I'm Back! Back into lovely civilisation! You really do forget how good fresh food is when living on survivable's for a few months..
Anyway, my normal review response will come next chapter, at the moment I'm knackered and seriously jet lagged, and was just wanting to get this out at around a date when promised last chapter.
It may be a little error prone if you're an early bird but I'll get that when I wake up tomorrow sometime.
Cheers for your understanding!
/.../
Citadel: Asari Councillor's Office
Irissa paces back and forth in front of her office's window as she studies a datapad with new information regarding the first contact currently underway. According to the datapad, the unknown aliens have fired a warning shot at the fleet, but this is not what concerns her, instead, it is what the warning shot consisted of that worries her.
"You are going to wear your carpet out," A wise sounding voice says.
Irissa sighs before stopping at her desk to half throw, half place the datapad down onto the table. With the troublesome datapad no longer in her hands, Irissa looks to another Asari who is in the room with her and asks, "What is the potential of Plasma weaponry?"
Lidanya, the Matriarch in charge of the Citadel Defence Fleet turns the datapad around and looks at the fleets recording of the Plasma Weapon, paying particular attention to the shots statistics. The Matriarch takes a moment before replying, "Plasma-based weaponry will be potent to any vessel in our fleet, and if these readings regarding the plasma shot are accurate, our shields will be rendered inert." Lidanya is the second most experienced Admiral in the whole Asari fleet, the most experienced protects the Asari crown jewel, Thessia.
Irissa breaths out a deep sigh, "What do you make of this species?" She then asks?
Lidanya has been privy to all the information Quirinus has sent, "Personally, I do not believe we have enough information to start making any judgements."
"But from what we have seen?"
"I could make many assumptions from what we have seen," Lidanya replies, "But most will be wrong; therefore it would be unwise to act on any feelings I may, or may not have about the situation."
"I suppose you are correct," Irissa says reluctantly, "But, do you think we are making the right decision to send just shy of 200 war vessels?"
"That depends on what Fannus decides to do with them," Lidanya says with a knowing tone to her voice, "If he charges in like a Krogan mid blood lust, then yes, we will see blood; however, I do not believe Faunnus Cardeus is that type of Turian. If he, which I suspect he will, quarantines the relay on our side and only sends through a small selection of vessels, then things will go smoothly."
"Then we should dictate that he..."
Lidanya begins to smile, which causes Irissa to stop speaking, and allows Lidanya to speak, "In war, too many military disasters can be traced to politicians interfering with their military commanders, and issuing them ill-considered military orders they are not qualified to give. Yes, we can ask Cardeus to try and not cause a war through mindless violence; however, we should not attempt to command his strategy." Lidanya still remembers losing too many friends due to this reason during the Krogan Rebellions.
Seeing a young Asari assistant walk in with yet another datapad Irissa holds her hand out, and soon she is saying, "It is now confirmed these aliens have stealth vessels made from the Prothea." Prothea is the fabled Prothean material that makes the citadel. "So I will bet my left hand the Turians will demand more ships for their battle group." Irissia is coming to hate these datapad updates on the situation, they are rarely delivering good news.
Lidanya stands still for a moment as she begins to think, and with some thoughts in mind she pronounces, "I must concur that this latest development is concerning, and I would advise informing the Matriarchs that preparing vessels would not be a bad idea, however, I wish to speak with Cardeus first."
/.../
The Great Faunnus Cardeus is known to all who know of him as a man of great focus, commitment, and sheer will. It is said that he once destroyed a Batarian dreadnought with nothing more than a lone frigate, and to most who know him, they would not question it. When children check under their beds for Batarian Slavers, the slavers check the darkest corners of space for the great Faunnus Cardeus. It is for this very reason why Faunnus is one of the Primarchs Chosen, a small but elite selection of Turians with an exceptional skill set, who are sent on missions that simply can not fail. They are called the Primarchs Chosen because the Primarch himself appointed them into the position and to most Turians, this title is more fabled than the elite Spectres. Yes, to be chosen by the council to serve their will also demands great respect, but to be selected by the Primarch to serve as his right hand? That to most Turians, who have an almost fanatical devotion to the Primarch, is a different story altogether. It is for this reason why Cardeus has his very own dreadnought, the HWV Cardeus, named after himself. Cardeus's dreadnought looks like any other Turian dreadnought, to prevent it being targeted in battle, but it has some subtle differences. Most notably, the HWV Cardeus lacks ground assets, which allows more space to add extra armour and higher capacity communication assets.
The great Turian can often be found in the library of the HWV Cardeus when not deployed, or in the C3, also known as the Combat Command Centre when deployed. He is very rarely found on the bridge, for that is not where he works; instead, he leaves the bridge to the Fleet Commander and ships Captain - he does not need their work to distract him from his own. In the C3 the Primarchs Chosen has a selection of handpicked crew to man the numerous stations, ranging from intelligence officers to a previously retired Fleet Commander to role play red forces.
Sitting at an unassuming desk in the corner of the C3 is the Turian himself, a hot drink in one hand and datapad in another hand, but most would not assume it. The fabled Turian is short, 5 foot 11 to be precise, 2 inches shorter than the average turian, his eyes do not glow red with the Primarchs wrath and his claws aren't any longer than a normal Turians- no, he looks just like a normal, but short, Turian. Currently, the HWV Cardeus is travelling with its escort of 31 vessels to the Citadel to rendezvous with the rest of the force mustered by the Citadel Species, giving the Primarchs Chosen time to think. He has received the initial reports from Fleet Commander Quirinus, but without really knowing the Turian Fleet Commander Cardeus cannot trust his beliefs of the aliens capabilities, so it is for this reason he has been studying Quirinus's record, and so far the Primarchs Chosen is mildly impressed, allowing him some faith of Quirinus assessment of the situation.
"Faunnus," An intelligence officer speaks, calling to the Primarch's Chosen by his first name, something the Turian only allows in the C3. "We have a new report forwarded to us by the Council."
"Please," Faunnus says as he holds a hand out for the report and soon the Turian is reading over a new report. "Our fears have been confirmed, we can confirm the existence of stealth vessels made with Prothean Metal Prothea." He reads from the report to himself to help remember what the report mentions as he flicks over to a new page which has three pictures attached to it of the Stealth vessels. One of the designs is a classic design for a stealth vessel, or so Faunnus thinks, it is that of a predator, designed to destroy ships without ever revealing its location, the next is a different design, looks more blocky and he may even guess armed with heavier equipment, something designed to slog it out. The third and final stealth design, however, has him puzzled, it is 400m long and has no apparent weapons, its nature to him is uncertain, which makes the vessel all that more dangerous, because if he doesn't know how it will fight, how can he prepare to fight it? Faunnus feels a shiver run up his body, this entire situation, how tremendously exciting.
/.../
Uranus Mine Sevastapol
Cutting through the metal on the alien station had proven to take far longer than usual, meaning whatever metal this station is made from, it was tough stuff, more robust than the armour on the most modern of Turian dreadnoughts. Hearing the slab of station cut away to allow himself entry onto the station fall and slam into something solid, most likely the floor inside the space station, Wreav primes his claymore, ready to storm the station.
"Atmosphere stable," Someone calls out, "It's breathable."
Wreav suppresses a grin as he removes his helmet, he hates it when he has to wear a breather, the wretched thing restricts his sight, breathing and hearing - he often compares it to having his head in a fishbowl.
"Door opening in 5...4...3...2...1...Door opening."
As soon as the door that separates the alien station and the Hanar vortex opens 20 Krogan storm through, their barriers powered and shotguns at the ready, but no rounds are fired, much to the Krogans displeasure. Inside the room they have cut in to, they find a single alien awaiting them, it appears like a short Asari, wrong colour however and a weird snow white fur on its head, its eyes also glow a mysterious purple too. With the room secured the Krogan turn their attention to the bizarre alien, approaching it in an almost threatening way, but Wreav pulls the Krogan back and away from the Alien. "This station ain't secure yet." He complains to them, "And this thing ain't armed. We got two doors out of this room, you ten take that door, we will take the second. You, young'in, keep an eye on it."
As soon as the Krogan move to enter the rest of the station the until now silent alien shouts something, which Wreav assumes to mean 'No', but he doesn't care, he is to secure the station as per his orders. Storming through another room, the aged Krogan comes across what must be a kitchen, where there are a few childish paintings pinned to a board and some half-eaten food in five dishes. Four more aliens, Wreav assumes from the half-eaten dishes, but after a thorough search of the station which looks like it's purpose is for mining something, Wreav finds no others, prompting him to tell the Varren holders to come aboard - his nose is good, but not Varren good.
Meanwhile, Ava watches as the enormous aliens stomp around her station, she has figured they are looking for the Human crew, but they will never find them, she ensured they were hidden safely in a cargo crate before going to greet the aliens. Had she had more time, she would have cleaned all the dishes and hidden evidence there was any Human crew, but it is what it is. Feeling a hand grab her shoulder, she complies with the huge alien that drags her to the kitchen, pointing at the dishes. Ava quickly realises what the Alien wants, but she does not comply; instead, she just speaks some gibberish in the hopes they will drop it. The aliens search tirelessly for 5 hours before one of the huge aliens pushes her into a chair and a second alien species comes onboard and sits opposite her.
/.../
"Primarchs Chosen, you have a call from Matriarch Lidanya."
Faunnus eyes light up hearing this and he places his hot drink down as he turns on a monitor and accepts the call. Seeing the Asari appear on his screen, Faunnus grins, "Matriarch, it is always a pleasure."
Matriarch Lidanya allows a small smile to creep out as she says, "Primarchs Chosen, I have heard you have a new mission taking you to a small dark corner of space."
"So you know?" Faunnus allows a second for the Asari to blink her confirmation, "Suppose you would. How is your family?"
"Well thank you, Eris has recently been promoted to the executive officer of the AEV Nymphaea, a deep space exploration vessel." Lidanya allows for a second before going on, "But I call not for a friendly chat, my people are worried about how you plan to tackle the current situation. Sending just shy of 200 vessels into a new species system is not sitting well with the Matriarchs."
"Yes," Faunnus scratches his left mandible as he thinks, it is a bad habit he has never managed to see the back of, "I have considered such myself. My plan is to simply sit on our side of the relay, and only send through the citadel envoy vessel and a small security detail of seven ships. I am thoroughly going to utilise the saying, out of sight, out of mind. Will the Destiny Ascension be joining us?"
Lidanya blinks, confirming to the Turian that the ship will be his to command, "They are clearing it for departure now; however I will not be joining you, my duties are at the Citadel. But I am glad to hear we are thinking along similar ideas for the current situation."
"I imagine my plan will put the Matriarchs at rest," Faunnus says, "But it is a shame you can't join us, I quite enjoyed thrashing ideas with you last time we tangoed."
This causes Lidanya to smirk a little, before saying, "Come back in one piece, and I am sure there will be time for you to pass ideas by me on the citadel. Lidanya out."
Seeing the image cut, Faunnus leans back in his chair and allows happy memories to take over for a short time. Matriarch Lidanya is one of the only people to escape his grasp continuously in a war game, but he is more than ready to reclaim his honour by capturing her next time.
/.../
A General looks to another, "They didn't get any humans, just a Hyperdyne Systems model 341-B and scavenged some old computers. We, on the other hand, have now identified 2 new species, one currently known as 'Walking tank', and the other as 'tall frog'."
"What are we going to do about it?"
The first General breaths out before saying, "The 341-B has a QEC inbuilt and it is uploading its visual and audio feed, so we are going to let it go, see what we can learn from it." Ideally, the General would not want the aliens to get a hold of a 341-B, fearing they could reap its technology; however, the information it could provide will be invaluable.
The second General nods before asking, "What will they get from the old computers?"
The first shrugs, "Nothing interesting, just some personal logs and mining information. Pretty much unusable data."
The second seems rather pleased with this information, "Then I guess this is what we call a fair trade. So long as they don't realise that they have a 341-B, all they get is some old most likely half-broken machines, and we get some solid intel from the inside."
/.../
Uranus
"So, what now?" Asks a young blood Krogan as himself and Wreav escorts the new alien back to the Vortex, both disappointed with what they found on the alien station.
Wreav shrugs his massive shoulders before responding, "Suppose we high tail it back to friendly space."
"The jobs still out here." The young Krogan complains to the old war dog, "This changes nothing."
"If you think that you're more stupid than you look," Wreav replies, "Think about it, why don't you think we have found the Turian fleet? The answer is that they have probably run into these guys, then done themselves something stupid, meaning you can bet your small quad the Citadel is sending a containment fleet as we speak. That's hundreds of vessels, kid, a full-blown battle group with numerous dreadnoughts, and trust me, we ain't surviving that encounter."
The young blood is quiet for a bit as he mulls over the older Krogan's words till asking, "What you reckon will happen to this thing? Looks soft and squishy, not worth putting in the varren pit."
Wreav had been thinking about this very question, and he has come to his own conclusion, "It ain't no use to us, we can't understand a thing it says, so I reckon it will be sold to the Slaving Circles, that way we clean our hands of it." Wreav personally thinks they should shoot it out the airlock; however, the Hanar need to keep the pretence that this is a pirate fleet, and so they need to act more like pirates, and pirates don't just go spacing their loot.
Getting to the holding cells onboard the Vortex Wreav slams a button on the wall and a door begins to open, only for a young Asari to jump out and attempt to run, however, Wreav had anticipated the act and slams a fist into the Asari's face, resulting in a sickening crack and one unconscious Asari. Grabbing the now unconscious Asari on the floor by the leg the young Krogan drags it back into the holding cell before Wreav shoves Ava inside too.
Getting inside the holding pen Ava looks around, searching for anything of interest before turning her attention to the Asari laying on the floor, and while Ava is by no means an expert on aliens, she suspects the blue alien is young. Ava makes this judgement based on the facial features of the blue alien, if it were a human, on facial features alone, she would guess it is around 16. Kneeling down, she begins to inspect the Asari, and finds it to have a broken nose, and two deep gashes on its face from the Krogans fist. Taking her WY branded jumper off and tearing off a sleave, Ava begins to press the sleeve over the wounds in the hopes that it will help stop the blood. After some contemplation, Ava decides not to fix the nose, she does not know the alien's biology so she does not know if fixing the nose as if the Asari is a human would do more damage or not. If Ava was also privy to the information, she would realise that this Asari is wearing the uniform of a Citadel navy personnel.
/.../
Citadel: Council Observation Tower
Sparatus stands with his hands folded neatly behind his back as he looks out into space, to his right is Councillor Valern, and to his left Irissa. The three representatives all stand quietly, looking at the huge fleet massed and floating in space just outside the citadel, by now it is almost impossible to hide the fact that something big is happening, and people are asking questions. Seeing the tell tale blue flash of ships entering FTL Sparatus says, "Spirits be with them."
"And may the Goddess guide them," Irissa says, "But for now, we need to address the rumours."
"No," Valern says as he turns from viewing the fleet enter FTL, "The voices asking questions have been getting quite loud, but must insist we keep to our original plan, only inform once we know."
"Hmm, how long till the fleet gets to the location?" Irissa asks Sparatus, knowing the man is more than likely going to have the answer on the top of his head. Sparatus may not be the best with diplomacy, remembering names, faces and random political articles, but he does know his military facts.
"2 days at maximum velocity." As the number of ships jumping into FTL dwindles, Sparatus also turns around, "But for now, we need to have a plan for war, and peace."
"Yes," Valern replies, "Plan for worst, hope for best. The union is activating assets required for a protracted war. News of ships made from Prothea has disturbed many in the Union."
"Same with the Hierarchy, we are lighting the fires in old forges and powering up redundant munition factories. Our old dockyards are also undergoing inspections while mines have been given notice for sudden potential demand for raw materials." Some may argue that they are being over precautious, but no government wants to be the one to say they sat idle when a potential war was on hand.
Irissa can not say that much has happened with her own people, while democracy has its advantages, it also has its disadvantages, one such downside is having decisions made quickly - almost an impossibility with the bickering Matriarchs. "Our next actions are still being debated. Have you put any thought into what if they come with trade over war?"
"Lots. Species seems technology rich." Trust the Salarian to say this. "But waiting for analysis from Citadel Envoy to deduce what is tradeable."
"We are more concerned with borders in such an instance," Sparatus says, "Right next to the Batarians, and if it's true they have the technology to build constructs from Prothea, then pirate raids for tech are likely. We are willing to offer our services to stop such instances, in exchange for some technologies."
"What makes you think Sparatus that they will require a Turian fleet to protect themselves?"
"We are a known to this galaxy," Sparatus says, "Pirates and Batarians know we have a heavy fist, whereas they don't know how this species will react, so you can bet they will test the waters. We can be considered as a shit deflector."
Irissa blinks, "A fair conclusion. I believe the Matriarchs will want to know how to make Prothea in vast quantities at an affordable cost, and will provide a great deal to ascertain this."
"Hmm," The Salarian councillor says, interrupting Irissa and Sparatus, "We have an update."
The three peer at Valerns omni-tool, which now displays a repeating image of Turian and an unknown alien species Saluting one another, "This looks promising," Sparatus starts, "But I know a man of the military when I see one. I also see Captain Corvinus is with them, but who is the Asari? I know her by face but not name." He knows the Asari is some big hitter due to the fact he has seen her with Tevos more than a few times.
"Matriarch Benezzia," Irissa inform Sparatus, "She was on the Avian to help with the Prothean artefact. She is also a popular philosopher among my people. But seeing this makes me believe that there is a high chance Tevos is with them," Irissa concludes logically, "But then why would Benzzia be at this meeting and not Tevos."
Valern replies to Irissa, "A written report attached to the video says she is there to help translate Prothean, this species is apparently quite proficient at it."
Sparatus hums a little before saying, "It is starting to appear to me more and more like this station is Prothean with how this species is proficient in their language and making their material."
"Your jumping to conclusions." Irissa says, "We now have a means of communication, so we will know shortly. The fact they speak Prothean is also a bonus, it means we do not need to dedicate considerable resources into rapidly translating their language. Something that took us just shy of a year with the Volus if you remember correctly." The Volus were an absolute nightmare case to translate, not only did they speak in vastly different frequencies to any known species, but they also spoke in unusual sentence structures, making it even harder to understand. Today, what you hear when a volus speaks is an advanced virtual intelligence that translates as close to real time as possible. The different voices people hear when Volus speak is from where the Volus have tweaked said VI - in fact, the voice market for Volus's is a booming business, and a person with a 'respectable' voice can earn a lot of money by providing his voice to a Volus for use with their VI.
/.../
Palaven
The class leader walks back and forth at the front of the class, his hands neatly folded behind his back, in a way one would think is uncomfortable, but as the students in the class know, the class leader could remain in this stance for the entire lesson if needed, and maybe indefinitely. The teacher, as the students are very familiar with, is a strict, ex-military man who many suspects climbed quite high up the ranks, but none know for sure just how high, that is information the Turian has never let slip. One thing the students do know for certain, however, is the Turian's unquestioning loyalty to the Higherarchy, partially from his service, but also partially from his behaviour, no normal Turian has a 6 foot tall picture of the Primarch in his classroom, and no other teacher takes time out of their lesson to teach Higherarchy principles.
Coming to a stop at the centre of the room the Class Leader turns to a student and looks down with some disappointment before asking, "When you first walked into this classroom, 3 years ago, I asked you all, what is the difference between a citizen and a civilian. Most of you gave a correct answer, but none of you understood the answer. Sarraif, what is the difference?"
The student stands up from his rather simple metallic chair to reply, saying, "A citizen has earned the right to vote, a civilian has not. "
The class leader gives a sigh of disappointment before telling the student to sit back down and moving onto another student, who in turn also stands up to say, "The books tell us a Citizen accepts personal responsibility for the safety of a body politic, defending it with his life, a civilian does not."
"Excellent Cadet Desolas, " The Class Leader says with a small flare of his mandibles, "A perfect response, but, what does this mean?"
The student gives it a second before saying, "A citizen has the courage to make the safety of the Higherarchy their personal responsibility."
"Courage, they have the…" The class leader stops speaking before turning his body to fully face a different student, "Cadet Talon, what is so important on your omni-tool? " The class leader speaks with a calm demeanour but none doubt he is seething inside for the blatant disrespect.
Cadet Talon stands from his chair, "Fleet movements, Class Leader."
This perks the Class Leaders interest, his previous anger tamed, for now, but not forgotten about, "Do expand."
"The Primarch's Chosen has taken a fleet, including Asari and Salarian vessels to near the Terminus systems. Rumour is the Citadel…"
"Rumour?" Asks the Class Leader who has now approached the cadets table, "Which fleets have deployed."
"Third, Tenth, Fourteenth and Twenty First fleet. I'm not certain about the Asari or Salarian fleets, but it totals around 160 vessels "
The class leader allows his right mandible to move upwards slightly, all of that under the Great Cardeuss is a potent battle group, and maybe the largest battle group assembled in the last decade or so. "Cadet Novik, how many dreadnoughts would you expect to find in this battle group? "
A cadet stands on the opposite side of the room to say "Five, Including the Primarch's Chosen own dreadnought." Before sitting back down.
"Correct, " The class leader replies, "Cadet Hortensia, what is special about the named fleets? "
The cadet stands and takes a second before replying to the Class Leader, "All have elements that recently partook in the war games simulating a Batarian attack on a colony world." This is a common war game the Turians practice to help deter any 'Slave Runs' on Turian worlds.
The Class Leader takes a moment before turning to the Cadet, "Very true, but not what I was thinking of. Cadet Talon, what is the destination of the Fleets?"
"Sector 318-310."
The Class Leader turns on his heels to face the Cadet, "Interesting. The Batarian colony world of Ammon is in sector 311. Class, I have a new assignment for you, tomorrow I want a plan from each of you on an invasion of Ammon, presented in its whole. I will be paying particular attention to your logistics chain. Cadet Marcelleus, why may that be?" There is a silent but visual sigh from the class at receiving additional work.
As per usual, the cadet stands to reply, "Sector 311 is close to the Terminus, any conflict in this region will need a sturdy supply chain, or else attrition will be our downfall. "
"Indeed, Cadet Talon, you will also be presenting on the ramifications of a conflict with the Batarians. I am most interested in a proposed solution to the lack of Titanium they will cease to supply our fleets with. Class, you are dismissed."
/.../
Earth - Vancouver
Walking backstage from a press release the President takes off his suits jacket, removes his tie, and undoes his shirts top button to help cool down. Had the camera's been able to see under the podium, they would have seen the president's legs were quivering as he told Humanity that an alien fleet is currently orbiting Earth. Had the camera's VI's not been doing their job, they would have also seen excessive amounts of sweat running down his face, induced by both the nerves and the hot lights that illuminated him. In his speach, the President also told the people that a wartime economy was being declared, something not seen in hundreds of years, in order to best prepare for the worst possible outcome of his talks with the aliens. He told them that Humanity must prevail.
The President had not wanted to reveal the aliens quite yet, however, it had become a requirement, people had begun to ask serious questions, like why every available military asset was being activated, and why Ultron had been fired. It did not also help people with the correct type of telescope could zoom in on the Turian fleet. So, when a damage control system had been established to help control the inevitable panic and fallout, he had elected to tell the people.
With the people informed, the President now has access to additional funds, so he gives a high ranking military man a nod, and soon, Ultron Defence Platforms begin to get churned out of space docks in the hundreds, police forces gain access to military weapons, and Humanity, in general, prepares for another war.
After taking a minute to calm himself the President begins to walk with an advisor, "How are our translation team getting on?"
"Slow," The advisor responds.
"Can we get more people on it?"
The advisor shakes his head, "No, their device is slowing the entire thing down."
"Well, that is annoying. We need something to show that the Aliens are not out for us, and something soon. We need something to show the people to help calm them." The President has already released the footage of Captain Remus and one of his generals shaking hands, and Shepard passing over the atmosphere shield, but nothing more - he dared not show the exchange of salutes.
"If I may," An advisor speaks up, "What if we can show the Aliens are similar to us?"
"What are you thinking?"
The Advisor takes a second to collect his thoughts before going on, "Hear me out on this, but we need something where the aliens don't need to speak, yet where they are going to act just like a human."
"I'll ask again, what are you thinking?"
"A Safari."
"A Safari?" The President repeats not sure if he just heard correctly, "How will that further our goals?"
"We can't speak with them at the moment," The advisor begins to say, "But the people will at least want to see that we are doing something. Anything. Half of them don't care what, just as long as we are trying to not start a War with an alien collective. A Safari requires little talking, but can show the Aliens are interested in our world and it can show that we are trying to make positive relations, so if war does come, the people will at least know we tried."
The president stops walking and begins to nod, "Alright, I like the premise, but if things go wrong, this is on your head."
/.../
HWV Accipitridae
"Fleet Commander on..."
Quirinus holds his hand up to the Turian speaking and says, "Please, relax. I'm not here for inspections." Not that inspections are his job anyway.
With the Turian pacified Quirinus enters the Accipitridae's primary munition centre where twenty people are working - at the moment however they are all stood watching their Fleet Commander enter their small 'Dungeon' as they call it, and wondering why he is there. Sitting down on a table, to show his relaxed demeanour, he says, "Relax," His presence is enough to get most Turians stood rigid backed, "I'm just checking in on the crew, making sure you have all eaten. Speaking of which, have you all eaten something hot in the last 10 hours?"
The Fleet Commander gets enough flared mandibles to be content that the crew have eaten. "Excellent, excellent. I know you have been stood to for an exceptionally long time now, however, the situation is not a typical situation by any means, and requires an exceptional response. What do you know of the situation?"
A crewman begins to reply, telling him the last update they received and the Fleet Commander grimaces a little, the munition crew seemingly have little clue as to what is actually going on outside of a new species being discovered. It is a failure on the passage of information, it is a failure on the ship's officers for ensuring information is flowing, and it is a failure on his own behalf for not gripping the ship's Captain for failing to ensure information is getting passed around. Just as the Fleet Commander begins to explain the current situation his omni-tool rings, "Yes?" He inquires.
"Fleet Commander," The voice of the Fleet Orchestrator says, "The Hanar vessels are moving to leave the theatre of operations. All 6 vessels are accounted for."
'Why would they do that?' Wonders Quirinus internally before saying, "Understood, when they have left the system you are to reduce the threat level back to 3."
"As you command," The Orchestrator says before ending the call, allowing the Fleet Commander to go back to his original tasking. After talking with the munition crew for around ten minutes the Fleet Command begins to move to the next crew he wishes to talk with, but he is stopped in the corridor as his Omni-tool rings once more.
"Fleet Commander Speaking," Quirinus says, a hand to his ear allowing him to hear better.
It is the fleets communication officer who is on the opposite side of the omni-tool, "Fleet Commander, the Human comms box is flashing, we have already requested the presence of Matriarch Benezzia and Councillor Tevos."
Before Quirinus even speaks he is already turning around and making the way to the bridge, and as he walks towards it he says, "Probably related to the Hanar leaving," Quirinus assumes out loud, "I will be back in ten or so minutes."
Arriving on the bridge almost 13 minutes later the Turian notices that Matriarch Benezzia and Councillor Tevos are already there, and waiting on himself. "Councillor," Quirinus says to Tevos, recognising her as the highest ranking member on the bridge before saying, "Matriarch, when you are ready." Tevos may officially carry the highest rank on the bridge, but on a Turian bridge, she has no power, the rank is symbolic and affords her the respect required.
After a quick blink from Tevos to give her approval, Matriarch Benezzia says, "Then we shall proceed, are the recording devices active?" With a flare of a Turian's mandibles, Benezzia is happy they are being recorded and leans forward to press a big red button on the Human device, resulting in a General's holographic form appearing on top of the box a few seconds later.
After listening to the human speak for a few moments Benezzia frowns before turning to Tevos, "The Humans have offered us an 'animal tour' on their planet for two days. I am not entirely confident in what form this animal tour will take."
Tevos immediately turns to Quirinus, "Despite the unknowns, they are reaching out to us, and showing positive relations, showing values we as a citadel encourage, we can not turn this opportunity down."
Quirinus thinks hard for a moment, considering the possible outcomes and strategic position it would put him in before blinking to Tevos, "I concur. How many people are they permitting?"
Benezzia quickly asks the question before saying "12. We can bring guards in this number."
"On their world, 12 men will do little to nothing if violence erupts," Tevos remarks, "We can make the best use of this by sending people who can best show the galaxy as a whole, so 4 Asari, 4 Turians and 4 Salarians."
"Only Asari and Salarians in my fleet have come from the Avian," Quirinus tells Tevos, which surprises no one as his fleet is a Turian peacekeeping fleet and not a citadel peacekeeping fleet. "As for Turians, I will provide Captain Corvinus, Captain Remus, and two more from the Avian."
"Not yourself?" Asks Tevos.
"As much as I would love to go, no." Quirinus says, "My position is here, where I can be used if needed. I must also insist that you do not go, your position makes you a VIP."
"We can agree on who should and should not go later," Tevos informs, "But for now we must inform the General of our decision."
After informing the General Benezzia turns to the Turian Fleet Commander and says, "They are pleased. They also ask if we follow their ship in 5 hours time to the destination. He says it will be hot and cold."
Quirinus flares his mandibles in understanding.
/.../
Meanwhile - Star Base 1
Shepard looks up to her commanding officer with obvious confusion, "No armour and nothing larger than a concealable pistol?" She asks aloud making sure she has heard correctly, "Also respectable hot weather clothing and cold weather? Sir, what exactly has my team been signed up to?"
"A Safari that takes the aliens to some of Earths most exotic locations. Your team will be providing close security."
Shepard takes a second to rub her brow before saying, "I assume there is more protection than just my squad."
Shepards superior nods, "Yes. Helos are in flight, and the Army is securing the perimeter of areas you shall be visiting. You are simply there to provide assurance and protection for the VIP's."
"Who are the VIP's?"
"The president is going." The 1 up says.
This news causes Shepard to frown in confusion, "What is wrong with the secret service?"
"Because," Begins the 1 up, "Your guys would wipe the floor with them. Secret service is not augmented as they are required to operate in public. If they were augmented, they would stick out like a sore thumb."
"Fair enough."
/.../
Cheers