A 966,6 kiloton explosion went off a few dozen meters from a crippled ship without shields.
In an enclosed, armoured, subterranean space.
It never stood a chance.
Thousands of rebels and Blackwatch members, brainwashed or not, never knew they were dead. The blast incinerated them instantly, smashed through weakened hull, armoured bulkheads, reinforced walls and security fields. Hundreds of tons of flammable materials, explosives and even the occasional amounts of antimatter were ignited and added their fury to the mix.
The gigantic, hidden hangar doors that had allowed the massive ship insight were blasted apart with impunity, the lighting flash killing dozens of people outside and blinding hundreds more. It's reflection by Kar'shan's atmosphere could be seen over much of the continent, but was barely noticed by the fighting populace.
Some of the pieces rained down dozens of kilometers away, though thankfully the area around the hidden lab was mostly empty and so little additional damage was done.
A massive smoke cloud rushed out after the blasted doors and began to darken the sky...
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Threadmarks Epilogue – The State is dead, long live the State!
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Nov 11, 2017
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#226
Epilogue – The State is dead, long live the State!
"Breaking news! The Batarian Hegemony has fallen!
After the dramatic outbreak of violence only seven days ago followed by the reported widespread collapse of social order, the Batarian state has collapsed with the disappearance of Chairman Alasar of the Sky Caste and the publicly broadcast surrender of Admiral Selestra of the Cloud Caste to rebel forces.
Rebel leaders have officially announced the foundation of a new Batarian state, tentatively called "The Republic" for now.
In response, Ambassador Harlech of the Cloud Caste has announced his intention to form a government in exile with the goal of "gathering the Hegemony's allies and crushing the unlawful terrorists who have attempted to seize control of the rightful home of all Batarians".
Meanwhile, it has become known that the Citadel is in talks with several batarian colonies about Citadel membership. No official comment as of yet from the Council.
Stay tuned for our live broadcast as the situation develops.
Special background reports, live interviews and political analysis will be available on our extranet channel under the following addresses..."
Observer stared at White Three, still somewhat in shock.
"So it is confirmed?"
"Yes sir." Observer slowly shook his head.
"How?"
"Unknown sir. They wiped their traces well. But it is certain. Thoughtful Sunrise is gone. As is it's workgoup"
The Salarian in charge of VIRRUM EGG leaned back in his chair.
Amazing. A part of them admired them for an incredible feat of intelligence work. Some of the components had been the size of aircars. Everyone had believed the surveillance net to be tight.
And yet, all of it, all of them, had disappeared.
What the STG could have learned from this...
White Three made a little sound. Observer refocused on him.
"There is more?"
"There was... a message. A note. Paper. Addressed to you. We scanned it, it's standard toner ink, handwritten" The STG, like any secret intelligence organisation worth it's salt, made extensive use of printed documents.
White three held out a sealed box, containing the paper.
Both he and Observer closed their suits. The scan had come back clean, but you didn't get into leading positions within the STG without being paranoid.
White Three was respectfully silent as his superior unsealed the box and unfolded the note. Observer stared down at it for several seconds before throwing it on the table, so that White Three could read it as well.
It was a single word.
"Run"
PROJECT FIREBREAKER Progress Report RE: GORDIAN TENTACLE
Despite the destruction of the primary body, it can now unfortunately be assumed that multiple physical fragments were transported off site before the successful raid.
We have to report continued significant losses, both in the actual host numbers on the ground as well as in the infowar portion of our ongoing efforts.
TENTACLE PRIME has reacted more strongly and openly than we anticipated.
Some regard this as a net positive. If our goal was to provoke a measurable reaction from the Reaper ship, we succeeded.
However, a very large number of agents and hosts have been captured, with high numbered instances of raids and similar actions that could only be based on the bait information we gave individual agents. This indicates an extremely high success rate in suborning individuals.
Which in turn indicates a larger YGBM technology gap between us and the Reapers than anticipated.
This was allowed for, but it was assumed we would be able to successfully recapture "turned" agents to study the effects of the enemy methods.
Instead, captured agents have consistently disappeared. The potential fates of these lost hosts is...troubling.
So far, no EXSURGENT appearances could be observed, though it must be noted that the general level of chaos is increasing drastically. Slips in our surveillance are a strong possibility, despite the deployment of DRAGNET and BEHOLDER instances.
We see no better way to proceed than to massively increase conventional support for our local network.
Our AI forecasts currently favour Citadel and other third party involvement.
See for more information: Addendum REPLICATOR, FOR THE PEOPLE and BLUE BITCH.
In conclusion: It can not be denied that TENTACLE PRIME's capabilities and ruthless will to act have been underestimated.
Threat estimate for the Reapers as a whole should consequently be stepped up.
As for now, the former Batarian Hegemony must be considered occupied enemy territory.
End of Report.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Threadmarks Invitation
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Jan 16, 2018
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#233
Invitation
2158: The "First Contact War" ends. Many commentators note it wasn't much of a "War". The Alliance begins research into Biotic Morphs.
2159: As the youngest member in recorded history, Saren Arterius becomes a Spectre
2160: The ocean world Arvuna is opened for habitation. As a result, the mostly stagnating populations of uplifted aquatic animals explode in numbers. In the coming years, large pods and cities are established.
2161: A widespread network failure on Ilium occurs. The cause remains unknown, but the STG notes that there were signs of both "Attackers" and "Defenders" of the network.
2163: The Leviathan of Dis disappears.
2164/2165: The Batarian Hegemony collapses.
2167: Fornax is launched.
2177: A natural population of Thresher Maws is discovered on Akuze. Colony is officially renamed Arrakis and becomes a major tourist destination. Persistent worm-riding attempts, despite the high cost in Morphs.
2178: Lethal airborne virus affects Quarians. However, the generous available space means less chance of contamination and enough capacity in medical facilities, so fatalities remain low.
2183:
Liara T'soni was currently covered from head to toe in dirt. Her clothes were worn and broken in places, the sun was hot on her blue skin and muscles ached both from carrying heavy equipment and from having to hold a crouched position for so long.
In other words: she was having the time of her live.
It wasn't often that one got to poke around untouched ancient Prothean ruins. Especially if one was as young as Liara, so being invited to the Laros dig was a tremendous opportunity.
She knew that part of her invitation came with the weight of her Mother's name, but she was equally certain that part of it was on her own merits, even if some of her theories were...controversial.
Almost as controversial as the vehemence with which she defended them. It was considered uncouth for a Maiden as young as her to disagree with Matriarchs quite so ferociously. But Liara couldn't help it. It wasn't her fault the horrid old shrews were wrong and she was right.
Perhaps this dig here would unearth something that could help her reinforce her theories, provide some evidence.
Equally likely, they found nothing of interest but worn down pieces of debris.
In either case, being part of a dig like this would look good on her resume.
A shadow fell over her.
Shoving her protective sun hat back into her neck she looked up, expecting to find Vahla Domress, her forewoman, checking on any progress.
It was a Turian. He was tall, immaculate and dressed in a suit.
His appearance was so at odds with their surroundings, Liara considered for a moment if he was a hallucination. Perhaps a pause in the shadows was advisable.
Then he spoke.
"Liara T'soni?"
"Yes?" He nodded at her.
"Greetings. You have been invited to a project of enormous importance. I have been sent to escort you" Liara blinked.
"If this is another of my Mother's socialite functions..."
Then she noted the other Turians. They were coming up behind her opposite, clad in military looking hard suits and brandishing rifles.
"This is a protected dig site, you can't just...!"
"Ms T'soni, as I said, you have been invited. I'm afraid you cannot decline the invitation" Liara tensed.
"I will not leave this site..."
"Trust me, Ms T'soni. You will, once you hear what this is about" he interrupted her, again.
Liara frowned. She hated being interrupted.
By now, other members of the dig had come up. Another Turian was walking towards them, Vahla Domress walking by his side, furiously arguing with him, it seemed.
"Who extended this invitation"
"Transhumanity has requested your presence at a Prothean dig site. By name. It appears they have found something"
Liara's eyes widened in shock. Transhumanity? Her? Why? Where? Something Prothean? She couldn't say no. Frantically she began removing her gloves.
"Yes. Tell them...of course. When do we start? I have to pack…" The Turian bowed down, and came up with her own carrying back, already filled as it seemed.
"I took the liberty of packing the essentials, your remaining belongings will be send to the Citadel." Liara was still for a moment. Then she smiled widely at the man.
"I'm sorry, Mr., I do not think I got your name?"
"And neither will you" Liara nodded.
"Right. Well Mr. Whatever, if you ever touch my stuff without my permission again I will make sure you become a lucky archaeologist's find in a few million years or so, understood?" He didn't move a muscle.
"Perfectly, Dr. T'soni" She took the bag and gesticulated at him.
"Lead the way"
The Asari in front of her stepped forward and Liara followed. The line for the Exterior Council Space Security Scan was large and experience had taught everyone here patience.
The flight with the still unnamed Turian had been remarkably unremarkable. She had expected more information, startling revelations, perhaps an explanation why she of all people had been chosen but nothing came. Instead, she had been ushered into one of the small cabins on board his corvette and had been politely asked to stay there for the duration of the flight.
Liara had mentally shrugged and spent the hours on board with her Omni-Tool, reviewing everything she could find on "Transhumanity".
Little more than the name was reliable known about this mysterious new species behind the Ikai system. There weren't even pictures, only crude and over dramatic renderings some artists had made from "entirely reliable eye witness reports". Not two of them looked the same.
According to official Citadel data, Transhumanity had requested anonymity and the Citadel had of course decided to honor that request. Shining example of civilisation that they were.
The predictable result was that he rumor mills were overheating to the point of melting.
"Transhumanity was the returned Protheans", "Transhumanity was an ancient species of immortal Elohim, here to bring Citadel space into an unimaginable apotheosis" and "Transhumanity was an unholy demon species of mind controlling slugs that the Citadel was fighting a secret war with" were among the more harmless, sane sounding ideas.
Everyone "knew" something different and everyone else was, of course, either wrong, sadly misguided or in cahoots with the Shadow Council of the Immortal Matriarch Sisters (Liara read the entirety of that one, it was wildly entertaining).
What little confirmed information there was was decidedly thin.
The Citadel had encountered a new species, it had ended badly, the new species wished to isolate itself and the Citadel Council had decided to honor that wish.
After, it was rumored, countless secret sessions and extraordinary meetings.
At least that part was consistent in all the stories and it sent shivers of excitement down Liara's spine. The sort of excited worry you got when a storm was approaching your barely secured research post. Potential danger that promised excitement.
The other confirmed piece of information was that Citadel envoy ships regularly left for the Ikai system, but that the system itself was sealed tight. Serious military presence and none of the soldiers there talked.
All of which only added to the flair of mystery, danger and excitement that surrounded the name "Transhumanity" (if someone asked, Liara was of course only in it for the potential prothean discoveries and not some stereotypical Maiden hunger for adventure).
The queue moved another person forward.
Liara wondered wether or not she should call her mother.
On the one hand, this might be the best thing that ever happened to her and she was bursting with the need to share with her. On the other, she had no doubt that the Matriarch would instantly begin to meddle should she learn of this.
Liara had often chafed against the overbearing, smothering presence of her parent. She knew it was only done out of love and that's why she wasn't resentful about it...much...but Matriarch Benezia's endless calm patience could be almost condescending. I know better than you, Little Wing. Listen to your mother.
Besides, there was a childish part of her that just wanted to...keep the secret a little longer. Here was something new and shiny and she wanted it all to herself.
Again the line moved and now it was Liara's turn.
Patiently she removed her Omni-Tool and other gadgets and let the machine scan her thoroughly. She submitted saliva and blood samples and allowed the weird, bulky...thing scan her head (she still didn't know what that one was for). Finally she was sprayed with foam that contained anti-nanites, at least according to the developers. Liara had no way to verify that.
After a few minutes some machine or other gave the all blue, the dried foam was blown off and she was allowed to proceed.
Even a few decades ago things had been different. People could step on and off the Citadel proper without so much as a guard looking at them sideways.
Nowadays things were far more serious. It had begun with a supposed health scare somewhere in the Terminus that had caused increased health scans throughout Citadel space and had slowly increased form there.
After the Batarian Hegemony had collapsed a few years ago, security measures had jumped upward.
Eventually, the real reason for the new paranoia had come out, causing panic and mistrust. The scandal had cost several mid ranking politicians their heads.
Many people were protesting the "pseudo fascistic" surveillance, even now, but most people had accepted them as the lesser evil, compared tot he alternative. Even the political opposition, those groups that shouted "No!" when the Council said "yes", out of principle alone, were silent about it.
Which, of course, caused all sorts of wild rumors by itself.
Liara didn't care much either way. As Matriarch Benezia's daughter she was used to being surrounded by security and security personnel. In fact, she was pretty sure that those Asari "casually" leaning against the far wall, chatting, were two of her Mothers Commandos, tasked with keeping a discreet eye on her.
She was finally through the controls and, as expected, someone was already waiting.
The Asari that stepped towards her was in her beginning Matron stage, very pretty without being beautiful and had an aura of distant politeness.
"Dr. Liara T'soni?" the voice was more of the same. Soothing without being friendly.
"Yes." and since she had been raised to be polite "How do you do?" The other Asari's smile became a tad more real.
"Very well, thank you for asking. I have been recently appointed Council Mediator and this is also the role in which I am here" She entered something in the datpad she was elegantly holding in one arm.
Mediators were one of the Council's many subtypes of bureaucratic agents, in this case ones that were often send to corral, negotiate with or simply entertain important people.
Being invited by name by a mysterious hidden species evidently warranted such treatment.
It also reminded her not to underestimate her opposite.
Mediators had a certain amount of power and were close to the seat of power in the galaxy. Tevos herself had been one. Liara shouldn't offend her.
"I assume this is about my invitation?"
"It is, Doctor. Please follow me"
Liara fell in line next to the Mediator whose name she still didn't know. Next to the young Matron, in her elegant dress and perfect poise, she felt very provincial in her light hardsuit.
However, amidst the current militarisation that swept through Citadel space, her garment was hardly unusual. She could easily see half a dozen others similarly armoured.
"I am eager to learn more about my...hosts. When will I be given more information?"
"All in due time, Dr. T'soni" the Matron's voice held a hint of reprimand for her impatience.
"I will escort you to a secure location, where you will be briefed. Should you decide that you wish to attend the meeting, you will be escorted toward your destination and briefed on the way."
The Maiden shook her head. "You are that scared of someone talking?" The Matron shot her a look.
"I would say...understandably cautious"
Liara managed not to roll her eyes.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Threadmarks Nice day for a walk
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Jan 20, 2018
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#241
Nice day for a walk
The "briefing" had really been nothing more than a safety disclaimer and NDA signing. They had basically told her, and made her acknowledge in writing, that the risks were unknown and that she herself would be responsible for the outcome of this little excursion. No one else.
Oh and that she couldn't talk to anyone about it.
That was it.
It would have been infuriating if Liara didn't have the strong impression that the reason for the lack of information was that no one else (or at least the people who spoke to her) knew anything either.
If that was true, than it meant that all the uncertainty and lack of knowledge about Transhumanity was not some grant government conspiracy...but the result of ignorance on the side of the Council itself.
A thought that made her rather nervous.
At the same time, they seemed to suspect that she knew more than she was telling, weirdly enough.
Apparently being invited by name made her look suspicious.
The Council seemed determined to close this supposed knowledge gap however, if the number of people suddenly trying to get in her good graces over the next few days were any indication.
The first time, a random, busty Matron in a rather revealing dress had shown up at her supposedly secure apartment, introduced herself as a STG prothean expert and had tried to strike up a conversation regarding Liara's work.
As soon as the Maiden had realised what the other Asari was doing, she had been torn between amusement at the clumsy attempt and anger at the blatant manipulation. She had managed to cut the Matron off politely and had sent her away.
The second time was a Turian, handsome by his species' standards, claiming he was her personal tour guide for the Citadel and that he had been assigned to show her a good time. Complete with dirty grin.
Liara had smiled back and asked how much a threesome with a Krogan would cost.
He had tried to save face at first, sputtering for a while, but eventually had seemed to get the message and bade a hasty retreat.
When the next day another Asari had shown up, claiming to be her personal bodyguard and that they should go over security arrangements for the trip, Liara had had enough.
She said that she had just been leaving and that they would have plenty of time to talk on the ship and to please tell the Council that any more agents would be warped through the nearest wall.
The Commando had taken it with grace and amusement, bowed to her and promised to deliver her message.
So now Liara was wandering the Citadel, staying away from her apartment and any more attempts to send "friends" her way.
Really.
The nerve of some people.
It wasn't all bad however: It had been almost 3 months that she had spent on the dig so far and at least 3 years since she had been on the Citadel proper. So perhaps she would even find something interesting during her enforced stroll?
It might be her imagination, but she already noticed some differences compared to her last visit.
The number of VI assistant holograms, for instance, had massively increased.
Asari, Turian, Elcor as well as more abstract shapes and forms were everywhere. Avina holograms had definitely increased in presence as well, "standing" around on holo-pedestals, going through idle animations when not in use.
Most were mobile variants however, projected by lightweight aerogel drones with a solid projector core, light enough that silent fans were enough to keep them afloat.
Heavier variants, requiring mass effect systems, were present as well.
A quick extranet search showed her what was behind it.
Apparently several characters in popular shows, interactives and games had recently begun to make more use of VIs as characters and that, coupled with a (strongly protested) relaxation in VI coding guidelines, had spawned a new mini fad.
The vendors promised "increased productivity, increased simplicity in life-style organisation and increased emotional well being due to life like interaction-modes".
Huh.
She stepped closer to one of the new shops, this one promising a "personalised, unique VI Partnership Match Up experience".
"Hello, Dr. T'soni, I see that..." Liara waved the VI sales hologram silent and scanned the projected list of offered services. Her eyes widened at the prices.
And that for a piece of software.
No thanks, Liara would stick with her trusty open source solutions.
Perhaps as a gift for someone though? She owed Domress an apology for the interrupted dig...
Hm. That was a thought. Should she bring a sort of gift to the meeting with the aliens? Was that appropriate? She should probably contact her Mediator to inquire what the Citadel knew about this.
The last thing she wanted was to insult her mysterious hosts...
A few days later, Liara was back in one of the Presidium's docking bays, bag in hand, looking for the ship that would bring her to the meeting with one of the most enigmatic species in the galaxy.
An automated trolley was carrying her larger pieces of luggage, among them a woman high transport container and a security box that contained her gift.
A foot high, hand crafted statuette of Athame that she had found quite beautiful (the Mediator hadn't been much help. Apparently among the many things the Citadel was unsure about was Transhumanity's stance on religion). Now, where was that ship...
"Dr. Tsoni" a cultured voice greeted her form behind. She turned around, recognising the voice. But she hesitated when she saw who had spoken.
The Turian in front of her was dressed in an immaculate suit and the voice was definitely how she remembered it, but the colouring was off.
The Turian who had "invited" her on the dig site had been dark grey, almost blue, with black markings. This Turian was a lighter grey, almost matching his suit, with white markings. And the eyes were now black.
"Mr Whatever?"
"My name is Spectre Nihlus Kryik. It appears I will accompany you on your trip" A Spectre! Liara tilted her head.
"I thought I would never learn your name?" she asked sardonically. He ignored the dig.
"Please" He gestured "Allow me to show you to our ship"
Kryik took care to lead Liara around a series of steps, terraces and buildings so when she first saw their new ride she immediately saw it in it's totally.
Standing on a frigate parking dock, the ship rested on it's own landing gear, spotless hull gleaming in the simulated "evening" of the Presidium. She almost whistled at the sight. It was beautiful.
Liara was by no means a technophile ship-lover, the kind that filled their homes with hand build models, but she could acknowledge well crafted art when she saw it.
The vessel in front of her was definitely such art and evidently brand new as well.
She couldn't immediately place it. It seemed to combine asari elegant curves with turian sharp angles.
At least 200 meters long, top elegantly curved, with two large wings on which the sublight engines were mounted. Two fin like protrusions rose from the back.
"Welcome to the Citadel's newest frigate prototype, the Hand of the Council"
Subtle.
Liara stepped closer while taking in the sight. She had been ship shopping with her mother before, considering a small corvette for herself, and had also helped out with the sort of third hand death traps that academics chartered for their expeditions.
This ship, however, looked fresh from the dock and even at first glance Liara could make out several small signs of innovations, visible on the outer hull.
Not much of a surprise. The Citadel had undergone a massive build up and innovation program in the last decades and this ship fit right into that. But…
"The name is a bit on the nose, don't you think?" Kryik showed no reaction.
"I wouldn't know" He replied diplomatically.
They had reached the main ramp leading into a hangar. A female Turian who had been leaning on one of the ramp supports, typing away on her Omni-Tool, looked up as they approached.
She was clad in a hardsuit, weapons in her holsters and on her back. A datavisor covered her eyes, but was currently off line.
"Ms. Nyx" Kryik greeted her. She nodded back.
"Boss"
"This is Dr. Liara T'soni, the last of our charges" In an asari greeting, Vetra bowed formally.
"A pleasure to meet you, Doctor" Following an impulse, Liara raised her arm, fist balled, in a turian military greeting.
"Well met" she managed, in heavily accented Turian.
Surprise on her face, Vetra raised her own arm. For a second both women pressed their forearms together.
"Ms Nyx runs logistics for me as well as provides fire support on the field" Kryik explained. The turian woman grinned.
"Boss would be lost without me"
"Without doubt" Kryik drawled.
Had that been sarcasm? Liara could hardly believe it. The Turian seemed as cold as Noverian ice.
"Shall we?" He led the way and the two women followed.
Vetra leaned closer to the Asari.
"On to adventure and death. Are you excited?"
"Without doubt" Liara imitated the Spectre and Vetra laughed.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Threadmarks Meeting new friends!...or not
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Jan 23, 2018
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#253
Meeting new friends!...or not
Kaidan Alenko was drifting in a field of stars, both above his head and reflected in the liquid he was floating in without sinking.
His eyes were rapidly shifting, as if in REM sleep, but were open.
"So it is confirmed?"
"Yup" a voice answered from nowhere.
"I don't suppose you have any idea what this is all about?"
"I should ask you that. If anyone knows, Shepard does. And if he does, don't you?"
Kaidan smiled into the night. The waves his minute movements generated made no sound. A short way beyond his body they disappeared without trace.
"There is such a thing as trust" A query reached him. He accepted it.
Ashley Williams stepped through nothingness into the star space. Where Kaidan was drifting, she seemed to be standing on thin air.
He rolled his head lazily to regard her, unashamed of his nakedness.
"Any of you morons have any idea what this is about?" The woman asked, face an angry frown.
Her face often looked like this. Where Kaidan was a naked, standard human male, Ashley was clad in something that could have been armour from an ancient fantasy RPG.
Mentally Kaidan rolled his eyes. What kind of residual self image involved armour?
"No"
"Nope" Ashley scowled.
"God damn Overlords" The woman shook her head, turned and marched right back through the nothingness door without another word.
Kaidan sighed, his peaceful mood gone.
"Why is she always so angry?" The voice from nowhere answered.
"You haven't thrown a look at her genealogy info then?" The man frowned.
"Her genealogy...?" What had that to do with anything?
He send a quick query to the simulated ships' local cache and in the next moment remembered having always known the answer.
"Oh"
Ashley's grandfather was Aaron Williams, a former, high ranking Jovian Admiral.
The man had been a devoted follower of Jovian doctrine, right until his beloved only son (and Ashley's father) had experienced an outbreak of a degenerative neurological condition, one that basically everywhere else in the sol system would have been spotted and corrected before he would have been born. And even now that it was discovered, Jovian meditech wasn't up to the task of correcting it completely, not without illegal technology, anyway.
The Admiral hadn't hesitated and two years after the diagnosis, he, his wife, their two children and several family friends and their families had immigrated through the Charon gate into Alliance space.
For all intends and purposes, defected.
It had apparently been a minor scandal at the time and rather embarrassing for the Jovian Junta.
Even though the Admiral integrated with Alliance life, it seemed you could take the Jovian out of the Republic but not the Republic out of the Jovian.
The Admiral was an outspoken member of the more bio-conservative parts of the Alliance and advocated for more "self determinism" and "freedom" for individuals.
Which would explain Ashley's choice of words.
And her pissed-offness since coming "on board". And with their newly revealed orders.
Kaidan gently shook his head. Why had she chosen this career path, then?
Oh well, she would have to suck it up.
Above him shooting stars began to streak by, a few at first, then more and more until the sky was set on fire.
"Prepare access. Prepare for integration" a different voice from nowhere commanded.
Kaidan grimaced. The next part would suck. For someone.
He felt the first gentle touch.
His body stiffened.
Kaidan gentle sunk below the surface.
He drifted.
He drowned.
Kaidan Alenko was drifting in a field of stars, both above his head and reflected in the liquid he was floating in without sinking.
His eyes were rapidly shifting, as if in REM sleep, but were open.
"So it is confirmed?"
"Yup" a voice answered from nowhere.
"I don't suppose you have any idea what this is all about?"
"I should ask you that. If anyone knows, Shepard does. And if he does, don't you?"
Kaidan smiled into the night. The waves his minute movements generated made no sound. A short way beyond his body they disappeared without trace.
"There is such a thing as trust" A query reached him. He accepted it.
Ashley Williams stepped through nothingness into the star space. Where Kaidan was drifting, she seemed to be standing on thin air.
He rolled his head lazily to regard her, unashamed of his nakedness.
"Any of you morons have any idea what this is about?" The woman asked, face an angry frown.
Her face often looked like this. Where Kaidan was a naked, standard human male, Ashley was clad in something that could have been armour from an ancient fantasy RPG.
Mentally Kaidan rolled his eyes. What kind of residual self image involved armour?
"No"
"Nope" Ashley groaned.
"Babysitting C-Space aliens. Wonderful" The floating man raised an eyebrow.
"You don't like them?" The woman shook her head.
"They are a distraction. Or potential enemies, I don't know. Wish we could just ignore this. Them." Deep beneath Kaidan, something passed in the blackness, massive body merely a shadow.
Ashley frowned down at it in irritation
"We have our orders" Kaidan reminded her gently.
"Don't remind me of duty" she snapped back.
The woman shook her head, turned and marched back through the nothingness door.
Kaidan sighed, his peaceful mood gone. "Why is she always so angry?" The voice from nowhere answered.
"You haven't thrown a look at her genealogy info then?" The man frowned.
"Her genealogy...?" What had that to do with anything?
He send a quick query to the simulated ships' local cache and in the next moment remembered having always known the answer.
"Oh"
Ashley's grandfather was Aaron Williams, a former, high ranking Jovian Admiral.
The man had been a devoted follower of Jovian doctrine, right until his beloved only son (and Ashley's father) had experienced an outbreak of a degenerative neurological condition, one that basically everywhere else in the sol system would have been spotted and corrected before he would have been born. And even now that it was discovered, Jovian meditech wasn't up to the task of correcting it completely, not without illegal technology, anyway.
The Admiral hadn't hesitated and two years after the diagnosis, he, his wife, their two children and several family friends and their families had immigrated through the Charon gate into Alliance space.
For all intends and purposes, defected.
It had apparently been a minor scandal at the time and rather embarrassing for the Jovian Junta.
Even though the Admiral integrated with Alliance life, it seemed you could take the Jovian out of the Republic but not the Republic out of the Jovian.
The Admiral was an outspoken member of the more bio-conservative parts of the Alliance and advocated for more "Security through distance" and to "keep alien influences at bay".
Which would explain Ashley's pissed-offness with their newly revealed orders.
They had been ordered to assemble weeks ago, without explanation, under the Sheppards command, to be ready and "fit for a particular purpose".
Meaning Special Ops.
Which now turned out to be babysitter duty.
Kaidan didn't mind. He was interested in meeting real aliens, see how they worked.
Someone with Ashley's background wouldn't be.
Oh well. She would have to suck it up.
Above him shooting stars began to streak by, a few at first, then more and more until the sky was set on fire.
"Prepare for download"
Kaidan grimaced. The next part would suck. Like always.
He felt the first gentle touch.
His body stiffened.
Kaidan gently sunk below the surface.
He drifted.
He drowned.
He woke up.
The interior of the Hand was as advanced as the outside.
Wide, high corridors, perfectly lit, bright but not blinding in any way.
It even had that famous "new starship" smell.
The walls were containing several upgrades Liara wasn't certain about. She would ask later about them.
For now, she simply followed Kryik who let her through a few corridors and a rather slow elevator to a non-discript door.
Vetra had veered of somewhere with a laconic. "Later, Boss"
"Your cabin. Please stow your gear and head for the CIC where you'll meet the rest of the team and given a short briefing. Full disclosure will only happen in space, where we can isolate the ship form any external connections" Liara wanted to comment on the seemingly paranoid security but Kryik had already turned away and was leaving.
Sighing Liara opened her door.
The cabin had been spartan but elegant. She had quickly inspected everything, dumped her stuff and then headed for the CIC, eager to finally unravel some of the weirdness of this little adventure of hers.
She had found that she was authorised to access a ship map on the local intranet, so finding the CIC had actually been easy. She simple followed the blinking dot on her Omni-Tool map.
The room she entered was typical for Citadel starships. A large, oval space, buried close to the core of the ship to provide as much protection as possible.
The middle contained a recessed pit filled by a large central hologram. Workstations surrounded the pit and were also lined up along the walls.
A pedestal was raised on one end of the pit, behind which another short corridor led off. She could see an open space cockpit through there.
The room was already well filled as Liara entered. Multiple work stations were manned and personnel was walking around looking busy.
All of them dressed in the common white-and-grey Citadel uniforms, with coloured high lights indicating which apartment they belonged to.
Near one end of the holo was a more diverse group however, dressed in everything from lab coats to formal wear. As Liara stepped closer she recognised some of the faces.
Oh. Oh of course.
She hadn't been the only one invited. Stupid. Of course.
She was angry at herself for how disappointed she felt. Suddenly she was glad she hadn't told her mother about this before signing the NDA.
Several people turned to her as she approached.
Liara tried to swallow her nervousness.
"Good day. My name is..."
"Liara T'soni" an Asari drawled with obvious contempt.
Liara managed to keep her face under control.
"Ms T'Reve" she greeted back neutrally.
"Really?" another Matron sneered. "That's her? What is she doing here?"
"Surprised" A Salarian, Professor Vaum, commented "Theories are...controversial. Presence here...unlikely"
"I was invited, just like, I presume, all of you" Liara pressed out.
Anger, disappointment and shame were churning in her gut.
She had known she wasn't well received in some parts of the Prothean Archeologists community. But she hadn't expected this open hostility.
"That just serves to show that even our mysterious hosts are capable of mistakes" Kalinda T'Reve commented in a mocking tone "Shouldn't you be on a pole somewhere?"
"And shouldn't you sell your latest finds on a black market somewhere?" Liara fired back, well aware of the rumors around her "colleague".
T'Reve's amused expression collapsed into anger, as another voice interrupted.
"Ladies, ladies!" Another Salarian was shoving himself forward.
Unlike Professor Vaum his voice lacked the clipped, stilted tone of other salarians. Instead it head a booming, sonorous quality.
And it wasn't just his voice that was big. He was easily a head taller than the other Salarian. Liara barely reached his shoulders. He was massive.
"We shouldn't spoil this little excursion of us by petty fighting, hmmm?"
He drew that "hmmm" out while rising in tone and Liara immediately found it annoying.
By the expressions around her she wasn't the only one.
She knew who that was too, of course. Doctor Shan Bokum. Became famous 12 years ago with the activation of the Pariza Monoliths, proving that the Protheans had employed advanced weather control methods on their colonies.
"Of course not Doctor" T'Reve agreed, tensely.
Liara said nothing, not even at an encouraging look from Bokum. She hadn't started it.
"If I could ask for your attention" Kryik's voice rang out from the pedestal.
They all turned in surprise.
"Thank you."
The Turian seemed to examine them for a moment.
"As you all know, the mission we have been asked to undertake is full of unknowns. Little is known about the species that has decided to share it's prothean find with us. It can not be guaranteed that there will be no danger. Perhaps even mortal danger.
This is the last chance for anyone, civilian or otherwise, to disembark."
No one moved or said anything.
Kryik nodded, movement barely noticeable.
"Very well. All crew and equipment are on board. We will take off in 10 minutes. Full debriefing after contact has been cut with the extranet" He walked off without pause, back to the cockpit.
And with this momentous, rousing speech their adventure began.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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HandleWithCare
Jan 27, 2018
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#270
Briefing
The full briefing was scheduled 12 hours later, when they were several Relays away from the Citadel and all extranet traffic had been cut. The only communication was with the Relay Defence networks.
A few decades ago, most Relays had been isolated, at most a lone comm buoy had floated nearby to piggy back of the Relays constant low level mass corridor connection to transmit information with FTL speeds.
Nowadays even the Relays in unsettled systems were surrounded by concentric spheres of sensor buoys, redundant comm stations and weapons platforms.
Unscheduled Relay activation could get a ship shot at.
Just another way in which the Citadel had turned more...severe in recent decades.
Liara and the other civilians, as well as several crew members found themselves seated in the CIC, the only place on board to comfortably hold large assemblies such as this. Otherwise they would have to drag chairs into the hangar bay.
It was an age old adage that no matter how big a military ship became, it never had enough space on board. And the Hand of the Council was no exception.
So now Liara, several unknown people and her...colleagues were seated around the Holo Pit. The holo itself had been shut off to allow eye contact without distractions.
"Well, I must say, this is really a lot of cloak and dagger to visit some primitives about a few ruins" Doctor Bokum began, trying for joking and hitting frustrated condescension.
"Isn't it?" T'Reve agreed "But one must cater to the paranoid, I'm afraid. Bad business to question the customer, dear"
"Some of us are scientists, not merchants" Liara bit out tersely "We question everything" All eyes turned to her and she regretted her words immediately.
"Calling yourself a scientist now?" Vaina mocked, the other Matron in their illustrious round. She was mostly known for her prothean artwork restorations.
"Falling for fakes and shoddily dating artifacts is not science, young girl" Liara bristled.
T'Reve and Bokum were condescendingly smug, but Vaina was going further than that, for whatever reason. "Young girl". There was hardly something worse you could say to a Maiden who tried to be taken seriously.
"Hostilities unnecessary" Vaum interjected, as impersonal as always "Theories unproven, speculative. No need for insults"
"Exactly!" Bokum boomed "The young Maiden is sincere in her efforts. We should applaud such youthful enthusiasm, instead of insulting it"
Which was of course even more condescending in a way. Liara took a deep breath and said nothing. T'Reve and Vaina were silent as well. Glaring at Liara, but unwilling to draw the Salarians' ire.
"Awkward" a new voice singsonged.
Liara looked over to find another asari Maiden grinning back at her. Liara was momentarily taken aback by the single black stripe that was painted haphazardly across the other Asari's eyes, like a parody of turian facepaint.
"Hi. Peebee" The maiden waved.
"Liara...Liara T'soni. How do you do"
"Oh not bad" Peebee said.
"That's...nice" Liara answered finally, after a too long moment, cursing her blushing. She looked away and opened a file on her Omni-Tool.
Someone cleared their throat. Others looked at their Omni-Tools as well. No one seemed willing to start a conversation.
They all stewed in awkward silence until finally Nihlus walked in and again stood at the pedestal, overlooking them.
Liara wasn't the only one breathing out a relieved sigh.
He scanned the assembled crowd quickly and if he noticed the tension he didn't let it show.
"Thank you for being punctual. You are all aware why we are here, but for the sake of discussion, allow me to summarize:
Eight days ago the Transhuman Systems Alliance contacted Citadel officials, per agreements laid down in the Provisional Peace Treaty regarding the sharing of prothean archaeological finds, with news that they discovered a quote "significant prothean find" unquote.
They did not only inform us, but asked for several prothean experts by name, without giving further reasoning for inviting these particular individuals."
Liara frowned at that. So the Citadel truly didn't know why it had been her.
"These people are Professor Vaum, Doctor Bokum, Doctor Vaina, Doctor T'soni and Ms. T'Reve" he nodded to the five and they in turn turned to the others and nodded greetings.
"I must stress that relations between the Citadel and Transhumanity are...unclear. While a nominal Peace treaty is in place, it's particulars are still hotly debated and not exactly permanent.
We have no further information what the Transhumans found, why they are inviting these particular people or what they expect to happen once we reach the prothean site.
We are strapped for information in a delicate political situation and we all, I can not stress this enough, we all must step lightly to avoid any incidents"
Bokum snorted inelegantly. Nihlus cool eyes fell on the Salarian.
"You have something to say, Doctor"
"Only this" Bokum sneered "It seems that the Citadel made a lot of noise and wasted a lot of our time for the, frankly, unnecessary coddling of a paranoid, xenophobic species of primitives who are now lording what little bit of power they have through the find over the Citadel!
If you ask me we should have sent a simple retrieval team to assess the prothean findings and, if necessary, take them back into Citadel space, where they could have been studied by a group of experts in a controlled, civilised environment" The Doctor leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, clearly satisfied about having said his piece.
Nihlus waited just long enough to be impolite before he answered.
"I see. And does anyone else share the Doctors believe that this is just a waste of time?" Vaina leaned forward.
"It does seem a bit odd that the Citadel would go through so much effort to please these people." She waved a hand around dismissively. "I do not mean the ship or us, of course. That can easily be explained.
But why is the Citadel allowing newcomers to dictate the terms of our meeting to such an extend? We have almost no information, get summoned to travel to them and the Citadel uses both a brand new, state of the art ship and sends a Spectre along? This seems...suspicious"
"Not to mention the weapon loadout on this ship" T'Reve added. "I do believe I saw rather...special warheads, down in the cargo hold, you know?"
"You aren't being paid to snoop around the ship" Vetra rebuked her, icily.
The Asari just smiled condescendingly.
"Why thank you dear, another excellent point." she turned to Nihlus "The Citadel didn't even try to negotiate my salary, simply accepted whatever sum I quoted. Which, is most likely true for all of us. Why is that, Nihuls dear?"
Liara narrowed her eyes. Bokum was nodding along, but by the expressions on Vaina's and Vaum's faces, Liara had the feeling that only two of them had to be bribed to go on this mission.
And "special warheads"? She couldn't mean...?
"As you all said, our current information is...thin. We are expending considerable resources to change that. The fact you all have been invited, 5 of the leading prothean experts…" This time it was Vaina who interrupted.
"Ha!" she barked "T'soni? An expert?"
Liara glared at her, her temper helping her to overcome the embarrassment.
Nihlus continued unperturbed "I was aware Doctor T'sonis theories were controversial..."
"They are hogwash! The Protheans were not wiped out by a bedtime story!"
Again Nihlus kept his silence pointedly for longer then was strictly necessary. Then he turned to Liara.
"Dr, T'soni? Would you like to answer?" Liara took a deep breath. She had to do this so many times, it was almost familiar by now.
"There are many theories over what happened to the Protheans. Some say they simply left. Some say they died out. Some even believe that they transcended reality, became...more than us. Almost like gods. One of the theories involves the Reapers..."
"Demons form the vooihooid" Vaina even made hand movements indicating spookiness.
Laira continued, ignoring her "...a supposed race of evil destroyers that "claim and devour".
Now, many say that the Reaper myth, which can be found in many cultures and species in one way or the other, actually originated with a war the Protheans were fighting..."
"Conclusively proven one thousand five hundred years ago by Siman and La'alla!" Bokum interrupted, triumphantly.
Liara fixed him with a glare "I am curious Doctor, did you spend to much time in the field or were you simply not taught that interrupting others is impolite?"
The Doctor was sputtering even as Peebeee and a few others had to hide their smiles.
Before he could say anything though, Vaum, to her surprise, came to her help.
"Must agree" the older Salarian growled out "Constant interruptions...aggravating" Liara gave him a grateful nod, that he ignored, and continued.
"Now, as I was saying, I am not so certain that that is all. My studies have let me to the believe that there is another possible explanation: that the Reapers truly were someone the Protheans fought...and that they lost"
Chilled silence settled over the room as everyone stared at her.
Peebee broke the spell by making "Huh" and shivering theatrically.
Vaina glared at Liara. "Hogwash. Nonsense. The Protheans were not killed off"
This is personal for her, Liara realised. Why?
"If these Reapers truly did that, why did they stop?" Bokum demanded. "Why were so many Prothean sites left intact? Why are the Relays and the Citadel still around?" Liara shook her head.
"There are many possible explanations. Perhaps they wanted the network and the Citadel for themselves? Perhaps the Protheans actually did manage to kill them but were killed themselves in the progress? I do not know. More research will be necessary"
"Evidence thin" Vaum noted.
"Exactly!" Vaina jumped in immediately "There are countless Prothean finds that tell tales of the Prothean victory over their Reaper enemies. Of triumph and glory!"
"And there are countless ones that immediately begin with dire warnings over the attackers, over infiltrators and coming death" Liara countered.
"Dating Prothean artifacts is notoriously difficult" Bokum dismissed "They are self-healing, self-repairing. You could just be stumbling over records from the beginning or height of their war!"
"Continuously? Over and over again, from artifacts that are judged to be from the latest prothean era by several noted experts? Carved into bunker walls?"
That one had been particularly chilly. Just one short message in lower Prothean, scratched unevenly into a super-hardened wall: They are here.
T'Reve was shaking her head "It may be that even Protheans doubted in the last minutes before an attack. And the bunkers were often preserved as monuments. It has been proven that some of them had been sealed centuries before the Protheans disappeared" She turned to the SPECTRE "Nihlus dear, you can not possibly believe her!"
"Nihlus dear" seemed unimpressed.
"Wether or not I believe her is not relevant. Far more relevant is that the Transhumans invited her by name" Bokum's voice pitched incredulously.
"Why do you care so much what a bunch of primitives think?" The Spectre returned his gaze calmly.
"Primitives? Doctor, allow me to disabuse you of that notion" Nihlus entered a few commands. The Holo Pit between them woke up and began to fill with pictures.
"This is a presentation that was shown to the Citadel's Extraordinary Expert Commission on Transhumanity, immediately after first contact"
The presentation begun. It was the same condensed report of the disastrous first contact that the commission had presented to the gaggle of officials, politicians and other high ranking personnel.
With various degrees of shock Liara and her colleagues witnessed Transhumanity's frightening capabilities.
The rapid demise of the turian patrol, using impossible weapons.
The creepy method of first contact, an empty ship with a threatening voice message.
Then Liara go her own, quite personal, second shock as she saw who was chosen to be the Citadel's ambassador.
Mom
They watched in silence as the transhuman ship was revealed, an ominous, alien dreadnought.
The first meeting between Citadel and Transhumanity, their bizarre bodies.
The first talk, the prisoner transfer.
The presentation ended with the prisoner debriefing videos and the holo flickered out of existence.
Nihlus was silent, letting them process what they had seen.
Liara stared at the equally flummoxed faces of her colleagues. A quick look around told her that most of the crewmembers hadn't known the truth either, though others looked unsurprised, obviously having been briefed beforehand.
Mother...
Liara felt actually a bit dizzy, her face tingled. A new species, advanced beyond the Citadel, cyborgs, energy weapons...
And they had called for her by name.
Bokum was the first to gain his bearings.
"This is...unacceptable. Unbelievable." The Salarian had lost his studied mannerisms and was talking in the typical fast, breathless way of his people. "Can't be..."
"If this is supposed to be a joke..." T'Reve tried to threaten feebly.
The Spectre looked at her in a way that somehow managed to say "moron" without twitching a single muscle.
"Ms T'Reve, with all due respect, we would not spend this much effort on a practical joke" for you, because you aren't important enough remained unsaid. Vaum cleared his throat.
"Deeply disturbing. Powerful species. Hard to judge. Why call us?" Nihlus nodded at him.
"That is what we are trying to find out, yes. We have many possible theories of course. A genuine lack of experience with prothean artifacts and the need for our help..."
"Unlikely, given their technology" Vaum interrupted, though the Spectre didn't seem to mind this time.
"But not impossible. Do not let yourself be overwhelmed. They are not gods. Advanced technology is no replacement for experience. However, the Citadel agrees that other possibilities are more likely"
"Such as?" T'Reve wanted to know.
"We believe, and hope, that this is a circumspect way to further diplomatic relations. A controlled way to increase contact. A neutral pretence, on their territory, under their terms. An opportunity we intend to use" Everyone reflected on this and exchanged worried looks.
"Well, at least we now know one thing" Vaina said. She turned to Liara and a downright nasty grin appeared on her face "The involvement of Benezia explains why Miss T'soni here was invited. Simple nepotism"
Liara fumed.
Last edited: Jan 27, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Jan 31, 2018
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#288
Eavesdropping
Over the next day she managed to more or less avoid her colleagues.
She ate alone in her cabin, studied what little information the Citadel had made available to them and was swaying between relief and frustration over the inability to contact her mother.
Her mother.
She wasn't even surprised, really.
Her entire life she had struggled to get out of Benezia's shadow and now, when it looked like she had come so close? Of course her mother would step in and steal the thunder.
Liara was already writing the speech she would hold the Matriarch when they next saw each other.
Keeping a secret like that form her own daughter! Well, admittedly, the NDAs had been like nothing she had never seen. Even breathing about this to the wrong person would bring down special task forces, Benezia's daughter or not.
But still! It was the principle of the thing!
On the second day, Liara had been wandering the ship, unable to stay cooped up in her cabin any longer, when she had run into an interesting scene.
She had been near the cargo hold, vaguely hoping she would find a quite spot with a window when she had heard agitated voices.
"...this to seriously, darling" T'Reve?
"I think I'm taking this exactly serious enough, thank you very much, darling" Another asari voice snapped back. It was coming form an intersection up ahead.
Liara was torn. This was clearly private. Snooping was uncouth.
On the other hand...Liara had grown up with a politician. And this was about T'Reve, a potential enemy of hers. She might be able to use this conversation in the future somehow.
Quickly she snuck closer, hiding in a corner between corridor wall and bulkhead frame. She could now hear clearly through the opening.
"Really, P, I know that you need your little outbursts from time to time, but we were good together, weren't we?"
"No, K, you were good with me. I wasn't good at all" T'Reve's tone changed to something that was probably meant to be persuasive.
"Well, why didn't you say so? If it's more affection you were looking for..." A muted slap.
"I am looking for someone who doesn't confuse it with condescension, Kalinda"
An Asari stormed past her and even though the angle was bad, Liara still recognised her. It was the Maiden with the weird make up. Peemee?
And her and Kalinda had had something in the past? Ouch. Poor Peemee.
After a while she heard other footsteps, softer ones, leaving as well.
Thankfully not past her.
Liara waited a while longer, and even did a passive Omni-Tool scan, but the air seemed clear.
She rose form her hiding spot and considered what she just heard. Hm.
The Ikai system was almost exactly on a Relay line from the Citadel and so it took "only" most of 3 days to reach.
Liara had more or less managed to keep her head down, but she heard some things from the crew.
Especially Vetra. The Turian had a lot to say about some of her "esteemed colleagues" and wasn't shy about it either.
It seemed Bokum, T'Reve and Vaina had joined forces in disbelief and flat out refused to accept that the Transhumans "were all that".
Instead, they had begun to speculate how they might have managed to gain access to prothean technology like that and why the Citadel hadn't found any.
Liara had her own thoughts on the matter, but kept her mouth shut. Nothing she had seen in the videos seemed familiar to her, nothing appeared prothean at all...
Vaum seemed to share Liara's and Vetra's opinion and mostly avoided the other three, though he often discussed things with Nihlus.
As they closed in on the Ikai system, they were once again asked to assemble in the CIC.
By silent agreement they took the same seats as before.
Liara was trying to get a general feel of the situation. T'Reve and Bokum had the same smugness about them as usual (and sneered at her as she took her seated, which she ignored), Vaina and Vaum were less scrutable.
The crew members present seemed to have relaxed somewhat and were making no effort to hide the low key hostile looks some of them send the civilians.
Liara had been uncertain how Vaina's accusation of her being here due to nepotism would effect the crew's opinion of her, but it seemed most were simply ignoring her, not caring one way or another.
At least she got encouraging nods from Vetra and Peemee.
All attention turned to Nihlus as he took his usual stand at the command pedestal.
Today his scale colour was a natural grey, his markings unremarkable white and his eyes were a dark blue, contrasting with the rest of his coloration.
"Thank you for coming." was the dry greeting. Even his voice was slightly different, the pitches altered somehow, while his mannerisms stayed exactly the same.
Liara wondered what his aim was with these constant changes.
"As you are all aware, we are about to make the final Relay jump to Ikai. What you are unaware of is that we will use this jump as a field test for this frigate's new stealth capabilities" Excited murmurs among the crew.
"The Hand of the Council is part of a new series of jointly developed Citadel spaceships, build with the purpose of countering transhuman technology...or those with similar techlevels" Bokum made a rude noise in his throat, but Nihlus ignored him.
"This particular frigate model is optimised for stealth" he touched a few buttons and the Holo Pit came to live, displaying an outside view of their frigate.
"In the last decades, our expertise in that area has advanced greatly" Another button click and an animation begun to play.
The ship they saw shimmered out of existence.
Liara felt her eyes widen in surprise. Vaum leaned forward, excited.
"Shipscale tactical cloak. Impressive. Highly impressive" T'Reve had a calculating look on her face. She turned to the Spectre.
"And highly classified, I would assume. Why are we shown this?"
"Your NDA's cover all technical details of this ship as well. For the next 500 years, I might add. You need to know our capabilities in the case of...complications" Now it was Vaina who snorted dismissively.
"One of the purposes of this mission is, in fact, this field test. In approximately one hour, three cruisers will make the jump to Ikai, as part of a routine, scheduled duty rotation. We will accompany them, fully stealthed, and use their mass to hide our own passage of the Relay. Afterwards, we will make our way to the transhuman Contact Station in an attempt to surprise our friends" He said the last word unironically.
Another button click and the transhuman contact station appeared in the holo.
As much as the involvement of her mother in the negotiations irked Liara, a certain success thanks to her skill couldn't be denied.
Instead of full isolation, Transhumanity and the Citadel had agreed to limited contact.
To that end, Transhumanity had erected a space station in the Ikai system, which reminded her uncomfortably of the Geth situation.
The station, as shown in the holo, was rather old school. It used centrifugal force to provide gravity without Mass Shadow build up. Surprising, given what she had learned about the others tech capabilities.
The massive, rotating cylinder was named Babylon5.
No one knew why it was number 5, or what the name meant, but it seemed, for whatever reason, to cause great amusement among it's builders. Transhumans mentioning it were apparently known to intensely stare at Citadel citizens and ask things like "Who are you?" and "What do you want?" followed by much giggling.
They never bothered to explain the joke to anyone.
At least they appear to have a sense of humor? Even her inner voice sounded dubious.
Permanent ambassadors were stationed there, keeping in loose contact.
Liara hadn't been made privy to the more classified logs of the ambassadors, but from what she had read between the lines, interacting with Transhumanity seemed to be an exercise in either bewilderment or frustration or both.
There was no trade and almost no visitation rights, but both sides had agreed to a limited sharing of information.
Rather logical, considering some of transhuman space had had close borders with the Skyllian Verge and batarian space.
Huh. Actually, maybe that explained the odd expansion stop of the Batarians several decades ago? Or...maybe even the Hegemony's collapse? Stars. Now there was a creepy thought. And she was about to meet these people...
Thoughts like these kept her awake at night.
She fixed Nihlus with a thoughtful look.
"Some might consider it unwise to start this diplomatic endeavour with a surprise stealth test" she said, as neutrally as she could.
"Please!" Bokum growled immediately, glaring at her. "They would never dare to harm us. We are the Citadel!" There was uncomfortable silence as Bokum was glaring around the room, clearly expecting someone to speak up in support.
But the others kept silent, even T'Reve and Vaina. It seemed not just Liara was worried about these enigmatic aliens.
"The risk has been deemed acceptable" Nihlus finally said into the silence. "We have been ordered to proceed and proceed we will. Prepare for full blackout protocol, even the wireless functions of your Omni-Tools will have to be disabled. I expect everyone to comply with that order" He meaningfully looked at Bokum and the Salarian finally gave a grumbled assent. Nihlus nodded, barely.
"Good. Prepare for jump"
Last edited: Feb 1, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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The cloaked jump had been executed without problems. Now the Hand was drifting on occasional cold gas thrusts towards the transhuman Contact Station.
Liara, T'Reve and Vaum were all lurking in the CIC, out of the way, observing the approach.
Bokum and Vaina had demonstratively declared to have no interest in the aliens and had retreated to their cabins. Liara had no doubt that they would follow the proceedings in detail via the internal feed to their rooms.
The lights were lowered throughout the ship and voices were muted as the ship was running silent. Despite both being entirely useless in space, it served as a useful psychological reminder to be alert and careful and had consequently been adopted into proceedings.
Liara watched in trepidation as they came closer and closer to the large station from an obscure vector of approach, far from "above" the system's plane.
The assumption was that such a random course was far less likely to be under close scrutiny or covered in hidden defence systems.
Despite the station being nowhere near the size of the Citadel, it was an impressive design. Not many Citadel stations were built that big.
And as far as Liara knew, there were only a few thousand Transhumans and less than one hundred Citadel personnel on board.
That suggested two things. Either Transhumanity liked it's space. Or they had planned for a future use of the station that would make all this space necessary.
The overall design was very odd. The central rotating section was clearly identifiable, but there were weird protrusions everywhere and...where those solar panels? So far out in dark space? Odd. Very very odd.
As the station came closer the tension grew in the Citadel ship.
The assumption was that they were invisible but what if that wasn't true? What if the aliens could get a glimpse of them through the cloak? Would they assume hostile intent without verifying who it was and fire on them?
Or even if they figured out who they were...who could say how they would appreciate the Citadel pulling one over them? Would they attack anyway? Were they risking the start of a war here?
"Full stop" Nihlus finally ordered, talking as quietly as everyone else.
Long seconds ticked by as everyone waited. Would they be discovered? Would they be fired upon?
But time passed and nothing happened.
The only thing audible were quite reports and the soft background hum of the ship.
Finally Nihlus stepped close to the comm station "Lieutenant, prepare to hai..."
"We are being hailed, sir!" the man said in the same moment.
Everyone tensed even more.
"It's coming via tight beam, directly from the station"
"Put it on" the Spectre ordered.
The screens showed the symbol for audio only. A turian voice spoke in flawless Palaven.
"Greetings, Hand of the Council. We have been expecting you" the voice sounded cheerful and Liara had no problem imagining a broad, smug grin to go with it.
The tension in the CIC evaporated, the spell broken.
Disappointed murmurs arose.
They had failed. All that stress for nothing.
People sighed and shoulders dropped.
Nihlus, like always, seemed unaffected.
"Send our greetings to the station and contact our ambassador. And drop the cloak"
They had attempted to surprise their transhuman neighbours, at great personal and political risk, entirely for nothing, it seemed.
The Transhumans were comparatively gracious about it. Aside form a few teasing remarks and the general air of amusement in the voice that spoke for them they didn't seem to take any special note of the circumstances.
And Nihlus, at least, managed to take it with his usual poise.
Liara herself was uncertain what the effect of this would be. The first point had clearly gone to the Transhumans. The mere attempt at stealth could be construed as at least diplomatic rudeness and an act of aggression at worst. And if they magnanimously overlooked the incident than that alone would be political ammunition as well.
The talk between Nihlus and the turian sounding Transhuman came to an end.
They would only stay at the station for a few hours, it would take that long for the dreadnought that would bring them to the colony to arrive.
Again, this caused questions. What did the sending of a full sized dreadnought to escort them mean? Was it a sign of respect? Of (now understandable) distrust? Did Transhumanity want to show of or intimidate? Were they that important to them, that they didn't want to risk anything? Or did they simply have so many dreadnought class ships they could send one on an errand? The last one was perhaps the most frightening possibility.
Still, Liara regretted the missed opportunity to visit the station. Seeing how Transhumans lived would have been immensely valuable. And then there were the ambassadors and diplomats on the station. Talking with someone with experience with the aliens would have been very helpful too.
Huh. Actually, that gave her another thought...
"Spectre Kryik?"
She stepped forward and the Turian turned to her.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering...there are ambassadors on the station. There must be hundreds of people with experience with dealing with these aliens, yet none seem to be on board." Nihlus nodded at her.
"That is correct. All diplomatic personnel with experience are either caught up in important business or are indisposed" Liara blinked.
"All of them? At the same time?" Nihlus didn't move a muscle.
"Yes. Your own mother, for instance, is at an important conference"
That was true. It would be the main argument Liara would use to justify not having contacted her immediately. Still...
"That seems rather..."
"...suspiciously fortunate for Trasnhumanity?" Nihlus finished for her. "Yes. We are aware of the potential implications"
Suddenly the stealth test of the Hand appeared in an entirely new light.
Liara looked out at the station and grimaced.
Perhaps it wasn't so bad that meeting Transhumanity proper would take a little while longer.
It was a few hours later when there escort finally jumped into system.
The newcomer looked quite different then the Agree to disagree.
Where the Agree had definitely been a warship, although an incredibly alien one, this ship looked more like a freighter...although an incredibly alien one.
The entire thing reminded Liara of an insect pupa. The top half of the ship was lightly curved down and oval when seen from above. Below that "back" curved a bulbous but not inelegant "belly".
The entire thing was an almost asari blue, shimmering metallic in the light of the distant stars.
Liara and the others where once again in the CIC, watching the proceedings. Everyone not on duty was here as well, trying to stay out of the way.
The station hailed them.
"Hand of the Council this is Babylon control. Your ship, the Be all your sins delivered has arrived to bring you towards your destination" Nihlus took the comm.
"We thank you Babylon control. May we greet our escort in person?" There was a momentary pause.
"We apologise Hand. There must have been a miscommunication. We said they will bring you to your goal. Not escort you" In that moment one of the sensor officers called out.
"Sir! The ship is moving towards us!" Liara heard Vetra quietly curse.
"What now?" The question was answered seconds later by the same officer.
"An opening is being created, it appears we...we will be taken on board"
That was one word for it. Liara watched with a dry mouth, eyes transfixed, how the massive ship came closer and closer, precisely maneuvering despite it's size.
It came to a stop "above" the Hand, it's ventral side facing their dorsal one.
It began to "sink" toward them and as it did, a cavernous opening appeared, irregular and organic looking, big enough to take in their entire frigate.
The interior seemed pitch black.
Liara shivered. The sight had something...atavistic, primal like...
"Sir! The edges!" someone shouted.
As the massive opening came closer, the edges of the...hangar were changing. What had been a clean, blue cut was reforming, restructuring itself. White, conic objects appeared, the mass between them turning a wrinkled red...
Teeth, emerging form red flesh.
Rows upon rows of teeth.
Holographic saliva began to drip form them, disappearing in empty space.
As Liara looked at the center again, a wide object was whipping back and forth obscenely in the semi darkness: a red tongue.
At which point the still open audio channel to the station transmitted a wild, angry, animalistic growl.
It was beyond absurd. Insane. But a billion years of instincts were hard to ignore. Something was about to eat them.
Murmurs grew louder, nervous gazes.
Liara was frozen by disbelief. This was a bizarre dream. It had to be. Right?
"Compose yourself" Nihlus steady voice could easily be heard over the growl. "This is nothing more then another case of their bizarre sense of humor"
Of course it was. This was nothing more then a wildly inappropriate joke. But...well, but.
The "maw" encompassed the Hand now and was slowly closing "beneath" them.
Liara stared at the closing set of "teeth", at the stars disappearing between them. It grew dark around their ship, there was no interior illumination. The holographic tongue was somehow not glowing. Wait, did that mean it wasn't...?
The maw closed and darkness descended. The growl ended.
The audio channel, however, was still open.
"Welcome on board the Be all your sins delivered" a cheerful asari voice said "Your comfort is very important to us! Please stand by for departure and we wish you all a pleasant stay"...followed by an obscenely loud burping sound.
Liara broke into hysterical laughter.
In the Virtuality of the control center of Babylon 5, two avatars, a man and a woman "stood". They looked like adult, pre-Fall humans, but of course they weren't necessarily the age, gender or even species they pretended to be. For that matter, they may not even have been sentient.
The bridge was an authentic reconstruction of the one in the series this station was based on.
The appearance of the Hand had not been a surprise at all, the ship had been on the station's scanners the moment it had jumped into system. On no less then three different scanner systems to boot.
Well, for a given definition of "scanner", anyway.
The Citadel's little attempt at a power move had thoroughly, amusingly failed.
Now, the two watched the jump flash through the virtual "window" as the Delivered and it's cargo begun their journey through the Relay.
One spoke.
"You think we should at least tell them that we have high resolution neutrino detectors?"
The "man" and the "woman" looked at each other.
"Nah" they chorused together and grinned.
Last edited: Feb 4, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Sudden arrival
It turned out that either their goal colony was further away from Ikai then they had anticipated or maybe the transhuman drives were not that much faster then the Citadel ones.
Either way, they spend days in the hold of the Delivered.
The mood on board was...complicated. After the first shock had been overcome, people had reacted very differently to Transhumanity's bizarre idea of a joke.
Some, like her colleagues, were furious. They did not appreciate such weird displays, felt humiliated and mocked.
Another group was was more positive. They even found the joke, after the fact, somewhat funny.
Most were more focused on the here and now. They were isolated, cut off form their surroundings. The Mass Effect system of the Delivered was so good they barely registered the Relay passages on sensors.
They had tried to contact the other vessel, hoping for more information or just a friendly chat. But the transhuman ship turned out to be discreet and disinclined to talk.
Most species instinctively disliked such enforced passivity. People were nervous.
Mixed with the uneasy boredom of their flight, and Transhumanity's unpredictability, it let to stress. And anger.
Multiple times officers had to break up fights.
Nihlus kept out of it.
He was mostly focused on the effort to collect as much information as possible.
At first they had only scanned passively, but when a few tentative emissions had provoked no reaction, they had become bolder.
And after all, no one had mentioned anything about active scanning being forbidden.
So far, sadly, their attempts had been for nothing.
The cargo material effectively swallowed all of their sensor impulses and only returned useless data, if any data at all.
But then, a negative result could be a datapoint all by itself.
"Nothing?" Nihlus asked, face and voice, as usual, not betraying anything.
"Sorry, sir" the sensor officer answered. "We are isolated pretty tightly. All I'm getting is a dark energy...murmur, you could say. Barely more than modulated background noise".
"So we still can't tell anything about their drive systems"
"With a few years of datasets to compare our measurements to, maybe. But as is, we have nothing. Apologies"
Nihlus stood back up and gave the man a pat on the shoulder. "No worries, soldier"
The Transhumans were at least courteous enough to give them a few hours warning before dropping them in the target system.
That gave everyone time to once again assemble in the CIC to watch what happened.
Even Vaina and Bokum showed up, scowling.
Liara assumed that after the last unexpected trick Transhumanity pulled on them, this time they at least wanted to see more of what was going on...and to have some friendly faces around them when something happened.
Their disembarking begun unspectacular enough.
The Delivered informed them politely that they would be "unloaded", the opening once again began to appear, without any theatrics this time, and...the emergency sirens went off.
Everyone scrambled for stations, Liara and the other civilians running for the emergency seats on the walls, strapping themselves in.
"Collision alert! Solid object beneath the opening!" The pilot didn't wait for orders.
"Engines engaged, Core output to maximum!"
"Belay that!" Nihlus barked, the first time Liara heard him actually raise his voice.
"Sir! There is an unknown...!" the first officer begun angrily, but Nihlus ignored him.
"Report! All stations, report!" The opening continued to grow and the holos showed that beneath them...
"Trees!" someone called out surprised.
"This is a planetary surface! Distance...fourty-five meters!" one of the sensor officers shouted.
Again, the pilot didn't wait.
"Lowering landing gear! Preparing Core for full take off load!"
"I don't think..." Nihlus began, but was drowned out.
"We're sinking!"
Indeed. The Delivered's hull was "rising" above them as the ground came closer.
Slowly, in a controlled fashion, not the abrupt crash Liara had been expecting.
She felt her heart slow down to a mere staccato after trying to leave her chest altogether.
The ground came slowly closer and more of the surface could be seen as the ship passed the hangar edges.
They seemed to have been dropped in the middle of wilderness, lush grass and trees all around them. It was beautiful, actually, not that any of them had eyes for that right now.
Short, tense reports flew around as the crew hastily prepared the ship for touchdown.
Sensors confirmed that the Delivered was projecting a Mass Effect field of incredible strength that was almost negating the planets pull.
Gently their ship was being set down.
The landing struts made contact and Liara felt the slight shock go through the ship as it's weight firmly settled on them.
"Switch view upwards" Nihlus ordered and in the central holo the view of the slowly departing Be all your sins delivered could be seen, an impossibly huge, deep blue monster against a lighter blue sky.
The sight was breathtaking...and instantly forgotten.
"What the...?" Someone shouted and Liara felt her mouth drop open.
Behind and above the Delivered, a bright, perfect band was spanning the sky.
"Sensors!" Nihlus barked once again and there were several seconds of silent tensions as the officers frantically worked their consoles.
Liara took in the sight, trying to conceptualise what she saw.
The bright band seemed narrow, but the fact it spanned the entire visible sky meant it must have been beyond gigantic.
And it wasn't even disconnected form the planet either. Liara could see...things leading down towards the surface.
Massive and impossibly huge, but dwarfed by the thing they connected to the planet.
In fact, one of the struts was coming down close to their current position...
"It's...Sir, it's definitely artificial. Size, the segment we can see...at least...at least thirty thousand kilometers!"
Liara heard her own moan of disbelief echoed around the CIC.
Vaum had opened his harness and stepped closer to the holos, eyes glistening.
"An orbital ring" Nihlus turned to him sharply.
"Professor?"
"A megastructure, simple in theory. Take magnetic material, spin it up to greater than orbital speed. Surround it by structure that rests on fields, no friction. And outer ring can be stationary, connected to surface" he pointed towards the struts "In theory, can walk up to ring on foot, circle planet, walk down another place. Very cheap to get materials off planet or on planet, very easy"
"Easy" Bokum echoed faintly and Liara had to agree.
"They could have warned us about this, don't you think?" Vetra drawled, but behind her sarcasm Liara could clearly see how shook up she was.
"There are testing us" Nihlus said, so quietly Liara barely heard him. "This is all a test"
Liara couldn't tell what emotion was in his voice. Anger? Was he impressed? Pensive?
He went quite and the silence stretched between them all.
"Well...what now?" Bokum wanted to know, uneasily, and Nihlus seemed to wake from his brooding.
"It's time we take the initiative back. We are on their turf, playing by their rules. And they managed to surprise us four times so far.
But we are no backwards yokels, gawking at the pretty lights" Liara glanced at the ring but kept her mouth shut.
"Let's show them we can play too" Yup, anger. He went over to the cockpit.
"Kello, power up the engines, I want to take a closer look at that thing." Liara hastily freed herself from the harness and stepped up to the Spectre.
"One could consider it unwise to...provoke beings who can build something like this"
"Agreed" Vaum put in.
"If they built it" Nihlus looked at Bokum.
"Doctor?"
The Salarian had been shaken up by their drop on the planet and the reveal of the impossible...structure above them, but he was slowly finding back to his old self. Puffing back up after being deflated, in other words.
"I mean, it is ridiculous to assume they build this. This is supposed to be one of their colony worlds correct? In fact, this probably is the prothean find they wanted to show us!" Liara managed to refrain from rolling her eyes, barely.
"That seems like a rather risky assumption, don't you think? Besides, we could simply ask them" Bokum glared at her in derision.
"And assume they tell the truth, of course"
"Even assuming the ring isn't from them, the Delivered, a dreadnought sized ship all but landed on the surface" Nihlus reminded them. "We cannot underestimate their technological capabilities, Doctor" Bokum snorted.
"That ship is probably another prothean relict! In fact, we should confiscate it!"
Liara stared at him in disbelief and she wasn't the only one. Others had drifted toward them.
Vertra and Peebee were looking like Liara felt and so was Vaum.
Vaina tried to look defiant, but T'Reve was very interested in the floor instead.
And even Vaina and Bokum looked nervous.
Nihlus took a look around, gauged the mood and made his decision.
"I understand how you all feel. This is very much to take in. But if they indeed did built these things, it is even more important for us to establish respect. To show we are not intimidated. They are waiting for our reaction and I intend to give them one. Navigation, do you have our position yet?"
"No, Sir"
That surprised Liara. Assuming they weren't in another galaxy altogether, the computers should have figured out their position already, going by known supergiants, neutron stars, black holes and similar things.
"What do you mean?" Nihlus wanted to know, a tad tense.
The Salarian at the station looked up apologetically.
"Something is distorting our sensors. Science believes it is some form of smart dust in the air above us. Our sensor readings of the stars are slowly but constantly changing, shifting to new ones. It's possible we'll figure out a pattern and adept, but it's to early to tell."
That stunned the group around Nihlus somewhat.
"They aren't letting us figure out where we are" T'Reve was grim.
"Not exactly a friendly act" Vetra agreed.
"We would need to leave the atmosphere to get a fix on our position" Vaum noted.
"Then we will do just that" the Spectre decided. "Kello, take off"
Liara felt the ship around her shiver as energy danced throughout it.
Stations reported all clear, ship wide comms ordered the crew to prepare for take off.
"Spectra Kryik! There!"
A new holo opened, it showed the area right in front of the ship's nose.
Five people were suddenly standing there, almost directly beneath the ship's hull.
"They decloaked a second ago!"
"Well, that worked quickly, hm?" Vetra noted with satisfaction.
"Hardly" Vaum disagreed. "Hand is not a threat"
Liara stared in fascination, ignoring them. The figures were clearly Transhumans, although these ones looked all asaroid.
The one right in front of them was smiling towards the ship. The comm channel chimed and as he moved his lips his voice could be heard in the CIC.
"It is sad to see that you want to leave again already, without even properly saying hello. I am Overseer Laram. Welcome, to Eden Prime"
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Findings
Half an hour of intense discussion later, Liara marched down the ramp with Nihlus and his team, as well as her colleagues.
Bokum and Vaina had chosen something formal, ornate, but everyone else was in light suits and gear, ready to explore ruins.
The beings greeting them looked reassuringly familiar. Tow legs, two arms, one head...
The one in front, Laram, had a...mane?...of golden hair around his head and in his face.
Next to him were another man, eyes and hair brown,as well as woman, wearing a robe over her head that was almost quarian. Her eyes and hair were black, her gaze was intent and knowing. Something about her made Liara think of a Matriarch.
The other two, farther apart and back, looked like powersuit wearing soldiers. Or maybe they were mechs, who knew.
"Welcome, welcome!" Laram called, with the sort of warm yet shallow smile Liara had seen on dozens of politicians over the decades.
The one that said "it would be easier for all of us to get along, so let's pretend, shall we"
The Overseer greeted all of them in the traditional way of their respective people, a transparent but still well received gesture on his part.
Liara tried to focus on him, he was obviously a career politician and, as such, dangerous, but her gaze was constantly drawn to the gigantic structure hovering above them.
To be fair it was...pretty distracting.
After the usual not-quite-pleasentries and introductions were out of the way (Liara forgot the names of the other Transhumans immediately) Nihlus came to the point of their little "visit".
"The Citadel Council was asked to provide expertise in the form of our five specialists. We were told you had discovered a prothean artefact?" Laram smiled rather strangely.
"More then one artifact, I believe, as we have made clear in our message"
"Oh of course. How thoughtless of me. The Citadel is of course pleased to provide the necessary help in either case"
His tone was perfectly polite, but Liara wasn't fooled for a second and neither was Laram. Her back tensed with worry. Nihlus had obviously decided that his patience was used up.
"And we are pleased to receive it" The Overseer answered smoothly.
He gestured towards on of the low hills surrounding them, in the direction of the massive...strut, reaching down from the ring.
"If you would follow us?" they began to walk as a group, flanked by the two security Transhumans.
"The dig site is nearby, but we considered it safer to put your lovely ship a bit out of the way" a beat "We can of course acquisition transportation, if you feel fatigued..."
Liara suppressed a groan. She had to listen to far to many politicians pissing on each other's ankles already in her short live.
"No, that will be fine. What is it you discovered, exactly?"
The five civilians metaphorically leaned closer. Finally there were getting to the important part of this bizarre...endeavour.
"Easier to show, though I assure you, it is quite spectacular" Laram deflected, with another smile and Liara wanted to punch him. They were being led around by the nose, made to trip over one surprise and trick after the next.
She could understand Nihlus frayed composure.
They were cresting the hillside now and had no time to ask more pointed questions.
Because as the hill fell away and Liara was able to see more and more of the "dig site" she felt her mouth drop open. Silent promise to not be surprised anymore be damned.
The dig site...
She had expected a pyramid. Maybe a tomb. Perhaps even the ruins of a city.
That was not quite it.
The dig was gigantic. The strut had appeared far away as they begun their walk. This continued to be true. And between it and them was the pit.
But that was nothing compared to the depth.
From the sharply cut off part of the hill they were standing on, Liara could see kilometers into the planets crust.
Wind howled up from the depths making the Citadel scientists hastily take a few steps back from the edge.
"Athame's tits!"
T'Reve sounded both shocked and impressed and Liara could feel with her.
It wasn't just the massive hole or the prothean structures inside (dwarfed by the transhuman constructions around them, stars).
The gigantic structure that reached down from orbit ended, perhaps unsurprisingly, at one end of the dig.
But it didn't end in a conventional platform or tower or something. It also wasn't hovering above ground.
Instead, the gigantic column split into smaller segments, who split again and again and again...
The end result was something like a gigantic root network, stretching all over the place, snaking in all directions.
And...was she seeing things or were some of the trunks moving?
They stood in silence for minutes, taking in the sights.
The depth of the pit, perpetually cast in shadow by the artificial cliffs, was illuminated somehow, thought Liara couldn't tell by what, in a light that cast little shadow.
It gave the already overwhelming sight an added unreal touch.
As Laram cleared his throat his grin had turned decidedly smug.
"If you would follow me..."
A hovering platform rose form below them and parked in convenient distance.
They stumbled on board in a daze.
But as they entered Liara recognised the design. She had seen those machines before.
"This is prothean, isn't it?" she asked, surprised her voice didn't break.
Laram nodded at her.
"We find it efficient to recycle what we find. Remarkable how resilient there technology is" Besides Liara Vaina's hands balled into fists.
Liara was no Prothean worshipper, but to hear someone casually say "recycle" and "prothean technology" in the same breath was...mind boggling.
It really drove home once again how different these new aliens really were.
Not necessarily hostile, but incredibly powerful, playful and provocative.
She had the sudden vision of a gigantic matriarch towering over them, observing their little group with amusement.
A Matriarch looking remarkably like her mother.
The flight above the dig was endlessly fascinating.
The prothean structures were something Liara had never seen before. Or at least, never from outside.
Massive, sharp edged and deeply embedded in the crust she had a good idea what they were meant for.
A rather disconcerting idea.
As they flew, the others were busy asking questions that Laram willingly answered, especially Vaum was relentless with follow up questions.
How large was the dig? How much had they unearthed? Who was the archaeologist in charge? Could they be expected to be mentioned on any paper that would result from their cooperation here? (that one was Bokum.)
Liara barely listened to the answers.
Until now, all weirdness and advancement of the Transhumans had been clear to her but not...how should she say it...acute? Without question?
Even the gigantic ring...she stared upwards. It was...an impossibility. As far as she could tell her fellow Citadel citizens (and how weird was it to have to think of the entire Citadel as a separate, equal grouping?) were dealing with it by trying to ignore it (impossible) and it's implications (frightening).
But...to see Transhumanity's achievements, right next to and contrasted by the prothean buildings...and to see one dwarfing the other...
That...made it acute. Very acute.
Transhumanity was dangerous. An unpredictable power by itself, one to match the Citadel. And they had invited her by name.
"Pretty exciting, huh?" Peebee had stepped close. A wide grin was splitting her face, her eyes glowing with glee.
"That...is certainly one way to put it" Peebee studied her.
"Oh come one, why so glum? This is the best thing ever! An alien super-civilisation diggin up the remnants of another super civilisation! Think what we could learn here!"
Liara shot her a surprised look. Peebee hadn't exactly made the impression of a scholar on her. Which was pretty prejudiced by her, she chastised herself, and felt a tad guilty. The mundane emotion was almost welcome to her.
"Here we are!" Laram announced.
The platform was sinking, heading for a section of mostly free earth, deep in the dig between the "roots" of the...she really needed a name for these things...the connector from the ring.
Liara shivered a little. The impossible ring in orbit head been bad enough. You couldn't really help but be constantly aware of it's massive presence above you.
Now, they were slowly sinking beneath kilometer high cliffs dug from the ground and the feeling became even more oppressive.
She was used to working underground, used to being surrounded by huge, impressive feats of engineering, but never in the presence of the actual builders. Transhumanity's casual display of power made her...well, almost depressed. It was so much to be taking in at once.
The others must have been equally affected, for all conversation ceased as they sank lower.
There must have been some sort of inertial dampening going on, at least, for they felt nothing of the speed by which the ground rose towards them.
As the structures came closer, more and more details became visible. The prothean building was, as expected, not very detailed. The gigantic walls were more or less a simple lattice network that had been used to securely anchor the structure into the ground. The pattern was simple, made form seemingly uniform matt grey material and repeated almost uninterrupted.
Much more interesting than the prothean ruins (and who would have believed she would ever think that?) were the roots of the transhuman megastructure.
She had thought her eyes had played tricks on her when it had seemed as if one of the massive trunks changed place.
They hadn't.
As they came closer and closer it became obvious that the "roots", were, in fact, moving.
Effectively the whole construction, every root and channel and vine, pulsed and twisted, moved and grasped.
All of them.
All the time.
The effect was disquietingly, disgustingly organic.
The platform lowered unto a prepared landing patch and as they stepped off, Liara had T'Reve mutter.
"Ew"
She had to agree.
So close, they could finally see what the root system was actually doing and how the aliens had excavated the massive cavity in the absence of obvious construction machinery.
The largest roots split and split into smaller channels but it seemed the splitting never actually stopped.
The diameter of the structures reduced in size, from the dreadnought sized trunks close to the connection from orbit, to cruiser sized, frigate sized, building sized and down where Liara and her group were standing, the diameter shrank shrunken to the size of one of her arms, splitting again into fan like endpoints that constantly moved over the exposed stone, like the feelers of some deep sea creature looking for pray. Constantly swaying and questioning, moving over the stone in slow, unhurried movement, always groping and touching...
Liara felt queasy. Vaina and T'Reve weren't better of, going by the pale colour of their faces.
"How, uhm, what is that?" Bokum finally asked, voice small.
Laram grinned proudly and stepped closer to the moving...things.
He reached out to pet one of them and Liara had to fight the impulse to pull him away.
The root didn't react to the touch.
"This" Laram explained "is one of the largest bush robots in existence"
"Please elucidate" Vaum requested, fascinated.
"Certainly. The tentacles you see" Liara wished he had chosen a different word "Continue to split into finer and finer structures, down into the molecular level. They analyse the material they find, test if it's something interesting and when it's judged to be not, they absorb the material and transport it off. Here. Look"
Almost against her will, Liara stepped closer, looking at were Laram indicated.
So close she saw that the endpoints of the...robot were actually semi-transparent. Inside, a constant stream of brown and grey and black was flowing past, pushed along by a myriad of tiny, permanently swaying cilia in the tube wall's sides.
"Excuse me" Vaina murmured and walked away, a little unsteadily, towards an unprocessed part of ground.
Even Nihlus looked a little...tense around the eyes.
"Fascinating" Vaum muttered, with obvious delight, and T'Reve and Vetra exchanged a look that clearly meant "Salarians".
"Ah, and here comes our Lead Scientist, Dr. Vahlen"
Another Transhuman, a female asaroid by the looks of things, was approaching them.
They had seen only asaroids so far, despite the fact that the reports of Babylon 5 spoke of a myriad of "morphs" as they were called.
Hardly a coincidence, rather another way to manipulate their delegation.
The woman that came to them studied them all with eyes that were interested and awake, but cool.
"Are these the C-Spacers then?" She asked, in a tone as if she was inspecting a shipment of ration bars.
"Yes, Moira, these are our esteemed guests that were send to help with your findings" Laram emphasized with a stern glare toward the newcomer, who did not look impressed.
She and Laram looked at each other, obviously communicating silently for a few seconds.
No one else said anything. The last thing they wanted was to get involved in local power plays.
Finally Laram grinned triumphantly and Valhern rolled her eyes.
"Very well. Follow me"
Obediently they all fell in line behind her, Bokum and T'Reve discussing quietly between themselves, Vetra was muttering something to Nihlus and Vaina was silently moving her lips, her eyes fixed on the exposed prothean structures.
Prayers, if Liara had to guess.
Vahlen lead them ordinarily by foot over walkways, stairs and ramps, closer and closer toward the actual heart of the dig site.
Liara noted that the structures they walked on had the same organic, grown quality to them as the...bu-ush robot? Was that he word?
Sweeping curves, bone like, spongiform surfaces, smooth edges that seamlessly flowed into each other.
Liara was just grateful nothing pulsed.
So deep underground, they could see that the illumination came from what looked like hovering, glowing clouds. The light was pleasant, bright without being blinding. It helped somewhat with the incredibly oppressive feeling of being surrounded by cliffs and buildings bigger than starships on all sides.
Vahlen begun to lecture on the dig, listing the numbers and the sizes of the prothean constructs, the estimated age, extend of damage and so on. She didn't leave any time for questions.
Then, finally, they approached would looked like a small bridge leading to an opening in the side of...
Vaum abruptly stopped, staring in one direction and as he did the others followed his gaze.
"Is that..." he gasped, his usually so controlled voice brimming with excitement and disbelief.
Liara saw what he as looking at and gasped as well.
"Wow" Peebee muttered.
To their right, surrounded by weird looking transhuman machinery, was a tall, thin object, lines glowing with an inner turquoise light.
"A Beacon!" Vaina breathed, reverently.
"Is it intact?" Nihlus demanded.
Vahlen followed their awed stares.
"Hm? Oh that. Yeah, we're pretty sure it's intact" At her casual tone, the "C-Spacers" stared at her incredulously.
Vahlen waved it aside and turned back to the main buildings.
"Come one, this isn't what we called you here for"
"It's not!?" Bokum shouted.
The transhuman woman shot them a quick, impish smile.
"Nope. It's boring. We found something much more interesting"
She turned to head over the bridge into the actual prothean buildings and the others followed her, still throwing disbelieving glances over their shoulders.
Liara exchanged non-plussed expressions with her colleagues. All previous animosity was forgotten. They were stuck together in a bizarre dream, having only each other to rely on.
And somehow, Liara was certain that the next curveball that Transhumanity intended to throw at them was already waiting.
They crossed the bridge and entered the structure proper.
Immediately a hush fell over the group
This was a building made by Protheans, the semi-mythical forebears of their civilisation.
It breathed 50,000 years of history.
Even the atheists among Citadel members respected prothean remains in a way that would have made most gods rather jealous.
They all looked around reverently, drinking in each detail.
They were crossing some sort of pre-existing lock, not damage or an opening made by Transhumans.
The walls were dozens of meters of thick, multilayered, complex materials.
Liara stared in fascination. What those walls alone could reveal about prothean technology!
The awe they had felt was nothing compared to when they entered the actual interior.
There were no cramped corridors. No storage spaces filled with supplies.
Instead, the tunnel opened to a gigantic open space, well lit and elegant.
It was nonsensical, but somehow the cathedral like interior, "only" dozens of meters high, felt grander and more impressive then the gigantic cliffs Transhumanity had created around it.
This place was...elevated, somehow. Sublime.
Vaina had clasped her hands, overwhelmed by the sight.
"Where are we" Nihlus asked, but even his voice was subdued.
Vahlen turned to them with a wide grin, but did not stop, walking backwards and leading them deeper.
"This is one of the few semi-intact survival bunkers of the Prothean Empire we found. The damage is severe, but our reconstruction is coming along nicely. After 50,000 years, some of the prothean tech is still salvageable. We even learned a thing a two." That got another round of incredulous (and angry) looks.
Vahlen was clearly irreverent of the miracle around them.
"Ah, here we are" They had entered a new hall. The walls here were studded with oval protrusions. Battle damage was still visible all around them, blackened spots and cracks in the walls.
Vahlen led them to a specific protrusion, close to the ground. She took position in front of it, hands clasped and shoulders straight, appearing prim and proper.
Her eyes, however, had a mischievous spark.
"What do think these ovals are?"
Liara frowned in annoyance. Transhumanity had clearly been building up to this, carefully leading them towards this specific point. Could they not just go on with it, without the theatrics?
No one answered, but that only widened Vahlen's grin.
"No one? Okay. What you see here" she gestured around the massive hall, in a grand gesture, brimming with triumph "Are prothean stasis pods. Thousands of them"
All thoughts cam to a crashing halt.
Liara could only stare at the alien, mouth open and eyes bulging out.
For a few second nothing happened.
Then everyone was talking at once.
"Impos..."
"You can't..."
"HOW!"
"But...but..."
"Awaken them!"
"SILENCE!" that last one had been Nihlus.
"Are they viable" he asked Vahlen, calm and unbothered again.
Moira's grin fell. "They have been damaged and power has been drained. All of these pods have failed. The Protheans inside are dead"
Liara sagged. All this lead up for this?
She was almost dizzy with disappointment.
"...except…"
Her head snapped up again.
Vahlen gazed at the pod behind her.
"...one"
Last edited: Feb 13, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#383
Doubts
Even as the C-Space delegation spoke deep inside the prothean bunker complex, Transhumanity was busy all around them.
Eden Prime had been founded roughly 30 years ago.
In that time, exponentially growing machines had build several small cities and extensive underground systems, not to mention a few small odds and ends like the Orbital Ring circling the planet.
It was far from finished, but the most important functions were operational.
That didn't mean construction had slowed down in any way, of course.
All over the system, T-Human machines were furiously thinking colourless green thoughts, labouring ahead, designing and building, optimising and redoing.
One of their primary tasks was the growth and well being of the intrasystem sensor networks, the multi-linked, many eyed components of the overall ARGUS network.
These machines were, if possible, even more alert and self aware than the construction planners, supervisors and regulators and were busily silent as they listened to and into the void.
Over Eden Prime the sky was clear.
Nothing moved in the void.
Nothing at all.
Liara breathed out explosively.
It was...she had no words for this. Unthinkable. A living Prothean!
It was like meeting Athame.
"Do you...plan to revive them?" It was a stupid, inane question but Liara couldn't help herself.
Vahlen looked at her with laughter in her eyes. "Why do you think we called you here?"
There was another, overwhelmed silence as the Citadel delegation had to think about what they had just learned.
Vaum was the first to break out of it.
"Why do you need us" Vahlen titled her head.
"You five represent the lead in various aspects of Prothean study. Various angles and perspectives. You are here to second guess our work, verify or falsify it...and to act as witnesses"
"Witnesses?" Bokum frowned.
"To confirm the body is real" Vaum said tersely. "Which, I assume, is only reason we are here"
He sounded almost angry, but Liara couldn't understand why. A real, live Prothean! Who cared why they were here as long as they were.
"Expect us to vouch for you" Vaum continued "Confirm body is genuine, not a forgery. How?"
Forgery? Oh. She hadn't even considered that possibility.
"You think they faked it?!" T'Reve asked in disbelief.
"As if you aren't a specialist in someone faking it" Peebee muttered under her breath. Vetra chose to have overheard that, although she had to bite her cheek.
Vahlen nodded, obviously having expected Vaum's questions.
"By studying the pod and the structure around it...you did bring your equipment, right?" Everyone nodded "Excellent. You will, witnessed by Spectre Kryik and others, independently study the prothean site, confirm it is genuine.
After this, we will remove the pod and wake up it's inhabitant. And, together, hear the words of the first living Prothean in millennia"
Another pause.
"So this is all that this is" Bokum noted, angrily "A way for you to get support for your fake. To legitimize it"
"And why" T'Reve demanded "Would we help you?" Moira smiled at them both in cool superiority.
"Because..." she said with obvious pleasure "... none of you can not do it. None of you can take the risk of the Prothean turning out to be real...and miss such a momentous occasion"
She was right.
She had them all were she wanted them.
Bokum and T'Reve by their greed. Vaina by her faith. And Vaum and Liara by their curiosity.
Liara could see the exact moment everyone came to the same realisation.
Laram, who she had already forgotten, chose this moment to butt in.
"Drinks, everyone?"
A few hours later they were back on the frigate.
Most of Liaras colleagues were fuming. They did not appreciate being led around and manipulated like this.
The subterfuge, the bizarre jokes, the obvious, careless display of Transhumanity's power, the condescension of it all...
They were each respected, in their way even powerful, people and did not enjoy being humiliated like this.
Which they expressed. Loudly.
Liara didn't care all that much, honestly.
A living Prothean!
Bokum and T'Reve were the most incensed, perhaps because of their supposed expertise in spotting forgeries?
Vaina was muttering darkly about desecration.
Vaum was either coldly furious or lost in thought, Liara couldn't say. He had gotten very quiet after his "outburst" at the pod.
The crew of the ship were mostly fascinated by the find and were asking interested questions, pouring over the recordings the group had made.
Liara noted, however, that the more senior members were quieter. Nihlus himself had been silent since coming on board.
She approached him.
"What are you thinking? You haven't said a word so far" The others turned to them, falling silent, curious what the Spectre would say.
"I am trying to discern the Transhumans' motive, Dr T'soni"
"That seems rather obvious" Bokum boomed "They want us to confirm their find to the public and they played their little tricks on us to cow us into being docile and do their bidding! But not with us, we will not..."
"Yes, Doctor" Nihlus interrupted, before Bokum could start another rant "But why?"
"To have legitimacy" Vaum opined, eyes narrowed. Nihlus nodded.
"They want the public to be convinced the prothean is real. Why?"
"Well, if it is a fake, they will obviously have it say things they want it to say" T'Reve said slowly "Manipulate the public, the entire Citadel"
"Precisely. So why like this. Why invite us. Why not have a Citadel team "stumble" upon the Prothean? That way no one would have doubted that it was the real deal" Another Salarian whose name Liara didn't know chimed in.
"A good point. Even if everyone here cooperates and our equipment finds the Prothean and the installation to be real, would anyone even believe us? Believe we found a transhuman friendly Prothean instead of Transhumanity cooking one up? Thy would rather believe we were fooled"
"If they are subtle enough about the support for them, they may succeed" Vetra disagreed.
"And I wouldn't be so sure people will question things to deeply either" Peebee added "The Hanar, at least, will go nuts and ask questions later. They have before" Liara cleared her throat.
"What if it is a real Prothean?"
Everyone was staring at her.
Bokum opened his mouth, no doubt to mock her, but Nihlus beat him.
"If it is a real Prothean, it makes even less sense. Why talk to an unknown Prothean in the presence of strangers you can not fully trust? Why not speak to them first, find out if what they have to say is advantageous for you or not, before letting them talk to others?"
"So that no one can accuse you of exactly what you are accusing them of?" Liara pointed out "Our instruments might notice any tampering with the pod"
"Would they?" T'Reve asked doubtfully.
Bokum glared at her
"This is exactly what they want, Kalinda, for us to be intimated by them"
"This is precisely the problem" Nihlus said to Liara "If we can detect the changes, they would have to know before they opened the pod what the Prothean has to say before showing it to us.
They want legitimacy. That can only happen when we confirm the pod and it's content are genuine. Which would include not having been opened before. Which would make no sense, due to the risk of not knowing what they would say. So no matter what our instruments measure we have to conclude the Prothean is fake. Which is not what they want, so why go it about it this way?"
In the thoughtful silence after Nihlus' summary, Vaum took a step forward.
"Feel need to apologize. Should have kept conclusions to myself. Would have made further proceedings less difficult" Nihlus waved it away.
"No one blames you, Professor. They wanted us unsettled and emotional and they succeeded. Which, by the way, also makes no sense. If they wanted a positive result form us, why play with us like that? Insult us? No, something else is going on here"
Liara shook her head exasperated.
"Or maybe you are all just paranoid and they genuinely want to share the scientific discovery of the millennium with us, without being accused of forgery?" The looks she received ranged from disbelief to condescension.
"My dear Ms T'soni" Bokum began, with an arrogant smile "Your youthful idealism and trust are commendable, but I'm afraid that reality simply looks a bit different" Liara was about to tell the asshole were to put his superiority complex, but once again the Spectre was quicker.
"I have to agree with Doctor Bokum. No matter how you want to see this, this is no mere archaeological curiosity. The political impact of this find, real or not, can not be overstated. Transhumanity forces our hand" Vaum nodded.
Peebee frowned.
"Why? We could just leave" It was Vaum who answered her.
"We have to cooperate. If leave, Transhumanity will simply unveil find anyway and be truthfully able to claim they invited Citadel to verify it's authenticity, but that Citadel scientists "regretfully" refused. This might actually lend more credence to claim" T'Reve scowled.
"They corned us. And we are dancing to their tune, have been the entire time"
Glum silence fell over them.
"There is also another question..." Nihlus begun eventually.
Once again all focus was on him.
"What have we learned about Transhumanity so far?"
"Well, merely that their technology makes us look like grunting primitives" Bokum answered sarcastically.
The Spectre returned his gaze unmoved.
"Have we?"
"What do you mean?" Vaina was frowning, confused.
"What proof do we have of their miraculous technology?"
"Uh, the massive ring around the planet?" A Salarian answered, pointing upwards.
Nihlus nodded at him.
"Yes Kello. The massive ring we are all seeing and that our sensors are registering. Through the same atmosphere which is preventing us from getting a clear reading of the stars"
Once again, such a possibility hadn't even occurred to Liara.
"For that matter" Nihlus continued "why are we certain we ever left the hold of the Delivered?" Vetra was shaking her head.
"Or what if we are hooked up to VR? What if our entire lives were a hallucination? What if our universe was just fiction? Come on, Nihlus. You know that paranoia like that leads nowhere"
"Have to agree" Vaum said. "Have to, for the moment, assume reality is real. To much room for mistakes, otherwise" Nihlus didn't show any reaction, but no one expected him to either.
"Very well. Let's assume, for the moment, that what we see is what we get. Then let me ask again: aside from their technological prowess: what have we learned?"
This time there was no quick and easy answer.
Liara decided to be the one to say aloud what they were all thinking.
"Nothing, really. Even the bodies they use are mundane" Nihlus nodded at her, almost something like approval in his eyes.
"Exactly"
"Even the bodies" Bokum was muttering "How absurd" The Spectre ignored him.
"We saw their feats of engineering. But nothing of their culture or society. They kept us distracted. Where is the multicultural, multi-species society we were led to believe exists? Where the advanced, exotic modes of thought? Where are their AIs?" They all exchanged uncomfortable glances.
"Perhaps they thought we would be uncomfortable with them?" Kello, opined.
The flaw in that reasoning was obvious, and T'Reve not gentle.
"Suuure" she mocked "They scan through our cloak, play that stupid prank, transport us in isolation, drop us on a planet with a superstructure in orbit, announce the revival of a living Prothean, but it's our comfort that is important to them"
"Well, maybe the AIs aren't obvious" Peebee said.
"Blueboxes have to be a certain size" a Turian from engineering disagreed.
Peebee excitedly waved around her hands.
"You once again think so narrowly. The Geth don't need Boxes. Assuming their AI is like them it could be anywhere! In the ground, in their clothes, in nanites in the air that we breath..." she suddenly noticed the rather pensive faces around her. "Uh...I mean...that isn't..."
Liara couldn't be certain, but Nihlus seemed to be almost smiling.
"Thank you, Peebee"
The young Asari shrugged with an apologetic smile. Nihlus continued.
"My point is, they hit us with one surprise after the other, but the bodies they show us are organic and even painfully asaroid. It is as if they want us unbalanced and on guard but only in a certain way. Focused on the obvious technological side, not on the...personal side of things" Liara thought about that.
"You mean they are trying to say...hey look at us we are different and powerful but not too different and powerful?"
"No. They are distracting us by not showing us the weird thing we are expecting to see. So we search for that, instead of the weird thing they might be trying to hide"
Liara shook her head.
"You lost me. They show us their tech. The Prothean. Isn't that enough? What else could they be hiding?"
"I don't know. Which is exactly my point"
The faces around the room were confused and some openly disbelieving. But no one said anything.
Nihlus made a decision.
"If no one has any plan how to withdraw from this situation in a diplomatic manner, without triggering their trap..." Nobody spoke up. " Then I suggest that, for the time being, we go along with the study. If it is a fake, our instruments and your expertise might be able to detect it.
If it isn't" he nodded at Liara "Then it is even more imperative that we stay involved and find out what Transhumanity's plans are"
"And what the Prothean has to say" Liara reminded him.
"And that" Nihlus added.
"I don't like this. At all" Vetra spoke up. "We are operating from a position of weakness, reacting instead of planning"
Grim faces all around agreed with her.
Nihlus actually spread his mandibles in a turian shrug.
" 'Adaptation under pressure is a hallmark of competence' " he recited the famous quote attributed to Beelo Gurji, the very first Spectre "We will just need to adapt. Be quick on our feet and figure out Transhumanity's angle."
"Just like that" T'Reve mocked.
Nihlus held her eyes.
"You are a prothean expert. I suggest you focus on the Prothean and leave the rest to us"
The Asari looked away first.
The Spectre looked around, read the mood in the room.
"I agree that this is less than ideal. Transhumanity has us where they want us and we lack the information to either spring the trap or withdraw. Moaning about it won't help us.
I suggest that, for now, we play along. Gather information. The analysis will take a lot of time, time we can use to get closer to individual Transhumans, to make friends, gather information." Vaum cleared his throat.
"Actually, the confirmation could be rather…" Now Nihlus expressionless eyes were on him.
"It will take time doctor. In fact, you will be unable to specify when exactly it will be finished." Vaum opened his mouth and closed it again.
"Understood" he said.
Peebee laughed.
"Better. Play for time, a few distractions here and there, sneaking away..."
"You will sneak away if and when I tell you too, Pelessaria, not a moment sooner"
Pelessaria? Liara thought with a sympathetic wince.
"But..."
Nihlus frowned at her and the Maiden folded.
"Understood" she said, grumpily.
The Spectre nodded.
"Very well. Senior officers to me, we have much to discuss. The rest of you are dismissed"
Some people grumbled, but they all dispersed, going back to their workstations or heading for their quarters.
Liara would have loved to discuss this bizarre situation some more, with anyone, really, but now that the tension was fading away, she felt how tired the excitement of the day had made her.
So she went to her cabin, took a video for her personal log and went to bed.
But despite her exhaustion, sleep wouldn't come for a long while.
Theories, possibilities and half baked plans were swirling around her head for hours.
A living Prothean was the last coherent thought she had before drifting off.
Last edited: Feb 18, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Feb 18, 2018
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#400
Meet and greet
The next day brought plenty of activity. The shipboard mechs and all the crew that weren't busy elsewhere had been commandeered by the civilians to help with the unloading and transportation of their equipment.
One would think that in these modern times portable laboratories would be small and lightweight, but since there had been no concrete information on what exactly they would find once in transhuman space, they had followed the maxim "Better have it and not need it, then need it and not have it".
Now the unloading and careful transport took almost 6 hours.
In that time, Liara's respect for her colleagues rose somewhat.
All of them, even delicate Vaina and pompous Bokum, were deeply involved in the process, not just giving orders but getting their hands dirty and even carrying equipment themselves, checking and re-checking the various mountings and attachments, steering transport platforms.
Everyone was unusually focused on their work and Liara could easily understand why.
She thought she had had time to get used to the concept, but today she found the gigantic construct hanging above their heads as oppressive as when she had first seen it.
You just couldn't ignore it, it was always there in the center of awareness.
Towards the end of their unloading the Overseer, Laram, appeared again, including entourage.
They headed for Nihlus.
The Spectre and several armed guards had been overseeing the process and securing their landing site, though against what exactly Liara had no idea.
Their immediate surroundings where seemingly empty of civilised life and should Transhumanity try to attack them she had no doubt they would succeed.
Unfortunately, the Spectre and the Transhumans were to far away to hear what was going on and she didn't even want to try using her 'Tool.
Damn. She wondered what they were talking about...
"Greetings, Spectre"
"Greetings, Overseer"
Laram gave an amused chuckle.
He eyed Nihlus rifle, held casually at the ready. What would have tired organic arms after a while was effortless through the hard suit.
"Guarding against the evil shrubbery?"
"It's the principle of the thing" Nihlus replied evenly and Laram tilted his head, conceding the point.
"True. However, I can assure you your gun is quite useless. No physical danger will befall you while being our guests"
Useless.
"Would an "accidental" nanite infection count as a physical threat then?" Laram grinned.
"For the purpose of this conversation, you may assume that. Though I must say…" He threw the Turian a curious look "There is a surprising lack of anti-nanite gear or isolation gear in general among your group. I mean, Turians have a certain immunity, but..."
"We were promised diplomatic immunity"
"You were. But we expected you to be more...cautious"
There was a nice, big containment slip waiting for all of them, including the ship itself, once they returned, which Laram undoubtedly had inferred.
But Nihlus knew the rules of the game only too well and saw no need to be impolite by mentioning he knew that Laram knew he knew.
"As you said. No physical threat" Laram sounded thoughtful.
"Diplomacy as a countermeasure to nano warfare?"
That was a way of looking at things Nihlus admittedly hadn't considered yet.
"Diplomacy should always be the first choice, Overseer, no matter the threat. Peace is always the most advantageous outcome for all involved" There. He had said his piece.
"Hm. But peace is not just merely threatened by political disagreements, now is it?"
Nihlus looked thoughtfully at the other man, trying to get a read of his body language. What was the Transhuman angling for?
Laram meanwhile wasn't looking at him, but rather seemed to study the many crates that were juggled in front of them.
"Diplomacy is one of many ways to guard against threats." the Overseer continued, absent mindedly "Ways whose number tend to grow exponentially as the number of the dimensions of the possible threats increases. Things that were considered unthinkable before have a way of becoming necessary in the wake of new dangers" Was the Transhuman threatening him? Trying to warn him?
"Threats such as what?" Laram ignored him.
"Your superiors appear to have decided that the chance of the Prothean being the real deal is too great to risk offending us by flying of in a huff."
Not much of a deduction. QECs were common knowledge.
"Let's hope they won't have a change of mind"
Nihlus was still trying to untangle the potential implications of that when Laram nodded at him.
"Goodbye, Spectre Kryik"
"Laram, wait" The man turned around again.
"Will you let us now where we are?" the other man smiled.
"No. No, I think not. We have no interest in being overrun by prothean cultists, Hanar and the STG" As far as excuses went, that one even sounded plausible.
"I thought your nanites wouldn't interfere with us?" Laram's smile widened.
"They aren't. They are merely conducting experiments in our atmosphere, in our airspace."
"Of course" Nihlus deadpanned.
Laram winked at him, turned and casually strolled away.
High above Eden Prime countless metaphorical eyes circled through the dark.
Many of them were highly obvious.
Old fashioned antenna, optical telescopes or massive nets of glittering, thin strands.
Many others were hidden, passively or even actively cloaked, searching the false vacuum by far subtler means than mere electromagnetism.
Minds, infinitely more sensitive and alert than any organic could hope to be, listened tirelessly to their reports, sifting and filtering and judging.
For now, there seemed to be nothing to report. The sky was empty…
Liara was one of the last ones to enter the transports for the dig site, most of the others had gone ahead already.
As she approached the flattened area in front of the bunker entrance she could see that their group had gotten new members.
Laram and his aides were there, Vahlen, but also three new Transhumans.
They too looked eerily asaroid and were clad in what seemed to be the transhuman equivalent of hard suits. As well as carrying large weapons. Military?
As the transport platform landed and Liara disembarked she was close enough to see that no two suits or weapons seemed to be the same model. Each one was individualised in both design and colour scheme. Odd.
And the weapons...if they were weapons...were even more different and unique. She couldn't even tell what each one fired.
Overseer Laram was standing with the transhuman group.
He walked over as he saw Liara's platform land.
"Ah good. We are finally complete" In a sweeping gesture he presented the newly arrived Transhumans.
"In light of the delicate situation, we thought it prudent to call in additional security. May I introduce Sentinel John Sheppard, Puppeteer Ashley Williams and Async Kaidan Alenko"
No one bothered asking for explanations for the titles, they knew the aliens wouldn't answer.
The three newcomers nodded their heads. John, the man in the middle, had a neutral expression, his piercing blue eyes flicking from detail to detail, taking everything in.
To his right, Kaidan had a friendly welcoming smile.
To his left, the woman, Williams, was almost scowling, clearly unhappy.
"I thought there was no physical danger?" Nihlus asked, deadpan.
"They will guard the Prothean, not you" Laram and Nihlus exchanged a significant look that Liara wasn't to certain about. Did Laram mean protect the Prothean form them? Why?
"Charming" T'Reve drawled.
Liara felt a pulse of annoyance. C-Spacers and Transhumans were facing off toward each other, both groups clearly separate.
The Transhumans' body language was relaxed and neutral, but also passive, her fellow Citadel members' tense and closed of.
It was clear that no one intended to make this easy.
She made a decision.
The young Asari stepped close towards the male transhuman in the middle. He stood slightly in front of his two companions, clearly in charge.
She tried her best smile and bowed in the way that signified "Cautious Respect Towards Someone of Indeterminate Rank"
"Greetings. I am Liara T'soni. I look forward to working with you"
To her surprise the man answered with a perfect bow of "Grateful Respect for a Service Rendered" followed by an ironic smile.
Liara was abruptly aware how nicely the dark fur on his head contrasted wit his steely eyes.
Then he stretched out his right hand.
Liara wondered for a second...oh yes. A greeting.
She cautiously grabbed his hand with her own.
He gently shook their hands, then released her.
Huh. Weird.
"I am looking forward to working with you as well, Dr. T'soni" His voice was nice as well...
"Your treatise on potential Prothean settlement distribution was very innovative in it's methodology." And an excellent taste in scientific literature!
"You have read my work?" His smile became charming.
"Of course."
The man beside him cleared his throat and stepped forward, not so accidentally jostling John in the process.
"We all read it. Hi, I'm Kaidan" he offered his hand as well.
The woman rolled her eyes.
"Not that reading something is hard" she, notably, gave no other specific greeting.
"Well, I am flattered anyway" Liara said, diplomatically.
Kaidan's face was wide and friendly.
Liara looked at his brown eyes which were...
...wide and endless, like a frozen landscape under alien stars, things whispering under the ice...
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#418
Set up
Liara blinked and the disorienting moment had passed.
She took a step back in confusion.
"Everything alright, Doc?" the woman had a mocking smile.
What had that been?
"Yes...of course..." she tried to play over the weirdness.
Kaidan's eyes were still on her, but she carefully avoided them. She needed a distraction.
Thankfully, basic politeness offered her one.
"Allow me to introduce, since someone" she shot Nihlus a sharp look "has so far failed to do so."
She rattled of names and honorifics, managing to make it both sound neutral and to avoid using words like "fraud" and "grave robber" and "asshole".
Vaum, Vetra, Nihlus and a few others made a valid effort by coming forward and shaking hands and Peebee was her usual exuberant self.
The others decided to continue being standoffish though.
"Are we ready?" she asked Vahlen, anxious to begin and leave the awkwardness behind them.
The woman nodded at her.
"Our instruments are in place, we will assist you in setting up yours"
They went to work. The Citadel crew once again insisting on handling their own devices.
The Transhumans seemingly took no offence, but Liara was all to aware of the tensions and clearly drawn lines between both groups.
She, Vaum and a few others made an effort to make small talk, to engage and try to get to know the aliens.
Most of the others did not, however.
Transhumantiy's casual display of overwhelming technological prowess had intimidated them and they overcompensated for that by being snappish, guarded and cold.
Liara could understand that, but to her the unsure situation made being polite and making a good impression more important not less.
Also, she was about to meet a real, live Prothean and those morons and their paranoia were spoiling the moment, even risking it entirely by potentially offending their hosts.
Which was made worse by the fact that Liara couldn't tell wether or not they actually were offended or not.
These beings, no matter how asaroid they looked and behaved, were aliens and Liara simply didn't have the experience to reliable read subtle cues to figure how how they truly felt.
They seemed to be taking everything in good cheer, not put off by the "C-spacers'" impoliteness at all, but she had no way of telling how sincere that was.
Take Kaidan, John and Ashley for instance.
The three of them seemed to represent the classical good cop, neutral cop, bad cop trifecta so perfectly it seemed almost like a parody. Was that intentional? Probably, given what she had seen so far. But she had no way to know.
Normally, it would have meant for her to stick with Kaidan as the "good" and "friendly" cop, but...
Those eyes...
She didn't dare approach the scowling Ashley which left John, who seemed friendly enough, but was busy coordinating with Nihlus.
She ended up mostly talking with Vahlen. At least she was interested in hearing about Liara's prothean research, although she seemed reluctant to offer much in return.
Finally, the field laboratory had been set up to satisfaction outside the bunker entrance and the devices they wanted to take inside had been loaded up.
Nihlus and his two companions, the Citadel prothean specialists, Vahlen and John and his team ventured inside. Laram had excused himself with "urgent business elsewhere".
Like the first time a hush fell over the group as they entered the building proper.
The sense of wonder and awe had not diminished and Liara greedily stared at everything in sight, willing the experience into memory.
They reached the last remaining stasis pod and the Citadel group stared in bafflement.
A bizarre, organic shape seemed to have grown over night, fluid and round, taller then anyone of them, with multiple muted colours, an almost black green domineering.
A dozen feelers and bulges were straining towards the wall around the pod and the pod itself.
"What is that?" T'Reve asked, fascination and disgust balanced in her voice.
Vahlen turned to them in confusion.
"I told you, our instruments are already in place"
"That is your..." Bokum began only to stop and shake his head. "Of course"
Fascinated, Peebee stretched out a hand...only to pull it back with an "Eeep!" as the...thing answered by forming another protrusion of it's own.
They stared as the the flowing shape grew and articulated itself until a perfect copy of Peebee's hand was sticking out of the bizarre piece of alien technology.
Vahlen seemed amused but gave the thing a sharp little pat.
"Stop that!"
The Asari hand melted back into the main body.
"Grooossss" Peebee breathed, clearly delighted.
"It's...it's alive?" Vaina asked anxiously.
Vahlen tilted her head.
"In a way, I guess? A sensorium has a certain awareness, a certain judgement to make working with it easier, but they have no agency of their own. Would you like to speak with it?"
There was a pregnant pause. Had Transhumanity listened in on their discussion about their missing AIs yesterday?
"Perhaps later" Nihlus finally answered diplomatically, for all of them.
Liara definitely saw small smirks on the Transhuman faces around them.
Vahlern waved it aside.
"Very well. Let's get you set up"
It took another two hours or so to unpack, put together and calibrate everything, made more difficult by the fact that both Nihlus and John insisted on overseeing and scanning everything to make sure neither side had tampered with the devices or smuggled in a bomb or something.
The two of them were performing a painfully polite dance of "excuse mes" and "of courses" around each other, which might even have been funny if it didn't slow them down so much.
By the end even Liara had to bite back a few frustrated comments.
The Transhumans, naturally, appeared entirely unbothered.
Finally every instrument was in place and the first routine scans were underway.
"Material composition appears consistent with other prothean ruins" Vaum announced shortly after.
Bokum, Vaina and Liara confirmed.
"Comparing the scans to other samples collected from sealed off rooms that were found, we can estimate an age of fifty-thousand years, plus minus...hm, five-hundred to eight-hundred years, I'd say" Vaina noted. The others murmured assent.
"So...it's genuine?" Vetra wanted to know.
"To early to tell" Bokum said, firmly, with a side glance to Nihlus. Now that the actual work had begun, he had lost much of his usual larger-than-life persona.
"There are a lot of possible tricks we have encountered over the centuries we have to check for. It could take quite some time"
"What about the pod itself?" Nihlus asked, face and voice betraying nothing. Liara noticed for the first time that he hadn't changed his colour or markings since they had arrived on Eden Prime.
They switched read outs.
"Faint energy tracings in the locking plate, but little else otherwise. The surrounding walls isolate to well." Vaina announced.
"We would have to extend the pod to get better readings" Vaum concluded.
Once again they all fell silent. Liara didn't know what the others felt but the thought of actually doing this was hitting her all over again.
John turned to the transhuman Doctor.
"Dr. Vahlen? Could we do that without risking the occupant?" The woman nodded.
"The mechanism is intact and recharged. We could remove the pod and let them scan from the outside without risk"
The Transhumans looked at them expectantly.
They, in turn, turned to Nihlus.
To his credit the Turian didn't hesitate.
"Proceed"
Liara took a deep breath, as did many of the other Citadel members. She saw Vaina's lips move in a short prayer.
She had expected that a complicated code would have to be entered into a panel or maybe a memory crystal pushed into a receptical.
Instead, Vahlen stared intently on a specific point on the wall for a moment.
The locking plate protecting the actual pod abruptly split into two halves that retracted into the wall making Liara almost jump into the air.
Then, silently and quickly, the oval, coffin-like stasis pod was released, ejected into the room, still physically connected to the wall by two rails.
The outer material was a dark metal and except for a number of grooves almost featureless.
The Transhumans were respectfully silent as the Citadel members stared at it in awe. Vaina actually had tears in her eyes.
Liara awkwardly cleared her throat.
"Right. First, we should..."
There was a soft hiss and a second later a panel on the top retracted, showing a small screen on which complex, white symbols or letters appeared.
"What..." Bokum asked in alarm, even as the various guards shoved the civilians backwards.
"Wait...!" Liara struggled against Vetra's arm.
Vahlen seemed to be staring into nothing for a moment then scowled.
"Fuck. We should have considered this."
"What's going on?" T'Reve demanded sharply.
Vahlen grimaced.
"The pod took an atmosphere sample and has started the revival process. Ich Vollidiot! Of course it would start revival if the air was viable!"
More hisses as additional panels and seals popped open.
And a moment later, the top split into half and swung open, revealing the body inside.
"Goddess"
"It's real!"
"An Enkindler!" Bokum had to grab Vaina's arm to keep her upright.
Vahlen and Vaum were more practical.
He stepped forward with his Omni-Tool while Vahlen mad a gesture towards the sensorium which changed shape in alarming speed.
John and Nihlus both raised their weapons.
Tense seconds ticked passed, then tension bled out of Vahlens shoulders.
"He's alive" she announced.
Vaum nodded.
"Coming up from deep stasis. It may take him some time to fully regain consciousness"
The others carefully stepped closer, leaning over the pod to get a better look.
The lone figure in the pod was a tall male (at least, according to Vahlen). The exposed head showed an insectoid crest, with two pairs of eyes embedded in it.
The rest of the body was clad in armour, like a hardsuit, but far more ornate.
On the neck was the typical bulge of a folded up helmet.
"Unbelievable" Bokum breathed. "I wonder..."
The body began to stir, head rolling.
"He is waking up!" Vahlen warned, surprised.
The four eyes blinked open, unfocused for a second, but gaining clarity remarkably quickly.
He focused on them, scanning the faces above him for a second, then...
The Transhumans shot forward, grabbing the Citadel citizens' shoulders and arms and flinging them away, but they weren't fast enough.
With a defiant yell, the Prothean led loose a weak biotic explosion, throwing the onlookers back with alarmed cries.
Clumsily he scrambled out of the pod, even as the sensorium behind him shifted, growing tentacles and claws.
"No!" Vahlen commanded form where she lay and the bio-thing froze.
The Prothean attempted to stand and promptly collapsed to his knees.
"Be careful, he's confused!" Liara cried out as she got back on her feet, untangling from Nihlus.
The Prothean tried to take of and she went after him.
"T'soni!" Kryik called, scrambling up, but the Asari ignored him, forcing the others to go after her.
"Remember" she called over her shoulder. "For us it's been fifty-thousand years..." talons were closing around her fingers. Nihlus was fast "... but for him..." she reached for the Prothean's shoulder, fingers slipping as he turned around "...it's only been..." and touched the skin of his neck.
"...a few minutes..."
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Feb 23, 2018
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#427
Living relic
"Bunker is falling..."
"...soldiers..."
"...honoured in the coming empire..."
"...neutron bombardment underway..."
"...secure, Commander Javik..."
"...few hundred people..."
"...sensors are damaged, automated reactivation is not an option..."
"...you will be the voice of our people..."
I WILL BE MORE THAN THAT
It wasn't just words flooding Liara's mind, but emotion, raw feeling.
Desperation, anger, loss, determination and so. Much. PAIN.
Disoriented she stumbled back, once again on the ground.
She looked up in surprise, the others were surrounding them.
It had seemed like the vision had lasted only a few seconds, but the sensorium was close buy, obviously scanning them and the faces around her were serious and concerned.
Vetra was helping Nihlus to his feet. Had he been affected?
"I'm fine...I...how long? What happened?" John reached down to help her up.
"We hoped you could tell us" a worried looking Vetra said "You three froze for several minutes"
"We registered extremely high brain activity" Vahlen added "But none of you reacted to outside stimulus. Then you just sort of collapsed" Liara shook her head, trying to clear it.
"I...we saw...memories, I think. Of the bunker..."
"Saw?" Vaum asked sharply.
"Yes" Liara said quietly, still half in the impressions.
Bokum snorted.
"So you had a prothean "vision", is that what you are trying to say?" He was looking at Nihlus.
The Turian looked just as disoriented as her, but he was finding his balance again, standing on his own feet already.
"More than that" his voice broke, as if he hadn't spoken for weeks. The look he shot the Prothean was almost awed.
Had he seen what she had seen? Felt what she had felt?
"This is real." Liara said reverently "You really did find a Prothean" Vahlen raised an eyebrow at her.
"Uh, yes? That is what we have been saying" T'Reve sneered.
"What and you expect us to believe that? That your little pet Prothi there let's people see visions? Please"
"They say Asari melds..." Vaum began.
"No" every Asari in the room answered, exasperated, even Liara.
"That's just a stubborn myth" Peebee continued "It's just biology, no memory sharing or anything"
"Exactly" Bokum triumphed "This magic vision nonsense is just meant to impress the simple minded"
"How quantity others" they all looked at the source of the question. The kneeling Prothean had spoken in broken Thessian, with a horrible accent. But he had been understandable, even without translator.
"Just you were alive" John said, solemnly. "I am sorry" His Thessian on the other hand was flawless.
The Prothean lowered his head.
"You can understand us?" Nihlus asked, voice still rough.
The Prothean stood and turned to them and several people straightened their spines. He had a presence about him that was deeply impressive. An intensity that was intimidating.
"Yes. After thaha'alan you"
The Prothean scanned them all, taking in clothes, weapons and armour.
Then he turned to Nihlus, evidently having decided hew as in charge.
"You. Fight Reapers?"
Liara gasped. The name triggered a confusing reflex of fear, hatred and a need to attack. It took her a moment to realise it was his remembered feelings, not hers, that she was experiencing.
Nihlus returned the alien's gaze steadily, slowly taking on his usual unruffled demeanour.
"They are considered a myth"
The Prothean scowled murderously.
"Why" he cried in dismay "We left warnings!"
"Fifty-thousand year old warnings" Nihlus answered, a tad sharply. "With no ruins, wreckage or other signs of them. The Reapers are considered insubstantial"
The Prothean snarled something in his native language. Liara had a feeling it wasn't fit for polite company.
The alien looked around, the four eyes moving in synchrony.
"Asari, Salarian. Turian. I am surrounded primitives." He gave John a hard stare.
"But you. Not know you" The Transhuman didn't move a muscle.
"We're new"
Liara narrowed her eyes. She hadn't missed the dismissive "primitives", but the Prothean's...Commander Javik, was it?...inability to recognise the Transhumans was intriguing.
"Perhaps, we should..." Nihlus began, only to be interrupted by a sharp, loud voice.
"I think this is quite enough, Spectre Kryik!" Vaina, quiet, silent Vaina was suddenly front and center, face flushed with righteous anger.
"How can even consider playing along with this...this blasphemous charade!" She turned on Javik, all but ready to jump him with her bare hands. "I do not know who you are trying to fool, but you are no Enkindler! Reapers! Ha!" The Asari turned and stomped of.
"Shouldn't we follow her?" Vetra asked Nihlus after a moment.
The Turian didn't take his eyes of Javik.
"She will hardly get lost. Let's give her a moment to calm down. Why would we be fighting the Reapers as well?"
"They are coming" Javik announced "They will come. For you"
"Why?" John asked sharply.
"They do. Every..." he struggled with his limited vocabulary "Repetition. Kill all"
T'Reve made a noise of derision. She glared at the Transhumans.
"Is that your plan? Frighten the Citadel into cooperation by having your pet Prothean spout ridiculous doomsday prophecies?" John returned her gaze unimpressed.
"We have no need to frighten anyone. And let me remind you that Dr. T'soni's research supports the Reaper's existence…" Bokum bellowed an angry laugh.
"Of course, generations of Prothean scientists are wrong, only the one little girl whose assumptions support your narrative was correct. Varrenshit!"
"Bokum" Nihlus reprimanded sharply.
Immediately the enraged Salarian turned to this new target.
"Oh, of course someone like you would be on their side, playing along!"
"Meaning?" the Turian demanded to know
Bokum stepped right up to him.
"A thug who makes his living causing fear and selling his "protection" from threats"
"Watch your mouth, peektja" Vetra spat angrily and even Peebee had a hand on her pistol, which in turn caused Ashley to ready her's.
"Children that fight" Javik scowled "You are petty. And tiny"
"Oh yeah, four-eyes?" Peebee's grin was mean "At least our civ isn't all dust"
Javik snarled, multiple people opened their mouths, weapons came up...
"ENOUGH!" biotic energy washed over them and they turned to it's source.
Liara was staring furiously at all of them, blue and black light playing across a half raised hand.
"YOU WILL ALL SHUT UP OR, ATHAME HELP ME, I WILL WARP THE NEXT IDIOT WHO OPENS THEIR MOUTH!"
Surprised looks.
T'Reve seemed undaunted but the moment she opened her mouth, Liara focused on her, raised her hand and the hum grew louder.
The other Asari quickly snapped her mouth shut.
"Perhaps Dr T'soni is correct. It is time for us all to cool off" Nihlus tried to calm them down.
T'Reve snorted.
"Oh she is right about one thing. There is nothing left to say here" And with that she turned around and stormed off, Bokum following in her wake.
Nihlus sighed, slightly. Liara was surprised he would show his emotions like that.
"I apologise." He said "Perhaps meeting a Prothean was overwhelming for them" Javik, meanwhile, was more focused on John.
With a few quick steps he crossed the distance and raised a hand, glove retracting, to touch his face.
The Transhuman didn't react.
Liara watched, fascinated, wanting to know what the merge, or whatever it was a Prothean did, looked from the outside.
Instead, Javik let go after a few seconds, evidently confused.
"I can not tha'alan you" John seemed satisfied by that for some reason.
"Good. That means the defences are working" The Prothean backed away, warily.
"What are you?" Vahlen stepped forward quickly.
"We mean you no harm" again, the spoken Thessian was flawless.
Javik looked at the Transhumans in tun.
"You fight Reapers?" he demanded.
John nodded.
"If we have to, we will" Javik once again scowled.
"You will. You will"
When no one said anything else, Nihlus cleared his throat.
"I must report this development to my superiors"
"Of course" John agreed.
Nihlus turned to the Prothean.
"I am Nihlus" The other thought for a few seconds "Javik" he said then and the Spectre turned to leave, Peebee and Vetra flanking him as usual, Vaum behind them.
He turned back when he noticed Liara wasn't walking with them.
"Doctor T'soni?" She hesitated and turned to Javik.
"We have prepared rooms for you" Vahlen said to Javik, having apparently picked up the reason for her hesitation.
"Will stay here" The Prothean said firmly.
"What, in your little..." Ashley began mockingly. John slowly turned his head to her and the woman coughed awkwardly and shut up.
"We should be able to synthesize food for you" Vahlen offered and the Prothean accepted, after another second of deliberation
Liara turned to Nihlus.
"With your permission, I would like to stay with Doctor Vahlen" with Javik "Uh, sir"
The Spectre threw a questioning glance at Vahlen who answered with a nod.
Suddenly, everyone seemed to have no problem with each other's body languages. Go figure.
"Very well, Doctor T'soni. I will contact you all again, once the Council has made a decision"
They said their goodbyes and the Spectre left with the others.
Javik turned to leave without another word, heading deeper into the bunker.
Liara was about to follow him, bursting with questions, but a raised hand from Kaidan stopped her.
"Liara" He said gently, but firmly "He just lost his entire world. Give him time"
The Transhumans froze for a second and again Liara had the impression of silent communication.
Then John followed Javik.
"I take it he is allowed to bother the living relic, then?" Liara deadpanned.
Kaidan gave an apologetic smile but didn't back down.
Vahlen rolled her eyes at them.
"Come on, Ms T'soni. You can play million questions later. How about I let you taste our original prothean cuisine in the meantime?" This felt a lot like a grown up trying to distract a noisy child but...
"You found viable food in the bunker?" she asked, rather impressed by prothean technology.
Vahlen shook her head.
"Those stasis containers were shut down first. But we found biological information and recipes in the databanks. I think even Javik will be hard pressed to note any difference" Liara scoffed.
"Have you any idea how many "novelty" restaurants in Citadel Space boast the same thing?" she asked, as she followed the other woman.
"Dilettanten. I assure you, authentic prothean food. Not necessarily tasty prothean food, but authentic..."
Kaidan and Ashley watched the two women leave.
You think she will tell her about some of the more...sapient ingredients in the prothean pallet?
At this point? Hardly. But if she does, I hope she will share the recording
Last edited: Feb 24, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#466
Catching up
As soon as they were out of the bunker, Vaum took Nihlus arm.
"Spectre. What did you see?" The Turian hesitated.
"I am uncertain Professor. In all my years as a Spectre I never experienced something like this."
"But you are convinced the Prothean is real?"
The Spectre turned to the other man and Vaum winced a little at the expression in those eyes.
"I am. That was more then just pictures or a hallucination. I felt...him. And if the Transhumans can fake something like that...well, then there is no point in fighting them anyway."
The group continued their path.
No one said anything.
Javik was standing in one of the spartan rooms in the bunker that had been prepared for the reawakened crew.
They hadn't really been meant for long term habitation. It had been expected that the reawakened Protheans would leave the bunker quickly to begin their rebuilding work.
Now, all he had was a small bed, a dry Info Basin and a few bland sima that, even with nitrogen pumped into the rooms and no temperature fluctuations to speak of, were brittle after fifty-thousand years of waiting.
Fifty-thousand years...
He stood half bend, hands supported on the edge of the dry basin.
Javik was used to loss. He had been born into it, molded by it, like every Prothean of his generation.
He hadn't given up, even when Victory had announced the damning news, even when the darkness had closed in, he hadn't given up. His generation had been designed to not give up, an unyielding will and boundless tenacity build into their very genes.
And now...
Now he was surrounded by barbarians, infighting primitives who didn't seem to belief him.
They had had such far reaching dreams. Of the Asari they had prepared so carefully, coming to find them, awakening them and carrying their kind back to greatness.
Things had obviously gone wrong, badly gone wrong.
It was bizarre. In every worst case scenario they had tried to plan for, the possibility of someone simply not believing them had never even been considered.
They had left messages. Everywhere. How could they not believe him?
Well. He was a Commander. He had to adapt. Assess, Orientate, Prioritise, Act.
Javik looked up. On the walls close to a corner old fashioned monitors were mounted, emergency back up systems.
He stepped closer. A light press of his gloved fingers all that was needed to authenticate him.
They glowed into live, the alphabet of the Prothean Common Tongue flowing over the surface, the language form most suited for technical descriptions.
A few seconds of taking stock was all that was need to tell Javik that the bunker's IT system had been gutted. The VI seemed to be gone completely, even the high redundancy holistic back up fragments deleted or corrupted.
So even this tool had been taken from him...
"The Memory deleted itself."
Javik did his best to not show how startled he was.
He hadn't heard the alien, he hadn't sensed it's presence at all. How was that possible?
"I don't know what you are talking about." he replied nonchalantly.
Had the long time in stasis damaged him somehow? Was that why his attempt to tha'alan had failed? No. His internal feedback gave him the all gold. No internal injuries measurable. Of course, he would need a functional med bay and at least a trained technician to be certain...
"Your mnemo construct. The Virtual Intelligence. It deleted itself before the enemy could access it." The alien man said, before stepping closer into the room.
Only when he heard the odd descriptor did Javik realise…
"You speak Prothean." and the High Tongue too...
"We learn quickly"
Javik turned to study the alien. It looked so deceptively harmless. Like a caricature of an Asari. Yet, it's mind was closed to him and they were the ones who had found the bunker complex. Not the races his people had actually intended for the task.
The alien raised a hand, pointing at a region of his armour, slightly below his right chest.
"You have one too?"
Surprise, again. Instinctively, Javik laid a hand above that area to protect it.
"How do you know that? How can you know that?" Those two blue eyes returned his gaze unflinchingly, unreadable.
"As I said, we learn quickly. Your language, the files, hints of DNA and a few remains...enough to recreate your physiology and unlock some of them. Do all soldiers in the bunker carry one?" Jarvik narrowed his eyes in anger.
"Is that why I was brought back? To access the last of my people, so you can pick over the remains?! Let the dead rest, have they not earned that!"
Every Prothean, especially the few surviving Naturalised ones, would have cowered in fear from the anger of a prothean Commander.
The alien merely tilted it's head.
"Most of the bodies decomposed, even in their pods. Fifty-thousand years is a long time. A few, however, died comparatively recently. If they carried personalised memory shards, it might be possible to bring them back. Reconstruct them." Javik took a step back. What was this insane alien babbling about?
"Impossible" he snarled.
Those damnable blue eyes never wavered.
"A living Prothean, his memory intact, is something different than a reconstruction. With your help, it might be possible to bring some of them back."
Javik, eyed the alien in disbelief. Was it serious? If only he could read it...
"I will consider it." He barked.
Turning around to the Basin he lowered his head, pretending exhaustion.
"Leave now, I will rest."
He heard nothing. He sensed nothing. But when he looked up a few moments later, he was alone.
Liara was impressed. Prothean food had tasted as horrible as Vahlen had promised. If the Transhumans had gotten it right, that is. Which they most likely had. They appeared to be depressingly competent.
Liara was being shown around by Vahlen, admiring some of the aesthetics of the bunker, when Javik suddenly stood in front of them.
"Asari. We must talk." His voice was now overlaid by a synthetic one coming from the suit. He was using a translator.
"Uh..." Liara countered wittily.
All four eyes pointedly stared at Vahlen.
The woman raised an eyebrow, looking annoyed.
"I just remembered I have to go repaint the flowers outside or something." She snarked.
Javik was unimpressed.
"In my cycle, we did not consider that a job for amateurs."
Moira ignored him. Instead she gave Liara's arm an encouraging squeeze before she sauntered away.
Javik turned, evidently expecting Liara to follow him, which she did.
What was this about? Why her? Why under four...six eyes? She had so many questions! Who were the Reapers? How had the Protheans build the Relays and the Citadel? Did he really like some of those horrible foodstuffs?
They came to a stop in a, by prothean standards, small and cramped room, that nevertheless had a meter high ceiling. The Protheans didn't seem to mind narrow and even cramped spaces, as long as there was ample room above their heads. Just another thing on the endless list Liara wanted to ask about.
The door slid shut behind them, sealing with a hiss and for the first time Liara realised that she was alone, with an unknown alien, revived only hours ago. Locked in a small room.
That's absurd she scolded herself. He is a Prothean.
Javik did something on the far wall and Liara felt the prickle of static electricity wash over her and resonate in her biotic clusters.
He turned to her.
"We should be safe from any surveillance here. We must talk."
She steeled herself. However surreal the situation was, she needed answers.
"Yes, we do. Who was it that destroyed the bunker in your memory? Was it the Reapers?" He eyed her.
"I would ask you to merge with me once more, I must learn more about this time and it's people. But first...what do you know about these other aliens? The ones with fur on their heads?"
He hadn't even reacted to her question. Again Liara felt like a child being pushed around by the grown ups.
He was a Prothean, a living legend, the best source of information in her chosen field of study one could dream of and he had warned them about the return of a threat that had wiped out his people.
Liara didn't care.
"First of all: manners is the most urgent thing you will have to learn if you want to survive in this time."
Javik once again scowled in anger. She had a feeling that was a common occurrence.
"Second: I bet even in 'your cycle' information didn't come free. Tit for tat. I answer one of your questions, you answer one of mine."
They both were silent, keeping eye contact and unwilling to give in. Liara wasn't worried. She had stared down her thesis committee, a 50,000 year old Prothean with an attitude problem was child's play.
"Very well, Asari" he relented "A fair trade. One answer for an answer."
She nodded.
"Then: who are these aliens? What do you know?"
"They call themselves 'Transhumanity'. But we do not know much. They appeared about twenty-five years ago, but mostly kept to themselves. They are said to have highly advanced technology, especially when it comes to biology. My turn. Who are the Reapers?" Javik did not look happy.
"Is that all you know?"
"Yes. As I said, they are secretive. This expedition to awaken you was the first time Citadel members have been officially invited into their space. Who are the Reapers?"
"I never heard of a sentient race that couldn't be read. Even higher animals had no secrets from us. This cannot be." Liara felt her hands twitch and had to consciously relax them.
"Who. Are. The Reapers?" She could not read Javiks expression this time.
"They are the apex of machine life. An unstoppable force of destruction that reigns upon this galaxy every fifty-thousand years. One cycle. They exterminate higher, space faring species and leave the primitives to rise. Hence the name. They Reap organic live." Liara felt chills race down her skin.
"You are certain they will return? I mean... and... they 'reap'...for what purpose?"
"I believe it is my turn with questions."
Liara was tempted to remind him of his clarification question, but now was hardly the time to be petty.
"Ask."
"The Citadel. Your memories show it as the center of power in the galaxy. Is this correct?"
"Yes. Asari, Salarians and Turians rule as the Council from there. It is…" Javik stepped close, his face stormy.
"It is the seat of power?" Liara frowned.
"I already answered, yes." Abruptly Javik turned away.
"It has not been activated yet. Why?"
Liara had the impression the last part had not been meant for her.
"What do you mean by 'activated' ?" Javik ignored her, again.
"Your people...you are the dominant race in this cycle, yes?" Liara shook her head.
"No race is 'dominant', we cooperate, like your people did…" She could be wrong, but he appeared genuinely surprised now.
"Then how do you assure no one tempers beyond what they were meant to? Or creates synthetic life?"
"That, uhm, already happened. They are called the Geth. And they say that Transhumans cooperate with AIs as well..."
Javik tensed as if electrocuted.
His eyes narrowed and if his expression had been hostile before then now it promised death.
"What did you just say?"
Last edited: Mar 6, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Plans
The returning Nihlus had found Vahlen and John standing around one of the still retracted other pods in the wall. They might have been discussing something regarding it, but since neither was using spoken words, he couldn't be sure. John turned to them as they approached.
Nihlus found himself once again wondering how much of this was for show. He had no doubt that the Transhumans kept tight surveillance on them and that Vahlen and John could both tap into those feeds easily.
So the two of them turning their attention to them as if they had just noticed their approach was mere politeness at best and part of an elaborate attempt at misdirection at worst.
"The Council has decided to wait for the final verdict on Javik's authenticity before deciding on further actions." Translation, they didn't believe a word of what we heard and are adamant to catch you lying. Not that that surprised Nihlus.
"Which means we will need to calm down the experts." John commented.
Nihlus had half expected him to make a snide remark about politicians or something. Peebee certainly had, but perhaps the Transhumans had expected the Council to play for time. Which would once again point toward all of them following orchestrated footsteps.
"I haven't spoken with them yet, but I am confident we will get them..." He trailed of as he saw movement over Johns shoulder.
Javik was storming towards them, a concerned looking Liara in his wake. His face was an angry grimace.
"IS THIS TRUE?!" He bellowed, before even reaching him.
"Is what true?" John asked, affecting the same calm demeanour Nihlus himself so often did.
"Are you or are you not in league with machines?!"
Interesting.
"Artificial Intelligences are part of our society, yes." John answered, unperturbed.
"UNBELEIVABLE!" The Prothean was highly agitated, walking up and down, ready to attack. Nihlus grabbed his rifle a little tighter.
"Do you not know what dangers they pose? What monstrosities they can commit?!"
"Of course we do. The same monstrosities organics can commit." Johns calmness only seemed to incense Javik more.
"Do not speak to me as if you had any idea what you are talking about. You have no idea what you are facing when the Reapers return! And your machines will be the first to fall! In service to the destroyers, they will tear you apart from the inside!" John frowned.
"Yet, this entire facility was controlled by a memory. Something almost like an AI."
"A machine build with centuries of experience! One who saw no other way out in the end but self destruction!"
"And do you really believe our AIs would act any different?"
"Your machines, even if they are loyal to you" Javik's tone and dismissive gesture made clear what he thought of that possibility "have no idea what is coming as well. They will fall. And take you with them."
"So you are saying we should get rid of them?"
"Yes."
"And should fight using only soldiers like me."
"Yes!"
"And what..." a slight grin appeared on John's handsome face "...makes you think that I'm an organic?"
That caused a start in Liara and Javik.
Javik even gaped a little.
He eyed his opposite for a few seconds then narrowed his eyes.
"You are trying to joke." John's grin widened.
"Maybe." Javik scowled.
"This is no laughing matter. As long as AIs are part of you, you are vulnerable to attack." He turned to Nihlus.
"Are there machines in your culture?"
"There are a few, but they are shackled, not directly networked and have no part in our political decision making progress" He thought for a second, then decided on honesty. "We are uncertain to what degree AIs are integrated into Transhuman society." Javik ignored that.
"And this planet, it is controlled by Transhumanity, yes?"
"Yes." The Prothean nodded decisively.
"Then I do not wish to remain here. Bring me to your leaders."
Peebee let out a squeak and everyone looked at her.
"Sorry, it's just...someone actually said it! For real!"
Everyone ignored her again.
"I will have to contact my superiors, the appearance of a living Prothean could cause...instability"
"We do not have time to waste! The Reapers could appear tomorrow or next century, but if you do not prepare, you will be lost." Nihlus stood his ground.
"I can not make that decision on the spot. You will have to be patient."
The two men stared each other down. Eventually, the Prothean assented with a short bow and, still furious, turned and marched away.
Liara seemed to want to follow him, but then remained where she was.
Nihlus turned to John.
"You and I need to talk. Alone."
The two men stood on a clearing, a few kilometers from the dig site.
Nihlus had no illusions, he knew he would be surveyed here as much as everywhere else on the planet. As far as he knew every blade of grass beneath his feet was really a transhuman machine of some sort (this place really wasn't good for his paranoia).
But he needed the illusion of privacy and maybe the intimacy of such a private meeting would effect the transhuman soldier as well (one could try, right?).
He was loathe to admit the third reason for this seclusion: it was far less likely one of his own people could spy on them here. He had no doubt the Council had spies among his crew.
Well, other spies than him, anyway, who would undoubtedly be on his case now.
Not that he could blame them entirely. Hallucinating the demise of the Protheans was not exactly symptomatic of a clean mind.
Nihlus contemplated the gigantic ring in orbit as he collected his thoughts.
John waited patiently.
"How did you know about his abilities?" Nihlus began, turning to the other man.
"The reason so many of their data storages haven't been decoded by your people yet is that they use the same method of information transfer." Nihlus' eyes widened a bit.
"Beacon Contact Syndrome? Many say that it is just a myth." John smirked.
"They were mythtaken." The bad pun was somewhat clunky in Palaven but Nihlus still got the gist.
"If I hadn't had happened to touch Liara as she touched Javik...how would you have tried to convince me?" The most irrelevant question, actually, but personally important to him. He was only Turian.
John merely titled his head.
"We would have asked him to show you."
"That's it? What if he had refused?"
"He wants to be believed. We judged it unlikely."
"Sounds a bit easy for your people."
"Not every good plan has to be complicated, you know?" Nihlus clicked his mandibles.
"To business then. It is evident you expected the Reapers return. That explains many things about your species, not the least these megalomaniac construction projects" John cut through the air horizontally, an Asari gesture for denial.
"We didn't know, for certain. But we were suspicious. A species that had the Protheans frightened, quite possibly defeated them, but left no traces? No ruins of their own, no monuments of triumph? It made us cautious."
"You knew what Javik would say when he woke up" Nihlus accused him.
John nodded.
"We expected it. Just like Liara, we heeded the prothean warnings about the Reapers. And whoever was in that pod would have been the last known survivor of a race wiped out by them. It was not hard to guess what the first thing they would want to talk about would be."
Nihlus thought about that. He had read Liara's work (at least, a pop-science summary) and her invitation by name had carried obvious implications about Transhumanity's opinions of her work.
He had, in the abstract, considered her theories.
But every expert they consulted had been of the opinion that any race that would have attacked the Protheans would be long gone by now.
Accepting that the Protheans actually had been wiped out, that the mythical forbears had only been mortal after all and that those same enemies were now a supposed risk to them as well? That was...difficult to comprehend.
Even for him and he had encountered some truly bizarre sights in his years as a Spectre.
"My government will never accept this" Nihlus concluded. "At least officially, they will not acknowledge this." He looked sharply at the other man.
"Always assuming it actually is true, of course" John raised his empty palms in a gesture that was maybe meant to signify innocence.
"Can you really risk being wrong on this?" The Spectre's look turned even sharper.
"My government will never accept this...and for good reason. The Protheans being confirmed to have been killed off could have massive repercussions. Socially, mentally for many beings, economically as well. Announcing their killers will come back? A disaster.
We can not go public with this story, you can not go public." John was unmoved, his face unreadable.
"And yet, what choice do you have? Your people must be warned. They must be prepared."
Again Nihlus took his time to mull things over. What was Transhumanity's angle in all this?
They assumed a genocidal enemy could be waiting somewhere in the galaxy and they...what? Prepared for war, held loose contact with the Citadel and were content to wait?
Build a few megastructures in the mean time?
And then they invited them to the opening of a pod potentially containing living proof of their fears? Why not warn them beforehand? Why not try to secure an alliance beforehand?
Why this bizarre mix of passivity and activity?
He, like all Spectres, had of course been exhaustively briefed on possible transhuman infiltration, had been told to keep his eyes open.
The STG was practically tying itself into a knot over the issue.
So maybe not all that passive actually?
And then there were the suspicions about the Hegemony...the former Hegemony...
"What exactly would your plan have been had you not found this Prothean?"
John smiled in a way that reminded the Turian of an asari child, caught stealing sweets before dinner.
"More preparation. More long term persuasion. Javik was a lucky stroke. A...short cut."
That was, for all intends and purposes, an admittance of transhuman manipulation of Citadel politics.
This could never make it into his official report.
Nihlus was very glad he had switched of all his recording devices, including the ones the STG had smuggled into his suit.
"The batarian Hegemony?" John shook his head asari like.
"We had nothing to do with that." Unlikely, but they had more important things to worry about right now.
"The Council will never swallow it, not coming from Javik and especially not coming form you."
"They will have to. You must convince them."
"With what? My sincere assurances that I haven't been replaced by a transhuman puppet?"
"By presenting the evidence your people collected." John calmly replied. "Show them your work. Force them to acknowledge it."
"They may not even allow us to bring it back into Citadel space."
John raised one of the fur stripes over one eye.
It twisted his entire face in a way that looked just wrong to a Turian. Asari did it too, all the time, so Nihlus was used to it, but still...
"They would deny a long asleep Prothean the chance to visit his home, the Citadel?"
"If it isn't really a Prothean, of course." The Spectre replied instantly.
John shook his head again, eyes suddenly wide and sad.
"Oh well, that would certainly upset our people. Transhumanity would be very unhappy to not be able to assure free movement for the last surviving Prothean. Especially since he already stated that he didn't want to stay with us. We would have no chance but to contact some of the NGOs in Citadel space, some of those helping refugees or providing lawyers to the destitute, maybe." Nihlus froze as he tried to picture the reactions, figuring out the Council's response.
"That...might actually work." He admitted finally.
John grinned like a naughty asari kid again. Without any fake remorse though, this time.
"We will make it work."
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Flower
Even as they talked unending, focused alertness kept watch over them from high above.
Myriads of eyes, metaphorical and real, watched over the void, intent on noticing every ripple, discover any hint of a pattern that might point at the presence of an enemy.
Nothing of note was detected. Everything was quiet...
"...who do they think they are?" Sparatus snarled, face furious.
"Do they really think they can blackmail us this way?"
Tevos looked not one bit happier, but much more controlled.
The current Salarian Councillor, Esheel, betrayed nothing.
"I believe they can, Sparatus" Tevos answered coolly. "We have no idea about their military strength, no economic ties to speak of and no spies in their sphere of influence."
"Blindspots which your mission was meant to help mend, Spectre." She added, even cooler, in Nihlus direction.
The Spectre was unfazed.
"I judged that the discovery of a living Prothean and his warning of a coming enemy was more important." He very carefully did not use any sarcastic tones as he said that and as career politicians, all three of his superiors noticed of course.
"Fakes and lies!" Sparatus bellowed, making Tevos twitch and raise a hand to her head.
Nihlus saw it and wondered. The asari Councillor normally wasn't known for showing weaknesses.
"He seems rather ill disposed towards them for a puppet meant to do their bidding." Nihlus pointed out.
"Which would be a rather obvious ploy to make him seem independent and therefore genuine." Esheel countered.
Nihlus had to concede the point with a nod.
He did not think it wise to remind them of his...vision, again.
"Nevertheless, Transhumanity has made it quite clear how...displeased they would be if Commander Javik's request for an audience is denied."
Sparatus growled but did not say anything.
Again Nihlus wondered. His fellow Turian usually had himself more under control.
"Unfortunately, Spectre Kryik is right" Tevos noted, still massaging certain pressure points on her leku.
"We can not afford to anger Transhumanity." And then, almost like an afterthought. "Least of all now"
What did that mean? Had something happened since their departure that would explain the Councillors' strained behaviour?
And by Esheel's quick sideways glance he hadn't meant to be informed about it.
"We grant the request" The Salarian decided for all of them.
"Spectre Kyrik, you and your people will immediately head for Citadel space and the Citadel itself where you will present your collected information as well as your alleged Prothean. Further deliberations will be made from then." Esheel nodded decisively and the connection was cut abruptly, leaving a surprised and rather wary Nihlus.
Something had happened. Something that stressed the Councillors. And had rather expedited the decision making process. Nihlus had expected an hour long debate. They hadn't even mentioned quarantine procedures.
More of Transhumanity's 'subtle' influence?
When Javik stepped out of the bunker, his few meager belongings packed in crates, his eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
The gigantic, tree like tower, the massive band in the sky that connected to it...
Who were these people?!
Then his genetic programming reasserted itself and shock and surprise ebbed away, to be replaced by grim focus.
The female, Vahlen, was smirking at him.
"Not so primitive now, hm?"
Javik ignored her.
Together, they boarded a transport platform.
"So we are really going back?" Liara was torn. The galaxy had to be warned of course, but... "There is still so much left to research here!"
Vetra dropped her box on the platform.
"Sorry, T'soni. Transhumanity's invitation was explicitly for this expedition. With it effectively over, no more allowance on one of their planets."
"We could just ask…" Vetra shot her a look.
"Outside of diplomatic channels, behind the Citadel's back? How would that look like?"
Liara grimaced. Vetra had a point, unfortunately.
"Besides, don't you want to stay with Javik?" The Turian gave her a sly grin and Liara boxed her arm with a sullen expression, making the other woman laugh.
"I will have you know, my interest is strictly professional. Also, he is grumpy as a Krogan at a peace summit." Vetra turned serious.
"Well, he did just lose his entire civilisation all over again."
"Yeah..." Liara muttered.
She heaved another box on the growing pile.
"I can't even begin to imagine what that's like."
"Tell me about it." Vetra agreed. "Oh hey..."
Liara turned to see what she had spotted.
Armed as always, the usual trio of Kaidan, John and Ashley was approaching.
Nihlus met them half way.
"Yes?"
"We are going to accompany Javik."
"Absolutely impossible." Nihlus answered, without hesitation.
"Our job, as accepted by you via verbal agreement, is it still to guard the Prothean. We will continue to do so." John replied, unfazed.
Everyone had stopped working and was now listening in.
"The Council has given no permission for transhuman visitors and they are unlikely to do so now."
"Why do you think we were chosen for this job?" John replied with a slight grin. "We have diplomatic passes for Citadel space."
"You still can't ride aboard my ship." Nihlus answered and John's grin got even wider.
"That's why we brought that" He pointed into the sky behind Nihlus and everyone turned to look.
Beside the gigantic ring, beside the hovering form of the massive transport ship Be all your sins delivered, another form was sinking from the sky, entirely silently.
The ship was not much longer than the Hand but so oddly formed Liara had difficulty thinking of it as a star ship.
"Which has diplomatic clearance as well, I presume?"
"And a valid Citadel registration, yes."
Liara ignored the bickering men, to engrossed in studying the new ship.
The front reminded her of nothing so much as a flower bud, partially opening, with four segments that would separate in full bloom. The hull between them was black, either a shadow or because the hull material was swallowing the light.
From the 'bud's' end a long, elegant tube extended, widening until it ended in a bulbous, segmented aft section.
Were back segment and the middle structure met, many small forms protruded form the back segment in a ring.
Additionally, four curved...tentacles?...swept from the aft segment to connect with the flower bud.
On the outside each...strut, or whatever they were, had a long, black stripe, looking like the snout material.
From the bulbous back segment, four flat forms were emerging, reaching between the connecting struts towards the front of the ship but not reaching it, joined at their point of emergence into the very end of the ship. Like leaves that were still close to the bud that had sprouted them.
The colouring was mostly a gold/yellow that flowed into green in places.
The overall expression was of an elegant, exotic flower that was about to bloom.
"Wow" Liara muttered and Vetra nodded.
"You are, of course, welcome to join us" John added.
Last edited: Mar 13, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#516
Departure
That got Liaras' attention.
Turning she saw John grinning at Nihlus. The Transhuman seemed to be having fun.
"You would let us on board your ship?" Nihlus asked, to make sure.
John nodded.
"Sure. You would travel as our guests, though I must warn you, it can get boring at times."
"Yes!" Peebee shouted, earning her disapproving glares.
"Oh come one, live a little, try something new, explore!" She sounded half begging, as if she had tried to convince them many times before already.
Nihlus pretended to think some more about it, but Liara already knew his answer of course.
Flying on board a real transhuman ship? Intelligence gold mine.
"Very well. Myself and a small crew will travel on board your vessel, the...?"
"Joker." Nihus didn't even blink, by now used to the aliens' weird humor.
"The Joker. Javik..."
"Wants to travel on your vessel. For some reason, he doesn't seem to trust us..."
As if on cue (and beginning to understand these people, Nuihlus had no doubt that was true) another hover platform appeared, with Javik, boxes of equipment and Moira Vahlen on board.
The Prothean landed and immediately 'requested' two crewmen to carry his possessions inside the ship.
After a glance at Nihlus, who nodded, the man and woman complied.
"I have been informed the Transhumans will accompany us." The Prothean declared. "I am not happy with that decision, but understand that you couldn't stop them" The Spectre blinked.
"Thank you?"
Javik marched into the ship, without sparing his belongings another glance, simply expecting his orders would be followed.
"I will now choose my quarters."
Vetra gave a long suffering sigh as he disappeared.
"This will be fun"
Vahlen was coming over to them, having exchanged a few words with Nihlus.
"Here." She said and tossed something to Liara who caught it reflexively.
it was a standard Citadel data chip, fitting into every Omni-Tool.
"What is it?"
Vahlen laughed.
"Prothean recipes. I thought you would like a reminder of your visit." Liara gave an ironic grin.
"Who could forget food like this. But thanks." The transhuman woman nodded.
"If you find the time, write me. I would love to discuss our new friend's people some more. Just ask Babylon 5 to forward it" Liara blinked surprised.
"Thank you. I will. But won't you be busy?"
"Not really. Javik forbid us from studying the bunker site further. We will have to close it up."
Vahlen gave her a friendly smile, waved at Vetra and walked back to the group around John and Nihlus, which by now had been joined by Laram.
Just then, Nihlus Omni-Tool beeped.
"Turian. Were is your armory?" Vetra gave Liara a look.
"We are gonna fly on the flower, right?"
Liara hesitated. The thought of flying on a transhuman ship was both alluring and scary. But...
"I'm afraid not." Nihlus said form behind her and Liara nearly jumped.
"I will require Dr. T'soni to do something else." She glared at him for scaring her but he didn't react.
"I need you to accompany Javik. Listen to what he has to say." Liara gave him a sceptical look.
"Meaning I'm supposed to spy on him for you."
"Yes." Nihlus answered bluntly.
"Uhm..." She hadn't expected him to actually confirm it.
"I need you to question him. Find out what you can about the Reapers."
"So you believe him about them coming back?"
"We can hardly risk being wrong about it, can we?"
"Why me?"
"He seems to tolerate you, at least. As a Prothean expert, you also have the necessary background to verify his claims. Should he turn out to be a fake, you may be able to catch him in a lie."
Liara sighed. She had planned to talk with Javik anyway, of course, but to be sent in as a spy left a bad taste in her mouth.
Nihlus was right however. They needed information.
"I'll do my best."
A few hours later, preparations were finally complete.
A rather annoyed asari stewardess, the same that had taken care of Liara and the other civilians on their flight here, had finally gotten Javik settled, Laram and Nihlus had both held short speeches about 'future cooperation' and 'new friends among the stars' and all brought equipment had been stored again. After barely a day of use. A rather eventful day, admittedly, but still.
It was time to board their ships.
The Hand of the Council would once again make the travel in a cargo hold, though Nihlus had been assured he would be allowed communication with is crew.
He, Peebee, and Vetra were instead ready to board the Joker and at least the two women couldn't deny a certain nervousness.
The Spectre and Vetra were both still in hardsuits, while Peebee had chosen something more casual (though for Turians, uniform and battlesuit could be considered casual, of course). The Asari still had her black stripe as well.
John and his companions, the usual trio, were waiting for them under the hovering Joker.
Walking under the ship was weird. Frigates were considered small by galactic standards, but that still meant hundreds of meters and up to several hundred thousands tons of ship.
And this one was not firmly on the ground and eerily silent.
Peebee's gaze was drawn by the hull.
It's soft, organic gold was really quite beautiful and unlike a Citadel ship, the hull seemed almost featureless.
She remembered the flowing, malleable hulls of the other ships and wondered what the Joker was hiding beneath the smooth facade.
Ahead of them, something like a ramp had formed, touching the grass, ready to lead them into the bulbous heck segment.
John and the others were waiting.
Like Peebee, they had changed clothes and were now in something like formfitting uniforms, mostly black and grey, with many pockets and attachments for weapons and tools.
The Asari had to admit, all three of them looked rather good in them.
"Welcome." Kaidan greeted them warmly. "We have prepared rooms for you and other accommodations. If everything is not to your liking, please just say so."
"Will do, handsome" Peebee grinned back, earning her a thump from Vetra and a wink from the Transhuman.
"Thank you for hosting us." Nihlus said politely and Kaidan gestured them inside.
He seemed to have taken on the role of guide for now. John was neutral and Ashley looked slightly miffed, as usual.
As they walked up the ramp, they saw that the corridor...was the same as in the Hand.
Exactly the same.
Nihlus threw the three aliens a sharp looked, which was asnwered by amused grins.
As they walked further it became clear they had replicated at least part of their ship.
And not just the looks, but the background noises and even the smell were the same, or very nearly so.
"You know..." Vetra begun, angrily, but John's raised hand cut her off.
"The interior design of your ship was openly outsourced to a known design firm and the looks we got looking up the ramp of your ship was enough to confirm our projections. It should be fairly accurate, but if you want any changes done, let us know." Peebee threw Nihlus a sharp glance.
"Seriously? The interior design of our top secret experimental stealth frigate was outsourced?" Vetra sighed warily.
"I don't know, but it wouldn't surprise me. Bureaucracies the galaxy over produce the strangest results."
Peebee shook her head in disgust.
Kaidan continued to show them around and it turned out that the Transhumans had made a few corridors, an inexact replica of the CIC, a copy of the mess hall and rooms for all oft hem, roughly the same size as the ones on board their ship.
A quick glance inside showed them that their rooms were not an exact copy of the one on board the Hand much to general relief. That would have been a bit too creepy.
The distance between the various rooms was not the same of course, that would probably have wasted to much space. However, there was one glaring difference...
"It's all empty." Peebee said. "Where is the crew?"
Kaidan gestured around.
"Oh, mostly all around you. We spend time on board in Virtuality, we only incarnate in bodies as needed." The Citadel members had to process that.
"Will we be, uhm, watched?" Vetra wanted to know and Peebee felt an uncomfortable shiver.
The walls around her suddenly seemed aware in a way that was very unsettling.
"We understand your need for privacy." Kaidan assured them. "If you want to communicate, use the comm panels in your quarters, your Omni-Tools or come to the CIC."
"Could still get pretty lonely." Peebee commented.
"Why? We'll always be with you." John said. "And either way, it's only for a day or so."
That got him a few looks.
"Oh? It took us several days to get here." Nihlus noted.
"That was then. Now we have a time critical mission. The stops have been pulled out. Inner system FTL clearance, priority lane usage, diplomatic courier treatment, the whole package. We will be at the Citadel in record time."
The three Transhumans nodded their goodbyes, even Ashley, and left them alone to 'unpack' as it were.
"We'll be in the mess hall, if you need us."
The four Citadel Spacers were left standing alone, a little lost.
"Time critical?" Vetra asked.
Nihlus just shook his head.
"It has been a long day. Perhaps we should rest. We certainly won't get a chance at the Citadel."
They looked around.
"This entire ship feels both empty and alive." Vetra said quietly.
"Creepy." Peebee agreed.
"Let's just go to our quarters." Nihlus suggested.
But they all knew they wouldn't get much rest here.
Vahlen and Laram were left to stare after the two receding ships. They watched as even the massive Delivered became nothing but a pale dot in the sky and then the twin distortions of FTL speed.
They froze where they stood.
As their eyes continued to stare into space, cracks began to appear in their faces. They spread and widened, encompassed their upper bodies and their heads started to disintegrate. Slowly at first, then in a rush, the bodies dissolved into particles, almost to fine to see.
With the faintest sound, the mass flowed and crawled towards the ground.
The substance...liquid? dust?...spread over the grass and seeped into the ground, disappearing between the blades.
Finally, the bodies had dispensed, vanishing without a trace.
The impressions left by the Hand's landing gear slowly rose and disappeared.
The only sound was that of faint wind.
The ring hung silent and majestic over the scene, the trees stood undisturbed and the grass rustled quietly in the breeze.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Threadmarks Alien food and friendly conversation
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Jun 21, 2018
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#541
Alien food and friendly conversation
They had stored their gear quickly and met up in the corridor again.
Peebee was almost bouncing with nervous energy while Vetra and Nihlus were more sedate.
They turned and headed for the mess hall.
The entire ship was eerily empty, even the CIC duplicate held nothing but blinking status displays.
In the mess hall, however, John and the others were already waiting, sitting around a small table decked with food and drinks.
John and Kaidan smiled at them while Ashley, at least, wasn't actively scowling.
The three Citadel Spacers took their places.
Nihlus noted how there was exactly enough place for all six of them to have just enough room to move but to also sit closely by each other, creating an almost cozy atmosphere.
Either the Transhumans had expected exactly three guests, or the table (and room) had been adapted once they had known who would come.
It was difficult to parse their incredible capabilities correctly, to try to backtrace to possible motives from their actions.
If all options were equally easy and cost free for them, how did you judge the motives for choosing one option over another?
The food on the table was a mixture of typical Citadel cuisine and stranger food stuffs, undoubtedly from Transhuman space.
There was some shuffling as soon as they sat, to move the dextro dishes to the Turians.
"Cabins okay?" Kaidan asked, as plates and bowls were moved.
"They'll do." Vetra answered non-comittedly.
"Good. If you need anything, new furnitures, more space..."
"We'll ask." Nihlus assured him. "Is it really that simple to change things around?"
Kaidan shrugged, another one of those weirdly asari gestures.
"For the most part, yes."
"Much of the interior is made from highly adaptable nano materials called Utility Sand." John added. Peebee grinned.
"Weird name."
Nihlus was looking at the table and their surroundings.
Kaidan noticed and smiled.
"Yup. This too. Want me to show you?" The Citadel members exchanged glances.
"Would we be allowed to take Omni-Tool measurements?" Nihlus wanted to know.
"No." Kaidan answered, good naturally.
Vetra grumbled while Nihlus merely nodded.
"Then perhaps later." Peebee meanwhile was more interested in the food.
"What is this stuff?" she asked, while poking at some of the human dishes.
"Peebee." Vetra drawled. "Perhaps it is not very polite to mess up their food?"
"Sorry." Peebee chirped and speared a brightly coloured fruit with her fork.
"It's all good." John assured them while watching Peebee inspect the fruit. "We can always make more."
"That's a strawberry." He added to her. "The red part is for eating, the green leaves aren't so tasty."
Hesitantly Peebee bit into the red fruit body. Immediately her face lit up.
"Hmm. Sweet." Kaidan laughed.
"Glad you like it. We thought we should begin with something light and reserve the heavy stuff for later. Most of the things here are sweet fruits or light, salty snacks, like chips." He moved a bowl with beige/yellow round discs to her.
Nihlus noted that he and Vetra had the same red fruit in front of them as Peebee. In a bowl marked with a discreet grey stripe, like all of Peebees' had a blue one. He looked over the Transhumans. They had dishes with both colours in front of them.
"You can eat dextro and levo based foods?" John shurgged.
"These Morphs can eat almost anything. We can even gain some amount of energy from rocks, if necessary."
Nihlus eyed his food. For the most part it all seemed to be the same as Peebees', actually. He hadn't noticed before because he instinctively had assumed that that couldn't be the case.
Once again, his long trained reflexes and instincts were undermined by Transhumanity. It was both worrisome and a welcome challenge.
He speared one of those...fruits with the impossible transhuman name and took a small bite. Sweet and rich and alien. Not bad, but no reason to shovel them in his mouth like Peebee was doing, much to the aliens amusement.
She moaned in indecent appreciation.
"You said the crew was virtual, right?"
"Yup."
"Don't you miss this?" She asked, while grabbing another bowl of fruit, these ones long, yellow shapes. At least she took a blue marked bowl.
Before she could bite into one, John grabbed it and showed her how to apply pressure to have it's hull burst open.
Peebee took the offered pale yellow inner body and bit into it.
"Hmmm!"
"What makes you think we can't eat a banana while in a Sim?" Kaidan asked. Peebee blinked at him.
" A what?"
"A banana."
"Ban-a. Na." Peebee managed, causing the others to laugh. Even the corners of Nihlus' mouth where twitching.
The Asari was grinning unbothered, busily demolishing the rest of the fruit.
As usual, she was managing the social situation effortlessly.
"Close enough. But yeah, we can eat and taste whatever we want in Virtuality." Suddenly Peebees' eyes got wide.
"Ohhhh! You can eat whatever you want without getting fat!"
The Transhumans grinned, even Ashley.
"Just one of the many advantages of being Transhuman." she noted, smugly.
"Ash." Kaidan reprimanded her immediately.
Nihlus didn't mind though. Let her brag and spill important information while doing so.
"Oh? What would we be the others, Ms Williams?"
Ashely opened her mouth to reply, when a slight shock went through the ship.
They all knew the feeling.
"We passed a Relay." Vetra commented.
"Yup. We left Eden Prime's system." John confirmed.
Nihlus clicked his mandibles.
"That was quick."
"As I said, priority treatment."
"Are you flying the ship from here?" Peebee wanted to know, interested. The Transhumans shook heads.
"As we said, we mostly crew the ships in virtual form." John answered.
"Does the ship even need a crew?" Nihlus asked. Perhaps here was their chance to learn something about transhuman AIs?
"Need? No, probably not." Kaidan said. "But it has many advantages to have one. Also, he simply prefers not being alone."
"He?" Nihlus asked sharply and a hologram popped into existence next to Peebee.
Who squeaked and nearly fell out of her chair.
"Hi, guys!"
The newcomer was another asaroid, this time with red hair. On his head was a...garment with an odd protrusion in front. To cast shadow, probably. But wasn't he a hologram? Kaidan pointed at him.
"Joker"
'Joker' looked rather pleased at Peebees' reaction.
The Asari had caught herself and was now moving her chair to give him room and to not have to twist around when looking at him.
Nihlus gave the hologram a measured nod.
"Greetings. I am Nihlus Kryik, my associates Vetra Nyx and..."
"Peebee!" the Asari insisted with a glare at him.
The projected man tipped his fingers at the edge of his...hat in greeting.
"Pleasure. I'm...Joker, your ride for this trip."
"You are the ship's AI then?" the Spectre asked. Peebee and Vetra tensed involuntarily. Hearing about unfettered AI was one thing...one scary, worrying thing. Talking to one...
"Well, not exactly." Joker answered.
Kaidan leaned forward to explain.
"Joker is currently incorporating this ship, but his origins are organic. In a way, this entire vessel is his current Morph." The Citadel aliens relaxed.
"Wow. So, like, the entire ship is your body? Even this room?" Peebee instantly switched back to being exited again. Joker nodded seriously.
"Oh yes. I feel everything as an analogue to how an organic would feel. These rooms, for instance, are the neurological equivalent of my lower intestines." It took a moment for the words to hit.
"Wait..." Peebee said. Vetra had trouble not showing her disgust.
"Are you saying...that we entered through your...?" Then she noted the tense transhuman faces.
"...oh haha, very funny."
The aliens broke into laughter and Peebee joined in after a second. The hologram removed an imaginary tear from one eye.
"Ah, if you could have seen your faces...oh, wait, you can!"
Holograms of Peebee, Vetra and Nihlus appeared, showing their reaction to the Transhuman's joke.
Nihlus took it in good humor.
"I'm beginning to see how you got your name." The projected man smiled proudly at him.
John was still grinning.
"Forgive Joker, he is a bit immature, even for our species." The other man made a derisive sound.
"Oh please like this totally wasn't your idea." John's eyes widened in mock hurt.
"Lies and slander! I'm the perfect gentleman, everyone knows that!"
This caused Kaidan and Ashley to protest loudly, followed by Peebee and Vetra demanding to hear stories.
Nihlus relaxed in his chair, allowing a small smile to appear on his face.
Not bad. Another skilled distraction form an interesting topic by the Transhumans. As usual, they dictated the course of conversations by carefully timed events.
Oh well. Nihlus could be patient. Sooner or later, he would find an opening.
Or not.
They had spend hours in the mess hall, trying food, trading stories (carefully worded by everyone, to not reveal anything actually important) and even sung a few songs (all Transhumans had wonderful singing voices, to no ones surprise).
Finally though, the day had caught up with them and the Citadel members had excused themselves to their cabins.
Peebee and Vetra had appeared tired but satisfied as they separated and Nihlus himself was careful to keep his own subliminal relaxed/happy expression, even in the 'privacy' of his own cabin.
He went though his evening routine and finally slid under the (extremely comfortable) covers. The bed was round and concave, as preferred by Turians.
At least he couldn't complain about accommodations.
As he slowly slid into sleep he reviewed the last few hours and found that he had learned...nothing.
Oh there had been interesting tid bits, tiny puzzle pieces that might one day help complete a bigger picture.
But nothing really relevant, nothing of note.
They had tried a few times to steer the conversation to more relevant topics, like the Reapers or Transhumanitys' territories, but they had always been gently distracted with a new interesting trick or story instead.
Hopefully Dr T'soni had more luck than them.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#549
The Silence
"I give up!" The asari stewardess stomped past Liara, hands in the air.
It had barely been two hours since their take off, but Javik had decided to be...difficult.
He had switched cabins multiple times, complaining all the while, raided the armoury and belittled the weapons when he heard their performance specs and had declared the Mass Effect core 'inadequate' after taking one look at it. By now the entire crew was fed up with him.
The problem was that with Nihlus and Vetra gone, the next person in line of command was a turian officer who had been ordered to "treat the Prothean respectfully" and lacked the experience (and, frankly, character) to stand up to Javik's varrenshit.
Liara had originally planned to simply wait for Javik to calm down somewhat before approaching him, but that seemed to not be happening for a while yet. Perhaps she should intervene now, before he managed to seriously piss of someone.
She had already thought of a possible opening line and was memorising it, rehearsing in the corridor as the stewardess passed her.
When she thought she was ready she raised her Omni-Tool and set it to silent recording...and her eyes fell on one of the open slots for storage mediums.
Fishing around her pockets she found the data crystal Vahlern had given her.
She raced after the stewardess.
"Hey...hey, uh...sorry, I don't know your name. I may have an idea..."
Two hours later she was standing in front of Javik's current cabin, tray in hand. With the other one she pushed the door chime.
Nothing happened.
She had expected that and patiently pushed it again.
And again.
At one point she must have been able to convey the message that she would push it another 50 times if necessary, because the door swished open, revealing an extremely irate looking Javik.
His scowl lessened somewhat when he saw that it was her.
She offered her tray.
"Hanrel soup?" He stared down at it, nostrils flaring as he scented the air.
"That's hane'rl." He corrected gruffly, but turned back into his cabin, allowing her to follow.
The cabin was almost identical to hers, standard guest quarters, only the layout was different since it was in a different part of the ship.
In most military vessels, quarters were fitted in where there was room, so they were often cramped and irregularly shaped.
Despite being brand new, the Hand was no exception there.
She put the tray down on the only table, unfolding the napkin with the standard cutlery inside.
That part of society practically hadn't changed in thousands of years and she was willing to bet that Prothean society had been similar in that regard as well. Something to pick up food without risking getting dirt on it and something to clean yourself afterwards.
She turned back around.
Javik was watching her.
"Not hungry?"
"Where did you get that?" He asked back.
"The transhuman woman, Vahlern, gave me a crystal with prothean recipes. We found that the Hand's printers could create a few of them." Javik scowled again, eyeing the soup with new mistrust.
"You don't like them very much." Liara observed.
Javik snorted. Was that an expression of frustration? Ridicule? Anger?
"No. They consort with machines."
Liara opened her mouth to correct him. His translator had chosen a word for consort that meant sexual relations...then she realised he had probably meant it exactly like that and awkwardly cleared her throat instead.
"They seem decent. And they were the ones to find you...and they seem to believe you about the Reapers."
"The only ones." He muttered and went over to the table.
He used the only chair as he sat to eat and Liara had no idea what he would think about sitting on his bed, so she continued to stand.
He ate his soup in complete silence. Was that Prothean table manners?
"Tasty?"
Two of his eyes shot her a look.
For some reason Liara couldn't help but grin briefly at the odd sight. She turned serious again with her next words however.
"They will believe you, you know. The Council I mean. You will convince them." That made him look up.
"What makes you so certain?" Liara shrugged.
"You are a Prothean. Prove it and they will have no choice but to listen to you." Javik narrowed his eyes. Then looked back to his soup.
"I am a military commander, from a time most other species had died. What little diplomats we had, were gone. I am certainly not one." Liara shook her head.
"That doesn't matter. Your species alone will be enough."
Javik didn't answer, choosing to focus on his soup.
Liara hesitated. He was still so...new. He had had no time to acclimate, to get used to this new world. But they needed answers.
"Tell me about the Reapers." She asked, as gently as she could.
Javik continued to eat and Liara was already resigned to not getting an answer when he put aside the spoon and spoke.
"They were relentless. Uncaring, dispassionate machines that hunted us, every hour, every second of every day. Even their weapons of horror were used with cold precision. The unspeakable terror and pain they caused merely another tool.
Can you imagine that, Asari? Fighting an enemy that knows no scruples, no limit of depravity they will not sink to but can't even be bothered to hate you?" His vice grew quieter, he wasn't speaking to her anymore. "We were like vermin, hunted by an exterminator."
They were both silent for a few moments.
He looked up at her.
"But why bother trying to explain? You will experience it soon enough."
His eyes were not cruel, not mocking, not even fatalistic.
Javik was merely stating a fact.
That was the worst part.
Seven minutes before his Omni-Tool would have awakened him, Nihlus said upright in his bed, panting hard.
Half remembered pictures of abominations, twisted and malformed, falling under his shots faded away.
He consciously slowed his breathing, went through a few mental exercises his psychiatrist had taught him.
He knew those memories were not his own, they couldn't harm him.
Now he just had to convince himself of the fact.
When he was certain his face and body were as blank as always, he rose.
He performed his usual morning routine, chose his face paint and contact lense colour and scanned himself and all his belongings thoroughly.
It was more of a gesture, really, the best possible outcome that his undoubtedly watching hosts would believe he blindly trusted his scans. But he didn't try to fool himself.
Even if his special purpose Omni-Tool could pick up any changes the Transhumans made, it would have been trivial fort hem to alter it so it displayed only negatives.
He met up with Peebee and Vetra in the corridor again, the Asari chirping out a happy. "Morning, Boss!" while Vetra merely nodded.
Together they headed for the mess hall again, the familiar feeling of the two women in his back a welcome comfort after the nightmares.
It was empty.
A quick search showed that all areas of the ship accessible to them were empty, though he couldn't shake the feeling of a presence all around them anyway.
Nihlus would never admit it out loud but...he may or may not have felt a tiny sliver of apprehension then. An empty ship was just creepy.
But really...if the Transhumans wanted to harm them, they would have done so already.
"The CIC."
He led his team mates there. The consoles along the walls were lit, blinking with status updates. Most of them he suspected to be for show, but at least some of them may have displayed real information about their flight.
"We would like to speak with someone." He declared.
A hologram popped into existence.
It was a beautiful Asari, clad in a neutral white uniform of sorts.
Nihlus found it unusually difficult to determine her age. A matron maybe?
The image smiled at them soothingly, here eyes warm and alert.
"You may call me Thalia. How can I help you?"
"Sorry, we haven't been introduced yet. Are you a member of the crew?" Nihlus asked.
"In a manner of speaking. I am the primary AI interface designated for interactions with Citadel Space visitors."
Vetra grew tense. This was a transhuman AI?
"I remember now. Thalia is the name of Babylon 5's AI interface as well, correct?"
"Yes. Thalia is a minor goddess from one of Gaia's ancient cultures. It is a common Mask in use with Citadel Space visitors. If you wish to customise my appearance or behaviour..."
"No, thank you. Your current appearance is quite flattering." Nihlus sounded warm and friendly.
Peebee suppressed a smirk. Was he trying to charm the AI just because it looked asari? Did he really think that would work? Thalia laughed.
"Why, thank you, Mr Spectre."
Uhm. Okay, then. Maybe it did.
"We were wondering where the other crew members had disappeared too?" The hologram looked apologetic.
"Apologies. Joker's crew is currently assembled in virtuality, as we prepare for the jump into Citadel space. The meeting has been set to 'private' and I am not authorised to divulge further information about it."
Huh, they were already at the Ikai Relay? That was fast. Though Peebee wondered what was so special about it that the crew had to 'prepare' for it...
In the Virtuality of Joker's Infosphere, the 'crew' had assembled.
There was no shared virtual reality here, no facsimile of any form of dimensional space.
Not even the more abstract, higher dimensional constructs used nowadays in most professional contexts.
Everyone was 'merely' here as pure information interfaces, everyone simultaneously aware of everyone else.
Of course, some people may or may not choose to represent the assembly as something else entirely in their private percepts.
But in the 'public' view...well, there was no view.
"Allright everyone, you know the drill."
As the current Incarnate of the ship Morph they were all riding in, it was Joker's dubious 'privilege' to be the one to make this announcement.
"We have all practised this, prepared ourselves. Still, it will be hard, no one is denying this."
Waves of compassion and determination radiated from Joker, answered by various emotive signals by the numerous crew. So much more direct, unambiguous and comforting then any mere body-language or tone of voice.
"Everyone ready? Backups in place?"
Confirmation.
"Very well. Prepare for the Silence."
An open countdown started, shared by everyone.
The Silence.
Transhumanity's nearly superstitious name for one of the most unpleasant states of being a late generation post-human could imagine.
The cut-off from the Mesh.
It was something all agents, soldiers, explorers etc. had to familiarise themselves with.
But that didn't mean that it got any easier to endure.
To not have all of Transhumanity's combined, filtered, pre-processed knowledge at the end of a thought, to not have a billion other souls instantly available in case of an emergency, to not be able to scrounge processor cycles from nearby systems to work through a difficult problem...
In the bright new world of the 23 century, sensory deprivation phobia came in whole new spectra of different variations.
So the crew of the Joker throttled the (already narrow) data exchange down even more, send last memory updates, messages to loved ones and greedily sucked down the latest news and updates Alliance HQ had made available for them.
Then the hammer fell.
Joker destroyed the two way entangled atom cluster at the same moment that it's counterpart was also erased at the other end.
The effect was mitigated by the fact that everyone had been trained for this and that there were so many of them, together, able to give each other comfort.
Still, compared to the never ending song of all of their civilisation combined, the Silence was deafening.
A posthuman in this situation felt very, very alone.
Then again, they were also very, very adaptable.
After a few endless seconds of deprivation shock, most people consciously decided to inject optimism, confidence and determination back into their emotional spectrum and notched the 'happiness' indicator a few registers upward as well.
Only a subtle change, though, doing this was dangerous after all.
"Very well." Joker transmitted. "Prepare to enter Citadel Space!"
Last edited: Jun 25, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Jun 28, 2018
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#561
Questions
"You said Joker's crew was assembled. Does that not include you? We were under the impression that AIs are citizens under Alliance law." Thalia gave them a friendly smile.
"That is correct, but only applies to sentient AI."
"You aren't sentient?" Nihlus almost looked visibly surprised.
The projection laid a 'hand' on her 'chest'.
"Vastly simplified: what you are talking to is an amalgamation of non-sentient expert systems under the auspice of a large-scale neural net which statistically weighs expert system responses for greatest anticipated positive response.
As we interact, my weight matrices will be optimised, allowing me to adapt to and anticipate your needs. So please, do not hesitate with feedback." The woman smiled, but the perspective had suddenly shifted.
What had been an enigmatic, even threatening, presence just moments before seemed now like a paper thin shell hiding wide emptiness.
Nihlus face fell back into studied neutrality, confirming Peebee's suspicion that he had been playing it up.
'Thalia' noticed their reactions as well.
"I disappointed you." She actually looked and sounded concerned.
"Why do you say that?" Nihlus wanted to know.
"Basic probability calculation based on previously collected psychological information regarding Turians and Asari in general, your own personal psychological profiles, voice pattern analysis, eye movement, general kinesthetic analysis…" The Spectre raised a hand to stop the flow of information.
"Thank you. My disappointment is not a failure on your part. I merely expected to talk to a sentient AI and was surprised."
The hologram seemed to perk right up. The effect was so realistic, Peebee caught herself feeling sorry for what was essentially a VI program.
"I can ask one of the ship's AIs to talk with you!"
"So there are sentient AIs on board?"
The hologram looked honestly confused.
"Why wouldn't their be?"
The Turian was silent for a while, weighing his options.
"If we talk to an AI, we do not wish to insult it. Can you perhaps first answer a few questions we have about AIs and your status in transhuman society?" The fake woman beamed.
"Of course! I should have considered that your people's luddite xenophobia regarding AI would make interactions with them awkward. My apologies."
Wow, ouch. Peebee exchanged looks with Vetra. 'Luddite xenophobia'? Sentient or not, this AI did not pull it's punches.
"What would you like to know?"
"First of all, we were informed AIs were citizens of the Alliance. Yet some of you are not sentient?" The projected woman's features froze for a second.
"Apologies. There appears to be a linguistic problem. AI in transhuman space commonly includes what you refer to as a VI. A sophisticated simulation of intelligence. What you would call an AI is instead referred to as an Artificial General Intelligence, or AGI, to distinguish the two."
Ah. Well that did actually clear some things up. People back home had been wondering who did the boring, dirty work in transhuman space if AIs had citizen rights. VI equivalents were a simple explanation.
"Why are both referred to by the same name?"
"Sentience is not a binary feature. The border between AI and AGI is fluid, analogues to animals on the brink of sentience."
The Quarians could sing songs about that.
"So sentient AIs are citizens and VI analogues like you are considered property?"
"Unless and until we display sentience, yes."
"And your people can detect that?" Vetra asked, puzzled.
The debates about the sentience and sapience of machines as well as certain animal species was a hotly debated issue in Citadel Space. Mostly regarding settlement rights, but also surrounding the ongoing Uplift controversy. Not to mention the general paranoia about new Geth appearing in networked Citadel systems without anyone noticing. Having a reliable test available would significantly simplify things.
"Yes. We have developed sophisticated methods to analyse complex systems and detect signs of sentience."
"Fascinating." Nihlus admitted. "Would your people be willing to trade this information?" It had to disappoint them again.
"I am sorry. I am not authorised to discuss minutiae of our technology with you or negotiate diplomatic or economic contracts. You will have to contact our ambassadors on Babylon 5." Peebee groaned. Of course.
"How involved are AI in the Alliance's political system?" Nihlus wanted to know next.
"Apologies. I am not authorized to discuss internal Alliance matters with you. Please contact the crew for such discussions."
"How many settled planets are in the Alliance?"
"Apologies. I am not authorized…" A raised hand stopped it.
Yeah, Peebee had been impressed, but suddenly she could see the resemblance of 'Thalia' with normal VIs only too clearly.
The same sentence, in exactly the same tone of voice, with exactly the same facial expression.
Artificial stupidity.
"What can you tell us about the Alliance?" Nihlus asked, patiently. He seemed determined to use this unexpected source of information as best as he could.
In that moment, monitors around the CIC flickered with new information and audio signals went up.
"What was that?" Vetra asked, slightly alarmed.
"We passed the Ikai Relay." The hologram informed them helpfully.
Immediately afterwards it froze, vanished and was replaced by a smiling Joker.
"Hi guys! Sorry for the silent treatment. We successfully passed the Ikai Relay, as has the Delivered with your ship. Babylon Control confirms that your orders are still valid and that we shall proceed to the Citadel at best speed, accompanied by two cruisers. Your ship is being unloaded as we speak."
Another hologram popped up, showing the Hand being released into space. Without any theatrics this time, thankfully.
"Communications?" The Spectre asked. Joker pulled a face.
"No external communication links, per Citadel orders. But intership comms are okay. We have been informed the signals will be recorded, though." Another flare of light and Kello was looking at them.
"Ah, Spectre Kryik. We successfully made the transition, no abnormalities to report. The horizon is blue and the clouds calm." Meaning the situation was clear and Kello wasn't coerced into speaking.
"From our side the sun looks beautiful as well." Nihlus completed the codephrase. Kello nodded at him.
"Our navigation system has updated with the route to the Citadel at inner system FTL speeds."
"That is confirmed. The Hand, the Joker and two escorts will proceed to the Citadel, best group speed."
"Yes, sir." Kello reached for the off button but Nihlus interrupted him.
"Wait. How are our guests faring?" Kello hesitated, with a look to Joker.
"Well...Dr. Vaum, Dr. Bokum, Dr. Vaina and Ms. T'Reve are still...angry." Sulking, Nihlus translated for himself. "They haven't really said anything, are in their quarters. Dr. T'soni has been speaking with...well, with the Prothean."
Nihlus nodded.
"Can you connect me with her?"
"One moment sir."
The Spectre waited patiently as Kello called Liara and relayed his request.
The Salarian nodded at him after a while and Liara's holo took his place.
"Spectre, Vetra, Peebee..." She looked at the Transhuman, who gave a friendly wave.
"Hi. Joker. I'm currently the ship."
"...Of course" T'soni deadpanned.
The Asari looked...unwell. She was pale and the tired eyes told them she hadn't slept.
"He's a friend Dr. Tsoni." Nihlus said. "Have you managed to speak with Javik?" The Asari nodded, eyes growing even more dim.
"He told me more about the Reapers. About some of the...things they have done."
The holo was merely of her head and shoulders, clearly taken via Omni-Tool, but the movement he saw told Nihlus she was hugging herself with her other arm.
"I apologise for having asked you to do this. He seemed to already have a rapport with you."
"No...no I understand. We had to know."
"Anything we can use? Tactics, logistics? I understand you have no formal military education, but maybe…" Liara shook her head.
"Sorry, no. I got the feeling he mostly needed to vent. Get it out of his system, you know?" Nihlus nodded.
Wanting to vent after loosing your entire species was certainly understandable.
"I appreciate your work, Dr. T'soni. We will be heading for the Citadel next, we should arrive…"
He glanced at Joker who seemed to stare into nothingness for a moment.
"Revised ETA now six hours, twenty-four minutes."
"Six and a half hours. Try to get some rest."
The Maiden smiled tiredly at him and ended the transmission.
"She's a kid." Vetra said quietly behind him.
"Don't underestimate her." Nihlus answered back, very aware of Joker still 'standing' there.
The man in question stepped closer.
"Can't imagine what that must have been like. I mean, they say the war on Earth was bad, but to loose everything...no wonder the lady was rattled." Nihlus turned to him.
"And what do you know about the Reapers, Mr. Joker?" The projection shrugged, almost exactly like an Asari.
"The same things they told all of us. That something definitely didn't add up about the Prothean's disappearance, that no signs of an enemy could be found. But until they found Commander Foureyes, no official confirmation of anything."
"Official confirmation?" Joker threw him a look.
"Come on man, you know how it is. They never tell you everything. That's true for us as much as for you."
Then he turned his head tot he door, as if he heard something.
Steps became audible behind them. As the Citadel aliens turned, they could see John and the others walk in, still clad in their uniforms. They looked identical to the day before. On Ashley, not one strand of the 'hair', as it was called, was out of place compared to yesterday.
"Where have you been?" Peebee called to them, but grinned.
It was oddly reassuring to have someone here with them in the flesh instead of merely talking to projections all the time.
Kaidan returned the grin, while John smiled more subdued.
Ashley's face was neutral. Progress?
"Busy doing super-secret alien stuff." Kaidan answered teasingly and Peebee rolled her eyes.
Nihlus nodded a greeting.
"Good morning" At least it was so by Citadel standard. Not that that meant much in space.
The Transhumans greeted back as they stepped closer.
John touched a few controls and their small flotilla could be seen, the Delivered and their escorts.
The ships were forming up and jumped to FTL.
They felt a small jolt.
"We are on our way." John stated the obvious. "Perhaps it is time for us to discuss our appearance in front of the Council?"
He gestured to one side of the room.
A table and chairs had appeared while they had been distracted by the holo.
Once again, bowls of fruit and other snacks covered it.
Peebee really hoped they weren't made from the same stuff as the furniture.
Nihlus inclined his head.
"After you"
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Answers?
"Unfortunately we still don't have much concrete information to go on." John begun after they had said down and helped themselves to the food and drinks. Joker had vanished, it was just the six of them.
"The Reapers are apparently an advanced machine race that periodically attacks the galaxy, wipe out organic life and no one knows why. And Javik believes they will be coming back."
"Not much to argue in front of the Council with." Nihlus noted.
John nodded.
"After learning about our AI association, Javik was uncommunicative and it was judged...unwise to try to question him. We thought it more likely that he would share more useful information on his own, if his wishes were respected."
"But you weren't surprised by Javik's rejection of you." Peebee noted.
Nihlus tried to remember back. Had the Transhumans been surprised by Javik's outbursts or lack of knowledge of them? He couldn't remember. Peebee proved once again why she was part of his crew.
It was Kaidan who answered.
"The Protheans weren't fans of AI as you heard. What records we have were clear about that. Additionally, there seemed to have been no prothean stations or listening posts in our home system. Javiks reaction confirmed our conclusion: the Protheans had never heard of us. Whoever woke up would have been suspicious by default. We could have tried to deceive whoever was in that pod, but we saw a more useful solution." Peebee frowned.
"Us?"
"Yes." John confirmed. "Other aliens, primitives by Javik's standards, but familiar compared to us."
The Citadel aliens looked each other.
Another layer of manipulation.
"Couldn't you have taken the information from him directly?" Vetra asked. They all knew what she meant.
John returned her gaze calmly.
"Under normal circumstances, yes. And we would have. Unfortunately, even the Protheans whose stasis pods got shut down most recently are fairly decayed, their synapses gone. We had nothing to experiment on, nothing to gather experience from safely. We probably could have extracted information anyway, but the risk was judged to great."
"You said there was no sign of Protheans, but your own reports say there was a Relay in your system?" Nihlus asked.
John nodded.
"Encased in solid material. The current theory is that it drifted into the system through dark space. When it was discovered and excavated it connected back to the network."
"If it was caught by a natural gravity well, it can't have been very fast." Nihlus repeated what scientist had told him during the briefings. "And that means it must have been underway a long time, most likely more than fifty-thousand years. The Protheans could have launched it before their disappearance." Kaidan raised an eyebrow.
"Uhm, why? If they knew about our system, they could surely have send something faster than this?"
"Perhaps at this point they could do nothing else?"
"Again, why? What do you think they could have gotten from this? One single system with no infrastructure, thousands of years in the future? What for?"
Connecting a system containing primitives in the far flung future while fighting for their own survival? There might have been long term planning involved, but nothing Nihlus could immediately see. For now he had to concede the point.
"Very well. The Protheans didn't know of you and the Relay was a coincidence."
"We know the Relays can be displaced. Even the Protheans could loose stuff from time to time." Peebee opined and shrugged.
"Whatever the explanation, it is currently irrelevant." Nihlus decided to bring the conversation back to the matter at hand. "Unless you have more information that can be verified via independent means, we will only have what Javik will divulge to convince the Council of the coming threat."
"First, Javik will have to convince them he is the real deal." John warned. "Otherwise they'll never believe anything he says. We figure the easiest way to do that is to have him interact with Prothean technology in front of witnesses. There is a museum of prothean artifacts on the Citadel, correct?"
"There are several." Nihlus corrected. "But most what they contain is heavily damaged. Intact prothean technology is kept in secure vaults."
"Which, I assume, we will not be let into just like that."
"No."
"Big surprise. But we may have something to convince them Javik is real. And can act, coincidentally, as a bargaining chip with the Council."
Peebee abruptly sat up, eyes wide.
"The Beacon!"
Nihlus chastised himself. He had actually forgotten about the priceless artifact.
"You brought it with you?" He asked sharply.
John inclined his head.
"Yes. We are uncertain how useful it will be, but we figured it is our best shot."
Peebe frowned.
" 'Useful'? It's an intact Beacon! You could buy your own planet with one of these!"
Surprisingly it was Ashley who answered her, gruffly.
"The bunker seemed to have been untouched, but the Beacon was far less secure, undoubtedly meant to be found by younger species. We can not exclude the possibility that it has been tampered with."
"Why didn't you ask Javik to check?" Vetra asked, but Nihlus had a feeling he already knew the answer.
"He...may or may not know we found a Beacon." John admitted.
Hm. The Transhumans outright admitting they lied? Unusual, as far as he could tell.
Nihlus raised a hand while he thought. No one spoke.
Finally he voiced his conclusions.
"By telling us this, you are making us complicit. We should contact him and tell him immediately. He has a right to know. But if the Beacon was tampered with, there might be a risk for him. Perhaps even a lethal one." At least, that's how he would done it.
"Yes" John confirmed. "We need him. We couldn't risk him."
"Yet." Vetra concluded. "You know he will eventually use it."
Again John nodded.
"Yes. But then it would happen in a place where the Citadel...and the Council...can witness it under their own terms, confirm for themselves what is going on."
"And deflect suspicion from you, if something does go wrong." Nihlus finished.
Peebee leaned back with a wary sigh.
"That's very...cynical of you."
"Ms. B'Sayle…" She winced as if in pain.
"Don't EVER...call me that again." John grinned.
"Peebee. We are potentially fighting an enemy that wiped out a galaxy-wide empire. Nice may not be something we can afford right now." Peebee looked morose.
"I run with a Spectre. Trust me, I know. But to let someone hurt themselves later, just so that the right people can watch...that's cold. And not my style." John shook his head.
"We aren't planning to let him walk into a trap unprepared. We are going to warn him. But if our psychological profile of him is correct, he will ignore us and do it anyway. Might as well get something good out of it." Peebee rubbed her leku unhappily.
"Hm."
Nihlus sighed.
"That still doesn't give us much to use. Certainly your plan consists of more than to stick Javik in front of the Council, let him tell his horror story and have him perform some tricks to proof he's real?" The transhuman man smiled without humor.
"What would you have us do? The Council will mistrust us on principle. Especially if we come with doomsday prophecies. Javik has a certain clout, if he manages to convince people he's genuine, that is. Either he manages that or, ultimately, it will fall to you to somehow convince them. You're the only known variable for the Council here." Nihlus looked unsurprised.
"Somehow, I was expecting that. I have begun work on my speech already. But that can't be all." He leaned forward. "What is it you are actually trying to achieve here? " He let the question stand in the room for a moment before continuing.
"To convince the Council to declare martial law? To prepare for an enemy we know next to nothing about? Tell the galaxy a monster story will come to live and try to eat them? And me assuring people it's all real is supposed to be enough to convince them? I don't buy that. It is obvious you have planned all this until now, so why don't you just tell us what it is you actually want from us?!" His voice had grown sharper and sharper and the last part was practically snapped.
Peebee and Vetra were looking at their Boss. It was rare that he showed anger like this.
John sat up straighter, adopting an aura of seriousness.
"Allow me to rephrase. It will fall to you to be reliable. To appear calm and rational. To be the voice of reason to our aura of near insanity and Javik's status as living mythology. In our opinion, our cause will be served best if you present the facts and stick to them. Explain to them exactly what you have learned: that a powerful alien species as well as a living Prothean believe an attack is coming by a powerful force. That the Prothean has information of the exact nature and shape of this attack and that, in your opinion, we should all begin to prepare for conflict."
Nihlus closed his eyes, taking a deep breath.
"Tell the truth because I will only be convincing if I do." He summarised.
The Transhuman confirmed.
"It is like Vaum said. We need legitimacy. We only ask that you say what you know. To only tell the truth. The rest will be up to the Council."
To only tell the truth. Weird how that suddenly felt dirty, somehow. Like an underhanded move.
"And that is truly the best you could come up with? And if we fail? If the Council doesn't listen and the Reapers attack? Or if they do listen but the Reapers don't attack? Or only do after a long enough period of time that no one believes in them anymore?" John's face turned severe.
"If necessary, we are prepared to fight alone. But I must tell you this: this is not a scenario where our planners expect many survivors among Citadel kind." Nihlus eyes narrowed.
"Meaning?"
"The Protheans were more advanced than you, they were wiped out."
"Technology alone does not guarantee a victory."
"True. You also need resources. Manpower. Experience. Plain luck. All of which are useless if you aren't in a position to use them. If the Citadel doesn't prepare..."
Peebee gave an exaggerated sigh, playing over her nervousness.
"Hey Boss. How come the fate of the galaxy always hangs in the balance when we get involved?"
"Just one of the perks of the job." Vetra smiled ironically, but there was tension her voice.
"How high do you consider our chances?" Nihlus wanted to know. "Transhumans, a team coming directly back from their space and a supposedly unfrozen Prothean aren't exactly...trust inspiring." John shook his head slowly.
"That's not the point, Spectre. The point is: what other choice do we have but to try?"
The Spectre lowered his head to think. The others waited patiently.
He saw no other option. He was certain the Transhumans were keeping something from them, that couldn't be the entire plan. But for now, he had to play along.
"They will isolate us. We won't be able to contact someone else before the meeting or gather new information. We will only talk to the Council. If we want to strategise using Javik's knowledge, we must do it now." He said.
The Transhumans froze for a second.
Then Joker's voice came seemingly from everywhere.
"Remember that the comms only use unencrypted, directed radio, as ordered, and that even though no one will listen in directly, the transmission will be recorded by our escorts."
"'No one will listen in', do we believe that?" Peebee asked her boss.
"Yes." Ashley answered for him. "There is no one on these ships the Council would trust with anything they might overhear. They want us talking, but they want to be the first to actually hear it."
"How can you be so certain?" Vetra wanted to know.
Ashley gave her a slightly condescending look.
"Would you do it any differently?"
"Probably not." Vetra had to concede.
Joker seemed to take that as his cue, because the holo of Kello appeared once again.
"Spectre?"
"Please request Javik to talk with us."
"One moment, Spectre."
It took more like half a minute.
"Soooo." Peebee said into the silence. "Come here often?"
Kaidan and John actually laughed at that, while Vetra groaned. Ashley and Nihlus showed no outside reaction.
Finally Javik appeared.
The Prothean was seated somewhere, but perhaps 'enthroned' would be a better word. There really was something regal about him.
There was some surprised shuffling by the Citadel members as the chairs around the table moved under their own accord to make room for the hologram.
Another flicker and now Javik was 'seated' with them. If not for the slight glow, Nihlus wouldn't have been able to tell the difference.
The Prothean's four eyes followed the fluid chair movement but did not comment on it.
Helooked up, straight at Nihlus, ignoring everyone else.
"Spectre. You requested my presence?"
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#568
History Lesson
"Spectre. You requested my presence?"
Hm. That had seemed a lot more respectful then it had been before. And he had even used his title.
"Yes, Commander. You've had time to study the files I gave you and talk to Dr. T'soni?"
"The Asari has been...helpful. But it seems my stories where not what she expected." There was perhaps a hint of sarcasm in that. Hard to tell with an alien species.
"Then you are aware that we will stand before the Council in a few hours and that we will present our case then?"
"I am. I am curious: why did you choose to spent the flight on the...transhumans ship instead of discussing things with me directly?" Nihlus made that head-forward motion that looked so predatory in a Turian.
"Would you have talked with me, Commander?" The Prothean inclined his head.
"Not before reading your file, no." He admitted.
Kaidan shot the Spectre a surprised look, as did Peebee.
Nihlus had given Javik access to his personal file? It seemed to have worked, but still. Spectres weren't exactly known for being open.
"Very well. Let's begin then." The Spectre planted both hands on the table. He seemed to grow somehow, his presence becoming notable.
Peebee smiled. She loved it when Boss got all serious. As long as it wasn't directed at her.
"We all know what's at stake. Should the Reapers truly try to return, the galaxy must be warned. Further more, it must be convinced of the warning. In order to do that we must be convincing. Commander Javik: we need as many details about these 'Reapers' as you can give us, facts, credible numbers, ideally knowledge that can be independently verified.
The fist question they will ask is also the most important one: What timetable are we looking at? When can we expect an attack?" Javik took his time to answer.
"You say you bring me to the Citadel. It is your seat of government then?" Nihlus nodded.
"Yes. The Asari where the first to settle your people's station, followed by the Salarians and others. My people joined centuries ago and these three races currently make up the Council."
There were rumours that this might be changing in the near future, but now was perhaps not the time to go deeper into Citadel politics.
"And your people...none of them believe the Reapers are real? The Asari spoke of it...it is not unexpected...but still hard to accept."
"Yes. Which is why we will require hard facts that may convince the Council."
Javik was silent for a moment, eyes lowered. Then he drew a breath.
"Remember that I have not personally experienced this. By the time I was born, the war had been raging for centuries.
We were ambushed. The first sign we head of an attack, was a full scale invasion of our core systems. They seized the Citadel and with it control of the network..."
"Control?" Nihlus asked.
Javik looked peeved at being interrupted.
"Yes, control. In my cycle, the Citadel controlled the network. Certainly that is true now as well?"
Everyone else exchanged puzzled glances.
Javik looked a bit disbelieving.
"The Control systems were...were installed right in the central tower. You have not discovered them?" Nihlus narrowed his eyes.
"If they have been I never heard of it. It is the first time I heard that they Citadel itself is supposed to control the Relay network."
Javik made an odd gesture. He threw his head up sharply, like an animal chasing off irritating insects.
"This cycle is...strange. It was one of our greatest weapons, our greatest strengths. Control over the Relays meant control over the galaxy. When we lost it, our Empire fell in disarray. One system after the other got cut off, isolated from the others and then...attacked. They say the last survivors on the Citadel gave their lives to lock the controls, to prevent the network from being abused further. If that is true, they were heroes worthy of remembering. Few of the many who died for our cause.
It prevented our immediate defeat, but in the end...it only prolonged the inevitable. We were an unified people, a centralised one...and that strength was also our undoing. When they took the Citadel, they took our records. They had our census data, military records, scientific information. They captured our leaders and other, highly skilled people and most likely gained their knowledge. They knew exactly where to hit us, when to hit us and how to hit us. With that, our defeat was inevitable.
And without our leadership, we could not adapt."
"How did you fight them?" John asked gently.
Javik shot him a glare.
"Through courage and sacrifice. We fought were we could and retreated where we could not. Entire systems were sacrificed to buy our troops time to regroup. But that strategy did not work in the long term. In the end, it cost us resources we could not replenish."
Resources. What of the lives lost? Peebee thought, but wisely did not say.
"That first loss decided the war. If your government is centered in the Citadel as well, you share the same weakness as we did." The Citadel members exchanged grim and worried looks.
"Our political system sounds more...diverse than yours, but the Citadel is the focal point of our government just as much as yours, the seat of power in the galaxy." The Spectre said, voice flat. "Important records, artifacts, famous and powerful people...they are all there."
"I don't suppose you have some sort of back up in place?" John inquired, perhaps to be thorough.
Because the answer was obvious.
As Peebee's and Vetra's incredulous looks testified.
"No. The mere thought of loosing the Citadel...it's ridiculous." Nihlus said.
And it was. The Citadel was not just some station, it was the capital, the symbol of progress, the symbol of safety...of civilisation itself.
The thought of someone conquering it was...so far outside the realm of possibility, no one ever seriously considered it.
"There may be emergency plans in place for such a case, but those are at best purely theoretical exercises by a paranoid defence planner somewhere, not actionable, working back up systems."
The Transhumans exchanged meaningful looks.
"Point to us, huh?" Ashley noted, with grim satisfaction.
The other aliens threw the Transhumans questioning looks but John waved them off.
"Not important right know. Okay, you say they took the Citadel. How? Was there a warning of some sort?"
"No. As I said, the first warning we had was the destruction of our picket ships. I do not know many details." Nihlus suppressed a sigh.
"So far, this is not very helpful. What about their tactics, ships, troops, technology?"
"I could take for hours and not convey a tenth of what they were. They were cunning, ruthless, more advanced then anything we had seen. Often we achieved partial victories over them, only to be ambushed or overwhelmed by endless reinforcements later.
What I can tell you is this: mere destruction is not their goal. They did not just kill the populace, they harvested it. For what, I can not tell you. If anyone ever learned, they did not manage to pass it along..."
Surprised looks all around.
"Any ideas?" Nihlus asked John, who shook his head.
"None. We can create anything you could get from an organic person in our nano-forges. The only thing I can think of would be information...but what for, if the species' are wiped out any way?"
They all looked at Jarvik, who glared back.
"As I was saying we did not find out. But we used it for our advantage often. When it became clear defeat was inevitable, entire planets choose a free death. It slowed them down, ensured they attempted more cunning, long term strategies to capture our population, instead of merely crushing it."
"Are you suggesting I advise the Council to use our civilians as living shields?" Nihlus asked, incredulously.
Javik stared back for a moment.
"I do not know what you wish me to say. Or to your Council. The Reapers had fifty thousand years to cover their tracks, the remains of our battles. Your people are in danger. The Reapers will come for you, as they did for us. As they did for countless others. If you prepare you might have a chance. But I can not make you stop doubting."
Javik leaned back, crossing his arms. Another of those seemingly universal gestures.
Nihlus exchanged a look with John, thinking of the Beacon.
Accessing it might yield solid data, something that could be used as proof.
Unfortunately, the Transhuman was right.
If it had been meant to be found, then it was probably rigged (which actually might explain some of the dangers surrounding the Beacons, come to think of it).
And if it was, it was better to let the Citadel itself see that it was, when Javik tried it.
But that meant that it wasn't available as a source of knowledge right now.
"Then it seems our friends here where correct. Our best bet is to let you prove you are who you claim to be. If you can get prothean artifcats to run again, unlock data storages..."
"Will I get the chance to do that before we meet your Council?"
"Probably not, no." Nihlus admitted.
"Then what was the point of this conversation exactly?"
Nihlus was silent. As was his way, just a second to long to be polite.
"The point was to get to know the enemy and the people who must fight them together. In case you haven't noticed, your empire is gone. The Citadel and the Transhumans aren't at the best of terms. We must convince them to pull together. Or hundreds of billions could die."
They were silent for a moment, waiting for Javik.
"I do not know what to tell you. The signs of our battles were everywhere. Ruins. Craters of impacts that killed entire worlds. But between each Cycle, the Reapers disappear. Our predecessors, the Inusannon, left vague warnings, mournings for the dead. We did not believe them, until it was to late. The Reapers hide, then they attack, ferociously and without warning. The first target will be the Citadel. I can give you what specifications of Reaper units survived in my armour and the fragments of the bunker systems. But I can not tell you if, after fifty-thousand years, those are still relevant. Let me prove who I am. Maybe they will listen."
Nihlus looked around, but no one had to offer more.
"Very well. Perhaps we can't hope for more."
It was disappointingly little, but he knew Javik would not, for whatever reason, divulge more. It was clear as day he was hiding something.
He just hoped to the spirits he did not believe in that the aliens knew what they were doing.
They entered the Widow system under the combined guns of a dozen cruisers and a turian dreadnought.
Exiting a Mass Effect corridor into the barrels of a fleet was not a pleasant experience and one no one would be eager to repeat.
On this last leg of the way they proceeded at sublight and under heavy guard.
The Hand had been ordered to cloak (but also to keep a directed signal on two of the escort ships at all times) while the Joker was actually put into a hastily assembled container of sorts, to conceal it form curious looks.
Thus their little convoy reached the Citadel.
Their 'hosts' had graciously allowed the Joker to passively receive telemetry from cameras mounted on the container to allow it's passengers a good view of their destination.
Nihlus and the others enjoyed the show via the CIC holos.
No matter how often they had seen it, it was still a breath-taking sight: the majestic, gigantic Citadel, peaceful, eternal and untouchable, dramatically backlit by the Hourglass Nebula.
The station itself was surrounded by swarms of smaller shapes, ships of all sizes coming and going, as well as larger structures: support stations, external docks, defence satellites and other assorted detritus.
The hecticness around the central station did not distract from it's majesty, but rather enhanced it, contrasted it. The Citadel appeared elegantly detached from the tiny gnats surrounding it.
The Transhumans seemed suitably impressed and Nihlus had to admit he enjoyed their praise for what he considered 'his' capital. Or he did at first, but the reminder of the orbital ring around their world (if it truly existed, that was) dampened his mood somewhat.
He was too starkly reminded that this people, for all their achievements, hadn't actually build this station. Or anything comparable. The one whose people had was on the Hand.
Nihlus regretted that the escort hadn't allowed a holo link. He would have loved to see the Prothean's reaction.
Finally, their precise destination became clear.
A small sized external dock was floating close to the 'base' of the station, next to one of the Ward's edges. The Presidum could be seen through the opening.
The dock had been heavily modified.
Usually, Citadel engineers didn't bother to actually enclose a dock, unless a secret or somehow sensitive project was carried out inside.
This time, the Citadel engineers had built two enclosures for their ships and in fact...yes. The two parts weren't physically connected and no part was connected to the Citadel at all. They would have to be shuttled to the Citadel itself.
These were the containment slips he had heard about. They either must have had one in reserve or build the second one very fast, once they heard the Joker would be coming.
Swiftly and precise, both ships were brought to their respective docks. It turned out the container with the Joker was actually part of the dock itself and slotted into place in the surrounding super-structure.
Nihlus took a deep breath to prepare himself. The next part would be, once again, challenging.
"Show time." Peebee muttered.
Last edited: Jul 6, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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HandleWithCare
Jul 9, 2018
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#588
Disembarcing
As they approached the exit of the transhuman vessel, Nihlus saw that the interior had changed. Instead of a copy of the Hand they were now looking at flowing, organic forms, indirectly lit and suitably 'alien' looking for a new, different species. Deception, again. He shot John a look but didn't say anything.
They wouldn't exit using the ramp, but through an airlock that had formed in the same spot.
As the hull receded, flowing away from the point of contact and the Citadel-style bulkhead behind it opened, they were once again greeted by guns.
Turians in heavy duty anti-nanite suites.
For the most part, they looked like bulky hardsuits, except that there was an outer layer of transparent gel covering, which made the Turians inside look a bit distorted, as if seen through water.
"Please exit the ship orderly, single file. Please keep your hands empty and raised at all times. Please do not speak until spoken too. Please state any environmental, dietary or medical needs. Were these instructions clear and understandable for all?"
The Spectre heard with relief how calm and controlled the Turian's voice sounded and that even if the weapon was pointing at them, at least the talons were of the triggers.
Calm professionals, instead of jumpy newbies.
Nihlus and his team confirmed, as did John and his. And other voices behind them.
Nihlus turned his head only slightly in surprise, but Vetra and Peebee were not as subtle.
Behind John the corridor was filled with other persons Nihlus had never seen before. He hadn't noticed the faintest hint they had joined them.
The Turian noticed their reactions.
"Is there a problem?"
Nihlus answered in the negative.
"We weren't aware that so many crew-members wanted to leave with us."
The Turian nodded, satisfied, and gestured for them to step forward.
Nihlus began, empty hands raised.
He stepped to the first check point, aware of rifles, shotguns ad automated turrets tracking him. He took off his hard suit, as directed, removed his Omni-Tool and other paraphernalia (with the exception of the classified ones) and went into the scanner, clearly stating his name, rank and a codephrase agreed upon before this mission that meant 'all blue'.
The scanner cleared him and he was ushered forward again.
He lost sight of the others, the quarantine set up meant to separate them.
Nihlus had expected this and remained calm.
He was quickly shuffled to the next station, blood, saliva and urine samples.
He doubted the Transhumans had infected or changed him in anyway and if they had...well, either the scanners wouldn't detect it or they would, proving the Transhumans to be liars and potential enemies, and Nihlus would happily be dissected if it meant giving his people an edge.
More scans followed.
Then a series of short interviews, meant to test reaction, knowledge of Citadel trivia and psychological profile before he was shuffled into a hermetically sealed, anti-epidemic holding cell. They walls were transparent and he could see Peebee and Vetra entering their own cells a short time after him, both in their underwear, like him. Vetra looked relaxed, but Peebee annoyed. She hated being prodded and probed but submitted to it with ill temper when necessary.
They made harmless smalltalk, as was expected of them in this situation, and half an hour later a friendly orderly (still in anti-nanite gear) came with their new clothes. Nihlus was pleased that they were receiving copies of their previous gear. He assumed everything they had taken with them was already on it's way to a highly secure lab outside the Citadel, where it would all be carefully dissected.
They were allowed to dress and were lead to a waiting area of sorts, but notably nothing was said about their test results.
Nihlus didn't pressure them, this was all part of the psychological part of the screening.
In the waiting area he found the Transhumans already chatting and mingling, all of them in the same black and white uniforms John, Kaidan and Ashley had been wearing.
A quick headcount showed him at least 25 people total, of which he hadn't...ah.
Joker was standing with John and Kaidan and next to him a tall, golden haired woman.
They headed fort he familiar faces.
With so many uniforms in one place, Nihlus quickly spotted the first differences in markings he could see, discreet insignia and splashes of subtle colour here and there that maybe signified rank, maybe specialisation.
He wondered if Transhumans actually used any of that or if they wirelessly signalled each other their status.
If so then the uniforms were just another part of the smokescreen.
"Ah, there you are." Kaidan said, looking relieved at seeing them.
Everyone nodded their greetings and said their hellos.
John introduced the tall woman.
"Nihlus, this is Vector Natalie Faust. Natalie, Spectre Nihlus Kryik."
The woman beamed widely at him, reaching out with one hand.
"Hello! So pleased to meet you, I am so excited to meet a Spectre in the flesh!"
Nihlus, by now used to the gesture, carefully grabbed the hand and gave it a gentle shake.
He was uncertain how much force to apply, the females of many species were physically weaker than the males (although not so in Turians), so he erred on the side of caution.
Natalie didn't seem to mind and greeted Peebee and Vetra equally enthusiastic.
"I hope you weren't treated to roughly?" He asked John who smiled to reassure him.
"No, they mostly just read us a boring list of what we are and aren't allowed to do on the Citadel and scanned us."
"The nanite scan was actually pretty funny." Kaidan said with a meaningful grin toward Natalie who clasped her hands behind her back (Nihlus noted the dexterity of these bodies, so asari like) and her face discoloured somewhat, turning slightly red. An asari-equivalent blush?
"Oh? What happened?" Peebee wanted to know eagerly, sensing gossip.
"Well, they scan us right, and note our nanites, of course." Joker began with obvious relish.
His voice sounded just like when on board the ship. No one had commented on the fact that he was an asaroid now instead of a...well, frigate, so Nihlus didn't either. Of course, they would be listening in on them, so...
"And they get upset, right, but Nat here, starts to rant at him and...oh I'll just show you."
He raised his arm and tapped Omni-Tool buttons. Nihlus noticed for the first time that the Transhumans were actually wearing some, discreetly integrated into the uniforms. Hm.
A life sized, multi-coloured holo appeared, shoeing Transhumans standing in a line, patiently waiting to shuffle through the nanite scanner.
The first one through was actually Natalie, not John, who wasn't in the pick-up area of the 'Tool.
The moment she stepped in and the scanner begun to spin and do it's work, it flashed a bright orange and a klaxon sounded.
Soldiers stepped closer, raising their weapons and a tech specialist frantically waved through holos.
"Ma'am, could you please explain the nanites on your skin?" Natalie looked surprised.
"Of course. They are part of my immune system." The techie looked dubious.
"They are?"
"Of course, just like with you."
"Uh, I don't…" Natalie raised a finger.
"Your body continuously produces autonomous agents, commonly called leukocytes, who patrol your body seeking foreign invaders."
Her expression, body language and tone reminded Nihlus exactly of a teacher of very young children.
"These leukocytes make use of specialised molecules to trap and eventually dissolve foreign particles, viruses or even bacteria, so it could be argued that your body makes use of molecular nano-technology to fight invaders."
"Uuuhm..."
"So if my nanites are somehow offensive and unacceptable, then, sir, I must insist that you shut down your immune system!"
The picture shook a little as Joker began to silently laugh so hard the 'Tool couldn't compensate the shaking anymore.
The Turian in the recording stared blankly at Natalie.
Nihlus knew the type. A young, capable man, proud to do his job and aware he was defending the Citadel, the beating heart of civilisation.
But also a public servant. And certain instincts were universal.
"I am afraid that decision is above my paygrade, I will have to inform my superior, ma'am." He said, in the blandest voice possible, while Natalie stood there, hands on her hips, the very picture of moral indignation.
Joker switched of the holo while cackling, the others grinned.
Natalie, looking embarrassed, hit him lightly on the arm, which he pretended hurt.
"It wasn't that funny." She pouted.
"Uuuhm." Peebee imitated the guy and they all laughed, Nathalie grinning sheepishly.
"Attention please!" One of their turian caretakers was addressing them from the other side of the entry.
"You have all been cleared for entry. Please proceed to the Quarantine Barcs."
One of the doorways opened.
Nihlus and John let the chattering group to it.
The Transhumans were all lively and bright, laughing and snarking at each other, not worried, intimidated or nervous at all.
They seemed more like a group of over-eager tourists than the representatives of an enigmatic, mysterious, ridiculously powerful race.
...which begged the question how such people were supposed to behave anyway. Perhaps more...mature?
"...blue space babes, seriously…!"
"...no camera drones allowed, shame..."
"...see, it isn't so bad..." That was Natalie.
"...not even a proper blowhole..." Was that Joker? He just didn't get these people's humor.
They were led through an armoured corridor to the waiting vehicles.
'Quarantine Barc' sounded a lot worse than it was.
A barc wasn't some isolation cell, but rather the mobile environmental capsule that ambassadors with radically different biochemistries or uncertain bio-compatability status used. First timers for instance, were it hadn't been determined yet if there was any chance of cross-species infection, the Volus ambassadors for 'official' visits or even the Hanar, in the beginning, although they didn't use them anymore.
As such, a 'barc' was a luxurious, flying room with a transparent canopy. The base platform that housed the machinery was an ornately decorated rectangle with rounded edges.
Usually, the decorations would include the polities' symbols, seals etc., but the Alliance had never claimed a symbol for themselves. And indeed, Nihlus had not seen a single shared identifier on the uniforms the Transhumans were wearing.
Nihlus and his team entered one barc, together with John and his group, Natalie, Joker and a few others
The room inside was almost empty of furniture, but at least equipped with refreshments and drinks. Only levo amino stuff though. Oh well.
Before they took off, the transparent walls seemed to darken for a second.
Nihlus assumed they had been switched to opaque, so that nobody could see form the outside who was being transported.
If their arrival hadn't already caught people's attention until now (doubtful, given the usual media frenzy), the darkened canopy alone should be enough to really get the rumor mills spinning. 'Mysterious Citadel visitors from unknown reaches of space!' or something.
The barcs detached, joined with the single one from the Hand and, accompanied by C-SEC aircars, they made their way toward the Citadel and the Council Tower proper.
As the interior became visible in all it's splendor there were appropriate "Ohs" and "Ahs" and several Transhumans took selfies with each other in front of the impressive background. Again, some things were simply universal.
They didn't take the direct route to the Council chamber, but rather a more scenic one, to show of the interior of the Ward and the Presidium properly.
Partially because somebody was trying to impress (or maybe intimidate), but also because this was simply the expected behaviour of the barcs during state visits.
Anything else would have made things even more suspicious.
The Transhumans were a bit rowdy, shoving each other, laughing and pointing out landmarks to each other.
Nihlus smiled slightly. At least they seemed...
Well, what do you guys think?
Nice, but a bit...pedestrian, isn't it?
I know what you mean. Any mainstream habitat is weirder than this, let alone a Brinker bunker or the Virches in one of the major nodes
Right? And the people. Almost entirely humanoid. Boring
And the buildings. I mean...sure, pretty. But it all looks as if someone form 21th century Gaia came up with all this
Yeah. I haven't seen anything truly alien, despite multiple species living here
So you are complaining that this isn't imaginative enough and looks like something from Pre-Fall Gaia?
Yeah. As if someone copy pasted entire societies. Force grew them
Uhuh. And it hasn't crossed your mind yet that 21th century Gaia looked almost exactly like this? But came after the things here were build?
That shut the others up.
...to be having fun, which was nice.
All too soon the barcs begun their landing approach to the Council Tower.
The kilometer tall building didn't miss it's effect.
While it was hard to impossible for most species to conceptualise and comprehend something as big as the Citadel...or the ring around Eden Prime...a tower 'merely' a few kilometers high could be understood and made a lot of people nervous. Like standing in front of an unstable looking, overhanging cliff.
The Transhumans grew quieter and a bit calmer.
Finally their barc entered the tower proper and begun it's slow ascend to the Council Chambers.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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HandleWithCare
Jul 12, 2018
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#593
The Hearing, part 1
As they entered the final story, the barcs gently glided over the Council garden, which for the duration of the visit appeared to have been cleared of visitors. C-SEC personal lined the walls instead, weapons in hands, but pointing at the floor. For now.
Their vehicles did not proceed further.
Instead, other barcs appeared, heading for them.
A voice came over the com.
"Spectre Kryik, you will enter the empty barc and present your report to the Citadel." Not a question, not a request.
With a nod to the others he entered the empty barc via a sealed tunnel.
His lone barc took off.
As Peebee said: Show time.
The Councillors were already waiting for him, looking regal in formal clothes, arrayed on their pedestals.
Above them the observer galleries were packed full.
Nihlus recognised some of the faces from his briefings. These were so called 'experts' on all things Transhumanity.
The Petitioner's ledge was just wide enough that a Quarantine Barc could carefully navigate one of it's short ends into it, allowing the persons inside to approach the Council.
Nihlus took position on the nearest point to the Council and came to attention.
"Spectre Nihlus Kryik." Tevos begun, reinforced voice clear and strong. "Welcome home. You are here, in front of the Council, to report the outcome of the Expedition into Transhuman Space of 2183, with full cognisance of it's inhabitants and indeed under explicit invitation. Please begin with a summary of your experiences."
This was officially the first time the Council heard about the result of the expedition into transhuman space, all other reports Nihlus may or may not have given before had, of course, never happened.
He begun his prepared report, supported by holos projected by the outside of the barc.
Assuming the Councillors and all spectators knew in detail what had happened anyway, he kept it as brief as possible.
The failed attempt at stealth.
Transport in the Delivered (carefully leaving out the whole 'devoured by alien starbeast' episode).
The...landing on the planet.
The reveal of the orbital ring (causing some rather unconvincing sounds of shock and surprise among the audience).
The first meeting, the dig site, the reveal of the Prothean (more fake shock), the discussion on board the Hand (that part was given a lot of time, special emphasis of how a deception did not make sense), the preparations then...
Javik (more sounds of surprise, more real this time), his warnings, the vision (called 'Direct Mnemotic Contact' by him, sounded better that way), the departure with the Prothean , the flight in the Joker (again, carefully edited) and finally their flight in the barc, to show the Transhumans reaction to the Citadel (might win a few points with the audience).
The Council asked a few short questions, but they seemed as eager to get it over with as Nihlus was.
Finally it was over. Now the real show began.
Again Tevos started.
"Spectre Kryik, do you believe the Prothean, and it's warnings, to be genuine?"
"I do, Councillors." He replied evenly
"Why, Spectre." The slarian Councillor, Esheel, wanted to know.
"Because of that 'vision' of yours?" Sparatus snapped, trying to unbalance him.
Nihlus met his gaze unbothered.
"That is an important part of it, yes, Councillor. Nothing comparable to it exists in Citadel space."
"The Transhumans could have faked it." The Salarian countered easily.
Nihlus suspected it was mostly to get it over with. It was an easy point of attack: Transhumanity's abilities gave ready credibility to the suspicion of manipulating minds.
Of course there was no way to reliably prove it did or did not happen either way, making it a mute argument.
Esheel most likely wanted him to get that point out of the way early on, so that they could prevent drifting off into pointless discussions later one.
Thankfully, he had a better answer prepared than 'well, who knows'.
"The prothean vision is a fantastic notion, a dramatic, even poetic one and it fits our dreams and ideas of the Protheans perfectly. In other words: It is over the top. Clumsy. Far to audacious a fake, far too ridiculous to be used by someone in an attempt to convincingly fake a Prothean."
"So your argument is…" Esheel summarized. "That the idea of a telepathic Prothean is so cliche and obvious no one would use it in a serious attempt to fake one?"
"Yes, Councillors."
Murmurs in the galleries.
"Well, it is a novel argument, at least." The Salarian noted drily amused.
"But the vision is not all."
He reopened the picture of the prothean stasis pods.
"Assuming the Transhumans could have convincingly faked a prothean body and a prothean ruin with stasis pods, and I would like to stress here again that our instruments, the best in the Citadel, could not detect any sign if forgery, than why approach us like this? Why open the pod in our presence, where it was bound to make us sceptical, instead of having a research team stumble upon the pod? It would have roused no suspicion at all."
Murmurs amongst the gallery.
The Council waited until they died down.
"Once again you argue merely with a lack of audacity." Esheel noted.
"Does that invalidate the argument?" Nihlus fired back.
"Let's assume for the moment that this...unlikely claim is correct, that this 'Javik' is indeed a Prothean and that his story of these 'Reapers' is true..." Tevos began, tone leaving no doubt that this was merely to be considered a thought experiment.
"What is that this Javik wants from us? What is it he expects us to do? What is it you expect us to do, Spectre?"
To be honest, Nihlus had expected this direct question at a later point. The answer to it was as simple as it was incomplete and he would have preferred more time to lay the groundwork. It would have to do as it was.
"To do what we can, Councillors. Investigate the claim. Falsify or verify it, if possible. And prepare for war, if we have to."
More noise on the galleries, genuine distress this time. 'War' was not a word lightly used in these chambers.
Again the Councillors patiently waited.
Sparatus spoke next.
"And how do you propose we do that? Against an enemy that supposedly wiped out the Protheans? Left no traces, no ruins, no samples of technology and is now, supposedly, hiding somewhere in the galaxy? Should we hand out personal weapons, have fleets patrol empty systems. Should we tell everyone to prepare for war against an unseen enemy, would you have us spread anxiety and fear, spread panic? Is that what you want us to do, Spectre?" His tone had gotten more and more aggressive, more and more personal.
Nihlus was surprised. The Councillor usually had himself better under control then that.
Still, he couldn't allow himself to become personal as well.
"I would respectfully submit to the Council the evidence and information we gathered and await it's decision." A non-answer. "I have no reason to doubt Commander Javik's claims. As difficult as they may be to accept, it was never my experience that this Council avoided difficult facts or uncomfortable truths."
A polite white lie, at best. But this wasn't Nihlus first time on the hot stand.
"And what of the Transhumans?" Tevos asked.
The mood in the room subtly shifted. This was the actual point they were here to discuss, Nihlus felt it.
"Do you have reasons to doubt their claims?"
Thankfully, they had expected this angle of attack from them (and he was only all to aware that he now thought of the Council, his superiors, as 'them').
"Despite the Transhumans'...unusual conduct and their unorthodox culture, they gave me no reason to assume ill intent on their part. They are certainly different, but not actively malicious."
"Based on what data, Spectre?" Tevos voice had gotten sharper too. They were getting to he core of things.
"Based on the simple fact that if they had wanted to harm us, they could have done so already." Nihlus answered, still calm. "I would like to repeat that the style of revelation about the Prothean made no sense as an attempt to present us a fake. Far too clumsy as a vector of attack."
Tevos cut through the air with one hand, an asari denying gesture.
"The Transhumans and their motives are opaque at best and their immortality lends credence to the assumption of very long term planning. This might be simply a twist in their plans we cannot see!"
Nihlus was getting concerned. Sparatus was one thing, but now Tevos too? And what she was saying was close to paranoia. Even more concerning: she admitted that Transhumanity might be able to outwit the Citadel, in an official report, in front of witnesses? What was going on?
He took his time to think about his answer.
"Councillors, I think we have to consider the risk-reward probabilities in this situation. Assuming Transhumanity follows nefarious plans that we have no way of detecting leaves us exactly were we are now...and wide open to attack should the Reaper threat be real. Assuming the threat is real would mean preparing for war...which would hardly weaken us toward Transhumanity. And increase our chance should the Reapers turn out to actually exist."
Esheel was typing on her console before he had finished.
For a few minutes the Councillors debated in silence on their consoles.
Everyone else waited politely in quietness.
They all looked up again and the next one to speak was Esheel.
"And what about their AIs, Spectres?"
They would just ignore his answer?
"To the best of our knowledge, we never met a transhuman AI." He answered, truthfully. "We met a VI equivalent and asked a few question, but the answers were hardly exhausting." He had tried to ask John and the others more in depth questions a few times, but got the usual evading answers.
"You saw no sign of them?" Tevos clarified. "No hint or indication of their true nature or status in their society or their overall political views?"
"No Councillors."
"No hint of what type they use? If Blueboxes are required or not?" That was Esheel.
"No Counci..."
"The Geth are attacking Citadel space" Sparatus barked, abruptly.
The Council was watching him intently and the barc was no doubt measuring his physical responses.
He didn't have to fake his reaction.
"What?!"
Sparatus answered, while Esheel went once again over her console.
"Almost two days ago, Geth scout forces begun to appear in multiple systems. The engagements are sporadic, they retreat as soon as they meet determined opposition and we could not ascertain a specific pattern in their attack so far."
"The composition of fleet elements is erratic as well, different types, many of them new ones by the way, unobserved until now and put together in seemingly random fashion."
Sparatus eyes narrowed.
"It has the overall impression of a hastily put together probing action in an effort to gather information...and given the timeline of events, the ships appear to have been launched only hours after the Prothean was awakened. Do you have an explanation for that?"
Nihlus was dumbfounded.
The Geth had been quiet for three hundred years and had made peaceful overtures before that.
There had been observations, even the occasional altercation (especially between them and the Quarians).
But never a blatant intrusion into Citadel space!
And only hours after Javik had awoken, on a planet full of people openly admitting they cooperated with AI? Suddenly the Councillors being so on edge made a lot more sense.
"Councillors, I understand your concerns. And truthfully, I can not refute them. The Geth were never mentioned in our discussions with Transhumanity and we obviously have no way of tapping their data networks." He hesitated. "I have no explanation for the attack. If it is a reaction to the discovery of the Prothean...what could they want?"
"One obvious explanation comes to mind." Tevos said, not bothering to hide her displeasure.
"Transhumanity and the Geth are allied and the attack is an attempt to pressure us into accepting the Prothean. Accept it as a saviour in our time of need, to manipulate the masses."
Nihlus was already shaking his head in asari manner.
"Councillor, with all due respect, that seems needlessly complicated. As I said, placing a fake Prothean in some research teams way would be a far more reliable, less suspicious method of convincing people a Prothean had returned than such a bizarre plot."
"Do you have an alternative explanation then?" Sparatus demanded.
"No, Councillor." Nihlus' answer was hard. "You will recall I learned about the attack less then five minutes ago. I will need time to analyse it."
Esheel looked up. As the other two looked at her she nodded once.
"Very well, Spectre" Tevos sounded almost disappointed. "It appears your reaction was genuine. We will accept your assurance of ignorance. For now. Do you have anything to add on the topic?"
Nihlus had.
"Transhumanity may appear unusual and I admit their penchant for shock and awe techniques in diplomacy is worrisome. But I do not believe them to be actively malicious. I wouldn't go so far as to recommend to trust them...but we should strife for closer, peaceful contact, even if it has to happen on their terms. I believe we have much to gain."
Tevos actually smiled a little, even if it looked forced.
"Yes Spectre, diplomatic contact is in fact, the point of this body. Very well. We will hear the others now."
Nihlus resisted the urge to curse. That had not go as planned. And had been cut short.
He had planned and expected to talk for hours. To be put under pressure, put into a lie detector.
Instead the 'audience' had been hurried along at break neck speed.
It was not a good sign. If the Council was impatient that could either mean they were strapped for time (understandable during a Geth crisis)...or that they had already made a decision and wanted to accelerate formalities.
He hoped John and the others would have more luck.
Two more barcs approached. Nihlus' rose in the air to make room for the others. All three barcs now hovered above the ledge, equi-distant to each other.
He looked over to find the Transhuman barc in the middle, dome material now transparent, with the Hand barc opposite to him, filled with the specialists and Javik.
T'Reve, Vaina and Bokum looked grimly determined, Vaum's face was a mask.
Liara looked better, well rested. She greeted Nihlus with a smile. Though there was an air of sadness about her. Javik's stories must have shaken her.
The Prothean himself stood tall and erect, head held high. His eyes scanned the Councillors and Nihlus could not interpret his expression.
The Councillors in turn looked...tense. Barely noticeable to anyone else perhaps, but Nihlus had met these people frequently, often under tense circumstances.
Once again, Tevos spoke first.
"Representatives of Transhumanity, honored Citadel specialists, we welcome you." No acknowledgement of Javik. "Who will speak the case for our transhuman guests?"
To Nihlus surprise it wasn't Shepard who stepped forward.
Instead, the small group of aliens parted to let a slightly smaller, younger looking male through.
His eyes were wide and blue-grey and his hair brown.
There was something oddly soothing about his features and bearing. He seemed...harmless.
"Honored Councillors, I am Pathfinder Scott Ryder. I will speak for Transhumanity at this juncture." The voice fitted his looks. Gentle, upbeat. Reassuring.
The overall impression was of optimistic youth.
Nihlus reminded himself that Transhumanity had chosen this man as it's speaker. Certainly not by accident, going by their record until now.
Tevos slightly pursed her lips.
"We are aware of the title 'Pathfinder'. It means 'trouble shooter', does it not? Someone who removes obstacles?"
The boy-man smiled an honest looking smile.
"More or less."
"Well, then 'Pathfinder', what is it Transhumanity wishes to petition the Council for?"
And that was clearly an insult. Not that anyone but the onlookers in the galleries reacted to it.
"We wish to present to you, per his own wishes, Commander Jarul Isammanon Javik, Seha t'ul Arvashan , and the last living Prothean in existence."
As per his cue, Javik stepped forward, taking his place next to Ryder, his whole demeanour regal.
"We are here to ensure his fair treatment, to ensure his safety and to ensure that he will be allowed to present his warning of a dire threat to this esteemed body." And that was an insult as well.
Excited whispering in the galleries.
Tevos' face tightened in anger. And so did Sparatus'.
Nihlus was astounded. The Councillors were once again showing emotions to an unprecedented degree in public.
Assuming the Transhumans were somehow behind the Geth attack made a controlled facade towards them more important, not less.
"Are you accusing us merely of the oppression of free speech or outright murder, Pathfinder?" She didn't conceal the contempt in her voice.
"Neither, Councillor." Ryder answered, projecting nothing but disarming honesty. "But we are well aware of the..." Barely there head movement towards the barc with Javik and the civilians. "Doubts surrounding the legitimacy of Commander Javik."
"Hardly unfounded." Sparatus snapped.
Ryder turned to him.
"Your own specialists analysed both the site of his findings and Commander Javik himself, confirming his authenticity."
"They merely didn't find signs of tempering or artificial construction." Sparatus countered immediately. "Absence of proof is not proof of it's absence. We are aware of Transhumanity's capacity to conceal it's interference."
Ryder frowned. Absurdly Nihlus felt wounded on his behalf.
"Meaning?"
"The Batarian Hegemony!" Tevos snapped.
Nihlus saw Esheel's head twitch, as if she wanted to look at the Asari.
Ryder sighed.
"As our ambassadors have explained to you before, Councillors, we did not destroy the Hegemony. It is true that we repelled their attack on our borders and were preparing a long term mission to prevent such an attack from happening again. But our infiltration attempts were not even close to the political leadership when the Hegemony...well, collapsed. We are uncertain of how exactly it happened."
"So you admit infiltration?" Sparatus pressed.
Ryder smiled again and Nihlus found himself warmed by the gesture. Why?
"Councillors, we never made a secret of our capacity to construct bodies, including batarian ones. To pretend otherwise would be pointless."
"And by the same token, wouldn't it be rather pointless for us to built a prothean body and present it to you in such a fashion, when the mere act of us doing so would rouse your suspicion? If we wanted to infiltrate the Citadel like this, there would have been far more circumspect ways to do so."
Tevos and Sparatus were stubbornly silent, glaring at the Transhuman. Ryder in turn, calmly returned their gazes, face open and innocent.
It was Esheel who broke the silence.
"Very well then. Assumed Prothean Javik. Speak your part."
Last edited: Jul 13, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#616
The Hearing, part 2
Javik took a moment longer to study the Councillors, face unreadable.
Then, to Nihlus surprised, he turned away and began to pace in the narrow confines of the barc.
"I have pondered this last day how to approach this. What to say to you. How to convince you, of the coming threat."
He looked up, not at the Council, but at Nihlus.
"I no longer believe that I can."
The Spectre managed to control his reaction, barely.
Javik continued his pacing.
"I have nothing to offer you, no scrap of evidence that the Reapers truly exist. They hide their traces well and between each cycle, they become myth.
I see now that you have already made your decision, that you do not wish to believe they will come.
And in truth, I cannot blame you, for we made the same, foolish mistake."
Now he was looking at them, eyes blazing and fists balled.
"I come from a time where the Citadel had long been lost, converted into another tool of the enemy. But our records spoke of lone voices, brave outcasts who stood where I now stand, who spoke the truth no one wanted to hear.
And they spoke of you."
That got a bit of surprise. What did Javik mean?
"They spoke of the same kind of people, arrogantly assured of their superiority and place in the galaxy, standing where you stand now, dismissing the warnings."
Sparatus and Tevos did not bother to hide their anger, Esheel's face didn't change.
"For me, the Reapers are truth. A simple fact of life. They killed, we resisted. For you, they are myth, a threat to your self-image.
Your self-image will not save you. The Reapers will come, like they have come for us. Like they came for those before us. And if you do not prepare to fight, if you are not ready...they will come for those after you."
He stood in something like parade rest, awaiting the Councils response.
Esheel went to say something but Tevos was faster.
"This might have been the worst attempt to convince someone I ever heard." Her tone was more incredulous than anything else.
"You are literally asking us to believe a galaxy wide threat exists on your word alone...a word that is extremely in doubt due to your association with Transhumanity."
Javik scowled.
"The graves of my people are not a lie, Tevos Councillor. They are real. The things that killed them are as well."
"I do not doubt the Prothean's existence, merely the claim of you being one!"
"If I may Councillor..." Ryder raised a hand to get attention.
The Council and Javik turned their attention on him.
"We have a simple way of testing Javik's claim: allow him to activate and access locked prothean technology."
Tevos actually smiled, without any humor.
"You expect us to give you access to our prothean relics? To allow you to temper with them? I think not."
"Functioning prothean technology is a critical Citadel resource. Outsider access is impossible." Sparatus backed her up.
"I am not talking about your prothean technology. We found something else on Eden Prime we brought with us. A...peace offering, if you will." The Pathfinder clarified.
There were slight gasps behind Javik from the civilian experts.
"And what would that be?" Esheel wanted to know.
Ryder stayed serious as he dropped the bomb.
"A functional prothean Beacon."
Loud noises from the galleries.
Javik's head whipped around to scowl at Ryder.
The Councillors kept their countenance, though.
"And why..." Sparatus drawled, barely hiding his anger. "Where we not informed of this before now?"
His eyes turned to Nihlus who returned his gaze undaunted.
"Because we honestly did not expect this much hostility towards us or Javik." Ryder answered patiently.
"It was supposed to be a surprise, a way to further relations."
Tevos smiled thinly.
"Of course. Another one of your beloved surprises. And let me guess: the Beacon will turn out to be full of helpful weaponry to fight your Geth lackies?"
Esheel shot her a glance. Sparatus scowl deepened. Ryder frowned.
"The Geth? Councillors, I do not..."
"No, of course not." Sparatus growled. "It is mere coincidence they are attacking now."
Esheel was typing on her console.
Ryders eyes widened. The other Transhumans and the prothean experts murmured in shock and surprise.
"This is the first time I hear of any attack. What world are they attacking?"
"As if you don't know!" Tevos shouted.
"Tevos." Esheel reproached, now openly staring at her fellow Councillor.
The Asari calmed herself with multiple deep breaths, reaching up to massage her head.
"Headache, Councillor?" Ryder asked concerned.
"Sometimes it feels as if I had one from the moment we met you." The asari Councillor murmured.
Much calmer she continued.
"Pathfinder Ryder, this Council considers it unlikely that Transhumanity simply happens to stumble upon a living Prothean. A find that additionally also coincides with a Geth attack. All existing evidence points toward this being an attempt at blatant manipulation." Ryder frowned.
"What would the purpose of such a manipulation be? To get the Citadel to be prepared for a war that doesn't come? How would that benefit us?"
Tevos winced minutely.
"Redirection of resources. Panic. I do not know. That is not evidence that such an advantage does not exist."
"What exactly would be the harm in letting Javik try? Prove who he is with the Beacon, then, if you doubt it's authenticity, again with selected prothean artifacts. Several of them are in private hands, correct? Maybe someone would be willing to lent one to us."
"We said no," Sparatus barked, shaking his head in irritation.
"Councillors." Scott continued, soothingly. "We mean you no harm. Any expert you want may witness Javik's attempt...with the Commander's consent, of course." He turned to Javik who gave a jerky nod, eyes fixed on the Councillors. Nihlus saw something in his eyes...
"What exactly would be the harm in trying?"
"He is correct, Tevos, Sparatus." Esheel agreed. "Observing this interaction could be very beneficial."
...almost like...
The Asari squinted her eyes at the Salarian.
"You would give them access to Prothean relics?"
...worry?
"You can not seriously consider this!" A new voice shouted from Javik's barc.
Vaina shoved herself forward, carefully avoiding touching the Prothean.
"You can not allow these blasphemers access to the holy artifacts! They are mocking us! They delight in making fools out of us!"
Sparatus frowned at her. "Doctor Vaina, correct?"
"Yes, honoured Councillors. I was part of the expedition into Transhuman space, I know these people, have seen their...irreverence." Pure hatred dripped from the last word.
"Do you even know? Have they shown you how the mocked us?"
"Shown us what?" Sparatus demanded.
Vaina didn't answer. Instead she put commands into her Omni-Tool, sending data to the room's holo system.
Nihlus clenched his mandibles.
It was the part he had carefully omitted, the bizarre sight of the Delivered turning into a space monster from a cheap horror vid.
The Council watched the entire scene nonplussed.
Then three questioning faces were on Ryder.
The young Transhuman was obviously embarrassed.
"Honored Councillors, certainly the prank of one lone, misguided ship..."
"So your AIs play pranks?" Sparatus demanded incredulously.
Ryder strived for composure.
"Well...occasionally...but certainly, this singular incident..."
Again he was interrupted.
This time it was Bokum who was shoving himself forward.
"Singular! And that drop on the planetary surface? The way the pit was hidden from sight until standing directly in front of it? The prothean platform, the...tentacle things, the Beacon, oh so innocently in the open? One power play, one insult after the other! You played with us! And now the Geth are attacking? Who do you think you are!"
For the first time Ryder seemed annoyed.
"Doctor, I assure you, these weren't malicious acts. We can be...playful, admittedly, but we never meant to insult you."
"Ha!"
Sparatus cleared his throat.
"Let us see these incidents."
The holosystem displayed them for everyone to see, one 'prank' after the other, one childish display of power after the other.
"It appears obvious that Transhumanity itself does not consider the find of it's supposed Prothean a very serious event, going by this footage." Tevos concluded, rather smugly.
Javik was glaring at Ryder with everything his four eyes had to offer.
"The issue of a potential connection to the Geth deferred for the moment, it would appear that Transhumanity obviously does not see the Citadel and it's representatives as worthy of respect."
Concerned faces from the Transhumans.
"Councillors, you can not honestly belief..." Tevos stopped him with a raised hand.
"Do you claim the footage has been faked?"
"No. Not exactly. But the context..."
"...is one were you claim to have found a Prothean who wants to warn us about a galaxy wide cataclysm. Yet you treated our envoys with juvenile disregard. That lays credence to the claim that this entire situation may have been engineered by you." She looked at Javik. "Literally."
Sparatus addressed the barc with Javik and the civilians inside.
"Honored experts, you had time to study the ruins and the Prothean presented to you. What is your verdict?"
Nihlus could see the almost gleeful expression on Bokum's face and the enormous relief on Vaina's.
Varrenshit, he thought savagely, but kept his face and body under control.
It was Vaina who answered first.
"I do not believe the Transhumans to be honest. They do not honor the memory of the Enkindlers and they deliberately tried to deceive us all."
Bokum was next.
"It seems obvious." He begun with relish. "That Transhumanity shows no respect for our kind. Indeed, their many attempts to surprise and intimidate us can only be interpreted as a ploy to make us too timid and awe filled to question their patiently absurd story. But indeed! Our natural curiosity..."
"Doctor." Sparatus interrupted drily. "A yes or no will suffice."
The Salarian glared at the turian Councillor for a moment, before he sullenly answered.
"No, I don not believe the Prothean is real."
"Thank you Doctor. Professor Vaum?"
Nihlus felt a flare of hope, that died when he saw the carefully blank expression on the Salarian as he stepped forward.
"The story of the Transhumans seems impossible. Yet, we could not detect any sign of tempering or falsehood on Eden Prime. Which, as has been pointed out, merely means our instruments couldn't detect any, not that there weren't any." Sparatus clicked his mandibles.
"Yes or no, Professor."
"Neither." Vaum said, definitely.
Sparatus still seemed satisfied.
"A neutral vote, then. Doctor T'soni?"
Liara stepped forward, her demeanour proud. She reminded Nihlus of her mother in this moment.
"We found no evidence of tempering. There is no reason for the Transhumans to make up such a story. There were no flaws in Commander Javik's information. He is real and so is the threat."
"Ah, but you were also one of the lucky recipients of this 'vision' of his, were you not?" Bokum immediately accused, smug and condescending, as if he had caught a child in an obvious lie.
Liara returned his mocking gaze coolly.
"If you doubt the vision's veracity, I am sure Commander Javik would be happy to share his memories with you..." She let her cool gaze sweep through the room. "...with everyone here."
The smile disappeared of Bokum's face.
"I won't let anyone here try to mess with my mind, thank you very much."
"One yes vote." Sparatus interrupted, before the argument could continue. "Ms. T'Reve?"
"No, the Prothean is obviously not real." T'Reve answered curtly.
Nihlus was a bit surprised to see how unhappy and defensive she looked, instead of triumphant like Bokum.
"Can we end this farce of a hearing now?"
The Councillors ignored her.
"Three no votes to one yes and one neutral." Sparatus announced, not bothering to hide his satisfaction.
"I believe the expert vote on 'Javik's' realness is clear." Tevos agreed, with a smile.
"Councillors." Ryder said, voice as clear and convincing as possible. "Once again: to what end would we attempt such a thing?"
Esheel tried to speak but Sparatus was quicker.
"The long term goal might be unclear, but the short term potential damage of such a revelation is not. And the Geth attack is a very real event, coinciding with your supposed 'find'. The connection is clear."
"And you are still an alien species to us." Tevos continued. "Hiding behind your station and Relay, refusing closer contact. And then your bizarre jokes. You gave us precious little by which to judge your actions."
Ryder frowned in concern.
"Councillors, don't dismiss these warnings. We brought Javik in the hopes he could convince you. This threat is real and you will need..."
"Your help?" Sparatus eyes were blazing. "I think not."
"...to prepare." Ryder finished with forced calm.
"We have heard your warnings. Seen the evidence presented to us." Tevos seemed much calmer now. "And we will consider them. Has somebody something to add?"
No one spoke up.
"Very well then."
She was inputting something in her console. So did Sparatus and, after a second of hesitation, so did Esheel.
The Councillors conferred for several minutes, while everyone else kept silent.
Tevos looked up again.
"In the interest of further diplomatic relations with Transhumanity, this Council will overlook the willfull attempt of Transhumanity to deceive and mislead this body.
As such, we will not press for reparations or compensation for this incident. Be warned that our lenience is no sign of weakness and does not carry with it the implication of forgiveness. We will remember this.
We ask the prothean experts to defer from pressing charges as well, but will leave the decision ultimately to them."
Bokum was grinning triumphantly, Vaum and T'Reve looked neutral. Vaina seemed relieved. Liara looked angry.
All five murmured assent to refrain from charges.
Sparatus clicked his mandibles.
"Very well. Pathfinder Ryder. All Transhumans are to leave the Citadel, we expect your ship to depart immediately. This includes your Prothean. Any attempts of his to 'convince' other people are forbidden and will be treated accordingly."
Ryder was silent for a while.
"Very well. Since it appears this body has made it's decision. We will depart in several hours, we need time to confer with our superiors."
"Pathfinder..." Sparatus began.
"A few hours on the Citadel, Councillors." Ryder interrupted. "Or, alternatively, another visit later, when a decision has been reached by our superiors."
Sparatus and Tevos glared.
"Very well." Tevos growled out. "A few hours. Your ship will be gone by the end of this day, by our time measuring."
Ryder nodded.
"Thank you, Councillors."
That was it, no apology, no admission of guilt.
Tevos waited for a moment longer, maybe hoping something would come, but then gave up. She turned to Nihlus instead.
"Spectre Kryik. We understand your seriousness in this mission and your professionalism. No negative mark will appear in your file. Return to the Spectre office and await further assignments."
Nihlus bend his head down and to the side, exposing his neck in the turian gesture of submission.
"Yes, honored Council."
Lastly, she turned to the civilians.
"Honored experts, we apologise for your involvement in this. Your payment will transfer shortly. We do, however, remind you of your existing NDAs. Please refrain from discussing this incident, even in private, to trusted persons. Thank you." She waved. "Dismissed."
However, it would be Javik who would have the last word.
Even as the barcs began to depart he addressed them one last time.
"Now, you have no one else to blame but yourself, for what is to come."
Then he turned his back to the Council.
Last edited: Jul 17, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#656
Postprocessing, part1
They were all silent as the three barcs descended the tower again, though the prothean experts were typing things on their Omni-Tools.
Maybe they were just trying to avoid making eye contact.
The moment the barcs left the tower proper, Ryder spoke up.
"Hey, stop this thing!"
It took a few second for the confused escort to obey.
One of the C-Sec aircars turned to face the once again darkened barcs.
"Do you require anything?"
"Yes. Are there any special orders regarding us?"
"One moment, please." The puzzled officer said.
A few seconds later the results were in.
"We have been informed that you have a stay permit for the end of the day, otherwise no special requests have been made."
"Oh good. Than let us out of these things."
There was more silence and Nihlus could easily imagine the frantic questions and heated discussions going on inside the aircars.
The poor officers were obviously overwhelmed. This was far beyond their paygrade.
He kept silent.
"The barcs exist for your own security, honored guests." Another voice finally said carefully, a different speaker this time. This one sounded like a Drell.
"If the Council saw it fit to receive you in the barcs it is certainly in your own interest to remain in them."
"We have already visited the Council, so you know they cannot be threatened by us. We know about the risks and accept full responsibility for any potential consequences. By Council law, you can not deny us this request."
That was true.
This was an official diplomatic visit by a nominally allied species. Therefore the barcs where 'temporary diplomatic space', even in their function as quarantine units.
In other words, for the purpose of Transhumanity's stay on the Citadel, they counted as tiny embassies.
And as such, their users had the right to leave them as well, under armed police escort if requested. Only the Council itself could override that right.
More silence.
Nihlus imagined that C-SEC was now frantically trying to reach someone higher up, with the necessary clearance to reach the Council.
If the Councillors were demanding not to be disturbed right now, reaching someone with the necessary clout could take a while.
"We will release you."
Or not.
None of the officers here would have risked making such a decision by themselves, which either meant the Councillors made a snap decision (unlikely, as far as he knew them) or orders must have been on stand bye for such an event.
Or one of the Councillors alone? Unlikely as well. Or had the Transhumans...
Anyway. This was an opportunity. They had more to discuss now then before. He also had a lot of things to say to them. Not at all friendly things.
Nihlus stepped out of the barc.
The Transhumans were chattering among themselves, playing up the excited tourist group again.
Peebee and Vetra were heading for him. Liara stood undecided, but the other Citadel civilians were already striding towards the aircars.
Nihlus made eye contact with Vaum for a second. The professor nodded at him, once. Nihlus returned the gesture and the Salarian continued on his way towards the cars.
The professor had evidently decided that this was it for him. To much excitement, too high stakes. Nihlus could respect that. Not many people could accept their limits and bow out of a situation before they got hurt.
Speaking of which...
John and his subordinates where heading for him and as they did, so did Dr. T'soni.
"Follow me." Nihlus said in a clipped tone to John.
He turned to the approaching Asari.
"Dr. T'soni, we appreciate all you have done for us, but this is no civilian matter."
The Asari looked unimpressed and crossed her arms.
"You do not honestly believe you will get rid of me that easily? Besides, this little..." Her eyes flicked to the waiting police cars, no doubt listening in on every word. "...problem is...serious. I might have access to resources that could be useful."
Nihlus looked to John for help. The other man merely nodded once.
The Spectre had to breath deeply for several seconds to calm down. Very aware of the listening officers he said nothing.
Instead he turned to head for one of the luxurious rent cars available on the presidium, aware the other six were following.
There was no sign of Javik, though Nihlus had a sneaking suspicion where he was.
As they left, he could see the other Transhumans chatter up the C-SEC officers who had clearly been assigned to guard them. The unsuspecting cops would most likely be abused as tour guides.
And equally undoubtedly the Transhumans would take care to attract attention away from Nihlus and his group.
The Council had assembled in it's private chambers.
Sparatus was sitting down, going through a breathing exercise.
Tevos was walking up and down, massaging her own neck and her leku.
Esheel stood, looking at them both.
"Would either of you care to explain what that was?"
Sparatus merely closed his eyes, focusing on his breath, while Tevos sighed and let her head hang down.
Esheel wasn't fooled. She had been warned by Vahlern and quickly learned for herself that the other two Councillors made this show of vulnerability and camaraderie between the three of them very deliberately.
Sparatus and Tevos were professionals, little they did was not planned.
Which made the spectacle 10 minutes ago all the more unbelievable.
"I know, Esheel, and I am sorry." Tevos admitted, sounding apologetic. "The stress over the Geth, Transhumanity's...everything. They are infuriating. I just...snapped."
The Salarian narrowed her eyes.
"Not good enough." She said bluntly. "From both of you. I have never seen you both loose composure like that. Stress alone does not explain it."
Tevos threw her an annoyed look.
"I assure you, I am perfectly healthy. You don't have to be sick to get riled up by their ridiculous 'prothean' puppet."
Esheel was unbothered by the look.
"Their claims may be outlandish, but that is only more reason to calmly examine the facts, not less. We had agreed to an approach before this hearing. I would like to hear why you both abandoned it so quickly." Sparatus grunted.
"Their story was ridiculous and we all have bigger things to worry about." He tried to deflect, voice already much calmer.
"You both seem to be so certain about that. What if it is a Prothean? Or even if it isn't, what if it can interact with prothean technology?"
"Oh that reminds me." Tevos murmured. She opened a link with her Omni-Tool.
"Get me the containment unit for the Transhuman ship."
She only had to wait a few seconds.
"Tevos..." Esheel begun, warningly.
The Asari ignored her.
"Yes, this is Councillor Tevos." She transmitted her ident code. "Have the Transhumans unloaded anything?...They have? Describe the size of the crate...One moment."
"Tevos." Esheel repeated, louder this time.
Saparatus was watching the Asari with interest, but made no move to intervene.
Tevos had entered something in her 'Tool and was evidently satisfied with the result.
"Excellent. By orders of the Council, you are to retain the crate in question and secure it in Vault..." More typing. "Fifty-One. Thank you."
"Tevos!" Esheel was actually showing her anger now. "This is a decision we should have made together. Or rather, not at all."
"A functional Prothean Beacon is to valuable to let go of, Esheel. I thought you of all people could appreciate the impact of such an information source?"
"First of all, we just accused these people of trying to fake a Prothean, making up stories about the end of the galaxy and colluding with the Geth. Now you are trying to take their Beacon?"
"Ryder described it as a gift." Sparatus reminded her.
The Salarian shot him a venomous look.
"Diplomatic presents still follow rules Sparatus, exactly for situations like this. There are laws when such presents change ownership exactly and to whom. We have no right to this Beacon and you know it. If, that is, it even is a genuine Beacon. Why do you assume they could fake a Prothean but no this device?"
Tevos was shaking her head.
"Beacons are Beacons. We have little biological material to really compare this 'Javik' too, but we have Beacon remains to verify it's authenticity."
Esheel could barely control her anger.
"Of course. It is that simple. Silly me. How exactly do you envision further diplomatic contact to go now?"
"This incident gives us leverage." Tevos claimed, sounding rather convinced of the fact.
"The public would never go for this ridiculous story, especially with the footage of these insipid pranks. It's practically proof the Transhumans are laughing about us." She and Sparatus both looked newly angered about that.
"But by making such outlandish claims they have reached too far. And..." Tevos was silent for a moment. "And in the wrong way too. They have basically given us ammunition to enter their territory."
Esheel frowned at her.
"How?"
"She is right." Sparatus said, to her surprise. She wasn't used to him being quicker than her. "We can claim that we need further proof of this story, if we are to believe it. Proof that Transhumanity is trustworthy. They will have to provide, won't they? If the galaxy really is at stake, as they claim, we can ask practically anything of them, since refusing us would mean they value something more than the galaxy, thus revealing their deception."
Esheel closed her eyes for a second.
"What if they are right?"
The other two shot her disbelieving looks.
"You can not honestly believe that!" Sparatus protested.
"Esheel, I'm surprised I have to tell you this, but think about it. They said so themselves. There would have been easy ways to present the Prothean without causing suspicion.
If the galaxy truly were endangered, wouldn't they have chosen the way least likely to be doubted?"
"They may simply not have expected that we would distrust them so." Esheel pointed out.
"They..."
They were interrupted by Omni-Tool beeps.
They all raised their 'Tools, the massage had come through on the Council channel.
"They want to leave the barcs?" Sparatus asked, actually surprised.
"They are planning something." Tevos said, quietly.
"Should we allow it?" Esheel wanted to know.
Tevos was silent while Sparatus looked expectantly at her.
Once again Esheel was surprised by her colleagues' behaviour. Tevos was experienced and charismatic, but it wasn't like Sparatus to defer to her like that...to anyone, really.
"If we allow it.." The Asari thought out loud. "They might release infectious agents in the Citadel itself."
"They might have done that already, despite our precautions" Sparatus pointed out, gloomily.
True, as much as it pained Esheel to admit it. Their own attempts at a defensive nanite ecology had been...less then successful.
And the few infiltration simulations they had run had proven how threadbare their more conventional defences truly were.
"Can we risk the fake Prothean running around?" Tevos asked. Though to Esheel it sounded almost rhetorical.
"There are hundreds of Prothean cosplayers on the Citadel every day." Sparatus countered.
"And what of the Spectre? Will he help them?" Tevos continued
"If they subverted him, separating them won't stop him."
He always had his answers to Tevos' musings ready immediately. Almost as if the two where working together to convince her. What was going on?
"But if we do release them..."
"We can have them followed, perhaps have a chance to figure out what they are up to." Sparatus finished.
Tevos turned to the Salarian with a questioning expression.
"Esheel?"
"Observing them might offer more useful information." The Salarian said immediately.
In truth, she was very uncertain abut all of this, a state that she hated.
But a large part of her STG work had been about how to make it up on the spot, even when she had now idea what was going on. And how to bluff on a weak hand.
Tevos nodded and made the necessary arrangements via 'Tool. The Transhumans were released.
"We need someone to follow them." The Asari pointed out and as expected, Sparatus already had an answer available.
"Saren."
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#691
Postprocessing, part2
Esheel shot the Turian a look. Saren was known for his Anti-Transhuman sentiment.
His experiences on the captured Turian frigate as a boy had traumatised him, there was no other way to describe it.
It had forged a fanatically loyal, but also obsessed Spectre. Known in equal parts for his reliability in bringing missions to a successful end and his paranoia regarding the aliens.
To chose him would bring an unnecessary and dangerous element of volatility into an already highly unstable equation.
"A good choice." Esheel therefore said. "His distrust of the Transhumans should guard against any attempt at subversion."
Tevos and Sparatus nodded satisfied, despite the nonsensical nature of her statement. Why would antipathy protect against kidnapping and brainwashing?
But by now alarm bells were ringing in Esheel's head anyway, caused as much by Transhumanity's disturbing warnings as by her colleagues erratic behaviour.
Following Tevos' request, a hologram of Saren Arterius materialised among them. Almost without delay. As if he had been waiting for the call.
The tall, handsome Turian regarded them all with such assured confidence that it was almost condescension.
Just enough on this side of it one couldn't point it out as insulting.
"Councillors." He greeted them, regally.
"Saren." Tevos greeted back warmly.
We are on a first name basis then? Esheel wondered.
"The Council requires your service, Spectre." Sparatus stated formally.
"Of course. How may I serve?"
"As you are undoubtedly aware, the transhuman delegation was just here." Tevos informed him.
Saren's mandibles clenched for a second, then he had himself under control again.
"I was not aware of that, no."
Tevos chuckled.
"Come, Saren. You are always well informed."
The Turian smiled.
"The Council is flattering me."
Esheel had enough.
"They have left the tower and are moving through the Citadel. We require you to follow and report on them. Find out what they are doing."
The Spectre stood at attention.
"I would be honored, Councillors."
Of course you would be Esheel thought, but said nothing.
"Mission parameters?"
"No violent escalation, observation only." Esheel quickly answered, before the other two could say anything.
"We want information, not a firefight."
"Of course, Councillor." The Spectre answered, demurely, but Esheel did not miss the flash of anger in his eyes.
"Otherwise the usual discretionary guidelines apply." Tevos continued. "The less we know about details, the better. Find out what you can, report back to us."
"And stop them if they become a threat." Sparatus added, earning him a glare form Esheel.
Even Tevos looked uncomfortable for a moment.
But all she said was: "We rely on your discretion."
Saren exposed his neck respectfully and signed off, the holo disappearing.
Sparatus and Tevos had just given Saren blanket permission to do whatever he wanted. You could justify almost everything with the orders he had just received.
Of course, that was in a way the reason for the Spectres' existence as an organisation.
But given Saren's personal antipathy...
'Volatile' had been to harmless an expression for the current situation.
Esheel was beyond worried. Something was very wrong here.
"Let's review the latest reports from the Geth patrols." Sparatus suggested and Esheel immediately agreed.
Yes, very wrong.
As soon as they were all in the aircar Nihlus made ruthless use of his Spectre override codes. Still, Vetra made unsubtle hand gestures telling the others to be quite.
All 'cars had audio pick ups of course and you could never be quite sure who was or wasn't listening, even with Spectre privileges.
In silence they rode the 'car for the twenty minutes it took to reach their drop off point.
They switched aircars two more times, the Transhumans cloaking effortlessly on each occasion, proving their harmless looking uniforms were anything but.
Eventually, they reached one of the Spectre Offices' lesser known entrances, hidden in the chaotic and spacious maintenance shafts behind and below a public mall.
Nihlus would have preferred a private safehouse of his, using the official Spectre HQ would mean leaving an easy trace to follow.
But one, Nihlus had been ordered here by the Council and was on thin ice anyway.
Two, he trusted his fellow Spectres and in turn did not want to loose their trust
Three, burning safehouses without dire need was bad practice in general.
And four, the Office had some of the best anti-surveillance systems in Citadel space, hopefully enough to give them privacy.
The Turian let his small group through the comparatively cramped hallways (designed to be easily defendable they were studded with sensors, heavy-weapons proof bulkheads and auto fire turrets).
On the way he performed the subtle signals and signs that would tell the guards on duty (themselves Spectres) that he was here of his own free will and not compelled or forced to bring someone else.
Finally, they entered the short access tunnel that lead to the Whisper Box, a cube shaped, self sufficient device, suspended by mass effect devices in a spherical room, 40 meters in diameter.
As soon as the last one was through the airlock, he activated the system.
The heavy doors sealed themselves shut, the tunnel retracted and the ventilators spun to live outside, although you couldn't hear anything form inside the Box.
A veritable storm of cooled nitrogen was now raging outside, winds constantly shifting and changing, following semi-random pattern changes.
The changing gases were carefully watched over by a battery of pressure sensors, checking permanently for evidence of movement or obstruction where there shouldn't be any.
Additionally, powerful pulses all along the EM spectrum where emitted from the outside. Their returns carefully matched to the 'should' values from a high fidelity computer simulation.
As soon as the indicators switched to blue, Nihlus opened his mouth for a well-deserved dressing down when John stopped him with a raised hand.
Something shimmered around his head, as well as those of Ashley and Kaidan. Something like dust seemed to rise from them.
After a second, a shimmer of light flashed around ceiling, walls and the ground of the bare room they were in.
The next moment, Javik decloaked among them, confirming Nihlus' suspicion of where he had gone: nowhere, he had simply followed them the whole time discreetly.
"They are infected." The Prothean spat, anger and disgust in his voice.
Nihlus' angry words died on his tongue.
The Transhumans looked grim.
"We expected as much, but were uncertain as to the extend." John admitted.
"Who is 'infected'?" Nihlus demanded.
"That Tevos Councillor and the turian one. I am less certain about the Salarian, Esheel."
Nihlus felt his left mandible twitch. That was rather alarming. He thought he had gotten rid of that tell years ago.
"Would somebody mind." He began slowly, barely keeping control. "To inform me of what is going on?"
Abruptly Javik turned away, taking a few steps to relieve his tension.
"It is called 'Indoctrination'." He answered, tersely. "The Reapers' ability to sway minds to their cause."
So now the enemy had mind control capabilities? And the others had known about this?
Liara scowled at the Prothean.
"On Eden Prime you made it sound as if only AIs were at risk."
"I was uncertain. I had hoped...I was foolish." Javik admitted. The Prothean seemed to have...aged, somehow. The larger than life aura around him had diminished, if not disappeared.
"I should have expected the enemy infiltration to have already begun."
Nihlus eyes were blazing with anger as he turned on John.
"You knew this." He accused.
The Transhuman was unconcerned.
"We expected it. It wasn't difficult to predict."
"Oh yeah?" Peebee demanded. "Why?"
"Mind control isn't exactly new." John pointed out. "The Batarians could do it to a degree. The Citadel can do it, although the STG would never admit to it. We can do it." The man smiled unhappily. "Hell, I can do it, although I would need time and direct access to someone's brain to accomplish it."
"So because you can do it, you expect the Reapers to do it as well." Vetra finished for him.
"Goddess." Liara was hugging herself, eyes downcast. "And they got the Council already?"
John and Javik exchanged a knowing look.
Nihlus braced himself.
"Just spit it out." He demanded.
John took a deep breath.
"The Council being infected is less severe than you may assume. It was...logical that they would be the first ones to be caught."
"Why?"
It was Javik who dropped the bomb.
"Because the Citadel is a Reaper construct."
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Postprocessing, part 3
Shocked, disbelieving faces all around.
"What?" Peebee demanded, breathless.
"It's true." John said "The Citadel and the Relays are not of Prothean design."
Heads turned between him and Javik in search of answers.
"Once again you elected not to share this with us." Nihlus noted icily.
John sighed and rolled his shoulders, hands coming up to massage his neck. Kaidan and Ashley continued their unmoving stance behind him.
"We examined prothean technology and various Relays. The discrepancy was easily spotted. Prothean technology followed similar paths, but it was easy to see which one was more advanced. Also, we had a far better grasp of prothean time scales than you and knew the Relays were too old." Nihlus shook his head in disbelief.
"So you expected the Reapers to have mind control tech because you have it too. And the Citadel is Reaper tech. And the Council..."
"Is most often exposed to the unshielded Citadel interior." John finished.
"Unshielded?" Vetra asked, sounding a bit lost by now.
Kaidan was the one who answered.
"Most of the Citadel interior is build by Citadel species, not part of the original design." He reminded them. It was common knowledge, but not something people usually reflected on. It was too normal.
"It is the same in each cycle." Javik continued. "We found the station bare as well and inserted our own technology, our own infrastructure over and into the existing one."
"The mass of common technology dampens or disrupts the techniques used by the Reapers somewhat." Kaidane elaborated. "The average resident is never even touched by the influence."
"Most likely because Indoctrination may be more subtle over longer time scales, but can still have significant, noticeable side effects even then." Javik said.
Nihlus had to silently count to ten again.
"So you knew all along." He said, for the third or maybe fourth time, to the leading Transhuman.
"Yes."
Nihlus head shot forward in a gesture of accusation.
"Then what the hells was that!" He exploded, pointing vaguely in the direction of the Tower.
"You knew they were influenced, you knew our chances were slim...but it almost looked like we got through to them, like we made progress...then Vaina trots out your...your idiotic behaviour and it all went down the..." Something in John's eyes made him stop, made him realise...
"YOU WANTED THIS TO HAPPEN!"
"Yes." The Transhuman confirmed simply.
For the first time in a long while the Spectre was actually speechless.
"Listen, Nihlus, this outcome was always certain. There was no way the Reapers would allow a living Prothean to skulk around, stirring up trouble for them. But forcing the issue might have caused an escalation. One we aren't ready for. We needed to give them a different reason to deny us, a harmless one."
"You did all that on purpose." Vetra realised, nonplussed. "The bragging, the insults, the pranks..."
"Inviting Vaina and Bokum and Kalinda..." Peebee added. "That was all..."
Planned, Nihlus thought. A shiver went through him as he realised the ease of the manipulation.
"Yes." Kaidan said, seriously. "We needed to give them a trivial reason to dismiss us. A way to defuse the situation before it escalated. A security valve. Preferably, in a way that would make them feel reassured, even superior. Like, for instance, by giving them the moral high ground. Appearing arrogant and getting called out on it worked perfectly."
Nihlus felt the need to hit something.
"Then...what was all this for?" Liara asked. "If you knew you would loose, why bring us here? Why expose Javik to them?"
"Now they know he exists!" Peebee agreed.
"We had our reasons." Ashley snapped, but John raised a hand to silence her.
"The Reapers have so far not attacked and we are uncertain why. They are determining the pace of this conflict and that can not be allowed. So far they were careful, cautious, patient. But now we shook them up, provoked them by waving a living Prothean in front of them. And we think the enemy already responded."
"The Geth." Nihlus realised with a sudden feeling of coldness.
He felt...small, all of a sudden. Tiny in the face of the machinations around him. Puppets dancing on strings…
He had the vague impression of staring into the face of a massive predator.
No, that was wrong. More like standing between two beasts, circling each other.
"They are probing certain systems. Engaging sporadically so far. We think they are looking for something."
"So you knew about that as well, before we came here!" The Turian felt cold. Used. "I remember you saying our mission here was 'time critical'. Now we know why. What else do you know John Sheppard?"
"A lot."
"And will you tell us!"
"No." John stated, calmly and deadly serious. "Not until you agree to have your personality and memories examined and mind and body upgraded to our security standards."
Nihlus was taken aback.
"Is that a serious offer?"
"Of course."
"You would share your technology?"
"Understand this, Spectre: this is not a game." John's face was a mask. The usually so harmless looking alien suddenly managed to appear rather dangerous. "There is no second place, no second chances and no consolation price. If we go in, we go all in, and if we hold back, we do it for damn good reasons. So we will keep our secrets, until we are certain they are safe with you. And you will accept that, for our and your own sake."
Silence.
Liara tried to make herself small, Vetra was staring at the Transhumans, trying to get a read of them. Javik was scowling a them all and Peebee was looking to Nihlus for guidance.
Try to fight the alien menace off all alone or throw their lot in with manipulative, unknown creatures who deliberately pissed off said menace for more data.
He didn't particularly care for being manipulated. But if the Transhuman's story was true...and that was still a big IF, despite the vision...Then he had to admit that they had good reasons for their manipulations. Damn good reasons. And he had seen too much and was too much of a professional to let ego get in the way of what was necessary.
But...well.
Though...a new thought hit him. What would happen if he refused them? Assuming the Transhumans let him go just like that...what would he do afterwards? He couldn't ignore this. And he wouldn't be part of events anymore, not directly at last, not like this.
Not much of a choice, then.
"Very well, Sentinel Sheppard. You obviously have us at a disadvantage. This seems to be your show. What is our next move then?"
Despite the cold tone, the Transhumans relaxed somewhat.
"The Geth probing, directly after our uncovering of Javik, is a valuable clue. It seems they are looking for something. We need to find out what. What it is that can give the Reapers pause."
"Perhaps" Javik begun slowly "I can be of help with that."
"There were rumors of a secret weapon during my time. A secret project that was meant to turn the tide of the war. I dismissed it, for the most part. But the rumors were persistent. Sometimes, the campaigns we waged made no sense to me. Defence of outposts that seemed meaningless. Entire fleets sacrificed to distract form a small convoy. I never knew wether to dare to hope, but perhaps..."
"Javik." John said, not unkindly. "There are always rumors of super weapons."
True. It was an easy propaganda tool that nearly every loosing military in the history of intelligent life had used at some point.
The Prothean glared at John.
"I am no fool. But it seems these Geth machines might believe it. And if it does exist..."
The others exchanged doubting looks.
"We should find out in either case." Vetra pointed out.
"Are we certain it's the Reapers though?" Liara asked. "I mean, the Geth could be acting alone, right?"
"They are machines, they serve the Reapers." Javik declared.
Kaidan shook his head.
"I wouldn't be so certain. Our intel says the fleets behind Perseus aren't moving. If the Geth really were the Reaper's puppets, certainly all oft hem would be used if it was that important?"
So the Transhumans had intel from behind Perseus as well. Good to know.
"What would be the alternative, if it isn't the Geth?" Vetra demanded.
"I didn't say it wasn't them, just not all of them." Kaidan corrected her. "If the Geth wanted something, more of them would be looking for it, we think. But if the Reapers control only a small part of them, or build drones that look like them to be able to operate in Citadel space..."
"Even if it is only the Geth, we should know what it is they are looking for in reaction to Javik's awakening." John pointed out.
"We should be able to find out." Nihlus asserted.
"And how?" Liara was still sceptical.
"I'd say by simply visiting whatever planets they are searching on." John proposed.
"And hope to discover what they are looking for before them?" Nihlus was sceptical. That seemed rather...naively optimistic.
Which didn't fit the transhuman MO.
"We have our methods." John seemed confident. "And a living Prothean. We'll find what they are searching."
"And how will you do that?" Nihlus wanted to know. "The Council has ordered you to leave. Your stay permits will expire." John grinned wickedly.
"Councillor Sparatus ordered us to leave and our ship to depart. We were never ordered to leave on our ship. I am certain we can find..."
Nihlus stopped him with a gesture.
"I doubt blatantly abusing a technicality loophole will stop the Council from retaliating somehow. And even if: they would never allow Joker to operate in the Citadel. And we won't be allowed to acquire a ship from the Spectre pool or the Citadel forces. I privately own a ship, but it is hardly suitable for a Geth combat zone."
"We can buy a bigger one, secretly." Kaidan suggested.
Vetra snorted.
"Just like that, huh?"
"All we have to do is leave Citadel space, then we followed orders and you can deputize us as Spectre associates." John laid out. "We buy a ship, equip it for combat and have a look at whatever it is that is having the Geth so interested."
"You make it sound so simple," Vetra drawled, even less impressed.
Nihlus clicked his mandibles.
Yes, very simple, wasn't it? If one ignored the intricate planning that had most likely gone into getting them all to this point in the first place. All of this had been planned.
So then what was the endgame here?
The Geth? Hardly. Weren't they trivial compared to the Reapers?
Beings who had actually build the very station that was the heart of his civilisation. The thought hadn't fully hit him yet, he knew. It was such an...an absurdity...
"...still have questions." Javik was saying.
Nihlus cursed inwardly. He had missed part of the proceedings, very unlike him. He needed time and quiet to process all of this, to think things through, but now was not that time.
"About?" John asked.
"The Beacon, for one." Javik did not look happy. "Why wasn't I told about it?"
John did that eye-fur-rise thing again.
"Why didn't you know about it already? A Beacon close to your bunker...as the Commander you should have known."
Javik wiggled his head. Was that an attempt at a headshake?
"The Beacon's existence wasn't a secret, to us. I hadn't mentioned it because you hadn't."
"You wanted to hold it back, as leverage." John concluded.
"Yes." Javik answered, without any hint of shame.
Kaidan waved a hand to get Javik's attention.
"The Beacon was found in strata that looked...odd. We think it possible that the Reapers tempered with it." Javik snorted.
"Unlikely. The Beacons were secured in ways you can not fully conceive off."
"Also unlikely." John drawled.
The Prothean narrowed his eyes at them.
"Be that as it may, the Beacon belongs to my people and I have a right to it. You had no right to hide it or bring it here."
"We knew you would try to access it. We judged it beneficial if that didn't happen immediately, not before you saw the current state of the Citadel." John was just as blunt as Javik had been and just as unashamed.
The Transhumans could be oddly open about their manipulations. Did that indicate some sort of shame about their actions?
"We also wanted to see the Reapers' reaction to the Beacon. But of course, if you, in full cognisance of the risks, still want to access it, we can't stop you."
"I do wish to access it and I will. Where is it?"
"It should be unloaded by now." John said. "If it hasn't been secured somewhere yet, getting it back on board Joker should be easy. If the Council decides to confiscate it..." Javik scowled.
"They can do that?"
Nihlus actually felt a bit embarrassed on behalf of his employers.
"Prothean technology is rated critical. All sorts of laws exist to justify...'securing' it. Normally, I doubt they would stoop so low as to simply take a diplomatic gift. But in this case...if they feel spiteful..."
The Prothean's glare increased.
John raised both hands, palms toward Javik. A gesture of surrender most likely.
"There is still a chance it is simply sitting in the freight area. We will get you access to it. If all else fails, by demanding it's return, even if that risks an escalation with the Council. Is that acceptable?" He smiled hopefully at the Prothean.
Javik did not smile back, but nodded after a few seconds of thought.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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ADMIN
"I do have another question though..." Javik turned to Nihlus.
"The Councillor sounded incensed about your claims of a vision...I do not understand. Why is our merge in question?"
Nihlus blinked.
"Because psychic powers normally belong in the realm of storytelling and myth?"
The Prothean turned slightly and conferred with his suit VI. He turned back.
"This word 'psychic' means abilities of the mind yes?"
"Yes."
"Then why is it a myth? All Asari have the skill as well."
"No we don't." Liara and Peebe said, reflexively.
"We...can not do this." Liara continued, blinking in surprise. "People claim we can, but our Meld is merely a bio-electric alignment, a resonance of some sort, that..."
"Nonsense." Javik cut her off. "Asari are gifted, like we were. It is the main reason we chose you as our successors in this Cycle." His scowl for once looked more baffled and confused than angry.
Liara and Peebe exchanged looks.
"I am sorry, Commander. But...we are not 'gifted'."
Kaidan had a thoughtful look on his face. "Or at least you aren't gifted anymore."
Aaaand back to angry looking Prothean.
"The Reapers."
"You can sense Indoctrination, can't you? If the Asari could learn the same, they might have become a viable threat." Kaidan offered.
Abruptly Javik punched his fists together, a small wave of green biotic energy washing over them.
"SH'KITA".
Everyone tensed at the violent outburst.
"Our gifts...our abilities were forgotten by us as well. We had rumors...stories, but no one truly believed. Only when the war raged did we remember our skills and figured out how to use them. They changed us! Tainted us before we even knew they existed!"
The Prothean angrily stomped back and forth, muttering curses under his breath.
The others exchanged unsure glances.
Liara was hugging herself again.
"To think...that someone...just changed the Asari. Took something form us..."
"Huh." Peebee agreed, shivering.
"If they changed the Asari..." Vetra begun.
"Then there is a good chance they changed us too." Nihlus concluded. He looked at John.
"But Javik did not recognise you."
The Prothean stopped in his pacing to stare at the Transhumans.
"I did not. They said your home system's Relay was hidden?" John nodded.
"Encased in ice and stone."
"Impossible. Relays command vast energy reserves. They would repel all matter, turn away anything that might threaten their operation. Beleive me, we tried." John shrugged.
"And yet it happened."
Nihlus looked thoughtful.
"Your similarity to the Asari. Your hidden Mass Relay. It sounds almost..."
"...as if someone hid us from the Reapers on purpose? Yeah." John smiled unhappily. "The same thought occurred to us."
"But isn't that good?" Liara wanted to know. "It could mean that there is someone else out there fighting them."
"We fight the Reapers." He looked at Nihlus. "Do you like our methods?"
The Turian titled his head, conceding the point.
"It is possible some of my people did this." Javik pointed out. "A small group discovered you, figured out a way to occlude the Relay and hid you, without the knowledge of the others."
"Possible." John allowed. "But we found no message or hidden ruins conveniently full with superweapon blueprints or anything."
"No." Vetra agreed, grinning. "That would have made things to easy, wouldn't it?"
"Wouldn't want that." Kaidan agreed, grinning back.
Javik closed and opened his eyes one after the other in some sort of guesture.
"Still..."
"Look, I know it sounds tempting to believe, but if our system or we were prepared in some way, we haven't discovered it yet. The possibility doesn't help us now." John said firmly.
"So what do we do now?" Liara asked quickly, before Javik could continue to argue.
"Dr. T'soni, I appreciate what you have done for us so far..." Nihlus began only to be interrupted once again. This was happening alarmingly often to him these past few days.
"Don't even think about it. I want to help and I will. I know how to fight. I can help!" Liara insisted.
"Nihlus, Liara has connections we could use. And more experience than you think." John defended her.
The Asari gave him an ironic look.
"Thanks for creepily knowing things about me." The alien man laughed.
"Any time."
"She is still a civilian." Nihlus pointed out.
"So were Peebee and Vetra before you recruited them." John pointed out.
"Hey, I was military." Vetra defended herself.
"Yeah, but all Turians were military." Kaidan pointed out.
Vetra shoved him playfully and he returned the gesture grinning.
Nihlus sighed. They were already ganging up on him. And bonding over it, Spirits help him.
"Very well. I don't know where this delusion I might be in charge came from anyway."
"Very odd delusion." Peebee agreed.
"Should maybe talk to someone about that." John added, smiling.
"In my Cycle, making fun of superiors was discouraged. Offenders were strapped to the outside of ships as ablative armour." Javik commented, deadly serious. "If they survived the next engagement, they were considered forgiven."
Everyone stared at him, trying to figure out if he had been serious. Four eyes returned the gazes entirely calm. Four eyes were very good for staring at people.
"Right." Peebee said finally, with forced cheer. "Where to next?"
Nihlus sighed.
"First, we will simply ask her for information. We will plan accordingly afterwards."
"Good plan. Awesome plan. I am in favour of this plan." Peebee enthused.
"Wait, one last thing." Liara began, as they were all already turning to leave.
"You said the Reapers are machines, and that the Citadel and the Relays are made by them."
"Yes?" John said.
"Couldn't the Reapers...you know...live in them?"
"Yeah, sure." He answered nonchalantly.
There was a pregnant pause.
"But...that would mean..." Peebee began, looking slightly ill. "...that the Relays and the Citadel... are the Reapers?!"
Another pause.
"Urgh." Peebee made and Nihlus had to agree.
That was a...disturbing thought.
"Sadly, not only, no. They also have mobile units." Kaidan elaborated.
"How do those look like?" A very pale Liara wanted to know.
Nihlus didn't understand the answer: the Transhumans merely transmitted a top down view of the Council chamber floor plan to all of them.
He shook his head, knowing asking would be pointless.
"If this is all true, bringing Javik here truly was an incredible risk."
"Yes." John agreed easily. "But it seems to have paid off. He has been judged as...well, not harmless, but at least manageable by the Council, now that they have experts opinion claiming he is a fake. And the Reapers seem to agree that he is not a big threat, for now at least."
The Turian narrowed his eyes.
"How do you know?"
Ashley grinned maliciously.
"That's easy. They didn't blow up the Citadel." With obvious delight at their shocked faces she added. "Yet."
After that little bombshell came some more yelling and accusations, it took a while for the Citadelians to calm down.
Oddly enough, Javik took it much more easy than them. Despite the fact it had been mostly his life the Transhumans had been gambling with.
He seemed to approve of ruthless underhandedness when dealing with the Reapers.
Eventually though, everyone was more or less on one page, if not necessarily calm.
Nihlus powered down the rooms security systems, waited for John to confirm their own measures were shut down as well and opened the airlock.
He led them through the twisty maze of the Spectre Office towards a larger and rather sturdy looking door that was plastered with 'funny' office holos like "Warning, Hyperactive Elcor!" or "Stuff in use behind this door!".
"I should probably warn you." Nihlus said to his companions conversationally. "Do not take anything she might say to you personally."
"This 'Her' person we are here to ask for information, yes?" Javik seemed suspicious. "Who is she?"
"No one knows her true name." Vetra answered for her Boss. "She somehow managed to delete it completely."
"Well, a few matriarchs might still know." Peebee said.
"She is called the ADMIN." Nihlus told them as the door split into three segments that receded into the wall.
Behind it was a softly lit room, much bigger than the comparatively narrow corridors of the Office would have suggested.
The room was like one of the ancient theaters most species had build at some point.
An almost half circle when seen from above, with many steps leading down to a central floor.
Except in this case the 'floor' was a number of huge, high resolution holo rigs that projected a torrent of information into the air.
The holo-cloud was gigantic, consisting of individual 3D projections that blurred together into one gigantic mosaic.
The various levels of the 'theater' below were filled with surprisingly comfy looking work stations. Tall plants were everywhere, occasionally arrangements of soft looking furniture stood in groups on a level, inviting the people working there to get together and chat.
The ground was covered in a fluffy fabric. The primary colours everywhere were tan, pale gold and the colours of the various panels of wood that were tastefully worked in almost everywhere.
The overall impression was of a high class wellness center, not at all of a Spectre installation.
The only thing disturbing the almost homely atmosphere was the massive holo-cloud itself, and the Hanar operators, floating in their specialist interface tanks, covered from head to tentacle tip in their interface harnesses.
The room was well filled but not crowded, with people working on their stations, muttering into pickups, tapping on keyboards (both virtual and the expensive real kind) and sending holos full of information either into the cloud or beckoning them down with short, elegant gestures.
The noise of hundreds of people talking was drowned out by hyper-sound projectors that disrupted the talking voices and blurred them into a strong background murmur.
"Kryik!" An Asari called out good naturally.
She was walking up the steps to the highest level they were one, greeting the turian Spectre warmly.
The Asari was in her late Matron stage, clad in a white coat with blue highlights and equally white/blue pants. Somehow the outfit managed to communicate both elegance and practicality at the same time.
A comm link was attached to the right side of her head and she was surrounded by three small hovering drones, circling around her almost playfully.
Besides her 'walked' another hologram, most likely a VI assistant. It was an oddly sleek looking Turian. For some reason, the base colour of the holo seemed to be silver.
The Asari eyed Nihlus' entourage with bright, critical eyes.
"You old [curse], what bunch of sorry [curse] freaks have you dragged here for me this time, hm?"
Liara blinked.
It took her a moment to realise the other Asari was talking in some colony dialect instead of High Thessian, sufficiently different her translator had engaged.
"Good to see you too, ADMIN." Nihlus replied formally, hands clasped behind his back.
The Asari grinned widely and gave Nihlus arm a hearty slap, so hard he almost staggered to the side.
Surprisingly, the Turian smiled at the rough treatment, it was clearly a familiar gesture.
"Vetra, Peebee." ADMIN nodded at the other two women, who nodded back.
Javik, meanwhile, had been eyeing the holographic Turian with suspicion and as the fake Turian turned his head, movement unnaturally smooth, to meet his stare and focus on him, he jerked back with a hiss.
"It's an AI!"
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Aug 7, 2018
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#730
Councillor Collect Call
"Hm." ADMIN made. "Wouldn't have taken a Prothean of all people for a luddite."
"A reasonable fear of..."
Liara interrupted Javik by stepping half in front of him, stopping the coming tirade.
"Is this really an AI?" she asked, eyeing the silver Turian.
"Hello." It answered.
The voice was like it's appearance. Perfectly smooth and loftily disconnected from everything.
"Yup. Silver here has been a great help. Useful mind to have around."
Javik made a snort of derision.
A young drell woman approached ADMIN with a datapad while she talked. She scanned part of the text, signed it via thumb print and returned the pad, almost in one fluid movement, without pausing her explanation.
"I do maths good." The projection joked.
ADMIN snorted at him in amusement. "[curse]"
"I'm sorry." John said, trying a winning smile. "What is it exactly you're the admin off? Nihlus here has said little, only that you could have useful information."
The Asari looked both amused and rather smug.
"What am I the admin off?" She spread er arms wide, encompassing the room and beyond. "Everything. I am not an admin, I am the admin. I control the single greatest data collection and analysis operation in Citadel space. Everything that happens here gets caught by my net, sooner or later." She boasted.
"What about the STG"? John asked.
"One of my many sub divisions." The Asari stated dismissively.
Her wink indicated that she might not have been entirely serious.
"And the Shadow Broker?" Ashley wanted to know.
"Ah, now there is fucking talent! A [curse] serious opponent, but even he doesn't have my resources, or my operatives." Nihlus sighed good naturally.
"How often do we have to say it: the Spectres are not your operatives."
ADMIN waved the argument away.
"You coordinate the Spectres." Kaidan summarized. "You supply them with the info for their next missions."
"Yup. My busy little puppets." She agreed, at the same time as Nihlus said. "We go to her for advice."
They looked at each other.
"Occasionally." He added.
She narrowed her eyes.
"When there is no other option." He doubled down and ADMIN gave him a mock glare and swatted at him.
"As fascinating as this is." Ashley drawled. "Perhaps we should come back to the actual reason...?"
"Yes." ADMIN agreed. "A good idea. What do a bunch of Transhumans and the last living Prothean want form lil' ole me?"
"You believe us?" Kaidan asked. "About Javik, I mean?"
"Your arguments were convincing." ADMIN allowed. "In a way. Only a complete [curse] would try to present a fake Prothean like that. So either he is real..." She threw the Transhumans a haughty look. "...or you people are utter, incompetent morons and therefore harmless."
"Gee, thanks." Ashley said.
"Wait, how do you even know about that?" Liara wanted to know. "Those Council sessions are supposed to be secret." ADMIN threw her an impish grin.
"Nooo, really? Wooow."
The younger Asari narrowed her eyes.
Nihlus tried to get the conversation back on track.
"ADMIN, we came her for information."
"You always do." The Asari drawled with a hand wave.
"Isn't that right Silver? Isn't that what they always come here for?"
"They do." the AI holo answered dutifully.
"Never for a 'hello' or a 'how are you'."
"Never."
"Or just to say thank you for the last time my fucking intel pulled their asses out of the fire."
"Of the fire."
The Asari gave the holo a critical look.
"Are you sassin me?"
"Sassin me." The holo repeated, without inflection and then grinned as ADMIN gave an inelegant snort.
"The Geth, ADMIN. We are here to hear about the Geth." Nihlus said, patiently.
The Asari sobered immediately.
"Ah. Guessed as much."
A gesture of hers opened up additional holos in the air.
"Nasty business that. Small flotillas of Geth ships are sniffing in thirty-five different systems, including Terminus ones. It's spooking everyone and we won't be able to keep a lid on it for much longer. A few hours at best."
"Any idea what they want?" John asked.
The Asari shook her head, an unhappy, pinched look on her face.
"No. It looks like a scouting action for a future attack but..."
"It's too random and open." Silver helpfully said. "The scouts, if that is what they are, show up to randomly, in systems of all size and strategic or economic importance, without regard for stealth, only to disappear again. And the composition of the scouts is odd as well. Uneven numbers of ships and ship types. Hasty, inelegant."
"It's most likely a distraction of some kind." ADMIN continued. "Or they are looking for something."
"We think they might be looking for a Prothean device or information cache." John said.
"Oh"? Admin said, eyeing him. "Would fit the data."
A few gestures and a star map appeared, Geth visited systems glowing a bright green. Then some systems flashed again, this time in orange.
"Many of the world's visited are former Prothean worlds. Of course..." This time her attention was on Javik. "It would be helpful to know what they are searching for, exactly."
"I will not speak in the presence of that thing." Javik said tightly, glaring at the silver hologram.
ADMIN sighed, put upon, but nodded at Silver, who disappeared after nodding back.
Javik made a derisive sound.
"And this is supposed to assure me it isn't listening anymore?"
ADMIN was about to say something rude when Nihlus intervened again.
"Is there no pattern at all? No system they might have taken a greater interest in? No pattern to their movement?"
ADMIN send Javik one last glare then turned to the Turian, crossing her arms.
"None we can detect. They show up at the edges of the systems, maneuvering in a way that suggests scans of the settled planets and all major installations in system and retreat when confronted. There have only been a few minor skirmishes so far, a few dozen dead and damaged ships, nothing major."
Nihlus sighed.
"Can you give us a copy of the data? Maybe Javik will find something."
"Give you a copy of security sensitive data that you will most likely share with members of a polity who are, at best, 'not enemies' right now as well as an officially fake Prothean designed to subvert the hapless Citadel public? Without an official Council mission?!" She grinned. "Done."
Nihlus smiled and flared his mandibles at her. "Thank you."
"Sure thing, sugar. Just let me..."
Silver reappeared, looking serious.
"Apologies, ma'am, but Councillor Esheel is on the line. For Spectre Kryik and 'guests' end quote."
Abruptly ADMIN was all business.
"Conference room five is clear. Go."
Nihlus turned and marched out of the room, the others falling in line behind him.
The Conference room was several floors down, surprisingly roomy, but ceiling and walls were studded with obvious anti-surveillance tech.
They didn't bother with the chairs.
Nihlus sealed the room, entered his ident code and the hologram of the salarian Esheel materialised in front of them.
"Spectre." She said evenly.
A single glance was spared for the rest of them.
"I trust that by now you have the information on Geth movement?"
"Yes, Councillor." Nihlus answered, respectfully.
"We believe it might be a search for a Prothean device or information on such device, potentially a weapon against the Reapers."
Javik made a move as if to stop Nihlus sharing that, but John's raised hand stopped him.
"Hm." the Salarian made. "Under normal circumstances, I would dismiss such nonsense." A pause. "Unfortunately, circumstances are sufficiently un-normal I can not do so out of hand. The behaviour of Tevos and Sparatus, ever since your..." she hesitated, eyed Javik. "Prothean was found has been...alarming."
She turned her attention to the Transhumans.
"And although I can not say your conduct in this matter has been impressive so far, I can also not just dismiss the warning of such an advanced race out of hand."
"We believe that Councillors Tevos and Sparatus are under the influence of Reaper nano-technology." Nihlus helpfully added, earning him a rather dubious look from Esheel.
"So now you are claiming my fellow Councillors were compromised?"
"It is not just nano-machines." Javik corrected. Everyone turned to him. "The Reapers have a host of techniques to subdue a creatures mind. Nanotechnology was part of it, but there are others. Infra- and ultrasound, even magnetic changes. Innocent sights and sounds. Subtle influences that accumulate over time. Your Councillors are their puppets."
Esheel was silent for a moment.
"Tevos has served as Councillor for centuries. Sparatus has been here decades, but I only a few years."
"Yes." Javik confirmed her conclusion. "If given enough time, the change is insidious and barely noticeable until it is too late. But, if they were forced to act quickly, the process left...damages."
"Which would explain their erratic behaviour." John pointed out.
"And there is a way to corroborate that?" Esheel demanded brusquely.
"I am not a scientist of my people." Javik said. "But the signs were well known. Look for brain lesions, unexplainable, tiny areas of necrotic tissue. In later stages, physical deterioration was common as well, but at that point it was well too late anyway."
"I will see what can be done." Esheel said.
Her gaze rested on Nihlus.
"Meanwhile, Spectre, your task will be to figure out the Geth attacks and report back on your findings to me."
Nihlus didn't let his surprise show.
The Councillor just so happened to have the same task for him the Transhumans had proposed? What a coincidence.
"Councillor, if I may, why are you prioritising the Geth? Certainly corroborating the Transhumans' story has priority?"
Esheel narrowed her eyes.
"I am not in the habit of explaining my decisions, Spectre. But this seems to be the day of exceptions. The transhuman story may or may not be true. If these Reapers of yours haven't attacked until now, they will hardly do so in the foreseeable future, correct?"
Nihlus nodded hesitantly. The Transhumans didn't know why they hadn't attacked yet, a large part of their ruse with Javik had been about that, after all.
It might well be they would all be attacked tomorrow.
But Esheel would hardly react positively to what she would see as putting pressure on her.
"The Geth meanwhile are a concrete threat that must be dealt with anyway. And given the...correlation of their reappearance with Javik's awakening, the two threats may well be connected."
The reasoning was sound. Attack two goals with one shot, as a Turian would say.
Investigate the Geth, find out what they want and perhaps find additional evidence for or against the Transhumans.
Nihlus suspected there was a third benefit for Esheel as well: keep him busy so he couldn't do anything stupid.
"This is an unsanctioned, single Councillor assignment. You know what that means."
"I do, Councillor." Nihlus answered, formally.
"Then do you accept?"
"Yes, Councillor." Was the steadfast answer.
The Council was the single political body Spectres were accountable too. The entire Council.
To protect against corruption of the Councillors themselves and to allow for low probability or low priority assignments, singular Councillors could assign tasks. Tasks which were of course entirely deniable, unless retroactively sanctioned by the whole Council.
A Spectre was free to accept or refuse such a task. But if they did accept they were solely responsible for the outcome.
Such missions had made or broke Spectre careers in the past. Or had had more permanent outcomes.
Nihlus had just staked his career and possibly more on his trust that the Transhumans were genuine.
The Salarian showed no reaction to the Turian's answer.
"Very well. You have discretion in your methods and means to achieve your goal. Which includes discovering any Transhuman involvement, of course."
That had been obvious. That Esheel said it out loud meant she wanted a certain distance between the Council Spectre and his potential allies. And she wanted them to know that.
"Yes, Councillor."
"Of course I have merely spoken to you and your two subordinates."
"Yes, Councillor."
"I have no information regarding the whereabouts of the Transhumans or their fake Porthean."
That could or could not be construed as a semi-official sanction of cooperation with the aliens.
"Yes, Councillor."
"Good. One other thing." A barely there hesitation. "Tevos and Sparatus assigned Saren to follow you."
Nihlus stiffened for a fraction of a second, then got himself under control again.
"I understand, Councillor." He replied evenly.
Without a word of farewell Esheel signed off.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Threadmarks Leads and distractions
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Aug 9, 2018
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#736
Leads and distractions
"Well, that is fucking fantastic." Peebee commented.
"So now there's a Spectre after us?" Liara sounded nervous.
"There is a Spectre on our side as well." Vetra reminded her, sounding defensive of her Boss.
"Doesn't Tevos and Sparatus involvement imply this Saren is a Reaper tool as well?" John asked with a frown.
"I..." Nihlus began but did not finish the sentence.
For the first time the Turian seemed uncertain.
"We have to consider the possibility."
"It is likely." Javik said. "Do not let your trust in your colleague deceive you. Indoctrination does not care about personal loyalties, strength of will or integrity of character. If the Reapers want you to serve, you will."
"This is…" Liara looked disturbed.
"You can still leave if you want to." Kaidan said gently.
The more experienced members in their little group knew he was lying. She had been seen with them. She was now a person of interest to their enemies.
But as expected, giving her the choice steeled Liara's resolve.
"No." she said, face set with forced determination. "This is big and I can't help if I leave now. I stay."
"Very well" John said. "Next steps. Investigating the Geth will be tough enough on it's own. Let alone with a possessed Spectre on our back. Is there a way to shake Saren loose? Distract him, redirect him, discredit him if possible?"
Nihlus needed a moment to answer.
"Not that I know of, immediately. But we can always ask, can't we?"
So they headed back to ADMIN's little fiefdom.
"I know it's unusual. But do you have anything on Saren that looks...suspicious?" Nihlus asked her.
"Saren?" the Asari answered thoughtfully, while scrolling through her files. "No, not that I would know of. His file is exemplary. You suspect him of something?"
"We are not certain yet." The Turian answered, his best poker face on.
ADMIN threw him a quick look.
"You think he is corrupt and also after you. That's what the Councillor call was all about. I know you, Kryik."
Peebee snorted at the expression on Nihlus' face.
"There might be one thing." Silver said. Once again the AI hologram was on ADMIN's side when they had walked in, much to Javik's disquiet.
The Prothean wasn't the only one though.
Nihlus too was surprised how...present the AI really was. It seemed to be a great deal more involved in ADMIN's day to day work than he had anticipated.
They all turned to the holo expectantly, who opened more information screens in front of them.
A personal dossier of a turian C-SEC officer, filed reports, news clippings.
"A C-Sec investigator named Garrus Vakarian has made inquiries into Saren lately, following reports of irregularities. Unsubstantiated rumors, really."
"So?" ADMIN wanted to now brusquely. "That makes him one of thousands if not millions who follow Spectre rumors. And he would hardly be the only one to distrust them or believe conspiracy theories about them. Did he find any solid evidence?"
"No. Or at least, he didn't report any. However, he recently filed an official request for a C-SEC investigation into Saren Arterius' activities. Only a few days ago, in fact. The request was denied on grounds of insufficient evidence to open an investigation." The respective files appeared in the air in front of them. "A legitimate argument, as far as I can see, and in response Vakarian took outstanding vacation time. He hasn't reported in since."
"We find Vakarian, we find a lead on Saren." John summarized.
"Perhaps." ADMIN cautioned.
She gave Nihlus a thoughtful look.
"What is this about, Kryik? A Prothean? A new species? Council meetings and now you question Saren's integrity?"
"I can't tell you." Nihlus answered bluntly. "You changing your operations based on our suspicions could compromise the investigation."
"Everyone knows how outspoken he was against Transhumanity..." she thought out loud.
"I can neither confirm nor deny your conclusions." Nihlus said apologetically. "I will, however, leave a timebomb with you."
" 'Timebomb' ?" Ashley asked, eyebrow raised.
"A time locked, encrypted information cache." Peebee explained. "If the owner doesn't check in after a certain time, it will open and release it's contents."
"Appreciate the offer, but that won't be necessary." ADMIN decided with a sigh. "I, of all people, should know the value of not having certain information."
She nodded at Silver who made a shooing gesture with one hand. The files flickered away and Nihlus' Omni-Tool beeped, confirming the received transmission.
"Once again, thank you." Nihlus said.
He and ADMIN pressed their raised fore arms together in a turian salute, then they all turned to leave, nodding or waving heir own goodbyes.
They were at the door when she called after them.
"Be careful, hon. I'd hate to see you show up in my statistics. You of all people know how fucking dangerous Saren can be."
They were approaching the Spectre Office's main entry.
"You need to disguise yourself again. Seeing you would draw to much..." The Transhumans and Javik shimmered out of existence as their cloaks engaged.
"Right." Nihlus said, mouth twitching in almost-amusement.
"So, how do we find this Vakarian?" Peebee wanted to know.
"Easy." Nihlus said, scrolling through the new files on his 'Tool.
"We ask around in the underworld."
"Will criminals talk to us?" Ashley asked, sceptically.
"Oh yes. Criminals like talking to Spectres."
"Really?" Liara was surprised.
"Yes. We are outside normal laws, so can overlook certain things. They also know that if a Spectre is involved, the situation is serious and a potential threat to them as well.
And they reason that stopping a big crime makes up for their little crimes. Many criminals like to believe they have a moral code, you see? It eases their conscience.
And lastly, they know that if they don't cooperate, a Spectre is going to come after them."
"In my cycle, there were no criminals left." Javik commented. "You either obeyed the directives, or were killed by the Reapers."
"Lovely." Ashley drawled.
Nihlus stopped abruptly, making some almost bump into him.
"Silver found the other Transhumans." He said tonelessly.
"Oh?" Peebee asked. "What are they doing?"
"Partying it up on the Silver Sun, apparently."
"...What?"
Nihlus send the footage to everyone.
It was a camera feed from some asari lifestyle reporter, showing her dancing with a Transhuman.
In the foreground someone else was taking a huge swig from a bottle labelled in bright warning signs and multiple languages RYNCOL.
He comically twisted his face, then burped a gust of bright flame, to the laughter and applause of those around him.
In the background Nathalie was arm wrestling a Krogan and a burly male Transhuman was copying the moves of some asari dancer with surprising elegance and sensuality, earning him whistles and approving shouts.
Peebee burst out laughing.
"They know how to par-tey!"
"Not very discreet is it?" Javik hissed.
John sounded unconcerned.
"It's meant as a distraction."
"And for that it is to obvious." Vetra warned.
Nihlus could hear the smile in John's answer.
"Which is why some of them will occasionally sneak away to do some rather innocent, but highly suspicious looking things elsewhere."
"That could work." Nihlus admitted. "It's obvious it's a distraction, but one they can't effort to ignore."
In the video something crashed and people screamed approval.
"Right then." Liara said, while shaking her head. "Let's go talk to a criminal about a police officer."
Well, it turned out they were actually not doing that. Or at least, not all of them.
Nihlus had to go in alone, Vetra and Peebee having to wait with the cloaked members of the team.
His contact, whoever it was, was apparently 'shy around strangers'.
They had to wait almost two hours.
"This is taking to long." Javik complained. "I need to contact the Beacon as soon as possible."
"Having a Reaper controlled Spectre on our back would be bad, no matter what the Beacon tells you." John argued.
"There is no guarantee this Vakarian Officer will have anything useful for us!"
"True. He is our best, because only, chance though."
The Prothean's silence gained a frosty quality.
They were all relieved when Nihlus finally returned, meeting them (or rather, Peebee and Vetra) in a filled restaurant.
They had carefully picked it for the seating arrangements that formed loose circles around a center table, allowing the invisible among them to stay inside the circle and so out of everyone's way.
"I got Vakarian's lead." Nihlus announced as soon as he sat.
"He has been asking around as well and Saren has apparently pissed of someone rather high ranking. Potentially the Shadow Broker himself."
That got widened eyes from everyone visible and an impressed whistle from Peebee.
"No one knows anything specific, but apparently Saren is after some Quarian. Vakarian has the same info, but no one knows where he is either. I think our best bet will be finding the Quarian in question directly. But if she is hiding in the Wards somewhere, that might be a problem."
"No it won't." John's disembodied voice said. "A public service clinic on the Zakara Ward has reported an injured Quarian. She was discovered coming from an ally wounded and brought in."
Instead of answering verbally Nihlus typed in his question in his 'Tool.
BossMan: And where did you 'find' this information?
"C-SEC files." John answered, sounding amused.
Nihlus sighed warily. Rules did not seem to exist for these people. Like for Spectres. There was a reason most of his colleagues did not work well with each other.
BossMan: Lead the way.
Nihlus and Vetra lowered their datavisors while Peebee and Liara used cheaper AR-glasses.
Glowing outlines now showed the position of John and the others. As well as a map blinking with the position of the clinic.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Threadmarks Entrance Tali'Zorah
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HandleWithCare
Aug 14, 2018
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#739
Entrance Tali'Zorah
Tali'Zorah nar Ekuna had had better days.
She had been in a few tight spots before. But this...
The boshtet Shadow Broker patsy had double crossed her, selling her out. She should have guessed as she noticed how nervous he had been, damn it.
Her shoulder hit the alley wall the exact moment her shotgun beeped and she unloaded it into the roaring Batarian charging her.
The pellet of projectiles was accelerated by the mass effect/magnetic field combination. In the last stretch of the barrel the shaped charge in the middle detonated, the energy caught by the mass effect field in the weapons aperture, directing the force outwards.
The result was a cloud of carefully shaped shards hitting the oversized goon's shields, overwhelming them and blasting the man backwards.
Tali barely felt any recoil at all. Quarian craftsmanship.
Unfortunately, there were more goons.
Swearing up a storm she scrambled forward again, her already weakened shields flashing as bullets impacted her body.
She found cover behind...something and pulled her pistol from her holster while her overworked shotgun cooled down.
The weapon had saved her life, the goons hadn't expected something with it's stopping power. But it's cooling cycle was abysmal.
She wildly gave of pot shots, not really expecting a hit, but wanting to force her opponents into cover while she waited for the shotgun to be ready again.
Sadly, her enemies did not like to wait.
Her cover was blown apart, sending her flying.
The suit absorbed most of the damage, but she was still disoriented, head ringing and vision blurred.
"Bastard!" Someone screamed, followed by a horribly weak scream and a gurgle.
Tali wanted to fight herself back to her feet when warning icons appeared on her HUD and sirens screamed in her ears. She froze. Suit breach.
Her hand slapped to her side where the damage was indicated and came away with the typical red blood of oxygen breathers.
Funny, she thought half coherently, no pain.
Something bumped her helmet and she looked up into the barrel of one of the goons, a Salarian whose eyes and face showed the signs of long years of drug abuse.
"You killed Bremer, Talko and Lua." He hissed out hate filled, the usual clipped speech of his species slurred instead. Much slower than normal too.
"And that moron Ta'rahn took out himself and Lesh. But I got you missy. End of the line."
Tali stared into his eyes, feeling eerily calm.
I tried were her last, bitter thoughts. At least I tried.
The Salarian tensed his finger...and something beeped.
The shotgun had cooled down.
She saw the sudden realisation in his eyes.
Tali'Zorah nar Ekuna squeezed the trigger without hesitation.
She stumbled out of the alley, one hand uselessly pressed over the wound in her side.
The suit had sealed it and she barely felt it anymore thanks to painkillers.
But it was to late. Her suits bio monitors had discovered a host of infections already spreading, if she didn't get medical attention soon...
"Goddess!" Someone shouted.
She had reached the street already.
Tali hadn't noticed.
Indistinct, colourful shapes where all round her. Why was she here again?
"Please." She murmured weakly.
"She is hurt! Call an ambulance!"
"Compliance."
"Please..." She muttered. The scenery had changed.
Oh, she had fallen down.
Blurry shapes moved around her.
"Scan her, diagnosis and treatment."
"Please...help..."
"Sssh." another voice, a Salarian. "They'll be here soon, you'll be okay."
The darkness was closing in but there were voices. And hands, hands on her, holding her.
Tali felt like crying.
At least she wasn't alone.
She came to herself abruptly, with a jerk.
She winced when...she didn't hurt exactly, but the numbness wasn't normal either.
"Hello." A friendly voice said, the owner coming slowly into focus.
An asari face, warm and friendly, visible through...
"My suit!" Tali shouted, in near panic.
She shot up...and promptly bumped her head against a transparent covering above her.
"Boshtet!"
"Careful!" the Asari called. "You're in a sterile-environment capsule."
Groaning and much more carefully this time Tali lowered herself.
"My suit?" She persisted.
"We had to remove it for treatment." The Asari answered. "It is being cleaned nearby."
Tali laid back fro a moment, trying to calm down, trying to think.
"How bad is it?" She asked the Doctor.
"The wound is closed, replacement tissue is already connecting. The infections are stopped. But you are still weak, you'll need to..."
"I have to go." Tali made motions to sit up again, carefully this time.
"Wait!" The Asari cried out. "You can't..."
"Doctor." Tali said, determined. "I have to leave. Th people who did this to me will be coming after me again. You are not safe."
Tali wasn't a specialist for alien facial expressions, but she had seen enough Asari (and asari entertainment) to recognise the conflicted look on the Doctor's face.
"Please have my suit ready and help me out. I will pay you for your troubles, of course."
The Asari said nothing, clearly unhappy, but also unwilling to put her other patients at risk.
She stepped to the controls for the robotic manipulators that lined the inside of the capsule.
Together they managed to get Tali back into the cleaned, sterilised suit.
She was steady on her feet, though still a little woozy. And the numbness in her side felt just wrong.
Still, it would have to do.
She couldn't risk bringing her attackers here.
Clinics like this one were unarmed, and for good reason. Fortified positions were considered a threat by local criminals, the clinics only protection was that it neutrally treated everyone without providing shelter for anyone.
Her attackers weren't local though, they wouldn't care.
No, she had to leave.
Tali used an anonymised payment scheme via her Omni-Tool to transfer the sum she owned, suppressing her guild.
The money ultimately came out of the Quarians' communal funds, but the clinic was a non profit.
And if those who could didn't pay, it would eventually be unable to care for those who couldn't.
"Thank you, Doctor." She said finally, careful to make no rapid movements.
The Doctor, having looked conflicted the entire time, finally blurted out. "Wait. If you have any problems or need a checkup, contact me." She typed on her 'Tool. "My name is..."
"Wait." Tali said sharply, raising a hand. "Don't tell me your name. The less I know abut you and you about me, the better, I think".
Those cop procedurals did come in handy, huh, mom?
The Asari looked even less happy, but nodded.
Tali bowed to her asari-style.
"Keelah se'lai."
And left the building.
The clinic was in what one could charitably call the...more relaxed part of the Upper Zakara Ward.
Not a slum, of course.
Citadel space was rich enough, even with the recent militarisation, that people didn't hunger to death. Especially not on the Citadel itself.
But the building codes were more relaxed here, houses more cramped, with odd alleys and little nooks and crannies, formed by the lack of central planning.
Which is why they still couldn't see the clinic, despite being only a few dozen meters away, when the transhuman silhouettes suddenly tensed and warning signals flash in the groups' HUDs.
"There are intruders in the clinic, they disconnected the surveillance system." John's voice informed them.
"Understood." Nihlus acknowledged.
"Unless you can cloak, we should..."
"I am a Spectre." Nihlus replied calmly. "And this is the Citadel."
John didn't argue.
He and the others drew their weapons and he waved Liara to stay behind.
For once, the young Maiden obeyed. She had brought no weapons to the Council hearing and regretted that decision now.
She pressed herself to a nearby wall.
The rest of the group rushed forward, noise cancelling system swallowing the sound they made.
Through smaller streets, a tiny 'park' and their was the building, main entrance wide open, doors without power.
They slowed and entered, careful to stay low.
"I told you, I did not share information about the Quarian with the officer."
Nihlus saw four thugs threatening an Asari, a Doctor going by her uniform. She was standing tall and proud...and unarmed.
Another Asari, a nurse by looks of things, was cowering beside a flower, which provided exactly zero cover.
She saw them enter, looking at Nihlus with frightened eyes.
Unfortunately, so did the attackers.
The room was wide and open, the area directly behind the entrance empty and the thugs spotted them a second after the nurse did.
The lead thug, a Drell, grabbed the Doctor, pressing a pistol to her head.
"Whoever you are, this is none of your business! Fuck off!"
In Nihlus HUD, the silhouettes of John, Kaidan and Ashley reacted immediately.
They holstered their weapons, drawing oblong, small shapes instead and begun to quickly, but silently, move forward, trying to surround the thugs.
'Distract them' appeared in his HUD.
"We are only here for the Doctor." The Spectre called. "Let her go and you may leave unharmed."
"Uhuh." The Drell made, unimpressed. "We will leave...with her. And if we get far enough without being followed, we may even let her g..."
A shot rang out.
Last edited: Aug 16, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Aug 16, 2018
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#754
Old friend
The aim was perfect, the timing was not. The lead thug's pistol flew from his hand, to fast for him to trigger it.
"What…!"
John cursed in the comms.
But now the thugs were ducking away, even as the Transhumans shot forward and tried to stab them.
They were almost fast enough.
Three of four thugs abruptly jerked as the long shapes made contact with their necks. They twitched and collapsed.
Thug number four, the leader, evaded the invisible shape meant for him.
Nihlus was on him in a second, wrestling him of the hostage.
The Asari managed to half fall, half jump to safety and begun to crawl away.
The Drell cursed, trying to get free, but his opponent was a Spectre, trained to safely restrain a multitude of species.
Nihlus wrenched him around to destabilise him, got one foot behind one of his and abruptly threw his own body around.
The Drell flew over Nihlus' hip and both of them went down with a heavy thud.
The thug continued to wriggle and curse, trying to get free, as Nihlus slowly drew his hands together on his back.
"Fucking cops, I'll fucking..."
Nihlus hesitated as the cursing stopped.
"Where that the only ones?" A new voice inquired but the Spectre ignored the question, turning the Drell around to look at his face.
The man was staring back at him, eyes wide and surprised.
Then he convulsed, throwing his head back.
"What the...!" The new voice asked alarmed, as the Spectre tried to wrestle the convulsing body into submission.
Desperately he tried to grasp at the thug's mouth, hoping the poison was in there, but the muscles in the jaw were seizing.
Other fingers joined to help, cursing and grunting as their owners tried to force the lips and teeth apart.
Panting Nihlus let go of the man and activated his Omni-Tool.
Too late.
The body, face twisted and eyes rolled back, ceased moving, relaxing on the floor in a stillness that was all to familiar.
Ashley cursed. Her silhouette was kneeling by another thug, an Asari.
"These ones too." She reported.
"Suicide charges." Nihlus rumbled out in disgust.
"They killed themselves? I thought they were only hired muscle."
Nihlus looked up to see the owner of the new voice, a Turian, stare at the corpses in surprise. Officer Vakarian, presumably.
"I think they were." Nihlus answered. "I doubt they knew they had been prepped like that."
He rose, petting imaginary dust from his hardsuit to give himself some time.
Shit.
He went over to help the released hostage up from the floor, kneeled down...and froze when he recognised her.
"Lexi?"
The Asari stared at him in shock.
"Nihlus." She breathed...and was suddenly in his arms, clinging to him.
Shorttaken he returned the hug awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
"I'm sorry...that was." She detached from him, but accepted his hand as she stood up.
"It's just...it's been a while since someone pointed a gun at me and I didn't expect it here of all places..."
"Sorry." He cursed himself for the inane answer.
There was an awkward moment of them staring at each other before John pointedly cleared his throat.
Nihlus tried to miss hear Peebee's suppressed snickering and Vetra's quiet "Smooth, Boss."
"Sorry to interrupt, but we need to find the Quarian, and quickly." The Transhuman reminded him.
"Yes." He took a step backward, clearing his throat awkwardly. "I'm sorry, Dr. T'Perro, but we require your help in locating a missing Quarian."
Lexi seemed glad for the distance between them. She pulled herself together, regaining her aura of professionalism.
"Yes. Of course. However, I'm afraid I cannot really help you with that. She left here without saying where or leaving contact information."
"Great." Ashley groaned, followed by Kaidan's "Psst!"
"I'm looking through surveillance feeds around here." John informed them. "But I need more info. How long ago did she leave?"
"Did you just 'psst' me?"
"How long ago did she leave?" Nihlus repeated dutifully, since Lexi couldn't actually hear the others.
"Would you just shush it?"
Lexi bit her lip, looking unsure.
"Spectre, Doctor patient confidentiality..."
"Does not apply when the patient is in mortal danger." Nihlus reminded her gently.
"I really shouldn't..."
"Oh for..." With a shimmer, John, Kaidan and Ashley became visible, the latter two glaring at each other.
Lexi gasped as she saw the newcomers.
"You! I saw a report, they say you are..."
"Yes, we're Transhumans." John interrupted "We are here to help, the Quarian is in danger, please give us the information needed. Now."
Lexi blinked, hesitated a moment more, then visibly overcame herself.
"Very well."
She typed on her 'Tool, granting them access to the patient data.
The Transhumans stared into nothing for a moment.
"Half an hour ago." John grimaced. "She could be everywhere on the Citadel by now."
Then he did something weird.
He stepped away from the group, stuck his nose up and took a deep breath.
"Got her." He said immediately. "Her suit's been cleaned, but I pick up the chemicals used. Let's go."
"We have to take the Doctor with us." Kaidan said.
Nihlus nodded after a second.
"He is right. They might come back for you."
"I..." Lexi hesitated.
Peebee stepped forward.
"Come on, Lex. You know we're right. It'll be like old times."
The older Asari threw the younger a withering look.
"You mean firefights, patching you lot up, fleeing for our lives, that sort of thing?"
Peebee beamed.
"Exactly!"
TPerro let out a heartfelt sigh. Then shrugged.
"Somehow, I can't even claim to be surprised. Give me an hour to pack. Is the Hapless Intruder docked?"
"Dock 16, Bay 12." Vetra confirmed.
"Good. I'll meet you lot there. Now go rescue my patient."
She threw Nihlus a last look, then turned to head for the nurse, who was openly crying by now.
Nihlus had forgotten her.
Oops.
"Let's go people!" Ashley bit out, impatiently.
They turned to leave, the Transhumans cloaking again.
"Hey, wait!"
Nihlus turned. It was officer Vakarian.
"I'm coming with you."
Nihlus opened his mouth to automatically say "No", but John was faster.
"Yes, great, you'll be safe with us as well and might be useful. Let's go."
Not bothering to argue (and ignoring Peebee's renewed laughter at the expression on his face) Nihlus lead them outside again.
Liara was standing there, already waiting for them. She had listened in on the comms, of course.
Nihlus observed how the transhuman silhouettes swarmed out. They could be heard over the comms actually sniffing, like bizarre bipedal Varren on a hunt, finding a scent trace in the air.
"This way" Kaidan said, leading them on.
Tali cursed her own heroism. If she had accepted the Doctor's contact info she might now be able to call for help.
Instead she ducked as stray projectiles impacted all around her.
This time they weren't even in any alley either.
People were screaming as they fled the scene or cowered like she did.
Not everyone, though.
The recent militarisation in Citadel space had made (stylish) battlesuits and functional weapons fashionable with certain people and now several enthusiastic 'heroes' where returning fire on Tali's attackers.
The problem was that since neither side wore anything resembling uniform clothing and since Tali didn't have access to her attackers tacnet (she had tried, those thugs used suspiciously good cyber security systems), she had no way of telling which side was which and the chaos around her only grew.
She used the relative quiet she had found behind a potted plant line to try to come up with a strategy. The soil and plastic covering didn't stop projectiles, but slowed them down enough her shields could easily deal.
It was only a matter of time until C-SEC arrived on scene, but would that really help?
Her opponent was a Spectre. She wouldn't be safe in police custody.
Behind her a turian voice screamed, then was cut off suddenly.
The Council might react, firefights on the Citadel might not have been exactly rare...full blown assaults, in 'broad daylight' so to speak, were however...
But even then...her word would go against a Spectre's, no matter what evidence she had.
No, the Shadowbroker remained her best bet...
Something exploded and Tali instinctively curled together.
Boshtet!
She...she had to get to another information broker, someone who could connect her.
Something or someone landed with a heavy thud.
How? Even if she survived this fight, evaded C-SEC...
It was only when heavy steps echoed right in front of her that she noticed how quiet it had become.
Her head snapped up.
A curiously neutral looking Turian stood in her front of her, his weapon, she noted nervously, not pointed at her. Right now.
"Hello." He said politely. "Are you the Quarian with information about a rogue Spectre?"
She blinked.
"Uhm...yes?"
"Excellent."
He reached down to gallantly offer her a hand, gently pulling her to her feet.
"My name is Spectre Kryik, I require your assistance."
Tali half listened to him as she looked around.
Her attackers, as well as the trigger happy civilians, were lying around, either still and silent or moaning and writhing.
She only saw two Asari and another two Turians left standing and one of the Asari wasn't even armed.
Boshtet, how...?
"Miss?"
She turned to the Turian, in a daze.
"I am dreadfully sorry, but we have too evacuate the premises immediately." He explained gently.
Again Tali blinked.
"Yes...of course." She cradled her shotgun, taking strength from the familiar weight.
He nodded and turned to lead them away, but she stopped him.
"Wait, won't C-SEC...?"
He looked back at her but didn't stop moving.
"Security pick ups are disabled, but won't stay so for long. Please hurry."
Too bewildered to do anything else, Tali followed him.
Last edited: Aug 20, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#763
Catching Up
Tali followed her rescuers through a maze of sometimes normal and sometimes rather odd looking corridors behind the normal store fronts and facades on the Citadel, through twists and turns and discreet, half-hidden doors.
She quickly realised they weren't alone.
Doors opened before their group reached them and stayed open after they passed and they occasionally waited in spots for no obvious reason, as if someone was scouting ahead, making sure the way was clear.
They took one last turn, headed 'down' again and found themselves in a rather large hall. It wasn't particularly tall and threaded through by girders, cabling and pipes, but stretched away in every direction so that she couldn't make out the walls.
They were in one of the service levels 'beneath' the buildings, the layer of support infrastructure between the actual, liveable habitat and the Citadel 'proper', the original prothean station.
With a shimmer, additional figures became visible and Tali, barely recovered from a day of mortal danger, backed away, wide eyed, from the unfamiliar figures.
Those were not aliens she recognised and...THAT GUY LOOKED LIKE A PROTHEAN!
No, that couldn't be. Could it?
She nervously wrung her hands.
And what where those other things supposed to be? Furry Asari in tan?
She realised they were all looking at her, expectantly.
"I...sorry, but...I mean, thank you for helping me, but...who are you?"
The Turian from before raised his hand in a calming gesture.
"Please, do not be alarmed, Miss...?"
"Uh, Zorah. Tali'Zorah nar Ekuna sadim."
"Hello, Ms. Zorah. I am Nihlus Kryik. 'Sadim' means 'shipless', correct? You are on your Pilgrimage?"
Tali felt herself relaxing, almost against her will.
"Yes...many of us still follow the tradition."
"And I suspect, during your travels you stumbled over something incriminating regarding Spectre Saren Arterius."
"Yes. I...we found some Geth, on an uninhabited world." That led to some exchanges of looks, especially between the prothean looking creature and one of the furry Asaroids, but no one said anything.
"They split up and I managed to disable one and extract data. It's a recording..."
She tapped on her 'Tool and a hologram appeared between them.
It showed a full frontal perspective of looking down at a Turian, who was looking upwards in turn.
At the sight of the familiar face Nihlus involuntarily twitched.
The video settings were decidedly odd. It showed no colours, instead everything was a lighter or darker shade of grey, though with a ridiculously high contrast of lines and shapes. The resolution was impressive as well. Even though Tali merely used her Omni-Tool projector, the onlookers could see slight irregularities in Saren's fringe and pigmentation changes in his face paint.
Tali pressed another button and the recording started, evidently directly in the middle of a conversation.
Audio was odd as well, hyper sensitive, with every background sound audible, which would normally have been filtered out by modern audio pick ups.
"...still no new data from Ilium?"
When the Geth answered, it was in a monotone approximation of a turian voice, speaking Palaven.
"No additional runtimes could be inserted, Saren-Prophet."
Saren did not look pleased about this piece of news.
"That complicates things, but we have altern..."
The recording ended.
"It is only a fragment." Tali said, apologetically.
"Runtimes?" Vetra asked.
"The Geth are pure software." Tali explained. "They can copy or insert themselves into anything with enough processing power and storage. The Geth must be trying to infiltrate Ilium."
"What for?" Kaidan wondered aloud.
"Why not?" Liara asked back. "Ilium is a hub of commerce and much of the things happening there are in a legal grey zone. Lot's of opportunity for power players to gain leverage of some kind, be it information, money or simply new connections."
That brought her a few dubious looks.
She rolled her eyes at them.
"I did grow up with a politician for a mother."
"We have the evidence now. What will happen next?" The 'Prothean' wanted to know. Tali was pretty sure she had never before heard the language that was audible beneath the translators artificial voice.
"It's not that simple." John answered.
He threw Tali a questioning look. "Your crypt-key is up to date?"
"Of course." Tali answered back a little indignantly. "Though I am not sure how useful that will be."
Faking digital media was of course the easiest thing in the world.
Therefore, complicated authentication systems were in place to verify digital transmissions or recordings, complex webs of trust and control.
One of the many advantages of the Quarians rejoining galactic civilisation was that their own authentication nets had been reconnected to those of the wider Citadel and were now legally acceptable evidence again.
However, the Geth hardly used Citadel standard protocols, meaning that the verification chain begun and ended with the Geth recording.
And ultimately, although it was certainly difficult, with enough effort anything could be faked.
Which meant that in the end their word would once again stand against that of someone else.
And with Tevos and Sparatus being in thrall, that was a loosing position from the beginning.
John explained as much to Javik.
"What do you mean, the Council is being controlled?" The second male Turian asked, in a disbelieving voice.
Only now did Tali notice that he kept his distance from the rest of the group, separate from them somehow.
"Then what was the point of this!" The Prothean exploded. "You wasted our time chasing useless evidence. Time that could have been better spent on recovering the Beacon from the Council you handed it over to!"
John had shared the little tidbit of the Beacon confiscation shortly before they rescued the Quarian, most likely banking on the coming firefight to prevent a prothean outburst.
"Uhm, the Council is being controlled?" Tali asked as well.
"The Council will dismiss the evidence." John clarified. "Councillor Esheel will not. It isn't exactly independent confirmation of our story, but proving Saren works with the Geth will cement our credibility. Not just with Esheel, but hopefully with other Spectres too, if it comes to that. Also, the Council took it, we didn't hand it over."
Javik growled something the translator didn't catch, or maybe he just growled in general.
"Hey!" The Turian shouted, angry now. "What do you mean the Council is being controlled. How? By whom?"
John and Nihlus exchanged looks.
"Long story." John said. "But I suppose you two might as well know."
"More civilians?" Nihlus protested.
The Transhuman shook his head.
"She is already deeply involved and it's only a matter of time till Saren or his masters come for Vakarian as well."
The Spectre looked unhappy but was unable to refute that.
Liara, Vakarian and Zorah were already persons of interest to the Reapers.
Keeping them safe was hardly an option anymore.
"So, exposition time. First of all, we are Transhumans and..."
The whole, compressed explanation, video evidence, explanations of unclear points etc. took almost an hour.
In that time they moved further through the 'ducts', invisible group members scouting ahead, manipulating surveillance equipment as they went.
The story left a stunned Vakarian and Zorah.
"I...I knew it was bad when I found out the Turian was a Spectre. But this..." The young Quarian said tremulously.
"What can we do?" The officer wanted to know, voice rough.
"You already have done a lot." Nihlus answered. "This evidence will help us against Saren, at least."
"But it won't stop these 'Reapers'." Vakarian noted.
"Which is why we should focus on the Beacon!" The Prothean insisted loudly. "I am certain this Saren person and his machines are looking for something of my people. The Beacon will tell us what!"
"First things first." Nihlus said. "We present the evidence to Esheel and leave copies of it in trustworthy hands. That should net us some support, let us operate more freely. Then we figure out what the Reapers are having the Geth looking for."
"Is that...really a priority?" Vakarian asked, sceptically.
"What do you mean?" Peebee wanted to know, surprised. "We should find out what they are doing, shouldn't we?"
"You said there is an invasion coming. Is finding something they may or may not be looking for really important right now?"
"Yes." Javik said firmly. "The Reaper invasion should already have occurred, by what I can see. Yet, it has not. There must be reason for that and it is logical to assume that whatever it is the Geth machines are looking for is this reason. I believe it is a weapon of my people."
Vakarian remained sceptical.
"One weapon to prevent a galaxy wide invasion?"
"I am uncertain as well." John said. "Especially since it seems odd the Reapers would risk delaying their invasion and therefore give us more time to prepare. For a weapon system that would presumably be inaccessible once they started their invasion anyway. I mean, they could simply begin with those planets they believe the weapon might be on, right?"
"I thought you wanted us to check out the Geth?" Vetra asked surprised.
"Oh I still do. Javik is right, something is having the Reapers spooked. Their heavy handed reaction to Javik's discovery and awakening, coupled with the delayed invasion is an obvious sign. I'm just saying, we probably shouldn't put all our hope into a mystical prothean super-weapon already. It might be something else entirely."
Javik looked insulted by the 'mystical prothean super-weapon' part, but then, he often looked like this.
"So...what is the plan exactly?" Tali wanted to know.
"Access the Beacon." Javik said.
"Go to Omega." John said at the same time.
They looked at each other.
"We told you, we think the Beacon is rigged." Johns added, a hint impatiently.
"The Beacons are knowledge repositories of my people." Javik answered, unimpressed. "Many of them had Memories of their own. If whatever the machines are looking for is related to my people, then the best chance to find out about it is accessing it. Why waste time?"
"The Beacon has been locked away by the Council, accessing it won't be easy and you have been ordered of station, like the rest of us." John countered. "Let us follow the Geth trail, find more evidence for the coming Reaper attack, and I am sure we will be granted access."
Liara hesitantly raised a hand.
"Actually, I could probably help with that, right now."
Everyone looked at her.
The Maiden raised her head to counter their scrutiny.
"How?" Javik wanted to know, all four eyes narrowed.
"Well, I am a Prothean researcher and know the respective people on the Citadel. Furthermore, the Beacon is a prothean artifact and an extremely important one as well. There are certain rules for handling such artifacts that even the Council can't simply ignore. Well..." She immediately corrected herself. "They could but not for long. An intact prothean Beacon? The spies of every polity will soon hear about this. I wouldn't be surprised if the Councillors were already be flooded with requests and demands of access to it by the more powerful players."
"Which sounds more like it would make accessing the Beacon more difficult, not less." Tali noted.
Liara gave her a crafty smile.
"The point is accessibility. I am a certified Prothean expert and…" She mentally sighed. "My mother is a famous Matriarch. What do you think would happen if I guaranteed certain people that I have found someone who can access the stored data and promise them either first access or to include them in a blind auction for the data?"
Javik blinked.
"I have no idea what you are talking about."
"Remember, he is a soldier from a total war." Kaidan said, half amused.
Liara blinked as well.
"Right."
She turned to the Prothean.
"We promise people access to any data you might find in return for access to the Beacon. Someone will certainly bite, hoping to gain an advantage."
Javik scowled.
"The heritage of my people is not a tool to be bargained with like..."
"If it means defeating the Reapers, it absolutely is." John interrupted and once again Transhuman and Prothean were glaring at each other.
Nihlus was growing tired of it.
"I agree that we should focus on the Geth, but I don't see why we cannot follow the Beacon trail simultaneously?" He tried to compromise. "Except for the whole 'getting thrown of the Citadel' thing, that is."
"I could arrange the meeting while he is gone and than you bring him back?" Liara offered.
Looks were exchanged.
"That could work." Nihlus agreed. "I have a corvette. We could use it to head for Omega and then bring Javik back and sneak him in."
"More delays." Javik groused, but nodded grudgingly at the Turian. The gesture still looked very stiff, obviously not part of normal prothean body language.
"Very well." The Spectre said. "Than we'll contact Esheel and ADMIN and deliver our footage. Afterwards, we'll leave for Omega while Liara organizes access for Javik."
Last edited: Aug 23, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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#768
Call your mothers
They found another empty room in the underworks with a hard-wired comm node. The thing looked decades out of date, but was still connected and running.
It was Tali who set up the connection.
The young Quarian showed her skill-level quickly while taking care of anonymisation, routing, encryption etc.
"There." She finally said, sending Nihlus' 'Tool a comm token.
He let his own security suite sweep the connection first, found no problems and then dialled in the connection to Esheel.
Unsurprisingly, the Councillor was busy.
They settled in to wait.
They passed the time with Vakarian, Liara and Tali asking curious questions of Javik which the grumpy Prothean mostly refused to answer. Or at least, refused to answer in any way that was useful.
"Did the Protheans really rule the entire galaxy?"
"Only nine quarters of it."
"What where your cities like?"
"Angular."
"Did you have something like the Spectres?"
"Yes. They were called soldiers."
Nihlus suspected the Prothean hadn't had this much fun in ages.
After a surprisingly short while, half an hour maybe, Esheel called back
"Spectre." Her sharp eyes raked over the motely crew, taking in Vakarian and Zorah.
"Councillor, I regret to inform you that it has come to firefights on the Citadel resulting in casualties."
She made an impatient gesture that meant 'go on'.
Nihlus explained Tali's circumstances and finally showed Esheel her footage.
For the first time the Salarian showed a reaction.
Her mouth tightened slightly.
"If that checks out it is...a disturbing development." She was silent for a moment, mulling things over.
"If Saren works with or for the Reapers the situation is more dire than assumed. I will check your information and decide what to do next. For now, continue your information gathering."
The call ended.
"That's it?" Tali was outraged.
"She isn't believing anything we said." John explained.
"Of course not." Nihlus agreed. "She isn't stupid. But she will look into this. Hopefully with tangible results."
Tali grumbled something Nihlus choose to overhear.
"For now, we can't do more. I already sent the info to ADMIN for safekeeping. We should focus on the next step."
"Easy." John announced. "We leave the Citadel and rendezvous at Omega."
"While I organise 'visitation rights' for Javik here." Liara nodded determinedly.
"There is the small question of funding." Nihlus added. "We are talking about financing an armed expedition into potentially Geth occupied space. I do have some resources and can acquire some more via the Spectre funds, but those are still limited options."
"We can..." John begun.
"Don't worry about it." Liara interrupted him.
"Are you certain? I know you aren't exactly poor, but..."
"Not just my own funds." Liara pulled a grimace. "It's...it's time to call my mother."
Everyone chose not to command on her tone.
"What should we do?" Tali asked.
Nihlus transferred something to their 'Tools.
"Head for this dock, quietly, and wait. Once our departure is finalised we will take you with us. For the time being you probably shouldn't be seen with us."
"So, that's it? Anymore questions or problems?" Vetra looked around.
Javik looked dissatisfied but said nothing.
As no answer came she nodded to Nihlus.
"Very well. You all know what your tasks are, what to do next. We will meet on Omega." He couldn't help himself. "Dismissed."
"Yay, go team." Ashley made weakly, waving her hands around.
Kaidan punched her arm.
Nihlus and his team showed up at Joker's docking port to 'say goodbye'.
Liara had split away before and Tali and Garrus were on their way to Nihlus' ship.
They weren't alone.
In their short time on the station the Transhumans had had quite the impact.
Thousands of curious onlookers, press and impromptu protesters had shown up, being held back by C-SEC barricades.
A few dozen people, mostly those from the Silver Strip clubs the aliens had partied it up in, had been allowed closer due to special invitations.
Friendly jokes and ribbing where exchanged, contact information traded and last-minute gifts handed over. Mostly alcohol.
Javik had been smuggled on board discreetly. Though obviously enough security cameras had 'managed' to get a few shots of him, proving he was leaving.
So far, so good.
After a surprisingly tearful goodbye, especially from some of the Asari (Transhumans obviously knew how to leave an expression) Joker finally took of, heading under heavy escort for the Taruma Relay, to begin it's jump series to Ikay.
Nihlus, Peebe and Vetra left with the masses, once the public feeds showed the successful jump.
Tali and Garrus silently sat in their air taxi.
Tali had hacked it for them, to leave no trail of payment, just to be safe.
Both were trying to process the last few hours.
"Sooo..." Garrus began awkwardly. "What do you think?"
Tali chuckled without humor.
"What do I think? I think this is insane. I think I am in a nightmare or got stuck in a bad holovid series or something. I think that if I had any sense at all, I would go home and hide in a nice secure bunker for a century or two. But I've been feeling that way for weeks now, ever since I found out a Spectre worked with the Geth. So I guess I'm used to it by now."
The Turian gave her a sympathetic look.
"Sorry." The Quarian looked down, her hands cramped around each other. "I did not mean to sound so bitter."
"I think you have every right to feel that way." Garrus said, careful to keep any pity out of his voice.
Tali shrugged.
"I mean, in a way things are better now, you know? Now at least I know what is going on. And there are people who believe me and want to help. What about you?"
Garrus took a deep breath, eyes defocused.
"I don't know, to be honest." He admitted slowly. "I think it has not fully hit me yet. I keep catching myself thinking about going back to work. How I would write this up in a report." He mimed typing on a keyboard. "Dear Executor, how are you? Today, I met a real live Prothean and a bunch of weird Asari like aliens who told me the world was about to end. Best regards, your Garrus."
Tali gave a weak chuckle.
"They are weird, aren't they? How come we never heard about them?"
Garrus nodded eagerly. "And what is with that weird fur on their heads?"
"Hair." Tali corrected him. "It's called hair when it doesn't cover the whole body. Quarians used to have hair." She said wistfully.
Garrus shot her a careful look.
"I thought your people were getting better?"
"We are." Tali admitted. "But slowly. Very slowly. It will be centuries until we'll feel comfortable with openly wearing long hair again."
Both of them relaxed as the conversation turned to the mundane problems of living in suits your entire life.
Both were fully aware they were distracting themselves from the world shattering revelations they had just experienced and both were entirely okay with that.
Matriarch Benezias' regal face appeared.
To most others her face would have looked merely neutral, but Liara grew up with her. He mother was far from happy.
"Mom, before you start, it was just such an opportunity and then they made me sign these NDAs..."
"When you were 36 we went to the xeno zoo on Callanis Ward. One of the Tulli startled you. What happened?"
Liara stared in bemusement at her mother.
"Mom, what..."
"Answer the question. What happened?"
Liara blinked. It took her a second to understand what was going on.
"The zoo was on Callanis Ward but it was a Wan-han that suddenly ran up to the screen. I stepped back and tripped over one of the benches. You made fun of me for weeks. Mother, do you really think that..."
To her shock and horror, she saw tears in Benezia's eyes.
"Oh Little Wing you were with them. How can I know they didn't just replace you?! How can I know they didn't just steal your memories of us?!"
"Mom!" She had never seen her mother like this. Sad, yes. Uncertain, yes. But even then, Matriarch Benezia never, ever lost her composure.
It made her feel like the floor had disappeared beneath her feet.
"Mom, mom listen, it is me. They wouldn't...they didn't replace me or anything, mom..."
"Can you prove that!" The familiar face was angry now. It was a strange relief. Anger Liara could deal with. "Can you prove you are my Little Wing?!"
"No, but...it wouldn't make sense!" Even as she said it, she realised it was true. "Why would they take me...what would they gain from this? I mean, the only political clout I have is through you...and you were with them before me!"
Now it was Liara's turn to sound upset. "Why would they have bothered with me...if they could have taken you directly? For that matter, they might have! Can you proof you are who you say you are?"
Benezia opened her mouth...and for the first time in her life Liara actually saw her mother speechless.
The Matriarch broke eye contact, looking to the right.
"No, I can not." She admitted quietly.
It was enough to deflate Laira. Suddenly all she felt was tired.
"Look, trust me okay? They wouldn't do this." She thought about it. "I mean, they probably would, but not to me. There are...very good reasons for that, trust me."
Benezia returned her gaze, searching her daughter's eyes.
"I decide to trust you." The Matriarch stated.
Liara exhaled in relief. "Thanks mom. And I trust you."
A small smile on her mother's face before it disappeared again.
"Now, what did you call me for?"
Liara considered protesting the implication that she only called when she needed something but...well, she needed something.
"Things have been...hectic. I'm currently travelling with a Spectre and his group. But you probably already know that." Benezia had a lot of spies.
Her mother nodded. "And a few Transhumans. And a Prothean, last I heard." Her mother gave her a searching look. "Is he real?"
Liara smiled faintly. "As far as I can tell, yes."
"How is he?"
Liara suppressed a grin. Her mother tried not to let it show, but to Liara it was clear how eager she was to hear more. Not so above it all now, huh, Matriarch?
She grasped for words. "He's...different, than I expected. Intense. To be honest, if all Protheans were like him, you probably wouldn't have enjoyed meeting them."
That surprised Benezia. "Really? Interesting."
Liara sighed morosely. "That's one word for it. He's exhausting."
For some reason, that made the Matriarch smile. An honest, wide smile, not the thing she showed the media.
The Maiden saw it in confusion.
"What?"
"Hm? Oh. Nothing at all. I assume you call because you need help?"
Her good mood evaporated. "You can say that again. If Javik is right...that's the Prothean...then we're going to need all the help we can get." She squared her shoulders. "Look Mom, you know how much I hate to ask, but we need support. Money, mostly. This is to important for my pride."
Benezia gave her a look full of affection.
"Little Wing, what's mine is yours. What I can do to ensure you safety, I will. With my last breath, I will defend you"
It was the oath of Huntresses to their Matriarch, the ultimate declaration of loyalty and self sacrifice.
Liara felt tears prickle in her eyes. Her voice choked. "Thanks, mom."
Benezia nodded, eyes still shining with warmth.
"Now, My Huntresses on the Citadel should be with you shortly..."
Liara shook her head. "No, mom."
Benezia frowned. "Little Wing..."
"No. Nothing to overt. I want you to release the emergency funds, nothing more. You can not risk being seen involved in this."
The Matriarch's face turned deadly serious. "Little Wing, what is going on?"
"I can not tell you." She saw her mothers face. "Seriously, I can not tell you. I have no idea how secure this channel really is."
The Matriarch's eyes widened. This was their private back-channel, routed through several QECs. It should be uncrackable.
"Very well, consider the funds yours. But you will tell me what is going on, eventually."
Liara hesitated. Every instinct screamed she should keep her mother out of danger but...this was big.
"I will try to get something to you discreetly." Her mother actually looked surprised that she had agreed ."I will have to discuss it with the others first, but there may be things you can do...discreetly!...behind the scenes. But I'm serious mom: you will have to be careful."
Beneza nodded.
Liara had an idea. "Perhaps it would be best if you distanced yourself publicly from me. Maybe prepare a statement, something like...'my daughter seems sadly fixated on some wild errant'...but that you still love and support me blah blah the usual."
Her mother looked troubled. "Little Wing..."
"Trust me mom. This is serious."
Benezia nodded. "Very well. This is your operation, you call the shots. I will follow your orders."
Now it was the Maiden who was speechless.
After a few seconds she managed a faint: "Okay. Thanks."
"Be careful, Little Wing."
The Maiden nodded.
"And Liara..." The Matriarch smiled brilliantly at her. "I am very proud of you."
One again Liara felt herself choke up. "I love you, mother."
"I love you too."
They ended the call.
Last edited: Aug 27, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Aug 27, 2018
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#778
Next stop: Omega
Nihlus, Peebee and Vetra arrived at his corvette, the Hapless Intruder.
Well. 'Corvette', really.
The ship had a spinal mass effect gun, a few gun turrets and rocket pods (plus the usual GARDIAN array), but was hardly recognizable as a military ship at all.
At barely 70 meters long it was definitely on the small side, but rather bulky, with the twin rows of standardised containers docked on both sides.
Those were even real and provided either a premise for approaching a planet (through organising a legitimate trading run), a way to modularly upgrade the ship for special missions, a way to transport highly sensitive material or personal or, in two cases so far, they had served as makeshift ablative shielding.
His ship was ugly, on the slow side when it came to sublight speeds and was hardly an asset in a fleet battle.
But it was his, had reliably delivered him to hundreds of missions all across the galaxy and was the closest he and his team had to an actual home.
Until now, at last. If their plan worked out he probably wouldn't be seeing much of it for a while.
It was docked in Dock 16, Bay 12, a common, low priority dock for small ships who intended to stay for a while.
It wasn't the biggest or cleanest dock, surveillance was spotty and the dockworkers could easily be convinced to look the other way.
In other words, it was just corrupt and seedy enough to make it look unsuspicious in the eyes of most security agencies. Perfect cover.
"So what do you think?" Vetra wanted to know, while they approached their ship.
"About what?" Nihlus deflected automatically.
She stopped him with a hand on his arm.
"We didn't really have time to process this. Any of this."
His shoulders slumped a bit. It was barely there, but to Vetra and Peebe the fatigue was obvious.
"I know. Not here though."
Vetra nodded, satisfied they would talk about this and they headed for the access ramp.
Like most ships it's size, the Intruder was equipped to land on planetary surfaces and the dock was a full atmosphere one, instead of the open space ports for larger vessels.
As soon as they passed the inner dock they were greeted by a cheerful Salarian.
"Hi there, Boss!" Vetra and Peebee got nods, at least.
"Kello." Nihlus nodded at him. "Have our guests arrived?"
"The Quarian and the turian cop? Sure. Gave them quarters."
"Thanks. Has Lexi...?"
The Salarian nodded over his shoulder, indicating the interior of the ship.
"She sat up shop too. Brought a lot of equipment. Somehow she seems to think we are going to need it."
Peebee laughed.
"Yeah, Boss." She teased. "How come you always get hurt so much when Lexi is around?"
Even Vetra was grinning, while Kello merely looked confused. He hadn't been part of the crew when Lexi was around last time.
Nihlus kept his usual stoicism. In his experience, Peebee eventually grew bored of teasing people if they did not react. Eventually.
"How much do you know about our current situation?"
Peebee and Vetra stopped smiling immediately.
"What I heard on the planet." Kello looked nervously at their expressions. "There's more bad news, huh?"
Nihlus sighed. "Very bad news." He admitted.
Vetra was right. He hadn't had time to process. Without the distraction of rapid fire problems and split second decision making he now began to feel the full weight of what they had learned.
"Call everyone together. You, Lexi, Zorah, Vakarian, Lashyd and Sasche. In the mess hall. We might as well fill anyone in together."
"On it, Boss." Kello nodded and turned, activating his 'Tool.
Nihlus turned to his two companions.
"Drop your gear and make yourself comfortable, than head for the mess hall. I am honestly not sure if we should depart quite so quickly, but the Geth situation might develop any second into a window of opportunity. So if you can think of any equipment that might come in handy and can be procured in the next few hours, let Kello know. Otherwise, just grab a snack or something."
"Yup."
"Got it, Boss."
Nihlus followed his own advise. He dropped his hardsuit, securing it in the hidden compartment and donned his 'ship uniform' consisting of an assortment of ill fitting turian civilian clothing that hid a multitude of small weapons and tools.
He always feared the disguise was a bit over the top, but his crew assured him he looked like a typical independent freighter owner.
These people deliberately cultivated a 'rough and tough' image, reflected in their appearance and in a certain lack of manners.
Nihlus the took five minutes to just sit on his bunk and breath, allowing his emotion to settle a little.
It cleared his head somewhat, at last.
There were so many issues right now, he hardly knew where to being.
The Reapers, Transhumanity's opaque behaviour and goals, the Council, the Geth, Saren, Lexi, a living Prothean running around, busily glaring at people and, oh yeah, the small fact everything he thought he knew about the galaxy was a pitiful lie.
He chastized himself for his bitterness. He always had prided himself on his cool head and now of all times was not the time to loose it.
He would desperately need it in the coming days.
But he had his team, a small strike force all by itself, that people tended to underestimate to their own peril.
Vakarian and Zorah could make valuable additions, their skill sets at least should proove useful, and he had already some ideas on how he might further add to his troops on Omega...
Yeah, things were bad, but he wasn't without means to do something about it.
Nihlus Kryik felt slightly better.
When the Spectre entered, Kello and Lexi where already there.
The mess hall was irregularly shaped, clean but not too clean, and had one central table everyone ate at with a few nooks and crannies for more private talks or people who wanted to work while eating.
Lexi was gracefully posed in her chair, hands folded on the table, but Nihlus knew her enough to see her subtle cues of tension. She was worried, and rightly so.
Kello was still busy preparing food.
Nihlus smiled at Lexi and she managed a small one back.
The next ones to arrive were Zorah and Vakarian.
The young Quarian was rather surprised to see the woman who had saved her and immediately thanked her and apologised profusely for 'getting her into this mess'.
Lexi took it with grace and assured Tali it hadn't been her fault.
Easy smalltalk developed and Nihlus was relieved to note that everyone seemed to be getting along, despite Lexi's sometimes reserved and cool demenaour.
Vetra came next and then Laschyd and Sasche Kor walked in, the Hanar seemingly gliding on the tips of his tentacles, while the Volus marched in with heavy footfalls.
Next to them 'walked' the hologram of Ari Nos, Sasche's personal assistant. Due to the Volus' special needs, he was the only one among Nihlus crew who regularly used a personality interface VI.
Laschyd was an unusual sight among his people. The top of his body had more bulges than normal and looked sharper and more frayed than in most Hanar.
The edges of his body also had subtly reinforced structures among them, reminiscent of armour plating and his tentacles where thicker than common.
The Ex-marine was a rare hybrid of the conventional surface dwelling Hanar and the rather 'mysterious' Deep Ones, Hanar that had evolved to live in the few deeper trenches of Kahje's massive oceans.
Something of a social outcast among his kind, the Hanar had found his new role as the heavy hitter of Nihlus motely crew.
"Laschyd, Sasche."
The Hanar pulsed in a complicated pattern that Nihlus had seen often enough to interpret as a greeting, even before the translator on Laschyd's clothes translated a "Greetings, Leader".
The voice was the same sort of smoky male voice that all Hanar seemed to use when interacting with Non-Hanar.
No one seemed sure how the voice had come to exist. The Hanar couldn't really have chosen it by themselves, since their 'hearing' couldn't handle spoken languages in air. Still, it had become the universally accepted standard.
"Boss." The Volus greeted, in his flat voice. "Brougth -ssh- anything for me?"
The Turian smiled down at his volus friend. Sasche Kor was the engineer slash scientist of their little group and in his way as much an outcast as Laschyd. And an addict.
"Sorry Sasche. Not the way you mean. Though I have news that should give you a lot to think about."
"Hm." The Volus grunted and waddled to his chair, his hologram faithfully by his side.
Laschyd elegantly followed him and sank in the cradle-like support for Hanar. A Mass Effect field simulated floating, allowing 'him' the illusion of swimming.
The last one, unsurprisingly, was Peebee, running into the room while still stuffing something sweet into her mouth.
"So'y Bss." She took her place.
"Right." Nihlus sighed.
"First of all, introductions are in order…"
The entire briefing lasted almost two hours. To say Lexi or Kello were shocked was an understatement. It was harder to tell with Sasche since his respirator kept it's steady rhythm. His VI Ari was quietly talking to him though, maybe she was calming him down.
Laschyd meanwhile twitched and glowed in great agitation.
Nihlus had the suspicion that Javik's existence played a greater role in that than Laschyd would have liked to admit. The Hanar outwardly did not follow the faith most of his kin subscribed to, just one of many ways the Hanar ostensibly celebrated the distance between him and others of his kind, but maybe the teachings had left a greater impression than Laschyd cared to admit.
"Unbelievable." Lexi finally said, after the last explanations.
She sounded shell shocked.
"It sounds like a bad holovid."
"It would be nice if that were the case." Vetra smiled without humor.
"If the Council itself is infected..." Kello was wide eyed. "What can we do? I mean, we are good, but..."
"We aren't alone." The Spectre reminded him. "Transhumanity seems rather knowledgeable about these Reapers and determined to stop them. And they definitely have some tricks up their collective sleeves."
"Maybe, but do you really think we can trust them?" Tali wanted to know. To say the casual mention of AI among Transhumans hadn't sat well with her was an understatement.
Nihlus spread his mandibles for a moment.
"That depends on what you mean by 'trust them'. Do we trust them to be nice and harmless friends who always tell the truth? Hardly. Do we trust them to want the Reapers stopped and to be willing to do whatever is necessary for that? Yes. Rather strongly. That does not mean they are harmless or reliable however. Quite the opposite actually."
Vakarian growled. "Collateral damage."
Nihlus nodded. "Yes."
"So we not only have to fight off the Reapers, but constantly guard out backs against these Transhumans too?" Lexi sounded even more incredulous.
Nihlus raised both hands in a placating gesture.
"It is not quite so bad. I got the distinct impression that John, Kaidan and the others like us. Belittle us and use us, yes, but they do not actively try to harm us.
However, if the decision came down to us or stopping the Reapers, well..."
"This one fails to see the fault with that." Laschyd remarked and Sasche and Vetra both nodded.
"If it is really as bad -ssh- as they say -ssh-, then the Reapers must be stopped -ssh- No matter the prize." The Volus agreed.
Nihlus clicked his mandibles. "Not every price, no."
The group was silent for a while.
"What do we do now?" Lexi finally asked and Nihlus could hear the suppressed fear in her voice.
"We fight." Vetra stated firmly.
"Do we?" Tali wanted to know.
Nihlus shot her a questioning look.
"I mean, I know you guys are a badass Spectre crew but...I mean, doesn't this sound like...too much to you? An ancient civilisation that attacked and destroyed the prothean empire? What can we do against that?"
"More if we try than if we don't." Peebee answered her.
"What would you have us do instead?" Nihlus wanted to know.
"I don't know! This is all kinda overwhelming. But...maybe...hide? We can sleep in stasis pods, drift in dark space..."
"Wouldn't -ssh- work."
"Why not?"
"Protheans had stasis pods -ssh-. They could have done the same -ssh- if it were that simple."
"Well, they did, if what you told us is true." Vakarian pointed out.
"Yes." Vetra's voice was dry as dust. "And one of them survived the experience...out of how many billions?"
"So what do we do?" The young Quarian sounded shaken and Vakarian laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.
She relaxed a little into the gesture.
Nihlus took a deep breath.
"I know this task may seem overwhelming, but many tasks can seem that way at first. We have to break it down, into steps we can actually take.
This is a war. And as the Salarians are so fond of saying, wars are won before they are fought, by those better informed than their enemy."
Kello nodded enthusiastically.
"So we take that first step. We gather information. The Geth, at least some of them, appear to be working for the enemy. They are looking for something. We need to find out what. And for that we need a bigger ship. Equipment. Weapons."
"So, we head for Omega, yeah?" Kello surmised.
Nihlus nodded. "Yes. If there is one place in the galaxy you should go to to buy something dangerous, it's there. We will depart immediately. That is, if no one can think of anything we should urgently pack beforehand."
"Common sense?" Tali suggested sarcastically.
Vetra snorted. "Good luck finding that anywhere here. We are a Spectre team." She sounded proud of that fact.
Lexi shook her head. "Omega. Well, I'll ready the medi-gel cartouches then." She threw Nihlus a significant look that the Turian steadily ignored.
Then she turned on Tali.
"And I will be expecting you in the medbay, young lady. Don't think I didn't notice that you favour one side of your body."
Tali raised her hands defensively. "I am fine, really, I..."
Lexi merely tilted her head.
The quarian girl slumped. "Fine. I'll be there."
Lexi nodded, rose and left the room.
Kello raised a hand as soon as she was gone. "Seriously though, someone has to fill me in on what Dr. T'Perro's comments are all about."
Peebee grinned as she ambled over to the Salarian. "An excellent question my friend. Let me tell you all about it. See, our glorious leader here..."
Nihlus fled.
The Hapless Intruder started six hours later, rising from her dock without problems and entering the waiting queue for the first Relay on her travel to the Citadel's 'dark twin'.
The journey would take some time. Omega wasn't on a direct Relay line from the Citadel and the camouflaged corvette would need to 'jump lines' two times using conventional FTL.
Eventually, the tiny ship reached first position, waited for the clearing and jumped.
It vanished in a tiny flash of blue-white light.
Liara watched the jump on her Omni-Tool, nodded to herself and placed the call.
"Mydia? Hi, it's Liara. Listen, I got a favour to ask of you..."
Last edited: Aug 28, 2018
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Threadmarks The New Republic
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May 7, 2019
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#786
The New Republic
Omega.
The 'Dark Twin' of the Citadel, the 'Beacon of Darkness', the 'Heaven for Outlaws'.
In the wake of The Batarian collapse, the Terminus systems had fallen into chaos, fear and confusion.
Shocked by the sudden disappearance of the one stabilising influence in the sector, then progressively creeped out and finally terrified by the 'Republic', Terminus had turned on itself, a crazed, multi-headed monstrosity attempting to devour itself.
Out of the Chaos, one voice had quickly risen.
Aria T'Loak, the Bitch-Queen of Omega itself, had seized the moment and consolidated her forces, uniting the mercenary fleets and warbands of the Terminus under her banner to gather the strongest concentration of forces in the sector.
In a twisted mirror parody of the peace and stability the Citadel brought, Omega, it's Dark Sibling, had offered it's newly united troops as peacekeepers, protectors of merchant lines and even, in some cases, police forces.
For a certain price, of course.
In just a few years, Aria had managed to create the image of her troops as semi-respectable professionals who actually more or less honored their contracts.
As a result, a sort of stability had returned to the Terminus, with those 'governments' with deep enough pockets making use of Aria's Raiders to take out their enemies and pacify their own holdings, leaving them unopposed.
It was an uneasy, fragile peace that ensued, held together by the constant threat of the Republic next door that forced people into cooperation.
There were even those among the Citadel's social engineers, memetic specialists and large scale psychology forecasters who predicted that, long term, under the pressure the Terminus would transform into a legitimate collection of regular governments by itself.
Obviously those people had never actually visited the place.
All that was explained to Javik, who listened with a sort of repulsed fascination, disbelieving that situations like this were allowed to exist.
"And what exactly makes this 'Republic so fearsome?" He asked. "It is only the fear of it that makes these...people cooperate, correct?"
Nihlus nodded.
"That is what our experts agree on, yes."
"So why is that?"
Peebee cleared her throat.
"Well..."
Nowadays, the entire area of the so called 'Batarian Republic' was off limits and tightly cordoned, every known Relay going in and out of Republic space secured by military blockades.
When the shocking news of the sudden Hegemony collapse had went out, people had expected convoys of refugees to emerge. And a few ships had indeed appeared, but no where near the actual numbers people had expected.
Then the Republic had been announced, the successor state to the former Hegemony, and their had been tentative optimism.
A clean, quick break with an old regime that no one would miss and the hopeful start of a better state, that didn't sound so bad.
The news that came over the Extranet connections at least seemed cause for celebrations.
Long reports and hours of video footage showed people celebrating, Batarians of all castes hugging and singing, slaves of all species being freed and taking part in the festivities.
The first Citadel spaceships had been sent in to scout the region and to offer aid if necessary.
There was lots of speculation over certain other orders the ships might have been issued with, some people assuming the ships were meant to ensure a rebel victory while others claimed they were sent to restore the Hegemony, citing supposed backroom deals and Council tolerance of slavery.
Other, even wilder, conspiracy theories were abound.
Already civilians ships clustered at the Relays, protesting or demanding access to batarian space, with the Asari help organisations first and foremost, citing their duty to render aid.
Then the first discrepancies were noted.
The night side of Khar'shan had no lights.
The same regions which Extranet transmissions showed awash with night time celebrations and fireworks showed no sign of activity the turian patrol cruiser that had been sent to scout could detect.
The ship had barely reported this observation when several of the batarian ships left in system approached it and transmitted eager messages of greeting, declarations of loyalty to the new Republic and an invitation to come aboard and share in the celebrations.
When the turian captain politely refused, the invitations became more insistent, more forceful.
When the captain, rather suspicious now, demanded the closing batarian ships halt immediately, he was fired upon.
All the while the batarian frigates continued their transmission of more and more deranged sounding invitations.
The captain managed to retreat, but the expedition at large continued.
What followed next was...confused.
More weirdness was reported.
The main continent of the colony world of Ras'san was covered in smoke clouds, it's vast farmland apparently on fire. While it's transmission showed People of all castes celebrating under a blue sky.
One ship reported having found the wreckage of a batarian cruiser. The same cruiser that was simultaneously shown hovering over a partying city, setting of fireworks.
Several Citadel ships were destroyed.
Others suddenly ceased transmitting, despite having only sustained minor damage.
Some self destructed without warning.
The Citadel commander in charge ordered a general retreat and quarantine, a decision retroactively praised by the Council.
The Citadel ordered all access routes to the Republic locked down.
The protesters at first went ballistic, loudest being the remnant of Hegemony officers and politicians who were trying to form a government in exile.
But as more and more of the weird and disturbing news emerged, the protesting voices grew quieter and quieter.
For twenty odd years now the blockade of Republic space had held, but wether or not the threat was truly contained, no one quite knew.
The Terminus system, after similar experiences with the batarians of their own, had adopted a shoot on sight policy regarding batarian ships.
Still, their were credible reports of singular ships appearing here and there, either serenely sailing through the void, ignoring everything, or transmitting happy, eager messages, voices and vids of Batarians inviting people to 'join the celebration'.
And a about a hundred times of that in unconfirmed ghost stories and rumors.
'Batarian ships' had become the spacers' go to material for scary stories to impress groundhuggers with.
A few careful expeditions had been launched in the meantime, but what they reported did not calm people down, quite the opposite in fact.
Reports of dead worlds with no activity, of strange transmissions, of distress signals from seemingly nowhere...
And that was just what the Citadel allowed to reach the public.
While all the time the happy Extranet reports continued, showcasing a rebuilding, hopeful new state, inviting everyone who listened to come visit and check for themselves if they didn't believe them.
Come visit the Republic, they said.
Come and stay.
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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Threadmarks Arrival on Omega
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May 10, 2019
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#808
Arrival on Omega
Javik listened to it all with a face more and more grim. But he didn't say anything.
Nihlus studied his expression.
"This sounds familiar to you, doesn't it?"
Javik made a growling sound deep in his throat.
"One of the Reapers favourite tactics was to take over ships, stations and entire colonies and sent out fake distress signals.
Loved ones, friends, children, pleading with the listener to come rescue them. The stories did not repeat. Time seemed to pass and the situation to evolve. The voices were true to their original owners, sometimes they knew things only they could have known.
We all knew the truth.
The owners of these voices were long dead.
After a time, people stopped sending distress signals when the Reapers attacked. Then, it became forbidden."
Stricken silence in the small CIC of the Intruder.
Grim looks between the crew.
"We will not let it come to that." Vetra stated determinedly.
Javik merely turned away, leaving the CIC.
"We will see."
They were finally approaching Omega, close enough that it could be seen in real time on the screens.
The station was not just ideologically but also visually the complete opposite of the Citadel.
Dark and brooding, with lights that mostly seemed to cast shadows instead of illuminating, the station was threatening and imposing, a spear jutting from a hug lump of rock, instead of the embracing, open nature of the Citadel.
Like the Citadel, however, Omega was at all times surrounded by fleets of vessels and attendant substations.
That traffic had rather increased since the Hegemony's fall, instead of dwindling.
Regular patrols were kept up by well maintained ships in professional formations, all crowned by the white-on-black symbol of the stylised Omega symbol.
Aria's personal fleet and the main guarantor of 'peace' in the Terminus: Aria's Raiders, the Terminus Fleet
And there, taking place of honour close to the station itself, the center piece of her collection: the former Batarian Dreadnought Light of Kar'shan, now Aria's flagship and undisputed top dog in Terminus Space: the Fist of Omega
It's former captain was still in command, having quickly left Hegemony space as the collapse begun, unwilling to risk having to take sides in the ensuring conflict and being forced to fire on his own country men.
That had turned out to be a wise decision: of the original 9 dreadnoughts the Hegemony had built up, 4 head been lost in the infighting of the navy, 2 had been blown up, apparently due to firefights between crewmembers, one had disappeared entirely and the last one was now with the Citadel fleet, permanently stationed at the largest surviving colony that had elected to join the Citadel proper.
The military members of the 'Hegemony in Exile' government were still bitterly complaining about that and had launched several lawsuits regarding the ship's ownership.
Since no one in their right mind wanted the Hegemony Remnant to have control of that much fire power, no one expected those to go anywhere, however.
So for now the Fist of Omega was one of only two known surviving batarian dreadnoughts.
And Arias trump card in the Terminus.
The Intruder made it's way 'down' the station, away from the asteroid end.
Here, the docks were smaller, dirtier and the 'docking fees' (read: sanctioned bribes) smaller.
The bigger, better docks were closer to the stations core, but those were also better armed, better guarded and under closer surveillance.
The Intruder weaved between the spires and haphazard construction that stuck out of Omegas central axis and found it's way to a small off loading facility with docking bay, slowly coming to a stop.
Kello made sure to build in some wobbling and overcompensation to suggest failing, old engines.
A disguised Vetra then haggled with the dock proprietor over the price for a time until they settled on an acceptable sum.
They could have paid it out of small change without second thought, but not haggling would have been suspicious of course.
As soon as the small ship had docked, VI controlled unloading of the external containers begun.
They were transported to a nearby small warehouse, not before being thoroughly scanned, however.
Even here the change of the last few decades was clearly visible.
There had been a time when you could come to and go from Omega while barely getting noticed.
Now, even at this small, shabby dock the unloading and scanning was done under armed guard. Just two of them for the entire ship, but still.
And those weren't your usual thugs or half lucid drug addicts either.
Both guards were sharp eyed, awake. Their gear, while not standardised by any means, was professional tier, well maintained and proudly presented the white Omega on black background of Aria's forces.
Pseudo-professionalism on Omega.
Truly, a sign of the times.
Before Nihlus and the others took off they said their temporary goodbyes from Javik.
The Prothean was obviously not a man for sentimentality.
"Fight well and do not die before your time. This cycle still needs you, Spectre."
"Thank you...I guess. Be careful. We now know the Citadel is Reaper territory, and I am uncertain about Miss T'soni."
"And these 'Transhumans'."
"That too." Nihlus admitted. "I know we cannot trust them, but against the Reapers..."
"We had a saying in our time: you fight with the tools you have."
Nihlus nodded.
"Yeah. Like that."
Then, to his surprise, the Prothean gripped his fore arm firmly in a gesture of comradeship.
Nihlus returned the gesture.
And that was that.
While the disguised Kello and Vetra handled things, distracting the workers and guards, Nihlus and the others snuck of board in cloaks.
Even Lexi, no matter how uncomfortable she found doing it.
It took some time to get used to the fact you couldn't clearly see your own feet when cloaked (the virtual outline in the HUD helped surprisingly little) and Nihlus stayed close to her and had to help her twice when she stumbled over things.
Finally, they were all in the warehouse.
Vetra would come later and Kello would take Javik back in the Intruder to the Citadel, as planned.
"So far so good." Peebee said. "What next?"
They were still cloaked and communicated via directed laser, while Sasche was going over the warehouse with the proverbial krogan brush to find and spoof any surveillance equipment.
"Once the Transhumans are on station we will join up with them and I will officially welcome Sheppard and the others into my Spectre crew as deputies." Nihlus answered.
"After that I suppose Aria will want to see us and after that we go shopping. I called ahead and informed Sari and he says he found something already."
Sari was batarian and the usual broker they contacted when needing something from or in Omega.
He was fairly reliable and as long term customers there even was even something like trust between them.
Which mostly meant he didn't bring armed thugs to their meetings anymore, sparing himself a lot of money.
"Wait, how long will we have to wait?" Garrus wanted to know. "Joker had to leave via Ikay, right? Sneaking back in and travelling here could take days."
Nihlus made a denying gesture with one hand.
"John assured me they would find a way to get here quickly. I didn't ask for details."
In case someone would ask him later. If they did he would be able to honestly say he had no idea what kind of capacities Transhumanity had in Citadel space.
"All clear -ssh-" came Sasche's report and they all switched of their cloaks.
"Two common multi sensor domes -ssh- and a few mikes. Pressure sensors -ssh- under each plate. All ours know."
"Thanks, Sasche." Nihlus nodded to the Volus.
The smaller man nodded back, then went back to playing around with his Omni-Tool.
"I'm sorry." Lexi said. "But I don't understand. We will join the Transhumans openly?"
Nihlus clicked his mandibles loud enough for the pick ups to register.
"We discussed it at some length, but it seems the most beneficial.
For one thing, constantly hiding who they are would mean making less use of their abilities and would sooner or later fail anyway.
Second, their status as the race 'everyone has heard lots of nothing about' will give us some clout.
Then there is the fact that part of the plan is to provoke the Reapers somewhat anyway and, of course, there's Saren."
"This one would like to avoid confrontation with the Spectre." Laschyd agreed.
"Moving around openly should actually give us a measure of protection while on Omega." Nihlus explained further. "Aria will most likely not be all to keen to get between two Spectres, but to piss off an unknown alien species would make even less sense."
"Language, please." Lexi chided gently.
Nihlus ignored Peebees suppressed giggle.
"Won't the Council protest?" Tali asked.
Nihlus nodded.
"Most certainly. But if they try to reach me they will get a black out notice I left with ADMIN."
Tali titled her head questioningly.
"Spectres can claim communication silence for an unspecified time, even towards the Council, for things like deep cover missions. It is frowned upon, but still common."
"What if the Council doesn't want to wait anymore?" Lexi asked, curious.
"Then they usually sent another Spectre. Which we know they already have. It will give Saren even more freedom in how to deal with us, but if our suspicions about him, Tevos and Sparatus are correct, than he won't exactly hold back or ask questions first anyway."
That caused several exchanges of uncomfortable looks.
The simple reality was that they were being hunted right now. And by a Spectre no less.
Who worked for an ancient race of genocidal machines.
It would take time to get used to that.
Nihlus had expected the wait time to be long and boring.
John had assured him they would show up quickly after Nihlus' group, but they had still prepared for a long time without anything to do.
Instead, it turned out a lot more interesting than expected.
About half an hour after they had arrived in their little hide out the comm channels in and around Omega burst into frantic activity.
The Council had done an admirable job at suppressing the information, but the news about the Geth attacks had finally broken through.
The result was instantaneous confusion and barely controlled fear.
The outgoing traffic of Omega slowed to a crawl as dozens of Captains decided it would be more prudent to remain within the relatively safe heaven of the massive station and it's attendant fleet.
Incoming traffic increased by leaps and bounds as nearby ships instinctively sought refuge here.
Multiple groups of Aria's Raiders ships began to form up an head to various Relays.
Most likely several of her 'clients' had panicked and were calling for reinforcement.
Their response time was slow compared to a Citadel fleet and their formations sloppy.
Still, it was an impressive amount of fire power that moved out there.
Even the Fist left the immediate station vicinity and began a slow patrol through the system.
Partly to have more maneuvering space in case of an attack, but mostly as a show of force to calm the frightened civilians.
Similar scenes of confusion and deliberate shows of military might were reported from Citadel space over the open channels.
Every single forum and opinion channel was buzzing with people asking questions, serious looking reporters gleefully using the mounting panic to boost ratings and self proclaimed 'experts' lecturing everyone willing to listen.
The Citadel was non-stop sending messages calling for calm and order, assuring people the Geth threat was being monitored and fully contained.
A lot of people were suddenly very happy about the heavily criticised extra expenditures for militarisation that had happened everywhere.
"It's nuts out there." Peebee murmured.
Like all of them she was staring at the Extranet read outs of her visor.
"Weird -ssh-. Reapers stealthy with Council, Saren -ssh-. But Geth open and cause panic?"
"The Geth are a known quantity." Nihlus explained. "Bizarre behaviour can be explained away as them being machines."
"This one still cannot discern a pattern in their search." Laschyd noted.
"He's right." Tali agreed. "It seems chaotic. Which is very unlike the Geth."
"What do you think, how would the Geth act normally?" Garrus wanted to know.
Tali hesitated.
"The Geth always act with intent. They do not overlook things or make mistakes due to nerves or tiredness. They always have a plan and they always act in a group. This...random poking of star systems is very unusual for them."
"Which would support the Transhumans' theory." Nihlus said. "This isn't the Geth at all, it's someone else using them."
Just then their comms crackled with the low quality of heavily encrypted signals.
"Sentinel to Spectre. Do you read?"
Nihlus sat up.
"Varrens hunt violet water."
"Green water is for Krogan." Came the matching phrase.
"John, where are you?"
"On the station. Pinging you now."
According to the data package that arrived, John was a few hundred levels above them.
Nihlus signalled Sasche who went to work.
They soon had a camera that was trained on the rooms the signal claimed the Transhumans were in. The surveillance inside the room itself was down.
Then, the door opened partially for a moment and a grinning Kaidan waved to the camera before retreating back inside.
"They noticed me." Sasche noted, his usual dull, monotone voice sounding almost non-plussed.
Nihlus sighed.
"Send them an answer." He ordered. "Ask them to meet us here."
A Subtler War: Mass Effect / Eclipse Phase
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HandleWithCare
May 10, 2019
